Embedded Files
Millennium
Most Relevant Verses Please ignore all spelling and punctuation errors due to the fact that my hands were paralyzed. I use voice recognition software that is very inadequate
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. - 1st verse – an angel is often not an angelic being in the bible, but is often a messenger. I will deal with the second verse especially with the abyss in a moment. The great chain is obviously not a literal chain as Satan is a spirit being and cannot be physically bound. Only spiritually bound. Lets consider who this messenger could represent in a moment.
And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Let’s break this down verse by verse.
Starting with the first verse. Is the 1,000 years symbolic or literal? If it’s symbolic 1,000 years is usually a number of perfection or completion in the bible. Let’s look at some scriptures. In Psalm 84:10 King David said that one day in God's courts is better than a thousand. This Psalm does not mean to compare one day to a literal thousand days. This is a metaphor to say that a little of what the Lord has for us, for a short time, is better than all that the world can give us, even for a life time.
In Ps. 91:7 he said, speaking as a prophet on God's behalf, that a thousand would fall at his side, and ten thousand at his right hand; but it shall not come near him. This figure of speech, not to be taken literally, says that people may be falling all around us, but if we have made the Lord our refuge, nothing can hurt us.
In 1Sam. 18:7, as they came in from the battles of Israel, the women said one another as they played their harps and tamberils, that Saul had slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. This does not mean that David slew ten thousand while Saul only slew one thousand. It means that David was a mightier warrior and a better protector of Israel than was Saul.
In Ecclesiastes 6:6, Solomon said, talking about the futility of man and his ability to achieve, that if he lived a thousand years twice told, yet he would never see anything good come to pass. He did not mean that to be taken literally. It is a metaphor.
In I Cor. 4 St. Paul told the people of that church that though they had ten thousand instructors in Christ, they had only one spiritual father. St. Pual had begotten you through the Gospel. He did not mean anything literal here. He was using a figure of speech to say that one godly teacher who loves you is worth more than all the popular, learned, word mechanics in the world.
In 1Cor. 14:19, he said that in the church he would rather speak five words in an understandable language, from which others could learn, than ten thousand words in an unknown language. The Apostle was not trying to establish a mathematical equation. A ratio of one to two thousand misses the point. It is a metaphor - a figure of speech.
St. Peter said one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
These are types of uses that you find for the number 1,000 in the Bible. Each of the foregoing is a different use of metaphor and symbol than we have in Revelation, and no doubt a scholar devoted to that pursuit could bring forth an interesting study on those differences. But the point is that they are all metaphorical and show that the number "one thousand" is commonly used as a figure of speech in the Bible
Next verse- and he (The messenger) threw him (The Devil) into the abyss.
Verse Concepts
They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
Verse Concepts
And they cried out, saying, "What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"
Verse Concepts
and shouting with a loud voice, he said, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!"
Definition of abyss
1a : an immeasurably deep gulf or great space
2: the bottomless gulf, pit, or chaos of the old cosmogonies
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abyss
Next Verse- “and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.” This period of time is the period that Satan was to be loosed during the great tribulation. He needed to be bound, so the word of God could be preached.
Here is the entire scripture. Lets take into consideration what the messenger represented and what the message was. Revelation 20-1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a (Symbolic) thousand years; 3and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the (symbolic) thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.” (Bound until The Great Tribulation.)
Now lets find out who the messenger was and with what key he bound him with.-
One of the most dramatic moments in Jesus’ life is recorded in Matthew 16:13–20. After asking his disciples who they thought he was, Peter rightly identifies him as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (16:16). Moments later Jesus says this to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (16:19). So what are the keys of the kingdom?
In both the Old and New Testaments, keys symbolize power and authority. The nature of that power and authority varies depending on the context. Isaiah 22:22 refers to “the key of the house of David,” which in the context refers to the authority of the steward who manages the household of the king. That same imagery is applied to the risen Christ (Rev 3:7), who also has “the keys of Death and Hades” (Rev 1:18). In Luke 11:52, Jesus claims that the experts in the Jewish Law “have taken away the key of knowledge.” In other words, through their hypocrisy they have not only failed to enter the kingdom of God themselves, but have prevented others from entering as well. (excerpt from two paragraphs from the following website)
We know now Jesus gave Peter the key that bound him which was the message of Salvation.
Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Before I break down the meaning of this scripture I need to explain what life to Christ means. Otherwise you will never understand the millennium and the resurrection. Without going into great detail, I will make it simple. In the garden God said, “In the DAY that ye eat from The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil ye shall surely die.” Satan said the exact opposite. “In the DAY that ye eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil ye shall not die, but be as Gods. Adam and Eve did not die physically in that day. That means either God lied or Satan was correct. God did not lie. They did die, but it was spiritual death. Adam had the breath of life in him. In the New Testament Jesus breathed the breath of life (The Holy Spirit) upon them. He was bringing them back to spiritual life. Now lets deal with the above scriptures, which I will post below. -
Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” - From the time Jesus preached 30 A.D until he was to return which was 40 years (a generation) came to 70 A.D. Coming in the clouds always referred to judgment and that is what God’s coming was. This 40 year period was symbolic of the 1,000 year reign. 1,000 being the number of perfection. Where through salvation anyone could be saved. Many lost their physical lives during this period. When they were baptized they were baptized unto Christ’s death. They were brought back to life when they were resurrected into Christ Col.2:12.
Now the rest makes since. The first verse below is talking about those who had died from Adam until the last one killed that was waiting in Sheol. They had their souls/spirits resurrected at the last day of the Mosiac age. The first resurrection was salvation. Those who had done what god required for salvation had their salvation complete. Those awaiting salvation in the ground were saved.
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. - Remember the early church was already seated in heavenly places.
[God] raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:6)
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Rev. 3:21)
These scriptures are past tense. Why? They had been buried to the flesh with Christ and resurrected into him. When? When they were saved. This salvation was complete when Jesus returned and married his bride. When did Jesus return? In the clouds of judgment 70 A.D. using the Roman army. The church watched for the abomination of desolation which was Roman Soldiers surrounding Jerusalem. Luke had warned them of this. They escaped to Pella and survived.
Verse Concepts
and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
Verse Concepts
'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. - The 1st Century went through horrible tribulation.
When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 66-70 A.D.
and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war- Many scholars know that in order to understand Revelation you need to use the Old Testament kind of like a code book. Gog and Magog in the Old Testament - The background behind the names “Gog” and “Magog” is found in the book of Ezekiel, where certain hostile forces come against Israel. Ezekiel was instructed to denounce these enemies and prophesy their overthrow by the Lord himself. Here is the text:
“And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, ‘Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: and I will turn thee about, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords’” (Ezekiel 38:1-4).
The identification of this evil entity has long been a point of controversy among Bible scholars. Clearly, though, Ezekiel’s “Gog” represented a sinister power that came against ancient Israel, but was defeated. - Now we need to understand what it is symbolic of in Revelation. This is not hard. God prophesied doom to the Princes Magog & Gog . Now he was prophesying doom to old covenant Israel for denying their Messiah killing him and persecuting his new covenant Israel church under grace. He used the roman soldiers to judge them, while causing the church to escape.
the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. Remember Revelation is highly symbolic. The number is symbolic of a large Roman army. They surrounded Jerusalem. The saints escaped to Pella. God using the Roman army burnt Jerusalem to the ground. Not literal fire from the literal heaven. read more.
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Notice the beast and the false prophet were already there. I don’t think literal spirits can be physically tormented. I think they can be tormented by being bound by the gospel and being cast out .
I will use two articles to explain how Ezekiel was fulfilled. It also explains it’s usage in Revelation.“Gog and Magog” is a biblical symbol for the heathen nations of the world. The Apostle John equates “the nations of the four corners of the earth” with “Gog and Magog” (Revelation 20:8). Thus, “Gog and Magog” is used in the Bible to denote the nations of the world that are opposed to Christ and His Kingdom. First read the following scriptures.
And the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. read more.
"I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords;
and I will turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. "I will strike your bow from your left hand and dash down your arrows from your right hand. "You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field. read more. I
"You will fall on the open field; for it is I who have spoken," declares the Lord GOD. Here are the two articles explaining Ezekiel's fulfillment.
I want you to compare Ezekiel 39:2-5 to Rev 19:17 -Let’s read about the Angel Standing in the Sun from Revelation 19:17-18 again:
“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.'”
When did the marriage supper take place? God married his new covenant bride when he returned in judgment. The closer it got to Jesus coming, the people cried “Our salvation is near it is at the door.” God invited the birds to eat from the dead that were destroyed in 70 A.D.
http://forerunner.com/predvestnik/X0058_Russia__Israel.html
http://covenant-theology.blogspot.com/2007/03/past-fulfillment-of-ezekiels-war.html
Verse Concepts
For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. I don’t have to tell you when this took place.
Verse Concepts
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain (Zion) of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains (Zion) And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain (Zion) of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
Once again this is talking about the Jewish Roman war. Judgment came with breaking the Old Covenant law.
And it will come about in the last days That the mountain (Zion) of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains (Zion) It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths " For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war. (After this the Jewish Nation was destroyed and there was no war in Gods kingdom.) Before you say “What about the Jews in Israel today?” They are not Jews. They admit in their own writings that they are Gentiles that converted to Judaism in the 7th and 8th century. They are Khazars from Khazaria. The real Jews were destroyed in the Jewish Roman war with the exception of the slaves that were sold throughout the world and the church that escaped to Pella. No one knows what happened to them.
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also, the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. I personally think this is totally symbolic. Isaiah 11 presents us with a Messiah who judges with righteousness (Isaiah 11:3–4) and eventually restores creation to its Edenic state:
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6–9) (This brief paragraph was taken from https://blog.faithlife.com/blog/2015/10/isaiah-11-a-prophecy-of-peace/)
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
"Pay attention to Me, O My people, And give ear to Me, O My nation; For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. "My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly.
When was the church’s salvation complete? Heb.9:28 when Jesus returned. When was that? 70A.D. When did Jesus judge his people? During the Jewish Roman war.
Verse Concepts
"The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain," says the LORD.
In Revelation an Eden like state was restored. Jesus brought them back into a garden. Relationship was lost in Eden but Jesus made a way for us to have relationship. When Adam and Eve believed Satan that in the day they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they wouldn’t die they didn’t believe God and that was the sin of unbelief. Jesus can now have relationship with his people through belief.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. read more.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Ask yourself, what was heaven and earth that was no more? When Moses came down with the law and the people agreed to go by it, Moses addressed the people as “Hear Oh heaven and hear oh earth.” The old covenant and it’s people (heaven and earth) were now gone and replaced by grace and it’s people the new heaven and earth. God judged the souls/spirit of those who were resurrected from Hades. They were resurrected in 70 A.D. These are not literal bodies.
For as in Adam all (spiritually) die, so also in Christ all will be made (spiritually) alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming (When he completed their salvation in 70 A.D) then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the (Physically) dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds (clouds refer to Gods presence) to meet (Apantesis) the Lord in the air (Atmosphere) and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Those who were alive and remained were the first century church that escaped Jerusalem to a nearby city called Pella. They were changed to mortal to immortal when their salvation was complete. Apantesis when used in it’s technical sense, was when a royal dignitary would come and they would escort him back to the city. Jesus presence met with them and dwelt with his church in the city of the new Jerusalem. Which is exactly what the church is.
Verse Concepts
And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
Verse Concepts
"In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Did this not already happen?
Verse Concepts
"In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain.
Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. read more.
This was to be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there was to be inscribed on the bells of the horses, "HOLY TO THE LORD " And the cooking pots in the LORD'S house were to be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah was to be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrificed was to come and took of them and boil in them And there were no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
This is not hard to understand. The bible refers to Jerusalem as Egypt and Sodom. Titus destroyed Jerusalem during the feast. The law did not end until 70 A.D. If you don’t believe me, read Hebrews 9:28. Not to mention the fact that they were saying, “Our salvation is NEAR AT THE DOOR.” This was the closer it came to the time of Christ coming.
Verse Concepts
And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
We know Jesus sits on one throne now. The judgment took place. They were judged by works which was the law. The Mosiac law required judgment.
and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Once again, they were judged by law (works) which we are not under.
Verse Concepts
Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?
And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."
God reigns in his people on earth. Remember the story of the wheat and tares. The wicked tares are burned 1st. This happened in 70 A.D. The wheat-church were kept in God’s barn on Earth.
Verse Concepts
"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Their soul/spirit was resurrected and judged.
Conclusion- The millennium has been fulfilled. The 1,000 years was totally symbolic like it was throughout the bible. The first resurrection was salvation. The second resurrection was for those who were damned (lost.) It was technically just one resurrection. Those who were in Sheol were resurrected to eternal life or damnation. Those who were alive and remained were changed from mortal to immortal. When they physically died, they continued to live in Christ. The locking up of Satan was nothing more then him being bound when the gospel message was preached or when demons were cast out at the name of Jesus. Satan was loosed from 66-70 A.D during the great tribulation. The bible is very clear- These be the days of vengeance in which all things which are written must be fulfilled- not one jot or tittle will pass from the law until ALL things be fulfilled. Every bit of bible prophecy including the Millennial scriptures had to be fulfilled according to scripture.
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