Is 1000 years from Revelations all metaphorical?

[Ervin]

Revelations 20

20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyssand holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] had not worshiped the beastor its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second deathhas no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 20 - New International Version

The Thousand Years - And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it...

www.biblegateway.com

My simple question is: Is the above all metaphorical?

Thanks

 

[Ervin]

Just to ad the following from Isaiah that I believe talks about 1000 year period:


Isaiah 11:8

New International Version



8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

The above quoted from Bible getaway.com

So there is going to be vipers around but they won’t be able to “harm us”.

Thanks

 

[jasonc]

I am amil ,

and his kingdom shall. not know any end.

and well ,where is the words Jesus says at his return those babies and unrepentant sinners at my return Wil be given a chance to repent .

 

[EvolvingChristian]

I am amil ,

and his kingdom shall. not know any end.

and well ,where is the words Jesus says at his return those babies and unrepentant sinners at my return Wil be given a chance to repent .

Verse?

 

[Serving Zion]

So there is going to be vipers around but they won’t be able to “harm us”.

I would be saying that they won't have any desire to do harm - as God says there will be nothing doing harm in all His holy mountain, and that comes because the world has been filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. In that day there is no fear but perfect peace, just as it is for children who are innocent of the dangers that come about as a result of sin.

I want to show you this video clip of the children feeding the deer, and I just want to point out that the father's mind is set in a fear of what sort of harm the deer is capable of doing. But if you look at the nature of the deer and the children and observe how they are interacting, they're purely of a nature that isn't feeling threatened. So it's clear to see that the man's fears are not based upon any perceivable threat in the moment of the reality, but upon a fear of what the reality could be - based upon some traumatic events he has seen.

You can see that the children have no fear because they don't feel thretened by the deer and they don't see the deer as being a dangerous thing, and because of that innocence the deer don't perceive them to be a threat. It isn't until the child picked up a stone and offered it to the deer that the deer got spooked - suddenly the he saw that he wasn't being fed by a hand of love - he was being denigrated and condescended. You can see that he instantly took off. And it is that sort of danger that animals are afraid of when they see the way humans behave toward them. The disconnect from reality that makes the human think of the animal as something inferior to that degree is actually quite dangerous from their point of view, so they keep their distance, and they will even use violence to maintain that distance.

So what God is saying, is that when the whole earth is full of the knowledge of who He is, there is peace and love - no fear. A young child will put his hand into a viper's den and it won't even be harmed - because how could a viper possibly think that the hand is a threat? Remember that in those days, the children themselves will be raised in the knowledge of God and therefore knowing that all creatures have been made by God and that all creatures should be respected. As it is in these days, however, the world is only full of disputes about who God is and many wrongs done on account of those who falsely claim His authority.

 

[Quantrill]

Revelations 20

20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyssand holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] had not worshiped the beastor its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second deathhas no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 20 - New International Version

The Thousand Years - And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it...

www.biblegateway.com

My simple question is: Is the above all metaphorical?

Thanks

No, the whole of (Rev. 20) is an eyewitness account of what John saw. There is no reason to take it 'metaphorically'. It should be taken literally. It reads as a literal eyewitness account, not as a metaphor.

There are symbols used in the book of (Revelation) without a doubt. That doesn't mean you interpret the book of (Revelation) metaphorically, or symbolically.

You should interpret the Bible literally. That means you allow for symbols, metaphors, similes, allegories, when they are used. But it doesn't mean the Bible is a metaphor, and so should be interpreted metaphorically.

The 1000 year reign of Christ is a literal 1000 year reign. It is the Kingdom promised by Christ when He first entered into public ministry on earth. (John 3:2) (Matt. 4:17)

The Kingdom is not Heaven. It is the political Kingdom of Heaven established on earth with Israel as the leading nation in the world, and Christ is ruling from there in Jerusalem. Christ rules as a dictator, with a rod of iron, for 1000 years. (Rev. 2:27)

Many may find the title 'dictator' offensive. But it shouldn't be. Nothing wrong with a dictator if the the Dictator is Christ ruling in righteousness. The unbelievers, those not of God, will be most miserable, and will have no choice but to act righteously, else Christ will bring swift judgement.

The wolf will lie down with the lamb. And a child shall not fear the venomous snake. (Is. 11:6-10) The animals diets will change. The lion will no longer be a carnivore. Man is still a sinner, but satan is imprisoned. (Rev. 20:2)

Ones method of interpreting the whole Bible will dictate how he views the Kingdom.

Quantrill

 

[Quantrill]

I would be saying that they won't have any desire to do harm - as God says there will be nothing doing harm in all His holy mountain, and that comes because the world has been filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. In that day there is no fear but perfect peace, just as it is for children who are innocent of the dangers that come about as a result of sin.

I want to show you this video clip of the children feeding the deer, and I just want to point out that the father's mind is set in a fear of what sort of harm the deer is capable of doing. But if you look at the nature of the deer and the children and observe how they are interacting, they're purely of a nature that isn't feeling threatened. So it's clear to see that the man's fears are not based upon any perceivable threat in the moment of the reality, but upon a fear of what the reality could be - based upon some traumatic events he has seen.

You can see that the children have no fear because they don't feel thretened by the deer and they don't see the deer as being a dangerous thing, and because of that innocence the deer don't perceive them to be a threat. It isn't until the child picked up a stone and offered it to the deer that the deer got spooked - suddenly the he saw that he wasn't being fed by a hand of love - he was being denigrated and condescended. You can see that he instantly took off. And it is that sort of danger that animals are afraid of when they see the way humans behave toward them. The disconnect from reality that makes the human think of the animal as something inferior to that degree is actually quite dangerous from their point of view, so they keep their distance, and they will even use violence to maintain that distance.

So what God is saying, is that when the whole earth is full of the knowledge of who He is, there is peace and love - no fear. A young child will put his hand into a viper's den and it won't even be harmed - because how could a viper possibly think that the hand is a threat? Remember that in those days, the children themselves will be raised in the knowledge of God and therefore knowing that all creatures have been made by God and that all creatures should be respected. As it is in these days, however, the world is only full of disputes about who God is and many wrongs done on account of those who falsely claim His authority.

The father was foolish for allowing the boy to feed the buck deer that way. The boy could have lost an eye and even been killed had the buck been startled. Animals don't think. They react.

The children had no fear because they were children...and had an ignorant father.

The only reason there is a change in animal behavior during the Kingdom is because God makes the change in them. Not because of some sort of man response to the animals.

Quantrill

 

[Serving Zion]

The only reason there is a change in animal behavior during the Kingdom is because God makes the change in them.

God is love (1 John 4:16). There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18). Love does no harm to a neighbour (Romans 13:10). It is written "nothing will harm or destroy in all my holy mountain, because the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea". (Isaiah 11:9).

The change that happens is that the world is full of harmony and the spirit of love because the spirit of fear has been driven out of it.

 

[jasonc]

Verse?

luke 1:33

 

[for_his_glory]

Hi Ervin

I have a whole study on Rev Chapter 20 in the End Times forum sub category "Revelation" if you would like to read it. I wrote a book on Revelations and have placed it there.

Revelation 20:1-8 is the only passage in the entire scriptures that the premillennialists have as the basis for the 1000 year reign. Rev 20:4 doesn't speak about a 1000 year reign of Christ it says by the vision John received "and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." It's not Christ that reigns 1000 years, but those who were killed for God's sake that reign with Christ 1000 years as 1000 being a figurative number, not a literal number as in Deuteronomy 7:9; 1Chronicles 16:15; Psalms 50:10; 90:4; 105:8 Ecc 6:6; 7:28; Daniel 5:1; 2 Peter 3:8.

Those who reign with Christ are those souls that had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus. In Revelations 6:9-11, are the souls of martyrs who had been slain for the word of God under an altar crying for vengeance. In Rev 20:4 the martyrs are on thrones. The difference between these scriptures is God's judgment has already come to those certain martyrs. The victory came in the spiritual realm of God, not the physical, and God assured their victory.

John was shown in a vision those souls that already had the victory over death as being in Christ. When we who are of Christ die before His return God has already passed judgement on us and we have the victory in Christ over that of the second death, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57. Those who are not of Christ will be judged and cast into the lake of fire. There is only one resurrection, but two judgements, John 5:28, 29. Those in Christ are raised first as those still alive at His coming will be gathered and caught up together to meet Christ in the air to be with Christ for eternity, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The rest are then raised for their judgement as rejecting Christ and there forever have their place in the lake of fire. Rev 20:4 says nothing about Jesus coming to this earth and establishing a worldly kingdom at Jerusalem.

2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
(notice as is in being figurative and not literal.)

 

[Quantrill]

In post #(6), I meant (Matt. 3:2) and not (John 3:2). Sorry.

Quantrill

 

[Rajesh Sahu]

I would be saying that they won't have any desire to do harm - as God says there will be nothing doing harm in all His holy mountain, and that comes because the world has been filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. In that day there is no fear but perfect peace, just as it is for children who are innocent of the dangers that come about as a result of sin.

I want to show you this video clip of the children feeding the deer, and I just want to point out that the father's mind is set in a fear of what sort of harm the deer is capable of doing. But if you look at the nature of the deer and the children and observe how they are interacting, they're purely of a nature that isn't feeling threatened. So it's clear to see that the man's fears are not based upon any perceivable threat in the moment of the reality, but upon a fear of what the reality could be - based upon some traumatic events he has seen.

You can see that the children have no fear because they don't feel thretened by the deer and they don't see the deer as being a dangerous thing, and because of that innocence the deer don't perceive them to be a threat. It isn't until the child picked up a stone and offered it to the deer that the deer got spooked - suddenly the he saw that he wasn't being fed by a hand of love - he was being denigrated and condescended. You can see that he instantly took off. And it is that sort of danger that animals are afraid of when they see the way humans behave toward them. The disconnect from reality that makes the human think of the animal as something inferior to that degree is actually quite dangerous from their point of view, so they keep their distance, and they will even use violence to maintain that distance.

So what God is saying, is that when the whole earth is full of the knowledge of who He is, there is peace and love - no fear. A young child will put his hand into a viper's den and it won't even be harmed - because how could a viper possibly think that the hand is a threat? Remember that in those days, the children themselves will be raised in the knowledge of God and therefore knowing that all creatures have been made by God and that all creatures should be respected. As it is in these days, however, the world is only full of disputes about who God is and many wrongs done on account of those who falsely claim His authority.

You explained well. Thank you ?
Just my two cents : Jesus's 1000 year rule will have no blood shedding, whether by man or animals. Everything will exist in perfect peace and harmony for now the Prince of Peace will be the presiding king. The animals will feed off plants and grass . No more bloodshed, even as man will return to garden of eden diet, prior to the first sin, which wrought havoc on earth and every being on it had to bear its devastating consequences. Man the most , for the choice curses of God came upon Adam and Eve for their one act of disobedience/ sin/ rebellion.
On a happy note Jesus will be our King and we will be His people
Something which should always have been, but did not happen. But now THAT cannot be stopped. He will be now our King forever and ever--for those who managed to survive the day of judgment. Matthew 25 :31-46. These were the elect of God , whom He had chosen before the foundations of the earth.
Matthew 25:34 "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."
These were the ones who had elected to practise loving -kindness in their lives, and based on that they found favor in the eyes of the King and Judge Christ Jesus on the last day .
All others who did not practise loving - compassion ( Christians or otherwise) were condemned by Judge Christ with a harsh rebuke : verse 41
"Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire 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, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Bottomline : Only those people on earth who in their lifetime chose to turn away from sin and turned to loving-Kindness , Christian or others ( like the good Samaritan ) were the ones who were saved. Everyone else was condemned. Thus came good what Jesus had pronounced in Matthew 22:14
" For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Not one human , Christian or otherwise will ever get to enter the kingdom Of God , unless they had practised love and compassion in their earthly life,
is the solemn salvation message of Bible.
John the apostle's following words prove prophetic ( through goats and Sheep judgment day vision) what John said/ taught in 1 John 4:8 &16 :
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."

Hope we will all take this sobering message to heart ❤ and practise loving kindness as long as we live, for not one who did not love will ever get to see the kingdom of heaven.
Blessings and love to all ?

 

[Serving Zion]

You explained well. Thank you ?
Just my two cents : Jesus's 1000 year rule will have no blood shedding, whether by man or animals. Everything will exist in perfect peace and harmony for now the Prince of Peace will be the presiding king. The animals will feed off plants and grass . No more bloodshed, even as man will return to garden of eden diet, prior to the first sin, which wrought havoc on earth and every being on it had to bear its devastating consequences. Man the most , for the choice curses of God came upon Adam and Eve for their one act of disobedience/ sin/ rebellion.
On a happy note Jesus will be our King and we will be His people
Something which should always have been, but did not happen. But now THAT cannot be stopped. He will be now our King forever and ever--for those who managed to survive the day of judgment. Matthew 25 :31-46. These were the elect of God , whom He had chosen before the foundations of the earth.
Matthew 25:34 "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."
These were the ones who had elected to practise loving -kindness in their lives, and based on that they found favor in the eyes of the King and Judge Christ Jesus on the last day .
All others who did not practise loving - compassion ( Christians or otherwise) were condemned by Judge Christ with a harsh rebuke : verse 41
"Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire 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, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Bottomline : Only those people on earth who in their lifetime chose to turn away from sin and turned to loving-Kindness , Christian or others ( like the good Samaritan ) were the ones who were saved. Everyone else was condemned. Thus came good what Jesus had pronounced in Matthew 22:14
" For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Not one human , Christian or otherwise will ever get to enter the kingdom Of God , unless they had practised love and compassion in their earthly life,
is the solemn salvation message of Bible.
John the apostle's following words prove prophetic ( through goats and Sheep judgment day vision) what John said/ taught in 1 John 4:8 &16 :
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."

Hope we will all take this sobering message to heart ❤ and practise loving kindness as long as we live, for not one who did not love will ever get to see the kingdom of heaven.
Blessings and love to all ?

Thank you for your words of encouragement and for reinforcing the importance of the commandment to abide in love. It is not often understood that love is mutually exclusive to sin, and so any person who is abiding in love is unable to be doing sin. Likewise, any person who is doing sin is not allowing love to prevail but is giving flesh the strength to put sin over love in their will. What does the scripture say about the results of sin? "One sinner destroys much good".

 

[Rajesh Sahu]

Thank you for your words of encouragement and for reinforcing the importance of the commandment to abide in love. It is not often understood that love is mutually exclusive to sin, and so any person who is abiding in love is unable to be doing sin. Likewise, any person who is doing sin is not allowing love to prevail but is giving flesh the strength to put sin over love in their will. What does the scripture say about the results of sin? "One sinner destroys much good".

Precisely. Well explained ?.
Pure and unconditional love is opposite of sin and comes in the way of sin and therefore Jesus ( who is love --- 1 John 4:8, John 10:30) taught us to love.
Peter in 1 Peter 4:8 teaches love covers a multitude of sin while Solomon in Proverbs 10: 12 reveals Love covers ALL sin

 

[Serving Zion]

Precisely. Well explained ?.
Pure and unconditional love is opposite of sin and comes in the way of sin and therefore Jesus ( who is love --- 1 John 4:8, John 10:30) taught us to love.
Peter in 1 Peter 4:8 teaches love covers a multitude of sin while Solomon in Proverbs 10: 12 reveals Love covers ALL sin

Thanks for that, I hadn't noticed that Peter was referencing the Proverbs, and so when I wondered why he has seemingly reduced the scope of the word "all" to "a multitude", I find that St. Peter is talking about the "sins" as specific things that have been done, whereas the Proverb is describing transgression as action or intention.

And so I found that the meaning of the Hebrew word "covering" is quite broad, to describe the "concealing" or the "putting away" and "forgiving" of it, rather than the more narrow expression that "remitting" past offenses might have. The word doesn't convey any sense of making right what was wrong, but the looking beyond, or covering of transgression - quite like we might consider the sons of Noah who found him when he was asleep drunk and exposed (Genesis 9:21). The younger one who had found him naked had not shown love toward him and went instead to tell his brothers, but the other two did what was noble: they brought a garment to cover (kasah, כסה) their father's shame, going in backwards so as to respect his privacy because that is what love would do.

It's also interesting to dig into the pictographs of the words:

תְּכַסֶּ֥ה : Tekaseh, the root word being כסה "kasah" - having three letters: Kaph, Samech, Hey - which have been found to correspond to the ancient cave symbols "Palm", "evil", "rejoice". The palm symbolises the handing-over in completeness - just as you would hold both hands together with palms facing up and so the other person can take hold of what you are giving them. It shows that the word is describing the handing over of all recourse for evil in order to rejoice - which is a very good description of forgiveness. It's the sort of beautiful meaning that we lose so much of in the interpretation of language and that the authors of the faith would have known richly - hence the reputation that the scriptures had in ancient times for being the guidance for the Ways of Adonai.

אַהֲבָֽה : Ahabah, the root word being אהב "ahab" - three letters: Aleph, Hey, Beth - corresponding to "Ox head", "rejoice" and "plan". The letter beth represents the birds-eye view of the floor-plan of a traditional tent, so it conveys the connotation of having a plan, or being a word that pertains to a plan. The Ox head is the equivalent to a tractor or a motor in our age, where it is used to depict the source of power. When words use the Aleph, it depicts a force. And so we can see the the word for "love" in the Hebrew language is saying it is the force to rejoice intentionally, and within the culture that read the scriptures (which we become familiar with as we submit ourselves to it's way of thinking), we can understand that what the Proverb is saying is that love is a force that will forgive transgressions and will allow them to be covered over. Love does this because it's purpose is to rejoice over the life that is saved when mercy is effective. Notice also that mercy is only applicable when the transgressor is of good intention, otherwise it is a license to sin (Proverbs 17:15) - and "love does not rejoice over injustice but rejoices over the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6).

 

[Rajesh Sahu]

That's kind of complicated , will have to read a few times to understand the post ??

 

[Serving Zion]

That's kind of complicated , will have to read a few times to understand the post ??

Thanks for mentioning that. I found a way to tidy up the first paragraph and have added some links to resources.