Bryan Lilly has posted a new discussion of Revelation 20, focused on the idea that “Revelation 20 is not John’s doctoral thesis of the millennium”, but that he (John) is “writing to a group of people in the first century that were going through intense persecution [...] to give them hope, understanding, and calls for endurance, while reminding them that no matter what it seems like now, Jesus wins.” Bryan writes:
Here’s what I think John’s main point in this chapter is to a group of people facing persecution and martyrdom:
“My brothers and sisters, I know it looks bleak. I know you’ve seen your families and friends murdered. I know it seems like Satan is in control. Let me tell you this, have hope. Stay strong. If you are in Christ, you will reign with Him, no matter what they do to your body. If you are in Christ, do not fear the judgment, because the second death has no power over you. Do not be lead astray, Christ, the Sovereign Lord, wins.”
That is what I believe Revelation 20 said to John’s original audience. So what is [it] saying to us today? Exactly the same thing.
Bryan writes as an amillennialist, but doesn’t let millennialism act as his primary lens of interpretation. We would all do well to emulate his approach!
3 Comments
I’ve always wondered about this since I come across the preterist ideas you are blogging about. This has a lot of implications on how we are to view Revelation. It may mean that it is just an historical book for the early Christians and not the popular view today.
I wouldn’t say that it is “just an historical book.” I think to understand the imagery in it, we have to put ourselves in the mindset of the original audience, but that it has ongoing significance for all cultures and people throughout all time. I also believe that from chapter 20 on till the end is either occurring now, or will occur–i.e. present realized millennium that is ongoing until the second coming, future judgment, future consummation of the earth and heavens, and their redemption through re-creation.
I think that’s well-stated. It would likely have been inconceivable to John that those few verses would be the crux of a myriad of differing eschatological systems. The basic hermeneutical principle that suggests that our confidence in a doctrine should be proportional to the number of independent passages that support it is important to keep in mind; it strikes me as remarkable the paucity of Scriptural teaching concerning the millennium. In any event, the principle of audience relevance that Bryan points out is much more recoverable than the timing or nature of the millennium.