THE THOUSAND YEAR REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST
(THE MILLENIUM)
Revelation 20:4-10
Introduction:
The word “millenium” comes from two Latin words: mille, meaning 1,000, and annum meaning years, thus one thousand years.
The millenium reign of Christ is the seventh dispensation of time, which will end in failure as did the other six. These seven dispensations have been a divine trial of sinful man on this earth before the earth is destroyed. These trials began in the Garden of Eden and close with the Millenium and man is a failure in every dispensation. The seven dispensations are:
(1) Innocence: Creation to the fall of man – man a failure.
(2) Conscience: ends in the flood – man a failure.
(3) Human Government: ends with the Tower of Babel – man a failure.
(4) Family or Patriarchal: ends “in a coffin in Egypt” Genesis 50:26, “So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” – man a failure.
(5) National Israel, sometimes mistakenly called the “dispensation of the Law;” ends with the Cross of Calvary – man a failure.
(6) The Church dispensation sometimes mistakenly called the “dispensation of grace;” ends in apostasy – man a failure.
(7) Millenium reign: ends in revolt – man a failure.
(8) New creation: eternity – the man and the new creation.
The first seven dispensations deal with the old Adam under covenant relationships; the eighth deals with the New Adam and man under the new covenant, but also in the family of God.
These trials show that man does not desire God’s righteous rule and that man did not achieve this righteous rule himself. At the close of the Millennial Reign millions of men will demonstrate their hatred of God’s rule by entering into open rebellion and revolt under Satan at his being loosed for this purpose.
I. MAN AND THE MILLENIUM.
A. This is God’s final trial of man before the destruction of the earth, 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
B. There are three millennial viewpoints:
1. Amillennialism or Non-millennialism – “The a- in amillennialism negates the term; hence, amillennialism means there will not be a literal, future millennium. Amillennialists do not deny the literal return of Christ, but they reject a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. According to amillennialism, the kingdom of God is present in the church age, and at the consummation of the present age, the eternal state is inaugurated without any intervening millennium.” Enns, Paul, The Moody Handbook of Theology, 1996. Fundamental Christians consider this view liberal and modernistic.
2. Postmillennialism — Postmillennialism may be defined as “that view of the last things which holds that the Kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the Gospel and the saving work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of individuals, that the world eventually is to be Christianized, and that the return of Christ is to occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace commonly called the ‘Millennium.’” Enns, Paul, The Moody Handbook of Theology, 1996. World wars I & II just about did away with this theory about the Millennial Reign of Christ. Fundamental Christians consider this view liberal and modernistic.
3. Premillennialism — The term premillennialism means that Christ will return before the Millennium to establish His earthly reign of one thousand years. Fundamental Christians hold to this view of the Millenium. This view is considered to be the Scriptural interpretation.
C. The millennial reign is the direct administration of divine government on earth.
1. The period is for one thousand years.
2. The administration will be by the LORD and His saints.
a. God will publicly honor His Son in the very city where men dishonored Him by rejecting and crucifying Him.
b. Then Philippians 2:6-11 will literally be fulfilled, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7-But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8-And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9-Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10-That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11-And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
c. God will also fulfill His promise to give the Son “the throne of his father David.” Luke 1:32. Other promises, Psalms 2 & 10.
3. The words “thousand years” are mentioned six times in this chapter: 20:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Some argue that the word “millenium” is not mention in the Scriptures. The Greek word chilia is the equivalent for the Latin word “millennium” and is translated “a thousand years.”
D. The importance of the phrase “a thousand years” is seen in that it is connected with a distinct idea each time.
1. Satan is bound for a thousand years, v. 2, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.”
2. The nations will be not deceived for a thousand years, v. 3, “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.”
3. The saints will reign with Christ for a thousand years, v. 4, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.” Romans 8:17, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
4. The rest of the dead live not again for a thousand years, v. 5, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.”
5. All who have part in the first resurrection will be priests of God and reign with Christ a thousand years, v. 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.”
6. Satan will be loosed after the thousand years, v. 7, “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.”
II. CHRIST AND THE MILLENIUM.
A. Christ will be here in person to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords, Revelations 11:15, “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Daniel 7:27, “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”
B. Christ is the King in His own right – a three-fold right:
1. As the Son of Man, Daniel 7:13, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.”
2. As the Son of David, Luke 1:31-32, “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32-He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:”
3. As the Son of God, Jeremiah 30:9, “But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.” Zechariah 14:9, “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”
C. Christ as King, not as He came the first time, Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” But this time on a WHITE HORSE, Revelation 19:11, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”
1. He sits today as the rejected King, Acts 2:33-36, “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34-For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35-Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36-Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
2. In Revelation we see Him crowned King of kings and Lord of lords, but this time on a white horse, Revelation 19:11, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”
D. Christ will reign on David’s throne, Luke 1:32, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:”
1. David’s throne was in Jerusalem, 1 Kings 2:11, “And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.”
2. The Bible says that the Lord’s throne will be in Jerusalem, Jeremiah 3:17, “At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.”
III. THE MILLENIUM ITSELF.
A. Only the saved will inherit the Kingdom, Daniel 7:18, 22, 27, “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 22-Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 27-And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”
B. The believing remnant of Israel will constitute the blessed once again in possession of all her promised blessings, but only after they have gone through a judgment from God, Ezekiel 20:33-38, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: 34-And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 35-And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. 36-Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. 37-And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: 38-And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”
1. It belongs to Israel by divine covenant, Genesis 15:18, “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:”
2. Israel will be converted as they accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah, Jeremiah 23:3-8; Romans 11:26-29, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27-For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28-As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 29-For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”
3. God will keep all of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Daniel for they were not conditional. Man may change and forget but not God.
C. Jerusalem is to be the capital of the Kingdom, Psalm 48:2, “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”
D. The Gentiles that will be converted during the Tribulation period, Matthew 25:31-40, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32-And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33-And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34-Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35-For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36-Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37-Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38- When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39- Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40-And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
1. The word “nations” is used, however, this refers to individuals who have heard the Witnesses preach, Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
2. They have believed their message, Revelation 7:9-17.
3. These show compassion on the converted Jews, Matthew 25:34-40.
a. The converted Jews do not receive the mark of the Beast.
b. The Jews suffer for lack of food, clothing, etc.
4. This gives opportunity for these individuals to help supplying the necessities of life and showing kindness, Matthew 25:32, “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:”
E. The human conditions on the earth will continue.
1. The nations are not in a glorified state, Isaiah 60:11-12, “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. 12-For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.”
2. Marriage will continue and children will be born, Zechariah 8:1-8; Isaiah 11:8-9, “And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9-They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
a. The earth will be populated as never before.
b. Billions of people will inhabit the earth and they will come into existence through natural generation.
c. Wars will be unknown, Isaiah 2:4, “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
d. Earthquakes, pestilence and famine will no longer kill their thousands.
e. Disease will be banished and physical death will no longer be the universal rule but rather the exception, Isaiah 65:20-23.
f. Plenty of food and water, Isaiah 35:1, “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”
g. Longevity is restored, but death, the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), will not be destroyed until after Satan’s rebellion at the end of the thousand years, Revelation 20:7-14.
3. The Children born will still be conceived and born in sin, and they will have to be born again.
a. They will live under the best conditions and see the glory of the Lord, but they will still have to believe the Gospel and trust Christ as Savior.
b. However, in many a case it will be a feigned obedience to the Gospel. Three prophetic Psalms speak of these millennial conditions: Psalm 18:44, “As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.” 66:3, “Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.” 81:15, “The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured forever.”
4. The Lord will rule with a rod of iron, Revelation 19:15, And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
F. Spiritual conditions during the Millennium.
1. Only the truth will be preached in that time, Isaiah 11:9, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
2. Inspite of all this some will not believe, Isaiah 11:4, “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”
3. These thousand years will be the transition age between this and that perfect age.
CONCLUSION
“Some 250 years ago, Isaac Watts wrote a hymn based on the truths found in Psalm 98. The name of this world-famous hymn is Joy to the World! At Christmas it is sung all across the world by millions of Christians and non-Christians alike. But a close study of the words of this hymn reveal that Watts did not have in mind the Bethlehem coming of Christ, but rather the millennial coming of our Lord! Observe his words:”
Joy to the world! The Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow,
Far as the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.
Without doubt we will be singing “Joy to the Word” at that time. While some only sing this in the Christmas season, the believer should be thinking and singing this the year around as the Coming of Jesus Christ approaches.