📖 Ufunuo — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 13: Mitazamo ya Utawala wa Miaka Elfu — Mtazamo wa Kabla ya Miaka Elfu (Premillennialism)📖 Revelation Intensive — Unit 13: The Millennial Views — Premillennialism

Somo: Ufunuo wa Yohana 20:1-6Text: Revelation 20:1-6

Mtazamo wa Kabla ya Miaka Elfu Unashikilia NiniWhat Premillennialism Holds

Sehemu hii inaeleza mtazamo wa pili kati ya mitazamo mitatu mikuu ya utawala wa miaka elfu, yaani mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu (premillennialism), na kozi hii inaendelea kuiweka mitazamo hiyo kando kwa kando bila kupendelea yoyote. Neno "premillennialism" lina maana ya "kabla ya utawala wa miaka elfu," kwa sababu katika mtazamo huu Kristo anarudi kabla miaka elfu haijaanza. Mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu unafundisha kwamba utawala wa miaka elfu wa Ufunuo 20 ni kipindi halisi cha wakati ujao, utawala halisi wa Kristo hapa duniani unaofuata kuja kwake mara ya pili. Kristo atakaporudi kwa utukufu, atawafufua wenye haki waliokufa katika ufufuo wa mwili, atawashinda adui zake, atamfunga Shetani, na kuanzisha ufalme wa amani na haki utakaodumu miaka elfu, huku watakatifu waliofufuliwa wakitawala pamoja naye. Mwishoni mwa kipindi hicho Shetani anafunguliwa kwa ajili ya uasi wa mwisho, ambao unapondwa, kisha unakuja ufufuo na hukumu ya waovu na hali ya milele. Kuna aina kuu mbili za mtazamo huu. Mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu wa kihistoria, au wa asili, ulishikiliwa kwa namna rahisi na baadhi ya mababa wa kanisa wa mwanzo kabisa; mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu wa nyakati za kiungu (dispensational premillennialism), ulioibuka katika karne ya kumi na tisa, unaongeza tofauti kali kati ya Israeli na kanisa pamoja na sifa nyingine zitakazoelezwa hapa chini. Aina zote mbili zinakubaliana juu ya jambo kuu: Kristo anarudi kwanza, kisha anatawala duniani kwa miaka elfu.This unit presents the second of the three main views of the millennium, premillennialism, and the course continues to hold the views side by side without favoring any. The word "premillennialism" means "before the millennium," for in this view Christ returns before the thousand years begin. Premillennialism teaches that the millennium of Revelation 20 is a literal future age, a real reign of Christ upon the earth that follows His second coming. When Christ returns in glory, He raises the righteous dead in a bodily resurrection, defeats His enemies, binds Satan, and establishes a kingdom of peace and righteousness that lasts a thousand years, with the risen saints reigning together with Him. At the end of that age Satan is released for a final rebellion, which is crushed, and then come the resurrection and judgment of the wicked and the eternal state. There are two main forms of the view. Historic, or classic, premillennialism was held in a simple form by some of the earliest church fathers; dispensational premillennialism, which arose in the nineteenth century, adds a sharp distinction between Israel and the church and other features that will be described below. Both forms agree on the central point: Christ returns first, and then He reigns on earth for a thousand years.

Mpangilio wa MatukioThe Order of Events

Mpangilio wa matukio kwa mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu unaweza kuelezwa hivi. Kipindi cha sasa cha kanisa kinaendelea, na kuelekea mwisho wake wafuasi wengi wa mtazamo huu wanatarajia wakati wa dhiki kuu. Kisha Kristo anarudi kimwili na kwa kuonekana. Wakati wa kuja kwake wenye haki waliokufa wanafufuliwa katika ufufuo wa kwanza, na huu, wasema wafuasi wa mtazamo huu, ni kufufuka halisi kwa mwili. Kisha Kristo anamfunga Shetani na kuanzisha utawala wake wa miaka elfu hapa duniani, huku watakatifu waliofufuliwa na kutukuzwa wakitawala pamoja naye juu ya mataifa. Miaka elfu itakapotimia, Shetani anafunguliwa kwa muda mfupi, anakusanya mataifa katika uasi wa mwisho, naye anaangamizwa kwa moto kutoka mbinguni na kutupwa katika ziwa la moto. Kisha wafu waliosalia wanafufuliwa katika ufufuo wa pili, wote wanasimama mbele ya kiti kikubwa cheupe cha enzi, na waovu wanahukumiwa, kisha Mungu analeta mbingu mpya na nchi mpya. Wafuasi wa mfumo wa nyakati za kiungu (dispensationalists) wanaongeza hatua nyingine, hasa kuondolewa kwa kanisa kutoka duniani, kunakoitwa kunyakuliwa kwa kanisa (rapture), ambako wengi wao wanakuweka kabla ya dhiki kuu, pamoja na mustakabali maalum kwa taifa la Israeli ndani ya ufalme wa miaka elfu. Jambo moja linalounganisha aina zote za mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu ni kwamba kurudi kwa Kristo kunakuja kabla ya utawala wa duniani, na ndiko kunakouleta.The premillennial order may be set out in this way. The present church age runs on, and toward its end many premillennialists expect a time of great tribulation. Then Christ returns bodily and visibly. At His coming the righteous dead are raised in the first resurrection, and this, premillennialists say, is a literal bodily rising. Christ then binds Satan and establishes His thousand-year reign upon the earth, the risen and glorified saints reigning with Him over the nations. When the thousand years are finished, Satan is loosed for a little while, gathers the nations in a last rebellion, and is destroyed by fire from heaven and cast into the lake of fire. Then the rest of the dead are raised in a second resurrection, all stand before the great white throne, and the wicked are judged, after which God brings in the new heaven and the new earth. Dispensational premillennialists add further stages, most notably a removal of the church from the earth, called the rapture, which many of them place before the tribulation, and a special future for national Israel within the millennial kingdom. The one feature common to all premillennialism is that the return of Christ comes before, and brings in, the earthly reign.

Hoja za Kibiblia za Mtazamo wa Kabla ya Miaka ElfuThe Biblical Case for Premillennialism

Wafuasi wa mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu wanajenga hoja yao kwanza kabisa juu ya mpangilio ulio wazi wa Ufunuo 19 na 20. Katika sura ya kumi na tisa Kristo anarudi juu ya farasi mweupe na kumshinda yule mnyama; kisha, katika sura ya ishirini, Shetani anafungwa na watakatifu wanatawala miaka elfu. Zikisomwa kwa mfululizo, wanasema, utawala unafuata kurudi kwa Kristo, sawasawa na mtazamo huu unavyofundisha. Kisha wanaelekeza kwenye ufufuo mbili wa sura hiyo: wale wanaotawala pamoja na Kristo wana sehemu katika "ufufuo wa kwanza," wakati "hao wafu waliosalia hawakuwa hai hata itimie ile miaka elfu" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 20:5), jambo wanalolielewa kumaanisha ufufuo mbili wa mwili uliotenganishwa na miaka elfu, wenye haki wakifufuliwa kwanza na waovu baadaye. Wanarejea fundisho la Paulo kwamba ufufuo unakuja kwa utaratibu, "limbuko ni Kristo; baadaye walio wake Kristo, wakati wa kuja kwake" (1 Wakorintho 15:23). Wanasoma unabii wa Agano la Kale kuhusu ufalme wa utukufu duniani, ambapo mbwa-mwitu atakaa pamoja na mwana-kondoo na dunia itajaa kumjua BWANA, kama unaosubiri kutimizwa kihalisi (Isaya 11; 65). Na wanashikilia kwamba ahadi za Mungu kwa Israeli hazibatiliki na bado zitatimizwa (Warumi 11:29). Wanaongeza kwamba aina fulani ya mtazamo huu, iliyoitwa wakati huo chiliasm (kiliasimu), ilishikiliwa na baadhi ya Wakristo wa mwanzo kabisa, waliokuwa karibu na mitume kwa wakati.Premillennialists rest their case first of all on the plain order of Revelation 19 and 20. In chapter nineteen Christ returns on the white horse and defeats the beast; then, in chapter twenty, Satan is bound and the saints reign a thousand years. Read in sequence, they argue, the reign follows the return, exactly as premillennialism teaches. They point next to the two resurrections of the chapter: those who reign with Christ share in "the first resurrection," while "the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:5), which they take to mean two bodily resurrections separated by the thousand years, the righteous raised first and the wicked afterward. They appeal to Paul's teaching that the resurrection comes in orders, Christ the firstfruits, then those who are Christ's at His coming (1 Corinthians 15:23). They read the Old Testament prophecies of a glorious earthly kingdom, where the wolf lies down with the lamb and the earth is full of the knowledge of the LORD, as awaiting a literal fulfillment (Isaiah 11; 65). And they hold that God's promises to Israel are irrevocable and will yet be fulfilled (Romans 11:29). They add that a form of the view, then called chiliasm, was held by some of the earliest Christians, close to the apostles in time.

Jinsi Mtazamo wa Kabla ya Miaka Elfu Unavyosoma Ufunuo 20How Premillennialism Reads Revelation 20

Mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu unaisoma miaka elfu ya Ufunuo 20 kama kipindi halisi cha wakati ujao, utawala wa Kristo duniani unaoanza wakati wa kuja kwake mara ya pili na kudumu miaka elfu, iwe namba hiyo inachukuliwa kuwa kamili au kama muda mrefu lakini halisi. Kufungwa kwa Shetani ni kamili na kunaonekana wakati wa utawala huo, kwa maana amefungiwa kuzimu na kutiwa muhuri ili asiweze kuyadanganya mataifa hata kidogo, kwa namna ambayo, wafuasi wa mtazamo huu wanasema, hailingani na shughuli zake za sasa duniani. Ufufuo wa kwanza unaeleweka kuwa kufufuliwa halisi kwa mwili kwa wenye haki waliokufa wakati Kristo anaporudi; maneno "wakawa hai, wakatawala pamoja na Kristo" yanachukuliwa kwa maana yake ya kawaida ya kurudi kuwa hai tena. Na "wafu waliosalia," ambao hawawi hai mpaka miaka elfu itimie, wanaeleweka kuwa waovu, watakaofufuliwa kimwili katika ufufuo wa pili mwishoni, ili kusimama mbele ya kiti kikubwa cheupe cha enzi. Hivyo Ufunuo 20, ukisomwa kwa namna hii, unaonyesha mfululizo ulio wazi: kurudi kwa Kristo, ufufuo wa mwili wa wenye haki, utawala wa miaka elfu duniani, kufunguliwa na kushindwa kwa mwisho kwa Shetani, ufufuo wa mwili wa waovu, na hukumu ya mwisho.Premillennialism reads the thousand years of Revelation 20 as a literal future period, an earthly reign of Christ that begins at His second coming and lasts a thousand years, whether the number is taken as exact or as a long but real span. The binding of Satan is complete and visible during that reign, for he is shut in the bottomless pit and sealed so that he cannot deceive the nations at all, in a way that, premillennialists argue, does not match his present activity in the world. The first resurrection is understood as a literal, bodily raising of the righteous dead at Christ's return; "they lived and reigned with Christ" is taken in its ordinary sense of coming to life again. And "the rest of the dead," who do not live again until the thousand years are finished, are understood as the wicked, raised bodily in a second resurrection at the end, to stand before the great white throne. So Revelation 20, read in this way, lays out a clear sequence: the return of Christ, the bodily resurrection of the righteous, the thousand-year earthly reign, the loosing and final defeat of Satan, the bodily resurrection of the wicked, and the last judgment.

Aina Mbili na Historia YakeTwo Forms and Their History

Aina mbili za mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu zinatofautiana katika undani wake na katika historia yake. Mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu wa kihistoria ndio wa zamani zaidi na rahisi zaidi, uliokuwa ukishikiliwa kwa namna fulani na mababa wa mwanzo kama Justin Mfiadini (Justin Martyr) na Irenayo (Irenaeus), waliotazamia utawala halisi wa Kristo duniani baada ya kuja kwake. Katika nyakati za kisasa umefundishwa na wasomi kama George Eldon Ladd, na ni wa kawaida miongoni mwa Wabaptisti wengi na Wakristo wa Kiinjili wasioshikilia mfumo wa nyakati za kiungu. Mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu wa nyakati za kiungu ulizuka katika karne ya kumi na tisa, hasa kupitia John Nelson Darby, na ukaenezwa katika nyumba na mimbari zisizohesabika kupitia Biblia ya Marejeo ya Scofield (Scofield Reference Bible) ya mwaka 1909, na baadaye na walimu kama Lewis Sperry Chafer, Charles Ryrie, na John Walvoord, na kupitia Seminari ya Kitheolojia ya Dallas. Mtazamo huu unatambulika kwa tofauti kali kati ya Israeli na kanisa kama watu wawili wenye mipango miwili, kwa njia ya kutafsiri unabii kihalisi, na kwa matarajio ya kunyakuliwa kwa kanisa, ambako wengi wa wafuasi wa mfumo huu wanakuweka kabla ya dhiki kuu ya miaka saba, kisha Kristo anarudi kutawala. Kama ilivyoelezwa katika sehemu iliyotangulia, kuenea kwa Biblia ya Scofield na kukata tamaa kulikofuata Vita vya Kwanza vya Dunia kulisaidia kuufanya mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu, kwa namna moja au nyingine, kuwa mtazamo uliotawala sehemu kubwa ya Ukristo wa Kiinjili wa karne ya ishirini. Sifa mbili zaidi mara nyingi huhusishwa na mfumo wa nyakati za kiungu na zinapaswa kutajwa kwa uangalifu. Ya kwanza ni mfumo wa nyakati za kiungu (dispensations) wenyewe, yaani kugawanya historia yote katika vipindi vinavyofuatana ambamo Mungu anashughulika na wanadamu kwa njia tofauti, kama vile kutokuwa na hatia, dhamiri, ahadi, sheria, neema, na ufalme ujao. Ya pili, ambayo ni jambo tofauti, ni usomaji maarufu wa makanisa saba ya sura ya pili na ya tatu kama muhtasari wa kinabii wa vipindi saba vinavyofuatana vya historia ya kanisa, kuanzia kanisa la mitume huko Efeso hadi kanisa lililoridhika la kipindi cha mwisho linaloonyeshwa huko Laodikia. Vipindi saba vya kanisa na nyakati saba za kiungu ni "saba" mbili tofauti, na si kila mfuasi wa mfumo wa nyakati za kiungu anashikilia mpango wa vipindi vya kanisa; kozi hii inataja usomaji wote wawili bila kusisitiza mmoja wapo.The two forms of premillennialism differ in their details and their history. Historic premillennialism is the older and simpler, held in some form by early fathers such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who looked for a literal reign of Christ on earth after His coming. In modern times it has been taught by scholars such as George Eldon Ladd, and it is common among many Baptists and evangelicals who do not hold the dispensational system. Dispensational premillennialism arose in the nineteenth century, chiefly through John Nelson Darby, and was carried into countless homes and pulpits by the Scofield Reference Bible of 1909 and later by teachers such as Lewis Sperry Chafer, Charles Ryrie, and John Walvoord, and by Dallas Theological Seminary. It is marked by a sharp distinction between Israel and the church as two peoples with two programs, by a literal method of interpreting prophecy, and by the expectation of a rapture of the church, which many dispensationalists place before a seven-year tribulation, after which Christ returns to reign. As noted in the previous unit, the spread of the Scofield Bible and the disillusionment that followed the First World War helped make premillennialism, in one form or another, dominant across much of twentieth-century evangelicalism. Two further features are often tied to dispensationalism and should be named with care. The first is the system of dispensations itself, the division of all history into successive eras in which God deals with humanity in different ways, such as innocence, conscience, promise, law, grace, and a coming kingdom. The second, which is a separate thing, is a popular reading of the seven churches of chapters two and three as a prophetic outline of seven successive ages of church history, running from the apostolic church at Ephesus down to the complacent church of the last age pictured at Laodicea. The seven church-ages and the seven dispensations are two different sevens, and not every dispensationalist holds the church-ages scheme; the course notes both readings without insisting on either.

Pingamizi Zinazotolewa na WengineObjections Raised by Others

Wale wanaoshikilia mitazamo mingine wanatoa pingamizi kadhaa, na haki inadai zisikilizwe. Kwanza, wanasema kwamba utawala halisi wa miaka elfu duniani unategemea sana kifungu kimoja, Ufunuo 20, kikisomwa kihalisi, katika kitabu kilichojaa ishara, wakati sehemu nyingine ya Agano Jipya haifundishi waziwazi ufalme wa kipindi cha kati duniani kati ya kurudi kwa Kristo na hali ya milele. Pili, wanahoji kwamba Agano Jipya kwa ujumla linaonyesha ufufuo wa wenye haki na wa waovu, pamoja na hukumu ya mwisho, kama mambo yanayotukia pamoja katika kuja kumoja, si katika ufufuo mbili uliotenganishwa na miaka elfu (Yohana 5:28-29). Tatu, wanaonyesha ugumu wa dunia ya kipindi cha miaka elfu inayokaliwa wakati mmoja na watakatifu waliofufuliwa wasioweza kufa na pia na walionusurika wanaoweza kufa ambao bado wanaoa, wanatenda dhambi, wanazeeka, na wanakufa, na ambao Shetani anaweza kuwakusanya katika uasi wa mwisho. Nne, hasa dhidi ya mfumo wa nyakati za kiungu, wakosoaji wanapinga utengano mkali wa Israeli na kanisa na wazo la kunyakuliwa kwa siri, kwa namna ya pekee, kabla ya dhiki kuu, wakishikilia badala yake kwamba Maandiko yanajua watu mmoja wa Mungu na kurudi kumoja kwa Kristo. Wafuasi wa mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu wanajibu kwamba usomaji wa kawaida wa Ufunuo 20 ni wa mfululizo, kwamba lugha ya ufufuo inaeleweka vizuri zaidi kuwa ya mwili, na kwamba ahadi za Mungu kwa Israeli ambazo bado hazijatimizwa zinadai ufalme halisi.Those who hold other views raise several objections, and fairness requires that they be heard. First, they say a literal thousand-year earthly reign rests heavily on a single passage, Revelation 20, read literally, in a book full of symbols, while the rest of the New Testament does not plainly teach an interim earthly kingdom between Christ's return and the eternal state. Second, they argue that the New Testament generally presents the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, and the final judgment, as taking place together at one coming, rather than in two resurrections separated by a thousand years (John 5:28-29). Third, they point to the difficulty of a millennial earth peopled at once by resurrected, immortal saints and by mortal survivors who still marry, sin, age, and die, and who can be gathered by Satan in a final revolt. Fourth, against dispensationalism in particular, critics dispute the sharp separation of Israel and the church and the idea of a secret, separate, pretribulation rapture, holding instead that Scripture knows one people of God and one return of Christ. Premillennialists reply that the natural reading of Revelation 20 is sequential, that the language of resurrection is best taken bodily, and that God's unfulfilled promises to Israel call for a literal kingdom.

Muhtasari na Neno la Haki kwa Pande ZoteSummary and an Even-Handed Word

Nguvu kuu ya mtazamo wa kabla ya miaka elfu ni kwamba unachukua mfululizo wa Ufunuo 19 na 20 na lugha ya ufufuo mbili katika mpangilio wake ulio wazi, unaheshimu ahadi nyingi za Agano la Kale za ufalme wa utukufu duniani, na unasimama katika mwendelezo na tumaini lililoshikiliwa na baadhi ya Wakristo wa mwanzo kabisa. Dai lake kuu ni kwamba Kristo anarudi kabla ya utawala wa miaka elfu kisha anatawala hapa duniani kwa miaka elfu pamoja na watakatifu wake waliofufuliwa. Wakristo wanyofu, wacha Mungu, na wenye imani sahihi wameshikilia mtazamo huu, katika aina zake zote mbili, ya kihistoria na ya nyakati za kiungu, na kozi hii inauwasilisha kwa nguvu zake kamili bila kuuidhinisha; haipendelei mtazamo wowote mmoja. Sehemu inayofuata inaeleza mtazamo wa bila miaka elfu (amillennialism) kwa haki ile ile, ili wanafunzi waweze kuipima mitazamo yote mitatu wao wenyewe mbele ya walimu wao na Mungu wao. Kile ambacho mitazamo yote mitatu inashiriki, na kilicho muhimu kuliko yote, ni tumaini la hakika kwamba Bwana Yesu Kristo atarudi kwa utukufu, atawafufua wafu, ataihukumu dunia kwa haki, na kutawala milele. Juu ya tumaini hilo kuu kanisa lote linasimama pamoja, vyovyote vile washiriki wake wanavyoielewa miaka elfu.The great strength of premillennialism is that it takes the sequence of Revelation 19 and 20 and the language of two resurrections in their plain order, honors the many Old Testament promises of a glorious earthly kingdom, and stands in continuity with a hope held by some of the earliest Christians. Its central claim is that Christ returns before the millennium and then reigns upon the earth for a thousand years with His risen saints. Sincere, godly, orthodox Christians have held this view, in both its historic and its dispensational forms, and the course presents it at full strength without endorsing it; it favors no single view. The unit that follows presents amillennialism with the very same fairness, so that students may weigh all three for themselves before their teachers and their God. What the three views share, and what matters most of all, is the certain hope that the Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory, raise the dead, judge the world in righteousness, and reign forever. On that great hope the whole church stands together, however its members may understand the thousand years.

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