The Millennium

Theology Index

There are two groups of people on earth today... The righteous and the wicked... Starting with the wicked that are servants of Satan today.

It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. (2 Cor 11:15 NIV)

The wicked will continue to be his servants until the return of Christ. At Christ's coming all the wicked are to be destroyed

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Rev 19:19-21 NIV)

Paul says Christ will be revealed from heaven in blazing fire to render punishment upon the disobedient.

This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power (II Th 1:7-9 NIV)

Peter makes the day of God a time when the heavens will be destroyed and the elements will melt.

as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. (2 Pet 3:12 NIV)

The righteous living and dead are to receive immortal bodies at the second coming.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Cor 15:51-52; 1Thes 4:16-17 NIV)

The rewarding of both good and bad will be at the judgment.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:10 NIV)

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matt 25:31-46 NIV)

Jesus plainly teaches that both classes will be raised at the same time.

Jesus divides all that are in their graves into two classes:

Those raised to life and eternal salvation
Those raised to judgment and condemnation

"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. (John 5:28-29 NIV)

Whatever the millennium may be, it precedes the final judgment. This is conceded by all. If the judgment occurs at Christ's coming, a fact taught by the Scriptures, the idea that he comes to inaugurate the millennium is of necessity false.

If Jesus comes before the millennium, none can be raised bodily after it; for all are to be raised to be rewarded when he comes.

If he comes after the millennium, none can be raised bodily before it.

If he comes to inaugurate the millennium, then there can be no literal kingdom, for there will be no one in the flesh either to rule or be ruled.

I believe that the coming of Christ, the resurrection of both righteous and wicked, and the judgment will all occur after the millennium, which renders a thousand years reign of Christ on earth an impossibility.

A review of Rev 20:4-10

... They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

They came to life, we come to life when we come to saving faith in Christ.

(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)

Before we accepted Christ we were dead, (Col 2:13) the "rest of the dead" are those today who do not accept the grace of God.

This is the first resurrection.

This first resurrection is when we accept Christ and come to life (Rom 11:15)

Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection.

Those that accept Christ today.

The second death has no power over them,

We shall escape this judgment of eternal death.

but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Which we are doing today.

When the thousand years are over,

When Christ is about ready to sit in judgment.

Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth-- Gog and Magog-- to gather them for battle.

We see this gathering storm on the horizon today.

They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. (Rev 20:9 NIV)

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:10-15 NIV)

Theology Index