Hello, Brother.

Quick question for you. I don’t recall seeing this addressed anywhere on your website, so here it is…

While the book of Revelation is a book of spiritual signs and should not be interpreted literally (with which I agree), I’m finding that most teachers (including yourself) adhere to this line of thought, but still interpret the thousand years of Rev 20:6-7 as a literal one thousand years. Why is that?

I trust you are safely in the care of our heavenly Father.

Love,

M___

Hi M___,

It is good to hear from you. Thanks for this question. It gives me the chance to ‘interpret’ the phrase “one thousand years” for the first time in an e- mail.

The truth is that I have never anywhere in my writings ever said that the “one thousand years” is a literal 1000 years. The fact of the matter is that at several of our conferences I have pointed out that the opposite is true. You are exactly right about Revelation being a book of symbols. To say that anything in the book is not a symbol is to deny what its author tells us in the very first verse of the book:

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

What is it that was “signified?” “He sent and sign ified it [ the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ]…” What part of this book is “signified?” All of it! Including the phrase “one thousand years.”

So how are we to understand this phrase “one thousand years?” Well, it is always a good idea to see how a word is used elsewhere in scripture to decide what is meant in any given case.

But first let’s look at the use of the phrase in the book of Revelation:

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Now according to this verse anyone in the first resurrection “shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Yes, I have made that statement many times in my writings, but that is not an “interpretation.” I either quote the scripture as I do here, or I am alluding to this verse. You will not find anything in any of my writings stating that this is to be taken literally. I know better than that.

Now let’s see how this word “thousand” is used elsewhere in the scriptures:

Psa 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

Is David saying that God owns all the beasts of all of the forest, but He only owns the cattle “upon a thousand hills?” How about the cattle on hill number 1001? Are they not God’s cattle also? Of course they are! That is what is being said! God owns everything! And that is all that is being said in the book of Revelation. As long as there is rulership needed on earth it will be under Christ and “His Christ!”

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

That is ‘my interpretation of the phrase “1000 years.” It is a symbol for all the time needed, as determined by our heavenly Father, to bring people to the point of being perfectly ready for the last great deception. Our Father has revealed that He is “seeking an occasion against the [ flesh] for at that time [ Satan and the flesh he dines on, will] have dominion over [ God’s people].”

Jdg 14:4 But his [ Samson’s] father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

The deception of the whole earth at the end of this symbolic 1000 years of rule by the “Lord and His Christ” is “of the Lord.” He is “seeking an occasion against” all flesh so as to bring the birth of the “first Adam” to an end. This goal is accomplished when “fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them.”

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clear this  up.

Mike