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1. |
A look at this chart provides a good
overview of the pre-millennial theory held by many.
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A. |
The chart begins with Christ's 1st coming.
The pre-millennial view is that, at His first coming, Christ
intended to establish an earthly. They say, however, because
the Jews turned Him down for that, He failed in this part of
His mission. He must, therefore, return later and establish such
a kingdom.
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Response: |
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(1) |
The Jews did not reject Jesus from being
that kind of king. Rather they sought to take Him by force and
make Him that kind of king, but He refused (John 6:15). |
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(2) |
The kingdom Jesus taught about during His
ministry (John 18:36) and the kingdom He said He would establish
during the lifetimes of those who heard Him (Mark 9:1) was a
spiritual kingdom, not an earthly, physical one. |
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B. |
Beside No. 1 write the word "signs."
This view holds that at some point in time, the "signs"
Jesus listed in Matthew 24:4-14 will happen, and, by this, we
can know the end is near.
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Response: |
- the study of Matthew 24, in the second
part of this lesson, demonstrates that such a view is not correct.
The Bible frequently says that Christ's return will be "like
a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:10), thus indicating that
no one knows when He will come. The Bible gives us no signs to
warn of His return.
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C. |
Beside No. 2 write the word "Rapture."
This view says that as the signs build up there comes a moment
when all dead Christians will be raised and all living Christians
will be transformed into new bodies and, together, these groups
will ascend into heaven. This is the "first resurrection,"
the moment of rapture. Some of dead not raised at this time will
be raised seven years later when Christ returns, while others
will wait another thousand years until the millennial reign is
over.
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Response: |
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 answers the
question of what happens to Christians at Christ's return, not
seven years before. At that time the Christian dead will be raised
first and then living Christians will be changed into the same
kind of new bodies. Together, then, these two groups will ascend
to be with the Lord forever. This passage does not teach that
Christian dead are raised before other dead are raised. In fact,
John 6:40, 44, and 54 teach that Christian dead will be raised
"on the last day." If Christian dead are raised on
the last day, how can others be raised seven years and one thousand
seven years later?
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D. |
By No. 3 write the word "Tribulation"
and by No. 4 write the word "Armageddon." Lindsey
and others teach that after the rapture will come a seven-year
period of tribulation during which the Jewish temple is rebuilt
in Jerusalem and then there is war over Israel. This war climaxes
in the Battle of Armageddon during which some three hundred million
soldiers will be fighting, focused around Megiddo--thus the Battle
of Armageddon.
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Response: |
- The Old Testament promises about rebuilding
the temple (Ezekiel 40-48) applied only to the rebuilding following
the Babylonian Captivity. The Bible's only reference to Armageddon
is in the midst of a highly figurative passage, Revelation 16:16.
It refers, not to the end of the world, but to the attempt by
the dragon (Satan), the first beast (Roman Empire), and the second
beast or false prophet (Cult of Emperor Worship) to ward off
God's promised destruction of the persecuting power, the Roman
Empire. This passage uses the figures of a dragon, two beasts,
and frogs--and so its use of the term "Armageddon"
is also figurative. Likely this is a reference to the fact that
many strategic battles of the Old Testament period were fought
in the valley beside Megiddo. Think of Gideon, Deborah, Saul,
Jonathan, and Josiah. Thus the passage is really about Satan
and his forces who are seeking to rally for a strategic stand
against God's promise that He will end their efforts to persecute
the church out of existence.
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E. |
Now by No. 5 write "2nd Coming."
According to this theory, Christ will return while terrible warfare
is taking place over Israel, put down the fighting, and start
a 1000-year reign from Jerusalem. Since the prophecies about
His re-establishing a kingdom for Israel have not yet been fulfilled,
they say, He must do this before the world ends. The length of
this reign comes from Revelation 20:4-6, which says that some
will "reign with Christ for a thousand years."
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Response: Certainly
the Bible teaches that Christ will return but there are several
points in this theory that are contrary to Bible teaching. |
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(1) |
Since His return is unexpected (like a thief),
there will be no great build up of warring forces in Israel just
prior to His return. |
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(2) |
The prophecies about Jesus' kingdom are
about a spiritual kingdom and no promises remain about that kingdom's
being established. |
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(3) |
When Christ returns, He comes to end His
reign as king and return the kingdom to God, not start His reign
(1 Corinthians 15:22-26). |
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(4) |
Revelation 20 does not teach a 1000-year
earthly reign of Christ (see Lesson 17). |
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F. |
Finally, write "1,000 Year Reign"
by No. 6. This theory says that at the end of Christ's 1000-year
reign, the bad dead (the only ones left) will be raised and judged
at the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20). Following
this, all go into eternity.
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Response: |
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(1) |
The Bible teaches only one resurrection,
not three. John 5:28-29 says that "the hour comes when all
who are in the grave shall hear his voice" --both good and
bad will be raised at the same hour or moment. Since Jesus, in
the next chapter, says the righteous will be raised on the last
day (John 6:40,44, 54) all the dead will be raised on the last
day, at the same time. |
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(2) |
Even 1 Corinthians 15:50-53, a passage which
Hal Lindsey says teaches the rapture, states that the resurrection
of Christians and the transformation of the living ones will
occur "at the last trumpet." This is a clear indication
that this resurrection happens at the end of all things, not
1007 years before the end. |
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(3) |
The judgment of Revelation 20:11-15 is said
to include those whose "names are written in the book of
life," thus demonstrating that the last judgment is of both
the righteous and the wicked, not the wicked only. |
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2. |
Having taken a quick overview of the
pre-millennial theory and having given a brief response to some
of its elements, we will now look in detail at two of its prominent
features: the signs of Matthew 24 (Lesson 16) and the reign of
Revelation 20 (Lesson
17). By making a few notes from these lessons in the margin
of your Bible, you could take that Bible and explain these two
passages. Matthew 24 and 25 describe one long discourse from
Christ. Chapter 23 actually gives us circumstance that raised
issue Jesus is addressing. We must, therefore, consider these
chapters as a unit in order to capture the context. The lesson
on Matthew 24-25 which follows is a quick overview in keeping
with the nature of this course. The author has a more lengthy
treatment of this topic in his book Armageddon Again?
Look now at the ten segments below which divide this study into
important sections.
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Directions:
Open your Bible to Matthew 23-25 and use it to answer questions
under No. 2 in your Workbook. Follow the text below and fill
in the remainder of Lesson 16 as you read it. |
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A. |
The Occasion--Matthew 23:29-24:2.
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2A by looking at the
scriptures then read the summary below. |
6b is correct. So Jesus tells the Jewish
scribes and Pharisees that, because of their rejection of Him
and those prophets He will send out, God will destroy their "house,"
their temple. That destruction will be so complete that not one
stone shall be left on another. He says these events will come
upon "you," "this generation." Understanding
that He is speaking of the temple, the apostles point out how
magnificent it was. And Jesus repeats His prophecy about the
temple's destruction by saying: "Not one stone shall be
left upon another that shall not be thrown down." These
words were literally fulfilled when the Roman general Titus conquered
the city in 70 A.D. and destroyed the temple completely. |
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B. |
The Question--Matthew 24:3.
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2B by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
5a is correct. Once on the Mt. of Olives,
the apostles begin to question Jesus about what He had said.
Putting the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke together,
their questions were, "When will this destruction happen
and by what signs can we know when it is coming?" |
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C. |
The Possibly Misleading and Preliminary
Events--Matthew 14:4-14.
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2C by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
Jesus begins His answer by warning them
not to be misled. While the destruction of the temple and the
city will happen during "this generation," they should
not take such events as wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes,
and persecution as signs of when the destruction of Jerusalem
will occur. Such things will be happening, but when have we not
had wars and natural disasters? Since these occur in all ages,
Jesus does not give these as signs by which they can tell the
end of the temple is immediate. Rather, he says not to let such
events mislead them into false expectations about when the destruction
will be. So the list some say contains "signs of the end"
are not given as "signs" at all. (1) Jesus is not here
discussing the end of the world, but the fall of Jerusalem. (2)
This list of events is not given as signs of warning at all,
but as a list of events which could mislead them in knowing when
to expect the fall of Jerusalem. (3) These events would make
very poor signs because they are occurring all the time. There
is no way to know which war or how many wars or earthquakes,
for example, would constitute a sign. |
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D. |
The Real Sign--Matthew 24:15.
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2D by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
Jesus does give a real sign to warn of
the coming fall of Jerusalem. In Matthew's account, Jesus refers
back to the prophecy of Daniel about the eventual destruction
of the re-built Jerusalem by one who brings "the abomination
of desolation." In Luke's account, Jesus interprets this
prophecy to mean the coming of a foreign army which will surround
the city. The coming of this army to surround the city was to
be their sign. The list of events in verses 4 through 14, then,
were not signs of the fall of Jerusalem and certainly were not
signs of the end of the world which is not yet being discussed.
The real sign given is the coming of an army to surround the
city. That army came first in 66 A.D. when the Roman 12th Legion
entered Palestine. They soon withdrew, however, and in 67 A.D.
they returned under Vespasian and Titus. In 70 A.D., Titus led
in the destruction of the city. |
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E. |
What to Do When the Real Sign Comes--Matthew
24:16-20.
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2E by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
Jesus gave a sign by which His disciples
could know it was time to do something--leave Jerusalem. That
sign was the appearance of an army coming toward Jerusalem with
the intent of encircling it. When they saw that sign, they were
to leave the city immediately--no time to pack or even return
to the house. They were to pray this army would not come when
they had small children, in winter, or on a Sabbath. Each of
these circumstances would make it even harder to escape because
of the difficulty they would add to travel. All of these descriptions
fit perfectly the fall of Jerusalem--run to the hills as soon
as you can and hope you don't have to face special difficulties
of travel. But how well does any of this fit the "end of
the world?" Will we then need to rush to the hills without
time to pack? Should we pray that we do not have small children
when Jesus returns? So Jesus here is urging the disciples to
watch for an army coming to take Jerusalem and when they see
it, they are to leave immediately. Josephus says that Christians
did escape the Roman enclosure of the city by escaping to Pella.
So the disciples not only understood this message but acted on
it as Jesus had instructed. |
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F. |
The Nature of the Coming Event--Matthew
24:21-28.
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2F by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
Jesus describes the suffering of those
caught in the Roman siege of Jerusalem as "tribulation."
And history shows it was one of the worst periods of human suffering
on record. His reference to "tribulation" here is to
describe the plight of those caught within the vice of the Roman
army, not to name some special period of time. The time had come
for God to bring an end to His special relationship with Israel
and so the Jewish temple and city were brought to ruin. |
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G. |
Striking Events to Follow Immediately--Matthew
24:29-31.
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2G by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
Eight events are listed here. And all
eight are connected with the fall of Jerusalem because the list
is preceded with the word "immediately" and because
the passage falls prior to verse 34 where Jesus says "This
generation shall not pass away until all these things are accomplished."
The first four of the eight events listed here are taken from
Old Testament passages that predict the fall of a nation. Here,
then, these phrases are pulled together so those familiar with
the Old Testament would know God is going to do something similar--bring
down a nation. He would bring down Israel and would do it through
the Roman army. Jesus had said as much in such parables as that
of the landowner, Matthew 21:33-45.
The other four events indicate that the
destruction of Jerusalem will be: (1) a sign of the son of man,
(2) will cause the tribes of Israel to mourn, (3) will be a figurative
"coming" of the Son of Man to do what He had predicted,
and (4) would be the occasion for spreading of the gospel because
there would be less Jewish opposition. |
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H. |
In this Generation--Matthew 24:32-35.
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2H by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
In these verses appears the key statement,
"this generation shall not pass away until all these things
are accomplished." These words become the dividing line--everything
prior to verses 34-35 applying to the destruction of Jerusalem
and everything afterward, as we shall see, applying to Christ's
second coming. Understanding this division point is critical
to a correct interpretation of this entire passage. Draw a line
in your Bible between verses 35 and 36 to show this change in
topics from the fall of Jerusalem to the second coming. |
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I. |
But of That Day and Hour Knows No One--Matthew
24:36-40
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2I by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
Verse 36 begins with the word "but,"
suggesting a change in direction of thought. Jesus now begins
to speak of "that day" rather than "those days."
While He knew when the destruction of Jerusalem would be, He
says He did not know when the end of the world would come. It,
rather, will come unexpectedly, like a thief. As in the days
of Noah and the flood, there will be no warning signs and no
running away. So Matthew 24 begins by talking of the fall of
Jerusalem and then, at verse 36, changes to speak of the second
coming and end of the world. The two events are, in many ways,
in contrast to each other. |
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J. |
Watch Therefore--Matthew 24:41-25:46
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Directions:
Complete the blanks in your Workbook at 2J by looking at the
scriptures and then read the summary below. |
The bottom line of Jesus' teaching about
His second coming is that we should "watch," be prepared.
He illustrates this first by saying that an owner does not know
when a thief will come, and then by saying servants must stay
ready for their master's return. In continuing this message into
chapter 25, he adds that virgins who await the bridegroom must
stay ready, and finally those with a stewardship must be ready
to give an accounting. In Matthew 25:31, Jesus follows His teaching
about being ready with a description of the final judgment using
the figure of a shepherd separating sheep and goats. The basis
of this judgment is how we have treated other people. Everything
prior to verse 36, then, is about the fall of Jerusalem and everything
starting with verse 36 and continuing through all of chapter
25 is about the second coming.
So in Matthew 24 and 25 we have a most
remarkable discourse by our Lord. In it He predicts with great
accuracy the coming destruction of Jerusalem and within 40 years,
this prediction has been precisely fulfilled. He also gives us
important information about His second coming and the judgment
which follows. He does not, however, give us signs by which to
know when He will return. We are, rather, to live in a state
of constant readiness. "Watch, therefore, for you do not
know on what day your Lord will return." |
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