THE THOUSAND YEARS
This summer
we have been looking at some basic Christian doctrines and we want to continue that theme this morning by examining an eschatological
theme. Eschatology has to do with the theology of the last things. One of the most taught last things theme concerns Revelation 20.
This chapter is often misrepresented and taught in error. There are some
who would tell us that this chapter teaches that Christ will come back to earth and reign a thousand years. Today this is a popular theory that is in every church, including the Church of Christ. The popular opinion on the Passover weekend was to crucify the carpenter’s son from Nazareth; just
because something is popular does not make it right.
Through
history there have been three different interpretations of what this chapter reveals.
One view is called the post-millennium view. Those who would support
this believe that there will be a literal thousand years of activity; then Christ will come again. This theory has had it’s moments through history but is not widely accepted today. A second and very popular view today is the pre-millennium view.
Those who accept this view believe that Christ will come back to earth and rule from Jerusalem for a thousand years. Those who accept this are divided about many different things. It is a false teaching that has been based on a false premise that Revelation 20 is speaking of a literal
thousand year reign.
A
third group, of which I belong, approach Revelation 20 from an amillennium view.
We do not believe that Revelation is talking about a literal thousand years but is symbolic as the rest of Revelation
is. The book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature. It is a coded writing and symbolic in nature. The books of
prophecy in the OT, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zephaniah are also of this type genre.
Notice
in the first three verses of Revelation that the writer John says that what he is writing will shortly take place and that
the time is near. Remember also that John was probably the sole surviving apostle at the time of this writing and that he
was writing while exiled on the Isle of Patmos. He was writing to seven churches
in Asia and for his letter to be received in those churches it had to be in a coded form so that the Roman government, who
were dominating the world at this time and were persecuting those of the Christian Way, would not intercept the writing. Today we do not have the key to unlock the code that John was using in his writing,
so I do not know what ever symbol mentioned in this powerful writing means, but those original readers in the seven churches
knew exactly what John was writing about.
The general
theme of Revelation is that in the end Christ wins. There is victory in Jesus. Some of those to whom John was writing were going through different forms of persecution
because of their belief in Christ. John is assuring them that in the end they
will be victorious, no matter what they must suffer in this life. Revelation
reveals throughout its pages that judgment is coming for all. The Roman government,
the false religion, materialism, and even the devil himself, would be totally defeated and face eternal judgment.
Revelation 20 deals with the defeat of the devil. In John 12:31-32, Jesus says that the ruler of this world will be defeated when
the Son of Man is lifted up. He was lifted up on the cross of Calvary and Satan
was defeated. Hebrews 2:14 reads; “He Himself likewise shared in the same, that
through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
“O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” Revelation 20 tells us that an angel will take a key, and a chain, and bind Satan
in a bottomless pit. Is that a literal key, a literal chain and a literal bottomless
pit or are they symbolic? They are symbols of something else just as the thousand
years is symbolic of a lengthy time. Burton Coffman presents the following meanings
to the symbols of Revelation 20:
The abyss is the present abode of Satan on the earth.
The key is the angel's authority from God.
The chain is the word of God.
The dragon and serpent is Satan.
The 1,000 years is the gospel age.
Deceiving the nations no more means that the availability of the truth shall not fail from the earth.
The binding of Satan refers to the limitations imposed upon the devil regarding his
hurting the righteous.
The binding of Satan took place in the events of the Incarnation of Christ.
The loosing of Satan "a little while" refers to the ravages of Satan when all men at least finally reject the truth.
The
gist of what is said is that for a long period of time Satan’s power will be limited while Christ is reigning. Christ is reigning now. In
Matthew 28:18 He told us that all authority had been given Him on earth and in Heaven.
Christ reign began when he curtailed the devils power in overcoming death, and arose from the grave. Revelation 12:11 tells us that the devil was defeated by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their
testimony.
There
are many passages that tells us that Christ is reigning now among them is 1st Peter 3:22 which tells us that Christ
has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him. Christ is now setting on the throne of David.
Luke 1:32-33 says “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the
Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” That took place when all authority was given Him and He then ascended back to sit at the right hand of
God where He is reigning now. Jesus will not return to earth to sit on David’s
throne, He is already upon it. 1st Corinthians 15:22-25 further shows
that Christ is now reigning; “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall
be made alive. But each one in his own order; Christ the firstfruits, afterward
those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers
the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last
enemy that will be destroyed is death.”
Revelation
20:3 tells us the reason Satan was bound was so that he should not deceive the nations.
His power was limited. He was restricted when Christ defeated death. Satan cannot destroy God’s word. We
are made this promise: “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the
flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the
word of the Lord endures forever.” (1st Peter 1:24-25)
Also, today the believer cannot be tempted beyond what he cannot overcome. 1st
Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common
to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also
make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” This is one
way that Satan’s power has been limited and in that sense he has been bound. We
do not have demon possession today as was present in the days of Christ earthly ministry.
This is another way in which Satan has been bound or limited. Jesus said
he would bind Satan in Matthew 12:29; “Or how can one enter a strong man’s
house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he
will plunder his house.” Not one person could be saved until Satan
was bound.
Satan
has been limited since Christ began His kingdom reign but the latter part of Revelation 20:3 tells us that a time is coming
when his power will be released for a little while. I do not know what that entails,
but I know that it seems that Satan has more influence today than at times of the past and we very well could be drawing close
to the end.
We are most
definitely living in the last days and have been since the church era began. “And it shall come to pass
in the last days, says God, That
I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall
see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17) These last days were the day of Pentecost and Peter was using this prophecy from the OT to show that the
last days had come. We have been living in the last days every since the Christian
age began. There is not another earthly age; there is not another earthly reign.
The idea that there would be an earthly reign goes back to before Jesus days.
The Jews felt that there would be one who would come and lead them back into a dominant position in the world. Even Jesus closest followers believed that Jesus would have an earthly reign. The writer of Revelation’s own mother came to Jesus and asked that her sons
be allowed to be his closest assistants when he set up His earthly kingdom. After
He had been through everything, the public ministry, the trials, the crucifixion, the death, the resurrection and He stands
before them on this earth for the last time; His followers would still ask “Lord,
will You at this time restore the kingdom of Israel” (Acts 1:6) Even
His closest followers misunderstood that there would be an earthly reign. It
was not until they had received the Holy Spirit that they understood. “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My
kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom
is not from here.’” (John 18:36)
At the close of 1st Thessalonians 4 we are told what the next coming of the Lord will be like. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always
be with the Lord.” What does this tell us? It tells us that the Lord will not even return to this old earth, but that we will meet Him in the air. Peter adds this description of the next coming of the Lord; “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with
a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned
up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening
the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will
melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a
new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2nd Peter 3:10-13)
The Lord is most definitely coming again. We do not know when that will
be, it could be today. When He does return there will be judgment and the righteous
shall be welcomed into their eternal existence with Him, and the unrighteous shall depart into everlasting doom, the second
death. John 5:29-30; “Do not marvel
at this; for 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.” Are you ready for that day?
In summary, there will not be a 1000 year reign on earth. Christ is reigning
now. Remember Peter’s words: “But
beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”(2nd
Peter 3:8) To proclaim that there is going to be another reign on earth is offering
another chance. To proclaim such is to seek a utopia on this earth. That is not
going to happen. God does desire that all would repent and come to Him,
but our chances to do so are limited to this life and this life alone. We are
given chance after chance to accept Him, but once we die or the world ends we will have no other opportunity to accept the
grace of our Loving God. Hebrews 9:27 tells us; “And it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” And 2nd Corinthians 6:2;
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
I do not consider the issue of the thousand years to be a complicated issue.
It is the false teaching that has developed from this symbolic passage in Revelation 20 that has become a complicated
issue. God is not the author of confusion but peace. Take the time to examine the entire book of Revelation and understand that it is a different genre than
Matthew and Acts. It is a book of prophecy and it is written in a symbolic literature
form. It is a powerful and beautiful book that proclaims on each page that there
is victory in Jesus. May you be blessed in your study of this topic!
