A Christian Can Be Excluded From The Millennial Kingdom
There is a doctrine in the Bible that is largely untaught in American churches today. The reasons why are simple: it is very tough to hear, and as a result, hard to keep congregations in the pews once its preached. There are just that many Christians that simply refuse to hear it. I was one of them when I first learned of it. I was distraught for a few weeks while I tried frantically to refute it, but was ultimately unable. Once I came to terms with it, I realized the whole Bible suddenly made sense: the warnings in Paul’s epistles, the teachings and parables of Jesus about justice and the Millennial Kingdom, the basis for the fear of God, and beyond that, the trait of God being perfectly just.
The Terms of the Gift of Salvation
I must begin by explicitly stating that nothing I say about the judgment at the Judgment Seat of Christ, or the conditions of the 1st resurrection and rapture, have any bearing on salvation by faith in Jesus. That being said, it is also important to account for the conditions that God set for salvation, and when Jesus said that gift would be given:
I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:35-40 KJV)
The conditions are simple: believe in Jesus and you will receive the gift of salvation. The timing is simple too: This gift will be given at “the last day”. When is the last day? Using the scriptures to interpret scriptures we can deduce the answer:
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. (John 12:48 KJV)
When do the unbelievers get judged? That happens at the Great White Throne, which chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation tells us will be after the 1,000 year reign and Satan’s destruction. The takeaway is simple: anyone who believes in Jesus and asks for His forgiveness and the gift of salvation through Him shall receive it, but not until after the Reign of Christ and the Devil is no more. It is God’s free gift, He gets to decide when we receive it: which is at the 2nd resurrection.
The 1st Resurrection and the Prize of Ruling with Christ
What about the first resurrection? That is the resurrection and rapture of Christians, which are taken out of the world shortly after the breaking of the sixth seal, which causes the sun and moon to go dark. Jesus revealed this at what is known as the Olivet Discourse. (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) According to Matthew, Jesus says:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31 KJV)
This is the timing of the 1st resurrection; but what of its conditions? Therein lies a gigantic mistake church leaders have been making, some willingly and some unwittingly: They have taken the conditions applicable to the second resurrection (salvation through faith in Jesus), and applied them to the first. This undermines Jesus’ and Paul’s many teachings and parables concerning the Kingdom, sometimes rendering them completely inert or even contradicting them.
The First Condition: Righteousness
Beyond belief and faith in Jesus, which are naturally conditions that apply to both resurrections, Christians are required to act righteously and follow Jesus’ commandments. Jesus explains:
Think not that I am came to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
Remember, the Pharisees were a gleaming example of someone who did the little things like keeping the Sabbath in order to appear righteous, but were deeply corrupt and hypocritical. Jesus expounds on their sins in Matthew 23. Here Jesus is saying that if you act in the same manner, meaning that if you are hypocritical and teach & act in lawlessness, you will not enter the Millennial Kingdom. For further clarity, Jesus provides an example:
Ye have heard it said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause is in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:21-22 KJV)
There are two takeaways from these passages: The first is that one’s actions and intentions, taken together, will be a measure of righteousness and serve as a standard of judgment at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The second is the resulting determination of that judgment determines not just one’s placement in the Millennial Kingdom, but also if one is allowed in at all! Most Christians do not realize that if they act and intend to continually act carnally, they may end up in Hell with the unbelievers, having to wait there until Jesus gives them their promised gift of salvation on the last day!
This is affirmed with the Parable of the Tares:
The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seen in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. (Matthew 12:24-30 KJV)
This parable Jesus explained in detail once the multitudes left:
He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 12:37-43 KJV)
Jesus is saying that upon the 1st resurrection of Christians (the harvest), the angels will separate Christians based on their righteousness. Those that offend (for example, deny Christ before men), and those that practice lawlessness, will be cast out into hell with the unbelievers. In a discussion with Peter, Jesus elaborated further:
Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. (Luke 12:42-48 KJV)
It is clear from this teaching that these men are being judged not on their faith, but their actions. It is also clear that the servant that fails the standard entirely gets excluded from the kingdom and cast out with the unbelievers. Exclusion from the Millennial Kingdom for the carnal Christian is clearly what is being taught. These teachings of Jesus are where Paul derives the warnings he gives to the churches in his epistles. Take his warnings in Galatians as an example:
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
It is simple, Christians that are fleshly and intend to continue pursuing fleshly gratifications like Paul says forfeit their inheritance in the Millennial Kingdom. This is also why Paul calls the Kingdom a prize to be won:
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Cor 9:24-27)
Paul is telling us that in order to receive the Kingdom we need to strive for it by overcoming the flesh and living according to the teachings of Christ. If the Kingdom was included as a gift based on faith alone, this teaching and the other many warnings throughout the New Testament would not exist. But they do, and many Christians completely ignore them or falsely discard them as inapplicable. They are real! Dr. Schofield writes:
For forty years I have glossed over every passage which refers to exclusion, and have refused to apply it to the Christian man. But, on the face of them, these passages do apply to Christians everywhere. They are in Epistles written to Christians…. I feel that when an Apostle says, ‘Be not deceived,’ there may be great danger that some will be deceived, in applying Scriptures to other people and carefully shielding the application from ourselves…does it not issue a solemn warning to every Christian man, that the practice of a course of conduct which the Apostle Paul reluctantly deals with, will exclude from the Millennial reign of Christ? - A.T. Schofield “The Entrance Into The Kingdom Of God” Nov 12, 1909 Pg 31
Robert Govett provides the obvious answer to why Christians have such tendencies:
Why will not Christians listen to an argument on this point wholly drawn from Scripture? Because they do not like it. They wish to assume…that every believer will without fail enter the millennial bliss. In this I behold the commencing fulfillment of 2 Tim. iv, 3,4” - Robert Govett, “Entrance Into The Millennial Kingdom, Four Letters To J.T. Molesworth” 1883
The Bible passage he refers to:
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Tim 4:3-4 KJV)
The belief that it does not matter how we act, and as long as we believe in Jesus we will escape any kind of real judgment or punishment from God is indeed a fable.
The Second Condition: Affirmation of Christ
Another condition that may exclude Christians from entry into the Millennial Kingdom is the explicit denial of Christ before others. Jesus said this about it:
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. (Luke 12:8-9 KJV)
Christians who believe that no Christian is excluded from the Millennial Kingdom must assume that Christ’s denial is for something else other than the gathering by the angels at the rapture, a common view that is significantly harsher than missing the kingdom is the view that one can lose their salvation altogether for denying Christ, though some of those that hold that view also say one’s salvation can be regained through repentance.
For those that accept exclusion from the Kingdom as a possibility, a denial of Christ places that Christian in the same category as an unrighteousness Christian: meaning that he or she that denies may indeed be excluded from the kingdom, but will still have their name written in the Book of Life. Their salvation is secure, but they miss the prize.
Third Condition: Being Proactive and Ready
There are two major parables that show it is essential for a Christian to be active for Christ in order to be counted worthy for the Kingdom: The first is the Parable of the Talents; and the second is the Parable of the ten virgins. There are more references, but these will suffice for now. Let me start with the Parable of the Talents:
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:14-30 KJV)
The unprofitable servant was rejected because he was lazy and did not do as he knew he should. His fear and laziness prohibited him from entry into the Kingdom, so he was cast out into “outer darkness.” It was not a lack of faith that got him there, it was the fact that he was “wicked and slothful.” It is that simple. Now, onto the 10 virgins:
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:1-13 KJV)
This parable contrasts the wise and the foolish by example of completing and failing to complete the necessary preparations before the coming of the Lord. The key takeaway is that those that did not sufficiently prepare for the judgment, whether before death or facing the arrival of Jesus in the clouds, will not have sufficient time to complete the necessary tasks if they wait until the final moments. Their failure to act accordingly beforehand will derail their wish to get into the Millennial Kingdom.
In this parable, the oil can be representative of a number of not immediately accomplishable tasks that have been explicitly stated as requirements for Kingdom entry. For example, they could be not yet baptised with water:
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5 KJV)
It could be the giving of acquired wealth to help the poor as Jesus and the Lord commanded:
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24 KJV)
Seeking forgiveness and correcting wrongdoing against others:
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. Matthew (5:23-26 KJV)
Or simply just not performing enough righteous acts to outweigh wrongdoings:
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Cor 3:10 KJV)
Paul is saying that if all a Christian’s works are burnt up at the Judgment Seat of Christ, he or she will miss out on the reward of the Millennial Kingdom, but that Christian shall be saved at the 2nd resurrection, unfortunately through hell’s fires. In any case, if one is not prepared, they risk being excluded from the Kingdom.
Conclusion
To those who have not heard this before, this is quite a shocking realization. As I said before, I was distraught for a few weeks when I first learned of it. But after I came to terms with the fact that this view better fits the teachings of the Bible, I realized there are some great effects that come from it.
First, we can rest assured of our salvation. Those that believe there is no threat of losing a place in the Millennial Kingdom and try to fit these warnings in their view, often perceive them as disqualifications of their salvation. They see phrases that say someone who practices certain sins “will not inherit the kingdom of God” and then think their salvation is either lost or in danger. Applying these warnings to the prize of the Millennial Kingdom removes the contradictions with the verses that preach the gift of salvation through faith alone, and the associated dissonance. Thus, one can be certain of one’s salvation through faith and properly understand the fear of God impugned through the warnings’ threat of losing a prize truly worthy of pursuit.
That proper understanding of the fear of God is the second great effect. In a no-punishment-in-the-afterlife view, one has little reason to fear God. Oftentimes, people who are told they need to fear God or read those commands from Scripture have to manufacture a fear, or at most, associate God with a fear already present from social pressures. For example, someone who is cheating on a spouse may worry about being caught, but instead of fearing a loss of the Millennial Kingdom and a punishment dealt at the Judgment Seat, they fear an act of God that would publicly expose their sins, forcing them to deal with societal consequences. In some cases, those societal consequences may not even be harsh. However, fearing God will deny entry into the Millennial Kingdom and give a 1,000 year sentence to Hell provides quite the motivation and power to confront even the strongest temptations and pressures of this world.
Contrast the two views together in a scenario where a believer faces strong temptation. For example, we can cast a believer facing a beautiful seducer trying to fornicate or tempt into adultery. A believer that does not believe in losing the Kingdom or punishment after death will be heavily challenged, especially if they have a preconceived notion that they will be forgiven with little or no consequence as long as they repent after the act. On the contrary, a believer fearful of losing the Kingdom and being cast into Hell for 1,000 years has quite the motivation to say no in all such cases. The fear of the Lord is a great tool we can use to keep ourselves in line!
A third perk lies in the fact that a belief in the possibility of harsh judgment at the Judgment Seat for the worst believers renders a common “God is not just argument” atheists give practically ineffective. We have all known that backsliding believers who lead corrupt and sinful lives without suffering any real punishment in this life are plentiful in this world. Atheists often point to some examples and then contrast them against an atheist who lives a largely righteous life but just simply does not believe. They then will ask if it’s just to let a horrible believer not only suffer no punishment for their unrighteousness, but instead get to spend an eternity in bliss while the largely-righteous unbeliever gets sentenced to eternal torment. With the horrible Christians spending 1,000 years in Hell with the unbelievers, their argument loses its bite.
In closing, I have to say that the biggest barrier to seeing this biblical truth is not Scripture. I’ve quoted quite a lot, and left plenty more unmentioned in this article. What will prohibit acceptance in most cases will be the brute force of the desire to believe what one wants to believe. It is tempting to believe that God will spare us of just punishment for our sins and intentions, but that is simply not what scripture is saying. It says that those who believe in Jesus and have faith are forgiven and will be given the gift of eternal life and entry into eternity with Him; but it also speaks of the prize of ruling and reigning with Christ for 1,000 years that must be earned, and shows how we can earn it. If you want it, you have to earn it.
