Chapter 10 – A time for rejoicing
Read chapter 19 – chapter 22
We come to the ending of John’s Vision
and even more confusion caused by those who claim to understand completely what
all the elements of that vision are. We begin with a Hallelujah chorus in
chapter 19. As I read this chapter I am reminded of Pep Rally’s that occurred
before important games in order to whip up the emotions of the team and the
school. All of heaven is involved with this time of great praise to God.
Hallelujah literally means “Praise God”. A great multitude and then the 24
Elders and another multitude or the same, the text is not clear. All are
rejoicing at the finality of what is about to take place and that God through Jesus
is about to claim good over evil once and for all. We must remember at this
point that John is witnessing all of this in the spirit; his physical body is
still on Patmos. In verse 3-5, we see that Babylon is destroyed forever and we
are invited to the heavenly banquet that was foretold in Isaiah 25: 6, “NRSV On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all
peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled
with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.”
Preterists believe
that everything is now in the past and we are working toward the marriage feast
at the end of days. Idealists equate this to the customs of ancient Jewish
weddings where the bridegroom makes a betrothal, pays the dowry (Jesus death
and resurrection), and then arrives at some future time to be wed. Futurists
see this as the entire church being the bride of Christ and the Hallelujah is
proclaiming the feast about to begin.
Regardless of your leaning,
verse 9 tells us that we are truly blessed to be invited the marriage supper of
the Lord. If we remember this was one of the parables of Jesus, the wedding
feast where those who had brought oil (faithfulness) were let in and those who
did not were left outside. We are then given this glorious view of Jesus coming
on a white horse to do battle with the armies of evil. We see that the beast
and the false prophet are captured and then thrown into the fiery pit in
judgment (See Ezekiel 39: 17-19). Note that Jesus weapon of choice is His voice,
depicted by the tongue with a sharp sword (See Heb. 4:21; Psalm 17: 23-27; Isa
11:4) that destroys the enemies of God. It was also the way creation happened ,
Then God said…
Chapter 20 begins
with the capture of the dragon, our old archenemy Satan probably by Michael,
the great Angel of God. He is thrown into the pit for a thousand years and John
tells us he can deceive the people no longer. Here begins a great debate about
when and what this thousand year millennial period truly means. It is appropriate
at this point to have a discussion about this millennium and what it means from
the perspective of the thoughts that have prevailed over the last two thousand
years. There are three basic beliefs that we need to be aware of, Amillennialism,
Pre-millennialism, and Post-millennialism. Let us explore this and then move
onto the New Jerusalem.
Amillennialism is
the belief that the millennial period is not a literal thousand years; rather
it represents the fullness of time for God. The reign of Christ is not a
physical literal thing here on earth but is in heaven where Jesus reigns as
Lord and Savior following the resurrection. They believe that the cross has
bound Satan and his power has been diminished by the victory of resurrection
where Jesus now holds the key to life and death that Satan held prior to the
cross. Amillennialists believe that the tribulation is any time Christians are
persecuted in the world or the result of wars and/ or natural disasters and
that the graphic stories in John’s Revelation are metaphorical for the things
that happen in our lifetime. Christians will suffer until Christ comes again. Amillennialists
thought began somewhere around 300 AD and was widely accepted by 400 AD. They
believe that the rapture of the church occurs when Jesus is coming to earth for
the second coming. Idealists are Amillennialists and some Preterists as well.
Post-Millennialists
believe that Christ will return when the world becomes Christian. Though that
may sound somewhat farfetched, the idea is that Christians witness to the
Gospel and then Christianity grows because people become illuminated to the
truth. Like the Amillennialists, Post-Millennialists believe that the thousand-year
reign is in Heaven where Christ reigns as Lord and Savior. Unlike the Amillennialists,
they believe that the first resurrection happens when we give our lives to
Christ and we are regenerated in Christ. Tribulation happened for the Post
Millennials in 70 AD or in the ongoing conflict between good and evil. They
believe that the millennial period happens when the entire world comes to
Christ. Post Millennialism has its roots around 300 AD but really came to focus
through Joachim of Fiore around 1260 AD. They believe that rapture happens when
Christ returns. Preterists are the Post Millennial people though many
Preterists are Amillennialists.
Finally we come to
Pre-Millennialists. Pre-millennial people are the Dispensationalists who
believe that Tribulation is yet to come. They tend to be very literal people
concerning John’s vision and believe that what John wrote is going to happen
exactly as he describes it. Pre-Millennialists believe that the rapture is
going to happen just prior to Tribulation or in the middle of Tribulation. They
believe that Christ will return at the end of tribulation and will reign for
one thousand years, a time when Satan will be bound. At the end of the
Millennial Satan will be released and a final war will occur in the Megiddo
Valley. This belief is the newest of the millennial views coming into focus around
1744 with Morgan Edwards and then full acceptance in 1830 with John Nelson
Darby. As part of their belief, there are two churches, the Christian church that
will be raptured (first resurrection) and the second is the nation of Israel
when they come to faith in Christ (Second resurrection).
In verse
4 we are introduced to the first resurrection and then in verse 14 the second.
I have already discussed the differing views about what this means. Tradition
is stronger with the idea that the first resurrection refers to those who are
in Christ. There are two schools of thought in the traditional understanding of
this. One is that John’s first resurrection and Paul’s first death are one in
the same. That is to say, that first resurrection is when we accept Christ and
the Holy Spirit comes in us, we become one with Christ. Paul believed that we
then see dimly what we will see in the mirror fully at the end of our physical
lives at which point we will be resurrected fully ourselves as Christ has been
resurrected, in the body. NRS Romans
8:28 We know that all
things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according
to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to
be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn
within a large family. For those whom have received this first resurrection,
judgment happened at the cross. The other view is that the first resurrection
is for the believers who will be raised up with Christ when He comes to judge
the world prior to the New Jerusalem. Second resurrection is for those who did
not give their lives to Christ, who will face judgment and the fire.
Dispensationalists believe that first resurrection is the rapture when the
church (the Gentile church) will be lifted with Christ in the clouds and second
resurrection when the Jews who have received salvation are lifted at the end of
tribulation.
This brings us to chapter 21 and 22. Jerusalem will be
reborn as the New Jerusalem, God with us, when paradise that was lost will be
restored. Chapter 21 describes a great city fifteen hundred miles square that comes
down out of heaven. Is this a literal new reality as Dispensationalists believe
or is this a picture of heaven? Only time will truly tell. What we do know is
that here John is instructed to witness to the vision; with the exception of
those pieces he was told to keep sealed, so that the world would know what God
is up to. John’s Revelation gives us great hope as we are given a glimpse of
what will happen and how it will all turn out. We await the return of Jesus
Christ. Glory to God! AMEN.
Signs already
fulfilled
1. The temple would be destroyed that no stone
would be left upon another. (Matt 24:2) This in fact happened in 70 AD in
order to gather the gold overlay on the stones when the temple was destroyed in
that year.
2. A country will be capable of having an army
of 200 million. (Rev 9:16) In 1960 China announced that they had 200
million soldiers in their army.
3. People would be able to see events in real
time no matter where they are in the world. (Rev 11: 9-10) With the
creation of CNN in 1980 and real time news, cell phones and the internet, we
have this ability today.
4. Jesus said his words would not pass away.
(In over two thousand years this prophecy has in fact been fulfilled.
The Seven Future Signs
of Jesus (Matthew 24)
1. There
will be false prophets, those calling themselves Messiah, those leading you
astray.
2. You
will hear of wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation and kingdom against
kingdom.
3. There
will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
4. Christians
will be persecuted in Jesus name.
5. The
faithful will decline in number.
6. The
world will be in moral decay.
7. The
Good news will be preached throughout the world and then the end shall come.
Jesus says the
generation that sees these things will see the end.
Partial List of Old
Testament Signs of the End of Days
Daniel 2 and 9
Return of the Roman Empire
and the rise of a 5th Kingdom
Increase in Knowledge
Persecution of the Hebrew people
Destruction of the Temple and
Jerusalem
Rebuilding of the Temple
Jeremiah
23: 3-6 Messiah will return after the Jews return to Israel
46: 28 Enemies of
Hebrew people will cease to be nations
Micah
Zechariah
12: 2-3 Revival of the
nation of Israel
14:12 Flesh will rot
as people stand
Zephaniah 3:9
Return of the Hebrew language
Ezekiel
4:3-6 & 34:13 Israel
would become a nation again
22: 14-15 Jews
would be scattered to other countries
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