Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative

by Sam Storms

Publisher:

Mentor

, 2013

Overview

The second coming of Christ is a matter of sharp disagreement amongst Christians. Many hold to premillennialism: that Christ’s return will be followed by 1,000 years before the final judgement, a belief popularised in the popular Left Behind novels. However, premillennialism is not the only option for Christians. In this important new book, Sam Storms provides a biblical rationale for amillennialism; the belief that 1,000 years mentioned in the book of Revelation is symbolic with the emphasis being the King and his Kingdom.

Key Features

• Presents a thorough biblical case for Amillemialism
• Interacts with other eschatological views and critiques
• Explores the theology of God’s kingdom and Israel

Contents

• The Hermeneutics of Eschatology: Five Foundational Principles for the Interpretation of Prophecy
• Defining Dispensationalism
• The Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9 and the Old Testament Roots of Dispensationalism
• Daniel’s Contribution to Biblical Eschatology
• Problems with Premillennialism
• Who are the People of God? Israel, the Church, and “Replacement” Theology
• The Eschatology of Jesus: Matthew 24 and The Olivet Discourse (1)
• The Eschatology of Jesus: Matthew 24 and The Olivet Discourse (2)
• The Book of Acts and the Promise of Israel’s Restoration
• Romans 11 and The “Future” of Israel
• The Kingdom of God: Now and Not Yet
• The Postmillennial View of the Kingdom of God
• The Book of Revelation and Biblical Eschatology: The Chronology of the Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl Judgments
• Amillennialism, Revelation 20, and The Binding of Satan
• Amillennialism, Revelation 20, and The First Resurrection
• The Antichrist in Biblical Eschatology: A Study of Revelation 13 and 17
• The Antichrist in Biblical Eschatology: A Study of 2 Thessalonians 2
• A Cumulative Case Argument for Amillennialism

Top Highlights

“Jesus is Israel in the sense that God’s purposes, promises, and predictions for the nation are fulfilled in his life, death, resurrection, exaltation, session, and second coming. This principle of the consummate fulfillment of the nation’s destiny in the person of Christ is necessarily extended to his spiritual body, the Church. Since the Church is the body of Christ, of which he himself is the Head, what God intended for him, God also intended for her. What is true of him is true of her. Both Jesus and his body, the Church, constitute the true Israel in and for whom all the promises of the Old Testament find their fulfillment.” (Page 42)

“You must necessarily believe that unbelievers will not be finally judged and cast into eternal punishment until at least 1,000 years subsequent to the return of Christ.” (Page 137)

“You must necessarily believe that unbelievers will not be finally resurrected until at least 1,000 years subsequent to the return of Christ.” (Page 137)

“What I would like to do, however, is set forth five basic hermeneutical assumptions that undergird and largely account for what you will encounter in the subsequent chapters.” (Page 16)

“To sum up, I am now persuaded that Babylon is represented by the head of gold in Daniel 2 and the first beast of Daniel 7. Media is represented by the breast and arms of silver in Daniel 2 and the second beast in Daniel 7. Medo-Persia is symbolized by the belly and thighs of bronze in Daniel 2 and the third beast of Daniel 7. Greece is represented by the feet of iron and clay in Daniel 2 and the fourth beast of Daniel 7. Based on this identification of the four empires, I conclude that the ‘little horn’ of Daniel 7 is not any supposed end-of-the-age Antichrist but, together with the ‘little horn’ of Daniel 8, is in fact Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greek king who defiled the sacrifice of Israel in 168 b.c.” (Pages 120–121)

Endorsements

This is a remarkable book which will surely become the standard bearer for Amillennialism for years to come. Storms is particularly adept (and gracious) at critiquing premillennial positions, especially dispensationalism. His interaction with postmillennialism and preterism is equally intelligent and insightful. This is a book I will return to many times in my personal study and in pastoral ministry. Storms has given us a model for accessible, relevant, warm-hearted scholarship in service of the church.

—Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, University Reformed Church, East Lansing, Michigan

Evangelicals continue to be divided over eschatology, and such divisions will likely continue until the eschaton. For some, premillennialism is virtually equivalent to orthodoxy. Sam Storms challenges such a premise with a vigorous defense of amillennialism. Storms marshals exegetical and theological arguments in defense of his view in this wide-ranging work. Even those who remain unconvinced will need to reckon with the powerful case made for an amillennial reading. The author calls us afresh to be Bereans who are summoned to search the scriptures to see if these things are so.

—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

Sam Storms’ book, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative, is a substantial work on the viability of the Amillennial perspective on eschatology, including that of the Book of Revelation. While one may not agree with all that he says on this subject, the upshot of the book as a whole is a solid argument in favor of Amillennialism. His dialogue partners are Premillennial interpreters, whom he finds fall short in presenting a persuasive case for their view. Storms presents, in my own view, a very attractive way of understanding the millennial passage of Revelation 20:1-10, but his discussion of many other passages throughout the Bible also are adduced in an insightful way to support his view. He posits the surely correct hermeneutical approach that the rest of the Bible (e.g., Paul’s epistles) should be understood as the main interpretative lens for eschatology and not any particular interpretation of Revelation 20, which too many have let control their understanding of eschatology elsewhere throughout the Bible. Among the discussions that I found particularly helpful was his study of the seventy weeks of Daniel 9. Even those who may disagree with Storms’ Amillennial approach will definitely benefit from his book.

—G. K. Beale, Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Product Details

• Title: Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative
• Author: Sam Storms
• Publisher: Mentor
• Print Publication Date: 2013
• Logos Release Date: 2016
• Pages: 592
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Eschatology › Biblical teaching; Millennialism
• Resource ID: LLS:9781781911952
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-06T20:40:45Z

About Sam Storms

Sam Storms earned a ThM in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and a PhD in intellectual history from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is the founder of Enjoying God Ministries, senior pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and a former visiting professor of theology at Wheaton College. He has authored over two dozen books and served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society.