Day 360 – Revelation & the Millennium

5 days to go!

• You probably overate a little yesterday, and you’ll be slouching around today feeling a little full and “Christmased-out”. Well, today’s passages are equally fulfilling, and have had scholars debating about them ever since they were written.
• The 1,000 years mentioned in the opening verses of Revelation 20 is called the Millennium. It is the title given to Jesus Christ’s 1,000 year reign on earth that will start when He comes again. Much debate centres on whether this is an actual 1,000 years or simply a figurative way of saying “a very long time”. Personally, I don’t believe there’s no reason to doubt the literal interpretation, but we don’t need to consider that in our reading plan. What’s important is that Christ IS coming back to reign, as the prophecies to David promised!
• What will happen to Satan during the 1,000 years? Why does this happen?
• What do you think the world will be like with Christ reigning as King, without the effects of Satan’s influence?
• Who is raised back to life to live during these 1,000 years (verses Revelation 20:4-6)? Which group of people are raised back to life only at the end of the 1,000 years?
• What happens to Satan at the end of the Millennium? Why do you think he is to be released? As Satan and his army march towards Armageddon, what will happen to them?
• What joy does it give you to know that Satan will one day be no more?
• Why do you think we re-read the parable about the minas in Luke again today? How does it link in with the two groups of people we read about in Revelation (those who are raised for Christ’s reign, and those who are raised at the end)?
• Genesis 1-3 starts with the creation, and goes on to describe the entrance of sin into our world. Revelation 20-22, the final three chapters of the bible, are a mirror. So in Genesis 3 we sin come into the world, and in today’s chapter in Revelation 20 we see how sin is eventually conquered. As you read the remaining passages over the last couple of days this year, you may enjoy comparing them to the Genesis narrative.

Christ’s reign will, of course, be everlasting, but this 1,000 year period, which precedes the final judgement day and the coming of the new heaven/earth, is different.

As you might expect, there is a lot of debate about how things will exactly look, as the passages in Revelation don’t give detailed accounts. There are several theories and understandings about this time, the main three of which include things call amillennialism, premillennialism and postmillennialism. You can Google these terms if you want to find out more about each, although only if this particularly interests you.

For what it’s worth, the notes above hold to a premillennialism viewpoint, which I consider the most spiritually-accurate standpoint.