Today there is tremendous turmoil and uncertainty in the world!
Instability in foreign countries, threat of war, terrorism, growing inflation, political upheavals, epidemics, rising energy costs, inflation — and a host of other things. Strangely but predictably the response by many is to 'prep' by stocking up on items considered as vital for meeting the coming crisis like silver and gold (or brass and lead) and the ubiquitous toilet paper, canned goods and bottled water — yet none of these will save you in this biggest of all events to come.
You see, despite the seemingly unsolvable events of the day, Jesus Christ IS coming back to deliver those that are His own and bring true peace and justice to the world.
If you have not yet sought Christ to save you from what is coming, the step to do so is to acknowledge that you are a sinner, and sincerely ask God to forgive you. Then place your trust (and your green check mark) on that which will truly prepare you for what is to come.
Friend, his promise of giving each one eternal safety is free for the asking. All you have to do is accept it.
Are you prepping for the return of Christ, or seeking your own 'prep path' to safety in a sinking world?
This article is partly excerpted from chapter 10 of my book, “The Little Book of Revelation.” Therein, I explain that there are not 2 resurrections but only one! Daniel 12.2 explicitly mentions that both the saved & the damned will be resurrected TOGETHER in one general resurrection. By contrast, the second death in Revelation 20.14 is incorporeal, NOT physical. It’s the lake of fire; a spiritual death. So, only 1 physical resurrection is indicated in the Bible; not 2! Notice what the passage of Rev. 20.4 (KJV) actually says:
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,
and judgment was given unto them: and I
saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of
God, and which had not worshipped the
beast, neither his image, neither had
received his mark upon their foreheads, or
in their hands; and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years.”
Notice that the verse doesn’t tell us if and when they were resurrected. Only that they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years; (not “for” a thousand years).
Then, the following verse (Rev. 20.5) goes on to say:
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until
the thousand years were finished. This is
the first resurrection.”
But that’s the only resurrection! Biblically speaking, there is no other physical resurrection. And if it’s explicitly mentioned as the first resurrection, then it means that there couldn’t have been an earlier one. We erroneously assume that the previous verse (v. 4) mentions an earlier resurrection. Not so! Revelation 20.4 and 20.5 appear to be two different versions of the SAME resurrection!
It seems to me that Revelation 20 verses 4 and 5 are talking about the *same resurrection* but in light of varying reward scenarios. The implication is that the believers of verse 4 (probably the tribulation saints or the recently deceased) lived and reigned after the thousand years (καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ . . . τὰ χίλια ἔτη)! Similarly, in verse 5, the rest of the dead (presumably the believers who had been dead for many centuries) were not raised from the dead until the thousand years were finished, which is the first resurrection:
οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔζησαν ἄχρι τὰ
τελεσθῇ χίλια ἔτη. αὕτη ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡ
πρώτη.
In other words, it appears that the faithful throngs (both the recent dead and those who had been dead for a long time) took part in the first resurrection after the thousand years had passed. But the details of their rewards——namely, that they lived & reigned, and that they were resurrected——are differentiated for a more comprehensive elaboration!
5 Questions Need to be Asked
A) According to the text, when does the 1st resurrection take place? Answer: when the thousand years were finished (Rev. 20.5)!
B) Can there be 2 resurrections? Answer: No. There can’t be 2 physical resurrections. According to the Bible, there is only one (Dan. 12.2)!
C) Which physical resurrection is explicitly mentioned in Rev. 20? Answer: The one in verse 5, which is said to occur at the end of the millennium or at the end of the thousand years. Verse 4 does not explicitly mention a resurrection. It simply says: καὶ ἔζησαν (and lived). It doesn’t say that they came back to life or that they were resurrected, as some modern Bible versions do. Nor does the original Greek text have any parentheses, as you find in the NRSV. It reads:
καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ
ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ τοῦ
χριστοῦ χίλια ἔτη
(Rev. 20.4 SBLGNT).
The textus receptus has it as follows:
καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ
ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ τοῦ
χριστοῦ τὰ [the] χίλια
ἔτη;
The Greek New Testament doesn’t say “for” a thousand years. And the Greek word μετά can be translated as either “with” or “after” Christ. In other words, this could also be translated or paraphrased as follows: [after] the thousands years were completed, they lived and reigned forever. In other words, the original Greek text doesn’t say “for” one thousand years.
D) which resurrection is referred to as the 1st resurrection? Answer: the one in verse 5 that occurs when the thousand years are finished. The one in verse 4 is neither mentioned as a resurrection nor as being the first.
E) So then, how could the same people who would not be resurrected “until the thousand years were completed” (Rev. 20.5) simultaneously live and reign with Christ for a millennium? (Rev. 20.4). Answer: They cannot be both dead and alive at the same time! The only explanation is that the people who are said to reign with Christ are the same people who took part in “the first resurrection” (Rev. 20.5), but they’re described differently in the earlier verse (v. 4) in order to furnish the reader with further details about this particular time-period. It’s similar to the different descriptions in Revelation chs. 19 & 20 about the beast who is thrown into the lake of fire in Rev. 19 but who nevertheless continues to be active in Rev. 20! There are not two Beasts or Antichrists; only one. The same satanic beast who is captured in Rev. 20.2-3 is the exact same figure who was captured and thrown into the lake of fire in Rev. 19.20, but in the following chapter (ch. 20) he is described in more detail as the text provides further descriptions of his release and whereabouts prior to being cast into the lake of fire (see Rev. 20.7-10).
Conclusion
There is also a judgment (κρίμα) mentioned in Rev. 20.4. But are there really 2 judgments? No. Only one! Thus, the millennium implies 2 additional comings of Christ, 2 appearances by Satan, 2 Great Wars, 2 Great tribulations, 2 resurrections, 2 apocalypses, 2 Armageddons, 2 judgments, 2 Great Ends, and so on and so forth. This binary eschatology is biblically unfounded because there is only one of each!
It demonstrates that this brief passage must be taken symbolically, not literally. So, the passage really indicates that when the thousand years are completed the believers will be raised from the dead and begin to reign with Christ. This is also the chronological time period when the Antichrist is released for a short time. This is probably a reference to the Great Tribulation which only lasts for 3 and a half years, or 42 months, or 1,260 days, or a time, and times, and half a time (cf. Rev. 11.2; 12.6, 14; 13.5). This is also the time when the apocalyptic events will commence!
It took 21 symbolic days for God’s word to arrive on earth (Dan. 10.13–14). There are also 21 Judgments in the Book of Revelation. And since “one day is like a thousand years” (2 Pet. 3.8), the implication seems to be that the apocalyptic events are set to take place in the 21st century. It is a symbol of our century! Thus, the millennium seems to be referring to the end of the 20th century (i.e. 2,000 CE) and the beginning of the 21st!
By the way, the Bible never mentions the alleged “thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.” Only 2 verses mention those who “reigned with Christ a thousand years.” These are not to be taken literally but rather as *signs* that reveal the timing of Christ’s coming and of the apocalyptic events! In other words, when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be loosed for a little while (a reference to the 3 and a half year Great Tribulation). Then, the first resurrection will occur and the believers will henceforth reign with Christ!
What is the ultimate signpost that indicates when these events will commence? These apocalyptic events will begin when the thousand years are completed!
So, the thousand years act as the defining moment, the temporal mark, the chronological signal, the millennial warning that the end is near. It is not a coincidence that the 70 weeks of Daniel, the Mayan Calendar, Malachy’s Prophecy of the Popes, the recent Blood moon prophecy, and all the other biblical & extra-biblical doomsday prophecies began to hold sway after the thousand years were completed in 2,000 CE. Moreover, the Bible clearly prophesies the arrival of the Antichrist (Dan. 9.26-27). And I believe that he has already made his appearance on the world stage, namely, on the eve of the 2,000 year mark, that is to say, on December 31, 1999, precisely at the end of the thousand years, as prophesied in Rev. 20.7. For further details, see my article: https://eli-kittim.tumblr.com/post/623534877070016512/nostradamus-and-the-bible-seemingly-predict-the
Chuck Missler reviews the historical roots of the modern day Russians and the peoples to which Ezekiel referred when he prophesied about tha
The reference to the chiliasm, then, serves as a caveat that Satan will be loosed when the thousand years are over. In my view, that’s what the millennium actually means! Thus, I don’t believe in a literal millennial kingdom because it contradicts the Bible. It implies, 2 comings of Christ, 2 apocalypses, 2 Great Wars, and so on. That’s probably why the doctrine of millennialism was condemned at the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 CE. In addition, the endtime war that Satan is said to unleash at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20.8) is the exact same war mentioned in Ezekiel 38: Gog & Magog. Also, 1 Thess. 4.17 says that after the rapture “we will be with the Lord forever,” not just for 1,000 years. And the Book of Daniel is clear that both the Saved and the Damned will be resurrected simultaneously, not successively (12.2).
Therefore, the millennium represents the sign of the times when the thousand years are completed. It signifies the beginning of the apocalypse, that is to say, the period of the Antichrist, who will gather the kings of the earth for Armageddon. It also represents the time of the Great Tribulation, the rapture, and the resurrection of the dead, when the faithful will be glorified and reign with Christ not simply for a thousand years, but forever (cf. Dan. 7.18; 12.2; 1 Thess. 4.17)!
Although there are some similarities between my view and that of Amillennialism, I don’t consider myself an Amillennialist because I don’t share their core views on realized millennialism, perfect/imperfect amillenarism, or that “Christ’s reign during the millennium is spiritual in nature.” We have completely different views on a number of topics! Similarly, my view is in agreement with that of postmillennialism in regard to a literal thousand years, after which Christ will come. However, I disagree both with the quality as well as with the timing of the millennium as explained by postmillennialism. I don’t view the millennium as a literal thousand-year-Kingdom of peace nor as an interim period (or parenthesis) that will transpire in the far distant future. Rather, I see it as a period that already started in the year 1,000 CE (with the crusades) and culminated in the year 2,000. That’s when the Antichrist came to power (in the year 1999 = 666) in Russia (see my articles on that subject), at the end of the thousand years, and Satan was released from prison (Rev 20.7), so to speak, and was allowed to gather the kings of the earth for Armageddon! And since I have a number of disagreements with postmillennialism, I don’t consider myself a postmillennialist either.
This is the 666th “Your Daily Note” and it is fitting that this message is dedicated to this well known, but still mysterious and ominous number.
Most people recognize 666 as something evil and sinister, but as this verse instructs, one is advised to search out and recognize what this means as it will have immense future ramifications one day (soon?) on all people in the world.
Biblical prophecy — and by Jesus himself — says that the world will enter a time of trouble greater than any in all of history. It will be marked by war, famine, pestilences, and great natural disasters, all of which will increase in frequency like pregnancy birth pangs in a seven year period called THE TRIBULATION. It will begin with a 'great reset' of the peoples of the earth to culminate into a one world government led by one man called THE ANTI-CHIRST who will control all activity.
Despite our best efforts, no one knows exactly what 666 precisely means, nor can we determine who this 'BEAST' and “Son Of Perdition” is today, but given the signs happening in the world it is clear the time of the Anti-Christ and the MARK OF THE BEAST OF MR. 666 is coming Soon.
The Bible says in Proverbs 21:31 that “The horse (i.e. money, power, provisions, 'prepping') is prepared (in vain) against the day of battle (i.e. trouble or tribulation) but SAFETY is of the LORD.“ The WRATH of the evil man of 666 will come upon the world, and the only REAL safety from him and the Great Reset, New World Order, and Mark of the Beast of 666 is in Jesus Christ.
Friend, the world is spinning faster and faster out of control. The warning signs of evil are growing daily. Turn your life to Christ and receive this promise:
“For God hath not appointed us to WRATH,
But to obtain SALVATION
By our Lord Jesus Christ” - 1 Thessalonians 5:9
More than 2000 years ago, God foretold future events in the Bible. Many such events have already taken place and can be verified historically. Today, God is showing us signs that the second coming of Jesus Christ is imminent and to warn us of God’s righteous judgment so that we would r
Read more COVID-19 and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ
The Abraham Accords - a covenant with many nations
Daniel the prophet predicted already more than 2,500 years ago that there would be a peace treaty in the Middle East that would include many nations. Once this treaty is concluded, the last 7 years of this age will begin. The Abraham Accords is a covenant with many nations, which may soon herald the seventieth week of seven years in Daniel 9
For at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not occurred from the beginning of the world until now, nor shall by any means ever occur. Matt. 24:21 #bible #scripture #greattribulation #time #lordsreturn more at www.agodman.com https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWo6IpBVxP/?igshid=3xz6xry8rant
G“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” -- Luke 21:36 (KJV)
Throughout Biblical history, Father God has assigned people, both men and women, to be a part of the Christian ministry. In their guidance, they either become pastors, evangelists, teachers, apostles, or prophets in the five-fold ministry.
Today, we are going to talk about a unique follower of God known as the Watchman, specifically the Watchman on the Wall.
Historically, watchmen were soldiers who would stand guard at the walls of their cities or towns. They would keep a vigilent eye for any danger to the city or town they were protecting. If danger is seen, they would warn the city of said danger and, according to what God says, the people would either fight or escape.
Today, the Watchman on the Wall is a figurative state for teachers, evangelists, and prophets who specialize primarily to Christian eschatology. In short, they see the signs of the upcoming Seven-Year Tribulation and End Times.
Over the next two weeks, we will further detail the signs of the upcoming Seven-Year Tribulation as preached by Jesus Christ. They are the following as detailed in Luke 21.
Wars
Earthquakes
Famines
Pestilence
Persecution
We will also include Godlessness and Apostasy in the Last Days before the Seven-Year Tribulation as detailed in 2 Timothy 3 and 4.
I hope these studies will further bring you closer to Jesus Christ in accepting him as your Lord and Savior. We are coming up closer and closer to the Seven-Year Tribulation and I hope many are ready for God.
