The millennium

The millennium is the period described in the book of Revelation when Christian martyrs will reign with Jesus Christ. After the Millennium, when Christ has cast down all enemies and subjugated all things, He will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, and heaven and earth will be made anew. Some Christian traditions literally interpret the Millennium as a thousand years preceding or following the coming of Christ; others see more of a figurative interpretation in the context of Scripture: an indefinite period of time that begins with Jesus' resurrection and ends with his second coming. (Revelation 20,1: 15-2; 1,1.5; Acts of the Apostles 3,19-21; epiphany 11,15; 1. Corinthians 15,24-25)

Two views on the millennium

For many Christians, the Millennium is a very important doctrine, wonderfully good news. But we don't emphasize the millennium. Why? Because we base our teaching on the Bible, and the Bible is not as clear on this subject as some think it is. For example, how long will the millennium last? Some say it will take exactly 1000 years. Revelation 20 says a thousand years. The word "Millennium" means one thousand years. Why would anyone doubt this?

First, because the book of Revelation is full of symbols: animals, horns, colors, numbers that are symbolic, not literal. In Holy Scripture, the number 1000 is often used as a round number, not as an exact count. God means the animals in the mountains by the thousands, it is said, without that means an exact number. He holds his covenant for a thousand genders without meaning exactly 40.000 years. In such scriptures, a thousand means an infinite number.

So is “a thousand years” in Revelation 20 literal or symbolic? Is the number thousand to be understood exactly in this book of symbols, which are often not meant literally? We cannot prove from the Scriptures that the thousand years are to be understood exactly. Therefore we cannot say that the millennium lasts exactly a thousand years. However, we can say that "the Millennium is the period of time described in Revelation...."

Further questions

We can also say that the Millennium is "the period of time during which the Christian martyr reigns with Jesus Christ." Revelation tells us that those who are beheaded for Christ will reign with him, and it tells us that we will reign with Christ for a thousand years.

But when do these saints start to govern? With this question we get into some very hotly discussed questions about the millennium. There are two, three or four points of view about the millennium.

Some of these views are more literal in their approach to Scripture and some more figuratively. But none refuses the statements of Scripture - they only interpret them differently. All of them claim that they base their views on Scripture. It is for the most part a question of interpretation.

Here we describe the two most common views on the Millennium with their strengths and weaknesses, and then we will return to what we can say with the utmost confidence.

• According to the pre-millennial view, Christ comes back before the millennium.
• According to the Amillennial view, Christ comes back after the millennium, but it is called amillennial or not millennial because it says that there is no specific millennium that is different from what we already are. This view says that we are already in the period of time that revelation 20 describes.

This may seem absurd if one believes that millennial rule is a time of peace that is only possible after Christ's return. It may seem that "these people don't believe the Bible" - but they claim to believe the Bible. For the sake of Christian love, we should try to understand why they believe the Bible says this.

The premillennial point of view

Let's start by explaining the premillennial position.

Old testament: First, many prophecies in the Old Testament predict a golden age when people will be in a right relationship with God. “The lion and the lamb will lie down together, and a little boy will drive them. There shall be no sin nor transgression in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."

Sometimes it seems as if that future will be drastically different from the present world; sometimes they seem to be similar. Sometimes it seems perfect, and sometimes it's mixed with sin. In a passage such as Isaiah 2, many people will say, "Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and we may walk on his paths." For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2,3).

Nevertheless, there will be peoples to be rebuked. People will need plows because they have to eat because they are mortal. There are ideal elements and there are normal elements. There will be little children, there will be marriage, and there will be death.

Daniel tells us that the Messiah will build a kingdom that will fill the earth and replace all the former realms. There are dozens of these prophecies in the Old Testament, but they are not critical to our specific question.

The Jews understood these prophecies as pointing to a future age on earth. They expected Messiah to come and reign and bring those blessings. Jewish literature before and after Jesus expects a kingdom of God on earth. Jesus' own disciples seem to have expected the same thing. So when Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, we cannot pretend that the prophecies of the Old Testament did not exist. He preached to a people who awaited a golden age ruled by the Messiah. When he spoke of the "kingdom of God," that was what they had in mind.

The disciples: Jesus announced that the kingdom was at hand. Then he left her and said that he would return. It would not have been difficult for these followers to deduce that when Jesus returned, Jesus would bring the golden age. The disciples asked Jesus when he would restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1,6). They used a similar Greek word to refer to the time of the restoration of all things when Christ returns to Acts 3,21: "Heaven must receive him until the time when everything is brought back, of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from the beginning."

The disciples expected Old Testament prophecies to be fulfilled in a future age after Christ's return. The disciples did not preach much about this golden age because their Jewish listeners were already familiar with this concept. They needed to know who the Messiah was, so that was the focus of the apostolic sermon.

According to the premillennialists, the apostolic preaching focused on the new things God had done through the Messiah. Focusing on how salvation through the Messiah was possible, she did not have to say much about the future kingdom of God, and it is difficult for us today to know exactly what they believed and how much they knew about it. However, we see a glimpse in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.

Paul: In 1. Corinthians 15, Paul details his belief in the resurrection, and in that context he says something about the kingdom of God that some believe indicates a millennial kingdom after the return of Christ.

“For as in Adam they all die, so in Christ they will all be made alive. But each one in his order: as the firstfruits Christ; after that, when he comes, those who are Christ's" (1. Corinthians 15,22-23). Paul explains that the resurrection comes in a sequence: Christ first, then believers later. Paul uses the word "after" in verse 23 to indicate a time lag of about 2000 years. He uses the word "after" in verse 24 to indicate another step in the sequence:

“After that the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having destroyed all dominion and all power and authority. For he must rule until God puts all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (vv. 24-26).

That is how Christ must rule until he has put all his enemies under his feet. This is not a one-time event - it is a period of time. Christ rules a temporal period in which he destroys all enemies, even the enemy of death. And after all that comes the end.

Although Paul does not record these steps in any particular chronology, his use of the word "afterward" indicates various steps in the plan. First the resurrection of Christ. The second step is the resurrection of believers and then Christ will reign. According to this view, the third step will be to surrender everything to God the Father.

Revelation 20: The Old Testament predicts a golden age of peace and prosperity under God's rule, and Paul tells us that God's plan is progressing gradually. But the real foundation of the pre-millennial view is the Book of Revelation. This is the book many believe it reveals how it all comes together. We need to spend some time in Chapter 20 to see what it says.

We begin by observing that Christ's return is described in Revelation 19. It describes the wedding supper of the lamb. There was a white horse, and the rider is the word of God, king of kings, and lord of lords. He leads the armies from heaven and he
rules the nations. He overcomes the beast, the false prophet and his armies. This chapter describes the return of Christ.

Then we come to Revelation 20,1: "And I saw an angel descending from heaven..." In the literary flow of the book of Revelation, this is an event that takes place after Christ's return. What was this angel doing? "...he had the key to the abyss and a large chain in his hand. And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, that is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” The chain is not literal – it represents something a spirit being can restrain. But the devil is tamed.

Would the original readers of Revelation, persecuted by the Jews and Romans, think that Satan had already been bound? We learn in chapter 12 that the devil deceives the whole world and makes war on the church. This doesn't look like the devil is being held back. He will not be held back until the beast and the false prophet are defeated. Verse 3: "...threw him into the abyss and shut it up and put a seal on top of it, so that he should no longer deceive the peoples until the thousand years were completed. After that he must be let go for a little while.” John sees the devil subdued for a time. In chapter 12 we read that the devil deceives the whole world. Here now he will be prevented from deceiving the world for a thousand years. It's not just tied up - it's locked and sealed. The picture we are given is complete limitation, total inability [to seduce], no more influence.

Resurrection and dominion: What happens during these thousand years? John explains this in verse 4, "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them." This is a judgment that takes place after Christ's return. Then in verse 4 it says:

“And I saw the souls of those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast and his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads and on their hands; these came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

Here John sees martyrs ruling with Christ. The verse says they are those who had been beheaded, but it is probably not intended to single out that specific form of martyrdom, as if Christians killed by lions would not receive the same reward. Rather, the phrase "those who were beheaded" seems to be an idiom that applies to all who gave their lives for Christ. That could mean all Christians. Elsewhere in Revelation we read that all believers in Christ will reign with him. So some reign with Christ for a thousand years while Satan is bound and unable to deceive the nations.

Verse 5 then inserts an incidental thought: "(But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed)". So there will be a resurrection at the end of the thousand years. The Jews before the time of Christ believed only in one resurrection. They only believed in a coming of the Messiah. The New Testament tells us that things are more complex. The Messiah comes at different times for different purposes. The plan is progressing step by step.

Most of the New Testament describes only a resurrection at the end of the age. But the book of Revelation also reveals that this takes place gradually. Just as there is more than one "Day of the Lord," so there is more than one resurrection. The scroll is opened to reveal more details of how God's plan is coming to fruition.

At the end of the interpolated comment about the rest of the dead, verses 5-6 come back to the millennium period: “This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over these; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

The vision indicates that there will be more than one resurrection - one at the beginning of the millennium and another at the end. The people will be priests and kings in Christ's kingdom when the nations are no longer seduced by Satan.

The verses 7-10 describe something at the end of the millennium: Satan will be liberated, he will seduce the people again, they will attack God's people and the enemies will be defeated again and thrown into the fiery pool.

This is an outline of the premillennial view. Satan is now seducing the peoples and persecuting the church. But the good news is that the persecutors of the church will be defeated, Satan's influence will be stopped, the saints will be raised and reign with Christ for a thousand years. After that
Satan will be released for a short time and then thrown into the fiery pool. Then there will be a resurrection of non-Christians.

This seems to be the view which most of the early church believed, especially in Asia Minor. If the Book of Revelation intended to give any other perspective, it did not succeed in making a great impression on the first readers. They apparently believed that upon his return, a millennial reign of Christ would follow.

Arguments for Amillennialism

If premillennialism is so obvious, why do so many Bible-believing Christians believe otherwise? You will not face any persecution or ridicule on this issue. They have no obvious outside pressure to believe in anything else, but they do it anyway. They claim to believe the Bible, but they claim that the biblical millennium will end instead of beginning with Christ's return. Whoever speaks first appears to be right until the second speaks8,17). We can't answer the question until we've heard both sides.

The time of Revelation 20

With regard to the amillennial view, we would like to begin with this question: What if Revelation 20 is not fulfilled chronologically according to Chapter 19? John saw the vision of chapter 20 after seeing the vision in chapter 19, but what if the visions did not come in the order in which they are actually fulfilled? What if Revelation 20 brings us to a different time than the end of Chapter 19?

Here is an example of this freedom to move forward or backward in time: Chapter 11 ends with the seventh trumpet. Chapter 12 then takes us back to a woman giving birth to a male child, and where the woman is being protected for days on 1260. This is usually understood as an indication of the birth of Jesus Christ and the persecution of the Church. But this follows in the literary flow after the seventh trumpet. John's vision has taken him back in time to outline another aspect of the story.

So the question is: is this happening in Revelation 20? Does it put us back in time? More specifically, is there evidence in the Bible that this is a better interpretation of what God reveals?

Yes, says the amillennial view. There is evidence in the Scriptures that the kingdom of God has begun, that Satan has been bound, that there will only be a resurrection, that Christ's return will bring a new heaven and a new earth, without any phase in between. It is a hermeneutical mistake to put the Book of Revelation, with all its symbols and interpretation difficulties, in conflict with the rest of Scripture. We need to use clear scriptures to interpret the unclear instead of the other way round. In this case, the Book of Revelation is the unclear and controversial material, and the other New Testament verses are clear in this matter.

Prophecies are symbolic

Luks 3,3-6 shows us, for example, how to understand Old Testament prophecies: “And John the Baptist came into all the region around the Jordan and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of speeches of the prophet Isaiah: It is a voice of a preacher in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord and level his paths! Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be brought down; and what is crooked shall become straight, and what is rough shall become a straight path. And all people will see the Savior of God.”

In other words, when Isaiah spoke about mountains, roads, and deserts, he spoke in a very pictorial way. Old Testament prophecies were given in symbolic language to represent the events of salvation through Christ.

As Jesus said on the way to Emmaus, the prophets of the Old Testament referred to him. If we see their main emphasis in a future period, we do not see these prophecies in the light of Jesus Christ. It changes the way we read all the prophecies. He is the focus. He is the true temple, he is the true David, he is the true Israel, his kingdom is the true kingdom.

We see the same thing with Peter. Peter said a prophecy about Joel was fulfilled in his own time. Let us notice the Acts of the Apostles 2,16-21: “But this is what was said through the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall have dreams; and on my servants and on my maidservants I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. And I will do wonders in heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great day of the revelation of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Indeed, many of the Old Testament prophecies are actually about the age of the Church, the age we are now in. If there is a millennial age yet to come, then we are not in the last days. There can not be two sets of the last days. When the prophets spoke of miracles in the sky and strange signs of the sun and moon, such prophecies can be fulfilled in a symbolically unexpected way - as unexpected as the pouring of the Holy Spirit upon God's people and speaking in tongues.

We should not automatically reject the symbolic interpretation of OT prophecy because the New Testament shows us that we can understand OT prophecy symbolically. Old Testament prophecies can be fulfilled either in the church age through symbolic fulfillments, or in an even better way in the new heaven and earth after Christ's return. All that the prophets promised we have better in Jesus Christ, either now or in the new heaven and earth. The Old Testament prophets described a kingdom that will never end, an everlasting kingdom, an everlasting age. They were not talking about a finite "golden age" after which the earth will be destroyed and rebuilt.

The New Testament does not explain every Old Testament prophecy. There is simply an example of fulfillment that shows that the original scriptures were written in symbolic language. This does not prove the amillennial view, but it removes an obstacle. In the New Testament we find more evidence that leads many Christians to believe in the amillennial conception.

Daniel

First, we can take a quick look at Daniel 2. It does not support premillennialism, despite the assumptions some read into it. “But in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed; and his kingdom will not come to any other people. It will crush and destroy all these kingdoms; but it itself will endure forever" (Daniel 2,44).

Daniel says that the kingdom of God will eliminate all human kingdoms and remain forever. There is no indication in this verse that God's kingdom will come in phases of a church-age almost destroyed by a great tribulation, and then a millennial age almost destroyed by the release of Satan, and finally followed by a new Jerusalem becomes. No, this verse simply says that the kingdom of God will conquer all enemies and remain forever. There is no need to defeat all enemies twice or build the empire three times.

Jesus

The Mount of Olives Prophecy is the most detailed prophecy Jesus gave. If the millennium is important to him, we should find a clue there. But this is not the case. Instead, we see Jesus describe his return, followed immediately by a judgment of reward and punishment. Matthew 25 not only describes the righteous who are resurrected to judgment - it also shows how the ungodly face their judge and are given to anguish and extreme darkness. There is no evidence here for a thousand-year interval between the sheep and the goats.

Jesus gave another clue to his understanding of prophecy in Matthew 19,28“Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, you who have followed me, in the new birth, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. "

Jesus does not speak here about a span of a thousand years, in which sin still exists, and in which Satan is only temporarily bound. When he speaks of the restoration of all things, he means the renewal of all things - the new heaven and the new earth. He says nothing
over a millennial time span in between. This concept was not Jesus, to say the least
important, because did not say anything about it.

Petrus

The same thing happened in the early church. In Acts of the Apostles 3,21 Peter said that "Christ must abide in heaven until the time when everything will be restored that God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning." Christ will restore everything when He returns, and Peter says, that this is the correct interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies. Christ does not leave sin behind to cause a tremendous crisis a thousand years later. He's putting everything in order at once—a renewed heaven and a renewed earth, all at once, all at Christ's return.

Notice what Peter said in 2. Petrus 3,10 wrote: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; then the heavens will break with a great crash; but the elements will melt with heat, and the earth and the works that are upon it will come to their judgment.” The lake of fire will cleanse the whole earth at Christ's return. It says nothing of a thousand-year span. In verses 12-14 it says, "...when the heavens will be broken by fire and the elements will be melted with heat. But we wait for a new heaven and a new earth according to his promise, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, while you wait, strive that before him you may be found spotless and blameless in peace.”

We are not looking forward to a millennium, but to a new heaven and a new earth. When we talk about the good news of the wonderful world of tomorrow, that's what we should focus on, not a temporary period of time where sin and death still exist. We have better news to focus on: we should look forward to the restoration of all things in the new heaven and on the new earth. All this will happen on the day of the Lord when Christ returns.

Paul

Paul presents the same view in 2. Thessalonians 1,67: For it is just with God to repay tribulation to those who afflict you, but to give you who are in affliction rest with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels .” God will punish the first-century persecutors when he returns. This means a resurrection of unbelievers, not just believers, at Christ's return. That means a resurrection without a period of time in between. He says it again in verses 8-10: “…in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer punishment, eternal destruction, from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious power, when he comes to be glorified among his saints and to appear marvelously among all who believe in that day; for what we testified to you, you believed.”

This describes a resurrection, all at the same time, the day Christ returns. When the book of Revelation speaks of two resurrections, it contradicts what Paul wrote. Paul says that the good and the bad are raised the same day.

Paul just repeats what Jesus said in John 5,28-29 said: "Don't be surprised about that. For the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice, and those who have done good will come forth to the resurrection of life, but those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Jesus speaks of the resurrection of the good and the bad at the same time - and if anyone could best describe the future, it was Jesus. When we read the book of Revelation in a way that contradicts Jesus' words, we misinterpret it.

Let's look at Romans, Paul's longest outline on doctrinal issues. He describes our future glory in Romans 8,18-23: "For I am convinced that the sufferings of this time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious waiting of the creature waits for the children of God to be revealed. After all, creation is subject to mortality - without its will, but by him who subjected it - but in hope; for creation also shall be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (verses 18-21).

Why does creation wait for the children of God when they receive their glory? Because also the creation will be freed from its bondage - probably at the same time. When the children of God are revealed in glory, the creation will no longer wait. The creation will be renewed - there will be a new heaven and a new earth when Christ returns.

Paul gives us the same view in 1. Corinthians 15. He says in verse 23 that those who belong to Christ will be resurrected when Christ returns. Verse 24 then tells us, "After that the end..." ie when the end will come. When Christ comes to raise up his people, he will also destroy all his enemies, restore everything, and hand the kingdom over to the Father.

There is no need to demand a millennial time span between verse 23 and verse 24. At least we could say that if time is involved then it was not very important to Paul. In fact, it seems that such a period would contradict what he wrote elsewhere, and it would contradict what Jesus himself said.

Roman 11 says nothing about a kingdom after Christ's return. What it says might fit in such a timeframe, but in Romans 11 itself there is nothing that could cause us to envision such a temporal period.

Offenbarung

Now we have to look at the strange and emblematic vision of John, which triggers the whole controversy. Does John, with his sometimes bizarre animals and celestial symbols, disclose things that other apostles did not reveal, or does he again present in different ways the same prophetic framework?

Let's start in Revelation 20,1. A messenger [angel] comes from heaven to bind Satan. Someone who knew the teachings of Christ would likely think: this has already happened. In Matthew 12, Jesus was accused of casting out evil spirits through their prince. Jesus replied:

“But if I cast out evil spirits by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (v. 28). We are convinced that Jesus cast out demons by the Spirit of God; thus we are also convinced that the kingdom of God has already come upon this age.

Jesus then adds in verse 29, “Or how can anyone enter the house of a strong man and rob him of his belongings unless he first binds the strong man? Only then can he rob his house.” Jesus was able to boss the demons around because he had already entered Satan's world and bound him. It's the same word as in Revelation 20. Satan was defeated and bound. Here's more evidence:

• In John 12,31 said Jesus: “Now is the judgment upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.” Satan was cast out during Jesus' ministry.
• Colossians 2,15 tells us that Jesus has already stripped his enemies of their power and "triumphed over them through the cross."
• Hebrews 2,14-15 tells us that Jesus destroyed [powered] the devil by dying on the cross - that's a strong word. "Since children are of flesh and blood, he also accepted it in the same way, so that by his death he might take away the power of him who had power over death, namely the devil."
• In 1. John 3,8 it says: "For this purpose the Son of God appeared, that he might destroy the works of the devil."

As the last passage Jude 6: "Even the angels, who did not keep their heavenly rank, but left their dwelling, he held fast with eternal bonds in darkness for the judgment of the great day."

Satan was already bound. His power has already been curtailed. So, when Revelation 20 says that John saw Satan being bound, we can conclude that this is a vision of the past, something that has already happened. We are set back in time to see a part of the picture that other visions have not shown us. We see that Satan, despite his continuing influence, is already a defeated enemy. He can no longer keep the people in complete seduction. The blanket is taken away and people from all nations already hear the gospel and come to Christ.

Then we are led behind the scenes to see that the martyrs are already with [at] Christ. Although they were beheaded or otherwise killed, they came to life and lived with Christ. They are now in heaven, says the amillennial vision, and this is the first resurrection where they come to life for the first time. The second resurrection will be a resurrection of the body; the first is simply that, in the meantime, we are living to live with Christ. All who participate in this resurrection are blessed and holy.

The first death differs from the second. Therefore, it is unrealistic to assume that the first resurrection will be like the second. They differ in essence. Just as the enemies of God die twice, so the redeemed will live twice. In this vision the martyrs are already with Christ, they reign with him, and this lasts for a very long time, expressed by the phrase "a thousand years".

When this long time is over, Satan will be released, there will be a great tribulation, and Satan and his powers will be defeated forever. There will be a judgment, a fiery pool, and then a new heaven and a new earth.

An interesting point can be found in the original Greek text of verse 8: Satan gathers the peoples not only for battle, but for battle - in Revelation 16,14 and 19,19. All three verses describe the same great culminating battle at the return of Christ.

If we had nothing but the Book of Revelation, we would probably accept the literal view—that Satan will be bound for a thousand years, that there will be more than one resurrection, that there are at least three phases in God's kingdom, that there will be at least two culminating battles, and there is more than one set of "last days".

But the book of Revelation is not all that we have. We have many other scriptures,
who clearly teach a resurrection and teach that the end will come when Jesus returns. Therefore, if we encounter something in this apocalyptic book that seems to contradict the rest of the New Testament, we do not have to accept the weird just because it comes last as the Book of the Bible. Rather, we look at its context in a book of visions and symbols, and we can see how its symbols can be interpreted in ways that do not contradict the rest of the Bible.

We can not base a complicated theology system on the most obscure book in the Bible. That would invite problems and divert our attention from what the New Testament really is. The biblical message is not focused on a transient realm after Christ's return. It focuses on what Christ did when he first came to what he is doing right now in the church, and as a great climax, how everything ends after his return for ever.

Answers to Amillennialism

The amillennial view does not lack biblical support. She can not be dismissed without studying. Here are some books that may be helpful in studying the millennium.

• The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, edited by Robert Clouse, InterVarsity, 1977.
• Revelation: Four Views: A Parallel Commentary [The Revelation: Four Views, One
  Parallel Commentary], by Steve Gregg, Nelson Publishers, 1997.
• The Millennial Maze: Sorting Out Evangelical Options [Maze Millennium - the evangelicals
  Sort out options], by Stanley Grenz, InterVarsity, 1992.
• Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond, by Darrell Bock, Zondervan, 1999.
• Millard Erickson has written a book about the millennium, and a good chapter about it in his Christian Theology. He gives an overview of the options before deciding on one.

All these books attempt to outline the strengths and weaknesses of each concept over the millennium. In some, the authors criticize the mutual views. All these books show that the questions are complex and that the analysis of the specific verses can be quite detailed. That's one reason why the debate continues.

Answer by the premillist

How would a supporter of premillennialism react to the amillennial vision? The answer could include the following four points:

1. The Book of Revelation is part of the Bible, and we can not ignore its teachings simply because it's hard to interpret or because it's apocalyptic literature. We must accept it as Scripture, even if it changes the way we view other passages. We have to allow it to reveal something new, not simply repeating the things we've already been told. We can not assume in advance that it will not reveal anything new or otherwise.
2. Further disclosure is not a contradiction to the earlier disclosure. It is true that Jesus spoke of a resurrection, but it is not a contradiction to realize that he could be raised above all others. Thus we already have two resurrections without contradicting Christ, and it is therefore not inconsistent to assume that the one resurrection is divided into two or more periods. The point is that every person is raised only once.
3. The matter of extra phases of God's kingdom. The Jews awaited the Messiah who would immediately usher in the golden age, but he didn't. There was a tremendous time difference in the fulfillment of the prophecies. This is explained by later revelations. In other words, the inclusion of never-before-revealed periods of time is not a contradiction - it is a clarification. Fulfillment can and has already taken place in phases with unannounced gaps. 1. Corinthians 15 shows such phases, and so does the book of Revelation in its most natural sense. We must allow the possibility for things to develop after Christ returns.
4. The amillennial view does not seem to deal sufficiently with the language of Revelation 20,1-3. Satan is not only bound, he is also imprisoned and sealed. The picture is one where it no longer has any influence, not even partially. It is true that Jesus spoke of binding Satan, and rightly, that he defeated Satan on the cross. But Jesus Christ's victory over Satan has not yet been fully realized. Satan is still active, he still seduces a huge number of people. The original readers, who were persecuted by the kingdom of the beast, would not easily assume that Satan was already bound, which could no longer seduce the peoples. The readers knew well that the overwhelming majority of the Roman Empire was in a state of seduction.

In short, the follower of the amillennial view could answer: It is right, we can allow God to reveal new things, but we can not suppose from the start that every unusual thing in the book of Revelation is indeed a new thing. Rather, it may be an old idea in a new dress. The idea that a resurrection could be separated by a temporal gap does not mean that it is indeed. And our idea of ​​what the original readers felt about Satan should be our interpretation of what the
Apocalyptic symbolism really means control. We can make a subjective impression
of a book written in symbolic language, do not build a sophisticated scheme.

Conclusion

Now that we've seen the two most popular views about the Millennium, what should we say? We can say with certainty that "Some Christian traditions interpret the millennium as a literal 1000 years preceding or following Christ's return, while others believe that the scriptural evidence points to a symbolic interpretation: an indefinite period of time beginning with the resurrection of Christ and ends at his return.”

The millennium is not a doctrine that defines who a true Christian is and who is not. We do not want to divide Christians based on their choice of how to interpret this topic. We acknowledge that equally sincere, equally educated, and equally faithful Christians can come to different conclusions about this doctrine.

Some members of our church share the premillennial, some the amillennial or other perspectives. But there are many things in which we can agree:

• We all believe that God has all power and will fulfill all his prophecies.
• We believe that Jesus has already brought us into his kingdom in this age.
• We believe that Christ has given us life, that we will be with him when we die, and that we will rise from the dead.
• We agree that Jesus defeated the devil, but Satan still exerts influence in this world.
• We agree that Satan's influence will be completely stopped in the future.
• We believe that everyone will be resurrected and judged by a merciful God.
• We believe that Christ will return and triumph over all enemies and lead us into eternity with God.
• We believe in a new heaven and a new earth where justice lives, and this wonderful world of tomorrow will last forever.
• We believe that eternity will be better than the millennium.

We have much where we can agree; we do not need to divide on the basis of different understandings of the order in which God will do His will.

The chronology of the last days is not part of the Annunciation mission of the Church. The gospel is about how we can enter into the kingdom of God, not about the chronology of when things happen. Jesus did not emphasize chronology; he also did not emphasize an empire that would last for a limited time. Of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, only one deals with the millennium.

We do not make the interpretation of Revelation 20 an article of faith. We have more important things to preach and we have better things to preach. We preach that through Jesus Christ, not only in this age, not only for 1000 years, but forever can we live in joy, peace and prosperity that never ends.

A balanced approach to the millennium

• Almost all Christians agree that Christ will return and that there will be a judgment.
• No matter what Christ will do after his return, no one who believes will be disappointed.
• The eternal age is much more glorious than the millennial. At best, the millennium is the second best.
• The exact chronological sequence is not an integral part of the gospel. The gospel is about how to enter the kingdom of God, not the chronological and physical details of certain phases of this kingdom.
• Since the New Testament does not emphasize the nature or timing of the millennium, we conclude that it is not a central bar in the Church's mission.
• People can be saved through the millennium without a belief. This
  Punkt is not central to the gospel. Members can represent different opinions.
• No matter what view a member shares, he or she should acknowledge that other Christians sincerely believe that the Bible teaches otherwise. Members should not condemn or mock those who have other views.
• Members can educate themselves on other views by reading one or more of the books listed above.
• by Michael Morrison

The millennium