Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation chapter 20 as we look at the Millennial Reign of Christ. You see, many deny this will take place or they say it is speaking symbolically, but there is not going to be a 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. I disagree with that, I truly believe, without a doubt, that the Scriptures teach us that the Lord will reign for 1,000 years from Jerusalem and righteousness will fill this land. As you are turning there, let me share with you this story that will help set the stage for what we will be studying this morning. We are told:
There is a story told to the effect that a Jew, being in the company of a Christian, took up a New Testament and opened it to Luke 1:32, 33. “The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever.”
Turning to his Christian friend the Jew asked, “How do you understand that Scripture?” The Christian answered, “Oh, it’s figurative language, descriptive of Christ’s spiritual reign over the church.” “Then you do not take it literally?” asked the Jew. “Certainly not,” replied the Christian.
The Jew made this further remark, “Then why should you expect me to take literally what precedes, where the Scriptures say that this Son of David shall be born of a virgin? Do you believe that literally?” “Surely,” answered the Christian. The Jew continued, “Why do you accept verse 31 as literal, but explain verses 32 and 33 as figurative?” “Because,” answered the Christian, “verse 31 has become a fact - Jesus was so born. It is indisputable evidence.” “Ah,” said the Jew, “I see! You believe the Scriptures when you see them fulfilled. I believe them because they are the Word of God.” Who was right in principle?
- King’s Business
A interesting question and I think one that can be easily answered. In Revelation chapter 20 we see the literal number 1,000 spoken of 6 times in just 15 verses or once every 2.5 verses! This is not symbolic, but literal, as we shall see this morning. In fact, the millennial reign of Christ is the fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets said would take place. Jesus will rule and reign from the throne of David!
In II Samuel 7:12-16 we are told, “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”
Also, in Zechariah 14:9-11 we are told, “And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be — ‘The LORD is one,’ And His name one. All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.”
And there are many other passages in the Old Testament we could look at to see that there will be a literal and physical reign of Christ on this earth and, as the book of Revelation tells us, it will last 1,000 years!
In fact, John Bright made this interesting comment on the Word of God and its focus. He wrote, “The Bible is one book. Had we to give that book a title, we might with justice call it ‘The Book of the Coming Kingdom of God.” (John Bright, The Kingdom of God, p. 197). With that as our background, let’s begin reading in Revelation chapter 20, starting in verse 1 and let’s see what the Lord has for us as we look at the Millennial Reign of Christ, is it real?
To put things in order for us this morning, the Tribulation Period is over. The Lord has returned with His saints, you and me, and has defeated the Antichrist and his forces. The Antichrist and the false prophet have been cast into the Lake of Fire and rebellious man or the goats have been cast into Hades or Sheol awaiting the final judgment after the Millennial Reign of Christ. Satan has now been bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years and the Lord will rule and reign from Jerusalem!
What is now an internal and spiritual reign upon the hearts of believers will be external and physical as Jesus rules and reigns from Jerusalem! This morning our study is going to be more academic in nature. What I mean is we are going to look at what the Scriptures teach us regarding the Millennial Kingdom and the reason we need to do this is really two-fold.
First of all there are many out there today who don’t believe in a premillennial view of eschatology. What that means is that Christ will return and then He will establish a literal kingdom on the earth and that kingdom will last 1,000 years. After that Satan will be loosed for a season and many will follow after him instead of the Lord. The Lord will then destroy them as they surround the Beloved City, Jerusalem and then there is the Great White Throne Judgment where unbelievers will be judged for their works. It is out of this that the degree of punishment in the Lake of Fire will be issued. They go to the Lake of Fire for their rejection of Jesus as Lord and Savior, but at this judgment the focus is the degree of punishment for what they did in their lives.
But understand this, no matter how good you have been in this life, outside of Christ the judgment will be horrible and it will be eternal! Then the Lord will create a new heavens and a new earth for us to dwell in for eternity with Him!
Secondly, we need to know what we believe as Peter tells us in I Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” Do you know why there is coming a Millennial Reign? Do you have Scriptures that support this? You see, you need to be able to give a defense of what you believe and don’t point someone to this book or that book to find out what this person or that person has said. Point them to the Word of God otherwise it is the ideas of man. That does not mean we can’t learn from godly men and women, but the key is they are sharing God’s Word with us and expounding on it to help us to grow in the Lord.
Also, Paul tells us in II Timothy 2:15-19, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’”
False doctrines, doctrines of demons, the twisting of God’s Word have been around since the Garden of Eden when Satan deceived Eve. We as Christians, not only pastor/teachers, but all of us need to know how to divide God’s Word correctly and avoid foolish teaching that is not of God!
Let me give you one example of what we see growing in churches today because popular voices are promoting it. Hank Hanegraaff, also know as The Bible Answer Man, tells us, “I am reading the Bible, specifically Revelation – it was written for first-century Christians. I am not relying on some wooden, literal interpretation that is unsupportable.” Here is what Hank Hanegraaff believes, and he is not alone. We are told, “To Hanegraaff, Revelation was written before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple to encourage persecuted Christians. He says the ‘end-time model presented in Left Behind is hermeneutically false in that it attributes powers to the beast that belong only to God, but it is historically false because it places the beast in the 21st century.’”
Thomas Ice tells us, “Hank Hanegraaff of Bible Answer Man fame has recently delved into the field of eschatology (the study of last things) with the release of a novel called The Last Disciple, coauthored with Sigmund Broward. It appears that Hanegraaff has adopted the preterist position in this first novel in a series that sees the book of Revelation as having been fulfilled in the first century . . .”
Why is this important to us? Because if your understanding of eschatology or end times is off, it will lead you astray. And folks, I believe the Bible is very clear, as you will see. There are three basic views of the Millennium that are out there and we will look at each one and then I will show you the one I believe is correct according to the Scriptures. Again, Jesus held those in His day accountable for not knowing what time it was on God’s prophetic time clock and I believe we are no different, we need to understand what is coming or why would the Lord mention these things in the first place.
1. POSTMILLENNIAL VIEW
In this view they believe the Lord will return but not until the end of the Millennium. Now they don’t believe the Millennium will last 1,000 years, they believe that is an arbitrary number indicating a long period of time. Thus, during this long period of time the world will enjoy peace and prosperity, it will be the best of times. Then, after this long period of peace and harmony the Lord will return.
How do we arrive at this period of time? It will be the result of our preaching and spreading the Gospel message throughout the world. Because of that a majority of people will turn to Christ. Thus, the world will be filled with peace and prosperity; harmony will fill the earth. The church will establish the Millennial Kingdom, according to this view. Thus, when Jesus returns He will return to a Christianized world. This view is also known as Kingdom Theology or Dominion Theology, and it is gaining popularity today. In fact, President Bush and most of his cabinet have this prophetic view.
This view, like I said, is gaining popularity but it also flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. The reason for this is simple. Many people were convinced that society was progressing towards a utopia, peace and prosperity. It was a time of the Enlightenment, the industrial revolution, the rapid pace of scientific discovery, Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and-so-on. Things were looking great, the world was, at least in their minds, getting better and better!
But then there was trouble. What I mean by that is we saw the devastating affects of the First World War, there was the decadence of the roaring twenties, there was the great depression, there were over 6 million Jews murdered by Hitler, the horrors of the Second World War. Now, instead of the world getting better and better, it was getting worse and people became pessimistic. Thus, there was a decline in the popularity of postmillennialism. But, like I said, this view is back on the rise by prominent Christian leaders!
To sum this view up, listen to what is written in the book, The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views. We are told:
The Millennium to which the postmillennialist looks forward is thus a golden age of prosperity during this present dispensation. That is, the church age . . . Christ will return to a truly Christianized world. (Loraine Boettner, “Postmillennialism,” in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views by Robert G. Clouse, pp. 117-118).
I truly don’t see this as a Biblical view, it goes contrary to what the Scriptures teach. In fact, the Bible teaches that the world is not getting better and then the Lord will return. But instead the world will grow more wicked and evil, more violent in the days prior to the Lord’s return to set up His kingdom on this earth.
Paul, in II Timothy 3:1-5 gives us a picture of what the end times world will be like prior to the Lord’s return. He tells us, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” That does not seem good, it does not seem like things will get better before the Lord returns.
Also, Jesus tells us in Luke 18:8, “ . . . Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Now why would He say that if most of the world will be Christian when He returns? He wouldn’t and the world will not be Christian. Yes, it will be religious in nature but Paul tells us that there will be a falling away from the faith in the last days. In II Thessalonians 2:3-4 we are told, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
The Amplified Bible puts these verses like this, “Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition), [Dan 7:25; 8:25; 1 Tim 4:1.] Who opposes and exalts himself so proudly and insolently against and over all that is called God or that is worshiped, [even to his actually] taking his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God. [Ezek 28:2; Dan 11:36, 37.]”
You see, this postmillennial view is not supported by the Scriptures. In fact, the Scriptures contradict this view and thus, we must cast it away as not being true.
2. AMILLENNIAL VIEW
Now when I first heard of this view I thought that they did not believe in the idea of the Millennium, that they rejected it. That is not necessarily true. What they don’t believe in is a literal and physical reign of Christ on the earth for 1,000 years. What they do believe is a kingdom but that kingdom is here and now. That the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah’s kingdom are happening now.
As difficult as that seems, they believe it is happening in heaven now with the saints of God reigning with the Lord or that this kingdom is spiritual and not to be taken literally. Thus, the church on the earth now or in heaven is fulfilling it.
Again, according to the book, The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views. We are told:
As far as the Thousand years of Rev 20 are concerned, we are in the Millennium now. , (Anthony A. Hoekema, “Amillennium,” in The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views by Robert G. Clouse, pp. 181).
I don’t know about you, but it is hard to read Revelation chapter 20 and come to the conclusion that this is not speaking of a literal and physical kingdom that the Lord will rule and reign from on the earth. By reading the Scriptures you in no way can come to this conclusion of amillennialism. Then where did this come from? John MacArthur makes these interesting remarks. He writes:
For the first century and a half after the close of the New Testament era, the church was largely premillennial. Among the church fathers of that period who believed in a literal thousand-year earthly Millennium were Papias (a disciple of the apostle John), Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and the author of the Epistle of Barnabas. That premillennial consensus was challenged by the members of the Alexandrian school (most notably Origen), who advocated an allegorical approach to interpreting Scripture. The famous church historian Eusebius also rejected a literal, earthly Millennium, as did the noted Bible scholar Jerome. But it was the influence of Augustine, the greatest theologian of the early church, that ensured that amillennialism would dominate the church for centuries. Amillennialism was the view of the Reformers, and today most scholars in the Reformed tradition are amilennialists.
- John MacArthur
To show you that this is a literal kingdom that is coming and the Lord is the one who will rule and reign, listen to these verses and see how clearly they speak on this issue. In Daniel 2:45-46 we are told, “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold — the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” This is not a symbolic kingdom or one that is in heaven, but it is a literal kingdom on the earth and the God of heaven will set up His kingdom on the earth!
In speaking of the Kingdom Age we are told in Isaiah 11:6-10, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.” We truly are not living in a period of time like that today. You know what you get when a wolf and a lamb dwell together today? Lamb chops! Nor do we see the root of Jesse, Jesus Christ ruling and reining on this earth.
Also, in Isaiah 2:2-4 we are told, “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.” Folks, this is a literal, physical kingdom and the Lord will rule and reign from Jerusalem. It will be a time of peace and prosperity, righteousness will fill this land as the Prince of Peace will be with us!
Once again, the Scriptures do not support this amillennial view. In fact, the Scriptures contradict this view and thus, we must cast it aside for it is not true.
3. PREMILLENNIAL VIEW
Folks, I am not ashamed to say this nor am I embarrassed, but I believe the ONLY view the Scriptures support is a premillennial view that the Lord will come back to this earth and establish His kingdom after the 7 year Tribulation Period and He will rule and reign on this earth for 1,000 years! You see, we are to rightly divide the Word of truth and if it steps on some toes, if it offends some people, I am sorry, this is just what God’s Word very clearly says. I will teach and speak what the Scriptures say and I will not be afraid to stand up for the truth!
People try to pick and choose what they want to believe and what they want to reject, but that is wrong. For instance, in the two previous views, they deny a literal 1,000-year reign; they speak of this being symbolic or figurative. If that is true, why did the Holy Spirit repeat that this is a 1,000 year reign some six times in just 15 verses? You see, it would make no sense. In fact, Robert L. Thomas writes:
If the writer wanted a very large symbolic number, why did he not use 144,000 (7:1 ff.; 14:1 ff.;), 200,000,000 (9:16), “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (5:11), or an incalculably large number (7:9)? The fact is that no number in Revelation is verifiably symbolic in number. On the other hand, nonsymbolic usage of numbers is the rule. It requires multiplication of a literal 12,000 by a literal twelve to come up with 144,000 in 7:4-8. The churches, seals, trumpets, and bowls are all literally seven in number. The three unclean spirits of 16:13 are actually three in number. The three angels connected with the three last woes (8:13) add up to a total of three. The seven last plagues amount to exactly seven. The equivalency of 1,260 days and three and a half years necessitate a nonsymbolic understanding of both numbers. The twelve apostles and the twelve tribes of Israel are literally twelve (21:12-14). The seven churches are in seven literal cities. Yet confirmation of a single number in Revelation as symbolic is impossible.
- Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary, pp. 408-409
You see, there is no reason to deny this 1,000-year reign. We are to take it literally as 1,000 years in duration for the kingdom of Christ on the earth, the Scriptures are clear on that. Listen carefully to this perspective that John MacArthur gives to us regarding this hot issue. He wrote:
At the heart of the debate over millennial views is the issue of hermeneutics. All sides in the debate agree that interpreting Old Testament prophecy literally leads naturally to premillennialism. Amillennialist Floyd E. Hamilton candidly acknowledges that truth: “Now we must frankly admit that a literal interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies gives us just such a picture of an earthly reign of the Messiah as the premillennialist pictures.” (The Basis of Millennial Faith [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1942], 38). Postmillenialist Loraine Boettner agrees with Hamilton’s assessment: “It is generally agreed that if the prophecies are taken literally, they do foretell a restoration of the nation of Israel in the land of Palestine with the Jews having a prominent place in that kingdom and ruling over the other nations” (“A Postmillennial Response [to Dispensational Premillennialism].” In The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views, ed. Clouse, 95).
In light of the above admissions, the question that naturally arises is “Why not take the Old Testament prophecies of the Millennium literally?” Those who reject a literal interpretation argue that the New Testament appears to interpret some Old Testament prophecies nonliterally. But in most cases, the New Testament is not interpreting those prophecies, but merely applying principles found in them. In fact, scores of Old Testament prophecies relating to Christ’s first coming were literally fulfilled.
There are several compelling reasons for interpreting Old Testament prophecies literally.
First, if the literal sense of the passage is rejected, who is to determine what the nonliteral or spiritual sense is, since the normal rules of interpretation do not apply? Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., poses the dilemma:
Who or what will arbitrate among the various [nonliteral] meanings suggested and decide which are to be accepted as authoritative and which are spurious? Short of saying that every person’s fancy is his or her own rule, there does not appear to be any final court of appeal. . . . There simply are no justifiable criteria for setting boundaries once the interpreter departs from the normal usage of language. (Back Toward the Future [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980’, 129-30).
Second, adopting a nonliteral view of the Old Testament kingdom prophecies raises some disturbing questions: What did those prophecies mean to those to whom they were addressed? If prophecies seemingly addressed to Israel really apply to the church (which did not exist at that time), did God give revelation that failed to reveal? And if those prophecies were meant to apply symbolically to the church, why were they addressed to Israel? What meaning could such prophecies have in their historical settings? Ironically, many who spiritualize Old Testament prophecies reject the futurist interpretation of Revelation because it allegedly robs the book of its meaning for those to whom it was written. Yet they do the very same thing with the Old Testament kingdom prophecies.
Third, spiritualizing those prophecies leads to some glaring inconsistencies. It is inconsistent to argue that the cursings they pronounce apply literally to Israel, while the blessings they promise apply symbolically and spiritually to the church. An example of inconsistency in the spiritualizing method of interpreting prophecy comes from the angel Gabriel’s words to Mary in Luke 1:31-33: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
If, as all conservative scholars agree, Jesus was literally conceived in Mary’s womb, literally named “Jesus,” literally became great, was literally “the Son of the Most High,” will He not also literally reign on David’s throne over Israel? Can the same passage be interpreted both literally and nonliterally? Further, both amillennialists and postmillennialists interpret some prophetic events literally, such as Christ’s second coming, the Great White Throne judgment, and the new heavens and new earth. Why not interpret the millennial kingdom literally?
Finally, amillennialists and postmillennialists interpret the nonprophetic portions of Scripture according to the literal, historical, grammatical, and contextual method of hermeneutics; why adopt a different method for interpreting prophecy? Such an adoption is utterly arbitrary.
- John MacArthur
Folks, I realize this issue may not seem important to you, but let me say this. The more we edit the Scriptures, the more we add to the Scriptures, the more we change what the Scriptures are saying, the more we are playing God and moving away from the truths of God found in the Word of God and that is dangerous! We need to take a stand no matter what the Bible Answer Man or anyone else has to say if what they are saying is contrary to the Scriptures. If it goes against God’s Word, they are wrong!
Jesus, in Matthew 24:27-30 tells us, “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Why is the Lord returning to this earth, literally and physically? To put down the rebellion of man, to do away with wickedness, to cast the Antichrist and the false prophet into the Lake of Fire, to bind Satan and to establish His kingdom on the earth. It will be a literal and physical kingdom lasting 1,000 years!
Thus, here at Calvary Chapel we believe the Scriptures teach a pretribulation Rapture of the Church or the Church will be caught up to be with the Lord, the bride meeting their Bridegroom, prior to the start of the seven year Tribulation Period. And we believe in a premillennial reign of Christ as He comes back to set up His kingdom at the end of the 7 year Tribulation Period, literally and physically this will happen and it will last 1,000 years!
Let’s go back to our opening story and review it for a moment. Remember we were told:
There is a story told to the effect that a Jew, being in the company of a Christian, took up a New Testament and opened it to Luke 1:32, 33. “The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever.”
Turning to his Christian friend the Jew asked, “How do you understand that Scripture?” The Christian answered, “Oh, it’s figurative language, descriptive of Christ’s spiritual reign over the church.” “Then you do not take it literally?” asked the Jew. “Certainly not,” replied the Christian.
The Jew made this further remark, “Then why should you expect me to take literally what precedes, where the Scriptures say that this Son of David shall be born of a virgin? Do you believe that literally?” “Surely,” answered the Christian. The Jew continued, “Why do you accept verse 31 as literal, but explain verses 32 and 33 as figurative?” “Because,” answered the Christian, “verse 31 has become a fact - Jesus was so born. It is indisputable evidence.” “Ah,” said the Jew, “I see! You believe the Scriptures when you see them fulfilled. I believe them because they are the Word of God.” Who was right in principle?
- King’s Business
You see, we need to take the Scriptures literally unless they tell us otherwise and regarding this issue, it is very clear. May we rightly divide the Word of truth and be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks us the reason for the hope that is in us! Let me leave you with these words from Paul to Titus, “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” Titus 2:13-15.
May we look upward for our redemption draws near and we await the day when righteousness fills this land as the Lord comes back to set up His kingdom on this earth for 1,000 years. Don’t let anyone deny you of that truth, rob you of that joy!