Millennial Restoration of Israel
Dispensationalism believes that ethnic Israel is God's original plan and will be restored during a future millennial reign of Christ following the removal/rapture of the Church. In this thousand-year period, God will reinstate the temple and the Levitical priesthood, including sacrifices and offerings as means of worship (Ezekiel 40-48; Jeremiah 33:17-18; Zechariah 14:16-21).
During the Millennium:
- The Lost: Unbelievers are confined to Hades (Rev 20:1-3).
- Salvation: Unsaved children born during this time have the opportunity to be saved (Is 65:20; Zech 8:3-5).
- Death: Death continues to exist, although believers receive glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
- Raptured Saints: Those in glorified bodies reside in the New Jerusalem, which hovers above the earth and is visible to its inhabitants (Rev 21:2-3, 10-11). They occasionally interact with the mortal population of earth (inferred from Rev 5:10; 20:46).
At the end of the Millennium, a rebellion led by unsaved descendants of millennial believers occurs. Christ defeats this uprising and then unites His two kingdoms-Israel and the Church-into the eternal New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-4). The resurrection of the dead follows, where the lost are released from Hades and cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).
Refuting the Millennial Restoration of Israel
The Dispensational view of Israel & the Church is not Scriptural. The church is not a "parenthesis" to God's original plan for Israel. Rather, Jesus is the True Israel & fulfilment of Old Testament Prophecy and by extension The Church is the Fulfilment of Israel.
1. Christ Has Fulfilled the Old Covenant
The idea of reinstating temple sacrifices conflicts with the New Testament teaching that Christ's sacrifice is once and for all. Hebrews states:
- "And by that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:10).
- "Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin" (Hebrews 10:18).
Reintroducing sacrifices undermines the sufficiency of Christ's atonement and suggests a return to an obsolete system (Hebrews 8:13).
17. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
- By fulfilling the Old Covenant, Christ did not negate its importance but rather revealed its true purpose and brought it to completion.
Nowhere does Scripture endorse a return to the sacrificial system, even just as a memorial. Instead, it emphasises that rituals were "a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (Colossians 2:17). Returning to sacrifices undermines the finality of Christ's work on the cross.
What about the Promises to Ethnic Israel?
he New Testament teaches that these promises are fulfilled in Christ and extended to all who believe, both Jews and Gentiles. Paul writes, "There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Believers are "Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise" (Galatians 3:29).
2. The Millennium is the Church Age
The description of the final battle in Revelation 20:7-10, which happens at the end of the Millennium, is identical to the battle of Armageddon, described in Revelation 16:14-16 and 19:19-21. This shows that the Millennium preceding this battle is symbolic of the current Church age-a period of gospel proclamation and spiritual reign with Christ (Revelation 20:4-6). See The Tribulation is the Church Age
Even dispensationalists acknowledge that the Church age occurs before Armageddon. The Millennium does not necessitate a future earthly kingdom exclusively for ethnic Israel but represents the present reign of Christ with His saints.
Sources
- Blaising, C. A. (2000). The kingdom that comes with Jesus: Premillennialism and the harmony of Scripture. Bibliotheca Sacra, 157(625), 131-151.
- Examines the concept of Christ's kingdom and its relationship to His second coming, challenging dispensational views.
- Kline, M. G. (1963). Treaty of the great king: The covenant structure of Deuteronomy. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
- The covenant structure in Deuteronomy, providing a framework for understanding biblical covenants.
- Ladd, G. E. (1974). A theology of the New Testament. Eerdmans.
- Comprehensive New Testament theology, including discussions on the kingdom of God and eschatology.
- Moo, D. J. (2018). The letter to the Romans (2nd ed.). Eerdmans.
- In-depth exegesis of Romans, addressing themes relevant to the relationship between Israel and the Church.
- VanGemeren, W. A. (1988). The progress of redemption: The story of salvation from creation to the new Jerusalem. Baker Books.
- Biblical narrative of redemption, offering an alternative to dispensational interpretations.
- Wright, N. T. (2013). Paul and the faithfulness of God. Fortress Press.
- Analysis of Paul's theology, including his understanding of Israel and the Church.
Scriptures
7. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison
8. and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.
9. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,
10. and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.