REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 20.1.Introduction

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

 

Chapter Twenty

The Millennium

 

 

Introductory Matters

Definition

The word Millennium is not found anywhere in the Bible. It is derived from two Latin words, mille meaning a thousand and annus, a year, i.e., one thousand years. That term is repeated six times in the first seven verses of Revelation 20. The word for thousand in Hebrew is ‘eleph or ’e·lep̄ (cf. Psalm 90:4; Ecclesiastes 6:6), and in Greek, it is chilios or chilia (see also 2 Peter 3:8).

 

The Seventh Dispensation

There are seven sections, periods, or Ages of biblical history based on God's administrative treatment of mankind. The first was a perfect state called "The Age of Innocence" (see Revelation Study 4.1.A. Introduction).

Genesis 2:2-3 - And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.

The final dispensation, “The Messianic Kingdom Age," mirrors the first insofar as it is a period of rest from good and evil for humanity. This one-thousand-year respite culminates with God’s judgment and purging of the perpetrators of evil once and for all.

 

Names for the Kingdom

The Millennium and the Kingdom are terms often used interchangeably. After the first Advent of Christ, other referents were utilized. For example:

1. The Kingdom of God (cf. Luke 17:20)

2. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ (cf. Revelation 1:19)

3. The Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Matthew 5:10)

 

Anticipatory Promise

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

Chapter 20 is one of the greatest promise Bible chapters relating to the Kingdom or the 1,000-year earthly Messianic reign of Jesus Christ as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS on earth.

Although not much is said explaining the Kingdom in Revelation Chapter 20, there are probably more Scripture passages on its subject matter than any other in the Bible. The Kingdom appears in almost every book throughout the Old Testament and many parts of the New.

 

Contemporary Thoughts

1. Poets write about the Kingdom

2. Singers still sing about the Kingdom

3. Politicians dream and promise the Kingdom

Prophets predict the Kingdom to be a place of peace and universal peace. It is oftentimes labeled:

1. A Utopia

2. A New Eden

3. A Golden Age

 

Thinking in Antiquity

Initially, in Jewish thought and predicated upon the “Davidic Covenant,” the Kingdom was to be established forever, one that would never be destroyed. Specifically stated, 2 Samuel reads:

2 Samuel 7:11-16 - And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee (David) that He will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for My Name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be My son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But My mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy Kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy Throne shall be established for ever.

This promise was later reiterated in 1 Chronicles 17:14 and Daniel 2:44.

 

At that time the Kingdom and the New Heaven and Earth were synonymic. The anticipation was that the Messiah would come and establish peace on earth with no mention of any Church Age. Of course in hindsight, Jesus came and was rejected. Predominantly, Isaiah 53 was ignored.

 

Millennialism Views

Chapter 20 has been subject to a large number of interpretations designed to eliminate a literal millennial year reign. Three predominant viewpoints have been examined in an earlier discussion (cf. Revelation Simplified 4.1.b.Introduction). However, a recapitulation of concepts would be beneficial at this point:

1. Amillennialism – A term meaning, “no millennium.” This position holds a non-millennial, non-literal (symbolic) reign of Christ. The millennium, at best, is in its spiritual form and has no Rapture. The Church is the recipient of Old Testament prophecies. During the 1,000 years, the Gospel is preached and Satan's power is restrained and controlled throughout Church history. St. Augustine was the first important advocate of this view.

 

2. Postmillennialism – This view states: The world improves progressively to the point of becoming a universal society of saints which they enter into the Kingdom. In other words, Christ returns at the end of 1,000 years of peace.

 

This viewpoint was popularized by a controversial Arminian minister Daniel Whitby (1638 – 1726) of the Church of England. It flourished in the early Twentieth Century and crested during the wonderment of World War I. The Holocaust and gas ovens of Hitler’s regime caused the idea to fizzle. Very few proponents remain.

 

3. Premillennialism – A popular contemporary view held by Bible scholars of the later centuries. The events are a literal eschatological (end times) interpretation of Old and New Testament prophecies as seen through a futuristic progressive chronological lens.

 

Moreover, Jesus Christ returns at His Second Coming at the end of Tribulation before the Millennium. He thus reigns as the Prince of Peace with His saints for one thousand years.

Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 

Two fractions exist amongst Premillennialists:

A. The Historical Premillennialism School – A non-dispensational view. Supporters believe the Rapture will occur after the seven-year Tribulation. The Early Church Fathers held to this position.

 

B. The Dispensational Premillennialism School – Representatives state the Church Age ends at the Rapture [between Revelation Chapters 3 and 4 (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)] and ends at Christ’s Second Coming of which most modern scholars agree. This study also embraces this school of thought.

 

Timeline of Events

1. The Return of the Lord in glory (cf. Matthew 24:29-30)

2. The beast and his cronies (the False Prophet, kings of the earth, and their armies) are destroyed (cf. Revelation 19:11-21)

3. The judgment of the nations (cf. Zechariah 14:1-9; Matthew 25:31-46)

4. The Kingdom Age and 1,000 years of peace (cf. Revelation 20:4-6)

5. The satanic revolt after the Millennium: Satan is loosed a short season to deceive and persuade people on earth (cf. Revelation 20:7-10)

6. The Great White Throne Judgment: The rest and final judgment of the wicked (cf. Revelation 20:11-15)

7. The Day of God – When all earth is purged by fire and a New Heaven and Earth is reformed with a New Jerusalem (cf. 2 Peter 3:10-13)

 

Life in the Kingdom

In the Old Economy, the Kingdom has several promised characteristics conducive to man’s environment. Everyone will experience a completely new lifestyle.

1. A place of prosperity (cf. Ezekiel 34:26-27; 36:29-30):

Ezekiel 36:29-30a - I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field.

 

2. A place of personal joy (cf. Isaiah 9:3; 25:8-9)

Isaiah 14:7 - The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

 

3. A place of prolonged life (cf. Genesis 5:27; Isaiah 65:20)

Isaiah 65:20 - There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

 

4. A Place of righteousness, justice, and tranquility

Isaiah 11:3 - And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears.

 

5. A place where war no longer exists (cf. Micah 4:3; Joel 3:10)

Isaiah 2:4 - He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

 

6. A Place where the curse is removed

Amos 9:12 - Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

 

7. A place where man rests

Micah 4:4 - But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

 

8. A place where children play fearlessly in the streets

Zechariah 8:5 - And the streets of the city (Jerusalem) shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

 

9. A place where animals have their natures changed

Isaiah 11:6-8 - The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den (a poisonous viper).

 

10.             A place where the desert will be fertile and flourish

Isaiah 35:1 - The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

 

11.             A place where the earth is full of the knowledge of God

Isaiah 11:9 - They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

 

12.             A place where all nations worship and praise Christ

Isaiah 60:2-4 -   For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.

 

 [Note: The examples above are a brief survey of the Lord’s blessings]

 

A Short Period of Preparedness

A careful study of Daniel explains a gap or "prophetic parenthesis" of seventy-five days after the Tribulation Period, just before the commencement of the Millennium [For comprehensive explanations on this topic please visit ww.bereaninternetministry.org/Papers/Bible Gaps.doc]. It is a preparatory time needed to judge those who survive the Tribulation.

 

Consequently, all sin must be purged from planet Earth. There will be resurrected and non-resurrected Jews and Gentiles whom God determines will enter into the Kingdom (cf. the Parable of the Sheep and Goats of Matthew 25). The glorified will rule and reign with Christ (cf. Revelation 1:6; 5:10) and the natural will be able to bear children (Zechariah 8:1-5; Isaiah 65:20-23; Revelation 20:7-9).

 

However, like the Church Age, when the age of accountability is reached, they must be born again. So, glorified and natural bodies will co-exist together in the Kingdom.

 

 

In the following studies, major events during the Millennium are exposited.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.   What is the origin of the word Millennium?

2.   How is the Age of Innocence compared to the Millennium?

3.   What are some other names for the Millennium?

4.   What is Christ’s role in the Millennium?

5.   What is the role of the saints in the Millennium?

6.   How is Premillennialism different than other views?

7.   What are some characteristics of the Millennium?

 

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