Sunday, October 26, 2008 pm
PREMILLENIALISM
EXAMINED (7)
The Thousand Year Reign of Christ
We have
been studying the theory of premillenialism in detail, noting
various pillars and aspects of the doctrine and exposing why it is
false. Every element of the
theory involves the twisting of scripture and taking various texts out
of their context. Today, we
reach the culmination of this study by addressing the 1000 year reign of
Christ. That is what it is
all about.
I.
The Theory Described
a.
The thousand year reign of
the Lord Jesus Christ on earth at the close of the ages seems to be the
most obvious choice for what can be considered to be the Great Climax of
World History. This is because it presents Christ as absolute King and
Lord over all Creation. It is a time when all nations and rulerships
will have to acknowledge His authority, power, and deity.
The Millennium will be
the only time in world history when the entire population of the world
will know of and be governed by the Lord Jesus Christ. The events of
this final thousand years have never been experienced before and will
never be repeated on this present earth again.
There is a need for
such a period so that the prophecies regarding Israel and their
blessings can be fulfilled. It is not possible for them to be fully
blessed as the Scriptures describe until that day when their Messiah,
the Lord Jesus Christ, reigns from Jerusalem. Such a Millennium is
predicted by many of the prophets including Isaiah, Daniel, Micah, and
Zechariah:
NOTE: The premise of the need for Him to reign is that O.T.
prophecies have not been fulfilled.
The ones quoted with the above statement include: Isaiah 9:6,
65:19-25; Daniel 7:13-14; Micah 4:1-8; Zechariah 14:3-9, Isa. 2:2-4
It will also include the church (Rev. 2:26-27, 3:21, 5:10, 20:4)
and possibly OT saints (Ezek. 37:11-14).
http://www.lwbc.co.uk/millennial_reign_of_christ.htm
(Living Word Bible Church)
b.
In an article entitled, “The
Millennial Reign of Christ” written by Jack Hughes, we find a
description of what is supposed to happen.
This article explains that Christ has “a universal reign, a
spiritual reign, and a physical earthly reign.”
Distinction is made between these three.
The universal reign is based upon the deity of Christ.
In this article He is described as, “one of the three members of
the triune Godhead or Trinity.” As a result it is pointed out that any
reference to God’s rule, especially before His birth, “is a reference to
Christ’s rule.” The point is
that He ruled all of creation.
Passages like Psalm 10:16, 22:28, “for the kingdom is the Lord’s
and he rules over the nations,”
etc. point to His eternal rule.
The point being that “God has, is, and will forever reign over
all creation.” This includes
Christ. (I agree with this reign).
Second is His spiritual reign, “The New Testament teaches that
Christ is spiritually reigning over the lives of those who know and love
Him.” I agree with this
reign as well (cf. Col. 1:13).
It is noted, “When the Gospel is preached and people repent,
believe, and are saved, they become citizens of the kingdom.
They become the subjects of Christ.
Even though Christ is not literally ruling and reigning on earth
at this time, yet His kingdom is growing as the subjects of His kingdom
are increasing.” HOWEVER in the article it is pointed out that Jesus
offered this reign to the Jews, but He never “ruled and reigned from
Jerusalem. He has never
proven himself to be the King of kings.”
Thus the need for another rule.
The article then proceeds to describe the future physical reign
of Christ noting that after the 7 years of tribulation “Jesus will come
a second time to earth” as King of kings and Lord of lords, etc.
“He will enter physically into time, space, and history where He
will prove to angels, demons, and men that He is the King of kings, not
only in title but in deed.”
He proceeds to describe the 1000 year reign using passages like
Dan. 2:44, Isa. 2:2-4, 11:6-9, 65:20, etc.
Finally, Rev. 20:1-7 is quoted as the passage which defines the
timeframe of 1000 years.
http://www.calvarybiblechurch.org/calvary_review.aspx/2003/11/1
A website maintained by Calvary Baptist Church in Burbank, CA.
c.
This
article pretty much summarizes the 1000 year reign of Christ from a
premillenial perspective and notes some of the passages and arguments
used to substantiate it. BUT
what does the Bible say?
II.
Examining the 1000 year reign of Christ
a.
Figurative
language of the text –
i.
The
figurative message of the book. We have continued to notice the
spiritual message of this book.
It is CLEAR that much of what is written is SYMBOLIC (See Rev.
1:1-2). This includes the
numbers in this book, as we have noted.
b.
The Number
1000 in other texts
i.
Deut. 7:9
ii.
Psalm
50:10
iii.
Psalm
105:8
iv.
2 Peter
3:8, with the Lord, a thousand years is as one day.
v.
The number
represents a perfect (full and complete) period of time in which the
righteous who overcame the dragon (Satan) and his minions (beasts,
harlot, etc.) reign with Christ
vi.
Why is
1000 years literal, but other elements figurative? Satan bound (with a
chain), bottomless pit, a dragon, a physical seal upon Satan, beheaded
souls, etc.
c.
What the
text does NOT mention
i.
The second
coming of Christ
ii.
Christ
reigning on earth
iii.
A bodily
resurrection – note what John saw was “souls” (20:4).
iv.
The
literal throne of David
v.
Physical
Jerusalem!
vi.
Us, the
text says “they lived and reigned with Him.”
The “they” is described as the martyred saints mentioned above.
The grammatical context describes this as an act (aorist tense) which is
“represented as certain or realized” (Indicative mood - Wheeler’s Greek
Syntax Notes). It is portrayed as a fact.
This text is fulfillment of Rev. 6:9-11 where souls under that
altar are crying for vengeance.
Now they have it.
Note differences:
|
The Avenging of the Saints |
|
|
Rev. 6:9-11 |
Rev. 20:4 |
|
Souls of the slain |
Souls of the beheaded |
|
Underneath the altar |
Sitting on thrones |
|
Crying for judgment |
Given judgment |
|
Scene of defeat |
Scene of victory |
vii.
The text
IS dealing with the suffering saints of the book!
Any relevant interpretation must keep that in mind.
d.
The nature
of the kingdom STILL under consideration
i.
Spiritual
– Christ now reigning and will until 2nd coming – 1 Cor.
15:22-28, Heb. 10:12-13, Acts 2:30-31, etc.
We have noted many passages referring to kingdom – Rom. 14:17,
John 18:36, etc.
ii.
We are
reigning with Christ NOW!
Eph. 2:5-6, Rev. 5:9-10, Rom. 5:17
e.
Satan HAS
been bound – Matt. 12:28-29, Heb. 2:14-15, Eph. 4:8;
1 Pet. 5:8-9, Jas 4:7 – we can resist him.
1 Cor. 10:13 – we CAN escape.
f.
What about
OT prophecies previously mentioned?
i.
We have
noted how the contexts point to the time of the Roman Empire when Christ
would establish His kingdom.
That is one reason many refer to the failure of Jesus to establish His
kingdom when He came (they don’t call it that, but what else is it?).
They see the fulfillment of the descriptions of the kingdom as
being literal and physical.
That is why they conclude Christ MUST come back to earth.
ii.
Here is a
thought? What if Rev. 20:4-6
were NOT in scripture? One
commentator observes that if these verses were omitted, “no
one would ever have dreamed of a literal thousand years of Christ’s
reign upon the earth…Yet, whole systems of eschatology, theology, and
philosophy of history have been constructed on this precarious basis of
highly symbolical verses.” (Ray Summers, p. 203).
The point is that because of Rev. 20, Premillenialists have run to
numerous Old Testament prophecies (like the ones being discussed here)
which deal with the spiritual kingdom of Christ and declared them
unfulfilled because they are looking for a physical kingdom on this
earth. And to do this they
have to make Rev. 20 literal, at LEAST the part about the 1000 years!
g.
What is
the message of this text?
The wicked who troubled the saints to whom this letter was written were
overcome and defeated FOREVER (note the beast and false prophet were
cast into the lake of fire, i.e. hell).
Satan’s power was restricted – he was put on a leash.
While the physical kingdom of Rome fell, the kingdom of God
(spiritually) continues to this day and will do so until He returns.
The godly who overcame the enemies of God in this book are
rewarded with being comforted with Christ and that for which they
faithfully stood remains, while those defeated and overcome by
Christ and His saints do NOT live on, i.e. the kingdom of Rome in
Revelation is NO more(will not live for the 1000 years).
NOTE: At the end of this timeframe, which we have established as a
figurative number, ALL will arise to stand before God in judgment,
INCLUDING those defeated by our Lord that are addressed in this letter.
John 5:28-29.
h.
Why bring
Christ back to earth?
And thus we can see
that like everything else about premillenialism, this is false and NOT
the proper interpretation of scripture.
In an article written to refute “The Millennial Reign of Christ”
we find the following conclusion dealing with the fascination of this
doctrine. It says, “Much
of the ‘Left Behind’ ideology presumes that because of events in the
Middle East today this is the last generation before the rapture.
Christians are exhorted in scripture to be ready for the end,
which may come at any time.
But the idea that this is the last generation invests in us and our
time, a sense of self-inflated importance that is not appropriate for
biblical faith.” I say
AMEN! Rather then trusting
in a fanciful theory, let us simply trust in His word.
Christ will come at the appointed time and we BETTER be ready.
Are you?