The Millennium
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Welcome to this new section! Let's pray:
Father,
Our study of Your prophetic Word now brings us to the threshold of Eternity, beginning
with the Millennium.
We know that, through the guidance of Your Holy Spirit, we can understand this important
subject, and this is why we ask You to send us Your Spirit once again.
Please accept our gratitude for all You do for us. In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Revelation 19:11,13,15
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And
He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes
war. (...)
His name is called The Word of God. (...)
Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He
Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.
He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
----------------------------------------------------
In our last lesson, we have seen that, when Jesus returns, He will punish all
the unrepentant who rejected God's call to salvation.
They will be killed «by the breath of His mouth» and «the brightness of His coming» (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
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Revelation 19:17,18,21
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried
with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven,
«Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of
kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those
who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.»
(...)
[They] were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the
horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
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While the marriage supper of the Lamb is being prepared in heaven, another
feast will be taking place on the earth, after Jesus' return: the feast of the birds of
heaven, devouring the corpses of the unrepentant.
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Revelation 19:21 to 20:2
And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded
from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse.
And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
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.
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The return of Jesus, causing the destruction of all the unrepentant, will mark
the beginning of a thousand-year period called the «Millennium», a Latin word which
means «a thousand years».
Let's study this Millennium.
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Before the Millennium: Matthew 24:30
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,
and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming
on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
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First, let's look at the events which will precede the Millennium.
As we have just seen, Jesus must return before the Millennium begins.
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Before the Millennium: Revelation 20:4
And 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.
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The next event to take place before the Millennium begins: the resurrection of
the faithful believers, who died in Jesus Christ.
Now, let's carefully read the verses following this passage in Revelation...
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Before the Millennium: Revelation 20:5,6
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.
----------------------------------------------------
We can see here that there will be two resurrections:
- first, that of the righteous in Christ, which will take place at His return
and mark the beginning of the Millennium;
- then, that of the wicked who rejected Jesus, which will take place at the
end of the Millennium.
The following two verses show that the Bible truly teaches that there will be two
resurrections...
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John 5:29
(...) those who have done good, to the resurrection of
life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
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Daniel 12:2
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.
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Yes, there will be two resurrections.
Let's note that Daniel, Jesus, and John placed them in the same order:
- first, that of the righteous;
- then, that of the wicked.
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Before the Millennium: 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but
we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
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The third event to take place just before the Millennium begins: the
transformation of the righteous who are still alive at the return of Christ, giving them
incorruptibility and immortality.
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Before the Millennium: 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17
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.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
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Once the dead in Christ are resurrected and the living are transformed, Jesus
will gather them all to His side in the clouds, that they may live forever with Him.
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Before the Millennium: Matthew 24:31
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other.
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As we can see, the scenario remains the same wherever we look in the
Scriptures.
Maybe all this seems too beautiful to be true, but Jesus Himself confirms that these
events will take place very soon.
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Before the Millennium: 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8; 2:8
(...) when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with
His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on
those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. (...)
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of
His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
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Last event before the Millennium begins: the unjust will be destroyed, being
unable to bear the brightness of Jesus Christ's coming.
They will then remain dead until the end of the thousand years.
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Before the Millennium: Zephaniah 1:2,3
«I will utterly consume all things from the face of the
land», says the Lord.
«I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, the fish of the
sea, and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of
the land», says the Lord.
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Before the Millennium: Jeremiah 25:33
And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one
end of the earth even to the other end of the earth.
They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the
ground.
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There will be no man left alive on the earth during the Millennium.
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During the Millennium: Revelation 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.
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As the Millennium begins, Satan is «bound» on
the earth. We will study the meaning of the word «bound» in a moment.
The words «bottomless pit» («abussos» or «abyss» in
Greek) mean «desolate land», as the next verses will show us.
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Genesis 1:2
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on
the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
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Jeremiah 4:23-25
I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and
void; and the heavens, they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and indeed they
trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth.
I beheld, and indeed there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled.
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The deep («abussos» in Greek, «tehom» in Hebrew) refers to the same thing
as the bottomless pit: the earth before Creation.
During the Millennium, the earth will return to a state of total desolation.
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During the Millennium: Isaiah 13:9
Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath
and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it.
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Since all the wicked will die at Christ's return, Satan will no longer be able
to deceive people on earth during the Millennium.
This is why the Bible says that he will be «bound a thousand
years»: he will actually be bound by circumstances, being able only to see the sad
results of his rebellion against God.
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During the Millennium: 1 Thessalonians 4:17
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
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During the Millennium: Revelation 20:6
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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During the Millennium, Jesus Christ will reign in heaven with His people.
And what will they be doing all that time?
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During the Millennium: Revelation 20:4,12
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
committed to them. (...)
And books were opened. (...) And the dead were judged according to their works, by the
things which were written in the books.
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During the Millennium: 1 Corinthians
6:2,3
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
(...)
Do you not know that we shall judge angels?
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Jesus' people will assist Him in judging the wicked and the fallen angels.
They will then understand the reasons for their condemnation.
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After the Millennium: Revelation 20:3,5
He cast [Satan] 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. (...)
But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.
----------------------------------------------------
As we have just seen, Satan will be «bound»
during the Millennium, being unable to deceive people anymore.
But, after the thousand years, the wicked will be resurrected, and Satan will be «released», being able, once again, to deceive them and lead them
to commit evil.
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After the Millennium: Revelation 20:8,9
And [Satan] 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.
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After the Millennium: Zechariah 14:3,5
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those
nations, as He fights in the day of battle. (...)
Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You.
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Satan's goal will be to invade the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.
But why does the prophecy speak of «Gog and Magog»?
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After the Millennium: Ezekiel 38:2,3,7,8 (NIV)
Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of
Magog; (...) prophesy against him and say: (...)
«Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of
them.
After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that
has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of
Israel, which had long been desolate.
They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.»
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The names «Gog and Magog» refer to this prophecy
of the prophet Ezekiel, describing how Satan will lead the
nations to besiege the New Jerusalem.
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After the Millennium: Ezekiel 38:10,11,15,16
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.»
(...)
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.
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Seeing the Heavenly City coming down from heaven, Satan will decide to besiege
it, and to do so he will gather all the nations and deceive them.
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After the Millennium: Ezekiel 38:18,22,23
«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. (...)
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.»
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And this is how the tragedy will end: Satan, his angels and the wicked will
receive their judgement, and will then be destroyed by a rain of fire and brimstone.
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After the Millennium: Zechariah 14:2,3,5
I will gather all the nations to battle against
Jerusalem. (...)
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of
battle. (...)
Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You.
----------------------------------------------------
The book of Zechariah chapter 14 also presents the
same events: when the nations are just about to attack the New Jerusalem, God comes, with «all the saints», to punish the unrepentant and the fallen
angels.
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After the Millennium: Zechariah 14:4
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of
Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west.
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Before the Millennium: 1 Thessalonians
4:17
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
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Zechariah chapter 14 really describes Jesus' third
coming, AFTER the Millennium.
Indeed, at the time of His second coming, BEFORE the Millennium, Jesus won't touch the
ground: instead, His people will be caught up «to meet the Lord in
the air».
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After the Millennium: Zechariah 14:8,9,11
And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow
from Jerusalem. (...)
And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be - «the Lord is one», and His name one. (...)
The people shall dwell in [Jerusalem]; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but
Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
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In fact, the remainder of Zechariah chapter 14
demonstrates that it actually describes the events which will take place after the
Millennium.
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After the Millennium: Isaiah 24:21,22
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.
----------------------------------------------------
The prophet Isaiah also summarizes the course of
these events:
- the wicked, killed by the brightness of Christ's coming, will remain
captive in death for «many days», that is 1000 years;
- after that, they will be resurrected for their judgement and «will be punished».
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The seventh trumpet summarizes exactly the same sequence of events:
«The nations were angry, | 1. The nations want to attack God.
and Your wrath
| 2. Jesus returns, His glory kills the
has
come, |
wicked, and the Millennium begins.
and the time of the dead, | 3.
During the Millennium, the dead are
that they should be judged, |
judged by Jesus and His people.
and that You should reward | 4.
After the Millennium, once this work
Your servants the prophets and | of
judgment is completed, the people
the saints, and those who fear | of
God enter into possession of
Your name, small and great, |
their homeland: the New Jerusalem.
and should destroy
| 5. The wicked rise from the dead, are
those who destroy the earth.» |
informed of their verdict, and then
(REVELATION 11:18)
| are destroyed forever.
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After the Millennium: Revelation 20:12,15; 21:8
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,
and books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. (...)
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (...)
[They] shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the
second death.
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Before being destroyed, the wicked will receive their judgment.
Having rejected God's call during their life, their name will not appear in the Book of
Life.
They alone will be responsible for their bad decision.
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After the Millennium: Malachi 4:1,3
«For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven,
and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly, will be stubble.
And the day which is coming shall burn them up,» says the Lord of hosts, «that will
leave them neither root nor branch. (...)
You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet.»
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After the Millennium: Revelation 20:9
And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured
them.
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The destruction of Satan, his angels, and the wicked will be total, complete,
and definitive.
We will return to this in our next lesson.
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After the Millennium: Revelation 21:1-3,5
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying,
«Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall
be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. (...) These words are
true and faithful.»
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Finally, the New Jerusalem will come down on the new earth, and will become its
capital city.
Now, let's draw up a summary of this lesson.
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What will happen before, during, and after the
Millennium?
Before the
millennium | During the millennium | After the millennium
=======================|=======================|=========================
-Jesus Christ returns. | -Jesus reigns in hea- | -The wicked are awakened
-All the dead in Jesus | ven with His people. | thus releasing Satan.
Christ resurrect. | -The case of each un- | -New Jerusalem
comes
-The righteous still | repentant person is | down out of
heaven.
alive are transformed.| reviewed.
| -Satan, his angels, and
-The Church is caught | -Satan is bound on | the wicked all
receive
up in heaven for the | the earth, being the | their judgment, and
are
marriage supper. | only one alive there.|
then destroyed.
-The glory of Jesus | -The earth remains in | -God makes a new Crea-
kills the wicked. | total
desolation. | tion for His people.
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Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
committed to them.
And 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.
----------------------------------------------------
The Millennium reminds us of the importance of following God faithfully, in
spite of opposition and persecution, which will be more and more severe until the end, and
may even cause us to die for Jesus.
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Revelation 20:4-6
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 the Millennium also teaches us another important lesson: it is better to
suffer the first death by remaining faithful to God, than to suffer the second death by
rejecting God's offer of salvation in Jesus Christ.
Because nobody will ever rise from the second death.
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Revelation 21:1,7,8
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. (...)
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death.
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The second death, which is the final punishment of the unrepentant, will be the
subject of our next lesson.
May we always remain faithful to God, and thus inherit His new Creation, in which evil
will be no more.
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Let's thanks God for His blessings:
Lord,
How can we thank You for the loving call You send us patiently, day after day, so that we
may take a stand for You?
We want to invite You to dwell in our hearts, to transform us and make us worthy, in Jesus
Christ, to have part in the first resurrection, at Your Son's return.
In His precious name we pray.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 94 is waiting for you!