The Millennial Reign - Part 1

There are few Christians who view the 1000-year reign of Christ as something that has already happened. Not so few to make it an obscure, irrelevent theology, but it is certainly heavier on the other side of the argument. Those who view the coming of Christ to set up his Kingdom on earth should not expect the marriage of the Lamb and the transfer of the New Jerusalem from heaven to earth until after the thousand years are up, and after the devil has had his last kick of the can. Check it out, it's in the last chapters of the Bible.

I'm of the opinion that perhaps the millennial reign is behind us, and here are some reasons why:

> Up until Jesus' crucifixion, Satan was the ruler of earth, influencing if not controlling the rulers of the people. Jesus called him the "prince of this world" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11), and Daniel 10:13 gives us an example of how Satan and his cronies ruled vicariously thru the manifest ruler. After Jesus was raised from the dead, he had this to say: all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matt 28:18). Pre-Millenialists must account for almost 2000 years of quiet from this new ruler of the world, Jesus. Did the resurrection change nothing on earth?

> There was a succession of great empires including Egypt, Assyria, Bablyon, Persia, and Rome, which were the "big ones" as far as wealth and power go. These are the ones God speaks about extensively in prophecy, especially in Daniel. After the Roman lineage of emperors, there hasn't been a [secular] kingdom or nation to rival it (until more modern times).

> It is extraordinary to consider that the church of Christ, the people of faith (or at least the institution of this faith) was set up to be a political powerhouse and the literal ruler of the nations in the middle ages. By this, I am referring to the time leading up to and including the Holy Roman Empire. Isaac Newton (though not a proponent of post-millenialism) referred to the papacy as "being exalted above kings & declared by a council above all humane judicature & the supreme judge of all men, he has reigned ever since with a peculiar soul & a look more stout then the rest of his fellows". Pope Leo III resurrected the Roman Empire on 25 December 800 by crowning Charlegmagne the Imperator Augustus, or Emperor (the early Roman Empire ceased in 476 AD). This set a new course for the papacy, the "vicar of Rome", and would eventually lead to the development of the Holy Roman Empire, which would end under Napoleon in 1806. Yes, about 1,000 years after the crowning of Charlegmagne.Strange eh? I used the title "vicar" intentionally, as I perceive the millennial reign of Christ to be of the same sort as his predecessor, Lucifer, who did not rule in person, but rather by influence and by the allegiance of certain rulers - vicariously. In the case of Christ, the papacy.

> The Napoleonic Wars brought down the HRE in 1806, shortly after the "enlightenment" movement began. Indeed, the conquest of Napoleon (a prophetic fulfillment himself) was something just following the violent French Revolution. In bringing in the "Age of Reason", the age of an sometimes-abusive and corrupt reign of the church (the Pope's had every ability to be drawn away from their Lord, just as the King's of Israel) was brought to an end. As the age of reason has continued and has worked itself out more and more since its conception, the relevence of the Church (especially the RC) has dwindled (especially in Europe).

> The Age of Enlightenment brought to the forefront societal endeavors like science, which has lead to some amazing discoveries and amazing technology, which will no doubt be put into use by the end-time ruler, the Beast (who calls "fire" down from the heavens, and can have a "mark" on all of humanity which is used to buy and sell, and so on). The idea of light representing the age has much affinity with the resurrection of the occult and of a Luciferian agenda (Lucifer is the "light-bearing one" and "son of the morning"). Perhaps more fitting than a resurrection to power would be this verse: When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. Rev 20:7-8. That's right, Gog and Magog. Most pre-millennialists place the famous end-time war of Gog and Magog at the return of Christ to set up his Kingdom. They've got a LOT to say about this war being set up in our time via Russia and Putin.

> Many eschatologists view the events of Revelation to be only happening in the end time, in that none of the events can take place before then, or over a long course of time. However, they commonly take parts of it and place them in the past, and have said they were fulfilled. This is true for the "Woman and the Dragon" in Chapter 12, which is said to represent Israel giving birth to Christ, who was sought by the devil (to kill him). Perhaps the events of Revelation can take place over time, or at different times. This same section speaks of a war that broke out in heaven after Christ went back to heaven, and it ended with Satan being cast down to earth. Hmmm... and "he knows that his time is short" (12:12). Is a third of Biblical time (2000 years) "short"? No. Were his powers over the earth overthrown at some later date? We know from the Bible, Revelation in fact, that he set up a throne on Earth.

"I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives. Revelation 2:13

Part 2