Thread: Will Christ Rule From Jerusalem in the Millennium?
Admin
Will Christ Rule From Jerusalem in the Millennium?
Posted : 5 Oct, 2010 05:48 PM
Isaiah 2: 2-3: "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 peopl...e 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."
Is Jerusalem in Isaiah 2: 3 the literal city of Jerusalem, or is it a metaphor? Could be be the new Jerusalem of Revelation 21: 2?
The site above says of classical dispensationalism that "After God has completed His purpose for the Church in this present dispensation/age, i.e., when the �fullness of the Gentiles� has come in (Romans 11:25-27), and has removed the Church from earth to heaven (the pretribulation rapture), He will again turn to deal with His people Israel in order to prepare her (via the Great Tribulation) for the fulfillment of the promises given in the OT. NOTE: we see, then, that according to the DP, this present Church age is a parenthesis in God�s primary redemptive purpose."
DP is Dispensational premillennialism.
Then they say:
"Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder and first president of Dallas Theological Seminary and the man most responsible for giving systematic expression to Scofield's beliefs, did not think the word "parenthesis" was strong enough to express the radical distinction between God's OT purpose for Israel and His NT purpose for the Church. Therefore, he chose to use the term "intercalation". Here is his explanation:
"In fact, the new, hitherto unrevealed purpose of God in the out calling of a heavenly people from Jews and Gentiles is so divergent with respect to the divine purpose toward Israel, which purpose preceded it and will yet follow it, that the term parenthetical, commonly employed to describe the new age purpose, is inaccurate. A parenthetical portion sustains some direct or indirect relation to that which goes before or that which follows, but the present age purpose is not thus related and therefore is more properly termed an intercalation. The appropriateness of this word will be seen in the fact that , as an interpolation is formed by inserting a word or phrase into a context, so an intercalation is formed by introducing a day or a period of time into the calendar. The present age of the Church is an intercalation into the revealed calendar or program of God as that program was foreseen by the prophets of old. Such, indeed, is the precise character of the present age" (Systematic Theology, 4:40). "
"This fulfillment of the earthly promises to His earthly people (Israel) will take place in what is called the Millennium, a period of 1,000 years following the Great Tribulation and second coming of Christ and preceding the final judgment and eternal state. Again: the present age is understood to be a parenthesis intervening between God�s covenant promise to Israel in the OT and God�s fulfillment of that promise in the millennium."
The Millennium, according to classical dispensationalism, is to be a period in which God fulfills his promises to ethnic Israel.
This site explains that "At the Lord�s second coming after the Tribulation the vast majority of Israelites who have survived that period of time will be converted to faith in Christ (Romans 11:25-27). Those who remain in unbelief will be put to death and not permitted to enter the millennium (Ezek. 20:33-38). "
"Israelites" in dispensationalism are ethnic Israelites, or Jews.
The site goes on to say "Christ now begins his millennial reign; he ascends a throne in Jerusalem and rules over a predominantly Jewish kingdom, although Gentiles share in its blessings. The subjects of Christ�s rule are primarily those Israelites and Gentiles who entered the kingdom in their natural bodies. Thus, at the beginning of the millennium there are no unregenerate/unbelieving people alive on the earth. This reign of Christ fulfills the promises made to Israel in the OT. Ryrie explains:
�The earthly purpose of Israel of which dispensationalists speak concerns the national promise which will be fulfilled by Jews during the millennium as they live on the earth in unressurrected bodies. The earthly future for Israel does not concern Israelites who die before the millennium is set up,� (Ibid, p. 146). "
"Although dissimilarities exist, the MK will see a virtual revival of much of the Mosaic and Levitical systems described in the OT. J. D. Pentecost explains (Things To Come, p. 519):
�In the millennial system we find the worship centers in an altar (Ezekiel 43:13-17) on which blood is sprinkled (43:18) and on which are offered burnt offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings (40:39). There is the re-institution of a Levitical order in that the sons of Zadok are set aside for a priestly ministry (43:19). The meal offering is incoporated in the ritual (42:13). There are prescribed rituals of cleansing for the altar (43:20-27), for the Levites who minister (44:25-27), and for the sanctuary (45:18). There will be the observance of new moon and sabbath days (46:1). Morning sacrifices will be offered daily (46:13). Perpetual inheritances will be recognized (46:16-18). The Passover feast will be observed again (45:21-25) and the feast of Tabernacles becomes an annual event (45:25). The year of jubilee is observed (46:17). There is a similarity in the regulations given to govern the manner of life, the dress, and the sustenance of the priestly order (44:15-31). This temple, in which this ministry is executed, becomes again the place from which is manifested the glory of Jehovah (43:4-5). It can thus be seen that the form of worship in the millennium."
Will Christ Rule From Jerusalem in the Millennium?
Posted : 5 Oct, 2010 05:51 PM
Note that the site http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/the-dispensational-premillennial-view-of-the-kingdom-of-god
says "Christ now begins his millennial reign; he ascends a throne in Jerusalem and rules over a predominantly Jewish ...kingdom, although Gentiles share in its blessings."
The idea of Christ ruling from a literal city of Jerusalem, either the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21: 2, or a literal Jerusalem which may not be defined, is part of dispensationalist thought and prophecy. And in dispensationalism the millennial kingdom is a "predominantly Jewish Kingdom."
The question is whether there is any support in New Testament prophecy for the idea that in the millennial kingdom Christ will rule from some form of literal city of Jerusalem. I quoted Isaiah 2: 3 above, which, in the Old Testament, says "... for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."
Paul uses Jerusalem in a metaphoric way in Galatians 4: 23-25 "But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all."
And Revelation 11:7- 8 has this to say "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."
"They" are the two witnesses. Dispensationalism, with its insistence upon a literal interpretation, would say that two men will be killed and their dead bodies will lie in the street of literal Jerusalem, that city which now exists in the nation of Israel. But - if the two witnesses are metaphoric, then Jerusalem is also metaphoric, I would think.
What is the holy city, the New Jerusalem, which John saw coming down from God out of heaven (Revelation 21: 2)? Will it be a literal city and will it have any resemblance to the present city of Jerusalem?
Christ will rule during the millennial kingdom . Whether he rules from a holy city that has some relationship to literal Jerusalem is not as important a doctrine as whether the millennial kingdom is to be predominantly Jewish. Before dispensationalism took over so much of church Christianity the idea that the millennial kingdom would be predominantly Jewish was not taught as a doctrine among Christians. I do not believe the millennial kingdom will be predominantly Jewish, and those who do may have an identity in Christ and Israel problem. That is, if you give up your status as God's chosen people (I Peter 2:9) to some other group of people, who are now not even saved for the most part, then you may have given up your identity in Christ.
Will Christ Rule From Jerusalem in the Millennium?
Posted : 5 Oct, 2010 08:32 PM
To halfback:
The Christian world is so hung up on the Jew vs. Gentile issue. I find that so difficult to believe when the scriptures are so clear on the matter. Consider the following:
Paul in chapters 9-10 of Romans spends a long time describing the Jews/Gentile situation and how things are under the New Covenant of Christ. Under the Old Covenant the Jews and the nation of Israel were God�s chosen people. They were just about the only monotheistic nation in the old world of many Gods. The truth is that God was trying to teach us, of this day, something about Christ, God and the law through the ancient nation of Israel. He was trying to teach us that man could not in himself fulfill the law and that Christ was needed to fulfill it for us. The law was not done away with but it was fulfilled in Christ who in turn wrote it on our hearts. Once the law is written on our hearts we have a new nature and sin is impossible for us as it was with Christ.
The new covenant after Christ did away completely with any distinction between Jew, Greek or Gentile. Christ dies for the world, not just for the Jews. His ministry made the foot of the cross level playing field equally available to all.
Paul, who was a Jew, recognized this even though it broke his heart. He says: �I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, and my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen�.
�But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham�s descendants, but: �THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.� That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants� (Romans 9:1-8). Therefore it is no longer the children of physical Israel who are the Sons but it becomes anyone who believes according to the covenant made between Abraham and God. Therein God reckoned righteousness to Abraham by his faith. The covenant with Abraham preceded the nation of Israel and the institution of the Law under Moses. God also told Abraham that his promise would be fulfilled to as many people as �the sands of the sea�.
God promised Abraham as follows: �Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, �I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. �I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.� Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, �As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you will be the father of a multitude of nations. �No longer shall your name be called Abram [exalted Father], But your name shall be Abraham; [Father of a multitude] For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. �I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. �I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.� (Genesis 17:1-8).
Therefore Abraham�s covenant extended not just to the nation of Israel but ultimately to ALL nations, a multitude of nations. It is through this covenant with Abraham that our salvation springs, not from the nation of Israel. Romans chapter 10 again makes this clear. Paul, as he grieves over the nation of Israel losing its favored status with God says: �Brethren, my heart�s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God�s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes� (Romans 10:1-4).
Paul explains to Israel why they lost out with god and lost their favored status. He points out that they tried to establish their own righteousness according to the Mosaic Law and did not understand the true righteousness that was revealed in Christ.
But then he goes on to say that because they rejected Christ they did not lose out because the promise was still as available to them as it was to everyone else. He says: �I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew� (Romans 11:1-2). He goes on to say: �In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God�s gracious choice. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; (Romans 11:5-7).
Paul then goes on to explain how the Gentiles are grafted in to the promise to Israel and they both become equal partakers if they accept Christ. He says: �I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their [Israel�s] transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. For if their rejection [of Christ] is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, �Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.� (Romans 11:11-19).
Paul goes on to explain that God will forgive Israel their sin of rejecting Christ just as He has forgiven the sin of the Gentiles so that all will be one. He says�From the standpoint of the gospel they [the Jews] are enemies for your [Gentiles] sake, but from the standpoint of God�s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you [Gentiles] once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:28-33).
Anyone who doubts that the nation of Israel and all Jews are no longer solely the heirs of the promise of God consider the following. Paul said: �For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God� (Romans 2:28-29). This pretty much clinches the fact that to be a Jew according to the flesh merits no favor with God any more just as God does not favor anyone, Jew or Gentile, after the flesh or nationality. His Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom and all who partake, partake not in a Kingdom of the Earth but in the Spiritual Kingdom. Thus the participants are in a sense part of a �spiritual Israel� which is not a literal place on the earth.
Revelation defines who become participants in the spiritual Kingdom of God. John says: �Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb [Christ] was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless�.
However they were not there by their own righteousness. They were there because of the blood of the Lamb Christ. John goes on: �Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, �These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?� I said to him, My lord, you know.� And he said to me, �These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. �For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.� (Revelation 7:13-17). Thus those who partake of the Kingdom are those who become clean through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and those who accept His grace. They fulfill God�s promise to Abraham. They are there because of their faith, not their race or nationality. And the temple within which they abide is not a physical temple but a spiritual temple in the Kingdom of God.
Just so it is made clear, this Kingdom does not exist just in the heavens. It is ultimately to exist here on earth, in the conjunction of the ages between the spirit and natural realms. That is why Christ told us to pray: �Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven� (Matthew 6:10).
Will Christ Rule From Jerusalem in the Millennium?
Posted : 6 Oct, 2010 02:17 PM
The educated Jews of Jesus's time thought according to prophecy they would be able to recognize the Messiah when he came, yet they missed Him. Questions like those posted are fun to discuss, but to put any stalk in the answers is the equivalent of skating on thin ice.
Will Christ Rule From Jerusalem in the Millennium?
Posted : 6 Oct, 2010 04:26 PM
The Pharisees of Christ's time were the educated group of Jews. They were in false doctrines - an early form of Talmudic Judaism - and as a result God did not give them eyes to see or ears to hear what Old Testament prophecy said about the coming of Christ.
Most seminary trained theologians and preachers are like the Pharisees. They are in false doctrines. Dispensationalism is the most popular of the false doctrines around now. But trying to follow the Bible more closely than a theology like diepensationalism will not necessary mean one will get Bible prophecy right. Its not easy.
On http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2723237.The_Rapture_Plot
"Gary DeMar(President, American Vision): "A majority of prophecy writers and speakers teach that the church will be raptured before a future tribulational period. But did you know that prior to about 1830 no such doctrine existed. No one in all of church history ever taught pretribulational rapture. Dave MacPherson does the work of a journalistic private investigator to uncover the truth. The Rapture Plot is the never-before-told, true story of the plot - how plagiarism and subtle document changes created the 'mother of all revisionisms.' A fascinating piece of detective work."
C. S. Lovett (President, Personal Christianity): You don't read very much of Dave MacPherson's work before you realize he is a dedicated researcher. Because his work has been so honest and open, his latest work, The Rapture Plothas produced many red faces among some of the most recognized rapture writers of our time. When their work is compared to his, it is embarrassing for them to see how shallow their research is."
Robert A. Morey (President, California Institute of Apologetics): "Regardless of where you land on the rapture issue, Dave MacPherson's books on the historical origins of the secret rapture doctrine are a 'must read.' His documentation seems not only in context but ruthlessly honest. I recommend The Rapture Plot...."
MacPhearson's work influenced my mentor, and so, indirectly Fearless Dave MacPhearson helped me to avoid the false doctrines in dispensationalism.
"Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem is a 7th century Syrian tract which provides a glimpse into the events that took place during its time in the Middle-East."
Pseudo-Ephraem was apparently a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
http://www.bibleprophesy.org/ancient.htm
Below is part of a sermon attributed to Pseudo-Ephraem.
"Why therefore do we not reject every care of earthly actions and prepare ourselves for the meeting of the Lord Christ, so that he may draw us from the confusion, which overwhelms all the world? Believe you me, dearest brother, because the coming (advent) of the Lord is nigh, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand, believe me, because it is the very last time. Or do you not believe unless you see with your eyes? See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of the prophet who declares: "Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!" For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins. And so, brothers most dear to me, it is the eleventh hour, and the end of the world comes to the harvest, and angels, armed and prepared, hold sickles in their hands, awaiting the empire of the Lord."
"For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins." A pretrib rapture is seen by promoters in the phrase "taken to the Lord."
"Dr. Paul Alexander, the leading authority whose book inspired the P-E claim, is portrayed in Jeffrey's book, FINAL WARNING, as "perhaps the most authoritative scholar on the writings of the early Byzantine Church." But this misleading statement, designed to make readers think that Professor Alexander supports the P-E claim, covers up the fact that this world famous scholar sees not even a smidgen of pretrib in the same Medieval writer!"
P-E is Pseudo-Ephraem.
"In fact, Alexander writes that the phrase "taken to the Lord" (which has become a bonanza for pretrib history revisionists) means "participate at least in some measure in beatitude." While Jeffrey and Ice do include this "beatitude" phrase, all P-E promoters carefully avoid revealing that the Catholic doctrine of "beatitude," according to the NEW CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, has to do with "the highest acts of virtue that can be performed in this life" - works on earth and not being raptured off earth! (Elsewhere in his sermon P-E repeats the importance of doing "penance," because of "our sins," so that church members will be "sustained" during the tribulation!)
In fact (again), Alexander has two summaries (textual and outline), in chronological order, of P-E's endtime events. And guess what. Alexander demonstrates both times that P-E saw only one future coming ("Second Coming of Christ" for the "punishment of the Antichrist") which follows (!) the great tribulation ("tribulatio magna lasting three and a half years") - claim-smashing summaries that self-serving promoters, with malice aforethought, have jointly swept under their "secret rapture" rug!"
MacPhearson on this site goes on to say that:
"I won't tell you that in 1880, a year after his Christian conversion, C. I. Scofield was in jail in St. Louis for forgery (he'd stolen his mother-in-law's life savings by means of a real estate scam; would most non-Christian crooks do this?), that after he deserted his wife and children she divorced him in 1883 and he remarried three months later and covered everything up, and that as late as 1899 he still owed thousands of dollars he'd stolen 20 years earlier and had been writing phony IOU's to keep from paying back the money!
I won't tell you that after Darby's death in 1882, the editor of his many books, William Kelly, plotted to steal credit for pretrib away from the Macdonald/Irvingite connection and give it posthumously to Darby, that he achieved this between 1889 and 1903 by changing and covering up portions of early Irvingite and Brethren documents, and that 20th century British and American publishers have conspired to continue this historical revisionism in order to enjoy phenomenal sales of pretrib rapture material!
And I won't tell you that during the past century and a half, some of the most influential pretrib rapture books, by British as well as American authors, have been filled with sloppy scholarship and, what's worse, breathtaking amounts of plagiarism and even occultic teachings mixed in with evangelical theology!
Or that my PLOT book and my later book THE THREE R'S reveal, with comparison quotes and in more or less chronological order, embarrassing plagiarism in writings by John Darby, Joseph Seiss, E. W. Bullinger, Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, Merrill Unger, Jerry Falwell, Ed Dobson, Ed Hindson, Charles Ryrie, David Jeremiah, C. C. Carlson, Paul Tan, Chuck Missler, and Jack Van Impe, for starters!
Finally, let me say that although I've been researching rapture roots more than 30 years now, I've been into computers only a relatively short time. The discovery of the extent to which misinformation about the pretrib origin has been circling the earth at computer speed still boggles my mind!"
"But as I've shown, many pretrib publishers are a far cry from Thomas Nelson. Their bottom line consists of three things: money, money, and money! They don't care that pretrib is less than 200 years old and that it didn't take over American evangelicalism much before "Doctor" Scofield's Bible in 1909! They don't care that the late Corrie ten Boom stated in a published article that pretrib leaders are "the false teachers Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days."
