The Prelude To Heaven!
"And I saw thrones.... And they
lived and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years."
Revelation
20:4
The “William Tell Overture” (the theme
music for the 1950s TV show, The Lone
Ranger) was not written by a musician
named William Tell. It is the overture, or
prelude, to Guillaume Tell (William Tell),
opera in four acts by Gioacchino Rossini,
first performed in Paris in 1829.
An overture, or prelude, is an introduction.
It precedes that which it introduces, and while
important, it's less important
than that which it
precedes. In that way, the thousand-year
Millennium is a prelude to heaven.
The Millennium allows God’s promises to Israel
to be fulfilled on earth and rewards those who've
been faithful during Tribulation. It allows justice,
peace, and righteousness to fill the earth. It also
allows Christ to reign on the throne of David, and
it prepares for the final judgment of Satan.
But the Millennium is not heaven.
It is only a foretaste of the glories
that will last forever in the eternal
state.
If the blessings of
the Millennium seem
exciting, remember it’s only a thousand-
year prelude to the eternal blessing to
come.
"We must live and work in the world. Yet
we do so as people who know that they
are on their way home, and anticipate
the joy of return and arrival."
Alister McGrath