1. Non-literal interpretation.  2^nd Peter 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

Prophecy is not up for private interpretation.  We must adhere to a strict literal or contextual normative approach to the Scriptures.  If God doesn’t mean what He says, who determines what it means?  And who decides when a Scripture is to be taken allegorically, spiritually, or literally?  Why are the prophecies regarding Christs first coming literal, but His second coming are allegorical?  These are severe problems to be dealt with if a person holds to a amillennial position. 

To hold this position is disrespectful and irreverent to the Scriptures.  The person reading is now their own authority.  They get to decide what the Scriptures really mean.  They use their own deductive skills and intelligence to decipher the meaning.  And they puff up their intellect by finding verses in the Scripture to justify themselves!  No matter how wise, witty, or intelligent your “deciphers” seem, you are relying on the private interpretations of your own fallen and wicked mind (or the fallen and wicked mind of other men) to deduce the meaning of Gods Word.  You have established yourself as your own “priest-class.”  And your logic is inconsistent.  Why is satan literal, but 1000 years isn’t?  Why is Christ literal, but “binding” isn’t? Without holding a straight-forward and completely literal approach to the Scriptures, you only have private interpretation left, which causes you to violate God’s commands.  You, your educators, your scholars, or your pastors (no matter how wise, intelligent, or educated), do not get to decide what God means in His Word.  He means what He says.  He is wiser than you.  He is a better communicator than you.

To take a phrase or word, point to it somewhere else in Scripture and cast a broad interpretation over all of Scripture is horrible hermeneutics.  If 1000 in Revelation doesn’t mean 1000, because else where we are told that 1 day is equal to a 1000 years with the Lord, does that mean 1000 is not literal everywhere it is used?  How can we trust 1 day to mean 1 day?  How can we trust 3 days (in the grave) to mean 3 days?  Maybe Solomon didn’t have 1000 wives?  Maybe it really meant 1?  Or all of them?  This loose-view of smug interpretation causes all sorts of chaos!  Maybe ‘born again’ didn’t really mean born again?  After all, who determines whether that was literal, spiritual, allegorical, or metaphorical?  Maybe satan disguising himself as an angel of light, really means that he pretends to be creator, since “light” is what God first created in Genesis.  So the tv preachers cannot be agents of satan, because they’re not claiming to be creators.  Maybe when Jesus walked on water, it really meant that He walked in the Spirit, since the Spirit and water are often tied together?

As soon as you take this loose view of Scripture, you can make the Word mean anything you want it to.  If you say, “This is only reserved for prophetic Scriptures,” well, one third of the Bible is prophetic!  And again, if the prophecies of old were fulfilled literally, why do we now assume that prophecies are non-literal?  When Paul said, “Grievous wolves will come in amongst you,” that was prophetic.  Perhaps he really wasn’t warning about false teachers, but greedy thieves who would come in like wolves and gobble up all our possessions?  When the angels in Acts said that this same Jesus would come back in the same manner that we saw Him go up, that was prophecy.  Perhaps they really meant that “go up” was a reference to His resurrection, not ascension.  So Christ would “rise from the dead” again and come up from the graves, not come back in the sky.  Of course these are all silly arguments, but its the same logic.  I can say, “Well this is prophecy, so it’s not literal.  And I can find these similar words or themes elsewhere in Scriptures, so I can apply what they meant in those other Scriptures to give meaning to these current Scriptures.”  This is an absolutely horrible way to read the Scriptures!  YOU, fallen wicked YOU, get to be the finally determiner of what Scriptures really mean.  

2. Satan is not bound.  The amil approach has satan currently bound, but then scrambles to show that he’s not “fully” bound.  It’s silly and imaginative.  It is not shown in the Scriptures, but is made up by the minds of men.  We have numerous verses AND current events that clearly show satan is not bound.  Neither in a general sense, nor “over the nations” as the amil proponent would have it.  Biblically, consider the following verses that show satan is still very much active and in control of this world.
   
   
   1^st Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
   
   
   The devil here is described as the exact opposite of being bound.  He “walketh about.”  He is free.  He is roaming.  He is loosed.

2^nd Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

Here, satan is described as the “god of this world.”  Very similar to when Jesus referred to the devil as the “prince of this world” back in John 14:30.  Not only is he not bound, but he is exalted as the god of this world!  He is not only free, but he rules and reigns over this wold.

Acts 26:18 “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

Here, Paul is commissioned by Jesus to go and preach to the nations.  And in doing so, he is told that he will deliver men from the power of satan!  Clearly, satan is not bound, but is still deceiving the nations!  And the preaching of the Gospel delivers them!

Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

As if it couldn’t get any clearer!  The devil NOW works in the children of disobedience.  He is CURRENTLY active deceiving the nations!  He is not bound.  He is the ‘god’ and ‘prince’ of this world.  He actively deceives the nations and blinds them to the Gospel.  He rules and reigns over the world and in those who are lost, and he walks about (freely) seeking whom he may devour.  This world is his.  Thank God that He who is in us is greater than he who is IN THE WORLD. (1^st John 4:4)

Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Here we see that satan and his minions are not only free and unbound, but they RULE over the darkness of this world and are established in the high places.

Outside of the Biblical evidence, we also have the empirical evidence of the state of the world.  The amil proponent would suggest that satan is not “fully bound” (in light of these Scriptures, they have no choice but to make such claims), but is bound from deceiving the nations.  As if individual deception is somehow distinguished from national deception.  But we have numerous evidences that show this is simply not true (in addition to those verses listed which no where indicate that satan is bound in ANY sense, but is in fact free, roaming, and reigning).

Our own nation of America uses the luciferic all seeing eye as its national symbol!  It stamps the back of our dollar bills and mocks the true God with the phrase “In God we trust.”  Our national leaders are often members of luciferic cults like freemasonry.  They participate in ceremonies like the “Cremation of Care,” at Bohemian Grove, where they worship Molec and do mock sacrifices.  Surely, satan is at work in America!

Consider Adolf Hitler.  No sane man can say that this man was not satanically inspired and that his nation was not deceived!  They declared war on and murdered millions of Gods chosen people!  Hitler was heavily involved in the occult and led the entire world into war.  Surely, satan was at work in Germany.

Or what about all the nations that currently oppress and silence Christianity?  Those that persecute, imprison, rape, and murder the Saints of God!  Surely, satan is at work in those countries.  Or the UN, working to oppress Israel and form a one world government?  Along with their luciferic one world religion?  Bottom line?  It is unbiblical and counter intuitive to suggest that satan is currently bound in ANY shape or form.

3. Unfulfilled Prophecies.  There are numerous Scriptures in the Bible in regards to national Israel (the Jewish people) that are yet unfulfilled.  To hold to the amil position, you need to allegorize each and every one of them, spiritualize them to make them apply to the church, or dismiss them and make God a liar.  NONE of these positions is valid.  The third is foolish and dismissed outright.  God is not a liar.  He does not speak and then fail to accomplish.  And the first two positions are essentially the same, so will be dismissed together.
   
   
   Why would these Scriptures by allegorical, when all the other prophecies regarding Christs first coming were literal?  And how can we make these about the “church” when the New Testament clearly distinguishes between gentiles and Jews?  Although when it comes to salvation, there is no distinction between us, there ARE still plans for the “natural branches” of Romans.  They must still be grafted in after the fullness of the gentiles comes in.  Look at this collection of Scriptures, and realize that the amillennialist must explain away EACH AND EVERY aspect of these.

Is. 2:2-4 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.³ And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.⁴ And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

According to Isaiah, there is coming a time (hasn’t happened yet) when Israel will be established as the prominent nation on earth.  All nations will come to it to hear from God, and it will be a time of peace.  And this is clearly life on EARTH, not Heaven, in that REBUKES are still needed.  So we know that this hasn’t occurred, and nothing here appears to be allegorical or spiritual.  So the amil proponent would need to show why this prophecy is invalidated (making God a liar), or they would have to show what it “really” means in spiritual/figurative/allegorical way (making the Scriptures of private interpretation, and causing me to have to rely on the opinions and intellect of others or my own fallen mind).

Is. 11.  “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:² And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;³ And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:⁴ But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.⁵ And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.⁶ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.⁷ And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.⁸ And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.⁹ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.¹⁰ And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.¹¹ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.¹² And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.¹³ The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.¹⁴ But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.¹⁵ And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.¹⁶ And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt."

This entire chapter is talking about the millennium period.  In it are several things that the amil proponent would be forced to deal with. One, there is a clear distinction made between the gentiles seeking the Lord and the nation of Israel being brought in.  Two, these events clearly occur on earth, with sea’s and nations being clearly identified, as well as verse 9 specifying that the EARTH will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord (hasn’t happened yet).  Three, verses 4 and 5 are clearly depicting the same events in Revelation19:11-16.  So if this is to be taken literal (which it is), then Revelation 19 would be literal as well. 

Here we have a period of time in which peace will be wrought as Christ rules and reigns over the EARTH.  Even the animals will be at peace with men.  EARTHLY nations and seas are present (which are not present in the new earth – see Revelation 21:1), and the nation of Israel is restored with Christ reigning in it.  Again, the amil proponent would need to show why this chapter is invalidated (making God a liar), or would need to show how it is “spirituall/figuratively/symbolically” fulfilled.  In which case they would need to prove each and every verse, show what every words “really” mean in every case, and would again require us to set aside the authority of the Word and trust in the authority of scholars or our own minds.

Is. 65:19-25 “And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.²⁰ There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.²¹ And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.²² They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.²³ They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.²⁴ And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.”

I will admit to some confusion regarding the later chapters of Isaiah (60, 61, 62, and 65), as they seem to speak of both the millennium and the new heavens and earth.  But these verses here are clearly referring to the millennium, as they include events that cannot take place in the new heavens.  Namely, death.  Revelation 21:4 says that there will be no more death in the New Kingdom, but here in this section of Scripture, death still occurs.  It says that if a person dies at 100 years of age, they will still be considered a child!  This is clearly something future!  And it references the peace again of animals and humans together, drawing to mind the previous verses mentioned.   We also see the presence of the wicked (accursed).  Again showing that this cannot be the New Kingdom.  The amil proponent again would need to show why this is invalidated (making God a liar), or explain how it is “spiritually/figuratively/symbolically” fulfilled.  In which case they would need to prove each and every verse, show what every words “really” mean in every case, and would again require us to set aside the authority of the Word and trust in the authority of scholars or our own minds.

Zec. 8.  “Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,² Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.³ Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.⁴ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.⁵ And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.⁶ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.⁷ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;⁸ And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.⁹ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.¹⁰ For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.¹¹ But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.¹² For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.¹³ And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.¹⁴ For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not:¹⁵ So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.¹⁶ These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:¹⁷ And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.¹⁸ And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying,¹⁹ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.²⁰ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:²¹ And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.²² Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.²³ Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you."

Here again we show the Lord reigning from Jerusalem amongst His people.  And it cannot be during the time of the New Heavens and earth, because we still see nations, gentiles, and old people!  And the people referred to are not the “church,” because in the last verse a clear distinction is made that it is the Jews that this is referring to.

See also, Is. 60-62; Zec. 12; Ez. 38; and Micah4. 

In addition to the unfulfilled prophecies regarding national Israel, there are also prophecies that show life on EARTH after the return of the King.  The amil proponent would need to explain each of these away as well.

Ps. 37:9-11 “For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.¹⁰ For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

Here we see a time where evildoers will be cut off (clearly hasn’t happened yet), and then the righteous will inherit the EARTH.  These people will delight themselves in the abundance of peace ON EARTH.  The amil position has no future Kingdom on earth, just Heaven after Christ returns.  Where then does this time of peace with the cutoff evildoers come into play?  And why does it specifically say we will inherit the EARTH?

Revelation 5:9-10 “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

Here are the Saints redeemed by God and they state that they will reign ON EARTH.  When will that be exactly?...

In conclusion, the unfulfilled prophecies, the fact that satan is not currently bound, and most importantly, the strict literal interpretation of the Bible, prevent me from believing the error of Amillennialism.  It it a divisive issue?  Probably not.  But I DO see it as an attack on Scripture, which is MOST dangerous.