The thousand years?
The Bible itself proves there is no literal, FUTURE, earthly millennium. The "evidence" is in the
apostolic eschatological doctrine that prohibits any view of the "millennium" that portrays it as a future, literal, earthly epoch. A simple examination of the NT epistles shows that there is no future historical "thousand-years" period. We know this with certainty, for the apostles explicitly identified the precise timing of the resurrection, the judgment, and the New Heaven/Earth --
they all occur at the coming of Jesus Christ, thus proving that there is no literal "thousand years" that separates these events out over time.
(1) The resurrection occurs at the coming of Christ (1 Cor 15:23)
(2) The judgment occurs at the coming of Christ (2 Tim 4:1; Rev 11:15-18)
(3) The "New Heavens/Earth" occurs at the coming of Christ -- i.e., the "thief's coming," the "day of the Lord" (2 Pet 3:10/1 Thess 5:2)
These key eschatological events all occur at the precise moment of the coming of Jesus Christ. THEREFORE,
as the apostles themselves understood, there is no literal, historic millennium separating them.
The popular millennialist maps separate these three eschatological events by a period of 1000 temporal, earthly years--or, in some cases, 1007 years. The bible doesn't allow it. The bible proves there is no literal earthly "millennium." Once we understand the plain truth of this, we can turn our efforts to understanding
the apostolic teaching of the "thousand years" as a typological symbol--one of many in John's highly typological and symbolic vision.
What is it a Typological Symbol of?
The Thousand years is a typological reference to the length of the Davidic Monarchy, from David, the first King in the line, to Christ, the Final, and Completion/Restoration of the Line, which is a period of...
wait for it......
1000 LITERAL years!
The "Thousand years" shows that Christ fulfilled the hopes of the Davidic Monarchy that Christ would fill David's office as King (
Luke 1:68-69;
Acts 2:30-36;
1 Timothy 1:17;
Mark 11:10; ) and restore the tabernacle of David (
Acts 15:16-17) so that all the gentile nations could join in to the true worship of Jehovah. The 1000 years shows a completed Monarchy instead of the fact that the Monarchy had fallen into ruin in the 500s BC via the Babylonian captivity.
David and Christ being the only 2 Kings in the line that matter, David the type, Christ the antitype, or fulfillment.
Christ fulfilled what all other kings in the line failed to do, thus bringing completion to, and fulfilling the purpose for, the Davidic monarchy, which was the "1000 year reign".
Again, the idea of a thousand years reign with Israel's Monarchy was an Old Testament hope -- one that was wished for but failed. The hopes of this glorious reign were laid out when Solomon took the throne after David. It was said that Israel would walk in the covenant blessings, and so much so that the Gentiles would come into the covenant (such as the Queen of Sheba's homage to Solomon). However, the "tabernacle of David" began to quickly crumble, and fell into total ruin by the time of the Babylonian exile. This all summarizes an OT type. Now, fast-forward to all the NT typology about Jesus being the TRUE "son of David" who was born as THE
MESSIANIC HEIR to David's throne for raising up the Monarchy. This is what
Revelation 20 is doing. It is using the Davidic Monarchy typology and applying it to Christ and the martyr-kings who reign in the Christic Monarchy, and it does so in exactly the same typological sense as other types we are more familiar with (Jesus is the "sacrifical lamb," etc). In
Revelation 20 we see Jesus and his tribulation-martyr-kings reign; they defeat satan; they bring in the gentiles; and they judge the world. These are all the things hoped for in the OT times, but fulfilled in Jesus Christ and the New Covenant Church. The Church has all dominion with Christ over heaven and earth, satan was defeated, the gentles are now in the covenant, and Christ and the Church are the judges of the whole world.
Amazing LITERAL History.
"The sting of Death is Sin, and the Power of Sin is the Law"
No Law = No Power of Sin = No Sting of Death.
These are inseparable.
Scripture demonstrates that the Law was still intact and operational (Thus enabling Sin to be the Sting of Death) Decades AFTER the Cross:
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:13)
And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; (1 Corinthians 9:20)
If Paul tells us that there were those who were actually "under the Law", and the writer of Hebrews testifies the law was still intact but "growing old and ready to vanish" decades after the Cross, I'm inclined to believe them.
Aren't you?
Noted. Then you have no issue with the scriptural testimony that it did not happen until long AFTER the Cross.
No. But don't be ashamed. Yours is a very common misunderstanding of what Preterists believe.
Preterists view
Eschatology as having been fulfilled. As I demonstrated, there are other, non eschatological prophesies that, by their very nature, continue in ongoing fulfillment forever, and thus have
no terminus.
Now you know
