The Millennium, Christ reign in heaven for the 1000 years.

[Hobie]

The Millennium or the 1000 year reign of Christ is with His saints, but the Bible says it is in heaven between the first and second resurrections, not on earth as some mistakenly believe. During this time the wicked dead will be judged and the earth will be utterly desolate, without any living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his evil angels. Scripture shows the Millennium is the 1000 years after Christ takes up the saints to heaven and the the earth becomes desolate with nobody but Satan left on it. Since the righteous saints go up with Christ and the wicked are destroyed at His appearing, the earth stands for a time without human inhabitants. Scripture points to such a situation. Jeremiah said, "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" (Jer. 4:23-25). Jeremiah's use of the terminology found in Genesis 1:2, "without form, and void," indicates that the earth is to become as chaotic as it was at the beginning of Creation.

 At the close of the Millennium or the 1000 years in heaven, Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The wicked dead will then be resurrected and face the final judgement, along with Satan and his angels at the Lake of Fire which will consume them and cleanse the earth of sin forever.


 But lets start at the beginning, as Christians we know that Jesus is preparing a place in heaven for us, all Christians should agree on that, and He will come again at the Second Coming and take the saints to heaven. A few days before His death, Jesus told His disciples what He was going to do before coming back at the Second Coming:
John 14
 1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

 So how will He come, does the scripture tells us? 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus led His disciples to a clearing and a cloud of angels came and Jesus was raised up into the cloud.
 Acts 1
 Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven
 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'
 7 He said to them: 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'
 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'

Jesus ascended literally, bodily, in full view of His disciples and followers. As they watched Him go up, two angels appeared and said He would come back "in like manner" as He went up. Thus Christ's Second Coming will be literal, bodily, and visible to normal human eyes. Paul told the early believers to keep looking for the visible return of Jesus.
Titus 2:13
 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

 There will be nothing secret about His return. Jesus told them plainly how it would be, and the Second Coming will be awesome.
Matthew 24:25-27
 25 Behold, I have told you before.
 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
 But Jesus also warned that false messiahs bring false hope would try to fool them:
Matthew 24:4
 4Jesus answered: Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and will deceive many.

 But Christ Second Coming cannot fool the faithful who read His word as they are told clearly what they will see and there is nothing secret about it and how Christ will come. Christ's return will be loud and visible to the eyes of "all the tribes of the earth." When He comes and the heavenly trumpet sounds and the billions of angels come in a great cloud, no one will wake up the next day wondering what happened.
Revelation 1:7
 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
Matthew 24:30-31
 30 Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

[Hobie]

Scripture tells us that at the Second Coming, Christ comes with his angels and resurrects the saints and they rise up to the cloud of angels and Christ takes His saints to heaven and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants. Satan is left to wander the earth alone during the Millennium, as at the coming of Christ the wicked are slain and the earth is left empty and desolate for the 1,000 years. It is only the devil and all the evil angels who will inhabit Earth during the 1,000 years. The events of these 1,000 years were foreshadowed in the scapegoat ritual of the Day of Atonement in Israel's sanctuary service. On the Day of Atonement the high priest cleansed the sanctuary with the atoning blood of the Lord's goat. Only after this atonement was fully completed did the ritual involving Azazel, the goat that symbolized Satan, begin. Laying his hands on its head, the high priest confessed "'all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat'" (Lev. 16:21). And the scapegoat was sent into the wilderness, "'an uninhabited land'" (Lev. 16:22).

Only at the end of the 1,000 years does the holy city, the new Jerusalem come down out of heaven from God, prepared as "bride adorned for her husband”
Revelation 21:2
 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

 There are many false and mistaken beliefs on the millennium and the most prevalent is the idea of a political kingdom and rule of the Jews or the church over the nations which in effect renders the second coming of Jesus a non-event or denies He takes the saints to heaven. It basically says that after the Second Coming life here on earth will continue as we know it, bui with a righteous rule under the direction of Jesus. But thats not what the Bible says happens during the 1000 years.

 After the 1,000-year Millennial period, the wicked are raised to life upon the earth, this is what leads to the second death at the lake of fire that the bible speaks of, as the wicked again folllow Satan. But lets go back to the Second Coming in which the Bible tells us that Christ comes to resurrect His saints and to take the saints to heaven , but Chirst does not step on earth, the saints are lifted into to the air from their graves. Both the Old and New Testaments are very clear on this issue.

1 Thessalonians 4:16
 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Revelation 20:5-6
 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
 The wicked dead remain as dust, to be raised after the Millennium or the 1,000 years in the resurrection of damnation.

 So at the Second Coming the righteous saints who are dead are resurrect along with those saints which are alive and raised up to the cloud of angels and Jesus takes them with him to heaven, and are reigning in heaven with Jesus during the 1000 years. So we look back at those wicked slain on earth and scripture says, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." (Rev 20:5) The unrighteous are dead. "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth". (Rev 20:7-8) As you can see it is obvious the unrighteous dead were resurrected after the 1000 years ended. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection". (Rev 20:6) Specifying the "first" resurrection implies a second resurrection.

 Jesus Himself tells us about the two resurrections and who will be in which:
John 5
 King James Version (KJV)
 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

 Well many people pick up and give all kinds of unsupported ideas, or false doctrines. Scripture clealy shows that Christ does not remain on earth during the 1000 years, unlike the false doctrines and those who preach that Christ walks around and literal Israel accepts Christ as the Messiah and enters with Him as His covenant people into the 1,000 year and/or that Christ will rule directly over the earth from Jerusalem with sinners walking around alive. That just is not scriptural.

[Hobie]

Here is a good explanation by Walter Veight...

 'The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever. The 1,000 years begins with the general resurrection of the righteous and extends to the general resurrection of the wicked. During the 1,000 years, the righteous will live with Christ and reign in heaven, participating in the judgment of the wicked dead. Only Satan and his angels will be alive on earth during the millennium.

 The millennium is a 1,000-year period when the righteous will reign with Christ in heaven. Revelation 20:4
 Judging the wicked dead will be part of the work of reigning with Christ. Revelation 20:6; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3
 The millennial period is between the two resurrections. Revelation 20:4-6
 Satan will be confined to earth during it. Revelation 20:1-3, 7
 The earth will be desolate. Revelation 20:1; Jeremiah 4:23-26 (compare with Genesis 1:2); Revelation 6:14-17, 16:17-21
 fter the millennium Christ and the righteous will return to earth in the Holy City. The unrighteous will be resurrected at this time and Satan will lead them in an attack on the City. Finally all sin and sinners will be destroyed.

 Christ and the righteous will descend with the Holy City. Revelation 21:1-5
 The unrighteous will be resurrected. Revelation 20:5
 They will join Satan in a war against the Holy City. Revelation 20:7-10
 Satan's army will be defeated. Revelation 20:9
 The executive phase of the judgment will occur. Revelation 20:10-15
 Fire will cleanse the earth of all the results of sin. Once the fire has done its cleansing work, it will go out. 2 Peter 3:10-13; Malachi 4:1 D Satan and sin will be destroyed. Ezekiel 28:18-19


 At the return of Christ, the decision as to who would constitute the redeemed and who the wicked had already been made. The judgment which was given unto the saints must therefore be a judgment of verification. God's righteousness and justice must forever be vindicated before the universe. During the thousand years, every case will be scrutinized - no lingering doubts may remain - one harmonious chord must exist in heaven and with one voice all will proclaim:
 ...Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Revelation 15:3
 God's judgment will be declared righteous. (Romans 2:5; 2 Thess. 1:5; Genesis 18:25; Psalm 19:9)

 In this millennial judgment, God's dealing with the rejectors of His truth and of evil angels will be scrutinized (Hebrews 10:26,27; 2 Peter 2:4,9; Jude 6). The saints will judge the world.
 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? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? 1 Corinthians 6:2,3 NKJV

 After the thousand years and the verification of judgment in heaven, the final events in the great controversy between good and evil will take place. In this final drama, God s name will be fully vindicated. Every knee will bow, and evil will forever be eradicated. These events are described in Revelation chapters 20-22. As the book of Revelation is written in chiastic structure, with the heart of the chiasm (events dealing with the final events before the return of Christ) in the middle of the book, the events described in these chapters appear to be described in reverse sequence. (eg. the wicked surround the New Jerusalem in Revelation 20:9, but the city only comes down from heaven in Revelation 21:2). If the chiastic structure is taken into account, then the sequence of events can be readily discerned.

 After the thousand years, Christ returns to the earth to execute final judgment on the rejecters of His truth, and to take back that which is rightfully His. It is then that the kingdom will be restored to the saints.
 The prophet Zechariah describes the coming of the Lord with all His saints, and how the feet of the Lord touch the earth to create a great plain (something that did not happen at the Second Coming. See Zechariah 14:4-5) The ancient prophecies made to literal Israel could have had their fulfilment in Israel of old if they had been obedient to God. The old covenant promises were transferred to spiritual Israel when they rejected the Messiah. The essence of the prophecy in Zechariah thus still applies and reaches its final fulfilment in the return of Christ after the millennium.

 The New Jerusalem then descends from heaven...
 And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:2
 From the safety of the city, the redeemed will then witness the final events which will end the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Satan will have had a thousand years to reflect upon the consequences of his actions and the sentence that awaits him.

 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. Revelation 20:7,8 NKJV

 Satan had been bound when the wicked were slain at the first coming of Christ. The wicked that died would not come to life until a thousand years had expired.
 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished... Revelation 20:5

 The resurrection of the wicked of all ages looses the chains of circumstances which had bound Satan, and he spurns the resurrected millions on to take the Holy City in one final effort to retain power.
 ...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. Revelation 20:8 NKJV

 In Ezekial 38:2 and 39:6, Gog, the king of Magog is described as an enemy of God's people. He is described as the leader of the host that would attack restored Israel. (Ezekial 38:2, 14, 16-19) but he would meet his end. This would happen "after many days" (Ezekial 38:8)
 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. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: "Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel..."' Ezekial 38:18,19 NKJV
 God destroys Gog and Israel does not battle at all. No historic figure has as yet been identified with Gog, and he stands as a symbol of the leader of rebellion, Satan himself.

 God permits this final act of rebellion by Satan and his hosts together with the resurrected wicked to dispel any lingering doubt as to the antipathy of those arraigned against God and His people. Good and evil stand opposite each other. The saints within the city, the wicked without.
 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 God, 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. Revelation 20:11-15 NKJV

 Satan and the wicked will be destroyed by fire.
 ...and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, that deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone... Revelation 20:9,10
 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...' Matthew 25:41 NKJV
 With this final destruction of Satan, the great controversy ends. Satan and his host (Gog and Magog) are destroyed by fire.

 The fire that destroys the wicked also cleanses the earth.
 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are in it shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13
 God restores the earth to its original beauty - the earth is made new.
 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. And there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1..."
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