Millennialism, End Times, and the Reign of Christ (Part 04) - The Reign of Christ

For a master copy of the outline, click here: Millennialism B. Jesus Christ began reigning on David's throne when He was resurrected from the dead. i. It was prophesied in the OT that the Messiah who would proceed from David would assume his throne and reign from it forever (2Sa 7:12-16; 1Ch 17:11-14). ii. According to this prophecy, the following would happen: a. The coming King would be a descendant of David (2Sa 7:12). b. The King and His kingdom would be setup and established when David was dead and sleeping in the grave (2Sa 7:12). c. The King would be the Son of God (2Sa 7:14). d. The King would build the house of God which would be associated with His kingdom being established (2Sa 7:13; 1Ch 17:12). e. The house of God and the kingdom of God would be established forever (2Sa 7:16; 1Ch 17:14). iii. Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecy of the messianic King Who would reign on David's throne (2Sa 7:12-16; 1Ch 17:11-14) at His first coming, particularly at His resurrection. Let's look at each part of the prophecy. a. The coming King would be a descendant of David (2Sa 7:12). (i) Jesus Christ was a descendant of David through Mary (Luk 3:23,31). (ii) He was also a descendant of David through Joseph (though Joseph was not his natural father) (Mat 1:1,6,16). b. The King and His kingdom would be setup and established when David was dead and sleeping in the grave (2Sa 7:12). (i) Peter, preaching to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, identified when Jesus Christ was seated on the throne of David. (ii) Peter began by identifying the fact that at the time he was speaking, David was dead and buried (Act 2:29), which is the time when Christ would be raised up to sit on David's throne (2Sa 7:12). (iii) David had written, "thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" (Act 2:27 c/w Psa 16:10). (iv) At first glance, it might appear that David was speaking of himself, but Peter reasons from the scriptures and concludes that since, 1) David was a prophet (Act 2:30) and therefore often spoke of the Messiah and future events and, 2) God had sworn that He would raise up Christ, one of his physical descendants, to sit on his (David's) throne (Act 2:30 c/w 2Sa 7:12); David therefore was writing of Christ, not himself. (v) Peter then identifies exactly when Christ was raised up and seated on David's throne in fulfillment of the prophecy: "He seeing this before spake of THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." (Act 2:31) (vi) When David saw before that God would raise up Christ to sit on David's throne, he saw the resurrection of Christ (Act 2:30-31). (vii) This happened when David was dead and in the grave, not at the beginning of the alleged millennium seven years after David had been resurrected at the rapture and was physically alive in his glorified body as the dispensationalists teach (more on that later). (viii) God raised up Jesus at the resurrection and exalted Him at the right hand of God (Act 2:32-33) on David's throne which is in heaven (Psa 89:35-37). (ix) Jesus' kingdom is not an earthly kingdom (Joh 18:36). (x) When the Jews tried to make him an earthly king, He hid Himself from them (Joh 6:15). (xi) Jesus is reigning in heaven at the right hand of God on David's throne until his foes are made His footstool (Act 2:34-35). (xii) Jesus reigns in the midst of His enemies (not after they've all been destroyed) (Psa 110:1-2). (xiii) "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet." (1Co 15:25) (xiv) Reign v.- 1. intr. To hold or exercise the sovereign power or authority in a state; to rule or govern as king c. The King would be the Son of God (2Sa 7:14). (i) Jesus Christ became the Son of God when He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and the power of God and born of the virgin, Mary (Luk 1:35). (ii) He was declared to be the Son of God by God the Father at His baptism (Luk 3:21-22). (iii) But it was at His resurrection when He was declared to be the Son of God with power (Rom 1:3-4). (iv) The resurrection of Christ was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Psa 2:7, in which God said: "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." (Act 13:33-34 c/w Psa 2:7) (v) It was at the resurrection of Christ that God set Him as His King in the holy hill of Zion on David's throne (Psa 2:6). (vi) The fact that Jesus Christ was made King when He was raised from the dead and set at the right hand of God in heaven (Eph 1:20-22 c/w 1Sa 15:17) is undeniable, as Psa 2:6 was said between Psa 2:1-2 (which is a prophecy of Christ's crucifixion (c/w Act 4:25-28)), and Psa 2:7 (which is a prophecy of the resurrection of Christ (c/w Act 13:33-34)). d. The King would build the house of God which would be associated with His kingdom being established (2Sa 7:13; 1Ch 17:12). (i) Jesus built the house of God, His church, at His first coming (Mat 16:18 c/w 1Ti 3:15). (ii) It was already proved that the church (the house of God) is the kingdom of God (Luk 22:29-30; Heb 12:28) which Jesus set up at His first coming (Luk 11:20). (See Section IV,5,A,v - p. 7-8) e. The house of God and the kingdom of God would be established forever (2Sa 7:16; 1Ch 17:14). (i) As was before proved, the house of God (the church) and the kingdom of God were setup by Christ at His first coming and will last forever (Mat 16:18; Eph 3:21; Heb 12:28). (ii) See Section IV,5,A,v - p. 7-8 for further proof of this. f. Therefore the first coming and resurrection of Jesus Christ perfectly and completely fulfilled the Davidic covenant given in (2Sa 7:12-16; 1Ch 17:11-14). g. This is why He is now called the King of kings (1Ti 6:15; Rev 1:5) and will hold that title when He returns (Rev 17:14). C. Every born-again believer is currently reigning with Christ in His kingdom. i. God hath made us kings and priests by Christ washing us with his blood and taking our sins away (Rev 1:5-6). ii. Being kings and priests, we reign on the earth (Rev 5:10). iii. This is why we are called a royal priesthood (1Pe 2:9). iv. Royal adj. - I. 1. a. Of blood, etc.: Originating from, connected with, a king or line of kings. b. Of persons: Having the rank of king or queen; belonging to the royal family. v. The saints now reign as kings in the church/kingdom (1Co 4:8). vi. Every born-again child of God reigns in life by Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17). vii. Every regenerate child of God is now raised up and seated with Christ in heaven where He is reigning (Eph 2:6 c/w Eph 1:20-22). D. Every born-again believer is currently a priest of God. i. As was just shown, the elect are currently a royal priesthood (1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6) ii. Church members are a holy priesthood which offer up spiritual sacrifices (1Pe 2:5). iii. Those spiritual sacrifices include the sacrifices of praising God and communicating (giving) to Him (Heb 13:15-16). E. Therefore the "millennial" reign of Christ in Revelation 20 where the saints live and reign with him as priests for 1000 years is currently happening and has been since Christ's resurrection (Rev 20:4-6). i. As was pointed out before, the book of Revelation is signified (Rev 1:1). ii. Therefore, the 1000 years is not necessarily to be taken literally. iii. The number 1000 is used figuratively elsewhere in scripture to refer to a large and complete number of something (Psa 50:10; Psa 105:8; 1Ch 16:15-17). iv. This will be elaborated on further in Section IV,15,D - p. 19-20. For a master copy of the outline, click here: Millennialism