THE MILLENNIUM PEACE AND PLENTY OR SATAN’S BOTTOMLESS PIT? When we read the 20th chapter of Revelation, we discover a wonderful prophecy spanning a period of a thousand years, and which tells us about the future of this world, the destiny of all who have ever lived in it, and about how God is going to finally establish His Everlasting Kingdom. Men refer to this period as the “millennium” which is derived from two latin words – “mille”, (thousand) and ‘annus”, (year) - thus a thousand years. To many minds, the word “millennium” conjures up the notion of a happy time of peace and plenty. They see it as a time when Satan is restricted in his activities, giving men a more favourable opportunity to seek salvation. But we must not measure our thinking by the opinion of others; let us rather allow the bible to lead us into all truth, as Jesus promised - (John 16:13). Reading Rev. 20:1-3: - “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”. There is no question about the fact that the enemy of God is destined to be bound. Some good people believe that he is bound at present, but in seeing the events taking place in the world, - murder, war, corruption, crime, dishonesty, etc. who can possibly believe that? We notice that he is bound so that “he should deceive the nations no more”, and that at the conclusion of the thousand years, he is loosed for a little season. Now we ask, when does the millennium begin, and the bible answer is: - Re 20:6: - “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”. This text tells us that the millennium starts with the first resurrection – that of the “blessed and holy” who are raised to eternal life since the second death no longer has power over them. They were found “not guilty” in the judgment, their names were left in the Book of Life because they died “IN JESUS”, and now they receive the gift of God – eternal life. Now that takes care of the saved; what about those who were found guilty in the judgment whose names were blotted out of the Book of Life - those who died without Jesus – the lost? The bible answers in John 5:28,29: - That there are two general resurrections: “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; (the First resurrection at the beginning of the millennium) – and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” - (the Second resurrection at the close of the millennium). Re 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished….. These all rejected the gift of God – eternal life – and died with Jesus being unable to “legally” save them. They come up – their second life – and must pay the penalty for unforgiven sin which is the SECOND death. Surely everyone can see the relationship between the two resurrections and the thousand year period of Revelation 20. The first resurrection – that of the righteous – marks the opening of the millennium, and that the resurrection of the wicked, marks its close. The millennium then, is the thousand year period between the two resurrections. Let us divide all mankind into four distinctive groups, examining each carefully. 1 The righteous dead. 2 The living righteous. 3 The unrighteous dead. 4 The living unrighteous. These four groups include every person ever, and God’s word clearly reveals the eternal destiny of each group. Let us then first determine the destiny of the saved – the righteous – Groups 1 and 2. Group 1 - The righteous dead: 1 Th 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: - Here we see very clearly that the second coming of Jesus is no secret affair. He comes with a shout! As He descends through the vaulted heavens He shouts, “Ye that sleep in the dust of the earth, awake and arise to everlasting life”. The coming of Jesus starts the millennium and at the same time calls the sleeping righteous to eternal life in the first resurrection. Now what about the living righteous? Group 2 – The living righteous: 1 Co 15:51,52: - “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed”. “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: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. - 1Th 4:16,17. Do we see? The living righteous receive immortal bodies and are translated with the resurrected righteous to meet Jesus in the air. Jesus does not touch the earth with his feet when He returns but the saved are caught up to meet Him in the air, and all are taken by Jesus to be with Him in heaven – John says “they shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years”. All the righteous have now left the earth, leaving only the unrighteous. Group 3 – The unrighteous dead: Re 20:6,5: 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. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished…. This scripture teaches that only the “righteous” are resurrected at the beginning of the millennium; the “unrighteous” remain in their graves, sleep through the second coming of Jesus, and will only be resurrected at its close. This leaves only the living unrighteous unaccounted for. What happens to them? Group 4 – The living unrighteous: Amongst these people are a great many whom Satan has deceived and lulled into a false sense of security. They are regular church goers and sincerely believe that they are saved. Jesus, in referring to the “wide gate” that leads to destruction, warns that “many” believers will call upon Him when He comes, and He would be unable to help them – Matt. 7:21-23. The warning also came through the prophet Amos : - Am 5:18,20 : - “Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! To what end is it for you? The day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it”? And Hosea gives the reason for it : - Ho 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,… Because thou hast REJECTED knowledge! We read of that awful day 2Th 2:8: - “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”: - and in Isa 13:9 : - “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Men and women are trying to find a hiding place from the atomic bomb today, but in that hour they shall seek a hiding place from the glorious face of Him who descends through the heavens. They shall cry for the rocks and mountains to fall on them as they endeavour to hide from the brightness of Christ’s return. They have rejected the Saviour by rejecting His knowledge, and now they cannot bear to look upon His face! - (Rev. 6:16,17). So here is the picture. All the righteous, those resurrected together with those who were alive at His coming, are taken by Jesus to the New Jerusalem in heaven to be with Him, and all the wicked are dead. So who is left on the earth? Only Satan and his angels. At present he is very, very busy, but what will he have to do then when no one is alive on earth? He can do nothing! He cannot deceive the nations because there are no nations to deceive! He will be bound, because every man, woman and child is out of his reach. He is bound by a chain of circumstances. Have you ever said, “I am sorry I could not keep the appointment. I was tied up at home”? Of course you did not mean that you were tied by a rope to a chair. You simply meant that circumstances prevented you. In the same way Satan is bound because he has no one to tempt and lead astray. There are those who teach that during the millennium a second chance will be given to those who do not respond to Jesus at present, but this is a lie. The scriptures repeatedly admonish – NOW is the accepted time, NOW is the day of salvation. NOW the door of mercy is still open. We cannot fail to see that since all the righteous are in heaven, and all the wicked are dead, the time for opportunity is past. Before Jesus comes, the irrevocable proclamation will go forth: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be - Re 22:11,12. Death seals our destiny! Isa 38:18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. Friend, there is no second chance during the millennium. This earth will be a no-man’s land, devastated, dark, and desolate for one thousand years. Look: Isa 24:1-3 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. – (A bottomless pit!) Jer 4:23-27 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 thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. “And ALL THE CITIES shall be broken down at the presence of the Lord” - London, Paris, Cairo, Sydney, Moscow, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tokyo, New York! These events are imminent, and we must NOW seek forgiveness and God’s protection. During the millennium the righteous are in heaven with Jesus and all the wicked are sleeping the sleep of death. What now happens at its close? How is all this changed at the end of the thousand years? Re 21:2 “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”. In that New Jerusalem is every saved person from all the ages of earth’s history. Jesus comes to renovate this earth and make it one glorious Garden of Eden for a second time so that He can Keep His promise: - “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”. – Matt. 5:5. The home of the saved is not some star or planet out on the rim of the universe. The saved shall inherit this earth, made new by the hand of God. When Jesus comes in the near future, He comes FOR His people, but when He returns in The New Jerusalem at the close of the millennium, He comes WITH His people. Revelation chapter twenty sets the scene: - Re 20:7,8: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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”. Picture it! The millions upon millions who slept through the first resurrection together with thousands of millions who were slain by the brightness of His second advent, come to life in the second resurrection. Satan is thus no longer bound, but is loosed out of his prison and marshalls them for battle. Inside the city the saved are few by comparison to those outside it. Remember Jesus saying that narrow is the gate that leads to life and few find it (simply because few seek it), and wide the gate leading to destruction and the majority going through it? Satan deludes them into thinking that because they are so numerous compared to those inside, they will be able to conquer the City and have access to the Tree of Life, enabling them to live for ever. “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” - Re. 20:9. The entire earth is ablaze. This is hell-fire that removes all pollution and for ever rids the entire universe of all sin and sinners. Just as three Hebrew youths who were cast into a fire in Babylon came to no harm because Jesus was with them – Daniel 3:25 – Just so the New Jerusalem will come to no harm in the fire because Jesus is in it. Out of this molten mass, Jesus now fashions the New Earth, and the redeemed live all eternity with their Creator, Who wipes away all their tears and all former things are forgotten. For further info. or studies please phone: Cell: Errol 082 765 9498
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 10:39:33 +0000
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