REVELATION 20
THE 1000 YEAR REIGN
OF
CHRIST
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We come now to
the aftermath of that great turning point in Earth’s history when Christ fought
the battle of Armageddon and returned again to Earth. Now, Revelation will take
up the subject of Christ's long anticipated and prophesied thousand year reign.
The theological term for this reign is the Millennium. This is a word that comes
from the Latin word for "one thousand". The Greek word is
χίλια
(chilia).
It is used six times here in the first nine verses. Some theologians call those
who believe in Christ’s literal thousand year reign on Earth,
Chiliasts. There are three major
theological positions in the Church today in connection with the millennial
reign of Christ. They are as follows:
Post-millennialism
is the view that says that Christ will return
after the Millennium. This position originated with Augustine who
felt that the Church would dominate the world for a thousand years and then,
afterwards, Christ would return. Many people hold various forms of
post-millennialism. For many years, liberal Christianity held a humanistic
post-millennialism that taught that man would get better and better until man
himself would bring in the Kingdom of God on Earth. However, they didn't believe
Christ would ever literally return. This position was popular early in the
twentieth century but lost most of its adherents because of World Wars I and II.
A-millennialism
says that there will be no
Millennium. A-millennialists do not believe that Christ will literally reign on
Earth but they do believe in his return. They simply see Christ as coming one
day, judging the wicked and then simply moving straight on into the
new
heavens and the new earth.
Pre-millennialism
says that Christ will return before
the Millennium. It is based on the literal, grammatical, historical
interpretation of Scripture that simply interprets Scripture for what it says.
It follows the basic hermeneutical principle that says,
If the literal sense makes sense seek no
other sense. Premillennialists believe that Christ's return to Earth will be
followed by a literal thousand year reign just as the Bible clearly states here
in Revelation 20:4-5. This view is the correct view, in my opinion, since it
strictly adheres to consistent principles of biblical interpretation based on
sound biblical hermeneutics. If you would like to read up on these
very important principles of interpretation, you might begin by reading
Bernard Ramm's classic book, Protestant Biblical Interpretation.
The Old Testament is replete with prophecies that predict the future millennial
reign of Christ on Earth. Before we proceed with our study, it
would be profitable for us to look at a few from an Old Testament prophet that
had a great deal to say about Christ’s millennial reign … the prophet Isaiah. He
said,
There shall come forth a Rod from the
stem of Jesse, and a Branch
shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit
of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the
LORD, and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the hearing
of his ears; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with
equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his
mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness
shall be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness the belt of his waist.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and
the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear
shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat
straw like the ox. The nursing child
shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the
viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
And in that day there shall be a Root of
Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek
him, and his resting place shall be glorious. It shall come to pass in that
day That the LORD shall set his hand
again the second time to recover the remnant of his people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath
and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and
will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.
Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut
off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim. But they
shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; together
they shall plunder the people of the East; they shall lay their hand on Edom and
Moab; and the people of Ammon shall obey them. The LORD will utterly destroy the
tongue of the Sea of Egypt; with his mighty wind he will shake his fist over the
River, and strike it in the seven streams, and make men cross over dry-shod.
There will be a highway for the remnant
of his people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel in the day
that he came up from the land of Egypt. Isaiah 11
I will open rivers in desolate heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of
water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle
and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine and the
box tree together, that they may see and know, and consider and understand
together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, and the Holy One of Israel
has created it. Isaiah 41:18-20
For
the LORD will comfort Zion,
he will comfort all her waste places; he will make her wilderness like Eden, and
her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in it,
thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Isaiah 51:3
Instead of the thorn shall come up the
cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the LORD for a name,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Isaiah 55:13
As you can see
from these words of Isaiah, the Old Testament scriptures speak in no uncertain
terms about the future glorious and literal reign of Messiah on Earth. Many,
many Jewish people were, and still are, correct in anticipating it.
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Rev. 20:1-3
Then I saw an
angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great
chain in his hand. He laid hold of the
dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a
thousand
years; and he cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But
after these things he must be released for a little while.
Following the
battle of Armageddon, Christ will literally set foot once again on the Mount of
Olives. And, as he touches down there, he will cause huge topographical changes
to the entire area. Then, he will proceed on into Jerusalem through the Eastern
Gate and on up to the temple. There, he will remain to govern and reign over all
the Earth for one thousand years. As you have it in
Zechariah 14:3-4,
Then shall the
Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of
battle. And his feet shall stand in that
day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the
Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the
west, and there shall be a very great valley; and the half of the mountain shall
remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
(KJV)
Afterwards,
Christ's next order of business will be to remove Satan from the earth and
confine him
to the Abyss for
a thousand years. Back in chapter 12, you will remember that
Satan was tossed out of Heaven and restricted to the earth at the beginning of
the Great Tribulation. You will also remember from that passage that it was
Michael the archangel and the other good angels of God who bodily expelled Satan
and his demons from Heaven. I strongly suspect that the angel we see here ...
the angel
with a great chain ... is
Michael as well. How Satan will
hate that, aye!? Satan’s demons will also be confined to the Abyss during the
Millennium. Isaiah supplies us with that information.
It shall come to
pass in that day that the LORD will
punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the
earth. They will be gathered together, as
prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; after
many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun
ashamed; for the LORD of hosts will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before his elders, gloriously. Isaiah
24:21-23
In addition,
our text tells us that the purpose of Satan's confinement will be so that he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years were finished. The presence of
Satan on Earth complicates the nature of man’s sin problem. Without Satan’s
presence and influence, sin will be restricted to the flesh. In contrast to the
righteous reign of Christ, the manifestation of man’s sin nature will become
much more apparent and predictable. During the Millennium, no one will be able
to say, The Devil made me do it!
On the contrary, the only thing anyone will be able to say about their
wickedness will be, Yes,
I did it. So, for one
thousand years the nature of man will be tested and displayed for what it
truly is and man's total depravity will be clearly demonstrated apart from any
interference or influence from Satan whatsoever (Romans 3:9-18).
Now, let’s
consider the identity of the
nations who the Devil will no longer be able to deceive. Who
might they be? Well, Jesus said there would be a judgment of the nations that
would take place at the beginning of his reign on Earth. As we have it in
Matthew 25:31-46,
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
he will sit on the throne of his glory.
All the
nations will be gathered
before him, and
he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his
sheep from the goats. And he will set the
sheep on his right hand, but the
goats on the left. Then the King
will say to those on his right hand,
'Come, you blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was
hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a
stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you
visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer
him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a
stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick,
or in prison, and come to you? And the
King will answer and say to them,
'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my
brethren, you did it to me. Then he will also say to those on the
left hand,
'Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the
devil and his angels: 'for I was
hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I
was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick
and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer him, saying,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to
you? Then he will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
This famous
passage is probably one of the most misunderstood and taken out of context
passages in the Bible. Jesus was not speaking about the Rapture of the Church,
as is so often taught and preached on that passage. He was not talking to the
Church at all. As far as the Church is concerned, there will never be any
dividing of saints from non-saints anywhere or at any time. Christ specifically
says that this event, described in Matthew, will
follow his coming in
glory with
all his holy angels. ... a clear
reference to his Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation. As we have it in
Second Thessalonian 1:7-9,
And to you who
are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels, in flaming
fire taking vengeance on them that know not God
[at the battle of
Armageddon], and obey not
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
[after the preaching of the
144,000, the
two
witnesses and God's proclaiming
angel who circumvented the globe
preaching the gospel]
who shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from
the glory of his power…
So, Matthew 25
is all about the aftermath of Christ’s Second Coming and what will take place at
the beginning of his millennial reign. At that time, those who are left alive at
the end of the Great Tribulation will be gathered before Christ Jesus to be
divided like
sheep being separated from
goats. This is the Judgment of the Nations. The actual Greek word
translated
nations
there is
εθνη
(ethnay).
It refers to people from every ethnic group. This will be a very unusual and
unique judgment. The sole criteria for this judgment will be how each individual
person from every remaining ethnic group on Earth has treated Christ's brethren
during the dark days of the Great Tribulation. On that basis alone, people will
either enter the Millennium … or be sent away to the Lake of Fire. In reality,
this will be the final separation of the remaining Tribulation saints from the
surviving wicked Earth-dwellers at the end of the Tribulation. At this judgment,
the
righteous (those saints who cared
for and helped Christ’s
brethren during the Tribulation),
will be welcomed into his Millennial reign. Their faith, you see, was
demonstrated by their actions. Real faith always demonstrates itself by its good
works and, also, its love for the people of God. As you have it in
First Peter 1:22,
Seeing ye have
purified your souls in obeying the truth
through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of
the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently…
(KJV)
As a result of
the Judgment of the
ethnos, many people from a wide variety of ethnic groups and
nations will enter the Millennium and preserve their individual national
identities there. Both Zechariah and Jeremiah speak about these leftover seed
nations who will constitute the new populations of the earth during Christ's
reign.
And it shall come
to pass that everyone who is
left of all the nations
(following the Judgment of the Nations cited above)
which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King,
the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah 14:16
At that time Jerusalem shall be called
The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem.
No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. Jeremiah 3:17
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Rev. 20:4-6
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. But the
rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the
first resurrection. Over such the
second death has no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand
years.
20:4
There are two
different groups of saints mentioned here who will have important administrative
roles during the Millennium.
The first group that will reign with Christ are seen here seated upon
thrones.
And, he says,
judgment was committed to them.
This group is
the Church. The scriptures are clear about the fact
that the Church will one day sit on
thrones and
judge the world. This will
come to pass during the Millennium. Consider the following scriptures:
Do you not know that
the saints
will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are
you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? First Corinthians 6:2
If we endure,
we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.
Second Timothy 2:12
And he who
overcomes, and keeps my works until the end,
to him I will give power over the nations;
'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the
potter's vessels'; as I also have received from my Father… Revelation 2:26-27
So Jesus said
to them,‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration,
when the Son of Man sits on the throne of
his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel.’ Matthew 19:28
Matthew 19:28,
above, speaks of the special position that the Apostles, the founders of the
Church, will hold in regard to Israel during the Millennium.
The second group, who will reign with Christ, are the
Tribulation Saints. Our text
identifies them as
those
who had been beheaded for the witness to
Jesus who had not worshiped the beast or his image. It says that they
also
lived and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years.
This vision caused John to exclaim,
Blessed and holy is he who has a part in
the first resurrection.
They shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Notice, they are said
to be immune to the
second death. Verse 14, defines for us what the
second death is.
Both of the above mentioned groups will have a part in the
first resurrection and
will serve Christ on the earth during the Millennium.
It is important to understand that the
first resurrection is not one single event in time. Rather, it is a
concept that incorporates more than one event and more than one time. It is a
theological term that refers to the resurrection of all righteous people
regardless of when, where or how their individual resurrection might occur. The
first resurrection has been called
the resurrection of the just, as opposed to the
second resurrection, which could be called, the
resurrection of the damned.
Dr. McGee likens the first resurrection
to a parade...
At the beginning of the parade is the
Grand Marshal, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was the
firstborn from the dead. There
will be many others who will follow him. Paul writes in
Acts 26:23, that Christ would suffer, that he would be the
first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim
light to the Jewish people and to
the Gentiles.
Next in line in the parade of the
first resurrection ... are the dead in Christ who will be resurrected at the
Rapture of the Church. As you have it in
First Thessalonians 4:16,
For the Lord
himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel,
and with the trumpet of God. And the dead
in Christ will rise first.
Following them, still other saints
will experience their part in the
first resurrection.
There will be the resurrection of pre-Abrahamic Old Testament Saints ... Adam to
Abraham. And, then there will be the resurrection of Israel ... Abraham through
the last Israelite who died during the Great Tribulation (Daniel 12:2). And,
finally, there will be the resurrection of the Tribulation Saints. Although we
are not given the exact times in Scripture as to these last three resurrections,
nevertheless it seems certain they will take place at or near the end of The
Great Tribulation. Daniel speaks of the resurrection of Israel after a period of
great tribulation. He writes,
At that time
Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your
people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was
a nation, even to that time. And at that
time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the
book. And many of those who sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some
to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:1-2
At that future
time, godly Israelites who were under the Old Covenant will be resurrected to
enter Messiah's Kingdom on Earth, just as the Scripture promised them. For
example, Ezekiel says that David himself will one day enter the kingdom and rule
over Israel once again...
Therefore I will
save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle
and cattle. And I will set up
one shepherd over them, and he shall
feed them, even my servant David; he
shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their
God, and my servant David a prince among
them; I the Lord have spoken it. Ezekiel 34:22-24
(KJV)
The
resurrection of the pre-law saints will also occur at the Lord's Second Coming,
at or near the end of the Great Tribulation. Job fills in this piece of the
puzzle when he says,
For I know that
my redeemer liveth, and that he shall
stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall
I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not
another; though my reins be consumed within me
[i.e. ... frightened out of his wits]. Job 19:25-27
20:5
Our passage
states,
But the rest of the dead
did not live until the thousand years were
finished. All other people who have died, from Adam's day to the last
day, who did not have a part in the
first resurrection, will not be
resurrected
until the thousand years are
finished.
This vast multitude of peoples will not experience their resurrection
until all the ranks of the wicked of all time have been completely filled. Many
in this group, I'm sorry to say, will die during the reign of Christ on Earth.
This entire group's resurrection is called, by default,
the second resurrection or
the resurrection of the damned. It
will consist exclusively of wicked human beings from all of human history. We
will read the sobering account of it at the end of this chapter.
20:6
Without
comment, let's simply read this wonderful verse again...
Blessed and holy is he who has part in
the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall
be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
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THE MILLENNIUM
Let’s pause
here for a minute and think a bit more about the thousand year reign of Christ.
Revelation does not concern itself with this subject because it’s main theme is
the presentation of how the world will be subdued leading up to the Millennial
reign of Christ. Therefore, in our text here, the Millennium is only referred to
briefly by the simple statement, And
they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This future
1000 reign of the Messiah has been the Jews’ biblically rooted hope for hundreds
and hundreds of years. It was the first thing on Jesus’ disciple’s minds after
his resurrection. They questioned him about it saying,
Lord,
will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to
them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in
His own authority. Acts 1:6
Notice, Jesus
did not deny their understanding that his widely prophesied Kingdom would
actually come to Earth one day. He simply said that the timing of it was solely
in his Father’s hands. This future literal reign of Messiah on Earth is a major
theme of the Old Testament scriptures. Here are a few of my favorites from
Isaiah that refer to it.
There shall come forth a Rod
[Jesus]
from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the
LORD shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
His delight is in the fear of the LORD,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
But with righteousness He shall judge
the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of His
loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
The wolf also shall dwell with the
lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the
cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all
My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea.
And in that day there shall be a Root
of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”
It shall come to pass in that day
That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
He will set up a banner for the
nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.
Also the
envy of Ephraim shall depart,
And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not envy Judah,
And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
But they shall fly down upon the
shoulder of the Philistines toward the west;
Together they shall plunder the people of the East;
They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab;
And the people of Ammon shall obey them.
The LORD will utterly destroy the
tongue of the Sea of Egypt;
With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River,
And strike it in the seven streams,
And make men cross over dryshod.
There will be a highway for the remnant
of His people
Who will be left from Assyria,
As it was for Israel
In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt. Isaiah 11
. . . . . . . . . .
I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:18-20
. . . . . . . . . .
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
No
more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
They
shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and another eat;
For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD,
And their offspring with them.
It
shall come to pass
That before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
Says the LORD. Isaiah 65:19-25
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Rev. 20:7-10
Now
when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from
his prison and will go out to deceive
the nations which are in the four corners of the earth,
Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as
the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints and the
beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where
[NU
inserts:
also] the beast and
the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and
ever.
For a thousand
years, the Earth will experience unprecedented peace and righteousness under the
benevolent but strict reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. I say
“strict” because that is what egocentric sinners will continue to require.
This is why our text says that the Lord will rule them with a
rod
of iron. Saved sinners will enter the Millennium but multitudes of
unsaved sinners will be born during the thousand year reign of Christ. Those
offspring will possess the same sin nature that mankind has always possessed and
they will need to be saved and sanctified by faith in the Son of God … just as
people need to be today. Death will also exist in the Millennium but, according
to the Scripture, it will be rare. Isaiah tells us the world will be repopulated
during the Millennium and also that mankind will have its longevity restored. He
prophesies that life spans will once again be as they were in the days of
Methuselah, who lived 969 years
(Genesis
5:25-26).
No more shall an
infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his
days; for the child shall die one hundred
years old, but the sinner being
one hundred years old shall be accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat
their fruit. Isaiah 65:20-21
Doubtless, by
the end of the Millennium, there will once again be billions of people on Earth.
However, Isaiah also says,
But the sinner being one hundred years old
shall be accursed.
This statement makes it clear that for many, a thousand years of
righteousness and absolute justice will wear very thin indeed. To those people,
there will probably be nothing worse, in their thinking, than having to live one
more day under the righteous rule of Christ. Zechariah refers to people of their
“ilk” as follows:
And it shall be that whichever of the
families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD
of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family
of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall
receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to
keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
Zechariah 14:17-18
This is one
example of the exercise of Christ's
rod of iron.
20:7-8
We come now to
an amazing prophecy to consider. We read here that, after the thousand years has
expired,
Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the
nations. Why would Christ do that? Someone has said,
Well, if you can tell me why God turned
him loose the first time, I'll tell you why he turns him loose the second time!
There is ample evidence here, however, as to just why Satan will be released.
When he is released from the Abyss, this great archenemy of God and his Christ
will go forth and act like a giant magnet to once again draw and assemble
together all the world’s unsaved malcontents. They will gather themselves
together for one last desperate rebellion. Incredible as it sounds, once again
multitudes will march against the Holy City and against our blessed Lord, just
as the armies of their ancient forefathers had done a thousand years before at
the great battle of Armageddon. It is at this precise point in time that
Psalm 2, will be
literally fulfilled in history. Therefore, I give it here in its entirety...
Why do the nations rage, and the people
plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take
counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
Let us break their bonds in pieces and
cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the
LORD shall hold them in derision. Then he shall speak to them in his wrath, and
distress them in his deep displeasure: yet
I have set my King on my holy hill of
Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to me, 'You
are my Son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the
nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. You
shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a
potter's vessel.' Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice
with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be
angry, and you perish in the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in him.
Our text says,
when Satan was released he went throughout
the
four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle,
whose number is as the sand of the sea. The Old Testament prophecy of
Gog
and Magog is found in Ezekiel 38 and 39. It greatly amplifies this
future amazing and final rebellion against Christ. There, Christ's final battle
with the Evil One and his armies is given in great detail. Here are some of its
more pertinent parts.
Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, set your face against
Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and
prophesy against him, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I am against
you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out,
with all your army, horses, and
horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all
of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them
with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the
far north and all its troops; many people
are with you. Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that
are gathered about you; and be a
guard for them.After many days you will
be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought
back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel,
which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all
of them dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the
land like a cloud, you and all your troops and
many peoples with you. 'Thus says the
Lord GOD: "On that day it shall come to pass that
thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan:
you will say, 'I will go up against a
land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all
of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates'; to take
plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places
that are again inhabited, and against a
people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who
dwell in the midst of the land.
Ezekiel 38:1-11
Then you will come from
your place out of the far north, you
and many peoples with you, all of
them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.You will come up against my people Israel like a cloud, to cover the
land. It will be in the latter days that
I will bring you against my land,
so that the nations may know me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog,
before their eyes.
Ezekiel 38:15-16
…And it will
come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,’ says
the Lord GOD, ’that my fury will show in my face.’ Ezekiel 38:18
… And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed;
I will rain down on him, on his
troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great
hailstones, fire,
and brimstone. Thus I will magnify myself and sanctify myself, and I
will be known in the eyes of many nations.
Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’
Ezekiel 38:22-23
The next
chapter, Ezekiel 39, has to do with the aftermath of the battle of God and Magog
… not the battle of Armageddon ... as is so often taught. It is clear from
Ezekiel 39, that the Millennium itself will continue the perfecting of Israel.
Strange as it may sound, many Jews who will be born during Christ's thousand
year reign will not respond in faith to Christ and therefore will not understand
who Jesus Christ truly is (keep in mind that we are still under the
days of the seventh trumpet
here and the
mystery of God is still not complete). As for these biblical
names,
Gog and Magog, there has been much speculation. They refer to
specific ancient cities in the territory of what is now Russia. Apparently,
these cities will be restored during the Millennium and will re-assume their
ancient biblical names. It seems that they will also be hotbeds of discontent
and rebellion that will be played out at the end of the Millennium.
20:9
From Ezekiel's
prophecy, we learn that Satan's final rebellion and subsequent invasion of the
Promised Land (and its
beloved city, Jerusalem) will come
out of the
north. At that time, just as Ezekiel predicted, (and also as it
is seen here in our text)
fire from heaven will consume
Satan's enormous and last army. Then, we read,
the Devil, who deceived them, was
cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet
are. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW. Amen? The great tempter,
deceiver, accuser of the brethren, liar, murderer and tormentor of the human
race will, on that great day, be permanently dealt with ... once and for all …
never to be heard from again! Our Lord Jesus Christ will summarily consign him
to the
lake of fire and brimstone... just as easily as he previously
deposited the
beast and the
false prophet there at the battle
of Armageddon. Satan's downward spiral will then be complete. Having fallen from
Heaven to Earth, then from Earth to the Abyss, he will ultimately be cast into
the Lake of Fire and Brimstone … which will be his final and eternal abode.
______________________________________________________________________________
Rev. 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great,
standing before
[NU omits: God and adds:
the throne],
and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the
Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which
were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death
and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one
according to his works. Then Death and
Hades were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
And anyone not found written in the Book
of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
After Satan's final rebellion, at least seven months will go by. This is to
allot for the time that Ezekiel said would be required to bury all the bodies of
those who came up against the Lord. As you have it in
Ezekiel 39:12,
And seven months shall the house of
Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Following that, the dissolving of this present world and its universe will occur
… followed by the judgment of the
great white throne. As described
here,
the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for
them. Peter put it this way,
But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are
reserved for fire
until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. …
But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise,
and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both
the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since
all these things will be dissolved,
what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking
for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which
the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with
fervent heat? Second Peter 3:7,10-12
Jesus said,
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:35
On the day of which we are reading, these scriptures will be fulfilled. The
universe, as we know it, will pass away
with a great noise.
The world has the Big Bang theory
backwards. The Big Bang comes at the end
of the universe, not at its beginning. It did not create the universe in the
first place, but it surely will end it! Then, suddenly, like being caught like a
thief in the night, the wicked dead of all time will find themselves resurrected
and standing before a
great white throne. Theologians
call this, The Great White Throne Judgment.
No unsaved and ungodly person who has ever lived will be absent from this
judgment. Verse 13, says,death,
hell and the sea delivered up the dead that were in them. That just
about covers it, doesn't it? All people from all time, who did not have a part
in the first resurrection, will be raised at this
second resurrection to stand before
Almighty God at his
great white throne.
I once had a
non-Christian friend with whom I discussed this judgment. He found it difficult
to believe that God would be able to resurrect bodies from the sea after so many
years had elapsed. He argued they would have simply disintegrated. I told him
that his god was too small. He then replied, partially in jest, but with a
disturbing vein of seriousness … Well,
I won't be judged there because I’m just
not going to show up! The fact remains, however, that unless my college
friend has since come to Christ (and I am still praying that he does), he will
absolutely have no choice. After the entire universe has been dissolved, he will
find himself standing in the midst of all the rest of the wicked of all time at
this fearful and final judgment.
20:12b-13
John says,
and
books were opened. God keeps track of what men say and do. And, by the
way, He needs no books to do so. Verse 13, says,
And they were judged, each one
according to his works. These books are for men and women's benefit.
Every single thing they have ever said, thought or done … they will find it
recorded there. I suspect there will be a book for each life. It will be like
the old TV program, “This is your life,” but not nearly so complimentary. Then,
day after day, as these poor, lost sinners read, their words, thoughts and deeds
recorded in the books, The Judge of the Whole Earth will ask them to give an
account. I suspect it will take years to complete. This is the final destiny of
all men and women who have rejected the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for
their sins. One can only imagine the sobering and fearful effect this will have
on lost sinners as they are shown all their wicked words, thoughts and deeds
committed during their lifetimes. Everyone who has been summoned to the Great
White Throne judgment will be examined and meticulously evaluated in light of
what is written in the books that will be set before them. All will be fair. All
will be accurate. Now, believe me, I surely would never want to stand before
Holy God solely on the basis of my good works, would you? Here are a few
scriptures on the subject…
But we are all
like an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our
iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
…knowing that
a man is not justified by the works of
the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus,
that we might be justified by faith in
Christ and not by the works of the law;
for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Galatians
2:16
For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God, not of works, lest anyone should
boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
Not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing
of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on
us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior: that being justified by his
grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus
3:5-7
(KJV)
Jesus said,
But I say to you
that for every idle word men may speak,
they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your
words you will be justified, and by your
words you will be condemned.
Matthew 12:36-37
The second and
third stanzas of that great old hymn Rock
of Ages says it all:
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress,
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly,
Wash me, Savior, or I die!
Poor lost sinners, who find themselves before the Great White Throne Judgment,
will all too quickly discover just how inadequate the
filthy rags of their own
perceived good deeds will be. Before Holy God and his righteous gaze, their
multitudes of evil deeds and words will be exposed to the light. The moral and
spiritual filthiness of each individual will be glaring and inescapable. Jesus
said that not only will every wicked, thoughtless, blasphemous and unloving word
be brought up … but an explanation will be demanded for them as well. When the
books are opened at the Great White Throne
Judgment, men’s puny cases for their own goodness will evaporate away like
puffs of steam in a windstorm.
May we step aside here for a moment? Did you notice that sin wasn't mentioned
here at all? Why is that? Well, it’s because the sin question was forever
settled at the cross … not just in relation to you and me, beloved … but, in
relation to the whole world! The whole world has been reconciled to God through
the death of Christ on that cross. As you have it in
First John 2:2,
And He Himself is
the propitiation for our sins, and
not for ours only but also for the whole
world.
God's wrath towards sin has already been propitiated (satisfied) at the cross.
Sin is no longer an issue between God and man. As you have it in
Second Corinthians 5:18-21,
Now all things
are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given
us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that
God was in Christ reconciling the world
to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the
word of reconciliation. Now then, we
are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore
you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
I repeat … sin is no longer an issue between God and man. The issue today is …
How has a person responded to the Son of
God and his work on the cross?As you have it in
John 3:36,
He who
believes in the Son has everlasting
life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abides on him.
This is why sin is not taken up at the White Throne Judgment … only
works … followed by the critical
issue of whether or not one's name is found written in the Lamb's
Book of Life (verse 16).
Notice that the destiny of those who will stand before the Great White
Throne will be based solely on the presence or absence of their name in that one
all-important book. It will have nothing at all to do with men's works … which
have just been thoroughly examined. As far as eternal life is concerned, the
only thing that God will hold man accountable for is how they have responded to
his Son … who loved them so that he gave up his own life for them. As you have
it in I John
5:11-12,
And this is the
testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He
who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have
life.
At the Great White Throne Judgment, I
believe these books of works will be opened on each life in order to demonstrate
to each one of these poor lost men and women that they truly were SINNERS and
therefore, truly DID need a SAVIOR, even though, in life, they disagreed and
chose to live their lives apart from him. Doubtless, this thorough examination
of the works of each person’s life will be very fresh on their minds when the
Lamb's
Book of Life is opened to see if
anyone’s name present is written therein. But, they will not find a single one.
Only those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and received
God’s gracious gift of forgiveness and salvation through the shed blood of his
Son will have their names written in that book. That's why it’s called the
Lamb's Book of Life (verse 8). It is not a record of the wicked works of
men and women … it is the record of those faithful men and women who have
believed on Christ and, thereby, have had their sins washed away forever by the
blood of the Lamb, having received his free gifts of righteousness and eternal
life. Jesus said to his disciples in
Luke 10:20,
Nevertheless do
not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven.
The Apostle Paul also speaks of this book...
And I urge you
also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with
Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers,
whose names are in the Book of Life.
Philippians 4:3
Doubtless, it will be a horror beyond description … after people have lost any
hope in their own supposed good works to hear the awful words,
"No, Lord, his (her)
name… is not here." Dear reader, is
your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life? Believe me, no one will ever enter
Heaven on the basis of their own good works. Faith in Christ alone fits one for
that holy place. Second Corinthians 5:21,
says,
For he made him
who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we
might become the righteousness of God in him.
Righteousness is a gift, you see. It fits you for Heaven. It is imputed, by God,
to anyone who places their trust and hope squarely in his Son. Are you a real
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, you have Christ’s own righteousness.
It has been credited to your account. And, amazingly, in God’s eyes, you are as
righteous as he is! We can say that, because we have God's word on it. We
believers have been given God’s own righteousness. It has been counted to us as
our own (Romans 4:21-24). Isn't that wonderful? What a trade, aye? He took our
sin and, in return, we have been given Christ's own righteousness. That’s why
Romans 8:1,
can say,
There is
therefore now no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but
according to the Spirit.
My, how poor lost sinners who are present at The Great White Throne will regret
not accepting God’s free gift of eternal salvation but … instead … took the
gamble of standing before Holy God dressed in the filthy rags of their own
righteousness!
Let me say one more thing about these books here at the
great white throne. I
strongly suspect that these books of works are also for determining the
degree of punishment that each
individual will experience in the Lake of Fire. Not all will be punished alike.
Jesus spoke of the fact that some will have
fewer stripes (Luke
12:48). That will be scant consolation however, for all who must spend eternity
separated from God in the Lake of Fire and in outer darkness.
20:14-1
Finally here, John says
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. I like that. I
like that a lot. When my dad and mother died … I came to hate death more than
ever. It bothers me to think about their bodies laying out there in the
graveyard. But, praise God, death also will be dealt with at the Great White
Throne Judgment. There will be no more purpose for death or Hell after that, you
see. There will be no more dying because there will be no more sinning. Hell,
the temporary holding place of all the wicked dead (Luke 16:19-31), will no
longer have a purpose. After the Great White Throne Judgment, death and Hell and
judgment will be things of the past. The wicked will have been fairly judged and
disposed of and all of Christ's enemies will have been put under his feet …
including death and Hell itself. As you have it in
First Corinthians 15:25-26,
For he must reign
till he has put all enemies under his feet. The
last enemy that will be destroyed is
death.
Now, we've arrived! At that time ...
THE MYSTERY OF GOD will be
COMPLETE (10:6-7)! At the end of the
days of the sounding of the seventh trumpet ...
everyone will know who Jesus Christ is … whether they are in Heaven
... or in the Lake of Fire. PRAISE GOD FOR THAT COMING NEW DAY!
Scripture taken from the New King
James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.