The phrase “premillennialism” carries a heavy freight of charts, controversies, and timelines. Yet, for A. B. Simpson—the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance—it was not a speculative system but a living hope. His heart burned with the expectancy of the Coming King. Simpson’s eschatology was not escapist; it was missionary. The nearness of Christ’s return compelled him to urgency in preaching the gospel to all nations. His theology of the pre-millennial return of Christ was rooted in covenantal longing, not in curiosity about dates.
Simpson’s emphasis grew from a deep reading of Scripture, particularly the unity between Israel’s restoration and the redemption of the nations. The future, in his view, was not a flight from earth but the consummation of God’s purpose in creation. Thus, his “premillennialism” was, at heart, a pre-Messianic hope—the expectation of Messiah’s reign of righteousness and peace breaking into history.
Simpson sensed this intuitively: the redemption of the nations is the expansion, not the replacement, of Israel’s calling. He wrote, “The future restoration of Israel is the keystone of the coming kingdom.” Thus, historic premillennialism, properly understood, is the theology of the cultivated olive tree—Jew and Gentile grafted into one eschatological history, awaiting the same King.
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The Canadian Alliance Revision
The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada (C&MA) made a significant adjustment in its doctrinal statement when it removed the explicit term premillennial from its confession of faith. The current Canadian Statement of Faith simply affirms that “He will come again to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and peace”—without specifying a timeline or millennial sequence.¹
The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada (C&MA) made a significant adjustment in its doctrinal statement when it removed the explicit term premillennial from its confession of faith. The current Canadian Statement of Faith simply affirms that “He will come again to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and peace”—without specifying a timeline or millennial sequence.¹
This revision reflects a deliberate theological posture. The Alliance in Canada has adopted what its leadership describes as a “large-tent” or “centered-set” identity, emphasizing unity around the essentials of the gospel while allowing liberty in secondary matters such as eschatological timing.² The movement thus preserves the spirit of A. B. Simpson’s missionary urgency and expectancy of Christ’s return, without requiring adherence to a single millennial framework.
By doing so, the Canadian Alliance continues to affirm the Lord’s imminent return as a vital aspect of holiness and mission, while encouraging diverse perspectives that maintain focus on Christ’s Kingdom rather than speculative chronology. What matters is not the charting of events, but the certainty that the Coming One will set all things right.
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This covenantal re-framing suggests that the Alliance vision of “bringing back the King” remains alive, not as a denominational slogan but as a theological pulse—the heartbeat of mission flowing from hope. It is, in essence, the same “pre-Messianic age” anticipation that animated the prophets and was fulfilled in Christ’s first coming, yet awaits its fullness in His reign.
For Simpson, the promise of Christ’s return was never an argument for withdrawal from the world but for deeper consecration to its redemption. That remains the call today: to labor until He comes, proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom to every nation, and to live as a people who already taste the powers of the age to come.
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Endnotes
1. Statement of Faith, The Alliance Canada, Article 2: “Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly man… He will come again to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and peace.” (Accessed October 2025).
1. Statement of Faith, The Alliance Canada, Article 2: “Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly man… He will come again to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and peace.” (Accessed October 2025).
2. The Alliance Canada Vision Paper (President’s Office, 2023) describes the denomination as a “large-tent, centered-set family focused on the essentials of the gospel and open to diversity in non-core matters.”
See also Paul L. King, A B. Simpson and the Canadian Adaptations of the Alliance Statement of Faith (in Collected Papers on Simpson and the Christian and Missionary Alliance, 1985–2000).
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Bibliography
The Alliance Canada. Statement of Faith. Accessed October 19, 2025. https://alliancecanada.ca/about/beliefs
The Alliance Canada. Vision Paper. President’s Office, 2023.
King, Paul L. A B. Simpson and the Canadian Adaptations of the Alliance Statement of Faith. In Collected Papers on Simpson and the Christian and Missionary Alliance 1985-2000.
Banzhaf, Martin. “Pre-Millennialism or Pre-Messianic Age?” Global South Advance (June 2025). In reponse to the US Alliance keeping the term Premillennial in their doctrinal statement. https://globalsouthadvance.blogspot.com/2025/06/pre-millennialism-or-pre-messianic-age.html
