Special Series #2
By Jon Quinn
In our last article we noticed some highly speculative, not to mention unscriptural,
theories regarding our Lord's return. Here, at the close of another millenium, such
theories are running rampant. To summarize the last article, we saw that no one but God
knows when Jesus will return, despite many claims to the contrary (Matthew 24:35,36,44;
25:13). We also saw that the Lord's coming will be unannounced, as the coming of a thief
(2 Peter 3:10). Jesus even told His disciples to always be ready because they would not
know when His coming would be. We also saw that the Bible refers to the antichrist in only
three places, and contrary to modern day theories, the term does not refer to a single
modern day world leader at all, but rather to a group of false religious teachers who were
at work perverting the gospel back in the first century (1 John 2:18,22; 2 John 7). We
also saw how that the signs many say warn us that His coming is imminent (i.e. floods,
earthquakes and so forth) were given by Jesus to warn His disciples of Jerusalem's
destruction back in the first century, not His second coming (Matthew 24:1,2,7,33,34).
Also, modern theories ignore what the book of Revelation itself says about the timeframe
of the events it symbolically speaks of. When we interpret the symbols, we should look at
the first couple of centuries, not the 20 or 21st centuries. This is what the book itself
tells us to do (Revelation 1:1,3). For a fuller treatment of the above, please refer to
the article in the previous issue.
Speculation is a dangerous thing. The most disturbing thing about it is what it does to
people's faith if they are untaught. Think about what it would do to you if someone who
seemed to know what he was talking about told you that Jesus said He would come at such
and such a time and He did not come. Also, think about the impression the world gets from
date setters who fail in there predictions time after time. It is time for us to accept
what the Bible has plainly taught All along; We do not know when His coming will be so we
need to always be living in a state of preparedness.
"And when they say to you, 'Look there! Look here!' Do not go away and run after them." (Luke 17:23). Jesus here warns His disciples against following after speculators in matters of the kingdom. Certainly we need to heed His advice with reference to modern day theories about His imminent coming.
Premillenialism is a very popular belief system today, especially in the Protestant evangelical, charismatic and Pentecostal denominations. The prefix "pre" means "before" and the root "millennial" means "one thousand years". The thousand years is mentioned but once in the Bible, and then in the highly symbolic language of the apocalyptic book of Revelation. The thousand years symbolizes the complete and final victory of the saints who had been martyred for the cause of Christ back in the early days of the church (Revelation 20:1-6). This interpretation of these symbols is in harmony with what the first three verses of the book say about the timeframe of these events. The premillenial theories of today do not fit this timeframe.
Generally, the theories of premilleniallism run something like this:
The Old Testament prophesied of a coming kingdom. Jesus came to fulfill these prophecies but the people rejected Him. So instead of establishing His promised kingdom He established the church instead. He then ascended back into heaven promising to return one day to establish His kingdom on earth and finally fulfilling the ancient prophecies.
Prior to His coming there will be an unusual amount of activity such as wars, earthquakes, famines, storms and the like. European alliances will form, Russia and China will amass armies, a wicked world leader called the antichrist will be revealed and Christians will be persecuted.
At this time, Jesus will appear and the righteous will be raptured. They will leave the earth with Jesus and spend seven years in heaven with Him. During this time, there will be serious tribulation here on earth during which Jews will automatically convert to Christ along with many Gentiles who had been left behind. Armies will gather together to fight a huge battle at Armageddon, and as God's people eon earth are surrounded and all seems lost, Jesus will appear with His angels and win the battle, slaughtering the enemy, and will reign for one thousand years over the earth in Jerusalem. After this, Satan, who has been bound during the millenium will be released for a short time. Then will come the end of the world, the final judgment and eternity.
"...and if you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31,32). The theory is not entirely wrong. Jesus will come again. The dead will be raised. The righteous will rise to meet Him in the air. The world will be destroyed. We will all be judged one day. Death will be conquered. Satan will be defeated. Eternity will follow. So what is wrong with the theory? We'll hit on just a few of its problems.
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