Introduction

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I’d like to begin today with a fun little exercise.  Well … fun for some perhaps.  How many people remember those 3D magic eye pictures from the 90s?  Now don’t call out if you figure out what this is.  But for those not familiar … the principle is; as you focus on the pattern … if you go slightly cross-eyed … so as to bring two of the patterns together … and hold it there … a hidden 3D picture emerges.  So I’ll give you 5-10 seconds to have a go at this.  If you never figured out how to do these … then you probably won’t get it even if I leave it up here the whole sermon.  But hands up if you can see the picture?  And the picture is?  Yes, a dragon.  There’s a 3D dragon hidden in this pattern.

Now … the reason I bring up 3D magic eye pictures … is because this is what the book of Revelation is like.  It is a hidden picture book.  And if we don’t understand this … then we risk misunderstanding it’s message.  It’s like reading ANY genre.  OK … we don’t read a poem … expecting it to tell us how to fix our car … anymore than we read a car manual … expecting it to move us emotionally.  So in order to understand the book of Revelation … we need to read it the way it tells us to read it.  And it TELLS us to read it as a picture book … with hidden symbolism.  So let me give us just one example.  Flick back one page to Revelation chapter 19 … v. 8:

Revelation 19:8 (NIV) Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

You see in apocalyptic literature … like the book of Revelation … most things we’re shown symbolise something else.  So the wedding gown for the bride of Christ is not some beautiful white sparkly Versace custom job.  It SYMBOLISES the righteous acts of the saints.  We’ve seen this throughout the book:

• The seven stars in Rev 1 are the 7 angels

• The seven lampstands are the 7 churches

• The 144,000 in Rev 7 is all of God’s people

• And the 3 and a half years is a long but limited period of time

The list goes on and on.  And if we fail to realise that each of the things we’re shown in this book symbolise something … then we miss it’s message altogether.

And this brings us to Revelation chapter 20 … which talks about ‘a thousand years’ … or the Millennium.  And this is the ONLY passage in the Bible that mentions the millennium.  Now if you’ve been a Sydney Anglican for most of your life … it may be you’ve never even HEARD of The Millennium before.  Or perhaps you’ve heard of it … but you just have no idea what to make of it.  I was listening to an English preacher by the name of Sinclair Ferguson on this passage.  And he said no one in England has ever asked him about the Millenium.  But when he moved to the US … EVERYONE asked him about the Millennium.  This thousand year reign is a big deal for some pockets of the Christian church … in particular in America.  But the Australian church has been influenced MORE by the English … which means it’s not that big a deal for us.

But … God has put this passage in the Bible for a reason.  And our GOAL for today is to unpack this passage and see how it applies to our lives.  Now this will require our thinking caps today.  But I’ve got a whole bunch of slides to try and simplify it a bit.  And call me crazy … but I’ll open it up for questions at the end.  Not sure how I’ll go answering them; but I’m happy to look foolish … if it means helping us even a bit.  So … if you’ve got your newssheet open … I’ve got three points today.  Our first point is going to look at (i) The 3 views on the Millennium … as found in the Christian church.  We’ll then unpack (ii) The pros and cons of each of these views … concluding with (iii) The implications for Christians today.  So … let’s see if we can’t bring this pretty pattern into focus … and find the hidden picture behind the Millennium.

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3 Views on the Millennium

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And … our passage begins with an angel coming down out of heaven … v. 1.  Now this MAY be the same angel we saw back in Chapter 9 … who had the key to the abyss back then … but we can’t be certain.  And we read:

Revelation 20:2 (NIV) He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Then at the END of that thousand years … he is set free for a short time.  Now the question that has perplexed theologians for centuries is … what on earth is this thousand years … where the Devil is BOUND … and not able to deceive the nations?

Well there are 3 main views on the Millennium.  And they are titled ‘Premillennialism’, ‘Postmillennialism’ and ‘Amillennialism’.  And what we need to understand is that there are very smart and very faithful theologians who hold to all these views.  And they argue their views from the text of the Bible.  So we don’t just need our thinking caps on today … we need a coat of epistemic humility as well.  So … let’s suit up … and look at these 3 views:

And we begin with premillennialism … which says that Jesus will return BEFORE this thousand years.  Hence PREmillennialism.  So at some undisclosed time in the future … Jesus will return … and Satan will be locked up in ‘the Abyss’ … presumably Hell … for 1,000 years.  All believers who have died … both OT and NT believers … will be physically resurrected and given their heavenly bodies … their glorified bodies … so they cannot die.  This is the first resurrection according to Premils.  Christians who are still alive when Jesus’ returns will reign alongside these resurrected saints.  But they won’t be given their resurrection body … which some people think means they will get old and die.  Then after that thousand year reign … Judgment Day will happen … followed by the new heavens and the new earth … which we’re looking at in a few weeks’ time.  So that’s Premillennialism.

Postmillennialism says that Jesus will return AFTER the thousand years … hence POSTmillennail.  According to this view … at a certain point in time … which MAY have already happened … we don’t know … the Millennium will begin on this earth.  And it will be golden age in which the whole world will be Christianised … and there will be peace and prosperity across the globe.  THEN Jesus will return … Judgment Day … new heavens and new earth.

Now … for most Sydney Anglicans … Premillennialism and Postmillennialism sound very foreign … very strange.  The reason being … whether you know it or not … you’ve been raised an Amillennialist here in Sydney.  Most Sydney evangelical churches … are Amillennialist.  But the term Amillennialist is a BIT of a misnomer … because the ‘A’ in Amillennialism literally means ‘without’.  So just like an Atheist is someone without God … or an Agnostic is someone without knowledge … Amillenialism literally means ‘without a millennium’ … which isn’t technically true.  Because Amillennialists believe the 1,000 years in Rev 20 is symbolic.  OK … Revelation is a book of symbolism.  And this thousand years … according to Amillennials … is symbolic of the time between Jesus’ first and second comings.

So according to Amillennialism … we’re living in the Millennium right now … even though it’s been going for over 2,000 years.  Now the souls of those who have been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus … v. 4 … have been resurrected SPIRITUALLY.  OK … according to 2 Corinthians 5 … when Christians die … their souls are ripped from their body.  Their body remains here to rot … while their soul goes to be ‘with the Lord’ … in a spirit-like … or disembodied state.  Theologians call it the intermediate state.  When Jesus returns … those souls will then be resurrected PHYSICALLY … then comes Judgment Day … then the new heavens and the new earth.

Now if that sounds a BIT more familiar to most of us here … it’s because that’s what we teach here at Earlwood Anglican.  Even though I’ve never once mentioned the Millenium in a sermon in my 12 years at this church … the theology we teach in Sydney Anglican churches is Amillennial theology.  But like I said … very smart and very faithful theologians hold to all 3 of these views.

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Pros and Cons

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So the next question is … how can we figure out which one is right?  Well the late, great John Chapman used to say he was a PANmillennialist.  By that he meant … it will all pan out in the end.  He of course said that in jest.  As Deuteronomy 29:29 says … the things God has revealed … are revealed so that we may follow them.  So PANmillennialism is not really an option.  As such … let’s look at the pros and cons of these 3 views … beginning with Postmillennialism this time.

And Postmillennialism is by far the least popular view today.  And the reason not many people hold to Postmillennialism today is because it says the world will get BETTER in the leadup to Christ’s return.  The NT on the other hand gives the impression that things will get progressively worse … in particular for Christians … as Jesus’ return approaches.  So not many people hold to that.

When it comes to Premillennialism … there are 3 main arguments that support this view.  And I get these from renowned NT scholar Thomas Schreiner … who has only this year released a major commentary on the book of Revelation.  So he kind of knows what he’s talking about.  And the 3 arguments for Premillennialism are as follows:

1. Premillennialism makes better sense of the chronology of Rev 19 and 20.  So Jesus returns in Rev 19 … as we saw last week … THEN the angel puts Satan in the abyss in Rev 20 … THEN the Millennium.  Premil makes more sense of the chronology of these 2 chapters.

2. Satan is CURRENTLY the god of this world.  So in Rev 12 … Satan is cast down to the earth … where he can deceive the nations.  So if we’re CURRENTLY living in the Millennium … as Amillennialism says … how can Satan deceive people if he’s locked in the Abyss?

3. Who are the martyrs who ‘came to life’ in v. 4?  When it says this is ‘the first resurrection’ … the Greek word for resurrection … which is ‘anastatis’ … always refers to a physical resurrection in the NT.  Amillennialism says this is the one exception.  What’s more … the word ‘come to life’ … which in the Greek is ‘ezesan’ … is the same word used in v. 5 … which even Amillennials think is a physical resurrection.  So if the ‘ezesan’ in v. 5 is a physical resurrection … why isn’t the ‘ezesan’ in v. 4?

So they’re the 3 main pros for Premillennialism.  Are you still with me?  Both of you.  Good.  They’re very technical arguments.  But they’re arguments FROM the text.  The big drawback … the ‘con’ for Premillennialism is this notion that there will be unglorified Christians in the Millenium.  Only those who have DIED get their heavenly bodies.  So what is the deal with the unglorified believers?  Do they get to rein the WHOLE 1,000 years?  Do they die?  Do they just keep getting older and older?  Do they keep having children … if they’re not jet glorified?  These are serious questions Premillennialists struggle to give an adequate answer on.

So what about Amillennialism?  Well the first ‘Pro’ for Amillennialism is that the 3 arguments for Premillennialism are all easily accounted for.  Let me explain.

1. Firstly … Rev 20 doesn’t have to happen AFTER Rev 19 … as the Premillennialists claim.  Revelation is not a series of events … it’s a series of visions.  As we saw in Rev 6-16 … the 7 trumpets and the 7 bowls are not NEW sets of judgments; they are a retelling of the judgements poured out in the 7 seals.  So Rev 20 doesn’t HAVE to happen after Rev 19.  It just as easily could be a flashback.

2. Second … outside of this passage … there is only 1 other mention of Satan being bound in Scripture … which is in Mark chapter 3, or it’s equivalent in Matthew chapter 12.  And that is when Jesus says his death and resurrection BIND Satan … tie up the strong man … so that the strong man’s house can be plundered.  And here’s the thing.  Satan’s house has been plundered ever since Jesus death and resurrection.  You see BEFORE the coming of Jesus … every nation other than Israel rejected God.  Every Gentile … with only a handful of exceptions … went to hell.  Yet NOW … we are making disciples of ALL nations.  Satan is bound RIGHT NOW from keeping the nations in the dark.

3. And thirdly … the fact that there is a FIRST resurrection … v. 5 … naturally implies there is a second resurrection for believers too.  But if the first resurrection is a physical resurrection in the millennium … then there’s no second resurrection.  So why mention there’s a first?  Amillennialism says the first resurrection is when deceased believers go to be with the Lord in spirit … upon our first death.  And the second resurrection is the physical resurrection when Jesus returns … and ushers in the new heavens and new earth … while non-believers go to Hell … the second death.

The SECOND big ‘pro’ for Amillennialism is that throughout Scripture … the Parousia … when Jesus returns … happens ON Judgment Day … not a thousand years before judgment day … as Premillennialism believes.  And this is why most Sydney Anglicans are Amillennialists.  It just seems to make more sense of everything the Bible says about the end times.

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Implications

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Now … for those of us whose brains haven’t exploded yet … the final question to ask is ‘so what?’  We have here a stand-alone passage about the Millennium … in which deceased saints come alive and reign with Christ … while Satan is bound.  What difference does that make to our lives here and now?  And that’s a good question.  So as we close … let me give us 3 implications for all of this.  3 pieces of application.

And the FIRST is that like I’ve said … very smart theologians … who argue from the text … hold to all 3 positions.  And just so you know … we have a number of very committed Premillennialists at our church.  So if we do find ourselves speaking to a Christian brother or sister who holds a different perspective on the millennium … may we be ever gentle and respectful and loving and kind.  This is NOT the kind of issue Christians should split over.  Now there ARE issues Christians should split over.  So just this past week the Anglican Church in England has voted to bless same-sex marriages.  A serious breach of the teaching of Scripture.  But this passage … that can honestly be translated in various ways … is not worthy of causing a split between Christians.

Second … no matter how you read Revelation 20:1-6 … the one common thread for all 3 main views is … in the end … Jesus wins.  In the end … Satan and those he has deceived into following him … WILL be punished.  The whole point of the book of Revelation is to comfort Christians who are suffering persecution.  Now while we may not be getting thrown to the lions … like the original readers … our state government looks like it’s about to pass legislation that will seriously restrict what Christians can say in the public arena.  Christian persecution is on the rise here in Australia.  So application point number 2 is … don’t worry.  Whether you’re a premil, postmil or Amil … in the end … Jesus wins.

The third piece of application is that IF we are living in the Millennium now … and Satan has been bound through the cross … not completely bound … he still has some influence.  But if he has been bound from deceiving the nations … v. 3 … then our job as Christians is to undeceive the nations.  Every time we make a new disciple … Satan’s house is being plundered.  So our job … and if you tuned out 20 minutes ago … this is your take home for today … our job is to undeceive the nations about the gospel.

And this is hard work.  It means FIRST finding out exactly WHAT your friend or family member is deceived about.  THEN we have to figure out how the Bible answers that deception.  Then we have to speak the truth of the Bible IN LOVE.  And all 3 of those steps are difficult.  So as we close … let me give you my advice for all 3 steps.

They way we find out HOW our friends or family are currently being deceived is by asking them questions.  What do you think about this?  Have you ever thought about that?  Do you think our culture is right when it says this?  Do you see any dangers of thinking that?  And after we ask them our probing questions … we shut our mouth and listen.  OK …instead of talking over them … we wait to be INVITED to share our view.  And it almost always comes.  And if the invitation doesn’t come … pray that God will make it come.

The way we figure out how the Bible speaks into that deception is by doing the hard work.  I knew a guy many years ago who would have conversations with a mate at uni … who always had really hard questions about Christianity.  So this guy would record his mate’s question … then take it to his minister … and record his minister’s answer … then take it back to his mate.  And it paid off.  His mate became a Christian.

Yet the hardest part is speaking the truth IN LOVE.  Sometimes I just want to grab some people and slap them.  How can you not get this!  But then I remember how Jesus treated me.  Even while I was his enemy … Jesus died for me.  So if Jesus can be patient with me to the point of actually DYING for me … to get the message through to my stubborn brain … then I can be patient and gentle and loving and kind when explaining God’s word to my lost brethren.

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Conclusion

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And that’s the hidden picture behind this crazy passage.  The millennium is SYMBOLIC of the time between Jesus’ first and second comings … the cross and the Parousia.  Those who die in the Lord get to reign with him in HEAVEN.  While those of us who are still here … have the very important job of undeceiving the nations.  It is a deeply difficult job.  But how rewarding … to share in the plunder of Satan’s house.  The ‘Abyss’ in v. 3 is likely the Earth … where he was cast in Chapter 12.  So while he’s bound … awaiting the end … may we work hard at our very important job … and plunder Satan’s house … by making disciples of all nations.