Moving Heaven 1,007 Years Closer!
"And when the thousand
years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.
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.
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.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and
shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Rev. 20:7-10.
Even if you have read the above words of God many
times, I would like to ask you to share a special adventure with me by reading
them in a way which perhaps you have never thought to do before. Read them and then try to picture yourself
on the other side of their fulfillment, which of course we all will be someday.
Wars will have ceased to the ends of the earth
forever. The devil, the beast, and the false prophet will have been confined to
the lake of fire and will never be able to bother anyone again. Vs. 10.
The purpose of this article is to herald the good
news that this fulfillment of these things is at least 1,007 years nearer than
the popular teaching of the Scofield Bible has led many to believe!
One time Jesus took three of his chosen disciples,
Peter, James, and John, and brought them into a high mountain apart. Mt. 17:1.
As he prayed, the fashion of his countenace was altered, and his raiment was
white and glistering! Lk.9-.29.
The faith of these disciples rose to new heights.
Surely this stranger who had called them from their fishing nets must be the
Son of God!
But how could this be? Did not the scribes say that Elijah
must first come? Mt. 17:10. Was it not prophesied that Elijah would put in a
reappearance before the coming of Christ? Mal. 4:5,6.
Jesus' reply must have been like a bolt out of the
blue! He answered that Elijah had come already, if they would receive it! Mt.
17:11-13.
How could the fulfillment of a prophecy of such
import pass unnoticed?
Was it not that the true manner of its fulfillment
was almost entirely unlocked for?
What had been overlooked by the scribes and the
disciples was the Spiritual manner in which the prophecy was fulfilled. Lk.
1:13-17; Jn. 1:19-21. Apparently they looked for some kind of a physical
reappearance of the prophet Elijah. But God's greater emphasis is on the
spiritual, and we must take this into full account in our consideration of the
great prophecies of His Word, lest their true fulfillments also pass by us
unnoticed while we look in vain to other things.
To miss the true fulfillment of a prophecy is to miss
the faith building advantage of all the attending events. It was just thus
that so many missed Christ and his whole ministry, and died looking for
another! Yes, the majority of even religious people who lived and died in that
very generation did not know the eventfulness of their generation!
What does all this have to do with our subject at
hand, from Rev. 20:7-10? Just this, the true faithbuilding, soul winning
advantage and blessing of these great verses is being missed in an almost
identical way as were those of the Elijah prophecy.
It is an established fact that the generation most
apt to miss the advantage of true interpretation of Bible prophecy is the
generation in which the fulfillments occur! Could such things be happening in
our day, yours and mine? Or is this generation spiritual enough not to let
this happen? The Word is clear in its answer. Just prior to the coming of
Christ, the greatest blindness and deception of all will prevail!
But God offers light and understanding. Dan. 12:10; 1
Thess. 5:4.
That our "revelation" may escape the fate
of that of the mistaken scribes, and be indeed a revelation, let us consider
Rev. 20:7-10 in the light of these discoveries, and of the Bible itself.
Verse 7 is companion with 2
Thess, 2:3,7,8, and refers to the falling away of the church as this gospel day
of grace (the thousand years) draws to a close. Satan's loosing is invariably
associated with people's failure to recognize him and to appropriate God's
protection against him. It is never the direct will of God to let Satan loose upon mankind. It has been true from
Eden until this day. If Eve had appropriated the great truth of James 4:7,8,
Satan would have been overcome!
For a truly Scriptural and more thorough Study of the
first 7 verses of Rev. 20, see Living Word tracts. "A Thousand Years of
Peace, When?", "The Binding of Satan", "The Loosing of
Satan", "Satan Confined to His Own Realm", and "The
Pit". Those tracts, together with this present treatise, will
provide a true-to-the-Bible exposition of verses 1 through 10.
Could there be a fact more conducive to the loosing
of Satan than the fact he is virtually non-existent in the eyes of this
generation, and the very mention of him seems very unreal, and is almost a
forbidden subject!
What groundwork could be laid and better made to
order for the great end-time deception prophesied in 2 Thess. 2:8-11, Rev.
13:13,14, Rev. 20:7,8,etc.? How elated any burglar would be to raid the house
of any person who was drugged and very sound asleep in the belief that burglars
are a myth and that their evil works and thievery are only a product of the
imagination!
Surely, whatever is meant by "the loosing of
Satan", it is happening in our world today. This generation of
permissiveness and the altering of every sacred promise and standard of God's
Word has brought this Scripture fulfillment into full view!
The teaching of the Scofield Bible that Rev. 20:verse
7 does not have its fulfillment until 1,007 years after the translation of the
church is based on a thorough misunderstanding of the great events of Rev. 20.
In verse 8, John is referring to the same Gog and
Magog spoken of in Ezekiel 38 and 39, not inventing a new battle, for the book
of Revelation is as subject to the basic Scripture test as are any of the
apostle's writings. Acts 17:11; Isa. 8:20. John was glad to have it so, for he
is bearing record of the Word of God. Rev. 1:1,2.
The Coming Revelation of Christ can be pinpointed to
occur after the word, city, and before the word, and, in verse 9. See also 2
Thess. 1:7-10; 2 Thess. 2:8.
It is much later in prophecy than many think!
Good Word From Ireland
Dear Brother Boyd:
Greetings once again in the
Saviour's precious name.
It seems a long time since
we last corresponded, but the months pass very quickly in these busy days. We trust
that Mrs. Boyd and you are well and being renewed and strengthened by promised
grace day by day. As you will see from the accompanying list we make new
friends and we lose old friends to our "Researcher" reader's list. In
connection with our brother Norman Porter's name, he .is now residing with his
son, (for the present). He apparently subscribed to "The Researcher"
from Australia and New Zealand and wondered if you could possibly forward him
back issues, covering the last 18 months, approximately which he tells me he
did not receive. We understand he corresponded with you prior to his return to
North Ireland.
It has been on my mind to do
a little advertising in the religious press here on behalf of "The
Researcher" and I would appreciate your comment on some form of wording
such as the following:
"For a Reformed and
A-Millenial Perspective Read "The Researcher" — A Quarterly Designed
To Promote The Study of The Prophetic Scriptures. Annual Subscription $2.50 to
Dr. J.R. Boyd, P.O. Box 232, Sudbury, Canada P3E 4N5. For Further Information
Contact — John Hamilton Beh 79810"
Previous Article Fall 2003 Front Page Next Article