AMILLENNIAL

Amillennialism is a view that there will be no millennium, no earthly reign of Christ, as opposed to the premillennial and some postmillennial views of the ,book of Revelation chapter 20. By contrast, the amillennial view holds that the number of years in Revelation 20 is a symbolic number, not a literal description, that the millennium has already begun and is identical with the church age (or more rarely, that it ended with the destrucion of Jerusalem in AD70and that while Christ's reign is spiritual in nature during the millennium, at the end of the church age, Christ will return in Final judgment and establish permanent physical reign.

STRENGTH OF AMILLENNIAL

One of the greatest strengths of Amillennialism is its simplicity: no complex sequence of events is required before the return of Christ. The "Beast," the "Mark of the Beast," and other symbols in Revelation are not applied to specific entities in the future; they represent forces at work in every generation. The Battle of Armageddon and the Final Battle before the Final Judgment are thus one event. The Judgment in Matthew 25 and the Judgment in Rev. 20:11-15 are also one event. He does not return to set up a kingdom , but to usher in the eternal state and create a new heaven and earth–the final consummation

Many of the prophecies about signs of the end in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 are generally regarded as having been fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 69-70. Thus, Amillennialists believe that the one, visible return of Christ may occur at any time, followed by one Judgment Day.

WEAKNESSES OF AMILLENNIAL

The weaknesses of Amillennialism is that the church age does not readily fit the Biblical descriptions of the Millennium. Isaiah 66 seems to foresee a time when "the wolf and the lamb
shall feed together," and when he who dies at age 100 will be considered to have died young. Ezekiel 47 describes a time when the Dead Sea will become a freshwater lake with fish living in it. These scenarios do not seem to describe heaven, but they do not fit church history, either.

Another difficulty is that although Matthew 24 and Mark 13 predict the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in A.D. 69-70, they also describe an "abomination of desolation," and the return of Christ on the clouds of heaven with a trumpet-blast. The events of A.D. 69-70 may be a pattern of future events, but it is difficult to see how they could explain everything in these passages

The general perception and attitude of Christians toward death & What do you think should the proper respond of Christians to the issues of death?

One of particular concern to Christians is issues of death. Death is part of life. As Ecclesiastes 3:2 tells us, “there is a time to be born and a time to die”. According to Elizabeth Kubler Ross who wrote a groundbreaking book on the subject of death and dying. She noted a pattern of behavior that dying patients exhibited is SHOCK /DENIAL, ANGER,BARGAINING , DEPRESSION AND ACCEPTANCE.

This is not the general perception and attitude of Christian towards death. Psalm 23 gives the answer. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I WILL FEAR NO evil.”These familiar words of Psalm 23 chart the direction for a Christian individual or family facing the reality of death. Christians no longer fear death because of their faith in Jesus Christ. He came to die in the sinner's place, to bear the penalty of death. He was raised from the dead, so that death no longer reigns over the Christian. Death is a defeated foe. Death holds no fear for those who have faith in Christ. Paul looked at death as a deliverance, as a promotion (Philippians 1:19-26).

The sting of death and sense of God’s judgment are horrible punishments on those who have no faith in Christ as their Savior( 1 John 5:11-13). They face the end of their life, only to know an unknown future, or a terrifying vision of eternal damnation. However as a child of God our life on earth is not the end. There is hope and assurance for children of God.We cling to the promises of His Word. One of the most beautiful promises our Lord gave to us is found in John 14:2–3 where He says,“In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so,would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” We realize that no matter how our lives may end in the Lord, there is one thing of which we can be absolutely certain. We shall pass from death to eternal life.

Those who have truly believed in Christ the redeemer, will not fear Christ the Judge, and will have eternal life (John 5:22- 24; Acts 17:30-31). Apostle Paul speaks in reference to his own death “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better “(Philippians 1:21-23)