Theological Digression: The Millennium

In Revelation 20 there is a passage that speaks of a thousand year reign of Christ. Those ten verses have been the subject of tremendous debate over the years. In general, this passage is interpreted in one of two ways. Those who are premillennial believe that the thousand-year reign is literal, and that one day Christ will return and set up a kingdom on Earth and reign as King for one thousand years. On the other hand, those who are amillennial (along with a few other end-times views) believe that the passage should be interpreted symbolically. They teach that His kingdom is a spiritual one, not a political one. To them the very idea of Christ reigning as King on Earth is bizarre and unbiblical.

What I’d like to do is take a look at the passage and then go over it. First, though, I’d like you to read this disputed passage for yourself, in its entirety. I think it’s a good idea to have a grasp of the entire section before delving into details. The passage can be found in Revelation 20:

Revelation 20:1: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

And now let’s begin!

 
The Binding of Satan

The first point of interest can be found in the first three verses of the chapter:

Revelation 20:1: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

Here we see an angel come down from Heaven. This angel (which is given no name, and does not appear to be an archangel) binds Satan and locks him in the bottomless pit. While locked in that pit he is unable to deceive the nations anymore. There he stays for a thousand years. After the thousand years he is set free, but we’ll get into that later.

These verses are often interpreted symbolically. Those who are amillennial teach that this refers to the death of Christ on the cross, and that is when Satan was bound. Moreover, the millennium is currently going on as we speak, and the ‘thousand years’ is just symbolic for a long span of time. I find this very difficult to believe. First of all, the passage says that an unnamed angel bound Satan, not the Lamb that was slain. If Jesus bound Satan then why doesn’t Revelation 20:1 say that? Why does it attribute it to someone else? More importantly, though, I find it impossible to believe that Satan is currently bound and unable to deceive or harm anyone. That is certainly not what the New Testament says! Look at what Peter wrote:

I Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

Did Peter say that the devil had been bound by Christ’s death and was unable to deceive anyone? Did he teach that we have no need to worry about Satan because his days of deceiving people were over? Far from it! Peter warned us to be sober and vigilant, for the devil was “seeking whom he may devour”. Peter was certainly not under the impression that the devil had been bound and rendered harmless. James echoed Peter’s concern:

James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Once again, you don’t see James saying “Don’t worry about the devil – he’s incapable of doing any harm”. Revelation 20:2 specifically says that Satan is bound, and yet I Peter 5:8 says that he “walketh about”. If Satan “walketh about” then he is not currently bound, which means Revelation 20:1-3 is still in the future.

There are also chronological reasons for believing that the binding of Satan is still in the future. In Revelation 4 the apostle John is told this:

Revelation 4:1: “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.”

John was told that he was about to see things “which must be hereafter” – in other words, things that had not yet taken place in his day. Part of this vision included the binding of Satan. Therefore, the binding of Satan could not have happened at the cross because Revelation was written decades after Christ died and rose again, and yet at the time John was given the vision it had not yet occurred.

It is worth noting that a great many things take place between Revelation 4 and Revelation 20. These events appear to happen in chronological order. If you read through those chapters (and I will not quote them all here!) you will see that things follow a progression. For example, in Revelation 6 the first seal is open, and then the second seal is open, and so forth. Revelation 7 then starts with the phrase “and after these things”. Event follows event. There is nothing in the text to indicate that we are viewing things out of sequence. In fact, we can see a progression, as the two prophets preach and are then killed, only to rise again (Revelation 11); as the beast rises to power and prevails against the saints (Revelation 13); and as Babylon falls (Revelation 18). Revelation 20 takes place after all of these things. To say that the binding of Satan happened at the cross would mean that Revelation 4 through 19 happened before the crucifixion, which is silly. At that point John isn’t seeing things “which must be hereafter”; he’s seeing things that happened decades earlier. It just makes no sense.

But there is one thing in particular that I want to draw your attention to. In Revelation 19 we are told that the marriage of the Lamb has finally come:

Revelation 19:7: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

This is beyond the scope of this paper, but all throughout the New Testament the church is called the Bride of Christ and Jesus is called the Bridegroom. In Revelation 19 we learn that the long-awaited marriage finally takes place in Heaven. After the marriage the Lord Jesus Christ returns to Earth with the armies of Heaven:

Revelation 19:11: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
…
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

This passage says that the Lord returns with the armies of Heaven to judge the Earth after the marriage of the Lamb takes place. (This means that the Church must be in Heaven before this, so that the Bride can attend her wedding, but that is a subject for another day.) Immediately after this is Revelation 20, in which Satan is bound in the aftermath of Christ’s victory over His enemies on Earth. This means that Satan is bound after the Bride of Christ becomes the Wife of Christ. It is worth nothing that the New Testament calls the Church the bride, not the wife. The Church can only be called the Bride if the marriage has not yet happened. These events, then, must still be in the future.

To look at it a different way – if Revelation 20:1-3 really is talking about the death of Christ on the cross then that means the marriage of the Lamb occurred before the Church even existed! How is that possible? How could the bride be dressed in the righteous acts of the saints before the saints even existed and performed any righteous acts? It doesn’t make any sense. If that was really the case then after the death of Christ the Church should have been called the Wife, but that never happened.

I believe this passage should be interpreted plainly. After the marriage of the Lamb the Lord Jesus Christ returns to Earth with a great army and defeats the armies of the beast (which you can read about in Revelation 19:11-21). After this Satan is bound for a thousand years, during which time he is unable to deceive the nations or do any harm. He is completely removed from the scene.

I have heard people say that all of this must be symbolic, for it is impossible to bind Satan with a chain, but I do not find that argument convincing. We know that God is a spirit, but the Bible never says that Satan is a spirit. If the Lord decides to bind Satan with “a great chain” and lock him in a bottomless pit for a thousand years, who can say it is impossible? I imagine the Lord knows a great deal more about binding Satan than we do – and I know of no verses in the Bible that event hint that Satan cannot be bound with a heavenly chain. I think this idea of “it cannot be done” comes more from our own unbelief than any doctrines that can be found in the Bible.

 
The Thousand Years

It is common to hear that the thousand-year reign is symbolic of the present Church Age (the time between Pentecost and the return of Christ). For reasons I just described I do not think that is accurate. As we’ve just seen, if this passage is symbolic of the Church Age then that means Satan is bound right now, the marriage of the Lamb has already happened, and the Lord has already returned with the armies of Heaven to defeat Satan. I find that impossible to believe. I think it makes far more sense to read the text as it is – after the Lord returns, Satan is bound and Christ establishes a kingdom that lasts a thousand years.

Some would argue that the thousand years should be interpreted symbolically in light of what Peter said:

2 Peter 3:8: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

If you will notice, however, this passage uses symbolic language. It clearly says that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years. Revelation 20 contains no such symbolic language! Look at how many times it says that this period will last a thousand years – not that it will seem like a thousand years, or will be “as” a thousand years, but will be one thousand years long:

Revelation 20:2: “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

In both verses it clearly says “a thousand years”. There is no hint in the passage that this time period is symbolic. But we’re just getting started:

Revelation 20:4: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,”

In six verses the phrase “thousand years” occurs six times. I don’t see how it could have been made any more plain that this is a literal period of time. To look at it another way – if this passage was meant to be taken symbolically then it would have been easy to say “as a thousand years” or “was like a thousand years”, but it doesn’t say that. However, if the thousand-year period was meant to be taken literally, then how could the writer possibly have made it any plainer?

I believe the thousand year period should be interpreted as a thousand year period. In other words, it is called a thousand-year period because it lasts for one thousand years. I see no reason in the text itself to interpret it any differently.

 
The Kingdom

After Satan is bound we see a kingdom established:

Revelation 20:4: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Christ is clearly seen as reigning for a thousand years (“they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years”), but who is reigning with Him? Verse four says it is people who were martyred for the cause of Christ. Verse 5 states that these people were raised from the dead so that they could reign with Christ. How could this possibly be talking about the Church Age? Have the martyrs been resurrected so that they can reign with Christ? Once again, this is clearly talking about something that hasn’t happened yet. Here we see martyrs, raised from the dead, reigning with Christ on Earth. Just in case we missed it, the idea of reigning with Christ is first mentioned in verse 4 and then repeated in verse 6. The author wants to make it very clear that these people are reigning with Christ. This, of course, means that Christ is reigning over the Earth.

As an aside, lest we think that only martyrs are reigning in the millennial kingdom, we find these verses much earlier in Revelation:

Revelation 5:8: “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.
9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

I believe the 24 elders that are singing this song are symbolic of the Church. I think this because they identify themselves in verse 9 – the group was redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Their members come from every nation. What term does the Bible use to describe the leaders of the Church? “Elders”. It’s also worth noting that I Chronicles 24 divides the priests into 24 different divisions, which together represent the whole priesthood. 24 elders, then, could be symbolic of the whole church. (As an aside, some translations have “redeemed them” instead of “redeemed us” in verse 9. I believe the manuscript evidence supports “us” over “them”.)

To many people the idea that Christ will reign as a King on Earth is a shocking, unbiblical idea. The idea seems too strange to be true. Some would say that this passage must be symbolic because the very idea of Christ reigning on Earth is just too bizarre. And yet, this very idea can be found in other places throughout the Bible. For example, the Lord’s prayer hints at it:

Matthew 6:9: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

This could be interpreted spiritually, but it could also be talking about something else. After all, the Lord did make this promise:

Matthew 5:5: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

This echoes a passage from Psalms:

Psalm 37:10: “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

When is this going to happen? After all, this world is going to be destroyed:

2 Peter 3:12: “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”

Revelation 21:1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”

It is possible that the verses are talking about the new earth, but it’s worth noting that Psalms does not say “the meek will inherit a different earth”. Both Psalm 37 and Matthew 5 seem to be talking about this planet – and if so, at what point will the meek inherit it? They certainly haven’t inherited it yet! Revelation 20 is a good fit.

But those passages are just hints. There are other verses that are far more explicit. Look at what Christ told His disciples in Luke:

Luke 22:28: “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

The Lord promised His disciples that they would reign on Him – specifically, that they would sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. This goes right along with Revelation 5:10 and Revelation 20:6. The disciples were clearly promised “a kingdom”. If the kingdom was purely spiritual then this would have been a great place to tell that to the disciples, but there is no hint of that here. It is true that the Lord once told Pontius Pilate “my kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), but I believe there is a great deal of Scripture that teaches that one day His kingdom will reign over this world. All things will be put under the dominion of Christ.

Right before the Lord ascended into Heaven He was asked a question:

Acts 1:6: “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”

Notice that the Lord does not say “No, no, you misunderstand. My kingdom is not a physical one. You’ve got it all wrong.” Instead, He says this:

Acts 1:7: “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”

But there are far more explicit passages. Look at Isaiah 60. Here the Lord addresses Israel:

Isaiah 60:9: “Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.
11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually: they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.
12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.”

Has this happened yet? Do all the nations of the world serve Israel, as it says in verse 12? Has God destroyed the nations that would not serve her? This is clearly something that is still in the future. But the passage gets even better:

Isaiah 60:14: “The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.”

None of this has happened yet. Israel is despised and hated; what the Lord speaks of in Isaiah 60:15 is still in the future. But the Lord is not done yet. He also promises great wealth and peace:

Isaiah 60:17: “For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.”

Is Israel today a place where violence is unheard-of? Hardly – but that will be the case one day. Lest we think this prophecy will happen before the Lord returns, He adds something that is astonishing:

Isaiah 60:19: “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.”

In the future the sun and the moon will not light the land of Israel, for the Lord will be the source of light. This means that the Lord Himself will be dwelling in the land of Israel.

This passage has very strong parallels to the new heaven and the new earth that are mentioned in Revelation 21, but I don’t think that is what this is talking about. I say that because verse 12 speaks of the Lord crushing all nations that don’t serve Israel, and verse 14 talks about forcing those who despised Israel to bow at her feet. In the new heaven and the new earth there is no more death, sorrow, or pain, and all sinners (and evil, and Satan) have been done away with forever. This means there would be no one left who despised Israel, and there would be none that would not serve the Lord and His Kingdom. So, if there are still nations in rebellion then this must be talking about something else. I think Isaiah 60 is a picture of what the millennial kingdom will be like.

But it is not the only picture. Isaiah 65 says this:

Isaiah 65:17: “For, behold, I create new heaven and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind.
18 But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold I create Jerusalem rejoicing, and her people a joy.
19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.
24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.”

Why do I think this is talking about the millennial kingdom, and not the new heaven and the new earth spoken of in Revelation 21? Primarily because of verse 20, where it clearly says that people still die. The passage illustrates how long people will live by saying that someone who dies at the age of a hundred will be considered a child. This tells me that death has not yet been defeated. However, Revelation 21:4 clearly says that in the new heaven and the new earth that is created after the Great White Throne judgment, there is no more death (or sinners, for that matter). Therefore this passage must be talking about something else. If verse 20 had instead said that “There shall be no more death” then that would be one thing, but all it says is that people will live for a long time. There is a tremendous difference between living a long life and never dying.

If this is indeed not speaking of the new heaven and the new earth of Revelation 21 then when does all this happen? It certainly is not happening right now! I think this is another picture of the millennial kingdom. This passage may be talking about it as well:

Micah 4:1: “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
6 In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;
7 And I will make her that halteth a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation; and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even forever.”

This is another passage that clearly has not yet been fulfilled. It is hard to imagine this world ever becoming a place where nations no longer make war with each other, but that will one day be the case. This passage speaks of a time when “the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion” – in other words, a time when the Lord reigns as King in Israel! He will “rebuke strong nations afar off”, put an end to war, and bring lasting peace.

I do not think this is talking about the new heaven and the new earth of Revelation 21 because in verse 3 the Lord rebukes nations. After the Great White Throne judgment all evil, sin, and death will be done away with forever. There will be no need to rebuke anyone for anything that was evil was cast into the lake of fire. I believe this passage is speaking of the millennial kingdom.

There are other chapters that also speak of the millennial kingdom; in fact, the major and minor prophets had a great deal to say about it. But I think I have made my point. This is a major topic all throughout the Old Testament. It is not a crazy idea that suddenly pops up at the end of Revelation; the reign of Christ on Earth is something that was prophesied by the prophets and written about extensively.

 
The Last Battle

After the thousand years is over we are told that Satan “must be loosed a little season”:

Revelation 20:7: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, God and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Here we see the final end of Satan. After the thousand years “are expired” Satan is set free. He then goes all over the world and deceives the nations, creating a rebellion against King Jesus. They form a massive army and surround Jerusalem. However, the army never stands a chance. Fire comes down out of Heaven and consumes them. Satan is then cast into the lake of fire, putting a final end to his wickedness.

It is amazing to me that Satan was able to gather such a large army. At this point King Jesus had ruled over the world for a thousand years. There had been a thousand years of peace, joy, and harmony. In this kingdom there are many immortals – the Church, the Old Testament Saints, and the Tribulation Saints have all been resurrected and inhabit the globe. There are also many mortals – those who survived the Tribulation. The Lord said in Luke 20:35 that the resurrected neither marry nor are given in marriage, so the repopulation of the world will be left to the Tribulation survivors. These people will live in a world populated by the saints from the Old and New Testament. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and many others will be wandering around. Jesus will be reigning as King from Zion! For all intents and purposes the mortals who are born during this period will be living by sight, not by faith. Today we live in a world full of fear and doubt, but the millennial kingdom will be nothing like that.

And yet, at the end of the thousand years a massive number of mortals rebel against King Jesus and attempt to destroy Jerusalem – a city inhabited by immortals and reigned over by God Himself! That is madness. Why would they do this?

I think it is a testament to the evil heart of man. Even living in a perfect world is not enough to turn sinful men into righteous men. The environment cannot remove evil from the heart of man – only Christ can do that. Apart from Him we can do nothing. Given the chance, a great many mortals fall away from God and rebel, and are destroyed in the last battle.

 
The Great White Throne Judgment

Technically this has nothing to do with the millennial kingdom, but it’s part of Revelation 20 and I wanted to finish out the story. It amazes me how many people take Revelation 20:11-15 literally but refuse to interpret the first 10 verses of that chapter the same way. There is no reason in the text itself to interpret the first 10 verses one way and the last 5 verses another way.

We are told that after this final battle, and after Satan is thrown forever into the lake of fire, there is a final judgment. The righteous have already been told they have nothing to fear. In fact, many of them have already been raised into immortality – but the unrighteous dead were left dead, awaiting the final judgment:

Revelation 20:5: “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

So the Great White Throne judgment is a judgment for the lost. We are told that when this judgment begins the unrighteous dead are resurrected (so they go through this alive) and must stand before God:

Revelation 20:11: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell we cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

It’s worth nothing that those who stand before God are “the dead”. At this point the Old Testament saints, the New Testament saints, and the Tribulation saints have all been resurrected, so none of them would be in the category of “the dead”. (For the record, the New Testament saints were resurrected when the Lord returned at the beginning of the Tribulation, to catch His Bride away for her wedding; the Old Testament and Tribulation saints were resurrected after the Tribulation ended.) There is no reason to think that the Church will face this judgment – the passage is clear that this only impacts the dead. Remember, at this point all the unrighteous people are dead because they just tried to invade Jerusalem, and fire came down out of Heaven and consumed them. There are no living non-Christians. It is possible that the righteous who die during the millennial kingdom will face this judgment (for death has not yet been done away with); I do not know.

The criteria for being saved is simple: if your name was written in the Lamb’s book of life then you are freed. If it is not, then you are cast into the lake of fire, where you will be tormented day and night forever and ever. This is when death itself is done away with forever. That does not happen until this point. After this judgment nothing else will ever die. The reign of death is put to an end.

It should be noted that hell is not the final resting place of the unrighteous. Hell is emptied for this judgment and is actually cast into the lake of fire (verse 14). Those who rejected Christ as their Savior are not cast back into hell, but are also cast into the lake of fire (verse 15). In other words, no one will spend eternity in Hell, but sadly, many will spend eternity in the lake of fire.

The story does not end here! Revelation 21 talks about a new heaven and a new earth that is created after death is done away with forever and all suffering and pain has been put to a final end. But that is a topic for another time.

As a final wrap-up, this is how I believe events will play out:

• One day soon the Lord returns for His Church. All Christians who died between Pentecost (when the Church began) and the time of the Lord’s return are resurrected. All living Christians are translated so they never see death. The Lord then takes them with Him to Heaven.
• The Tribulation begins – a terrible seven-year period of suffering. The Lord pours out His judgment upon an unbelieving world. Most importantly, He uses these judgments to bring Israel back to Him. This, in fact, is one of the key purposes of the Tribulation – to turn Israel’s heart back to God.
• During the Tribulation the Marriage of the Lamb takes place in Heaven. The Bride of Christ becomes the Wife of Christ.
• At the end of the Tribulation the Lord returns with the armies of Heaven and puts an end to the beast and the false prophet. Satan is bound for a thousand years and the Lord establishes a kingdom on Earth, where He reigns from Zion. At this point the Tribulation saints and Old Testament saints are resurrected. The world is repopulated (more than half its population died during the Tribulation) by Tribulation survivors.
• At the end of the thousand years Satan is set free. He deceives the nations and they launch a final war against God. Fire comes out of heaven and consumes them, killing all those who rejected Christ as King. All unbelievers are killed and Satan is cast into the lake of fire, finishing his career.
• The Great White Throne judgment happens. Only the dead are there, which would be those killed in the last battle against God, and possibly those who died during the millennial kingdom. All those who rejected Jesus (whose names are not found in the Lamb’s book of life) are cast into the lake of fire. Death is done away with. After this judgment there is no more death, suffering, crying, or pain – for those who survived the judgment.
• After these things the current heaven and earth are destroyed and the Lord creates a new heaven and a new earth. This is a place that will never see death, pain, or suffering. This will be a perfect world and it will last forever. The Lord will reign from the New Jerusalem, making His dwelling place with men. This is where the righteous will spend eternity – on Earth, as subjects of King Jesus.

If all these things are true then we have a great deal to look forward to! The Second Coming is not the end of time but the start of a breathtaking new chapter. This will not always be a world of doubt and evil, for a King is coming that will put everything right. One day the meek will inherit the earth and delight themselves in an abundance of peace. I am very much looking forward to that day.