THE RAPTURE AND ISRAEL
By
William West
Author
of
_Unconditional
Immortality Or Resurrection Of The Dead_
THE PREMILLENNIALIST VIEW OF CHRIST
ISRAEL RESTORED
THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
THE
PREMILLENNIAL THOUSAND-YEARS
THE THRONE OF DAVID
DANIEL'S 70 WEEKS AND THE "GAP"
THE "ANTICHRIST" AND "MAN OF SIN"
THE FIRST RESURRECTION AND THE SECOND DEATH
THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE OF ISRAEL
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
·
Chapter 1:
Premillennial beliefs, a multitude of divisions and confusions
·
Chapter 2: The
nature of Christ.
o
The nature of
Christ before He became flesh
§ (1) Jesus Christ, the God who made all things and us
·
Chapter 3: Christ
as reviled in the Old Testament
·
Chapter 4: Christ
as reviled in the New Testament
o
Jesus in the New
Testament
o
Jesus as reviled
in John's gospel. The person who came from God and returned to God
o
Jesus as reviled
in Hebrews
·
Chapter 5: Jesus
Christ, the God who became a man
o
The nature of
Christ while He was flesh and dwelled among us [John 1:14]
§ (1) Jesus Christ, the God who became a man
§ (2) Jesus Christ, the God who died my death for my sin
o
The nature of
Christ now and for all eternity
§ (1) Jesus Christ, the God who lives
§ (2) Jesus in John's Gospel: Came from Heaven, sent by
God, will return to God
·
Chapter 6: The
nature of mankind
o
(1) The nature of
mankind from creation to the resurrection
§ The nature of mankind before the first sin
§ The nature of mankind after Adam's sin
§ From birth to death
§ From death to the resurrection
o
(2) The nature of
mankind for all eternity after the resurrection
·
Chapter 7: What
body does Christ now have in Heaven?
·
Chapter 8: Was
the death and resurrection of Christ foreknown by God?
·
Chapter 9:
Kingdom of Heaven or kingdom of God?
·
Chapter 10: Did
God plan the church or was it just an afterthought?
o
If both God and
Christ had not failed
·
Chapter 11: Back
to the temple made with hands
o
From the blood of
Christ back to the blood of animals
o
From Christ our
High Priest back to the Old Testament priesthood
o
From the
substance back to the shadow
o
From the better
New Covenant back to the Old Covenant
o
From that which
makes alive back to that which kills
o
From free back to
bondage
·
Chapter 12: Old
Testament passages used by Millennialists to teach Christ would set up a
kingdom and rule the world from Jerusalem
·
Chapter 13: New
Testament passages used by Millennialists
o
(1) Matthew 24:
The destruction of Israel, this chapter is regarded by many Millennialists as
being their strongest proof of the Millennium.
§ Preterit Eschatology - Realized Eschatology - The A.
D. 70 Doctrine
§ The day of the Lord
§ On the day of the Lord - The second coming of Christ
§ On the day of the Lord - The resurrection and judgment
of the righteous
§ On the day of the Lord - The resurrection and judgment
of the wicked
§ On the day of the Lord - The final judgment
§ On the day of the Lord - The total destruction of the
earth and the heavens which were made from nothing and will return to nothing
§ On the day of the Lord - The total destruction of the
lost
§ On the day of the Lord - The second death
§ On the day of the Lord - Death will be abolished
§ On the day of the Lord - The saved forever with the
Lord
§ On the day of the Lord - The kingdom will be delivered
up to God
§ On the day of the Lord - Christ will bring the lawless
one to an end by the appearance of His coming
§ On the day of the Lord - "Wrath in the day of
wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God"
o
(2) 2 Peter 3
o
(3) 1
Thessalonians 4:17: Will the second coming of Christ be Premillennial? Will
there be an invisible return of Christ?
o
(4) Revelation
20: The Thousand years
o
(5) Other New
Testament passages used by Millennialists. The first resurrection and the
second death. Is there one resurrection, or two, or more then two
resurrections?
·
Chapter 14: The
"last days" passages
·
Chapter 15: What
is the Great Tribulation?
·
Chapter 16: What
is Armageddon?
·
Chapter 17: Who
is John's "Antichrist"? Who is Paul's "man of sin"?
·
Chapter 18: The
Premillennial views of "Hell"
·
Chapter 19:
Well-known Millennium predictions that failed
·
Chapter 20: The
throne of David
o
(1) The Jewish
earthly kingdom of Israel
o
(2) The
Millennium earthly kingdom of Israel
·
Chapter 21: Is
the Gospel "The power of God to salvation"?
·
Chapter 22:
Israel, is it still God's chosen people?
o
The two-fold
promise
§ The land promise
§ The seed promise
o
God's Israel of
today
·
Chapter 23: The
Thirteenth Tribe
Summary: God,
Daniel or any others of the Old Testament prophets did not know about The
Millennium
FOREWORD
WHAT IS PREMILLENNIAL BELIEFS?
For the most part the
Premillennialists beliefs are a revival of the beliefs of the Jews in the time
of Christ. Israel was looking for an earthly king who would drive Rome out,
conquer other nations, and restore the Kingdom as it was in the time of David.
Premillennialists say this is what Christ came to do but that God did not
foresee the Jews rejecting and killing Christ, but because they did, the
restoring of the kingdom was put off and the church age is an unforeseen
substitute, which begins at the death of Christ and will last only unto He
comes back, then the unforeseen church age (the "gap") will end,
Israel and the Law of the Old Testament will be restored. Christ, who most
Millennialists believe to be a created being and did not exist before His birth
and He will literally sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem and rule the
world. Premillennialists make God and Christ to have failed in their plan to
setup the kingdom of Heaven because of the rejection of Christ by the Jews; and
His death, resurrection, or God did not foresee the _church age_ which they
call the gap. To this basis teaching, different Millennialists add a seven-year
rapture, some before the Millennium, and some after it, and many other
contradictory variations of beliefs. In the Millennium Satan will be bound for
a thousand years, but will be loosed for a "little season." He and
his angels will make war on Christ in Jerusalem and all but overcome Him (the
battle of Armageddon), but God will save Him. Satan, his angels, and the lost
will come to their end in Gehenna just south of Jerusalem, which will have been
restored. Most believe Christ and the saved will live forever on this earth and
no person will ever go to Heaven. In
brief, the Premillennialists belief is a complete rewrite of the Bible.
As David Brown puts
it, "Premillennialism is no barren speculation--useless though true, or
innocuous though false. It is a school of Scripture interpretation; it impinges
upon and affects some of the most commanding points of the Christian faith; and
when suffered to work its unimpeded way, it stops not till it has pervaded with
its own genius the entire system of one's theology, and the whole tone of
spiritual character, constructing, I had almost said, a world of its own; so
that, holding the same faith, and cherishing the same fundamental hopes as
other Christen, he yet sees things through a medium of his own, and finds
everything instinct with the life which this doctrine has generated within
him" Page 8, and "That the fleshly and sublunary state is not to
terminated with the second coming of Christ, but to be then set up in a new
form; when with His glorified saints, the Redeemer will reign in person on the
throne of David at Jerusalem for a thousand years, over a world of men yet in
the flesh, eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in
marriage, under this mysterious way." Christ's Second Coming: Will It Be
Premillennial, Page 6, T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1858.
The Messiah Israel
looked for was a person who would restore Israel as a nation and make them
supreme to all other nations as it was in the time of David. In the restored
nation they looked for, there would have been birth, life and death for all
just as there was in the time of David. No one thought they would have eternal
life. It was not something they looked for. Eternal life was something new to
the teaching of Christ.
Israel looked for a
messiah that was just as David was, a man that would live and die just as David
did, a person that was just a human as all other persons were. Not a Messiah
that would be God. The belief of Millennialists is that Christ was going to set
up the earthly kingdom of Israel and that the death and resurrection of Christ
were not in the plan of God. This view is basic to all the versions of the
Millennium. Without it the Millennium would be totally destroyed. With it,
salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ is totally destroyed.
There is no way both can be true. Many versions of Premillennial doctrines
destroy life after death for all and replace it with only a lifetime on this
earth with no evil, but one that still has death at the end of this lifetime.
At the end of the life of the Messiah the Jews looked for no one would have
been saved from the wages of sin, death, for the Jews would not have crucified
Christ and He would hot have shed His blood to give us life in place of death.
No one, Jew or Gentile, would ever have eternal life without the death of
Christ. There would be no life after death [1 Corinthians 15:13-19].
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Chapter 1
Premillennial beliefs, a multitude of
divisions and confusions
After the Judgment
where will we spend eternity? When I begin to research for this book, I was
surprised and shocked to learn how many there are who say they believe the
Bible but do not believe in the deity and the preexistence of Christ, but
believe that He did not existence before His birth. Even more surprised to
learn that many believe that the sacrifice of Christ will be put aside and go
back to the Old Testament sacrifices of animal; back from the substance to the
shadow [Hebrews 8:5ff; 10:1-24]; and that the New Covenant is just an
afterthought. Satan is doing his work well.
But, I have been just
as surprised at how many there are that say they are Christians, members of the
church Christ give His life for that does not know that this kind of teaching
is going on in the religious world, often even in the congregation they attend,
and they do not seem to care. When I first became a Christian in the fifty,
most Christians know the Bible and would do all they could to teach any person
that was in err; now it often does not seem to be so.
Premillennial doctrine is a system (s) of interpretation, which involves
meaning and significance of the whole Bible, and determines the present purpose
of God. Premillennial beliefs make God and Christ to have failed in their
plan to setup the kingdom because of the rejection of Christ by the Jews. It
makes the church to be something God set up as a substitution. It makes two
resurrections, one of the just, which is most often said to be at the second
coming of Christ; and a second resurrection of the lost a thousand years after
the coming of Christ and the first resurrection. Some versions of Premillennial
doctrines make Christ be nothing more than a glorified man. Some versions make
Christ and all the saved to live on earth for all eternity with a body much as
we now have. In short, it is a system of faith that has little in common with
the New Testament. The Premillennial
doctrine is based on the belief that God can and did fail to accomplish his
will. If both God and Christ did not fail, the Premillennial belief is
completely destroyed.
1.
The Scofield
Bible says God failed.
2.
Hal Lindsey in
"There's A New World Coming" says God failed.
3.
Charles Ryrie in
"The Basis of the Premillennial Faith" says God and Christ failed.
4.
The Premillennial
doctrine affects the interpretation of the covenant with Abraham by making it
not yet be fulfilled, but still to be fulfilled at some future time.
5.
It affects the
interpretation of God's promise to David that his descendants would rule over
Israel forever. Changes Christ now ruling in His kingdom, the church, to Christ
literally ruling on this earth at some time in the future.
6.
It affects the
interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies of the kingdom by making the
kingdom be a combination of church and state on this earth, the earthly kingdom
of the Old Testament.
There are many divisions in Premillennial beliefs, an astounding lack
of agreement between themselves. In fact, there are so many different
variations of the Millennium theories that it would be impossible to accurately
define what is meant by Premillennial. That which one person believes and calls
Premillennial will be completely alien to that which another person believes
and calls Premillennial. One book on Premillennial beliefs will have only a few
similarity and many disagreements with another book on Premillennial beliefs.
Most
Premillennialists believe it was prophesied that Christ was to set up an
earthly kingdom on the throne of David and reign from Jerusalem, but because
the Jews rejected Him the establishment of the kingdom was put off unto after
His second coming and the church was established instead, but only as a
temporary substitution. The Jews will be restored, and the temple rebuilt.
Some
Premillennialists tell us that God planned for Christ to set up the kingdom of
Heaven when He came, but His rejection by the Jews was a surprise to God,
therefore, He set up the church as a substitution and at that time made plains
to set up the kingdom of Heaven at the second coming of Christ. But, other
Premillennialists give us many passages to show that God foretold of the
kingdom to be set up at the second coming of Christ. How could god not have known that the kingdom would not be set up unto
the second coming of Christ and at the same time foretold it? This
Premillennial belief makes Christ a failure. He failed to set up the kingdom He
came to set up. Do not believe this for
Christ did what he came to do. He came to fulfill the law and the prophets,
which included setting up the kingdom, and he did.
Most Premillennialists believe Christ did not exist unto his birth.
APOCALYPTIC OR EARLY MILLENNIUM BELIEFS: There were much
Apocalyptic writing in the time between the Testaments and in the first
century, which was believed by many Jews and the early Christians were
influenced by it. The early Millennium beliefs were that there was a dualistic
world of both good and evil but the good would in time overcome the evil. The
Apocalyptic Premillennial belief again became somewhat popular in the
nineteenth century.
MEDIEVAL ALLEGORICAL OR HISTORIC PREMILLENNIALISTS BELIEF: Satan was lord
over the world and Christ over the Church. There was an ongoing battle between
the two, but the battle has already been won through the cross and eventually
what domain was left to Satan would be taken from him. The church will stay on
earth and go through the tribulation period. Augustine's allegorical view was
the view of many in middle ages and the reformation, and it is still believed
by some today. It was the official belief of the medieval church. However,
there were groups of Apocalyptic Millennialists after the Medieval Age, mostly
under charismatic leaders and were often associated with radicalism and
counterculture groups.
DISPENSATIONAL OR LITERAL
PREMILLENNIALISTS
1. Dispensationalist
believes Christ failed to establish the kingdom He came to establish.
2. Because He
failed to establish the kingdom He set up the church, which is a
_parenthetical_ unto the time that He will be able to set up the kingdom.
3. God now has
two people. The Jews are God_s earthly people and the church is God_s heavenly
people. His heavenly people will eventually be taken from the earth and the
_timeline of prophetic will be _restarted,_ the temple rebuild and animal
sacrifices will be renewed.
·
Although there are many versions, this is the base view and
these three points are in most versions.
CLASSICAL OR UNMODIFIED DISPENSATIONAL belief is a radical division of
the Apocalyptic Premillennialists, which teach there are seven distinct periods
and God deals with man according to different principles in each of the
periods. This view was first taught by John Nelson Darby about 1800 to 1880 and
became well know when Scofield put most of Darby's views in the Scofield
Reference Bible. Belief of Premillennialists goes back to about the third
century. The beliefs of Dispensationalists begin with John Darby. When a doctrine is known to have an origin
eighteen centuries after the New Testament, should not all know it could not be
from the Bible? In the past, The Dispensational doctrine was taught mostly
by Pentecostal and Holiness churches but has now become wider spread. It seems
to have become the most accepted version of Premillennial doctrines and has now
spread to many churches.
Some of the
basic views of Dispensationalists
1.
Mankind was
innocent from creation to the fall.
2.
Mankind under
conscience from the fall to the flood. Mankind with authority over the earth
from the flood to Abraham.
3.
Mankind under
promise from Abraham to the Law of Moses.
4.
Mankind under the
Law from the Law of Moses to Christ
5.
Mankind from the
death of Christ to His second coming.
6.
Mankind from the
second coming to the end of the Millennium.
7.
From the second
coming to the end of the Millennium.
Dispensationalists believes:
1.
There will be a
second coming of Christ to set up His kingdom after the seven-year Tribulation.
2.
There will be a
resurrection of the just before the millennium and a resurrection of the unjust
after the millennium.
3.
The Jews will
repent and receive the land forever that was promised to Abraham, which they
say was unconditional and have not been fulfilled.
4.
The "Kingdom
of Heaven" is the kingdom of David that was postponed when the Jews
rejected Christ and He failed to establish an earthly kingdom with Israel,
which He came to establish, but it will be restored for Israel. That the land
promise was unconditional and was unfulfilled; therefore, Israel must be
restored.
5.
The "Kingdom
of God" is God's universal kingdom that will be worldwide. It seems that
many Dispensationalists believe the Kingdom of Heaven will be God's kingdom on
earth of Jews, and the Kingdom of God will be God's kingdom in Heaven of
Gentiles. Instead of 144,000 Jews being the only ones in Heaven, as many
Premillennialists believe, many Dispensationalists have no Jews and all
Gentiles in Heaven; In other words, most
dispensationalists believe Jews will spend eternity on earth on the land God
promised to Abraham forever and Gentiles will spend eternity in Heaven
[Note: This is Dispensationalism as it is set forth in the Scofield Bible but
this or no other belief seems to be universal among Premillennialists or
Dispensationalists so do not be surprised if one says "that is not what I
believe." Many do but some do not]. Dispensationalists are divided on
where the church will be both during the rapture and during the millennium;
also where and what the church will be after the millennium. Some teach it will
be in Heaven or will dwell in the New Jerusalem hovering above the earth unto
the millennium is over, others say the church will return to earth when
seven-years are over and the millennium begins.
PROGRESS OR MODIFIED DISPENSATIONAL PREMILLENNIALISTS have called in
question and abandoned some of the teaching of classical dispensational
beliefs.
POSTMILLENNIALISTS believe the thousand years, like many
things in Revelation, is not to be taken literally, but symbolical of a long
period of time. Unlike many Premillennialists, most post Millennialists do not
believe there will be a literally thousand years. Christ is now ruling as King
and Priest [Hebrews 7] in the church, and eventually, the whole world will
become Christians, and there will be a long period of peace. Christ will return
after this time of peace. This Postmillennial belief was the dominant view
among Protestants from the Reformation unto after the publication of the
Scofield Reference Bible in 1909.
Premillennialists
or Postmillennialists
THE RAPTURE: But which rapture?
1.
"PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE" Many Dispensationalists believe this view of the
rapture. In this view the rapture will occur before the period of persecution,
before the tribulation period begin. The rapture and an invisible second coming
will take place before the seven-year tribulation. After the seven-year rapture
Jesus will return to earth. Some, who believes this view, believe that there
will be one coming of Christ, some two, and some three or more. More
Premillennialists than may believe this view than any of the others. The
pre-tribulation rapture was not taught before about 1830 by anyone and only
became well known after the Scofield Reference Bible was published in 1909.
Dave MacPherson says, "We have seen that a young Scottish lassie named
Margaret Macdonald had a private revelation in Port Glasgow, Scotland, in the
early part of 1830 that a select group of Christians would be caught up to meet
Christ in the air before the days of Antichrist. An eye-and-ear witness, Robert
Norton M.D., preserved her handwritten account of her pre-trib rapture
revelation in two of his books, and said it was the first time anyone ever
split the second coming into two distinct parts or stages. His writings, along
with much other Catholic Apostolic Church literature, have been hidden many
decades from the mainstream of Evangelical thought and only recently surfaced.
Margaret's views were well-known to those who visited her home, among them John
Darby of the Brethren. Within a few months her distinctive prophetic outlook
was mirrored in the September, 1830 issue of The Morning Watch and the early
Brethren assembly at Plymouth, England. Early disciples of the pre-trib
interpretation often called it a new doctrine." "The Incredible
Cover-Up: The True Story of the Pre-Trib Rapture" 1975, Page 93.
2.
"MID-TRIBULATION RAPTURE" This view is that the church will be raptured away
during the middle of the tribulation.
3.
"POST-TRIBULATION RAPTURE" This view is that the rapture will occur after the
seven-year tribulation.
4.
"PARTIAL-RAPTURE" Only certain believers will be raptured. They do not
agree with each other on whom or how they will be chosen or why only some of
the saved will be raptured. This view is somewhat like the Pre-tribulation
rapture, which believes the church is composed of true Christians and those who
only make a profession of being a Christian. The true Christians will be raptured
away and not go into the tribulation but those who only make a profession of
being a Christian will be left on earth and be in the tribulation.
5.
"PREWRATH RAPTURE" Believers will escape the wrath by being removed from
the earth before it begins.
6.
"MANY MINI-RAPTURES" This view is that there will not be just one rapture
but many mini-raptures at different times. They do not agree with each other on
(1) how many there will be, (2) if any are all are passed, (3) if any are all
of the mini-raptures are yet to be.
7.
"ALREADY PAST RAPTURE" Or the A. D.
70 rapture. If you are living today, you have been "left behind."
This view, like the above views, crosses denominational lines and is found in
many of them.
8.
"SECRET RAPTURE" In many of their books of fictions there is a secret
rapture? Secret from whom? If it were secret where did they find anything about
it? When they tell about it in their books, how can it be secret? If all
Christians were suddenly absent from the earth, how could there be anything
"secret" about it? They are doing all the teaching they can to make
sure that it is not a secret from anyone. The resurrection is never called a
_secret,_ it will come as unexpected as a thief, but it will be seen and known
about by all.
9.
"FIRST AND SECOND STAGES" R. H. Boll's view is that Christ will come in two
stages. In the first stage the saints will be removed from the earth for a
time; then the "real second coming" will be when Christ returns after
the first stage.
"COVENANT THEOLOGY" is that God covenant of grace remains
the same in all the seven dispensations throughout the Old and New Testaments
as opposed to the different purposes for each of the seven dispensations of
Dispensational beliefs. Covenant Theology especially believe Israel and the
church are under the same covenant of grace as opposed to both being under
different covenants of grace as Dispensational Premillennialists believe them
to be.
PRETERITS (full) view is that the second coming of Christ has already
taken place along with the great tribulation, the rapture and the final
judgment occurred in A. D. 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed and no second coming
of Christ, no resurrection, no tribulation is yet to come, and the old heavens
and earth completely passed away and now we are living in the new heavens and
earth; the Great Commission has been completely fulfilled. The A. D. 70 theory
called "Realized Eschatology" seems to be a renewal of the Preterits
belief under a new name. Realized Eschatology teaches that Christ came in A. D.
70, all prophecies were fulfilled at that time, the Old Testament saints were
resurrected, and all that are in Christ go to be with Christ (supposedly in
Heaven) at the moment of their death.
PRETERITS (partial) view is that Christ did come in judgment on
Israel in A. D. 70 and came in judgment on others nations, but the judgment of
all at the second coming of Christ is yet to come.
AMILLENNIALIAL VIEW believes the thousand years (ten time ten times ten, a full
or complete period of time; ten in the Bible denotes a fullness, a thousand
denotes a large indefinite number, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills
Psalm 50:10) are symbolic of a long period of time, which begin with the
establishment of the kingdom of God or Heaven (the church) in A. D. 30 and will
last unto the return of Christ when the kingdom will be delivered up to God [1
Corinthians 15:24]. Amillennialists believe the "signs of the times"
(tribulation, apostasy, the spirit of the Antichrist, etc.) to be marks of this
present time, and there will not be a "golden age" of unprecedented
gospel victory over all the earth before His return. The symbolism of the
binding of Satan in Revelation 20 refers to Satan now being limited by the
victory of Christ over death.
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES view of the Millennium is that 144,000 will be chosen to go
to Heaven and with Christ rule over all others who will be on earth. Also, all
will be given a second chance in the Millennium.
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST view of the Millennium is that the
Millennium will be in Heaven. During the thousand years the saints will be in
Heaven, and at the end of the Millennium a Holy City will descend from Heaven
and the saved will live a wonderful life in it forever. Their Heaven will be on
this earth. The resurrection and destruction of the wicked will be at the end
of the Millennium. They believe that at the second coming of Christ the
unrighteous will be kill, the righteous will be taken back to Heaven for a
thousand years. During the thousand years only Satan and his angels will
inhabit the earth. At the end of the thousand years Christ will return to earth
with the saved and the unrighteous will be raised for judgment. Satan gathers
his angels and with the help of the resurrected unrighteous will attempt to
interfere with the judgment. They will be destroyed. No seven-year rapture.
LATTER-DAY SAINTS (Mormons) view of the Millennium is
that Christ will destroy the wicked at His coming and the earth will be
transformed to a terrestrial glory, as they believe it was before Adam's sin.
During the thousand years, life on earth will be about as it is now but without
sin, poverty, or crime. They will have children, build houses, and in all ways
go about life as now. With their "new revelations" they add many more
details, to many to list in the space I have. After the Millennium, they have
three degrees of glory. The highest will be the celestial glory that will be on
this earth, which will have the things the earth now has, cities, rivers,
animals, etc. The Terrestrial and Celestial glories will not be on earth, but I
have not found where they tell where these two glories will be. All that are
not Mormons will be in one of the two. Only the few who were Mormons and fell
away will be cast in outer darkness where there is no glory, but what happens
to them seems not to have been made known at this time; or just not made known
to those who are not Mormons; they keep much of their beliefs from those who
are not Mormons.
CHURCH FATHERS: Some were influenced by the belief of
the Jews that the Christ was to restore the earthly kingdom to Israel but their
belief was noting like the Premillennialists of today. About the only thing the
two have in common was the restoring of the earthly kingdom of Israel. They did
not believe in the seven year rapture, an invisible coming of Christ, two
resurrections, God having two kingdoms, an earthly kingdom of Jews, and another
heavenly church kingdom. In spite of the fact that their belief is alike in
only one point many Premillennialists claim them as early Premillennialists.
This is like the Baptist finding one point where the Catholics believe the same
and claiming them as Baptist.
THE TEN LOST TRIBES ARE ENGLAND, WHICH IS THE REAL ISRAEL TODAY! I found it
difficult to believe, and I think many will find this just as difficult to
believe as I did, yet there is a rather large group within the Millennium
beliefs that believe that the Anglo-Saxons Race is the true Israel. Richard
Brothers was the originator, and it was later spread by Piazzi Smyth. There are
books both pro and con on this theory. Perhaps the best book in defense of this
theory is by Professor E. Odlum, "God's Covenant Man: British
Israel." Herbert W. Armstrong of the Church of God taught this. For those
who would like to know more of this theory, Foy E. Wallace, Jr. in "God's
Prophetic Word" Pages 386-450 is good. That the Anglo-Saxon race is the
ten tribes of Israel is completely contrary to the history of the origin of
that race. The Mormons make a similar claim, that the Americans Indians are the
lost ten tribes.
Some Premillennialists believes Christ will go back to Heaven with the
saved after the thousand years, some after a thousand and seven years. They
believe the judgment will be after the Millennium, after the thousand years of
the kingdom on earth, and the believers will go to Heaven and the lost will go
to Hell.
There are some Premillennialists that believe Christ will rule from
Heaven, but the kingdom of God will be on this earth.
"That the
fleshly and sublunary state is not to terminate with the second coming of
Christ, but to be then set up in a new form; when, with his glorified saints,
the redeemer will reign in person on the throne of David at Jerusalem for a
thousand years, over a world of men yet in the flesh, eating and drinking,
planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage, under this mysterious
way. This is Premillennialism, or - as the
early fathers, and after them the reformers and our elder divines, termed it -
Chiliasm...I have said, for example, that they expect the saints, in glorified
bodies, to be associated with Christ in his Millennial reign; but what saints,
is not agreed. The early chiliasts - so far as I have been able to gather their
views - thought that those whom Christ will find alive at his coming would be
left below during the thousand years, and only such as had died before his
coming would appear with him in glory. A few in modern times are of the same
opinion, postponing the change of the living saints till the end of the
Millennium. But, the great majority of modern Premillennialists hold that the
saints of both classes - the dead by resurrection, and the living in
instantaneous transformation - will appear with Christ in glory at the
beginning of the Millennium. Again, I have said they look for a reign over a
world of men in flesh and blood; but what men, is not agreed. The moderns, for
the most part, expect the restoration of the Jews to Palestine, and their
supremacy over the nations of the earth: while the early chiliasts appear to
have agreed with their opponents, that Christianity had forever abolished
Jewish peculiarities; and though they were termed Judaizers, this was not, so
far as I can observe, because they contended for any Millennial supremacy of
Jew over Gentiles, but because their system Judaized Christianity itself. In a
word, I have said they expect a reign upon earth of Christ and his glorified
saints; but whether actually upon the earth, or only over and hovering above
it, in the air, and whether visibly or invisibly - whether the ruled will see
their rulers, and, if so, to what extent, whether fully or but partially,
whether always or only at time - is by no means agreed." David Brown,
"Christ's Second Coming: Will It Be Premillennial?" Pages 6-7, 1858.
But, other
Premillennialists believes Christ will rule from Heaven but the kingdom of God
will be on this earth. Some Premillennialists believes Christ will go back to
Heaven with the saved after the thousand years. They believe the judgment will be
after the Millennium, after the thousand years of the kingdom on earth, and the
believers will go to Heaven and the lost will either go to Hell or be totally
destroyed.
Many believes
there will be a rapture in which the dead saints will be resurrected and both
the living saints and the resurrected saints will be taken from the earth to be
with Christ for seven years before the beginning of the thousand years.
There is a multitude of divisions in Millenialists with all the
divisions saying all the others divisions are wrong, are changing the Bible.
Many believes there will be a seven-year rapture in which the dead
saints will be resurrected and both, the living saints, and those who would
have been resurrected will be taken from the earth to be with Christ for seven
years. After reading many pages by those who believe in the
"rapture," I am thoroughly convinced that on this they are the in the
company of the most divided and confused people on earth. I think it would be
difficult to find any two that believe the same thing. Below is a list of some
of the major versions of the rapture, but within each of these versions most have
their own view that is different in one or more ways then any of the others who
say they believe the same view. The incompatibility of the many versions of the
Millennium doctrines is, to say the least, amazing.
SOME OF THE SEVEN-YEAR RAPTURE VERSIONS
THE TRIBULATION PERIOD: Most think it
is the 70th week of Daniel's 70 weeks in Daniel 9. There is little or no unity
of teaching on what will happen in this "week." About all that most
do agree on is that it will be a bad time to be on earth. Many see the nations
that exist today, the U. S., Russia and others being in the tribulation. For
years in the recent past Russia was seen to have a large part it in the
tribulation, but now few see Russia in it. Every uprising or war and every
natural disaster is seen as a sure sign that the Millennium is near only to be
replaced by new ones when they become past history.
AFTER THE MILLENNIUM: Most, but not all, Millennialists believes
Christ will forever be on earth and will rule in the "new Jerusalem."
The earth will be restored to be as it was before Adam sinned. It seems few
Millennialists believes anyone will be in Heaven, but at their funerals most
have gone to Heaven to be with the others that have gone before them. Others
believe mankind will forever be on the earth and no person will ever be in
Heaven, but Christ will rule the earth from Heaven.
The basic views
(in general) of Premillennialists
Premillennialism, the
God who failed to be God, the God that was defected by man.
Through out this article, when I say, "Millennialists
believe" it will be something that many of them do believe, but also
something that some of them may not believe. There is such a disagreement among
them that there is no part of Premillennialism that is believed by all.
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CHAPTER 2
THE NATURE OF CHRIST
"We know that,
when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see His just as He
is" [1 John 3:2]. Christ now, while He is at the right hand of God in
Heaven has a spiritual body and this is how we will see Him when He returns.
Not the nature He had when He had for about 33 years when He was in the image
of Adam (an earthly body as Adam), but the nature He has now while He is at the
right hand of God in Heaven. What Christ is like now is what He will be like
"when He appears." The body He now has and will have at that time is
basis to understand what we shall be after the resurrection.
The nature of Christ before He became flesh, the God who
made all things and us.
"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image" [Genesis
1:26].
"In the beginning was the word [Christ], and the word [Christ] was
with God, and the word [Christ] was God. He [Christ] was in the beginning with
God. All things came into being by Him [Christ], and apart from him [Christ]
nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him [Christ] was life, and
the life was the light of men...he [Christ] was in the world and the world was
made through Him [Christ]...and the word [Christ] became flesh, and dwelled
among us" [john 1:1-14].
John states
three facts in such a simple way that a child could understand them and could
not misunderstand that Christ is God.
Then he
restates it so that no one could misunderstand what he had said.
·
"For you
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich" [2 Corinthians
8:9]
His claim to being
equal with God was even acknowledged by His enemies, but they called it
blasphemy [John 5:17; 5:18; 8:58-59; 10:33-36]. If, as some Premillennialists
tells us that Christ did not exist unto His birth, it would have been blasphemy
and a sin to make Himself equal with God. Therefore, if He did not exist before
His birth, He did blaspheme and He was a sinner just as we are and His death
did not save us from our sins. But, some Premillennialists tell us that Christ
did not exist unto His birth!!! Is there anyway God's word could say "the
word" preexisted that they would believe? "The word" existed
before time began.
1.
"And now, glorify Me together with Yourself,
Father, with the glory which I had with
you before the world was"
[John 17:5]. Christ existed with God before the world was made, long before He
became a man.
2.
And again Christ
says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega,
says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty" [Revelation 1:8]. Jesus clearly says He is
"the almighty."
3.
"For by Him [Christ] all things were created,
both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or rulers and authorities--all thing have been created by Him and for
Him. And He is before all thing, and
in Him all things hold together"
[Colossians 1:16-17]. Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe. Three things
are here stated.
o
(1) "For in Him were all things
created"
§ All things "in
the havens and upon the earth"
§ "Things
visible and thing invisible"
§ "Whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or power"
§ "All
things have been created through Him, and for Him"
o
(2) "And He is before all things"
o
(3) "And in Him all things hold
together"
4.
Christ said, "I
and the Father are one. The Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus
answered them, 'Many good works have I showed you from the Father; for which of
those works do you stone Me'? The Jews answered him, 'For a good work we stone
you not, but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make Yourself God'" [John
10:30-33]. If Christ is not God, He is an impostor and a liar. The Jews did not
understand Christ to be saying He was God's chosen one, as many
Premillennialists say. Without any doubt, they understood Him to be saying He
was God.
5.
"A virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall
call his name Immanuel" [Isaiah 7:14]. Immanuel means "God with us." Matthew says, "Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel:
which is, being interpreted, God with us" [Matthew 1:22-23].
6.
"Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing
of the glory of our great God and
savior, Christ Jesus: who gave Himself for us" [Titus 2:13-14].
7.
"Of our God
and savior, Christ Jesus" [2
Peter 1:1 New American Standard Version].
8.
"But of the Son he says 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever'" [Hebrews 1:8].
9.
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today,
yes and forever" [Hebrews 13:8;
also Hebrews 1:12; Psalm 102:25-27].
10.
"Christ Jesus who, existing in the form of God,
counted not the being on an equality
with God a thing to be grasped"
[Philippians 2:5-6].
11.
Also, Revelation
10:6 and 14:6-7
Only God is to be worshiped. No man or angel is to be worshiped, but
Christ is worshiped [Isaiah 45:21-23; Matthew 2:1; 14:33; 28:9; 28:17; Luke
24:51-52; John 9:37-38; Acts 7:59; 1 Corinthians 16:22; Philippians 2:11-11; 1
Timothy 1:12; Revelation 1:17; 5:8-14; many more]. If Christ were not God, but accepted or allowed Himself to be
worshiped, He would be putting Himself in the place of God when He was only a
man; it would have been blaspheming as the Jews frequently accused him of doing
[Mark 2:6-8; John 5:18].
JESUS
IS THE "I AM"
"Before
Abraham was born, I AM" [John
8:58].
"But he
said unto them, I AM, be not
afraid" [John 6:20; Matthew 14:27; Mark 6:50]. "It is I" in many
English translations, but "I AM"
in the Greek. See Alfred Marshall "Parallel New Testament In Greek And
English," Page 46.
Barnes Notes on the New Testament, Colossians 1:16. "He does not
declare that he created all things in the spiritual kingdom of God, or that he
arranged the events of the gospel dispensation...but that everything was
created by him...There could not possibly be a more explicit declaration, the
universe was created by Christ, than this. As if the simple declaration in the
most comprehensive terms were not enough, the apostle goes into a specification
of things existing in heaven and earth, and so varies the statement as if to
prevent the possibility of mistake...There could not be a more positive
declaration than this, that the universe was created by Christ; and if so, he
is Divine. The work of creation is the exertion of the highest power to which
we can form a conception, and is often appealed to in the Scriptures by God to
prove that he is Divine, in contradistinction from idols...The assertion is,
the 'creative' power of Christ was exerted on 'all things.' It is not in
reference to angels only, or to man, or to Jews, or to Gentiles; it is in
relation to 'everything in heaven and on earth.'"
Adam Clarke Commentary on Colossians 1:15-16: "Verse 15. Who is the
image of the invisible God? The counterpart of God Almighty, and if the image
of the invisible God, consequently, nothing that appeared in him could be that
image; for if it could be visible in the Son, it could also be visible in the
Father; but if the Father be invisible, consequently, his image in the Son must
be invisible also. This is that form of God of which he divested himself; the
ineffable glory in which he not only did not appear, as to its splendor and
accompaniments, but concealed also its essential nature; that inaccessible
light which no man, no created being, can possibly see. This was that Divine
nature, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, which dwelled in him. The first-born
of every creature. I suppose this phrase to mean the same as that, Philippians
2:9: God has given him a name which is above every name; he is as man at the
head of all the creation of God; nor can he with any propriety be considered as
a creature, having himself created all things, and existed before anything was
made. If it be said that God created him first, and that he, by a delegated
power from God, created all things, this is most flatly contradicted by the
apostle's reasoning in the 16th and 17th verses. Colossians 1:16,17 As the Jews
term Jehovah becoro shel olam, the first-born of all the world, or of all the
creation, to signify his having created or produced all things; (see Wolfius in
loc.) so Christ is here termed, and the words which follow in the 16th and 17th
Colossians 1:16,17 verses are the proof of this. The phraseology is Jewish; and
as they apply it to the supreme Being merely to denote his eternal
preexistence, and to point him out as the cause of all things; it is most
evident that St. Paul uses it in the same way, and illustrates his meaning in
the following words, which would be absolutely absurd if we could suppose that
by the former he intended to convey any idea of the inferiority of Jesus
Christ. Verse 16. For by him were all things created, two verses contain parts
of the same subject. I shall endeavor to distinguish the statements of the
apostle, and reason from them in such a way as the premises shall appear to
justify, without appealing to any other scripture in proof of the doctrine,
which I suppose these verses to vindicate. Four things are here asserted: 1.
That Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe; of all things visible and
invisible; of all things that had a beginning, whether they exist in time or in
eternity. 2. That whatsoever was created was created FOR himself; that he was
the sole end of his own work. 3. That he was prior to all creation, to all
beings, whether in the visible or invisible world. 4. That he is the preserver
and governor of all things; for by him all things consist. Now, allowing St.
Paul to have understood the terms, which he used, he must have considered Jesus
Christ as being truly and properly God. I. Creation is the proper work of an
infinite, unlimited, and unoriginated Being; possessed of all perfection's in
their highest degrees; capable of knowing, willing, and working infinitely,
unlimitedly, and without control: and as creation signifies the production of
being where all was absolute nonentity, so it necessarily implies that the Creator
acted of and from himself; for as, previously to this creation, there was no
being, consequently, he could not be actuated by any motive, reason, or
impulse, without himself; which would argue there was some being to produce the
motive or impulse, or to give the reason. Creation, therefore, is the work of
him who is unoriginated, infinite, unlimited, and eternal. But, Jesus Christ is
the Creator of all things, therefore, Jesus Christ must be, according to the
plain construction of the apostle's words, truly and properly GOD. II. As,
previously to creation, there was no being but God, consequently, the great
First Cause must, in the exertion of his creative energy, have respect to
himself alone; for he could no more have respect to that which had no existence,
than he could be moved by nonexistence, to produce existence or creation. The
Creator, therefore, must make everything FOR himself. Should it be objected
that Christ created officially or by delegation, I answer: This is impossible;
for, as creation requires absolute and unlimited power, or omnipotence, there
can be but one Creator; because it is impossible that there can be two or more
Omnipotents, Infinities, or Eternals. It is therefore, evident that creation
cannot be effected officially, or by delegation, for this would imply a Being
conferring the office, and delegating such power; and that the Being to whom it
was delegated was a dependent Being; consequently, not unoriginated and
eternal; but this the nature of creation proves to be absurd. 1. The thing
being impossible in itself, because no limited being could produce a work that
necessarily requires omnipotence. 2. It is impossible, because, if omnipotence
be delegated, he to whom it is delegated had it not before, and he who
delegates it ceases to have it, and consequently ceases to be GOD; and the
other to whom it was delegated becomes God, because such attributes as those
with which he is supposed to be invested are essential to the nature of God. On
this supposition God ceases to exist, though infinite and eternal, and another
not naturally infinite and eternal becomes such; and thus, an infinite and
eternal Being ceases to exist, and another infinite and eternal Being is
produced in time, and has a beginning, which is absurd. Therefore, as Christ is
the Creator, he did not create by delegation, or in any official way. Again, if
he had created by delegation or officially, it would have been for that Being
who gave him that office, and delegated to him the requisite power; but the
text says that all things were made BY him and FOR him, which is a
demonstration that the apostle understood Jesus Christ to be truly and
essentially God. III. As all creation necessarily exists in time, and had a
commencement, and there was an infinite duration in which it did not exist,
whatever was before or prior to that must be no part of creation; and the Being
who existed prior to creation, and before all things-all existence of every
kind, must be the unoriginated and eternal God: but St. Paul says, Jesus Christ
was before all things; ergo, the apostle conceived Jesus Christ to be truly and
essentially God. IV. As every effect depends upon its cause, and cannot exist
without it; so creation, which is an effect of the power and skill of the
Creator, can only exist and be preserved by a continuance of that energy that
first gave it being. Hence, God, as the Preserver, is as necessary to the
continuance of all things, as God the Creator was to their original production.
But, this preserving or continuing power is here ascribed to Christ, for the
apostle says, And by him do all things consist; for as all being was derived
from him as its cause, so all being must subsist by him, as the effect subsists
by and through its cause. This is another proof that the apostle considered
Jesus Christ to be truly and properly God, as he attributes to him the
preservation of all created things, which property of preservation belongs to
God alone; ergo, Jesus Christ is, according to the plain obvious meaning of
every expression in this text, truly, properly, independently, and essentially
God. Such are the reasonings to which the simple letter of these two verses
necessarily leads me. I own it is possible that I may have misapprehended this
awful subject, for humanum est errare et nescire; but I am not conscious of the
slightest intentional flaw in the argument. Taking, therefore, the apostle as
an uninspired man, giving his own view of the Author of the Christian religion,
it appears, beyond all controversy, that himself believed Christ Jesus to be
God; but considering him as writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost,
then we have, from the plain grammatical meaning of the words which he has
used, the fullest demonstration (for the Spirit of God cannot lie) that he who
died for our sins and rose again for our justification, and in whose blood we
have redemption, was GOD over all. And as God alone can give salvation to men,
and God only can remit sin; hence with the strictest propriety we are commanded
to believe on the Lord Jesus, with the assurance that we shall be saved. Glory
be to God for this unspeakable gift!"
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CHAPTER 3
CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Luke 24:46: "And
He said unto them, THUS, IT IS WRITTEN, THAT THE CHRIST SHOULD SUFFER AND RISE
AGAIN FROM THE DEAD THE THIRD DAY." HOW COULD THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION
OF CHRIST ON THE THIRD DAY BE WRITTEN WHEN PREMILLENNIALISTS TELL US THAT NOT
EVEN GOD KNEW ABOUT THE REJECTION AND DEATH OF CHRIST? YET, CHRIST SPEAKS OF IT
REPEATEDLY AND REPEATEDLY SAYS IT WAS WRITTEN. GOD, CHRIST AND THE PROPHETS DID
KNOW, WHICH MAKES NOT POSSIBLE THE CLAIM OF PREMILLENNIALISTS THAT GOD DID
INTEND TO RESTORE THE KINGDOM TO ISRAEL AT THE FIRST COMING OF CHRIST BUT
AGAINST HIS WILL GOD HAD TO PUT IT OFF BECAUSE THE JEWS REJECTED HIM AND PUT
HIM TO DEATH. There are many prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament.
Prophecies about:
1.
The birth of
Christ. Genesis 3:15; Galatians 4:4
2.
The lineage of
Christ. Genesis 49:10; Luke 3:33
3.
Christ was the
prophet to come. Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Acts 3:20-22
4.
The betrayal of
Christ. Psalm 41:9; Luke 22:47-48
5.
Christ being sold
for thirty pieces of silver. Zechariah 11:11-12; Matthew 26:15; 27:1-10
6.
The death of
Christ. Zechariah 12:10; John 10:27
7.
The resurrection
of Christ. Psalm 16:10; Luke 14:7 Acts 2:25-28
8.
Christ would be a
priest and king to the church, not to Israel, not the king of only one earthly
nation for only the lifetime of one person. Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:5-6
It is repeatedly said
the prophets knew beforehand and wrote of the suffering, death and resurrection
of Christ, yet Millennialists say not so, not God or the prophets knew. "For I delivered unto your first of all
that which also I received: that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried; and that
He has been raised on the third day according to the scriptures"
[1 Corinthians 15:3-4]. The scriptures Paul was speaking of was the Old
Testament scriptures. How was the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus
"according to the scriptures" if not even God foreknow about it?
Psalm 22:1; 16-18: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken
me...They pierced My hands and My feet...They divide My garments among them,
and for My clothing they cast lots." Psalm 69:21: "They also give Me gall for My food, and for My thirst they give
Me vinegar to drink."
Psalm 2: "Why do the nations rage, and the
peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the
rulers take counsel together, against Jehovah, and against his anointed,
saying, let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He
that sits in the heavens will laugh: The Lord will have them in derision. Then
will he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure: yet
I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree:
Jehovah said unto me, You are my son; This day have I begotten you. Ask of me,
and I will give you the nations (footnote: Gentiles) for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your
possession."
1.
Acts 4:24-25
quotes this Psalm and applied it to the first coming of Christ.
2.
Acts 13:33
applied it to the resurrection of Christ, not to His second coming and the
Millennium.
3.
Hebrews 1:5 and
[4] Hebrews 5:5 both quote Psalm 2:7 as having been fulfilled. Verse 8 shows
the worldwide nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, all who will believe.
Isaiah 7:14: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel
(God with us)." "Now all this is come to pass, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they
shall call his name Immanuel (God
with us)" [Matthew 2:22-23: Luke 1:26-35].
Isaiah 9:6-7: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor, mighty
God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with righteousness from henceforth,
even forever."
Isaiah 53: "Who has believed our message? And to
whom has the arm of Jehovah been revealed? For he grew up before him as a
tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he has no form nor comeliness;
and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised,
and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one
from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not. Surely
he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and Jehovah has laid on
him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he
opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep
that before its shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and
judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who among them
considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the
transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? And they made his grave
with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet, it pleased Jehovah to
bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering
for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant
justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because
he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet
he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." This chapter of Isaiah is a death blow to
the Millennium teaching that Christ was to restore the kingdom to Israel, but
because the Jews rejected Christ and put Him to death, restoring Israel and the
kingdom was put off unto the second coming. It is quoted and applied to
Jesus as being fulfilled in Christ by six people in the New Testament.
1.
By the apostle
John in John 12:38
2.
By the apostle
Paul in Romans 10:16
3.
By the apostle
Matthew in Matthew 8:17
4.
By the apostle
Peter in 1 Peter 2:22
5.
By Philip in Acts
8:32-38
6.
By Luke in Luke
22:37
Millennialists tell
us that Christ came to establish a temporal kingdom of Israel but did not
establish it because the Jews rejected him, but He will establish it when He
comes a second time. YET, THEY TELL US CHRIST WAS REJECTED BECAUSE HE DID NOT
ESTABLISH THE TEMPORAL KINGDOM OF ISRAEL HE CAME TO ESTABLISH, WHICH WAS THE
VERY KIND OF KINGDOM THE JEWS WERE LOOKING FOR. Which way was it? It could not
be both ways. According to Millennialists, He came to establish the kind of
kingdom they were looking for and wanted, but they rejected Him because of it.
If He came to establish the kingdom of Israel the Jews were looking for, why
did they reject Him? Premillennialists now teach the same error the Jews
believed, that the Christ was to set up an earthly kingdom of Jews. If Christ
were just a man, as many Millennialists tell us he was, would the kingdom He
set up of Jews has lasted any longer then the kingdom David set up? What would
have happened to the kingdom after His death? The Jews would have had an
earthly kingdom, but what would have happened to each Jew after his or her
death? If the Jews had not rejected
Christ, He would not have been put to death. If Christ had not been
resurrected, there would be no resurrection for anyone, no resurrection for Jew
or Gentile. Did salvation and eternal life come because of something God did
not foresee?
1 Corinthians 10:3-4:
"And did all eat the same spiritual
food; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drink of a spiritual
rock that followed them: and the rock
was Christ." "The Christ" footnote in American Standard
Version. "The Anointed One"
in the Christian Bible. Or as most Premillennialists would say, "The
Messiah." The point Paul was making is that the Corinthians thought that
the relationship they had with God was guaranteed because they believed Christ
and He would look out for them, but he points out to them that the Jews had the
very same privileges, that Christ was
looking out for them, but many of them fell in the wilderness for God was
not pleased with them. This clearly shows the preexistence of "the Messiah," and that the Messiah (Christ) accompanied
the Jews all through the forty years in the wilderness. "We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were
destroyed by serpents"
[1 Corinthians 10:9 New Revised Standard Version]. "Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted" [New
King James Version]. Verse 9, "Neither let us tempt Christ."
Adam Clarke: "Christ: this was the Rock that followed them, and
ministered to them; and this view of the subject is rendered more probably by
what is said 1 Corinthians 10:9, that they tempted Christ, and were destroyed
by serpents...that Christ is intended by the spiritual rock that followed them:
and that it was he, not the rock, that did follow or accompany the Israelites
in the wilderness. This was the angel of God's presence who was with the Church
in the wilderness, to whom our fathers would not obey, as St. Stephen says,
Acts 7:38,39...And this affords no mean proof that the person who is called
Yehovah in the Old Testament, is called Christ in the New. By tempting Christ
is meant disbelieving the providence and goodness of God; and presuming to
prescribe to him how he should send them the necessary supplies, and of what
kind they should be." Notes on 1 Corinthians 10:1-9.
Isaiah 6:1-10; John
12:41: "Jesus" in John
12:41 is the "Jehovah" of
Isaiah 6:1-10. Albert Barnes says, "In the
prophecy, Isaiah is said expressly to have seen Jehovah, Ver. 1, and in ver. 5: 'Mine eyes have seen the king, Jehovah of hosts.' By his glory is
meant the manifestation of him, the shechinah, or visible cloud that was a
representation to God, and that rested over the mercy-seat. This was regarded
as equivalent to seeing God; and John here expressly applies this to the Lord
Jesus Christ. For he is not affirming that the people did not believe in God,
but is assigning the reason why they believe not on Jesus Christ as the
Messiah. The whole discourse and illustration has respect to the Lord Jesus,
and the natural construction of the passage requires us to refer it to him.
John affirms that it was the glory of Messiah that Isaiah saw, and yet Isaiah
affirms that it was Jehovah. And
from this, the inference if irresistible that John regarded Jesus as the
Jehovah, whom Isaiah saw. The name Jehovah is never in the Scriptures applied
to a man, or an angel, or to any creature. It is the peculiar, incommunicable
name of God. So great was the reverence of the Jews for that name that they
would not even pronounce it. This passage is, therefore, conclusive proof that
Christ is equal with the Father" Barnes' Notes on John 12:41. Adam Clarke
says, "It appears evident from this passage, that the glory which the
prophet saw was the glory of Jehovah; John, therefore, saying here that it was
the glory of Jesus, shows that he considered Jesus to be Jehovah."
Isaiah 11:10: "And it shall come to pass in that
day, that the root of Jesse that stands for an ensign of the people, unto Him shall the Gentiles seek; and his
resting place shall be glorious." Romans 15:12: "And again, Isaiah says, 'There shall be the root of Jesse, and he
that arises to rule over the Gentiles; on him shall the Gentiles hope.'"
It is now when Christ is ruling over both Jews and Gentiles in the church that
Isaiah said the Gentiles shall seek Him, therefore, God knew long before about
both the rejection of Christ and about the church.
Isaiah 40:3: "The voice of one that cries, 'Prepare
you in the wilderness the way of Jehovah;
make level in the desert a highway for our God.'"
In both Matthew 3:3 and Mark 1:3, John the Baptist says this was spoken of
Jesus; therefore, Jesus is the Jehovah and God of Isaiah 40:3.
Psalm 45:6; Psalm 102
- Hebrews 1:6-12: "And let all the
angels of God worship Him...but of
the Son he says 'Your throne, O God,
is forever and ever.'" Would God command the angels to worship someone
who was just a man, just a created being, when throughout the Bible we are
taught not to worship a man or any created being or thing? The fact that God said worship Him and He is called "God" in both the Greek and
the Hebrew (Psalm 45:6) prove that He is not a created being. But, the
writer of Hebrews does not stop. Speaking of Jesus he says, "You Lord, in the beginning did lay the
foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hand: they shall
perish; but you continue: and they all shall wax old a does a garment: and as a
mantle shall you roll them up, as a garment, and they shall be changed; but you
are the same, and your years shall not fail" (A quotation from Psalm
102:25-27). A clear statement that Christ made everything that has been made,
and that He is eternal. Psalm 102 is a
prayer to God; in it God is praised (see verse one). It is addressed to
Jehovah, "But You, O Jehovah, will abide forever; And Your memorial name to
all generations" [102:12 American Standard Version]. "For He has looked down from the height
of his sanctuary; from heaven did Jehovah
behold the earth" [102:19].
"I said, O My God, take me not
away in the midst of my days: your years are throughout all generations. Of old
you did lay the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of your
hands. They shall perish, but you shall endure; Yea, all of them shall wax old
like a garment; as a garment shall you change them, and they shall be changed:
but you are the same, and your years shall have no end" [Psalm
102:24-27]. The earth came from nothing and will go back to nothing, but God
remains the same. We learn from the writer of Hebrews that this is speaking of
the Lord Jesus. He is speaking of Jesus the Son of the Father [Hebrews 1:1-14].
In Hebrews 1:10-12 he quotes Psalm 102:25-27 and applied it to Christ.
"And You, Lord, in the
beginning did lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of
your hands: they shall perish; but you continues: and they all shall wax old as
does a garment: and as a mantle shall you roll them up, as a garment, and they
shall be changed: but you are the same, and your years shall not fail" [Hebrews
1:10-12]. The Hebrew writer takes this prayer, which is a prayer to God and
applied it to Christ. If Christ were just a created being, this would be
blasphemy.
Psalm 110 - Matthew
22:43-44: "What think you of the
Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto him, the son of David. He said unto
them, How then does David in the spirit call him Lord, saying, 'The Lord said
unto my Lord, set you on my right hand, till I put your enemies underneath your
feet?" The question is how can the Christ be both David's Lord and
David's son. They believed the Christ would be born of the seed of David and
reign over them. How then could He be David's Lord when He would be born long
after the death of David? They could not answer Him. Those that believe Christ
did not preexist before His birth must answer the question the Pharisees could
not answer; the question that made them not dare ask Him any more questions
[Matthew 22:46]. Neither can anyone that believes Christ did not preexist
before His birth answer it.
Isaiah 40:3: "A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for
the Lord in the wilderness; make
smooth in the desert a highway for our God.'"
Both Matthew and Mark say this was spoken about John the Baptist who came to
prepare the way for Jesus ("a
highway for our God") [Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3].
Micah 5:2: "From you One will go forth for Me to
be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity" New American Standard Bible. ["Have been from of old, from everlasting" King James
Version]. Christ existed from eternity, not as Millennialists say, "Only
from His birth."
"THE ANGEL OF JEHOVAH"
"The angel of Jehovah"
appeared frequently in the Old Testament, and is called, "angel of Jehovah," "Jehovah," and "God." He possesses
characteristics that can only belong to deity, and he accepted worship, which
created angels did not [Revelation 22:8-9]. He is called "God" or "Jehovah"
a number of times, see Genesis 16:7-13, 22:11-18; 31:13; 48:14; Exodus 3:2-22;
[Joshua 5:13-15 and Judges 6:13-24] Judges 2:1-3; Zechariah 3:11; [Genesis
32:30 and Hosea 12:4-5].
The Angel of Jehovah appeared to Hagar:
The Angel of Jehovah appeared to Abraham:
The Angel of Jehovah appeared to Jacob:
The Angel of Jehovah appeared to Moses:
The Angel of Jehovah appeared to Joshua:
The Angel of Jehovah appeared to Judah when under the
leadership of Joshua:
1. "The angel of Jehovah...said, I made you
to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto
your fathers" [Judges 2:1].
Exodus 20:2 says, "I am Jehovah your God, who brought you
out of the land of Egypt."
2.
"The angel of Jehovah...said... I will
never break my covenant with you." In Leviticus 26:44-45 it is Jehovah who said He will never break
HIS covenant He made with their ancestors.
3.
The angel of Jehovah said, "I will not drive
them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their
gods shall be a snare unto you." But in Joshua 23:13 it was Jehovah that said He would not drive
them out and they would be a snare and a thorn to them. The three persons in
the Godhead are one God. _The angel of Jehovah" is one of the Godhead, therefore,
is God.
The Angel of Jehovah appeared to Gideon:
The Angel of Jehovah appeared to Muons wife:
Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I AM" [John 8:58]. "The origin and meaning of the name Jehovah are
especially brought out in relation to Israel. When Moses at the burning bush
says to God: 'Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say
unto them, The Elohim of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say
unto me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?' And the Lord said to
Moses, 'I am that I am.' The words could be rendered, 'I will be that I will
be,' and often the word is used in that sense, 'I will be with thee.' Its
origin is exactly the same as that of Jehovah--being, existence--and certainly
denotes the One who will always be: personal, continuous, absolute
existence" Nathan J. Stone, "Names of God," page 20. In Exodus
3:13-15 "The angel of Jehovah"
says he is "I am that I am."
Most conservative Bible scholars agree
that the angel of Jehovah that is used often in the Old Testament is Christ.