Third Chapter Coincidence?

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Note: Just wanted to give a heads up about my writing here. Because I am involved in pursuing my certification in biblical counseling, my time is at a premium. Between all the writing, reading, and watching videos, it has become a bit daunting with everything associated with my training. I have finally completed Phase 1 and am waiting to hear back on that. I am in Phase 2, which mainly involves answering a total of 44 questions; 22 from the realm of theology and 22 from the realm of counseling. Each question needs to be at least a page and a half. I thoroughly enjoy writing and all of this is right up my alley. However, the time leftover from all of that doesn’t leave me a great deal of time to write articles the way I used to do. I’d appreciate your prayers and for you to bear with me. Thanks so much!

My previous article focused a bit on some of the stark differences between the Covenant theology camp versus the Dispensational camp. In both areas I’m referring to normative covenant theology and normative dispensationalism.

Generally speaking, those in the Covenant camp are at odds with Dispensationalism in general, often believing it to be heretical. Those in the Dispensational camp are at odds with the way Covenant theology regards the prophetic discourse of Scripture as generally, already being fulfilled. Some also view aspects of Covenant theology as heretical as well.

I attended a local Bible study the other night because the pastor has been working through the book of Revelation, chapter by chapter. This past week we were in Revelation 20, which is largely about the coming Millennial Kingdom, the kingdom that Covenant theology believes we have been living in since roughly AD70, when they believe Jesus “returned” spiritually. It’s a bit ironic though the way the Millennial Kingdom is described in Revelation (and elsewhere in Scripture including the Old Testament). I’m simply not seeing it at all in the world of now. Are you?

During the Millennial Kingdom as described throughout Scripture, the world will be physically ruled by Jesus because He will be physically present.

As merely one Old Testament example of how the Millennial Kingdom is described, we can go to Micah 4:2-4.

2 Many nations 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 the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; 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. 4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

Notice this section speaks very clearly about the fact that there will be absolutely zero wars during Jesus’ rule. In fact, all those swords and weaponry used for war will be turned into plowshares and pruning hooks. War will be a thing of the past during the coming Millennial Kingdom (until the very end), and in fact, “…everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree. No one shall make them afraid…”

So if there aren’t going to be any wars at all, what will replace it? Peace. Absolute peace. Why? Because Jesus will be on this earth physically to ensure it. Yes, He will rule with a rod of iron, because there will be some who try to push things, but He will just as quickly put things down to ensure continued peace. It won’t be until Satan is released from the Pit at the end of the 1,000 years that he is able to gather people to himself in a last attempt to overthrow Jesus and His righteous rule. Notice this in Revelation 20:3 where we are told Satan must be released for a little while.

So what does any of this have to do with the title of this article, Third Chapter Coincidence? A good deal. In Genesis 3, the third chapter into the Bible, we learn of Satan’s temptation of Eve. This resulted in Eve succumbing to Satan’s temptation to eat of the tree from which God had prohibited Adam and Eve to eat. She gave to her husband and he also ate. They both fell in their sin and spiritual death occurred immediately and physical death began from that moment on until their bodies died from old age. Had they not sinned, they would have continued living in perfect bodies that could not die.

Now look at Revelation 20, which just happens to be the third chapter from the end of the Bible. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve lived in a perfect environment but it wasn’t good enough. They wanted more and due to their failure, sin not only corrupted them but God was forced to place a curse on His entire Creation. In essence, sin has affected not only people, but animals and everything else in Creation.

Jumping to Revelation 20, we see the mirroring of what existed in Genesis 3. According to Scripture, no one gets into the Millennial Kingdom unless they are actual believers in Jesus. No one who would be classified as an unbeliever is allowed inside. They are thrown outside to await the Great White Throne Judgment, which occurs at the end of the Millennial Kingdom.

In Revelation 20, because of Jesus’ righteous rule, everything is as perfect as it can be and anything that smacks of imperfection or sin is dealt with by Jesus. Why would there be any sinning in the Millennial Kingdom? Simply because the human beings who survived the Tribulation – though saved – who enter the Millennial Kingdom have their own sin to deal with. The fact that Satan is sequestered in the Pit for the duration of the Millennium makes it a bit easier for people to sin less. The children they give birth to are also born with a sin nature and are in need of salvation as well.

Imagine how difficult this would be. You’re born into a perfect environment, ruled by a perfect, righteous Ruler. There are no wars, no food shortages, no economic disasters and everything that’s needed to prosper exists. Sounds a bit like the Garden of Eden Redo doesn’t it? That’s what it’s supposed to sound like.

At the end of the Millennium, Satan is released for a very short time and remarkably, he manages to turn the attention of many away from Jesus and onto himself. What does he say? We don’t know of course, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he offered the same lie to the people of the Millennial Kingdom as he did to Eve. It worked back then. Why wouldn’t it work again because the situation is very similar, except there are far more people alive then, not just two.

In any event, Satan manages to grab people’s attention and gain their trust. He then uses them in a last final ditch effort to overthrow Jesus and His righteous rule. It doesn’t work. Though he manages to gain tons of followers, he is quickly dispatched by Jesus Himself. Revelation 20:7-11 tells us the story.

It boggles the mind a bit doesn’t it? In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had fellowship with the God of the universe (Genesis 2). They lived in the kind of beauty and harmony with nature that we can only dream about (but will experience one day!). Yet, in spite of this, they succumbed to the lies of the enemy and lost what they had been given (Genesis 3).

During the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20), the people living then will experience near-perfection. Animals will not kill other animals. Small children will not be harmed by poisonous snakes. People will be able to eat from the Tree of Life as well as other trees that will exist then. Jesus, though ruling with a rod of iron, will also rule completely in justice. Crime will not exist. It is hard to picture a situation like that because none of us have ever had it in this life, at least for any length of time.

In spite of the near-perfection of the coming Millennial Kingdom, some folks will simply not be satisfied and when Satan is released, he takes advantage of them and their feelings. Somehow, he gets them to follow him to their own eternal deaths. I find that astounding, don’t you?

Genesis 3 and Revelation 20 are the third chapter in and the third chapter from the end and mirror one another. It tells me that what occurs since Genesis 3 until Revelation 20 is essentially a parenthesis. That parenthesis of course, is huge because in it, we have the sinless life of Jesus, His horrible death that He did not deserve, which paid for our sins and gave us the opportunity to receive eternal life at His hands, and because of His life, death and resurrection, Revelation 20 will actually occur!

The grace and love of God to us! Who can measure His mercy and love? Who can fully understand just how much He wants to fellowship with us?

Just as Genesis 3 actually occurred, we can know that Revelation 20 will also actually occur. They are connected. They both point to God’s favor, His mercy and His love for His Creation. While Genesis 3 introduced sin into the entirety of His Creation, Revelation 20 is the start of eliminating all of it in practical terms.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Source: https://studygrowknowblog.com/2026/07/02/third-chapter-coincidence/