Commentary on Kris Vallotton’s Eschatological Core Values

By Jim Wies

Eschatology = the study of last things; the part of theology, concerned with the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world.

Kris Vallotton, a well known prophetic voice from Bethel Church in Reading California recently published his “Eschatological Core Values”. I was intrigued and with his unorthodox way of stating what he believed, by clarifying what he didn’t believe. 

While his statement was brief and to the point, it also tells us volumes about what he probably does believe. I say probably, because I am taking his statements and deducing my own conclusions and commentary. This article is not an attempt to make any statements for Kris, beyond what he posted. I simply concur with his positions and have added my own conclusions. 

Below are his bullet points, and below that is a short definition of terms and my commentary. 

Kris Vallotton states:

I will not embrace an end-time worldview that re-empowers a disempowered devil.  

I will not accept an eschatology that takes away my children’s future, and creates mindsets that undermine the mentality of leaving a legacy. 

I will not tolerate any theology that sabotages the clear command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations and the Lord’s Prayer that earth would be like heaven. 

I will not allow any interpretation of the scriptures that destroys hope for the nations and undermines our command to restore ruined cities

I will not embrace an eschatology that changes the nature of a good God.

I refuse to embrace any mindset that celebrates bad news as a sign of the times and a necessary requirement for the return of Jesus. 

I am opposed to any doctrinal position that pushes the promises of God into a time zone that can’t be obtained in my generation and therefore takes away any responsibility I have to believe God for them in my lifetime.

I don’t believe that the last days are a time of judgment, nor do I believe God gave the church the right to call for wrath for sinful cities. There is a day of judgment in which GOD will judge man, not us. 

See: www.kvministries.com/blog/2012/01/27/eschatological-core-values

Four most common views of the Millennium

 Millennium = “1,000 year” Kingdom age or the age of the rule of God

Pre-millennialism:

This view teaches that Jesus returns before (pre-) His 1,000-year millennial rule. Within this category is historic pre-millennialism and dispensational pre-millennialism.

Historic Pre-millennialism: The Second Coming of Christ will inaugurate a 1,000 year period of His rule on earth out of Jerusalem. (Kingdom eventually) 

Dispensational Pre-millennialism; also  known as “pri-trib” pre-millennialism: includes a rapture of part, or all, of the Christians alive at the beginning of a 7 year period of ‘great tribulation’ just before the Second Coming of Christ. (Kingdom eventually, but first the rapture and great tribulation) 

Post-millennialism: This view teaches that Jesus returns after (post-) His 1000-year millennial rule. The Church establishes the Millennial reign of Christ by fully Christianizing the world before He returns. (Kingdom before Christ returns) Two variations are “Revivalist Post-mil” and “Reconstructionist Post-mil”

A-millennialism: This means “no” millennium, or sometimes known as “Realized Millennialism”  This view teaches that Jesus’ 1,000-year reign is a figurative term reflecting the concept that He is currently reigning, but primarily represents His reign as being a spiritual Kingdom within the hearts and lives of believers. Also referred to as “Kingdom Now”. (Kingdom currently exists, but is spiritual in nature) 

Dispensational pre-millennialism (Disallowed by core values 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7)

- asserts that there is a weak and almost powerless church just before the “rapture” that is likened to the church in Laodicea.  During that time a demonically orchestrated consolidation of power will be taking place. As part or all of the church is removed, an evil leader called the ‘anti-christ’ will come to world wide dominance, empowered by the devil, and will control all aspects of civilization including government, economics and religion, forcing all inhabitants of the human race to take a mark, through which he controls all commerce; and that satan will only be bound during the specific period of the 1,000 year millennium.

- asserts that an imminent rapture will occur for those who are following Jesus. Time is short. The powers of darkness are about to take over, who will orchestrate a horrible time of “great tribulation” and our foremost concern is to make converts so they will not be left behind.

- concedes the nations to the rule of a evil leader dubbed the ‘anti-christ’ while Christ secretly removes the followers of Jesus, leaving the world to an all encompassing evil

- believes that the rule of Christ on earth is a specific 1000 year period set in the future during which time certain promises of God will be available that are not now available. That also includes a coming age of the miraculous that is not available during the “church age”

Historic pre-millennialism (Disallowed by core values 1, 6  and 7)

- implies that satan will only be bound during the specific period of the 1,000 year millennium 

- implies that we shall expect the rule of God and the era of heaven-like experience on earth once Christ returns, but not before)

- indicates an era of bright optimistic future for the people of God after a period of great tribulation

- believes that the rule of Christ on earth is a specific 1000 year period set in the future during which time certain promises of God will be available that are not now available. 

Post-millennialism (Disallowed by core value 8)

- implies that satan will be progressively neutralized as the world reflects more and more of the Kingdom through the rule of Christ’s church before Christ returns 

embraces the mandate to disciple the nations to the point of a christianization of the world before He returns.

- indicates an era of bright optimistic future for the people of God 

- Reconstructionist Post-millennialism asserts that the rule of God will be completely exhibited  through civil government, as contrasted to it being a spiritual influence upon civil government 

A-millennialism

 - asserts that the devil was judged and stripped of all power and authority through the first advent of Christ, and particularly His work on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, and His subsequent enthronement above all other rule and authority.

- asserts that all the tools necessary from heaven to accomplish Christ’s great commission are currently available to the praying and faith-filled believer. The believer’s job is to apprehend the good of the Kingdom and bring it into experiential reality through faith.

- indicates an era of bright optimistic future for the people of God. 

Conclusions

Through this unique exercise of elimination we can conclude that the most feasible position that satisfies these core values is A-millennialism. I will add the clarification that I believe it should be called a “Progressive Restoration”, “Ever-Increasing Kingdom” A-millennialism. 

Defining “Progressive Restoration”, “Ever-Increasing Kingdom” A-millennialism

A-millennialism teaches that Jesus’ 1,000-year reign is a figurative term reflecting the concept that He is currently reigning, but primarily represents His reign as being a spiritual Kingdom within the hearts and lives of believers. 

The a-millennial view holds that the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 is a symbolic number, not a literal description; that the millennium has already begun and is identical with the current church age. A-millennialism holds that while Christ's reign during the millennium is spiritual in nature, at the end of the church age, Christ will literally return to quicken the living and the dead; some unto final judgment and some unto immortality and everlasting life. The rapture, the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the unrighteous will be a simultaneous event. 

A-millennialism teaches that the Kingdom of God will not be physically established on earth throughout the "millennium", but rather:

The Kingdom of God among men was inaugurated with the first advent of Christ and particularly with His ascension and enthronement.   

That Jesus is presently reigning from heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father. 

That Jesus also is and will remain with the church until the end of the world, as He promised at the Ascension.

A-millennialists cite a number of Scripture references to the kingdom not being a physical realm, such as: Matthew 12:28, where Jesus cites his driving out of demons as evidence that the kingdom of God had come upon them: Luke 17:20-21, where Jesus warns that the coming of the kingdom of God can not be observed, and that it is already among them; and Romans 14:17, where Paul speaks of the Kingdom of God being “in the Spirit”.

In particular, they regard the thousand year period as a figurative expression of Christ's reign being perfectly completed, as the "thousand hills" referred to in Psalm 50:10, the hills on which God owns the cattle, are all hills, and the "thousand generations" in 1 Chronicles 16:15, the generations for which God will be faithful, refer to all generations. (Some postmillennialists and nearly all pre-millennialists hold that the word millennium should be taken to refer to a literal thousand-year period)

Current Kingdom realities:

A-millennialism teaches that all the provision of the cross and the good of the Kingdom is available now but is activated out of the realm of the eternal into an experiential reality through individual and corporate faith. 

More specifically, through faith in Christ we have ALREADY passed from death into life; have ALREADY been healed by His stripes; have ALREADY been raised up with Him; and are ALREADY seated with Him in heavenly places. We ALREADY have dominion over sin, sickness and disease, and even nature itself, but must activate those things by faith. 

A-millennialism also teaches that the binding of Satan described in Revelation has already occurred. For example he has been prevented from "deceiving the nations" and is powerless to stop the spread of the gospel. He is already bound, but as with the other eternal truths that have been inaugurated through the cross, it is our co-laboring with God through our faith that brings the realities of the Kingdom of heaven into the earth. By faith we execute the judgments written upon him and enforce them through the name of Jesus. 

Note Ephesians 2:4-7 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

Colossians  2:11-16 speaks clearly to these issues as well. “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the un-circumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” 

We can recognize, however, that the state of the early church and even the condition of today’s church, two thousand years later, does not fully reflect the Kingdom as described in much of the Prophetic Scripture. Two factors account for this. The “progressive restoration” nature of the Kingdom and the “Ever-Increasing” nature of the Kingdom. 

“Progressive Restoration” A-millennialism offers the caveat that the fullest expression of the Kingdom is not yet here in our experience, but on it’s way. A key to understanding this is found in Peter’s statement in Acts 3:19-21

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times {“times” being a season of time vs. a point in time} of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (see also Acts 15:15-18)

“Ever-Increasing Kingdom” A-millennialism clarifies to us the fact that the dominion of His Kingdom is progressively increasing in it’s influence upon mankind, from the time of it’s inauguration at the First Advent of Christ. So while we can confidently assert that Christ currently reigns and the Kingdom is now, we also recognize there is a continuous enlargement of its influence and manifestation we can look forward to. 

This is explicitly stated in the prophetic Scriptures in places like Daniel 2 and Isaiah 9:6-7:  Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” 

Daniel’s little stone mountain

 “You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces… And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth… And in the days of these kings {the time of the Roman Empire} the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold--the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure." Daniel 2:34-45

See Also: The Ultimate Dominion of the Kingdom 

Additional Resource: SEE JESUS – An In-depth Look Into The Unsearchable Riches of Christ Jesus 

About the author: Jim is an editor/project manager for XP Publishing. He also serves in prophetic ministry as an itinerate speaker. His previous experiences include serving as a pastor, author, teacher and itinerant speaker who has spoken at revival meetings, seminars, conferences and churches throughout the USA and Canada, providing training and mentoring on a number of topics including personal prophecy, revelatory gifts, healing seminars, and ministry training.