Premillennialism And Its Impact
The Israel Debate • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
Over the last several weeks we have been asking the question “Are Christians required to support modern Israel?”
We answered that question by looking at three important things.
First, that Israel was God’s chosen people, received the promised land, and they broke their covenant with God that would have allowed them to keep that land (Ezekiel 16:6-9; Joshua 23:15-16; Jeremiah 11:10).
Second, God promised he would establish a “New Covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
This new covenant, which would be the Messiah’s kingdom his church (Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 12:28) would be God’s new chosen people.
Colossians 3:12 (ESV)
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones…
Then two weeks ago we examine some of the more interesting arguments by those who were demanding Christians support modern day Israel.
We discuss how Jesus did not demand such in John 4:22 and we noticed how the Jews are not the root of the church in Romans 11:16-27, God is (Matthew 16:18).
I ended that sermon by saying that we would discuss the main reason most claiming Christianity are demanding all Christians must support modern Israel, the false doctrine of Premillennialism.
So, to begin with, what exactly is premillennialism?
The Doctrine
The Doctrine
Dispensational Premillennialism.
Dispensational Premillennialism.
There are many variants on the doctrine of premillennialism out there today like with anything man gets his hands on but the far majority of denominations preach and teach John Nelson Darby’s dispensational premillennialism.
Dispensational premillennialism divides the timeline of history into seven dispensations.
Innocence - Creation to the beginning of civilization.
Conscience - Civilization start to the landing of the ark.
Government - Landing of the ark to the call of Abram.
Promise - Call of Abram to the Law given to Moses.
Law - Law given to the decent of the Holy Spirit on Christ.
Grace - Holy Spirit’s decent on Christ to Christ’s return in the air i.e., rapture.
Tribulation - Rapture to Christ’s return to earth.
Kingdom - Christ’s earthly reign to final rebellion crushed and finial judgment leading to eternity.
A survey of Bible doctrine writes this on Premillennialism…
A Survey of Bible Doctrine Premillennialism
Premillennialists hold that the second coming of Christ will occur before (pre) the millennium and that Christ, not the church (as in postmillennialism) will be the one to establish the kingdom. Christ will actually reign over the earth as King, and during the millennium the Jewish people will experience the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham and David. According to premillennialism, the present church age will see increasing apostasy which will climax in the time of tribulation before the second coming of Christ. When He returns He will set up His kingdom for 1,000 years after which will occur the resurrection and judgment of the unsaved and the ushering in of eternity.
Summary
Summary
So the basic idea is that in the “first resurrection” the church will be raptured before the tribulation starts.
When that tribulation ends Christ will come to earth, rule as king over his kingdom in Jerusalem and God’s chosen people will once again be Jews.
Randall Price in his article “Four Good Reasons Why Premillennialism Matters” wrote this in his second reason…
“In keeping with Premillennialism’s method of consistent historical, grammatical interpretation, the “covenants of promise” (Eph. 2:12), that is, the biblical covenants (Abrahamic, Land, Davidic, New), which demonstrate God’s working in history through a Chosen People, find ultimate fulfillment with national Israel. Only Premillennialism guarantees that promise and fulfillment for national Israel involve the same people (the Jews) in the same place (the land of Israel) and on the same terms (physical and spiritual restoration).” 1
Les Crawford in his article titled “5 Reasons I Am A Dispensational Premillennialist” beings in his first paragraph…
“Dispensational Premillennialism distinctly holds that God has a positive future for the nation of Israel yet to be realized in the Millennium, the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on Earth. The church has not replaced Israel. God’s promises to Abraham and David still hold. They were not fulfilled in the Old Testament era, nor spiritually in the church. This view uses a consistent, literal interpretive method, which allows for non-literal elements, but only when justifiable in the context. Here are five reasons why I am a dispensational premillennialist.”
It is without a doubt that the Premillennialism doctrine is the main reason so many are demanding that all those claiming Christianity must support modern Israel.
As we have already proven in our past lessons that the promises made by God to Israel were indeed fulfilled (Joshua 23:15-16).
The church was and is indeed the kingdom of Christ that was promised (Daniel 2:44; Colossians 1:13).
The primary response to by most people who hold to this doctrine is like that we just read in the last two quotes.
That premillennialism’s method of interpretation i.e., the “consistent, literal interpretive method” is the rational and biblical method of examining the scriptures.
Is this so?
Let’s look at…
The Literal Interpretive Method
The Literal Interpretive Method
Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics is just a fancy word meaning…
the study of the methodological principles of interpretation (as of the Bible)
Biblical hermeneutics is “the science of interpreting the bible.”
We certainly do not have time to go through all the various and different aspects of biblical hermeneutics we must, for this lesson focus on one particular aspect of such which deals with literal and metaphoric interpretations.
When one studies the bible they must determine if what is written is supposed to be taken literal or symbolically.
Once that determination is made then there must “something” that forces one to change off of said determination.
By that I mean if someone determines scripture is literal then before they consider the rest of the context as symbolic they must find something that forces them to make that determination.
We are not at liberty to change between the two just because we need it to fit our doctrine.
Premillennialism Is Inconsistent.
Premillennialism Is Inconsistent.
The book of Revelation is by far the most used book for the support of dispensational premillennialism and those that believe such doctrine speak of interpreting it consistently.
One man wrote concerning premillennialism and the book of Revelation…
“The premillennial scheme is a result of interpreting the promises and prophecies of Scripture in a plain, normal, or literal way. This is the strength of premillennialism—its method of interpretation is consistently the same whether applied to history, doctrine, or prophecy.”
Is this true?
In a form discussing if there is a real Jewish race today notice the “consistent interpretation” wherein the 144,000 are concerned in Revelation 7.
Person 1: “Where does the Bible say that the 144,000 have to be from a “pure” bloodline?” Person 2: “The 144,000 is a symbolic number anyway. 12 being completeness, 12 X 12 being very complete, 1000 X 12 12 being very very very complete.” Person 1: “Of course its symbolic, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t literal also.”
Consistency????
What about Revelation 20 the darling chapter for the “millennial reign?”
Revelation 20:1–3 (ESV)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
All of the underlined text is considered “symbolic” while the rest is considered “literal” and thus you can see this is completely inconsistent.
Who is more consistent, the one that says all of this chapter is symbolic like the inspired author said it would be…
Revelation 1:1–2 (NKJV)
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
Or the one that says they are consistent but pick and choose what they want symbolic and what they don’t.
Now don’t get me wrong there are some literal things written in the book of Revelation such as chapters two and three but there are specific points in the text that tell us things are shifting from literal to symbolic.
Revelation 1:9–10 (ESV)
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
Revelation 4:1–2 (ESV)
1 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
Summary
Summary
Who is more consistent, those that pick and choose what they want as literal and symbolic or those that demand a hermeneutical reason to shift from one to the other.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Listen there is no doubt that Christians do not have to support modern Israel.
We have not even got into the fact that no Jew today can trace their linage to the chosen people of God who were Jews because when God used Rome to destroy Jerusalem in 70 AD (Matthew 24) they destroy “all of the Jewish lineages” which is why no modern Jew performs sacrifices because they have no idea who is a Levite or not.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Endnotes
Endnotes
https://israelmyglory.org/article/four-good-reasons-why-premillennialism-matters
https://www.foi.org/2022/04/29/5-reasons-i-am-a-dispensational-premillennialist