“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to
them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to
Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image,
and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they
lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).
The Millennium is a one thousand year period in which our Lord Jesus
Christ will reign over all the earth from Jerusalem. At the beginning of the
Millennium, Satan is bound by an angel of God and thrown into the bottomless
pit. He will be kept there during the Millennium to prevent him from deceiving
the people on earth. The Millennium is 1,000 years of peace and godly rule that
begins when Satan is bound by the angel.
Chapters 20 and 21 of the book of Revelation record a series of events
which will occur of the first day of the Millennium. Except for the parenthesis
found in Revelation 20:7-15, these events described by John clearly occur in
succession, one right after the other.
“And I saw and angel coming
down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan,
and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it
and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer,
until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released
for a short time” (Revelation 20:1-3).
“And I saw thrones, and they
sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the
testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not
worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their
forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for
a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4-6).
“And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned
for her husband” (Revelation 21:2).
These four “I saw” phrases
give the sequence of events that occur at the beginning of the Millennium as
follows:
First Event: Satan is bound (Revelation 20:2-3)
Second Event: The Sheep and the Goat Judgment of Christ (Matthew 25:31-41,46)
Third Event: The Resurrection of the “beheaded” tribulation martyrs (Revelation 20:4-6).
Fourth Event: The descent of the New Jerusalem, the bride, down to earth (Revelation
21:2-27).
These then are the events that need to be looked at carefully to
complete our discussion of all the preceding end-time events and to have a
better appreciation of the millennial kingdom over which Christ will rule.
But for now, it suffices to say that under the righteous rule of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the entire earth will experience a time of peace and
prosperity. Without the deception of Satan, people will not fight or deceive
one another. For 1,000 years, conditions for mankind will be ideal—yet man will
still follow evil when the opportunity presents itself again.
At the end of the 1,000 year Millennium, Satan will be loosed from his
bonds for a short while. He will go out to deceive the nations, including Gog
and Magog (Revelation 20:7-8). These nations will decide to rebel against Jesus
and attempt an attack on Jerusalem. This will not be much of a war since fire
will come down from God and destroy them (Revelation 20:9). Satan will then be
thrown into the lake of fire where he will be tormented forever (Revelation
20:10). He will never be allowed to deceive people again. Immediately after
Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, the first heaven (i.e., universe) and
first earth will disappear and the Great White Throne Judgment will begin.
SUMMARY
Term Definition:
Millennium is “1. a period of one thousand years. 2. The millennium, the period of a
thousand years during which Christ will reign on earth. Revelation 20:1-7...” (The
Random House College Dictionary, Revised, Unabridged Edition, 1980, p. 848)
Significance of the Millennium:
The Millennium will be a time when Satan is prevented from deceiving man
for one thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3). At the end of the one thousand
years, men will again follow Satan in attacking God's people (Revelation
20:7-9). This shows that unregenerate man turns to evil at the first
opportunity, even after 1,000 years of an ideal environment. Therefore, it is
not a person’s environment that makes him do bad things—it is rebellion against
God (Romans 1:20-21,28-32; John 3:19-20).
Source of the Millennium:
God will have Satan bound to prevent his interference with the
millennial peace (Revelation 20:1-3). Christ and His people will rule over all
the earth and over all people (Zechariah 14:9,16-17; Revelation 20:4,6).
Length of the Millennium:
The Millennium lasts one thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3).
Events Prior to the Millennium:
The Wrath of God and the battle of Armageddon will occur before the
Millennium (Revelation 19:17; 16:12-21). Just before the beginning of the
Millennium, the Beast and False Prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation
19:20). At the start of the Millennium, Satan will be bound by an angel of God
and cast into the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3).
Events of the Millennium:
Satan will be bound during the entire 1,000 years of the Millennium so
that he cannot deceive people (Revelation 20:2-3). The people of God will reign
with Christ Jesus (Revelation 20:4-6). Jerusalem will be safely inhabited (Zechariah
14:10-11). Those who will populate the earth during the Millennium will be
required to go to Jerusalem each year to worship the Lord Jesus and keep the
Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16). Any who fail to worship will not
receive rain, and they will receive a plague from the Lord (Zechariah
14:17-19).
God During the Millennium:
The Lord Jesus will reign from Jerusalem and will withhold rain and send
a plague upon those nations who fail to worship Him yearly in Jerusalem (Zechariah
14:9,16-19).
Christians During the Millennium:
Christians will reign with Christ during the Millennium (Revelation
20:4).
Satan During the Millennium:
Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit during the Millennium (Revelation
20:1-3).
Beast During the Millennium:
The Beast and the False Prophet will be in the lake of fire during the
Millennium (Revelation 19:20).
Non-Christians During the Millennium:
Those who will populate the earth during the Millennium will be required
to go to Jerusalem each year to worship the Lord Jesus and keep the Feast of
Tabernacles. If they fail to do so, they will not receive rain, and they will
suffer from a plague (Zechariah 14:16-19). Those non-Christians who die before
the start of the Millennium will not be resurrected until after the Millennium
is over (Revelation 20:5,11-13).
Events Following the Millennium:
At the end of the Millennium, Satan will be loosed from his bonds for a
short time (Revelation 20:3,7). Satan will deceived Gog, Magog, and the nations
into attempting an attack against Christ and His people in Jerusalem (Revelation
20:8-9). The attackers will be destroyed and Satan will be cast into the lake
of fire (Revelation 20:9-10). Immediately after this, the Great White Throne
Judgment will take place (Revelation
20:1-15).
Scripture references for the Millennium:
Matthew 19:28; Luke 1:32-33; Revelation 2:26-27; Revelation 5:10; Revelation
20:1-10; Isaiah 2:2-4; 65:25; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Daniel 2:44; 7:13-14, 27; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:1-4; Zechariah 8:3; 14:6-11, 16-21.
