Deductive Syllogism: “The Millennial Kingdom”

We have been doing an Inductive study of the Millennial Kingdom for the past few weeks, looking at dozens of passages in the Old Testament that speak of the Kingdom of God.
We compared and contrasted the concepts of inductive, informal reasoning (investigating particular passages that refer to the Millennium and grouping them for general similarities and differences) and deductive formal reasoning... (starting with a general principle and examining the particulars in light of that principle).
Following is an example of our procedure and conclusions.
The premises are arrived at through inductive study, and the conclusion follows resistlessly through deduction.

Deductive Syllogism: “The Millennial Kingdom”

Premise one:
All unfulfilled Biblical Prophecy is to be taken just as literally as all fulfilled Biblical Prophecy, yet future.

Example of scriptural justification: 
Deut.18:20-22 – 20 ‘But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 “You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ 22 “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Premise two:
The Millennial Kingdom prophecies are yet unfulfilled literally.

Example:
Zech.14:1-21 – 1 Behold a Day is coming for the Lord...4 His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives...7 It will be a unique Day...9 the Lord will be King over all the earth; in that Day the Lord will be the only one and His name shall the only one...11 and the people will live in it and there will be no more curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security...20 “HOLY TO THE LORD.”

Premise three:
Therefore, the Millennial Kingdom prophecies will be fulfilled literally in the future.

Examples:
Is.44:6-7 – 6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.
7 ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place.

Is.44:21-26 – 21 “Remember these things, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. 22 “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” 23 Shout for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it; For the LORD has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He shows forth His glory. 24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself and spreading out the earth all alone. 25 Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back and turning their knowledge into foolishness, 26 Confirming the word of His servant and performing the purpose of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’ And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’ And I will raise up her ruins again.

Is.46:9-10 – 9 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure';

You can be sure that God means what He says. His promises are true and dependable.
The very existence of the Nation and people of Israel today is a miraculous testimony to His faithfulness. He is going to continue to bring to pass all that He has spoken concerning Israel, Jerusalem and Zion just as He has always done before.
Remember, His future promises are as good as His past promises.
This is the reason that we can believe His future promises concerning us.
Maranatha!

The Judgement Seat of Christ

As we continue in our overview of prophecy the next event following the rapture of the Church will be - 

The Judgement Seat of Christ

Ro. 14:10- “We shall all stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ” KJV

“We shall all stand before the Judgement Seat of God” NASB
Jn. 20:28- “My Lord and my God” ; 
Titus 2:13- “Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”
Note: Jesus is God.
It is Jesus who will be sitting in judgement of all people,
the saved and the lost.
The “Judgement seat of Christ” is for the saved.
Jn. 5:22- “The Father judges no one, but has committed all judgement to the Son”
Ps. 50:5-6- “Gather My godly ones to Me,--- for God Himself is Judge.”

Definition:
The “judgement seat” in the Greek is the “Bema”.
The word means “a raised platform from which judgement is pronounced.”
It was used in law courts in Greece and was used by Roman magistrates and rulers.
A third use was that of a judging stand at sporting events, such as the famous Isthmus games and the ancient Olympics.
It is from this third use of the term that we gain some insight into how it is used in our text, Ro. 14:10.
The idea is that of a reviewing stand at the end of a race to distribute rewards to the appropriate participants.
There is no looming consequence of punishment for poor or inferior performance, only lack of reward.
There is however a definite sense of seriousness and need for ones best effort in anticipation of standing before the awesome and almighty Judge.
This will not be a time for lame and worthless excuses in an attempt to justify a halfhearted effort.
Especially when it was the Judge Himself that provided everything needed for each one to do well. (1Cor. 3:15)

2Cor. 5:10- “We must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body” according to what he has done, whether good or bad (worthless, the opposite of good, i.e. not good).”

2Cor. 5:11- “Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade men”

1Cor. 3:8- “each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”

1Cor. 3:10-15- Let each man be careful how he builds on the foundation.
Paul said he laid a foundation. What is the foundation of Paul’s teaching?
What is the foundation of all the Apostles and the Prophets (Eph. 2:20)?
Verse 11 says, “no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Note: Jesus Christ is the final word from God to men (Heb. 1:2).
He is the only foundation upon which any man may build.

“On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."

Lk. 6:46-48- Jesus said, “Everyone who hears My words and acts upon them, he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon a rock.”

1Cor. 3:14- “If any man’s work remains, he will receive a reward.”

Lk. 14:14- “you will be paid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (the Rapture)

Rev. 22:12- “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”

Rewards:
Mt. 5:12- enduring persecution; 10:41-42- Prophets reward, righteous man’s reward, reward for kindness to children; Rev. 11:17-18- rewards for all His servants, small and great.

Crowns: Victors - 1 Cor.9:25-27; Life - Rev.2:10; Glory. 1 Pet.5:2-4;
Righteousness - 2 Tim.4:8; Rejoicing - 1 Thes.2:19-20

Authority: Mt. 19:28-30- Apostles to sit on thrones, follower’s to receive a hundredfold houses, land and family.

1Cor. 6:2-3- Saints to judge the world and angels.

2Tim. 2:12- We shall reign with Him.
Rev. 5:9-10- A kingdom of priests who will reign with him on earth. Rev.20:6-Reign for a thousand years.
Rev.22:5- We shall reign forever and ever.

Parables of reward:
Mt. 25:14-30- The parable of the talents. Verses 21 + 23 – “Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter in to the joy of your Master.”
Lk. 19:11-27- The parable of the minas. Verse 17 - “Well done , good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, Be in authority over ten cities.”
Verse 19 – “And He said to him also, And you are to be over Five cities.”

Commentary:
The Judgement seat of Christ is exclusively for Christians. It will be specifically to determine rewards for service and faithfulness. It should be a time of great rejoicing for all Christians, but it will also be a time of recognition of lost, wasted and missed opportunities, when much will be burned up as wood hay and stubble. Only the precious will remain, that which is pleasing to the Lord.
The knowledge that we will all give an account one day to the Lord of heaven and earth, should motivate us to do our very best while we still have a chance to do so here on earth.
When we leave this world our work to be judged will be done. This is what we will bring to the Judgement Seat of Christ for His review.
“We must all work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no man can work” Jesus Christ Jn.9:4

The Imminency of the Lord's return.

The doctrine of imminency is well established in Scripture. We get much of our information concerning this aspect of prophetic truth through the direct teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For those who may not be familiar with the term; it refers to the fact that Christ's return in the clouds for His Church at the Rapture can happen at any moment, there are no prophecies that need to be fulfilled beforehand.
This is in contrast to His glorious appearing; which is when when He comes to the earth as the conquering King of Kings, which occurs at the end of the Tribulation period (as portrayed in Rev.19:11-16, and many other passages in both the Old and New Testaments). This 2nd aspect of His return will be preceded by many clear, and yet to be fulfilled prophecies, that have definite calculable time qualities connected to them (Mt.24:15 etc.).

Therefore;

WATCH !

Rev. 3:1-3 – He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this:
‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2. ‘Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
3. ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.

Lk.12:35-40 – “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 36. “Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.
37. “Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.
38. “Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
29. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
40. “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

Ro.13:11-14 – It is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
12. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
14. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Eph.5:13-17 – But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
14. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”
15. Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16. making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Lk.21:28 – And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Mk.13:32-37 – “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
34. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35. “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
37. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

The Lord is not slow.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Prov.13:12

The human heart is a wonder of creation; it is capable of the highest aspirations of imagination, hope and love, and at the same time it is an endless source of anxiety, contradiction and confusion; it is at one and the same time the wellspring of inspiration to pursue great and productive achievements as well as a fount of tremendous restlessness, despair and destruction.
It is no wonder that our world is filled with the glories of human accomplishment on the one hand and the far reaching consequences of human folly and depravity on the other.
The old proverb gives us a very helpful insight as to how these things can be true.

Frustration is a universal human trait and it has been from the beginning. The hope of promise and the anticipation of resolution can only postpone the disquieted anxious heart for so long and then alternative solutions are sought.

I believe that this is the reason that men like Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, John Chrysostom and Augustine invented and embraced such an erroneous and harmful doctrines as Amillennialism and Supersessionism (better known as Replacement Theology).
They simply had no patience or inclination to wait for God to fulfill His prophetic promises, so they looked to their human imaginations to supply a ready substitute to satisfy their lack of faith and lack of patience.
In order to accomplish their objective, they had to devise a system to define away the clear teaching and literal intent of plain language; hence the “Allegorical School” of interpretation was born, nurtured and propagated.

The deepest roots of this erroneous and destructive doctrine reach to the pit of hell and originated in the demented mind of Satan, the enemy of God and the avowed enemy of God’s chosen people, Israel.
Anti-Semitism is the invention of the devil, and it is one of his most diabolical tools.
Shame on any so called Christian who embraces it!
What a contradiction! What confusion!

The de-emphasis on the study of Biblical prophecy in our day is a direct result of the long lasting influence of these aforementioned, misdirected and deceived so called “Church Fathers”.
How easily the human heart is manipulated by the father of lies!
How readily does the heart of man abandon hopeful waiting and seek to dig dry cisterns rather than to wait for the outpouring of God’s rain in its due season.

And so, it is required of God’s stewards that they be found faithful to His word and to His promises; to wait patiently yet expectantly for the fulfillment of every detail of every word of Holy Scripture, literally, to those to whom the promises were made.

This has been my approach to Bible teaching for over thirty years; this has been our approach to Bible interpretation here at Friends and Family Forum for the past decade; this has been the method of prophetic interpretation and teaching at Bible Baptist Church for over forty years here in the Plymouth area, and this will remain the focus of our eschatology as long as the Lord provides breath; or until the Lord returns literally to rule and reign in His glorious Millennial Kingdom on earth for a thousand years and then forever into eternity future in the new heavens and on the new earth! 
Maranatha!

Don't settle for second best.

Biblical prophecy is a lot like aging, the closer one gets to the end the more intense the signs get that a big change is coming; that things are not going to continue, indeed cannot continue as they have been forever indefinitely. 
There are all kinds of ways that people deal with the ageing process and it's interesting, even amusing to see how different folks handle it, or don't handle it well at all.
We all know about the midlife crisis syndrome and the attempts to regain ones lost youth through buying stuff, like a new car or new cloths; or by getting "work" done on the hair, or face or body; maybe changing partners or whatever.
It all boils down to an attempt to deny the inevitable.
It's really nothing more than whistling past the graveyard.
Funny and sad at the same time.

As I said, prophecy is a lot like aging; the human heart and mind tend to respond to the unfolding signs of end time events in the same way that they do to the signs of aging; mainly denial and incredulity.
But, just like mortality and death are facts of life; no amount of whistling, diversion or denial can change the inevitable future concerning the doom of the current world system.
It is coming to an end; and by the way, that's a good thing.
All the signs are in place; the convergence of events in our day is a one time, like never before perfect storm; foreordained and foretold by God as part of the process of bringing in a new and better world.

This is the topic of our current Bible study; it's a topic that I have been following for three and a half decades and I never cease to be amazed at the lack of interest in, or concern for, the signs of the times in our day that are unfolding before our very eyes.

II Pet.3:3-4 – Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,
4. And saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

So many in the Church are concerned with prosperity, with health and wealth; with feel good worldly music and worldly messages about reaching their best potential for success in this world; promises of attaining ultimate happiness here and now.
These are all false promises and they are a distraction from reality.
This world is not the best that there is; it is only a step on the way.
The best is yet to come, for those who will seek it and who are willing to wait for it.

Yes this world can be beautiful and God has created it for our enjoyment and for our wellbeing and we should be thankful for that; but this is not all that He has promised; not by a long shot!
We look forward to a new heavens and a new earth in which there is no more sin, suffering and death; a world that is spoken of in
II Pet.3:13 - "wherein righteousness dwells."
Don't settle for second best.
Trust Christ for salvation and believe His word for the promised coming of a better world.
He has conquered sin and death and soon He will put away it's consequences forever.

Maranatha!