COUNTDOWN TO ARMAGEDDON????
(Continued)
From:
www.churches-of-christ.net/tracts
THE TWO RESURRECTION THEORY
Premillennialsts hold that "
the first resurrection" of Revelation 20:5 is the resurrection of the righteous dead to share in the Rapture. But the Bible teaches that there is only
one general resurrection from the dead. Premillennial theory sees events in this order:
1. The first resurrection;
2. The Rapture and the 1,000-year reign; and
3. the final defeat of Satan.
However, 1 Corinthians 15:26 teaches that death will not be destroyed by the Resurrection
until the final defeat of Satan! In fact, it is the Resurrection itself which neutralizes Satan's greatest weapon (death) and which results in his final defeat. Paul plainly specifies
"The last enemy that will be abolished is death." (1 Corinthians 15:26) And, then -- immediately after the resurrection - the Kingdom is to be delivered up to God (1 Corinthians 15:24).
Clearly, there is no time in the Biblical scheme of things for two bodily resurrections separated by a 1,000-year reign on earth. It is conceivable that the doctrine of two resurrections from physical death, if true, would be mentioned only once in a book of symbols when every book in the New Testament touches upon the doctrine of the Resurrection.
The "two resurrection" theory contradicts the clear teaching of Jesus. He said,
"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 judgment." (John 5:28-29) In John 6:40, Jesus plainly taught that the righteous dead would not be raised up until "the last day". The last day is that day which signals the end of time and earthly matter as we know it! There is simply no time for a 1,000-year reign on earth
after the "last day". Whatever the first resurrection is, it is
not a resurrection of bodies; rather it is contrasted in scripture with the second or bodily resurrection!
Premillennialism is wrong in its concept of the two resurrections.
THE RAPTURE
One of the most cherished doctrines of Premillennialsim is that of the so-called Rapture. According to Robert Strong, the Rapture refers to the "
sudden and possible secret coming of Christ in the air to catch away from the earth the resurrected bodies of those who died in faith and with them the living saints." Those who hold this view are disagreed among themselves as to whether this period will last 3 1/2 (3.5) or 7 years. Hal Lindsey describes it this way: "
Someday, a day that only God knows, Jesus Christ is coming to take away all those that believe in Him. He is coming to meet all true believers in the air. Without benefit of science, space suits, or interplanetary rockets, there will be those who will be transported into a glorious place more beautiful, more awesome, than we can possibly comprehend. Earth and all its thrills, excitement, and pleasures will be nothing in contrast to this great event. It will be the living end. The ultimate trip." (
THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH, page 137)
The Bible is unaware of any such doctrine! The word "rapture" is not even found in the Bible! When Christ comes again, it will be no secret -
"every eye will see Him." (Revelation 1:7). Paul says that when we are
"caught up" with the Lord, we will
"always be" with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This would not allow for a 1,000-year return to earth to participate in the "Millennium". When Jesus comes to be glorified with His saints, He will simultaneously destroy the wicked (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10). Death will ultimately give way to the Resurrection and Judgment, not Resurrection and Rapture!
"And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) The time between the Resurrection and the consummation of our hope will be but a "moment"; not 7 years (1 Corinthians 15:52)!
Premillennialism is wrong because it insists upon a "Rapture" of which the Bible has no knowledge.
ARMAGEDDON
According to Premillennialism of the 1,000-year reign will be preceded by a period of terrible tribulation which will climax in the Battle of Armageddon. According to the theory: "
The tribulation will be God's wrath on this Christ rejecting world... There will be wars and at least one-half the world's population will be killed... Men will be scorched with fire, there will be great earthquakes and one hundred percent hail. Cities will fall and every island and mountain will disappear." (Bible Believer's Evangelistic Association, GOD'S PLAN FOR THE AGES). The central feature of the Tribulation will be Armageddon. Hal Lindsey envisioned this scenario:
1. Russia, allied with the Arab states, will invade Israel;
2. Russia will then double-cross her Arab aliies and will make war upon them and the African states;
3. The Revived Roman Empire, headed by antichrist, will enter the war and defeat the Russians using nuclear weapons;
4. An army of 200 million Red Chinese will cross the Euphrates and enter the war, thus setting up the climatic battle on the plains of Armageddon.
The Bible furnishes no basis for these speculations. The Scriptures reveal that the
"tribulation" had already begun in the days of the Apostle John (Revelation 1:9)! The faithful New Testament Church at Symrna received this message from Christ:
"Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10) The tribulation represents that spirit of opposition which has confronted the true Church of God all throughout history. In varying degrees, it is something which the Church must constantly contend with!
Armageddon is not a physical battle to be waged with guns, tanks, and nuclear war-heads! Rather, it is a spiritual struggle between the forces of good and evil. The word
Armageddon is a combination of the Hebrew words
"Har" meaning "mount" and
Megiddo" which was the site of several crucial batt;es in Jewish history (cf. 2 Kings 23, Judges 5:19; Judges 7). Literally, then, Armageddon is "the mountain of Megiddo". In the descriptive language of the Prophets, the word "mountain" was used symbolically to refer to the church (cf. Isaiah 2:2). Armageddon, then, simply refers to the spiritual battles which must be fought by the church.
Ours is not a fleshly enemy -
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) Armageddon is the continuing struggle between the forces of good and evil. It is fought whenever and wherever right confronts wrong. It rages within the heart and within the nation! It is a battle which is being fought now! Christians must arm themselves and fight (Ephesians 6:11, 2 Corinthians 10:4, 1 Timothy 6:12). The faithful of God must confront every form of evil in every age at Armageddon!
Premillennialism is wrong because it has a mistaken idea about the meaning of Tribulation and Armageddon.
THE 1,000-YEAR REIGN
Premillennialsts insist that the Bible clearly teaches that Christ will reign on earth for 1,000 years. They base their belief on their interpretation of Revelation 20:4, which says
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." It is held that this verse teaches a literal rule of Christ on earth from David's throne in Jerusalem.
But what does
Revelation 20 actually say? Note some things which are
not said in this misquoted and misunderstood section of the Bible:
1. Revelation 20 does not specifically mention the Second Coming of Christ - these events are not connected with it.
2. Revelation 20 doe3s not mention us. Those who reign are souls (i.e. disembodied spirits) who are referred to as "they".
3. Revelation 20 does not mention the reign "of" Christ, but the reign of souls "with" Christ. There is a difference!
4. Revelation 20 does not mention a reign on earth. According to Revelation 6;9, the souls of the martyrs who are described as reigning are under the altar in heaven.
5. Revelation 20 does not mention a bodily resurrection. The first resurrection mentioned here is something which is contrasted with the second or bodily resurrection.
6. Revelation 20 does not mention David's throne. A plurality of thrones is mentioned.
7. Revelation 20 does not mention the city of Jerusalem or the land of Palestine.
8. Revelation 20 does not indicate that the reign was for 1,000 literal years. It is said of the martyrs that "they lived
and reigned..." In other words, they lived for exactly the same period that they reigned. If the reign is 1,000 literal years, then they only lived 1,000 literal years!
9. Revelation 20 does not mention Christ on earth. Instead, Christ is with the souls of the martyrs which were in heaven.
A great deal must be read into Revelation 20 before anything resembling Premillennialism will emerge from it. What does Revelation 20 actually say when it is read craefully?
1. It says that Satan can be bound (20:1). How? By preaching the Gospel! The sword of the Spirit is the chain which has the power to restrain the devilish influence of the old serpent.
2. It says that the martyrs who died for the cause of Christ will see their faith vindicated. How? By the triumph of the Gospel for which they died. When the Gospel which they preached is triumphant, they share in that triumph. They are victorious (i.e. sit on thrones) when the Word of God is victorious! The power of the Gospel is such that the reign of the truth is spoken of symbolically (Revelation is, after all, a book of symbols) as a thousand year reign. One thousand years suggest completeness, fullness, totality. When the Gospel is preached in all its original power and purity, then it has the capability to fully, completely, and totally overpwer the influence of the Devil. When this happens, the martyrs who gave their lives for the Gospel's sake share in its triumph (cf. Romans 1:16, 8:37).
3. Reveleation 20 also warns that Satan can be loosed! How? By the failure of Christ's followers to proclaim the Gospel. Where the voice of the Gospel is not heard, then the influence of Satan rages unchecked.
4. Finally, Revelation 20 confirms that there is a coming day of Universal Judgment when all mankind will be summoned to give an account of the things done in the body (Revelation 20:12-15).
Premillennialism is wrong because it misunderstands the nature of the thousand year reign!
IS THIS THE END?
Premillennialism has built its popularity on its sense of immediacy. It claims to provide an insight into the near future. Those who preach the doctrines of Premillennialism are convinced that the end of the present order of things is at hand. Pat Boone wrote concerning the Second Coming of Christ: "...the signs that it's about to happen are everywhere." In the original edition of THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH, Hal Lindsey theorized that the end would come within 40 years of the founding of Israel, which took place in 1948. In more recent editions of the book, Lindsey somewhat modifies his prediction, but in the movie version, he strongly suggests that the end will come before the end of the 20th Century. The 20th Century has now become the 21st Century and the end did not come.
It should be remembered that speculations about the Second Coming of Christ are not at all new. In the 2nd Century, Montanus of Phrygia proclaimed the imminent return of the Lord. During the Reformation, the German theologian Melchoir Hoffman set the time of Christ's return as October 22, 1844. In 1920, J.F. Rutherford, head of the Jehovah's Witnesses, wrote a book entitled
MILLIONS NOW LIVING SHALL NEVER DIE in which claimed that 1925 would be the year of Restoration when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be restored to life in visible form (pp. 88-89, 100). More recent literature by the Jehovah's Witnesses predicted that the present age would come to an end in the Fall of 1975 (
LIFE EVERLASTING IN FREEDOM OF THE SONS OF GOD, page 29)! Surely the long list of those who have misread the "signs of the times" should caution us against any extreme or extravagant predictions concerning future things!
What does the Bible say about the future?
1.
Christ Is Coming Again. "This Jesus, Who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11)"
2.
Christ Is Coming Unexpectedly. Jesus Himself plainly said
"you do not know the day nor the hour (Matthew 25:13)." He also said: "For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will (Matthew 24:44)." Clearly, Jesus did not expect men to be able to unlock the secret of the time of His coming! In fact, He went so far as to say: "But of that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone (Mark 13:32)." Even Jesus Himself does not know the time the Father has chosen for His return! Anyone claiming to gauge the future by reading the "signs of the times" is claiming a knowledge denied to the Angels of Heaven and the Son of God. The time of Christ's return is both unknown and unknowable!
3.
We Must Make Ready Now! Since we cannot know at
what time the Lord may come, we must be ready at
all times. The coming of Jesus may be soon or distant, but our only opportunity for making ready for His return is
NOW (2 Corinthians 6:2)
! The question is not: "When is Christ coming?" but "Will I be ready?" Jesus said,
"Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is (Mark 13:33)."
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief..." (2 Peter 3:10)