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Premillennialism vs. Amillennialism
 

Augustine... Again!
 

Pre-Millennialism... The Facts Vs. The Fairy Tales
 

Does Pre-Millennialism Imply That Jesus Did Not Manage to Set up His Kingdom in The 1st Century?
 

When is Death Finally Abolished?
 

When Does The "End" Come?
 

Can Flesh And Blood Enter The Millennium Kingdom?
 

The Prophets Foretold A Complete End Of All The Inhabitants Of The Earth
 

Is The Parable of The Sheep And Goats Synonymous With the White Throne Judgment?
 

Are All Things Presently under Christ's Feet?
 

Are Revelation 19 and 20 In Chronological Order?

Premillennialism vs. Amillennialism

Premillennialists believes Christ will physically return before (pre) a literal, future thousand-year reign on Earth, followed by judgment and the new heaven/earth.


Amillennialists reject the view that Jesus Christ will physically reign on the Earth for exactly one thousand years. Rather, they hold that the millennium has already begun and is simultaneous with the current church age between Christ's first and second comings. Also that Christ's reign during the millennium is spiritual in nature and, at the end of the church age, He will return in final judgment and establish a permanent reign in the "new heaven and new Earth"

 The core difference is whether the millennium is a present spiritual reality (A-millennialism) or a future earthly kingdom (Pre-millennialism)

 

Augustine... Again

Amillennialism was championed and popularized by Augustine who, perhaps influenced by Constantine's policies, saw a triumphant church in a world that was getting better, not worse. He (Emphasis Added)

viewed the thousand years of Revelation 20 not as some special future time but “the period beginning with Christ's first coming,” that is, the age of the Christian church. Throughout this age, the saints reign with Christ — not in the fullness of the coming kingdom prepared for those blessed by God the Father, but "in some other and far inferior way.” [01]

See The Change In Millennial Beliefs
How And Why Did The Change From Pre-Millennialism To A-Millennialism Come About?

Augustine was Catholic to the core - his theology so completely off base and his belief system so hopelessly skewed on virtually every major point of doctrine which makes it impossible to understand why we do not view anything and everything he wrote with deep suspicion. Instead evangelical Protestants consider him "to be in the tradition of the Apostle Paul as the theological fountainhead of the Reformation teaching on salvation and grace". [02].  See The Sins of Augustine

However, it seems that we didn’t really need Augustine to come up with far-fetched, unbiblical theories. We seem to manage quite nicely on our own.

Pre-Millennialism... The Facts Vs. The Fairy Tales.

Introduction

There is absolutely no question that pre-Millennialism - the belief that Christ will return after the Tribulation and set up a thousand year reign of peace is the only view supported by the Scriptures.

Unfortunately, even Christians who believe in/teach pre-Millennialism have often succeeded in thoroughly muddying the waters with unbiblical nonsense. Pre-millennialist beliefs can get incredibly complicated, often seeming to involve several dispensations, multiple covenants, two second comings, three or four resurrections, and at least four judgments. While I might be guilty of some exaggeration here, it is true that many teachers have to resort to detailed charts in the hope that they are being understood.

To complicate matters even further, pre-millennialists often claim that the Rapture  when believers receive their glorified bodies is not Jesus' Second Coming... He just appears in the air.

The completely fictional, totally ridiculous but immensely popular Left Behind series is a prime example of the many preposterous and unbiblical ideas  floating around to day that are light years away from being Biblical. Scripture teaches that the Second Coming of Christ, the rapture, and the resurrection of the righteous all occur on the same day, with a separate and later (1000 years later) resurrection of non-believers. And, guess what? None of it is even in the slightest bit complicated or hard to understand.

(I strongly suggest you read Raptured! But Where Are We Going? which includes the precise Greek words used in the account. (Actually read the entire article that explains the reasons the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is a figment of the imagination and why Jesus temporally takes His followers off the earth.)

See That Earth Shaking Seventh Trumpet that literally ushers the old age out and the new one in is, in a sense, the most eventful of all them all.

In examining some of the primary reasons proffered for not believing the millennium will begin after Christ's Second Coming we need to remember that Scripture does not lend itself to shallow interpretations. We need to stop ignoring verses that do not agree with our preconceived ideas. And finally, we need to remember that doctrine cannot be based on a verse here and a verse there - all relevant verses have to be taken into consideration.

Does Pre-Millennialism Imply That Jesus Failed To
Set up His Kingdom in The 1st Century?

I am absolutely amazed at how many believe that  that Christ intended to establish His kingdom when He came to earth but, thwarted by the Jew's rejection, He 'postponed' the establishment of the Kingdom until His second coming (Try Googling postponement theology).

In other words, there was an unexpected hiccup in God’s plans. In fact Andy Woods of spiritandtruth.org actually says,

if you were to be sitting in the Reformed type of church under a Reformed theologian they will basically tell you that Jesus succeeded in bringing in the kingdom.  And you say well how in the world did Jesus succeed in bringing in the kingdom, I don’t see kingdom conditions. And they’ll say it’s happening now spiritually.  So they take all of the earthly promises about the kingdom and sort of rewrite them and repackage them so that they become spiritual realities.

So you say well, how come the Lord hasn’t brought in the kingdom and how come they haven’t beaten their swords into plowshares and they’ll say oh, you’re taking that too literally, that’s just Jesus reigning in our hearts and giving us peace.  And you say well how come the Dead Sea never came back to life the way Ezekiel 47 describes it. And they’ll say oh, you’re taking that too literally, the Dead Sea coming back to life is just a symbol of the believer trusting in Christ and going from death to life spiritually. [03]

To begin with, it is not saying very much for God's sovereignty if a small bunch of Pharisees and an unbelieving Jewish populace managed to thwart His plans. In any case Christ's rejection by the Jews was hardly unexpected having been prophesied in the Psalms centuries before He ever came to earth. The Psalm in question was quoted by Matthew, Mark, Luke and Peter.

The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone (Psalms 118:22 NASB) (See also Matthew 21:42-43, Mark 12:10-11, Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:7)

And they weren’t wrong. The stone the builders rejected did become the chief corner stone of God’s kingdom that had already begun in Jesus' day. As Jesus told the Pharisees the Kingdom of God was already in their midst. (Luke 17:20-21)

It is a tragedy that someone (the author of the quote above) who earned a Master of Theology degree, with High Honors (2002), and a Doctor of Philosophy in Bible Exposition (2009) at Dallas Theological Seminary and now serves as president of Chafer Theological Seminary and senior pastor of Sugar Land Bible Church has absolutely no clue that God’s kingdom emerges in three stages but will only be fully realized when Jesus physically returns, destroys His enemies, and rules from Jerusalem.

In other words, the arrival of the kingdom isn't a one time event but comes to earth incrementally. In other wordst is already here and is yet to come. See The Kingdom - When?

 

We are not paying enough attention to Jesus' exact words.

The Now And Coming Kingdom

As previously mentioned, Jesus told the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God was already in their midst. Since Jesus was speaking to the ritual bound Pharisees whose hearts were far from clean, He was unlikely to be referring to the kingdom being within them in any way but to the fact that the Kingdom was already present among them.

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst." (Luke 17:20-21 NASB)

However, more than once, Jesus also told His listeners that the kingdom was at hand ...

but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand (Gk. eggizo) (Matthew 10:6-7 NASB)

Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand (Gk. eggizo); repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15 NASB)

The Greek word eggizo simply means 'close' or 'approaching', as is obvious from the following examples.

When they had approached (Gk. eggizo) Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,  (Matthew 21:1 NASB)

But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near (Gk. eggizo). (Luke 21:28 NASB)

because he came close (Gk. eggizo) to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.  (Philippians 2:30 NASB)

So how could the kingdom be "at hand" and already in their midst.

Neither a problem nor a contradiction if we take the time and trouble to dig into the words Jesus used.

The primary meaning of both the Aramaic word malkuta, and the Greek word basileia (translated into the English 'kingdom') was not physical territory, but the more abstract concept of royal rule or government. Thus, when Jesus used the Aramaic phrase malkuta dishmaya which, in Matthew's Greek, is rendered as he basileia ton ouranon, He was not referring to real estate, but authority. As said by Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts

The word basileia could sometimes refer to a locale over which a king ruled, but its primary meaning in the first-century was "reign, rule, authority, sovereignty." (The same was true of the Aramaic term, malku, the word actually spoken by Jesus.) We see this meaning clearly in one of Jesus' parables. He speaks of a nobleman who "went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return" (Luke 19:12, NIV; the NRSV reads "to get royal power for himself"). The Greek of this verse reads, literally, "he went to a distant country to receive a basileia for himself." He didn't go to get a new region over which to rule, but rather to get new and greater authority over the place he lived. (See Jesus’ Message - When is the Kingdom of God Coming?)

The seeds of the kingdom began to germinate when its king entered the world. Since there cannot be a kingdom without subjects the disciples in whose hearts God was sovereign were the first. The kingdom took a flying leap forward at Pentecost when Jewish disciples rapidly multiplied followed a short time later by innumerable Gentiles. The kingdom had began to spread.

However, God's kingdom (in every sense of the word) will only be fully realized when Satan is finally destroyed and God brings His Heaven down to earth and comes to live among His people, which has always been the ultimate goal.

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom (Heb. malkû) which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom (Heb. malkû) will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms (Heb. malkû), but it will itself endure forever. "Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy." (Daniel 2:44-45 NASB)

We are living in the initial stages of God's kingdom although not in the millennium - God's designated period of rest - His Sabbath Millennium.

When is Death Finally Abolished?

An article entitled "What You Must Believe If You Are a Premillennialist" on the Gospel Coalition site says

Since both eschatological schools agree that Christ's reign consummates with the destruction of death, and since the destruction of death signals the end, we need only ascertain the time of "death's death"!  [04]

Fair enough!

However, the author bases his argument against pre millennialism on 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 which he takes to mean that the defeat of death occurs at the second coming of Christ. He then goes on to say pre millennialism

 believes that death will continue on into the one-thousand year earthly reign of Christ and will in fact assume massive proportions at its close (see Rev. 20:9-10). But how can this be when Paul places the destruction of death at Christ's second coming?

This is a classic case of wrenching verses out of their context (Link below). In this case begin reading in verse 50

(50) Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  (51)  Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,  (52)  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  (53)  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.  (54)  But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "death is swallowed up in victory. (55) "O death, where is your victory? o death, where is your sting?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; (57) but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57 NASB)

At the seventh and final trumpet believers whom Paul referred to as “brethren” will be raised imperishable which means they will never die. However, this does not include the unbelievers who are consigned to Sheol/Hades for the thousand years of the millennium.

 Context is CRUCIAL
No Biblical author simply strung together a number of lofty sounding phrases disconnected from one another. Since each verse is an integral part of a particular point the author was trying to make no one should read, much less base their beliefs on stand alone verses. The reader can only be accurately informed by God's Word the way it is written - in its context. Understanding what the author meant comes not only from the words he wrote, but also by what the overall message of the chapter. Doing no more than referring to a particular verse to establish the soundness of one's position can be very misleading.

When Does The "End" Come?

 Paul clearly says that 'the end' comes after the Rapture when Christ delivers the kingdom to the Father and Christ has to reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet, the last of which will be death.

(23) But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming,  (24) then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.  (25) For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. (26) The last enemy that will be abolished is death. (1 Corinthians 15:23-26 NASB)

Verse 26 above says “ the last enemy that will be abolished is death” that has to refer to the spirits of the unsaved who are in temporary confinement.

Satan and all the other Lord's enemies will only be finally done away with after the millennium when they are cast into the Lake of Fire. And since the "last enemy that will be abolished is death" death can only follow Satan into oblivion, which is exactly what Revelation 20 says...

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also (Vs. 20:10).... Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. (Vs 20:14)

In other words, it is only after Christ's thousand year reign that every enemy including death, will be abolished forever.

Isaiah’s Prophecy

He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.  (Isaiah 25:8 NASB)

The author of the aforementioned article 'What You Must Believe If You Are a Premillennialist' also says

Finally, according to vv. 54-55, the end of death at the second coming of Christ is the fulfillment of Isaiah 25:8. There we read that God "will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth.” Both the end of death and the wiping away of all tears are associated in Revelation 21:4 not with the coming of a millennial age but with the eternal state, i.e., the new heavens and new earth. [05]

Isaiah’s prophecy was partially quoted twice in Revelation. Although Revelation 7:17 gives us no clue as to when this happens, Revelation 21:4 does

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."  (Revelation 21:4 NASB)

If you read from Revelation 20:1 at least through 21:4 (Yes, chapter 20 in its entirety and into 21), it should become very clear that Isaiah's prophecy will be literally fulfilled at the end of the millennium when God creates a new heaven and a new earth and brings His holy city - the new Jerusalem, down from heaven. 

Note the word 'then' occurs four times in chapter 20 and is the very first word in chapter 21  which indicates a very definite chronological sequence

Can Flesh And Blood Enter The Millennium Kingdom?

Apparently some pre-millennialists believe that the millennium kingdom will be occupied by two groups of people... those with normal physical bodies and those with glorified bodies.

The site gotquestions says

There is no mention in Revelation 19-20 of any kind of rapture event. The implication is that saints who are on Earth when Christ returns will remain on Earth to enter the millennial kingdom in their natural bodies. [06]

Of course there is no mention of the Rapture in Revelation 19-20, simply because these chapters describe events that will  take place after the destruction of Babylon the great city which will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again (18:21) and that only happens with the Seven bowls i.e after both tribulations (Yes, there are two) and after believers have taken off the earth for their own safety.

(50) Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  (51)  Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. (52) in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  (53)  For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:50-53 BSB)

See The Resurrected Body - Part IV of What and Where is Heaven?

Also See Summary of Events at The Seventh Trumpet

The Prophets Foretold A Complete End Of All The Inhabitants Of The Earth

Zephaniah

Speaking about the "Day of The Lord", the prophet Zephaniah described it as a "A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities..." (Zephaniah 1:15), then went on to quote the Lord as saying...

(17) I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind, Because they have sinned against the Lord; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. (18) Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the Lord's wrath; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete end (Heb. kâlâh), Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth. (Zephaniah 1:17-18 NASB)

As is evident by its other occurrences in the Old Testament the Hebrew word kâlâh means to utterly consume, ...

For thus says the Lord, "The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction (Heb. kâlâh)".  (Jeremiah 4:27 NASB)

For I am with you, declares the Lord, 'to save you; For I will destroy completely (Heb. kâlâh) all the nations where I have scattered you, Only I will not destroy you completely. But I will chasten you justly And will by no means leave you unpunished.' (Jeremiah 30:11 NASB)

Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their annihilation (Heb. kâlâh) in the wilderness. (Ezekiel 20:17 NASB)

In a prophecy against the Assyrians, the prophet Nahum said

But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end (Heb. kâlâh) of its site, and will pursue His enemies into darkness. Whatever you devise against the Lord, He will make a complete end of it. Distress will not rise up twice. (Nahum 1:8-9 NASB)

In other words, no one left on the earth after the rapture will escape total annihilation.

See Two Babylons
John devotes two whole chapters of the book of Revelation to two "Babylons" which should tell us that it is imperative that we understand that these chapters are a  crucial warning  dealing as they do with  specific targets of the wrath of God. However, John was not speaking about literal cities. Chapter 17 deals with the spiritual side of Babylon - a false religious system. Chapter 18 deals with Babylon as a political and commercial system. They are two faces of the same coin that operate independently of and in opposition to the true God.

Paul

Paul echoed Zephaniah's thoughts

For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 NASB)

If believers are taken off the planet and given their new bodies and no sinner will escape who in the world will be left alive to enter the Millennium.

There is yet another piece of evidence which comes from Luke's pen...

Luke

The Lord Jesus specifically taught that the days of Noah and the days of the Son of Man parallel each other. In His words. "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man," (Matthew 24:37, Luke 17:26).  In other words, in the days immediately preceding the return of Jesus Christ, we should expect to find conditions similar to those that existed just before the flood. [See Days of Noah]

Luke added that similar conditions existed in Sodom and Gomorrah before they were destroyed.

(26) "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: (27) they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  (28) "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;  (29)  but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  (30) "It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:26-30 NASB)

It should be very carefully noted that God did not destroy inhabitants until Lot, the only righteous man in the city, left Sodom. And, as Luke went on to say, it will be just the same when Christ returns. Once believers are taken out of the way (The Rapture) the Seven Bowls will destroy all the inhabitants of the earth.

 
See That Earth Shattering Seventh Trumpet   and 

 The Day Of The Lord the first chapter of The End of The Age

However, at the end of the millennium Revelation 20:7 describes Satan’s temporary release from prison. Despite a thousand years under Jesus' rule, some will follow Satan again, gathering for a last attempt at rebellion. Though humanity will experience the most favorable conditions imaginable, many will still fall to Satan’s deception.

Is The Parable of The Sheep And Goats Synonymous With the White Throne Judgment?

(31) But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. (32) All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;  (33) and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. (34) Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  (35) For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; (36) naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' 

(37) Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?  (38) And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? (39) When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  (40) The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' 

(41) Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; (42) for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;  (43)  I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'  (44) Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' (45) Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' (46) These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46 NASB)

Amillennialists will argue that in the above verses Jesus very clearly states that He will separate the sheep from the goats when He comes in His glory. In other words, this judgment of the sheep and the goats and the White Throne judgment, spoken of in Revelation 20:11-15, are the same judgment which occurs at Christ's Second Coming.

However, I am not quite sure why we still do not understand that parables are NOT literal. They are short, simple, colorful, and easily remembered stories used to communicate, teach, or emphasize spiritual lessons. And they always have to be interpreted in harmony with other teachings.

For example, when He related the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus was not speaking about literal virgins, a literal groom, or a literal wedding. Although it gave us some valuable clues as to what to expect, the story was simply a way to get people to realize that because Christ will return at an unknown time His people need to be always ready.

The parable of the laborers in the vineyard had nothing to do with a literal vineyard, a literal landowner, or literal workers being paid daily wages. It simply means that, regardless of whether they come to faith early or late in their lives, all believers will have eternal life. (Please note however, that there are different rewards in the coming kingdom. Apparently there are those who will make it to heaven, but who will have earned few, if any, additional rewards. See The Bema Seat of Christ and Rewards in Heaven.

An outstanding example of a parable being completely misinterpreted is the one our Lord told about Lazarus and the rich man. Since people do not go to heaven or hell based on their financial status, we know that the parable is figurative. Sadly, the traditional interpretation uses preconceived ideas to decide which parts of the story are literal, and which are allegorical). See The Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus

So why in the world do we assume that the parable of the sheep and goats is a literal account of end time events? Will believers really ask the Lord when it was that they fed Him? Will unbelievers literally ask when it was that they neglected to take care of Him?

Not really.

This parable simply emphasizes that we will be repaid according to our deeds (Matthew 16:27), not that everything will happen as soon as the Lord returns to earth. See Myth of Faith Alone

Are All Things Presently under Christ's Feet?

The A-millennialist will also argue that since the book of Ephesians says "all things" are put in subjection under Christ, He has to be presently reigning over everything. Thus we currently have to be in the millennium.

which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, (Ephesians 1:20-22 NASB)

This argument does not really hold water. Even a cursory glance at the headlines of our morning newspapers will make it quite clear that the vast majority of this world is far from being in subjection to Christ. What's more, they neither know nor care that He even exists. So what did Paul mean?

One of the most interesting uses of verbs in the Hebrew Old Testament was how future events (prophecies) were expressed, not in the future tense as we might expect, but in the past or perfect tenses. In other words, the future was described as having already occurred. By doing this the prophets emphasized the certainty of God's word, inasmuch as a future event would occur without question or doubt. It was as good as done.

This idiom, very familiar to scholars who often call it the "prophetic perfect" tense, was carried over into the New Testament by the Hebrew authors/prophets. In fact, if you think about it, even modern English users sometimes use the past tense to indicate that some action is as good as completed. For example, we often say "done" when asked to do something.

Examples of the "Prophetic Perfect" Abound.

For example, the following promise was made long before Abraham had any descendants.

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: (Genesis 15:18 NASB)

When Og, the king of Bashan and his army came out to battle the nation of Israel God assured Moses that they would not be defeated in the following words...

But the Lord said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon." (Numbers 21:34 NASB)

The Lord told the Israelites before they left Egypt

You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. (Exodus 12:17 NASB)

Similarly, when Paul wrote that the Father had put all things in subjection under Christ's feet, He was not necessarily signifying that this was already a reality but that it was as good as accomplished. However, this in no way means that Christ's Kingdom doesn't currently exist as some teach. For want of a better way to express it... It is the now, and not yet, Kingdom which emerges in three stages.

Stage One: The initial stage began the moment Christ was born on earth. ...  The ruler of the kingdom entered the world, verifying who He was by fulfilling prophecy, and demonstrating the arrival of the reign of God with mighty deeds. However, since there is no kingdom, earthly or otherwise, without subjects, Jesus then proceeded to make disciples, thus establishing His reign in the earthly realm.

Stage Two: Shortly after Jesus physically left earth, His kingdom, which until that point had consisted of a handful of discouraged followers, took a gigantic step forward at Pentecost. It literally exploded onto public consciousness with the arrival of the Holy Spirit, causing a rapid multiplication of Jewish disciples.

Stage Three: However, God's kingdom (in every sense of the word) will only be fully realized when Jesus physically returns to earth and takes it over, destroying His enemies and ruling from Jerusalem. This final consummation, or fulfillment, of the kingdom of God on earth, has always been the ultimate goal.

Are Revelation 19 and 20 In Chronological Order?

Additionally, amillennialists do not think Revelation 19 (which describes the Second Coming) and Revelation 20 (which speaks of the millennium) are in chronological order. They also believe that the Battle of Armageddon referred to in Chapter 19, is the same battle mentioned at the end of the 1,000 years in Revelation 20:7-9.

Is any of this true?

Does Revelation 20 Chronologically Follow Revelation 19?

Revelation 20:1-6 says...

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. (2) And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;  (3) and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

(4) Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  (5) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:1-6 NASB)

The underlined words in the verses above tell us that these people were slain for their resistance to the beast, but were brought to life to reign with Christ for a thousand years. This makes the timing of the rule and the demise of the beast of crucial importance.

Revelation 13:4 tells us that the beast has authority to do his worst for a period of forty two months (three and a half years), while Revelation 19:19-20 states that he is seized and thrown into the lake of fire when Christ returns.

(4)  they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?" (5) There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. (Revelation 13:4-5 NASB)

(19) And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.  (20)  And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. (Revelation 19:19-20 NASB)

In other words the beast rules for the 42 months prior to Christ's return. During this time many are martyred and since these martyrs are raised to reign with Christ for 1000 years, the 1,000 years has to take place after Jesus' Second Coming.

Summary

There is absolutely no question that the Bible teaches that Christians will undergo a terrible time of persecution (The First Six Seals, probably under the antichrist. It is their shed blood which is sort of the 'last straw' for the Lord, who will then send plagues on the earth of unbelievably immense proportions. This period was called the Day of the Lord or The Day of the Lord's wrath by numerous prophets of old. However, since the whole point of salvation is escaping the wrath of God, Christians will somehow be protected during this terrible time.

At the Seventh Trumpet, the atonement complete (See The Two Phase Atonement, Christ will harvest the earth. Believers will be physically lifted off the planet and given their new imperishable bodies just before God rains down the seven bowls which will make a complete and terrifying end of all the inhabitants of the earth. (Zephaniah 1:17-18) See The Rapture

After this we will return to earth with Christ who will establish a thousand years of peace and rest.

See The End of The Age
Not only does the imagery and symbolism of Revelation describe the horrendous conditions of the last days but tells us in what order they will occur. In summary, the first Six Seals unfold one after the other. The 'Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse" (The first four seals) symbolize the persecution of the church with much blood being shed that will, in a sense, be the last straw and bring an end to God's patience.

The opening of the Seventh Seal will introduce the series of Seven Trumpets. The first six are the 'Great Tribulation', which Jesus said would be unparalleled in the history of our planet. The blowing of the Seventh Trumpet will herald Jesus appearing before the Face of God for us and what we call the "rapture".

This will be closely followed by the Seven Bowls when He will, as the prophet Zephaniah said, cut man off from the face of the earth (Zephaniah 1:2-3)

Endnotes

[01] David Wright. Amillennialism: Millennium Today. Christian History Institute.  Issue 61.
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/amillennialism-millennium-today/

[02] Augustine of Hippo. http://www.theopedia.com/Augustine_of_Hippo

[03] Andy Woods. The Coming Kingdom, Part 13 - The Kingdom Postponed (Ephesians  3:5)
https://tinyurl.com/39jydpku
 

[04] [Justin Taylor. What You Must Believe If You Are a Premillennialist. October 6, 2009.
http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2009/10/06/what-you-must-believe-if-you-are-a-premillennialist/

[05] ibid.

[06] Who will occupy the Millennial Kingdom? http://www.gotquestions.org/millennial-kingdom.html

Continue on To Chapter 3 - The Sabbath Millennium The Facts Vs. The Fairy Tales. HERE