We want you to turn in your Bibles
today to Revelation chapter 20. Let us begin reading in
verse 1:
Revelation 20:1-10
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having
the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in
his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old
serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound
him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon
him, that he should deceive the nations no more,
till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And
I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment
was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for
the word of God, and which had not worshipped the
beast, neither his image, neither had received his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and
they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection: on such the second
death hath no power, but they shall be priests of
God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years are
expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to
gather them together to battle: the number of whom
is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the
breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came
down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the
false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and
night for ever and ever.
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What we are going to talk about today is the doctrine of
premillennialism. The term millennium means one thousand
years. We derive the doctrine from the scripture that we
just read in Revelation 20. The words “one thousand” occurs
six different times in the first seven verses of Revelation
20. Revelation 20 establishes at least 7 different
doctrines. It first of all establishes the doctrine of a
literal millennium.
Revelation 20:2-3 establishes the fact that Satan will
be bound for 1,000 years unlike now when he is going about
as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1
Peter 5:8).
Revelation 20:4 establishes the fact that the preferred
method of execution for Christians during the tribulation
will be beheading which is the favorite terrorist act of
those peace loving Muslims and those friendly Catholics of
the Devil’s Millennium. It also shows that the saints of God
will sit in judgment with the Lord Jesus Christ and will
rule and reign with him one-thousand years.
Revelation 20:5 establishes the fact that there will be
at least two resurrections and not a general resurrection.
Verses 5 and 6 also further explain the doctrine of the
second death which we know to be eternal death in the Lake
of Fire. In verses 7-9, we see earth’s final war. Verse 10
of this chapter adds further to the doctrine of eternal
punishment. Let’s continue with our discussion of
premillennialism.
What we mean by the doctrine of premillennialism is that
we believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return in the air
to take the saved folks out of this world to heaven BEFORE
the Millennium starts. In fact, we believe in a
pretribulational, premillennial return of the Lord Jesus
Christ. While many refer to this event as the rapture of the
church a more correct scriptural term is the catching away,
or a catching up of the saints BEFORE the tribulation starts
because according to
1 Thessalonians 5:9 the Lord Jesus Christ has not
appointed his Bride to wrath. Part of the Bride is the
church of the redeemed that is on this earth when the Lord
Jesus Christ returns for his saints. We refer to this great
event as the BLESSED HOPE. The Rapture is Christ coming for
his saints. The Revelation is Christ coming with his saints.
It is clear from Psalm 72,
Isaiah 2:2-4,
Isaiah 11:1-9,
Isaiah 35:5-10,
Jeremiah 23:5-8, and etc. that there will be a glorious,
everlasting kingdom established by God on this earth. It is
also clear from 2 Samuel:7:12-13,
Isaiah 9:6-7,
Zechariah 14:9,
Luke 1:30-33 that the Messiah, or Christ the anointed
one, will reign upon the earth. With the fact of a kingdom
established and the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ will
reign in that kingdom established the only thing remaining
is to establish the order of the events leading up to that
kingdom. That is the purpose of todays discussion. A
literal interpretation of scriptures will always lead to the
conclusion that the Lord Jesus Christ will return before the
Millenium. As we have already stated, Revelation chapter 20
identifies a literal one thousand year period FOLLOWING the
return of the Lord Jesus Christ when the Lord Jesus Christ
will rule and reign on this earth for one thousand years.
Again, the phrase “one thousand” occurs six different times
in Revelation 20. Premillennialism is demonstrated in the
book of Daniel, in the book of Revelation, in the book of
Zecahriah, in the Olivet Discourse in the book of Joel, in
the book of Acts, and by the Abrahamic Covenants.
The book of Daniel has a premillennial order. Of all the
books in the Bible that support premillennialism, the book
of Daniel is by far the clearest and strongest of these. In
chapters 2, 7, and 9 it is very clear that prophetic events
will unfold in a premillennial order. Turn in your Bibles to
Daniel chapter 2 and let us read verses 31-45:
Daniel 2:31-45
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image.
This great image, whose brightness was excellent,
stood before thee; and the form thereof was
terrible. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his
breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his
thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part
of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a
stone was cut out without hands, which smote the
image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and
brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the
clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to
pieces together, and became like the chaff of the
summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them
away, that no place was found for them: and the
stone that smote the image became a great mountain,
and filled the whole earth. 36 This is the dream;
and we will tell the interpretation thereof before
the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for
the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power,
and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the
children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine
hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou
art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise
another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third
kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the
earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as
iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and
subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all
these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And
whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of
potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall
be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength
of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed
with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were
part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall
be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas
thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall
mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they
shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not
mixed with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings
shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people, but it shall break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the
stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and
that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the
clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath
made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure.
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In verses 31-33 we see an image whose description
describes the progression of kingdoms from the time of
Daniel until the establishment of the everlasting kingdom of
our Lord and his Christ in verses 34-35. The period in the
kingdoms of men is known as the times of the Gentiles from
Luke 21:24. The kingdoms of men are followed by the
eternal kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. The progression
within the kingdoms of men from the time of Daniel’s
prophecy has been, and will be, in the following order:
Christ’s kingdom is symbolized by the stone cut out
without hands becoming a mountain that fills the entire
earth. All that being said, the foregoing discussion proves
a premillenial order of events in the scriptures.
The prophecy of Daniel Chapter 7 is also premillennial.
Turn in your Bibles to
Daniel 7:1-28
Daniel 7:1-28
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon
Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his
bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of
the matters. 2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my
vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the
heaven strove upon the great sea. 3 And four great
beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from
another. 4 The first was like a lion, and had
eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were
plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and
made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart
was given to it. 5 And behold another beast, a
second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on
one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it
between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it,
Arise, devour much flesh. 6 After this I beheld, and
lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back
of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four
heads; and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I
saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,
dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and
it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in
pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it:
and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
before it; and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the
horns, and, behold, there came up among them another
little horn, before whom there were three of the
first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in
this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a
mouth speaking great things. 9 I beheld till the
thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did
sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like
the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before
him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten
thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the
judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11 I
beheld then because of the voice of the great words
which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast
was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the
burning flame. 12 As concerning the rest of the
beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet
their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like
the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him
near before him. 14 And there was given him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people,
nations, and languages, should serve him: his
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed. 15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in
the midst of my body, and the visions of my head
troubled me. 16 I came near unto one of them that
stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he
told me, and made me know the interpretation of the
things. 17 These great beasts, which are four, are
four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18
But the saints of the most High shall take the
kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for
ever and ever. 19 Then I would know the truth of the
fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others,
exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and
his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces,
and stamped the residue with his feet; 20 And of the
ten horns that were in his head, and of the other
which came up, and before whom three fell; even of
that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very
great things, whose look was more stout than his
fellows. 21 I beheld, and the same horn made war
with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22
Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was
given to the saints of the most High; and the time
came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23 Thus
he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all
kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and
shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And
the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that
shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and
he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall
subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great
words against the most High, and shall wear out the
saints of the most High, and think to change times
and laws: and they shall be given into his hand
until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26
But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away
his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the
end. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the
greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,
shall be given to the people of the saints of the
most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him. 28
Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel,
my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance
changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
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We see the times of the Gentiles outlined in verses 3-7
followed by the rise of a despot who is the Antichrist in
verses 8, 20, 24-26. The rise of the Antichrist is followed
by a period of judgment given to the Son of Man through the
ancient of Days in verses 10-12 which is followed by an
everlasting kingdom in verses 13-14.
The prophecy of Daniel Chapter 9 is also premillennial
in order. Let us read
Daniel 9:24-27:
Daniel 9:24-27
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and
upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and
to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation
for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision and
prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know
therefore and understand, that from the going forth
of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,
and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be
built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah
be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of
the prince that shall come shall destroy the city
and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with
a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are
determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week: and in the midst of the week
he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he
shall make it desolate, even until the consummation,
and that determined shall be poured upon the
desolate. |
Note the order of events that take place in these
verses. In verse 25, we see the rebuilding of the city of
Jerusalem. In verse 26, the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ)
is cut off (crucified), followed by the destruction of the
city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and desolations upon the
people. In verse 27, we see that the covenant is confirmed
with the Antichrist prince that shall come. This covenant is
referred to as the covenant with death and hell in
Isaiah 28:18. The overspreading of abominations in verse
27 is the appearance of the abomination of desolation in the
rebuilt temple referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ in
Matthew 24:15 and
Mark 13:14. The abomination of desolation is the
appearance of the Antichrist in the rebuilt temple claiming
himself to be God as stated in
2 Thessalonians 2:4. The consummation in verse 27is a
reference to
Isaiah 10:22-23 where it promises a final and
everlasting restoration of Israel to the land. These facts
from
Daniel 9:24-27 show a premillennial order also.
The book of Joel is also premillennial in its order. In
chapter 2 we see the events of the judgments of the
tribulation and the battles leading up to Armageddon. In
chapter 3:1-14, we see the battle of Armageddon followed by
the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in verses 15-16. Then in
verses 17 through 21 we see the establishment of the
millennial kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The book of Zechariah also demonstrates a premillennial
order. Chapters 10-11 picture a restoration of the Jews to
the land of Israel. Chapter 12 shows a gathering of the
nations in siege against the city of Jerusalem followed by
the wars of the tribulation in chapter 13. In
Zechariah 14:1-5, we see the second coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ followed by the glorious millennial kingdom of
the Lord Jesus Christ in verses 6-11.
The Olivet Discourse also presents a premillennial order
of events leading up to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Olivet Discourse is the preaching that the Lord Jesus
Christ done on the Mount of Olives just prior to his
crucifixion. This discourse is the subject of Matthew
chapters 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Here, we will deal
specifically with Matthew chapters 24 and 25. In
Matthew 24:1-14, we see the events of the present age
described followed by the rise of the Antichrist in
Matthew 24:15. Matthew 24 verses 16-28 describe the
events of the tribulation followed by the second coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ in
Matthew 24:29-31. In
Matthew 25:31-33 we see the judgment of the nations
followed the establishment of the millennial kingdom in
Matthew 25:34.
Acts 15:13-18 also present a clear premillennial order.
In verse 14, we see the salvation of the Gentiles followed
by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 16 and the
establishment of millennial worship in verses 16-17.
The order of the book of Revelation is also
premillennial. Chapters 1-3 cover the events that then were
including the churches that then existed at Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Some
students of Bible prophecy believe that the seven churches
in the book of Revelation present a prophetic picture of the
history of the Christian church. At any rate, at the end of
chapter 3, the church is taken out of this world into the
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and is not seen again
until Revelation chapter 19. In chapters 6-18 we see the
events of the tribulation take place followed by the second
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in Revelation chapter 19. In
Revelation chapter 20, we see the millennial reign of the
Lord Jesus Christ mentioned six times followed by the Great
White Throne Judgment. In chapters 21 and 22, we see the
heavenly eternal state.
While the Abrahamic covenants present a premillennial
order of events, we will not deal with them here, but will
instead deal with them in our sessions on the nation of
Israel where we will give a broad overview of the Biblical
history of the nation of Israel followed by a broad overview
of her secular and modern history
We will close our broad overview of the doctrine of
premillennialism by making fourteen (14) different
comparisons between premillennialism, postmillennialism, and
amillennialism.
(1) Premillennialists practice a literal method of
interpreting Bible prophecy whereas the
postmillennialists and amillennialists spiritualize
the scriptures which leads to much confusion and
inconsistencies in their interpretations.
(2) The theology of premillennialists is
dispensational whereas the theology of the
postmillennialists and amillennialists is associated
with the old covenant (works) and the new covenant
(grace). Most dispensationalists believe that God
has, or will, deal with mankind through seven
different dispensations.
(3) Premillennialists correctly believe that Israel
is still God’s chosen people who will be restored at
Christ’s second coming whereas postmillennialists
and amillennialists wrongly believe that God has
replaced Israel and its people with the church.
(4) Premillennialists believe that the woman of
Revelation 12 is the nation of Israel while the
postmillennialists and amillennialists believe the
woman is some form of the church. The Roman Catholic
Church wrongly believes that the woman is the Roman
Catholic idol Mary.
(5) Premillennialists and amillennialists believe
that the events described in
Revelation 19:11-21 are the second coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ whereas the postmillennialists
believe that those events describe the victory of
the gospel.
(6) Premillennialists, postmillennialists, and
amillennialists all believe in a literal, visible,
bodily, and personal return of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Their disagreement is over the timing of his
return.
(7) Premillennialists believe the Lord Jesus Christ
will return before the millennium.
Postmillennialists believe that He will return after
the millennium. Amillennialists believe He will
return at anytime.
(8) Premillennialists believe that Revelation 20
describes a literal millennial kingdom upon the
earth followed by the final revolt of Satan and
judgment. Postmillennialists believe that a kingdom
age will be brought in by the church while
amillennialists believe that the kingdom is the
present “Church Age”.
(9) Premillennialists believe in a literal
millennium while the amillennialists do not. Some
postmillennialists believe in a literal millennium
while others do not.
(10) Premillennialists believe that Christ’s
millennial reign will be on the literal throne of
David in a literal earthly Jerusalem.
Postmillennialists believe that Christ is reigning
now on David’s throne in heaven. Amillennialists
believe that Christ is seated at the Father’s right
hand in heaven. While that is true right now, it
will not be true during the millennium. Further, all
the Old Testament prophecies teach a literal earthly
reign by the Messiah in a literal earthly Jerusalem.
Revelation chapter 20 reveals the length of that
earthly reign to be one-thousand years.
(11) Premillennialists believe Satan will be bound
at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as is
literally taught in
Revelation 20:1-3. Postmillennialists and
amillennialists teach that Satan was bound at the
cross which is a direct contradiction of
1 Peter 5:8 which states:8 Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour.
1 Peter 5:8 was given by the Holy Ghost and
penned long after the crucifixion. If you believe
that Satan was bound at the cross you are not in
touch with the reality of the vile wickedness that
abounds throughout the world today.
(12) Premillennialists believe that the first
resurrection occurs at the rapture.
Postmillennialists believe that the first
resurrection occurs at the second coming of Christ.
While that is partially true, it falls far short of
the whole counsel of God. More on that in a moment.
Amillennialists believe that the first resurrection
occurs at salvation. That confuses the spiritual
regeneration with the physical resurrection. In the
scriptures the resurrection always refers to the
physical body and never to the soul and spirit. The
soul never dies. In other words, the resurrection is
the redemption of our bodies referred to in
Romans 8:23. The Bible plainly teaches two
different resurrections. The first resurrection is
referred to as a resurrection unto eternal life. The
second resurrection is a resurrection unto eternal
death. The first resurrection is referred to as the
resurrection unto everlasting life, the resurrection
of life, the resurrection of the just, and the first
resurrection. The second resurrection is referred to
as the resurrection to everlasting contempt, the
resurrection of damnation, the resurrection of the
unjust, and the second resurrection. Scripturally
these terms are found in
Daniel 12:2,
John 5:28-29,
Acts 24:15, and Revelation 20.The first
resurrection obviously has many stages starting with
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and some
saints immediately following the crucifixion in
Matthew 27:51-53. We also have the resurrection
of the dead in Christ, commonly called the rapture,
that takes place before the tribulation and is
described in
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58,
Philippians 3:20-21, and
Titus 2:13. We also have two other phases of the
first resurrection described in the book of
Revelation: one at the midpoint of the tribulation
involving at least the two witnesses and one at the
end of the tribulation involving the saints that
were martyred during the tribulation.
(13) Premillennialists believe that the second
resurrection takes place after the millennium as
described in Revelation 20 while postmillennialists
believe that the second resurrection takes place at
the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(14) Premillennialists believe that there will be
three future judgments while postmillennialists and
amillennialists believe in one general judgment at
the second coming. Premillennialists believe that
there will be a judgment seat of Christ to take
place between the rapture of the saints and the
second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Judgment
Seat of Christ is mentioned twice in the New
Testament in
Romans 14:10 and
2 Corinthians 5:10. The Judgment Seat of Christ
is clearly identified with believers only. The
Judgment Seat of Christ is a judgment for reward for
works after salvation. The issue at the Judgment
seat of Christ is not salvation, but rewards.
Premillennialists believe in a Great White Throne
Judgment for unbelievers only because
Revelation 20:11-15 clearly identifies that
judgment with unbelievers only because that judgment
is based upon their works. The eternal destiny of
those in Christ is never based upon their works, but
is based upon the completed work and works of the
Lord Jesus Christ only. Hallelujah! The issue at the
Great White Throne Judgment is not salvation, but
degrees of eternal punishment in the lake of fire
for unbelievers. Bible believers will be at the
Great White Throne judgment, but only as observers.
We do know that according to
1 Corinthians 6:3 that believers will sit in
judgment of angels. Premillennialists also believe
in a separate judgment of the nations as described
in
Matthew 25:31-46. |
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