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Premillennialism and the
Bible
by Jefferson David Tant
Our nation
was shocked, saddened and angered on September
11, 2001 by the events that transpired in
our nation—the cold-blooded murder
of thousands. And people wonder, why this
hatred, why this insane rage? A few days
after the atrocities, I spent some time
talking with a peaceful Islamic young woman
from Bangladesh that my wife and I have
befriended. She asked me the same question,
and although she understood some of it,
there was a part of it concerning which
she had no clue. She has been threatened,
with a bloody ax drawn on her whiteboard,
and hateful things shouted at her and her
friends.
Why
do they hate us?
Although there are various underlying causes,
two principal things stand out.
(1) On May
14, 1948, the U.N. basically established
Israel as a Jewish state, and Palestinians
were driven out of their homeland. I understand
many Palestinians still live in refugee
camps 50 years later. This has not set well
with Palestinians and their Arab neighbors,
most of whom are Muslims. Two of our presidents,
Truman & Carter, strongly supported
Premillennial views, and thus have strongly
supported Israel against the claims of the
disenfranchised Palestinians. Thus the hatred
for the Israelis, who have not always been
good neighbors, also spills over to the
US. (And the Palestinians have not always
been good neighbors, either.) The Jewish
and Premillennial influence upon our congress
continues to shape our foreign policy, which
is viewed as anti-Arab, and thus anti-Muslim.
(2) A second
matter has to do with US forces in Saudi
Arabia. This is where Mohammed is buried,
and where two of Islam’s holiest sites
are—Medina and Mecca. The radical Muslims,
such as Osama bin Ladin, believe that no
infidel should set foot in this holy land.
Thus, even though Osama is a Saudi, he has
denounced the Crown Prince for allowing
the infidel Americans to have troops there.
So he has vowed to drive them out by whatever
means of force he can.
Now, what is Premillennialism?
No two groups teach exactly alike, but all
have major points of agreement.
(1) The kingdom of the Old Testament prophecies
has not been established, and we now have
the “church phase.”
(2) God’s promises to Abraham to make
his seed a great nation are not yet fulfilled
(3) Christ came to set up his kingdom, but
he was thwarted in this, so set up the church
instead, intending to return later to set
up his kingdom.
(4) The Jews as a nation will be converted
and restored to Palestine.
(5) Christ will return to earth, establish
his kingdom, and reign for 1,000 years on
David’s literal throne in Jerusalem.
There are many other factors,
but these are the core ideas that drive
Premillennialism.
Thus this theory drives the US government
to prop up Israel so that we might help
God fulfill his purpose. Nearly every protestant
denomination is infested with this teaching—some
more so than others. This is a part of the
doctrines of Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist,
Jehovah’s Witness, Church of God and
Seventh Day Adventist denominations, etc.
Radio and TV preachers daily send this error
into the homes of the unwary, and thus lead
them astray. Some, such as the Jehovah’s
Witnesses, send people into homes and further
spread this erroneous doctrine. Ergo, we
need to understand the Bible, lest we also
be misled, and so that we can help others
to a correct understanding.
PREMILLENNIALISM TEACHES
THAT GOD HAS GUARANTEED TO RESTORE THE ISRAELITES
TO PALESTINE, AND THAT NOT UNTIL THEN WILL
THE KINGDOM OF OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY BE
SET UP OR ESTABLISHED
Premillennialism teaches that the Jews never
occupied all the land God promised to them.
Therefore, the Old Testament kingdom of
Israel will have to be restored with the
Jews in Palestine, so that God’s promise
can be redeemed and fulfilled. But God’s
Word says they did receive the full promise.
“So Jehovah gave
unto Israel all the land which he sware
to give unto their fathers; and they possessed
it, and dwelt therein” (Joshua 21:43).
Premillennialism teaches that
Abraham’s descendants are “in
the flesh” rather than “in faith.”
But note that the gospel teaches that there
is now no more distinction between Jew and
Gentile in God’s sight, but that the
true descendant of Abraham is the Christian.
In writing of the new relationship that
we have with God, the apostle Paul wrote
“For he is not
a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is
that circumcision which is outward in
the flesh” (Romans 2:28-29).
The point is carried further
in Galatians 3:7:
“Know therefore
that they that are of faith, the same
are sons of Abraham?”
And later in the chapter
he writes:
“For ye are all
sons of God, through faith, in Christ
Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ did put on Christ. There can
be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be
neither bond nor free, there can be no
male and female; for ye all are one [man]
in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ's,
then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according
to promise” (26-29).
Paul clearly points out that
the true sons of God are now related by
a spiritual connection, not by being born
into a Jewish family.
MOST PREMILLENNIALISTS TEACH
THAT CHRIST INTENDED TO SET UP HIS KINGDOM
WHILE ON EARTH, BUT THE JEWS WOULD NOT ALLOW
HIM TO DO SO. ERGO HE RETURNED TO THE FATHER,
SET UP THE CHURCH AS A SUBSTITUTE, AND WHEN
THE JEWS ARE READY, HE WILL RETURN AND ESTABLISH
THE ORIGINAL KINGDOM
But look at John 6:15:
“Jesus therefore
perceiving that they were about to come
and take him by force, to make him king,
withdrew again into the mountain himself
alone.”
Actually, the Jews wanted
an earthly kingdom, and tried to help Christ
establish it. But the Premillennial theory
denies this.
We see in Ephesians 3:10-11
that the church was in the eternal purpose
of God, and not a mere “afterthought”
or “substitute.” God has revealed
his will “to the intent that now unto
the principalities and the powers in the
heavenly places might be made known through
the church the manifold wisdom of God, according
to the eternal purpose which he purposed
in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Do you see
the point? The existence of the church was
“according to the eternal purpose”
of God. Yet Premillennialism denies this,
saying the church would not have been set
up if the Jews had only received the kingdom
when Christ came.
Note John 17:4:
"I glorified thee
on the earth, having accomplished the
work which thou hast given me to do."
Here Jesus claims he accomplished
the mission of the Father as prophesied
in many Old Testament passages. One of them
is Dan. 2:44. As Daniel is interpreting
the dream of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar,
he describes the four world kingdoms that
succeed one another. The fourth kingdom
was to be the great Roman Empire. Look at
what Daniel said by inspiration from God:
“And in the days
of those kings shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom which shall never be
destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof
be left to another people; but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
God says that during the Roman
Empire, his kingdom would be established.
Christ said he fulfilled what he was given
to do. But Premillennialism denies this,
claiming Christ failed in his mission. Question:
If Christ failed the first time, what would
keep him from failing the second, third
or fourth time?
If he has all power, but didn’t have
enough power to overcome Satan then, where
will he get more power to overcome the next
time?
PREMILLENNIALISM TEACHES
THAT THE RIGHTEOUS DEAD WILL BE RAISED WHEN
CHRIST RETURNS, AND THAT THE UNRIGHTEOUS
DEAD WILL BE RAISED AT THE END OF HIS REIGN,
AT LEAST 1000 YRS LATER
There are some serious problems with this
idea, and John 5:28-29 points out one such
problem.
“Marvel not at
this: for the hour cometh, in which all
that are in the tombs 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 judgment.”
Christ says all will hear,
and all will come forth when the hour (not
two hours) cometh. But Premillennialism
denies this, separating the coming forth
by one thousand years.
Matt. 25:31-34, 41 teach that
the good and bad are to be judged at the
same time.
“But when the
Son of man shall come in his glory, and
all the angels with him, then shall he
sit on the throne of his glory: and before
him shall be gathered all the nations:
and he shall separate them one from another,
as the shepherd separateth the sheep from
the goats; and he shall set the sheep
on his right hand, but the goats on the
left. Then shall the King say unto them
on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of
my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world…Then
shall he say also unto them on the left
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
the eternal fire which is prepared for
the devil and his angels.”
Does the picture presented
here allow a thousand years between? In
no way. But the Premillennial view separates
the judgments by one thousand years.
The Premillennialist counters by saying
that Matthew 25 refers only to Gentiles
and not Jews, therefore there is not one
judgment. But Jesus made the gospel for
all nations.
“Go ye therefore,
and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them into the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
(Matt, 28:19).
If the Premillennial theory
is true, the gospel is only for Gentiles
now, and not for all. Thus we see how Premillennialism
tries to patch up its contradiction with
one passage and winds up contradicting another,
and so it is with all false prophets.
We are taught in Revelation 1:7 that when
Christ returns, every eye will see him.
“Behold, he cometh
with the clouds; and every eye shall see
him, and they that pierced him; and all
the tribes of the earth shall mourn over
him.”
Premillennialism says that
when Christ comes only the righteous shall
see him first, and the unrighteous later.
But this verse says that every eye shall
see his return. Which shall we believe?
PREMILLENNIALISM TEACHES
THAT AFTER THE 2ND COMING, CHRIST AND HIS
SAINTS WILL REIGN OVER ALL THE EARTH FOR
1000 YRS.
They read in Revelation 20 a one thousand
year reign.
“And I saw an
angel coming down out of heaven, having
the key of the abyss and a great chain
in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon,
the old serpent, which is the Devil and
Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
and cast him into the abyss, and shut
it, and sealed it over him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, until the
thousand years should be finished: after
this he must be loosed for a little time.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,
and judgment was given unto them: and
I saw the souls of them that had been
beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and
for the word of God, and such as worshipped
not the beast, neither his image, and
received not the mark upon their forehead
and upon their hand; and they lived, and
reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The rest of the dead lived not until the
thousand years should be finished. This
is the first resurrection. Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: over these the second death
hath no power; but they shall be priests
of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with him a thousand years” (Rev.
20:1-6).
This is the foundation passage of the P.
theory:
“It is on this passage
that the whole doctrine of the millennium
as such has been founded. It is true that
there are elsewhere in the scriptures
abundant promises that the gospel will
ultimately spread over the world; but
the notion of a millennium as such is
found in this passage alone” (Albert
Barnes, noted Presbyterian commentator).
I don’t propose to unravel
all the mystery of the passage, but consider
this: Premillennials admit that many expressions
in the chapter are figurative and symbolical
and cannot be taken literally, but they
insist on a literal one thousands years.
The advocates of the theory read many things
into the passage that absolutely are not
there. Consider the fact that in the passage
there is:
a. No mention of second coming
b. No mention of a bodily resurrection
c. No mention of a reign on earth
d. No mention of a literal throne of David
e. No mention of Jerusalem or Palestine
f. No mention of us
g. No mention of Christ on earth
When theorists read into the passage things
that are not there, they add to the Word
of God, and are rewarded accordingly.
“I testify unto
every man that heareth the words of the
prophecy of this book, if any man shall
add unto them, God shall add unto him
the plagues which are written in this
book: and if any man shall take away from
the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part from the
tree of life, and out of the holy city,
which are written in this book” (Rev.
22:18-19).
Another Scripture that gives
these mistaken teachers a problem is I Thessalonians
4:17. The apostle Paul is writing concerning
some false conceptions the readers had about
the Lord’s return, and assures them:
“For this we say
unto you by the word of the Lord, that
we that are alive, that are left unto
the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise
precede them that are fallen asleep. For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven,
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead
in Christ shall rise first; then we that
are alive, that are left, shall together
with them be caught up in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall
we ever be with the Lord” (15-17).
These verses clearly teach
that those in the graves will be caught
up together with the saved of those alive
to meet the Lord in the air, and thus ever
to be with the Lord. It does not say one
word about Christ ever setting foot on this
earth, or the saints returning to the earth.
But Premillennialism teaches a round trip,
saying these shall return to the earth to
reign after a short time.
In John 18:36, we see that the Jews in Christ’s
time clearly expected an earthly kingdom,
with the promised Messiah reigning in the
flesh. They hoped he would raise an army,
throw off the yoke of Rome and make Israel
a great nation again, as it was in the days
of David and Saul. When Pilate was questioning
Jesus about the charges made against him
that he was a king, Christ responded by
saying,
“My kingdom is
not of this world: if my kingdom were
of this world, then would my servants
fight, that I should not be delivered
to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not
from hence.”
This verse shows that Christ
was not anticipating an early rule or an
earthly kingdom, and therefore the charges
against him were mistaken. If they were
mistaken, the modern theorists are also
mistaken.
Peter says that the events on Pentecost—the
preaching of the gospel and the establishment
of the church or kingdom—ushered in
a dispensation known as the last days. In
responding to the charge that the apostles
were drunk, Peter states
“but this is that
which hath been spoken through the prophet
Joel: And it shall be in the last days,
saith God, I will pour forth of My Spirit
upon all flesh: And your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, And your young
men shall see visions, And your old men
shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:16-17).
Thus the age of the last
days is not a period of time in the future,
and this does not allow the Premillennial
idea of an age on earth to follow this present
age.
Jeremiah. 22:30 deals a deathblow to the
Premillennial theory. Let’s read the
context (24-30) as God is warning King Coniah
that he is the last of the lineage of David
that would ever sit on a throne ruling in
Judah.
“As I live, saith
Jehovah, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim
king of Judah were the signet upon my
right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
and I will give thee into the hand of
them that seek thy life, and into the
hand of them of whom thou art afraid,
even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king
of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
And I will cast thee out, and thy mother
that bare thee, into another country,
where ye were not born; and there shall
ye die. But to the land whereunto their
soul longeth to return, thither shall
they not return. Is this man Coniah a
despised broken vessel? is he a vessel
wherein none delighteth? wherefore are
they cast out, he and his seed, and are
cast into the land which they know not?
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of
Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah, Write ye
this man childless, a man that shall not
prosper in his days; for no more shall
a man of his seed prosper, sitting upon
the throne of David, and ruling in Judah.”
What is the significance of
this prophecy? Christ cannot occupy a throne,
ruling in Jerusalem in Judah, since he is
of the lineage of David and of the tribe
of Judah. The first chapter of Matthew goes
to great lengths to prove Christ’s
genealogy. Now, if Coniah was the last of
David’s seed to sit on a throne in
Judah, there is no way that those who teach
Premillennialism can get Christ to sit on
David’s throne and rule for a thousand
years in Jerusalem. God
says it won’t happen! Rather,
Christ is now King of kings and Lord of
lords, ruling from heaven.
“I charge thee
in the sight of God, who giveth life to
all things, and of Christ Jesus, who before
Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession;
that thou keep the commandment, without
spot, without reproach, until the appearing
of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in its
own times he shall show, who is the blessed
and only Potentate, the King of kings,
and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality,
dwelling in light unapproachable; whom
no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom
be honor and power eternal. Amen”
(I Tim 6:13-16).
Notice that this speaks of
Christ’s reigning in the present tense,
not in the future as the Premillennial theory
would have us believe.
CONCLUSION
These are not all, but just a few of the
glaring contradictions between Premillennialism
and the Bible. Let us not be misled by materialistic,
Christ-dethroning and Scripture-denying
theories and speculations of men. But let
us serve him who is now King of kings, who
is reigning over his kingdom, and preparing
a place for his people. (John 14:1-3) By
serving him now, we will be prepared for
the judgment to come. "And inasmuch
as it is appointed unto men once to die,
and after this cometh judgment” (Heb
9:27). There will be no second chance—this
will happen once.
Jefferson David Tant
11550 Strickland Road
Roswell, GA 30076-1228
Jdtant3@simplychristians.org
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