Coming to Rule 1000 Years 

Although the word millennium (mille, a thousand, annum, year) does not appear in the Bible, the idea of a 1000-year period does. In Revelation chapter 20, John says that Satan will be bound for 1000 years and Christ and His people will reign over the nations of the earth for that period.  Clearly that is yet future. 

Rev. 20:1-5:  “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. 4 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 for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life [were resurrected] and reigned with Christ for a thousand years 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.” 

This scripture says that those who rule with Christ will include the martyrs who died because they refused to worship the beast during the Great Tribulation. Their rule begins at the resurrection of the just, the first resurrection. This speaks of a time, yet future, when Jesus Christ will rule over an earth from which Satan (and presumably his angels and demons) have been banished. Those redeemed immortals who rule with Christ will “be as the angels,” having glorified bodies like the glorified body of Christ.  

Phil. 3:20-21: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious [glorified] body.” 

Mark 12:24-25: “Jesus replied, ‘Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?  25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.’” 

So the redeemed people of God will rule over the nations of the earth in glorified, immortal bodies. Paul hints of this in I Corinthians chapter 6: 2a: “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?” 

At the end of the Millennium Satan will be loosed upon the world once again. 

For Satan and his forces to be out of commission would alone be enough to create a demi-paradise on earth—even a full paradise, except for one thing: man’s sinful nature. But unsanctified human nature, even under the righteous rule of Christ, must be governed “with a rod of iron.” And as soon as Satan is released at the end of the millennium, human nature asserts itself with a vengeance. 

Rev. 20:7-10: “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth — Gog and Magog — to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 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. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” 

With respect to end-time events, no interpretive model is without its difficulties.

In trying to understand the nature of the Millennium, I have met with a few. For instance, in the last chapters of Revelation, the Millennium (ch. 20) seems to be a different period from the period of the New Heaven and New Earth (chapters 21 & 22). But Isaiah’s description apparently refers to both periods. 

Isaiah 65:17-19:  “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.” 

But then Isaiah goes on to describe what appears to be the Millennium rather than the final Kingdom described in Revelation chapters 21 and 22. I can best explain this by saying that Isaiah was evidently given a general, telescopic view of the post-historic periods. Subsequent revelation gives a more detailed description of those events and separates them. Thus John speaks of a 1000-year reign in chapter 20 and of the final period when “heaven and earth shall pass away.” 

Let us look at Isaiah’s description, which for the most part refers (I believe) to the Millennium. Clearly Christ and His Church are reigning over moral men and women, though to a large degree the curse of Adam has been lifted. 

Isaiah 65:20-25:  “‘Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy [or outlast] the works of their hands. 23 They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,’ says the LORD.” 

I can understand as well as anyone the temptation to spiritualize this and other passages like it. It seems fanciful, ideal, like something out of a fantasy. It’s almost like a return to Eden, the fulfillment of our most romantic dreams. But why should it not be so? Where do our utopian and idyllic daydreams come from if not from some dim racial memories of Paradise?   

Nothing is too hard for God. The one who split the Red Sea, fed the millions of wandering Israelites with manna for 40 years, multiplied loaves and fishes, and turned water into wine, can He not do anything? Cannot the one who created the lion a carnivore change it into a vegetarian? John says about a later time, “No longer will there be any curse” (Rev. 22:3). Cannot the one who put a curse on the earth (“cursed is the ground for thy sake”) also lift the curse when He chooses? 

Let’s look at other scriptures that seem to speak of this time. 

Isaiah 2:2-4: “In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more.” 

World peace will come at last; not through a global government made up of sinful men, but by the rule of Christ and His redeemed holy ones. People of all nations will come to Jerusalem to submit their disputes to the arbitration of immortal, holy shepherds after Christ’s own heart. 

Isaiah 11:1-10: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his root a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked [II Thess. 2:8]. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash round his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.” 

All natural enmities will end, including that between humans and serpents, between predators and their prey: and why not? Is not Satan bound? The Lord will come permanently into His holy Temple. Instead of the Ark of the Covenant, the Lord of the Covenant will be there. 

Jer. 3:16-17: “‘In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘men will no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the LORD.” It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the Name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.’”   

They will not follow their evil hearts because they are afraid to; but that they still have evil hearts is evident from what happens when Satan is loosed. 

Another difficulty in this picture is the existence of a Temple and of sacrifices.

We know that all the blood sacrifices of the Law looked forward to Christ and were fulfilled in Him. 

Heb. 9:12: “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” 

Other sacrifices of the Law would be quite appropriate in the Millennium—thank offerings, wave offerings, praise, first fruits, and the like. Still, this remains an enigma to me, and I have not seen a satisfactory explanation for a Millennial Temple, supposedly described in great detail in the last part of Ezekiel. Having said that, the literal view of these prophecies (Premillennialism) leaves far, far fewer questions unanswered than the view that everything in these prophecies is merely spiritualized references to the Church (Amillennialism). 

Let me round off this series with a caution. Far more about the end times is uncertain than just “the day and hour.” No one should be dogmatic about these matters or separate from other Christians who differ on these matters. I believe the idea of a pre-Tribulation rapture is erroneous and misleading and could leave sincere Christians unprepared for the coming distress. I believe Christians will go through the Tribulation and many will suffer martyrdom during that time, and that the First Resurrection, or Rapture, will occur at the end of the Tribulation. I believe many of the details of the coming events are purposely left obscure by the LORD and will only become clear as the events unfold. God hinted of this in Daniel, chapter 12: 

 “But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” 

But many of us believe the “time of the end” is upon us, and that a prayerful study of these scriptures is more urgent than ever. Just when the Bible-reading public has become glutted and confused by teaching that darkens counsel, just when the market for such books at the Left Behind series has peaked and is in decline (and about time, I say), the need to take seriously the Bible warning, “Let him who reads understand,” has never been greater.   

I will summarize as follows: Christ is coming back to earth to destroy His human enemies, bind Satan and his minions, and set up His Kingdom. He will rule over Israel as the Messianic Son of David. He will rule the nations in truth and justice. He will restore the earth to a state like the Garden of Eden, in which all the animals dwell together at peace with humans and with each other. He will abolish war for a period of 1000 years. Israel will be honored by all nations, and those that do not honor Israel will languish without God’s blessing. After 1000 years Satan will be allowed to deceive the nations once more, and a great number of people will follow him to their destruction. Satan and all his angels and demons will be cast into the lake of fire to burn forever and ever. Then the eternal kingdom described in chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation will begin.

Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!