Christ Reigns
By
Shelby G. Floyd
April, 2007
Premillennialism
is a false doctrine which is preached by some denominational churches.
Premillennialism teaches that the second coming of Christ will be followed by
a period, of world wide peace and righteousness called the millennium, or the
thousand year reign. Premillennialist teach that during this thousand year
period, Christ will reign as king, in person, on this earth. Therefore, this
false doctrine denies that Christ is now reigning upon his throne in the
The Reign
of Christ in Prophecy
Let us notice the reign of Christ as mentioned by the Old Testament prophets, who were inspired of God. Isaiah, promised the throne of David to David’s illustrious son Jesus Christ, who would sit upon David’s throne and rule with justice and judgment:
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is
given;
And the government will be upon His
shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace.
Of
the increase of His government and peace
There will be no
end,
Upon the throne of David and over His
kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and
justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform
this.
(Isaiah 9: 6-7 NKJV.)
From this
statement several facts stand out concerning the reign of Christ: (1) a
remarkable child, a son, was to be born. This is the son mentioned in Isaiah
7:14, that was to be born of the virgin Mary; and
since Matthew stated that the birth of Christ fulfilled that prophecy, this
Son can be none other than Jesus Christ our Lord. (2) This remarkable son that
would be born would bear the government of heaven upon his shoulder; this is
none other than the prince of
Christ
Reigns on David’s Throne
This remarkable prophecy made 700 years before Christ was fulfilled during the birth of Christ, and later, the establishment of his spiritual kingdom the church (cf. Luke 1:30-33). Since Christ was to exercise his government by sitting upon David’s throne, David would never want for someone to sit upon his Throne. In the book of First Kings, we read this statement concerning the throne of David:
“...and that the
LORD may keep his promise to me: 'If your descendants watch how they live, and
if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never
fail to have a man on the throne of
At the dedication of the temple, Solomon repeated in his prayer the promise made to his father David that he would never want for a man to sit upon his throne,
"Now LORD, God
of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him
when you said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the
throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before
me as you have done' (1 Kings 8:25 NIV).
As long
as the
Jeremiah,
the prophet, stated that no descendant of David could ever prosper reigning on
David’s throne in
Thus says the LORD:
‘Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his
descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in
But Christ would not
sit on David’s throne in
Nathan the
Prophet Promised the Throne of David to Christ
While David was still living, Nathan, the prophet, promised the throne of the kingdom to David’s offspring Jesus Christ. The prophet said to David,
“When your days are
fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you,
who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Samuel
In order to elucidate
this prophecy several points are in order. (1) God would set up David’s seed
after the death of David, and while be would sleep with his fathers. (2) The
descendant of David whom God would set up after his death would be a fleshly
descendant of David, proceeding out of his bowels. This refers to Christ who
was made of the seed of David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3). (3) God
would establish the
David’s
Literal Throne Became a Spiritual Throne
The literal throne of David was to be transferred into heaven as a spiritual throne on which Christ would reign (cf. Psalms 11:4; Isaiah 66:1). Notice this statement from Psalms 89:
“Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not
lie unto David.
His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It
shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.
Selah” (Psalms 89:35-37).
Therefore it is plain to see that the throne of David would be transferred to heaven as a spiritual throne.
Daniel
Prophesied of Christ’s Throne
Let us continue
an examination of some of the Old Testament prophecies pointing to the reign
of Christ on David’s throne. The throne of Christ was prophetically mentioned
by the prophet Daniel. In Daniel 2, we have the revelation of a great image,
which figuratively stood for four great kingdoms; first, the Babylonian kingdom
of Nebuchadnezzar and his offspring; secondly, the kingdom of the Medes and
Persians ruled by Cyrus and Darius; third, the Macedonian or Grecian kingdom
ruled by Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great; and finally, the
Roman kingdom ruled by the Caesars. In the vision, a stone that was cut out of
the mountain, without hands, smote the image and destroyed it; and the stone
became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. The little stone represents
the establishment of the
Later, in one of his visions, Daniel saw thrones that were cast down which undoubtedly represents the fall of the four great world kingdoms mentioned in chapter two. Daniel said, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire” (Daniel 7: 9). In this statement, the Ancient of days who did sit on his throne, refers to God the Father. He is pictured as sitting upon his throne in judgment upon the nations.
In this
same chapter Daniel said, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like
the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of
days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion,
and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve
him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and
his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel
(1)
A person like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of
days. The Ancient of days was God the Father, and the one like the Son of man
was Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ ascended from the earth in the clouds of heaven
after his resurrection (Acts
(2)
When Christ was brought before the Ancient of days, there was given him
dominion, glory and the kingdom, that all nations should serve him. This is a
prophetic reference to the kingdom Christ received after he ascended from the
earth, and later established on the day of Pentecost, following his
resurrection. It is exactly parallel with the nobleman who went into a far
country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. After he had received
his kingdom and was returned, he reckoned with his servants, and judged them
according to the way they had conducted themselves (Luke
(3) The
kingdom which Christ received from the Ancient of days would be a kingdom that
would never be destroyed, and his dominion or his reign would be an everlasting
dominion. Before the birth of Christ, this is exactly the kind of kingdom and
dominion that the angel promised to the mother of Christ. The angel said, “You
will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord
God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the
house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke
Christ Was
to be a King and Priest on His Throne
According to the prophet Zechariah, Christ would be a priest on his throne, and he would, reign on his throne:
“Yes, He shall build
the temple of the LORD.
He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both”’ (Zechariah
Zechariah
declares that the Christ was to serve both as a king and priest upon his
throne. Since this is true, the throne of Christ cannot be upon the earth; if
it were, Christ could not be a priest upon that throne, simply because he came
from the wrong tribe. Christ came from the tribe of
Therefore, if perfection were through the
Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further
need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of
Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? For the
priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For He of whom these things
are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the
altar. For it
is evident that our Lord arose from
Since Christ then is serving as priest on his throne it was necessary that the law be changed. Christ is serving as a priest upon his throne, but his throne is not on the earth, it is in heaven (cf. Hebrews 8:1-4). He is on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven.
Thus, we have established from the word of God that Christ is now reigning on the throne of David at the right hand of God in heaven. Now, we shall establish that since Christ is reigning on David’s throne, he must of necessity be ruling over his spiritual kingdom the church.
The
Kingdom of Christ and the Church of Christ are Identical
The
throne of David, and the
“You will be with
child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will
be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give
him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob
forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke
Notwithstanding, the angel promised the throne and the kingdom to Christ; advocates of Premillennialism teach that Christ did not set up his kingdom as he intended to because he was rejected by the Jews; and therefore, he had to substitute the church instead of the kingdom which he had planned.
The rejection of Christ by the Jews was not something unknown to God, for be had prophesied by Isaiah that Jesus would be rejected by his own generation. Isaiah, the prophet, said,
“Who hath believed our report? and
to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a
tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no
form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that
we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:1-3).
Therefore, at least 700 years before Christ, it was known by God, and the inspired man Isaiah, that the Messiah, the Christ, would be rejected of men.
Not only did God and Isaiah know that Christ would be rejected by men, but Jesus Christ anticipated his own rejection by the Jews, and he stated that such would be true. In the gospel according to Luke we read:
Now when He was asked by
the Pharisees when the
In this reading we
notice that Jesus stated that he would be rejected by his generation; however,
he did not say that he would postpone the kingdom, and establish the church as
some sort of temporary arrangement. But to the contrary, he stated the
The Lord’s
Supper is in the Kingdom
Later,
Jesus promised the apostles that he would establish his kingdom and appoint
them tables in that kingdom at which they could eat and drink. He also promised
them that they would sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of
(1) Jesus appointed the apostles a kingdom in which they could eat and drink at his table in his kingdom.
“And when the hour was come,
he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover
with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof,
until it be fulfilled in the
From this we
learn that the unleavened bread, and the fruit of the vine, commemorating the
body and the blood of Christ, was to be eaten as a memorial meal in the
(2)
Jesus appointed the apostles a kingdom, and they were to eat and drink at his
table in that kingdom. The Lord’s Supper and Lord’s Table therefore are in his
kingdom. In this same chapter in Luke we read: “Ye are they which have
continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my
Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and. drink at my table in my
kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:
28-30). According to the promise of Christ, the apostles were to eat the
Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table in the Lord’s kingdom. In the book of Acts we
read of one of the apostles, Paul, eating the Lord’s Supper on the first day of
the week in the
(3)
After the kingdom had been established, the apostles would not only sit at the
Lord’s Table, and eat and drink, but they would also sit on twelve thrones and
judge the twelve tribes of
The Church
in Prophecy
Approximately
eight centuries before Christ, Isaiah the son of Amoz,
prophesied concerning
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that
the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow
unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of
his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the
nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:2-4).
In this
oracle we notice that the mountain of the Lord’s house was to be established.
In prophecy, the tern mountain usually refers to a kingdom; and the word
house usually refers to a family. Therefore, Isaiah was simply stating
that the
In
Isaiah’s remarkable prophecy, four facts deserve our attention. (1) The time
when the kingdom would be established, the last days. (2) The place where it
would have its beginning. The law and the word of the Lord would go forth from
In about 32 A.D., or one year before the day of Pentecost, Jesus promised to build his church and to give unto his apostles the keys of the kingdom of heaven. To Peter and the other apostles, Jesus said,
“And I tell you, you are
Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of
hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew
16:18-19).
The terms church
and kingdom of heaven are used interchangeably by our Lord; they refer
to the same institution. Jesus then would build his church upon the truth which
Peter had just confessed that he was the divine Son of God. He would give the
apostles the keys of the kingdom (the key of knowledge, Luke
On
another occasion Jesus promised that the kingdom would be established or come
in the lifetime of some of the apostles. He also stated that it would be ushered
in with power and authority. And he said to them, "I tell you the
truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the
New
Testament Baptized Believers Were in the Kingdom
All
scripture touching upon the establishment of the church previous to the day of
Pentecost point forward to its realization. For instance, when John and Jesus
stated that the kingdom of God was at hand, it pointed forward to the
establishment of the kingdom (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). When the twelve and the
seventy sent out by Christ touched upon the kingdom it pointed forward to its
establishment (Matthew 10:7; Luke 10:9). When Jesus spoke
about the kingdom, both before and after his death, He pointed forward to its
realization (Matthew
Many
years later when Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians he spoke of them as
being in the
Therefore,
the
Christ Will
Deliver up the Kingdom to the Father When He Comes Again
Therefore,
the kingdom has been established and Christ is now reigning over that kingdom.
When Christ comes again, he will not come to establish an earthly kingdom, but
to deliver up to the Father his spiritual kingdom. His second coming will
signal not the beginning of his reign, but the end (cf. 1 Corinthians
We have abundantly proved that the reign of Christ began on the first Pentecost following his resurrection, and will continue until he comes again. Therefore, the reign of Christ covers a period from the day of Pentecost till the end of time. The Premillennial doctrine that Christ will establish an earthly kingdom when he comes again and reign upon the earth for a thousand years is largely based upon the twentieth chapter of Revelation. The thousand years is mentioned six times in Revelation 20:1-7, but there is nothing in any of these verses which would remotely teach the premillennial doctrine.
The
Devil Bound for A Thousand Years
In this chapter, John, the apostle, saw a vision of the devil being bound for a thousand years.
“And I saw an angel
come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain
in his hand. And be laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be loosed a little season” (Revelation 20:1-3).
Twice, in these verses, the devil is said to be bound for a thousand years; that is, his influence is restricted for a considerable length of time. The thousand years is a definite figure standing for an indefinite figure. It does not mean that he would be bound literally for a thousand years, but it means that his influence in some way will be restricted for a long period of time.
Christ
Reigns a Thousand Years
Since
Satan will be bound for a thousand years, the same period of time in which
Christ will reign, the binding of Satan must be co-extensive with the reigning
of Christ for a thousand years. Christ began his reign on the first Pentecost
following his resurrection, and will end his reign when he comes again (cf. 1
Corinthians
The
Martyrs Reign with Christ for A Thousand Years
In the vision
of John, he further said, “And I saw thrones and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped
the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their
foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand
years” (Rev. 20:4).
Concerning this statement, we notice that the souls that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus Christ and for the word of God, they reign with Christ for a thousand years. John did not see men in the flesh reigning with Christ on the earth in a material kingdom for a thousand years, but be saw souls reigning with Christ. These souls were the souls of those who had been martyred for service to Jesus Christ and for preaching the word of God. Those who reign with Christ for a thousand years sat on thrones and exercised judgment.
We notice the following characteristics of those who sat upon these thrones and exercised judgment. (1) They were souls, the spirits of just men made perfect. (2) They were the souls of them that had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God. They are further described by John under the fifth seal: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth” (Rev. 6:9-10)? (3) These souls had not worshipped the beast, or his image, nor had they received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands. (4) They reigned with Christ a thousand years. (5) They sat upon thrones. (6) Judgment was given unto them. These souls which John saw which were sitting upon thrones, and exercising the judgment given unto them, refers to the apostles and others who were martyrs for Christ (cf. Matthew 19:28).
During
the ministry of Christ, the apostles were promised these thrones and judgment
in the
Christ and
the Apostles Reign During the Regeneration
On
another occasion, Jesus said to the apostles, “Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the
Son of man shall sit in the Throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
The First
Resurrection
John says, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death bath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:5-6).
The thousand year reign of Christ is the
first resurrection. John says, “This is the first resurrection” (Revelation
20:5). But we have seen that the thousand year reign of Christ covers the
period from Pentecost till the end of time. Therefore, the first resurrection
covers the mediatorial reign of Christ. Those who have part in the first
resurrection, on such, the second death will not have any power. Those who have
part in the first resurrection reign with Christ a thousand years. Christ is
the first born from the dead that in all things he might have the preeminence. “And
he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Colossians
After
Christ was raised from the dead, he was later taken to heaven and seated upon
his throne where he now lives and reigns. We have part in the reign of Christ
or the first resurrection by being baptized into Christ where we can live and
reign with Christ. Paul said, “Know ye not, that so
many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).
Baptism is
the First Resurrection
In
baptism one dies to sin, buries the old man of sin, and is raised or
resurrected to a new life. The first resurrection refers to the resurrection
from baptism to a new life, a spiritual life. Those who are baptized into Christ,
who live and reign with Christ, will not be hurt by the second death which is
the final judgment and punishment of the wicked. John refers to the second
death in this same book of Revelation: “And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second death” (Revelation
Concerning
spiritual death Paul says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned” (Romans 5:12). “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans
Since all who are in sin are dead in sin and need to be
quickened to spiritual life, all who obey the gospel are resurrected to a new
life or made alive spiritually. Jesus stated to Nicodemus that no one can enter
the kingdom of God who has not been born of water and of the Spirit (John
3:3-5). To be born again refers to new life, spiritual life, implying that one
has been spiritually dead. We are resurrected to this spiritual life by hearing
the word of Christ and obeying his will. To people who were spiritually dead
Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth
my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now
is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear
shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son
to have life in himself” (John
In Baptism
One is Resurrected to Spiritual Life
Again, we see that it is in baptism that we are resurrected
to spiritual life: “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God,
who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Colossians
Therefore, the first resurrection
described by John in Revelation 20:5-6, over which the second death will have
no power, is a resurrection from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is
described briefly by Paul when he said to the Corinthians: “Therefore if any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new” (2 Corinthians
Conclusion
Therefore we may draw the following conclusions: the
thousand year reign of Christ refers to a long, but indefinite period of time;
the thousand year reign of Christ includes the period from the first Pentecost
following his resurrection till Christ comes again; Christ is now on his throne
reigning during the thousand year period. Copyright
© 2007