Rapture, Revelation, and the End Times - Conscious Evolution TV

obin-bobin The End Times According to Christians 121idea that the millennial references in Revelation 20 refer to adistinct era of history that will occur between the present ageand the advent of eternity. In this sense, amillennialism denotesthe eschatological perspective that anticipates no future earthlygolden age. Instead, amillennialists believe that this era will befollowed by the eternal kingdom of God, not by any intermediarystage. Many amillennialists, however, contend that the termis not completely appropriate, but is a misnomer that is open tomisunderstanding. “Amillennial” all too readily implies thatproponents ignore Revelation 20:1–6. Contrary to what theircritics delight to suggest, however, amillennialists do not denythe importance of the vision of the millennium in this text of theBible. What they do deny is that the inspired seer intended thissymbol to be interpreted as a literal earthly era prior to the finaljudgment. Rather than an intervening period that separates thecurrent age from the dawning of eternity, proponents claim thatthe millennium pictured in Revelation 20 is a symbolic descriptionof the church age. It represents the theological truthsrelated to the current rule of Christ: Satan is in some sensealready bound, and the saints are already reigning with Christ.Despite their agreement on this general principle, amillennialistsare divided regarding the exact meaning of the symbol of thethousand years. What today is perhaps the most widely heldview interprets the millennium as the spiritual blessednessenjoyed by the saints in heaven during the time between deathand final resurrection. Old Testament scholar Oswald T. Allissuggests that this view represents amillennialism in the strictestsense, for it denies that the symbol of the thousand years refersin any way to an actual period of time. In contrast to this interpretation,which Allis claims was first proposed in the nineteenthcentury, an alternative understanding that dates at leastto Augustine sees in Revelation 20 a reference to the spiritualreign of believers on the earth. It is a symbolic description ofconversion and the victorious life enjoyed now by believers. 22A third perspective, which has been championed by the Dutchtheologian G. C. Berkouwer, emphasizes that the intention ofthe book of Revelation is not to provide a chronology of theend, but what he calls “apocalyptic comfort.” The symbol ofrobin-bobin