The bible and Jesus taught that we are alive right after we die.
Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."
2 Corinthians 5:8
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Matthew 22:32
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
John 11:21-26
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 5:21-25
21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
Some people were physically resurrected around the time of Jesus death and resurrection.
Matthew 27:51-53
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
With these examples above how could the beheaded ones in Revelation 20:4 come to back to life at the same time? We die at different times. I believe that the verses which I quoted above prove that a literal interpretation in revelation chapter 20 in wrong.
The rest of the dead
I believe that the rest of the dead are the ones who died and didn’t accept Jesus as their savior. They are the ones before the throne who came back to life after the 1000 year reign.
Paul also taught us that we reign in life now.
Romans 5:17
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Is 1000 years literally 1000 years in Revelation chapter 20?
Many times, in the bible 1000 is not literally 1000 but means many. Here are some examples.
Exodus 20:6
but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Psalms 50:10
for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
Deuteronomy 1:11
May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!
2 Peter 3:8
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Is Jesus living on the earth in during the 1000-year reign?
Revelation chapter 20 doesn’t actually say that Jesus is living on the earth with us, could Jesus live on our earth in all his glory?
1 kings 8:27
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?
If Jesus was living on the earth, where is He when satan is released? It says that Satan surrounds the camp of His people not that satan surrounds Jesus and the camp of His people.
If Jesus was on the earth but not when the camp is surrounded by satans people when did He ascend back up to heaven? Would a second ascension of Jesus be missed in the bible? Wouldn’t that seem like Jesus abandoned His people? If the people satan deceives when he is released is numbered like the sand on the seashore why would so many people turn on Jesus when this happens? That would seem like a failed physical reigning.
These unanswered questions and the absence of Jesus being on the earth in Revelation chapter 20 is one reason that I don’t believe Jesus has a literal 1000-year reign on the earth.
Peace on the earth
Although the word peace is absent from Revelation chapter 20 a lot of Christians believe that there will be 1000 years of peace upon the earth because of times described in the Old Testament like
Isaiah 11:6-9
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
And
Isaiah 65:25
The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
At first this could describe peace in the literal sense but if we look into the proper meaning of this, we will get the true interpretation of these scriptures.
When you read the entire chapter of Isaiah 11 you will see that the entire chapter is talking about Jesus and the first advent. But when did these animals live peacefully with each other?
To find the answer we need to understand the meaning of the animals and we can look to Jeremiah talking about Israel’s enemies.
Jeremiah 5:6
Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravage them,
a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
and their backslidings many.
Israel’s enemies are described as Lions, leopards and wolves. Israel is always described as a clean animal, and we see above in Isaiah 65 that the clean animals and the unclean animals live peacefully together also unclean animals live with other unclean animals.
Paul confirms that Jesus’ time was the times of Isaiah 11 in
Romans 15:12
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”
Since Isaiah chapter 11 was the time of Jesus’ first coming, we now see that He brought the clean and the unclean animals together as the gospel went out to all the nations. In Acts chapter 10 we see what Peter was told to do
Acts 10:11-15
11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
We see here that God removed the barriers and the gospel was to be shared with the gentiles they would not be deceived anymore the lion now lay with the lamb. This is the time of true peace when the rock cut out of the mountain in Daniel chapter 2 would now fill the whole earth.
Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."
2 Corinthians 5:8
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Matthew 22:32
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
John 11:21-26
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 5:21-25
21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
Some people were physically resurrected around the time of Jesus death and resurrection.
Matthew 27:51-53
51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
With these examples above how could the beheaded ones in Revelation 20:4 come to back to life at the same time? We die at different times. I believe that the verses which I quoted above prove that a literal interpretation in revelation chapter 20 in wrong.
The rest of the dead
I believe that the rest of the dead are the ones who died and didn’t accept Jesus as their savior. They are the ones before the throne who came back to life after the 1000 year reign.
Paul also taught us that we reign in life now.
Romans 5:17
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Is 1000 years literally 1000 years in Revelation chapter 20?
Many times, in the bible 1000 is not literally 1000 but means many. Here are some examples.
Exodus 20:6
but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Psalms 50:10
for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
Deuteronomy 1:11
May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!
2 Peter 3:8
8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Is Jesus living on the earth in during the 1000-year reign?
Revelation chapter 20 doesn’t actually say that Jesus is living on the earth with us, could Jesus live on our earth in all his glory?
1 kings 8:27
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built?
If Jesus was living on the earth, where is He when satan is released? It says that Satan surrounds the camp of His people not that satan surrounds Jesus and the camp of His people.
If Jesus was on the earth but not when the camp is surrounded by satans people when did He ascend back up to heaven? Would a second ascension of Jesus be missed in the bible? Wouldn’t that seem like Jesus abandoned His people? If the people satan deceives when he is released is numbered like the sand on the seashore why would so many people turn on Jesus when this happens? That would seem like a failed physical reigning.
These unanswered questions and the absence of Jesus being on the earth in Revelation chapter 20 is one reason that I don’t believe Jesus has a literal 1000-year reign on the earth.
Peace on the earth
Although the word peace is absent from Revelation chapter 20 a lot of Christians believe that there will be 1000 years of peace upon the earth because of times described in the Old Testament like
Isaiah 11:6-9
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
And
Isaiah 65:25
The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
At first this could describe peace in the literal sense but if we look into the proper meaning of this, we will get the true interpretation of these scriptures.
When you read the entire chapter of Isaiah 11 you will see that the entire chapter is talking about Jesus and the first advent. But when did these animals live peacefully with each other?
To find the answer we need to understand the meaning of the animals and we can look to Jeremiah talking about Israel’s enemies.
Jeremiah 5:6
Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them,
a wolf from the desert will ravage them,
a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
and their backslidings many.
Israel’s enemies are described as Lions, leopards and wolves. Israel is always described as a clean animal, and we see above in Isaiah 65 that the clean animals and the unclean animals live peacefully together also unclean animals live with other unclean animals.
Paul confirms that Jesus’ time was the times of Isaiah 11 in
Romans 15:12
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”
Since Isaiah chapter 11 was the time of Jesus’ first coming, we now see that He brought the clean and the unclean animals together as the gospel went out to all the nations. In Acts chapter 10 we see what Peter was told to do
Acts 10:11-15
11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
We see here that God removed the barriers and the gospel was to be shared with the gentiles they would not be deceived anymore the lion now lay with the lamb. This is the time of true peace when the rock cut out of the mountain in Daniel chapter 2 would now fill the whole earth.
