Three Strikes Against Premil End Times Theology

by Brian Thornton @ http://voiceofthesheep.wordpress.com

With baseball just around the corner, I thought I would throw some pitches to the Premil camp and see how their spring training is going…it ain’t lookin’ good.

There are three things concerning Premillennialism that I believe are inconsistent with Scripture and are just simply irreconcilable. This by no means is an in-depth look into these points, but just meant to be a quick summation of a few areas that I believe are insurmountable to make Premillennialism work as a biblical position of end times theology. The following are what I consider to be three strikes against the Premillers.

STRIKE ONE - Who’s your daddy? Mine is Abraham, according to promise.

The fact that the New Testament demonstrates that the promises to Abraham are fulfilled to both Jew and Gentile in the church appears to strike a serious blow to the view that there still remains some special yet-to-be-fulfilled promises for the national Jew (such as land). I don’t see this as any type of replacement theology, but as fulfillment theology. The NT provides the proper commentary and instructs us how to interpret the OT.

• There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. - Gal. 3:28-29

• That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. - Rom. 9:8

• For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother…And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. - Gal. 4:22-26, 28 (keep in mind Paul is writing to a Gentile church here)

STRIKE TWO - Where’s the gap?!?! (remember the Wendy’s ‘Where’s the beef?’ commercials? Say it like that.)

Premillers place a one-thousand year gap between Christ’s second coming, judgment and the renewal of all things (otherwise, you would have sin in the presence of the new heavens and new earth, and that after He has already judged the wicked and cast them into utter darkness). A gap between these events is nowhere to be found in Scripture. In fact, just the opposite can be easily demonstrated.

• For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed. - 2 Thes. 1:6-10

• For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. - Rom. 8:19-23
  • Is anyone going to seriously try and split apart the revealing of the sons of God (where creation is renewed) from the redemption of the body (where we are renewed)?

• But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”…Then He will also say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels”…These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. - Matt. 25:31-34, 41, 46

STRIKE THREE - Sacrifices in a temple in the presence of Christ? I don’t think so!

I don’t know if this view is held by all Premillers, but it seems to be a consistent part of their theology that there will be a future, literal temple constructed during the thousand year reign of Christ…in which will take place the sacrifice of animals…in the very presence of Christ Himself! This is one that I just don’t get at all. How can one even suggest that after Jesus returns, He will permit the practice of sacrifices in a rebuilt temple…when He is the temple, and He is the once for all sacrifice! What does ‘once for all’ mean, anyway?!?! These are just a couple of passages, but I would recommend at least reading Hebrews, chapters 7 through 10 to get a good perspective of the truth - that I think is clearly evident - that Christ would be appalled to sit and observe useless animal sacrifices, when He has already offered Himself as a propitiation (I love that word).

• And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. - Heb 9:27-28
  

• But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:I will put my laws on their hearts,and write them on their minds, then he adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. - Heb 10:12-18

These are just a few critical areas that I believe the Premiller cannot address consistently and biblically with his position. There are many more that we could address, including the incorrect interpretation of Daniel 9 with respect to who makes a covenant with Israel (but that’s another topic for another post).