2004-03-12
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Last week, I wrote about the urgency that we all face in getting our spiritual lives in order, because, as MT 24: 36 tells us, “No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come-neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows” when Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory to signal the onset of the end time events. Exactly how these end times events lay out is debated amongst theologians. They seem to sort themselves out into four possible theories, Pre-Tribulation rapture, Mid-Tribulation rapture, Post-Tribulation rapture, and Amillennialism. Because this debate is dealing with faithful non-salvation-based issues, it’s perfectly okay for it to occur. Fellow believers disagreeing with each other while maintaining their positions can respectfully agree to disagree without showing any disrespect toward God. No matter what position one takes, we all know that God will show us which one is true in the end. Let me say at the outset of this next few messages that I have no intent to step on anyone’s toes. I encourage each of you to put what you have learned from your own denominations with what I am writing and take it to the Lord on your knees to decide what you believe. Remember, it's okay for us to disagree, and we can still love and respect each other and, of course, love and respect our Creator.
A number of churches accept Amillennialism as their official position. This is the one that believes Christians will be raptured (taken up by Christ in a “meeting in the air” [1 THESS 4: 13-17]) just as Christ is returning to inaugurate His reign in the new heaven and new earth. They also believe there will not be a special section of history called the millennium in the sense that pre-, mid-, and postmillennialists do. There are two slightly different approaches to Amillennialism: a) The events of REV 20: 1-6 do not follow Christ’s return [REV 19: 11-21] chronologically. They are a flashback. The binding of Satan, the first resurrection, and the millennium are all metaphors for the present situation in this world, covering the period between the first and second comings of Christ. There is still to come the last revolt of evil, which is held to be the setting for such other predicted events as the great Tribulation and the appearing of the “man of lawlessness” (the antichrist). It will be ended by Satan’s overthrow and the judgment, which are described not only in REV 20: 9-15 but also in REV 19: 11-21. The first resurrection is the believer’s new birth, his rising to life after being dead in sin. b) The second group believe the millennium describes the present reign of the souls of deceased believers with Christ in heaven. The present form of God’s Kingdom will be followed by Christ’s return, the general resurrection, the final judgment and Christ’s continuing reign over the perfect Kingdom on the new earth in the eternal state.
The belief in a millennium, a period of 1000 years in which God will rule on earth, is also known as Chilism from the Greek word, “chilioi,” meaning “one thousand.” The word millennium comes from two Latin roots, “mille,” meaning “thousand” and “annum,” meaning “year.” a) Post-Tribulation people believe our present experience of the Kingdom will grow and spread through evangelism and moral reform until eventually the whole world will be “Christianized.” Thus will come a long period of peace and prosperity, the millennium. Christ will return after (post-) the millennium and usher in the resurrection, the last judgement, and the eternal Kingdom. These believers think Christians will be raptured at the end of the Tribulation, just as Christ is returning to begin His thousand-year reign on earth. b) Mid-Tribulation people believe Christians will be raptured at the middle of the seven-year Tribulation period in history. c) Pre-millennial people believe Christians experience both the Kingdom of God and the tribulation today in a partial sense. However, at some point in the future the persecution and temptation will intensify into a Great Tribulation in which beasts will arise, the two witnesses will testify, and the judgements of seals, trumpets, and bowls will occur. At the end of the Great Tribulation, Christ will return and defeat the enemy at Armageddon. Then the faithful martyrs of the Tribulation (and/or the believers still alive, and/or all Christians) will be raised in the first resurrection. They will reign with Christ in “a literal, visible reign of peace and righteousness on the earth in space-time history.” That is the Millennium. Afterward, the rest of the dead will be raised and judged. Finally, the old order will be replaced by a new heaven and earth, and the temporal Kingdom will be merged into the eternal Kingdom. This view is called Pre-millennial because the antichrist and the Tribulation come before (pre-) Christ’s return and that occurs before the Millennium. This group of believers tends to take the events of Revelation more literally, and its sequences more chronologically, than either postmillennialists or amillennialists. However, premillennialists cover a spectrum when interpreting the symbolism (plain meaning) of particular verses and even whole chapters. These believers accept that Christians will be raptured just before the onset of the Tribulation and the appearance of the antichrist. Their departure will cause many non-Christians (including the 144,000 Jews) to put faith in Christ and become the martyrs of the Tribulation.
Today’s devotion is in the way of an introduction to the next few to follow. I know in my heart that our Lord wants us to think about these issues and come to our own personal conclusions on them after time in the Scriptures and much prayerful consideration. It is not my intent to tell each of you how to think. That’s for God to do. All I ask is that we don’t allow fear of delving into these positions to stop us from going to our Lord with them. No human intermediary, not pastors, leaders of denominations, or this writer, should make the decision of how you stand on them for you-only God.
PRAYER: O Lord, we stand before You today as imperfect sinners attempting to understand Your word about our future better. Without You, we cannot do this. That is why You instructed Christ to say in MT 5: 3, “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them.” We acknowledge our need for You to help us through the Holy Spirit to have the self-discipline leading us to daily study of Your word, to have an active, dynamic prayer life, to value our relationship with You beyond all else, to learn from the circumstances and people in our lives, and to participate in godly ways in the congregations to which You have assigned us. We are not ashamed of our beliefs, nor are we afraid to tackle issues You have led us to study. We can disagree with each other on non-salvation based issues, such as the theories above, without disrespecting either You or each other. We testify to our faith in Christ’s new commandment of JN 13: 34-35, “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are My disciples.” Dearest Abba, we know You are a loving and just God, You are compassionate and patient, and You are the Most Righteous-the Source of all truth and goodness. Today, we come before Your altar to pledge our trust, faith, obedience, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, thanks, and praise to You and You alone. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
No devotion that I write should be without acknowledgement of the great sacrifice that Christ made for us on the cross. My belief in FAITH + NOTHING = SALVATION still stands as strong as ever. Without God having invited us to faith through His Spirit and our own decision to repent, there would be no salvation for us. God’s sacrifice of His only Son is the greatest sacrifice He could make for us. What a testament of His love for each believer this is! Next week, I’m led to continue writing about the coming glory by taking a further look into these theories presented in today’s message. All of is this done with the intent of delving further into the questions: Is the lifestyle set out in the Sermon on the Mount meant for today or some future time like the Millennium? Can we live that lifestyle now? We can accept the Lord’s guidance. PS 32: 8, “The Lord says, ‘I will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you.’” In the meanwhile, we need to take even more time than ever before to discover all the ways we can that God shows His love for us. When we do that, we will be blessed beyond all expectations. Let me leave you with two wonderful verses to ponder. God reveals Himself in our daily lives. PS 107: 43, “Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.” IS 41: 13, “I am the Lord, your God; I strengthen you and tell you, ‘Do not be afraid; I will help you.’”
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn