After reading our “Already—Not Yet” post, a reader suggested we provide a list of prophecies inmillennialism puts in the “not yet” category. This post will expand on his request. It will use typology to develop a list of both “already” and “not yet” prophecies. It will emphasize the relevance of this list to our Meditations in Acts series.
We have said Acts describes the “last days” of the Mosaic age. It shows the apostles knew their assigned role for this period—to expand the kingdom of God. They were not expecting an imminent, visible return of Christ to bring an end to history as they did so.
We have come to Luke’s account in Acts 2 of the Day of Pentecost. Fifty days after Christ’s resurrection, God fulfilled several “last days” prophecies. We will (D. V.) examine them in more detail in our next post. This post will show their importance within the overall “last days” framework of Acts. This will help us develop the requested list.
Typology: An Aid for Visualizing the “Already-Not Yet”
Typology is a fundamental tool for interpreting Scripture. Patrick Fairbairn defined typology in his classic book on the subject:
There are two things which, by general consent, are held to enter into the constitution of a type. It is held, first, that in the character, action, or institution which is denominated the type, there must be a resemblance in form or spirit to what answers to it under the Gospel; and secondly, that it must not be any character, action, or institution occurring in Old Testament Scripture, but such as had their ordination of God, and were designed by Him to foreshadow and prepare for the better things of the Gospel.… The former must not only resemble the latter, but must have been designed to resemble the latter.1
The Bible contains many examples of typology. Paul said Adam was a type (Gk. tupos) of Christ (Rom 5:14). The apostle reasoned at length regarding the implications of this typology (Rom 5:12–21). Adam’s role as a type (or figure) helps us understand Christ’s redemptive work.
Paul also used typology to explain the “last-days” events in Acts. He said Israel’s Exodus from Egypt was a type of those events. “And all these things as types did happen to those persons, and they were written for our admonition” (1 Cor 10:11, YLT).
Israel’s transition from Egypt to Canaan was a symbol of the transition from the Mosaic age to the messianic age. God designed the Exodus events to foreshadow those in the “last days” of the Mosaic age. We will consider some examples.
In the type, Moses delivered Israel after the flesh (1 Cor 10:18) from physical bondage. He left none behind (cp. Exod 10:9, 26). As the antitypical fulfillment, Jesus saved his people (i.e., Israel after the Spirit) by his exodus on the cross. He lost none the Father had given him to save (cp. Matt 1:21; John 17:2).
In the type, God gave the law to Moses fifty days after Israel crossed the Red Sea. When he descended from Mount Sinai, Moses found Israel worshipping the golden calf. “About three thousand” persons died as a result (Exod 32:28). Acts 2 shows the antitype. Fifty days after the crucifixion, God poured out the Holy Spirit on Israel, now defined as those having faith in Christ. The law had brought death, but the Spirit brought life. So, on Pentecost, God saved “about three thousand” souls (Acts 2:41).
In the type, Israel after the flesh completed the transition from Egypt to Canaan after wandering in the wilderness forty years.2 In the antitype, Israel after the Spirit completed the transition from the Mosaic age to the messianic age in the same amount of time. Jesus’s crucifixion occurred in AD 30 and the Temple fell in AD 70, ending the old age (Matt 24:1–3, 34).
This type-antitype relationship between the Exodus and the “last days” of the Mosaic age is remarkable. The following diagrams provide a summary:
This typology provides a convenient starting place for inmillennialism’s list of “already—not yet” prophetic fulfillments.
Inmillennialism’s “Already”
Inmillennialism agrees with the other prophetic models regarding the past fulfillment of many prophecies. These include the Messiah’s first coming (e.g., Gen 49:10; Isa 7:14; et al.); his sacrificial death (e.g., Isa 53:10), burial (e.g., Isa 53:9); resurrection (e.g., Psa 16:10), and enthronement (e.g., Psa 2:6).
All prophetic models teach Pentecost fulfilled Joel’s prophecy about God pouring out his Spirit (Joel 2:28–29). And, they all confess the kingdom of God is a present reality, at least in some sense.3
Each of the prophetic models acknowledges the first resurrection of the saints from the dead. Historic and dispensational premillennialism place this event in our future. They say “there is one [physical] resurrection at the beginning of the Millennium (Rev. 20:4–5).”4 Amillennialists and postmillennialists say “this passage [i.e., Rev 20] speaks of a spiritual resurrection”5 of individual Christians in the church age.
Inmillennialism places the first resurrection in the “already” category. This resurrection refers to the resurrection of the saints with Christ (e.g., Eph 2:6). It includes his elevation of them from the Mosaic-age kingdom to the messianic-age kingdom (cf. Luke 7:28). Each individual saint “has part in the first resurrection” (Rev 20:6) because of their union with Christ.
Inmillennialism also says the following events occurred in our past: the “great tribulation” (Matt 24:21), the events described by Jesus’s cosmic collapse imagery (Matt 24:29), the end of the (Mosaic) age (Matt 24:1–3), and the coming of Christ in his kingdom (Matt 16:27–28; 24:30). Jesus said these events would happen in his generation (Matt 24:34).
Inmillennialism’s “Not Yet”
The number of prophecies that remain unfulfilled may be less than the number God has already fulfilled. The timeframe required to fulfill them, however, may be much longer. This possibility will become clear as we discuss the prophecies that remain (at least partially) unfulfilled.
The parousia of Christ. The Greek word parousia means “presence.” Its antonym is “absence.” Paul’s exhortation to the Philippians shows this definition. He said, “as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence (Gk. parousia) only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12).
In inmillennialism, Christ’s parousia covers “a vast period of duration, beginning with the generation when [Christ] was on earth, and lasting long enough to include all those great events which are to make up the history of time.”6 Jesus spoke of “the presence (Gk. parousia) of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:27, YLT) in his generation (Matt 24:34). This “presence” will exist until the end of the messianic age as we will see below.
The evangelization of the nations. God intends to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matt 28:19). Christ established the kingdom during the days of the Roman Emperors (Dan 2:44), which were also “the latter days” of Israel (Dan 2:28). That kingdom will “become a great mountain, and [fill] the whole earth” (Dan 2:35). It will “break in pieces and consume all … kingdoms” that oppose it (Dan 2:44). This will happen as the church uses the spiritual weapons God has supplied (2 Cor 10:3–5). A large part of this evangelistic work may be in the “not yet” category.
The bodily resurrection. As Christ reigns in his kingdom—during his parousia—his enemies become his footstool, fulfilling the prophecy in Ps 110:1. He will overcome his final enemy, physical death, in the resurrection at the end of his parousia. Paul gave the sequence:
As in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive, and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ’s, in his presence (Gk. parousia), then—the end, when he may deliver up the reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made useless all rule, and all authority and power—for it behoveth him to reign till he may have put all the enemies under his feet—the last enemy is done away—death. (1 Cor 15:22–26, YLT)
The parousia of Christ—his “presence” with his people—will continue until he achieves this goal.
The final judgment. The judgment of all men will follow the resurrection. Jesus said,
The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:28–29)
The Lord gave the following sequence of events at the end of his Olivet Discourse:
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him [i.e., when the Temple fell], then He will sit on the throne of His glory [i.e., in his kingdom]. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats [i.e., in the final judgment]. (Matt 25:31–32; cp. Rev 20:11–15)
The eternal state. The saints in their glorified bodies will live forever with their Lord who also has a glorified body that others can see and touch (Luke 24:39). They will live in God’s good creation, now totally free of sin and its effects (e.g., Rev 20:14–15).
Conclusion
The following diagram has appeared in previous posts. We provide it here to summarize the “already-not yet” fulfillment of prophecies in inmillennialism. It will also serve as our guide as we proceed through Acts.
Footnotes
- Patrick Fairbairn, Typology of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1989), 1:46.
- The image in this post is Moses Striking the Rock, by Pieter de Grebber (1630). This file (here) is in the public domain (PD-US).
- Dispensational premillennialism puts many caveats on the presence of the kingdom in the church age.
- George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 37.
- Keith A. Mathison, Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1999), 215.
- Israel P. Warren, The Parousia: A Critical Study of the Scripture Doctrines of Christ’s Coming; His Reign as King; the Resurrection of the Dead; and the General Judgment (Portland, ME: Hoyt, Fogg & Dunham, 1879), 79.
