THE SIGNIFICANCE OF REVELATION 20:1-10: WHY A MILLENNIUM?

1. God calls our attention to the millennium reign through a literal, numerical demarcation of this time period

   1. Symbolic use of numbers?

   2. Reasons for understanding 1000 literally

2. To vindicate God’s authority over this earth

3. To fulfill Old Testament promises

   1. Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 15)

   2. Old Testament prophecies (Isa 65:17-25)

Millennium (Rev 20)	Eternal State Rev 21-22
Sin restrained	Sin removed
Curse restrained	Curse removed
Death	No death
Mortals/resurrected intermingled	Resurrected only
Destinies undecided	Destinies sealed
Renovation	Recreation
Temporary	Eternal
Transitional	Non transitional

4. To fulfill God’s purposes for the city of Jerusalem (Rev 20:9)

   1. Old Testament prophecies (Isa 2:2-4; Zech 14:17)

   2. The future preeminence of Israel (Deut 28:13; Isa 14:1-2; 61:5-6; 49:22-23; Zech 8:23)

5. To complete God’s resurrection program

   1. Two general resurrections (Dan 12:2; John 5:29; Acts 24:15)

   2. Three stages of the resurrection of the believer (1 Cor 15:20-23)

      1. First fruits = Christ’s resurrection (Exod 23:16; 1 Cor 15:20, 23)

      2. General harvest = rapture (Lev 32:10-12; 1 Cor 15:50-54; 1 Thess 4:16)

      3. Gleanings = resurrection unto life (Lev 19:9-10; Rev 20:4-5)

   3. Resurrection of the unbeliever (Rev 20:5; 11-15)

6. To demonstrate that only Christ’s direct rule over fallen creation will result in lasting peace

7. To demonstrate that man’s real problem is his nature rather than his environment (Rev 20:7-9; Zech 14:16-18)

   1. Modern philosophies

   2. Biblical assessment (Rom 5:12; Jer 17:9; Mark 7:20-23)