The Last Times - 8 What is the Millennium ?

I'll read again the FIEC statement on "the Future"

The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.

When we listen to Premier Radio or the "God" channel on satellite TV, we find that their teaching about the future after Jesus returns is much more detailed.

We hear a very complicated teaching using ideas of "rapture", "tribulation", "millennium", "antichrist". [no need to translate, for those are the words they will hear.]

We hear that a new temple will be built in Jerusalem, and that Israel will again be a nation obedient to God.

We hear that Jesus will return to earth to rule the world from David's throne in Jerusalem for 1000 years.

They call this future thousand year reign of Jesus "the Millennium."

We have looked at a number of prophecies relating to the future.

I do not believe in a future millennium.

I believe that we are now living through the Biblical millennium.

When we look at the Old Testament prophecy, we see that the New Testament writers apply prophecy about Jerusalem & Israel to the church.

The church is made up of people from every nation (including Israel) who believe in Jesus as Lord & Saviour.

The true Israel is believers. We become Abraham's children by faith in Jesus Christ.

The Jerusalem which will have peace is the church that will enjoy peace with Christ in glory.

We are true Israelites, and citizens of heavenly Jerusalem.

Member churches in the body that unites evangelical churches in America would be able to join the FIEC.

Churches that believe as our church does would not be free to join them.

I quote from their web site:

The American Evangelical Christian Churches accepts the Bible. . . . as the revealed will of God . . . ; and for the purpose of maintaining general unity adopts the following Articles of Faith:

Number 7. The millennial Reign of Christ

They get their teaching about the Millennium from Revelation 20.

I want to look at that now, to see how we should understand it.

Revelation 20
1 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.


Jesus triumphed over Satan on the cross. In effect he tied him up.

Jesus explained this to his disciples.

Matthew 12: 28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29"Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.

Notice also that Satan was bound and put in the prison for a purpose : to keep him from deceiving the nations any more.

Before Jesus died & rose again, all the nations were in Satan's power.

The Jews had no gospel for the nations.

The Gospel is the power of God that frees the nations.

The verse that we call "the Great Commission" shows this.

Matthew 28: 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Satan is bound. He has no power to stop sinners being saved by the Gospel of Jesus.

Jude confirms this:

Jude 6And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

There is no need to think of the "1000 years" as an exact period of time.

1000 years is used in the Bible for a long time that only God knows. (e.g Psalm 90:4)

We looked at the next verse last time I spoke about the "Last Times."

Rev.20: 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 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.
6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.


The first resurrection guarantees us our place with our Saviour in heaven.

We are truly alive, and death cannot end our spiritual life.

God encourages suffering believers with these words.

John writes in the first chapter of Revelation:

Rev. 1: 6To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

We are already a kingdom and priests to serve our God and Father.

We are members of Jesus' kingdom, and we can come to God through Jesus.

We have no need for priests to stand between us and God.

I do not understand why God will allow Satan to be active again.

He does teach in many places that there will be trouble before Jesus comes again.

Rev. 20:7 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.

A great rebellion against God, and great persecution against believers will take place at the end of time.

There will not be a battle like the Jehovah's Witnesses call "Armageddon"

Jesus will return to end the rebellion, and rescue his people.

Paul writes about this to the Thessalonian believers.

2 Thessalonians 1: 6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

The judgement of Satan and the resurrection of the dead for judgement follows.

Rev. 20:10 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 for ever and ever.

11 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.
12 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.
13 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.
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The Lamb has a "Book of Life" with the names of all his people.

We will be safe for Jesus has suffered the judgement of God against our sins.

Happily Revelation 21 follows, and we are in the New Heaven & New Earth.

We need to learn from all this that the Lord Jesus reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords.

The kingdom, the power and the glory belong to our God and Father.

Let us serve him, knowing that Jesus has already won the battle against Satan.