The 1000-year Reign
Premillennialism,
is the view that Christ will return before the Millennium. He
will return to the earth before this 1000-year reign and He personally will
establish it. While there are different approaches and different emphases among
Pre-millennialists, the most widely held form understands the Millennium as a
literal 1000 year period during which Christ will reign on earth as the supreme
spiritual and political leader, fulfilling the many Old Testament promises
concerning a kingdom on earth in which the nation Israel is prominent and the
Gentile nations are blessed. I believe the Apostle John has inserted a
chronological note at progressive stages through this revelation that makes the
order of events conclusive, and unquestionably substantiates the doctrine of
Premillennialism. That phrase is "And I saw." Look at its use at key
intervals;
In Revelation 19:11, he saw heaven open and Christ return.
In Revelation 19:17 and the following verses he saw the downfall of the beast
and his armies. In Revelation 20:1, he sees Satan bound. In Revelation 20:4, he
sees believers reigning with Christ. In Revelation 20:11 and 12, he sees a
great white throne and the final judgment of unbelievers. These events build on
one another, each succeeding event depending on the one that preceded it. Such
chronological notes like “until the thousand years were finished” in Revelation
20:5 and “when the thousand years are ended” in Revelation 20:7 make it clear
that John in relating the events in their proper order.
There is no way to
interpret or symbolize these words and say that these words do not mean what
they say (yet that is what Amillennialists and Postmillennialists do). If you
believe that these words mean what they say, then this demands a
Premillennialist viewpoint. I believe firmly in the Premillennial point of view
because I believe very strongly that the Scripture teaches it. There is no
question that Christ is going to come back before the Millennium to establish
His kingdom on earth. The repetition of the
words "thousand years" six times over in Revelation 20:1-7 would
leave no doubt but that God wanted us to understand this as a literal period of
time.
The Millennium is
the subject of Revelation 20:1-6, and what we are told here is simply that
during this Millennium, we shall reign with Christ. This is just the beginning.
That reign will last forever. At the conclusion of the Millennium, time ceases and
the eternal state begins. Of course, eternity is in existence today above the
framework of time, but time will stop and the reign will go on forever. The
book of Revelation says that. This is not contradictory. We're simply studying
the initial phase on earth in time. But over in Revelation 22:5, we read
concerning eternity, that there shall be no night and they need no lamp or have
need for the light of the sun because the Lord God gives them light and
they--there's that "they" again; --they shall reign forever and ever. More on this next week...
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