Millennium

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BEHEADED FOR REFUSAL TO WORSHIP THE BEAST

Revelation 20:4 identifies those who were beheaded by what they refused to do. Revelation 20:4-6 states:-

1. Why those whom John saw alive in their bodies (zao) in Rev.20:4 had been beheaded (they were beheaded for their refusal to worship the beast); and

2. the fact that John saw them alive in their bodies (zao); and

3. uses the word anastasis in verses 5-6, which in the New Testament is always talking about the resurrection of the body.

If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark in his forehead or in his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the anger of God, having been mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented by fire and brimstone before the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. And they have no rest day or night, those who worship the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. – Revelation 14:9-11	And all dwelling on the earth will worship it, those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain, from the foundation of the world. – Revelation 13:8 And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire. -- Revelation 20:15
Here is the endurance of the saints. Here are the ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. -- Revelation 14:9-12	But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. -- Revelation 21:8
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive [záō] into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. – Revelation 19:20 Záō always = “alive in the body” in the New Testament (without exception).	And 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 for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads, nor in their hands. And they were alive in their bodies [záō] and reigned with Christ a thousand years. – Revelation 20:4  *
And the rest [loipoí] were slain [apokteínō] with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. -- Revelation 19:21 apokteínō means to put to death, to kill, to slay, to destroy.	But the rest [loipoí] of the dead did not live again [anazáō] until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection of the body [anástasis]. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no authority over these, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him a thousand years. – Revelation 20:5 * Anazáō = “alive in the body again”. Anástasis = “the resurrection of the body” in the New Testament (without exception). * This is not a "spiritual resurrection"

THE BINDING OF SATAN

"And he cast him into the abyss and shut him up and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled."

• In Genesis chapter 3, we read of how Satan appeared in the Garden of Eden and deceived mankind.

• Revelation 12:9 calls Satan "the great dragon" and "the old serpent called Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world."

• The reason given for Satan being bound in Revelation 20:1-3 is that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years have expired.  

If we look for statements in the New Testament implying that Satan was bound when Jesus died and rose again, all we will ever find is passages stating the opposite: 

Jesus called Satan "the ruler of this world" and the New Testament calls him "the prince of the power of the air who works in the sons of disobedience", who we are told will give the beast and false prophet his seat, power and great authority (Revelation Chapter 13). The saints are warned to be weary of his wiles and to resist him, and to put on the full armor of God because "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood" ( John 12:31; 1 Peter 5:8-9; Ephesians 6:11-12; Revelation 2:9-10 & Revelation 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; James 4:7 ).

Ephesians 2:2 tells us about Satan's influence over the societies of this world, this Age.

Revelation Chapters 12-13 portray this current status quo as spanning the entire present Age and culminating in the beast's war against the saints in Revelation Chapter 13 (see Revelation 13:7).

COMMON OBJECTIONS OR 'REASONS' GIVEN AS TO WHY THE ABOVE TEXTS SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN LITERALLY:- 

THE DESTRUCTION OF SATAN'S WORKS

"Since then the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise partook of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death (that is, the Devil), and deliver those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Hebrews 2:14-15.

"And they overcame him (the devil) because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony. And they did not love their soul to the death." Revelation 12:11.

The blood of the Lamb speaks of the death of Christ. 

"He who practices sin is of the Devil, for the Devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, that He might undo the works of the Devil." 1 John 3:8

"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Romans 8:3

(i) Satan's works consist primarily in the death that became part of human experience, and the sin that leads to death. 

(ii) The destruction of Satan's works will not last only for a thousand years and be "reversed" for a short period at the close of the thousand years (as though Satan's works were merely "bound" for a thousand years).

"BINDING A  STRONG MAN" 

Mark 3:22-27

"The experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and, "By the ruler of demons he casts out demons." 

So he called them and spoke to them in parables: 

"How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom will not be able to stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan rises against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand and his end has come. 

But no one is able to enter a strong man's house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house."

The house represents the demon-possessed man out of whom Jesus had cast out demons (not "the nations"). Also, Satan was not being bound for a thousand years and shut up in the abyss so that he was unable to deceive the nations for a thousand years every time Jesus or one of His apostles cast demons out of individuals. These things were taking place before and after Jesus' death and resurrection. 

Satan is not nearly, not nearly as powerful as the Holy Spirit, and cannot stop God's ability to work in the hearts of people. Satan has not been, and does not need to be 'bound' in order for God to work, or for the gospel of the Kingdom of Christ to be shared with the nations, and to take root and bear fruit. Satan's power to cause disruption in the spread of God's Kingdom in the world has always been limited to how much God will allow him. 

"ANGELS WHO ARE BOUND IN A PRISON UNTIL JUDGEMENT DAY"

Peter's and Jude's epistles both refer to angels who were bound at a time which was already antiquity to both Jude and Peter when they wrote about it ( 2 Peter 2:4-8 and Jude 1:5-7).

Not only do the above verses not imply anything with regard to the binding of either Satan or his angels at the time of the ascension of Christ, but the references to angels who are bound (found in the above verses) are not found anywhere else in biblical scripture:

An account of the binding of these angels that are mentioned in 2 Peter 2:4-8 and Jude 1:5-7 is found in the book of Enoch - which also speaks of a literal millennial reign of the Messiah - and mentions the binding of these angels as having taken place during the days of Noah.

The surrounding context of the text of both Peter's and Jude's statements in the above passages, is itself a time which was already antiquity to the apostles' day, where Peter also mentions the days of Noah (among other ancient epochs in the pre-Christian era), and Jude mentions Sodom and Gomorrah (clearly speaking about events that took place in a time which was already antiquity in the apostles' day).

"BOUND IN THAT HE IS UNABLE TO DECEIVE THE NATIONS 'UNTO BATTLE'"

One of the reasons why this assertion isn't scriptural is because it adds the words "unto battle" to Revelation 20:3 (adding to scripture) in order to take away from scripture - because not only does this assertion actually contradict the text of Revelation 20, it is used to play down the binding of Satan, bringing it down to the level of human reasoning so that the thousand years can make sense.

There is nothing either in Revelation Chapter 12 (the apocalypse of the woman & her seed, and Satan's war against both her and "the rest of her seed"), nor anywhere else in the New Testament that states or even implies that Satan has been bound. The opposite is the case - all the New Testament scriptures listed near the top of this page state the opposite.

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AN ADVERSARY IN A KING'S KINGDOM

It's logical that if a king has an adversary in his kingdom who is causing disruption, killing or harming the king's subjects, deceiving as many as he can, continuously encouraging dissent against the king and continuously calling the king's authority and integrity into question, then if the king wants to put a stop to it, he would need to either bind the adversary and lock him in a dungeon, rendering the adversary completely unable to cause more harm, or simply destroy the adversary,

but if the king in his wisdom and sovereign will continues to permit the adversary for a season and a time to continue, whether it be in order to separate the king's loyal and faithful subjects from his adversaries or for any other reason, then this choice and decision is within the king's sovereign right.

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