Tuesday, October 15, 2019

The Millennium - the Thousand Years of Revelation 20


This message was presented Sunday evening, 10/6/19, as part of a series on the end of time. All sermon videos, including this one, may be found and viewed here: ​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu4zUK_ahzdiU15PL6dcAXA/videos.
Previous lessons in this series were:
The End 01 – Unmistakable Facts 2018 12 16 PM
The End 02 – Inevitable Effects 2019 01 13 PM
The End 03 – Present Realities 2019 05 12 PM
The End 04 – Sooner or Later 2019 08 04 PM
And now …
PM - The End 05 – The Millennium 2019 10 06 PM
As We Begin
A tough subject, yet vital to this series, “The End.”
Not the first matter to discuss with outsiders.
Rather a topic to help Christians understand.
If we fail to explore a difficult subject because of our ignorance, we guarantee continued ignorance!
Then, when asked, we are unprepared to respond.
We will approach this humbly and prayerfully.
Not everyone will agree with everything presented here, of course. However, this approach to Revelation and to the millennium has much to commend it.
Jesus Made it Simple.
Jn 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
He goes to His Father’s house, prepares for us, returns for us, and takes us to His Father’s house.
Whatever the book of Revelation may have to teach us, it cannot and must not be allowed to contradict Jesus’ clear teaching. And yet, as we will see below, that is exactly what has happened in our own time.
What is the Millennium?
Literally this compound Latin word means “1,000 years.” Starting with the mention of a thousand years in Rev 20, and then connecting other Scriptures in varied and complicated ways, many teach that there will be an earthly reign of Christ from Jerusalem that will last for exactly 1,000 calendar years.
According to this view there will be two returns of Christ.
First return – He sets up a physical, earthly kingdom, ruling from David’s throne in Jerusalem.
It will last 1,000 actual years. And only then …
Second return – Final judgment and eternity.
They say that Revelation gives clues leading up to the 1,000-year period.
Already it seems that Jesus’ simple promise has been made more complicated.
Popular Presentations
1967: Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth.
1995: Tim LaHaye’s and Jerry Jenkins’ Left Behind series. 16 volumes. Total sales: 80 million. Time cover story, “Apocalypse Now,” July 1, 2002.
Not all who hold this view agree on all specifics.
Let’s be careful not to assume that they do.
This lesson will overview some of these beliefs.
The following is taken from The Faith Once for All, by Jack Cottrell, pp. 526-527.
(We will discuss the “rapture” in a future presentation.)
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This Christian Israelicentric fervor began after Israel became a nation in 1948 and regained control of the temple site in 1967. These events led Hal Lindsey to write his influential book, The Late Great Planet Earth. In it he says (32-34),
Some time in the future there will be a seven-year period climaxed by the visible return of Jesus Christ. . . . There is more prophecy concerning this period than any other era the Bible describes. . . . This period will be marked by the greatest devastation that man has ever brought upon himself. Mankind will be on the brink of self-annihilation when Christ suddenly returns to put an end to the war of wars called Armageddon.
During these past several decades Lindsey, LaHaye, and countless other prophecy buffs have constructed detailed scenarios of the seven years between the rapture and the return, based on their own assumptions of how to interpret prophecy. The details are drawn piecemeal from all over the Bible, since “the pieces are scattered in small bits throughout the Old and New Testaments,” says Lindsey (33). Each interpreter has his own unique twists, and the details are adjusted constantly to take account of the changing political fortunes of the relevant nations; but the overall picture remains about the same. The following scenario is typical, gleaned from various sources (especially Lindsey) and probably already out of date:
The stage for Christ’s return will be set by Israel’s return to its homeland, Palestine (Ezek 36:24,28; 37:21-22). The temple will be rebuilt upon its original site (Zech 6:12ff.; Ezek 41–46). The ancient Roman Empire will be revived, consisting of the European nations (Dan 7:23). This will be headed by the antichrist (Rev 13:1ff.), who will make a pact with Israel (Dan 9:27). This will be followed by three and one-half years of peace and prosperity for Israel. Many conversions will take place through the ministry of the Jewish remnant.
Suddenly the antichrist will break the covenant and set himself up as God in the temple (Matt 24:15; 2 Thess 2:4). This begins the three and one-half year period of tribulation and war, leading to the Battle of Armageddon (Matt 24:15-21). The “king of the south” (Arab nations) invades and attacks Israel (Dan 11:5-6,40). The “king of the north” (Russia, Gog leading Magog) pushes in upon Israel from above (Ezek 38:14-16), then continues on and overwhelms the Arab nations, too (Dan 11:42-43). At this point God intervenes and destroys Gog (Ezek 38:18-22; 39:6), rescuing Israel, but only temporarily.
What follows is the climactic “mother of all battles, WW III, “the last great war of mankind” (Lindsey, 71). Two hundred million Chinese soldiers (the “kings from the east”) march overland toward Israel (Rev 9:14-16; 16:12-16), while the antichrist marches toward Israel with a European army. These two gigantic armies meet at a specific area of geography in Israel known as Armageddon (Rev 16:16). Here, amid fierce fighting and great destruction, many Jews are converted (Zech 13:8-9). Then just as Israel is about to be completely overwhelmed, Christ returns, lands on Mt. Olivet, rescues believing Jews and annihilates the enemy (Zech 14:1-4, 12). Now the millennium can begin.
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Once again, it would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile this complex series of events with Jesus’ simple promise in John 14:1-4.
So how do people come to these remarkable predictions? We have to start with the assumptions that underlie such claims.
Assumptions
There are several basic, mistaken (I believe) assumptions underlying the preceding interpretation of the millennium.
1.           Revelation is like most other Bible books – literal.
In fact, Revelation is an “apocalypse,” a special genre (literary style) using vivid images, symbolic numbers, odd creatures, dragons, battles, cosmic upheaval, rising evil, a final showdown, and ultimate victory.
It is not of the same type of writing as a gospel, a book of history, or even most books of prophecy. Therefore, it cannot be approached in the same way as other types of biblical literature.
Revelation is the only inspired apocalypse, but there are non-inspired examples of this genre. Example: the 2nd-cent. Apocalypse of Peter.
Ironically, even the movie industry recognizes this “apocalyptic” genre! You may search online and be surprised to see how many such films are being produced.
But those who see Revelation as more of a “prewritten history” than a spectacular apocalypse may believe the following. Everything that can be interpreted literally and physically is and must be interpreted that way.
They may even insist that, unless you agree with that approach, you are denying and rejecting the very Word of God! You are “taking away” from its message (Rev 22:18-19)!
And yet we immediately see the difficulties that result from this approach.
Rev 20: Angel – key – abyss (bottomless pit) – great chain – dragon (serpent, or both?) – Satan (a spirit) thrown into (literal?) abyss – 1,000 years – “they” (who?) on thrones (physical?) – beast – image – mark – reign (how? where?) 1,000 years.
In this view, anything noted in Revelation,
         if it refers to an earthly event in the OT,
         must be predicting another earthly event.
Examples: Locusts. Euphrates River. Water to blood. Temple and altar in Jerusalem. Earthquake. Hailstorm. Mount Zion. Fall of Babylon.
2.           Revelation is written in chronological order.
Many think that this literal 1000-year period can begin only after the book’s other sequential literal events.
Seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls, etc.
So, they say, by connecting items in the book with Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East, etc., they can claim today’s news as fulfilled prophecy.
Then they can claim to s“prove” the Bible prophecies true.
More Assumptions
3.           Satan was not bound by the first coming of Christ.
Satan’s continued ability to deceive proves this.
Read Heb 2:14-15.
4.           There will be two “Second Comings.”
Reread John 14:1-6.
5.           The second “Second Coming” cannot occur now.
The Jewish Temple has to be rebuilt first.
Babylon, which does not now exist, must be restored and again destroyed.
All the other events leading up to Rev 20 must occur prior to the end.
6.           The 1,000-year reign will take place on earth.
The earth is not mentioned in this passage.
1 Thess 4:13-18 states that we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
Once again, reread John 14:1-6.
7.           Jesus will rule the earth from Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is not mentioned in this passage.
8.           There will be two separate physical resurrections.
Read John 5:28-29, where Jesus speaks of all the dead, both good and evil, being resurrected in the same hour.
Difficulties
If this popular teaching is correct, more problems arise.
We must conclude that the primary victory of Christ over Satan did not take place via His death and resurrection. It must still be future.
Christ, in His glorified state, will rule from a physical throne.
There will be a hybrid population on earth during the millennium. The redeemed, in their glorified, immortal bodies, will coexist with the unredeemed, in their natural, mortal bodies.
If this takes place on this old, broken earth, is that habitat fit for glorified saints?
If this takes place on some new, glorified earth, is that habitat fit for mortal, corruptible bodies and for wicked, sinful men?
The saints’ spirits would leave heavenly presence to return to earth. That’s the reverse of Jesus’ promise on John 14:1-6.
What would be the effect of loosing Satan against secure, glorified saints?
Resolution
Let’s go back to where we started!
Jesus’ simple promise in John 14:1-6 is correct.
Nothing in Revelation contradicts Jesus’ word.
An apocalypse is to be read as an apocalypse.
Revelation is not chronological, but cyclical.
Cycles, describing the era between the first and second coming of Christ in five parallel sections.
The “millennium” in Rev 20 begins the last cycle.
Five Parallel, Repeated Cycles
Beginning: first coming. Ending: second coming.
As evidence of this, read the final judgment as described in Rev 6:12-17, way before Rev 20-22. And read of the saints in heaven, described in Rev 7:9-17, using some of the exact terminology found at the end of the book.
You may also note that the Lord’s victory over Satan is connected with Jesus’ first coming in Rev 12. That would fit with this cyclical approach. It would also support the parallel description of the victory over Satan in Rev 20.
Here are the five cycles.
4-7    The Opening of the Seals
         6:12-17 Judgment; 7:9-17 Heaven
8-11  The Blowing of the Trumpets
12-14 The Dragon and the Beast
15-19 The Bowls and Babylon
20-22 The Heavenly Kingdom
Note again, based on this cyclical understanding of the book …
The “millennium” in Rev 20 begins the last cycle.
It does not chronologically follow the “preceding” events, as if the entire book is some kind of prewritten history.
Resolution
The millennium represents the Christian age.
Jesus overcame the devil at His first coming.
Jesus, now exalted, rules on the throne of heaven.
We are in the kingdom now, sharing His victory.
Satan cannot stop the spread of the gospel.
Toward the end he will make one final effort.
Jesus will return and banish him forever.
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Certainly questions remain and call for further study. However, that is quite likely part of the wonder of the Apocalypse. It keeps us thinking, imagining, studying, and worshiping, as we wait in faith for the Lord’s return. Come, Lord Jesus!

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