Premillennialism

Things to come, amillennialism part 13

376 Special Prayer for the Afflicted and Others

Special Prayer

Postmillennialism

-A Day That Will Live in Infamy for Millions-

>He Who Has An Ear Let Him Hear what The Spirit Says To The Churches<

Jesus’ Second Advent,

"Things to Come" Part 12

Postmillennialism 

                                  Quacco Baptist Church

Savannah, Georgia

Oct. 16, 2022

Introduction 

Last Sunday we had a brief overview of the Millennium; a period that covers 1000 years in which we will live in a perfect world with Jesus Christ as ruler. In the meantime, though, we are waiting for that “Blessed Hope”, - the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:12–13); We will be blessed beyond measure when we see Christ. The trials of this life will be over, and we will see that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). The word hope does not communicate uncertainty, as in “I hope that something might occur”; rather, it is the glad assurance that something will take place. Jesus is our hope, and no one can take that hope away. “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). 

The “blessed hope,” then, is the joyful assurance that God will extend His benefits to us and that Jesus Christ will return. We are waiting for this event now. Jesus said He would return (John 14:3), the angels said He would return (Acts 1:11), and the epistles say He will return. Jesus could come back at any time for His church, which includes all believers in Christ from the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 onward. This event is called the rapture. It will be announced by the voice of the archangel and God’s trumpet call. The bodies of those who have died will be raised to be joined with their souls, and then the bodies of those believers still living on earth will be changed into a body like the Lord’s resurrection body. The believers raised from the dead and the believers living at Christ’s return will meet the Lord in the air and be taken to heaven. They will “fly the friendly skies united” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). This will happen in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52).

But, what I just mentioned is not the second advent; that is when Jesus returns for His church, for the believers, to take His bride to heaven for the marriage feast. We’ll cover that a little later on with the parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25.

After which Jesus will return with all the saints, His church along with all Old Testament saints, and land on the Mount of Olives; Zechariah 14:4 says “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the Mount moving north and half moving south.” “That day” is a reference to the Day of the Lord, and the One who stands on the mountain is the Lord Himself. So, yes, this passage predicts the second coming of Jesus Christ…

It is at this point in Pinelspeak, everything gets all discombobulated. Characterized by confusion or disorder.

I added this because that is what you have. Confusion. Scripture, the Gospels and the letters were written in, not the ‘classical’ Greek, but in Koinonia Greek, how it was spoken by the ‘common' ' everyday folk. The red-necks of those days, people with accents, and dialects, like the Gallelians, and so on. 

Then come the scholars and throw a wrench into the Scripture. So we have three different versions of when the Second Advent will occur. 

Its like the secular world today using the word Armaggedon to mean the ‘end of the age’. Or the word Apocalyptic. You do know that Armageddon is not a verb, but a place; the mount of Meggido in Jezreel. Apocalyptic would have to be “revealing” since that is what Apocalyptus means. 

I know I’m chasing the rabbit. But as Justice Scalia said about reading Law, “. . . [the] lawyer or judge trusts neither memory nor paraphrase, but examines the very words of the instrument…” The Lord has said the same about His word and, He said it first.

Ok! The first Advent was the incarnation of Jesus Christ as announced by the Angel Gabriel to the young Mary as written in Luke 1:32-33. He died and was buried, He rose from the dead and ascended back to heaven but said He will return to earth, Matthew 24: 22ff; Zechariah 14: 1-4; and this is where the discombobulation begins. From known theologians as noted by Dwight Pentecost to professors of Yale Divinity School. Dr.’s Harold W. Attridge (Yale Divinity School) and David L. Bartlett when answering questions they leave things nebulous, cloudy or in a haze; and/or ambiguous, open to multiple interpretations and then at times they say you believe what you think is right. 

Paul, writing to the Corinthians concerning their chaos, confusion in their services, about talking in tongues, languages, made it clear that God's Word is clear: “God is not the author of confusion.” (1 Corinthians 14).

Anyway let’s look at the first of the three ‘views’; that’s all we’ll be able to get through this morning. My prayer at this point is that God will guide me, open my lips and speak His words and not expound my own thoughts. 

I.                        Postmillennialism.  

              Postmillennialism is that interpretation of Revelation chapter 20 which sees Christ’s second coming as occurring after the “millennium,” one thousand years a golden age or era of Christian prosperity and dominance.  Christ returns after a period of time, but not necessarily a literal 1,000 years. Those holding this view do not interpret unfulfilled prophecies using a normal, literal method, Revelation 20:4-6 should not be taken literally. They believe that “1,000 years” simply means “a long period of time.” Several commentators quote 2 Peter 3:8, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day”. Context is the key to determining the correct understanding of this passage, especially the comparison of a thousand years to one day. The context of 2 Peter 3 is the return of the Lord to deliver His people. Peter tells the persecuted believers that scoffers will come and mock the idea that the Lord will return. As Christians are persecuted and continue to look for the Lord to deliver them, it does appear as though His coming is “delayed.” Time is simply not an issue here; with God because He has an unlimited amount of it. That’s the idea of the verse—both a day and a thousand years are such an insignificant amount of time to God that it really makes no difference to Him.

Postmillennialist believe that this world will become better and better—all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding—with the entire world eventually becoming “Christianized.” After this, then Chris will return to an already perfect earth as described in Isaiah 11: 1-16.

But, as Grandpa McCoy would say, ‘dab-burnit’, that’s not the view Scripture presents of the world in the end times.  It’s easy to see, Revelation, that the world will be a terrible place during that future time. Also, in 2 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul describes the last days as “terrible times.”

Postmillennialism uses a non-literal method of interpreting unfulfilled prophecy, and often interpreting those passages allegorically. The thing is that when one abandons the normal meaning of a passage, its meaning can become entirely subjective. One puts in their personal feelings, the interpretation becomes subject, that is Eisegesis, reading into the text what the interpreter wishes to find or thinks he finds there; expressing the reader's own subjective ideas, not the meaning which is in the text.

The meaning of words is lost. When they lose their meaning, communication ceases. That is not how God has intended for language and communication to be. God communicates to us through His written word, with objective meanings to words, so that ideas and thoughts can be communicated.

 Literal interpretation of Scripture rejects postmillennialism and holds to a normal interpretation of all Scripture, including unfulfilled prophecy. We have hundreds of examples in Scripture of prophecies being fulfilled. Take, for example, the prophecies concerning Christ in the Old Testament. Those prophecies were fulfilled literally. Consider the virgin birth of Christ: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.  (Isaiah 7:14). 

Consider His death for our sins Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.  (Isaiah 53:4-9); 

These prophecies were fulfilled literally, and that should be reason enough to assume that God will continue in the future to literally fulfill His Word. 

Postmillennialism fails in that it interprets Bible prophecy subjectively and holds that the millennial kingdom will be established by the church, not by Christ Himself.

We’ll have to wait for next Sunday and cover Amillennialim……

The most important point of all is that God, as Paul writes in Philippians 2, and R.C. Sproul explains, “the eternal God, the second person of the Trinity, laid aside—emptied himself of—his divine attributes so that he could become a man. “ 

So then by becoming man and His death on the cross “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10) and we are told by Jesus Himself that God “so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten-one of a kind son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16).

I think of the people that have died this past week; some shot to death by random shootings, stray rounds. One never knows when their life on earth will end, unless you are fortunate enough to be terminally ill and ready to die. It is an often repeated statement yes, and it is worth repeating over and over again. 

God became a man came to earth to offer Himself to pay the penalty for your sins, the sins of all mankind so that they may have eternal life. That life that was lost in the garden. It is free; He has paid the price due all you have to do is thank Him, believe that He died for you and has forgiven you and you shall be saved. 

There is no special prayer…. Just believe that Jesus the Christ, died, was buried, and rose from the dead, the first fruits and you shall be saved… and know that if your confession is true, your salvation is secured and no one, I repeat, no one can talk it away …… As John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)

Let’s pray.

 

Special Announcements Oct. 16, 2022

The Millenium

A Literal Thousand Year Reign of Christ?

Message Oct. 2, 2022