Basic Biblical Principles 11
There has been a concept in the religious world for many years. It is called premillennialism. Our brotherhood has mostly abandoned this concept, but there are others who still believe in its premises.
Premillennial literally means “before the millennium.” Its basic concept was that Jesus would return before the end of the second millennium. In other words, before the year 2001. In the last hundred years, there have been many predictions on when the Christ would return. ALL of them were wrong. Even trying to predict the second coming is folly, because Matthew 24:36 tells us that not even Jesus knows when it will occur.
Associated with Premillennialism are some other erroneous concepts that are far more dangerous than trying to guess when Christ will come again.
Some premillennialists believe that Jesus came to earth to start an earthly kingdom, but was rejected by the Jews. So God had to change his plans and implement the church, instead. Then Jesus would return later and begin His earthly reign. At His return, the righteous would be taken up to heaven, while those who were not worthy would remain behind to have a second chance to live right. During this 1000 year reign, the devil would be chained in the pit, where he would have no power over us. Much of this is based on a misinterpretation of Revelation 20:6-8.
Jesus did not come to start an earthly kingdom (John 18:36). He came to start a heavenly kingdom. In fact, His rejection by the Jews was due, in part, to His refusal to restore the physical throne of David. The religious leaders of that time, would have accepted Jesus as king, if He could throw the Romans out of Israel. But, these same leaders could not stand idly by while Jesus overturned their religious order, so they had Him crucified. God was not surprised by the rejection of Jesus by the Jews, He even predicted it in Psalms 118:22.
God’s plan of salvation was not modified because of the rejection of the Jews. God’s plan has been there since before the creation of the universe. 1 Peter 1:20 tells us that Jesus had a mission given to Him before the “creation of the world”. That mission was to implement God’s plan of salvation. The church is not an afterthought, but has been part of God’s plan from the beginning.
Do not be deceived, we are already living in the last age. This age began on the day of Pentecost, after Jesus ascended into heaven and it will continue until Jesus returns. Revelation 20:6-8 does not speak of a new age to come, it speaks of the age we are in now. The devil has already been bound. When Jesus rose from the grave, the devil lost much of his power over us, because we now have Jesus as our redeemer. His blood washes away our sins. Without Jesus, those sins would have condemned us to be separated from God eternally, just as Satan has been condemned.
So, what will the end of time be like? No one knows exactly how it will happen and, for sure, no one knows when. But the bible does tell us some things about the end of time. It will come like a “thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Matthew 24:5 warns us that many will claim to be the returning Christ. But, we do not have to be concerned with that, because when the real Christ returns, everyone will know it. The real Christ will return “in the clouds, and every eye will see Him” (Revelation 1:7). He will return to the sound of trumpets, with great power and glory (Matthew 24:30-31). The dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive will be caught up to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The heavens and the earth will be destroyed by fire, even the elements will be destroyed (2 Peter 3:10). Then will come the judgment, where all people on earth, living or dead, will be judged according to the life they have lived. The righteous will go to their reward, in heaven (Matthew 25:34) and the unrighteous will go to eternal punishment (Matthew 25:41).
The question we need to be asking ourselves is, “Are we ready for Christ to come?” Many of the parables of Jesus teach us about the need to be ready when the master returns. There will be no second chance.
Steve Truman