Recently, I have been asked why I do not hold to the premillennialist viewpoint.  It was a question that I had asked myself rather frequently as well, and I finally came up with an answer.  I do not believe the premillennialist viewpoint because my mom, my dad, and my preacher/uncle don't. 

What?  That isn't good enough for you?  It wasn't good enough for me either.  So, after some research, here is what I came up with in the way of a defense for my worldview concerning the so-called 'end times'.  You must forgive the length of this essay.

To believe the premillennialist view, I must first believe that Christ failed to establish his kingdom the first time.  The church was an afterthought; a desperate attempt to rescue God’s failed plan for an earthly kingdom.  Hence the need for the rapture of the saved, the tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon, and the thousand year reign on earth.
One major red flag for me is the word ‘failed’.  To suggest that God could be thwarted by mere men challenges the very nature of his being.  According to scripture, Christ could have stopped his crucifixion, but he chose not to.  In fact, it was meant that he should die and he knew it.
(I am using the New American Standard, and all capitalization and punctuation remains unchanged, hence the caps in the middle of sentences during the verses from Isaiah.)

      Matt. 26:39, 42, 53-54 & 56 ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt...My father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Thy will be done....Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more that twelve legions of angels?  How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way....But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.’

     Mark 14:36, 49 ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for Thee;  remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt....Every day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me; but this has happened that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.’

     Luke 22:42, 53 ‘Father, if Thou are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done....While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.’

     John 18:11 & 19:11 ‘Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?’ & ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above...’

     Acts 2:23 & 3:18 ‘...this man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God...’ & ‘But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled.’

     Is. 53:5-8 &10 ‘But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by his scourging we are healed.  All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.  He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet he did not open his mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before it shearers, So he did not open him mouth.  By oppression and judgement He was taken away; And as for His generation, who 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?’ & ‘But the Lord was pleased To crush him, putting Him to grief...’

 If it was God’s plan to establish an earthly kingdom that ruled the world from Jerusalem at the time of Christ’s first coming, he would have done so; God does not changed his mind and move on to plan B like we humans do.
 
      I Samuel 15:29 ‘And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.’

 
 Christ had the chance to become an earthly king, but he did not take that chance.  The crowd of five thousand men (note only the number of the men is mentioned; there were probably that many women and children as well) was quite ready to make Christ king, but as soon as he noticed that, he left.

     John 6:15 ‘Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.’

 We are all familiar with the Triumphal Entry.  Once again, the Jews are quite ready to make Jesus their king; they hail him as such.

     John 12:13 ‘...took the branches of the palm trees, and went out the meet Him, and began to cry out, “Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” ’

Once again, Jesus takes no advantage of this to become King of Israel; although he says that the time has come for him to be glorified and the ruler of the world cast out, he speaks of his imminent death.  The ruler of the world is death, and Christ is preparing to cast him out by dying and then conquering death through his resurrection.

     John 12:23, 27& 31-33 ‘ “...The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified....Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’ But it is for this purpose I came to this hour....Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out.  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”  But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.’

Jesus, however, although he seems to avoid being made king by the Jews, is frequently spoken of as a king and admits to his kingship himself.

     John 18:37   ‘...You say correctly that I am a king...’

This seems to be rather contradictory to his aforementioned actions until we read John 18:36.

     ‘Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” ’

So, if Christ did not fail to set up his kingdom, what is that kingdom from another world that he did set up?  The Church, established on Pentecost. You can read about that in Acts, the second chapter, far easier than I can type it out here.  The gospels clearly stated that the kingdom was at hand.

      Matt. 3:2 & 4:17 ‘ “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is it at hand...”  From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ’

 The letters speak of the kingdom as being current. 

     Col. 1:13 ‘For he delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son...’

     Heb. 12:28 ‘Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken...’

 But we are of the world, born into it.  So how can we be part of a kingdom that is in another realm?  Be born into it.  Christians, the citizens of that kingdom, though they are born into the world, are not of it after they are reborn through baptism into the kingdom of heaven.

     John 3:3-5 ‘Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say unto you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old.  He cannot enter a second time into him mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” ’

     Acts 2:3  ‘And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." '

     Col. 2:12 ‘...having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.’

     Romans 6:4 ‘Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Crist was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.’

 ‘Newness of life.’  A rebirth that makes you a citizen another realm.

     John 15:18-19 ‘ “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” ’

     Heb. 11:13-16 ‘...and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.  And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he has prepared a city for them.’

 Is the rapture of the saved still necessary?  I do not believe so, nor do I believe it to be true.  The word ‘rapture’ is never used in scripture, and it is made clear that the righteous and the wicked will be resurrected to face the judgement at the same time, on the last day, at the coming of Christ, which everyone will see.  The heavens and earth will pass away entirely with a great amount of noise.

     Matt. 15: 30 ‘ “Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather up the tares; and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” ’

     I Cor. 15:52 ‘...in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.’

     John 5:28-29 ‘ “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgement.” ’

     Rev. 1:7 ‘Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him...’ 

     II Peter 3:10 ‘But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.’

     I Thess. 4:16-17 ‘For the Lord Himself will descend for heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.’

 So, if the dead have risen, the living have been caught up with them, and the universe has more or less exploded, there is no place for the tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon and the thousand year reign to happen.  I’d rather go straight to heaven anyway.  Wouldn’t you?

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