The Sabbath Day and The Kingdom of God

EXEGETICAL ESSAY

REVELATION 20:1-6

SABBATH DAY - MILLENNIUM - KINGDOM OF GOD

Revelation 20:1-6

“The Thousand Years”

1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.

2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

4 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 Jesus and because of the word of God. I also saw those who 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.

5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

6 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.

1. Introduction

This brief study of the Millennium seeks to show the importance and/or significance of the

Sabbath day. Although an overview, the paper will strive to draw from early Jewish interpretation pertaining to Holy Years and the Year of our Lord. This essay is derived from personal reflection, which I hope everyone enjoys. My goal is that the reader might gain a deeper appreciation for the Sabbath Day, its relation to total restoration, and the Kingdom of God. A primary focal point of this short essay will be to associate the Jewish Holy Years and the concept of the Millennium, in order to, deepen our understanding and our appreciation in honoring the Sabbath day of rest.

1. The Opening

Verse one is an interesting passage, in which John begins a new scene. An angel is coming down from heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. The devil, or Satan, will be bound for a millennium, or 1,000 years. The resurrected saints will rule with Christ during the millennium while Satan is bound. This idea of a millennium will be the focus of this paper. I want to see whether Jewish prophecies spoke of such an era, and if so, is it compatible with what we read in Revelation, Chapters 20 and 21 and Mormon perspective. Additionally, do these prophecies add to our understanding of how one should interpret the concept of this 1,000-year reign of Jesus and the Saints on Earth? (I need to make note that the use of the word “Saint” in conjunction with Jesus Christ rule during the millennium is representative of “Latter-Day Saints. " Although I will not go into details in this essay, I do want to note that I consider “Saints” in this context to mean “Latter-Day Saints.”)

The destruction of Satan’s fallen angels occurred before the binding of Satan. This chapter comes on the heels of Chapter 19, which is the Second Coming of Christ, and is placed between chapters 21-22, the eternal Kingdom of God. These verses do raise some questions. What does Satan’s binding mean, the idea of second- or two-state resurrection, and a Messianic earthly reign for 1,000 years? Why is it a temporary kingdom? Why is Satan allowed a second opportunity to deceive God’s children? Was Arminian correct in saying that one can fall from grace if one can live 1,000 years in Christ’s Kingdom, then be deceived by Satan, confirming an Arminian viewpoint and discounting a Calvinist perspective? In the next section, this essay will lay out a basic understanding of Hebrew holy years and their eschatological meaning.

1. Hebrew Holy Years

The Hebrews had a set of holy years that are outlined in the Tanakh (the name for the Jewish Bible). Let's focus on the sabbatical year, the year of jubilee, and the year of our Lord. The sabbatical year, or Sabbat, is found in Genesis 1:2-3: “2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Exodus 23:11-12: “But the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard. Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.” Another term used in connection with the sabbatical year is Semitta, which means “to cancel a debt,” and this word is found in Deuteronomy 15:1: “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release.” There are various understandings of these verses, but the main purpose is to honor God as the ultimate owner of the land and to show concern for the needs of the poor. Ex. 21:2: “When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, with debt.”[1] One may also add to this the idea the forgiveness of debt and liberation as priorities as well. This concept lends itself to the idea of a millennium year.

Two distinctive Hebrew terms are used in connection with the jubilee year, namely yobel and deror. Most scholars consider the word yobel to originate from the trumpet made from a sheep’s horn that was sounded at the beginning of the jubilee year. The translation of yobel in the Septuagint is aphesis, which means “liberation.” Deror is related to anduraru in Akkadian, which also means “liberation.” This 50th year was sort of a super-sabbatical after 49 years (seven cycles of seven years). We have an extra year added on top, making it two consecutive years of sabbatical. Leviticus 25:10: “You shall hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you. To your property and every one of you to your family” (NRSV). One of the most important themes in the understanding of the jubilee year is freedom. Ezekiel refers to it as the “year of freedom.”[2] It also meant that if you lost your lands due to poverty, it would revert back to your family during the jubilee. Liberation and restoration could easily be the theme for the year of jubilee.

Apart from the sabbatical and jubilee years, there is also what is described in Isaiah 61:1-2 as “the year of the Lord’s favor.” In this text, Isaiah reinterprets the sabbatical and jubilee years eschatologically: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, Because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” The messianic age is described as “the year of the Lord’s favor.” One of the prophet’s tasks is to “proclaim liberty,” a distinctive phrase found in the jubilee regulations. Thus, during the messianic age, according to the prophet’s message, the poor and oppressed will be freed from their suffering. Amos 5:18-20 adds an element to “the year of the Lord’s favor” by adding judgment on the oppressors. Additionally, during this time, restoration will happen, and ruined cities and deserted habitations will be restored.[3] I would expect that this understanding might play into the ideas of pre-millennialists. One might also consider the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). How might the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ play into and/or usher in “the year of the Lord’s favor?” One may also consider the fate of Latter-Day Saints in ruling with the Messiah during the millennium. As mentioned earlier, a ruling class of Saints will rule alongside the Messiah, in my opinion, one must seriously consider the ramification of Latter-Day Saints during this period and the unfolding of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Although outside the scope of this short essay, special consideration should be given toward Latter-Day Saint’s participation in ruling and serving as special ambassadors for the Messiah during the millennium.

In all three holy years, we see a common theme of rest, freedom (liberation), and restoration. We do not have evidence that Israel followed these holy years literally. Nevertheless, we do know that these years had more of an eschatological meaning within Israel (Additionally they are 50, 100, 1,000, and 7,000 years, I did not have time to extrapolate all of these themes). We cannot forget that the Sabbath day of rest is also a reminder of what awaits God’s children in the Kingdom of God. It is not simply a day of rest, but a reminder of our heavenly destiny. In Luke 13, we have the story of Jesus healing the crippled woman on the Sabbath, who was rebuked by the synagogue leaders, who reminded the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” Jesus rebuked the synagogue leaders, then launched into the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast. Luke 13:18: “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?” This happens again in Luke 6:1-22, in which Jesus is challenged for working on the Sabbath, then describes what the Kingdom of God will be like. This reminds me that a Jewish reader would find that any conversation about the Sabbath might logically lead into a conversation about the Kingdom of God, as noted in Jesus’s transition from the Sabbath into the Kingdom of God. I often have pointed to this progression in the Gospel of Luke especially. I am getting a little off topic, but it’s safe to say that Israel understood these holy days and years to mean a future time in which God’s Kingdom would reign, and there would be rest, freedom, and restoration, as represented in the Sabbath day of rest. Once again, the emphasis of Sabbath rest and our heavenly destination are interwoven within Jewish eschatological interpretations but central to the LDS church teaching. LDS emphasis on Sabbath day rest goes beyond simply a day of rest, but a day of focus on our Heavenly Father, a day of communion with God, a day of freedom, and restoration, reminiscent of Jewish interpretations. Today’s Protestant church no longer sees nor understands the importance of the Sabbath day of rest and the Year of Our Lord, yet the LDS church, in my opinion, is the only mainline Christian church that adheres to this teaching in this day and age.

1. The Millennium in Revelation (New Testament Perspective)

“In speaking of the Millennium, we have reference to that future period of one thousand years during which Christ will be physically present on this earth and will form His governmental headquarters on Earth to rule the nations of this world with a rod of iron and establish universal peace and righteousness on the earth.”[4]

Although the term millenarianism has come to be used more loosely, in the next section, it will refer to interpretations of the millennium found in Rev. 20. Three main views of the millennium are labeled premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism, but these views, as they have emerged in the history of Christianity, can be best understood as five traditions of interpretation:[5]

1. Premillennialism in the Early Church

Many of the early Church fathers expected the personal coming of Christ in glory to inaugurate a millennial reign on earth before the Final Judgment. This belief was not only an interpretation of Rev. 20, but also a continuation of Jewish apocalyptic expectations of an interim messianic kingdom. The framework of Rev. 20 was filled with content derived from Jewish apocalyptic tradition, especially from OT prophecies, so that the millennium was understood primarily as a restoration of paradise.[6] Here, we see one of the principles found within the holy years: the idea of restoration. Under this restored Earth, we could enjoy peace between the animals, the resurrected saints for 1,000 years of paradise on earth before being taken to eternal life in heaven. The 1,000 years were explained either as the original intended span of human life on Earth, or as the world’s Sabbath rest at the end of the 7,000 years’ “week” of history.[7] Once again, we see the idea of a Sabbath rest coming to fruition at the 7,000-year mark. These ideas could have easily been interpreted from early Messianic Jews.

1. Augustinian Amillennialism

This interpretation of Rev. 20, which was accepted for most of the medieval period and remained influential up to the present, was pioneered by the fourth-century Donatist Tyconius, whose ideas were taken up by Augustine. This view of the millennial reign of Christ entails the age of the Church, from the resurrection of Christ until his Parousia (second coming). Augustine took the 1,000-year figure to be symbolic, not an actual length of time. This interpretation of Rev. 20 is often called amillennialist because it rejects belief in the future millennium. The early kingdom expected by the premillennial is substituted with a twin emphasis on the present rule of Christ and other-worldly eschatological hope. The Protestant reformers adopted a modified form of this view. They took the millennium to be an actual period of 1,000 years in the past, during which the Gospel flourished. Satan’s release at the end of this period, in Rev. 20:7, marked the rise of the medieval papacy. Reformers expected the imminent return of Christ, leading at once to the Final Judgment and the end of this world.[8] I rather like the Protestant reformers’ take on this position, with the exception that they themselves are in an apostasy state. It also appears to me that during this time, there was this idea of distancing Christianity from its Jewish roots. I find that the Book of Mormon has incorporated many Jewish traditions into its scriptures and doctrines which I hope to further explain in other writings. This concept of amillennialism does not fit into any of the preconceived holy-year models and must be discarded in my opinion. Nevertheless one can see how this viewpoint leads the church into a state of apostasy during this time.

1. Joachimism and Protestant Postmillennialism

The 12th-century abbot Joachim led a movement among some early Protestants, who predicted the success of the Reformation Gospel and the dawning of a new age of prosperity for the Church. In this view, the millennium would come about through the Spirit-empowered preaching of the Gospel, resulting in the conversion of the world and the worldwide spiritual reign of Christ -- by the power of his Spirit, not by his bodily advent, which would follow the millennium. The 18th century was the great age of postmillennialism, which played a key role in the development of missionary thinking. The revivals were seen as the first ripples of this movement. In the 19th century, postmillennial expectations increasingly approximated the secular doctrine of progress and merged into liberal theology’s identification of the Kingdom of God with moral and social improvement.[9] The failure of this model to draw on the idea of rest, liberation, or restoration leaves it hollowed. The idea of liberation theology could fit within the liberal theological framework of moral and social improvement, but it would have to be a worldwide movement, and, barring Jesus’ return physically, I do not see this movement accomplishing the eschatological advent.

1. Protestant Premillennialism

Protestant premillennialism originated in the early 17th century under the influence of Joseph Mede (1586-1638). It differs from postmillennialism in expecting the personal advent of Christ and the bodily resurrection of the saints to precede the and therefore tends to stress discontinuity between the present and the millennial age more than postmillennialism does. Premillennialists have taken many views concerning the millennial reign, but premillennialism tended toward a literal interpretation of prophecy, including OT prophecies applied to the millennium. Thus, Church influence exerts a lesser role, as only the personal intervention of Christ can establish his Kingdom on earth.[10] This model takes into account that Christ is the one who will initiate the millennial kingdom. It tends to focus on future eschatology being an idea that God has created and will institute. The holy years are lived out, but in reality, they always point to a future hope in which God will bring about a greater, more perfect, lived reality. In other words, holy years on Earth are symbolic, looking toward a future, better-lived reality.

This leaves us with one final position.

1. Symbolic Amillennialism

The figure “1,000 years” in Rev. 20 is a symbolic number, but the under this position is considered period of time. It is a complete achievement of Christ’s Kingdom and his total victory over evil at the Parousia.[11]

1. Jewish Messianic View

Dr. David Stern tends to believe along the lines of premillennialism and expects a future millennium in which the Messiah himself will rule on earth. A millennium of sorts appears in the collection of opinions about Messianic times in Chapter 11 of the Babylonian Talmud tractate Sanhedrin: “Rav Kattina said, ‘The world will exist for six thousand years, then for one thousand years, it will lie desolate’ ” (Sanhedrin 97a). The Zohar (the central text of Jewish mysticism compiled in the 13th century), tells us: “Happy are those left alive at the end of the sixth millennium to enter into (the millennium) of the Shabbat” (Zohar 1:119a).

“However, in the following passage specifying the length of the Messianic Era, eschatological events, which the New Testament assigns to different periods, are conflated. This excerpt from a first century C.E. Jewish book, pseudepigraphically attributed to Ezra the Scribe, is remarkable for the sheer quantity of ideas similar to those elaborated in the New Testament. It refers to the Messiah as the Son of God (Mt 3:17), speaks of his death (Mt 27:50), mentions “those with him” (whether angels or saints returning to rule, v. 6 below; and see 19:14), and alludes to the New Jerusalem (21:1–2), resurrection (vv. 4–6, 12 below), doing away with what is corruptible (1C 15:42–54), the throne of judgment (vv. 11–15), judgment on the basis of deeds (vv. 14–15; Mt 25:34–46), the Abyss (9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; vv. 1–3 above), torment and Gey-Hinnom (14:10, 19:20, vv. 9–15 below, 21:8; Mt 5:22, 5:29–30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 23:33; Mk 9:44–47), the final Paradise (21:1–22:9), and a seven-year period (Daniel 9:24–27; also compare above, 12:14, with Daniel 7:25, 12:7). [12]

“Ezra, … the time will come when the signs I have told you about will come to pass, that the city now unseen will appear and the land now concealed be revealed. Everyone delivered from the predicted evils will see My wonders. My Son the Messiah will be disclosed, along with those who are with him, and he will gladden the survivors four hundred years [variant readings: 1,000 years, 30 years (close to the length of Yeshua’s life)]. After those years My Son the Messiah will die, and all in whom there is human breath. Then the world will be turned into the primeval silence for seven days, as it was at the first beginnings, so that no one is left.

“After seven days the age not yet awake will be roused, and what is corruptible will perish. The earth will restore those who sleep in her, and the dust will restore those who rest in it. The Most High will be revealed upon the throne of judgment, and then comes the End. Compassion will pass away, pity be distant, longsuffering withdrawn; only judgment will remain, truth stand, faithfulness triumph. Recompense will follow, the reward will be made manifest. Acts of righteousness will awake and acts of iniquity not sleep. Then the Abyss of torment will appear, and in contrast the place of refreshment; the furnace of Gey-Hinnom will be manifested, and in contrast the Paradise of delight.

“Then the Most High will say to the nations that have been raised [from the dead]: ‘Look now and consider whom you have denied, whom you have not served, whose commandments you have despised! Look, now, before you: here delight and refreshment, there fire and torments!’ Thus will he speak to them in the Day of Judgment. For thus shall the Day of Judgment be: a day on which there is no sun, moon, stars; no clouds, thunder, lightning, wind, rainstorm, cloud-rack; no darkness, evening, morning; no summer, fall, winter; no heat, frost, cold, hail, rain, dew; no noon, night, dawn, shining, brightness or light—except for the splendor of the brightness of the Most High, whereby all shall be destined to see what has been determined for them. And its duration shall be, as it were, a week of years. Such is my Judgment and its prescribed order; I have shown these things only to you.” (4 Ezra 7:25–44)

1. Final Thoughts

I have to believe that there is a future eschatological time in which the Kingdom of God will reign on earth. It is difficult to interpret Rev. 20 on its own merits without considering other prophecies found in the Tanakh to help formulate a better understanding. The Book of Revelation is largely based on Jewish writings, and prophecies. I did not spend time on prophecies in this essay, but instead focused my attention on the holy years, which point to a future time in which God’s people will live in peace -- freed and restored. I also could have spent some time expounding on the festival, which also points toward a renewed eschatological period to come. Jewish teaching helps one understand that at some point, things will change and God will initiate this change. In Rev. 20, this passage seems to imply that Christ will initiate this change and that for 1,000 years, we will experience the reign of Christ on Earth: the Messianic Age. Revelation needs to be interpreted alongside the holy years, festivals, prophecies of the Tanakh and the Book of Mormon. Without these guidelines, one tends to get lost in interpretations. From the day Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, the world has been looking forward to a restoration. This concept of restoration is key to the Church of Latter-Day Saints, a key also to the ushering in of the Millennium. If the book of Revelation is to frame God’s story for humankind, then it must end with rest, liberation, and restoration. I believe that is what we begin to see in Rev. 20.

It is my hope that understanding the Jewish Holy-Years and the Sabbath day of rest would lead the reader to appreciate the deeper underlying meaning behind our observance of the Sabbath Day. It is not simply a day of rest but also a day of freedom, and restoration pointing toward a future reality for the Saints of God. When considering the future of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the reality of the Millennium (Kingdom of God), it becomes a future hope, but it is also a future reality, one that is currently being ushered in by the LDS church. Revelation 20:1-6 gives us the future reality of our church, which means that at some point we need to begin to work toward that reality. We work toward this reality when we observe the commandment of “keeping the Sabbath Day Holy.” This observance reminds us of our future reality as Saints ruling (service) alongside our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thus the Sabbath Day and the Kingdom of God become synonymous, and our observance of the commandment becomes our way of living out our future reality as Saints of God. I want to thank a dear friend and Elder for sharing with me one day how his family lived the Sabbath Day, it transformed my life and brought me into a new reality of Sabbath Day Observance. I pray you find this essay an encouragement and that it deepens your understanding and purpose for living the Gospel and honoring the Sabbath day. Thank you Elder Davis for sharing a message, God bless.

[1] “The Jubilee and the Millennium: Holy Years in the Bible and Their Relevance.” Themelios 24, no. 1 (1998).

[2] Ibid 47

[3] Ibid 48

[4] Gingrich, Roy E. The Millennium. Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing, 2001.

[5] Ferguson, Sinclair B., and J.I. Packer. New Dictionary of Theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

[6] Ibid. 428

[7] Ibid. 428

[8] Ibid. 428-429

[9] Ibid 429

[10] Ibid 429

[11] Ibid 429

[12] Stern, David H. Jewish New Testament Commentary: A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament. Electronic ed. Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996.

#Sabbath #Millennium #KingdomofGod #LDS