The Coming Millennial Kingdom

Our Biblical Resources Group recently finished 2 papers on “The Coming Millennial Kingdom.” In those papers, we contend that this will be a literal kingdom ruled by Christ on planet earth.

Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost explained the need for a literal millennial kingdom on earth: “Apart from the reign of Christ…here on earth…And apart from this rule, God’s purpose for man would never be brought to conclusion. God’s purpose for the earth would be unrealized and the problem generated by Satan’s rebellion would never be resolved. Thus, the physical, literal reign of Christ on the earth is a theological and biblical necessity—unless Satan is victorious over God.”

Why should students of God’s Word expect to see a literal millennial kingdom with Christ reigning on planet earth? To understand God’s Word, we must apply sound principles of Bible interpretation. We must use the tool of consistent, literal, historical-grammatical hermeneutics to arrive at a solid understanding of the text of Scripture. David L. Cooper explained the meaning of literal interpretation this way: “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.”

The Old Testament prophets wrote extensively about the future kingdom. Those promises of a future kingdom when understood using the plain sense of Scripture demand a literal fulfillment.

It has been estimated that 25% to 30% of Scripture was prophetic at the time it was written. Of those prophetic passages in God’s Word, approximately 80% were literally fulfilled at Christ’s first coming. Some Bible teachers would have us believe that the remaining 20% are being fulfilled spiritually or allegorically today. But that is problematic for several reasons.

In the Old Testament false prophets were exposed by the outcome of their prophecies. If their predictions were not literally fulfilled, they were to be stoned to death (Deut. 18:20-22). Allowing for the allegorical method of interpretation would violate the Old Testament test of a false prophet. How could a false prophet be identified if allegorical interpretation were allowed?

In the Old Testament, God staked His reputation on the literal fulfillment of His Word (Is. 42:8-9; Ezk. 37:6, 13-14; Joel 2:27). Allegorical interpretation would undermine God’s reputation.

Since 80% of prophetic passages were fulfilled literally at Christ’s first coming, then why not expect the remaining 20% to also be fulfilled literally? Why would God change the way He would have us understand His Word? Personally, I do not see any reason for God to change horses in midstream with regard to Bible prophecy.

Blessings,

Bob

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Christ’s Literal Return

Justin Martyr (ca. 100-160 A.D.)

But I and every other completely orthodox Christian feel certain that there will be a resurrection of the flesh, followed by a thousand years in the rebuilt, embellished, and enlarged city of Jerusalem as was announced by the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the others.

Kingdom Confusion Abounds - Update

Last month I mentioned a paper I wrote for Ethnos360 called “The Coming Millennial Kingdom.” In the first section of that paper, I began by outlining the battle between God and Satan for the theocratic kingdom. God created man and held them responsible for managing the planet on His behalf. In simple terms, they were the “theocratic administrators” of the whole world. Sadly, they forfeited that position because of their sin. At that time, Satan became the “god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4).” Almost immediately after Satan took control of the world system for his kingdom, God delivered a prophecy about Satan’s ultimate defeat (Gen. 3:14-15). God predicted that the Redeemer would ultimately defeat Satan, even though Satan would inflict harm upon Him. This was God’s way of conveying that, as a result of Satan’s actions, the promised Redeemer would experience death as a means to conquer Satan. Later scriptures further revealed that through His sacrificial death, the Redeemer would atone for humanity’s sin, leading to the removal of sin (Is. 53:4-6, 10-12; Jn. 1:29; 1 Pet. 2:24). This, in turn, made it possible for God to reverse the consequences of human rebellion.

Satan had launched an assault against God’s kingdom, aiming to usurp it. For God to retain His supreme authority, He needed to defeat Satan and his kingdom. Not only that, to demonstrate His supreme authority God needed to defeat Satan in the very arena in which the enemy seemingly won his greatest battle against the Sovereign Creator of the universe.

Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost explained: “Apart from the reign of Christ…here on earth…And apart from this rule, God’s purpose for man would never be brought to conclusion. God’s purpose for the earth would be unrealized and the problem generated by Satan’s rebellion would never be resolved. Thus, the physical, literal reign of Christ on the earth is a theological and biblical necessity—unless Satan is victorious over God.”

The children of Johann Sebastian Bach had a unique way of waking him up. They would go to the piano and begin to play a composition. When they would get to the last note, they would stop without playing the last note. He would get up from his sleep, go to the piano, and play the final chord. He couldn’t stand to leave it unfinished. Similarly, we are all waiting for the last note on the final page of God’s song of victory. God will not leave His grand composition without striking the final note. That final note is the messianic kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is a powerful argument against kingdom now theology and for the Premillennial return of Christ.

Your prayers are much appreciated as we continue this writing project.

Blessings,

Bob

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Christ’s Literal Return

Christ will come again to this world with power and great glory. He will gather the scattered tribes of Israel, and place them once more in their own land. As He came the first time in person, so He will come the second time in person. As He went away from earth visibly, so He will return visibly. So also will He come, literally set up a Kingdom and literally reign over the earth, because the Scripture has said it shall be so.  — J.C. Ryle

 

Kingdom Confusion Abounds

Among Bible teachers there are various views of the kingdom that was predicted by the Old Testament prophets. For example, the amillennial view claims that we are living in that promised kingdom today. But when you compare the promises in the Old Testament about the kingdom with the conditions on earth today, it does not seem possible that we are living in that predicted kingdom. Floyd Hamilton (amillennialist) conceded, “Now we must frankly admit that a literal interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies gives us just such a picture of an earthly reign of the Messiah as the premillennialist pictures. That was the kind of Messianic Kingdom that the Jews of the time of Christ were looking for, on the basis of a literal kingdom interpretation of the Old Testament promises.” Another amillennialist, Oswald Allis, admits that “the Old Testament prophecies if literally interpreted cannot be regarded as having been yet fulfilled or as being capable of fulfillment in this present age.” In order to get us into the kingdom today, the amillennialist must abandon the tried-and-true literal interpretation of prophecy.

Other theologians say that we are living in an “already / not yet” form of that promised kingdom. They claim that Jesus is sitting on David’s throne in heaven, and we are living in an inaugurated type of the millennial kingdom. However, nowhere does Scripture say that Jesus is currently sitting on David’s throne in heaven. According to the Book of Revelation, Satan will be bound with a chain during the millennial Kingdom. If we are in the Kingdom today and he is bound, then he must be on a very long chain.

Today confusion abounds in Christendom regarding the millennial Kingdom. Therefore, our biblical resources group decided that we need to right a position paper on this topic. As we began that project, we realized that it would be better to do a two-part series entitled The Coming Millennial Kingdom. In part one, we will cover:

1. The Battle for the Theocratic Kingdom.
2. Some Views of the Millennial Kingdom.
3. Some Consequences of Erroneous Views.

In part two, we will examine some difficult passages of Scripture relating to The Coming Millennial Kingdom.

Your prayers are much appreciated as we tackle this writing project.

Blessings,

Bob

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Literal Interpretation

About the time of the End, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation in the midst of much clamor and opposition. —Sir Isaac Newton

What Is Justification?

The book of Zechariah has an interesting account of a high priest named Joshua. He was “standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him (3:1).” It is no wonder that Satan, the accuser of the brethren, was ready to indict this high priest. We are told that “Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel (3:3).” Those standing near Joshua were told, “Remove the filthy garments from him (3:4).” Then Joshua was told, “I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes (3:4).”

This is a beautiful picture of what happened the moment that we trusted Christ as our Savior. Our sins were removed, and we were clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

Paul explained it like this, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (1 Cor. 5:21).” Some have called this “The Great Exchange.” Jesus, the Sinless One, took our sin upon Himself and gave us the righteousness of God.

This “Great Exchange” is the doctrine of “justification.” Some have said that justification means “just as if I had never sinned.” But that is only half the story. When a person trusts Christ for salvation their sins are removed (expiation) and they have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them (imputation). Justification has a two-fold aspect. We could say that justification equals expiation plus imputation.

Expiation is the negative aspect of justification. It is the principle of subtraction. Dr. Ryrie wrote, “Expiation is the removal of impersonal wrath, sin, or guilt.”

Imputation is the positive aspect of justification. It is the principle of addition. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). We were guilty of sin, and we owed a debt of sin. When we were justified through faith in Christ’s death on the cross, God not only wiped out that debt of sin (expiation), He also added the righteousness of Christ to our account. Dr. Ryrie explains, “The remedy for … sin is the imputed righteousness of Christ. The moment anyone believes, Christ’s righteousness is reckoned or imputed to that individual. As … believers are in Christ, and being in Him means that His righteousness is ours.” It is that basis upon which we are “accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6).”

Blessings,

Bob

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Accepted in the Beloved

by C.H. Mackintosh

All believers, are accepted—perfectly and forever accepted—in the Beloved. God sees them in Christ, and as Christ. He thinks of them as He thinks of Him; loves them as He loves Him. They are ever before Him, in perfect acceptance in the blessed Son of His love, nor can anything, or anyone, ever interfere with this their high and glorious position, which rests on the eternal stability of the grace of God, the accomplished work of His Son, and attested by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.

Kingdom Now Theology

How would you fill in the blank at the end of this sentence: “Keep your eye on the _______.” Did you say ball, goal or prize? To me, the main idea of this phrase is to have an objective in mind and to strive to complete that objective.

Around 2000 years ago, Jesus gave the Great Commission to the church as an objective to strive for. Over the centuries some have struggled valiantly to complete this objective. However, as I look at the state of Christianity today, I wonder if we have not taken our eye off the ball.

Dr. Andy Woods wrote, “The Coming Kingdom: What Is the Kingdom and How Is Kingdom Now Theology Changing the Focus of the Church?” It is a great read and doctor woods makes an excellent point that Kingdom Now Theology has sidetracked the church from its original goal of the Great Commission.

So, what is Kingdom Now Theology? Here is how I define it: “Kingdom Now Theology is the teaching that we are currently living in some form of the promised millennial kingdom.” Here’s the problem. If we are currently living in some form of the millennial kingdom today, then we should be doing all we can to improve the conditions of God’s kingdom in which we are living.

One of the main problems of this teaching is that those who hold to Kingdom Now Theology get so wrapped up with social programs that they forget the main goal. In the early 1900s liberal churches got wrapped up into the social gospel to the neglect of the preaching the goodnews of Jesus Christ. Today many churches are wrapped up into social justice causes to the neglect of the Great Commission. I believe that such neglect is a direct result of Kingdom Now Theology.

Dawson Trotman (founder of The Navigators) was fond of saying that “the good is enemy of the best.” There is nothing wrong per se in feeding the hungry or standing up for the defenseless. Those are good things. But to put those programs above the Great Commission is problematic.

Lee Iacocca, the former CEO of Chrysler, once said: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”  I am afraid that many churches today have failed to keep the main thing the main thing. Jesus called us to be fishers of men. He did not call us to clean up the fish bowl that we are currently living in. There is nothing wrong with having a clean fish bowl. But if we are so busy cleaning up the fish bowl that we forget to be fishers of men then we might want to rethink our priorities. Just sayin’.

Blessings,

Bob

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A Restful Heart
by J. F. Strombeck

The alternative to a heart "established with grace" is a restless and fearful heart. That is the experience of vast numbers of believers who do not understand the abounding grace of God. Surely a believer's striving in his own power, with the accompanying failures, and the fears of possibly being lost, do not establish the heart. That causes uncertainty, distress, and fainting. But when it is seen that God's work of grace cannot fail, because it is of Him, and that back of His purpose is all His infinite power and grace, the heart does find rest and becomes established.

What Makes a Christmas Carol?

A hymn that I love to sing is “Fairest Lord Jesus.” Years ago, I was playing my guitar and singing that hymn outside my apartment in Missouri. I think that it was in the fall of the year. There was a girl from Scandinavia taking our language learning course at that time. She asked me why I was singing a Christmas carol at that time of the year. I was confused, because I never thought of “Fairest Lord Jesus” as being a Christmas carol. As it turns out, in some Scandinavian countries, it is sung as a Christmas carol. My Finnish heritage betrayed me on that occasion. I had no idea. Recently I came across a song book called “The Carols of Christmas” which includes “Fairest Lord Jesus.” Who knew?! Obviously, I didn’t.

In contrast, everyone knows that “Joy to the World” is a Christmas carol, right? Well, you might be surprised that it was not intended to be a Christmas carol. Sir Isaac Watts wrote the hymn “Joy to the World” as a paraphrase of Psalm 98, and he published it in his Psalms of David Imitated (1719) under the heading “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom.” Traditionally we sing this hymn at Christmas time, but actually Sir Isaac Watts had in mind the return of Christ for His children at the end of the age.

Verse 1 says: “Joy to the world! The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing.”

But that is not what happened at Christ’s first coming when He was born in a manger. Scripture tells us that “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not (Is. 53:3).” John tells us that “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him (Jn. 1:11).”

But when Jesus returns to earth to establish His millennial kingdom, both heaven and nature will sing out and repeat the sounding joy for all eternity. Christ will come for us one day, and we who know Him will all cry out, “Joy to the world.”

Let us be “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11)!”

Blessings,

Bob

 

A Tale of Two Baseball Careers

I recently had an article published in Leading Grace magazine. I thought that I would share that article for this month’s blog post. Hope you find it a blessing and encouragement.

Probation or Acceptance — A Tale of Two Baseball Careers

By Bob Nyberg

Years ago, my dad was a pitcher for a semi-pro baseball team in North Dakota. For as long as I could remember, he ate, drank, and slept baseball. His ultimate dream for me was that one day I would play for a Major League Baseball team. Considering my skill set, that was not meant to be.

My career as a baseball player began poorly. My earliest recollection of learning the game was the first-time dad took me out into the yard to play catch. I was excited about the prospect of playing catch with my brand new glove and softball. Dad tossed the ball toward me which missed my glove and hit me in the eye. I ran into the house crying to find comfort in the arms of my sympathetic mother. Soon dad came into the house uttering a string of profanity laced with a few disparaging words about my lack of skills for catching a baseball. And so, it began. Things only seemed to go downhill from there for my career as a baseball player. From then on, anytime I wanted to play catch it was with mom and never with my dad.

In little league baseball, I was probably the worst hitter on the team. But the highlight of my little league career was when I made solid contact with the ball and hit a screaming line drive into center field. The ball got past the glove of the centerfielder and I found myself standing on third base with a triple. After scoring a run that inning, I was greeted by the welcoming cheers of my teammates. But that is not what stands out in my mind about that glorious day. Even though that event took place over 50 years ago, I still remember the stinging rebuke of my father like it was yesterday. He grumbled, “Any other kid on the team could have stretched that triple into a homerun. Your problem is that you run too long in one spot.”

That incident pretty much sums up my dad’s view of me regarding not only baseball but for all my pursuits in life. There was absolutely nothing that I could do to please him.

Sadly, when I accepted God’s free gift of salvation, I projected my warped view of my dad’s parenting skills upon my Heavenly Father. I was continually on probation and I knew that there was nothing that I could do to please either my earthly father or my Heavenly Father.

Unlike my baseball career, Keith Hernandez was an amazing Major League Baseball player. He played first base for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Keith was a five-time All-Star who shared the 1979 National League Most Valuable Player award. He had a lifetime batting average of .296. He received 11 consecutive Gold Glove awards, which was the most by any first baseman in baseball history. He won the American League batting championship for having the highest average. He won the American League Most Valuable Player award. He won the World Series Most Valuable Player award.

Yet with all his accomplishments, Keith missed out on something that was crucially important to him—his father’s acceptance. In a candid interview about his relationship with his father, Keith revealed a major disappointment in his illustrious baseball career.

One day Keith asked his father, “Dad, I have a lifetime batting average of 296. What more do you want?”

His father replied, “But someday you’re going to look back and say, ‘I could have done more.’”

Keith Hernandez never felt accepted by his earthly father. That is one thing that Keith and I have in common. It seems that nothing we could do in the world of baseball could ever please our dads.

Miles Stanford once wrote: “There are two questions that every believer must settle as soon as possible. The one is, Does God fully accept me? And the second, If so, upon what basis does He do so? This is crucial. What devastation often permeates the life of one, young or old, rich or poor, saved or unsaved, who is not sure of being accepted, even on the human level.” (Principles of Spiritual Growth)

For the child of God, a key issue that affects our Christian growth is the question: “Are we accepted by our Heavenly Father or are we on probation?” For years I felt like I was on probation always wondering what more I could do to make myself acceptable in the eyes of my Heavenly Father.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul wrote that “He made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Eph 1:6; NKJV)

Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer elaborated on this concept of acceptance: “The child of God under grace has been delivered from the burden of … works. He is not striving to be accepted, but rather is free to live as one who is accepted in Christ (Eph. 1:6). The child of God is not now called upon to live by the energy of his own flesh. He lives in the power of the indwelling Spirit.  The child of God is not under law as a rule of life, but he is under the counsels of grace. What he does under grace is not done to secure the favor of God, but it is done because he is already accepted in the Beloved. It is not undertaken in the energy of the flesh, but it is the outliving and manifestation of the power of the indwelling Spirit. It is a life which is lived on the principle that: ‘The just shall live by faith.’” (Major Bible Themes; Ch. XXVII)

Likewise, A. J. Gordon wrote: “So far as the question of the Christian’s acceptance and standing before a righteous law is concerned, God sees nothing from His throne but Christ Jesus alone and altogether. And since the believer is in Him and one with Him, he shares His place in the Father’s heart, and unworthy as he is in himself, yet he may know without a doubt that he is ‘accepted in the Beloved.’” (In Christ)

As believers in Christ, we are totally accepted by our Heavenly Father! As God the Father views us according to our position “in Christ,” He sees us clothed in the righteousness of His Son. While we do not always live up to our position in our daily walk, yet we are “accepted in the Beloved.” But how many of us really believe that?

Think for a moment about the contents of the ark of the covenant in the Old Testament. It contained 1) the broken law which Israel could not keep; 2) Aaron’s rod that budded which spoke of Israel’s rejection of God’s leadership and 3) the pot of manna which spoke of Israel’s rejection of God’s provision. The contents of the ark spoke loudly of Israel’s sin.

The ark was covered by the mercy seat which had two cherubim that faced each other. In Exodus 25:20, we are told that “the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.” In other words, their faces were looking down. Without the covering of the mercy seat, they would have been gazing upon the items that would remind them of Israel’s sin. Without the covering of the mercy seat which was sprinkled with blood, the cherubim could see nothing but Israel’s sin and failure. But instead, they saw the mercy seat sprinkled with the blood of the sacrificial lamb.

That is a beautiful picture of the child of God covered with the righteousness of Christ. As God the Father looks at us, He sees us in the righteousness of His Son and accepts us in the Beloved. You cannot be condemned if you are in Christ. Christ is without sin. For us to be in Christ means to be accepted in the Beloved. Jesus Christ presents us to the Father clothed in His own righteousness.

On what basis are you accepted? By His grace. It is not by your attainment. It is not by your works or self-effort. It is not by your striving. It is only by His free grace and grace is completely contrary to human nature.

One day I happened to hear a song by Dolly Parton called Hello God. The song ends with these words:

Hello, God, we really need you we can’t make it without you.

Hello, God, we beseech you in the name of all that’s true.

Hello God, please forgive us for we know not what we do.

Although I am not a huge fan of country music, those lyrics did not sound too bad. But this was the line that hit me between the eyes.

Hello, God, give us one more chance to prove ourselves to you.

How many times had I fallen into sin as a believer and prayed that exact prayer? Countless times I failed in my walk with the Lord. Then I would pick myself up out of the dust, ask forgiveness and ask for another chance to prove myself to God. But do we really have to prove ourselves to God? Doesn’t He already know how deceitful and desperately wicked my heart is? The real question is: “Do I myself know how wicked my own heart really is?”

The apostle Paul discovered the reality of his own wicked heart in the 7^th chapter of Romans. As a believer who had been justified by God, Paul wrote:

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells … (Rom 7:18; NKJV)

Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (Rom 7:24; NKJV)

In response to that question, Paul gives us the answer in the next verse:

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom 7:25a; NKJV)

It was Jesus Christ who freed us from the body of this death when we died positionally on the cross with Him.

And for that reason, Paul was able to say:

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8:1; NASB)

The bottom line is that though we may struggle in our daily walk as Paul did in Romans 7, we can confidently say that there is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. Paul concludes Romans 8 by writing:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. (Rom. 8:31-33; NKJV)

The fact is that there is no condemnation because we are in Christ Jesus. If God does not condemn us then why should we wallow in self-condemnation? God is for us. He is not the one bringing a charge against us. Satan, the accuser of the brethren, is the one who brings charges against us. But we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 Jn. 2:1). As prosecutor, Satan throws all kinds of accusations against us. But Jesus, our Advocate, died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

Are we on probation? No! Have we been accepted in the Beloved? Certainly! There is absolutely nothing in and of myself that will make me more acceptable to God—even as a Christian!

Andrew Murray wrote about the necessity of grace for our walk with the Lord: “There are earnest Christians who are jealous for a free Gospel, with acceptance of Christ, and justification by faith alone. But after this they think everything depends on their diligence and faithfulness. While they firmly grasp the truth, ‘justified by faith,’ they have hardly noticed the larger truth, ‘the just shall live by faith.’ They have not yet understood what a perfect Saviour the Lord Jesus is, and how He will each day do for the sinner just as much as He did the first day when they came to Him. They know not that the life of grace is always and only a life of faith, and that in the relationship to the Lord Jesus the one daily and unceasing duty of the disciple is to believe, because believing is the one channel through which Divine grace and strength can flow into the heart of man. The old nature of the believer remains evil and sinful to the last; it is only as he daily comes, all empty and helpless, to his Saviour to receive of His life and strength, that he can bring forth the fruits of righteousness to the glory of God.” (Abide in Christ; Ch. 5)

C.H. Spurgeon noted the true source of our assurance: “It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ.  He insinuates, ‘Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold on Jesus.’ All these are thoughts about self, and we will never find comfort or assurance by looking within. Keep your eye simply on Him.” (Morning and Evening; June 28^th)

Although my skills as a baseball player left much to be desired, my dad’s parenting skills were equally lacking. Unfortunately, I projected my dad’s shortcomings onto my Heavenly Father.

What a blessing it was to find out that my Heavenly Father loves me and accepts me because of my standing in Christ. No longer do I see myself on probation. No longer do I live in fear that I’m not doing enough to please Him. I can rest assured in the fact that I am accepted in the Beloved, and that I am secure in my relationship with Him.

Blessings,

Bob