Premillennialists do not believe that the kingdom of Christ has yet come.
Those who hold this doctrine will tell you that when Christ came to this earth the first
time it was his intention to set up a physical, earthly kingdom.
And they would contend that the Old Testament prophecies point to this.
And they would contend that Old Testament prophecies point to this.
They would say Old Testament scriptures indicate that Christ's kingdom was to be a physical
one, that there was to be a literal throne, and Christ was going to rule over fleshly
Israel on this earth.
You know, it's very interesting to me that they believe this because it is the same mistake
that the Jews of Jesus' time made.
They too were looking for an earthly kingdom.
Now, you know, this is despite the fact that Jesus specifically said in John 18:36, "My
kingdom is not of this world.
If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered
to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."
And in John 6:15, when the Jews tried to make Jesus a physical king, he fled into the mountains.
Why?
Because Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world."
But they will tell you that Christ came to this earth with the intentions of setting
up an earthly kingdom, but that it did not come to pass because the Jews rejected him
as their king.
And so as a result of that rejection, Christ set up the church as a temporary substitute,
kind of a plan B, if you will, until he comes again in the future to set up his earthly
kingdom.
Friends, this flies in the face of what the Bible tells us about the kingdom of Christ.
The Bible tells us that the Kingdom of Christ is the Church of Christ, and that it came
to existence in the first century.
This idea that Christ attempted to set up his kingdom but that he failed, and so the
church was set-up as an after-thought - a plan B. Friends, that is border-line blasphemous.
Ephesians 3:10-11 tell us that the church is the "revelation of the manifold wisdom
of God," and that the church is "according to his eternal purpose."
And so, for a person to say that the church is an afterthought, that is to reflect on
the wisdom of God.
Secondly, I want you to consider with me the implications of this doctrine.
This doctrine implies that Christ came to this earth with a mission and that he failed
at it.
I don't think we even need to comment on that.
But the Premillennialists will tell you the kingdom has not yet come, but they would say
that some point in the near future Christ is coming back to establish his earthly kingdom
where He will reign for a thousand years.
Now, with that in mind, I want you to consider with me some passages of Scripture that show
this to be a problematic and a false doctrine.
In Matthew 3:1-2, the Bible tells us that John the baptist preached, "Repent ye for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
John was preaching the kingdom is going to be soon.
Matthew 4:17 - Jesus preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
And so Jesus preached the kingdom of heaven is coming soon.
Matthew 10:7 - Jesus told his apostles to preach, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."
And so John the baptist preached it, Jesus preached it, the apostles preached it.
All of them said, "The kingdom is coming soon."
And in Mark 9:1, Christ told the Jews who were standing in His presence, He said, "some
of you will not die until you have seen the kingdom come."
Now friends, here's the question, "Were all of these men mistaken?"
Was John the baptist wrong in his preaching?
Did Jesus make an error when he said the kingdom would be soon?
And the apostles, were they teaching an eronious doctrine?
And what about the fact that Jesus said, "the kingdom would come while some of you here
are still living"?
Was he wrong about that?
Was Jesus wrong about the kingdom coming soon or is Premillennialism wrong?
Now, further I want you to consider this: In Colossians 1:13, the Apostle Paul wrote
that first century Christians had been delivered from the power of darkness and translated
into the kingdom."
What does that mean?
They were in the kingdom.
They were a part of the kingdom.
In Revelation 1:7-9, the Apostle John refers to himself as being a brother "in the kingdom."
Now again, were the Apostles Paul and John wrong, or are the Premillennialists of today
wrong?
You know, it's also very interesting to note that prior to the establishment of the Church
in Acts 2, the kingdom is always spoken of as "coming," but after Acts 2 and the establishment
of the church, the kingdom is always spoken of as being in existence.
Now, that makes perfect sense when you understand that the kingdom is the church.
Friends, today, we don't pray, "thy kingdom come," because today, the kingdom, is already
here.