Part 4: The Church and Worship
Will Christ return to establish His kingdom on earth and to reign for a thousand years before the earth's destruction as claimed by the doctrine of premillennism?
The term premillennial means before the millennium or, in this use, before the presumed thousand year’s reign of Christ on earth after He returns and establishes His kingdom. Let us examine the Holy Scriptures to find the answer to this question.
Book of Mark, Chapter 9, Verse 1 reads:
And He said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."
The church, which is the kingdom of God, was to come during the lifetime of some of Jesus' listeners. Later, just before His ascension, Jesus is quoted in Luke, Chapter 24, Verse 49, saying:
I am going to send you what my Father has promised: but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.
Jesus' followers waited in Jerusalem in obedience to this instruction. On the Day of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, almost two months after Jesus' crucifixion, his promise was fulfilled. Jews from all over the known world were gathered in Jerusalem. Suddenly there was a loud sound, like the blowing of a violent wind and Jesus' followers saw:
. . . what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts Chapter 2, Verses 3 & 4, in part.
On that Pentecost Day the kingdom, the church, began. Spiritual gifts were bestowed upon the Apostles. Among these powers were the ability to speak in foreign languages and to heal the sick. These gifts showed all that the apostles’ teachings were from God. Note that the words kingdom, church and Body of Christ are used interchangeably throughout the New Testament. Until that day the church or kingdom was spoken of using future tense. After that time the church was spoken of in the present tense. Clearly, Jesus began His church on that special day in the First Century.
In Colossians, Chapter 1, Verse 13, the Apostle Paul wrote:
For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.
A few lines later, in Verse 24, Paul equates the Body of Christ and the church. The apostle, John, at the beginning of his Revelation Book declares in Chapter 1, Verse 6, in part, that our Lord has made us to be a kingdom. This was after his greetings to the seven churches in Asia. Thus, the kingdom existed before the completion of the Book of Revelation.
But what of the visions of John as recorded in this book? Remember these visions were penned as Christians were being persecuted and were soon to face even greater violence and murder at the hands of Rome. The records of John's visions were intended to assure Christ's followers that they would, indeed, receive eternal reward for their faith and sacrifice. Note that Revelations, Chapter 1 tells us that these things will shortly come to pass.
In Revelations, Chapter 20, Verse 4, we note that John saw the souls, not the resurrected bodies, of the martyrs reigning with Christ. The thousand year reign is a time, an era. The number, one thousand, is used in scripture to suggest the thought of a whole or entirety of anything. This usage indicates a period of time known only to God. It is during this length of time that earthly souls have access to the blessings of the kingdom of God, the church. And here, Satan is bound and cannot war against their souls.
In Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verses 10 to 13 the apostle answers our questions about the return of our Lord and the destruction of the earth:
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Clearly, the kingdom would not be established on an earth that has already been destroyed.