Questions for the Premillennialist

by Bryan Gibson

July 2, 2009

The Old Testament Scriptures contain prophecies of a kingdom, a kingdom over which the Christ or Messiah would reign. According to premillennialists, this kingdom is not spiritual, but earthly. They say that Jesus will sit on the literal throne of David in Jerusalem, and reign for exactly 1000 years. Obviously, nothing like that has happened, so according to them, the kingdom of Old Testament prophecy has not yet been established. Jesus wanted to set up this kingdom, but when the Jews rejected and crucified Him, that plan was put on hold. According to their doctrine, this kingdom will finally be established at the second coming of Christ.

Here are some questions we would like to ask those who believe this doctrine.

1.  Are you saying that Jesus failed, that even though He wanted to set up His kingdom, He was just no match for His opposition? That flies directly in the face of Psalms 2, where it is clearly indicated that God would establish His Son as King, despite the plans of His enemies. Please read that entire Psalm, and then notice how the apostles applied it in Acts 4:23-28.

2.  Read Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, especially verses 29-36. Wouldn’t you agree that Peter is proclaiming Jesus as king? Isn’t Peter saying that Jesus became king when He was raised from the dead and ascended to His Father? That would certainly agree with the prophecy in Daniel 7:13-14, where the Messiah is pictured as coming to the “Ancient of Days,” where He is then “given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.”

3.  John the Baptist preached that the kingdom was “at hand” (Matthew 3:2), and so did Jesus (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15). Were they wrong? We realize that according to you, the kingdom would have been set up, if not for the death of Jesus. But didn’t Jesus know he was going to die, and didn’t He speak openly of His death (Matthew 16:21)? So why did He still preach that the kingdom was “at hand” if His death was going to prevent it? Perhaps you need the faith of the thief on the cross who said, “Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). He knew Jesus was going to die, but he had faith that the kingdom would still be established.

4.  Do you eat the Lord’s Supper, and if so, why? When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He said, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). According to you, there would be no sense doing it now, because we can’t commune with the Lord until His kingdom is established.

5.  Why do you still insist on an earthly kingdom, when Jesus plainly said it would not be? “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36). The Jews would have loved to make Jesus an earthly king (John 6:15), but that’s the very thing Jesus did not want to be. Jesus is reigning right now over a spiritual kingdom, and all who would be saved must submit to His rule.