How long does [Daniel 7:25] say the saints will be handed over to this evil king we’ve identified as the Antichrist?
“a time, times, and half a time”
Strange reference, isn’t it? Thank goodness we have the companion Book of Revelation to offer some clues to its meaning. Please look up the following Scriptures and record each reference to time periods.
Revelation 11:2 – “42 months”
Revelation 12:6 – “1,260 days”
(The woman symbolizes the nation of Israel.)
Revelation 13:5-7 – “forty-two months”
Look back at the time reference in Daniel 7:25. How could the wording speak figuratively of three and a half years?
“Each ‘time’ represents a year and plural specifically means two”
Daniel 4:25 offers a parallel that may help us to interpret the word ‘times.’ How long did he say the king would remain in an animal-like state?
“Seven times”
Please read Revelation 20: 1-10. Record any reference to a time in verses 4 and 5.
“a thousand years (4), the thousand years (5)”
What do you find most interesting about amillennialism?
“I don’t understand how it can allow for Revelation 20:4 & 5 telling us that the murdered saints are alive again ruling with Jesus – that’s not what I see in government today.”
If Scripture is brain food, eschatology is an energy bar on steroids. 
Conclude the day by writing the brief as possible definitions of the terms below, based on their prefixes:
Amillennialism basically means “not an exactly thousand year millennium and not a literal in-the-flesh Jesus.”
Premillennialism basically means “Jesus will return before the beginning of His thousand year reign.”
Dearest Rachel –
I’m not sure what to make about Ms. Moore’s analogy regarding eschatology in terms of brain food. There’s no question that the concept (for those interested in it – and as one eccentric wise man put it, “we are all interested in the future, for that is where we will spend the rest of our lives”) is something to kick-start one’s thought processes, but it isn’t likely to generate much in the way of concrete conclusions. To draw out the metaphor, the stuff is surprisingly hard to digest, and a decidedly acquired taste for those with weak metaphysical stomachs.
Still, the usage of this phrase which we tend to interpret as three and a half years (and in other passages that you were made to point out, more specifically spelled out in terms of its duration) is repeated enough times that it’s clear that the span is important and meant to be taken literally – why else would it be described by the number of months or even days? It’s a poetic turn of phrase, but it actually means something.
That being said, it does seem odd that the idea of the “thousand year” reign is dismissed as mere poetry or allegory by many scholars, when the concept is mentioned in both Daniel and Revelation as well. Granted, unlike a span of a few years, a millennium cannot be kept track of “like a hired hand” would (a turn of phrase used in various other prophets’ works to represent a very exact amount of time – those of us who have spent time in the work farce recognize the ‘clock watcher’ spoken of, and may find some amusement in the thought that the concept even predates clocks as we think of them) because no human lives that long. But why would the Lord inspire several different prophets to use such a term, if He didn’t mean to use it?
As you mention, there are other parts of the concept of the millennium-as-metaphor that seem incongruous with the details, such as the idea that the martyrs will assist Jesus in administering the world under His rule. If we are in that supposed millennium already, we seem to be lacking in their presence and guidance – particularly the latter as unlike in certain spans of history, where some might conclude humanity was on an upward trajectory of progress, our current arc tend more toward fits and starts, with advances made here and retreats there. It’s not a case of steady forward movement, as you might expect under direct divine leadership; we’re not there yet.
Then again, I’m speaking as one who only sees “through a glass dimly,” so I claim no special wisdom in the ‘what’s and ‘when’s of what is to come. I do wonder if there is confusion like this even on your side of the veil since, having transcended time, it’s hard to ascertain what time and date it is on earth at any given moment (assuming moments even exist over there). Indeed, since it is every time (and almost often, two different dates) on earth, even knowing the date and time (which even Jesus Himself claimed not to) wouldn’t be universally accurate anyway. Starting dates could not be pinned down, by the very nature of the earth. All we have to hang our hats on are the various durations of certain periods, and Daniel will get more specific as we move on, to the point where it’s so spot on with the fulfillments that the ones still outstanding ought to be taken seriously as well, yes?
Letters to Rachel 