‘kingdom
now’, Dominionism. Distorting Bible
Prophecy
By
Loren Davis
‘KINGDOM
NOW’ theology IS ALSO KNOWN AS ‘DOMINIONISM’.
‘Kingdom Now’ is an integral part of the ‘kingdom’
teachings and its primary focus is on reinterpreting end time Bible
prophecy. ‘Kingdom Now’, Dominionism is a theology
regarding the role of the Church in modern society. Dominion theology
is also known as Christian ‘reconstructionism’ and
‘theonomy’. They believe that their ‘Kingdom Now’
brand of Christianity will govern all arenas of society on the
personal as well as the business level. It is dictatorial.
1.
Kingdom Now theology, has spread through the Charismatic movement,
Protestantism, Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism in the U.S., and now
has gone worldwide.
2.
‘Kingdom Now’ proponents Do
not believe in the Rapture.
This
contradicts many scriptures. Although the word ‘Rapture’
is not in the Bible, the scriptures definitely talk of a ‘catching
up’ of
the saints, God’s people.” That is referred to as the
Rapture.
1
Thess 4:16-17 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (See the article:
‘Signs of the Times’ www.lorendavis.com)
They
believe that the Church will be on earth during the Great
Tribulation, although some do not believe there will be a Great
Tribulation. They believe that Jesus will not come back until after
the Millennium, the 1000 years of peace. They very likely will join
with the Man of Peace, the Antichrist, believing that this is the
Millennium. Dan. 8:25. Here is what they believe about the
Millennium:
1.
Some
of them believe in
"postmillennialism?"
This
teaches that
Christ's Second Coming will take place after
the “millennium.”
They teach that the millennium will be a golden age of peace when
‘kingdom’ Christians will prosper and dominate the earth.
They
do not believe that Christ will reign during the millennium.
Postmillennialism
believes that
Christ will return some time, but not necessarily after the 1000
years of peace. They believe that Revelation
20:4-6 should not be taken at face value. They believe that “1000
years” just means ‘a long time’. Furthermore, the
prefix “post-” in “postmillennialism” shows
their belief that Christ will return after Christians (not Christ)
have established ‘the kingdom’ on this earth. They
substitute the Church (which they believe is them) or in other words,
their
‘kingdom’
sect of Christianianity, to do everything the Bible says that Christ
will do.
Those
who believe postmillennialism believe
that this world will progressively become better and better
and that the whole
world will eventually become “Christianized”, then Christ
will return. This idea closely coincides with what the New Age and
secularists believe with the difference that they do not believe in
Christ at all. This is not even remotely close to what the scriptures
teach. This is extra-biblical theology. The Bible and in particular,
the book of Revelation clearly shows that the
world will be getting worse and worse before Christ returns.
Mt 24.
2.
amillennialism does
not believe in a literal millennium.
These
teachings contradict the scriptures.
Rev.
20:4 “and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years.”
KJV
For
those who believe postmillennialism or amillennialism, they use a
non-literal method of interpreting unfulfilled prophecy. They do this
by redefining words. Postmillennialism and amillennialism interprets
the Bible subjectively and teaches that the millennial kingdom will
be established by the church, not by Jesus Christ. This contradicts
the scriptures. The truth is that God talks to us through His written
Word through words which can be easily understood by a rational
person.
3.
Kingdom Now
proponents teach that when Adam and Eve sinned that God lost control
over the world. He has been trying to get that control back ever
since. To do this, they teach, God is using ‘Kingdom Now’
Christians, ‘covenant people’, ‘overcomers’,
Joel’s army to get back control of the earth. This is totally
misreading Joel 2. Read Joel 2 to find out what Joel’s Army
really is. It is God’s people coming with Christ at the Battle
of Armageddon to set up His kingdom on earth. Read the article: ‘The
Teaching that Man is a God’ www.combineharvesting.com).
4.
Kingdom Now,
Dominionist Theology views the Second Coming of Jesus to be in two
stages:
First,
they believe that His Coming will be not in person, but in and
through the ‘kingdom’ brand of Christians, the so-called
modern day apostles and prophets.
b.
Secondly, they believe that Jesus will personally come back to take
over the Kingdom only after
the ‘Kingdom
Now’ Christians have conquered the earth. They believe that
before Jesus’ Second Coming, ‘Kingdom’ Christians,
‘overcomers’, must purge the earth of all evil. They say
they operate under ‘Kingdom Authority’. If allowed to
follow their plan, this would be brutal. They literally make
themselves, not Jesus, the messiahs and saviors of the world.
‘Kingdom
Now’ believes that Jesus cannot return until the
Church,
that is ‘Kingdom Now’, ‘Domininionists’
brand of Christianity, has
put all of His enemies under its feet. This, some of them believe,
even includes even death itself. This is a great distortion of
scriptures.
1
Cor 15:25-27 “For he
(Christ, NOT THE CHURCH) must
reign, till HE
hath put all
enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all
things under his
feet.” KJV
So
everything the Bible says that Christ will do, ‘Kingdom’
believers say they will do it instead of Christ. The ‘overcomers’,
the Church (which they believe is themselves), are the real heroes,
and Jesus is just the recipient of their victories.
Kingdom
Now is for unifying Church and State.
They want to use the state to impose their faith on the world,
similar to what The Church of England and the Roman Church did in the
Dark Ages. Islam does the same thing wherever they are in the
majority. They dominate and control governments and impose their form
of sharia law. The ‘Kingdom Now’ ‘Dominionists’
would just impose their form of so-called Christian sharia. Both are
deadly. Regarding morality, God will be the final judge not man. (God
has ordained authorities to deal with criminal law. Romans 13). They
believe that Christ will not return to earth until such a kingdom
under them has been established. The main purpose of kingdom
or dominion
theology and Christian reconstructionism is to gain political,
economic and religious domination of the world by
literally
legislatively re-instating the Old Testament laws and ordinances,
which would include
the Old Testament sacrificial ceremonies. The
New Testament dispensation is different in this regard to the Old
Testament. If
this were to happen, they would inflict the same kind of torture and
murder as the Roman Church did in the Middle Ages. They would even
inflict this on Christians who would not agree with them or come
under them. (Read ‘The Foxes Book of Martyrs’ to review
what happened in this dark period of history in the world).
Reinstating
the Old Testament’s sacrificial ceremonies would lay aside
Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. Most ‘Kingdom
Now’, Dominionists do not believe that Christ’s death on
the cross paid the price for sin, but it was His suffering three days
in hell. This defies many scriptures, particularly 1 Co. 15:3 “Christ
died for our sins…” (See the article: ‘Perverting
the Atonement’ www.combineharvesting.com).
They are returning to religious works to attain salvation. This is
not New Testament Christianity!
‘Kingdom
Now’, Dominionists are deeply involved in humanitarianism and
working to revamp society. Nowhere in the Bible has God ever
commanded the Church to socially revamp society. This would turn the
Church into a
political/social institution instead of a spiritual one. What Christ
commanded was for believers to preach the Gospel for men to be saved.
Matthew 28:19,
20). (This
does not mean that Christians should not vote, be involved in
politics or physically help others. But this is not the main job of
the Church. We must have godly leaders who fear God and believe His
Word).
THE
TEMPTATION.
Jesus’ temptation is found in Mt 4:8. The devil took Jesus to a
high mountain and showed him ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD. Satan
told Jesus in verse 9, that he would give Him all the kingdoms of the
world if He would fall down and worship him. Jesus told Satan no and
rebuked him. But the ‘Kingdom Now’ ‘Dominionists’
have said YES to the same temptation.
John
18:36 “Jesus answered, My
kingdom is not of this world:”
KJV
John
14:2 Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions:
if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for
you.”
It
is Christ Himself,
NOT
the Church,
who will bring about world-wide reform and peace on the earth during
the Millennium.
‘Kingdom
Now’, ‘Dominionists’, put ‘the overcoming
Church’ (themselves) in Christ’s place as the savior and
messiah of the world.
This
is a literal fulfillment of this scripture…
Ro.
1:25 “…and worshipped
and served the creature more than the Creator,” KJV
5.
They believe that since they have the same Holy Spirit Jesus had,
that they have all authority in heaven and earth and the power to
speak things into existence just like God did in creation, that they
themselves can and will bring about the Kingdom Age with their
‘Kingdom Authority’. They believe their words are as
powerful as God’s and when they speak, what they say is
literally ‘the word of God’. They believe that their
words are equal or superior to the scriptures.
John
14:12 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these
shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” KJV
They
have misused this and other scripture to say they are equal to or
greater than Christ.
John
13:16 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The
servant is not greater than his lord;
neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” KJV
Mk
16:17 Jesus said, “IN MY NAME ye shall cast out devils, etc.”
John
15:5 Jesus said, “without
me ye can do nothing.” KJV
‘Kingdom
Now’, Dominionists add to and take away from the scriptures.
Rev
22:18-19 “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add
unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy
city, and from the things which are written in this book.” KJV
7.
They believe that since we are the body of Christ, we are literally
now Christ in the flesh. (see the article ‘The Teaching that
Man is a god’ www.combineharvesting.com)
The
flip side of this issue is that the secular, humanist atheists don’t
want Christians to have any voice or representation in government.
They want to keep God totally out of government. That violates one of
the basic tenets, “No taxation without representation”.
The framers of the Constitution never intended to keep the Bible out
of government. Much of it was framed on the Ten Commandments. Their
intention was that we never have an oppressive government that
excludes religious imput into government. Their purpose was that we
would never be like Great Britain who during this period did not
freedom of religion nor freedom of speech. Everyone had to come under
the Church of England and its interpretation of the scriptures. They
never intended to exclude God or the Bible from society. Their desire
was to deliver us from religious and every other form of tyranny
which was often done ‘in the name of God’.
8.
REPLACEMENT
THEOLOGY. They believe that the Church is now Israel.
Kingdom
Now or Dominionism, believes that none of the Old and New Testament
scriptures that talk about Israel are literally talking about the
state of Israel. They believe that when the Bible refers to Israel,
it is actually meaning ‘the Church’. This is known as
‘Replacement Theology’. Replacement Theology is what the
Roman Catholic Church used to justify persecuting the Jews in the
Middle Ages, calling them ‘Christ killers’. (They
believed there are no longer any literal Jews, that the Church is now
the true spiritual Jew). This Replacement Theology also explains how
Nazi Germany persecuted the Jews when at least 8o% of their
population were professing Christians. Many German Christians
literally looked to Hitler as their savior and messiah instead of
Jesus Christ. These are some of the examples of where ‘Kingdom
Now’, ‘Dominionist’ theology can take you. The
Bible clearly differentiates between Israel and the Church.
‘Kingdom
Now’, ‘Dominionists’, do not believe that there
will be a literal Battle of Armageddon’ waged against Israel.
Many of them stand against Israel and do not believe that Israel has
a right to exist as a nation.
They
do not believe these scriptures…
Jer
31:10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it
in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather
him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.” KJV
Zech
14:2-4 “For I will gather all
nations against Jerusalem to battle; …Then
shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he
fought in the day of battle. And his
feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives…”
Rev.
16:16 The Battle of Armageddon.
Zech
14:4 “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the
mount of Olives,
which is before Jerusalem
on
the east,” KJV This scripture is talking about a literal
physical happening that will occur inside the nation of Israel.
(‘Kingdom Now’ ‘Dominionists’ spiritualize
virtually all scriptures. They don’t believe the scriptures at
face value).
Zech
14:9 “And
the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in
that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” KJV Matt
25:31-34
There
are many who believe in Kingdom Now, Dominionism, although they may
not use this terminology: Great Britain believes its king or queen
rules by divine right. This literally puts them in Christ’s
place. The Roman Catholic Church believes that the Pope is infallible
and looks at him as if he is Christ in the flesh. Rick Warren’s
teachings literally put the pastor in Christ’s place. He
teaches that we are to obey our pastor without question no matter
what he teaches. This is flagrant abuse of God’s Word and
Christ’s Church.
1
Peter 5:3 “Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but
being ensamples to the flock.”
THE
PERVERSION OF OUR AUTHORITY
Gen
1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue
it.”
We
do have power when we receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and
preach God’s Word, Acts 1:8, but we are just instruments of God
who work under Him. We are NOT GOD; we are NOT the messiah, the
savior! Many preachers have a messianic complex.
2
Tim 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the
word of truth.” KJV
1
Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under
the
mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”KJV
THE
SAVIOR IS JESUS CHRIST, NOT THE CHURCH
1
Cor 15:25 “For he
must
reign, till he hath put all enemies under his
feet” KJV
The
deadliness of the Kingdom Now, Dominionists, is these preachers put
themselves in Christ’s place. This is blasphemy and usurping
their authority. It is nothing less than unbridled pride and
ambition.
Prov
11:2 “When pride cometh , then cometh shame: but with the lowly
is wisdom.” KJV
Rev
19:11-20:4 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse;
and he
that sat upon him was called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness
he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on
his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man
knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in
blood:
and his name is called The Word of God. And
the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (Ref: Joel 2) And
he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING
OF KINGS, AND Lord OF Lords.”
THE
CHRISTIAN CIVIL WAR
Most
‘Kingdom Now’, ‘Dominionists’, are
adversarial to those who believe in the Rapture; the preeminence of
Christ; the divinity of Jesus Christ; and to Fundamentalist
Christians. Many of them believe that ‘man is a god’ and
see themselves as equal or superior to Jesus. (See the article: ‘The
teaching that man is a god’ www.combineharvesting.com)
If
one’s eschatology, belief in end time Bible prophecy is
distorted, it will have a devastating
effect
on him. He could inadvertently accept the Man of Peace, the
Antichrist, as the Second Coming of Christ; he could inadvertently
take the Mark of the Beast; and he could innocently look to some
professing prophet as his mediator to God and not Jesus Christ. It
could cost your eternal soul.
FINAL
THOUGHTS
If
one does not take the Bible at face value, it is easy then to deny
Christ’s virgin birth, (Isaiah
7:14; Matthew
1:23); His death for our sins (Isaiah
53:4-9; 1
Peter 2:24), etc. In fact this has been done in different veins
of professing Christianity. (See the article: ‘Perverting the
Atonement’ www.combineharvesting.com). This is liberal
modernistic theology which originated in Germany. Many teaching these
perversions are presenting themselves as Bible scholars. Many of them
are in reality agnostics and atheists. These professors and writers
have infiltrated Christian seminaries and Bible schools throughout
the world. Kingdom Now or Dominion theology is just another of
countless false, unbiblical, and misleading fantasies of men of vain
imagination who seek to humanize God, Christ and deify man. This is
not true Christianity!
We must be like the
Bereans of Acts 17:11 and search the scriptures daily to see if what
is being taught is biblically sound.
‘Kingdom Now’,
Dominion theology rejects or redefines much of the scriptures and
should be rejected.
(See
these articles in relationship to Bible prophecy at
www.lorendavis.com
‘Could
the Verichip be the Mark of the Beast?’, ‘Profiling the
Antichrist’, ‘A Central World Government is Coming?’
‘Signs of the Times’)
Recommended
Resource: Five
Views on Law and Gospel edited by Stanley Gundry.
Recommended
Resource: The
Moody Handbook of Theology by Paul Enns.
