‘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, theirkingdom’ 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:

  1. 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.

  1. 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.comCould 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.