A "Grain Of Wheat" Ministries publication

Written by David W. Dyer

INDEX

Chapter 1: THE MILLENNIUM LOST

Chapter 2: ARE WE IN THE MILLENNIUM TODAY? (Current chapter)

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

Chapter 2: ARE WE IN THE MILLENNIUM TODAY?

Those who promote the “kingdom now” teaching have their verses which they cite to prove their position. Although we will be taking a brief look at some of these ideas and verses later in this writing, I don't think there is any benefit to arguing about scriptures.

In more than fifty years of walking with Jesus, I have never seen anyone edified, and almost no one convinced of the other's position, by debates about the meaning of scripture verses. So instead of this, in this writing I will provide some biblical proofs which will show us whether or not we are now in the millennium.

To begin, we will focus on the signs which the scriptures say will be the evidence of the millennial kingdom. When we see these signs, we can know that we are experiencing this kingdom. When these signs are lacking, then we can know with certainty that we are not in the millennial kingdom.

This investigation is both interesting and important. It is a subject to which the scriptures devote a lot of time. Not only will we be uncovering God's truth here, but the reader may also discover some interesting aspects of the coming kingdom of which they have not been aware.

IS THE FATHER'S NAME DAVID?

To begin, we will ask: “Is the Father's name David.” In the Bible, God reveals to us some of His names. But, as far as I can tell, none of them is “David.” Why is this important? It is because we are clearly taught that Jesus will sit on David's throne. We read in Luke 1:30-32 the following: “And the angel said to her, 'Don't be afraid Mary. For you have found favor with God. Look, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son and shall call his name JESUS. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.'”

Also, we read in Acts 2:30, “Yet he [David] knew, being a prophet, that God had sworn with an oath to him, that from the fruit of his loins (according to human procreation) he would raise up the Anointed One to sit on his throne” (FLNT).

It is clear that Jesus today is sitting on a throne somewhere and reigning. But is it David's throne? No, it is God the Father's throne. It is in the heavens, not on the earth. David's throne was an earthly one. King David never sat on any throne in heaven. He ruled the people of Israel on the earth.

But in Jesus' case today, He is reigning in heaven from the Father's throne. We read: “He who overcomes, I will grant him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father in his throne” (Rev 3:21). So it is easy to see that Jesus today is sitting on the Father's throne.* He is not sitting on David's.

Please do not get distracted here by any theology here which may be difficult to grasp. The point is that today Jesus is not sitting on and reigning from what could possibly be understood as “David's throne.” He is not here on the earth.

Therefore, we can know with certainty that we are not yet in the time of His reign on earth which was foretold to Mary by the angel. By the way, this prediction of a descendant of David sitting on his throne is mentioned many times in the Old Testament.

Today's church is very “heaven oriented.” They are all expecting to go to heaven. It is their hope and dream. But the first believers had no such orientation. They were Jews. They were expecting an earthly kingdom. They were looking for the fulfillment of the many Old Testament prophecies concerning a Messiah who would sit on David's throne. In fact, some of the disciples asked Jesus about this very thing. They said: “Lord, will you restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?” (Acts 1:6).

*Now I know that Jesus sat down on “the right hand of God” (Luke 22:69 and others), but please do not be confused by this. The expression “on the right hand” of someone meant in that culture “to share the position and authority” of that person. There are not two thrones in heaven - one for the Father and another smaller one for the Son. There is only one throne and Jesus is occupying it.

His answer to them was not to deny that this would happen in the future, but to indicate that this time had not yet come.

RULING WITH A ROD (OR SCEPTER) OF IRON

While we are discussing the reign of Jesus on the earth, perhaps it would be beneficial to investigate just how this reign will look. Revelation 19:15 gives us some clues. We read: “A sharp double-edged sword came out of his mouth so that he would strike the nations with it, and he will rule them with a scepter of iron.”

The book of Revelation 2:26,27, speaking about the rule of Christ and of the believers who will reign with Him, adds: “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.”

Now this sounds like a very definite, severe kind of reigning. It doesn't sound like some limp-wristed, namby-pamby, benign sort of a guy ruling with a wet noodle.

Although today many have this sort of a concept about Jesus, it is not His true character. During this present age of grace, God is not exercising His judgments in this strict, forceful manner but in the coming kingdom age, we are told that He will.

So we see that Jesus will rule with “a rod of iron,” and the nations which disobey Him, He will shatter in pieces just as a clay pot is shattered when it is smashed with an iron bar.

This is the analogy that God Himself chose to demonstrate the absolute, unswerving way Jesus will rule this world. This means that when the population of the earth during the millennium deviates from God's will, He will punish them severely.

This strict rulership will last until all His enemies are subdued before Him. In 1 Corinthians 15:25 we read: “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”

What then are these enemies? Of course, they must include the evil spiritual rulers who are today governing the earth (Eph 6:12). But they also must include men and women who are rebellious against Him. These are those who refuse to embrace and seek His righteousness and His justice. These are those who refuse to stop sinning. These are also His “enemies.”

So what will this be like? In Isaiah 32:1 we are told: “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice” (NKJV). Therefore, during the genuine kingdom reign of Christ, we should expect that there would be an end of unrighteousness and injustice of all kinds.

The nations who practice such things, along with the people who inhabit them, will be severely punished until they abandon their sin. Again, this severity is compared to the smashing of clay pots with a rod of iron.Again, this severity is compared to the smashing of clay pots with a rod of iron.

The result will be that the world would then be an enjoyable place in which to live. Evildoers will be justly punished. Injustice will not be practiced. Cheaters will be caught. Liars will be exposed. Corrupt individuals will be stopped from their activities. People will no longer take advantage of each other. The hallmarks of Jesus' true kingdom will be “justice” and “righteousness”! The whole world will be full of such attributes.

So, are we seeing these attributes on full display today? Are the nations which violate God's law being severely punished? Are they being ruled “with a rod of iron”? Is the world a wonderful place to live without any violence, robbery, murder, or any other sin?

Some of those who believe that we are now living in the millennium try to argue that somehow this righteous reign of Christ described here will really be during eternity and not here on earth. Yet it is hard to imagine anyone stepping out of line in “eternity” or any nations rebelling against Him. In fact, it is impossible.

Will He be smashing the nations with an iron scepter during eternity? No, in eternity all rebellion and sin will not exist; therefore, it could not be punished. Consequently, it is easy to conclude that we have not yet seen the onethousand-year kingdom of God come to earth. We are obviously not in it right now.

NO MORE WAR

Another hallmark of the coming millennial kingdom is the absence of war. We read in Isaiah 2:4: “He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (NKJV).

When Jesus sets up His kingdom on this earth, there will be no more war. What a relief! War is a horrible, destructive thing! Jesus will put an end to it during His reign.

So are we seeing this millennial sign? Again, we must honestly ask ourselves: has war been eliminated from the earth? Are there no more men and women being trained to fight (learning war) in any country? Is there, according to the angelic hosts who prophesied to the shepherds at Jesus' birth, “peace on earth”? (Luke 2:14).

Those who think we are in the millennial kingdom now imagine that Jesus is reigning over the earth at this time. Furthermore, they assert that He has been reigning for almost two thousand years since the year 70 AD.

But has the earth changed? Is it a better place? No! In the last two thousand years have there been any wars? Far too many! Have people stopped sinning: stealing, lying, cheating, murdering, etc.? I think not.

If Christ is going to reign until ALL His enemies are put under His feet and the earth is subdued in righteousness, at the present rate it will take millions of years to arrive at the goal. It's just not happening. War still exists along with all other kinds of unrighteousness. In fact, it seems to me that we are very close to seeing a lot of new wars starting up. Contrary to what some might say, the world is NOT becoming a better place. There is no visible evidence of His reigning over the nations.

(Although some people are “getting saved,” this does not fulfill, or negate the importance of, these and other many signs.)

The idea that we are now in Christ's onethousand-year kingdom appears to be preposterous and absurd. It defies any and all logic. Although some will drum up what they believe to be “scriptural” arguments to say that somehow Jesus has secretly or invisibly returned and is now reigning over the earth, no one should embrace a teaching which demands the abandonment of all rational thinking.

THE “TWELVE” ON THRONES

The Bible teaches us that Jesus will sit on David's earthly throne, but we are also informed that the twelve apostles will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. This also must be here on the earth. We read: “And Jesus said to them, 'Truly I say to you that you who have followed me, in the Messianic restoration - when the Son of man sits on the throne of his glory - you also will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel'” (Mt 19:28).

Why do I insist that this must be on the earth? It is because at the final judgment, everyone, including all Jews, will be judged by God, not the twelve apostles. In trying to explain this verse, some have suggested that the twelve will be “helping” Jesus judge other Jews in the final judgment.

This is patently ridiculous. That final judgment is reserved for God alone. Men are not capable of judging the hidden thoughts and intentions of the hearts of other men (Heb 4:12; Rom 2:16). In fact, the Bible teaches us that we should not judge others in this way! Men will not judge other men at the final judgment. Only God will ultimately be our judge.

Therefore, the “twelve judging” must be referring to the kind of “judging” which was done by the judges of the Old Testament. This means that these twelve will hear and settle civil and legal disputes.

This will involve questions such as: if someone did not respect land boundaries, if someone had stolen something, if someone might or might not be guilty of murder or adultery, and many other such things.

These are actions that must be done here on this earth, not in heaven. Once “eternity” is ushered in, there will be no more such disputes to settle. Sin will have been eliminated. Therefore, there will be no need for these men to judge anyone. There will be nothing for them to judge in eternity.

So the promise of the twelve apostles judging the twelve tribes of Israel must be something which happens during an earthly, millennial reign. It cannot be at the final judgment or in “eternity.”

Who will the “twelve” be judging? They will be judging Jewish men and women, still in physical bodies, going about their natural lives on this earth. These will be those who survive the judgments of God during what many wrongly called the “tribulation” and the descendants of these people. (The best translation of the Greek word here would be “persecution” not “tribulation”).

REIGN WITH HIM ON THE EARTH

Not only will the twelve apostles be sitting as judges on the earth during the real millennium, but faithful believers will also be occupying such positions all over the world.

In the book of Revelation 20:4-6, we read: “Then I saw thrones and they sat upon them, and the reward of judging was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, even for the word of God, and whoever had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the impression of his character on their forehead or on their hand. And they lived and reigned with the Anointed One for one thousand years.”

Revelation 5:9,10 reads: “And they sang a new song saying, 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to break open its seals, for you were slain and thereby purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe, language group, people, and nation and made them to be kings and priests to our God. And they will reign on the earth.'” Please notice where this takes place. It is not in heaven.

This judging is one of the promises of Jesus to servants who are faithful and use the gifts He gives them wisely. He says in Luke 19:16-19: “And the first came before him saying, 'Lord, your pieces of money have earned ten more.' And he said to him, 'Well done, you excellent servant. Since you were found faithful in a very little, you will have authority over ten cities.'

“Then the second came saying, 'Lord, your money has earned five more pieces of money.' And he said to him also, 'You will have authority over five cities.'”

This cannot be something which will happen in “eternity” or “in heaven.” Why not? This is because in the church, in the spiritual kingdom of God, Jesus prohibits believers from exercising authority over each other (Lk 22:26). So this cannot be believers reigning over the converted. Furthermore, there will be no unbelievers “in heaven” to reign over.

Not only this, why would anyone “in heaven” need anyone to have authority over or reign over them? Such governance is only needed where there is sin or where there are problems to be resolved. Surely this cannot be the case in the new heavens and the new earth. No sin could be there.

Therefore, the only logical conclusion one can come to is that this reigning of believers over parts of the earth - or tribes of Israel in the case of the twelve apostles - must be on this present earth during the millennial kingdom.

Furthermore, we cannot believe that Jesus was just making up a theoretical example when He told this parable and that the idea of servants reigning over cities was just imaginary. If we adopt this way of interpreting scripture, almost nothing in the Bible can be taken literally.

End of Chapter 2

Read other chapters online:

Chapter 1: THE MILLENNIUM LOST

Chapter 2: ARE WE IN THE MILLENNIUM TODAY? (Current chapter)

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