We continue with,
The Millennium and the End of Sin
And with 1 Cor 15:24-28
“Then cometh the end [of the Kingdom Age], when he [Christ] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he [Christ] shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he [Christ] must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [the Father] that put all things under him [the Son], that God may be all in all.”
Verse 28, (highlighted above) in conjunction with Verse 24, informs the reader that the Son will turn over to the Father loyal sons, tried to the core, in whom there is no trace of disloyalty, so that “God may be all in all.” The Father’s character and principles will be 100 percent in 100 percent of all who are turned over to Him. At that time the Son’s work will be fully accomplished, for the very object of the work is that “God may be all in all,” that He might be in everybody completely. Adam, the son of God, was created perfect and innocent but was not yet tried; when tested, he failed. Those of mankind who get everlasting life will be tried and proven in their perfection—and will, therefore, be everlastingly faithful.
Although everlasting life and immortality are both unending lives, the quality of each is vastly different.
Immortality, the crown of life reserved for only a few, is the possession of an inherent life welling up within oneself. It is to dwell on the divine plane of existence in the very presence of Jesus and the Father.
Everlasting life, on the other hand, is an unending life on a lower plane of existence and a life, whether on the human or the spirit plane, that needs to be sustained by food, drink, sleep, and continued obedience (even though already proven) to the divine will.
Now we are ready to return to the last part of Rev 20:3
“…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.”
The Sinaitic omits “and” to render the end of this passage “After these things [Greek tauta—plural] he must be loosed a little season.”
After what things must Satan be loosed?
After being laid hold of, being bound, being cast into the abyss, being shut up, and having a seal set upon him—the emphasis is on these things and not specially on the thousand years, as the conjunction “and” would necessitate.
True, translated into English from the Greek, the passage states that no deception will occur “till the thousand years should be fulfilled.” But if the expression “the thousand years” is considered as a title (“viz., till The Millennium should be fulfilled”), the literalness of the Millennium being a thousand years in duration is preserved while, however, allowing it to be thought of in less rigid terms as a generality.
If the thousand years began in 1874 A.D., they would end in 2874 A.D. Satan could be loosed sometime during the year 2874. Since Jesus returned as a spirit being in October 1874, it is logical to assume that October 2874 would mark the end of the thousand years in a technical sense.
In the Bible several significant events happen in the spring and some in the fall. For instance, the Passover season occurs in the first month, in the spring of the year, while the Day of Atonement takes place in the seventh month, in the fall of the year; the sacred year begins in the spring, and the civil year begins in the fall of the same year. Therefore, Satan could be loosed for, say, six months of the same year, namely, 2874. In other words, Satan will be loosed in one part of the very year the thousand years end; he will be loosed before that year, the one thousandth year, is over—the year in which the Kingdom Age comes to an end and the Golden Age beyond the Millennium is ushered in.”
Having considered the first two parts of what our Adventist friends have to say about the millennium we still need to address the final part of their opening statement highlighted below.
“The millennium, begins with Satan being locked up in a pit, along with all the angels who chose to follow him (Revelation 12:4).
So where is this pit where Satan is to be locked up so he ‘might not deceive the nations any longer’? Though the Bible doesn’t specifically state it, we can infer this pit refers to the earth after the resurrection of the saints.
All the righteous have already been taken up to Heaven to live with Christ (Revelation 20:4), and the wicked are still dead in their graves (Revelation 20:5). There is no one on earth for Satan to deceive. The entire planet is empty, left in ruins, without a single human being (Jeremiah 4:24-26).
We will consider this in our next post.
The Millennium and the End of Sin
And with 1 Cor 15:24-28
“Then cometh the end [of the Kingdom Age], when he [Christ] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he [Christ] shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he [Christ] must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [the Father] that put all things under him [the Son], that God may be all in all.”
Verse 28, (highlighted above) in conjunction with Verse 24, informs the reader that the Son will turn over to the Father loyal sons, tried to the core, in whom there is no trace of disloyalty, so that “God may be all in all.” The Father’s character and principles will be 100 percent in 100 percent of all who are turned over to Him. At that time the Son’s work will be fully accomplished, for the very object of the work is that “God may be all in all,” that He might be in everybody completely. Adam, the son of God, was created perfect and innocent but was not yet tried; when tested, he failed. Those of mankind who get everlasting life will be tried and proven in their perfection—and will, therefore, be everlastingly faithful.
Although everlasting life and immortality are both unending lives, the quality of each is vastly different.
Immortality, the crown of life reserved for only a few, is the possession of an inherent life welling up within oneself. It is to dwell on the divine plane of existence in the very presence of Jesus and the Father.
Everlasting life, on the other hand, is an unending life on a lower plane of existence and a life, whether on the human or the spirit plane, that needs to be sustained by food, drink, sleep, and continued obedience (even though already proven) to the divine will.
Now we are ready to return to the last part of Rev 20:3
“…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.”
The Sinaitic omits “and” to render the end of this passage “After these things [Greek tauta—plural] he must be loosed a little season.”
After what things must Satan be loosed?
After being laid hold of, being bound, being cast into the abyss, being shut up, and having a seal set upon him—the emphasis is on these things and not specially on the thousand years, as the conjunction “and” would necessitate.
True, translated into English from the Greek, the passage states that no deception will occur “till the thousand years should be fulfilled.” But if the expression “the thousand years” is considered as a title (“viz., till The Millennium should be fulfilled”), the literalness of the Millennium being a thousand years in duration is preserved while, however, allowing it to be thought of in less rigid terms as a generality.
If the thousand years began in 1874 A.D., they would end in 2874 A.D. Satan could be loosed sometime during the year 2874. Since Jesus returned as a spirit being in October 1874, it is logical to assume that October 2874 would mark the end of the thousand years in a technical sense.
In the Bible several significant events happen in the spring and some in the fall. For instance, the Passover season occurs in the first month, in the spring of the year, while the Day of Atonement takes place in the seventh month, in the fall of the year; the sacred year begins in the spring, and the civil year begins in the fall of the same year. Therefore, Satan could be loosed for, say, six months of the same year, namely, 2874. In other words, Satan will be loosed in one part of the very year the thousand years end; he will be loosed before that year, the one thousandth year, is over—the year in which the Kingdom Age comes to an end and the Golden Age beyond the Millennium is ushered in.”
Having considered the first two parts of what our Adventist friends have to say about the millennium we still need to address the final part of their opening statement highlighted below.
“The millennium, begins with Satan being locked up in a pit, along with all the angels who chose to follow him (Revelation 12:4).
So where is this pit where Satan is to be locked up so he ‘might not deceive the nations any longer’? Though the Bible doesn’t specifically state it, we can infer this pit refers to the earth after the resurrection of the saints.
All the righteous have already been taken up to Heaven to live with Christ (Revelation 20:4), and the wicked are still dead in their graves (Revelation 20:5). There is no one on earth for Satan to deceive. The entire planet is empty, left in ruins, without a single human being (Jeremiah 4:24-26).
We will consider this in our next post.
