Program 255
Revelation & the Truth About the Millennium

“The Millennium” is a symbolic time period. Learn how this impacts the Book of Revelation.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

* * *Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: Literal or symbolic? It’s important to correctly differentiate between the two because they’re polar opposites. If you symbolize something that’s supposed to be taken literally, you can find yourself in a bit of trouble, if not outright danger. However, if you take as literal something that’s supposed to be a symbol, you can get ensnared in beliefs that are confusing and non-sensical.

Hi, I’m Miles Robey and you’re listening to World’s Last Chance Radio where we cover a variety of topics related to Scripture, prophecy, practical piety, Biblical beliefs, and living in constant readiness for Yahushua, either in death or at his sudden return.

If you’ve joined us before, you know that Dave Wright and I have long had a fascination with the book of Revelation. We’ve interpreted it literally, believing its prophecies are yet future, including the millennium. We believed that the millennium was the first one thousand years following Yahushua’s return.

Well, after some intense study, we have come to realize that we were wrong. The millennium is actually a symbolic time period referring to the era stretching between Yahushua’s ascension and his return. This position is called “amillennialism.” If you’ve never heard of it before, if you think we’ve finally gone insane, I want to encourage you to study it out for yourself. There is so much evidence to support this position! Quite frankly, after looking at all the evidence, I’m surprised I ever thought the millennium was yet future. We cover a lot of this in Program 254, called “A New Look at Prophecy.” If you missed that, you can still listen to it on our website. There’s a lot of good information in there I know you won’t want to miss. If some of the terminology we use in today’s program is new and confusing, you can find it explained there. Again, that’s Program 254: “A New Look at Prophecy.”

The thing I want to focus on today, though, is Revelation. I’ve focused so long on interpreting the book of Revelation as a description of future events all related to Christ’s return that, despite being convinced that amillennialism is true and consistent with Scripture, I’ve still got some questions on what this all means, how this all fits in with the book of Revelation.

Dave Wright’s been studying this for longer than I have, so today I’ve asked him to share with us what he’s learned about how amillennialism impacts our understanding of the book of Revelation.

Dave? The time’s all yours.

Dave Wright: Thanks, Miles. There are many reasons to believe that the entire book of Revelation, save for the final two chapters, has already been fulfilled.

Even the structure of the book—how it’s written—lends credence to the millennium being now, before Christ returns, and not afterward.

Miles: What do you mean? How does the structure of how it’s written support amillennialism?

Dave: When you take a step back and look at the book of Revelation as a whole, you begin to see that the way it’s written is in a style of what we call progressive parallelism. In other words, it covers the same events from one angle. Then, a chapter or two later, it backs up and covers the same events from another angle. And then, in the next chapter, from another angle, and so on and so forth. That’s progressive parallelism. Sometimes it starts back at the same starting point, but not always. However, there is always overlap because you’re looking at the same events from different angles.

Miles: Okaaay? So what time period is Revelation looking at?

Dave: Now. The time period between when Yahushua ascended to Heaven and when he returns.

Christians who believe in a literal thousand-year time period place the events of Revelation surrounding Yahushua’s return, completely ignoring the events following his ascension and leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem … even though, the destruction of Jerusalem was one of the Savior’s main prophecies. You can read it in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13.

Miles: Yeah. I grew up believing that Yahushua would take the righteous back to heaven for a thousand years.

Dave: I was taught the millennium would occur on earth after his return. Either way, it’s making the millennium literal, and pushing it off until after Christ returns. That’s premillennialism: the belief that Christ returns before the millennium. But when we see how Revelation is written in a progressive parallel style, constantly circling back to cover the same ground all over again from a different angle, it kind of undermines the idea that the millennium is literal and future.

Miles: Yeah. That makes sense.

Dave: A symbolic millennium also makes the most sense when you look at the highly symbolic language that is used throughout the entire book but especially in chapter 20 where the millennium is referred to. Are you going to tell me that a dragon being bound in chains and kept in a bottomless pit is to be interpreted literally?

Miles: No!

Dave: And yet that’s the context in which we read about a millennium. If everything else in that passage is symbolic, why wouldn’t the millennium itself be a symbolic period of time, too? To try and impose a literal meaning onto the millennium quickly becomes really awkward when you read it in context. It doesn’t make sense.

Miles: Could we take just a moment to read that? I’d like to hear what it says again.

Dave: Sure! Revelation 20 verses 1 to 3. And as you read it, ask yourself if everything in these verses could be symbolic except for the time period given? Because that’s how most people interpret it.

Miles: Ummm …

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 for 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 deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

Dave: As you can see, this is highly symbolic language. To insist that the millennium is literal, but everything else is symbolic, doesn’t make sense.

Miles: Okay, but then if Satan’s binding is symbolic, what does it mean? How was he bound … symbolically?

Dave: He was unmasked. His power to deceive was restricted; it was bound.

See, Calvary answered Satan’s charges by revealing the true depth of the Father’s love. But before then, even holy beings were confused and had questions.

You can see this in the story of Job. Satan accused Job of obeying Yahuwah for what he could get out of it. The fact that Yahuwah allowed the devil free reign to test Job reveals that, even among the holy “sons of Elohim,” there were some questions. They were confused. Can you see, after Calvary, anyone falling for the same lies Satan used back then?

Miles: Not really.

Dave: That’s because, at Calvary, Lucifer’s true character was revealed and, at the same time, so was the Father’s.

Now, of course, Satan can still deceive, but not to the degree he could before. That’s how he’s been bound during this time period, the symbolic millennium.

This actually brings me to my next point. Amillennialism provides a better, more logical explanation of just what it means for Satan to be bound during the millennium. If you believe the millennium is a literal time period when the saints are in heaven after Yahushua’s return, then what does it mean for Satan to be bound?

Miles: Uhh … just that he’s limited to this earth. He can’t keep deceiving people because there’s no one around to deceive if the saints are in heaven.

Dave: So if there’s no one around to deceive, then his “binding” is more physical: he’s stuck on earth and can’t leave.

Miles: Yeah, I guess.

Dave: Okay, well, when you go back and look at that passage, it doesn’t mean that Satan is kept from doing literally anything. It’s talking about his ability to deceive. His power to deceive is broken when he is bound. Now, if no one were around, then his power to deceive wouldn’t need to be broken simply because, due to proximity—there’d be no one around to deceive.

But that’s not what this passage is saying. It’s saying that Satan is prevented—he’s bound—from spreading spiritual darkness through his lies. Lies about what? Lies about Yahuwah’s character. That’s where he was so successful prior to Yahushua’s death. But since Calvary, that power has been bound.

Miles: Why do you think Satan has to be bound in the first place?

Dave: That’s a really good question. The obvious answer is so he can’t deceive, but amillennialism has a better answer.

Turn to Revelation 19. This describes the return of Yahushua in highly symbolic language. Now you just read in Revelation 20 that Satan is bound. Why? What does verse 3 say?

Miles: Uhhh … “so that he should deceive the nations no more.”

Dave: Okay. Now turn back one chapter to Revelation 19. Read verses 19 to 21.

Miles:

And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Dave: When John wrote Revelation, there were no verse numbers. There were no chapter divisions. This was all added later.

So let me ask you this: why does Satan need to be bound so that he can’t deceive the nations in Revelation 20 when, right here at the end of Revelation 19, all the nations have been defeated and destroyed at Christ’s return?

Miles: That doesn’t make sense, does it?

Dave: Not with our traditional understanding of the millennium, no. But once you understand that the millennium is actually a symbol for the time period that stretches from Yahushua’s ascension until his return, once you understand that Revelation keeps circling back to cover all angles, it makes sense. Otherwise, no. It doesn’t make any sense at all. Why would you talk about protecting the nations from being deceived in the opening of Revelation 20, when at the close of Revelation 19 you just said that the nations have been deceived and destroyed?

Miles: Good question! I never realized I had so many holes in my beliefs before.

Dave: Well, neither did I. And that’s why we can’t ever stop studying and decide we know enough to be saved. We’ve got to study and keep on studying. Some advanced truths can’t even be grasped until we give up foundational errors.

Don’t ever decide you know everything necessary for salvation. Once you do that, you stop studying. And that’s not safe for anyone.

* * *

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* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: The longer you study Revelation with the understanding that the millennium is a symbol for the time period we’re living in now—the time period stretching between Christ’s ascension and his return—the more clearly you see how it fits with all of Revelation, tying it all together.

Amillennialism perfectly fits in a way that premillennialism—the belief that Christ returns before the millennium—simply doesn’t.

Miles: Yeah, you know the more I look at this, the more I see where you have to stretch and twist premillennialism to make it fit all the parameters. But amillennialism just fits.

Dave: It really does. And the more you study the millennium from the angle of amillennialism, the more parallels you’ll find that you don’t see with premillennialism.

For example, read verses 4 to 6 of Revelation 20. After John sees the devil bound for a thousand years, what does he see next?

Miles:

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 Yahushua and because of the word of [Yahuwah]. They had not worshiped the beast or 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. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of [Yahuwah] and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Dave: Now turn to Revelation 6 and read verses 9 to 11.

Miles:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of [Yahuwah] and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.

Dave: The logic of the amillennial position is clear when you recognize that both passages are portraying the same thing. Revelation 20 talks about “souls” beheaded for their testimony about Yahushua and the word of Yahuwah. Revelation 6 shows “souls” who were beheaded for the word of Yahuwah and the testimony they maintained. There are clear parallels here that make sense with a symbolic understanding of the millennium which you just don’t get when you try to insist the millennium is a literal time period.

Miles: That’s true. You miss the significance of these parallel passages if you make the millennium literal, don’t you?

Dave: There’s another parallel I want to point out. Turn to the second chapter of Revelation and read verses 10 and 11, if you would. This is from the letter to the church of Smyrna. The believers in Smyrna were facing some intense persecution so Yahushua sent them a message of encouragement. Read what the specific encouragement was in verses 10 and 11.

Go ahead.

Miles:

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Dave: The most interesting parallel between these two passages is that in both, believers are promised deliverance from the second death. Yes, they may lose their temporal lives in defense of the truth, but Yahuwah will preserve them. He’ll restore their lives when Yahushua returns and the second death will have no power over them. That’s a theme we find in both passages. Revelation 20 verse 6 says, “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

Now, what’s the last sentence of Revelation 2 verse 11?

Miles: “The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.”

Dave: You miss this parallel if you’re looking for a literal millennium.

Now. Another point: what’s the reward of the martyrs in Revelation 20? What do they get to do? Verse 4.

Miles: Uhhh . . .

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 Yahushua and because of the word of [Yahuwah]. They had not worshiped the beast or 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.

Dave: Okay. So those who overcome are seated upon thrones and reign with Christ.

What does Revelation 3 verse 21 say about those who overcome?

Miles: “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

Dave: So the martyrs of Revelation 20 are raised to sit on thrones with Yahushua. It’s another parallel.

Now, speaking of the word “thrones,” it’s important to note that these are also symbolic. It’s symbolic of the status of ruling with Christ in his kingdom.

This is an important distinction. When Yahushua returns, he sets up … whose kingdom? His own?

Miles: N-n-no, uh. No? He sets up Yahuwah’s kingdom, doesn’t he?

Dave: Right. Yahuwah’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Yahushua’s kingdom in which he reigns with the saints is the millennium. We’re still speaking of symbols here. These aren’t literal thrones in a literal time period. It is symbolic of the status that believers have as overcomers. They rule with Christ during the symbolic millennium which, as we’ve said, stretches from his ascension until his return.

Now, this may sound strange to people used to viewing the millennium as a literal time period, but Paul reveals that when Yahushua returns, he will transfer back to the Father all of the authority Yahuwah has given him. Therefore, the only time Christ could rule is before he transfers back that authority, right?

Miles: Yeah, I guess. But where do you get this idea?

Dave: Let’s read it: 1 Corinthians 15 and verses 24 to 28. Why don’t you read that for us?

Miles:

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include [Yahuwah] himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the son himself will be made subject to Him who put everything under him, so that [Yahuwah] may be all in all.

Dave: Yahushua’s rule ends when he turns the kingdom back over to the Father. He does this at the Second Coming. Consequently, the only time he could rule is before he returns. Again, we’re dealing with the millennium as a symbolic time period. It’s the only way for this passage in 1 Corinthians to make sense.

Now. Another point that is often overlooked has to do with the significance of the word “first” as relates to the “resurrection.” When I say “first,” what do you think of?

Miles: Well, something that comes before something else.

Dave: In time or in sequence.

Miles: Right. Or it could mean in importance, in rank.

Dave: Good.

Now, when you look up the word “first” in the New Testament, and you look at how it’s repeatedly used in context, you find a fascinating nuance here that we’ve missed. The word “first” is used just like the word “old” to refer to our present world. The world we’re in now is transient. It’s going to be replaced by the earth made new.

This is how “first” is used in the New Testament. It refers to our present world that is temporary.

By contrast, “second” or “new” refers to the world to come: the earth made new where everything will be permanent.

Miles: Hmm. That makes a lot of sense, especially in light of what you just shared from 1 Corinthians. Even Yahushua’s kingdom is temporary. Yahuwah’s kingdom, once it’s been set up, will last forever. Just like Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar when interpreting his dream about the image.

Let me find it really quick … It’s in Daniel 2 … here we go. Verse 44. It says: “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.”

Dave: Right. That’s the future when everything will be complete and what is established will be established permanently.

So, in this context, the word “first” is not referring to an ordinal number that comes before other similar things that are being counted. Instead, the word “first” is actually drawing a contrast. We’re not dealing with a simple numerical sequence. Instead, we’re being shown a contrast between the first world—our present existence—and the second world: the earth made new when Yahuwah’s kingdom will last forever.

Now, apply this to what Revelation has to say about the “first” resurrection and the “second” resurrection.

Miles: Okaaay?

Dave: To be first implies something that is temporary in our present-day world. Whatever is second has permanence that doesn’t exist in the first.

The “second” is eternal. It’s permanent. And it’s experienced only after Yahushua’s return in the earth made new. That’s why Revelation tells us that those who have part in the first resurrection—those who surrender to Yahuwah in this first world, who put their trust in Him—are blessed. Revelation 20 verse 6 says that the “second death has no power over them.”

Miles: Oh, I see! Yeah, that’s a good thing. Because the “second” death is permanent. There is no resurrection from that.

Dave: The first denotes transience. It’s not permanent. The second shows permanence.

And for those who’ve been taught to fear an ever-burning hell, right here Scripture disproves that. The “second” death is permanent. There’s no resurrection from the second death. Satan and all his followers will be punished with eternal death.

Miles: Not eternal life in an ever-burning hell.

Dave: Exactly. Suffering in an eternally burning hell isn’t death. It’s eternal life, and only the overcomers, only the righteous, will be rewarded with eternal life. The lost will be destroyed, never to come back again. That’s what a just and loving God does to those who persist in rebellion. That is the “second” death.

Miles: Don’t go away folks. When we return, we’ll be answering your questions sent into our Daily Mailbag. Stay tuned.

* * *

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When does the Sabbath begin? Would it surprise you if I told you that modern Jews and Saturday-Sabbatarians are incorrect in beginning their Sabbath observance from sundown of the day before? It’s true. One of Yahuwah’s Holy Days did commence at “even” of the day before, but it was never the seventh-day Sabbath.

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* * *Part 3: Daily Mailbag

Miles: Today’s question from our daily mailbag is coming from the country that gave us chess … and wireless communication.

Dave: Uhhh … I haven’t a clue

Miles: It’s the country with the most vegetarians. About 40% of the population don’t eat meat but they are the world’s leading producer of milk. In trigonometry, they discovered the sine function, the cosine function, and the versine function!

Dave: Wow. A nation of brainiacs.

Miles: They also were the first to mine diamonds. They began this clear back in the fifth century BCE.

Dave: Oh! Uh, uh, India! India.

Miles: Out of all those other facts, you clue into it being India because of diamonds?

Dave: What can I say? The missus likes sparklies.

Miles: I always knew you were a smart man, Dave. You know what’s important.

Dave: I do indeed. Happy wife, happy life!

So, what’s today’s question?

Miles: Well, Sajani from Jaipur has a question that I think dovetails with our discussion today. She writes: “I’ve been following with interest what you’ve been sharing about amillennialism. But it seems that all of your ‘proof’ is drawn from the New Testament. What about the Old Testament? Does amillennialism agree with what the Old Testament has to say about the millennium?”

Dave: That’s a great question. Well, first, the Old Testament doesn’t actually mention the millennium at all; not as a specific thousand-year time period.

Now, there are passages that premillennialists believe are describing or referring to the millennium, but when you actually look at them in context, these passages are referring to events that have already taken place.

While the Old Testament does not refer to a millennium as such, what the Old Testament does teach is most consistent with the belief that the millennium is symbolic.

Miles: Can you give us an example?

Dave: All right, uh …

Well, Daniel 9. Why don’t you turn there and let’s read it really quick. Daniel 9 and verses 25 to 27.

Miles:

Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

Dave: Some versions translate late “sevens” as “weeks.” They say, “there will be seven weeks and 62 weeks.” Whichever way it’s phrased, it’s still referring to the same segment of time. It’s prophetic time where a “seven,” or a week, refers to seven years. Now, you add 62 plus 7 and what do you get?

Miles: Sixty-nine.

Dave: Right. And the last “seven” or “week” refers to Christ’s public ministry and the first few years after his ascension. That’s why we call this the 70-week prophecy. Now. When you have 70 weeks, and each week represents 7 years in literal time, how long is 70 weeks?

Miles: Uh … 490 years.

Dave: Correct. This is all very symbolic language and it’s referring to Yahushua who, in his public ministry and his death would usher in the final jubilee in the history of redemption. Jubilees commenced at the end of every cycle of seven years, or at the end of 49 years.

Forty-nine times 10 is 490. Now this is interesting because in Scripture, a 10 indicates totality and completion. So, this prophecy, pinpointing when Messiah would come and what his work would be, is also revealing by the numbers used, a symbol of the plan of redemption. Once everything has been done, then the ultimate Jubilee will commence with the Creation of the New Heavens and the New Earth. There are so many layers of meaning when you look at this prophecy through the lens of amillennialism that you just don’t get if you try to insist that the millennium is a literal time period.

Miles: Okay. We’ve got another question on this subject. Georg from Koblenz in Germany wants to know: “You teach that the millennium is symbolic, but that’s a number. I was taught that numbers are always literal. Can numbers be symbolic?”

Dave: Absolutely. First, the millennium of Revelation 20 makes more sense as a symbol because it is the only explanation that is consistent with the order of events at Christ’s Second Coming. You can learn more about this in Program 254.

But to answer Georg’s question, let’s look at some passages of Scripture. As we go through these, you’ll see that “one thousand” is rarely—if ever—intended to be interpreted literally. It doesn’t matter whether the context is temporal or non-temporal.

Miles: Such as?

Dave: Psalm 50, verses 9 and 10. Would you read that for us, please? This is Yahuwah speaking.

Miles: “I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.”

Dave: If we were to interpret this literally, we would say that Yahuwah owns the cattle on a thousand hills … but not any of the rest of the cattle. Certainly not the cattle on grassy plains or in green valleys. But He’s not speaking literally. Here, one thousand is symbolic of everything. He’s the Creator so everything belongs to Him.

In Joshua’s closing speech to Israel, he used this same form of symbolism as a form of exaggerated hyperbole to illustrate his point. Would you read Joshua 23 verses 9 and 10 for us?

Miles: “Yahuwah has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because Yahuwah your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love Yahuwah your God.”

Dave: In Deuteronomy 1, when Moses was appointing elders to help him, he used this same form of symbolic imagery. In verse 11 he says, “May Yahuwah, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as He has promised!”

He does it again in Deuteronomy 7. Would you read verse 9, please?

Miles: “Know therefore that Yahuwah your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.”

Dave: So are we to take this number literally? Does this mean that if you happen to be born into generation 1001, whoops! Too bad; so sad. You missed the boat and His covenant is not for you?

Miles: No!

Dave: Of course not.

The use of a thousand as a symbol was common in Bible times. Asaph, a psalmist, wrote a song recorded in 1 Chronicles chapter 16. Would you turn there and read verses 14 to 16?

Miles: Sure, uh …

He is Yahuwah our Elohim;
his judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers his covenant forever,
the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.

Dave: Another use of a thousand as a symbolic number. It’s commonly used in prophecies, such as Isaiah 60. Would you read verses 21 and 22 for us, please?

Miles:

Then all your people will be righteous
and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of my hands,
for the display of my splendor.
The least of you will become a thousand,
the smallest a mighty nation.
I am Yahuwah;
in its time I will do this swiftly.

Dave: A thousand becomes a metaphor for completeness. Job uses it this way in his conversations with his “miserable comforters.” Let’s take a look at what he says in Job chapter 9. Read verses 2 and 3, if you would.

Miles: “But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before [Yahuwah]?
Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand.” [Job 9:2b-3]

Dave: You look at the verses where a thousand is used as a symbol, and it stretches from the days of Moses, clear through to Revelation. This was a commonly understood symbol in Bible times. John didn’t feel the need to explain that it was a symbol, because that’s how his first-century reading audience would interpret it anyway, and he knew that.

There’s a lot more, but let’s look at just one more: Song of Solomon chapter 4 verse 4. Here, the king is praising his beloved, using highly symbolic language. Go ahead. Let’s see what he says.

Miles: “Your neck is like the tower of David,
built with courses of stone;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.”

Dave: It’s so easy to get our minds stuck in a rut, to view things through a single pair of lenses, but we must study and keep on studying, always looking for which interpretations bring us the most consistency. And that is what we find when we take a long look at the millennium as a symbol. It’s what is most consistent with Scripture.

Miles: Huh. That’s very interesting. I enjoy these questions, too. It brings as nuances of this truth that I hadn’t considered before.

So. Keep sending us your questions, comments and prayer requests. We always appreciate hearing from our listeners. Just go to WorldsLastChance.com and click on contact us.

Up next is Jane Lamb with today’s daily promise and some encouraging reassurance for those who may have drifted away from Yahuwah and are feeling too ashamed to return. Stay tuned. Today’s daily promise is just for you.

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The world’s three Abrahamic religions are divided on when to worship the Creator. Muslims go to mosque to pray on Fridays; Jews and Sabbatarian Protestants worship on Saturday, while Roman Catholics, the Orthodox churches, and most Protestants celebrate “the Lord’s day” on Sunday.

It's ironic, actually, that most Christians are quite unconcerned over which day should be observed. “Oh, I worship every day,” they shrug. “I just celebrate Yahushua’s resurrection on the Lord’s day.” And that’s good, so far as it goes. We should worship every day. But there’s one more requirement for the day on which Yahuwah wants to be worshiped, and that is setting work aside. Besides, nowhere does Scripture actually say that believers are to religiously celebrate the first day of the week. That’s a practice that came in with paganized Christianity in veneration of the sun. The Bible says we are to celebrate His death, burial and resurrection in BAPTISM – which is certainly not a weekly event!

It's definitely a war Satan is fighting hard to win. If you would like to learn more, listen to Radio Program #14 called, “The War for Worship.” You can find it on our website at WorldsLastChance.com. That’s “The War for Worship.” Because when you worship, does matter!

* * *Daily Promise

Hello! This is Jane Lamb with your daily promise from Yah’s word.

On July 22, 2024, it was reported that a tourist visiting London was bitten—hard—by a horse of the King’s Guard.

In the video clip which was posted on YouTube and shown on a number of news websites, a group of friends is shown, one by one, sidling up to stand next to the horse and the guard riding it. As the women took turns, the horse gave several clear warning signs to back off, which the tourists ignored. Finally, the horse had enough and when the next woman stepped up next to him, he clamped down hard on her arm, jerking her entire body to the side.

The woman received prompt medical attention from nearby police officers but netizens who viewed the video were quick to ridicule the woman, saying she deserved what she got because directly behind where she was standing was a large sign that said, in all capital letters: “BEWARE: HORSES MAY KICK OR BITE.”

I think we can all relate to the cringy embarrassment that comes with doing something stupid. We’re all human! We all make mistakes! We’ve all done something we regretted at one time or another.

But the question then becomes: what do we do next? Well, if it’s something we keep doing, even though we try not to, our emotions can quickly move to shame. We avoid the person we’ve wronged because we’re too ashamed to face them.

That’s a problem when it comes to sin. You can’t make yourself better away from Yahuwah. And yet, our natural inclination when we’ve wronged our heavenly Father is to cringe away from Him in shame. That’s what Adam and Eve did after they sinned. They hid because they were ashamed.

If you’ve ever found yourself in this situation, I have got the perfect promise for you. You see, Yahuwah knows all about it. He knows that we don’t want to face Him when we know we’ve hurt Him. So, He has provided a promise just for that. In Jeremiah chapter 3 verses 22 He says: “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.”

That’s a powerful promise you can claim! He doesn’t say, “After you’ve stayed away and wallowed in shame for a month, then you can return.” He doesn’t say, “Return, and after I’ve lectured you and pointed out all your failings, then I’ll forgive you.” No! He simply says, “Return—now!—and I will heal you.”

We have been given great and precious promises. Go and start claiming!

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One of Satan’s most successful lies is that the divine law was nailed to the cross and is no longer binding. This error leads to another which is the assumption that the Sabbath was meant only for the Jews. But the Sabbath is much more than some legalistic requirement. A deep dive into what Scripture says about the Sabbath reveals that it actually reveals Yahuwah’s character.

The Sabbath was never intended to be some onerous burden believers had to observe in order to be saved. It was always meant to be a blessing, an opportunity to draw near to Yahuwah, as He draws near to believers.

Join Miles and Dave as they take a fresh look at Sabbath observance. Listen to Radio Program #16 called “The Sabbath: Revealing Yah’s Character.” Once again, that’s Radio Program #16: “The Sabbath: Revealing Yah’s Character.” You can find it and other programs about the Sabbath on our website at WorldsLastChance.com.

* * *Part 3: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: I know we’re almost out of time, but there are just a few more points I’d like to make before we close.

Amillennialism not only explains Revelation the best, but it also ties in other passages of Scripture. It may sound counterintuitive to believers who’ve always been taught that the millennium occurs after Yahushua’s return, but it really does make the most sense.

For example, let’s take a quick look at Acts 15. In this chapter, the Jewish believers were insisting to the gentile believers that the gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved. There was a huge controversy on this point.

Peter actually spoke up against that, pointing out that they’d already seen how Yahuwah had poured out His spirit on uncircumcised gentile believers. Paul and Barnabas, too, were opposed to forcing the gentiles to be circumcised.

Let’s see what happened next. Start reading at verse 13 and read through verse 20, please.

Miles:

When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. Simon has described to us how [Yahuwah] first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

“‘After this I will return
and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says Yahuwah, who does these things’—
things known from long ago.

“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to [Yahuwah]. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

Dave: So what I want you to notice here is that in this context, the “tent of David” he’s referring to isn’t talking about the restoration of Israel as a nation in some future millennium following Yahushua’s return. In this context, it’s talking about Yahushua sitting on the throne of David, at the right hand of the Father, in this current age, and the many souls that are gathered in from the gentiles. That’s happening now! And it’s been happening ever since the gospel was taken to the gentiles.

This all makes perfect sense when you understand that this present age we’re living in, when believers are being gathered in from the gentiles, is the millennium, a symbolic millennium. That’s the epoch right now and Acts 15 fits with that interpretation. It doesn’t if you postpone the millennium to after Christ’s return, but it does fit with the millennium—and the gathering in of the gentiles—being the event that’s occurring now.

There’s another New Testament passage that makes more sense when looked at through the amillennial lens. Turn to Hebrews 11. This is the faith chapter. It starts out saying, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Then it goes on to name various believers through time who had faith in and trusted the promises of Yahuwah.

Let’s start with verse 8 and would you read through verse 10, please.

Miles:

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is Yahuwah.

Dave: What city is this talking about? Jerusalem? Israel wasn’t even a nation yet.

Miles: No, well … the new Jerusalem.

Dave: Correct. Verse 16 states that Yahuwah has prepared a city for believers. That city, of course, is the new Jerusalem which, Revelation 21 tells us, Yahuwah will move to earth after the earth is made new. This all fits with the amillennial understanding that when Yahushua returns, it’s all over. The righteous will be raised to receive their eternal reward, while Satan and everyone who has joined in his rebellion will be destroyed. That happens when Christ returns, not a thousand years later.

Then the earth will be made new, and Yahuwah will move the New Jerusalem to earth and set up His everlasting kingdom.

Miles: So, you’re saying that Hebrews 11 reveals Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all understood that Yahuwah’s promise to them of a land where they could settle in would not be fulfilled in our current epoch but would reach its ultimate fulfillment when the city whose builder and maker is Yah, is set up on earth.

Dave: That’s correct. In fact, the author of Hebrews says that’s why they dwelt in tents. Now, this is an interesting detail. Abraham was incredibly wealthy. He had the respect of kings and princes. He could have purchased land and built a city to leave to his posterity. But the author of Hebrews says that they all dwelt in tents. Even though they were in the promised land, they dwelt in tents as a statement of their faith in what was yet future: Yahuwah’s eternal kingdom that won’t be set up until Yahushua returns.

Miles: Huh. So they weren’t looking for the fulfillment of the promise in their day.

Dave: Not only in their day, but they weren’t looking for it to be fulfilled at all until Yahuwah’s eternal kingdom is set up. All of this is consistent with amillennialism.

Miles: That’s powerful. I never really noticed that before. Thanks for bringing out these overlooked passages. It’s really fascinating to see them in a new light.

Dave: One final thought I’d like to leave you with: Scripture says that not even Yahushua knows the day or the hour of his return. Only the Father knows. This is significant. We know when the millennium started: it started when Yahushua was seated at the right hand of Yahuwah after his ascension. However, we don’t know when the millennium will end.

We know that Yahushua’s return marks the end of his reign and the start of Yahuwah’s reign. It's been almost two thousand years since Yahushua’s ascension. This means that the 1000 years has to be symbolic. The time period has already gone longer than a thousand years! And the fact that it’s been 2,000 years is consistent with various parables that suggested there would be a delay. All of this is consistent with Scripture when you view the millennium as symbolic.

Miles: Hmmm. That’s a really good point.

Well, our time is up for the day. Again, as I said before, if the topic of the millennium being symbolic and Revelation’s prophecies being mostly fulfilled is new to you, I want to invite you to visit our website. We’ve got a lot of articles studying this subject. It’s a new one to me, but now that I’ve been studying it out, I’m amazed I could ever have believed anything different. So, check it out and let us know what you think in the comments. If you’d like to share this program, it’s Program 255 called “Revelation and the Truth About the Millennium.” Again, that’s “Revelation and the Truth About the Millennium,” Program 255.

We want to thank you for joining us today and hope you can join us again tomorrow. Until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

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This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.