In studying
eschatology (end time prophecies), I find it is helpful to review what we
understand in order to see what light (if any) it may shed on what we do not
fully understand. Here’s my recent top 10 points review, followed by a few insightful
ponderings.
What We
Understand
1. We understand The Bible often communicates The Lord God’s (Jesus’) strategies and tactics in ‘weeks’ of sevens (a Biblically important number), which in some instances are 7 earth days, 70 earth years, 7,000 years, or even 7 weeks of years, as in Daniel’s vision of 70 weeks of 7 years, totaling 490 years. Add to that list, 7 ages of human history!2. Adam’s sin essentially gave satan a ‘long-term lease’ on planet Earth. Scholars estimate Adam was created 4004 BC, or about 6,030 years ago. We don’t know what year Adam when and Eve sinned against God, or how many years satan’s lease will last. Many Bible scholars guesstimate it will last a week of millennia (7,000 years). Through it all, The Lord has declared ALL of the Earth and its fullness (including you and me), belong to Him, and moreover. He is in the Earth exercising a 3-point strategy, summarized in Jeremiah 9:23-24.3. We understand The Lord enjoyed His Sabbath rest in Day 7 of the creation week. This may either be a literal 24-hour earth day, or a thousand years, as metaphorically noted in Psalm 90:4, or something else entirely. We also understand He activated the first chapter of His plan of salvation early in mankind’s second millennium with the birth of Noah 1056 years after creation. This was during the closing decades or centuries of the 1st and of human history (the pre-flood age).4. We understand from Zechariah 14, that Jesus will return to Earth at the end of the tribulation period (the last half of the short, 4th she of our history). At that time, He will end the Armageddon War (Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19:11-21), and then establish His thousand-year reign from His base in a greatly elevated Jerusalem, in a greatly expanded Israel.
5. We understand His reign will be facilitated by all of His saints from across the first 4 ages of human history —resurrected, redeemed and immortal. His Gentile saints will likely be appointed as kings and administrative support staff over cities, regions and nations across the entire post-tribulation, Gentile world. His Jewish saints (seed of Abraham through Jacob) will likely serve as His priests across Israel, over which David will exercise significant authority. (Exodus 19:6)
6. We understand satan (and presumably his cohort of demons) will be locked away from Earth, in a bottomless abyss during this thousand-year reign of Christ, and afterward will/must be released for a ‘short time’ (the ‘little while’ 6th age of our history) to deceive the nations. (Revelation 20:3) We don’t know how long this ‘short/little time’ of deception last.
7. We understand there will be no mortal warfare during Christ’s Millennial reign, as mortals will ‘beat their swords (armaments) into plows (productive tools), and learn/study war no more’. This infers there will be no military industrial complex on Earth during Christ’s thousand-year reign. Imagine that.
8. We understand that a battle greater than the 1st War of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38), and also much grester than the Armageddon War (Revelation 19:11-21), will occur during the ‘little while’, post-Millennial Reign age. This will be the 2nd War of Gog and Magog. (Revelation 20:7-10) This will be the concluding result of satanic deceptions of nations when he is released for ‘a short time’ following Christ’s reign. We don’t know if this signals the armaments industry and study of formal war might possibly resume big-time post-Millennial reign, or if this will be an impromptu, global explosion of angst after stringent enforcement of righteousness for so long.9. We understand from Zechariah 14, that Jesus will be physically on the Earth to end the Armageddon War. However, in an insightful contrast, Ezekiel 38 and Revelation 20:7-10 do not infer a physical presence of Christ on Earth during the 1st War of Gog and Magog (before His Millennial Reign), and the 2nd War of Gog and Magog (some time after His Millennial Reign). However, Revelation 20:9 does suggest the continued presence on Earth of some post-Millennial Reign saints in Israel and Jerusalem. This begs the question, 'Which saints?' This may refer to people who will become saints during and/or after the Millennial Reign. (See: Salvation in the Millennium (Series))
10. We understand this final attack on Israel will be followed by the general resurrection from the dead of all humans who will have missed The Lord’s several earlier resurrections and rapture events. These are His ‘first resurrection’—the resurrection to eternal life, which is not to be confused with the number, 1. (See: Bible Raptures—Types and Timings (Series)). The Lord, consulting His Book of Life, per Revelation 20:8 and 15, might signify He will sort out His saints, from all sinners in this massive crowd. All unrepentant sinners will be judged, and cast into the eternal lake of fire, very likely on the promised, new, eternal Earth. This is the Great White Throne Judgment. NB: Both groups will be resurrected in their physical, immortal/eternal bodies, with their spirits and souls in tact, not as some ethereal spirits incapable of feeling pain, or expressing joy/grief, etc. Scripture basis for this conclusion is the 7 times (# of perfection) Jesus stated, ...there will be weeping/wailing and gnashing of teeth' in the lake of fire/hell -- characteristics only attributable to physical bodies!!! (See: Proof of their Immortality (Poem))
A. From the above, we see clearly that The Bible affirms satan’s and his cohorts will have two deceptive periods of rulership on Earth – the first from when Adam and Eve sinned, until the Armageddon War; and a second during the ‘little while’, post-Millennial Reign age. Curiously and alarmingly, both are referred to as lasting for a ‘short time/little while’. (See Revelation 12:12 and 20:3) Could there possibly be any meaningful time correlations between these two, unique references? I perceive this may not just refer to a single time span, but likely to he closing decades and years of each of the first 4, and the 6th ages of human history. As spiritual beings, devils likely intuit, far better than any human cad do, when each of the allotted 6 ages of human history on this current version of Earth, are approaching its end, and the transition to the next age is at hand, The Bible seems to demonstrate and predict a repetive age transition pattern! For more on this fascinating topic. see: Mid-ages Musings (Series).
B. Artists have produced many pictures of what the new, eternal Jerusalem, described in Revelation 21 and 22, might look like. That city is so unimaginably massive, that scientists conclude it could not possibly fit on his current Earth! We don’t know what Jerusalem might look like during The Millennial Reign. Neither is it clear whether there might be animal sacrifices at that time.
C. Will there be salvation during The Millennial Reign? Is the active presence of devils and demons a prerequisite for salvation, and proven faith to overcome their deceptions and temptations, as it is with us today? If so, there might likely be no salvation during that age, simply because satan's kingdom will be 'locked away', per Revelation 20. Isaiah 11 an 65 give us a synopsis of that age, and Isaiah 65:20 clearly references people dying. What does dying without being deceived and tempted by satan's kingdom infer regarding salvation? Of course, no one knows, and this is open to much speculation. See mine here: Salvation in the Millennium (Series). One key to understanding this issue is to understand the diverse human populations on Earth during the Millennial Reign.
D. We don’t know the general timing of the 1st War of Gog and Magog—a Russia-led coalition invasion of Israel, per Ezekiel 38. We do know (a) it is the 3rd in a prophetic quadfecta of chapters, comprising Ezekiel 36-to-39, and (b) the first two chapter prophecies are historical: (1) the return of Judeans to Palestine, after 70 years of Babylonian captivity, and (2) the establishment of Israel as a unified (descendants of ancient Israel and ancient Judah), modern nation. I intuit this invasion might occur during the apocalypse, when all peoples and nations will be desperate for the necessities of life. That’s when Israel might be over-crowded with Jews from across the world, spilling into Jordan and Lebanon (per Zephaniah 3); the Israel Defense Force might no longer exist; and Israel might be experiencing a protective, ‘Goshen-type effect’ from the plagues, similar to what ancient Hebrews experienced during the last 7 plagues on Egypt. See: Israel (Series) and Missed Insights in Ezekiel (Series). Also, search this blog for Ezekiel 38, an topic I have explored extensively.
E. We don’t know when or how Damascus will become ‘a heap of ruins’.
