Now, this is an article on the amillennial and premillennial views in the explanation of Revelation 20. In this article, I will explain my own view on the millennium.
“Among the two views above, amillennialism has the advantage of not only being consistent with the overall context of the Bible, which is creation, fall, and re-creation (redemption), but also being reasonably in harmony with each stage of the eschatological events that the Bible speaks of. However, this view interprets clear and specific concepts such as ‘millennium,’ ‘first resurrection,’ and ‘bottomless pit’ too symbolically. As a result, it sometimes has the disadvantage of making unreasonable and leaping interpretations. On the other hand, premillennialism has the advantage of consistently interpreting the Bible literally and specifically interpreting revelation. However, this view unconditionally interprets highly symbolic things literally, making the secrets of God’s revelation too complicated and poorly understood. And according to this view, unbelievers who have not yet died will inevitably coexist on this earth during the millennium, but it has the disadvantage of not being able to explain where and what they will do during the millennium.”
1. I would like to tell you my opinion on ‘According to this view, unbelievers who have not yet died will inevitably coexist on this earth during the millennium, but it has the disadvantage of not being able to explain where and what they will do during the millennium.’
2. Also, I would like to tell you my opinion on the criticism of premillennialism that ‘If Revelation 20:7 means that Satan was actually imprisoned in the abyss for a thousand years and then released, why is it difficult to understand why God did not punish Satan all at once after the war of Armageddon but released him and then caught him and threw him into the lake of fire?’
3. The view that Satan will be confined in the abyss during the millennium, so there will be no evil during the millennium
4. Also, the view that the saints will stand before the great white throne judgment and receive a higher judgment during the great white throne judgment
First, I would like to talk about where and what those who have entered the flesh will do in the millennium. This is explained in the Bible.
We must keep in mind that the millennium is a transitional period between this world and the eternal world. When we forget this fact, confusion is bound to occur. Amillennialists do not acknowledge the existence of a literal millennium. And even those who acknowledge the existence of the millennium do not acknowledge Revelation 20 as the millennium, but rather as an additional explanation of the eternal world. And they show an unconfident attitude while describing the millennium in the Old Testament as the eternal heaven. This causes confusion in the saints. For example, Zechariah 14 is a description of the war of Armageddon and the millennium.
Zechariah 14:9, “The Lord will be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be one, and His name one,” shows that He is the ruler of the millennial kingdom. Zechariah 14:12-15 describes the course of the Battle of Armageddon in detail. “This is the plague that the Lord will bring on all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot away while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their holes, and their tongues will rot away in their mouths. In that day the Lord will cause a great uproar among them. Hands will seize each other, and hand will rise against hand. Judah will also fight at Jerusalem. At that time the treasures of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together, silver, gold, and clothing in great abundance.”
Zechariah 14:16-21 speaks of the Messianic kingdom. Interpretation of these verses is impossible unless we consider the millennial kingdom, the transitional kingdom where those who have come in the flesh and the saints who have come in the spirit live together. Interpretation is impossible without the concept that the millennial kingdom, the transitional kingdom, the kingdom of those who have come in the flesh, is ruled by Christ together with the saints who have come in the spirit. Let us first examine the Bible verses.
“Everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. He will not send rain on anyone who does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, among all the nations of the earth. If the house of Egypt does not go up, there will be no rain. The Lord will strike them with the plague that he struck all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the punishment that will come upon the Egyptians and the nations who do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles: On that day, even the bells of the horses will be written, “Holiness to Jehovah,” and all the pots before Jehovah will be like the bowls before the altar.”
If these verses are about the state of heaven, or the new heaven and new earth, composed of completely saved saints, there should be no need for distinctions such as Egyptians or people of the nations. And there will be no such thing as the Feast of Tabernacles in the eternal world. And in the eternal world, there will be no people who do not come up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Of course, there should not be. However, it is incomprehensible that there are people who do not come up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in the new heaven and new earth. It is impossible. The heaven of the eternal world cannot be this lax. Therefore, those who live in this Messianic kingdom may not come up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles because they entered in the flesh. Therefore, Jehovah will punish such people and say that it will not rain on the people of that region.
On the other hand, in this era, the overall atmosphere will be holy and devout to the point that even the bells of the horses will be written, “Holiness to Jehovah.” The Feast of Tabernacles is a festival that symbolizes the millennial kingdom. There will be more than 4-5 billion people who have entered the Millennium in the flesh. Since they will live in the Millennium, the most extreme natural environment on Earth, there will be plenty of food, good climate, and not many diseases, and those who were born in 300 or 500 years or the year the Millennium began will be able to enjoy a thousand years until Satan is released from the Abyss, so there will be an enormous population (more than 10 billion people) on this Earth.
The answer to where and what those who have entered in the flesh will be doing in the Millennium is this. The description of the Millennium throughout the Old and New Testaments is a description of those who have entered in the flesh. The environment in which they live, their lives, their family life, their children, farming, and their jobs are all descriptions of those who have entered in the flesh living in the Millennium. It is the same world as we who live in the flesh now. It simply tells us about the environment of the Earth where Christ rules, there is no Satan, there is no war, the climate is optimal, there is no famine, and the desert becomes land to sufficiently feed the Earth’s population. In this respect, the present and the millennium are different. Rather, there is no mention at all of their activities in the millennium, except for the mention that those who entered the spirit world will reign with Christ. The millennium is the life of those who entered the millennium in the flesh before the millennium, who were not saved. In Isaiah 65:20-25, these verses show the life and activities of the millennium.
“There will no longer be an infant who lives a short life, or an old man who does not fulfill his days; for the one who dies a hundred years old will be a child, and the one who does not live a hundred years old will be cursed.” This means that there are those who can live a thousand years, and there are those who do live a thousand years, but compared to that, a hundred years would be a child. And the one who does not live a hundred years old will be cursed. And it says, “They will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.” This shows the life of those who entered the millennium in the flesh. Just as we live in the flesh, we build houses, farm, and do business. The way we live is the same as we live in the flesh. Because we live in the flesh, we will eat, drink, marry, give birth, raise children, study, and do business in the same way.
Also, in ‘They will not build and another inhabit, nor plant and eat, for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands’, it is said that those who live in this millennial kingdom will not only build houses and others will not live in them, but they will live in the houses they have built and eat the things they have planted and not others will eat, because there will be no war and they will live long. It is also said that God will immediately answer every prayer they make. ‘They will not labor in vain, nor will they bring forth calamity, for they will be the children of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants after them will be like them. “Before they call, I will answer; while they are yet yet speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:21-24). In these verses, “they, their descendants” refers to those who have entered the millennial kingdom in the flesh.
“The days of my people shall be like the days of a tree” means that the lifespan of a tree is over a thousand years.
It is said that some of the Sequoia trees in northern California are 2,000 years old. This means that the people of the millennial kingdom will live long and enjoy everything. Verse 23 says, “They will not labor in vain, nor bring forth fruit for trouble; for they are the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.” Those who have entered the millennial kingdom in the flesh are the people of the nation directly ruled by the Messiah, and therefore are blessed in themselves. And in verse 24, it says that God will answer before they call and will respond immediately before they finish speaking.
Verse 25 says, “The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not harm or destroy in all my holy mountain, declares the Lord.” This is the same word as Isaiah 11:6-7. As seen above, we have looked at the lives of those who have entered the millennial kingdom in the flesh.
Second, I would like to tell you my opinion on why God did not punish Satan all at once but released him and then caught him again and threw him into the lake of fire.
God did not throw Satan into the lake of fire all at once but confined him in the abyss to deal with those who entered the millennium kingdom in the flesh. How would you deal with the fact that there are not one or two, but more than 4-5 billion people remaining on earth in the flesh? Wouldn’t it be to give these people who entered the flesh one more chance? God used Satan one more time to give them one more chance. Revelation 20:7-10 says, “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for battle; their number is as the sand of the sea. They spread out over the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Third, the view on the misunderstanding that evil will not exist during the millennium because Satan is confined to the bottomless pit
Those who enter the millennium in the flesh still have sin in their flesh. Their spirits are not saved. Therefore, they are the same as we are now. It is only that Satan and demons do not tempt, delude, and provoke people, but sin and evil exist within people. Therefore, they will quarrel, fight, lie, and deceive. There will be illness and death. Since there is no Satan, there will be no war, disaster, calamity, temptation, or delusion, but the sin and evil within people will be activated to some extent. In addition, in Zechariah 14:19, “This is the punishment for the Egyptians and the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles,” we see that there are people who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles and are punished by God. Also, in Micah 4:5, it is said that each people will trust in the name of their gods.
“All the peoples will walk, each in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever.” (Micah 4:5)
Also, in Isaiah 65:20-25, we see that some people will get sick and die or be cursed. Some will live to be a thousand years old, while others will die before they reach a hundred. There will no longer be infants who die young or old who do not live out their days. For the one who dies a hundred years old will be a child, and the one who does not live a hundred years will be cursed. Why do people die? Isn’t it because of sin? The wages of sin is death. Even if the devil does not encourage sin, they realize that they already have a sinful nature within them.
Fourth, it is said that the saints will rule the kingdom with Christ during the millennium. Views on who will rule
In the millennium, it is said that the saints who were martyred and resurrected will come back to earth alive with the Lord and enter the millennium and reign with the Lord for a thousand years. Revelation 20:6 says, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” It is said that those who have part in the first resurrection will reign with Christ. Wouldn’t there have to be people who will reign? Then who are those people? It is the billions of people who have entered the millennium in the flesh. Also, since the number of people who have spread out over 100 or 300 years will exceed 10 billion, they will rule over them.
The resurrected saints are spirits. They neither marry nor are given in marriage. They do not give birth to children. They do not get sick or die, and they are spirits who live forever. They are the ones who rule, and they are separated from those who entered the physical world.
However, in Revelation 22:5, it says that they will reign forever and ever in the eternal world. Who will the saints rule over when they enter the eternal world? Who will be ruled? Who will be ruled?
In the millennial kingdom, those who survived the Gog and Magog war will receive forgiveness of sins before the Great White Throne Judgment and will be instantly transformed into spirits. They are the ones who will enter the eternal world. They are the ones who will have a spiritual body to live in the eternal world. They will enter the eternal world, but they are on a lower level than the sons of God who were saved and resurrected before the Lord’s second coming to earth, or who were instantly transformed and raptured into heaven. They are the ones who will be ruled in the eternal world. They are one level below those who were saved before the millennial kingdom. Before the millennial kingdom, the children of God who were saved will rule over them, and in the eternal world, the entire universe will be ruled over. At that time, the resurrected saints will be spiritual beings, and of course, in the millennial kingdom, the spiritual beings will be like the resurrected Lord’s body.
Philippians 3:20-21 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” In this passage, it is said that when our bodies become spiritual beings, they will be transformed into the form of the Lord’s glorious body. In this way, while having a body and bones, we will transcend space and time, and we will be able to eat and drink.
In this way, with a body that transcends time and space, we will travel around the entire universe at the speed of God’s light and glory, and we will rule over the space of the universe.
Fifth, my opinion on the view that the saints will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment and receive a higher judgment
Many people think that in Revelation 20:11-15, the saints stand before the Great White Throne Judgment of Christ and receive a higher judgment. This is because the Book of Life is placed along with the Book of Acts at the Great White Throne Judgment. This Great White Throne Judgment is the time to resurrect those who have not received salvation. The reason for resurrecting is to judge them according to the Book of Acts and throw them into the lake of fire. This time is after the saints have been resurrected and reigned with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom for a thousand years.
This is the time when the souls of those who have not received salvation are in Hades and stand before the judge to be judged for the sins they committed while alive and to enter the lake of fire, which is eternal hell. These people will be resurrected in order to be judged, but I think it is not appropriate to place the saints who have already been resurrected and become spiritual beings and reigned with Christ for a thousand years together with these prisoners. Even if it is for the purpose of receiving a higher judgment, receiving a higher judgment in front of the prisoners is an unpleasant atmosphere. The higher judgment should be a pleasant and joyful atmosphere. I think that the higher judgment will take place at the time when we are raptured and have the wedding feast of the Lamb before God.
Do we wait a thousand years for the millennial kingdom after being raptured and have a higher judgment? The question is why we should have a higher judgment at that time.
The wedding feast of the saints lasts for three and a half years, which corresponds to the last three and a half years on earth. During this three and a half years, the wedding feast and the higher judgment of the saints will also take place. The Lord said that He would make us wear bright and clean fine linen. We can only wear it when the Lord tells us to. And this fine linen is the righteous conduct of the saints. Right conduct means that a reward is given according to how well a saint served God and the saints, how much he loved and was loyal, how much he sacrificed for the Lord, how well he endured persecution and persecution, and how much he achieved victory in faith while living in this world. It seems that the concept of reward is included in the term right conduct itself.
But the question is why is the book of life placed on the judgment seat where unbelievers are judged? This will be used as material for the trial of unbelievers. In other words, as written in Revelation 20:15, anyone whose name was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. When an unbeliever stands before the judge, he first checks whether his name is in the book of life or not. This check is for the unbeliever. He checks whether his name is written in the book of life or not. Of course, his name is not written in the book of life. Then, the book of deeds is opened and the records of the sins committed while the person was alive in this world are examined. In this way, the reduction of sins will be determined and the place where he is imprisoned in the lake of fire will be different. Just as there is a higher judgment for the resurrected saints, there will be some differences in the punishment of hell for the unbelievers according to the reduction of their sins. If not, there would be no need to be judged according to the book of deeds. Sinners could be unconditionally thrown into the lake of fire. But isn’t the purpose of judging them to place them in the lake of fire and confine them in an appropriate place according to their sins?
However, the book of life at the Great White Throne Judgment Seat is also for those who lived in the millennial kingdom. Those whose names are not written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. Among those who lived in the millennial kingdom, those who followed the constitution of the Messianic kingdom well, lived according to its laws, and lived on the king’s side will be saved, while those who disobeyed and rebelled against the laws of the kingdom and stood on Satan’s side when Satan was finally released from the bottomless pit will be thrown into the lake of fire according to the book of deeds.
And here we must consider that there is a world of difference between those who believed in Jesus and were saved before His second coming and those who were saved in the millennial kingdom. God did not confine Satan to the lake of fire despite his rebellion in heaven, but allowed him to work in the world because God had a plan. That is, it was to gain the sons of God. In this world where Satan is king, they were the ones who kept their faith in an environment where they were persecuted, persecuted, killed, tortured, starved, mocked, and lonely because they believed in God. They were the ones who had their sins washed away by the blood of Jesus, and they were the children of God who ate Jesus’ flesh and drank His blood (John 6:53).
On the other hand, those who lived in the millennial kingdom and believed in God and were saved were the ones who lived in the time when Satan did not exist. They were the ones who lived in the time when they were not tempted, deluded, persecuted, or persecuted by Satan. They were the ones who did not experience such stress because they believed in God. And Jesus did not die on the cross for them. They were not the ones who ate Jesus’ flesh and drank His blood. They were the people of the millennial kingdom when the Messiah Christ was king on this earth, not when he was crucified, shed blood, and came to die.
After the millennium ends and the Gog and Magog Wars, those who belonged to Satan are the ones who survived when they were killed. God imprisoned Satan in the abyss for a thousand years and then released him for a short time in order to save them. Since they are alive at the Great White Throne Judgment, they will stand at the Great White Throne Judgment. The Book of Life was prepared for them. When they stand at the Great White Throne Judgment, they will be in a state of spiritual transformation. This is because they will also enter the eternal world. At the Great White Throne Judgment, no one will be in the flesh. This is because it is the time when those who did not believe in Jesus and died will be resurrected and brought before the judgment seat (John 5:29, Revelation 20:12-15). If their names are not written in the book of life, they will go to the lake of fire, so their names had to be registered in the book of life.
What we must seriously consider here is that those who are saved in the millennium are not the sons of God. They are simply citizens of heaven who will enter the new heaven and new earth and live forever. The true sons of God are those who drank the blood of Jesus and ate his flesh (John 6:53). Only these true sons of God will live in the holy city, New Jerusalem, in the new heaven and new earth. Only the true children of God will live in the city of Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22-27).
The Book of Life will not be used as a basis for the judgment of rewards. Only the names of those who have been saved are recorded in the Book of Life. However, there is a book in the Bible that will be used as a reference for judging the rewards of the saints’ good deeds. That will be the Book of Remembrance before Jehovah. The book that is the standard for judging evil deeds will be the Book of Deeds, and the book that measures the greatness and smallness of good deeds will be the Book of Remembrance.
“Then those who feared Jehovah spoke to one another, and Jehovah listened and heard them. A book of remembrance was written before Jehovah for those who feared Jehovah and who esteemed His name” (Malachi 4:16).
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