Premillennialists, even those who acknowledge that Christ is presently reigning in some capacity, believe that one day in the future, upon his second coming, Christ will begin to rule from earth over an earthly kingdom, one that will last for one thousand years. Even though some might acknowledge that Christ is ruling in heaven in the present age, many tend to struggle with the idea that his current reign extends to earth in any significant way.
The underlying thought seems to be that unless Christ is physically ruling from earth, his power and sovereignty over earthly matters must be somewhat constrained. In particular, some would say that until he takes his throne on earth, Christ cannot be said reign over the nations, cannot be said to reign over Israel, and especially cannot be said to reign on the throne of David.
Now, I believe that there are several reasons to affirm that Christ will one day literally reign from earth. I do not, however, believe that an earthly rule is necessitated by any limitation in the power of Christ’s heavenly position. In fact, it appears to me that Christ’s authority and sovereignty are in some ways greater, even on earth, because he is reigning from heaven. It also seems to me that the very aspects of Christ’s reign that are so frequently called into question (his rule over the nations, over Israel, etc.) are explicitly stated in scripture to be attributes of his heavenly reign which was a reality, again, even as the New Testament was being written.
In short, I believe the Scriptures teach that as soon as Christ ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God, he began to reign, not only over all heavenly beings, but also over all earthly powers. He began at his ascension to reign in the church, to reign over all nations, to reign over Israel, and to reign in particular from the very throne of David. It is this series of ideas that I will attempt to demonstrate in the next post.
2 comments:
Great comments, Matt. I understand what you’re saying. You’re seeing New Testament passages that indicate Christ was reigning, and at the same time you’re seeing passages that say that the forces of Satan were making war against him. I would just emphasize that there really isn’t any inconsistency between the two.
The fact that most do not yet confess Christ to be Lord, is no proof that he is not. It is BECAUSE he is reigning that all men, even those who are rebelling against him, owe him their full allegiance. It is BECAUSE he is reigning that every knee, as you say, will eventually bow. His enemies are not placed under his feet IN ORDER THAT he might reign but as a RESULT of his reign.
And, I might add, it is BECAUSE of his reign that we can confidently apply ourselves to the work of advancing the kingdom. If he were not yet reigning, then there would no kingdom to advance.
I guess I’m less willing to say that Christ is not fully reigning or that he is not exercising his full authority and more willing to say that his reign and his authority have yet to produce their full effect in the world.
As you point out, the promise that all his enemies will one day submit is sure. The real question between the various millennial positions is when, and more importantly, how this will actually come about.
I wholeheartedly agree.
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