The Wellspring. No.14
“Understanding
is a Wellspring of Life to him that has it.”
(Proverbs.
16:22)
Occasional papers by Arthur & Rosalind Eedle
The Millennium
Frequently
these days I receive papers, or read articles, which fight shy of accepting the
thousand-year reign of Christ, as stated in Revelation 20. It is as though a
new consensus of opinion is gaining ground amongst evangelicals and
charismatics, whereby it is now in vogue to spiritualise the words of Rev.20,
so that the "thousand years" can mean any length of time, as long as
it's not 1,000 years. In this article I wish to give my reasons for maintaining
a belief in a literal Millennium.
I am
aware of the fact that the Book of Revelation contains vast amounts of
figurative material. Of this there cannot be any doubt. But expositors very
often adopt extreme positions. Some are prone to take everything figuratively,
whilst others try their best to take everything literally. One
prominent writer in the USA has recently pronounced his opinion quite
vigorously in favour of total spiritualization, thereby getting himself into
knots from the outset, because one simply cannot spiritualise Jesus, God, the
throne of God, and various other factors that require no effort of the
imagination to require alternative meanings. On the other hand, another
well-known writer has tried his level best to engender fear and terror in the
minds of his readers by presenting "apocalyptic nightmares" of
colossal magnitude. I would suggest that neither of these extremes are worthy
of further thought. A balanced approach is needed when reading the Revelation.
Some of John's visions are figurative, but many statements that read in a simple
straightforward manner can be left as literal.
So let's
investigate the subject of the Millennium. Is it literal or figurative? First
of all, here are the actual references, on which the assessment has to be made.
20:2 The Devil is bound for a thousand years.
20.3 At the end of the thousand years the Devil is released.
20:4 The faithful overcomers reign with Christ for a thousand years, in
resurrection.
20:5 The rest of the dead have to wait for resurrection until the thousand
years is over.
20:6 The faithful overcomers will act as priests and kings in their
thousand-year reign with Christ.
20:7 When the thousand years expires, Satan will be released from his prison.
Here is a
period of time which has a beginning and an end. To assume otherwise would be
to create nonsense out of these words of Scripture. Furthermore, we are given
no less than six items to ponder, which reduce to three theological statements,
namely
1. The Devil is imprisoned for 1,000 years, and thereafter released.
2. The faithful overcomers reign with Christ during this period of 1,000 years.
3. The rest of the dead have to wait until the 1,000 years is over before
attaining resurrection status.
We, as
human beings, have no certain knowledge of future dates. We cannot specify when
this period of time will begin. And it is doubtful whether anyone will be able
to pin-point the starting date even after it has started.
Ultra-literalists would then be unable to calculate the terminal date. We must
avoid this type of exercise.
However,
in the mind of God, there is both a beginning and an end to this period of
time, and it remains in His authority both to begin and to end the period. If
this were not so, then words would have no meaning.
On this
basis, to assume the necessity of spiritualising the time period becomes
questionable, to say the least. What valid reason can anyone have for saying
that 1,000 years does not mean 1,000 years but some other (often unspecified)
time interval? What better contender for rational thought can arise by saying
that 1,000 years means 500 years, 10 days, or 10,206 years? If we have
authority to change a simple statement to mean something "better" in
our own estimation, then we are taking a dangerous liberty. Without very cogent
reasons to the contrary, simple statements of Scripture should be allowed to
mean what they say. To do otherwise would be to adopt the position of the
Serpent in the Garden, - "Can it really be that God should have said . .
.?"
There are
other reasons for considering the Millennium to be 1,000 years.
1. At the
beginning of Revelation, John said that he was "in the spirit on
the Lord's day." I know there has been a lot of speculation
about the meaning of "the Lord's day", but I find it passing strange
to think that John merely meant Sunday (the usual interpretation). In fact
there is much to be said for "the Lord's day" being Saturday, the
Jewish Sabbath. But even this is without very much clout. I think Dr. Bullinger
had the correct view when he declared that John was in the spirit in "the
Day of the Lord," that period of time specified by Old Testament
prophets, which equates exactly with the contents of the subsequent visions in
Revelation.
This
being so, it suggests that there is a hidden symbolism within the plan of
the "week" in Genesis. Each of the "days" is prophetic of
1,000 years, the seventh period being that of the Sabbath, which is called "the
Day of the Lord," and referred to as Rest (a Sabbatism) in
Hebrews 4.
2. In
ancient times there were many Hebrew scholars who espoused this concept, and became
known as Chiliasts, a word deriving from the Greek for 'one thousand.' I'll
mention some passages that support this. First of all, in the apocryphal
Epistle of Barnabas, where we find the following. (Chapter 12.) "At
the beginning of creation God makes mention of the Sabbath . . . Consider what
that signifies, He finished them [i.e. works] in six days, that is in six
thousand years the Lord will bring all things to an end. For 'one
day with Him is as a thousand years', . . . And what means it,
'He rested on the seventh day'? The Son shall
come and abolish the season of the wicked one . . and shall gloriously rest in
that seventh day. . . . When resting from all things He shall begin the
eighth day, the beginning of the other world, for which we observe the eighth
day with gladness, in which Jesus rose from the dead."
Barnabas mentioned the verse in Psalm 90, quoted by Peter in one his
epistles, that "one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day."
Then we have the Feast of Tabernacles, the time of rejoicing after
harvest gathering. It was a seven-day feast, followed by an eighth day, "the
last day, the great day of the feast." This caused Martha to say
to Jesus, concerning Lazarus, "I know he shall rise again in the
resurrection on the last day." She believed, along with many in
Israel at that time, that the "general resurrection" would be after
the 7,000 years were over, corresponding to the eighth thousand
years. John, in Rev.20, stated that "the rest of the dead" would have
to wait until the 1,000 years expired. This was confirmed to the Hebrew mind by
circumcision, the 'putting away of the flesh, 'being required on the eighth
day.
3. Chronologists who try to assess the time interval from Adam to Christ find
their calculations more or less agreeing with Archbishop Ussher, in other words
approximately 4,000 years. (I am aware of the many who prefer the longer period
deduced from the Septuagint, but after doing some extensive research on this
subject, I found that there were many flaws in the LXX chronology.) I believe
the 4,000 years was shown in type by the days of Passover. The Lamb was chosen
on the 10th day, and slain on the 14th day. Our Lord was "chosen
from before the foundation of the world", but only appeared "in
the fullness of the times," 4,000 years later. And if Scripture
gives warrant to there being eight "days", then the Crucifixion
occurred exactly midway in history.
4. Using
the same system of interpretation, we find the prophet Hosea saying, (Chapter
5:15-6:2) "I will go and return to my place, till they have
borne their guilt, and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me
earnestly, saying, Come, let us return to the Lord, for He has torn and He will
heal us; He has stricken, and He will bind us up. After two days He will
revive us, on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before
Him." Have these "two days" represented
the 2,000 years from Calvary until now?
5. The
life of Noah is full of typological meaning. His name means "Rest."
He lived 600 years before the flood, and therefore his seventh century was on
the renewed earth, after passing unscathed through the judgment of the flood.
If his 600 years symbolise the 6,000 years of millennial history, then at the
end of 6,000 years we may expect a time of judgment, followed by a different
order in the world. This is exactly what the prophets tell us.
6. The "Cluster
effect." This is the name I give to significant events
that cluster round Millennial boundaries. God told Adam that he would die "in
the day that you eat" from the tree of knowledge. In
point of fact he died twice, first of all when he "fell", and finally
when he died at 930 years of age. Some 57 years later (in 987) Enoch was
translated, and in 1056 Noah was born. These three important events
"cluster" around the first millennial boundary.
The second millennial boundary finds Abram born at 1948, and Noah dying at
2006.
The third millennial boundary is marked by the building of Solomon's Temple.
The fourth millennial boundary has the Lord being born BC2 and dying AD33.
Israel ceases as a nation in AD70.
The fifth is uneventful, but the sixth millennial boundary is noted for the
re-establishment of the Nation of Israel in AD1948.
As a result of this study, it is clear that no major event actually clicks on
millennial boundaries, but the presence of "clusters" show us the
importance of millennial typology. It leaves us with the high probability of
the Lord establishing His Millennial Rest sometime during the next 50 or so years,
as history has shown that significant events only tend to cluster, rather
than fall on millennial boundaries. We are now living approximately
6,000 years from Adam. Nobody can produce a reliable date, however much
research they do, but we can be sure of the approximate duration. Hence we are
living in exciting times. The Millennial Rest could begin at any
time and there is therefore an added urgency for serious-minded believers
to be much before the Lord, to act like the wise virgins who were ready for any
eventuality, because "they knew not the hour". The foolish virgins
thought they knew, and therefore restricted their oil supply accordingly.
[In
writing the above, I am indebted to Dr E.W.Bullinger and his book, "The
Apocalypse, or the Day of the Lord", 1902. Also to J. Eustace Mills and
his excellent booklet entitled "Sabbatical Typology", written in
1937. It is long since out of print. I had the privilege of meeting brother
Mills in 1962 during a holiday in Devon, and I remember with joy the brief
time of fellowship we had together.]