Modern dispensational pre-millennialism says the time of the antichrist (usually called the GREAT tribulation) and the millennial age that follows are primarily for the Jews to complete a literal fulfillment of the unfulfilled old testament prophecy. Those 2 periods taken together are "The Day of the Lord." The first question one has to ask here is if God is through with the Jews as a separate and distinct people. Here is a text that jumped off the page at me about 12 years ago...
RO 11:28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they (the Jews) are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they (the Jews) are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. (NIV)
The question I asked is how can there be an elect enemy of the gospel? Why don't the Jews just all become believers and that is that for the Jews. Reading on to verse 32 would lead me into my current faith in universal salvation. All men are handed over to their own disobedience and all will therefore be saved. IMO the best proof text for dispensational pre-millennialism is Romans 11 (really 9-11) which is the whole history of the Jews (elected-rejected-accepted). I did a commentary on 11 at my web site.....
http://flyservers.registerfly.com/members5/jimober.com/
So why are these enemies of the gospel elected? To complete the prophetic plan given to them in the old testament. The Jews are still here (a miracle for sure. The people survived 2000 years of brutal persecution without any land, only a promise, which is now being fulfilled). We are not part of that dispensation\economy\age. That is why many believe in a pre tribulation rapture. It's not about doing a good thing for us alone. It's about getting us out of the way so God can finish his plan for ancient Israel. Now why isn't this more plainly and explicitly taught in scripture? Jesus said that if he spoke plainly the Jews would come to believe and understand (Mark 4:10-12). One asks "Well isn't that a good thing? Why would Jesus effectively withhold understanding leading to salvation?" Because God had long term plans for the Jews that required that they not disappear, that they be left as enemies of the gospel, even as they were part of the elect. One of the great themes of Old Testament prophecy is the day of the Lord. It's a very long day, much more than 24 hours, perhaps one of those 1000 year days [2Peter 3:8]. It starts out bad and then becomes good, a golden age. This is John's "day" of 1000 + years. It begins with the GREAT tribulation that brings in the 1000 year millennium. The pre-mill dispensationalists plug the resurrection texts into this big picture. For us the rapture texts are for the church only (there is some debate among pre-mills about where this fits on the time line (before, during, or after the GREAT tribulation). But all agree that we are resurrected and taken out of the world before the millennium begins. The sheep and goats judgement of Mat 25 may not even be a resurrection, but a separation of mortal men into groups, who will and will not repopulate the millennial kingdom. It seems clear that the millennial kingdom will have mortals who reproduce, live and die. Most believe that the resurrected believers will have some role to play in that age. But it's not clear exactly what it is. That remains a mystery. It will involve ruling and reigning (Rev20:6.) Satan really will be gone (Rev 20:1.) One might ask why go to all this trouble; why not just do the simple amill thing or post mill thing? I believe the answer gets back to the garden of Eden. Mankind, through Eve, asked to know the difference between good and evil. Now we know. That is why bad things happen to good people. But mankind says that "IF I knew what Eve knew I never would have made that mistake." The millennium is about proving that wrong. The whole human race will have another chance to live in the garden of Eden for the 1000 years. Then at the end of that time Satan will be freed and will again lead the world in rebellion (Rev 20:7.)
The lesson of history will complete because the problem is not knowledge but heart. We rebel because it's our nature. A man asked me once about Heb. 10:26 and his deliberate sinning. "I don't want to," he said, "but I keep on sinning." Well first of all, the only sin in Heb 10 was about rejecting the COMPLETE sacrifice of Jesus for all the rest of our sins. You can't continue to deliberately commit the sin of rejection. But I also got his point about our sinful nature and
suggested Romans 7 where Paul also struggled with sin, contending that it wasn't him but sin living inside him. And I asked the man, "If you could flip a switch and get rid of the desire to sin would you do it?" He said Yes. I said he wasn't DELIBERATELY sinning in any sense. God flips the switch at the resurrection but he doesn't want us to regret our loss of freedom. He wants us to see that wehave been freed from cancer and by HIS power alone. He wants us to see that
left on our own, with Satan tempting us, we will rebel. It is only by taking away our selfish haywire human free will that we are truly set free. And so every scenario in which we can free ourselves is offered to us, including a millennial age. But given the chance, we will rebel and follow Satan. It's our nature that has to be changed. Learning that is what it's all about. That is the meaning of life, individually and collectively. So that is why we have a millennial age. Why do the Jews implement it and run it? Because God chose them for that purpose. They aren't just another ethnic group like the Kurds. They are God's chosen people. The presently elect enemies of the gospel. The other mills deny the Jews and even persecute them. We can get into how God sovereignly orchestrated that denial and persecution. The words have always been there in the Bible, but the church has had difficulty seeing them. Jesus locked lots of his own people out by omission of plain speaking. God kept them locked out for 2000 years, in part with questionable translations of the Bible. But the lock out was not forever. It was for a positive purpose yet future. And the future may be here.
Luke 21:24: They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Note the text doesn't say the end of time, but the end of the times of the Gentiles. See also Romans 11:25. There is time past the time of the Gentiles. It is "the day of the Lord," the time of the great tribulation and the millennial age. And we are almost there. The Jews again rule all of Jerusalem except the temple mount which is still in the hands of the gentiles. Jerusalem has become a cup of trebling to the whole world today (Zec 12:2.) We are almost LITERALLY to
Luke 21:24.
For More On This Subject, see A Reality Check for Pantelists, and Forgotten Teachings of the Post-Apostolic Church. To Return to the Main Page, Click Here