I'm stealing a post from brother Benincasa over in the Eschatology section for discussion here:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evang.Benincasa
Luke 1:33 is a prophecy concerning the Christ, and that His kingdom would endure through the ages. There are some who believe that Jesus will be crowned and rule only sometime is the distant future, but only for a small temporary time of one thousand years. Now, Luke 1:33 isn't just quoting an Old Testament verse, but a plethora of verses from the Old Testament which was an idea concerning the fulfillment of the Messianic plan of God.
Daniel 2:44
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
Daniel 7:13-14
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 7:18 Helpful? Yes No
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’
Daniel 7:27
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.
Psalm 45:6
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
Psalm 89:35-37
Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
There is no such idea in the Old Testament which points to a temporary kingdom of only one thousand years.
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Remarks:
1. As noted in my thread on
The Son of Man, click here Daniel 7 is a vision depicting firstly the Messiah's ascension to power and enthronement as King (which was fulfilled in the events surrounding His death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, through the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, and culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem), and secondly the saints' reception of the kingdom as co-heirs with Messiah, which occurs simultaneously with Christ's ascension to the throne since we are spiritually seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Also, as noted in that same thread (I think?) this dominion being given to the saints manifests through a process in the earthly realm "in this life". That is to say, the kingdom reality works itself out in the church as the church develops and matures. It is working towards a climax and consummation, which brings me to the next several points.
2. The Millennium, as depicted in Revelation chapter 20, is unfortunately viewed by many as being the extent of "the kingdom". That is to say, a great many, being poisoned by the errors of dispensationalism in particular and futurism in general, are under the (false) impression that Jesus is "yet to be crowned", that the saints have no dominion at present and will not until the Millennium commences, and that the Millennium constitutes essentially the entirety of the "reign of the saints" in the Plan of God. This is unfortunate, upon which my next point will expand.
3. The Millennium is a vision contained within the Apocalypse, as part of a series of visions, representing spiritual truths in symbolic form. It comprises, in actuality, a small part of the visions of the Revelation. The Millennium begins with the destruction of the beast and false prophet and the binding of the dragon in the bottomless pit, and lasts until the loosing of the dragon and the final battle with the forces of "Gog and Magog", climaxing in the final judgment of all mankind. The Millennium thus has a beginning and an end, within the vision. HOWEVER, it is an error to identify the Millennium with the reign of the saints, en toto.
4. The Millennium comes to an end, but there is no indication the saints then cease to rule and reign. It is therefore erroneous to limit the rule of the saints to the strict boundaries of the Millennium period.
The Millennium is therefore simply one particular phase of the kingdom in which the saints reign.
5. In the beginning of the Revelation, it is said:
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
(Revelation 1:4-6)
According to the apostle John, Christ has already made His saints "kings and priests unto God". The saints are already reigning, because they have been made kings.
It is therefore erroneous to identify the beginning of the reign of the saints with the beginning of the Millennium. The Millennium is not co-extensive with the kingdom, or the reign of the saints, either in regards to the start, or the end. Again, the Millennium is simply one particular phase of the reign of the saints. Therefore, the Millennium is simply one particular phase of the Kingdom. It is not the Kingdom in and of itself. The Kingdom is not the Millennium, and neither is the Millennium the Kingdom. The Kingdom contains within itself the Millennium, which is actually a small part of the Kingdom.
6. Whether you are premillennialist (as I am) or postmillennialist, it is an error to swallow the Kingdom, or the reign of the saints, into the Millennium, so as to imply that there is no reign of the saints until the Millennium.
We need to understand that we have been made kings and priests unto God, and that this is a present reality. And because it is a present reality, that will extend and grow and increase into the future, it follows that if we fail to do our royal and priestly duty NOW, we will forfeit the opportunity to fulfill any future royal and priestly duties. Jesus taught that faithful execution of responsibilities when they are small, and in their beginning stages, is required for promotion to greater responsibility and authority (
Luke 16:10-12). Therefore, we must conclude that we are, at present, in
a testing phase in which we have been committed a certain amount of spiritual authority as kings and priests. And, that unless we faithfully execute those duties and responsibilities, and faithfully exercise that authority, we will not be given more. But, on the other hand, if we do fulfill our duties, and exercise our authority properly, we will enjoy a future expansion of that authority and corresponding responsibility.
7. The Scripture presents the Millennium as a period in which earthly governments (the nations) are submitted to the authority of God via the reign of the righteous saints of God. According to the vision, there is no rebellion against the Kingdom of God going on during that time. Since (as anyone can clearly see) that condition does not exactly and literally prevail at present, people make the erroneous conclusion that there is no reigning of the saints at present. This is error. Before the nations will be submitted to the righteous in such a way as to correspond to the conditions described by the Millennium,
the saints must exercise the present reign they have been given.
8. The present reign of Christ over the nations is two-fold. First, as the Sovereign Deity, He holds Providential sway over all nations, determing their bounds, their histories, rise and fall, successes and failures, etc. But this has always been the case, and always will be the case. It is in the second sense, Christ's reign AS CHRIST, as the SON OF MAN and the SON OF DAVID, His MEDIATORIAL Reign, that concerns us in this discussion. That Mediatorial Reign is one in which He is heralded as King and Priest, seeking to draw to Himself by the Word of the Gospel those who will willingly submit to His rule. Christ is not at present sending fire from heaven down upon His enemies as the five cities of the plain experienced in Abraham's day. The growth and expansion of His Kingdom is primarily through evangelism and discipling (teaching) of the nations, not through forcible conquest and Divine retribution against His enemies. But this brings up the next point:
9. If the church considers it's mission to simply "get folks saved so they can make heaven their home" then the church is woefully failing in it's primary mission. The Great Commission charges the church with teaching the nations to OBEY CHRIST IN ALL THINGS, not getting them to "join the church" and pass their time waiting for death or a rapture. Our kingshipis a priestly kingship, modelled on Christ's, His being of the order of Melchizedek, who was both a priest and a king. Therefore, our reigning includes mediatorial priest duties. And the priest's job description includes that of teaching the Law (the Word of God) to the people, and promoting
obedience.
So it is time we start looking into just what exactly is involved in the authority we have been given as kings and priests, HERE AND NOW, and begin to act accordingly. The Millennium will work itself out, but we need to work out the salvation we have been given, that is to say,
we need to begin to manifest the salvation God has made available for us so the nations will see and hear and submit to God.
Threaded Mode
