The Millennium: A Heaven on Earth
The Millennium: Heaven On Earth
Heaven - Part 6
Pastor Macky Sabayle
What on earth is the Millennium?
Revelation chapter 20 introduces the glorious reign of Christ on this earth, which is known as the Millennium.
from the Latin Mille = thousand and Annum = year
Gk. Chilioi, where we get the theological term Chiliasm
So the word "millennium" means 1000 years. And the text of Revelation chapter 20 is the only place in the Bible where that actual word appears. And it appears in the text six different times.
The Millennium is a period of 1000 years that is going to take place in the future and it is a very important subject for us to discuss. In Eschatology, the Millennium is the Golden Age or Paradise that will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and future eternal state of the "World to Come.”
Now, I need to tell you that there is no more subject in all of Bible prophecy that is more controversial than this one. Now it may not seem important to you what a person might think about the 1000 years, but it is very important because what a person thinks about that 1000-year period gives away their understanding as to how the Bible should be interpreted. And we're going to see that in a few moments.
But I want to start with the Passage itself. Let’s take a close look at the passage and then ask, what does Rev. 20 tell us about the Millennium?
I. The Passage of the Millennium
What are some of the eschatological events that will happen during this 1000 years?
1. The Removal of Satan from the earth.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. (v.1-3)
2. The Resurrection of the Saints on the earth.
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (v.4-6)
3. The Reign of Christ and the Saints on Earth
They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (v.4-6)
II. The Perspectives on the Millennium
As I said before, no more subject in all of Bible prophecy that is more controversial than this one. Throughout the history of the church, there have been three major views on the time and nature of this “millennium.”
1. Amillennialism
Now, whenever you put the word "A" in front of a word it negates the value of the word. So A-millennialism means no literal 1,000 years.
According to this view, Revelation 20:1–10 describes the present church age. This is an age in which Satan’s influence over the nations has been greatly reduced so that the gospel can be preached to the whole world. Those who are said to be reigning with Christ for the thousand years are Christians who have died and are already reigning with Christ in heaven. Christ’s reign in the millennium, according to this view, is not a bodily reign here on earth but rather the heavenly reign he spoke of when he said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18).
This view is called “amillennial” because it maintains that there is no future millennium yet to come. Since amillennialists believe that Revelation 20 is now being fulfilled in the church age, they hold that the “millennium” described there is currently happening. The exact duration of the church age cannot be known, and the expression “thousand years” is simply a figure of speech for a long period of time in which God’s perfect purposes will be accomplished.
According to this position, the present church age will continue until the time of Christ’s return (see diagram). When Christ returns, there will be a resurrection of both believers and unbelievers. The bodies of believers will rise to be reunited with their spirits and enter into full enjoyment of heaven forever. Unbelievers will be raised to face the final judgment and eternal condemnation. Believers will also stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10), but this judgment will only determine degrees of reward in heaven, for only unbelievers will be condemned eternally. At this time also the new heavens and new earth will begin. Immediately after the final judgment, the eternal state will commence and continue forever.
This view is quite simple because all of the end-time events happen at once, immediately after Christ’s return.
2. Postmillennialism
The prefix post- means “after.” According to this view, Christ will return after the millennium.
According to this view, the progress of the gospel and the growth of the church will gradually increase, so that a larger and larger proportion of the world’s population will become Christians. As a result, there will be significant Christian influences on society, society will more and more function according to God’s standards, and gradually a “millennial age” of peace and righteousness will occur on the earth. This “millennium” will last for a long period of time (not necessarily a literal one thousand years), and finally, at the end of this period, Christ will return to earth believers and unbelievers will be raised, the final judgment will occur, and there will be a new heaven and new earth. We will then enter into the eternal state (New Heaven and New Earth).
The primary characteristic of postmillennialism is that it is very optimistic about the power of the gospel to change lives and bring about much good in the world. Belief in postmillennialism tends to increase in times when the church is experiencing great revival, when there is an absence of war and international conflict, and when it appears that great progress is being made in overcoming the evil and suffering in the world.
3. Premillennialism
A. Classic/Historical PremilThe prefix “pre-” means “before,” and the “premillennial” position says that Christ will come back before the millennium. This viewpoint has a long history from the earliest centuries onward and it believes and teaches that Jesus Christ will physically return to this earth. He will defeat his enemies and there will be a battle that is fought at the end and He will then set up His kingdom on this earth and He will reign upon the earth for 1000 years.
According to this viewpoint, the present church age will continue until, as it nears the end, a time of great tribulation and suffering comes on the earth. After that time of tribulation at the end of the church age, Christ will return to earth to establish a millennial kingdom.
When He comes back, believers who have died will be raised from the dead, their bodies will be reunited with their spirits, and these believers will reign with Christ on earth for one thousand years. (Some premillennialists take this to be a literal one thousand years, and others understand it to be a symbolic expression for a long period of time.)
During this time, Christ will be physically present on the earth in His resurrected body, and will reign as King over the entire earth. The believers who have been raised from the dead, and those who were on earth when Christ returns, will receive glorified resurrection bodies that will never die, and in these resurrection bodies they will live on the earth and reign with Christ.
Of the unbelievers who remain on earth, many (but not all) will turn to Christ and be saved. Jesus will reign in perfect righteousness and there will be peace throughout the earth. Many premillennialists hold that the earth will be renewed and we will in fact see the new heavens and new earth at this time (but it is not essential to premillennialism to hold to this, for one could be a premillennialist and hold that the new heavens and new earth will not occur until after the final judgment).
What about Satan? At the beginning of this time Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit so that he will have no influence on the earth during the millennium (Rev. 20:1–3).
At the end of the thousand years Satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit and will join forces with many unbelievers who have submitted outwardly to Christ’s reign but have inwardly been seething in rebellion against Him. Satan will gather these rebellious people for battle against Christ, but they will be decisively defeated. Christ will then raise from the dead all the unbelievers who have died throughout history, and they will stand before him for final judgment. After the final judgment has occurred, believers will enter into the eternal state.
It seems that premillennialism has tended to increase in popularity as the church has experienced persecution, and as suffering and evil have increased in the earth.
B. Dispensational PremilAnother variety of premillennialism has gained widespread popularity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. According to this position, Christ will return not only before the millennium (Christ’s return is premillennial), but also it will occur before the great tribulation (Christ’s return is pre-tribulational). This position is similar to the classical premillennial position mentioned above, but with one important difference: it will add another return of Christ before his return to reign on earth in the millennium. This return is thought to be a secret return of Christ to take believers out of the world.
According to this view, the church age will continue until, suddenly, unexpectedly, and secretly, Christ will return part way to earth, and then will “rapture” believers to himself: “The dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:16–17). Christ will then return to heaven with the believers who have been removed from the earth. When that happens, there will be a great tribulation on the earth for a period of seven years.
III. The Portrait of the Millennium
Why is there a need for a Millennium? Why not just enter immediately into the eternal state?
Well, that’s because there are several Old Testament prophecies that seem to fit neither in the present age or the present heaven, nor in the eternal state. These passages indicate some future stage in the history of redemption which is far greater than the present church age but short of the eternal state, which still does not see the removal of all sin and rebellion and death from the earth. So if the Scripture tells us something of a heavenly-like condition but still has some residue of this cursed earth, then a literal view of the Millennium is necessary.
Take for example Zechariah 14:9-17
The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.
The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place. It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.
This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. On that day people will be stricken by the LORD with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another. Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain.
Here again the description does not fit the present age, for the Lord is King over all the earth in this situation. But it does not fit the eternal state either, because of the disobedience and rebellion against the Lord that is clearly present. This is the Millennial reign of Christ.
What’s it gonna really be like on this earth?
1. A time of Peace
You know that right across the street from the United Nations building there is a statue and on the statue are these words:
"They shall beat their swords into plowshares.”
The United Nations is supposed to make that happen. Not. It's not gonna happen through the United Nations. That will really only happen when Christ rules the earth. That which the world has longed for for so long will become a reality. Only then will the angels' message be fulfilled that he gave to the shepherds on that night outside of Bethlehem: Peace on earth, good will toward men. All manmade implements of mechanized warfare will be eliminated, even the natural kingdom will be at peace.
Now, are you ready for a scriptural tour? Here we go. Hang on.
Psalm 72:7: "In His days the righteous will flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.”
Micah 4:2-3: "Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the Lord of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths.' And out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore".
It will be a time when war will be utterly unknown. Not a single armament plant will be operating. Not a soldier or sailor will be in uniform. No military camps will exist. Not one cent will be spent for armaments of war. Not a single penny will be used for defense, much less for offensive warfare.
Can you imagine such an age when all nations shall be at perfect peace and all the resources of the earth will be made available for enjoyment and all industry engaged in the manufacture of the articles of a peaceful luxury? That's the way it will be. It will be a peaceful time. I know everybody says, "Is that possible"? Not here, not now, not 'til Jesus comes and sets up his rule on this earth. And then it'll be a time of prosperity.
2. A time of Prosperity.
Everybody's into prosperity, at least that's what I've observed by watching television. Everybody's into prosperity. Well, this will be a time of prosperity like you cannot imagine. Once again, listen to the Word of God.
Ezekiel 34:26-27: "I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; and there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. And they shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them".
Amos 9:13: "“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.
In other words, the cycle of reproduction in terms of the harvest will be so short that while the guy's out there harvesting, the plowman will be right behind him planting. It will be just one internal and eternal production of food. "And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with it".
Zechariah 8:12: "The seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give her dew".
3. It will be a time of Purity
Sin will be kept in check, and disobedience will be dealt with. Christ's kingdom will be a holy kingdom.
Isaiah 11:9: "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”.
Zechariah 13:2: "'It shall be in that day,' says the Lord of hosts, 'that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, they shall no longer be remembered. And I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.'"
It will be a time of peace. It will be a time of prosperity. It will be a time of purity.
4. It will be a time of Prolonged Life.
People are gonna live longer. You know, if you study the Old Testament and I have a chart in my Bible, maybe you have one in yours too that shows how before the flood, people used to live to be really old. But when you get to the flood in Genesis chapter 6, something happens. Nine hundred doesn't happen anymore. It starts going down and down and down until you get to kind of where we are now, 130 was old then as it would be today. Many people believe that the flood changed the nature of the earth so that the canopy that protected us from the ultraviolet rays was contaminated and so our ability to live long on the earth was destroyed. But in the Millennium, the period of time that we're looking forward to in our message today, everything that happened before the flood in terms of the longevity of humanity will return. Let me just give you one verse that's amazing.
Isaiah 65:20: "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 100 years old".
Here we read that there will be no more infants who die in infancy, and no more old men who die prematurely, something far different from this present age. But death and sin will still be present, for the child who is one hundred years old shall die, and the sinner who is one hundred years old “shall be accursed.” The larger context of this passage may mingle elements of the millennium and the eternal state (cf. vv. 17, 25), but it is in the nature of Old Testament prophecy not to distinguish among events in the future, just as these prophecies do not distinguish between the first and second comings of Christ. Therefore in the larger context there may be mixed elements, but the point remains that this single element (the infants and old men who live long, the child dying one hundred years old, and the sinner being accursed) indicates a specific time in the future that is different from the present age.
5. It will be a time of Praise.
The Millennium will be an exhilarating era of happiness and contentment and joy. It will be the answer to many of the anguished prayers of the Jews and many of the heart's hopes that are represented here today. Once again, just a multiplication of Scriptures. Are you ready for this stream of Word of God coming to you from the Old Testament?
Isaiah 9:3: "You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; they rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil".
Isaiah 14:7: "The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing".
From several passages in the Old Testament and these are just representative few, you get this impression that the millennial time is everything we have always heard it would be, even if we didn't know the Bible. A time of great joy and prosperity and a time of peace and prolonged life. And King Jesus will be reigning and ruling on the throne of David which will be in the city of Jerusalem. And out of Jerusalem will flow this wonderful reign of peace over all the world as we know it today.
Can you imagine? Whoa! Isn't it interesting to see what God has planned? And listen to me now. Here's the kicker in the whole deal. You ready for this? This is just the prelude to heaven. This is the overture of heaven. You know when you go to a Manny Pacquiao match, you don’t get to see him fight immediately, right? There will be what we they call the undercard, or preliminary matches before the main event.
Well, this Millennium is the undercard to the main event which is the New Heaven and new Earth and it gives you just a little picture as you study it of what heaven will be like and where we will be now, not just on this earth but on the new heaven and the new earth.
And the same King Jesus will be in charge and all sin and all death will be eliminated and everything that's true about the Millennium will get kicked up another level and into the eternal state we go, celebrating forever and ever with King Jesus, amen? That's all right, isn't it? All right.
TO CLOSE
Now, it's interesting, isn't it, that Jesus came the first time to become our Savior and he's coming the second time to become our King. The coming of Christ to set up his kingdom will be so much different than the first time that he came. He entered the world the first time in swaddling clothes. He will reign the second time in majestic purple. He came the first time as a weary traveler, he will return the second time as the untiring King.
Once when he came he had nowhere to lay his head; when he comes back he will be revealed as the heir of all things. Once he was rejected by tiny Israel; when he returns he will be accepted by every single nation. Once he was a lowly Savior acquainted with grief; then he will be the Mighty God and anointed with the oil of gladness. Once he was smitten with a reed; then he will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Once wicked soldiers bowed the knee in mockery; then every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord. Once he received a crown of thorns; then he will receive a crown of gold. Once he delivered up his Spirit in death; then he will be alive forevermore. Once he was laid in a tomb; then he will sit on a throne. King of kings, Lord of lords, that's Jesus. And that's the Millennium. And it's a fact that will be impossible for us to mistake if we read the Scripture.
Philippians 2:10-11. This is what it says. Let's read it out loud together.
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.
What does that say? It says one day in the kingdom and before the White Throne Judgment, the Bible says every single knee of every single person on this planet will bow their knee before God and say for the final time and without any hope of the future, "You are Lord and you are King and you are worthy and you are who everybody said you were when I was on earth. You're exactly who they said you were". But by that time, it'll be too late. When you get to that place in the prophetic scheme of things, it's beyond hope. You cannot become a Christian. Your opportunity is over.
Jesus says, "One day everyone's gonna bow". You have no choice as to whether or not you will bow before the Lord. You will either do it now, voluntarily in obedience and in humble humility or one day you will bow before him and you will acknowledge that he is King.
How much better it would be for all of us, were it be true for us that we have said, "Lord God, I believe who you are. I believe your Son Jesus is the Savior of the world. I accept you as my Savior. I bow before you as my Lord. I receive you into my heart. I bow my knee to you, Lord Jesus".
When you do it now, you will never have to be forced to do it later because it will be the most natural and normal thing that ever comes to your life, to love and worship and adore Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Amen.
Sources:
https://sermons.love/david-jeremiah/4447-david-jeremiah-what-on-earth-is-the-millennium.html
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology