The subject of Premillennialism is important to me and to many millions of other people, but for many different reasons. This is a doctrine that I used to believe and subscribe to, even being the reason that I first started becoming interested in the secrets and mystery of the Bible. Many people from all types of Christian denominations believe that the Rapture is fact, and the time of it happening is at hand. There have been countless books and movies on this subject, the most famous of which was the "Left Behind" series, which I have read and must admit was very entertaining, but after close study, completely false. Please, let me explain by using scripture, and then I absolutely would love to hear what your opinions, and or facts are. The length of this post will be longer than others, so I will put the chapter and verse numbers up, but not write out the verse, so I encourage you to read these verses as you go.
People believe in the doctrine of Premillennialism because it is what they have been taught by their ministers or priests, but have not done a good study on this subject. Remember, we are to study the Word for ourselves and not rely on just what someone tells us (2 Tim. 2:15), for we are responsible for our own salvation. If someone teaches us something false, we should know or at the very least study what we are told, to ensure the Truth of the God's Word. And, after a close study, this doctrine is not found in scripture, it has been mistranslated and twisted.
The term Premillennialism comes from Latin, meaning "before", "1,000 year", "doctrine", and was first written and used in the late 1800's openly. The belief really appeals to man's love of the unknown, his love of mystery and secrets, which many falsely believe the Bible is all about. Jesus tells us though, "We can know the truth, and the truth will set you free." There is no mystery in the Bible. God has revealed to us exactly what He intended to, and it is up to us to accept it or not. It has been said you can prove or disprove anything with the Bible, but this is only true if you take one verse here, and put it with another verse there to come up with something that you want. We don't do this with any other book, so why do we do it with God's Word? This is what has happened to Premillennialism, or the belief that Christ will one day return to earth and sit upon a physical throne in Jerusalem. Here are the basic claims of this system.
1) God did not fulfill all of the land promise to the Israelites as first given to Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob.
2) Christ came to establish literal, earthly kingdom in Jerusalem.
3) The Jews foolishly rejected Christ, which was not expected, so God had to change plans.
4) The church was the substitute plan, temporary until kingdom would be established.
5) Christ, at this time is not on David's throne.
6) When the Lord comes to earth again, then He will be enthroned for 1,000 years.
7) When this happens, then the prophecies will all be fulfilled.
If any of these claims are proven to be false, then it only stands to reason that the whole doctrine should be ruled false. Again, because it would take a lot of time, and even more room, we will look at a couple of items that I think will make someone who believes in this, take a harder look at the scriptures.
First, let's look at the claim that the Jews rejecting Christ, caught God by surprise. This must be false without even question! If we are to believe that God is all-powerful and all-knowing, how could He have not known this? God created the universe, He parted the Red Sea and brought the ten plagues upon Egypt, and was able to feed His people manna while they were in the wilderness. Jesus healed many people, raised Lazarus from the dead, and He himself arose from the dead. Yet are we to believe that He was blindsided by the rejection of the Jews, and could not do anything to ensure God's plan? What many don't seem to realize, and the scriptures back this up, that this was indeed a part of the plan, God's grand scheme.
The church, which could not have been established until Christ sacrificed Himself, was and is God's eternal plan to redeem man. The plan was in place before the foundation of the world and God could, and did see that in time, man would sin, and He loved us so much that He made provisions so we can be reconciled with Him. That provision was sending His only son to be sacrificed for us (Luke 19:10). Without Him and the shedding of His blood, there would be no remission of sins according to Hebrews 9:22.
Jesus said seven things while He was on the cross, one of which was "It is finished" (John 19:30). What was finished? He came to earth to do the will of God who sent Him (John 5:30). He completed His task, this is why He said "It is finished". To say otherwise is to say either Christ mislead us, or God mislead Him in order to mislead us! God's eternal purpose (Eph. 3:10-11) was to offer sinful man a chance to redeem himself through the church which Jesus purchased with his blood (Acts 20:28). We can read that the kingdom has been established already (Mark 1:14-15; Mark 9:1; Luke 24), and happened exactly as the Old Testament predicted that it would (Isa. 2:2-3; Dan. 2:44; Micah 4:1-3). The kingdom that is talked about in the Old Testament is clearly the same as the church. When Peter exclaims in Acts 2:14-16, "This is that which was spoken of by Joel" is the kingdom AND the church! Peter was saying that what Joel had prophesied about, had now come to fruition.
Paul writes also that the kingdom and the church are the same (Eph. 3:9-11). If the kingdom was not established, how were Christians "in" the kingdom in Colossians 1:13? John also says that he was in the kingdom in Revelation 1:9. The writer of Hebrews also speaks of a present kingdom in Hebrews 12:28, which Christ is the head of (Eph. 1:22; Col.1:18).
Nowhere in scripture does it say Christ will reign over an earthly kingdom. In fact, Jesus denied this (John 6:15). Why would He establish a physical reign today when He taught against it? We know that His kingdom is eternal (Isa. 9:6-7), which is not a physical kingdom, nor ever says so. There is also no verse found in the Bible where Jesus will ever step foot on the earth again. This is a false man-made belief. The truth of the Word says that on the last great day, the Day of Judgment, Christians who believe and obey, will meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). Revelation also speaks of meeting Christ "In the clouds".
So what about Jesus sitting on the throne of David? The Bible tells us this is now the case, not something to take place in the distant future (Acts 2:29-33, Eph. 1, Rev. 1:5-6, Heb. 1:3-13, Joshua 21:43-45, Zech. 6:13, 1 Chronicles 29:23). With all of this combined, we can see how Christ is king of kings (1 Tim. 6:15), He gives us the Law (James 4:12), all authority was given to Him (Matthew 28:18, Eph. 1:22) and He will reign over His kingdom until death is destroyed (1 Cor. 15:24).
Those who teach the Premillennialist theory, rely on Revelation 20:1-3 as the basis of their belief, and as we have already seen, this is mistranslated to fit their doctrine. But let's look at the 1,000 year reign, as seen in this passage. We are expected to believe that literally, but not the other parts of that passage such as the bottomless pit, or the great chain. Why? I have not been able to find a good answer to that. Notice in this passage, nothing is said about Jesus' return, His physical rule in Jerusalem, an earthly kingdom, a literal throne, or a 1,000 year reign. And the Bible speaks of the great rapture and Christ's return to earth exactly zero times. Not once. Why? Because it is man-made and first introduced 1,800 years after the Bible was written.
So why is this doctrine so dangerous to believe? Because it is not from God, and in fact at times belittles God, and takes away the importance of Christ's sacrifice upon the cross. Anything that people claim is from God but isn't, is a doctrine of the devil, and must be avoided, as well as teachers who teach this. We can tell who is trying to mislead us by studying the Word, and trying what fallible men have told us. There will be a judgment day, and we will be judged by what we do and believe while we are here. But if we are waiting and teaching about the rapture, Satan is surely encouraging us to continue to do so. Follow God, and put your trust in His Word. Grace be with you.
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