Two weeks ago we had the first in a series of messages entitled “Eschatological Absolutes.” My plan is to address those areas of prophecy which I think are unassailable – Biblical absolutes. There is more controversy and divergence of understand about prophecy – “eschatology” – than there is about any other part of Christian theology. There is infinitely more debate about eschatology than there is about soteriology – salvation from sin. I am going to try to avoid those areas of controversy, but I know I will not be completely successful. I want us to think about those areas which should be agreed upon by everyone interested in prophecy – “Eschatological Absolutes.”
In our first message we addressed three points. The first was that we are all ETERNAL beings – we have, or more properly, we ARE eternal souls. Points 2 and 3 were that our souls will spend eternity in either a literal Lake of Fire or in the presence of our Saviour – which includes a literal Heaven. Anyone who professes to believe the Bible, must admit to these three points – Heaven, Hell and our eternal soul. Of course there ARE multitudes who deny these things, because they deliberately choose to do so. But they cannot successfully deny that these things are taught in the Bible.
This morning’s “Eschatological Absolute.” is that the Bible teaches a future, literal divine kingdom which will be upon this earth. There is going to be a kingdom whose King will be the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah. The King of that kingdom will be the same Jesus of Nazareth whose life is described in the gospels. That King is the One who was crucified by Pilate and the Jews, but who was resurrected three days later. He was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” He was “declared to be the King of kings, according to the spirit of holiness, by His resurrection.” By His resurrection He was established to become the King of that future kingdom. And that resurrection is a Christological absolute.
I am going to start today by coming through a theological back door.
Early in Jesus’ infancy several oriental wise men, or “Magi,” visited Israel, seeking her promised King.
They came into Jerusalem, “Saying, Where is he that is born KING of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” What did those men mean by the word “king?” The word is translated only one way, and even though we don’t have a king, we know what it means. They were seeking a very special monarch, emperor, sovereign – ruler. Were they looking for a mystical king? An allegorical king? A spiritual king? A non-physical king? They expected to find a LITERAL prince. And how did they come up with the idea that a special king, born under a special star would be found in Israel? It came out of their independent, non-biased study of the Old Testament scriptures. They were apparently not Jews themselves, at least by birth, but by the grace of God, as intellectuals, they had become familiar with the Hebrew scriptures which are replete with references to an upcoming kingdom and to a very special, divine King.
Scriptures like Jeremiah 23:5 – “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” And Isaiah 9:6-7 – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
I have read, and I have no doubt it is true, that more prophetic scripture is devoted to the subject of this King and His kingdom than any other prophetic subject. It begins in Genesis and doesn’t end until toward the conclusion of the Book of Revelation. Israel’s four covenants – the Abrahamic, the Davidic, the Palestinian and even the New covenant all converge on this upcoming kingdom. The New covenant promises Israel a new heart, the forgiveness of sin, and the filling of the Spirit, all of which they are still awaiting, but which will be fulfilled in the future kingdom.
When the Magi came to town they were looking for the King who would sit upon the throne of David. They were looking for one of the actual descendants of David, because God had promised that such a son would be the King. Furthermore there should be no doubt that Herod began to worry about a physical, literal rival to this rule. He was not a descendent of David. He wasn’t thinking of a mystical king or an allegorical kingdom, but an actual competitor to his throne.
Please open your Bibles to Revelation 19. We won’t read it now, but we will come back to it later. Glancing through this chapter, you’ll see that it is shot through with symbolic language. The question is not, “Is there allegorical material in this passage?” The questions ought to be, “Is there anything besides symbolic language in this passage?” “Does this teach anything literally, and if so, what?” “What do the symbols represent?” I believe that among other things this scripture teaches a Millennial Kingdom.
What does that term mean?
The word “millennium” comes from two Latin words – not Greek, but Latin words. It is a theological term. It begins with the prefix “mille,” which means “thousand.” You might have thought that is should mean million, but it doesn’t. “Mille,” is followed by a form of the term “annum,” which refers to “year” or “years.” The word simply means “a thousand years.” When we say “Millennial Kingdom,” or “the Millennium,” we simply mean a thousand-year kingdom. Specifically, THE thousand year kingdom described in Revelation and is hinted at throughout God’s Word.
Without getting into the controversy behind it, please notice that the Magi were PRE-MILLENNIALISTS. They expected to find the King before the commencement of that kingdom. They apparently believed that the King would initiate His kingdom – not anyone else. There was already a human king in Israel named “Herod,” but these men didn’t acknowledge him as THIS King. These men were looking for another King and to another Kingdom which had not existed before.
The truth is all of God’s saints living in Israel at that time, were premillennialists. Take one of the questions of the disciples as typical of them all?. After the Lord’s resurrection and just before His ascension into Heaven, the disciples asked, “Is it now Lord? “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Christ Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.”
It is sometimes objected that this thousand-year time element appears nowhere in the Bible, except in Revelation 20. There are some who claim this is a controversial Scripture, because it is so highly symbolic. They say that “one thousand” is only an allegory, just as so many things in this scripture are allegorical. They may also say, Satan is a spirit; he cannot be confined with chains in a bottomless pit – this is symbolic. Let’s grant this point; I don’t believe we should, but for the sake of argument let’s grant this. Is Satan himself also symbolic? Some might say so, but I deny it. There is a literal Devil called “Satan.“ Whatever this “binding” means, it involved the limiting – the temporary putting away of Satan. Are the other angels in this scripture symbolic or literal? Literal. And what about Christ himself, and the dead who are raised? They are all real, literal, genuine, tangible.
Where will this reign of the King take place?
Were the Magi confused when they traveled all the way to Jerusalem? Some people hold that the Millennial reign of Christ is operated out of heaven having only some effects upon earth. But these visitors were not looking toward heaven to find the King, there were expecting to find Him in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the Jewish capital of Israel; in the eastern part of the Roman Empire – earth. The Magi were looking for an earthly king, and so should we, albeit a divine earthly king. When the Millennium is established it will be upon the earth, and as it is prophesied, its earthly capital will be Jerusalem.
It is theologically correct to say that it will begin with a purged earth. What did the seventh angel of Revelation 11:15 mean when he said, “The kingdoms of this world are BECOME the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever”? I am of the opinion when the Lord will commence this aspect of His kingdom through the violent overthrow of the kingdoms of Herod, Babylon, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and all the rest. The world will be politically, economically, militarily, socially and religiously cleansed. When it is established, it is likely every saint of God from the days of Adam down to the moment the Millennial Kingdom begins will be coming and going upon the earth doing the King’ss bidding – ruling and reigning under Him. But at the same time, there will be millions of natural, babies born during that thousand years who begin to live their earthly lives under the King of Kings.
And during the Millennium, human depravity, as far as I can tell, will still be found in those children. The basic sources of temptation will be confined, but natural man’s propensity for sin will remain. How do I know this? There are several indicators, one of which will be that Christ will rule with a rod of iron. That would be unnecessary if all His subjects had new and glorified hearts, always thoroughly obedient to the King of kings. Another indicator will be that when the Millennium is over, Satan will go out to tempt the nations again. And he will succeed in that temptation. There will be one final revolt against the rule of Christ, just as Herod was trying to do in his day. Apparently every unregenerated person at the end of the thousand years will join in the revolt against Christ.
This Millennial rule will not be in Heaven; it will be on earth. Even though the saints of God may be going back and forth between heaven and earth, there will be millions and perhaps billions of unsaved people on earth at the end of the Millennium.
What will the nature of this kingdom? What will it be like?
It will be unlike anything we have known since the Garden of Eden. This morning we don’t have time to look at all the scriptures dealing with the details. But let’s just use the Magi to point us in the right direction. They were looking for a King, who was worthy of their worship.
This church believes that Christ will come before the millennium – He will return with all His saints. Granted, this is one of the areas of controversy, but I must bring it up. Revelation 19:11 – “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” We do not have to go into the argument whether or not the horse is literal – it doesn’t matter. If the Bible says He is riding upon a white horse then He is riding upon a white horse. If somebody is offended by the literalness of that statement, then let Him be riding something else, but the point is that the Lord coming in His glory – literally!
Scripture says, “In righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Do you want to make that symbolic? If so, please tell me what is it going to teach? “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.” “And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God.” We know Who this is. There can be no question ! You can make it as symbolic as you want, but what you have is still Jesus Christ. Is He coming back to the earth according to this teaching, or is He not? I say, He is! “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Christ is coming back to this earth with His saints, the armies of heaven robed in white. Then He will purge the earth by military-style, supernatural action. This is not talking about gospel evangelism – but spiritual military might. “…in righteousness he doth judge and make war!” “Which sword proceedeth out of His mouth, which is the Word of God.” Someone says, “Boy, that is strange. That has to be symbolic, because He just could not destroy them by the Word of His mouth!’ But He created them by the word of his mouth. Why not destroy in the same way? As far as I am concerned, that is exactly what shall take place.
Notice, verses 17 through 21 – “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Do you want to make that symbolic?) And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”
You can spiritualize whatever portion of that you want, but you are wrong, and the meaning is clear. It teaches us that this world system will be purged – cleansed – by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then it teaches us that He will strip Satan of his deceiving power. Someone can argue until he is blue in the face about how much of this is symbolic and how much is not, and so far as I am concerned, all you are doing is just giving a really ridiculous excuse for not believing this portion of the Bible.
“I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season…”
This Millennial Kingdom starts out by the Lord Jesus Christ returning to this earth with His saints. He will defeat the religious political system of our present day along with its economic aspects, and then He will strip Satan of his power. At that time He will resurrect the tribulation saints to join those who were resurrected and translated seven years before. I believe that what we have in Revelation 20:4 is the conclusion of the resurrection which takes place at the Translation of the saints. This is the FINISHING of the FIRST resurrection. These are those saints who were slaughtered during the tribulation period because they would not receive the mark of the beast in their foreheads or in their hands, and would not worship the image of the beast. Following that, both we, and they, shall reign with Christ for that thousand years.
I do not mind being called “simplistic,” or at least simple, where the Bible gives us revelation. Some might say, “Preacher, don’t you think that is a little bit old-fashioned? Don’t you think this is a little bit unsophisticated? Don’t you think you are being overly literal? Don’t you realize that you sound unscholarly – even stupid?” No, I do not think so! Where the Bible speaks, I think that we should speak. When we look at Revelation 20:3, we find words and phrases there such as “till” and “after that.” And when we look at verse 5, we see words like “not again until,” and in verse 7 when we see words like “and when.” I say that if those words do not give us a chronology of events, then I don’t understand plain English.
I do not know all there is to know about this kingdom, just as the wise men didn’t know it all in their day. Through the years, I have become increasingly resistant towards those who seem to think that they know all about it. I have a lot of questions, and whenever the skeptics have asked all of their dumb questions, I think I can ask them some even dumber ones – questions for which I have no answers. There is a great deal about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God I still do not know, but I know that what God has explained in this Book, He has put there for us to believe. And I know that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again, because He hasn’t yet established the kingdom for which those Magi were seeking. Whatever you may know, or may not know, about the Kingdom, the Bible teaches that He is coming, and He is coming with indignation toward those who do not look for Him and who aren’t worshiping Him.
We MUST be looking for him. Can you say with the Apostle John, “Even so, Lord Jesus come quickly?” Was John deceived and carried away by all of these visions? I don’t think so. And I don’t think that those Magi were confused or stupid either. I think, whatever else we do not know, the Lord has taught us to believe that He is coming back and we should be looking for Him.
But if you are still in your sins – unrepentant, without forgiveness, unregenerate – you should fear talk about Christ’s return. You need to be born again; you need saving grace. You need the cross of Christ, not the throne of Christ.