Millennial Debate
…and the Gospel?!

It is truly amazing how millennial beliefs are formulated. For instance, using the 70th week of Daniel or the 1000 years in Revelation 20, folks build their whole theology of end times. All else in Scripture is subservient to these concepts. I would like to posit a new starting place…the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. After all our faith is in Him and the Scriptures are about Him. So, why not start with His Gospel?

As Christians we believe that the Gospel is the “good news”. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners from their sin and God’s wrath. Yet, while we proclaim this Gospel, we seem to harbor the idea that in spite of this “salvation” the world is doomed by the inevitable triumph of evil in history. We seem obligated to convert the Gospel of hope into one of despair.

But did not Jesus Himself say He has overcome the world (John 16:33)? And has not the Psalmist told us that the Son’s throne is forever (Ps. 45:6,7 and cited in Heb. 1:8)? Paul tells us God the Father has put all things in subjection under Jesus’ feet and when all has been brought under His reign, the Son will subject Himself to God the Father (1 Cor. 22-28). Jesus is at the right hand of the Father far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name now and forever with all things subject to Him (Eph. 1: 20-23). The message of Scripture is clear…Jesus Christ is King NOW!

Why a millennial view of pessimism? The Kingdom has come and Jesus does not have to return to inaugurate that Kingdom. At the coming of the angel to Mary, it was announced that His Kingdom would have no end (Luke 1:33). John the Baptist proclaimed the Kingdom of heaven was at hand (Matt. 3:2). Jesus, in sending out the 72, instructed them to heal the sick and say: “The Kingdom of God has come near you” (Luke 10: 9) and when they are not welcomed, move on nevertheless knowing “that the Kingdom of God has come near” (Matt. 10:11). The writer to the Hebrews says this Kingdom cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28). And, in the book of Revelation, loud voices in heaven proclaim: “The Kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). The apostles understood the Kingdom had come as evidenced in Peter’s first sermon at Pentecost [quoting Ps. 110:1]: “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” (Acts 2: 34). God has made Christ both Lord and Christ…now.

So should we be triumphant? Is the Church in charge of the judgment? Has the secular been swallowed up in the sacred? Is success found in the here and now? Jesus instructs us not to lay up treasure in the here and now (Matt. 6: 19-24). The Apostle Peter says our inheritance is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, but it is in heaven (1 Pet. 1:4). Jesus also tells us there is an age to come in contrast with the now (Matt. 12:32; Mark 10:30). He also tells Christians to expect tribulation right in the passage where He says He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Paul also emphasized this expectation of tribulation as part of strengthening the souls of converts in his church planting (Acts 14: 22). Jesus also promised that the world will hate and persecute His followers as they did Him (John 15: 18-20). We see the present reality of tribulation and persecution in places like Sudan, China and Indonesia. Try telling them this is the Golden Age of the Church!

And what about our struggle with the flesh, the world and Satan? Paul tells us of the struggle with sin (Romans 7: 15-25). And, while in God’s children there is no condemnation, we are still in the business of following the imperatives…putting to death, putting away, and putting off the old and putting on the new…as God’s chosen ones (Col. 3: 5-15). Borrowing from Oscar Cullman’s example of D-Day deciding the outcome of WW II…the war has been won but there are many battles yet to be fought. With trials, tribulations and sin can we really believe that we have arrived? An over realized view of the Gospel results in the imperative without the indicative. It centers on the subjective and our methods, techniques, and programs leading to perfectionism, legalism and self-righteousness.

What to do? We must hold these matters in tension. Yes, Christ is King now, but we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We believe the Gospel indicative and that leads to the Gospel imperative. The grace that saves us will sanctify and glorify us. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation for all who believe and the righteous live by faith (Rom. 1: 16, 17). There is oppression but not defeat. There is victory but not triumph. Jesus tells the parable of the weeds and explains it in Matt. 13: 24-43. Therein, He explains that the Kingdom has already come but it is not yet perfect. Yes, He is coming again and He tells us to “stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” for you “must also be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12: 35, 40).

What are we to do in the face of all this? Live in and by grace evidencing the parousia ethic proclaimed by Peter:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, Who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Pet. 5:6-10).