Episode 38: Thoughts on Revelation 20

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 38

Gary discusses Revelation 20 with his friend Robert Cruickshank at the recent Berean Bible Conference.

We are not told that “with the Lord one day is a thousand years.” Rather, “one day is as a thousand years.” Are dispensationalists willing to admit that the thousand years of Revelation 20 can be reduced to a single day, week, year, or generation? Will the plagues described in Revelation 18:8 take a thousand years to come? Did Jesus really mean that He would take three thousand years to rebuild the temple of His body (John 2:19)? Is Jesus still in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb since three days really means three thousand years (Matt. 27:63)?

With all allowance for linguistic flexibility and comparative lengths of periods, it would be stretching language to the breaking point to make “shortly” mean several thousands of years. Such interpretations are only trifling with words, and the Word of God. The force of these words is decisive. The things that were to be shown in the visions were close at hand; they were to begin with the people to whom the book was written and not thousands of years in the future. God is His own interpreter and must be allowed to say what He means, and what God says in explanation of His own prophecies must be taken in its obvious meaning and regarded as authoritative.[1]

If the Bible can be interpreted so “soon” can mean “late,” and “near” can mean “distant,” and “shortly” can mean “delayed,” and vice versa, then the Bible can mean anything and nothing. Does God have two methods of measurement? When God says “love,” are we to read “hate?” Can we trust a God whose words can mean their opposite?

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Gary sits down with his friend Robert Cruickshank at the recent Berean Bible Conference. The two answer a listener question about Revelation 20, which is a very difficult chapter. However, as Gary points out, nearly every eschatological “system” assumes this chapter says much more than it actually does. Gary and Bob try to keep it real and biblical.

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[1] David S. Clark, The Message from Patmos: A Postmillennial Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989), 22-23.

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