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The book of Revelation leaves many readers scratching their heads. 

 

In Revelation 20:4-5, there’s a timeline of sorts that’s presented about the resurrection of believers which uses a period of 1,000 years (also known as a millennium). Many Christians today hold to 3 major views that surround the word millennium. 

 

1. The first major view is called Amillennial. The “a” before the “millennial” means no. In other words no 1,000 years. Instead, when Revelation 20 speaks of the 1,000 years (remember Revelation is a symbolic book) it is just a figure of speech for a long time. This is the simplest view. 

amillennialism

2. The second major view is called Postmillennial. The prefix “post” means “after,” meaning that Christ will return after the millennium. According to this view we are in the church age now and as the gospel continues to progress more and more people will come to faith in Jesus and society will be transformed. The millennium is ushered in where there is an extended time of peace and righteousness on the earth. It’s considered the golden age. At the end of this long time period, Christ will return to the earth, the judgement will take place, and there will be a new heaven and earth.

Given world events today, you may say that seems like a very unlikely view, but consider how small Christianity started out and how today there are billions of people that claim to be Christians. In other parts of the world, Christianity is growing rapidly. 

 

postmillennialism

 

 

3. The third view is called Premillennial. The prefix “pre” is indicating that Christ will return “before” the millennium. Within this view there are some that believe in a great period of tribulation for 7 years. Many believe in a pretribulation rapture and others a post tribulation rapture before the 1,000 year millennium. To keep it a little simpler, reference the image below. We can see the church age that we have been in for the last 2,000 years or so since Christ ascended to heaven. Christ will return, set up his 1,000 reign on earth, and then at the end of the 1,000 years the judgement will take place, and then the eternal state of the new heaven and new earth. 

postmillennialism

 

Is your head starting to hurt? Mine is. Sure, this is some fun stuff to study if you like this type of thing. It’s easy to get caught up in all the details of these different views. Let’s not forget the big points that we can take away from the book of Revelation:

 

1. Jesus is coming back, so let us hope for that day and be ready if he does return in our lifetime. 

2. God is victorious over sin, death and evil.

3. There will be a judgement of unbelievers and the final reward for believers. This is an exciting thought for us that have trusted in Jesus, but it’s a very somber thought for those that have rejected God or haven’t yet put their faith in Jesus. 

4. Lastly, we will receive new glorified bodies and be with the Lord for all eternity in the new heaven and new earth.