The Origin Of Amillennialism – St. Augustine & Catholicism
We should not be confused, or misled by interpretations of the bible, especially if those interpretations are steeped in certain denominations or ideologies. Even more so, if they are attributed to man, or as in the case of Seventh Day Adventist, and certain other denominations, it could also be a woman.
Eschatology has many different interpretations, and of course people can embrace whatever teaching they choose to. We can certainly understand why Christ, and the Apostles gave many warnings to not be deceived.
I listened to various sermons from “Truth in History” for several months without realizing the underlying message was steeped in amillennialism. I did not hear any sermons about the millennial reign of Christ. I heard sermons about Napoleon, the French Revolution, various wars, Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformation etc. Since I am interested in history, all of those sermons seemed reasonable, coming from people with an in-depth knowledge of history.
All Christians have a duty to search the scriptures for themselves. As soon as I bought Robert Caringola’s book “The Present Reign of Jesus Christ”, I knew this was not a doctrine that passed the test of truth, not in history, but truth in scriptures.
Many years ago, I was indoctrinated with dispensational teaching, without realizing the source of the doctrine is from John Darby, and the Scofield bible. I suppose I was listening to Truth in History, because they so clearly reject dispensational teaching.
By doing so, I was simply going from one man-made doctrine to another. In fact, so much of eschatology outlines three main choices – Amillennialism (Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, some Presbyterian), Dispensational premillennialism (Darby, Scofield, Mennonites, Zionists, some Pentecostal, Fundamentalists, some Baptist churches), and Postmillennialism (some Presbyterian).
Historic premillennialism, which is the view I have come to believe in, can be found in the following churches:
“Historic premillennialism—the belief that Christ returns before a literal thousand-year reign without a pre-tribulation rapture—is held by various Evangelical, Baptist, and some Reformed, Bible, and independent churches. Unlike dispensationalism, this view is often favored by those looking to the early church fathers and holding a “post-tribulation” view.”
In my opinion, the distinctions between the various interpretations are significant. It can have a profound impact on our faith, and hope in the promises contained within the gospel message. Some of the man-made interpretations take away the blessings of what we believe in, and look forward to. It confuses us, and waters down the glory of Christ’s return, and His coming reign on earth.
Some of these so-called choices leave out the fact that in the 2nd-3rd centuries, a time closest to the time of Christ, and Apostolic teaching, the main Christian belief was historic premillennialism. They believed Christ would return to the earth to set up a 1000 year period of peace and prosperity, at which time Satan would be bound, and unable to deceive the nations.
Historic premillennialism does not separate the Jews from the Gentiles, or make the claim that God has separate plans for the country of Israel as the “chosen people”. They believed in covenant theology, not the seven dispensations of the church that was invented by John Darby.
From the research I have done, I reject both amillennialism and dispensationalism. Both deviate from what I have read in the bible. Both are attached to man-made interpretations, and denominations. They contain information, omissions, additions, or interpretations that are not described in the bible, as they claim.
Almost any belief system can be justified if scripture is taken out of context, or if the meaning is changed by someone who is arrogant enough to believe they can change the meaning of scripture, and cast dispersion on those who are foolish enough to disagree with them.
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ has not happened yet. Satan is not bound and locked in the bottomless pit yet. Christ is not reigning on the earth right now.
Caringola claims Christ is reigning over the earth right now. However the scripture tells us He will return in glory, to put all his enemies under His feet, and He will rule with a rod of iron. This means He will put an end to political corruption, and all the evil in our midst. Ruling with a rod of iron means corruption, and evil will not be tolerated at all. To claim that Christ is now ruling over the earth from heaven, and has placed restraints on Satan, seems ludicrous to me.
Of course God is overseeing the earth, and all of what is going on. We can thank God for all things, to include the air we breathe. We can thank Him for His patience, His love, and abundant grace. We need it.
For those who accept Jesus and repent, our sins are forgiven. We are influenced to be led by Christ through the Holy Spirit, and the instructions in the bible. But we are not yet ruling with Christ on earth. We are waiting for His return, just as He is waiting for God’s timing related to His return.
When Christ returns, it is also when Satan in bound and locked up for a thousand years. He is not locked up at present, and nor do we have the power to overcome Satan to the extent he loses all power. The bible tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee from us. It does not tell us we can overpower, or stop the devil from deceiving the nations, or the unbelievers. It does not tell us the church can overpower, or defeat Satan.
The origin of amillennialism comes from St. Augustine. His background included a belief in monotheism, Islam, Berber indigenous beliefs, dualism, Neoplatonism, and a variety of other intellectual pursuits. He was from North Africa.
The first two centuries of the early church believed in premillennialism, and the literal thousand year reign when Christ returns.
Amillennialism was introduced by Augustine in the 4th-5th centuries. He was a prolific writer who wrote millions of words, and preached thousands of sermons after his conversion to Catholicism. However he did not denounce his prior beliefs or roots in North African Berber indigenous culture.
“North African Berber (Amazigh) beliefs are a syncretic blend of indigenous animism, ancestor worship, and later influences from Judaism, Christianity, and predominantly Islam. While mostly Sunni Muslim today, Berber culture retains traditional practices, including reverence for local saints, spirits (jinn), and a strong focus on female-led customs and protective magic. (source Wikipedia)”
Now the question is – would we be wise to embrace the writings, and teachings of St. Augustine? I certainly don’t think so. Keep in mind that St. Augustine was well educated, fluent in Latin, and came from a wealthy upper class background.
Compare that to the humble beginnings of Jesus, and the Apostles. Jesus was a carpenter, several others were fishermen, Matthew was a tax collector, and Luke in Colossians 4:14 was referred to by Paul as a “beloved physician”.
Christ and His followers did not come from wealth, or a high social class. They were labourers, and lived meagre lifestyles, not taking advantage of anyone.
Martin Luther referred to himself as the “son of a peasant farmer”, but in actual fact, his father was a successful entrepreneur in copper mining. Therefore Martin Luther came from an upper middle class family.
Not that there is anything wrong with coming from a background of wealth and social prestige. But to be clear, a man who was not an elite, and instead was a labourer, did not have the time, or the audience, to write and publish five million words in the 4th-5th century.
On the other hand, the inspired word of God was carried forth by those who did not come from wealth or privilege. The distinction is one to be made, for theirs was a much more difficult task, requiring true discipleship, not just a preponderance of words, intended to indoctrinate people.
In my opinion, the achievements of Martin Luther set off a significant Protestant Reformation, but his rejection of mainstream Catholic beliefs, was only partial. It did not reach all of the nations, and did not fulfill the bible prophecy of reaching all nations, as Caringola claims.
Martin Luther presented his theses over 500 years ago, and even so, to this day, there are still millions of people in the world who have not been reached with the gospel message.
St. Augustine gave rise to Martin Luther’s challenge, the Protestant Reformation, as well as to Calvinism. Are all of the belief systems contained within those doctrines, actually in the bible?
There is no doubt that a falling away, or spiritual apostasy has creeped into mainstream religions. None of the denominations are immune, although the interpretations may vary.
The amillennialists will tell us the early church fathers believed there was not a coming 1000 year reign of Christ. They claim the thousand year reign began when Christ was crucified and resurrected. They bypass the 1000 year reign, which is repeated six times in the book of Revelation as being metaphorical. Christ was resurrected 2000 years ago, but they get past it by saying a 1000 years means a “very long time”.
They also conveniently leave out, or deny all the other verses describing what it will be like when Christ returns to the earth. Instead, they pretend the church will rule, and will eventually overcome Satan. In a sense, it would seem they are diminishing the most astonishing, and awesome event in the history of the world.
They insist the verses in the Book of Revelation telling us about a future millennial reign, are purely metaphorical. They conveniently leave out, or deny the prevalent beliefs among the church fathers that preceded St. Augustine’s five million word interpretation of the bible.
Imagine in the 4th-5th century a person who had the time, the financial backing, and the ability to write millions of words. Only the elite could accomplish something so prolific. The peasants, and the peons were out working in the fields. There were no printing presses. Only the wealthy had access to the bible, or literature in general.
Access to bibles in the 4th-5th centuries, was extremely limited. Texts were hand copied. Literacy rates were low, and the bibles were written in Latin. The average person did not have a bible they could read. Is it any wonder St. Augustine was able to garner so much influence in the world of biblical interpretation?
Fortunately, most of us now have access to the bible. We can read it for ourselves. We can also see just by observing the world around us, that Satan is not bound, and Christ is not here reigning on the earth yet.
There are still wars, and rumours of wars. The nations are still being deceived. Drug addiction is rampant. People are not safe in their own homes in many areas, let alone to go out freely, especially at night. Children are especially vulnerable, in neighbourhoods, in schools, and much more so if they live in poverty, or lack parental protection.
Yet when Christ returns, and Satan is bound, there are many verses in the bible to describe a time of peace, prosperity, and safety.
To claim the church is going to accomplish what only Christ can accomplish, is an example of arrogance, not humility. It is a pipe dream.
The bible describes the end times as getting steadily worse, not better. It compares it to birth pains, with difficulties arising in frequency and intensity. It says there will be family betrayal, and people would become boasters, lover of money, and lovers of self.
All of these things are in the bible for anyone who wants to read it. We do not have to rely on faulty interpretations by St. Augustine, or writers like Robert Caringola.
Such writers assume we are illiterate. But of course, their books with all the lofty, and scholarly interpretations should be read by the the lesser educated.
Frankly I could not get past the first half hour of Caringola’s book, before I started seeing some massive holes in his theories. The only benefit is that I get to write a Kindle review of it on Amazon, which will be a one star review.
The second advantage is that I no longer waste my time listening to “Truth In History”, because in this case it is an oxymoron. It was a waste of time. Once you see faulty interpretations so glaringly, you begin to suspect all of it is angled toward supporting a certain doctrine.
We will not find the truth in the interpretations of men, or women. We will not find it in the writings of St. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ellen White, Joseph Smith, Charles Russel, John Darby, or Scofield.
There are many truthful, and insightful writers, however we should not accept interpretations of the bible without carefully evaluating it for ourselves. The bible tells us to test all things.
Truth is found in the bible. We all have to read it for ourselves. The truth does set us free. Jesus said “I am the way the truth and the life”.
There is no substitute for the word of God.
John 14:6
Copyright Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West (2026). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Valerie J. Hayes and Quiet West with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.