End Times-

putting the pieces in place

by Sonny Bowman

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Chapter 10

Millennium

Revelation 20:4 (NKJV) 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.

The Millennium is a one thousand year period in which Jesus will reign over all the earth from Jerusalem. After the Wrath of God, 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.

Apparently, some of the people who follow the Beast will live through the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:12-21). These are people who suffer the plagues of the Wrath of God but are not killed (Rev. 8:11; 9:4-6,15,18,20). (The Bible sometimes refers to the people who do not belong to God as the nations—Ps. 10:15-16; 59:5; Isa. 34:1-8; Rev. 11:18; 16:19; 18:3; 20:3,8-9). Apparently, these non-Christians who live through the Wrath of God will be the ones who are required to go to Jerusalem each year to worship the Lord and keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14:16-19). Their punishment for failure to perform this annual duty is that they will suffer a plague and rain will be withheld from them.

The people of God will be resurrected (if dead) or changed (if alive) during the Rapture which occurs before the beginning of the Millennium (2 Thes. 4:15-17; Rev. 20:4). They will always be with the Lord (1 Thes. 4:17). During the Millennium, the people of God will reign with Jesus (Rev. 20:6).

Under the righteous rule of Jesus, 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 (Rev. 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 (Rev. 20:9). Satan will then be thrown into the lake of fire where he will be tormented forever (Rev. 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. Rev. 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 (Rev. 20:1-3). At the end of the one thousand years, men will again follow Satan in attacking God's people (Rev. 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 (Rom. 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 (Rev. 20:1-3). Jesus and His people will rule over all the earth and over all people (Zech 14:9,16-17; Rev. 20:4,6).

Length of the Millennium:

The Millennium lasts one thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3).

Events Prior to the Millennium:

The Wrath of God and battle of Armageddon will occur before the Millennium (Rev. 19:17; 16:12-21; also see the Chronological Relationships chapter). Just before the beginning of the Millennium, the Beast and False Prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20). At the start of the Millennium, Satan will be bound by an angel of God and cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 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 (Rev. 20:2-3). The people of God will reign with Jesus (Rev. 20:4-6). Jerusalem will be safely inhabited (Zech. 14:10-11). Those non-Christians who survive the Wrath of God will be required to go to Jerusalem each year to worship Jesus and keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14:16). Any who fail to worship will not receive rain, and they will receive a plague from the Lord (Zech. 14:17-19).

God During the Millennium:

Jesus will reign from Jerusalem and will withhold rain and send a plague upon those nations who fail to worship Him yearly in Jerusalem (Zech 14:9,16-19).

Christians During the Millennium:

Christians will reign with Christ during the Millennium (Rev. 20:4).

Satan During the Millennium:

Satan will be bound in the bottomless pit during the Millennium (Rev. 20:1-3).

Beast During the Millennium:

The Beast and the False Prophet will be in the lake of fire during the Millennium (Rev. 19:20).

Non-Christians During the Millennium:

Non-Christians (i.e., the nations) must go to Jerusalem each year to worship 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 (Zech. 14:16-19). Those non-Christians who die before the start of the Millennium will not be resurrected until after the Millennium is over (Rev. 20:5,11-13). (It appears that no one obtains salvation during the Millennium.)

Events Following the Millennium:

At the end of the Millennium, Satan will be loosed from his bonds for a short time (Rev. 20:3,7). Satan will deceived Gog, Magog, and the nations into attempting an attack against Jesus and His people in Jerusalem (Rev. 20:8-9). The attackers will be destroyed and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:9-10). The present heaven (i.e., universe) and earth will disappear and the Great White Throne Judgment will begin (Rev. 20:1-15).

Scripture references for the Millennium:

Rev. 20:1-10; Zech. 14:6-11, 16-21; Mic. 4:1-4

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End Times - putting the pieces in place

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

NKJV indicates quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

KJV indicates quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Numbers associated with Greek (italic) or Hebrew (upright) words refer to the corresponding words in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D.

Please make copies of this book to give to your friends. (A searchable and printable version in Adobe Acrobat format is available for download.) Your comments and suggestion are also welcome. Thank you for helping others to understand the Bible teachings on the End Times.

God bless you.

Sonny Bowman

If you have questions or comments, please contact Sonny Bowman.