Sermon Tone Analysis

Revelation #28

*“The Glorious Honeymoon”*

*Revelation 20:1-6*

 

 

*READ 20:4-6*

 

VIEWPOINTS:

 

Premillennial View – There is much dispute over the identity of the persons who were seen seated upon the thrones (v.

4), whether they were (a) God, Christ, and the angels; (b) the twenty-four elders (cf.

Rev. 4:4); (c) the martyrs and those who refused to worship the beast (mentioned later in the verse); or (d) all the saints of both the Old and the New Testaments (cf.

Matt.

19:28).

The last view mentioned seems to be preferred by most expositors

The right of judging *was committed to them* (v.

4), which suggests that they participated with Christ in the judicial rule of the nations during the Millennium.[1]

As to the 1000 years If other periods of years like the 3 ½ and 7 years are seen as literal years so must this 1000 years been seen as literal

 

 

Amillennial View – Two views prevail among /amillennialists /concerning the venue of the saints in this vision.

The older view, proposed by Augustine, is that the picture is that of the spiritual reign of believers on earth in the present age, symbolizing the victory through which it is written that “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom.

8:37).

An alternative view, attributed originally to the nineteenth-century German scholar Kliefoth, is that the vision describes the blessedness of the departed saints in heaven after death, but prior to the resurrection.

This is the more widespread view today among /amillennialists./

The thrones (v.

4) are apparently in heaven, as were those in Revelation 4:4, upon which the twenty-four elders sat.

Likewise, the souls of those who had been beheaded for Christ are no doubt seen in heaven here, as they were in Revelation 6:9.

That this period is referred to as *a thousand years* (v.

4) need give us no trouble, even though the actual age of the church has by this time run nearly twice this length of time.

There is nothing surprising in finding the use of a symbolic number here as elsewhere in Revelation.

The number “a thousand” is frequently used in Scripture without the intention of conveying statistical information  We find this resurrection of bodies from their graves at the end of the Millennium (v.

13).

It follows that there can be no other physical resurrection than that mentioned at the end of the chapter and that the “first resurrection” mentioned in verses 5 and 6 must therefore be a spiritual one.

Such a conclusion is justified by the fact that the Christian’s experience of regeneration is frequently spoken of in terms of a spiritual rising from death to life [2] They would not see the “rest of the dead did not live again” as being literal but referring to the fact that since they are not regenerated they only experience resurrection to the judgment but not the first “spiritual resurrection”.

The saints reigning with him is seen as the collective church participating with Christ in reigning through the church age

 

Postmillennial View - The meaning of the first resurrection (vv.

5, 6) is not a unanimously settled matter among /postmillennial/ writers.

It is said of the martyrs that they lived and reigned (v.

4) for the thousand years, which is taken by some to mean that the future victory of Christianity after its earlier history of persecution amounts to nothing less than a rebirth of the cause for which the martyrs died.

John Jefferson Davis writes: “The ‘first resurrection,’ then, refers to the future restoration and vindication of the cause for which the martyrs died.”

An older view of Daniel Whitby, followed by A. A. Hodge in the nineteenth century and James Snowden in the early twentieth century, was that the first resurrection refers to a revival of the martyr spirit.

Chilton points out that the “first resurrection” may be a reference back to Christ’s own resurrection from the dead.

Paul refers to Christ as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor.

15:20) and as “the firstborn from the dead” (Col.

1:18).

As Chilton says, when Christ arose, “He rose from the dead, and resurrected all believers with Him.” Thus the beatitude is not pronounced upon those who have risen from the dead, but rather *he who has part in the first resurrection* (v. 6).

Every believer “has part in” the resurrection of Christ—those souls seen in heaven illustrate that the life they have received while on earth continues, uninterrupted by death, in heaven.

Chilton raises a pertinent question, only to answer it: 

Having been resurrected with Christ, Christians are to rule and to promote His rule in the world at this present time.

Chilton, Rushdoony, and other Christian Reconstructionists believe that this rule of the saints on earth will ultimately take the form of “a Christian Republic, where God’s law rules.”[3]

Considering all the viewpoints and possibilities … how do we decide?

We get our word for HOUR from the Greek and Latin words /hora/ … and it means a period of 60 minutes

 

We get our word for year from the word /annum/ thus our word annual, which means a space of 365 days, 1 year.

We get our word for 100 years from the word for 100, /centum/ … it means an actual 100 years

 

The word “millennium” combines 2 latin words, /mille/ meaning 1000, and /annum/, a year.

A Millennium is 1000 actual years.

It is even more clearly pointed out as specific because it is called THE 1000 years in our text or THE MILLENNIUM.

This is NOT symbolic, or a spiritual lesson, or an undetermined period of time … this is a SPECIFIC, identifiable period of time that is 1000 years in length

 

There is a very specific event on either side that identifies it.

Satan is BOUND that he may NOT deceive, then he is loosed for a short time so that he can deceive.

There has never been a time when Satan has NOT been about the deception of man, since Eve and Adam in the garden until now, it has been the constant and militant activity of Satan to deceive the world away from the things of God.

It hasn’t stopped for a day let alone 365,000 days, so we know it is yet to come.

We know that it comes at the end of the Tribulation because it follows Armageddon.

It follows a Glorious Appearing as well as a cataclysmic and gruesome end to the age as we have known it.

What are some things that we know about this Great and Glorious Honeymoon.

We must tie it together with what has come before it.

I believe that the Church has been caught up and taken out of this world.

That the 70th week prophesied by Daniel 9 has finally come.

A great world leader will arise and bring the world into a false sense of peace and unity

 

Leaders of the world will give him sweeping authority

 

There will be 2 witnesses that will take the place of the church proclaiming truth from Jerusalem, they will be indestructible and unable to be silenced until 1260 days or 3 and ½ years passes.

They will then be struck down and killed, lay dead in the streets for 3 days.

Then they will be both resurrected and then caught up into heaven.

There will be 144,000 Jewish Evangelists that will rise up during these years that will proclaim Christ as the Messiah and call the world, especially Israel to Christ 

 

There will be wars, natural disasters, famines, and more than ½ the world’s population will die

 

Seven Seals will be opened and reveal the details in Heaven

Seven Trumpets of Judgment will sound

 

The Antichrist will be revealed for who he is and be worshipped as god led by a false prophet.

He will break a covenant of 7 years with Israel 3 ½ years in and desecrate the Temple and pour out his wrath on Israel for 42 months

 

7 final bowls of judgment most severe will be poured out in this period of 3 ½ years

 

Millions of people who come to Christ in his tribulation will be martyred for their faith

 

Many of Israel will flee to the Desert Regions and be protected and provided for by God.

The Antichrist will incite the world to fight against Israel and against God

 

In Heaven the Church, the Bride of Christ will be wed, pure and holy to Christ,

 

Finally, Christ will appear in the sky, leading his faithful, riding white horses, he will descend to earth, and destroy all those who oppose him with the Word of his mouth, the Word of God

 

The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be cast into the lake of fire

 

Satan will be bound and cast into the Abyss for 1000 years

 

THEN we enter into our GLORIOUS HONEYMOON with Christ

 

And there are only 3 verses here, but what do we know about this Time.

*1.

This is a Fulfillment of MUCH Prophesy *

 

Which illuminates this time of promise

Some Scriptures:

Isaiah 2:1-5; 4:1-6: 11:1-9; 12:1-6; 30:18-26; 35:1-10; 65:17-25

Zeph 3:11-13; Zech 9:9,10: 14:16-21;

Ps 2; Luke 1:30-33;

The scriptures are too numerous to even read and studying in weeks of teaching

 

 

*2.

This is a Time of Reclamation of the Earth*

 

Romans 8:19-20

 

This earth LONGS to be restored to it’s original power and strength

 

Some prophesy says the moon will be like the sun and the sun like 7 days worth of light

 

The point is we are not getting the slightest bit of what God intended for us to experience in this earth.

In The Millennium Ezekiel 47:8-12 tells us the a river will come out of Jerusalem and it’s Fresh water will even turn the Dead Sea to Fresh and teaming with life

 

Dr.

Criswell recounts this imagination of what that time might be like …

/I can imagine in that day a ride through the western deserts of America.

You could imagine it through the Sahara, you could imagine it through the Gobi Desert of China.

Let’s just imagine it through the western deserts of America.

And as we ride, say, on a train, we look out the window and there are beautiful crystal clear streams, beautiful streams of water.

And we say, “How could it be in the desert such marvelous streams of water?” /