As I have been working my way through the period of Israel 's history in the land and then into the exile, I have been doing so with Genesis 1:26-28 in mind, where God gave man dominion over the earth. Genesis 3, of course, documents man's fall and subsequent loss of that ability to exercise dominion, but the purpose of God still stands.
As I read through the history of God's chosen nation and the human kings who were to act as mediators of God's royal authority on the earth, I am struck by their role and their failure in two respects. First, although annointed by God, even David could not fulfill the assignment given in Genesis 1 because of the curse of sin. Second, since that assignment has never been fulfilled, it follows that one day it must be fulfilled because God's words will not return to him void and unfulfilled.
That fulfillment will occur during the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, reigns over the earth, and we with Him. So it occurs to me, just how important is it that Jesus Christ reign on the earth? It is critical, because His reign, among other things, fulfills a purpose of God for man that, to this day, stands unfulfilled. Far from being an unimportant doctrine, the millennial reign of Jesus Christ is vitally important because it restores man to His earthly purpose, fulfills the "marching" orders God destined man for when He created us, and vindicates God against any charge that His purposes went unfulfilled.
That's pretty cool!
Hi Sean,
ReplyDeleteSorry to be so late to the party with your blog. I have a question on this post. Does Christ's reign on the earth really necessitate a traditional Millenial understanding, or couldn't it be just as easily fulfilled by his personal reign over an eternally "renewed" Earth?
If I had to label myself, I would say I am still pre-millenial, but I'm having a harder time being really dogmatic on that account. Love to hear your thoughts.
Hi Andrew...thanks for reading!
DeleteI think I would want to know what you mean by an "eternally 'renewed'Earth?" By eternal I am going to make the assumption that you are referring to the earth as it exists in the eternal state. Several NT texts state that the earth of that period is not merely renewed, but is entirely new. Is this what you mean by renewed?
So God's purpose was for man to exercise dominion over the earth that He had created and placed man upon. Man failed in his assignment. My thesis is that the assignment still remains and awaits fulfillment, and that fulfillment can only be accomplished by the Perfect Man Jesus Christ, and it must be fulfilled on this present earth because it is this present earth that God originally assigned man dominion over. His kingdom will be on a renewed earth, but that is not the same as the new earth that will be created at the close of the Millennium.
I hope this helps. A full article on this subject will be appearing in the upcoming Emmaus Journey magazine, so if you want to, make sure you are signed up to receive it free.
https://www.emmaus.edu/ministry/journey-magazine/subscribe-and-give
Sean
Hi Sean,
DeleteSorry for being a month in replying, I thought I would get a notification if you replied to me.
I am in no way willing to be dogmatic (anymore) in my eschatology. I have read some decent scholarly work on the use of "new" suggesting that new doesn't have to be new as in, Earth blown up by the deathstar and something again created out of nothing, but "new" in the sense that it is renewed and transformed into something that it wasn't previously. This would still jive with the fulfillment of man's dominion mandate in Christ.
I'm in a bit of a no-mans-land on eschatology because I got my theology blown in my devotions on Galatians 3:16 and following...
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. (Galatians 3:16 ESV)
I looked up the OT reference, which is actually the land promise to Abraham in Genesis 20. So Paul appears to be saying that even the promise of the land was actually made to one particular descendant, meaning Christ. So the promise is shrunk down to one person, and then expanded out to many, when Paul says that if you are IN CHRIST, you are an heir to the promise (not just salvation, but even the "land"). Thus, gentile believers are heirs of the land - a massive expansion of the promise.
Anyway, sorry for such a long reply, but this really blew the lid off my traditional understanding of dispensationalism, and I haven't really found a new place to land yet.