The “thousand years” in Revelation is only used six times and only in chapter 20 between verses 2-7. In verse 7 it is a reference to after the “thousand years” and in this paper we will concentrate on verses 1-6 which focus on the “thousand years” themselves. Since a “thousand years” equals a millennium this term we will be used interchangeably from this point forward. The millennium in Revelation 20 is only used in reference to the reign of Jesus Christ after Satan the devil has been imprisoned. There are three main views on this millennial reign they are Amillennial, Postmillennial, and Premillennial. While there is much debate over the differences, all three views believe that Jesus is coming again, that there will be a physical resurrection …show more content…
The classical postmillennial view sees the millennium as a near future event. The modern postmillennial view sees us as currently in the millennium. The postmillennial millennium may be an actual or symbolic (long time) thousand years. Both see that by spreading the gospel, the church will cause the world to continuously improve till the entire world comes to Christ. The conclusion of the millennium will be the second coming of Jesus Christ and the defeat of the Devil. The view that the church needs to continue spread the gospel and should except Christ to return at any time is correct. As for the world continuing to improve it would seem to this author that the world is currently going in the wrong direction. Gay and lesbian marriage has been legalized, abortion has been legalized, and President Obama has said that we are not a Christian country. The Olivet Discourse (Matt 24; MK 13; LK 21) does not lead one to see peace on earth before the return of Christ. It actually teaches the opposite. How can we have the millennial reign of Christ and have false messiahs and prophets, wars, famines, pestilence, persecution, and earthquakes? The postmillennial view requires that we ignore the world’s current state, and constrain the Olivet Discourse to the Jews of that time and the end of the world as they knew
The book of Revelation was written by the apostle John, in an apocalyptic literature style. It consists of a series of prophecies about the end times, when Jesus will return and triumph over all the evil residing in the world. Its purpose is to bring hope and encouragement to Christians so that they will continue watching for the return and victory of Jesus Christ, but it is also a warning of the Final Judgment that nonbelievers will endure. The depiction of the cosmic battle that takes place both in heaven and on earth, symbolic language, and introduction of surreal
While banished to the island of Patmos John received an apocalyptic visions from an angle of God. In this vision he was told by Jesus to “write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things” (Revelation1:19).
In chapter 5 of the Book of Revelation, we see Christ enter John’s vision in the form of the slain lamb, a picture of Christ sacrifice (Rev 5:6). In the ‘new song’ of the saints, the lamb is said to have “ransom[ed] for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation’ (5:9) and, later in the chapter, that “…every creature in heaven and on earth…” now sings praise to the lamb (5:13). These verses speak of God’s victory already having been fulfilled in Christ’s sacrifice in a way that leaves the reader with a vision of the eschatological hope of the Christian faith as being both fulfilled, but yet to be completed, a conception which falls within an inaugurated understanding of eschatology. As such, the ‘end of the world’ in Revelation can be considered as having already occurred in Christ’s death as evil was defeated and the New Creation initiated, while simultaneously not complete as the forces of Satan; the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot, still function in the cosmology of the First Creation. This understanding of the eschatological reality is an important aspect of John’s text, as it is through this that he is able to identify the dangers to the Church as well as encourage and strengthen its faith.
In the early sixteenth century, scholars were studying the millennial expectations of the ancient worlds that had become such a radical component for the central institutions of Christendom. Advocates of this new millennial belief appeared after the completion of the New Testament. They argued diverse assumptions of this revolution, but found common roots in Revelation 20:1-10, which states that those who died for defending Jesus would sit at God’s right-hand with the power to judge and Satan would be released from his prison and thrown into a fiery lake of burning sulfur where he would be tormented.
The book of Hebrews was written by a Christian scholar and not by one of the Gospels. I knew that many authors made up the New Testament but I did not know scholars wrote some books a well. Hebrews writer was someone who linked the Hebrew Bible along with Greek philosophy. The writer never identifies himself but his views on the end times were very strong. He assumes that there is an existence of two parallel worlds: the eternal and the perfect realm of spirits. This is something that I have never heard before. This writer is the only person to speak of Jesus as the mediator between God and humanity. He has so much insight on what was happening or what was to happen but we do not know who this person was. Hebrew is written very differently and some of the
The purpose of this paper is to research and analyze the preterist and futurist views of interpreting the Book of Revelation and determine which view provides the most accurate Biblical interpretation. As Richard L. Mayhue states, the "word 'preterist' comes from the Latin term praeteritus which basically means 'past' in regard to time." A preterist interpretation of the Book of Revelation, therefore, asserts that incidents described therein have already come to pass. A futurist interpretation, on the other hand, suggests the opposite namely, that Revelation is a prophecy of things to come.
The book of Revelation, the final book of the bible, is one of the most interesting and symbolic readings for many. With an unknown author, apocalyptic foreshadowing, and obscure meanings, it has been interpreted a number of different ways. Starting with the history, the symbolism, and ways to interpret it, the aim of this paper is to give the reader a better understanding of the book.
I. Introduction This paper is written being written to fulfill a requirement in my courses at Liberty University where I am enrolled in pursuit of my Bachelor of Science in Religion. A. Thesis Statement In this paper we will be discussing multiple aspects of The Millennial Reign of Christ (The Millennium) in Revelation 20:1-6.
On one hand, some believe that the Book of Revelation was the message from Jesus Christ’s which was sent directly to Christians of the first century to comfort them in a time of conflict and struggle. On the other hand, some comprehend the book of Revelation in another way—They argue that the Revelation was not written only for Christians in first century, and the original purpose was not to console their pain. It’s also important to explore these different approaches to interpret the Revelation. The first kind of view which I hold is called the Preterist view. And the other view which considers Revelation to be fulfilled in past history is called the Historicist view. Historicists would “see Revelation as predicting the major movements of Christian history, most of them have been fulfilled up to the time of the commentator.” According to this description, the historicist interpreters regard the purpose of the Book of Revelation as predicting a part of the future (which in this case means after the1st century). Different commentators in different time interpreted the Book of Revelation in different ways, but all of them only considered the history before the time when they studied it. But if Jesus Christ was to show the future, why did he just show a part of it rather than the whole Christian history? To answer this question, a new school called the futurist view emerged. “The futurist view
Imagine yourself now, standing in the sandals of a Jew or a Gentile in the year 100. Revelation has recently come out. You are holding that scroll and you are just starting to read it. Here’s how it begins.
Revelation is a part of the Apocalyptic Literature family, falling into the heavenly journey category. Some common features of apocalyptic literature like Revelation would be an angelic mediator, a narrative framework that is not always linear, discloses transcendent reality, symbolic discourse (allowing for semantic “overreaching” and grounded in the worldview of 1st c. Judaism/Christianity), and it is focused on a particular response. Regarding the time and space of Apocalyptic Literature, there are two different focuses, either eschatological or epistemological. There are 7 septets in Revelation. My passage is not in the 7 septets but rather comes after the 7th septet as a conclusion to Revelation and to the bible itself [Apocalypse
While the Bible may speak about “The Great Apostasy”, it also makes it clear that we are to stand against such things. In the Book of Revelation we are repeatedly admonished to repent, remain faithful, to persevere, and to overcome (Rev. 2 :5, 10, 16, 17, 22, 26; 3 :3, 5, 12, 19, 21). For Americans this also means that we are to stand against a government that has usurped God’s proper role in our lives in ways too numerous to mention. For those who still believe in one God, it is incumbent upon us to worship only Him as the giver of our rights and liberties and to stand against all imposters who would replace Him – including those in government. And we must understand what the Apostle Peter and other apostles understood when they were told
John wrote to the seven churches explaining the need for a relationship with Christ. After speaking to the seven churches that are in the Roman province of Asia, the book of Revelation moves forward in the prophecy. Revelation 4:1 tells us that we moving forward: “After this” and “what must take place after this.” The point is to show us that the information concerning the seven churches has stopped. A new series of images is beginning. John sees a door standing open in heaven. The voice that spoke to John at the beginning that sounded like a trumpet. Christ is speaking to John and calling him into heaven. John does not actually go into heaven, as we see in verse 2. John is having a new vision and John is going to see into the throne room of heaven. As we are taken into this vision, we must visualize the picture before us. Try and picture this in your head and see what is going on in heaven (http://thebookofrevelationmadeclear.com/revelation-bible-study/view-of-heaven.html)
To start this off, I don’t know much about the New Testament but I can name a few specifics. For instance, the first four books of the New Testament are all the same story just different perspectives. I know that the book of Revelation is a story of the end of times, written by John. However, Jesus was speaking through John, as he wrote the book. I know that Jesus was born of a virgin, named Mary. Jesus, before his time, had performed his first miracle of turning water into wine. By the age of thirteen, John the Baptist had baptized him. From that moment on, Jesus was now the man he was called to be, our Savior. I know that Jesus traveled through the Middle East, to more place than we know, performing miracles, such as, healing a leper, making
The book The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views was edited by Robert G. Clouse. It was originally published in Downers Grove, Illinois in 1977 by InterVarsity Press. Clouse combined writings from George Eldon Ladd, Herman A. Hoyt, Loraine Boettner, and Anthony A. Hoekema to produce this book. "George Eldon Ladd (Fuller Theological Seminary) present[ed] historic premillennialism. Herman A. Hoyt (Grace Theological Seminary) [wrote] on dispensational premillennialism. Loraine Boettner (theologian and author of The Millennium) discuss[ed] the postmillennial view. And finally Anthony A. Hoekema (Calvin Theological Seminary) describes the amillennial position."