Premillennialism Answered

Premillennialism basically is the idea that we are living before the 1000 year rule of Jesus on earth. Premillennialists claim that they take the Bible literally. People who believe that the prophecies are referring to something spiritual instead of literal do not believe the Bible.

Why there cannot be a kingdom on earth

I have read one premillennialist make the argument that in Acts 1:6, Jesus does not say that the kingdom will not be restored to Israel. He simply says that it is not for the disciples to know when it will happen. However, when we look at other places that Jesus talked about the kingdom, we find very clearly that it is a spiritual kingdom, not a physical kingdom. Luke 17:20-21 shows us that the kingdom will not come with signs to be observed because it is internal, not physical. The clearest passage is in John 18:36. The kingdom is not of this world. Romans 14:17 shows that the kingdom is not based on physical things, but spiritual things. 1 Corinthians 15:50 tells us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. If it was a physical kingdom, that would not be true.

The scriptures also make it clear that we are already in the kingdom. Colossians 1:13 says that He has transferred us into the kingdom. Hebrews 12:28 shows that we have already received the kingdom. Revelation 1:6 – God has made us a kingdom.

God’s plans do not fail.

One of the worst parts of the teaching of premillennialism is the idea that Jesus came to establish a physical kingdom and failed because the Jews would not accept Him. To say that the prophecies and plans of God failed is a horrible accusation to make. God never fails. God did not fail in establishing the kingdom Jesus came to establish. In Matthew 4:17 it says, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. It was near at the time of Jesus. “Kingdom of heaven” emphasizes the spiritual aspect of the kingdom.

Matthew 16:28 shows that Jesus promised the kingdom would came when most of those people were still alive. Even the Old Testament prophecies are clear about when the kingdom would begin. The prophecy in Daniel 2 states that the kingdom would be set up in the days of the Roman kings. The premillennialists say that the Roman kingdom will have to be restored so this prophecy can still be fulfilled. That can’t work. Even though the Medes and Persians ruled the same empire as the Babylonians, they were a different kingdom. How can you restore a dead kingdom? If you name a new kingdom “Rome,” it is still a different kingdom than what Daniel was prophesying about.

The premillennialists say that the church was never prophesied about in the Old Testament. Peter says it was – Acts 3:20-26. In fact, some of the premillennialists say that the apostles changed the meaning of Old Testament prophecies to make them refer to the church (and they were right to do it because they were led by the Holy Spirit), but the church was never part of the original meaning of the prophecies. That seems to make God dishonest to me. The problem with their method of reading the Bible. The premillennialists claim that they take all scripture literally. That is a problem, since not all of scripture is meant to be taken literally. Mark 4:11-12 shows that God meant for the prophecies of the kingdom to be hard to understand. If you take all scripture literally, then will the kingdom last for 1000 years or will it have no end (Luke 1:32-33)? It is impossible to read every statement in the Bible literally and stay consistent. God did not mean for it all to be taken literally. Premillennialists read poetry and miss the meaning behind the imagery. Acts 2:30 says that David knew Jesus would die and be raised and sit on his throne. That was part of the plan. David said he would do it if you read it literally, but he was meaning Jesus.

The basic problem? The New Testament tells us what the prophecies mean and it doesn’t match what the premillennialists want it to mean.

Premillennialism has some very basic flaws. It says that God’s plan failed – that God did not really know what was going to happen. It says the clear scriptures that say the kingdom is here and will not be earthly are not true. It says that they take all the Bible literally, but they do not and cannot take all of it literally. We need to make sure that understand each part of scripture the way God intended. We cannot simply dismiss explanations that are in the scriptures themselves because they do not fit the way we want to read the Bible. Jesus is ruling in His kingdom now. Don’t you want to be part of it?