A Refutation of the “Pre-Millennial Kingdom” Theory (Part Two)

For part one, click here: http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-refutation-of-pre-kingdom-kingdom.html

A Response to “Fellowship of the Mystery”

Recently I learned that, in addition to the theory refuted in the last article, there is also a “hybrid” theory which combines elements of the premillennial kingdom position with a belief that the thousand years referred to in Rev. 20:4-6 will precede (rather than follow) Christ’s return to earth. According to this theory, the prophesied events referred to in (for example) Ezekiel 36-37 will take place during the thousand years (which I also believe). However, since this peculiar theory denies that the thousand years will follow Christ’s return to earth, it’s believed that the kingdom being described in Ezekiel 37:15-28 will precede the kingdom of God that will be established on the earth when Christ returns.

One believer who holds to this theory (and who, as far as I know, is the only believer who holds to it) goes by the name of “Fellowship of the Mystery” on YouTube. However, since he’s identified himself as “Brian” in some of his comments, this is the name I’ll be using in the following rebuttal.

In defense of his position, Brian wrote the following in the comments section of a YouTube video posted by Martin Zender (MZTV 354):

“When we’re removed, Satan will be cast down and bound for a thousand years and released for a short time during the end of the thousand-year period, where he will set off the events described in Matthew 24, including the abomination of desolation in the temple. Rev 20:1-3. After our removal and after Satan is bound, God will again raise up a prophet, like he did with John, who was Elijah, (Matthew 11:14) who will restore all things. Matthew 11:17 & Malachi 4:6. David, who will be king, is the Prince and Messiah that will feeds them (Ezekiel 34:23 & 37:24) and he will be cut off/murdered (Daniel 9:26) by Satan when he is released near the end of the age.”

According to Brian, the “Elijah” who we find prophesied in Malachi 4:5 (and referred to by Christ in Matt. 17:11) is going to “restore all things in Israel, including, building the third temple.” We’re then told by Brian that, following Elijah’s prophetic ministry (but approximately one thousand years before Christ’s return), “Israel will ‘then’ be under a new covenant,” and the prophecy of which we read in Jeremiah 31:31-34 will be fulfilled (or begin to be fulfilled). However, it should be noted that Brian did not provide scriptural support for his belief that Jer. 31:31-34 is going to be fulfilled before the events prophesied by Christ in Matthew 24. That is, he did not provide scriptural support for the view that the new covenant will be fulfilled before the coming of Christ referred to in Matt. 24:30.

In accord with other related assumptions, Brian is simply assuming that Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning Israel’s new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) is going to be fulfilled before the events prophesied by Christ in Matthew 24. But this, I believe, is an invalid assumption on his part. Jeremiah’s prophecy is going to be fulfilled after Christ has returned to earth (which will be immediately after this seven-year period has ended). The same goes for everything prophesied in Ezekiel 34 and 37 concerning Israel under the new covenant. These prophecies are going to be fulfilled after Christ’s return to earth, and not before.

That Paul understood the implementation of the new covenant to be a future event that will follow Christ’s return seems evident from what he wrote in Romans 11:25-27. In these verses we read the following: 

“For I am not willing for you to be ignorant of this secret, brethren, lest you may be passing for prudent among yourselves, that callousness, in part, on Israel has come, until the complement of the nations may be entering. And thus all Israel shall be saved, according as it is written, Arriving out of Zion shall be the Rescuer. He will be turning away irreverence from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them Whenever I should be eliminating their sins.”

When Paul wrote, “according as it is written,” he had in mind the words of Isaiah 59:20-21. Here is the full quotation of the second part quoted by Paul, from Isaiah 59:21: “As for Me, this is My covenant with them, says Yahweh: My spirit which is on you And My words which I place in your mouth, They shall not be removed from your mouth, Or from the mouth of your seed, Or from the mouth of your seed’s seed, says Yahweh, Henceforth and for the eon.” Whereas in Jeremiah 31 God promised to put his laws in the minds and write them on the hearts of his covenant people, here God promises that the “words” which he places in their mouth will never be removed from their mouth. And the “Rescuer” who will be “arriving out of Zion” is clearly a reference to Jesus Christ himself (and not merely to David). Thus, it is not until after Christ has returned to earth (and is sitting enthroned in Zion) that this prophecy concerning God’s covenant with Jacob/Israel will begin to be fulfilled.

Brian went on to write: “The tribulation happens just before Jesus' second coming at the end of the age, 1000 years after our snatching away in the air. We will spend the entire 1000-year Day of the Lord, with Him and will return with Him in great glory, at His second advent, when He plants His feet on the Mount of Olives.”

Brian is, I believe, confusing the end of this eon (which leads up to the commencement of Christ’s reign) with the end of the next eon (during which Christ will be reigning). The eon in which we're living is going to end after the final seven years prophesied in Daniel 9 have transpired (which will end just before Christ returns to earth). And the next eon (the “coming eon” or “age to come”) is going to end sometime after the thousand years referred to in Rev. 20:4-6 have run their course, and the insurrection prophesied in Rev. 20:7-9 has occurred (see Ezekiel 38-39 for a more detailed description of the events referred to in Rev. 20:7-9). When this event takes place, the saints will have already been reigning with Christ on the earth for a thousand years.

In response to my comments on Brian's original post defending this theory (where I remarked that the prophetic ministry of Elijah is going to span the first half of the final seven years of this eon), Brian replied: “Please provide scriptural support for Elijah's ministry spanning the last 7 years of this eon.”

Concerning the arrival and prophetic ministry of “Elijah” prophesied in Malachi 4:5 (and by Christ in Matt. 17:11), it needs to be emphasized that I’m in full agreement with Brian that this ministry will take place after the body of Christ is snatched away. In fact, this point is essential to one of the arguments made in one of my articles on the timing of the snatching away in relation to the 70^th week prophesied in Daniel 9 (http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-timing-of-snatching-away-in_18.html). I’m also in complete agreement with Brian that everything prophesied in Christ’s “Olivet Discourse” in Matthew 24-25 will be fulfilled after the snatching away of the body of Christ, and have also argued in defense of this point elsewhere (see, for example, part two of my defense of the imminence of the snatching away: https://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2019/05/before-pangs-begin-defense-of-imminence_15.html). Those in the body of Christ are not, I don’t think, going to go through the events prophesied by Christ in Matthew 24. These events will be occurring during (and limited to) the final seven years of this present eon.

What Brian and I disagree on is the belief that Elijah’s ministry is going to span the first half of the last 7 years of this eon. For reasons that I don’t think he’s made sufficiently clear, Brian apparently believes that Elijah’s ministry is going to be occurring at the start of the coming eon. To better explain why I think my understanding of when Elijah’s ministry takes place is correct, I think it would be helpful to first establish when and how the present eon ends, and when/how “the eon to come” begins. I believe Scripture reveals that this eon (i.e., what Paul referred to the “present wicked eon,” and which I believe began after the flood of Noah’s day) is going to be replaced by the “coming eon” when Christ returns to earth. Christ, on several occasions, contrasted “this eon” with “the eon to come” (which will commence after this eon ends). And it is during “the eon to come” that the kingdom of God will be present on the earth. It is during the eon to come that we’re told Christ will be sitting on “the throne of his glory,” and Christ’s twelve disciples will be sitting on twelve thrones and judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28-30; cf. Luke 18:29-30). This kingdom in which they’ll be judging is referred to as Christ’s kingdom in Luke 22:28-30. And the eon in which these things will be taking place is the eon that will commence when Christ returns (Matt. 25:31-32).

Keeping in mind the fact that the “coming eon” (or “impending” eon) is that which will follow “this eon” (the “present wicked eon”), consider the following argument:

1. When Christ returns, he will sit on the throne of his glory and judge the nations (Matt. 25:31-32).

2. It is during (and not after) “the coming eon” that Christ will be sitting on the throne of his glory, and the twelve disciples will be sitting on twelve thrones in Christ’s kingdom, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28-30; Luke 18:29-30; 22:28-30).

3. “The coming eon” that will follow the present wicked eon will begin (and the present wicked eon will end) when Christ returns.

This scripture-based argument seems pretty logical and straight-forward to me. And since Brian would agree that Elijah’s prophesied ministry is going to be taking place before Christ’s return, all that’s left to prove is that this ministry is going to take place during the first half of the last seven years leading up to the return of Christ (for a relatively detailed defense of this position, see the first article to which I provided a link, above).

Brian also said: “Christ will not reign on earth but David will.”

This is a false dichotomy. It’s like saying, “Christ will not reign on the earth but the saints will.” Both Christ and the saints will reign on the earth during the eon to come (including the “thousand years” referred to in Rev. 20:4-6, which will occur within the next eon). And among the saints who will be reigning on the earth during this time will be David, who (according to certain prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures) will reign as king. Although Brian apparently thinks it’s problematic to believe that both Jesus and David will reign as kings during the thousand years, there is no contradiction involved here. Christ will be “the King of kings” during the eon to come. David will also reign as a king in the kingdom that will be established by Christ after his return to earth, but will be subordinate to (or “under”) Christ. Apparently, Christ is going to delegate authority to David to reign as king in the kingdom that he (Christ) is going to restore to Israel after his return. Why would Christ do this? Well, this fact suggests that Christ isn’t going to be permanently present on the earth for the entire time following his return to earth (which would make sense given the fact that the kingdom of God is going to be located on the earth and among the celestials during the eons to come). Whenever Christ is not personally present on the earth, David will function as the highest authority on the earth, in his stead. Again, there’s nothing problematic about this state of affairs. It makes sense, given the fact that Christ will be reigning over two different spheres during the eons to come (heaven and earth), and – not being omnipresent – can’t be in two places at once. 

Brian went on to say, “The earth is Christ's footstool and we will reign with Him, judging the world and the angels (1 Cor 6:2-4) during the thousand-year Day of the Lord, from heaven, and we return with Him in great glory, at His second advent.”

It is during the thousand years referred to in Rev. 20:4-6 that we’re told the saints in “the former resurrection” will “live and reign with Christ,” and it’s evident from elsewhere (e.g., Rev. 5:10) that this reign of the saints (which, again, is “with Christ”) is going to be “on the earth.” While I agree that Christ returns during the day of the Lord (and that we in the body of Christ will be returning with him in glory, at His second advent), I see no scriptural reason to believe that this return of Christ to earth takes place after the thousand-year reign of the saints referred to in Rev. 5:10 and 20:4-6. Rather, it is Christ’s return to earth (and the subsequent establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth) that makes this thousand-year reign possible.

Moreover, the thousand-year reign referred to in Rev. 20 follows chronologically/sequentially from the return of Christ to earth prophesied in Rev. 19. So I can’t help but conclude that Brian is simply getting these events out of order. There’s simply no good, scripturally-informed reason to put the thousand-year reign of the saints referred to in Rev. 20 before the return of Christ referred to in Rev. 19. When Christ returns, he sits on “the throne of his glory.” And after Christ resurrects the saints who will have a part in the “former resurrection,” they will reign with him.

Here’s another argument that demonstrates the logical and scriptural soundness of this position:

1. The fulfillment of Christ’s promise to the twelve disciples concerning their sitting on twelve thrones (Matt. 19:28) will take place when the saints who have a part in the former resurrection will “live and reign with Christ a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4-6).

2. The twelve disciples will not sit on twelve thrones until after Christ has returned to earth and is sitting on “the throne of his glory” (Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:28-30; Matt. 25:31-32).

3. The thousand years during which the saints in the former resurrection will live and reign with Christ will not occur until after Christ has returned to earth and is sitting on “the throne of his glory.”

There is another point that could be made to demonstrate the untenable nature of Brian’s theory. In Revelation 13, we read that a certain person referred to as the “false prophet” will, through the demonstration of supernatural power (which will, evidently, appear to come directly from God himself), be making the inhabitants of the earth worship another person who is referred to in Revelation as “the wild beast” (Rev. 13:11-12). This chapter continues as follows:

And it [the false prophet] is deceiving those dwelling on the earth because of the signs which were given it to do in the sight of the wild beast, saying to those dwelling on the earth to make an image to the wild beast which has the blow of the sword and lives. And it was given to it to give spirit to the image of the wild beast, that the image of the wild beast should be speaking also, and should be causing that whosoever should not be worshiping the image of the wild beast may be killed. And it is causing all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that they may be giving them an emblem on their right hand, or on their forehead, and that no one may be able to buy or sell except the one having the emblem of the wild beast, or its name, or the number of its name. Revelation 13:14-17

Now, Brian and I are in agreement that the forty-two months (or 3 ½ years) during which the future events described in this chapter will be taking place will transpire just before Christ’s return to earth (i.e., Christ’s “second coming”). However, Brian also believes that this time period will be occurring after the thousand-year reign of the saints referred to in Rev. 20:4-6 has ended. But there’s a big problem with this view. To see what that problem is, let’s consider Rev. 20:4-6:

And I perceived thrones, and they are seated on them, and judgment was granted to them. And the souls of those executed because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who do not worship the wild beast or its image, and did not get the emblem on their forehead and on their hand – they also live and reign with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead do not live until the thousand years should be finished.) This is the former resurrection. Happy and holy is he who is having part in the former resurrection! Over these the second death has no jurisdiction, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will be reigning with Him the thousand years.

I’ve placed in bold the part that contradicts Brian’s theory. Notice that, among those who will have a part in the “former resurrection” – and who will “live and reign with Christ a thousand years” – are those who were executed for not worshipping the wild beast and its image, and who didn’t get the emblem on their forehead or on their hand. The clear implication of these verses is that those executed during the regime of the “wild beast” and “false prophet” (and who, during this time, “did not get the emblem on their forehead and on their hand”) will be among those restored to life in the “former resurrection” to “live and reign with Christ a thousand years.” And this can only mean that the resurrection and reign of the saints being referred to in Rev. 20:4-6 will take place after the events described in Rev. 13:11-17. We can, therefore, conclude that the “forty-two months” referred to in Rev. 13 (which will transpire just before Christ’s return to earth at the end of the eon) will occur before the thousand years begin, and not after the thousand years have ended (as Brian’s theory requires).

Consider the following argument:

1. Christ’s return to earth is going to take place immediately after the forty-two months during which the “wild beast” will have “authority to do what it wills” (Rev. 13:1-8).

2. Among those who will be resurrected to live and reign with Christ for a thousand years will be those who were executed for not worshipping the wild beast or its image (Rev. 20:4-5).

3. Christ’s return to earth is going to take place before the thousand years referred to in Rev. 20:4-5

In some remarks on Daniel 9:26, Brian claimed that the Messiah referred to here (and who we’re told would be “cut off”) is David at a future time (rather than Jesus, in the past), and that he (David) is going to be martyred after the thousand years of Rev. 20:4-6 have transpired. However, Brian provides no scriptural support or argumentation for this claim. Brian quotes from Ezekiel 34 and 37, but nothing in these chapters support his particular interpretation of Daniel 9:26, since nothing said in these chapters indicates that (1) the 70 weeks prophesied in Daniel 9 will be occurring during the kingdom being described in these chapters, or that (2) that David – after being resurrected by Christ – will be “martyred” after the thousand years have transpired. It’s all question-begging conjecture on Brian’s part. Brian also quotes Hosea 3:5, but there’s nothing in this verse that indicates or suggests that David is the Messiah being referred to in Daniel 9:26.

Brian also asked (referring to what’s said in Daniel 9:26), “How can the covenant come ‘after’ this if the people are destroyed?”

Dan. 9:26 is simply describing certain events that would be occurring sometime after the 62 weeks transpired (which would follow the initial seven weeks referred to in v. 25). We’re not told when, exactly, these events would occur after the 7+62 (or 69) weeks have transpired, or how close together they would occur after the 7+62 weeks. We’re simply told that they would occur. Then, in v. 27, we’re given more information concerning the final 70^th week. So regardless of whether the destruction of the city and sanctuary referred to in v. 26 occurred in 70 AD (which is what I’m inclined to believe) or will occur during the 70^th week, it doesn’t follow that the confirmation of the “covenant” referred to in v. 27 occurs after the people with whom the covenant is made are “destroyed” (assuming that this is what Brian’s point is).

Brian went on to say: “If you combine Daniel's prophecies, and the events that MUST occur in Matthew 24, I think it's safe to say that Daniel's 70th week can be placed at the end of the next age, just prior to Jesus' second coming.”

Contrary to Brian’s claim, combining Daniel 9 with Matthew 24 does not, in fact, lead to the conclusion that Daniel’s 70^th week will occur “at the end of the next age,” or that Jesus’ second coming takes place “at the end of the next age.” This is, of course, what Brian’s asserting is the case, but nothing he writes in defense of his position even comes close to supporting it. The “next age” is the coming eon, and the eon to come will (as I argued earlier) begin when the present eon ends. And the present eon is going to end after Christ returns and sits on “the throne of his glory.”

Brian quoted Acts 7:49, but the “Lord” being referred to here is Yahweh, not his Son, Jesus. He also asserted that “The ascended and glorified Christ, whom we know in the flesh no longer, (2 Cor 5:16) could not possibly set up an earthly kingdom.” However, 2 Cor. 5:16 in no way supports Brian’s claim that Jesus can’t set up an earthly kingdom and then exercise authority in this kingdom as king. If an immortal human can return to earth, why couldn’t he set up a kingdom on earth, and exercise his authority on the earth as king? Brian seems to be assuming that Christ couldn’t exercise authority on the earth as king during the thousand years without also permanently remaining on the earth for the entire time of the thousand-year kingdom (and the eon during which the thousand years transpire). But there’s no good reason to assume this. The fact is that Jesus Christ will be able to remain on the earth in the kingdom of God during the eon(s) to come for as long as he needs to, and come and go as he pleases (as will we, who are members of his body).

Brian also quoted John 18:36 in support of his assumption that Christ couldn’t “set up an earthly kingdom,” or exercise his kingly authority in this kingdom on the earth at any time. However, this verse doesn’t support his assumption, either. Here’s John 18:36 from the CLNT: 

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My deputies, also, would have contended, lest I should be given up to the Jews. Yet now is My kingdom not hence.”

I’ve placed in bold the words that bring out the meaning of what Christ was declaring to Pilate. Christ was simply telling Pilate that, as long as “this world” continued, the kingdom over which he will be ruling as king will not be present (hence the words, “Yet now is my kingdom not hence”). Why is Christ’s future kingdom not of “this world?” Because it belongs to the next world – i.e., the world that corresponds to the next eon (the “coming eon”). What Christ referred to as “this world” is the world that corresponds to what Paul referred to as “the present wicked eon” (Gal. 1:4). See also Eph. 2:2, where Paul referred to this present eon as “the eon of this world.” So it’s no surprise that Christ would say his kingdom is “not of this world.” But it would be fallacious to infer (as Brian seems to be doing) that the kingdom to which Christ was referring in John 18:36 is not a kingdom that will be on the earth at any future time. For when Christ returns and brings the present wicked eon to an end, the “kingdom of this world” will become “our Lord’s and His Christ’s, and He shall be reigning for the eons of the eons!” (Rev. 11:15)

Addendum (added 2/22/20)

Another chronological problem with Brian’s position involves the timing of when Satan is cast out of heaven and into the earth (as described in Rev. 12:7-12). At the beginning of this rebuttal I quoted Brian as stating, “When we’re removed, Satan will be cast down and bound for a thousand years and released for a short time during the end of the thousand-year period, where he will set off the events described in Matthew 24, including the abomination of desolation in the temple.” 

The problem with this view is that Satan’s involvement in the events described in Matthew 24 is going to take place immediately after he is cast down from heaven. In Revelation 12:13 we read, “And when the dragon perceived that it was cast into the earth, it persecutes the woman who brought forth the male.” This persecution of “the woman” by “the dragon” refers to Satan’s persecution of the believing Jewish remnant who will be living in the land of Israel when the abomination of desolation takes place, and will begin to be fulfilled at the start of the 3 ½ years of “great affliction” referred to in Matt. 24:15-22 (when, after perceiving the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, the remnant in Judea flees into the mountains/wilderness to be protected for 1,260 days; cf. Rev. 12:6, 14-17).

Thus, it is “when” Satan is cast out into the earth (as we’re explicitly told in Rev. 12:13) that he will, in Brian’s words, “set off the events described in Matthew 24, including the abomination of desolation in the temple.” Notice also that we’re told that, upon being cast out of heaven and into the earth, Satan is enraged because he knows that the season he has is “brief” (Rev. 12:12). What time period or “season” is in view here? Answer: This is a reference to the second half of the 70^th “week” (which is referred to as 1,260 days in Rev. 12:6 and 42 months in Rev. 13:5). 

Here, then, is the prophesied sequence of events:

1. There is going to be a battle in heaven that results in Satan losing his current place in heaven, and being cast into the earth (Rev. 12:7-12).

2. When Satan perceives that he has been cast into the earth, he sets off the events prophesied in Matt. 24:15-22 (which will involve the believing Jewish remnant in Judea – symbolized as a sun-clothed woman in Rev. 12 – fleeing into the wilderness and being supernaturally protected during the 3 ½ years of “great affliction”).

3. Immediately after the affliction of those days (i.e., immediately after the 3 ½ years of great affliction with which this present wicked eon will conclude), Christ will come on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory (Matt. 24:29-31; Rev. 19:11-16).

4. After Christ has returned to earth and defeated the enemies of Israel (Rev. 19:19-21), Satan is bound for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-4).

This scripturally-informed sequence of events is not compatible with Brian’s view that the events described in Matthew 24 will be occurring after Satan has been bound for a thousand years.