1000 Years of Peace
In these troubleous
times of war and the destruction of our planet, many
"conservationists" dream of a time when all would take personal
responsibility of our actions towards our dying planet and change our
life-style, so destructive to the environment.
Others seek to bring world peace and brotherhood.
Yet as we view the
situation of man's heart, such outlooks could seem bleak and discouraging, were
it not for Jesus' promise to come and restore all things.
All Christians look
forward to a 1000 year period of peace and prosperity. Some believe Jesus is coming to bring eternal
peace and reign on earth. Others,
however, believe we are going to go to heaven and live there for eternity. The good news is that they are both
right!
THE ANCIENT HOPE OF
RESURRECTION
1. What question does Job ask and answer?
If a man die,
shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time
will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou
wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. Job 14:14,15
2. Was Job just looking forward to being a "ghost", or an actual
physical resurrection?
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. Job 19:25,26
3. What did David have to say about this?
As for me, I
will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with
thy likeness. Psalm
4. What comforting promise has God made concerning death?
So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying
that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. I Corinthians 15:54
5. What did Jesus claim Himself to be?
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection,
and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
die. Believest thou this? John
11:25,26
I am he that
liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1:18
THE TWO RESURRECTIONS
6. How many resurrections are there to be?
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming,
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his
voice, 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. John 5:28, 29
7. What takes place at the resurrection?
I saw the souls of
them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and
which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they
lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 20:4b
Note: The Greek may also be rendered, "They came to life and
reigned with Him 1,000 years..." New English version, etc.
Here we see the
beginning of a great 1,000 year period referred to by many as the "Millennium."
8. This resurrection marking the beginning of the millennium is called the first resurrection.
Who shall be raised in it?
This is the first resurrection. 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. Revelation 20:5b,6
Note: The righteous, "blessed and holy", will be raised in
the first resurrection.
9. When will the second resurrection take place?
But the rest of the
dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. Revelation 20:5a
Note: We have established 3 key points:
a) The resurrection
of the righteous, the first resurrection, begins a great 1000 year period.
b) The resurrection
of the wicked, the second resurrection, marks the end of this 1000 year
period.
c) The period
between the two resurrections is the 1000 years of Revelation 20.
But what happens at
the beginning, during, and end of this 1000 year period?
THE MILLENNIUM BEGINS
Read I 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.” We see here that at the second coming of
Christ, the millennium begins.
10. The righteous dead and
living are reunited with Jesus. But what
becomes of the wicked?
And then
shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. II Thessalonians 2:8
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall
it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into
the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Likewise also as it was in the days of
Even thus shall it be in the day when the
Son of man is revealed. Luke
17:26-30
11. Is this some arbitrary
act on God's part?
That ye may
be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust. Matthew 5:45
Note: Jesus comes with the glory of the Father, of the Son, and of all
the holy angels, Luke 9:26. The
glory of one lone angel caused the entire roman guard to fall as dead
men when he appeared at Jesus' tomb, Matthew 28:2,4. Try to comprehend the glory of millions
of angels, plus that of the Father and the Son!
"No man may see my face and
live." Exodus 33:20.
This is not God threatening to kill anyone he catches peeking. The sun gives life to plants, yet kills
germs; it will melt butter, yet harden clay.
The sun is not arbitrarily choosing to inflict harm on some, and benefit
others; its very nature accomplishes these things. But the sun does not change. This is again illustrated in Malachi
4:1-3, where the same healing rays destroy rebellion.
So it will be with
God's glory. God will reveal Himself in
the same manner to all; the crucial point will be if you have chosen to be a
"plant" or a "germ"!
WORLD-WIDE DEVASTATION
12. What happens to the
earth at Jesus' appearing?
And blasphemed the God of heaven because of
their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. And every island
fled away, and the mountains were not found.
And there fell upon men a great hail out of
heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God
because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. Revelation 16:11,20,21
13. What will conditions be
like on earth during the 1000 years?
Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty,
and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the
inhabitants thereof. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled:
for the LORD hath spoken this word.
The earth is utterly broken down, the earth
is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The
earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a
cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall
fall, and not rise again. Isaiah
24:1,3,19,20
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without
form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they
trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and
all the birds of the heavens were fled.
I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a
wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the
LORD, and by his fierce anger.
For this shall the earth mourn, and the
heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I
have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. Jeremiah 4:23-26,28
And the slain
of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other
end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried;
they shall be dung upon the ground. Jeremiah 25:33
SATAN BOUND
14. What will happen to
Satan during the millennium?
And I saw an angel come down from heaven,
having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid
hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound
him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up,
and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the
thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little
season. Revelation 20:1-3
15. Where is the
"Bottomless pit"?
In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1,2
Note: The root-word translated "bottomless pit" in
Revelation 20:1-3 is the very same word translated "deep"
in the Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis 1:2, "abyssos."
We can also see that
it is referring to the earth
a) "Without
form" (torn up)
b) "Void"
(no people), and
c) In total darkness.
This is why when Jeremiah saw the earth after
the second coming, he said "Lo," or "sure
enough," it was
a) without form (torn up),
b) there was "no man,"
c) there was no light, the "heavens were
black."
He said this because
that is what "bottomless pit" or "abyss" means.
As in the often
symbolic language of Revelation, the chain that binds Satan is not a literal,
material chain, but a chain of circumstances. The saints are in heaven, beyond his
reach, and the wicked are all dead, to remain so for 1000 years. So the devil has no one to tempt, no one to
harass. For 1000 years Satan will remember
his deeds and view its results. Truly,
no prisoner was ever more effectively chained!
16. What will the righteous
be doing in Heaven during the 1000 years?
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,
and judgment was given unto them...
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead
which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. Revelation 20:4a,12,13
Dare any of you, having a matter against
another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know
that the saints shall judge the world? and if the
world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know
ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more
things that pertain to this life? I Corinthians 6:1-3
17. What is the purpose of
the judgment? Is it for God to discover
who should be saved?
Nevertheless the
foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The
Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of
Christ depart from iniquity. II Timothy 2:19
Note: Since the judgment involves only the wicked dead (Revelation
The terrible problem
of sin will be settled only when all who have ever been involved, (both men and angels, fallen and unfallen beings) understand
and openly confess that God has been loving, fair, and honest in
everything. The judgment, climax of the
great controversy, clarifies this for men and angels. God already understands;
the judgment is not for His benefit, but for ours.
CLOSE OF THE MILLENNIUM
18. What great city comes
to earth at the close of the 1000 years?
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband. And he carried me away in the spirit to a
great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy
19. Where will the city
land on earth?
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy
spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
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 half of the mountain shall remove
toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
All the land shall be turned as a plain
from Geba to Rimmon south of
20. What change is made in
Satan's condition at the close of the 1000 years?
And when the
thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, Revelation 20:7
Note: Remember that the resurrection of the wicked takes place at the
close of the 1000 years (Revelation 20:5). This "looses" Satan because he once
again has people to deceive.
21. What does Satan at once
proceed to do, showing that he has not had a change of heart during the 1000
years?
And shall go
out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of
the sea. Revelation 20:8
22. Why does God resurrect
the lost, if He knows there is no more hope for them?
And they went
up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and
the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Revelation 20:9
Note: Even though we have seen in the Judgment during the 1000 years
why the wicked are lost, God does not ask us to take His word for it (See
lesson 5). He raises the lost, who see
God, the New Jerusalem, and the entire plan of redemption. Yet even in clear view of God's matchless
self-sacrificing love, they still are not won.
23. What does Jesus do
after the earth is purified by fire?
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 therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness,
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of
the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the
elements shall 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
For, behold,
I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind. Isaiah 65:17
CONCLUSION
The Lord declares,
"Behold, I make
all things new!" Revelation 21:5
Will you tell Jesus
now that you are accepting His magnificent and loving invitation to become a
citizen of His great new kingdom?
My response to Christ is:______________________________
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THE MILLENNIUM |
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Jesus’ Second Coming |
Saints reign with Christ in Heaven <------------------1,000 years-----------------> |
Jesus Comes Again with the Saints |
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FIRST RESURRECTION |
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SECOND RESURRECTION |
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Beginning events: |
Events during: |
Closing events: |
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The righteous dead are resurrected The wicked die The righteous are taken to Heaven Satan and fallen angels are confined to earth |
The redeemed review records and confirm God's righteousness in His dealing with the lost as they judge Satan, fallen angels, and the wicked (Daniel 7:27, I Corinthians 6:2-3; 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6) Earth is dark, cold, lifeless, and is described as a "bottomless pit" |
The New to earth from Heaven The wicked are resurrected Satan is loosed and deceives the wicked Satan and the wicked die the second death in the "lake of fire" Earth is re-created |