One of the advantages of being older and having worked in Biblical studies for a while is that you can see trends or fads in the interests of the church. For example, spiritual warfare was the topic of the 90’s, with the charismatic movement close behind. The excitement over events in Toronto and Brownsville fueled this, and so people in Bible schools wanted to know what the Bible said. Right now, the topic of church and worship are popular due to the Emerging Church movement and the controversy that has been stirred up. For sure, the end times debate saw its height in the 70’s and 80’s due to books like The Late Great Planet Earth, Left Behind, and the growing concern of nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. So I wonder, who are we allowing to dictate what issues are “most important” in the church, and is it us as individual Christians that should be saying what is most important?
I know the issue over the millennium and even the end times in general isn’t overly “popular” right now, yet I feel some things must be discussed as key to Christianity. The centrality of eschatology in the Bible should scream at us at its importance to our worldview and daily lives. The book of Revelation alone would be sufficient to impact us with the relevance of the return of Christ. Yet, for many, the fact that a host of arguments and weird movies have been made about the end times, is reason enough to stay away from Revelation and the whole topic. What does it matter to my individual walk with God whether the 1,000 year reign is the church age or a physical kingdom set up when Jesus returns? I hope by the end of this post, you will see the impact.
In his vision, John describes several things which will take place during this 1,000 year time period: 1) Satan will be bound in the pit and not allowed to deceive the nations; 2) there will be a first resurrection of those martyred and who have not received the mark of the Beast; 3) those who resurrected will reign with Christ and the second death has no power over them.
After the 1,000 years are over, the following occurs: 1) Satan is loosed and deceives the nations in order to gather an army and surround the “camp of the saints”; 2) God destroys Satan and his armies; 3) second resurrection; all dead rise; 4) final judgment and restoration; books are opened.
We asked the question about Satan being bound in the last post, because it is a key argument that people put forth to say that the 1,000 years can’t be the church age and figurative. However, we must remember what Jesus says about Satan in Mark 3:27. The crowds have just accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan. Jesus replies that Satan wouldn’t cast “himself” out, but rather the strong man has been “bound” so that Jesus can raid the strong man’s house (cast out demons). The Greek word used for “bound” here and in Revelation 20 is the EXACT same verb. Jesus is saying that Satan was bound due to the power He brought at the time of His first coming. We think of Satan bound in the pit as a statement of geography (the where question), but the symbolism here is speaking of power not place (the what question). Satan’s power was defeated at the cross and the 2nd coming is just the clean up. So, Satan being bound could be speaking of the church age or a time after the 2nd coming.
The other question we asked was about the multiple resurrections discussed in this passage. Who is able to be included in this first resurrection? In some translations, it would seem like it is just one group, the martyrs. However, the Greek is unclear and it could be two groups, “those who have been beheaded for their testimony” AND “those who had not worshipped the Beast and had not received its mark”. If it is two groups then, it could be speaking about all Christians. Remember in Revelation, either you have the seal of God (chapter 7) or you have the mark of the Beast (chapter 13), and based on Ezekiel 9, it is likely that this isn’t speaking of a physical mark, but a spiritual one. So, the first resurrection could be the spiritual resurrection of all believers in the church age, as the imagery of Ephesians 2:1-4 shows, “You were dead in your sins, but made alive together with Christ”. That would explain how the 2nd death (lake of fire) has no power over this group, as they are declared righteous in Christ and go to New Jerusalem. If it is a resurrection in a literal time after Jesus return, it leaves open the question of if people can still be saved in this time (unbelievers when Jesus returns), and if so, when they die, do they have to wait for the 2nd resurrection?
That would mean that the battle with Satan, Gog, and Magog would either be a literal battle fought after the 1,000 year reign of Jesus after the 2nd coming, or it is another picture of the final judgment that happens immediately when Jesus returns. The differences between the battle here in Revelation and in Ezekiel 38-39 must be explained somehow. In Ezekiel 38:2, Gog is a “chief prince” where in Revelation 20:8 it appears to be a place. In Ezekiel 39:4, the “great supper of God” where birds eat the evil dead bodies happens at this battle, where in Revelation 19:17-18 it happens at the return of Jesus and His victory on the white horse. In Ezekiel 39:9, there is a 7 year time period discussed AFTER the battle is over, where in Revelation 20 we go straight to final judgment and restoration. Basically, we have some tough questions that we can’t avoid.
How does any of this affect your life now? To that end, I ask a question: are you waiting for Jesus to come in power when He returns? That is a trick question, because the answer is yes and no. Yes, He will come in power as we observe in Revelation 19. No, because Jesus has ALREADY come in power when He came and died on the cross. Many reject the figurative/church age option because they say they don’t see Satan bound and they don’t see Jesus reigning. This is only seeing things from a physical, limited perspective. When Jesus came the 1st time, there were only a few people who believed in the true God, most around this area of Israel. Today, there are over 2 billion Christians, making up 1/3 of all mankind. Today, there are Christians on every continent and even some of the places we call unreached have been reached at some point in the church age.
Revelation 5:9-10 says, “Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth”
The New Testament says that Jesus has ALREADY made us into a kingdom of priests, we aren’t waiting for that (1 Peter 2:9-10). Colossians 2:13-15 says this about the cross and its power, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” No matter your view on the millennium, you have to ask yourself, “Am I living this way? do I see myself reigning with Christ?”
The Bible Nerd 