Title The Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:4-5)
Contents Revelation 20 deals with two great events: the Millennial Kingdom and the Last Judgment. Verses 4-5 are about the millennial kingdom. In Matthew 10:34, “I came not to bring peace to the world, but a sword” indicates that Jesus came to build the kingdom of heaven. Heaven is not in the distant future, but in my heart. The Lord said in Luke 17:20-21, “You cannot say that the kingdom of God is here or there, but the kingdom of God is within you.”
1. The Bible classifies heaven into four categories.
(1) There is a heaven of the heart. Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus said in the eighth beatitude that one must be poor in spirit in order to qualify as a citizen of heaven. To be poor in spirit means to realize your sin, repent, and know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Jesus went quietly to the mountain to pray, avoiding all who welcomed him, so that the truth would not be taken away. The apostle Paul considered everything as dung, realizing that believing in Jesus Christ was more beautiful and worthwhile than winning the world. because of. So he cried out, "I do not live, but Christ lives in me."
(2) There is a church heaven. There is a parable written in Matthew 13. The Lord told the parable of the kingdom of heaven through parables of the tares, the parable of the mustard seed, the parable of the leaven, the parable of the treasure hidden in the field, the trader looking for pearls, and the parable of the net. Truly, the church is a model and a shadow of the kingdom of heaven. The Lord spoke of the foundation and revival development of the church's kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you bind on earth and it will be loosed in heaven.” He spoke of the greatness and eternity of the church.
(3) There is a heaven in the afterlife. The kingdom of heaven in the next world is a world where the first heaven and the first earth that we see have passed away and there is no more sea. It is a kingdom of heaven where there are only people in white robes and robes.
2. There are three theories about the millennial kingdom: amillennialism, postmillennialism, and premillennialism.
(1) Amillennialism This is a theory that symbolically interprets the period of a thousand years. The number 1,000 refers to the maximum number in the Book of Revelation. It is 10×10×10. For example, the number of 144,000 choices is =12×12×1,000. The amillennialism is that 1,000 years of the 1,000-year kingdom is denied in time, and the 1,000-year kingdom is the world from the first coming of Christ to the end of the world. Or, because Satan's power was limited by the cross, the 1,000-year kingdom refers to a knot of the times, the period of the Lord's reign, not the actual 1,000 years. In other words, it is the theory that the age of the Holy Spirit is the 1,000-year kingdom age. We see the world as 7,000 years. In particular, this claim is claimed by Origen, Renskin, Augustine, etc., and Catholicism today insists on this and accepts amillennialism as the doctrine of Catholicism.
(3) Premillennialism This is a theory that literally accepts the Bible as it is, even one jot, one jot, one tittle. It is the theory that the 1,000-year kingdom will be established after Christ first returns and binds all the powers of Satan. This is the word of God and the revelation of God. It is the word of the Bible, and it refers to orthodox faith. In particular, it is the faith of the Presbyterian Church and of all Protestants. As long as we believe in the second coming of Christ, it doesn't matter what we say about the millennium, but it is pre-millennialism that we can accurately believe in the second coming of Christ, the first resurrection, and God's judgment in the end, and realize the revelation. During this 1,000-year kingdom period, the devil is imprisoned in the abyss, so the world refers to the world of peace, the age of the Millennium Kingdom. At this time, the dead will reign for 1,000 years like Jesus in resurrected bodies.
3. Those who will participate in the Millennial Kingdom Verse 4 “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” The believers who participate in the Millennium Kingdom are those who have gone before and those who have been martyred in the Age of Tribulation. These groups are called those who participated in the first resurrection. The saints who have gone before are those who participated in the public rapture before the great tribulation and are saints. Even without martyrdom, salvation is obtained equally. Martyrdom is a special gift given to those who are chosen for the best of allegiance to God and for His glory. Since God does not want all people to be sacrifices for martyrdom, it cannot be seen that they play a special role in salvation. So please wake up now when it's easy so you don't lose your chance of the aerial rapture. Because everyone must undergo martyrdom during the tribulation, the Lord gives the grace of the public rapture to escape such times.
4. Those who did not participate in the Millennium Kingdom Verse 5 says, “The rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years were finished.” Until the end of the 1,000 years, the rest will not be part of the first resurrection and will remain in the tomb. These are those who are spiritually dead and those who have not been resurrected spiritually. Those who fought the beast and kept their chastity to the end will reign with Christ on their majestic throne for 1,000 years, and reign and exercise authority, and the rest of the dead will still be in Hades until the 1,000 years are over. Please consider the great difference that will arise between the saved saints and the unrepentant crowd. Scientists today in many words testify that Christ's Millennial Kingdom is drawing near, and the Bible already foretells it. Therefore, we believe that we need faith to be sober, awake, and stand right before God. In the name of the Lord, I pray that you and I will become the blessed me who truly respects the 1,000-year kingdom.