DISPENSATIONAL PREMILLENNIALISM
PART 3 - The Nature of the Kingdom

Turn to Daniel 2. In this chapter we read the account of the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar in which he beheld a great image. The head of the image was made of fine gold, the breast and the arms were constructed of silver, while its belly and thighs were of brass. The legs of the image were made of iron and its feet were part iron and part clay. The king had all of the magicians and the astrologers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans brought before him to tell him his dream and the interpretation of it. They all failed miserably. Then Daniel was brought before the great king. He told him what the dream had been and then proceeded to give him the interpretation of that dream. The divine interpretation is what I want us to look at. We will begin reading in verse 36.

"This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and braise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."

History shows us just exactly how that divine interpretation unfolded. Following the Babylonian Empire came the Medo-Persian Empire. That was followed by the Macedonian Empire under the leadership of Alexander the Great. The fourth world empire was the Roman Empire. It was in the "days of these kings' (the kings of the fourth world empire), the Roman Empire, that God would set up "a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed...' a kingdom that would "stand forever."

Just a very short time prior to the beginning of the public ministry of the Lord Jesus, the wilderness of Judea rang forth with the exciting, yet unsettling message of John the Baptist. Matthew put it this way in Matthew 3:1-4, "in those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. "

John's mission was to prepare the way for the Lord. He called the people to repentance, to change their lives and to be ready for the coming of the Messiah. He told the people that the very thing for which they and their ancestors had been waiting, the promised Messiah and His kingdom, were at hand, nearby, about to arrive. Luke, in chapter 3:1-2, took great pains to meticulously set the time for these events. It was the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. In 11 A.D., Tiberius had begun to reign as joint emperor of the Roman Empire with Augustus. Augustus died two years later and Tiberius became the sole emperor. Luke sets his date from the beginning of Tiberius' joint reign. Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea. He had been appointed to that office in the 12th year of Tiberius' sole reign. Herod Antipas was the tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was tetrarch of lturaea and Trachonitis and Lysanias was the tetrarch of Abilene. Why was the Holy Spirit through Luke so meticulous about the time frame? It was to demonstrate conclusively that this kingdom that John came announcing was the kingdom of Daniel 2, the kingdom that God said was to be set up in the days of the kings of the fourth world empire - the Roman Empire. It was the kingdom that would never be destroyed and would stand forever.

All recognize today, whether they be Dispensational Premillennialists or not, that the kingdom John came announcing was that kingdom, and he said that it was "at hand." Our Lord Jesus, in Matthew 4:17 said, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In verse 23 we are told that Jesus "preached the gospel of the kingdom." When Jesus began His public ministry, that promised kingdom was "at hand," it was nigh, it was about to be established.

Two questions need to be answered: Was that kingdom established, and what was the nature of that kingdom? About that first question, in order to be perfectly fair in our representations, here is what W. E. Blackstone, a noted Dispensational Premillennialist, says about it, "The kingdom was at hand, that is, it came nigh ... when Jesus, the King, came. So much so, that the three favored disciples witnessed a foretaste of its glory and power on the Mount of Transfiguration. But the Jews rejected it and slew their King. They were not willing to have this man reign over them, and therefore the Kingdom did not immediately appear. The kingdom did come "nigh" when Christ came, and had they received him, it would have been manifested, but now it is in abeyance, or waiting until He comes again."

Was the kingdom established, or is it in abeyance, waiting for Jesus to come again because the Jews were not willing to have Jesus reign over them, rejected and crucified Him? In Mark 9:1, Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." Note this now, the Lord Himself made the statement that there were some standing right there with Him who would not taste of death - who would not die - until the kingdom had come with power. Turn with me now to Luke 24:49. Again it is Jesus speaking, the setting is the Great Commission, and Jesus said, "And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." In Acts 2:1-4 that promise was fulfilled as the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and received inspiration and power.

Continuing on in Acts 2 and looking at verse 14, we find Peter standing up with the other apostles and beginning to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, complete with the terms of admission into the church, for the first time. In Acts 2:39, Peter tells the people gathered there in the city of Jerusalem what they must do to receive the remission of sins. In Acts 2:41 we read, "Then they that gladly received the word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Moving on to verse 47 we read, 'Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." This is the first time we read of the church as being in existence.

So, what have we found? The kingdom was to come with power before some of those living during the time of Jesus passed away, according to Mark 9:1. The power came on the day of Pentecost after the Lord's ascension, according to Acts 2:1-4. The church came into existence on the same Pentecost according to Acts 2:47 - it is the first time we read of it being in existence. Look with me now at Matthew 16:18-19, where we find Jesus saying, 'And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Here we find Jesus using the terms "church" and "kingdom" interchangeably. The inescapable conclusion is that those who are "in the church" are "in the kingdom."

Look with me now at Colossians 1:13-14. There Paul wrote, "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.' Now remember, in Acts 2:3 8 we saw that people were to be baptized "for the remission of sins." Those who "gladly received the word" and did so were "added to the church,' according to verse 47. You see, when one is baptized for the remission (or for the forgiveness of sins), he or she is added to the church and translated into the kingdom. Those in the church are in the kingdom.

Further still, remember that in Daniel 2:44, Daniel said that God's kingdom "shall stand forever.' Look at Hebrews 12:28 where we find, "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear." That kingdom that would "stand forever,' or that kingdom "which cannot be moved," had been received in the lifetime of the Hebrew writer.

One more to consider is found in Revelation 1:9. It says, "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." John was a brother and a companion of these brethren "in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ," How could he have made such a statement if there was no kingdom as of yet, if the kingdom was in abeyance, waiting for the return of the Lord?

Let's summarize what we have seen so far. If we trust and believe in the integrity of Daniel as an inspired prophet of God, then the kingdom was established in the days of the Roman Empire. If we trust and believe in Jesus, then the kingdom was established before some of those living during His time passed away. If we trust and believe in the inspiration of the scriptures, then Paul and John were in the kingdom as they said. And if we trust and believe in the whole New Testament as part of the inspired Word of God, then those who are in the church are in the kingdom.

Now, what about the second question to be considered? What was the nature of that kingdom to be? Was it to be the literal, physical, earthly kingdom in the literal, physical, earthly city of Jerusalem ruled over by the Lord Jesus for a period of 1,000 years? Or was it to be a spiritual kingdom with Jesus as king in heaven?

Dispensational Premillennialism theorizes that Jesus intended to set up His kingdom on earth when He was here. However, the Jews did not want this man to rule over them, they rejected Him, crucified Him, and therefore the kingdom was not established at that time. Is it true that the Jews did not want Jesus to be their earthly king?

In John 6, the Lord Jesus fed the great multitude of people with five barley loaves and two small fishes. Over 5,000 people were fed, and when the meal was completed, there were fragments enough left over to fill 12 baskets. Look with me now at John 6:14-15. We find, "Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone." Recognizing the tremendous benefit of having an earthly king who could perform such miracles, the Bible indicates that the people wanted Jesus to be their king. They would take Him 'by force" if necessary and force the crown upon Him. The theory of Dispensational Premillennialism says the Jews did not want Him. Do we believe the Bible or the theory?

Consider this - if it was the Lord's desire to set up such an earthly kingdom, why would He reject the opportunity? If it was his desire to set up an earthly kingdom, why did He allow the crucifixion to take place when at any time He could have prayed to the Father and received 12 legions of angels to stop it (Matthew 26:53)? The answer to those questions is found in Luke 17:20-21 and John 18:33-36. First, Luke 17:20-21 says, 'And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, Lo there! for behold, the kingdom of God is within you." And then John 18:33-36 tells us, 'Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."

The kingdom that Jesus came to establish and which He did establish was not meant to be an earthly kingdom. That is what the Jews wanted. That is what the Dispensational Premillennialists want, but that is not what Jesus came to set up! Jesus said that the kingdom would not come with observation. They would not be able to say, "Here is where it starts and here is where it ends." The kingdom is within a person - it is spiritual. The Dispensational Premillennialists of today are making the same mistake that the Jews of the first century made. They want something earthly and physical; but "as it is" Jesus' kingdom is not of this world.

Dispensational Premillennialism - Part 4