Jesus declared the physical kingdom was no longer a consideration in God’s plan for man (Jn. 4:23, 24). Premillennialists see the church as an after-thought in God’s plan. One has declared it as “manifestly an interruption of God’s program for Israel” and something “entirely new, unheralded, and unexpected” before being declared in Matthew 16 (<em>Things To Come</em>, J. Dwight Pentecost).
The Bible tells us the church was part of God’s plan before time began (Eph. 3:9-11).
Premillennialism denigrates that for which our Savior died—the church (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:25). It diminishes the importance of the Church in God’s plan. It undermines the respect we need to have for the Church. It prevents people from entering the Church (1 Cor. 12:13; Jn. 3:5; 1 Cor. 15:24).
This lesson looks at Old Testament prophecies concerning the Kingdom, which is the Church:
Psalm 110;
Daniel 2;
Isaiah 2;
Joel 2.
2. Wicked raised
Christ returns Wicked – hell
Righteous - heaven
Paradise
Tribulation 1,000 years of peace
Church est. Battle of Armageddon
instead RAPTURE Resurrection of trib. Saints
Christ to est. kingdom Judgment of saints
Rejected by Jews Kingdom est. in Jerusalem
Jews converted
Satan bound
3. Premillennialism views the Church
as an afterthought
✶ “The church is manifestly an interruption of
God’s program for Israel, which was not
brought into being until Israel’s rejection of
the offer of the Kingdom”
- J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come
4. Premillennialism views the Church
as an afterthought
✶ “In the parables... and announces the
inception of an entirely
new, unheralded, and unexpected
program—the church ”
- J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come
6. Premillennialism denigrates the Church
✶ Diminished the importance of it
✶ Undermines respect for it
✶ Prevents people from entering it,
1 Cor. 12:13; Jn. 3:5; 1 Cor. 15:24
7.
8. Declared as fulfilled in the 1st century
✶ By Jesus, Mt. 22:42-46
✶ By Peter, Acts 2:34-36
✶ By the Hebrew writer, Heb. 1:1-13; 10:11-14
9. Specific applications
✶ Rule in the midst of your enemies
Mt. 28;18; Eph. 1:20-23
✶ Your people shall be volunteers
Rev. 22:17
✶ You have the dew of your youth
Mic. 5:2; Jn. 1:15; 8:58
✶ Priest according to the order of Mechizedek
Heb. 6:19, 20; 7:11-17
11. God’s kingdom established during Roman rule
✶ 1st century Roman rule, Lk. 2:1
✶ Kingdom established in their lifetime, Mk. 9:1
✶ Men in the Kingdom, Col. 1:13
12. In Jerusalem, Isa. 2:1-3
✶ Lord’s house est., 1 Tim. 3:15; Acts 2:47
✶ Exalted above the hills, Eph. 5:25-27
✶ All nations flow to it, Acts 2:8-12
✶ Law out of Zion, Lk. 24:46-49; Acts 2:5-41
14. Different from the Old Testament
kingdom, Isa. 2:3, 4
✶ Not from Sinai
✶ Not physical conquering, Duet. 7:5; Joshua
✶ We have a different kingdom, Heb. 12:18-29
15. A kingdom of peace, Isa. 11:1-10
✶ Former enemies at peace, Eph. 2:11-17
✶ No carnal weapons, 2 Cor. 10:3-5
✶ Universal, Acts 2:39