The Millennium – The Berean Way

The Millenium

Search the Scriptures; for in Them ye think ye have Eternal Life: and They are They which testify of ME

For by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,

whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him:

And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

The Millennium. Where, When, and How.

Will the Redeemed be in Heaven or on Earth during the Millennium? This is an important question for God’s people today. The word millennium simply means 1000 in the Greek language and the Bible’s reference to this event, using “1000 years” terminology, can only be found in Revelation chapter 20. Revelation chapter 20 contains only 15 verses and this thousand (millennium) year period is referred to six times. So the millennium must be an important issue to God for Him to inspire John the Revelator to mention it this frequently.

Interesting enough, the questions associated with the millenium are quite different than most other issues in Scripture. Things like the promised Messiah, the lives of the Patriarchs, the Levitical priesthood, Sabbaths, Festivals, and diets can be found in the Old Testament (mostly Hebrew) as well as the New Testament (mostly Greek). Not so with the millenium, as it is mentioned specifically in Revelation 20, but only alluded to in the Hebrew scriptures.

Isaiah 46

(9) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

(10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

We can see clearly from the book of Isaiah that embedded in Scripture is sound counsel guiding us in our investigation into discovering Biblical truths. God states here that to properly understand these truths we cannot study from end to beginning. This would be completely opposite to what these verses tell us. Unfortunately, today many teachers and preachers attempt to enlighten their listeners in precisely this backwards way. We must search God’s Word diligently from beginning to end. Our foundation is established in the beginning of His Word and then that initial foundation will be clarified and magnified as we read more. This is how we build houses . . . first the foundation . . . then the walls . . . and finally the roof to seal and protect what is inside the structure . . . truth !

An example of this would be God’s law. The seventh commandment is “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Exodus 20: 14. In todays world the lines are blurred as to what God means by “adultery.” We need additional Scriptural information on what constitutes adultery according to God’s Word. And there we will find that behaviors such as incest, extra-marital sex, homosexuality, beasteality, and other immoral acts clearly prohibited by God.

Most of us have been so influenced by our denominational backgrounds that we are not open to what the Word of God really has to say concerning the question of whether the redeemed spend the millenium on earth or heaven. And if you are not open to consider this question . . . why are you still reading this article ? So let’s start at the beginning . . . the beginning being Genesis. And by starting in chapter 1 we will discover here the outline of God’s plan of Redemption revealed in a pattern He established right from the start.

Genesis 1:

First Day – God creates light. (evening and morning)
Second Day – God seperates atmosphere & water (evening and morning)
Third Day – God organizes land, water, vegetaion (evening and morning)
Fourth Day – God syncronizes sun, moon, & stars.(evening and morning)
Fifth Day – God creates water & air life. (evening and morning)
Sixth Day – God creates land animals & man. (evening and morning)
Seventh Day – God rests.

We can take note of the following general facts about creation week.

Light/morning follows darkness/evening establishing right from the beginning that a day (24 hours) starts with darkness. This agrees with our own lives beginning in darkness until Yashua (Jesus), the Light of the world, lightens our lives with His Glory.
God establishes the principle of six days of work followed by resting upon the seventh.
These 2 principles will become important as we get deeper into our study.

The main reason we need to establish the validity of this pattern is to demonstrate that God uses this same model of six parts labor and one part rest in various ways. They are the (1) weekly Sabbath day: six day to work followed by one day of rest, (2) the every seventh year land sabbath rest: six years to work the land followed by one year of rest for the land, the jubilee land rest/return posesssions: after 7 – 7 year cycles the fiftieth year is a year of jubilee when the land rests and properties are restored to their original owners, and the 1000 year rest for earth: 6000 years of labor/work for earth followed by 1000 years of rest for earth (the millennium).

As our study unfolds we will show how God orchestrates the millennial rest for earth through last day event prophecies predicted thousands of years ago ! The following issues and events are where this study will take us:

- 1. The Second Coming of Christ
  2. The Resurrection of the Righteous
  3. The Resurrection of the Wicked
  4. The fate of Righteous living at Christ’s Second Coming
  5. The fate of the Wicked living at Christ’s Second Coming
  6. Revelation chapter 20

Revelation Chapter 20

In order for us to learn what God’s Word has to say about the Millennium we will of course need to examine Revelation Chapter 20, the millennium chapter. Below is a table listing chapter 20 verse by verse. Verse 5 reveals that the beginning of the Millennium is concurrent with the first resurrection. This gives us a starting point referrence. The events associated with the first resurrection do indeed shed light upon the beginning of the millennium. Verse 5 also tells us that the “rest of the dead” (these are those not raised in the first resurrection) are not resurrected until 1000 years later. This means that there are 1000 years between the first and second resurrection; stated another way there are 1000 years between the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked.

Revelation Chapter 20

Comment

At the beginning of the thousand years this occurs:

1. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the

key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

John sees an angel with a key and a chain come down from heaven.

2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil,

and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

This angel binds Satan for 1000 years.

3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a

seal 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.

Satan is confined for 1000 years, restraining him from deceiving

the nations until after the 1000 year period.

4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given

them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of

Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast

neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or

in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Martyrs are resurrected to reign with Jesus Christ for 1000 years.

5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were

finished. This is the first resurrection.

The rest of the dead will be raised at the end of the 1000 years. These

five verses are the issues connected to the first resurrection.

During the thousand years this occurs:

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.

Those in the first resurrection will reign with Jesus for 1000 years.

At the end of the thousand years this occurs:

7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out

of his prison,

Satan will be loosed at the end of the 1000 years.

8. 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.

After the rest of the dead are raised, Satan deceives them again.

here will be billions – like the sand of the sea. They are called

Gog and Magog. Satan gathers them for a final battle.

9. 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.

Satan and his host surround God’s City. Fire comes down and

devours them.

10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire

and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and

shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet end up in this lake of fire.

11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from

whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was

found no place for them.

Before this fire falls, a final judgment occurs.

12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the

books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the

book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which

were written in the books, according to their works.

All the resurrected lost are judged.

13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell

delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every

man according to their works.

Another description of the resurrected lost being judged.

14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the

second death.

Death and Hell [Hades-Grave] are cast into the lake of fire,

which is the second death.

15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was

cast into the lake of fire.

All the resurrected lost are cast into the lake of fire.

The Resurrection

What does God’s Word teach us about the Resurrection ? Both the prophet Daniel and Yashua (Jesus) agree that two groups of people will be resurrected. Group #1 are they that have done good and will come forth unto the resurrection of everlasting life. Group #2 are those that have done evil and will come forth unto the resurrection of everlasting damnation. Notice that they each writer tells us of the future resurection of all that are in the graves. These verses place all people in the graves, not heaven or hell, just prior to their being resurrected.

Daniel 12

(1) And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

(2) And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

(3) And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

John 5

(28) Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

(29) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

The prophet Ezekiel and the apostle Paul also have much to say regarding those that are in the graves awaiting the resurrection. They both write of the righteous dead (again they are in the grave) miraculously coming back to life.

Ezekiel 37

(12) Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.

(13) And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,

(14) And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

1Corinthians 15

(51) Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

(52) 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.

(53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

(54) So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

(55) O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

For more information about the resurrection go to this Resurrection article.

Isaiah 45

(18) For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

Bill’s Bible Verse Ponderings

He sent His own Son in a body like (our) bodies . . .

And in that body God declared an end to

sins control over us. Romans 8:3

Your thoughts on this?

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The dates listed below for New Moons and Sacred Times are close approximations. We observe God’s Sacred calendar based upon the actual sighting of the first sliver of the New Moon. We encourage you to do the same.

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