The Encourager
“Jesus is Returning! by Jeff Curtis”
Jesus is Returning!
by Jeff Curtis
The “battle of Armageddon”, “The Rapture”, The “Thousand Year Reign of Christ on earth”
As many hear the end of time, they hear about…
The Battle of Armageddon. The final battle depicted in Revelation is a spiritual one, not a physical conflict. The enemies of Christ have no power against Him. They cannot be victorious against Christ and His mighty angels (Rev. 19). The word “Armageddon” has become a name like “Waterloo” and
Pearl Harbor,” representing far more than a place. “Armageddon” is associated with the final and ultimate overthrow of evil; but in Revelation it represents the overthrow of the great persecutor of the church in the first century, the Roman Empire.
The Rapture. As for the rapture of the church, nothing in the Bible is like what the premillennialists describe. In 1Thessalonians 4:14-16, Paul was giving to the Christians in Thessalonica who feared that their loved ones would miss the Lord’s return. Theses souls would not be forgotten, but would be raised with imperishable bodies to meet the Lord in the air.
The Thousand Year Reign. What about the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth? Notice what the passage from Revelation 20:4-6 does not say. It does not mention Christ’s reigning on earth, on the throne of David, or in Jerusalem; and it does not tell when His reign was to begin or end. It is describing the reign of the martyrs who died in the Roman persecution of the church; “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4). Where is this taking place? In heaven (Rev. 20:1).
The end of the world is coming, but “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matt. 24:36). Christ will return “like a thief” (2Peter 3:10). When He returns in the clouds of heaven (He will never set foot on earth again), this world will be completely destroyed (2Peter 3:10-12). These events will happen one day. The important thing for us is to “keep watching and praying” (Matt.26:41) and be ready for the Lord to come.
What does the Bible say about a physical battle of Armageddon, the rapture, and the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth? The answer is “NOTHING!” The Bible does mention a battle at Armageddon, but it not like the one described by the would-be prophets (Rev. 16:16; 19:11-21). People will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the clouds of heaven – but this is not a rapturing of the church before some “great tribulation” (1Thessalonians 4:13-18). The idea pf an earthly thousand-year reign by Christ is based on an incorrect interpretation of Revelation 20:4-6.
