Views: 2<\/p>
[Note<\/strong>:\u00a0 <\/strong>This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2<\/strong>\u00a0 page.]<\/span><\/p>\n The vast majority of Protestants believe the \u201cthousand years\u201d of Revelation 20:1\u20137 refers to the tenure of Christ\u2019s reign in an earthly kingdom upon His return. Since He will come before <\/strong>His alleged millennial reign, this theological system is called \u201cpremillennialism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Since the aforementioned passage is the Bible\u2019s only reference to a millennial reign of Christ, premillennialists rely heavily upon it, in spite of the fact that it does not contain or support premillennial dogma. For example, the passage does not mention such essential parts of the pre-millennial program as the \u201crapture,\u201d the bodily resurrection of saints, the city of Jerusalem, an earthly reign of Christ, a thousand years of earthly peace, or even the Second Coming\u2014all essential points of the schema.<\/span><\/p>\n A principal key to understanding the book of Revelation is that it is largely written in symbolic or figurative \u201ccode\u201d language (Rev. 1:1). No other Biblical document contains as many signs and symbols as this one. One should thus approach its details as symbolic unless there is some contextual reason not to do so. Note the figurative flavor of the opening verses of Revelation 20 (the \u201cangel,\u201d the \u201ckey,\u201d the \u201cgreat chain,\u201d the \u201cbottomless pit\u201d\/\u201cabyss,\u201d and the \u201cseal\u201d are all obviously figurative). There is every reason to believe (and no reason not to believe) the \u201cthousand years\u201d is also figurative.<\/span><\/p>\n The events described in Revelation 20:1\u20139 are not a chronological continuation of chapter 19, which describes Jesus\u2019 return, His destruction of all the ungodly, and His casting the \u201cbeast\u201d and the \u201cfalse prophet\u201d into Hell (vv. 11\u201321)\u2014all of which are highly figurative descriptions of the end of time and the Judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n Revelation several times moves in cycles from the beginning of the church to the end of time, the last such cycle occurring in 20:1\u20139. In these verses John recaps the period from Pentecost to the Judgment (the Christian Age), during which Satan is bound for \u201ca thousand years,\u201d \u201cloosed for a little time,\u201d and at last cast into Hell forever. During this period (the present Christian Age), Christ now <\/strong>reigns over His kingdom, the church (Mat. 16:18\u201319; John 18: 36; Col. 1:13; Rev. 1:5\u20136, 9; et al.), and simultaneously, Satan\u2019s power is restrained. The \u201cthousand years\u201d of Satan\u2019s \u201cbinding\u201d and of Christ\u2019s millennial reign is figurative, denoting a long, but indeterminate, period (cf. the \u201cthousand hills\u201d [Psa. 50:10] and the \u201cthousand generations\u201d [Deu. 7:9]). During this time, \u201csouls\u201d (not bodies) of martyrs \u201creign\u201d with Christ in<\/span><\/p>\n Heaven (not on the earth), awaiting the universal bodily resurrection at His coming (John 5:28\u201329; 1 Cor. 15:22\u201326). We are living in the millennium, the figurative \u201cthousand-year\u201d reign of Christ. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Note: <\/strong>I wrote this article for and it was published in the Denton Record-Chronicle<\/em>, Denton, Texas, February 16, 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution<\/strong>: From thescripturecache.com<\/em>; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 2[Note:\u00a0 This MS is available in larger font on our Brief Articles 2\u00a0 page.] The vast majority of Protestants believe the \u201cthousand years\u201d of Revelation 20:1\u20137 refers to the tenure of Christ\u2019s reign in an earthly kingdom upon His return. Since He will come…<\/p>\n