For those of you who believe the 1000 year reign of Christ is literal, as I used to believe also, how can it be literal when the resurrection of the just and unjust takes place on the "last day". But in Revelation it says the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years had expired. Am I missing something?
Joh_6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh_12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
I want to jump in and add some thoughts.
I would
not say that you are missing something
as far as saying the 1000 years is not to be taken literal especially so in a book of prophecy where we MUST interpret scriptures with scriptures to see the
spiritual truth written for spiritually-minded children of God. We have a hint in
Revelation 20:1-3 that this chapter is to be interpreted spiritually using the word of God for our understanding by comparing scripture with scriptures, here a little and there a little, etc.
Revelation 20:1-3~And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, 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.
We read the scriptures literally and THEN seek for it spiritual meaning from the same.
Really, does anyone believe a
spirit can be lock up using a chain and a key? Of course not, so we must seek help from the word of God for our understanding so as not to shame ourselves before those who understand how to get a biblical answer that has a perfect flow from start to finish.
1000 Year Reign can be interpreted by using PLAIN SCRIPTURES from God's witness of the truth.
The question at hand is, "does the 1000 year reign spoken of in Revelation chapter 20, mean that Christ is going to come and reign on this earth for a literal 1000 years after the Tribulation?" This theory is taught by a great many Theologians, but the question is, can it be verified by the scriptures themselves.
And the answer is, No! The whole idea is contradictory when we consider all of the pertinent scriptures which are used to justify this belief.
Nowhere is this doctrine explicitly mentioned in scripture, it is based solely on the misunderstanding or private interpretation of a few select verses.
We need to consider this (the great tribulation that is STRICTLY
spiritual in nature) and 1000 year reign for they go hand in hand. No where does it say God will rapture the Church before the tribulation! In fact, the Lord says just the opposite. He says the Church will not be taken out of the world until the
end of the world. He says the rapture is at
"The Last day" and "The Last Trumpet".
These ideas of a pre-tribulation rapture and an earthly reign of Christ are built upon an unsound foundation that will not stand the test of scripture. Let's keep moving since there's a lot of ground to cover.