Date: May 2007 Series: "I Want to be Left Behind" (XXXI) Title: Revelation 20 is the Church Age (continued)

     20:10-15/ This is the Great Judgment at the end of the age, followed by the final separation of the righteous and unrighteous and then the “new heaven and earth” (Revelation 21:1 - 22:6).  As “judgment” (determination of guilt/innocence - John 3:17-21) began with Jesus’ first coming (John 12:31) and starts with the house of God first (1Peter 4:17), I think there is only one, great, final day of judgment (sentencing) to come and it is portrayed in a number of places.^[1]

     I believe these comments support my contention that everything in Revelation 20 can be correlated with the first two comings of Christ and what lies in between.

     The second line of reasoning which leads me away from Pre-millennialism consists of NT statements that seem to rule out another age (for this earth, prior to the New Heaven and Earth) to follow the present "Church Age."

     A. The Church Age is the "Last Days" spoken of by the OT Prophets.  Peter related Joel's prophecies of "the last days" with the events of Pentecost and said "this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16-17).  The writer of Hebrews spoke of God's communication to the Old Testament fathers as being finished "in these last days" by His communication through His Son, who appeared, offered himself to provide for our purification from sin, and then took his seat on Heaven's throne (Hebrews 1:1-3).  Peter spoke of Christ being foreknown before the creation, but having just appeared "in these last times" (1Peter 1:20).  If this age represents the "last days" and "last times," then how can there be another whole earthly, Jewish kingdom age yet to come?

     B. Jesus connected the end of heaven and earth with the coming of the Son of man (Matthew 24:35-37ff).  Paul spoke of Christ's resurrection, then the resurrection of believers at Christ's return, followed not by another "millennial kingdom" age but by "the end" and the kingdom being turned back to the Father (1Corinthians 15:20-25).  Christ reigns until the last enemy is defeated – death, when the saints are raised at the 2^nd coming!  Peter also connected Jesus’ apparently delayed return with the end of this heaven and earth and its replacement by new ones (2Peter 3:3-13).

     C. Paul said that the lessons from the Mosaic age were written for us during the Church Age, "upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1Corinthians 10:11).  The word "ends" here (telos) speaks of that which is the termination, cessation, the last part, close, conclusion, or goal (Bauer, Arndt, & Gingrich) of something.  This seems to leave no room for another whole "millennial kingdom" age to follow this one.

     The book of Hebrews contains a similar statement.  Jesus' sacrificial appearance to put away sins (obviously His first coming) came "at the consummation of the ages" (Hebrews 9:26).  The word here is sunteleia and it refers to the completion, close, or end of something.  Again, there is no room for another whole "millennial" age after the "last" one!

     D. Premillennial attempts to equate "the age to come" (Matthew 12:32; Mark 10:30; Luke 20:34-37; Ephesians 1:21) with the "millennium" rather than the eternal, New Heavens & Earth era are ruled out by the description of those who will inhabit it: resurrected ones, incapable of marriage, beyond the power of death, recipients of eternal life, and beneficiaries of eternal life.  (see the special study in Paul Butler's commentary on Daniel - College Press, pp. 441-448).

     E. Those who assume that the bulk of the book of Revelation refers to the 2^nd Coming of Jesus, with lots of horrible plagues, wars, and turmoil upon the earth just before He comes must struggle with what Jesus and Paul plainly said about conditions at the time of His return - normal affairs of life and “peace.”  Read Matthew 24:35-51; Luke 17:20-36; 1Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:3.

     We have covered a lot of ground and have still not “seen all of the sights” concerning Biblical and popular ideas about the “End Times.”  However, it is my sincere hope that you have seen enough to realize that there is more going on here that any pop paperback can explain.  There are a number of scenarios and assumptions floating around in this pot and, all too often, not enough Bible knowledge to prepare people to sort out the “gnats and camels” that should not be in this soup to begin with.  Confident cooks abound as well, pushing their recipe as the only one deserving a place on the menu and all others as heretical imposters.  I have some strong feelings about some alternative views as well, but I do not automatically question the faith and/or sincerity of people holding those views.  Within God’s kingdom, there needs to be enough good will amongst men (originating in the love of God) that we can discuss ideas without hating each other as people, even as we hold some different views on things.  Hopefully, we are all trying to learn God’s truth and are open to reconsidering our own views and alternatives from time to time so that we can adjust our thinking as new information is available.  We have one more topic to consider and that is what I call “extreme preterism” - the belief that Jesus returned (yep, the total and complete 2^nd Coming) in 70 A.D.  This is a view that seems to be attracting some people from the Restoration Movement.  We will discuss this view and bring the “I Want to be Left Behind” series of articles to a close.