The False Doctrine of Amillennialism -Part 1
Why Pastors Don’t Teach on One Quarter of the Bible
I counted approximately 1.6 billion churchgoers world-wide that go to
churches that teach the false doctrine of Amillennialism and hear nothing
on prophecy even though over one quarter of God’s word is on prophecy.
I, myself, went to one of these churches for a number of years without
hearing anything on prophecy then in one Sunday sermon on Revelation
preached from the pulpit made me query the pastor who gave the sermon
and I said to him that my understanding of prophecy differed from his. He
smiled at me and said, “Oh, that’s because we’re Amillennialists.” I was
floored. Even though I have been going to different churches over the
years I never knew there was such a thing as Amillennialism. I just took
prophecy literally as the Bible teaches and I thought everybody else did
the same. Anyways, over the following weeks and months I did a lot of
reading on the doctrine of Amillennialism.
This doctrine denies that there is a literal Rapture, a seven-year
Tribulation and a literal kingdom over which Jesus Christ will rule on
earth for 1000 years. It teaches that the 1000 years mentioned 6 Times in
Revelation (c. 20) is a symbolic number. Augustine wrote in his book,
The City of God, that the book of Revelation is a spiritual allegory, and
that the Millennial kingdom began with the church, and Christ’s reign on
earth is spiritual in nature. This erroneous theology was adopted by the
Roman Catholic Church. This doctrine contrasted to what the apostles and
what the vast majority of early church fathers taught. They taught that
there would be a Millennial Kingdom where Christ reigned and ruled for
1000 years. It was not until the Catholic church bishop Augustine (354-
430 A.D.), began to write on eschatology that the belief in a spiritual
Millennial Kingdom took hold. He was a faithful Roman Catholic priest
who held to all of the false doctrines of the church, including the false
doctrine of Purgatory. The Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox
Church, and most of the Reformed church denominations teach the
doctrine of Amillennialism – 1.6 million churchgoers.2
Amillennialism denies the literal fulfilment of the prophecies of the
Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It is inconceivable that God would fulfil
all the prophecies of the Messiah’s First Coming, and then have most of
the prophecies of His Second Coming fulfilled in an allegorical manner.
It tells us in Scripture: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever (Hebrews 13:8).” One must ask who is more trustworthy
concerning doctrine: the false Roman Catholic church, which invented
Amillennialism, or Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Old Testament
prophets, the apostles and the early Church fathers? The Reformed church
denominations merely held on to that doctrine when they split from the
Catholic Church just as some did with other false doctrines such as infant
baptism. Even at the Nicene Council (325 A.D.), 318 bishops from all
parts of the earth placed themselves on record in believing in a literal
Millennial Kingdom.
Two Branches of Christianity Emerged from the Apostolic Era
If we look at the history of the Bible, it is a record of the mighty conflict
between two forces. The forces of righteousness and the forces of evil or
between God and the devil. Satan masterminded and manipulated an
apostate religion that began to masquerade as Christianity as far back as
in the days of the apostles. Two distinct branches of Christianity emerged
from the apostolic era. The true branch, one faithful to Christ and His
teachings and the other a false or counterfeit branch guided and influenced
by a different spirit that would accept the name of Christ but would twist
His teachings to create a convincing counterfeit of the True Church that
Christ founded.
The Roman church of today is purely a human institution. It’s doctrines,
which frequently stand in opposition to God’s word, were never taught by
Christ or the apostles. It is evident to anyone who examines the record of
the Babylonian rites and practices that were inserted into the Roman
Catholic Church. They would see that many of today’s pagan elements
within the Catholic Church were taken directly from the Babylonian
religion founded by Nimrod after the flood.3
By creating a counterfeit Christian religion, one that is not entirely
different from the true church but rejects some of the essential biblical
teachings that lead to eternal life; Satan is attempting to dwarf God’s plan
for the salvation of mankind. To accomplish his purpose, Satan exploits
human nature. He sways people to believe his deceptions. Satan retains
just enough truth in his doctrines to persuade people they are following
Christ, but introduces sufficient error to prevent them from living the way
that would ultimately lead to faith in what Christ accomplished for us on
the cross and to eternal life. Over the centuries the true church has been
infiltrated and divided by the powers of unscriptural men directed by
Satan in order to try and destroy it.
Christ knew what would happen after the disciples were gone. Jesus knew
that Satan would infiltrate and counterfeit this young growing Christian
church. He knew all of that and what would happen to God’s word, but
still the gospel had to go out to the unbelieving world. Jesus knew that
Satan would counterfeit the gospel and set up a counterfeit religious
system to deceive the masses. But despite Satan’s efforts millions upon
millions have come to know the Lord by reading His word – the Bible.
Christ identified and even warns people in this apostate end time church
of the Tribulation period (Rev. 17). Christ asks people to separate
themselves from the Babylonian religious and commercial system that is
doomed (RCC). “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins,
and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities (Rev. 18:4-5).” Yes, Christ Jesus
knew everything that was going to happen after the apostles passed on as
there is no apostolic succession and how Satan would counterfeit the
gospel and the true church of Christ Jesus.
Use of Allegory Distorts God’s Plan and Prophetic Understanding
Often, Bible interpreters incorrectly give Scripture an allegorical or socalled “spiritual” meaning which originated from Origen and Augustine.
The third century scholar Origen probably contributed more to doctrinal
confusion concerning his methods of biblical interpretation than any other 4
person. Origen was so influential that the current sitting Pope stated, “He
draws on the teachings he inherited from Clement of Alexandria, creating
an irreversible turn in Christian thought.” Origen also taught against a
literal interpretation for most of the first few chapters of Genesis. Here is
one such passage from him: “Who is foolish enough to believe that, like
a human farmer, God planted a garden in the east of Eden and created in
it a visible, physical tree of life, that tasting its fruit with bodily teeth
would receive life. And that one would have a part in good and evil by
eating the fruit from the appropriate tree?” As you can see, Origen was
mostly into allegory, which basically meant that he felt that he could
interpret passages to mean almost anything. Not what God is saying, but
what do you think God is saying? Clearly, Origen, Augustine and other
false teachers were influenced by Satan and were influential in the Roman
Church and its teachings.
Actually, Satan originated the allegorizing approach to Genesis. Satan
persuaded Eve to ignore the literal word of God for the “spiritual benefits”
that she would attain. Satan explained that there were spiritual benefits
that were greater than the actual Word of God, thus allegorizing away the
literal Word of God was an early teaching of Satan. Even though,
Augustine claimed that using allegory led to not understanding God’s
word, he and the Roman Catholic Church nevertheless decided that
allegory was the way they would look at the book of Revelation.
Augustine also explained the Millennium, the 1000 year reign of Christ
on this earth allegorically and applied it to the Church of Christ on earth.
This is very sad and un-biblical, as the early apostolic church taught the
Millennium and the future kingdom of God, yet Augustine was now
teaching directly against the early apostolic church in the fifth century,
even though he originally held to these beliefs earlier in his career. Sadly,
since the time of Augustine, those associated with the Roman Catholic
Church have done away with much of the true meaning of the book of
Revelation by way of allegorizing its actual meaning.5
A Literal Meaning is Vital
Martin Luther said as a Monk, he had been led in allegorical interpretations by the church fathers such as Origen, Jerome, and Augustine,
but when he found that they were a “vain shadow,” he began to detest
them. Martin Luther rejected the allegorical method and had strong words
against it. He said, “Allegories are empty speculations as it were the scum
of Holy Scripture, to allegorize is to juggle the Scripture and allegorizing
may degenerate into a mere monkey game and that allegories are
awkward, absurd and inventive.” Martin Luther also said, “When I was a
Monk, I was an expert at allegorizing Scripture, but now my best skill is
only to give the literal, sense of Scripture.” The basic meaning of Scripture
became clear and simple to Luther.
Accepting what the words in the Bible literally mean is a vital part of this
first rule. Unless the passage says otherwise, or is clearly using
metaphorical language, we must give the Scripture a literal meaning. It is
a well stated rule; “If the literal sense makes sense, seek no other sense.”
The Bible makes statements that are to be taken literally. A good example
of this is in Revelation chapter 20. The thousand years mentioned six
times, as to draw your attention, is called the “Millennium” and the verse
literally states that the time period is a thousand years. Amillennialists
falsely assert that the thousand years is only figurative and does not refer
to any specific period of time. They deny what God has literally stated
when He inspired John to pen this statement in Revelation, chapter 20.
Here lies the problem. If it does not mean a literal thousand years, how do
we go about determining its “real” meaning? Often, we are told to let the
Bible commentator or scholar tell you, because he has education and
insights that ordinary Christians do not have. The problem with this
answer is then, which Bible commentator, church, or teacher should you
trust to have the correct answer? With what criteria do you test each
commentator to see who is correct? Do you see the problem? So, when
you leave the literal method of interpreting Scripture you have no means
to determine what the passage says. It is left up to each person to
determine for himself what it means without any standard or system of 6
rules to follow. One can make up any meaning that suits them. Clearly,
this leads to great confusion and makes it impossible to know what God
intends to tell us.
It is obvious from reading Revelation 20, that the thousand years is literal
not figurative. There is nothing in the passage that would indicate that the
period of time is figurative. Thus, if we accept literally what the Bible
says, we are letting the Bible interpret itself. The correct interpretation of
the passage is simply that Christ will literally reign for a thousand years
on earth, known as the Millennium. The literal meaning of the words tells
us what God said. There is no confusion or misunderstanding. So, stick
with what I said earlier, “If the literal sense, makes sense, seek no other
sense.”
There are so many examples where Amillennialists have wrongly
interpreted Scripture and biblical prophecy. Let me just give you one more
example: God promised the Nation of Israel, in the Millennium, that they
would inherit the area of land from the (Nile) river in Egypt to the great
river, the River Euphrates (Genesis 15:18). The area we’re looking at
would be from Cairo in Egypt to Baghdad in Iraq which would also
include Jordan and Syria. This land that God had promised them is at least
50 times larger in area than anything they have ever possessed previously.
So, it is perfectly clear that the promise has never yet been fulfilled. Surely
there is a future for the Jewish people. After all, for 1900 years Israel did
not exist, and the Jews were not in the land. But today Jews from around
the world are returning to Israel on a daily basis. This is unprecedented in
human history. Never has a group of people been dispersed for hundreds
of years (in Israel’s case 1900 years) to every corner of the globe, and then
regathered back to their homeland. The fact that they did not disappear
completely into the cultures in which they were settled throughout the
world stands as evidence for God’s existence and faithfulness. God
promised to regather them in the last days and He is doing that in our time,
in our generation, before our very eyes. It is incorrect to interpret this
verse in any other way, but to say God literally promised this land to
Abraham’s descendants. It does not mean God gave these promises to the 7
church or anyone else. Amillennialists interpret it to mean and believe that
the church has now replaced Israel. No. The Euphrates River does not
mean the Sea of Galilee or any other body of water, nor does it have a
mystical meaning. It has only one meaning. That meaning must govern
the interpretation of a verse or passage. This promise that God gave to
Israel is still in the future. Israel still has a future in God’s plans, as this
promise has never been fulfilled, and I’m not about to call God a liar. As
a matter of fact, according to Jesus, the Jewish repossession of Jerusalem
will precede His return. For 1900 years born-again believers could not
point to this sign, but today in our generation both Israel and Jerusalem
are back in Jewish hands just as God predicted. So, you can see
Amillennialism is complete nonsense as well as a false doctrine.
Allegorizing and spiritualizing of Scripture is unscriptural nonsense
which Satan has used to deceive the masses when he counterfeited God’s
true church with his own brand of counterfeit Christianity. What was the
result? This Roman state dominated religion calling itself Christian
became a bizarre synthesis of beliefs, rituals, practices, and customs from
many sources.
The Nonsense of Amillennialism
Most Amillennialists apparently subscribe to four propositions:
(1). There is no future Millennium and believe that we are in the
Millennium now.
(2). That there is no future for Israel, the church has replaced Israel.
(3). That all the prophecies of the New Testament are to be spiritually
realized in the church.
(4). Satan has been bound, either fully or partially depending on who you
talk to.8
A little more than ¼ of the entire Bible is direct prophecy. No one has the
right to tamper with Scripture and advance an opinion and superimpose it
upon a pronouncement. What God says concerning the future is as exactly
true as what God has recorded concerning the past, and we are no more
allowed an opinion concerning God’s pronouncements about the future
than we are about those concerning the past.
Israel’s sphere is “earthly,” the Church’s sphere is “heavenly,” and they
should not be confused. If the Amillennialists are right, then there is no
rapture of the church, no judgement or rewarding seat of Christ before that
great and awful judgement of the Great White Throne. Can there be any
present assurance of salvation for anyone, if we cannot know whether or
not we are truly saved until the books are opened on that final great day?
Israel is not the church and the throne of David is not in heaven – it is on
earth. In the Bible there are three streams of prophecy, no more and no
less. There is no prophecy in all of Holy Scripture concerning mankind
which cannot be put into one of these divisions. There is one stream of
prophecy wholly concerned with the Jews. There is a second stream
wholly concerned with the nations of the world, frequently called the
Gentiles. Then there is a third stream entirely relating to the church of the
Redeemed in Christ Jesus.
When I consider the suggestion of spiritualizing the promises made to
Israel and handing them over to the church, I see a very grave danger
because there are certain prophecies given by God to His own earthly
people (Israel). Take for instance, the prophecies of Isaiah. I am asked by
Amillennialists to believe that some of these chapters which speak about
the great reign of peace and the time of universal prosperity and wellbeing under the benevolent rulership of Christ Jesus, are today being
fulfilled in the church. In other words, they say the prophecy does not
mean precisely what it literally says. They say that it is only intended to
indicate the blessed state of the church in this age. If you say that, you are
in a serious position, for if I may spiritualize the 2nd or the 60th chapter
of Isaiah, both of which are prophetic of the Millennial period then why
can’t I spiritualize that great prophecy of the atonement in the 53rd 9
chapter. You see, such treatment of Scripture doesn’t make any sense, it’s
totally bizarre. The Book means precisely what it says. I would like to
challenge anyone to find in the Bible one single prophecy of Christ’s First
Coming which was not literally, precisely, and exactly fulfilled as it is
written. That being said, would it not make sense that all of the prophecies
concerning Christ’s Second Coming would be fulfilled literally just as
well? After all, these were the same prophets who God instructed
concerning Jesus’ First Coming.
I have read that in the Old Testament there are more than 2000 prophecies,
some 300 prophecies regarding Jesus alone. I’ve also read from historians
that there are approximately 500 prophecies in the New Testament. Most
of which are still in the future concerning the Rapture, end time apostate
church, the Antichrist, Marriage Supper of the Lamb, the Great
Tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon, the binding of Satan, the
Millennial reign of Christ, National Israel recognizing the One whom their
fore-fathers had pierced and accepting Jesus as their Messiah, the
Crowning and Glorification of Jesus Christ that God had promised to His
Son, a New Heaven and New Earth plus others.
One quarter of the Bible is all about prophecy. If you were to tear out one
quarter of your Bible pages what kind of a Bible would you have left? It
certainly wouldn’t make much sense. Now, if all these prophecies were
fulfilled literally at Christ’s First Coming, wouldn’t it make sense that all
the prophecies concerning Christ’s Second Coming would also be
fulfilled literally as well? Remember, God is not the author of confusion,
but man is.
I am going to have to stop here as I have run out of space and will continue
this in a second posting next week. I hope this posting is cohesive as I’ve
had to edit and condense a lot of my notes from my previous studies on
Amillennialism going back many, many, years ago. I’ve had to leave out
a lot so I can get this all into 2 postings instead of 3 or 4. I hope this has
been very educational regarding the two branches of Christianity that
emerged from the apostolic era, the false doctrine of Amillennialism and 10
why most pastors don’t teach on one quarter of the Bible because of the
dominant view of Amillennialism in the Roman Catholic Church and
most of the Reformed church denominations – 1.6 billion churchgoers.
The False Doctrine of Amillennialism -Part 2
Last week I mentioned that I counted approximately 1.6 billion
churchgoers world-wide that go to churches that teach the false doctrine
of Amillennialism and hear nothing on prophecy even though over one
quarter of God’s word is on prophecy. They believe that Jesus returned in
A.D. 70 and that Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse is already fulfilled and
that most of Revelation refers to things in the past. Amillennialism denies
the literal fulfilment of the prophecies of the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ. Amillennialists deny that there is a literal Rapture, a 7-year
Tribulation and a literal kingdom over which Jesus Christ will rule on
earth for 1000 years. They believe that the book of Revelation is a spiritual
allegory and that the Millennial Kingdom began with the church. This
erroneous theology was taught by Origen and Augustine and adopted by
the Roman Catholic Church. After the Reformation, the reformed church
denominations merely held on to this doctrine when they split from the
Catholic Church just as some of these churches did with other false
doctrines such as infant baptism.
Amillennialists also spiritualize the passage of Revelation 20 (1-3) and
believe that Satan has been bound up and is no longer active in the world
and we are today living in the Millennium of Peace. I will have more to
say on this erroneous teaching, later. Another very damaging doctrinal
teaching that originated with Amillennialism and perhaps you never heard
of before is “replacement theology.” It became the fertile soil from which
anti-Semitism grew and has infected the church for nearly 1700 years.
Replacement theology teaches that the church replaces Israel in God’s
plan. Amillennialists believe that the many promises made to Israel in the
Bible are now fulfilled in the church, not in Israel. So, the prophecies in
Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised
Land are “spiritualized” or “allegorized” into promises of God’s blessing 11
for the church. The church is now the new Israel and Amillennialists teach
that the Jewish people have no special future and no longer have a special
purpose in the plan of God. This (satanic view) is at the root of much of
anti-Semitism and is held by the Catholic Church and many of the break
away Reformation churches as well as some more extreme counterparts
in the white supremacy movement. This is a major doctrinal heresy of
Amillennialism, and I will address it in a future posting.
I, myself, went to one of these churches for a number of years without
hearing anything on prophecy, however one Sunday sermon on
Revelation preached from the pulpit made me query the pastor who gave
the sermon and I said to him that my understanding of the end time
prophecy differed from his. He smiled at me and said, “Oh, that’s because
we’re Amillennialists.” I was floored. Even though I have been going to
different churches over the years I never knew there was such a thing as
Amillennialism. I just took prophecy literally as the Bible teaches and I
thought everybody else did the same. Anyway, over the following weeks
and months I did a lot of reading on the doctrine of Amillennialism.
As I have mentioned last week, two distinct branches of Christianity
emerged from the apostolic era. Satan masterminded and manipulated an
apostate religion that began to masquerade as Christianity as far back as
in the days of the apostles. The true branch, one faithful to Christ and His
teachings, and the other a false or counterfeit branch guided and
influenced by a different spirit (Satan) that would accept the name of
Christ but would twist His teachings to create a convincing counterfeit of
the True Church that Christ founded.
Christ Jesus knew everything that was going to happen after the apostles
passed on and how Satan would counterfeit the gospel and the true church
of Jesus Christ, setting up a counterfeit religious system to deceive the
masses. This is why in reading Revelation 18:4-5, we can see that Christ
knew all about this counterfeit apostate church during the Tribulation
period and asks people to separate themselves from this Babylonian
religious and commercial system that is doomed (RCC). “Come out of 12
her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her
plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered
her iniquities.”
The Roman Church of today is purely a human institution. It’s doctrines,
which frequently stand in opposition to God’s word, were never taught by
Christ or the apostles. It is evident to anyone who examines the record of
the Babylonian rites and practices that were inserted into the Roman
Catholic Church. They would see that many of today’s pagan elements
within the Catholic Church were taken directly from the Babylonian
religion founded by Nimrod after the flood.
Ancient Origins of Spiritualizing Scripture
The spiritualizing away, changing actual information into some kind of
secret code comes from the pagan Greeks. Philosophers used it to
convince their countrymen that they were very intelligent, and able to
delve into the secrets of the universe. Great philosophy made its nearest
approach to Christianity in Plato (427-347 BC). He elaborated the
concepts of Socrates and wrote them down. Later, the teachings of Plato
greatly influenced liberal Jewish and Christian writers. They were deeply
impressed by his grasp of what men called esoteric (hidden) knowledge.
Origen was the first to exclusively bring Platonic error into early
Christianity teaching. Because he taught a mixture of Christianity and
Platonism, many heathens were converted to his worldly brand of
Christianity. Origen mastered the Hebrew language, travelled to Rome,
Arabia, Palestine, and Greece for further enlightenment, and wrote
extensively. Ensnared by Satan’s influence, Origen was willing to dabble
in Platonic and Gnostic learning. Origen was the first to introduce the
allegorical method of Scripture interpretation to an organized system
when his teachings were adopted by the Roman State Church (counterfeit
Christianity).
In accordance to Platonism, Origen stated that every passage of the Bible
has three meanings: literal, moral, and spiritual. The literal meaning (what 13
you read when you open the Bible), he said was unimportant, for it was
earthly, carnal, and Jewish. In fact, he said it was not always true. The
deeper sense, which was celestial, symbolic, mystical, and secret, was
divided into the moral and spiritual sense. The moral sense relates to the
religious life, and the spiritual sense to the heavenly life or the world to
come.
Through Satan’s influence, Origen’s method of scriptural interpretation
became widely accepted by so-called Christian philosophers throughout
the dark ages. It is an intriguing fact that almost all the great doctrinal
controversies of the fourth and following centuries centered on points in
which Origen had speculated most boldly. Both Origen and Augustine
stood out as the two most influential theologians and both taught many
errors. The spiritualizing, or allegorical method frees a person to be able
to read into a passage, anything he wants it to say. The Bible no longer is
a message from God, but a collection of assumptions and theories devised
by people.
The Roman Catholic Church adopted Origen and Augustine’s
Amillennial viewpoint of prophecy, hook-line-and-sinker around 430
A.D. This spiritualizing approach to the interpretation of Bible prophecy
proceeded to dominate theology for the next thousand years or more.
Protestants adopted it after the Reformation and expressed it in the postmillennial view that emerged in the mid-17th century. Both
Amillennialism and Post-Millennialism are based on the assumption that
Bible prophecy does not mean what it says.
Amillennialists believe that Satan is Bound and no Longer Active in
the World
This is the key verse in question: “Then I saw an angel coming down from
heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he could deceive the 14
nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these
things he must be released for a little while (Rev. 20:1-3).”
Those holding to an allegorical or spiritual approach to interpreting
Scripture have a great deal of difficulty with the binding of Satan.
Amillennialists claim that Satan was bound at the cross and that he cannot
deceive the nations and we are now living in the Millennium of Peace.
This contradicts Ephesians 6:12, which explains that we wrestle against
the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places. It also contradicts our daily newspapers headlines
and my own personal experiences in regard to the evil one.
Just open your eyes and look around; there is evil everywhere. The 20th
century alone can attest to the very fact Satan is free to roam the earth.
Here is just a small sampling of some 20th century events that tell you
that Satan is not bound but is very active in our world. We had two world
wars, Hitler responsible for 11 million lives lost, Stalin of Russia killed
another 6 to 9 million, Mao in Communist China eliminating tens of
millions more lives. We had the Korean War, Vietnam War, World Trade
Towers and 9/11, US fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and multiple
regional wars, religious wars, and civil wars around the globe nearly on a
yearly basis. Then you have genocides that have taken place in multiple
nations. We have seen injustice, strife, famine and suffering that abound
in this world today and throughout the centuries. Then you have the drug
problems and gun violence taking tens of thousands of lives yearly just in
the United States alone. Unbelievable, but each day approximately
125,000 lives are lost through abortion worldwide according to the World
Health Organization. I’ve only scratched the surface – I could go on and
on. Satan is definitely NOT bound as they claim – the evidence is all
around you. Amillennialism is complete nonsense and a false doctrine
influenced by Satan to deceive the masses. All you need to know is where
it originated from – Satan himself. In the very beginning, in Genesis, we
see Satan allegorizing away the literal Word of God and persuading Eve
to ignore the literal Word of God for the “spiritual benefits” that she would
attain by eating the fruit of the tree. 15
When confronted and their backs against the wall, some Amillennialists
will say it was a “partial binding.” The verses of Revelation 20 that I just
quoted shows that an angel seized the dragon (Satan). He bound him. He
threw him into the pit. He shut the door to the pit. He sealed the door over
him. Clearly these five verbs show that this was NOT a partial binding.
It’s quite obvious that the acts of blinding, throwing, shutting, and sealing
indicate that Satan’s activities are completely finished.
As I read this passage of Revelation 20, I wonder at the treatment it
receives. I am told I must spiritualize it. To do so is to tread on very
difficult ground. “He laid hold of the dragon.” Am I to spiritualize that?
So, there is no Satan? It does not mean what it says. I have never had a
doubt of the reality of the devil since God saved me.
Then in the next verse I read, “He shall deceive the nations no more.” Am
I to spiritualize the nations? Are there no real nations referred to here? If
the devil is literal and the nations are literal, then the thousand years are
literal. You can’t play about with Scripture like that. Moreover, these
Amillennialists tell me that, of these two resurrections (the one before the
thousand years and the one after), the second is literal, but the first is
spiritual. Now, if one resurrection is literal, so is the other. You can’t pick
and choose. See all this nonsense and confusion that Amillennialism
creates. We know from Scripture that God is not the author of confusion
(1 Cor. 14:33), but man is. Don’t let that cunning devil deceive you into
thinking that he was bound up. According to Amillennialists all
prophecies were fulfilled in A.D. 70 and we are today living in the socalled Millennium of Peace. Wow! What a lie from the pit of hell, while
Satan goes around like a roaring lion around the world deceiving the
masses from getting to know the real Gospel of Christ Jesus and the Word
of God (1 Peter 5:8).
Clearly, the Amillennial view conflicts with the New Testament’s
depiction of Satan’s activities in the present Church age. The view that
Satan is bound during this age contradicts multiple New Testament 16
passages which show that Satan is presently active and involved in
deception. (1) He is “the God of this world (who) has blinded the minds
of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the
glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4).” (2) He is our adversary who “prowls about
like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).” (3) In the
church age “Satan was able to fill the heart of Ananias to lie to the Holy
Spirit (Acts 5:3),” and “hindering Paul and others from time to time in
visiting the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 2:18).” (4) He is the one for whom
we must protect ourselves from by “putting on the whole Armor of God
(Eph. 6:10-19).” (5) Satan’s influence in this age is so great that John
declared “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).”
Clearly, these passages do not deplete a being who has been bound and
shut up in the pit.
Theologically, the view that Satan is bound today simply does not fit with
the multiple New Testament texts that teach otherwise. To expose the lie
of Amillennialism that Satan has been bound and not influencing the
world, I’ll close off with some further present-day activities of Satan:
(1). He takes advantage of believers (2 Cor. 2:11).
(2). He torments the servants of God (2 Cor. 12:7).
(3). He seeks to destroy the faith of believers (Luke 22:31).
(4). He traps and deceives unbelievers and holds them captive to do his
will (2 Tim. 2:26).
(5). He is “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31).
(6). He tempts believers to sin (1 Cor. 7:5; Eph. 4:27)
(7). He seeks to deceive the children of God (2 Cor. 11:3).
(8). He disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14
Is Satan bound today? The answer from the biblical evidence is clearly,
NO.
The Coming Kingdom
In the first chapter of Luke, the record declares how the angel came to
Mary, telling her she was to be with child of the Holy Ghost and that her 17
Son was to be called Jesus. In verse 32 and 33 are the words, “He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will
give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house
of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Now, who
can pretend that such predictions are fulfilled in the church? David’s
throne ruling over the house of Jacob, how can these things be
spiritualized away? To confine such passages to the church is unscriptural
nonsense. It was declared that Israel would be scattered because of her
sins. And Scripture also declared that Israel was to have a great recovery
in the latter days, and that David’s Son would reign over them. In Isaiah
11:11-12 and in Jeremiah 23:5-8, we read about this great gathering. Now
if the scattering of Israel was literal, is it not proper to believe that the
regathering will be literal as well? Not according to the Amillennialists
and their false doctrine. How can Amillennialists say that the scattering
of Israel was real and actual, but the regathering represents the church, not
Israel? See how confusing this doctrine of Amillennialism is. It doesn’t
make any sense, and it is not proper treatment of the Holy Scripture. The
people who were scattered are the same people who are to be regathered.
There is no escape from that conclusion.
Now, let us look at Acts chapter 15, versus 14-17, “Simon has declared
how God at first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His
name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has
fallen down. I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up, so that the rest of
mankind (everywhere) may seek the Lord. Even all the Gentiles who are
called by My name…” This is about the coming kingdom. After the return
of Christ, the tabernacle of David (in the millennial kingdom) will be
established, and Jew and Gentile will know the Lord. James assured the
Council that God’s program for Israel had not been abandoned by the
coming of Gentiles into the church. The tabernacle of David is a figurative
expression describing his house or family. It’s restoration is a type of the
future restoration of the royal family and the re-establishment of the
throne of David with Christ sitting upon it as King. Israel will then become 18
the channel of blessing to the world, “The rest of mankind will seek the
Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by His Name.”
In the Old Testament the Kingdom was prophesied. Then Christ came and
the Kingdom was at hand. Then at the cross the King was crucified and
refused, and the Kingdom was postponed. During the “Church Age” the
kingdom was suspended while peoples were gathered out for His name.
When the “Church Age” closes with the rapture of the church, then the
Antichrist arises, and the Kingdom will be counterfeited. Then when Jesus
returns the Kingdom will be manifested.
That is God’s program in the Holy Scripture. When Christ hung on the
cross, He bore above His head this inscription (really an indictment),
“This is the King of the Jews.” When the “Church Age” is over and Jesus
comes back, that is precisely what He will be.
We find out in the book of Acts that Christ after His resurrection was with
His apostles for 40 days “discussing and speaking of the things pertaining
to the Kingdom of God (v.2,3). Then Christ feet rose from the grassy sod
and He ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (v. 11). When the
“Church Age” is over and Jesus returns, Zacharias says in chapter 14 that,
“In that day His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives.” When Jesus
returns, He is coming back to precisely the same spot He ascended from.
Again, in Acts 1:6-7, the apostles asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time
(when He returns) restore the kingdom to Israel?” Now, if there were no
future kingdom for Israel and the Lord wanted to refute the idea of the
future kingdom, this was Christ’s opportunity to do so. But Jesus did not.
What Jesus did say, was an acknowledgement of the Kingdom: “It is not
for you to know the times and the seasons.” In the next verse He said to
them that “their present task is to bear witness To Him in Jerusalem and
to the outermost parts of the earth.” Clearly, He did acknowledge the
Kingdom and when Christ returns that is precisely what He will do. He
will restore the Kingdom to Israel and the oath to David will be finally
fulfilled. God always keeps His promises.19
Bottom Line
In the first seven verses of Revelation 20, we read about the period of
1000 years no less than six times. No one can tell me that that is without
significance. Sometimes I am told that there is no justification for the
teaching of the Millennium except Revelation 20, and that that passage is
metaphorical, and not to be interpreted literally. I beg to differ. God is not
the God of confusion because Scripture verifies Scripture. I found
evidence of the Millennial reign of Christ Jesus on earth in at least 28
versus from the Old Testament and at least 15 verses in the New
Testament. The evidence is overwhelming, in fact, I just did a very fast
flip of the pages of Isaiah and found 20 chapters with references to Israel
in the end times as well as Jesus’ Second Coming and His reign on earth.
The Millennium, the actual 1000 year-reign of Christ on earth, the
Kingdom of great David’s greater Son, is implicit in the Word of God. It
runs through the whole structure and fabric of divine writ. Although the
Millennium is Jewish, we who have been called out to form a bridal
company for Christ will be with our Lord throughout His Millennial reign.
A thousand years of blessedness, a world without war, a world without a
curse, a world without Satan, a world without a barren field, and Jesus
universally acknowledged as King. Though we are ill-fitted to exercise
any authority or hold any high positions we shall be honored because of
our relationship with Him. Scripture clearly tells us that “True believers
shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand
years (Rev 20:6).”
Oscar
Oscar Leske
F/B – Signs Of Our Times
Understanding The Signs Of Our Times .co