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Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn, and over the last two episodes, we have been digging into the topic of eschatology, which is the study of the end times or last things. We looked at the essentials surrounding Christ's return. We all agree on that. And then last time we looked at four mainstream views like dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, amillennialism, and then post-millennialism. Each view, I hope you heard me explain, has its strengths, has its challenges, but each does use scripture to reach its conclusions. And in that episode, I also unpacked six attitudes that we should have when we're differing on eschatology, because the obvious question is this: how can two people filled with the same Holy Spirit, reading the same Bible, looking at the same passage, come to two completely different conclusions about something so important? The answer to that comes down to hermeneutics, which is the study or the interpretation of Scripture and how we approach the text. Some people are going to differ on dates, like the post-millennial view will say that at least partial prophecies have been fulfilled in 70 AD. And then you'll have your omillennial position approach a text differently and say, well, this is symbolic or this is metaphor. You'll have other positions say this is literal. And then others will see the book of Revelation under the banner of apocalyptic literature. And so that would influence the way they choose to interpret it. The simple truth is throughout church history, faithful Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit have not differed on essentials like salvation by faith, the deity of Christ, the virgin birth. But with many other core doctrines, and maybe we could call that a shorter list, you're just not going to be in heresy because you have a different view. But in a lot of doctrines, you could get into some trouble. With eschatology, there's no doctrine like it, in my opinion, where you can differ so strongly, and being wrong does have consequences, but they're not necessarily attached to salvation. They're very much attached to church membership, where you go to church, what you can tolerate in a church. Maybe, maybe there are a few other things. I just think eschatology just has so many implications. Baptism could be comparable, but I would still say two believers, if baptized, maybe one was baptized as a baby. I'm not a paedo-baptist, but they grow up to be a believer, and you're like, all right, you got baptized at some point in your life and you're a believer. And we could kind of maybe kind of work that out. Others, I think it can be more strong with the disagreement. I think as a Baptist, I'm I'm I'm like dying on the hill of baptism. But eschatology is remarkable where you can get along and do so much gospel work together, yet feel so passionately about it. And yet we all serve the same Lord, and He's still going to return. It's like there's so much in common, and then there can be so much different, and you go, oh, this is humbling. And I think that's what causes some people to say, you know, I'm pan-millennial. I am not all millennial, post-millennial, pre-millennial. Everything's just gonna pan out in the end. I don't care about the details, I'm pan-millennial. And I get it, but I don't think that's helpful either, because if you don't stand for something, you're gonna fall for everything. And then I got a bone to pick with anyone who says, ah, it doesn't matter, who cares? Revelation chapter 1, verse 3 says this blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed these things which are written in it, for the time is near. Look, John says, Blessed are those who care about this stuff. I want that blessing, and I think my question for you is don't you? In my opinion, eschatology is encouraging and humbling. Good brothers, I love, don't see it my way. And good brothers I love, I don't see it their way. And yet we can get along and advance the gospel. And in all these things, I would just say, what a concept that is. Not taking each other's heads off in our disagreements. And maybe we should try more of that. And maybe I should bring a brother from the other side of the aisle on one of these views into the studio and record a conversation on that. Um, you know, maybe Jeff Durbin should just come by and we should talk about uh post-millennialism and premillennialism and and have a great time. I think we should. Um, maybe we're doing that. So, with all that said, I've got a conviction here, okay? I'm fully convinced of the truth. And I see scripture and with no hesitation, I believe what I believe, and I believe my view. And you're not gonna change my view unless I'm wrong based on scripture. Now, you might disagree in me, with me, and I might disagree with you, but no minister, even if we disagree with one another, should just melt into theological mush because, well, I don't want to take a position and I don't want to really get in any arguments over eschatology. No, we got to live with conviction. A leader by definition influences people, and how can you lead others or at least challenge their thinking if you yourself aren't convinced of something? When it comes to eschatology, what you believe matters. In our time together today, I want to make a plain case for pre-millennialism. And the aim here isn't to start a theological brawl in the comments section, so you better be respectful if you're dropping comments down there. But I want to help you understand why I, along with many others throughout church history, hold to the premillennial view. And I want to do it in a way that's gracious, clear, and rooted in scripture. At the end of this, you may want to throw something at the camera if you're one of those heated types, or you might want to pop off in the comments, or maybe you say, Casa, you're ridiculous. Like this is crazy. You know what? I would just say, at the very least, my hope is you go, he used the Bible, he's forming the position from Scripture. I kind of agree with some of what he's saying, and then maybe I don't agree with that or this, but at the very least, you and I are gonna respect each other because we're rooting our views in scripture. We're not just chasing the wind, saying so-and-so believes this, or being cheeky with one another and making sideswipe dagger type comments, oh, to try to demean the character or the view of someone and misrepresenting them. So let's jump right in. Number one, what is premillennialism? I'm gonna start with a simple definition. It'll be up on the screen, or if you're driving and listening to this on Apple or Spotify, I'll just read it out loud to you. Premillennialism is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the earth before a thousand-year reign. And that's a literal thousand-year reign called the millennium, and it's described in Revelation chapter 20. Now, the implications of my view are that first, we're living in the church age right now. This is the church age, the age before the time that we're gonna talk about. And Jesus could return at any time. That's another implication of my view. I don't need to evangelize the whole world. I don't need to, like the post-millennial view, steer the world into a Christianized world, which I love the zeal in that, and I agree with it. We should be evangelizing that way all the time. But in my view, and in the view what I believe scripture teaches, is it's imminent. At any time, Jesus could return. And when he does, he will defeat his enemies and he'll bind Satan and he'll establish his kingdom on earth for a thousand years. This is the premillennial view. And by the way, this would be a view that historic premillennialism and dispensational premillennialism both agree on. Now, there could there be some things that I want to talk to you about in a future episode. I want to kind of get into like, what is the rapture? Is it biblical? Is it weird? Why do we left behind stuff, the movie and some of the caricatures, the tribulation, and we'll get into the order of things. But for now, premillennialism would hold that Christ is going to return visibly, bodily, and establish a literal thousand-year kingdom. At the end of that reign, Satan will be released for a final rebellion, he'll be defeated once and for all, and then comes final judgment and the eternal state. Now, this differs from post-millennialism, which would say the world will get progressively better and Christ will return after the millennium, and from omillennialism, which would say that the millennium is symbolic of Christ's present reign from heaven. And like we've talked about even the last episode, there's some credence to that statement, and the pre-mill guys need to be careful that we don't understate the reign or the kingship of Christ. I'm preaching through Matthew right now at Shepherd's House, where I'm the pastor of teaching, and I'm going, Jesus is king. I said Christ is king recently. We had our one of our music, our music director call to worship, says Christ is king. Some guy shouts, Amen, you know, yes and amen to all of that. So we want to be careful we don't understate it. And perhaps one might say the all-millennial view, in the view of someone who doesn't agree, would be overstating it to the degree that, well, Christ is already ruling and reigning, there's already a kingdom, it's happening right now. And the premillennial says, Well, okay, yes, but there's going to be a literal thousand years. Let me get into now biblical foundations for pre-millennialism. I've laid out the position, how it's different. You might say, Costi, where does this come from in the Bible? How do you get there? Or I think I believe this. Teach me on it, help me understand where I would root it in the scriptures. I've been taught, I believe what other people say, but show me in the Bible. And then maybe you're somebody who doesn't agree and you go, ah, I want to, I want to kind of hear this. So the most explicit passage would be Revelation chapter 20, verses 1 to 6, where John describes Satan being bound for a thousand years and Christ reigning with his saints on the earth. And if you just read the text plainly, this is my argument, chronologically, it naturally sounds like Jesus returns before the thousand years begins. Now, this is what the Bible says, and again, to my dear beloved all millennial and post-millennial brothers, I understand you'll use the same text. Again, hermeneutics, we interpret it differently, but we're all trying our best to use the scriptures and get there. Revelation chapter 20, verses 1 to 6. Let me just read this to you. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he threw him into the abyss, and he shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed. After these things he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. It's talking about, obviously, the good guys. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the Word of God. Those are martyrs. And those who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and so evidently there had been some sort of thing that happened. And we'll talk more about the tribulation later on in the series. And those who had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand, and they came to life, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. So everything that's just described would include all believers, those who would have returned with Christ, the armies of heaven in robes of white. That's in chapter 19, and we'll talk about that as well in a different episode. And then those who are believers who had died. The dead in Christ are gonna rise. That's the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Pretty awesome. As believers. Over these, the second death has no power. What's gonna be the second death? Getting sent to hell. But they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. When taken plainly, I believe this passage presents very simple events unfolding as part of God's plan, and these match other prophetic clues in Scripture, and they create a continuity and an agreement that fulfills what God has said will happen, and that's really the key word: fulfillment. Now, based on Revelation chapter 20, verses 1 to 6, I've got a few points that I want to walk you through here. Number one, a literal thousand-year period is explicitly stated in the text. A literal thousand-year period is explicitly stated. The text says a thousand years, which is a definite and precise time frame. It's not a vague symbol. It is numerical specificity that strongly supports a literal chronological reign. Number two, Satan's binding and his restraint during this period. That's another key thing we want to notice in the text. Satan is bound, so he would not deceive the nations any longer, implying a real, significant limitation of evil's influence on the earth. The restraint enables the peace and the righteousness, which is all characteristic of Christ's earthly reign. And we see that throughout the Old Testament and the prophecies that are made. A third thing I want you to see or know is that the first resurrection and reigning with Christ is very significant. Those who have been faithful martyrs and faithful saints, they came to life, the Bible says, and they reign with Christ for this millennium. This suggests there's a bodily resurrection and a real reign on the earth. It's distinguished from a final resurrection and judgment and when the dead, the sea gives up their dead, all of that. There clearly is this ruling and reigning for a group that's dead to rule and reign with or to rule and reign with Christ, which makes it difficult for me to accept the other positions in this facet at least, and say, okay, what do you do then with this? Where did dead people rise and then rule and reign with Christ? Well, perhaps one of the challenges for the other positions, although, of course, premillennialism has its own. And then fourth, I want you to understand priestly role and immunity from the second death. The saints are reigning with Christ during this period. They're blessed and holy, they're free from the power of the second death. That's eternal condemnation. And there's this vindication and active participation in God's kingdom on earth. The martyrs, the martyrs are brought back. Those have been beheaded. Where have you seen in history beheaded individuals who are killed in the name of Christ, brought back, ruling and reigning with Christ before other events unfold? This has got to be a literal thousand-year moment in which all of these things are fulfilled. And then there's some other passages. You got Zechariah chapter 14, and that pictures the Lord's feet standing on the Mount of Olives, and the nations are gathered for battle, and the Lord is reigning as king over all the earth after that moment. That hasn't happened yet in history. Even if you take a 70 AD view or a post-mill view or the Aw-Mil view, where is this moment where the nations have gathered for battle? And somebody then might argue, well, that's symbolic, Kosti, of opposition against Christ and of people coming against him and him still reigning as king. Okay, but I would still say, man, Zechariah 14 has got to happen. Where is that? It's literal, in my view. And then in Acts 1, verse 11, think about Jesus. He's going up, the disciples are all staring in the sky, and the angel says he's gonna return in the same way. That's literally from that passage. The same way that you see him go, he's coming back physically, visibly to the Mount of Olives. And that lines up perfectly with Zechariah's prophecy that his feet are gonna come back and he's gonna be on the Mount of Olives. And so it's not just that, oh, he was going up at that moment from the Mount of Olives. Why are you gonna make that leap? Oh, he's gonna come back right there. It just means the angel just means he's gonna come back from the sky. Yes, but when you use scripture to interpret scripture, you end up looking at a passage like Zechariah 14 and this future prediction of the Messiah's feet, boom, landing on the Mount of Olives, the armies of the earth gathering against him, just like the Battle of Armageddon, and then Christ smiting them and then establishing a rule and reign. How can you not look at that and think the angel is predicting Jesus is coming back right there, right the way he left? He's going to come and these things are gonna unfold. I get excited about this stuff. It's fun, fun to talk about. I know my friends with other views are pretty passionate too. I also think of Isaiah chapter 2, verses 2 through 4. I want to encourage you to turn there, and I'm gonna go over there in my Bible as well if you're following along, which at some point I would encourage you to do that, especially with our new studio here. I've got the ability to plop my Bible down. I've got some notes right here on my iPad, I've got some prompts in front of me, and I love to dig in and so you'll be able to journal with these. We got a wonderful editor team, and uh our our dear friend Jenna make sure that all the notes end up on the screen for you. And so if you're listening via audio, that's great. But the YouTube version will really give you a glimpse of all of this in the show notes. Isaiah chapter 2, verses 2 through 4. I want to encourage you to kind of follow along with this. You're gonna get a glimpse of the millennial kingdom and Christ literally ruling and reigning in person. It says, verse 2, now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and it will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, the house of God. We're going to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us concerning his ways, and that we may walk in his paths, for the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge between the nations. Please don't just read over that. The law will go forth from where? Zion. The word of the Lord from where? Jerusalem. And he will judge between the nations. And he will render decisions for many peoples, and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. There's some key truths based on Isaiah 2, verses 2 through 4. I want to unpack these as part of the position on premillennialism. Number one, in the last days, right from the text, signals a future eschatological fulfillment. This hasn't happened yet, it's gonna happen. The phrase is pointing to this climactic period in redemptive history. It's a consummation not fully realized yet. And the imagery of the mountain of the house of the Lord being exalted as supreme over all other mountains, all nations, all powers, all viewpoints speaks of Christ's reign visibly established on the earth in Jerusalem. That is unlike any of today's geopolitical realities. Number two, there's a universal pilgrimage to Jerusalem for instruction in God's ways. When has this ever happened? The nations, the nations, not just some people in Israel, not the Gentiles, not in Rome, not in Galilee, where Jesus was then. No, the nations one day are gonna stream to it. There's this global acknowledgement of the Messiah's rule. And here's where the post-mill and the pre-mill views really do merge in a sense by way of we'll call it judgment. We both make a judgment on this. We make a decision by way of decision. The messiah will rule. And all will acknowledge that. The premillennial view says that's gonna happen in the kingdom. Everyone will bow. The post-millennial view says that's gonna happen here on the earth, and then he will return. But we're both agreeing and both saying the Messiah is the king. He is ruling over you. Bow. And we would say bow now, before the time when you are made to bow. And that does reflect, though, in the text, Isaiah chapter 2, a time when Jerusalem is the spiritual epicenter of the world, which is consistent with not a Zionistic obsession with Israel now, because, you know, if Trump decides to go to war or Israel goes to war or somebody decides to we stand with Israel because, you know, they're all just automatically God's people. No, it reflects a time where Jerusalem is the spiritual epicenter of the world, not because of Jews, but because of Jesus. Because he chose to return there and establish his earthly kingdom from Jerusalem. And he teaches and judges from there. And so that's why Israel is significant for Christians today, but nowhere near the Zionistic obsession that some make it out to be, where every time Israel's in the news, the pastor gets up, he derails the sermon, he pauses the series, and preaches for three weeks on why everybody has to wear the Star of David and be pro-Israel. And so whether or not a literal nation of Israel was established in 1948, or they're taken off the map again and obliterated by some future war, here's the deal from the truly non Zionistic premillennial position. Jesus will return visibly, bodily, and in power to establish an earthly kingdom, and it's based on location, not mere obsession with ethnicity, and he's going to return there. So you can call what is now Israel Kentucky, you can call it New Mexico, you And call it Canada for all anyone cares. You can call it Trumpville. What's going to happen in the future is whether it's there on our map or not, and whether it became a nation again or not, and whether there's war or not, one day Jesus will return. And that zip code's gonna change. And the name of the nation will change, and the name of that kingdom will change, and the name of its king and its ruler will change, and everything will come under the rule of Christ there. If the Bible said it was gonna be in Australia, then we would simply say that. Third, transformation of weapons into agricultural tools. Did you catch the text? They're going to not lift up swords against one another, and then they're gonna hammer their swords into plowshares. They're gonna turn all of their weaponry into agricultural equipment. It's clearly a signal of unprecedented peace and prosperity. They're gonna stop funneling money and energy into nuclear wars and arms races. And the kingdom of Christ is gonna be characteristic of a kingdom where there is no war, where there's universal peace, where the market is always booming. That's the expectation of the millennium. By the way, that's not how the world is right now. We are marked by ongoing conflict, wars and rumors of wars. And so I believe there's a literal time coming where we will experience this. The world will. Fourth, I want you to understand God's judicial reign over the nations. Beautiful, beautiful truth that you need to look forward to and push for even now while you're on the earth still. This passage I just read to you from Isaiah 2, it emphasizes divine judgment and justice administered from Jerusalem. That's a concrete governmental role consistent with Christ and him sovereignly reigning over them. This is the true fulfillment of Christian nationalism. Every country, the whole world, he reigns. And again, I would say it reinforces a literal kingdom rather than a purely symbolic or spiritual one, because Isaiah 2 actually says the nations will stream to Jerusalem for instruction. And Isaiah chapter 11, verses 1 to 10, a passage that I want to read to you in just a moment, it's describing a whole renewed creation. And so, in one sense, I really empathize and sympathize and kind of lock arms with my post-millennial brothers who are attempting to change the world and turn it over for Christ and Christian nationalism in a sense, and don't you be dropping your comments, oh, Costi's a Christian nationalist, oh, here we go. Just hear me on this. We all should, in a sense, if you're pushing for it now and you believe it's gonna happen now, I love you and I'm glad. More people will be saved, more people rescued, more churches exploding, more cities, homes, nations, and states changed because of your efforts. I'm with you and I'm gonna do the same thing. I just have a fulfillment of it in my eschatology based on what scripture teaches and what I'm convinced of, that the full fulfillment of it is coming when Christ returns. So my eyes, while certainly here, are also on that moment. It's a split view, if you will. At the same time, you gotta love the post-male fervor and zeal to turn the world Christian. Do you see how people aren't crazy for holding these views, though? We all have a destination where Christ ruling and reigning, establishing everything, and everybody bows, and every nation is Christian, and every government says there's one government we bow to. There's one law, and it's the law of the living God. This is beautiful stuff. It's got to excite you, not make you want to riot and start a theological war. Isaiah chapter 11, verses 1 through 10, describing this renewed creation. You got wolves dwelling with lambs, the earth is full of the knowledge of God, and a lot of this sounds like the conditions of the millennial kingdom. So just listen to these words. Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse. We know who that is, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit, and the spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding. This passage has been used to describe the fulfillment and quoted in the New Testament to describe Jesus, the Messiah, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge in the fear of the Lord. He will delight in the fear of the Lord, and he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he will judge the poor. And he'll decide with fairness for the afflicted on the earth. Look at this particular one has unilateral authority. When is that happening right now? It's not yet, but he'll do it, and it'll be done. And he'll decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth, and he'll strike the earth with a rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he'll slay the wicked, and also righteousness will be the belt about his loins, and faithfulness the belt about his waist. And the wolf, so as the result of all of that, the wolf will dwell with the lamb. That's literal animals, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and the little boy will lead them, and also the cow will and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, the lion will eat straw like ox. These are all the animals who right now are carnivores are going to be uh herbivores or omnivores, whatever. Sorry. I'm a pastor, not an agriculturalist or biological researcher for animals, but I love Animal Planet, and I probably got it wrong. I'm sorry. My son would know. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Then in that day, ready, the nations will resort to the root of Jesse. That means all the nations are coming. It's a it's world nationalism, Christian nationalism all over the world, who will stand as a signal for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious. Beautiful time that has not happened yet. It's prophesied to come, it's vividly described, and I believe it fits with the plain reading of the Old and New Testament passages. The millennial kingdom is a literal thousand-year reign by Jesus Christ at a future time that Scripture predicts, and we know what it will look like and what it will be like. And I would say that naturally segues into why I hold this view. Let me give you several main reasons I hold to premillennialism. Number one, the natural reading of Scripture. I'm convinced that if you were to read Revelation chapter 19 and 20 straight through, without forcing a symbolic interpretation onto it, you'd see the sequence. Christ returns, Satan's bound, Christ reigns for a thousand years, there's a final rebellion, and there's the eternal state. I think it reads plainly and it makes sense to me. Number two, Old Testament promises demand fulfillment. That's another reason. I see in the Bible God making very specific, unconditional promises to Israel. I see in the text land, peace, and a restored kingdom under Messiah. Can I just say that again? Under Messiah, not under Trump, not under some alliances with Netanyahu, not under the prophecy updates every week from your pastor that's obsessed, not under the predictors of the end of the world, and not under this wholehearted Zionism that's obsessed every Jew is apparently God's chosen people, and the Palestinian Christians are overlooked and we don't care. No, but I see in Scripture a day that will come where God, to a remnant, will fulfill the promises He made. Not every Jew, friend, not everyone who claims to be a Jew, not all Israel is Israel. But a literal millennium allows for those promises to be fulfilled exactly as God said. You see that at the very least, hopefully for some of you, this is healing or helping some of the skewed viewers, the caricatures of premillennialism and Zionism. It's not all Israel, everyone who claims to be a Jew. No, it's what Scripture says at the time that God says he'll do it. A third reason: premillennialism matches the predictions about an intermediate kingdom before the eternal state. Do you know that as amazing as the kingdom will be, it's still going to be imperfect? The Bible teaches that. I want to turn over to Isaiah chapter 65 and show you where we see a prediction that there'll be this amazing time, an era of peace, an era of long life, an era of the Messiah's rule that still will have death or still will have issues. Isaiah 65, verses 17 to 23 is what I'm going to read to you. And again, some would say like this is this is just a picture of the eternal state or the new heavens and the new earth. I don't agree, but the reason is what do you do with verse 20? And you'll you'll see what I mean. But let's start in verse 17. For behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness. I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people, and there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days. Ready for this? For the youth will die at the age of one hundred. And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed. There will still be accursed people in the kingdom. There will still be people who live to not meet a hundred-year requirement here. They will build houses and inhabit them. It can't be the new heavens and the new earth in the eternal state, because there's death. They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and another inhabit. They will not plant and another eat. For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of my people. Isn't that good? Trees live a long time. In the kingdom, that thousand years, they'll be long life. And you say, well, what happens when people die then? Well, if they're believers, they're going to immediately get their glorified body, because there's going to be people who entered into the kingdom as believers after the tribulation, who became believers during the tribulation. More on that in an episode that I talk about regarding the tribulation, but that just kind of eases perhaps your mind on that question. They will not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they are offspring of those blessed by the Lord and their descendants with them. It will also come to pass that before they call I will answer, and while they're still speaking, I will hear. In that good, God's going to answer prayers before they even get finished saying what they need. The wolf and the lamb will graze together, the lion will eat straw like ox, and the dust will be the serpent's food. They will do no evil or harm in all my holy mountain. So there will be people who are accursed, and they will die. That cannot be happening now. It cannot be happening in the heavens. It has to be a future moment. Today, the average life expectancy for a U.S. male is 78 years old. Isaiah 65 has not happened yet. When is there people living guaranteed to be 100? They're not. And also, again, people still die in the kingdom because the curse of sin. So we're not at the full culmination of the eternal state. It is a time marked by glorious fulfillment, but it's still not the ultimate fulfillment. And so there's even more to look forward to. That for me is helpful in my position, and why it's convincing is I now understand and can apply that and go, yeah, that actually makes sense in that timeline. Premillennialism makes sense biblically. Number four, there's a clear explanation for Satan's work in the world right now. While omil and post-mil views would view Satan as bound, I read 1 Peter 5.8 and I see a warning. The passage says, be sober-minded, be watchful, and then Peter says your adversary, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion and he's seeking someone to devour. That's not a bound Satan. And so I appreciate the now but not yet position. I love the balance of the omil view trying to strike that. But I think it falls short of reconciling passages like that. Also, 2 Corinthians 4 4, where Paul's saying that Satan, the devil, is working overtime to blind the minds of unbelievers and he's succeeding. And so the New Testament teaches that the work of the devil is active. He's not bound. And so, how can there be right now the fulfillment of Revelation chapter 20 happening spiritually if Satan is so active and so destructive? I believe and am convinced that the premillennial view has an obvious and literal binding of Satan at a future time that matches the description of Scripture for his limitations. Fifth, it best accounts for the tension between already and not yet. Out of all of the eschatological views, I think the premillennial position really does strike the balance of already, not yet. Jesus is reigning from heaven. The Bible describes a future reign on earth where he'll rule the nations with a rod of iron. And the devil is on the loose right now, but he cannot steal your salvation. And Christ is victorious, and we could preach his rule and reign and sing it to the hilltops. And there is a not yet. There's a kingdom that hasn't come yet. There's a return that has not shown itself. There's a judgment still awaiting, and Satan is going to be bound and defeated. And so, in summary, I'll say this: Premillennialism magnifies the glory of Christ's future reign, takes God's promises at face value, and gives the believer a deep sense of hope for the justice and restoration that only Jesus can bring. And while we wait, we preach the gospel and we serve faithfully and we give generously and we get after it in society and we keep our eyes fixed on the blessed hope to come and we labor now knowing it's never in vain. We are not polishing the brass on the Titanic, as some will accuse. Oh, it's this whole thing is sinking. Loser theology. You're such a pessimist. No way. I'm polishing the gold that will be seen once again in heaven. I'm harvesting the great harvest of God. And that harvest will not be wasted. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 58, that your labor's not in vain in the Lord. You get after it. Nothing is wasted. So that's a caricature. And we don't kind of even want to give much ear to that per se. We also don't want to be a pessimist or be a Debbie Downer. Sorry to all of you who are named Debbie. We have a wonderful Debbie at our church. We love her very much. She's very happy. But you get the point. No one should be pessimistic when it comes to eschatology. Now, let me just address some common objections and responses to what I've said. Let me be fair and argue against a little bit of my own position. Number one, revelation is symbolic. Costi, you can't take the thousand years literally. Yes, I understand that revelation uses symbolic language, but symbols can still and do still point to real events. So the question isn't if there's meaning, it's just what the meaning is. Nothing in the text demands that a thousand years must be symbolic, especially when it's paired with events like Satan being bound, nations living in peace, a thousand years. I can say I'm fully allowed and not crazy, no one is, for believing that those events will really happen. Another objection. Premillennialism overemphasizes Israel costy. This Zionism has gotten out of hand. Okay, I agree that some have taken this too far, almost idolizing modern Israel. I can't stand it either. That's not my position. I don't think that's the historic position of premillennialism. I think somewhere along the way some people got a little crazy. I believe that God still has purposes for ethnic Israel because Romans 11 says so. But the focus is ultimately on Christ and his kingdom, not on political nationalism or an obsession with the people of Israel. Another objection. If Jesus reigns for a thousand years, why is there still sin at the end? I read you straight from the Word of God. But there's just maybe a simple summary of that. Even in a perfect kingdom, those born during the millennium are still going to have a sin nature. When Satan's released, many will rebel. And it's a final demonstration that the problem isn't environmental. It's always been and is the human heart. And the offspring of those individuals who were accursed, continuing to be born throughout the millennial kingdom in the thousand years, are one day a part of whatever sucking in that is happening where Satan's just pulling them in. And it's important to understand that we're not living for even the thousand-year reign. I know some of you fellow premillennial people are going to want to attack me on that. No, we're not, I'm not even living for just the thousand-year reign. I'm living for the eternal state where there's no more sin, where he wipes away every tear, where he has judged the wicked, where Satan and all of his demonic minions and all of the reprobate rebels who cursed him are all sent into the lake of fire and we live with him forever. He will be with us, we will be with him. And that is as best as I can at this moment, in the time I have, and through these mediums, unpacking the premillennial position. And I hope that it's been helpful at the very least, perhaps clarifying, I would hope, educational, and most of all that it encourages you to look forward to the return of Jesus Christ. Next time, I want to further unpack the events leading up to the millennial kingdom. And I want to answer questions and objections about what is widely referred to as the rapture, and I want to talk about the tribulation, and I want to talk about the church. And in that episode, we'll get really into where's the church and what's this and all that. And then I have another episode I want to cover called What's the Deal with Israel? I want to get more into the topic of Israel and help clarify, I think, some misconceptions. And in the midst of all of that, I have a special guest for you all. And I won't guarantee it yet. We'll just wait until it drops. But I think you're gonna love it. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. I think it's gonna be really helpful and encouraging and unifying. But for now, let this truth encourage you. Our king is coming. And even now, he is the king who's reigning, and his future reign will be even more glorious than what's happening now. And one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Thanks for listening. Thanks for sharing. We appreciate all of your support of For the Gospel. If you want to join our gospel patron community for behind-the-scenes reports and special gifts from our team and be really a catalyst for all of what we do here, you can sign up to give a monthly gift at www.forthegospel.org. We publish our financials, everything is there, and we would encourage you to partner with us in that regard if the Lord has stirred your heart to do so. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.