Does History Matter?
Do we realize why the early church’s position was what it was (that of historic premillennialism though not yet labeled as such)? They learned of it from the Apostles – first and secondhand!
The Jewish people expected a literal Messianic kingdom, and they should have, based upon texts like Isaiah 9:6-7 and Isaiah 11:1-6. They knew Christ was a coming King to rule on the Davidic throne upon the earth. They didn’t know when this would happen, that Christ would fulfill this at His Second Coming, not His first. He had to deal with sin at His first coming – for anyone to be a part of that future kingdom (Isaiah 53:4-6). The Apostles then verbally passed these truths – of a literal Messianic Kingdom/millennial reign – on to the early church (along with other end-time details written by John in Revelation 20).
So why do the amill/postmill camps spiritualize/allegorize the Millennium? Is Christ reigning in the Millennium now? Is He somehow reigning through the church as the Davidic Kingdom of Christ? We should look at Scripture’s progressive revelation regarding the person and work of Christ. Genesis 3:15 says Christ will bruise Satan on the head; Matthew 1:21 says Christ will deliver His people from their sin; and Revelation 20:1-3 says He will bind/crush Satan for a thousand years:
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.”
An angel, sent by God, binds Satan. What does bind mean? The angel uses a great chain to grab a hold of the dragon and put him in that abyss for a thousand years! What can’t Satan do while he is in that abyss? He cannot deceive the nations any longer! When you look out upon the earth now, what do you see? Has the deceptive influence of Satan been removed from our world?
Though there are many otherwise orthodox believers in the amillennial and postmillennial camps, they have mistakenly deviated from the early church fathers in this regard. There is clear evidence in Scripture and from the early church’s witness that the millennial kingdom must be a distinct time after the return of Christ and before the eternal state. The church has not somehow replaced their Messiah as reigning on the earth. Christ will literally reign on the earthly throne of David for one thousand years! (See Psalm 132:11)
Furthermore, we must ask ourselves if the church is a special entity separated from God’s promises to Israel. Will the church be divided from God’s dealings with Israel to such an extent that Jesus has two “Second Comings” (one at the beginning of the tribulation to rapture the church and then again at the end to establish His kingdom upon the earth)?
In Genesis 12:1-3, God promised to make Abraham into a great nation. God would bless Abraham with physical descendants and land to occupy. This prophecy was brought to light when Israel became a nation again in 1948! The Israelites had been scattered into the nations because of their sin but eventually returned to the land of Israel as promised (Amos 9:11-15; Zechariah 8:4-8; Zechariah 10:8-10). And guess what?! Gentiles (the church) also participate in this promise!
How so? Will they also go to the land of Israel to occupy it? No, this is spiritual participation. The Gentiles have been made fellow heirs with the promises to Abraham! Based upon their coming to Christ (the Seed), the church has been made partakers of the promise and grafted into Israel (Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Galatians 3:16; Romans 11:17-18). So the church does not “replace” Israel, but it also is not separated from it!
And lastly, the question – will the church (but not Israel) be removed from the earth before the Tribulation? Both 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 and 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 teach that “on THAT day” (the Day of the Lord) the church will be present for Christ’s Second Coming at the end when certain specific things are looked for and happen. In other words, THAT day is the last day in each context, and in that context, the Gentile-believing church is still present!