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REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 7 - YES, I AM COMING SOON! (REVELATION 19:11 - 22-21)
PART 7.3 - THE MILLENIUM RULE (REVELATION 20:1-10)

2. Statements About the Millennium in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 20:1-4b)


REVELATION 20:1-4b
1 I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time. 4 I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived, and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The six verses of the Book of Revelation reporting on the thousand years (Revelation 20:1-6) surprisingly outline only two main subjects with just a few brief strokes on an undefined background. Everything else seems to John not worthy to be mentioned.

  1. John reports on the binding of Satan so that he cannot deceive the nations any longer. After thousand years he again has to be set against the nations which for this time had been preserved from his temptations, and afterwards he will be definitely destroyed.
  2. The resurrection of the souls of the martyrs of the time of persecution by Antichrist seems to be the most important event for John during the Millennium. He describes how the saints in their spiritual bodies sit down on thrones so as to reign as priest-kings with Christ for thousand years over the nations.
  • In the above mentioned six verses paradoxically nothing is told about Jesus Christ and his heavenly army. Had the Lord after the destruction of Antichrist and his false prophet returned to the throne of His Father and does he then reign over the world from heaven? Or did he choose Jerusalem as the seat of government and set up his throne there as the promises of the Old Testament prophets suggest? Or is he not only present in heaven but also on earth as there is no time and space in the eternity?
  • John does not explain whether the Coming of Jesus Christ in order to destroy Antichrist is in preparation of his real return in which case according to our creeds all dead will arise and for everybody the Last Judgment will begin. Or is the description of his coming as judge of the Son of the Evil One only one aspect of his future coming in glory?
  • John did not learn in his vision whether the resurrection of the martyrs of the time of persecution of Antichrist and their enthronement is to be interpreted as an intermediate step before the definite coming of Jesus through which the promises of the Old Covenant will be fulfilled and to the people of Israel during an interim government over all nations will be given a period of probation before the definite coming of Jesus.
  • Where will the thrones of the saints and martyrs be set up? in Jerusalem or in various countries of the earth or in heaven with Christ? John did not learn anything about the place of the seat of government of the saints reigning with Christ over mankind.
  • John remains also silent concerning the question whether an earthly kingdom of Christ is still necessary at all. In his gospel he had quoted the witness of Jesus before Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36). In addition John had recorded in his gospel the statement of Jesus that only born-again persons are able to see the kingdom of God and enter it (John 3:3.5). The Millennium of Christ seems to be not only a spiritual kingdom according to the Book of Revelation but also an earthly, which is oriented to the law (Torah?).
  • John was not able and did not want to answer these and similar questions definitely. He wrote only what he saw and heard. He was faithful in the recording of the revealed words and visions. He strongly stuck to revealed texts and was not willing to mix them with Old Testament texts for interpreting reasons. We want to follow him in this manner even though many expositors mean that they are able to explain the Bible through the Bible. Whoever wants to do that should check beforehand which parts of the promises will already be fulfilled when Jesus returns the first time and which parts can be fulfilled not before the time of creation of the new world. Not all prophecies of the Old Testament prophets should be pressed into the Millennium the more so as the one who received the revelation himself is silent on that.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Your kingdom comes and Your will is done on earth. We worship You because Your beloved Son will raise the martyrs and those that were beheaded for the witness of Your Fatherhood and His sonship, and He will make them partners in reigning over the rest of the world. Your possibility is greater than our minds. Yet, we believe in Your word, Your victory, and the imminent coming of Christ. Amen.

QUESTION:

  1. Who are those who will reign with Christ?

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