The 1,000 Year Reign of Christ
Revelation 20:1-6
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss [Pit of Death/the Grave] 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 [Pit of Death/the Grave], and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
If Satan is bound for 1,000 years, will people be able to sin during that time?
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 about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Here we see the rest of the martyrs being resurrected. Remember that only the 144,000 specially sealed Jewish believers returned with Jesus. Now He raises the rest of those who died under the AntiChrist.
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 share in the first resurrection. The second death [the lake of fire] 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 144,000 and the rest of the martyrs will reign with Christ during the 1,000 years.
Millennial Children
Will people be able to have children during the 1,000 year reign of Christ?
Matthew 22:30 – “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in Heaven.”
This is referring to those who have already been raised. After the second resurrection, at the time of the Final Judgment, no one will be able to have children. We’ll see why this is in a later section. The point for now is that once people are raised, they are no longer involved in romantic relationships and can no longer have children. After resurrection, they no longer have the desire or the ability to do so.
But whereas the martyrs who have already been raised will no longer be able to have children, the rest of humanity will still be able to during the millennial reign of Christ. We hope that most children born during the Millennium will become Christians, since they will be able to see Christ visibly reigning at the time.
Gentiles during the 1,000 Year Reign
Micah 4:1-4 – In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us His ways,
so that we may walk in His paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.”
Jesus will be reigning from Jerusalem, and all the nations will come to Him to learn His ways. He will judge fairly between the nations so that there will no longer be any need for war. When all peoples are God’s, and Christ is ruling them fairly, there will be no division or discord, only unity and peace.
Zechariah 2 – Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.”
3 While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. 5 And I Myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’
6 “Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,” declares the Lord.
7 “Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” 8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye — 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent Me.
10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. 11“Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become My people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent Me to you. 12 The Lord will inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because He has roused himself from His holy dwelling. ”
Again, just imagine a world in which all nations serve the Lord! There will be so many people coming to Jerusalem to see Christ that the city will have overgrown its walls.
Zechariah 8:23 – This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”
And for those who don’t come on their own, Jesus will send out missionaries.
Isaiah 66:18-21 – “And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory.
19 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. They will proclaim My glory among the nations. 20 And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to My holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. 21 And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.”
I love that God says He is going to choose some of the Gentiles to be priests and Levites, since they are some of the most honored positions in Jewish society. This just shows how unified we will all be in Christ when that 1,000 years comes.
The New World Order
There will be peace – not just between nations but throughout creation.
Isaiah 11 – A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and He will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes,
or decide by what He hears with His ears;
4 but with righteousness He will judge the needy,
with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth;
with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be His belt
and faithfulness the sash around His waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all My holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah’s prophecy shows us a time when the animals will be peace with each other, just as they were in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. With the Creator actively ruling the world once more, creation will no longer be in chaos but will return to its original tranquility.
Isaiah 65:19-25 – “I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in My people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.
20 “Never again will there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.
21 They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,
so will be the days of My people;
My chosen ones will long enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,
nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,
they and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all My holy mountain,”
says the Lord.”
People who have not yet been resurrected will still die before the Second Resurrection, but when Christ is reigning, people will live to be a hundred or more. How will this happen?
In a world where the nations and creation are at peace, people will no longer die by war or disease. We won’t have to pour money into defense budgets but will be able to focus all our resources on researching ways to heal and extend life. Besides this, the Great Physician Himself will be present and available for those who may need to call on Him.
What an amazing and incredible time that 1,000 years will be!
The Temple
We’ve been reading people will go the Temple in Jerusalem during the 1,000 year. The last we saw, however, the Anti-Christ had defiled the rebuilt Jewish Temple with the abomination that causes desolation.
Daniel tells us when the Temple will be cleansed and put back to proper use.
Daniel 8:13-14 – Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?”
14 He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”
2,300 days. It will be six and a third years from the time the AntiChrist desecrates the Temple to the time the Temple is re-consecrated. If the AntiChrist rules for seven years and sets up the abomination that causes desolation half-way through his reign (3.5 years), this means that the Temple is re-opened toward the end of M (Millennium) 2.
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