The Five Points of Amillennialism

by Jeffrey D. Johnson

EndorsementsDiscussions about the end times too often get stuck on what to do with individual pieces of the puzzle. Jeff Johnson helps us to step back and see the big picture that the Bible paints of God’s plan for human history. As a result, we can see clearly that God fulfills his promises to Abraham, Israel, and David in his blessings upon Jesus Christ and the people in union with Him—Jew or Gentile, now and forever. That is what amillennialism teaches. And when you see the big picture, it is much easier to fit the individual pieces into place. —Dr. Joel R. Beeke,President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary,Grand Rapids, Michigan In a church culture where the Left Behind series is still the predominant view of eschatology, Jeffrey Johnson has provided an outstanding introduction to biblical eschatology. The Five Points of Amillennialism is a solid, biblical-theological treatment of the major themes of eschatology. Personally, I will use this very readable book as a tool to introduce people to a biblical eschatology that exalts the resurrected and reigning King, Jesus Christ. —Dr. Brian Borgman,Pastor, Grace Community Church,Minden, Nevada 

One of the reasons believers disagree over eschatology is because this doctrine involves numerous complex texts and hermeneutical questions. In this excellent short book, Jeff Johnson untangles five of the toughest matters to sort out. He writes with grace and ease, but the reader will note that his clear prose proceeds from deep thinking about some of Scripture's toughest passages. We're seeing rising interest in amillennial theology in our time, and this book will help quench such an evident thirst for clarity, rigor, and depth of thought. —Dr. Owen Strachan,Associate Professor of Christian Theology, Midwestern Seminary; author, Reenchanting A Theology of Mankind



About the Pastor Jeff is the founding pastor of Grace Bible Church, the Owner/Operator of Free Grace Press and a graduate of Veritas Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books including The Fatal Flaw of the Theology Behind Infant Baptism, Behind the Introduction to Textual Criticism, The Why Bother?, The Kingdom of God, The Absurdity of Unbelief, The Pursuit of Glory, and He Died for Me.



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Genres: Theology, Christianity, Christian, Nonfiction

84 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2021

About the author

Jeff is the author of several Christian books, including the Amazon #1 Bestseller, The Church: Why Bother?

He is pastor/teacher of Grace Bible Church in Conway, Arkansas, a community where he also resides with his wife Letha and their two sons, Martyn and Christian.

Jeff graduated from Central Baptist College in Bible and earned his M. Rel. in Biblical Studies. He earned his Th.D in Systematics from Veritas Theological Seminary.

Along with his pastoral and publishing ministry, Jeff is a sought-after conference speaker and contributes regularly to the Reformed Baptist Blog.

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to a very simple eschatology. Great at explaining why a robust eschatology is necessary to our interpretation of the Bible, and the basic points of amillenialism are laid out clearly. I recommend this book to anyone curious or just beginning their investigation into eschatology.

[George Mayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction, not only to amillennialism, but to basic hermeneutics and biblical theology.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 4 was the best chapter in my opinion.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Amillennialism is not complex. It’s simply the gospel applied to the history of the world.”

[Austin Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple. Well organized.

I’m amill now

[Tanner Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incredibly simple.

It contains no controversial ideas or interpretations. I would say any eschatological viewpoint would agree with a large portion of the book.

If you are looking for a debate, it defintley isn’t here, if you are looking for a loose definition of the amillenial position, well then here ya go.

[Brandon Vaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like Jeffrey Johnson. His book on the atonement is one of the best that I’ve ever read. I’m also a fan of pretty much anything that FGP puts out. However, I just can’t buy into his eschatology.
Let’s start with the good. Even in disagreement with my position, Johnson writes in a way that honors Christ. I agree with him that the church is a spiritual Israel. We also agree that Christ is presently reigning over all creation. I also thought that Johnson did a great job describing the two kingdoms.
To the bad; Johnson admits at the beginning of the book that he views his eschatology through the lens of history. I think this is the fatal flaw of the A-mill position. I would have given the book four stars if it wasn’t for the last chapter when Johnson attempted to walk through Revelation 20. Watching An A-mill try to walk through Revelation 20 is about as painful as watching an Arminian attempt to walk through Romans 9. Johnson cited Revelation 5 and 21 as if they mean what they say, but not 20, we have to do mental gymnastics to make heads or tails of it.
I can appreciate Johnson stating his position clearly. We can also rejoice as brothers in Christ in the fact that Christ is coming back. I just think that the A-mill position leaves a lot to be desired. I see nothing in Scripture to make me think that Christ won’t literally reign for a literal thousand years on a literal throne from a literal nation of Israel.

[Timothy Crockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short work was lent to me by a fellow member. It is a brief overview or primer on the Amill position. It is written so that the concepts are easy to understand and follow. The author did not intend for this to be a major treatise on the subject. He simply wanted to raise awareness and bring clarity to the Amill position. I believe he accomplished this

There are only five chapters each covering some of the foundational tenets of the Amill position. The arguments as well as each chapter are brief, and while not convincing, they did raise some questions and as a result, prompted more research and clarity in my own position (PreMill).

Eschatology is a hotly debated topic in many circles and much of the debate could be kept to a minimum if each position was more easily understood.

If you are looking for an easy-to-read introduction to the Amill position this would be a good book to start with. There are only 130 pages, with notes and references at the bottom of the page.

[Barac Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on eschatology, very well written as an introduction for the amil point of view. Of course there are some presuppositions that are not dealt with and some arguments against these 5 points that can be made and were not covered but I guess it was not the intention of the author to deal with these and could not do it in just one book. Even though I am not an amillenialist (yet!?) this book didn’t disappoint.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent little book detailing the main big picture points in support of amillennial eschatology.

[Nick Carrico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal introduction to amillennialism. Very easy to understand and laid out clearly.

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully simple book for a simple eschatological view. Jeffrey Johnson does a tremendous job of explaining the details of the Amillenial eschatological perspective without bogging the reader down with complexities. This book is written with the laymen in mind and the author is careful not to get the reader bound up in intricate theological concepts or scholastic jargon. I would dare say any Christian could pick this book up and follow along without much trouble and have a good grasp on what it teaches. Biblically sound, clear, and thorough. This would be a nice conversation starter to grab your dispy and posty friends. It can be read in a single sitting!

[Mark Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly Structured

This is an odd book. I read it in the hope that it would be a short and helpful primer that I could recommend to people on amillennialism. While there is much in this book that I agree with (though not all), I struggle with the entire arrangement of the book. The book is 78 pages long and the author doesn’t define amillennialism until page 70! The whole book is a defense of a position that is not even defined. It seems like much of the last chapter should have been the introduction. I feel like this book could have easily been much better if it were arranged differently and spent a bit more time actually explaining the position that was being defended. The reader will have a much better grasp of the subjects of the various five points than the actual subject the five points are meant to support.

[NG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, succinct summary of amillennialism. This book was not written as a polemic against other millennial views or as an exhaustive exposition of every eschatological text of Scripture. However, it provides a succinct summary of what amillennialists believe. This book is much like the short works on the “5 points” of Calvinism that are not meant to be exhaustive arguments against every other view. This book will help you summarize and organize the key points of your eschatology in a way that makes discussing it much easier.

[Brian M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems like a solid intro to Amillennialism. I am not convinced of his understanding after reading his brief book, though I do feel better educated and have gained a much clearer picture of the understanding of my amillennialist brethren. I also understand that, as with many things, the things upon which we agree are ever much more so (in quanitity and quality) than the the things which believers often disagree.

[Rick Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could have Been Better!

Though I am not an Amillennialist, I was hoping for more. Instead of starting with the Scripture, it seems the author started with the Amillennial tenants and then looked for passages to fit them. He did a good job of explaining what Amillennialists believe, and I suppose that was the point, but I was disappointed in the proof texting. I certainly agreed with much in the book, but the hermeneutic was lacking.

[Chris Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great little introduction to amillenialism. It presents it in a very approachable fashion, easily understood by anyone who might be a bit confused by all the different eschatological camps, and presents it in a way that may compel the reader to dig deeper into the subject. Johnson doesn't "attack" other positions, but rather simply explains what amillenialism is, and why it is worthy of consideration.

[Steven Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Premillenialism, made popular by the Left Behind series, sells a lot of books, but it's not biblical. In this short work on Amillennialism, Jeff Johnson gives 5 points of the amillennial view of eschatology and explains why this view is actually faithful to the Scriptures. Its a great read for those who've been spoon fed premil junk food all their lives.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. It was a short read on Kindle unlimited. I like the creativity of simplifying the amillennial perspective into five points. Could be a great teaching tool for lay-men in a church. It is also a helpful refresher and primer before getting on to better and weightier treatments of the topic.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

As he states in the beginning, this is not close to an exhaustive work on the subject. But for the layman who is looking to get an intro on what amillennialists believe, this is well written and does a good job at that.

[En Yi WEI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very simple to read and follow.
Show the clear Biblical support for each point.
Even if you disagree with his eschatological position, read it to understand correctly what a-mil folks really believe.

[Shea Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful introduction. Felt like the last chapter ought to have been the first chapter. Begin with the most important argument then build it for the rest of the book.
Still personally working through my eschatology, but this was a helpful read.

[Ryan Yashack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly concise and clear, which can only come from a deep, deep understanding of God's truth. Even if you don't think you have "bad theology" read it anyways. It can be read in a couple of hours... Well, well worth it.

[Lee Button · Rating 4 out of 5]

Answers Some Questions

I recommend reading Michael Vlach's, Has the Church Replaced Israel, in conjunction. Good points made on both sides. I do believe that the church and Israel have promises yet to be fulfilled.

[Evan King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great introduction to Amillennialism. This likely won't convince you one way or another (and that wasn't the point), but gives a good background on the primary reasons for holding that eschatological viewpoint.

[Arthur Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

1,000 percent. Read this little book! Even if you are not Amil. I think a great many will not read this due to the title, which is a shame. The first 4 chapters apply to all 3 positions (pre, a, and post) and are worth the price of the book and more.

[Katie Barrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lord, Jesus, come!

What a small and profound book on eschatology, specifically Amillennialism. There's no other view to me. Made it easier to understand since reading The Bible in its entirety.

[Timothy Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ingredients were there, but felt like he left it to the reader to discern how to craft the meal. Other issues as well dropped it to 3. But 3.5 might be more accurate.

[Mark Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you. It was easy to understand.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

what is Amillennialism?

This book does a great job of explaining what it is and why it makes sense and a doctrine. Great read.