Gog & Magog Part Three My son-in-law, Jerome, gifted me with a book on The Views of four Approaches/Interpretations of the Book of Revelation; which are: 1) Historicist, 2) Preterist, 3) Futurist and, 4) Spiritual. However, for Chapters 20-22 the Approaches are changed to the Views of: 1) Premillennium, 2) Amillennium and, 3) Postmillennium. I have delayed writing this Gog & Magog lesson (Part Three) because I had need to study and do some research on the subject … other than what I have learned from Bible School (New Tribes Mission), Catholic footnotes, and Evangelical Pastors and Teachers. I have decided to put to you the Three Approaches in this book entitled REVELATION Four Views; edited by: Steve Gregg; Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville; latest addition 1997. Realizing that the Pastors and saints in Africa, India, and America would not be able to buy this Book; I would like to share with you what I have finally understood regarding the origins of these Four Doctrines (Approaches) and the Three Views of Revelation chapter 20. I pray you will be given the anointing ear of the Spirit to hear Truth! The study of Chapter 20 is the most difficult to ‘interpret’ and most ‘controversial’ in all Christiandom. The modern day Postmillennialists, especially of the Christian Reconstructionist Variety are teaching that Christ is coming at the end of the Millennium. Premillennialists: Jesus is coming before, and Amillennialism: no 1000 years. Chapter Six 2 Gog & Magog Revelation 20:1-3 The Binding of The Dragon “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should not deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.” Pre-millennial View Then (v1) suggests a chronological sequence following the events in chapter 19:10, where Christ was seen in His Second Coming upon a white horse, subduing His enemies and defeating the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Hence, the events of which we now read are to occur after the Second coming. John sees an unnamed angel coming down from heaven in the possession of the key to the bottomless pit, or the abyss, and sporting a great chain for the purpose of putting Satan out of commission for a time. The location of the bottomless pit is unrevealed, although many feel that it must have its opening somewhere on earth, since this opening is referred to twice in Revelation (v.1; 9:1). In 9:1 the abyss was opened by a ‘star’ that fell “from heaven to the earth,” suggesting the earth as the location of the pit. The star that fell in chapter 9 was “given” the key, because, being an evil angel, he did not possess it by right but by grant from God. The angel in chapter 20, however, is not seen receiving, but “having” the key. Having laid hold of the dragon the angel deftly discharges his commission to bind him for a thousand years. The language clearly indicates that the disabling of Satan is very thorough; the restriction by the chain, being cast into the pit and shut up in it with a seal set on him. This does not mean there will be no sin in the Millennium, for as Biederwolf write: “This refers to Satan’ s complete banishment from the earth, so that while sin is still to exist in individuals, it is no longer to be the power forming a fellowship, and thus making a kingdom of sin and Satan.” The effect of this incarceration of Satan is: he will not deceive the nations for 1000 years! 3 Gog & Magog This clearly indicates the presence of nations after the destruction of Antichrist and False Prophet in 19:21 … perhaps those who did not participate in the conflict. These will be, according to Alford, “the quiet and willing subjects of the kingdom,” who will again be seduced when the thousand years are over (vv.7). [SS note: see Daniel 7 for those nations (beasts) with a lease on life for a season]. There can be no doubt that the nations still experience satanically inspired deception today, which challenges an interpretation of this vision that would make Satan to be ‘currently bound’. Weidner declares: “If any one thing is clear, it is this, that the power of Satan has as yet not been bound.” Defeated on the Cross, yes, but, “If he is bound today,” it is often said, “the chain is too long.” After the Millennium he must be loosed (released) for a little while. There will be a final rebellion following Christ’ s peaceful reign on earth (of Gog and Magog) before the eternal new creation will come. [ShSd note: because of the Pauline doctrine that “the ‘end of the ages’ have come upon us, that is, the Body of Christ, the millennium must be a continuance of our present age, isn’t it? “For in the age to come there is eternal life, in the ‘new creation’. Or is it the time for God to manifest His sons in ruling with Him? “Now, once at the ‘end of the ages’, He has appeared to put away sin by His sacrifice …,” Heb 9:26. The end of the prior ages began with the first appearing of Messiah Jesus and now we are in the ‘end-time-age’. “All these things happened (OT Scriptures) to them as examples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ‘ends of the ages have come’,” 1 Co 10:11. “So Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time (age) and in the age to come eternal life,” Luke 18:29-30. SheepShed concludes that the Millennium may or not be the age to come, but certainly eternal life]. A-millennium View A-millennium means, No Millennium. Amillennialists like Luther and Calvin interpreted Revelation according to the historicist method. Other Amillennialists, like Jay Adams, take the preterist approach to Revelation. Then I saw (v.1) speaks only of the order in which the visions were presented to John, not the chronology of fulfillment. As chapter 12 describes the birth of 4 Gog & Magog Christ after many chronologically later events are described in previous chapters, so this chapter goes back to the beginning of the Christian dispensation (age) and looks at Christ’s victory over Satan, accomplished at the Cross. The angel who comes down to bind Satan may be Michael, who is depicted as defeating the dragon in the parallel vision of Daniel chapter 12. Several elements in the passage seem to demand a nonliteral interpretation. First, the devil being a spiritual being, is depicted as being bound by a great chain whereas one would think of spiritual beings as not being susceptible to confinement by physical restraints. A second indicator of symbolism, is the reference to Satan as both a dragon and a serpent, neither of which is any more a literal description of this spiritual being than is a “lamb … having seven horns and seven eyes” (5:6), a literal description of the man Jesus Christ. We are further dissuaded from a literal interpretation of the passage by the fact that many of its features, e.g., a thousand years, a pit, and a seal are used elsewhere in Scripture in a symbolic manner. [SS note: however, behind all symbols is the literal reality, the real thing]! The nature of the binding itself is not absolute, so as to preclude every activity of Satan. It is specifically limited in the passage to the devil’s power to deceive the nations for the duration of the period. That Jesus bound in some sense bound Satan during His ministry is affirmed by Christ Himself. Jesus describes His ministry of deliverance to the demon possessed as analogous to the plundering of a strong man’s house by an invader, Mt 12:29. Here the strongman clearly is Satan and the intruder is Christ. Jesus explains parabolically that a necessary first step was to bind the strong man, who otherwise would not allow his house to be pillaged. The implication is that Jesus’ casting out of demons provides proof that He had already “bound” Satan. This binding of Satan, however, does not involve a literal incarceration preventing all movement, In the analogy, “binding” refers only to rendering his opponent incapable of resistance. The parallel account in Luke replaces the metaphor of binding the strong man with that of stripping the strong man of his armor and weapons, Luke 11:22. Thus, according to Christ’s own 5 Gog & Magog teaching, the imagery of “binding Satan” conveys the fact that Satan has been rendered incapable of successfully resisting the forward advance of God’s kingdom. [ShSd note: only because Jesus has given the keys of the kingdom to His disciples to bind and to loose so that the gates of hell cannot prevail]! Additional passages in the New Testament use similar images to describe the decisive victory of Christ over His foes. Colossians 2:15 exults in the fact that Christ “disarmed principalities and powers” through the cross, and Hebrews 2:14 states that Jesus endured death so that He might thereby “destroy” him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. The meaning of this binding of Satan, then, is that Christ, at His first advent, brought about a conclusive victory, leaving Satan impotent to prevent the success of “God’s kingdom to multiply, bear fruit and work the works of God.” The imagery of this passage is simply a more vivid dramatization of this concept, in keeping with the apocalyptic style of the book itself. [ShSd note: see lesson ‘Right Hand of God’ for “binding & loosing” performed by the angels of God, then, compare it with Michael and the angel who bound Satan in the bottomless pit for the duration of 1000 years incapable of deceiving the nations, whereby they wage war and hate one another, especially hating those who love the Lord Jesus and Jerusalem. What does Satan do the moment he is loosed from the pit? He deceives the nations, Gog & Magog, to do battle against the Camp of the Saints]. Post-millennial View Postmillennialists find in Revelation 20 a consummation of history in the 1000-year reign of the Saints, but they believe that Christ will accomplish this through the church fulfilling of its gospel mission, prior to His return. The 1000 years of peace will be accomplished through no other agency than that which is already in the possession of the church, i.e., the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. This early interpretation was suggested by Jonathan Edwards and most early postmillennialists. The latest approach is: The world will become christianized, either as a result of worldwide revival and mass conversions, or through the imposition of Christian ideals by converted governments…or both. This interpretation is held by many modern-day postmillennialists. (Manifest Sons of God believe they will be manifested to do this before Jesus returns as He waits for His enemies to be put under His feet at the right hand of God, SS). 6 Gog & Magog especially by the ‘Christian Reconstructionist variety.’ It is put forward that Christ will return at the end of the Millennium, His coming is thus postmillennial. Then (v. 1) conveys the idea that the events about to be described are to occur after the events described in the immediate preceding context. Thus the successful preaching of the gospel worldwide, resulting in the subordination of all the nations to the authority of Christ, precedes His Second Coming. The Second Coming of Christ will be seen in verses 9ff. of this chapter, but the events before us in the present verses (1-3) find fulfillment before that. The Englishman `often credited with the founding of this school of thought, Daniel Whitby (1638-1725), identified the events of this chapter as following the seventh trumpet in chapter 11. Followed by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in America, Whitby taught that the preaching of the gospel will, at some future point, successfully convert the majority of sinners. Satan’s influence will thus be effectively bound upon earth, that he should deceive the nations no more for a lengthy period. A. H. Strong expressed this view: Through the preaching of the gospel in all the world, the kingdom of Christ is steadily to enlarge its boundaries, until Jews and Gentiles alike become possessed of its blessings, and a millennial period is introduced in which Christianity generally prevails throughout the earth. This thousand years, speaks of that future period. David S Clark sees this chapter as beginning a new section, not, as the amillennialists suggest, to recapitulate a time period discussed earlier, but looking to the end of the Christian era, long after Christ has subdued Jerusalem and Rome (in Chs, 11 & 19). Clark suggests that the capture of the Beast and False Prophet occurred at the fall of pagan Rome, [but “no brightness of His Coming?”] but that the binding of Satan remains to be fulfilled in the future. Most other postmillennialists (like the Premillennialists) see no break between the chapters, but a progression leading naturally from the end of chapter 19 into chapter 20. All agree with Clark, however, in saying: “We therefore conclude that there will be a millennium and that it will result from the preaching and teaching of the 7 Gog & Magog gospel, when ‘the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.’” [SS note: this is the prevalent teaching today among many congregations, it is the teaching of “The Manifest Sons of God,” make an effort to hear for it on Christian TV: among which some are called “We’ve got the Power,” “Dominionism,” “Third Day,” “Day of The Spirit” and “Kingdom Now,” just to name a few. We do have the “keys” of the Kingdom but somehow this message is interjecting error with truth in many teachings]. R. J. Rushdoony also believes in this golden era at the end of the church age, but takes a different approach to the interpretation of Revelation 20. He sees this chapter almost exactly as does the amillennialist. He writes: “Thus Revelation 20 is in a sense a recapitulation of the entire book.” He sees the binding of Satan as having already occurred in the past, when Christ was on earth. The thousand years apparently is seen, with the amillennialist, as the entire church age. [SS note: I wonder who coined “The Church Age”]? The principal difference between his view and that of the amillennialist is that the latter makes no prediction about the ultimate success of the gospel in converting the world, whereas Rushdoony, with all postmillennialists, believes that the church will bring all things under the dominion of Christ. It would seem that this view of Revelation 20 differs from that of classical postmillennialism only in restricting the golden age to the end portion of the “thousand years” (which represents the whole church age), whereas the older postmillennialism identifies the thousand years with the golden age at the end of the world. In one sense, Rushdoony’s view could be called optimistic amillennialism with reference to the interpretation of this chapter. Benjamin B. Warfield also took an approach similar to this. In the next verses 4-6, we will learn that Augustine was older amillennialist and proposes a spiritual reign of the believers on earth in the present age [because amillennialists do not believe there is a millennium]. [SS note: Here are questions we must keep in mind as we study the history of the different views: Has there been the bodily resurrection yet? Has there ever been a Beast and False Prophet performing deceiving miracles that caused the nations to believe he is Messiah? Has a mark on the hand or fore-head been ordered for buying and selling? Has an image of himself been made commanding worship? And “What is the Lord doing among the Candlesticks”]? 8 Gog & Magog Chapter Seven Revelation 20:4-6 The Thousand-Year Reign “And I saw thrones, and they (they who?) sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” [ShSd note: emphasis mine to get you to hear what you are reading]. Pre-millennial View There is much dispute over the identity of the persons who were seated upon the thrones, whether they were a) God, Christ, and the angels; b) the twenty-four elders; c) the martyrs and those who refused to worship the beast [not plural]; or d) all the saints of both the Old and New Testaments, Mt 19:28. The last view mentioned seems to be preferred by most expositors (e.g., Alford, Milligan, Gaebelein, etc.). (ShSd: are these in the first resurrection those who have overcome only in the “time of the beast’s reign,” The Great Tribulation)? The right of judging was committed to them, which suggests that they participated with Christ in the judicial rule of the nations during the Millennium. In that John also saw those who had been beheaded and who had not worshiped the beast, it has been speculated that they might be here standing before the court being assessed “as to how far they were worthy of being called to the first resurrection” (Lange). However, it is most likely that they belong to the larger company of those sitting on the thrones and are singled out as worthy of particular mention. [SS note: Found worthy…a reason for the tempting of Satan and “testing” of God in order to inherit the kingdom, there is more to living a holy life than just saying “I am the righteousness of God; one must be holy, not just say, “for I am holy,” says the Lord]! The reference to their being beheaded may represent any form of martyrdom, not restricting the number to those actually decapitated. [SS note: the beheading 9 God & Magog refers to the time of the Beast’s reign v. 4b “Then I saw the souls”]. The meaning of the expression they lived is hotly debated. Premillennialists prefer to translate the expression ‘they came to life,’ meaning “they lived (again),” and identify it with the first resurrection with verses 5 & 6. This is the resurrection of the saints to reign on the earth, 2:26-27; 5:10, during the Millennium. It is to be followed by the resurrection of the wicked for judgment of the Great White Throne at the end of the thousand years, hence the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. [We have studied that the word ‘thousand’ may be translated, too, as ‘many’]. Whereas the amillennialists and the postmillennialists do not consider this the “first resurrection” to be physical, it seems inconsistent to make this resurrection out to be a spiritual one while acknowledging the resurrection at the end of the thousand years to be physical, as Alford writes: “As regards the text itself, no legitimate treatment of it will extort what is known as the spiritual interpretation now in fashion. If in a passage where two resurrections are mentions, where certain souls lived at the first, and the rest of the dead lived only in the end of a specified period after the first … if in such a passage the first resurrection may be understood to mean spiritual rising with Christ, while the second means literal rising from the grave; then there is an end to all significance in language, and Scripture is wiped out as a definite testimony to anything.” [SS note: That first means first “there is no ‘before’ the first.” Therefore, the ‘rapture’ is the first resurrection that takes place after the reign of the Beast, False Prophet and Satan’s incarceration in the bottomless pit. It is the time-period always of those saints who have endured the Tribulation period and have overcome! The entire Scroll of the Apocalyspe is written for the Saints during this “mo’ed” and they are commanded to watch wand pray and to follow the Lamb wherever He goes]! Though Lange takes the number symbolically, the thousand years may be as readily taken literally as any of the other time indicators in the Book of Revelation. Stuart writes: “The great question whether this is to be taken literally or symbolically, is one that must be settled by an analogy of the book in regard to specific periods. We have seen that the famous period of three-and one-half years … is to be understood, in all probability, in its literal sense … Here then, assuming a similar usage with respect to numbers, we may suppose that the thousand years may be taken in their ordinary sense, or at least for a very long period.” 10 Gog & Magog Though this will be long enough for the producing of many generations of people, individual life spans apparently will be greatly increased over those currently known. Isaiah 65:20 tells us: “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old.” Peter wrote that with the Lord one day is “as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day” 2 Pet 3:8. This may mean that the Millennium, coming after six thousand years of world history [first mentioned by Enoch], should be regarded as the antitype of the seventh day, which followed the six days of creation. [“There remains a rest for the people of God” Hebrew chapter 4; SS]. A particular blessedness and holiness happens to the one who has part in the first resurrection, because only they live in the Millennium and will escape the second death to live on in the New Jerusalem in the New Creation. [ShSd note: This statement “only they live” contradicts, then, Isaiah 65:20 above. And, what happens to all those generations that are birthed during this period of time? And, who are the resurrected saints to rule over with Christ, each other? Why is there no mention of the Melchisedec Order of kings and priests? Could it be the fulfillment of this question the disciples put to Jesus, “Will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6-8. Israel, then, being at ‘rest,’ Satan, after the 1000 years, is loosed to deceive the nations, Gog & Magog, who surround the Camp of the Saints to do battle against them, 20:7-10. Ahhhhhh, the Inquiring Mind wants to know! Amillennial View Two views prevail among amillennialists concerning the venue of the saints in this vision. The older view, proposed by ‘Augustine,’ is that the picture is that of the spiritual reign of believers on earth in the present age, symbolizing the victory through which it is written that “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us,” Ro 8:37. An alternative view, attributed originally to the nineteenth century German scholar Kiiefoth, is that the vision describes the blessedness of the departed saints in heaven after death, but prior to the resurrection. This is the more widespread view today among amillennialists. 11 Gog & Magog The thrones are apparently in heaven, as were those in Revelation 4:4, upon which the twenty-four elders sat. Likewise, the souls of those who had been beheaded for Christ are no doubt seen in heaven here, as they were in Revelation 6:9. The only place for the disembodied souls of saints since the accomplishment of our redemption has been in heaven, and the only time-frame during which such souls can be found there is from the point of their deaths till the time of their resurrection at the Second Coming of Christ. Thus the time-frame would seem to be the present age of the church, from John’s own century to the time of the resurrection. That this period is referred to as a thousand years need not give us any trouble, even though the actual age of the church has by this time run nearly twice this length of time. There is nothing surprising in finding the use of a symbolic number here as elsewhere in Revelation. The number “a thousand” is frequently used in Scripture without the intention of conveying statistical information. It is given as the number for generations to which God keeps His covenants (Deut 7:9), the number of hills upon which God owns the cattle (Ps 50:10), the number of enemy troops that one Israelite shall chase (Josh 23:10), the number of those who shall fall “at your side” as opposed to the ten-thousand who will fall at “right hand: (Ps 91:7), etc. Furthermore, the expression “a thousand years” is never used elsewhere in Scripture for an actual number of years, but only to suggest the idea of a very long time (Ps 90:4; Eccl 6:6; 2 Pet 3:8). So also here, the reign of the martyrs during this time of Satan’s incarceration is simply a very long time, as the figure “a thousand years” generally means. [SS note: please compare this teaching with 1 Co 15 21-28]. This refusal of these victors to worship the beast or to wear his mark, in no sense relegates them to a period at the end of the present time, since the beast is not necessarily a person or entity restricted to some brief period at the end of the present age, but can be interpreted as existing to oppose the church throughout her history (see historicists and spiritual commentaries chapter 13. [We have not copied their views for you]. [SS note: to me, this is a dangerous doctrine to teach. For the beast is a person who leads a coalition of Islamic nations against Israel seating himself in the temple of God, which Paul calls: “the Abomination of Desolation,” period! We have not seen this happen yet, but it takes place in the time-period when Israel is restored to their land]. 12 Gog & Magog The phrase they lived and reigned with Christ is thought by some (i.e., premillennialists) to be better translated “they came to life and reigned with Christ.” This version is followed by many leading Bible translations. If this latter translation is correct, the reference is said to teach a rising from the dead of these saints prior to the resurrection detailed in this chapter. If this could be established, it would support only the Premillennial Second Coming of Christ. It may be that “their coming to life” refers to their entrance into heaven at the point of death and does not speak of their physical resurrection at the coming of the Lord. Or, “they lived” simply lived on in heaven beyond the point of their earthly death, stating “they came to life” in heaven. {Please}! The first resurrection may refer to the life of the departed saints in heaven or merely to the principal feature of the time period as a whole in terms of the privileges of the living saints as well. The Scriptures elsewhere teach that there will be only one physical resurrection at the end of time which would include the righteous and the unrighteous John 5:28-29; Acts 24:14- 15; compare “the last day” in John 6:39, 40, 44, 54, and 12:48. We find this resurrection of the bodies from their graves at the end of the Millennium v. 13. It follows that there can be no other physical resurrection than that mentioned at the end of the chapter and that the “first resurrection” mentioned in verses 5 & 6 must therefore be a spiritual one. Such a conclusion is justified by the fact that the Christian's experience of regeneration is frequently spoken of in terms of a ‘spiritual rising’ from death to life John 5:24; 11:34-35; Eph 2:5-6; Col 2:13; 3:1; Ro 6:4-5, 13. [SS but note: the saints have not inherited the kingdom as yet … there is a qualification because “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom;” flesh is corruptible, therefore, it must put on incorruption to live in an eternal state for the kingdom of God and Christ is an everlasting kingdom 1 Co 6:9-10; 15:21 seq.; Gal 5:21. This chapter is speaking of “ruling and reigning’ with a rod of iron with Christ over the nations … the inheritance is everlasting, but, the nations are not]! That the saints shall reign with Him a thousand years suggests that the Church, seen collectively. In some sense participates with Him in His reign 13 Gog & Magog over history during the entire church age. Postmillennial View The meaning of the first resurrection is not a unanimously settled matter among postmillennial writers. It is said of the martyrs that they lived and reigned for a thousand years, which is taken by some to mean that the future victory of Christianity after its earlier history of persecution amounts to nothing less than a rebirth of the cause for which the martyrs died. John Jefferson Davis ( a more modern view) writes: “The ‘first resurrection,’ then, Refers to the future restoration and vindication of the cause for which the martyrs died. Barnes similarly writes: “They were exalted in their principals and in their personal happiness in heaven, as if they occupied the throne with Him and shared its honors and triumphs.” An “older view” of Daniel Whitby, followed by A.A. Hodge in the nineteenth century and James Snowden in the early twentieth century, was that the first resurrection refers to a revival of the martyr spirit. As explained by Strong, verses 4 & 5 of this chapter refer to: “a period in the latter days (meaning the Millennium) of the church militant when, under special influence of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of the martyrs shall appear again, true religion be greatly quickened and revived, and the members of Christ’s churches become so conscious of their strength in Christ that they shall, to an extent unknown before, triumph over the powers of evil both within and without.” [ShSd note: This portion explained by Strong does not speak of the first resurrection as being literal here, but in the spirit of Elijah; however, it seems to be the prevalent teaching of today’s message by many … who are not necessarily postmillennialists but dispensationalist]. When v. 5 says the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished, it may mean, as Clarke understands it, that Christ’s cause and people were dominant during the thousand years, and Satan’s allies were subdued till the thousands years were ended, and after that they rose to power 14 Gog & Magog again. …They … rose to their old time power and persecution. Rushdoony takes the view of many amillennialists that the first resurrection is a figurative way of referring to the regeneration of the believer, whereas Benjamin B. Warfield held the view, also found among some amillennialists, that the first resurrection is the entrance into heavenly joys and that these verses present a picture of the souls of the redeemed safe in heaven. This appears to be the view of David S, Clarke also. Chilton pints out that the “first resurrection” may be a reference back to Christ’s own resurrection from the dead. Paul refers to Christ as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” 1 Co 15:20 and as the “the firstborn from the dead” Col 1:18. As Chilton says, when Christ arose, “He rose from the dead, and resurrected all believers with Him.” Thus the beatitude is not pronounced upon those who have risen from the dead, but rather “he who has part in the first resurrection of Christ … those souls seen in heaven illustrate that the life they have received while on earth continues, uninterrupted by death, in heaven. Chilton raises a pertinent question, only to answer it: Does this reign of the saints take place in heaven or on earth? The answer should be obvious: both! The saints’ thrones are in heaven, with Christ Eph 2:6; yet, with their Lord, they exercise rule and dominion on earth Rev 2:26-27; 5:10; 11:15. Having been resurrected with Christ (not bodily, but spiritually), Christians are to rule and to promote His rule in the world at this present time. Chilton, Rushdoony, and other “Christian Reconstructionists” believe that this rule of the saints on earth will ultimately take the form of “a Christian Republic, where God’s law rules.” [ShSd: What ever happened to the Beast & False Prophet]? The application of the Mosaic civil ordinances to modern case law is one of the principal concerns of this wing of postmillennialists in anticipation of a time when “all kings shall fall down before Him; / All nations shall serve Him” Ps 72:11. If the rulers of the world are going to seek to honor God in their law making, the church must be prepared to ‘inform’ them of how civil law can best conform to the divine standard revealed in the Mosaic statutes. [ShSd note: The subject of the fifthteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is “The 15 Gog & Magog Resurrection.” And this Chapter is the one we must understand in order to place solidly in our minds “when the first resurrection takes place,” that is, in what order of the three different ‘Views.’ All people will be resurrected! As all in Adam die! “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive (not speaking here of the new-birth John 3:16, but resurrected). But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming” 15:23. Well then, when is He coming again? Verse 24 says after the resurrection of those who are His. “After that comes the end.” After He has put an end to all rule and all authority and power … for He must reign till He has put all things under His feet (authority). Is Paul saying: that the resurrection of His own, will not take place until He has put all rule etc. under His feet? If he is, then, it must be a postmillennialist or amillennialist point of view he is taking. To me, this speaks of the Premillennial Coming of Christ in the first resurrection order. The inheritance of the kingdom by the saints must first be inherited in order to rule those nations that enter into the one thousand years; “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. The last enemy is death? It is then that the Lord Jesus hands “the kingdom” over to God the Father]. Before we enter Chapter Eight, Part Four, regarding the different Views of Gog & Magog, and possibly in-depth study of 1 Corinthians 15, SheepShed would like to send Blessings from our LORD and soon coming King Messiah Yeshua. May the Lord make His ‘face’ to shine upon you and give you His blessed peace! Shalom! We love you! SheepShed Sent Ministries |
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Gog and Magog Part Three
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