Last Things 5 - Dispensational Pre-Millenniumism

7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. 8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! 9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it. 10 Remove your stroke from me; I am spent by the hostility of your hand. 11 When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

Romans 4:1–25 (ESV)

1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” 9 Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Introduction

As I have already indicated there are differing views about the Millennium. Our task is to seek to expound the Scriptures faithfully and reverently seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit as we do so. Today we come look at one of the Millennium views in particular - Dispensational Pre-Millenniumism.

1. Millennium Views

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a. Post-Millenniumism

Postmillennialism places the coming of Christ after the millennium, which it conceives as a spiritual presence of Christ working in and through His church to give a golden age, a period of unexampled prosperity in its ministry. Cairns, A. (2002). In Dictionary of Theological Terms (p. 279). Ambassador Emerald International.

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b. Pre-Millenniumism

Premillennialists place the coming of Christ before the millennium, which they see as the personal reign of Christ on the earth. Cairns, A. (2002). In Dictionary of Theological Terms (p. 279). Ambassador Emerald International.

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c. A-Millenniumism

Amillennialism denies the reality of a thousand-year reign, either in the sense in which the premillennialist or the postmillennialist conceives it. The theory rests upon a totally symbolic interpretation of Rev. 20:2–7 and the same type of treatment of the “millennial” passages of the OT. Most present-day amillennialists view these as descriptions of the blessedness the church now experiences. Cairns, A. (2002). In Dictionary of Theological Terms (p. 279). Ambassador Emerald International.

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2. Dispensationalism

a. Meaning

Dispensationalists are those who hold that God has tested man again and again, in respect of obedience to some specific revelation of His will. Each period of testing they call a dispensation. They normally claim that there are seven such dispensations: innocence, conscience, human government, promise, law, grace, and the Kingdom. Each of these is “regarded as a new test of the natural man, and each ends in judgement” (C. I. Scofield, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, p. 20).

Dispensationalists further claim that each dispensation is distinct from all the others and cannot commingle with them. It is only by grasping this “dispensational truth” (as it is usually referred to by dispensationalists) that we can “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Cairns, A. (2002). In Dictionary of Theological Terms (p. 135). Ambassador Emerald International.

b. History

Some of the early Church held a Pre-Millennium view known as Chiliasm also various others at different times. Became more popular in 1830 when a series of 'Prophetic Conferences' were held attended by J N Darby, Plymouth Brethren and Bible translator, Dwight L Moody of Moody and Sankey. Influenced by a prophecy in tongues at the Catholic Apostolic Church in Regent Square, London where Edward Irving was the Pastor. They believed in the continuing role of Apostles and Prophets. Later in 1909 the Dispensationalist view became increasingly popular with the publication of the Schofield Reference Bible which advocates Dispensationlist views.

3. Teaching

Pre-milleniumism and Dispenationalism are not are totally identical and there is not full agreement amongst those holding these views. However there are sufficient areas of agreement to warrant us considering them together.

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a. Seven Dispensations

1. Creation - Innocence

2. Fall - Conscience

3. Noah - Human Government

4. Abraham - Promise

5. Moses - Law

6. Christ - Age of Grace (The Church Age)

7. Christ's Second Coming (Bodily) - The Kingdom (The Millennium)

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b. Dispensations 6 and 7

i. Age of Grace - The Church Age

Jesus’ offer of a Messianic Kingdom to Israel is rejected.

The so-called postponement theory, which is a necessary link in the premillennial scheme, is devoid of all Scriptural basis. According to it John and Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom, that is, the Jewish theocracy, was at hand. But because the Jews did not repent and believe, Jesus postponed its establishment until His second coming. Berkhof, L. (1938). Systematic theology (p. 713). Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co.

God now deals with the Gentiles. We do not know how long this will last, but they say that there will be clear signs of the end, mainly centred around national Israel.

Towards the end Jesus will return but:-

i. It will be a secret return

ii. The Gentile Church will be removed from the earth

iii. The Antichrist is waiting for the removal of the Church to begin his terror on Israel and new Christians

The 144,000 Jews will be converted. (Revelation 7:4-8)

Revelation 7:4–8 (ESV)

4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.

Seven Years Tribulation

ii. The Kingdom (The New Millennium)

Christ’s second coming - bodily

God deals with the Jews and national Israel:-

i. Re-population of the earth by the 144,000 Jews and new Christians

ii. The Kingdom of God is fully manifest on earth; glorified believers will rule with Christ during his reign over all kingdoms

4. Biblical Understanding

a. The Church Age

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Jesus' offer of a messianic kingdom to Israel is rejected

Jeremiah 31:31–33 (ESV)

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

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John 3:3 (ESV)

3 Jesus answered [Nicodemus], “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

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John 18:36 (ESV)

36 Jesus answered, [Pilate] “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

b. Seven Years of Tribulation

Towards the end Jesus will return but:-

i. It will be a secret return

ii. The Gentile Church will be removed from the earth

iii. The Antichrist is waiting for the removal of the Church to begin his terror on Israel and new Christians

iv. The 144,000 Jews will be converted. (Revelation 7:4-8)

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Matthew 25:31–34 (ESV)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

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John 5:28–29 (ESV)

28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.

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1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

c. The Kingdom - The New Millennium

God deals with the Jews and national Israel:-

i. Repopulation of the earth by the 144,000 Jews and new Christians

ii. Jesus will reign in Jerusalem for 1000 years

iii. The Kingdom of God is fully manifest on earth; glorified believers will rule with Christ during his reign over all kingdoms

iv. Return to Old testament temple worship

Systematic Theology - Louis Berkhof (3. Objections to Premillennialism)

It is impossible to understand how a part of the old earth and of sinful humanity can exist alongside of a part of the new earth and of a humanity that is glorified. How can perfect saints in glorified bodies have communion with sinners in the flesh. How can glorified saints live in this sin-laden atmosphere and amid scenes of death and decay? How can the Lord of glory, the glorified Christ, establish His throne on earth as long as it has not yet been renewed.

Revelation 21:1–4 (ESV)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

d. Covenant of Grace

Dispensationalism implies that God works in different ways with different people. The Scriptures make it clear that there is only one covenant of Grace centred in Christ before and after his birth, death, resurrection and ascension.

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Romans 4:1–3 ESV

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Romans 4:13 ESV

13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

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Romans 4:16–17 ESV

16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

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Romans 4:23–25 ESV

23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Conclusion

We look forward to that glorious new heaven and new earth.

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Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

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