From the
Office: Special
Issue: The Second Coming
Real Questions,
Real Answers: The
Millenium, The
Rapture, and Some
Reflections on the Book of Revelation
OK. We received all your questions spurred
on by our “Orthodox Look at” the Left Behind books. It appears that a lot
of you have questions about the “end of the world.” We took your questions
and went out searching for some good answers that will help you understand
where all this is coming from and how the Orthodox understand what Jesus’
Second Coming will be like.
This issue is divided into three
sections:
1. A short
article on the whole idea of the “Millenium” of Christ’s rule on Earth with
references to the teachings of various Church Saints on the
topic.
2.
A pretty
comprehensive article on the idea of the “Rapture.”
3.
Notes for
reading the book of Revelation with reflection questions.
Take your time going through the issue
and read a bit at a time. Since many of you are looking for “what to say when
Protestants start talking about this,” you will want the articles to sink
in a bit. Just remember that as Orthodox Christians we are far more concerned
with being continually watchful and constantly preparing for Christ to come
again, and are not very concerned with the specific “when, how, and where.”
And above all remember that the Creed ends, “I look for the resurrection of
the dead and the life of the world to come” so we actually look forward to
this all taking place!
The idea of a
Messianic Kingdom comes from Jewish thought: Genesis 2:2, Isaiah 65, Daniel 7, 2
Baruch 29 & 40, 1 Enoch 91 & 93, 2 Enoch 32 & 33 (where the concept
of the present world consists of 7 "days" of 1000 years each; the 7th 1000-year
— i.e., millennial — Day of Rest precedes the final 8th Day — the eternal age),
2 Esdras 7, etc.
This biblical
concept specifically refers to the concept of a physical, material, real,
actual, and thus literal kingdom where God and His Christ bring the evil and
degenerate age to an end. (I.e.,
the Messiah who will come and set up the New Age.) Characteristics of this Messianic Age
will be no more sickness, sorrow, sighing or death for God’s faithful
people. It will be a reign of
bliss.
This Messianic
Age comes into Christian thought first through the teaching of the Savior
Himself in the four Gospels. But He
does not identify it with a specific number of years. However, in the twentieth chapter of the
Apocalypse, St. John the Theologian stresses 1000 years (a “millennium”). We know, however, that not all numbers
in the Apocalypse are meant to be taken literally — as with the Psalms (esp. Ps.
90.) and other places in the Holy Scriptures. Numbers can (and often do) have
symbolic, spiritual and theological significance rather than a literal
significance.
The Epistle
of Barnabas (Alexandria, ca. AD 130) refers to a period of "rest" at the end
of history.
Justin Martyr
(+ ca. AD 165) sees the 1000 years as an essential belief, but he admits that
some very good Christians do not accept it.
St. Irenaeus
(+ ca. AD 200) sees the 1000 years as a literal period — not simply allegorical.
St. Hippolytus
of Rome (+ ca. AD 236), in writing on the Book of Daniel, maintained that
the end of the 6th 1000-year "Day" of created history (see 2 Enoch, above)
would come 500 years after the Resurrection of Christ, there would then be
a 1000 year Sabbath (i.e., the 1000 year reign of Christ from Apocalypse 20),
and then there would be a new cosmic order known as the 8th Day / Age.
Origen (+ ca.
AD 254) referred to the Millennium as an allegory, which was preferable to
"materialistic literalism."
The First Ecumenical
Council (Nicea, AD 325) condemned literal Millennialism when it condemned
Apollinaris of Laodicea’s teachings. Millianialism may not be held even as
a private opinion:
Eusebius of
Caesarea (+ ca. AD 340) stated that the concept of the literal millennium
was for the misinformed of small intelligence who misunderstood the mystical
and spiritual sense of the Holy Scriptures.
St. Cyril of
Jerusalem (+ ca. AD 386) attacked the literal interpretation of the Millennium
as a throwback to Judaism. He
wrote that it is actually an allegory of our present era where good and evil
are in conflict.
Ss. Basil
the Great (+ AD 379) and Gregory the Theologian (+ AD 389) reaffirm the Council
of Nicea when they condemn the heretic Apollinaris of Laodicea for his literal
interpretation of the Millennium.
The Second Ecumenical
Council (Constantinople, AD 381) proclaimed, "of His Kingdom there will be
no end."
St. Jerome (+
AD 420) states in one place that literal millennialism is a fable, and in
another place he maintains that it is a venerable tradition.
Augustine of
Hippo (+ AD 430) initially accepts millennialism, but later he states that
it is not to be taken literally. He
maintains that the 1000-year reign of Christ began at the Nativity of the
Savior and is the present (then the 5th century) age of the Church.
St. Andrew of
Caesarea (6th century) who wrote at length on the Apocalypse declared that the
millennium is to be understood typologically, not literally — referring to the
present age of the Church.
So, it can be
seen that Orthodox Christian biblical interpretation is firm in its treatment of
the 1000-year reign of Christ as described in Apocalypse, chapter 20. One needs to realize that apocalyptic
literature is not intended to be read and interpreted in the same manner as the
Gospels or the Book of Exodus, or the Psalms or the Epistles or Acts of the Holy
Apostles. It makes much use of
symbol, allegory, typology, and imagery to affirm God’s revealed truth. Bottom line: the very central verse (and
message) of the Book of Revelation reads thus: "The kingdoms of the world have
become the kingdom of
our God and of
His Christ and He shall reign unto the ages of ages." (11:15) It is in this that our hope
lies.
(Taken and
adapted from an article by Fr. George Gray)
Some of our evangelical or
Pentecostal neighbors occasionally speak about “the Rapture” as one of the
events leading up to Christ’s Second Coming. By this they mean the
physical removal from earth of the true believers in Christ in preparation for
the “Great Tribulation,” a seven-year period of unparalleled calamity which will
herald the end. (A few advocates say that the Rapture will follow the
Tribulation. Most who believe in it, however, contend that it precedes the
Tribulation.) The Rapture’s purpose, according to its advocates, is to
safeguard the righteous during that horrible time. Its most familiar
champions are Hal Lindsey (author of The Late, Great Planet Earth and
other books), John T. Walvoord (of Dallas Theological Seminary), and the late
Cyrus Scofield (author of The Scofield Reference Bible).
These ideas are popular with
groups who are enchanted, even obsessed, with speculation about the Second
Coming and who have convinced themselves that they see in current events signs
that His return is near. These speculations form part of a broader
ideology called “dispensational-ism.” Dispensationalists come in all
shapes and sizes and what we say about one may not apply to all. Still we
can list some general characteristics which virtually all dispensationalists
share. The name comes from their division of history into eras or
“dispensations.” They believe that the Bible outlines the whole course of
mankind’s religious history. Each stage in God’s program is a
dispensation, and in each dispensation God relates to the world and His chosen
peoples in a different way. Some dispensationalist schemes encompass all
human history; others include only Christian history since the time of
Christ. Most often these systems are based on a symbolic interpretation of
the “letters to the seven churches” of Revelation 2 and 3, with each church
standing for the Christianity of a particular period. (Since
dispensationalism is Protestant in origin its “Church history” is strictly
Western. The dispensations take into account almost nothing of Orthodox
history after the period of the early councils that we share with the
West.) The dispensational system includes the future as well as the
past. Thus dispensationalism presents a detailed program of events leading
up to the Second Coming. Two of the events in this master plan are the
Rapture and the Great Tribulation.
Such opinions seem odd to
Orthodox Christians. Still, strange as they are, we cannot turn our backs
on them or their advocates. After all, the Orthodox Church too affirms
that Christ “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead” (as we
say in the Creed). The Rapture’s advocates claim to base their notions on
the same Bible that we read, and they can sometimes be very persuasive,
particularly since too many Orthodox are woefully ignorant of what the Bible
really says. As a result, some Orthodox have been led astray by this
doctrine. The Church’s teachings about the end of time (called
“eschatology” by theologians) are important, though neglected. Referring
to eschatology, St. Athanasius wrote, “When one knows properly these points, his
understanding of the Faith is right and healthy; but if he mistakes any
such points, forthwith he falls into heresy” (Against the Arians I 12,50).
We need to examine it, sift the true from the false, and put what is true into
its proper place within the framework of the Orthodox Faith. We must
explain the true meaning of the Bible passages in question as interpreted by the
Fathers, the great Orthodox teachers of past ages. And we must put this
doctrine in perspective and accord it its true importance. Our purpose in
this article is to examine the Rapture doctrine and the Scripture passages on
which it relies to determine the proper Orthodox approach and interpretation.
Proponents of the doctrine of
a pre-Tribulation Rapture claim that it rests on Scripture and has always been a
part of Christian teaching. The truth is that it dates from about 1830 and
was largely the creation of John Nelson Darby, a one-time Anglican priest and
founder of a sect called the Plymouth Brethren. He contributed much to the
dispensationalist scheme, and in particular he was the first to include the
Rapture among the catalogue of phenomena of the last times. The Rapture’s
recent origin is one of the things that should make us skeptical. Neither
the Apostles nor the Fathers expounded any such teaching (nor, for that matter,
did any of the notorious heretics of the past). Even Darby’s circle,
although they claimed to find support for their teaching in the Bible, did not
maintain that they had arrived at this doctrine through study of the Scriptures,
but that they had received it through a revelation. According to its
supporters the pre-Tribulation Rapture is an extremely important part of the
Christian message. Yet it was unknown before 1830.
The Rapture’s supporters
derive their opinions ultimately from a single Scripture verse, I Thessalonians
4:17, “Then we who are left alive will be carried off together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the
Lord.” Less popular but often cited is Matthew 24:40-42, “Then there will
be two in the field. One will be taken and the other left. Two will
be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and the other left.
Therefore, be vigilant, for you do not know on what day your Lord will
come.” Other passages are frequently quoted in connection with these
(for example, I Corinthians 15:23-28), but even believers in a pre-Tribulation
Rapture will admit that the other verses can be taken to refer to that doctrine
only if interpreted in the light of the I Thessalonians passage, their principal
support.
The paragraph which contains
the first verse quoted above, I Thessalonians 4:17, forms the Epistle reading
for funerals in Orthodox worship. The passage begins with 4:13. In
preceding verses St. Paul has spoken of the necessity for holiness of life and
for brotherly love among Christians (4:1-12). With verse 13 he turns to
another topic, the fate of Christians after death. Misunderstandings on
this issue had apparently caused needless distress and apprehension in the
church at Thessalonika. It seems that some people believed that Christians
who died before Christ’s return would somehow miss out on that glorious
event. St. Paul seeks to calm their fears (vs. 13). He points out
that as Christ returned from the dead at His Resurrection, so also, at the end
of time, His followers who have died in the interim will be restored through
resurrection (vs. 14). At the Second Coming, the Christian dead will be
raised (vs. 16). Then they and the faithful who are still alive will be
caught up into the clouds to welcome Christ as He descends (verses 15,17).
Paul then discusses other matters relating to the Second Coming, beginning with
the date it will occur.
When we look at verse 17 in
context, it is easy to see that is does not really support the doctrine of the
Rapture. There is no reference to a Great Tribulation or to any other
events preceding Christ’s Return. The verse refers to something that will
happen as part of the Lord’s Coming. The course of events St. Paul
presents is simple and straightforward. At the time of the Second Coming,
the dead will be raised, and all the faithful (the dead now restored and those
still alive now transfigured) will ascend to be with Him as He comes down.
This is the universal interpretation of the Fathers who see the verse as
referring to the last days.
Why does St. Paul speak of an
ascension of the righteous? The Fathers suggest at least three answers to
this question. St. Gregory of Nyssa says that the ascension is a natural
consequence of the purity of the transfigured resurrection body: “...this change
which takes place...when the resurrection trumpet sounds which awakens the dead
in an instant transforms those who are left alive to incorruptibility according
to the likeness of those who have undergone the resurrection change, so that the
bulk of the flesh is no longer heavy nor does its weight hold them down to
earth, but they rise up through the air...” (“On the Making of Man” 22,6).
St. John Chrysostom and others
say that it is to provide Christ with a proper escort for His appearance on
earth and to demonstrate His favor toward the faithful. “If He is about to
descend, why shall we be taken up? It is for the sake of honor. When
a king enters a city, those who are in his favor go out to meet him, but the
condemned await their judge inside. Or, when a loving father comes, his
children, and also those worthy of being his children, are taken out in a
chariot to see and kiss him, but the servants who have offended him remain
indoors. So we are carried out upon a chariot to our Father...See how
great our honor is? As He descends we go out to meet Him, and what is more
blessed, we shall be with Him always” (Homily 8 on Thessalonians).
The third opinion is that St.
Paul’s words should be taken symbolically. St. Ambrose and St. Jerome, for
example, suggest that the verse does not speak of a real physical ascent at all,
nor does it even refer to the Second Coming. What the Apostle means is
that the righteous, even when living in the body, are already with Christ in
heaven. St. Methodius of Olympus presents a more acceptable symbolic
interpretation. He agrees that the passage refers to the Second Coming,
but he contends that “the dead” and “the living” do not mean different types of
people. The dead, in his view, are our bodies; “those who are alive” are
our souls. These will be reunited at the resurrection and then carried up
to meet Christ.
Let us summarize what we have
found so far. St. Paul does speak of a sort of rapture, in the sense of a
carrying up into the sky of the righteous at the time of the Second
Coming. The Fathers generally agree on that. But St. Paul and the
Fathers see this as an event that accompanies Christ’s return and immediately
precedes the Judgment and the establishment of the Kingdom. The Rapture
which Darby and Scofield taught and which Lindsey, Walvoord, and others still
teach, is different from that. They talk about it as a separate happening,
part of a decades long program of events leading up to Christ’s Coming.
The dispensationalists see the Rapture as the disappearance of the faithful from
the earth before the Great Tribulation and many years before the Judgment.
This is foreign to the Apostle and to the Tradition. St. Paul mentions no
period of affliction and persecution following the Rapture.
So let us summarize what we
have found so far. St. Paul does speak of a sort of rapture, in the sense
of a carrying up into the sky of the righteous at the time of the Second
Coming. The Fathers generally agree on that point. But St. Paul and
the Fathers see this as an event that accompanies Christ’s return and
immediately precedes the Judgment and the establishment of the Kingdom.
The Rapture which Darby and Scofield taught and which Lindsey, Walvoord, and
others still teach is different from that. They talk about it as a
separate happening, part of a decades long program of events leading up to
Christ’s Coming. The dispensationalists see the Rapture as the
disappearance of the faithful from the earth before the Great Tribulation and
many years before the Judgment. This is foreign to the Apostle and to the
Tradition. St. Paul mentions no period of affliction and persecution
following the Rapture.
In an effort to forge a link
between the Rapture and the Tribulation, supporters turn to Matthew 24:40-42,
quoted above (in part 1, September’s Dawn). Certainly we have here
references to a time of horror and suffering, and 24:21 even speaks of “great
tribulation” (but not “the Great Tribulation”). Matthew 24 and 25 comprise
a long discourse by Jesus. The occasion for this teaching is the first
days of Holy Week, when Christ and His disciples were in Jerusalem on that last
visit which ended in His death and resurrection. The Lord and His
entourage have been in the Temple. As they leave, one of the company
remarks on the structure’s splendor and grandeur (24:1-2). Jesus replies
by prophesying its coming destruction, which took place some 40 years later (70
AD). The group proceeds to the Mount of Olives, across the Kedron Valley
from the city. They halt at a place, which even today offers an admirable
panorama of the Old City and the Temple site. The disciples, perhaps
alarmed by Christ’s words, ask when “these things,” meaning the Temple’s
destruction, will happen and what will be the signs of Christ’s return.
Christ’s sermon is His
response to these questions. In order to understand it properly we must
remember that there were two questions, one about disasters, which would befall
Jerusalem during the Roman-Jewish War of 66-72, the other about the end of
time. Parts of the speech address one concern, some the other. Much
of what Christ says is intended to keep His followers from confusing the two
events, taking the horror of the Jewish War as a sign of the Second
Coming. We see this in the warnings He gives: that the Gospel must
be preached in the whole world before the end comes (vs. 8), that many deceivers
will arise claiming to be Him (verses 23-26), that no one knows “the day or the
hour” except the Father (vs. 36), and many more. Christ is concerned that
His followers not confuse the impending disasters in Judea with the cataclysms
of the end. To make His point clear He emphasizes the suddenness and
unpredictability of His return.
We must interpret 24:40-42 in
light of Christ’s insistence that He will return “at an hour you do not expect”
(24:44). It would seem strange if Christ were to make this point over and
over in the early verses of chapter 24, then in verses 40-42 describe an
occurrence which would certainly tip everyone off that something was about to
happen, and all the more peculiar if that tip-off were to happen seven years
before His appearance, as the dispensationalists assert. The key to
understanding the passage is the Greek word normally translated “taken.”
The word (“paralambano”) has two meanings. The first we might render “to
take,” but not in the sense of “to lift up,” the meaning which the
dispensationalists give it. It means instead “to bring along,” as in
English we might say that someone takes a friend to the movies. That does
not seem to fit the use of the word in Matthew 24, so we turn to the second
meaning, “to accept” or “to choose.” Either of these words would be better
in these verses than the imprecise “take.” This second meaning fits with
what the Lord has been saying in the passage in question, that His followers
must be ready for His coming lest they be caught off-guard like the world,
unprepared for the Judgment. Some will have heeded His commandments, will
face the Judgment in confidence, and will be “accepted” into the Kingdom.
Others, though living and working with the first group, day by day, will not
have lived the life of the Gospel and will not be chosen or accepted by Christ
when He returns. These verses form part of Christ’s exhortation to all who
hear Him to respond to His message and thereby avoid condemnation at the
End. The verses do not supply the idea of the Rapture.
What conclusions can we draw
from our discussion? As we have seen, neither of the two passages upon
which advocates of the Rapture rely means what they say they do. Both
refer to Christ’s final return. Those who support this doctrine neglect
the context of the verses they use, distort the meanings of words and verses,
and, in one case, take advantage of a loose translation. We must approach
the Bible with more reverence. We must avoid pulling verses out of
context. Instead, look at the surrounding verses to see what the Biblical
writer is talking about and how that may affect your interpretation of a problem
verse.
Beware, also, of
interpretations, which disagree with or attack the Tradition of the
Church. As we saw in our discussion of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, the Fathers
of the Church pointed the way to the proper understanding of the verse. We
must investigate the origin of ideas, which other groups advocate, especially
when they seem to contradict Orthodoxy. The concept of the pre-Tribulation
Rapture only appeared in England about 150 years ago. Orthodox Christians
of great piety and learning have been reading the Scriptures for 2000
years. Would an important doctrine have escaped their notice? Very
often these new doctrines do not really come from a careful reading of the Bible
but from “special revelations”; their adherents have then ransacked the
Scriptures for difficult or obscure verses which they can use to support
them. Sometimes they arise when a reader tries to make sense out of
hard-to-understand passages and does not succeed. Orthodox Christians have
the living witness of the Holy Spirit who, as Christ said, will guide us to all
truth (John 16:13), and we also have the tradition of the Fathers to help us in
our search. These are not two different sources but one and the same
thing. The Fathers knew and listened to the voice of the Spirit; they
affirm that the Spirit lives in the Church even up to the present day;
they are one of the ways the Spirit has chosen to continue His work of teaching
and guiding. Trying to make the Bible support one’s own preconceived
notions or insisting on one’s own limited understanding without seeking the
guidance of Holy Tradition will not lead us to a true appreciation of what the
Bible says or of what God says to us through it.
Sometimes too, the groups that
support these new teachings are anti-Church. In their view the Church, and
the Christian’s life in it, plays no part in preparation for the Second Coming
and the Judgment. In fact, membership in most religious groups is a
hindrance, since they have abandoned the Gospel. The dispensationalists
emphasize the individual independent congregation, “where the Bible is believed
and preached,” as they often say. They advise the Christian to shop around
until he finds a congregation that, in his personal opinion, fills this
criterion. The Rapture doctrine reflects this; it will reveal those
who have been the true “Bible - believing” Christians (their people), because
these will be the ones to disappear, leaving the rest to face the
Tribulation. The dispensationalist view of the Church entraps us in
circulation reasoning. Following it means you must look for a congregation
where you can learn their “true Gospel,” yet you must know that Gospel in order
to judge whether it is taught in that congregation or not. The individual,
weak and ignorant and sinful as he or she is, becomes the final judge of
truth. Doesn’t it seem more logical to turn instead to the institution
that Christ founded to preserve and to propagate His Gospel and to cleanse and
strengthen its members through His sacraments? As the Ethiopian said to
St. Philip, “How can I understand if no one guides me?” (Acts 8:31) We
have a guide, the Church, where we can still learn the Gospel that Christ
taught, the Apostles proclaimed, the Fathers defined, and the Martyrs confessed
with their last breath.
Finally, we must keep our
perspective and not give less significant doctrines an importance they do not
deserve. Even if the dispensationalist understanding of the Rapture were
true, should we give it the emphasis that they do? Dispensationalism
generally places the greatest importance on the timetable of the Second Coming
and on determining the order of events leading up to it.
This is not what is important
to the New Testament authors or to Christ Himself, as His own words
testify. Recall the passage discussed above from Matthew 24 and 25.
Christ stressed that no one could predict when He would return. His
primary concern was to exhort His followers (us) to be ready for His
return. What we must know about the Second Coming and the Judgment is not
when it will be or what occurrences will precede it, but whether we are ready to
face it. Have we committed our lives to Christ’s Gospel? Are you
living lives of repentance and faith? Have we drawn near to Him in fervent
prayer, diligent reading of the Scriptures and frequent and sincere reception of
the Sacraments? Are we using the grace of the Spirit imparted to us by
Christ to grow in the Father’s image and likeness? The answers to these
questions are more important than whether the Rapture immediately precedes the
Judgment or occurs seven years earlier. We must resist anything such as
speculation about the end that distracts us from our salvation.
Christ spoke often of the last days, but always with one purpose: to
incite us to repentance and to encourage us to grow in His Gospel and to
persevere in the Faith. If we respond to His exhortation, then, when He
returns, we will go to meet Him in the clouds, escort Him to His Judgment Seat,
and stand at His Right Hand with the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs and all
the saints, ready to enter the glory of His Kingdom.
By: Fr. Dimitri Cozby
and
originally published in The Dawn, the official publication of the Orthodox
Church in America’s Diocese of the South
The first six
verses of this chapter are likely an interpretation of vs.. 11-21 of Chapter
19, reiterating the vision from a slightly different standpoint. As with all of the numerals in apocalyptic
literature, one must not read too literal a meaning into the text; numbers
have symbolic significance. The
way in which the word "thousand" is often used in the scriptures urges us
against taking it literally on every occasion (especially Ps. 50:10; Job 9:3;
2 Pet. 3:8; etc.). It denotes
a long period of time; a tremendous amount; completion; perfection; thoroughness;
etc. Literal "chiliasm" (Greek
for "one thousand", i.e., millenialism) has been generally discouraged within
Orthodoxy, although some patristic interpretations do accept it, such as Ss.
Justin and Hippolytus of Rome, Irenaeus of Lyons, Lactantius, and St. Methodius
- but all held it as their personal belief, not as dogma.
20:1-3
The BOTTOMLESS
PIT (abyss) is the great subterranean cavern (see Ps. 88:6, the Prokeimenon for
Burial Vespers on Great and Holy Friday) which came to be considered a place of
confinement for the disobedient who await final judgment. It is reached by a chasm, the KEY to
which is in the hand of the ANGEL.
It is the deep pit which the demons feared (see Jude 6; Lk. 8:31). The GREAT CHAIN binds Satan (see Mk.
5:3), and he is thrown, SHUT and SEALED (see Dn. 16:17) into the pit for ONE
THOUSAND YEARS. This allows the
Church to be at peace and to flourish without the added torment of persecution
and deceit. (There is a faint echo
here of the Jews' fear regarding the Lord's disciples at His burial, sealing the
tomb against any deceit: Mt. 27:63-66.) After this long respite for the Church,
Satan is LOOSED FOR A WHILE (see below, vs. 7-8).
20:4-6
The vision of
those who are SEATED UPON THRONES, TO WHOM JUDGMENT WAS COMMITTED finds its
background in Ps. 122:5; Dan. 7:9; Mt. 19:18; and especially Lk. 22;29-30. Those who had been BEHEADED (literally
"axed") for their TESTIMONY ("martyrdom") were revived and REIGNED with Christ
(see 5:9-10; 2 Tim. 2:12). BLESSED
(the 5th beatitude of the Apocalypse) are those who share in the FIRST RESURRECTION.
This appears to be the general resurrection, following the first (i.e.,
biological) death. The SECOND DEATH appears to be the final
exclusion from the age to come: the lake of fire (20:14) that burns with sulphur
("brimstone" 21:8); eternal damnation (Mt. 25:41), which will not harm the
victorious in Christ (2:11). For
the victorious in Christ will have vanquished death; the second death will
have no power over them. They
will be royal PRIESTS OF GOD AND CHRIST (see Apoc. 1:6; 5:9-10; 1 Pet. 2:9-10;
Isa. 61:6).
20:8-9
GOG AND MAGOG
(Ezek. 38-39) are personifications of the nations from throughout the world,
hostile to God's people, gathered for one final assault. In that Elijah called down fire from
heaven upon his persecutors (2 Kgs. 1:10-12), and this impressed the Apostles
James and John (Lk. 9:51-54), so here God also sends a consuming fire (see also
Gen. 19:24; 2 Kgs. 18:38; Ezek. 38:22; 39:6) as an intervention against the
enemies of His people.
20:10
Now the DEVIL
joins THE BEAST, AND THE FALSE PROPHET (second beast) in the LAKE OF FIRE (the
second death of eternal damnation for the wicked), and are no longer a threat to
the world, for they are TORMENTED there UNTO THE AGES OF
AGES.
20:11
The GREAT
WHITE THRONE is seen (see 1 Enoch 18:8) where God is seated to execute judgment
(see Dn. 7). Inasmuch as the Father
and the Son share equally in divinity (Jn. 10:20; Apoc. 5:8, 13-14),
nonetheless, contrast this with the usual understanding that it is not the
Father Who is the just judge over humanity (Jn. 5:22), but that rather we shall
be called to account for ourselves before the awesome judgment seat of Christ (2
Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:1 - but Rom. 14:10-11 is sometimes read "Christ" and
sometimes read "God"; see vs. 12, below).
At the PRESENCE of the One seated on the Throne, the EARTH AND SKY FLED
AWAY (Mt. 24:35; 2 Pet. 3:10-13).
This is a cosmic sign that identifies the great Day of the Lord and the
preparation for the coming of the New Heaven and earth
(21:1).
20:12
The DEAD, STANDING
BEFORE THE THRONE (general resurrection?) are confronted with WHAT THEY HAVE
DONE, WRITTEN IN THE BOOKS (see Dn. 7:10), which will be their judgment (Ps.
62:12; Jer. 17:10; Mt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6; the anaphora of the Liturgy of St.
Basil, and the Church's hymnography for the Sunday of the Last Judgment). THE BOOK OF LIFE contains the names of
all those who will not be THROWN INTO
THE LAKE OF FIRE (Exod. 32:32; Isa. 4:3; Dn. 12:1-2). This is possibly the earliest explicit
reference to the Resurrection in the O. T.
20:13-14
Now DEATH AND
HADES (the powers that held men captive, and the keys to which are ultimately in
the hand of Christ: Apoc. 1:18) join Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet in
the LAKE OF FIRE (see Mt. 25:41).
Death is the "last enemy to be destroyed" (1 Cor. 15:26), and after the
final judgment, it will lose its power.
QUESTIONS FOR
STUDY
1. The image
of vs. 1-3 is alluded to in the icon of the Descent into Sheol for Pascha. Take a look at the icon (go to http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/Icons/index.html
and scroll down to the icon of the Resurrection. How do you think the verses are
represented in the icon?
2. The thrones
of judgment for those who co-reign with Christ (vs. 4, 6) have the O.T. or N.T.
passages as their background?
3. What is the
ultimate fate of Satan, his antichrist, and the false prophet (vs.
10)?
4. How does
vs. 11 differ from Apoc. 4:2?
5. The
Anaphora (Eucharistic Prayer) of the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil refers to the
fact that the Lord will render unto each in accordance with his or her
works. How does this compare to vs.
12?
6. How do the
words of St Paul in 1 Cor. 15:26 correspond to vs. 14
here?
Have something
you want to say or something you want to ask other readers? Send it in! We’ll
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