New thoughts about an old heresy
I. Word meanings
A. A millennium (Latin: mille, "thousand" and annus, "year") is a time span of one thousand years.
B. Millennialism is a teaching about the "thousand years" of Revelation 20:3-7 which is further explained in section V, C of this outline.
C. Chiliasm (Greek: chilioi, "thousand") is a synonym for Millennialism.
II. Viewpoints
A. Amillennialism teaches that the "thousand years" mentioned in Revelation 20 is the New Testament age, the period between the first and second comings of Jesus, the Christ (Messiah). We are living in this New Testament age. It will end with the Second Coming of Christ when He judges the living and the dead, thereby ending life as we know it and restoring life as He intended it. This is what Lutherans believe and teach, although we are not the only group who teaches this way.
B. Millennialism teaches that there will be a golden age on earth before the end of life as we know it. Christ will return to overthrow the Antichrist, bind Satan, and establish the long-awaited earthly kingdom which will last for a thousand years. At the end of this thousand years of peace and prosperity, long life and happiness, universal knowledge of God and harmony in the animal kingdom, Satan will be set free for one last revolt. After Satan is conquered the resurrection of the dead and the last judgment will take place. (Be aware that there are many variations on this basic theme.)
1. Postmillennialism teaches that Jesus Christ will return to begin a new heaven and a new earth at the end of the thousand-year golden age. This golden age comes about without miraculous intervention as the church gradually Christianizes the world.
2. Premillennialism teaches that Christ will return before the thousand years begins in order to establish the golden age by defeating the Antichrist at the battle of Armageddon.
a. Historicists teach that the entire history of the church is given in such Bible books as Daniel and Revelation. Therefore, they evaluate daily developments to determine how this history is progressing in relation to "God's timetable."
b. Dispensationalists divide history into eras, or dispensations, during which God deals with people on the basis of some specific principle. In previous dispensations God and Christ could not carry out the divine plan. For this reason, God will test man's obedience in one final dispensation. Because of man's disobedience in general and of Jewish obstinacy in particular, Christ was unable to fulfill many of the messianic prophecies such as the re-establishment of the throne of David, the conversion of the Jews, the building of the kingdom. Therefore, Christ contented Himself with establishing the Kingdom of God, the Church, during His first coming. Christ will establish His kingdom at His second coming. In this final dispensation the Jewish race will accept Christ as its king, establish a kingdom in Palestine, and rule with Christ for a thousand years.
c. Futurists teach that all the end-time prophecies will be fulfilled just before Christ's second coming. There are three subdivisions in futurist Premillennialism depending upon the relationship between the rapture and the tribulation.
1) Pretribulationists teach that the rapture of the Church will occur before the tribulation. (Note: Most, not all, Dispensationalists subscribe to this view. Israel and the Church are divided into two distinct groups for whom God has two different plans. God's plan for the church [His heavenly people] cannot be fulfilled until His plan for Israel [His earthly people] is completed. So, it is necessary for God to remove the church before proceeding with His final plan for Israel. This is the "rapture," the time when Christ will come for His saints. At the second coming, Christ will come with His saints. Dispensationalism was begun by John Nelson Darby in the late 1820's and popularized by Dwight L. Moody, C.I. Scofield, Hal Lindsay, and Tim LaHaye.)
2) Midtribulationists teach that the Church will be raptured halfway through the tribulation period.
3) Posttribulationists teach that the Church will be raptured at the end of the tribulation period.
3. Panmillenialism is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that things will "pan out" as God intends in spite of the confusion among the various groups of millennialists.
III. Background
A. Millennialists, especially Premillennialists, like to think that their teaching was the predominant view in the early church. It is true that several in the early church did teach Chiliasm, as it was called. It is true that several heretical sects also taught Chiliasm. Their chiliastic views rested on a misunderstanding of the Messianic kingdom, a misunderstanding of the prophetic message, and an overestimation of the importance of the Jewish people, their holy city and temple.
B. Millennialism (Chiliasm) was not the predominant view in the early church. It is true that certain misunderstandings about the first coming of the Messiah were transferred to Christ's Second Coming. Then and now, these misunderstandings are at the heart of Millennialism. Chiliasm was among the heresies rejected by the early church. To this day Millennialism is rejected by a large majority of Christians, including Lutherans (Augsburg Confession, Article XVII). Yet, the hope for a golden age of the church on earth has not died out.
C. "The profanation and perversion of the spiritual into the carnal, and of the inward into the outward, invaded even the holy of holies of the religion of Israel, the Messianic promises and hopes which run like a golden thread from the protoevangelium in paradise lost to the voice of John the Baptist pointing to the Lamb of God. The idea of a spiritual Messiah who should crush the serpent's head and redeem Israel from the bondage of sin, was changed into the conception of a political deliverer who should re-establish the throne of David in Jerusalem, and from that center rule over the Gentiles to the ends of the earth. Even the apostles were affected by this false notion and hoped to secure chief places of honor in that great revolution; hence they could not understand the Master when He spoke to them of his approaching passion and death." (Schaff. History of the Christian Church. Vol. I, p. 155)
D. "The state of public opinion concerning the Messianic expectations as set forth in the Gospels is fully confirmed by the preceding [Bible passages] and contemporary Jewish literature...the Messianic kingdom, or the kingdom of God, is represented as an earthly paradise of the Jews, as a kingdom of this world, with Jerusalem for its capital. It was this popular idol of a pseudo-Messiah with which Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, when he showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, well-knowing that if he could convert Him to this carnal creed, and induce Him to abuse His miraculous power for selfish gratification, vain ostentation, and secular ambition, he would most effectually defeat the scheme of redemption. The same political aspiration was a powerful lever of the rebellion against the Roman yoke which terminated in the destruction of Jerusalem...." (Schaff, p. 155-156)
E. "In April, AD 70, immediately after the Passover, when Jerusalem was filled with strangers, the siege began....At last, in July, the castle of Antonia was surprised and taken by night. This prepared the way for the destruction of the Temple in which the tragedy culminated. The daily sacrifices ceased July 17th, because the hands were needed for defense. The last and bloodiest sacrifice at the altar of burnt offering was the slaughter of thousands of Jews who had crowded around it. (During the burning of the temple some) tried to put out the fire, while others, clinging with a last convulsive grasp to their Messianic hopes, rested in the declaration of a false prophet, that God in the midst of the conflagration of the Temple would give a signal for the deliverance of His people....The Romans planted their eagles on the shapeless ruins, over against the eastern gate, offered their sacrifices to them, and proclaimed Titus "Imperator" with the greatest acclamations of joy. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation standing in the Holy Place." (Schaff. p. 396-398)
F. "The same historian [Papius] also gives other accounts, which he says he adds as received by him from unwritten tradition.... In these he says there would be a certain millennium after the resurrection, and that there would be a corporeal reign of Christ on this very earth; which things he appears to have imagined, as if there were authorized by the apostolic narrations, not understanding correctly those matters which they propounded mystically in their representations. For he was very limited in his comprehension, as is evident from his discourses; yet he was the cause why most of the ecclesiastical writers, urging the antiquity of the man, were carried away by a similar opinion; as, for instance, Irenaus, or any other that adopted such sentiments." (Eusebius. Ecclesiastical History. p. 126)
G. Date-setting has been a preoccupation with certain millennialists through the centuries. Some said the thousand years began at the time of Jesus' resurrection; others, at Pentecost; still others, when Constantine became the emperor of Rome in 306. The Reformation is offered by some as the beginning of the thousand years. Whiston placed the beginning in 1776, Jurieu in 1785, Bengel in 1836, Miller in 1843, Sander in 1847, Schmucker in 1848. Some thought 1914 would usher in the thousand years, but found that it only brought World War I. Some Jehovah Witnesses predicted 1975 as the beginning of the thousand years. The year 2000 was a natural for millennial speculation. It is not likely that this passion for date-setting will ever end, in spite of our Lord's words in Matthew 24:36.
IV. Evaluation of some Bible texts used by some millennialists
A. Isaiah 2:2-3. This passage says nothing about a millennial kingdom. In fact, Hebrews 12:22 draws on Isaiah to say "You have come." Contrary to the millennial future, the New Testament applies this passage to the Christian Church NOW. (see also Micah 4:1-4)
B. Isaiah 11:6-9, Zechariah 9:9-10, Joel 2:23ff, Joel 3:18ff, are pictures of the peace which will come with the Messiah. These pictures of peace are often linked with the thousand years. Remember the angel's song "...on earth peace..."? This peace is NOW, through the Messiah who is born. (see also John 14:27 and John 16:33.)
C. Philippians 4:7 is the Votum in our Liturgy. St. Paul here calls the Gospel of peace a "peace that passes all understanding.." God's people have this peace. They are at peace with God through Jesus Christ. Recall that Jesus spoke Matthew 10:34. There is a strong cleavage between believer and unbeliever. The Gospel causes all kinds of upheavals. Peace is not an earthly, external peace. Peace is within the body of Christ for those that know and trust Him. It is the peace that exists between Him and us. God has declared peace in the blood of Jesus Christ. That peace exists between Him who is life and us who are dead in trespasses and sins only because Jesus fought and won the war in our behalf. Peace is NOW.
V. Revelation 20 and the millennium
A. These clues for understanding the Apocalypse, the Revelation to the Apostle John, are gleaned from The Revelation to John, by Martin H. Franzmann.
1. The Lord of the Church puts His Church under the cross. People gathered around Christ and gathered to Christ will take up their cross and die. However, their dying will not be defeat and death, but victory and life! The promise which sustains the apostle who denies himself and takes his cross to follow Christ (Mt 16:24) will sustain the apostolic Church in the hour of death and assure her a life beyond death when "the Son of Man is to come with His angels in the glory of His Father and...repay every man for what he has done" (Mt 16:27). The apostolic Church created by the Gospel of the cross was marked by the Gospel of the cross and is destined to remain the church under the cross. (see Acts 14:22)
2. The Church in Asia needed a prophetic word to steady and sustain her in the danger which threatened her from the inside and the outside. John shared with these persecuted people that needed prophetic word, which he was empowered by his Lord to speak, which could keep the eyes of the Church fixed on the promised kingdom in the midst of threatening tribulation and could keep her hope alive and joyful in patient endurance. That word was the word of the cross, the proclamation on Christ and Him crucified--the Gospel. This prophetic word is both the song of triumph of the Crucified and the continuation of Jesus' call to "follow me.
3. In faith, the saints conquer; that is, they enter into the victory won for them by the Lamb that was slain. Him they follow into death and into victory. In faith they have conquered the accuser, Satan, because they hold firm in One whom the accuser cannot accuse, One who testified to the truth of God with His death and resurrection, Jesus, the Christ, the Promised Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb's victory is their victory.
4. It is addressed to the seven churches in Asia, a Roman province, and is written by the Apostle John, exiled to the prison-island of Patmos. He records "the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His servants (the prophets) what must soon take place; and He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that He saw." (1:1-2)
5. It is a letter from the disciple whom Jesus loved to the Church in a time when the Church is the most churchly, when every hope has been taken from her but the real Hope, when prayer is not the last resort, but the only resort. The strange language of this book has the power to keep the Church the praying Church. The prayer that it empowers and teaches us to pray is as simple as the promise which prompts it is great, the promise and the prayer with which the book closes: "Come, Lord Jesus!" (22:20)
6. We are accustomed from our reading of the Bible, to bold and picturesque language, to poetry that stretches the imagination to follow and taxes the mind to understand. But we are hardly prepared for this mass of heaped-up and extravagant imagery...Part of our difficulty may be due to our "modern" unwillingness or inability to submit to the discipline required of the reader in apprehending high poetry, our laziness in the use of imaginative reason, and our consequent distrust of poetry as a vehicle of serious thought. Yet the reason lies deeper than that; we seem to have lost (or at least our conscious minds have lost, whatever we may have instinctively retained) the universally human understanding and appreciation of the symbol.
7. What is a symbol? A symbol is the shortest of shorthands. Whether it be expressed in language, in two-dimensional drawing and painting, or in three-dimensional form, a symbol expresses little but suggests much. It expresses little, that is, for the uninitiated, the outsider. A symbol is language of an "insider" for "insiders"...the force of a symbol can therefore be sensed and appreciated only by an insider. (It is better to say "sensed" than "understood" since it is the peculiar virtue of a symbol that its force can be felt and its power appreciated even when it is but dimly understood.)
8. The symbols of the Revelation to John are not a form of hocus-pocus intended to conceal. As the title to the book indicates, its intention is to reveal. The symbols have the effect of concealing only for those unwilling to come "inside" and thus get eyes to see the invisible. And one gets "inside" not by cultivating cleverness in guessing at possibilities or probabilities and not by undisciplined and uncontrolled use of the imagination (important as imagination is for the apprehension of symbols) but by going through doors provided by the book itself, by following the clues given by the Revelation to John itself.
a. The Gospel of Christ and Him crucified is central. He is the Lamb of God who is both sacrificial Victim and Victor, possessed of a dominion and glory that are quite un-lamblike and nothing short of divine. This Lamb can have a bride and, once inside, we have no difficulty seeing that this Lamb has 12 apostles whose names grace the foundations of the walls of God's new Jerusalem and mark the city as the workmanship and the gift of God.
b. The Old Testament provides the background for the Revelation. No one else among the authors of the books of the New Testament has taken so seriously and has followed so completely Jesus' word: "The scriptures (Old Testament)...it is they that bear witness to Me." (John 5:39) John thinks and speaks Old Testament throughout, from the echo of Daniel in 1:1 to the echo of Genesis in 22:19. The last book of our Bible puts its witness into the perspective of the whole Biblical witness and summons the whole company of God's witnesses to be witnesses to Christ and Him crucified. Of the 404 verses of the Revelation, 278 are reminiscent of the Old Testament.
c. John himself was a first-century Jewish man living in the Roman Empire. He would know something of their emperors and history, especially the persecutions. He would know what terror the region beyond the Euphrates held for Roman minds, the significance which was attached to the seven stars as a symbol of worldwide dominion and the city of Rome built on seven hills. d. As a man of Jewish descent, language, and culture, John was acquainted with and influenced by a form of Judaic religious literature which modern scholars have classified as "apocalyptic." Apocalyptic literature elaborated certain elements or aspects of Old Testament prophecy found in such books as Isaiah, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Joel and Daniel. It sought to interpret all history on the basis of visions. It was especially interested in eschatology. It used pictures, allegories, symbols, numbers, colors, and stars to convey a message. Apocalyptic furnishes the vocabulary of Revelation. However, the influence of apocalyptic on the Revelation to John can be and often is greatly exaggerated. The Revelation to John is set apart from the general run of apocalyptic literature by profound differences. Apocalyptic drew heavily on the Old Testament. Revelation draws even more heavily. It is the Old Testament and not apocalyptic that is the background and the richest source for the imagery of Revelation. On the formal side, Revelation resembles apocalyptic, but it is more akin to the Old Testament.
9. Speculation and satisfaction of curiosity are neither the intent nor the content of Revelation. Its aim is to give hope and courage. Its value does not lie in understanding every detail. Revelation is a pointing finger of God to guide men through history and judgment to the End. It is a cry of victory raised for the cause of Christ when His cause seemed doomed.
B. Additional clues for understanding the Revelation
1. In one word, the theme of Revelation is "Victory!" No matter how it looks when we see world events, no matter how it seems when we think about what happens to Christians, no matter how powerless the Gospel seems to be in a world that thrives on economic, political, and military power, the word of Jesus to His people is "Victory!" He won the war. We who follow Him also have the victory. Satan is a defeated general trying to take as many as possible down to defeat with him. It is the height of folly to identify with defeat.
2. The purpose of Revelation is to steady the faithful people of God with the message of "Victory!" in the midst of persecution. The Church is always the Church under the cross. Apart from the cross and the empty tomb there is no victory. Any attempts to picture the people of God as a political, economic, military, or ecclesiastical power–that is achieving its victories on this earth–is a subversion of the Gospel and will result in the death that these powers are supposedly preventing.
3. The drama in Revelation is provided by the on-going battle between God, who has already won the war, and Satan, who thinks he still has a chance. Only at the cross can we clearly see God's victory. Where others see only defeat, the eyes of faith see total victory. As Satan attacks God's people with deception, God's people rely on His Truth. As Satan attacks God's people through the systems of this world, God's people rely on Word and Sacrament for strength and sustenance. Even in death the power of God over Satan is clearly announced in the victory song of the saints who trust God's promise of resurrection and life everlasting.
4. The visions of Revelation are repetitive, not sequential. The visions do not follow one after the other. Each vision covers the same time span (the time between the First and Second Comings of Jesus). Each vision repeats the same message of victory for God's people amid the same circumstances of hostility against God's people.
5. We seek the literal meaning of this Revelation from Jesus. The literal meaning is that which God intends for us to receive through the language He employs to get His message to us.
a. On one hand, we do not want to be literalistic. We do not want make the language of the text say things that are not intended. For example, when we read "Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy" (Ps 98:8) we do not expect to hear the sound of the Kansas River clapping its watery hands. We arrive at this conclusion, not because it sounds silly to us, but because we understand that the Psalmist is expressing the joy of creation celebrating the full revelation of the righteous rule of God. Since the Fall into sin, creation is as Paul describes in Romans 8:18-22. We do not want the "thousand years" of Revelation 20 to mean a time span of 1,000 365-day years if this is not what God intends. We do not want to insist on the literalistic 1,000 years if God literally means the "thousand years" to be the time between His First and Second Comings–the New Testament age.
b. On the other hand, we Lutherans have been accused of "spiritualizing" the thousand years. This accusation is serious because it means we are not reading the Bible on its own terms. It means we are taking the "thousand years" of Revelation 20 and giving it a meaning that was not intended by God. When we say that we Lutherans believe that the Holy Spirit intends us to read the "thousand years" as "the New Testament age" we want to be very careful that we are, in fact, listening to God's Word and not man's speculations. His word decides.
6. A 1988 book, In Search of the Biblical Order, introduces a discovery made by its author, J.M. Cascione. He writes, "Many have studied Revelation's text, observed its unusual literary style, noted its simultaneous use of symbolism and numbers, and yet have failed to identify the logic behind its structure." The author's goal is "to prove a numerical relationship between Revelation's text and its structure." He notes that "lists in Revelation with the same number of thoughts spoke about the same general subject. Sets of two, three, four, five, six, seven, etc., all had their own unique subject areas. This ‘order' has its origin in the Old Testament and spans the entirety of Scripture. At first the repetition and the arrangement of patterns in these lists were assumed to be coincidental...as linguistic clues and data were pieced together, a dazzling and intricate array of structure was revealed...the Bible's Poetic structure is unique...this literary form is found in every book."
a. "A very special characteristic...needs our attention. It concerns the word "and." The Greek word for "and" is . This is the connective that is used repeatedly in Revelation to tie the individual thoughts together. (p13)
b. "...the number three, from earliest Christian tradition, has been associated with the Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit." Compare Revelation 1:8, 4:8 (p21-22)
c. "Ten is the most pervasive number in Revelation...the symbolic meaning of ten and its multiples is completion...tens symbolize the fulness of time, power, authority, and earthly rule." (p119) Compare Revelation 1:13b-16, 10:1-4a C. Revelation 20:1-10
1. This is the section of Scripture from which millennialists draw their teaching of the thousand-year reign. With allowances for differing viewpoints within Millennialism, millennialists expect the Antichrist to appear and then be judged by Christ when He returns. Then Satan will be bound for a thousand years during which time he has no power on earth. Peace will reign on earth. People will be more receptive to wholesome influences, or at least more receptive to the sovereignty of God. (Now, sin and injustice rule the world; then, it will be justice and virtue.) In this millennium the Church of God will reign supreme. Pious and godly men will occupy the highest places. The tension between the pious and the wicked will disappear. The righteous are in control. The capital city of this millennial kingdom will be Jerusalem. Those who have suffered for the sake of Christ will be rewarded during the millennium. During this time there will be a general conversion of the Jews. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be loosed and gather a mighty army with which to besiege the Holy City. At the height of this Great Tribulation Christ will come to destroy Satan's army. This will be the Last Day.
2. Seen in its immediate context, these verses begin the Seventh Vision (20:1-22:5) of judgment and renewal. The overthrow of the dragon (victory over Satan) is told here, a victory accomplished in two stages.
a. The beginning of Satan's end (verses 1-3) corresponds to his defeat at the Messiah's birth (12:7-9). The "thousand years" are not actual years but are the New Testament age, the era of the hidden but real reign of Christ, the time of His hidden [under the cross] victory, and the time of the hidden victory of His Church [hidden under martyrdom, but in reality a life and reign with Christ]. (verses 4-6)
b. At the end of Satan's end (verses 7-10), the hidden victory becomes a revealed victory. At the end of the "thousand years" Satan is permitted to make his last desperate assault and then is relegated to everlasting torment.
3. Verses 1-3
a. See Matthew 12:29, Luke 10:18, John 12:31 and 16:11. A messenger of God authorized to execute judgment descends from heaven. This angel has been given authority ("key to the abyss") to lock up the condemned, to shut them away from the light and life of God. Satan is hindered ("great chain") by the proclaiming of the Gospel in his attempts to lead God's people astray. The "angel" is Jesus Christ.
b. Satan is "seized" and "bound" (see Revelation 12:9-12) by One stronger for "a thousand years." Satan, the wild animal on a leash, cannot harm those who stay out of his reach by staying close to Christ through the means of grace during the New Testament age.
c. Satan is overthrown from his position as man's accuser and is given a position of impotence in a prison designed for him and his angels. (Luke 11:21-22, Isaiah 53:12, Colossians 2:15, 1 John 3:8, John 16:11, Genesis 3:15, Hebrews 2:14) Satan cannot stop the spread of the Gospel to all nations, and can only deceive those who choose to be deceived. God will permit Satan (must be set free) one last futile attack on God's people.
4. Verses 4-6
a. The faithful who have been judged and condemned in human courts, for daring to confess and follow Christ, are now the judges, no longer the judged. (see 2 Cor 6:9, Rom 8:37) Discipleship is costly. The saint may indeed lose his life--sin does not like to be called sin--as a result of following Christ. But in the court of God the verdicts of this world are reversed. The language of this section is reminiscent of Daniel (7:9-14) as he describes judgment executed through the Son of Man on the four beasts rising from the sea (the powers hostile to God and His people). The practical application of 2 Cor 6:14-18 is to refuse the mark of the beast (refuse to be identified with Satan's kingdom in any way or submit to his deceptions). Read and apply Matthew 10:34,39; 16:25; John 12:25-26. they came to life refers to the beginning of spiritual life when the Holy Spirit calls people to faith (John 5:24.25; Ephesians 2:5-7; John 10:10; John 11:25-26).
b. Those who refuse resurrection and life in Christ Jesus will not share in the first resurrection (being raised to spiritual life) during the thousand years (the New Testament age). The rest of the dead (unbelievers, spiritually dead) are those who refuse the Gospel and prefer to remain dead in trespasses and sins. They will be raised at the Last Day for judgment. There are not two bodily resurrections; there is only one bodily resurrection of both believers and unbelievers at the Last Day when Christ comes to judge. He that is not spiritually alive is spiritually dead. There is no middle ground (Matthew 12:30).
c. The spiritually alive in Christ are blessed (joyful in the highest sense) and holy (forgiven of sin, made holy by God's grace through faith in Christ Jesus to serve God with holy works). The believer (holy) is truly blessed and is removed from the power of the second death (eternal damnation). Those of the first resurrection (believers) are priests of God and of Christ (God's people who give themselves as living sacrifices to God) and reign with Him (made kings by the Lamb's blood, we use our regal power to serve the Lamb and unite others with Him by the power of the Gospel) for a thousand years (during the New Testament age). See also Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 13:15,16, and 1 Peter 2:9 in relation to verse 6.
5. Verses 7-10
a. Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 and 21 provide us a sketch of the end of the world. Here a few more details are added to that sketch. Satan does not engineer a successful prison break. He is permitted by God to make one last attempt to seduce people into his false kingdom. False christs, false teachings, false religions will thrive as the father of lies gathers his children to himself toward the close of this New Testament age (thousand years) when apostasy will be widespread. Throughout this great tribulation God's people live under the cross firm in the promise I will be with you always, even to the close of the age. He is with us and keeps us as His own through Word and Sacrament. There is never a time when God's people are left alone, and there is never a time when God's people can get along on their own. Satan is like a defeated general rallying his forces for one final attack. The end of Satan's allies (the two beasts and Babylon) has been described (16:12-19:21). Here, Satan's end is being described.
b. Satan has used deception ever since the Garden, and deception continues to be his weapon until the end. All over the world (nations which are at the four corners of the earth) there are multitudes (their number is like the sand of the sea) blinded and misled by Satan's deception. God's people know that they are totally dependent on Him to the very end. Gog and Magog (spiritual and moral evil) are the forces of the deceived, enemies which attack the spiritual Israel, the people of God. Ezekiel 38-39 speaks of the last enemy of old Israel as "Gog, of the land of Magog" who was to lead his army against Israel after return from the Babylonian captivity. In Judaism, "Gog" and "Magog" came to be known as two enemies of the Messiah.
c. Satan intends to deceive the whole world and conquer all of God's people, so his army of deceivers advances over the broad earth and surrounds the camp of the saints and the beloved city. "Camp" recalls Israel during the wilderness wanderings (Cf. Rev 12:14), and "beloved city" recalls the time when Israel was led into the Promised Land and rested there. Even during the New Testament age the Church is a pilgrim people who have not yet entered the lasting city (Hebrews 13:14) which will be theirs at the end of days. During this time of tribulation, this time of the testing and sifting of the saints, the faithful are completely surrounded and outnumbered. There is no avenue of retreat or of escape. However, this massive attack comes to nothing as fire came down from heaven and consumed them. (Cf. Ezekiel 38:22 and 39:6) God's judgment is swift and is executed upon His enemies and the enemies of His people. Satan, the already-defeated enemy, and his army of deceivers is destroyed.
d. Verse 10 and verses 11-15 are God's own answer to those who say there is no hell or no day of reckoning. Matthew 25:41 tells why hell was created. It is a horrible fact that those who prefer Satan's deception to God's Truth will have exactly what they want–for all eternity! Those who persist in impenitence and unbelief are insisting that they be allowed to share an eternal judgment that was not meant for them. However, as they wish, both deceiver and deceived will have the eternal torment in hell they prefer and insist upon having. The devil and his two agents, the beast and the false prophet, are consigned to hell along with the spiritually dead. All of God's enemies are defeated and done. "And so ends the history of that proud spirit who for so long has deceived and terrified mankind." (Franzmann)
D. Outside these verses from Revelation 20 just discussed, there are only two other references in the Bible containing the phrase "a thousand years." Both Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 speak of the timelessness of God. His timelessness gives Him a perspective that produces great patience while we time-bound people fret in impatience. There is not one single passage in the Bible that speaks of an earthly, 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ. The New Testament excludes the idea of a millennial, earthly kingdom. The Church will remain the Church hidden under the cross until the end. He who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22).
E. In view of the New Testament's exclusion of the Millennium, it is easy to understand the brevity of the Augsburg Confession in dealing with this issue: "Rejected, too, are certain Jewish opinions which are even now making an appearance and which teach that, before the resurrection of the dead, saints and godly men will possess a worldly kingdom and annihilate all the godless." (Augsburg Confession, Article XVII)
VI. Concepts related to the Millennium
A. Rapture
1. Millennialists expect the Church, or a certain group such as the martyrs, to be taken up or caught up by Christ to rule with Him during the Millennium. Premillennialists look for Jesus to take first the dead believers then the living believers out of this world someday. Pretribulation rapturists think that this event will usher in a seven-year period called the Great Tribulation. Bible passages used: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.
2. Lutherans teach that the events mentioned in 1 Thess 4 and 1 Cor 15 happen at the Second Coming of Christ. In both references, St. Paul is answering concerns about the resurrection, how it will happen, what it will be like, who will be involved. There are not two bodily resurrections, two Last Days, nor two Second Comings of Christ.
B. Day of the Lord
1. Millennialists teach that this is a technical term for the period of time beginning with the Great Tribulation and continuing through the Millennium. Two conditions need to be met before it comes: the organized church will follow the Antichrist and fall away from the faith into apostasy, and the true Church will be removed from the earth at the Rapture.
2. Lutherans teach that the Day of the Lord is His appointed Judgment Day, the Last Day, a day of vengeance on unbelievers and a day of salvation for believers at His Second Coming in glory. The Day of the Lord also includes every judgment upon His enemies and every good and perfect gift to His faithful people. Every judgment of God is, in a certain sense, a Day of the Lord previewing the final Day of the Lord when eternity swallows time.
C. Antichrist
1. Millennialists say that the Antichrist is the one to whom the entire human race will give itself at the end of time, the one who will lead the ultimate revolt against God. Premillennialists say that he will put the Roman Empire back together and become a world dictator. He will claim to be God, will deceive the world, and the world will think he is Christ come to bring the Millennium. Those who come to faith during the Great Tribulation will be helpless under his power until Christ comes to earth to establish His kingdom. Then the Antichrist will be destroyed. Some think the Antichrist is two people: a political ruler who is against Christ, promises peace, and gives it for 3½ years after which comes the war of Armageddon for 3½ years, at the end of which Christ will establish His earthly kingdom; the second is a religious ruler who will imitate Christ. The revealing of the Antichrist is the second of two conditions necessary for the Day of the Lord to come. (see also VI,B,1)
2. Lutherans teach what Scripture teaches. The term "antichrist" is used in the New Testament of all false teachers (1 John 2:18, 4:3) and also of one outstanding enemy of Christ (1 John 2:18). This opposition to Christ arises inside the church. Characteristics are found in Daniel 7 and 8, 11:31-35; 2 Thess 2:3-12; the letters of John; Revelation 11, 12, 17, 18. We are to be alert to the realities of the history in which we live, not so much to determine the future as to live responsibly under the cross in the present, testing the spirits (1 John 4:1), speaking the "no" of faith to false Christs, and following only Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life–Jesus, the true Christ.
D. Great Tribulation
1. Millennialists teach that the earth must experience a time of judgment, a blood bath, before the Second Coming of Christ. This will be terrible for those who are living at that time. (Just who will be left on the earth is a source of great debate among millennialists. Answers depend upon when the Church will be raptured.) Premillennial pre-tribulation rapturists hold that this period will last for seven years (Daniel's 70th week). Only those who reject grace will go into the Great Tribulation period. The 144,000 saved from Israel will be witnesses during this seven years and will save multitudes of Gentiles. The gradual progression of evil will intensify the frightful persecutions. No one could survive unless sealed, or unless they are killed before falling away. The tribulation saints will rule with Christ during the Millennium.
2. Lutherans teach that there will be tribulation on earth. The words of our Lord as well as His example and that of the martyrs through the ages, tell us what we may expect: You will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. The Church under the cross can expect to take up its cross and follow Jesus. The time of tribulation is now, not some distant period of time. That tribulation will intensify as the Last Day approaches. Believer and unbeliever alike will experience tribulation. The unbeliever has no hope and is terrified at the thought of Christ's Second Coming. The believer knows his redemption is drawing near and eagerly awaits that great Day.
E. Armageddon
1. Millennialists teach that Armageddon is the place of a last, great battle (war) to end all battles (wars). Premillennialists hold that this is a war which lasts for the final 3½ years of the Great Tribulation period. Russia will attack Israel from the North. An African-Arab confederacy attacks Israel. Russia continues South and sweeps over Egypt and Ethiopia. Hearing rumors that the Roman Empire (VI,C,1 above) and the Chinese are mobilizing, Russia pulls back to Israel and is annihilated. The Chinese cross the dried-up Euphrates River to destroy 1/3 of the world's population. The Roman Empire clashes with the Chinese in Israel. The war concludes with Christ coming from heaven to intervene and save mankind from extinction. The raptured believers come with Him. Christ establishes His kingdom on earth with Jerusalem as its capital.
2. Lutherans teach that Armageddon refers to the utter defeat of all evil. The meaning of this term is unclear and not definitely known. Some think it means "Mount Megiddo", but Megiddo is a plain, not a mountain, unless one counts the seventy-foot-high hill where King Solomon had a military outpost. This may be a reference to Judges 4-5 where Deborah and Barak defeat Sisera, general of the Canaanite King Jabin, against overwhelming odds. It quite possibly means "fruitful mountain" and is a reference to Mount Zion, the place where the Lamb readies His troops for the battle against evil. The imagery of Joel fits also.
F. Judgment of the nations
1. Millennialists teach that all people will be judged individually to decide whether they belong in Christ's earthly kingdom or in hell, there to await the final judgment. Surviving believers will go into Christ's millennial kingdom and repopulate the earth.
2. Lutherans teach one judgment at the Second Coming of Christ on the Last Day.
G. Millennial Kingdom
1. Millennialists teach that all believers will reign in peace on earth with Christ for 1,000 years. The raptured believers will have glorified bodies, those who have not yet died will have natural bodies. Those with natural bodies, together with those born during the millennium, will be tested during this time. Those with glorified bodies will be able to commute between heaven and earth in the same way Christ commutes between the New Jerusalem (heaven) and the Jerusalem on earth. In addition to the resurrection of the Church at the Rapture before the Great Tribulation, at the end of the Great Tribulation both the Tribulation saints and the Old Testament saints will be raised to rule on earth with Christ. David will be Christ's vice-regent.
2. Lutherans teach that the Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven is not an earthly kingdom. The Kingdom of God is God's rule in the hearts of His people. The first resurrection is from spiritual death to spiritual life. The second resurrection is from physical death to physical life at Christ's Second Coming. There is only one bodily resurrection and no earthly rule of Christ, much less for a specific period of time.
The peace of which the Bible speaks (see section IV above) is that peace between God and man, a gift from God to His people given along with His Gift–the Messiah–to those who trust the promises of God.
It is precisely this (mis)understanding of the Kingdom of God as an earthly kingdom that is at the heart of Millennial teaching. Today's millennialists make and pursue exactly the same error the Jews made at Christ's First Coming when they longed for and looked for an earthly king/kingdom. Jesus said, My kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:33,36) At Judgment Day He will say, ...inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:34) In response to the Pharisees' question, Jesus answered, ...the kingdom of God is within (among) you. (Luke 17:20-21) The kingdom is now: Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken... (Hebrews 12:28) The kingdom is now: He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)
The Kingdom of God is one of grace. Christ reigns today in the promised kingdom through the means of grace given to His people, the Church. (Matthew 16:19) Those who see this present reality of the kingdom of grace, as Jesus Himself described it in giving His Church the authority to forgive and retain sins, and that this grace is offered, given, and sealed in and through the means of grace (Word and Sacrament), do not need an earthly king or an earthly kingdom. It is here that the danger of Millennialism is most clearly seen. Pious people are led away from the Christ who dwells among His people, daily and richly forgiving and sustaining them. Their attention is directed to some earthbound mythical kingdom of the future, not to the here and now of God's rule by grace through faith in His objective promises.
This kingdom of grace is now hidden under the cross, but will one day be revealed when the King returns in all His glory to judge the living and the dead and take those who are His own into the home He has prepared for them.
H. Satan's release
1. Millennialists teach that Satan will be released for a short time at the end of the millennium and millions of unbelievers will follow him. This vast horde will surround and besiege Jerusalem. Jesus will return to fight for His people. His feet will touch the exact place on the Mount of Olives from which He ascended. At that moment Olivet will split in two with a great earthquake. The crevice will run east to the North tip of the Dead Sea and west to the Mediterranean. The believing Jewish remnant in Jerusalem will rush into the crevice for safety as the Lord devastates the forces of Satan besieging His people.
2. Lutherans teach that Satan's release and final attack on the people of God is the Great Tribulation of which Jesus spoke (Matthew 24:21). God wants His people to depend on Him always. There is never a time when we can go it alone. The end of all the antichristianity must come when the Gospel has gone to its greatest extent and the last convert has been gathered by the Spirit into the Kingdom of Grace. Then comes the final judgment when Satan and his hordes are cast away into eternal punishment.
I. General conversion of the Jews
1. Millennialism teaches that the entire territory promised to Abraham has not been fully possessed by his descendants, that the Jews are to return to their homeland, and that they will be set apart and saved during Christ's earthly rule. Since the birth of the modern state of Israel in 1948 was a Zionist movement (nationalistic and not religious), this view has been modified. The Jews will be converted either during the Tribulation or during the Millennium.
2. Lutherans teach that this concept is based on a misunderstanding of Romans 9-11, particularly 11:15-29. Paul has a problem. What happened to the Jews? God made Abraham a promise. Israel is the chosen nation of God, and from them would come the Messiah, the Savior. However, a majority of Jews didn't receive Jesus as the Promised Messiah. What happened? Did the Gospel fail? Apparently, some of the Gentile Christians in Rome were ready to write Israel off and declare themselves superior to the Jews. Paul (from the tribe of Benjamin) mourns for his people as he reflects on the marvelous grace of God to them, grace which was rejected in unbelief. The Gospel has not failed. The promise still belongs to all Israel. But how can this be? Israel has rejected the Messiah. Romans 9:6-13 defines "all Israel." Israel is not defined as a race (v6-8). "All Israel" does not mean "children of the flesh." "All Israel" means "children of the promise." Abraham's real children are those who believe as he does (Galatians 3:6-9, 29). The people of God always are and always have been the people of the promise received by faith. "All Israel" is the whole redeemed people of God from among Jews and Gentiles. The 144,000 of Revelation 7:4 are these heirs of the promise. If "all Israel" is taken to mean "children of the flesh", namely, the physical descendants of Abraham, then Scripture is made to contradict itself. Law and Gospel will be in effect until Judgment Day. Justification of the sinner comes by God's grace through faith in Christ Jesus. There is no other way of salvation.
Lutherans also teach that the believer in Christ looks not for an earthly land, but a better one as father Abraham did (Hebrews 11:8-16). Earthly Canaan was only a visible preview of the eternal land on which his hopes were truly fixed. To see only an earthly land and an earthly city is to undo the clear word of God and undermine the faith of His people.
J. Great white throne judgment
1. Millennialists teach that unbelievers, the lost of all ages, will be raised and judged at the end of the Millennium. This is a resurrection to damnation for the dead unbelievers and a judgment to damnation for those unbelievers still alive. Believers are raised in the second resurrection and taken to be with Christ.
2. Lutherans teach that there is only one bodily resurrection, not two. (The first resurrection is from the death of unbelief to the life of faith.) At the Last Day, Christ will raise all the dead. (John 5:28,29) John again sees God on His throne (4:2 & 20:11). He to whom judgment belongs renders His final verdict, the final and universal judgment. (Matthew 25:31ff)
K. New heaven and new earth; new Jerusalem
1. Millennialists teach that the earth will be renovated and God's people will live on it in peace and harmony. Christ will loose the atoms of the universe and put them back together again to form a new heaven and a new earth. The new Jerusalem will be to eternity what the earthly Jerusalem was to the Millennium. The earthly Jerusalem takes second place in eternity. New Jerusalem is a cube inside a spherical new creation around which the earth revolves. God will be there. Inhabiting the earth are redeemed Israel and redeemed Gentiles who make regular visits to New Jerusalem. These redeemed come to worship, for they were redeemed after the Rapture. The enjoyment of this holy city is not restricted to the church, although they are the only ones who live there.
2. Lutherans teach that God will replace this old creation with a new one where God and His people will live together. God has come to be eternally with us.
VII. Postmortem
A. Safeguards against possible error (gleaned from Plueger, Things to Come)
1. It is bad to teach that He must come now. It is worse to teach that He cannot come yet. It is worst of all to teach that He will not be coming back.
2. Summary observations
a. There is no salvation after Christ's return.
b. The Rapture and the End are simultaneous.
c. The binding of Satan is not a future event. He is bound now.
d. Christ is reigning now in the hearts of His people.
e. An earthly millennium contradicts Christ, Scripture, & the Christian creeds
f. Supposedly millennial Old Testament passages speak of "forever" conditions.
g. Old Testament Israel has been replaced.
B. In an age when the godless seem to prosper and the God-fearing seem to fail and suffer, people are ripe for a millennial hope that includes an external display of glory. In an age when Christ looks anything but kingly, and 4/5 of the world's population is "blinded by the god of this world," people are ripe for a millennial hope that includes an earthly kingdom where the faithful become an elite ruling group, where the Church escapes tribulation, and where the unfaithful are converted or destroyed. The fleshly desire to be important, to be powerful or associated with power, to have everyone see the glory of our victory, is offended at humility and objects to suffering and death. Yet, Jesus calls us to "Take up your cross and follow Me," not to jump over, sidestep, or walk away from the cross. Through faith in Jesus we reign with Him in suffering and death. The victory of faith is now. We rule because Christ rules now. Peace is not somewhere in the future but now through the forgiveness of sins purchased and won through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Promised Messiah. Satan is bound now. We are free in the cross, even as the Church is hidden under the cross to the very End. To put all this in the future is to obscure and undo the Gospel. It is admittedly easier on our pride to be part of a conquering multitude rather than a Church under the cross. The Gospel seems weak and defenseless against the weaponry of this world. But remember! The Gospel "...is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith..." (Romans 1:16) There is nothing to hang onto but a promise. And what a promise it is! "I died for you. Trust Me. Follow Me. I'll be back." In my opinion, millennialism is a refusal to live under the cross. From this preserve us, Heavenly Father. You and I look forward with joy and eager anticipation to our Lord's Second Coming, all the while clinging to His promises in faith and praying with all the saints, "Come, Lord Jesus."
Pastor John Domsch
Hope Lutheran Church
Topeka, Kansas
