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Amillennialism Today
Eschatology AMillennialism
- GenresTheologyChristianity
143 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 3, 2022
Honestly, I thought this book would be way out of my depth and a bit of a trudge but it was actually enjoyable! The author gives a very clear explanation of the a-millennial view which was easy to understand. What he was saying about the timeline of the end times and what would take place etc. seemed to make sense to me but to be fair I don’t really know much about the other views so I don’t have much to compare it to. Was also interesting to hear more from the covenant theology perspective. Despite all the debate around different views on the millennium it’s encouraging to remember that one day in the future Christ will come again. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. He will be glorified as he deserves, and we will get to spend eternity with him! Bring on the next view!
April 20, 2021
A succinct, simple and helpful explanation of the theology of amillennialism. Like seriously, really helpful. Cox gets into the texts a lot, presents the overarching redemptive story through the amillennial lens, and wages war against dispensationalism. And it’s not just a book about eschatology either, but has good stuff in regards to hermeneutics, the church, salvation, etc. as well.
Randomly though, there are some weird comments about ‘the age of accountability’ and perhaps Cox reads too much into the anti-Christ with his thoughts on the pope... but drop that stuff and it’s a stellar book. Definitely recommend.
“Every person who has ever graced, or who ever will grace, the portals of heaven... will have come there only through a childlike faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.”
Randomly though, there are some weird comments about ‘the age of accountability’ and perhaps Cox reads too much into the anti-Christ with his thoughts on the pope... but drop that stuff and it’s a stellar book. Definitely recommend.
“Every person who has ever graced, or who ever will grace, the portals of heaven... will have come there only through a childlike faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.”
April 27, 2023
I am re-reading this book after reading it several years ago. William E. Cox brings absolute clarity to the muddled field of Eschatology, or End Times theology on the sub-topic of the Thousand Year period spoken of in Revelation, the Millennium. He defines it and lays out the Scriptural basis for Amillennialism concisely and precisely.
The only reason Cox is not well known is that all other views of the Millennium were deluged by Dispensational theology which emerged in the 1800's, first in England and then spread to th U.S. Dispensational theology is a complex maze of pieced together Scriptures that has sensationalist appeal. Cox logically dispels other views simply by accurately explaining the Amilleniast view Scripturally. For Christian readers who have scrathed their heads trying to grasp Dispensational Theology and are are trying to get a handle on what the Bible teaches about the events and chronology of the Last Days, read this book. All your confusion will simply melt away.
Patricia Gauthier, author: One Baptism: The Power of Water and the Spirit.
The only reason Cox is not well known is that all other views of the Millennium were deluged by Dispensational theology which emerged in the 1800's, first in England and then spread to th U.S. Dispensational theology is a complex maze of pieced together Scriptures that has sensationalist appeal. Cox logically dispels other views simply by accurately explaining the Amilleniast view Scripturally. For Christian readers who have scrathed their heads trying to grasp Dispensational Theology and are are trying to get a handle on what the Bible teaches about the events and chronology of the Last Days, read this book. All your confusion will simply melt away.
Patricia Gauthier, author: One Baptism: The Power of Water and the Spirit.
September 4, 2026
A DEFENSE OF AMILLENNISLISM AND A CRITIQUE OF OTHER INTERPRETATIONS
William E. Cox was a Baptist pastor and author who served in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1966 book, “Amillennialists have been accused of expending most of their energies criticizing other millennial theories, while they themselves have no positive system of theological beliefs. Even though these charges come from those who hold postmillennial or premillennial views, they surely set forth a need for a statement of those things most surely believed among amillennialists. In our examination of amillennialism we shall deal … with the history of the movement, some of its outstanding leaders, and its cardinal beliefs… Amillennialism oversteps denominational lines; in fact, it oversteps theological lines.”
In the first chapter, he explains, “amillennarians do not deny the existence of a millennium. They believe explicitly in the millennium of Revelation 20. They simply interpret the passage differently than do other millennialists… The term ‘amillennial’ is an unfortunate one in one sense… because it literally means ‘no millennium.’ … Some have suggested the name ‘realized millennialism.’ This writer prefers the term ‘biblical millennialism.’ … amillennarians are opposed to the type of millennium taught by the premillennialist. They do not deny that Christ will reign over his saints on the earth. Rather… they deny a LITERAL (materialistic) reign. They also place this reign … in a different point of time than does the premillennarian… They also place it at a different time in history than does the postmillenarian.” (Pg. 1-2)
He asks, “Is the world getting better or worse? Postmillennarians say it is getting better, and that the preaching of the gospel will eventually see most of the world converted, thus ushering in an earthly millennium before the second coming. Premillenarians believe the world is growing increasingly worse, and that it will be at its very worst when Jesus returns. Amillennarians agree with the premillenarians on this point… we also believe that evil grows proportionately faster [than good]. Good and evil will exist side by side until… the end of the world… We believe this growth will culminate with the appearance of the antichrist… and which John referred to as Satan being loosed for a little season. This loosing will take place in the very endtime of the present historical church age.” (Pg. 5)
He quotes critic John Walvoord, who states, “Amillennarians use two methods of interpretation, the spiritualizing method for prophecy and the literal method for other Scriptures.’ … What Dr. Walvoord should have said is that amillennarians use a spiritual interpretation on SOME scriptures, including SOME of the prophecies. This would have been a true statement. However, this would be nothing more than could be said of premillenarians…” (Pg. 16)
He acknowledges, “each of us is liable to fall into the curse of hyperliteralism… It is indeed a dangerous thing for ANYONE to wax hyperliteral---especially in dealing with highly figurative language found in some parts of the Bible… Hyperliteralism kept [the Pharisees] from seeing that the unfulfilled promises of the Old Testament were to be fulfilled through the Christian Church… The nonbelieving Jews expected their Messiah to appear and to set up a kingdom. And this belief was based on the Scriptures. However, their hyperliteral interpretation … kept them from recognizing the real king.” (Pg. 22-23)
He asserts (contrary to Dispensationalism), “Amillennarians hold… that there has always been only one plan of salvation. Every person who has ever graced, or who ever will grace, the portals of heaven will have one thing in common… Each one will have come there only through a childlike faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. THERE IS ONLY ONE PLAN OF SALVATION… there has never been another plan. Nor will there EVER be a different plan.” (Pg. 29)
He notes, “That the Christian church replaced Israel is obvious when one notes that the Jewish-Gentile Christian church of the New Testament is given the same titles which in the Old Testament were given to national Israel.” (Pg. 49)
He explains, “Amillennarians believe the Lord, at his first advent, set eschatology in motion. He ushered in the last days. The first advent and the second coming of Christ complement each other. They are two parts of one whole… All things or events set in motion by the first advent will be consummated at the second coming. Amillennarians believe there is more ‘realized eschatology’ than the millennarians are willing to admit. We also believe, however, that much remains to be fulfilled in matters of eschatology. Jesus ushered in the kingdom age… though it remains to be perfected. Jesus… brings continued judgments upon the world … such as the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the fall of Rome in A.D. 476, etc.; yet a final judgment awaits the world at the end of time.” (Pg. 57)
He outlines, “The Lord will appear the second time in a literal bodily manner… At this second coming, Satan will be cast into hell… there will be a general resurrection of the dead of all time… followed by a general judgment, resulting in the final separation of the righteous and the wicked… All saints of all time will reign in this eternal state glorifying God, throughout eternity. The wicked will spend eternity in hell.” (Pg. 58)
He states, “‘Amillennialism’… is an unfortunate term… since amillennarians definitely do believe a in millennium based on Revelation 20:1-10. They simply rebel against the hyperliteralism placed on this passage by the millennialists… Amillennarians base their millennial doctrine on two basic facts: (1) the nature of the book of Revelation, and (2) the clear teaching of other scriptures relating to the subject matter of Revelation 20. The only mention of the 1,000-year reign is couched in the 20th chapter of the most figurative book in the Bible. It seems strange indeed that so many people would begin here and build the main basis of all their teachings on this one obscure passage. The word ‘millennium’ is not actually mentioned anywhere in Scripture… Amillennarians refuse to let this one obscure passage govern the entire Bible… The Scriptures outline but two ages: the present age and the age to come. The age to come is everywhere said to be eternal, and would therefore be in complete contradistinction to an interregnum of 1,000 years.” (Pg. 64-65)
He says, “Here, then, is the gist of much millennial thinking today. Christ offered to Israel… an earthly messianic kingdom, patterned after David’s kingdom of the Old Testament… Amillennarians rebel against the crass materialism of such a proposed kingdom with Christ as its head. Our Lord had many opportunities to head up just such a kingdom during his earthly reign. However, he flatly refused these offers… stating that his was not such a kingdom as this.” (Pg. 67)
He summarizes, “The millennial kingdom, which John describes in symbolic language, is a complete period of time during which Christ reigns in the hearts of his people. This period began at the crucifixion (where Christ overcame Satan in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15) and will end at the second advent. (Pg. 70-71)
He asserts, “These theologians are haggling over whether or not the church will, in the future, go through something which already has happened! The church has already gone through the great tribulation. This took place in A.D. 70 when Titus, the Roman general, led his armies in the destruction of Jerusalem. God did not rapture his church before, or even midway through, the great tribulation. He protected her THROUGH it, just as he had promised to do in every time of testing… one still wonders how any serious student of the Bible could be surprised by the church going through tribulation. God nowhere promised to take the church out of the way of persecution. He promised, rather, to make her triumphant in the midst of persecution.” (Pg. 72)
He contends, “In Matthew 24, our Lord very definitely speaks on two different subjects---the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in A.D. 70, and the end of the world. Some make the mistake of applying the entire chapter to the second coming. It is only natural that these folk end up with conflicting doctrines.” (Pg. 83)
He observes that Paul speaks of ‘the revelation of the Lord Jesus,’ ‘the coming of Christ,’ ‘the day of the Lord’ [which] are used as synonymous terms.” (Pg. 85, 96)
He outlines, “The rapture of the saints will include every believer from every generation… The rapture will take place immediately after the resurrection and just before the judgment… ALL the graves will be opened at the sound of the trump.” (Pg. 110)
He states, “synonymous terms are used to describe the judgment---such terms as ‘the judgment seat of Christ,’ ‘the great white throne,’ ‘the judgment,’ ‘that day,’ and so forth. These terms do not portray several different judgments, they are merely different parts of the one great mosaic.” (Pg. 123)
He concludes, “The earth will also be ‘judged,’ cleansed, and completely renovated… we will reign on the earth, because heaven will then encompass the cleansed earth. However, this reign will not last a mere thousand years; it will have no end.” (Pg, 140)
This book may appeal to some Christians studying different perspectives of eschatology.
William E. Cox was a Baptist pastor and author who served in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1966 book, “Amillennialists have been accused of expending most of their energies criticizing other millennial theories, while they themselves have no positive system of theological beliefs. Even though these charges come from those who hold postmillennial or premillennial views, they surely set forth a need for a statement of those things most surely believed among amillennialists. In our examination of amillennialism we shall deal … with the history of the movement, some of its outstanding leaders, and its cardinal beliefs… Amillennialism oversteps denominational lines; in fact, it oversteps theological lines.”
In the first chapter, he explains, “amillennarians do not deny the existence of a millennium. They believe explicitly in the millennium of Revelation 20. They simply interpret the passage differently than do other millennialists… The term ‘amillennial’ is an unfortunate one in one sense… because it literally means ‘no millennium.’ … Some have suggested the name ‘realized millennialism.’ This writer prefers the term ‘biblical millennialism.’ … amillennarians are opposed to the type of millennium taught by the premillennialist. They do not deny that Christ will reign over his saints on the earth. Rather… they deny a LITERAL (materialistic) reign. They also place this reign … in a different point of time than does the premillennarian… They also place it at a different time in history than does the postmillenarian.” (Pg. 1-2)
He asks, “Is the world getting better or worse? Postmillennarians say it is getting better, and that the preaching of the gospel will eventually see most of the world converted, thus ushering in an earthly millennium before the second coming. Premillenarians believe the world is growing increasingly worse, and that it will be at its very worst when Jesus returns. Amillennarians agree with the premillenarians on this point… we also believe that evil grows proportionately faster [than good]. Good and evil will exist side by side until… the end of the world… We believe this growth will culminate with the appearance of the antichrist… and which John referred to as Satan being loosed for a little season. This loosing will take place in the very endtime of the present historical church age.” (Pg. 5)
He quotes critic John Walvoord, who states, “Amillennarians use two methods of interpretation, the spiritualizing method for prophecy and the literal method for other Scriptures.’ … What Dr. Walvoord should have said is that amillennarians use a spiritual interpretation on SOME scriptures, including SOME of the prophecies. This would have been a true statement. However, this would be nothing more than could be said of premillenarians…” (Pg. 16)
He acknowledges, “each of us is liable to fall into the curse of hyperliteralism… It is indeed a dangerous thing for ANYONE to wax hyperliteral---especially in dealing with highly figurative language found in some parts of the Bible… Hyperliteralism kept [the Pharisees] from seeing that the unfulfilled promises of the Old Testament were to be fulfilled through the Christian Church… The nonbelieving Jews expected their Messiah to appear and to set up a kingdom. And this belief was based on the Scriptures. However, their hyperliteral interpretation … kept them from recognizing the real king.” (Pg. 22-23)
He asserts (contrary to Dispensationalism), “Amillennarians hold… that there has always been only one plan of salvation. Every person who has ever graced, or who ever will grace, the portals of heaven will have one thing in common… Each one will have come there only through a childlike faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. THERE IS ONLY ONE PLAN OF SALVATION… there has never been another plan. Nor will there EVER be a different plan.” (Pg. 29)
He notes, “That the Christian church replaced Israel is obvious when one notes that the Jewish-Gentile Christian church of the New Testament is given the same titles which in the Old Testament were given to national Israel.” (Pg. 49)
He explains, “Amillennarians believe the Lord, at his first advent, set eschatology in motion. He ushered in the last days. The first advent and the second coming of Christ complement each other. They are two parts of one whole… All things or events set in motion by the first advent will be consummated at the second coming. Amillennarians believe there is more ‘realized eschatology’ than the millennarians are willing to admit. We also believe, however, that much remains to be fulfilled in matters of eschatology. Jesus ushered in the kingdom age… though it remains to be perfected. Jesus… brings continued judgments upon the world … such as the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the fall of Rome in A.D. 476, etc.; yet a final judgment awaits the world at the end of time.” (Pg. 57)
He outlines, “The Lord will appear the second time in a literal bodily manner… At this second coming, Satan will be cast into hell… there will be a general resurrection of the dead of all time… followed by a general judgment, resulting in the final separation of the righteous and the wicked… All saints of all time will reign in this eternal state glorifying God, throughout eternity. The wicked will spend eternity in hell.” (Pg. 58)
He states, “‘Amillennialism’… is an unfortunate term… since amillennarians definitely do believe a in millennium based on Revelation 20:1-10. They simply rebel against the hyperliteralism placed on this passage by the millennialists… Amillennarians base their millennial doctrine on two basic facts: (1) the nature of the book of Revelation, and (2) the clear teaching of other scriptures relating to the subject matter of Revelation 20. The only mention of the 1,000-year reign is couched in the 20th chapter of the most figurative book in the Bible. It seems strange indeed that so many people would begin here and build the main basis of all their teachings on this one obscure passage. The word ‘millennium’ is not actually mentioned anywhere in Scripture… Amillennarians refuse to let this one obscure passage govern the entire Bible… The Scriptures outline but two ages: the present age and the age to come. The age to come is everywhere said to be eternal, and would therefore be in complete contradistinction to an interregnum of 1,000 years.” (Pg. 64-65)
He says, “Here, then, is the gist of much millennial thinking today. Christ offered to Israel… an earthly messianic kingdom, patterned after David’s kingdom of the Old Testament… Amillennarians rebel against the crass materialism of such a proposed kingdom with Christ as its head. Our Lord had many opportunities to head up just such a kingdom during his earthly reign. However, he flatly refused these offers… stating that his was not such a kingdom as this.” (Pg. 67)
He summarizes, “The millennial kingdom, which John describes in symbolic language, is a complete period of time during which Christ reigns in the hearts of his people. This period began at the crucifixion (where Christ overcame Satan in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15) and will end at the second advent. (Pg. 70-71)
He asserts, “These theologians are haggling over whether or not the church will, in the future, go through something which already has happened! The church has already gone through the great tribulation. This took place in A.D. 70 when Titus, the Roman general, led his armies in the destruction of Jerusalem. God did not rapture his church before, or even midway through, the great tribulation. He protected her THROUGH it, just as he had promised to do in every time of testing… one still wonders how any serious student of the Bible could be surprised by the church going through tribulation. God nowhere promised to take the church out of the way of persecution. He promised, rather, to make her triumphant in the midst of persecution.” (Pg. 72)
He contends, “In Matthew 24, our Lord very definitely speaks on two different subjects---the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in A.D. 70, and the end of the world. Some make the mistake of applying the entire chapter to the second coming. It is only natural that these folk end up with conflicting doctrines.” (Pg. 83)
He observes that Paul speaks of ‘the revelation of the Lord Jesus,’ ‘the coming of Christ,’ ‘the day of the Lord’ [which] are used as synonymous terms.” (Pg. 85, 96)
He outlines, “The rapture of the saints will include every believer from every generation… The rapture will take place immediately after the resurrection and just before the judgment… ALL the graves will be opened at the sound of the trump.” (Pg. 110)
He states, “synonymous terms are used to describe the judgment---such terms as ‘the judgment seat of Christ,’ ‘the great white throne,’ ‘the judgment,’ ‘that day,’ and so forth. These terms do not portray several different judgments, they are merely different parts of the one great mosaic.” (Pg. 123)
He concludes, “The earth will also be ‘judged,’ cleansed, and completely renovated… we will reign on the earth, because heaven will then encompass the cleansed earth. However, this reign will not last a mere thousand years; it will have no end.” (Pg, 140)
This book may appeal to some Christians studying different perspectives of eschatology.
August 18, 2026
This is the work of a baptist trying to address the growing influence of chiliasm in eschatological influence of his day (and to be honest I think things only progressed in that direction since), but it is a pretty thorough polemic against the pull of dispensationalism. Why not five stars? Well, it's not because "it's from a baptist" as, though I'm presbyterian that (1) doesn't mean much in this context and (2) doesn't often affect his arguments (which, as an amillenialist myself, I agree with). It's that it's somewhat dated at this point and doesn't do much at all in arguing against a similar-yet-overrealized eschatology: postmillenialism. It is mentioned, but (at least to me) not wrestled with well. To get your feet wet in the amillenialist hermeneutic though, it's a great (and not terribly lengthy) start. However, be warned - pretty sure it is out of print (but either of its' prints are currently still readily available and the page numbers stayed the same)...but the only place I could find it digitally was on the internet archive.
April 28, 2020
Very basic, don't waste your time on it. And don't read it if you are NOT amill, as you might begin to think that John MacArthur was right in the end with his nonsensical claim... Ocassional nugget here or there, but not that they cannot be found in some of those better books on the subject. It was OK only, and it's not a keeper for me.
May 19, 2015
While somewhat dated, this book is an excellent primer on amillennial thought. At approximately 140 pages, it's a fairly quick read. There are several things that I really liked about the book. Cox organizes the bulk of the material into theological categories. This is especially helpful, because the reader is able to see the implications of holding various millennial views within the grander theological framework. The emphasis Cox places on hermeneutics is also invaluable. Many false doctrines are refuted when one consistently interprets the obscure passages in the light of the plainer ones.
I think there is one glaring case where Cox's presentation is flawed: his discussion of the antichrist. He attempts to "nail down" the antichrist today (aka in the 1960s), and therefore must state that the end is very near. Clearly, his interpretation is wrong, for those events that must occur in the advent of the antichrist did not take place, considering that the individual identified is now dead. In this one place, he falls prey to the very hyperliteralism that amillennarians eschew (as opposed to premillennialists).
Excepting this flaw, I recommend the book to anyone studying the various millennial doctrines who would like a good working knowledge of amillennialism and how it interprets various passages of Scripture.
I think there is one glaring case where Cox's presentation is flawed: his discussion of the antichrist. He attempts to "nail down" the antichrist today (aka in the 1960s), and therefore must state that the end is very near. Clearly, his interpretation is wrong, for those events that must occur in the advent of the antichrist did not take place, considering that the individual identified is now dead. In this one place, he falls prey to the very hyperliteralism that amillennarians eschew (as opposed to premillennialists).
Excepting this flaw, I recommend the book to anyone studying the various millennial doctrines who would like a good working knowledge of amillennialism and how it interprets various passages of Scripture.
March 26, 2015
This book is probably clearest most concise statement of the Amillennial Faith.
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