Say, do you suppose one reason some political figures, and perhaps some other people, object to the mention of Christ in the public forum is because they think that His being "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" is a threat to their rule of government? I don’t know about that. I was just thinking out loud. Stay tuned for a biblical study of "The Thousand Year Reign of Christ” in Revelation 20.
Thank you, thank you, my friend, for inviting us into your home by means of your television, or perhaps your radio, so we can study the word of God together. Our program is called In Search of the Lord's Way, because we believe the Lord's way of life is the best way that has ever been introduced to the family of man. And we believe, too, that His way is revealed only in the Bible. And for that reason, we are committed to the study of His word in Search of His way. And we pray that we will both be blessed by our study today.
We are sometimes asked why we don't have more programs about Bible prophecy. Well, there is not only a fascination with "prophecy" these days, but there's also a lot of anticipation and speculation about it, too. To be honest and up-front with you, we are not given to speculation and fabrication of doctrines that are not firmly and clearly supported by the word of God. However, there is a definite need-- and an endless list of requests for such a study. So we are devoting today's program to the study of The Thousand Year Reign of Christ, mentioned in Revelation, chapter twenty.
The message will be available and made free to you, of course, as all our programs are on CDs or audio cassette tapes, or in printed form. And you may address your request for such a one to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. Our e-mail address is searchtv@searchtv.org. Our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. We hear from a lot of people who also see, or hear, or read the program again on our website, searchtv.org. Ken Helterbrand is going to lead the Edmond, Oklahoma Church of Christ now as we sing; and then we will be back and we will read God's word and pray together.
Our scripture reading today is from Revelation, chapter 20, the first eight verses. “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.” And that read through verse eight. Now let us go to God in prayer. Holy Father, we are so thankful to You for the coming of Christ into this world and His mission for doing so. We are thankful, Father, that He came to seek and to save those of us who are lost in our sins; and that He also came to establish His rule and reign and that He now sits upon the throne as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. In His name we pray, Amen!
As I was reading from Revelation 20 awhile ago, you probably noticed the frequent mention of "a thousand years," six times as a matter of fact, in those eight verses. In verse 2 Satan is bound a thousand years. In verse 3 Satan would be loosed at the end of the thousand years. In verse 4 John "saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And," he said, "I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." Verse 5 mentions the rest of the dead "who did not live again until the thousand years were finished." Verse 6 reveals a blessing on those who have had part in the first resurrection. "They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years." And finally in verse 7 it is said, "...when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison." Only in verses four and six, however, is there a mention of a thousand-year reign of Christ. And, there's no other mention of it in all the Scriptures. But from those two mentions of reigning with Christ a thousand years, many doctrines and fantasies have risen. There are those who believe that these verses teach when Christ returns He will set up a kingdom and reign universally from Jerusalem for a thousand years over a kingdom of peace and plenty. Hence, they are called "Pre-millennialists." They constitute a great part of the membership of most evangelical churches-- in many of them the overwhelming majority of members believe that. There are others who are called "Post-millennialists" because they believe Jesus will not come until the end of the thousand years-- the utopian period of the thousand years. Then there are other millennialists who don't believe the Bible teaches such a thousand-year reign at all. So millennialism is a doctrine which focuses primarily on the establishment of Christ's kingdom and His universal reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
What we are hearing so much today is a mixture of dispensationalism and premillennialism. Briefly stated, dispensationalism is the idea that, oh at about 4000 BC God created the heaven and earth in six days and rested on the seventh day. And since the Scripture says in 2 Peter 3 and 8, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day, we must be living in, or maybe we are approaching the last days of the sixth millennium-- quickly approaching the seventh-- and the coming of Christ to reign over all the earth from David's throne in Jerusalem.
Today we are looking at the one passage in all the Bible that says anything about the premillennial teaching. As we approach the passage for this meaning, we must remember that Revelation is a book of signs and symbols. This is apocalyptic preaching or language and is never to be interpreted literally. The very opening sentence of the Revelation book says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants-- things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John."
We must also remember that any verse of Scripture must be interpreted in its context. To lift a passage out of what comes before it and after it-- to interpret it in any other way than in harmony with the message and the purpose of the entire book in which it appears-- to make it mean something that the author never intended it to mean when it was written-- well, it is a gross perversion of Scripture. The Holy Spirit speaks of those who so "wrest" (or twist) the Scriptures as being unlearned and unstable and they do such to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). So, you and I don't want to do that, now do we?
The third principle of biblical interpretation that we must observe with this passage (as with all the others) is that controversial and difficult passages must always be interpreted in harmony with plain and simple teachings elsewhere. God never contradicts Himself.
Now, John was exiled on Patmos "for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:9) -- that is, for preaching Christ. He knew the disciples in the area of the seven churches (and others) were also suffering intense persecutions. The message which he received of the Lord, which he wrote them in this book was to (1) tell them that God was conscious of the intensity of their persecutions, but that all these things would get even worse, and number (2) to exhort and encourage them to be faithful unto death, regardless of what comes, and number (3) they would win because of Christ.
Where does this passage fit into that overall message of Revelation? It is the last of course. It isn't hard to arrive at that conclusion-- from the very fact that it appears toward the end of the book. It's a promise of victory. In apocalyptic language, those of them who endure will live and reign with Christ a thousand years. The question is this: does this passage teach that Christ is coming back to the earth, to set up a kingdom of peace and prosperity, and reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years, and these saints will rule with Him? Well, let's see.
Verse one says, "I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand." Note the symbolism now: (1) a key, (2) a chain, (3) a bottomless pit.
Verse two says, "And [the angel] laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." More symbols: (1) the dragon, (2) the old serpent, (3) the binding of Satan-- and the inference is with the symbolic chain of verse one, and (4) a thousand years.
Now verse three, "And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, 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." The symbolism: (1) A casting of Satan into (2) the bottomless pit and (3) a figurative shutting him up till number (4) the end of the symbolic thousand years.
Verse four: "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, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, nor in their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Now the obvious symbols in that verse are: (1) thrones, (2) the beast, (3) marks in their foreheads, or in their hands and (4) a thousand year reign.
Now verse five continues, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” Now there are only two symbols in that short verse: (1) the end of the thousand years and a resurrection.
From just a reading of the passage, we have learned that a thousand year reign of Christ is symbolic. It would be the height of absurdity to pick that one thing out of all those seventeen symbols and say it is literal-- and all else is symbolic. The real truth of the matter is it symbolizes victory for the ones persecuted for Christ. That harmonizes with the other verses in Revelation. For example Revelation 2:7 says, "To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." And too, Revelation 2:10 says, ". . . Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." Revelation 2:11 says, ". . . He who overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death." Others are Revelation 2:17, 2:26, and verses 5 and 12 and 21 of that chapter. Please notice some of the things not mentioned that are so vital to the premillennial theory: (1) Christ's second coming, nothing is said about it in this passage, the establishment of a kingdom, (3) an earthly kingdom (4) Christ sitting on David's throne, and (5) the Jews' return to Palestine.
Well, it is clear from reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, that the purpose of Christ's earthly ministry was twofold: first to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and to establish a kingdom over which He would reign as King. So, immediately after His baptism by John in the Jordan, and His confrontation with Satan, He returned to Galilee and preached in the synagogues of the Jews the good news of the kingdom that it was then (at that time) "at hand" (Matthew 4:17). When He had preached so in Nazareth and in Capernaum, the people wanted Him to stay there longer. But He refused saying, "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also; because for this purpose I have been sent" (Luke 4:43). And He said, ". . . I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:27). So, my friend, the reign of Christ in His kingdom was imminent at that time-- during their lifetime.
The establishment of His kingdom was such an obvious part of Christ’s ministry that even Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And He replied, "It is as you say" (Matthew 27:11). The question was prompted by the accusation of those who had brought Him there (John 18:28, and 40), a charge they knew He wouldn't deny. Jesus' answer was simple.
Jesus then went to the cross. He was crucified, buried, raised from the dead, then He appeared to His chosen apostles and He said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). Can you tell me how much more power, or authority, Jesus would have if, indeed, He should come again and establish some kind of a universal earthly reign? Well, it is just a thought.
Premillennialism says that in order to fulfill the prophecies, Christ will return to earth and be seated on the literal throne of David in the city of Jerusalem. Sure, Isaiah says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this" (Isaiah 7, verses 6 and 7).
Then, on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, Peter preached that Christ had fulfilled those prophecies. Being inspired of the Holy Spirit, he said, "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, he, forseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make your enemies Your footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:29 to 36). When a New Testament writer or preacher says Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled, it's fulfilled, friend. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful now that Jesus sits on the throne and reigns over the world in a spiritual kingdom. And we are thankful that we can be citizens of it. In Jesus’ name, we thank You. Amen!
Christ's kingdom-- or reign for a symbolic thousand years-- meaning an indefinitely long period of time-- is not a political power. He made that clear to Pilate. He said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36). The Holy Spirit says that "The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). It is because of this spiritual nature that many people don't see it today-- or don't recognize its existence now.
My friend, are you a Christian? If you have really accepted Christ as "Lord," then that is what He is. If you haven't received His kingdom, you haven't accepted Him as Lord. I pray you will confess Him so today. Turning from your sins in repentance, will you arise and be baptized into His death and wash away your sins in His precious blood? Oh, I hope you will; or if I may assist you, please call on me.
For your free printed copy of this message, please address your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083; or by e-mail, searchtv@searchtv.org. If it is more convenient for you to make your request by telephone, you may use our toll-free number. It's 1-800-321-8633. You won't need to send money; it is free as everything else we do is free. You see, we are a ministry of some churches of Christ-- your friends locally, who want to share these messages with you. Oh say! They would love to have you study the Bible and worship with them, too. And we would like that, also. Why don't you just do it? Thanks for having us in your home today. We are sincerely grateful to you. And we plan to be back next week-- same time-- same station. We hope you will be here, too. God bless you. We love you.
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