No Millennium?

Well if we dispatched the "abandon Israel" boogeyman in the last consideration, (Israel Rejected?) why not go after the amillennialist thought in this one. Check Isaiah 65. (Isaiah has an astounding amount of theology for us to help keep on the straight and narrow.)

Isa 65:17-25
    "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. 18 "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness. 19 "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.
    20 "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; 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. 21 "They will build houses and inhabit them; they will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 "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, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. 23 "They will not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, and their descendants with them.
    24 It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain," says the Lord.

When we approach the mountains, it seems like a gigantic mountain looms up in front of us. (Mountains) As we get nearer, we realize that there are several mountains, some behind the others, and we can distinguish the individual peaks. Prophesy in the Old Testament, especially,  is like that. The prophets "saw" something out in the future, but did not have a perspective on it to tell how the individual items were configured.

And example occurs in the passage we consider today. Verses 17-19 is clearly the new heaven and new earth, specifically the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:4. But the following verses do not fit into the eternal state. "Infant who lives a few days," for instance cannot refer to that time as there will be no births or deaths in the New Jerusalem. But here it says the women will have children. This will be in the Millennium. In fact, all of the following verses refer to the 1000 year reign of Christ. (Revelation 20:4)

There are some interesting juxtapositions in this passage. They will live long lives, as opposed to what happened to them in Isaiah's day. They built houses and had a series of armies move in and uproot them. Even as far back as Gideon, they were planting and others ate the produce. That is why ol' Gid was threshing grain in a wine press. It was down in the valley and the Midianites were less likely to spot him and appropriate his grain.

There is a clear demarcation between the Millennium and the eternal state, as projected in Revelation. Chapter 18 is the end of the Tribulation, followed by a tableau of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the Second, or Glorious Return of Christ culminating in the Battle of Armageddon. (Chapter 19) Chapter 20, the focus of our passage today, is the Millennium, Satan's final defeat, and the final judgment for all unbelievers who followed him. Chapters 21 and 22 detail the other phase of today's prophesy, the New Heaven and New Earth. Glory. What a picture.

As desirable as the Millennium is, what is to come outshines it. Our perspective from the New Testament vantage point allows us to distinguish the "peaks" that Isaiah saw as a single object. There has to be a millennium in order for these prophesies to correlate to each other. "No death" in the New Heaven but death in this passage. "Youth will die at the age of a hundred," and lifetime of a tree comparison. Other depictions of conflict also do not correlate with life in the New H and E as we see it.

The clear demarcation of different circumstances correlates with the Revelation narrative. And if we add to this the Kingship of David and the focus of worship in Jerusalem, along with its temple, there has to be different "ages." And recall that there is no temple in heaven. (Revelation 21:22)

It seems that there has to be a millennium, both from the OT standpoint and since it meshes nicely with the Revelation account, the New Testament. To think otherwise requires a little theological contortion. I often quote Ocham's Razor, which is summarized in the KISS principle. Keep It Short and Simple. Occham said the simplest answer is often the best. Elegantly, it states that in explaining a thing, no more assumptions should be made than are necessary.

The simplest explanation for the events surrounding Jesus' return seem to be a Rapture, followed by the Tribulation leading into the Millennium and the final judgment. Heaven is all that remains. That will be Glory.