A Study of Premillennialism      #5

“ THE "    Proof   text

INTRO:

Our previous lessons have been designed to more or less give a positive approach to the question of the "end time to become aware of and identify the TRUE people of God, and seek to understand the typical nature of much of the teaching of the Old Testament. We have also tried to describe the "mindset" of the millennialists, who basically looks at the Bible as though HE alone can understand It, and sets forth arbitrary rules of interpretation which contradict both themselves and the rest of the Bible, The two VALID rules of interpretation which he ignores are: 1) If there Is a group of passages dealing with the same time and circumstances, and ONE (or more) of them is positively identified BY SCRIPTURE as referring to a SPECIFIC time, then that Is the TIME for them all.... 2) The obscure, more difficult passages must be understood in the light of those that are simple and clear. Rather than offer further examples of GOD'S interpretation of the O. T. by the new (and there are literally hundreds), we devote this final lesson to the proof text to end all proof texts,

Revelation 20:1-8:

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him Into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed for a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

Despite the fact that the setting of this passage is in a book which is full of visions and signs, that was even begun with the expressed intent of "sign-i-fying" Hs message; despite the fact that even within the immediate context there are numerous figurative expressions (admitted by even the most rabid among them); and despite the CLEAR teaching of the rest of the Bible regarding the NATURE and TIME of Christ's Messianic kingdom, they skip over all the N.T. claims of the fulfillment of God's O.T. promises, and make THIS text the CLEAR promise of a "millennial" reign of Christ on earth, from the city of Jerusalem, on the throne of David, to begin at his second coming, and to continue for a thousand years.

The first thing to observe is the obvious fact that the passage describes times and events which are hard to determine—which fact alone should merit caution. Sometimes, we are not so much able to arrive definitively at what a passage DOES teach, but we can rule out, based upon other information and clear Bible teaching, some of the things it DOES NOT teach, it is much easier to treat Rev. 20 in this fashion, especially regarding the fanciful Interpretation given by the pre-millennialists—what they teach is in clear conflict with the N.T. interpretation of the Messianic hope and kingdom. The careful Bible student freely grants the uncertainty of ANY conclusion regarding ft, and can at best offer some established truths which limit our understanding of its message.

1. SOME THINGS NOT FOUND IN REV. 20:

-The second coming of Jesus Christ

-a BODILY resurrection

-a reign ON EARTH

-the literal THRONE OF DAVID

-Jerusalem or Palestine

-us

-Christ on earth

Yet, despite all these  ”omissions “ men still persist in teaching that this passage clearly shows  " an earthly reign of Christ in Jerusalem for a millennium!

2. NOW, SOME PASSAGES (PRINCIPLES) CONTRADICTED BY THE MILLENNIAL POSITION ON REV. 20:

a) The claim of TWO BODILY RESURRECTIONS (one for righteous, a thousand-year age, and THEN the resurrection of the WICKED.. Contradicted by Christ affirmation that ALL will be raised the same hour.

Jno 5:23-29-"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, In the which ALL that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.."

b) The claim that signs of Mt. 24 precede the end, and announce the "rapture" and the

second coming…Contradicted by Mt. 24:34— “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled..."

c) The claim that the 2nd coming of Christ ushers in the millennial kingdom (messianic)...Contradicted by Christ's promise... “ There be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God come with power…”  Mk 9:1

d) Their claim that the kingdom is yet future Is contradicted by Col 1:13, 14—'God had delivered us from the power of darkness end translated us into the kingdom of his dear son.; Heb 12:28— “whereby we, receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved…”  and Rev 1:9, where John speaks as a “brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ..."

e) The claim that the kingdom will be set up at the second coming of Christ contradicts 1 Cor 15:23-24-- 'But every man In his own order; Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father...

f) The claim that Christ will come down to earth to receive the throne of David, contradicted by Dan. 7:13, 14, 'I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed…”

g) The claim that there will be another age after the gospel age is contradicted by the assertion Heb 1:1, 2; Acts 2:17-that we are NOW living In the LAST days...

h) The claim that he will REIGN in the future, but serve as PRIEST now, contradicted Zech 6:12, 13, which
teaches that he will be priest at the same time he Is king!                                         

I)   The claim that He will rule on the earth at some future time Is contradicted as well by the fact that he will be both PRIEST and KING on his throne. Heb. 8:4 says, 'if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing there are priests that offer gifts according to the law… *

We may not be able to offer an explanation of Rev 20:1-6, which satisfies all, but WHATEVER it teaches, it must not contradict the above principles! Actually, a reasonable meaning may be attached to the passage which DOES NOT conflict with clear Bible truth.

1. There is no question that the offering of Christ, and His continuing Lordship over His body, has severely restricted Satan and His power-1 Cor 10:13; Rev 12:1-1-3; Eph 4:8-11, etc. Now, men can "overcome him by the word of their testimony.." Thus, to that extent he Is "bound"...There is also no doubt that NOW Christians "reign" with

Christ in some sense:

-Kings and priests now- Ex. 19:6; Rev 1:6

-Reign in life through righteousness - ROM 5:17

-Reign with apostles -1 Cor 4:8

-Reign by righteous judgment - 1 Cor 6:2, 3

-Reign by enduring —2 Tim 2:12;

-Reign by overcoming- Rev 3:21

-Ruling over the nations-Rev 2:25-26

CHRIST REIGNS NOW!    CHRISTIANS REIGN NOW!

CONCLUSION:

It is claimed that WHATEVER view we take of matters dealt with in this series, it is harmless, and the widest latitude should be given those with contrary ideas. How can a doctrine be harmless when it plainly denies so many clear statements of God's revelation, and is so destructive of God's true purpose.

-It nullifies this age as the "last days"

-it rejects Christ as Messianic king now

-it logically removes the Gentiles from God's plan now (since their inclusion was to be coexistent with the Messianic kingdom)

-In claiming that Christ's mission the FIRST time was to set up the kingdom, it negates the need for the blood of Christ, and minimizes the plan of salvation...

-it gives undue importance to this fleshly life, and this material world, accounting that God sent Christ to set up ANOTHER earthly kingdom, purged of all the problems and imperfections in those that have gone on before.

-It ignores the divine purpose of the development of a people for God's possession through the church, and makes God's promise to Abraham superseded His concern for all the rest of humanity...

-Claims that there are two FUTURE hopes for God's children:

                                  1) A 7-year "rapture", succeeded by a 1000 years of paradise on earth

2) An eternal life in heaven, which follows this earthly paradise We say again, the TRUE hope of Israel rests in the gospel, offering redemption and freedom from guilt, and promising an eternal home with God in heaven. Whatever dims that promise, and relegates the provisions made for forgiveness to a secondary role, IS NOT HARMLESS!

As it is with EVERY false idea, intellectual integrity is being tested by such teaching and teachers. While man may NEVER fully know the meaning of many Bible passages, he has been given numerous guidelines within which he will not stumble by staying....Despite our inclination to require that everything be explained in a way to suit us, there still is no doubt that:

-The kingdom of O.T. prophecy is the kingdom Christ gained at his resurrection

-The sacrifice he made on earth was CENTRAL to its establishment, and thus the basis of ALL O.T. promises

made regarding it...

-Christ reigns NOW; his people reign NOW, and the Messianic kingdom exists NOW...

-The present reign of Christ will continue until the end of these days, at which time he will return to speak the dead from the graves, and return the kingdom to God

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