A "Grain Of Wheat" Ministries publication

Written by David W. Dyer

INDEX

Chapter 1: THE MILLENNIUM LOST (Current chapter)

Chapter 2: ARE WE IN THE MILLENNIUM TODAY?

Chapter 3: MORE SIGNS

Chapter 4: SOME SPURIOUS ARGUMENTS

Chapter 5: FOCUSED ON HEAVEN

Chapter 6: WHY IS THE KINGDOM IMPORTANT?

Chapter 7: "OUTER DARKNESS"

Chapter 8: OTHER SCRIPTURES

Chapter 9: SOME REALLY BAD THEOLOGY

Chapter 10: REAL TRANSFORMATION

Preface

This book began as a means to address an erroneous doctrine that is very common in the church today. This doctrine asserts that we are now in the millennial kingdom. Although to some this may seem to be a benign belief - that it really does not negativelly affect the faith of those who believe it or that of anyone else - the truth is that it is a major factor in helping obscure essential truth about the coming kingdom which has been lost to the church for hundreds of years.

In the process of trying to clarify this subject, this writing grew to include many other truths about the coming kingdom which seem to also have been lost to today's church. In these last days, the correct understanding of these truths seems to be more and more essential.

It is the hope of this author that many believers can come to see with clarity the importance of the coming kingdom. This revelation may stir them up to seek the Lord with ever more intensity and sincerity. In my experience, a true understanding of the scriptures concerning this subject has really helped believers to know the fear of the Lord and to take submission to Him more seriously.

Furthermore, when we rightly understand the biblical teaching about the millennium, much problematic theology is unraveled and straighted out. The plans and purposes of God become more clear and even His work of salvation in our souls becomes more understandable.

May God bless you and speak to you as you read through this work.

“And he who overcomes and he who keeps on doing my works until the end, I will give him authority over the nations. He will rule them with a scepter of iron just as the vessels of the potter are broken into shards since I also have received this from my Father (Rev 2:26,27 FLNT).

David W. Dyer

Chapter 1: THE MILLENNIUM LOST

In the scriptures we are taught many things about the millennium: a one-thousand-year period of time. Jesus teaches extensively about this subject in the four gospels. Several of the apostles also instruct us about this important period of time in their writings. However, for some reason (and I suspect the reason has to do with the devil), much of the truth about this time has been lost to today's church.

There is a lot of confusion about this very important subject. Theories, teachings, and beliefs concerning it abound. Generally speaking, there seem to be two “camps” of teaching concerning the millennium. One camp believes that this time period is in the future. The other believes that we are experiencing it, that it is happening right now. But which view is true? Furthermore, is there some important truth concerning the millennium that BOTH views have lost?

As we will see in this writing, these are not unimportant questions. The answers to them have serious consequences for believers. What the Bible teaches us about the coming kingdom is important for our walk with the Lord and our understanding of His revelation. Therefore, although some may not understand why this discussion is necessary, it is actually of paramount importance.

The devil has strong reasons for wanting to hide the biblical truth about the millennium, as you will see as we progress through this writing. In fact, the truth about the coming kingdom, when rightly understood, forms a basis for correctly understanding the gospel, knowing the fear of God, understanding God's plans for His children, and motivating believers to dedicate their lives to Jesus. This important truth seems to have become lost or hidden from much of today's church.

THE KINGDOM TODAY

To begin, we must all be aware that there is a very real and important aspect of the kingdom of God for us to experience today. This is true no matter which of the above “camps” we are in, that is whether we believe that we are in the millennium or not. Although Jesus has not yet returned and is not reigning physically on the earth, there is an invisible, spiritual reality of His kingdom that we should be participating in right now.

We read in Luke 17:20, 21: “And being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them and said, 'The present kingdom of God does not come with visible evidence. Neither will they say, “Look, here it is!” or, “It's over there!”'“

Now there is, in the future, a “coming” of God's kingdom which will include “visible evidence.” For example, we are told: “Look, he will come with the clouds and every eye will see him - even those who pierced him” (Rev 1:7). This will be something everyone will see with their eyes. This event will come with clear evidence.

But in Luke Jesus is speaking about an aspect of His kingdom which comes without such obvious evidence. This aspect is that Jesus must begin to reign over, and even inside of, those who claim to be His right now.

In order for Him to come physically to the earth as a king, He must first have some subjects on the earth, some people who are submitted to Him. In order to have a kingdom, He must actually be reigning over some group of people. He must have some men and women who have subjected their lives - all of their living - to His authority. They must be obedient to His directives and be submissive to Him, gladly doing His will.

Although this might seem obvious, many people today are brought to Jesus without this basic truth. They come to Him for forgiveness and/or for solutions to their problems but are never taught that He must reign over every aspect of their lives. They have never submitted their lives to the LORD Jesus but only to a Jesus whom they imagine as someone they want Him to be - some kind of a celestial servant, for example.

Perhaps they know Jesus as a savior but not as their king. They are mistakenly told that if they just “confess” or say some words with their mouth about Jesus, everything will be OK with God and that they will go to heaven when they die.

But it turns out that this “confessing” is much more than expelling air from our lungs, vibrating our vocal cords, and forming intelligible words with our mouths. This “confessing” must involve sincerity.

Obviously, many people say things about which they are not sincere. Can it be that God perceives whether we are speaking things which we truly mean or whether we are only mouthing words which we imagine He wants to hear?

Let us look at this Greek word translated as “confess” which is found in Romans 10:9 where we read: “… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (NKJV). Here we see that such a “confession” is intimately related to our salvation. It is an essential part of being saved.

When we investigate this word “confess” in the Greek language, we find that it can mean: “to promise, to agree,” or “to enter into a covenant.” You see, it is much more than mouthing words. It means that we covenant, promise, or agree to something. So what is this “something”? It is to submit ourselves to Jesus as our king and Lord from that day forward.

Perhaps a more adequate translation of Romans 10:9 would be: “Therefore, if with your mouth you make a covenant to take Jesus as your Master and are believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be being saved” (FLNT).

Without such a covenant, without our sincere agreement to submit our lives completely to Jesus’ authority, there is no way for Him to really accomplish much in our lives. The progress of our ongoing salvation will be severely stunted. We will never escape our natural tendency to sin and so will continue to be in bondage. We will be people who claim to belong to Jesus but are not really part of His kingdom because we are not really submitted to Him.

The formation of such a group of people over whom He supremely reigns is the first step in Jesus establishing His kingdom. When this group is ready, then He will come back physically and establish His visible kingdom over all the earth.

The truth is that our participation in this present, invisible kingdom has everything to do with our participation in the coming, visible one. This present aspect of God’s kingdom is a preparation for the one which is coming.

There are serious, long-lasting consequences for how we do, or do not, participate in the present, spiritual kingdom of God. How we act with respect to Jesus’ authority today has everything to do with how Jesus will reward us when His physical, earthly kingdom comes.

There is no doubt Satan wants to obscure and even eliminate these truths. He has worked hard and is still working, to keep believers from understanding God’s plan. This is part of his overall scheme to dilute the scriptures, eliminate the fear of the Lord, and diminish the need for us to earnestly seek the face of God. His work is to assure Christians that everything is OK in their lives when, in many cases, there is a serious need for repentance and a change of lifestyle.

Therefore, the question of whether or not we are actually in the millennium is not inconsequential or unimportant. It is essential to know whether we are now in the millennium or not.

Why is this? If we are already in the millennial kingdom of God, then these future consequences about which we will speak have no real meaning. They are eliminated. If we believe that we are already in this one-thousand-year reign, then there is nothing further to gain or lose.

Therefore, the question of whether or not we are now in the millennium is of paramount importance. If certain passages of scriptures which we will investigate in this writing only apply to today or are merely allegorical, then we have nothing to fear. But if we are not yet in this kingdom, there may be serious consequences concerning our present behavior when Jesus comes.

End of Chapter 1

Read other chapters online:

Chapter 1: THE MILLENNIUM LOST (Current chapter)

Chapter 2: ARE WE IN THE MILLENNIUM TODAY?

Chapter 3: MORE SIGNS

Chapter 4: SOME SPURIOUS ARGUMENTS

Chapter 5: FOCUSED ON HEAVEN

Chapter 6: WHY IS THE KINGDOM IMPORTANT?

Chapter 7: "OUTER DARKNESS"

Chapter 8: OTHER SCRIPTURES

Chapter 9: SOME REALLY BAD THEOLOGY

Chapter 10: REAL TRANSFORMATION