Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they that sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Perhaps no prophecy has created greater excitement and fanciful interpretations than the one thousand year prophecy. The redeemed saints live and reign with their Maker for one thousand years. Surely each of us desires to be among that happy company, but what will be the state of the wicked during this time? Where will the righteous be reigning? How will the devil be chained? What is the bottomless pit? What marks the beginning and ending of the one thousand years?

When Does the Millennium Begin?

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

From this verse, the one thousand year reign of the saints begins at the first resurrection. If we think about this, it really only makes sense. How could the saints reign with Christ when they are still sleeping in the graves? They could not. The beginning of the one thousand year time period is marked not by a date, but by an event. The millennium did not begin at AD 1000, AD 2000, AD 2001, or any other time like this, it begins at the first resurrection; the resurrection in which the righteous of all ages are raised to life.

Two Resurrections

John 5:28, 29 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

John specified that the millennium begins at the first resurrection because there are actually two resurrections—the resurrection of life and the resurrection of condemnation. The first resurrection is when the righteous come forth clothed with immortality and the second is when the wicked are raised to receive their final reward. Every person who has ever died will come forth in one of these two resurrections. If we are listening to the voice of Jesus and obeying His Word today, we will become accustomed to obeying the voice of our Lord and when He calls His people forth we shall know His voice and come forth the first time that He calls. Those who have heard the voice of Jesus speaking to their hearts, but delayed or rejected from following it will rise at Jesus’ second call. They have formed the habit of ignoring Jesus’ voice and when He calls the first time, they know it not. Which group are we in? All who pass under the power of death will be in one of these two camps. Are you hearing and obeying the voice of Jesus now so that you will hear His voice and come forth in the first resurrection?

The Resurrection of the Righteous

I Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Matthew 24:30, 31 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The resurrection of the righteous is actually none other than Jesus’ second coming. When the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, He blows the trumpet of God and with the voice of the archangel calls the sleeping saints from their graves. This is the resurrection of life or the resurrection of the just (Acts 24:15), which marks the beginning of the millennium. When the millennium begins it will be the most glorious event the world has ever witnessed. The Lord will descend with all the holy angels in power and great glory. The glory of God will fill the sky as every eye (Revelation 1:7) witnesses the King of Kings coming in His glory. Thus the millennium will be ushered in with the grandest event of all time, the climax of the ages. There will be no doubt about the fact that the one thousand year prophecy has begun.

Righteous Ascend to Heaven

John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

When the Lord comes to rescue His saints, He does not establish His kingdom on the earth at this time. The Lord Jesus with the faithful of all the ages returns to the glorious place that Jesus has prepared for His bride, His church. An earthly kingdom is not set up but rather the earth is devastated by the power and glory that accompanies the Second Coming. When Jesus comes, Jesus does not meet His faithful people on this earth, they meet Him in the air. From the clouds they then ascend together to the mansions that our Lord has prepared for each of us. So, the thousand-year reign of the saints does not take place here on this earth, but in the kingdom of heaven.

Earth Decimated

II Peter 3:10-12 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

Revelation 16:18-21 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

When earth’s Creator comes to save His people, the entire earth gives way before her coming Maker. The earth goes into convulsions, such as have never before been known. The earth reels to and fro with the mightiest earthquake—exceeding the Richter scale. Thunder peals through the earth and lightning illuminates the sky. The glory of the Lord is so great that nature bursts into flames; the prophet describes as the elements melt with fervent heat and the heavens are dissolved. It is no wonder that the Lord does not establish the one thousand year reign here on this earth. Earth is no place to be. The beautiful scenes have vanished and in its place is destruction from the presence of the Lord. At the beginning of the millennium, when Jesus comes, the earth is devastated by His presence and glory.

Wicked Consumed by the Brightness of His Coming

II Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

Revelation 6:14-17 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

While the righteous are rescued from the chaos into which earth has been thrown, the wicked grovel in abject terror at the glory of the Lord. The righteous have communed with their Lord throughout their lives. They have gotten to know Him as their one and only Lord and Savior and when His glory blazes across the sky they are prepared to meet Him. For the wicked, the story is reversed. They have despised His Word, been disobedient to His Law and sloughed off His voice. Now they are sorry. When Jesus speaks, they know His voice, not as a familiar acquaintance, but as a voice that spoke to their heart and from which they turned away. When His eyes light upon them, they feel that it searches them through and through. They run. They long to hide from the One who died to save them. They flee from the presence of the One who loves them so much. They are not prepared and now it is forever too late. They call for the rocks and mountains to fall and hide them from His presence. Those who are not dashed in pieces by the rocks hurled about by the shaking earth are destroyed by the brightness of Jesus’ glory. The glory, which will be the delight of the righteous for eternal ages to come, is the means of death to those who have refused to follow and obey their loving Lord.

The beginning of the millennium is marked by the most glorious and catastrophic event ever. The Lord Jesus comes for His faithful people and takes them to the place He has been preparing for them in Paradise. The earth is wrecked by the glory of the Lord and all the wicked are destroyed by the majesty and power of Jesus’ Second Coming.

During the Millennium

Jeremiah 25:30, 33 Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: “The Lord will roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth…” And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.

Jeremiah 4:23-26 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, and all the birds of the heaven had fled. I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord, by His fierce anger.

During the millennium not one human being is left alive upon the face of the earth. The slain of the Lord strew the ground from one end of the earth even to the other. They are not buried. No one mourns. There is no one left. All of the righteous are with their Lord in their heavenly home and all the wicked have been destroyed by the glory of the Lord. It is a fearful time that the earth has never seen before. Even during the monstrosities of the Holocaust and other terrible ethnic scourges and mass annihilations, the sufferers have been buried. A time has never been when there was none to mourn for or bury the dead, but during the millennium the time comes. The desolations of the earth are so widespread and destructive that the prophet says it is as if the earth was without form and void. The same description was used before the earth was created. (Genesis 1:2) This world, the habitation of sin for six thousand years, has now become a cold, dark, lifeless pit.

Satan Chained to this Pit

Revelation 20:1-3 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Devil, who has caused the ruin, is now chained to this cold, dark, lifeless bottomless pit. The Greek word translated “bottomless pit” is abussos (our word abyss comes from this Greek word). Abussos literally means “without bottom.” The Hebrew equivalent for abussos is tehom, which is the same word used in Genesis 1 describing the earth when it was without form and void, the same description given by Jeremiah. Comparing these words and the description of the millennium, we understand that Satan is going to be chained to earth, this cold, and dark, lifeless, bottomless pit. For six thousand years the devil has spread spiritual darkness over the face of the earth, now it is time for the devil to begin to pay for his deeds. The worst prison cell in which to be is solitary confinement and now the Lord puts the devil in solitary confinement for one thousand years. There is no one to tempt, no one to harass. Just one thousand years of contemplating the ruin and desolation that he has caused. The chain that binds him is a chain of circumstance. There is no one to tempt and annoy, they are either a carcass upon the ground or reigning with Christ. Can you imagine the devil pacing back and forth across the earth contemplating how he caused this person and that one to be his lifeless companion? I have determined that I do not want to be among that number.

The Saints During the Millennium

I Corinthians 6:2, 3 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?

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The one thousand years is the saints’ introduction and orientation to eternity. They will have the ceaseless cycles of eternity stretching before them, but this is the prelude to it. I am sure that acquaintances are made and renewed, but there is a very important work the Lord has for them to do. It is the work of judging—not to determine who is saved and lost, that has already been decided, but to mete out the punishment. The investigative phase of the judgment has already occurred even before Jesus came, but now is the sentencing phase. The books are open for all to see. If there are any questions as to why someone is not there or why someone is there, the truth will be made plain.

The millennium is the beginning of retribution for the devil and his rebel demons. The earth is desolate, without form and void. The wicked have all perished at Jesus’ second coming, so they are sleeping, awaiting the second resurrection. The devil is chained to the dark bottomless pit of this earth to mull over the work he was wrought. Meanwhile the saints are becoming familiarized with their new existence, living, reigning and judging with Christ.

The End of the Millennium

Revelation 21:2, 10 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband... And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

Zechariah 14:4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

Revelation 20:5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

At the end of the one thousand years, the forces of good and evil meet again. The finishing work of the judgment and the execution of the punishment take place. For one thousand years the earth has been a dark desolate waste, but then John sees the New Jerusalem descending from heaven accompanied by King Jesus and the saved. It is at this time that Jesus stands upon the Mount of Olives and it becomes a mighty plain prepared for the New Jerusalem to land. With the descent of the Holy City and the saved people of God, the wicked are then resurrected, for the “rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.” The time has now come for the resurrection of the unjust and of condemnation. The one thousand years has concluded and eternity will soon be ushered in. The final curtain on the great controversy is about to be lowered, but first the final scenes in the drama of the ages must transpire.

The Final Attack

Revelation 20:7-9 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 of the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city...

With the resurrection of billions and billions of the lost throughout the ages, the devil is loosed from his prison of solitary confinement. No longer does the chain of circumstance bind him. Immediately he sets about his fiendish work of deceiving the lost again. This final act proves to all the heavenly hosts that neither the devil nor his followers have changed. Repentance is not heard, but a final desperate attack is made upon the camp of God’s people. Surrounded by the brightest military commanders who never lost a battle, an assault is staged, but God does not allow the capital and throne of the universe to be overcome by the foe. The final executive phase of the judgment brings a halt to the well developed plan for the overthrow of God’s throne. The Lord reveals to each and every one why they are lost, when and how they rejected truth. Every deed is shown in living colors and there is not one word of defense given. Each can see that they have lost the glorious inheritance that was in their power to partake. With the realization of God’s great justice, every knee bows and every tongue confesses the righteousness of God.

Revelation 20:11-13 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 their works.

Philippians 2:10, 11 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Wicked Consumed

Revelation 20:9, 14 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them… Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Jude 7 As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Malachi 4:1-3 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts, “that will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like the stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the Lord of hosts.

After each one has seen why they are lost and where they rejected the call of mercy, the punishment is meted out, but even in the punishment it can be seen that God is a God of love. Since “righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne” (Psalm 97:2), He must be just and execute the sentence upon the disobedient, but it will not be an eternally burning condemnation. God in His love destroys the sinner, but does not cause him to suffer throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. The wicked are turned to ashes, they suffer the second death, they are destroyed by the eternal results of eternal fire, but they do not burn forever and ever. Each will be rewarded proportionately to their works and it may be days, weeks, months or perhaps more than that they burn, but it will not continue throughout eternity. When all sin is consumed, the fires will go out and all sin and sinners will have been reduced to ashes.

All Things New

Psalms 37:9-11 For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Revelation 21:1-5 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

With the extermination of all sin and sinners, the Lord recreates this world into its primeval beauty and gives it to His faithful children. No stain or trace of sin can be found anywhere, but all nature sings praises to its King. Unity and accord is restored to the universe again. “God is love” beats with one throb throughout all creation. The sorrow and suffering so common to the world we know have long since passed away. Nevermore will pain or temptation harass the saints again, it has sunk into the records of the past, but there is one thing that will never become an insignificant memory. It is the great love and humiliation that our Savior endured to save mankind from the pit of sin into which he had sunken. The story of redemption will ever be upon the minds and lips of the redeemed host. No longer will the pilgrims journey on in a land not their own; the earth made new becomes the eternal abode of the righteous throughout the millennia to follow.

Have you made the decision to procure this eternal inheritance regardless of the cost? You must be willing to follow the Lord Jesus wherever He leads. It may cost you friends. Your family may mock and ridicule. Your employer may threaten your job, but if we realize the value of the kingdom of heaven, the trials will seem trivial in comparison with the prize. Are you willing to keep all of God’s commandments? Are you willing to do whatever He asks? Will you make the decision to be among the number safely inside those pearly gates? Will you choose to love the Lord Jesus Christ and to obey Him regardless of the cost?