KINGDOM -OLOGY 9

The Scriptures Exclude the period between the two Advents of Christ as fulfilling the predictions concerning the Mediatorial Kingdom

            This is abundantly clear from the record of the Book of Acts and the Epistles. During the forty days of post-resurrection ministry Christ met with His disciples upon more than one occasion and taught them "things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). Much of this doubtless appears in substance in the epistles. It was of such character that it excited a question from them: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). This means that they understood the substance of Christ's teaching to refer to the Historical Kingdom and its predicted fulfillment. Christ's answer makes it perfectly clear they were right in their understanding, but that as to the time of fulfillment—it is delayed and known only to the Father. At this present time He has a program for the church which goes beyond the borders of Israel and is worldwide (Acts 1:7-8).

            Peter's preaching on Pentecost and days later gave assurance to the Jews that the Kingdom was definitely in the plans of God for the future. Christ had been raised up from the dead so that He could sit on the throne of David and by this act was made both Lord and Messiah (Acts 2:29-36). But more than that, in response to repentance and conversion, their sins will be blotted out, and they will be ready for the times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, when Christ will break through the heavens, and initiate the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:19-21).

            When the Church extended its borders to include Gentiles, Jewish Christians began to fear that exclusion of the responsibilities of the law meant that the promises and prophecies were falling by the way and Israel was to lose out. This called for a high level meeting in Jerusalem with representatives from the church in Antioch as well as the church in Jerusalem. After many sessions, James made the pronouncement that brought a solution: “Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is falled down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up” (Acts 15:14-16). This was assurance to Jewish Christians that God had not gone back on His promises to Israel, that the historical kingdom would be restored, that it was yet future and waited on the fulfillment of another program. This kingdom was only interrupted and delayed until the program of the Church now in process was fulfilled. All the prophets predicted this, and God keeps His promises made to the fathers. Nothing in the present program is to be interpreted that God does not have an eternal plan He will carry forth to its conclusion (Acts 15:17-18).

             The last glimpse of Paul in the Book of Acts finds him occupying his own hired dwelling and entertaining official delegations of Jews and many others, preaching to them the message concerning the Mediatorial Kingdom, and emphasizing the message concerning the King (Acts 28:23). Some believed and some did not believe (Acts 28:24). For those who did not believe he warned them in the words of Isaiah that judicial blindness would fall upon them, and for the present, God is sending His salvation to the Gentiles (Acts 28:25-28). But he continued his preaching of the coming kingdom to all who would listen (Acts 28:29-31). The epistles likewise continue to make reference to the Mediatorial Kingdom, but always indicating that it is yet future.

            Postmillennialism and Amillennialism both claim that the millennium as set forth in Rev. 20:1-6 falls in the period between the two advents of Christ. But this is really only the tip of the iceberg. Much twisting and turning of the Scriptures are employed to make the Scriptures fit their eschatology.

            Postmillennialism is for all practical purposes dead. Its thesis was that through the Church Christ was ruling and gradually bringing everything under subjection to Himself. This will at last be completed by the church and when the millennium has run its course, Christ will take His place on the throne of the Kingdom at His Second Advent. At this point the eternal state will be ushered in. But within this past century the world has taken a definite turn downward morally and spiritually, the imagined victory of the church has disappeared, and almost all the followers of this scheme have abandoned it.

            Amillennialism was fathered by Augustine about 400 A.D. Two things laid the foundation for this system of eschatology. The spiritualizing methods of Origen in the interpretation of Scripture had already gained a strong foothold among church leaders. In addition there had been a union of the world and the church. Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman Empire. This seemed to call for another look at the meaning OT prophetic Scripture. On the pretext of the sensualizing and materialistic way some Premillennialist handled the subject of the millennial kingdom, Augustine turned away from Premillennialism and wrote his massive work on the City of God. The millennium in his thinking is not literally a thousand years, and the kingdom is not earthly in the full sense of that term. It is confined to the church and will reach its conclusion at the Second Advent when the eternal state will be ushered into existence. This system is having a resurgence in our day, but only because theologians are unwilling to stay by a literal interpretation of the Scriptures.

            In these two systems of eschatology, by use of the spiritualizing method, Israel becomes the Church, the millennium is no longer a thousand years, Israel as a nation no longer has a stake in the promises of the Old Testament, and an amazing arrangement of the Book of Revelation is conceived in order to move the thousand years into the period between the two advents. In these systems of eschatology the devil is supposedly chained. But as someone has observed, if indeed he is chained, then the chain is amazingly long.

            If we are to take the Scriptures at face value, then the Mediatorial kingdom is regarded as yet future by the writers of New Testament. And these writers were members of the Church. Inheritance of this kingdom is yet future (1 Cor. 6:9-10). The Christian suffers now, but will in the future reign with Christ (2 Tim. 2:12). Now is the time for diligent service and evaluation will come at the appearing of His kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1-2), and there will be an abundant entrance into this kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11). This kingdom will be initiated at Christ's second coming when he will begin a period of reign during which Christ will bring every enemy into subjection to Himself (1 Cor. 15:23-26). This period will extend for a thousand years between the resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the wicked (Rev. 20:5-6).