Nesher Articles
The Millennium
Introduction
The Millennium in theological terminology refers to the
"thousand years" mentioned in chapter twenty of
the book of Revelation.
So many books and articles have been written on this subject,
and the question can be legitimately asked, why do we need another
one? Well, the answer is simple. All the other books and articles
written on the subject not only differ so wildly from one another,
but they also seem to be written from a perspective of trying
to convince the reader that each theory is true simply because
the author's particular church teaches that view. Church members tend
to take on board the church's teachings on the last
things without really thinking, whether they are right or wrong. This
is blind belief and is very
dangerous.
The fact remains that because we are dealing with future events, we are
not really going to know which theory
is actually correct (if any) until it happens, just as at Christ's
first coming the majority of the church leaders of the day could
not acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as being the Messiah foretold in the
Old Testament Scriptures; a
few people only realising this after the events had occurred.
Therefore by nature of the case, all theories about the Millennium
are going to be exactly that - just theories (like the Atomic
Theory, or the Theory of Evolution).
The Holy Spirit convinces a man of the truth, and I personally am
thoroughly convinced of the truth about, for example, six-day Creation,
the
received texts of Scripture, the Regulative Principle, the Atonement
and so on, but I have never had that same certainty about any
of the theories about the Millennium that I have ever come across. I
therefore proffer this small essay on the subject as a sensible
and alternative theory, which I have not found elsewhere, and which I
have more conviction about than all of the others.
Problems
with Current Theories
There are three current groups of theories about the
Millennium,
and it would be sensible to begin by briefly going through them,
pointing out the problems I have with each. The three groups of
theories
are defined by the relationship of the Millennium to the time
of Christ's return. Those who argue that Christ comes before the
Millennium are known as Premillennialists, those who argue that
Christ comes after the Millennium are known as Postmillennialists
and those who do not see a literal millennium at all but the thousand
years of Revelation describing something else (such as the whole
of the period between Christ's first and second comings, or the period
between a believer's conversion and his death, for example) are known
as Amillennialists. Within each group
there are many different variations, which it is not necessary
to go into in detail about here, but it is necessary to state
the problems I have with each group in general before getting into the
detail of expounding the theory on offer here.
Postmillennialism
Most Postmillennialists believe that the gospel alone
will usher in the Millennium. The gospel will spread to the ends
of the earth and many will be saved. In time, a majority of the
world will be converted to Christ, nations will begin to enact
laws in keeping with Christian principles rather than worldly
ones and there will be a time of general peace, which they equate
with the "thousand years" of Revelation 20, before
Christ
returns to judge the world and glorify His people. I have problems
with this. Postmillennialists would derogatorily call my attitude
"Pessi-millennialism," as they claim to be so positive and optimistic
about the success of the gospel worldwide, as if numbers are important.
Firstly, I would like to make it clear that the gospel will
perform all the work God intends it to perform, not only in the
saving of all His people but in the damnation of the reprobate
as well. Let us not be concerned about the failure of the gospel
at all. All of God's chosen people, whoever they are, will be
saved. No man can pluck them out of the Father's hand (John 10:28,29),
and this is a tremendous comfort to the Christian. However we
must not be ignorant of the fact that the gospel is not only a
savour of life unto life to the elect but becomes a savour of
death unto death to the reprobate (albeit in and of itself it
is good news to them), those who have heard it being more culpable
if they refuse the gospel than those who have never heard it at
all (2 Corinthians 2:16). Both elect and reprobate alike glorify
God, the elect glorify His glorious mercy and the reprobate His
glorious justice. The idea that it is a wonderful thing that a
lot of people at one particular time (in this case near the end
of the world) are saved is neither here
nor there. God will save all His people however many that is,
and wherever they are. Indeed we are told that this will be a
great multitude that no man can number (Revelation 7:9). The number
of the reprobate will also be as the sand of the sea (Revelation
20:8). This is the comfort, namely that all God's people will
be saved. A vision of a future "Millennium" with lots
of conversions at a certain period of time is not necessary for
the application of this comfort to the individual.
Secondly, it seems that the Postmillennialists cling to
certain
verses of Scripture which they claim refer to the conversion of
the vast majority of the world in the "latter-day glory."
Verses such as:
"All the ends of the world shall remember
and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall
worship before thee." (Psalm 22:27);
or:
"In his
days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long
as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to
sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that
dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies
shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall
bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve
him." (Psalm 72:7-11).
There are two things to mention
about such verses. Firstly nowhere does it specifically state
that towards the end of time there will be a mass turning to Christ
in true salvation. Oh yes, we read in Matthew 24:14:
"And
this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
But this just means that the gospel will be preached to all
nations
(note it does not even mean all people head for head) as a witness
to them all. This does not mean that they will nearly all be converted,
it just means it will be a witness to them, either for good or
ill. All the Holy Bible mentions about this is that the gospel
will be known about in all nations. Indeed even
now there are
very few people who have not at least heard of the name of Jesus,
even if they do not know much about Him or are being taught lies
about Him anyway. Secondly, when Scripture talks about the "world,"
or "all the ends of the world" we must remember
that
the Jews of the day had only ever known of salvation as being
solely within their own community. In other words to be "saved"
in Old Testament times one had to either be a Jew or at least
come into contact with the Jews and become one. Nowadays the gospel
goes to the "ends of the earth" and it is no
longer
confined to the Jews as before. This was a major shift in the
thinking of the Jew in Biblical times, hence the emphasis on "the
world," not just the Jews. It is not a blanket statement
that the whole world will all necessarily be converted,
rather it would suggest that some out of every
tribe and nation
will come to believe, rather than merely some out of just Israel.
We must also realise that Christ WILL have dominion from sea
to sea (Psalm 72:8). ALL will eventually bow the knee before Christ,
but not necessarily before His return by the preaching of the
gospel. Those who reject Christ here will be bowing the knee in
hell. All men WILL serve Him and give Him the glory:
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and
given
him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Phillippians 2:9-11).
Christ DOES have dominion over the nations and they are under His
control at all times. The Postmillennialist is also wrong if he
believes that a belief in the Establishment Principle (i.e. that
it is the duty of the civil leader to establish the one true religion
and enact laws in keeping with Christian beliefs) can only be
possible if one also believes in Postmillennialism, i.e. that
the world will all be subdued to Christ by the gospel. The
Establishment Principle is a correct doctrine and Christians must
indeed strive
to get
laws enacted in keeping with Christian beliefs, but it is neither
here nor there what the end of such action will be, whether God chooses
to make all nations "Christian" or not. We must simply
do our duty. The Establishment Principle and Postmillennialism
are therefore not so intertwined as to be impossible to separate
them, as the Postmillennialists would have us believe.
We cannot go along with the Postmillennialist view because
the Bible tells us that the world, if anything, will get worse,
not better before the end:
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was
not
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall
be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no
flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."
(Matthew 24:21-22).
Postmillennialists dismiss this as referring to the fall of
Jerusalem in A.D. 70, but is that really the only thing that the
passage is about? Was that the greatest tribulation anyone has
ever suffered? It was no worse than many other atrocities that
have been perpetrated throughout the centuries in other parts
of the world. Relatively speaking, of course, the world cannot
get "worse" than it always has been - total depravity
is total depravity. However, it seems that any restraints put
on the sin of the world by God in His providence will be removed
to a great degree and it would at least seem
worse to the believer,
maybe because believers will be so few at that time. Also, the
Bible exhorts us to watch, for we do not know the time of the
Lord's return. In order to be watchful we cannot believe that
there is going to be a thousand years (or at least a very long
time anyway) after the world has been "Christianised"
by the gospel before Christ will come again. We see no Millennium
now, no land on earth has a truly Christian government today.
So the Postmillennialist's Millennium has not even started yet.
So does that mean we can relax and take our ease, because we know
Christ is not going to return for a long time yet (according to
the Postmillennialist)? Of course not. We must be ready for His
return at all times. This does not just mean that we must simply
be ready for death to come to us personally at any time. The Bible
specifically states that it is Christ's return we must be ready
for:
"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his
lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in
due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh
shall find so doing Verily I say unto you, That he shall make
him ruler over all his goods But and if that evil servant shall
say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin
to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not
for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut
him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew
24:45-51).
We seem to be taught in Scripture that there is going to be
more godlessness before the end and more troubles for the poor
believers, not a spiritually aware converted world:
"While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered
and
slept." (Matthew 25:5)
"For as a snare shall it come on all them that
dwell
on the face of the whole earth." (Luke 21:35)
"And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry
day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell
you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son
of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke
18:7,8).
This is a rhetorical question. He will find faith, but not
in many! What is the point of Christ asking this question if the
majority on the earth when He comes again are going to have this
faith?
"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have
no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that
the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when
they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh
upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall
not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).
The "peace and safety" here is a false peace that
godless men have produced for themselves, without reference to
God and His commandments. It is not the peace of a converted world,
otherwise destruction would not come on them.
"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of
desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso
readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea
flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not
come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him
which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe
unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those
days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither
on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such
as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened,
there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those
days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:15-22).
Postmillennialists refer this again to the fall of Jerusalem,
but in the discourse it is immediately followed by the description
of Christ's return, so there is at least a sense in which it refers
to that time as well. The fact that v.21 is taken directly from
Daniel 12:1 also confirms this.
Postmillennialist themselves believe that after the Millennium
there will be a falling away because Revelation 20 states as much:
"And cast him [Satan] 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."
(Revelation 20:3).
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan
shall
be loosed out of his prison, 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. 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."
(Revelation 20:9).
So the question stares us in the face: What on earth is the
point of believing in a great time of Christian prosperity towards
the end of time if the whole thing is going to collapse anyway?
This falling away proves the pointlessness of the Postmillennialist
finding some kind of hope or comfort in this view.
With regards Matthew 24, Postmillennialists hang their
exposition
heavily on a certain interpretation of v.34, "This generation
shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
They have to interpret the word "generation"
to mean all those alive at that particular time. This way they
can fit verses 1 to 36 to refer to the fall of Jerusalem, and
the rest of the chapter (and indeed chapter 25) to refer to Christ's
second coming, with a nice clean break between the two. This may
seem quite plausible at first, especially as the equivalent passages
in Luke's gospel are split almost exactly along those lines, with
the first part (supposedly about the fall of Jerusalem) coming in
chapter
21, and the second part (supposedly about the second coming) in
chapter 17. However, two problems present themselves here. Firstly,
Luke 17:31 is about being on the housetop. In Matthew 24 this
(supposedly, to the Postmillennialist) refers specifically to the fall
of Jerusalem, whereas
in Luke it is put in with the second coming. So the division is
not as clear cut as it may at first seem. Secondly, the word "generation"
does not only mean all those alive at one particular time, (or
a period of twenty or forty years or so), but it can also mean
"family line". Sometimes it can only mean the first
definition, e.g. Exodus 1:6, Matthew 1:17. Sometimes it can only
mean the second definition, e.g. Matthew 1:1, Psalm 14:5, Psalm
22:30, Psalm 49:19, Luke 16:8, Acts 2:40, 1 Peter 2:9. Other times
it could be either definition. Of this latter sort are the passages
in question. We cannot argue from these passages alone that the
word "generation" here can only be the first
definition. We do not have sufficient facts before us to warrant
such a conclusion. Hence we cannot be as clear cut as to which
verses belong to the fall of Jerusalem and which to the second
coming as we would like. There is a sense in which they could
refer to both events. Incidentally, this also means that passages
such as Deuteronomy 7:9, 1 Chronicles 16:15 and Psalm 105:8 which
refer to "a thousand generations" cannot be used,
as postmillennialists would like them to be used, to refer to
the idea that Christ will not come again for a very long time,
at least 20,000 years!!
Scots Presbyterians tend to have a Postmillennial view.
Amillennialism
Here we have a wide-ranging group of
people, who believe that the Millennium is not a literal period of time
at all, but
a symbol of something else. Typically, this signifies the time
between Christ's first and second comings, or maybe the time between
a person's conversion and his death, or between his death and
his rising on the last day to judgment or something similar.
One thing all these Amillennial theories do have in common
is that they all believe that the world will be in a pretty godless
state just before the end, with people ignorant of a returning
Christ. This solves the problem that the Postmillennialist has
of trying to explain away Scriptures which indicate this. It also
clears the way for a belief that Christ can come at any time,
so the believer should always be ready.
However, the three main problems with Amillennialism are that
firstly the Amillennialist tends not to believe in getting involved
with world government and world affairs, and rather believes in
a kind of world-flight, i.e. deliberately not getting involved
with the world because it is going to perish anyway. This usually
comes with jettisoning the Establishment Principle as well, which,
as I explained earlier, is a correct Christian doctrine.
Secondly, the passage in Revelation 20 where the thousand
years
are mentioned, gets allegorised away and not taken in the
straightforward
meaning of the words. For example the "first resurrection"
(Revelation 20:5) may be equated with conversion, and Satan being
"bound for a thousand years" (Revelation 20:2)
may be equated with the gospel age, i.e. the New Testament
dispensation.
This allegorising of the plain text is far-fetched to say the
least. When it says that
"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."
(Revelation 20:4)
this text is allegorised so as not to apply
to happenings on the earth, because "souls" are
mentioned. However, it clearly states that the souls "lived,"
a clear reference to Genesis 2:7:
"And the LORD God formed
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
For
a soul to live in this sense it has to have a body. In the Genesis
account this was of the dust of the ground, but in the Revelation
account, clearly talking of the resurrection, it refers to the
resurrection body. But more of this later.
Thirdly, if we are in the Millennium now, we therefore must
believe that Satan is "bound" now:
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having
the
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he
laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil,
and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 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." (Revelation 20:1-3).
Amillennialists come out with statements that Satan is bound
in the sense that true religion is no longer limited to the Jews
any more, and that Satan still has an influence but is now on a "short
lead." This is very difficult to accept. Satan still has
tremendous influence on the world and can hardly be said to be
"bound" more than before Christ came, and in any
case
he has always been on a "short lead" as throughout all
ages he has never been able to do anything that God did not permit
him to do (see Job 1-2), this is not just a peculiarity of New
Testament times.
Continental Reformed churches tend to embrace an Amillennial
view.
Premillennialism
Most so-called "Reformed" churches shun this
like the plague - they tend to be either Post- or A-millennial.
Premillennialism tends to be the domain of the Baptists, Brethren
and Pentecostal churches. This involves the return of Christ before
the Millennium.
Premillennialism has the advantages of Amillennialism in that it
allows for Christ to come at any time and for things to be in
a bad state just before Christ's return, but the problem with
it is that in this system Christ's return does not usually signify
the end of time, there is plenty more going on here on this earth
afterwards - an idea which is clearly not true from Scripture.
"But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits;
afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the
end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even
the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority
and power." (1 Corinthians 15:23,24).
The most common Premillennial scheme today is Dispensationalism, which
was made popular by the Brethren and particularly by the Scofield
Reference Bible.
In summary, Christ comes, all believers are raptured and disappear from
the
earth for a time (typically either three and a half or seven years),
whilst the "Great Tribulation"
takes place on the earth, then Christ sets up his kingdom for
a thousand years on the earth with a physical temple rebuilt
in Jerusalem, then, after the Millennium, comes the
Final Judgment. There are many different variations on a
theme,
but basically the world is split into "dispensations."
First there was the "dispensation" from Creation to
the Fall, then Adam to Abraham, then Abraham to Moses, Moses to
David, David to Christ, Christ to His coming again (the "gospel"
dispensation we are in now) then Christ's earthly rule in Jerusalem
with the temple sacrifices being re-instated is another dispensation,
and so on. People
have many different ideas, but the major drawback of all of these
"Dispensational" schemes is that there ends up being
more than one means of salvation. In the Old Testament it was
via the sacrifices, now in the gospel age it is by the blood of
Christ, in the Millennium it will be by re-instating the sacrifices
again. This is all wrong. Every one of the elect go to glory because of
the
shed blood of Christ, which is effectual in all ages, not just
the present "gospel" dispensation. The idea of there being a particular
time known as the "Great
Tribulation" too is completely opposite to reality. Firstly,
the book of Revelation states that:
"And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said
to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and
have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb." (Revelation 7:14).
This clearly refers to believers, but it states that these
are the ones who have "come out of great tribulation,"
i.e. they were
once in this tribulation and have not missed it completely by being
"raptured"
to totally avoid it altogether. Also, Matthew states:
"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the
coming
of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the
flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until
the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming
of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one
shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding
at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left."
(Matthew 24:37-41)
Note here that in the days of Noah it was the wicked who were
"taken" away, and the believers who were left,
not,
as the Dispensationalists would have us believe, the other way
around. Let us not be mistaken, the wicked will be taken away
and the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5):
"For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not
be:
yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not
be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves
in the abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:10-11).
So Dispensationalism is clearly wrong. Most people think that
Premillennialism is solely a belief in Dispensationalism, such
is Dispensationalism's dominance in modern church circles, but there is
a more
sober view which jettisons all of the Dispensationalist nonsense
such as there being a rapture or the idea that history is split into
dispensations.
Rather it is a reasonably simple view that Christ will return,
then will reign for a thousand years on the earth (the Millennium),
at the end of which is the final Judgment. No "rapture," and no special
period known as the "Great Tribulation."
However, most proponents of this more sober scheme still go
wrong (as do the Dispensationalists indeed) on insisting
on the Premillennial kingdom after Christ's return being
inhabited by people still in their earthly bodies. The believers
who have died in the past will have been resurrected at this point
and be in their resurrection bodies, the rest will still be in their
sinful earthly bodies; so we have the surreal spectacle
of some people in their resurrection bodies mingling with those
still in sinful flesh, with otherwise things going on pretty much
as before. All of this is too fantastical to be taken seriously.
Passages such as
"There shall be no more thence an infant
of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the
child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an
hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses,
and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the
fruit of them" (Isaiah 65:20,21)
are used to back up
the idea that people will still age in the new heavens and the
new earth. Also, Ezekiel's vision of the rebuilt temple in chapters
40 to 48 is used to believe that an exact literal temple is still
to be built, because the description there does not fit with one
that has ever existed yet. Indeed the problem with Premillennialists
tends to be the opposite of that of Amillennialists, in that whereas
Amillennialists tend to over-spiritualise the biblical passages,
Premillennialists tend to take everything far too literally. The right
way to interpret
Scripture is to take everything in the plain meaning of the words,
e.g. when Isaiah says that "the trees of the field shall
clap their hands" (Isaiah 55:12), Premillennialists would
have a tendency to interpret this as trees literally growing hands
and clapping, whereas it is obviously poetic.
As mentioned earlier, Baptists, Brethren and Pentecostals all
tend to be Premillennial.
The Future of the Jews
Just as an aside, I would like to mention the subject of the
future of the Jews. Holders of each of the above millennial
schemes have different ideas on this subject. It is not really
to do with the Millennium, but it
deals with the end times, and so I mention it merely in passing.
A lot of Christians believe that near the end of time there will
be a mass turning of the Jews to Christ. Whether that will be
by the preaching of the gospel or instantaneously like Paul's
conversion, is a matter of debate. Obviously the Premillennialists
would believe further that they would be gathered together to Jerusalem
in
order for this to happen, especially as Christ is going to supposedly
set His Millennial kingdom up there. So Premillennialists have
been very keen to listen to the news ever since 1948 when the
state of Israel was formed. They see this as a fulfilment of prophecy,
and the stage is now set, in their minds, for Christ's return to
Jerusalem and
the mass conversion of the Jews. In any case, however one views
events in the Middle East, the fact remains that this view of
a mass turning to Christ of the Jews is quite prevalent within
all of the three millennial schemes.
The only chapter where proponents of this view get this idea
from at all is Romans chapter 11. They regard the receiving of
them (by God) as "life from the dead" (v.15), as
being
this mass turning of the Jews to Christ near the end. They think
that blindness in part is happened to Israel now (v.25), until
the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so the phrase "all
Israel shall be saved" (v.26) is seen of as an event
that will happen after all the Gentiles who are going to be saved have
been saved.
I am afraid I cannot go along with this view. I have read
Romans
11 time and time again, and I see absolutely nothing in it which
convinces
me of this at all. Rather it is a "what if..." passage.
i.e. Paul is saying in effect: "What if Jews
should be saved,
wouldn't it be wonderful?" It is never a statement of what
is actually going to happen en masse in reality
necessarily.
Look at the background. What would people be thinking if
Romans
11 was not in the Bible? They would think that the Jews were not
to be evangelised any more, they have had their day. Christ said
of the withered fig tree
"Let no fruit grow on thee
henceforward for ever", (Matthew 21:19).
He also said to the Jews,
"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate",
(Matthew 23:38, Luke 13:35).
After Christ's ministry had been
and gone it would be logical for any Christian (i.e. who believed
Jesus to be the Messiah) to fully believe that the Jews had had
their chance, and should no longer be the objects of evangelism.
To counteract this erroneous view, Paul wrote Romans 11.
"I
say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid...."
(Romans 11:1).
Paul goes on to say that there will always be a
remnant of the Jews saved by grace, who will come to know Jesus
as the Messiah. Indeed, when a Jew is saved, it will be as "life
from the dead":
"For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the
apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means
I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might
save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling
of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from
the dead?" (Romans 11:13-15).
Note here he is talking about the fact that he might save "some
of them," so he is clearly talking only about a remnant
that will be saved, not a mass turning at the end of time, in
fact the end of time is not even spoken about here.
But what about:
"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be
ignorant
of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits;
that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness
of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved."
(Romans 11:25,26).
Note that it says "And SO
all Israel shall be saved,"
in other words "in this manner," not "and
THEN chronologically." The "fulness of the Gentiles"
being "come in" is a clear reference to Luke
21:24:
".and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
The "times of the
Gentiles" being fulfilled
in this verse is immediately followed by the signs from heaven
prior to Christ's return being displayed, so there is no Jewish
conversion of any kind taking place first. Once the last Gentile
has been gathered in, that is it, Christ returns. The quote from
Isaiah following this statement in v.26, you may think points
to the Jews only:
"And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when
I shall take away their sins." (Romans 11:26.27).
But it is not unusual for a prophecy mentioning the salvation
of Jacob, or David's house or the like, to refer to all the elect,
both Jews and Gentiles, not just to the Jews only, c.f. Acts 15:14-17:
"Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit
the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to
this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After
this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David,
which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof,
and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after
the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith
the Lord, who doeth all these things."
This is a quote from Amos 9 which clearly indicates that the
"tabernacle of David" is to include Gentiles.
The true Israel of God (Galatians 6:16) is, after all, the elect,
not just the Jews.
So for these reasons, I see Romans 11 as a passage meant to
show that we should evangelise Jews just as we should evangelise
other nations, a fact which one could have lost sight of, if all
we had were Christ's teachings on the subject.
New Theory Explained from Revelation 19 and 20
The Millennial theory that I wish to put forward here is based
on a logical, straightforward exposition of Revelation 19:11 to
20:15. That this is all one chronological order of events is
clear from the word "and" which is constantly
repeated
to link each stage to the next (19:13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20,
21, 20:1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15). Amillennialists
and Postmillennialists have to have a chronological break somewhere
(usually at the end of chapter 19) to make their theory fit the
narrative, so that they can make Christ's coming at the end of
chapter 19 to be the same as Christ's coming in chapter twenty.
Otherwise they have two comings of Christ here, which would not
fit into their scheme of things. This however is a forced break,
and there is no reason to break the chronology at all. If here,
then why not at any of the other of the "and"'s in
the
passage? Any break made is purely arbitrary, to make the passage
fit a theory, rather than to let the passage flow and hold together
in the plainest sense of the words. My theory links the entire
passage together as a chronological whole.
I cannot read Revelation 19:11 to 20:15, in the plain sense
of the words, without seeing the following chronological sequence
of events:
(1) Christ comes again to "judge and to make war"
(19:11).
(2) Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword (usually taken as the
sword of the Spirit, i.e. His Word) whereby He smites the nations
and treads them in the winepress of God's wrath. (19:15).
(3) The fowls are called to eat the flesh of those about to die
(i.e. the wicked) (19:17,18).
(4) The beast leads the wicked into war against Christ and his
armies (whether these are angels or glorified saints we do not
need to know, they could be either or both) (19:19).
(5) The beast and false prophet are defeated by Christ, and are
both cast into the lake of fire (19:20).
(6) The wicked hordes which followed the beast and false prophet
are slain by the sword proceeding out of Christ's mouth and the
fowls gorge themselves on their flesh (19:21).
Note that treading the winepress of God's wrath, fowls gorging
themselves and a sword coming out of Christ's mouth etc. are purely
picture language. We would be stupid to take what is clearly picture
language literally, as most Premillennialists would tend to do.
I leave any detailed explanation of pictures such as these as
they are not relevant to the basic theory I am offering here.
Until these events happen everything is really guesswork anyway,
so I do not wish to go into too much detail on what they all mean.
Note also at this point that Christ has come again BEFORE the
Millennium, so I have to admit I must be by definition a
Premillennialist.
Not of the usual variety though, as I repudiate every other
Premillennial scheme I have ever seen in print.
(7) Satan is cast into the bottomless pit and bound for a
thousand
years (the "Millennium") (20:1-3).
(8) The souls of believers "lived and reigned with Christ
a thousand years" (20:4). For a soul to "live"
it must be given a body (Gen 2:7), hence believers will be on
the earth in their resurrection bodies, whilst the wicked will
be dead until the end of the Millennium (they are slain in 19:21,
this is confirmed in 20:5).
(9) 20:6 confirms that these are believers only who take part
in the "first resurrection" and they will not
undergo the "second death" of the Lake of Fire
(20:14).
So the Millennium will not be, as most Premillennialists would have
us believe, a place where the wicked, believers in their fleshly
bodies and believers in their glorified bodies will all be milling
around together (with the temple re-established in Jerusalem).
The only people alive in the Millennium will be believers in their
resurrection bodies. The meek shall indeed inherit the earth (Matthew
5:5).
The question could be asked, what is the purpose of the
Millennium?
This question both Postmillennialists and Premillennialists cannot
answer. I answer that it is a display to all creatures of the
justice of God and vindication of His people before the final
Judgment itself actually takes place. Why do we need a display?
Well, the question could be asked, why do we need this world,
when the elect and reprobate have been chosen from all eternity
anyway? God has ordained all things, including this world and
including the Millennium, for His own glory. No other way could
display His glory to any greater effect than the way that He has
ordained will come to pass.
(10) At the end of the Millennium, Satan is released out of
the bottomless pit, the wicked will be raised (in their resurrection
bodies) and Satan will gather them to war against the saints;
but God will stop this war from taking place by destroying them
with fire (20:7-9).
(11) Satan will be cast into the "Lake of Fire"
(where the beast
and false prophet are) to be tormented for ever and ever (20:10).
(12) Earth and heaven will "flee away" and be
no more as we know it. Presumably it is burnt with fire as in
20:9 (20:11).
There are plenty of biblical texts which describe the earth
being burnt with fire or purged with fire to make way for the
new heavens and the new earth described in chapters 21 and 22.
How this exactly takes place we are not told, and again we should
not be too dogmatic as to the precise details.
"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by
the
same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day
of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (2 Peter
3:7).
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also
and the works that are therein shall be burned up." (2
Peter 3:10).
(13) Judgment takes place, and "death" and "hell"
are cast into
the "Lake of Fire" ("Gehenna"),
i.e. are destroyed for ever (20:12-14).
A note is in order here with regards "death"
and "hell":
With regards "death," it no longer has any power
after this
point
as it is cast into the "Lake of Fire." The torment
is "for ever and
ever" (v.10). So we see that after this point people will
never
be able to die again, and will be either in bliss in heaven or
in torment in "hell" ("Gehenna"),
and that all those not in the "Book
of Life" are not just annihilated but cast into the "Lake
of Fire,"
i.e. torment for ever without any relief possible by "death."
Similarly
those who are in the "Book of Life" will be
everlastingly with the
Lord, without "death" to end such a state.
With regards "hell," there are four words in the
Bible which
are translated in English into the word "hell."
This
is important to note because the Annihilationists say that
because here it states that "hell" is thrown in to
the "Lake of Fire," therefore there is no eternal
torment in "hell" for ever after all. This is not
true. The two
words "Sheol" (Hebrew) or "Hades"
(Greek) denote the place where the souls
of the wicked apart from
their bodies go after death in this life and before they are
reunited
with their bodies again at the end. (The souls of believers go
to "Paradise"). The word "Tartarus"
(Greek) only
occurs once in the Bible (2 Peter 2:4) and denotes the place where
fallen angels are kept until the judgment, after which they are
cast into the "Lake of Fire." "Tartarus"
is also known as the "Bottomless
Pit" which Satan is thrown into for the duration of the
Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3), and "The Deep"
which demons pled with Christ not to be cast into (Luke 8:31).
The word "Gehenna" (Greek) denotes the "Lake
of Fire" itself, where reunited bodies and souls spend their
eternal
torment. "Hades" is the word used for "hell"
in this passage,
so it refers to the place where souls apart from their bodies
go. It is this place that is destroyed forever
(as there is now no
need for it because souls and bodies can now no longer be separated
by death) and not the final place of torment, "Gehenna,"
the "Lake
of Fire," which does still exist after this, and indeed will
do
so everlastingly.
(14) Whosoever was not found in the "Book of Life"
was cast into
the "Lake of Fire" ("Gehenna")
to suffer most grievous torments for
ever (20:15).
(15) Chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation then go on to speak about
the "New Heavens and the New Earth" which will be
the final home
for the believers who have escaped the "Lake of Fire."
That is my theory, and I cannot see this passage (which is
incidentally
the only passage in the whole of Scripture which mentions this
"thousand years" at all) as meaning anything else.
I
hope I have kept to the plain meaning of the words and not either
allegorised or literalised anything in any way in my explanation
of the passage.
One final thing to mention. If this theory is true, then the
end times will be at least a thousand years in length (to include
the Millennium), so how can we explain the many passages of Scripture
which mention that all these things will happen on the "Last
Day," or the "Day of the Lord"? The
answer is simply that we should "be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). In any
case just before the coming of Christ we are told that "there
should be time no longer" (Revelation 10:6). So we see
that this event occurs outside of the constraints of time, although
for convenience in Scripture it is called the "Last Day"
or "Day of the Lord," as it will clearly be at
the end of time as we know it now.
One objection to this could be that we are so dogmatic with
regards the six literal days of twenty-four hour periods of the
Creation week, how can we now talk about a long "day"?
Well, in Genesis 1 we are clearly told that "and the evening
and the morning were the first day", etc. (Genesis 1:5,
8, 13, 19, 23, 31), whereas here we are specifically told that
"there will be time no longer" (Revelation 10:6).
So the Genesis days are literal days of twenty-four hours and
the Revelation "Last Day" is not.
Confession of Faith on the Last Things
To clarify the theory even more, and to back up what has been said by passages from other parts of Scripture, I proffer the following Confession of Faith on the subjects of the Intermediate State and the Last Things.
The Intermediate State
1. A man is made up of both body and soul.1 A man's spirit is not a third entity, rather "spirit" refers to his soul with reference to the breath of life within him2, especially with respect to the disposition of his heart.3
Upon death, the body and soul
separate.4
The body returns to the dust and sees corruption.5 The soul of
the wicked descends to Hades (Sheol, The Pit)6 where it
remains,
forsaken by the Lord7
and unable to praise him8,
in great torment
reserved under punishment for the day of judgment.9
The soul of the believer will be
delivered
from the power of Sheol (Hades, The Pit).10 It will be
carried
by the angels into Paradise (Abraham's bosom) to be with Christ11 until the
times
of restitution of all things12,
waiting for the full redemption
of the body.13
These are the only two places
which Scripture
acknowledges for souls separated from their bodies.14 Souls
cannot
pass from one place to the other as there is a great gulf fixed
between the two.15
11
Thess.5:23; Isaiah 10:18; Job
14:22; Matt. 10:28
2Isa. 42:5; Job
34:14; Zech.12:1;
Luke 8:55; James 2:26; Eccl. 12:7; Eccl. 8:8
3Heb. 4:12; Isa.
57:16; 1 Cor.
5:3; 1 Cor 7:34; Luke 1:47; Luke 23:46; Psa. 31:5; Heb. 12:23; 1 Thess.
5:23; Prov. 20:27
4Luke 12:20; 1 Kings
17:21,22; Gen. 35:18; Job 7:15; 2 Cor. 5:8
5Gen.3:19;
Acts 13:36; Psa. 90:3; Job
7:21; Psa. 104:29; Psa. 146:4; Eccl. 3:20
6Psa.9:17; Prov. 15:24; Prov. 23:14; Isa. 5:14
7Acts 2:27 &
Matt. 27:46 &
Mark 15:34; Psa. 9:10
8Isa. 38:18; Psa.
88:10-12; Psa.
6:5; Psa. 30:9; Psa. 115:17
92 Pet. 2:9; Isa.
50:11; Job 21:30; Luke 16:23,24,28; Rom. 2:9
10Psa.49:9,15; Psa.86:13; Job 33:30;
Psa. 16:10; Psa. 30:3; Psa.33:19; Psa. 34:22; Psa. 56:13; Psa. 116:8;
Hos 13:14
11Luke 16:22; Luke
23:43; Phil.
1:23; 2 Cor. 5:6,8; Rev. 2:7
12Acts 3:21
13Rom. 8:11,23; Rev.
6:9-11; Rev.
20:4; 2 Cor. 5:2-4
14Luke 16:22,23
15Luke 16:26
2. Angels who have sinned have no means
of salvation1
and are cast down to Tartarus (The Deep, The Bottomless
Pit) by God, to be delivered into chains of darkness to be reserved
unto the judgment of the Great Day.2
In Old Testament times, Satan's task
was to destroy the Christ and his people.3 He was
given freedom to roam the earth and have access into heaven4, but only
under God's providential control.5
Upon Christ's victory on the cross, Satan
and his angels no longer had a place in heaven6, and they
were cast out into the earth7,
where Satan turned his mind to persecuting
the church.8
But the church is kept safe by God.9
Satan has been given the key to the Bottomless
Pit (Tartarus, The Deep), so that the demons (fallen angels) there
can be let loose on the earth.10
The two greatest of these are
the Beast (Beast from the sea), whom, along with Satan himself,
all unbelievers marvel at and worship11, and the
False Prophet (Beast from the earth), who, with miraculous signs,
causes all
unbelievers to worship the Beast (Beast from the sea) and gives
them his mark.12
Again, all of this is only under God's providential
control.13
1Heb. 2:16
22 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Luke 8:31
3Rev. 12:4
4Rev. 12:3,4,7; Job 1:6,7; Job 2:1,2;
Zech. 3:1; Luke 22:31
5Job 1:12; Job 2:6
6Rev. 12:8
7Rev.12:9,12,13;
Isa. 14:12; Luke
10:18; John 12:31; John 14:30; Rev. 9:1
8Rev. 12:13,17
9Rev. 12:6,14,16; 1 John 5:18; John
17:12
10Rev. 9:1-3
11Rev. 13:3,4,8
12Rev. 13:13,14,16
13Rev. 13:8; Rev. 14:1
The Last Things
1. On one day in the future, the day
and hour of which is only known to the Father1, Jesus
Christ will visibly return. It will be sudden and unexpected, like a
thief in the night.2
This is so that we may shake off all carnal security
and be always watchful.3
He will appear as lightning.4
The sun and moon will no longer give their light, the stars will fall
from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.5 This
also symbolises the fact that at this time all those who exalt
themselves in this world shall be abased.6 Then every
eye shall see Christ coming in the clouds with power and great glory.7
He will descend with a shout, with the
voice of the Archangel Michael and with the last trump of God.8
He will come with his holy angels9, and the
souls of all believers who have died.10
Their souls will then be reunited with their
bodies which are raised first. This is the resurrection of the
just (the first resurrection, the resurrection of life).11 They
are raised incorruptible.
Those believers who are still alive at
the time will also be changed into an incorruptible state in the
twinkling of an eye.12
They will then be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus so shall
they ever be with the Lord.13
All believers will then be conformed
to Christ's own glorious body.14
1Matt.
24:36; Mark 13:32
2Luke 12:40; 1 Thess. 5:2-3; 2 Pet.
3:10; Rev. 3:3; Rev. 16:15; Acts 1:11; Heb. 9:28
3Luke 21:34-36; 1 Thess 5:4; 2 Pet.
3:11-12; Mark 13:35-37; Matt. 24:42,44; Matt. 25:13; Luke 12:36-48
4Matt. 24:27; Luke 17:24
5Isa. 34:4; Isa. 24:23; Isa.
13:10; Zech. 14:6; Amos 8:9; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24,25; Luke
21:25; Ezek. 32:7; Rev. 6:12-14; Joel 2:31; Joel 3:15,16
6Ezek 31:14; Matt. 23:12; Job 22:29; Psa. 138:6; Isa. 57:15; Dan. 4:37;
Luke 1:51,52; Luke 14:11;
Luke 18:14; James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5
7Matt. 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:11; Matt. 16:27; Luke
9:26; Rev. 1:7
81 Thess. 4:16; Jude 9; Matt. 24:31; 1 Cor. 15:52; Rev. 11:15; Isa.
27:13
9Matt. 24:31; Matt. 25:31; Matt. 16:27; Mark 13:27; 2 Thess. 1:7;
Matt. 13:39,49; Mark 8:38
10Rev. 19:14; Matt. 24:31; Mark 13:27;
1 Thess. 3:13; 1 Thess. 4:14; Jude 14; Zech. 14:5
111 Thess. 4:16; Job 19:26,27; Rom. 8:11; Isaiah 26:19; Luke 14:14;
John 5:29; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:5,6
121 Cor. 15:42-44; 1 Cor. 15:51-54
131 Thess. 4:17; Matt. 24:40-41
14Rom. 8:29; Phil.3:21
2. When Christ appears, the wicked who
are still alive on the earth will mourn.1 Great
terror will fall
on them and their hearts will fail them for fear.2
Even so, the Beast will gather them together
to make war against Christ and the saints3, but the
Beast and the False Prophet will be taken and cast into the Lake of
Fire
(Gehenna).4
The rest of the unbelievers will then be killed by
the sword proceeding out of Christ's mouth.5
Then Satan himself will be cast into
the Bottomless Pit (Tartarus, The Deep) and bound for a thousand
years with a seal set upon him that he should deceive the nations
no more.6
The thousand years may or may not be
a literal period of time as we know it, as all events regarding
the last things are known in Scripture as taking place on "The
Great Day," "The Day of the Lord" or "The
Last Day"7,
which is after there is time no longer (the sun
and moon having disappeared).8
The court shall be seated and all believers
shall reign with Christ for the thousand years.9 Indeed, the
meek shall inherit the earth.10
Christ shall deliver up the kingdom
to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule
and all authority and power.11
1Matt.24:30;
Rev.
1:7; Zech. 12:10; Amos 8:10; Zech. 14:13
2Luke 21:25,26;
Rev. 11:13; Isa. 24:16-18; Hos. 10:8; Luke 23:30; Rev.
6:15-17; Isa. 13:7,8;
Isa. 2:20,21; Jer 4:28,29; Ezek. 38:19-20
3Rev. 19:19; Ezek.39:2; Rev. 16:14-16; Zech. 14:2
4Rev. 19:20; Dan. 7:11
5Rev.19:21; Isa. 24:1-3; Jer. 25:27-33;
Ezek. 39:3-5; Isa. 11:4; Isa. 34:2,3; Isa. 66:16,24; Jer. 7:32-34;
Jer. 19:6,7; Jer. 31:40
6Rev. 20:1-3; Isa. 24:21,22
7John 6:39,40,44,54; John 11:24;
John 12:48; Heb. 10:25; Ezek. 39:8; 2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 6:17;
Zech. 14:7-9
81 Pet. 4:7; Dan. 12:13; Rev. 10:6
9Dan. 7:26,27; Rev. 20:4,6; Zech.
14:9,11; Rev. 5:10; Isa. 24:23; Isa. 27:13; Isa. 66:23
10Matt. 5:5; Psa. 25:13; Psa. 37:9-11,22,28-29,34; Isa. 60:21
111 Cor. 15:24
3. When the thousand years are expired,
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.1 All the
dead (i.e. the
unbelievers) will then be resurrected, their souls being reunited
with their bodies. This is the resurrection of the unjust (the
second resurrection, the resurrection of damnation).2 Satan will
go out to deceive them all and to gather them together to battle
against all the believers, who during the thousand years have
been living peacefully on the earth.3 But fire
will come down
from God out of heaven and devour them.4 Satan will
then be cast
into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna) to be tormented day and night
for ever and ever.5
The earth and the heaven will flee away;
and there will be found no place for them any more.6
All people will then stand before the
Great White Throne of Judgment.7
God is the Judge to whom we must
all give an account8,
and the Father hath committed all judgment
unto the Son.9
Indeed, all believers will play their part in judging
the world and angels.10
Every man will be judged according to his works.11
All men will therefore be found guilty.12 However,
deliverance from being cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna) is
not based on this, but on whether their names are in the Lamb's
Book of Life.13
1Rev.
20:3,7; Rev. 17:8
2Rev. 20:6; John 5:29; Acts 24:15;
Isa. 24:22
3Rev. 20:8,9 ; Ezek. 38:8-23
4Rev. 20:9; Rev. 16:21; 2 Pet. 3:7; Isa. 66:15,16; Ezek. 38:22; Mal.
4:1; Zeph. 1:18; Zeph. 3:8
5Rev.20:10; Matt. 25:41
6Psa. 102:26; Rev. 20:11; Isa. 13:13; Heb. 12:27; Matt. 24:35
7Rev. 20:12-13; Dan. 7:9; 2 Cor.
5:10; Matt. 25:32; Acts 17:31; Rom. 14:12; Jude 14,15; 1 Cor.
4:5
8Dan. 7:9; Psa. 58:11; Psa. 75:7;
Rom. 14:12; Heb. 4:13; Matt. 12:36
9John 5:22; John 9:39; Acts 10:42; Rom. 14:10; Dan. 7:13,14; 2 Cor.
5:10; Psa. 149:9
10Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30; 1 Cor.
6:2,3; Luke 11:31-32; Isa. 41:15,16
11Matt. 16:27; Rev. 20:12,13; 2 Pet. 2:12,13; Jer. 17:10; Job 34:11;
Psa. 62:12; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 2:23
12Psa. 130:3; Eph. 2:12; Psa. 51:5; Psa. 58:3; Rom. 3:9-20,23
13Rev. 20:15; Luke 10:20; Psa. 69:28;
Rev. 21:27; Rom. 3:24; Dan. 12:1; Mal. 3:6; Exod. 32:33; Matt. 25:34;
Rev. 13:8; Rev. 17:8
4. Death and Hades (Sheol, The Pit) will
then be cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna).1 Christ will
then make himself subject to the Father that God may be all in all.2
Whosoever is not found written in the
Lamb's Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Gehenna).3
This is the second death.4
It is an everlasting process of destruction
away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power5,
where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.6 A place
of outer darkness where there will be wailing and gnashing of
teeth.7
Then a new heavens and a new earth will
appear wherein dwelleth righteousness.8 It shall
remain forever.9
This will be the Holy City, New Jerusalem.10 God will
dwell therein
with the elect forever and will wipe away all tears from their
eyes. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things shall
not be remembered, nor come to mind.11 There will
be no more temple,
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.12
There will be no more sun or moon for the glory of God lightens
it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.13
Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus.14
1Rev.20:14; 1 Cor. 15:26
21 Cor. 15:28
3Rev. 20:15; Rev. 21:8; Luke 12:5;
Matt. 25:41
4Rev. 2:11; Rev. 20:6,14; Rev. 21:8
52 Thess. 1:9; Dan 12:2; Isa. 33:14; Psa. 92:7;
Matt. 10:28; Dan. 7:26; Rev. 20:10; Matt. 25:46
6Isa. 66:24; Mark 9:43-48; Ezek.
20:47,48; Isa. 34:10; Jer. 7:20; Matt. 3:12
7Matt. 8:12; Matt. 22:13; Matt. 13:42,50; 2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 13; Isa.
8:22; Matt. 25:30
8Rev. 21:1; 2 Pet. 3:13; Heb. 2:5
9Isa. 66:22; Joel 3:20
10Rev. 21:2,10; Psa.48; Heb. 12:22
11Rev. 21:3,4; Isa. 35:10; Isa. 51:11; Isa. 65:17,19; Rev. 7:16,17
12Rev. 21:22
13Isa. 60:19,20; Rev. 21:23; Rev. 22:5; Zech. 2:5
14Rev. 22:20; 1 Cor. 16:22