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Revelation
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 A Caveat We assumed that the thousand years expired at the coincidence of the judgement with the second coming - that the battle of Armageddon was the same as that of the gog/magog war. The thousand years that we saw earlier as the grace of God multiplying out the status of the 24 elders into 6 other elements with a factor of a thousand (144,000 in total) was such as to fill the book of life in a manner satisfying to God, filling the symmetry. However is this is the case, there is yet the possibility of a literal "thousand years reign" if that number is not filled: There is an arbitrary "gap" where we could place the physical offspring of the believers whom have part in the "first resurrection" to fill in the remaining places - their children are "required" to fill the book before the last day and the final judgement. That would answer the question of the "mystery shopper" of the previous page "The Millennial Reign?". However the scripture states that the gog-magog battle comes directly before the judgement. (After the thousand years are finished) But it is also the same battle where God destroys the army of the serpent with "fire" that comes out of the mouth of the rider on the white horse (the Word of God) - as it would were it the two witnesses facing down the serpent spirits of the sixth trumpet. Then if the entirety of the just were raised with Christ (on the last day) where would we place this arbitrary breeding period? It must lie between the two wars, and therefore the second coming must be at Armageddon: but if that is the last day; when is the "first resurrection"? If the first resurrection is after the thousand years; who is the rider on the white horse? There is then no return of the "overcoming Son" as in all to the right hand of God if there is no first resurrection. If it is Christ that rides the white horse and that is the "last day;" is it a "first last day"? Then we would have the resurrection with the breeding period as well: which we know from the gospels is unlikely, as in the resurrection none are given in marriage or take in marriage. Would part in the first resurrection dissolve marriage? If it is indeed the resurrection of the just; when is the resurrection of the unjust? They have to be the same event. Then there is one last possibility; that the last day of the one resurrection and the one judgement lasts one thousand years and the first resurrection is at the start with those living already as "free to breed" and the first of the two wars is already won: But this is nonsense from the scripture in revelation, because Jesus Christ simply states "Behold, I come quickly" - not over a thousand years at all, but as a "thief in the night". Then it must follow that Christ returns with the just as the rider Himself and the just are raised free to multiply and then the "figurative" last day is a thousand years over which the unjust are raised and judged, before assembling together under satan to attack the people of God. Yet then that makes a mockery of the judgement if the unjust are raised free to attack God's people; assembled together as nations together with their kings, (all under satan) without having been cast into the lake of fire at their judgement. Besides, satan is released only after the thousand years are finished. Why leave all the judged alive and free if they are to be thrown in the lake of fire after their judgement? There would only be a handful of unjust left free if indeed they have received their reward. The dividing line between millennialism and amillennialism appears to be upon whether a person believes they will be encouraged to marry and multiply after the second coming of Christ. All I can state is the gospel - that we are to become as the angels and we are not then appointed to multiply, we can not with certainty choose our offspring to be worthy of life in Christ, just as we can not write names into the book of life ourselves. Before the second coming arrives, revelation has stated that the seals on the book of life have already been opened by Christ. There is no more room to write names in as if they were predestined under grace. We can not add those "theoretical offspring" in after the book is open and the dead judged. If we were to later write in every child born to believers, we would not have a spiritual election, but a carnal one. That is not the gospel. I was definitely a futurist who believed in the the "thousand years" reign before this whole section was rewritten in scriptural order. I wrote the whole Commentary section as a "millennialist", and have done a poor job patching it up: I will look at it again later. However there is simply no way to make the "thousand years to a day" principal make sense if the last day is one day at the judgement. Occam's razor applies when it comes to the first resurrection - I am sorry if I disappoint. |
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