Michael Morrison
“Jesus preached a soon-coming kingdom.”
Morrison is right, but…
Michael Morrison and Grace Communion International (GCI, formerly the Worldwide Church of God) believe that the second coming of Christ has still not occurred after almost 2,000 years even though, as Morrison admits, “Jesus preached a soon-coming kingdom, something that was near in time to their audiences” (see the link to his article below). His explanation for this is typical. He says the kingdom arrives in two stages: 1. An unseen spiritual kingdom; 2. A full manifestation of the kingdom to be revealed at the second coming of Christ. Futurists claim that only the first stage, the spiritual kingdom, has been accomplished. This suspended condition of the kingdom is often described as “already, but not yet,” a concept popularized by Herman Ridderbos.
To an extent, we agree with the already-but-not-yet assessment. Jesus made it quite clear, as Morrison points out, that even at Christ’s first coming, the kingdom was already present in a preliminary form. It would later arrive in a more “powerful and dramatic way.” But when was the second, more dramatic manifestation of the kingdom predicted to arrive? Answer: the first century. Morrison says, “the completion of the kingdom is still future,” more than 19 centuries beyond the generation specified by Jesus:
Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. (Matt. 24:34, NASB throughout.)
Applying the already-but-not-yet concept to the first century is valid; however, it is now woefully out-of-date. Something very big was supposed to take place in the latter half of the first century: the final consummation of the kingdom of God:
27“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. 28“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Matt. 16:27-28)
This was spoken during Christ’s earthly ministry; the initial stage of the kingdom. However, Jesus clearly predicted the second stage to arrive within the lifetime of his audience. It would be associated with the destruction of Jerusalem:
…these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. (Luke 21:22); …when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (v. 28); …when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. (v. 31)
How do Bible expositors miss this? Luke clearly associated the final redemption of the living Christians (the rapture) and the arrival of the “dramatic” manifestation of the kingdom of God with the destruction of Jerusalem which took place in a.d. 70. So the kingdom of God is no longer suspended in an already-but-not-yet state. Furthermore, describing the kingdom this way is tremendously damaging to the reputation of Jesus Christ.
False prophecy is serious business. If Christ’s predictions failed, the Jews were duty bound to execute him:
20‘…the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak…that prophet shall die.’ 21“You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22“When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. (Deut. 18:20-22)
Must we conclude that ultimately, Christ’s crucifixion was justified? Even today, Jews point to the perceived failure of Christ’s predictions to declare him a false prophet. And if Jesus misled his disciples, then he spawned many more false prophets because all the apostles predicted a first-century second coming and arrival of the kingdom of God throughout their entire ministries. They based their gospel on Christ’s teachings. But today, Christian leaders like Michael Morrison carelessly and enthusiastically fuel the fire of Jewish accusations against Christ by denying his first-century return.
Morrison says that if Jesus had taught, “The kingdom of God is 2,000 years away [his gospel] would have been neither news nor good.” He further suggests that Jesus had to teach that the kingdom was near. Otherwise, he “may not have been popular” and “might not have been crucified.” Is Morrison suggesting that Jesus purposely deceived people into thinking the kingdom was near to ensure his crucifixion? Did he purposely deceive his own disciples as well? They didn’t crucify Jesus, but according to Morrison and GCI, they were deceived too.
The real reason Jesus didn’t teach that the kingdom was 2,000 years away is this: it wasn’t 2,000 years away; only about 40. It was predicted to arrive about the time of Jerusalem’s destruction which occurred on schedule in a.d. 70. The only bad news here is that futurists like Morrison are comfortable presenting Jesus to the world as a lying false prophet.
If you disagree with Michael Morrison’s interpretation, why not let him know? You can send him an e-mail message using this link:
Related articles:
Jesus Predicted a First-Century Return
The Apostles Predicted a First-Century Return of Christ
Jews Reject Christian Futurism
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