THE MILLENNIUM
REVELATION 20:1-11
THE ENTIRE WORLD HAS BEEN SEARCHING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME, AND I MIGHT ADD UNSUCCESSFULLY, FOR PEACE. WE HAVE COME TO THINK OF PEACE AS THE ABSENCE OF HOSTILITY, AND THE WORLD HAS ONLY KNOWN ABOUT 250 YEARS OF THIS FORM OF PEACE.
PEACE ESCAPES US AS INDIVIDUALS AS WE FIND OUR PERSONAL LIVES ARE INVADED BY RESTLESSNESS AND UNSETTLING MATTERS OF HEALTH, FINANCES, PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, THAT HAVE BEEN SO INTENSE THAT IT HAS DRIVEN PEOPLE TO SUICIDE.
THE KEY IS THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR A PEACE THAT WE CAN ATTAIN AND CONTROL WHICH IS BEYOND OUR CAPABILITIES. THE PEOPLE IN THE CAROLINAS CANNOT STOP HURRICANE FLORENCE NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY WANT TO, AND THERE WILL BE SOME STRUGGLES THAT WE WILL FACE THAT WE CANNOT STOP NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE WANT TO.
THE PEACE THAT WE SEEK IS FOUND IN A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOUR. IT ALLOWS US TO FACE THE STRUGGLES OF THIS WORLD IN THE REALIZATION THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL, THAT HE HAS A PLAN FOR OUR LIVES, AND THAT BY SURRENDERING OUR LIVES TO HIM, WE CAN KNOW THE PEACE THAT PAUL SPEAKS OF IN PHILIPPIANS.
PHILIPPIANS 4:7: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
THE BIBLE DOES SPEAK OF A TIME OF PEACE THAT WILL BE WONDERFUL AND ALL THE WORLD WILL ENJOY IT. THIS TIME IS WHAT THE BIBLE REFERS TO AS THE MILLENNIUM. IT’S A LATIN PHRASE MADE UP OF TWO WORDS, “MILLE” MEANING THOUSAND, AND “ANNUM” MEANING YEAR. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THE TERM IN FINANCIAL CIRCLES SO MUCH INTEREST PER ANNUM. IT MEANS SO MUCH INTEREST PER YEAR.
AFTER THE GLORIOUS APPEARING OF JESUS CHRIST, HE WILL PROCEED TO SET UP HIS KINGDOM ON EARTH. HE WILL BE A UNIVERSAL RULER. HIS KINGOM WILL LAST FOR 1000 YEARS AND THEN HE WILL PRESENT IT TO THE FATHER WHERE WE WILL ENTER OUR ETERNAL HOME.
REVELATION 20 INFORMS US OF SOME OF THE FEATURES OF THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM.
FIRST: DURING THIS TIME PERIOD THE WORLD WILL NOT KNOW THE INFLUENCE OF SATAN.
EVER SINCE THE FALL THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD WAS DOMINATED BY SATAN. WE WERE ALL UNDER THE CURSE OF THE SINFUL NATURE. HIS INFLUENCE WAS CONTROLLED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT UNTIL THE TIME OF THE TRIBULATION, BUT HE WAS ALLOWED TO HAVE CONSIDERABLE INFLUENCE IN THE WORLD.
AT THE TIME OF THE GLORIOUS APPEARING, THE ANTI-CHRIST AND THE FALSE PROPHET ARE CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOR ETERNITY, BUT NOT SATAN. HIS FINAL JUDGMENT WILL HAPPEN AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM. SATAN IS HOWEVER HELD IN CAPTIVITY BY GOD DURING THIS 1000 YEARS.
REVELATION 20:2-3:
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
HOW HE IS BOUND HAS BEEN DEBATED AT LENGTH WITH NO ABSOLUTE CONCLUSION BUT WHAT IS CERTAIN IS THAT FOR THIS 1000 YEAR PERIOD HE WILL HAVE NO INFLUENCE ON THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD.
SECOND: THE TRIBULATION SAINTS WHO HAVE DIED, AND THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS WILL BE RESURRECTED.
REVELATION 20:4: And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
THIS RESURRECTION IS FOR THOSE WHO WERE KILLED FOR THEIR FAITH DURING THE TRIBULATION. THEY WILL RISE AND BE WITH THE LORD JUST AS THOSE WHO WERE TAKEN UP AT THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE.
ALSO INTERESTING IS THAT THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS WILL BE RESURRECTED AT THIS TIME AS WELL.
DANIEL 12:1-2:
“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MILLENNIUM THEN THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS AND THE TRIBULATION SAINTS WILL RISE TO BE THE INVITED GUESTS OF THE WEDDING BANQUET TALKED ABOUT IN REVELATION 19. AT THAT BANQUET THERE WILL ONLY BE SAINTS, NO UNSAVED PERSON WILL BE AT THE WEDDING BANQUET OF THE LAMB.
THIRD: THE RESURRECTION OF THE UNSAVED WILL OCCUR AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM
REVELATION 20:5: (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)
THE FINAL RESURRECTION, THE RESURRECTION OF THE UNSAVED WILL OCCUR AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM. IT WILL INCLUDE ONLY THE UNSAVED OF THE AGES, INCLUDING THOSE WHO DIE WITHOUT CHRIST DURING THE MILLENNIUM.
THE UNSAVED WILL RESURRECT WITH THE SAME TYPE OF BODY THAT THE SAINTS WILL HAVE, WITHOUT THE SINFUL NATURE. THIS WILL ALLOW THEM TO LIVE FOREVER, JUST AS THE SAINTS OF GOD WILL. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THEY WILL LIVE IN THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER SEPARATED FROM CHRIST.
HOW BLEST ARE THOSE WHO TAKE PART IN THE FIRST RESURRECTION. THOUGH THEY WERE NOT TAKEN WITH THE CHURCH AT THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE, THEY WILL BE WITH THE CHURCH AS THE BRIDEGROOM CALLS THEM TO THAT GREAT WEDDING BANQUET.
THEY HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY NEED NOT FEAR THE RESURECTION OF THE UNSAVED. THEY KNOW THAT IN A SHORT TIME, THEY WILL TAKE PART WITH ALL THE SAINTS IN THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF THE LORD!
THERE ARE MANY IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM WE NEED TO CONSIDER.
FIRST: IT IS A TIME OF PREPARATION
THE MILLENNIUM FOLLOWS THE TIME OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SINFUL WORLD WHICH OCCURS DURING THE TRIBULATION.
2 PETER 3:11-12:
That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
GOD PROMISED AFTER THE GREAT FLOOD IN GENESIS THAT THE WORLD WOULD NEVER AGAIN BE DESTROYED BY WATER. WE HAVE SEEN GREAT DESTRUCTION BY WATER, BUT NOT TOTAL DESTRUCTION. THE DESTRUCTION DURING THE TRIBULATION CAME THROUGH FIRE.
THIS DESTRUCTION THOUGH, ALSO BROUGHT WITH IT A TIME OF CLEANSING AND THE FRAMEWORK TO BUILD THE ETERNAL KINGDOM. THE EARTH DURING THE MILLENNIUM WILL BE WITHOUT THE SIN NATURE. THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE ON EARTH WILL BE A NEW PEOPLE, AND THE EARTH WILL BE A NEW EARTH. THIS WILL BE SHOWN IN MANY WAYS.
A) IN NATURE:
ISAIAH 35:1-2:
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God2
ISAIAH IS TELLING US THAT THE WORLD WILL KNOW UNPRECEDENTED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, AND IN PLACES WHERE PRODUCTION WAS FORMERLY NOT POSSIBLE. THERE ARE NOT GREAT FARMS IN THE DESERT. DURING THE MILLENNIUM THE CURSE ON THE EARTH AT THE TIME OF THE FALL WILL BE LIFTED. THE DESERT WILL BLOOM TO THE GLORY OF GOD. DURING THE MILLENNIUM THERE WILL BE NO STARVATION AS THERE IS NOW.
B) THE AGE OF BELIEVERS:
THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO WILL BE ALIVE TO START THE MILLENNIUM WILL BE THE BELIEVERS WHO SURVIVED THE TRIBULATION. THEIR ETERNAL DESTINY IS SECURE AND THEY WILL LIVE WITH THE LORD FOREVER AND BE TRANSFORMED AS THEY ENTER THE ETERNAL KINGDOM.
THESE BELIEVERS WILL HAVE FAMILIES THOUGH, AND THEIR CHILDREN WILL HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR CHRIST.
ISAIAH TEACHES:
ISAIAH 65:20: “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred Will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred Will be considered accursed.
TIM LAHAYE TEACHES THAT PEOPLE WHO ACCEPT CHRIST DURING THE MILLENNIUM WILL NOT SEE PHYSICAL DEATH. AS IN THE DAYS OF GENESIS, WHERE PEOPLE LIVED TO GREAT AGES BECAUSE OF THE PURITY OF THEIR LINE, SO TOO WILL THE PEOPLE OF THE MILLENNIUM LIVE TO BE MORE THAN 900 YEARS OLD. THOSE WHO CHOOSE NOT TO ACCEPT CHRIST WILL DIE BEFORE THE AGE OF 100.
THE THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT THERE IS NO SINFUL NATURE TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH, AND SATAN IS IMPRISONED AND CANNOT TEMPT INDIVIDUALS. THE RESULT WILL BE THE GREAT PERCENTAGE OF THE PEOPLE DURING THE MILLENNIUM WILL TURN TO CHRIST AND BE SAVED. THERE WILL BE THOSE WHO DO NOT CHOOSE CHRIST, AND THEY WILL BE IN SATAN’S ARMY WHEN HE RAISES HIS FINAL UPRISING AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM.
C) THE ANIMALS OF THE EARTH WILL NOT BE WILD.
DURING THE MILLENNIUM THERE WILL BE NO NEED TO FEAR THE ANIMALS OF THE EARTH. THEIR FEROCITY WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST, AS THIS WAS A RESULT OF THE SINFUL NATURE.
ISAIAH 65:25: the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the lord.
CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF A LION WERE TO WALK INTO THIS CHURCH RIGHT NOW. WE’D BE SCARED TO DEATH. WE KNOW IT’S POWER AND STRENGTH.
NATURAL ENEMIES WILL LIVE SIDE BY SIDE DURING THE MILLENNIUM. THE LION WE ARE TOLD WILL EAT STRAW, THEIR DESIRE WILL NO LONGER BE FOR MEAT, SO THEY WILL BE SAFE.
WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME IT WILL BE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WILL LIVE DURING THE MILLENNIUM. ALL OF THE TRAGEDY AND TERROR OF THE TRIBULATION WILL BE WASHED AWAY IN A SEA OF GLORY AND JOY AS THEY SEE THE WORLD THE WAY GOD WANTED IT TO BE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I THINK OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT WILL BE THERE. ISAIAH DECLARED:
ISAIAH 1:3-5:
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist
THERE WILL BE TRUE JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT AS THE KING OF THE AGES SITS ON THE THRONE. THERE WILL BE NO DOUBT THAT ALL JUDGMENTS FROM THIS TIME FORWARD WILL BE CORRECT AND MADE WITH ABSOLUTE FAIRNESS. THERE WILL BE NO MORE WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS.
THE MILLENNIUM WILL BRING IN UNIVERSAL PEACE. ISAIAH STATES:
ISAIAH 2:4: He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
WHAT A CHANGE FOR THE WORLD THIS WILL BE. THE LAST TIME THEIR ARMS WERE COLLECTED WAS BY THE ANTICHRIST AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TRIBULATION. THEY WERE COLLECTED SO THAT HE MIGHT BECOME DOMINANT IN THE WORLD. HE DID NOT WANT ANY POSSIBILITY OF A SUCCESSFUL UPRISING AGAINST HIM.
ISAIAH TELLS US THAT DURING THIS TIME WEAPONS WILL BE COLLECTED FOR A FAR DIFFERENT REASON. THEY ARE TO BE USED AS GARDENING TOOLS. CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE GOING INTO THE STORE AND ASKING FOR THE AK47 VERSION THE BLACK AND DECKER WEED WHACKER. THIS IS THE WAY IT’S GOING TO BE. THERE WILL BE NO WARS, ONLY SUPERNATURAL PEACE. THE DESIRE OF MANKIND WILL FINALLY BE HERE, THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
FINALLY THERE IS A JOY THAT WILL CHARACTERIZE THE MILLENNIAL EARTH
ISAIAH STATES
ISAIAH 12:3-4:
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.
FOLKS THE TIME OF SIN IS OVER. THOSE WHO WENT THROUGH THE HELL OF THE TRIBULATION WILL NOW KNOW THE VICTORY OF THE KING OF KINGS FOR 1000 YEARS. THE SCRIPTURES DECLARE:
ISAIAH 12:5-6:
Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
THE HEAVENLY CHOIR IS COMPLETE AND WE WILL FOREVER SING HALLELUJAHS TO HE WHO OVERCAME THE GRAVE TO BE THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
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The New International Version. (2011). (Re 20:4). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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3The New International Version. (2011). (Is 65:25). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
5 The New International Version. (2011). (Is 12:5–6). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
