Copyright © 2024 Michael A. Brown
Some
issues pertaining to the millennial reign of Christ
Before
I go on to give a general outline of what the millennial reign of Christ will
be like, there are three issues pertaining to the millennial reign which I would
like to address first, as below.
1.
The first resurrection
As
we have seen, when the Lord returns in his Second Advent, he will bring back
with him those who were resurrected/raptured before the rise of
Antichrist. Furthermore, John tells us
that, at the time of the Second Advent, as Jesus returns with these believers,
people who came to faith and who evidently died or were martyred during the
time of tribulation, will also be resurrected:
‘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 a thousand years.’ (The rest
of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.’
(Rev. 20:4-6)
John
calls this the ‘first resurrection.’ So
it may seem natural to interpret these words to mean that this event of
resurrecting those who had died during the tribulation is the first occasion on
which believers are resurrected.
However, it cannot mean that, of course.
Jesus was the firstfruits of new life when he was resurrected in 33 AD,
and believers presently alive will get resurrected / raptured when Jesus comes
for his bride, as we have seen. So
believers will certainly have been resurrected well before this ‘first
resurrection.’
So
how then should we interpret these words ‘the first resurrection’? To clarify this matter, there are essentially
two resurrections. The first
resurrection is that of believers, and the second or general resurrection is
that of everyone else which will take place at the end of the millennial reign,
when they will be raised to face judgement at the great white throne: ‘the rest
of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.’ (Rev.
20:5). The first resurrection is the
resurrection of believers to eternal life, and the second or general
resurrection is that of non-believers and is the resurrection to eternal death
(Rev. 20:6, John 5:28-29).
So the first resurrection, that of believers
in Christ, actually describes two chronologically separate events (at the
rapture, and after the Second Advent) which, grouped together, are called ‘the
first resurrection.’ It is not the first
resurrection in the sense that people have never been resurrected previously,
but because the ones who are resurrected are believers, and believers are the
first to be resurrected. Their
resurrection precedes that of non-believers which will happen at the end of the
millennial reign of Christ, and which is the second or general resurrection.[1]
Many premillennial commentators believe that Old Testament believers will also be raised at the time of the Second Advent, and they will take part in the millennial kingdom and reign of Jesus their Messiah. Both these believers and those who died during the time of tribulation will be judged and rewarded at this time (cf. Dan. 7:27, 12:1-2; Matt. 8:11; Luke 22:28-30; Rev. 20:6). However, there are others who believe that the Old Testament believers will be raised at the time of the resurrection-rapture event as being among the ‘dead in Christ’ (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16, Isa. 26:19-21).
2.
Satan is bound
‘And I saw an angel coming down out
of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great
chain. He seized the dragon, that
ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand
years. He threw him into the Abyss, 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.’
(Rev. 20:1-3)
As
I said above, amillennialists believe that this passage about Satan being bound
in the Abyss refers to the interadventual period between the first and second
comings of Christ, because that is when they believe the millennium is. Satan was defeated through the
cross-resurrection event, and so, according to amillennialists, he is therefore
bound for the entire Church Age as the gospel advances in the world.
However, as I said above, Scripture seems to suggest otherwise. Peter warns us that the devil is still going around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Paul also testifies that it was Satan who tried to hinder him (1 Thess. 2:18). Satan is also seen as the instigator behind the scenes of persecution against Christians (Rev. 2:9-10). In fact, the whole tenor of the narrative of Acts suggests forcibly that Satan’s dominion is still active in this world, and that it fights tooth and nail against the advance of the kingdom of God in this world. So, no, I do not believe that Satan is bound during the present Church Age. It is simply as Revelation 20:1-3 says: he will be bound in the Abyss for the duration of the millennial reign of Christ.
3.
The kingdom of God
That
the early apostles expected that Jesus would re-establish the kingdom in Israel
– and perhaps that he would do it in their own lifetime – is clear from the
question they asked him just prior to his ascension. It is clear also from Jesus’ answer that,
even though the timing of this is ultimately in God the Father’s hands, yet
this earthly kingdom would indeed be re-established at some point:
‘So when they met together, they
asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to
Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for
you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”’
(Acts 1:6-7)
Although
the Lord Jesus began to reign in heaven after his ascension and exaltation, and
even now rules spiritually in the hearts and lives those who believe and
receive him, yet human efforts to build a kingdom of God on earth which might
powerfully pervade and dominate human life and culture worldwide have always
proven to be a vain hope.
The
millennial reign of Christ on earth is the realisation of this hope which has
characterised both Jews and Christians through history,
and it is during this time that the kingdom rule of God through Christ will pervade
and dominate human life and culture on planet earth.
The
prophet Daniel foresaw this earthly messianic kingdom in two of his visions, as
below:
‘In the time of those kings, the
God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it
be left to another people. It will crush
all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure
forever. This is the meaning of the rock
cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands – a rock that broke the iron, the
bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces… the rock that struck the
statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.’
(Dan. 2:44-45,35)
‘But the court will sit, and
[Antichrist’s] power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of
the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the
people of the Most High. His kingdom
will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
(Dan. 7:26-27; cf. 7:11,13-14)
As
I said above, the apostle Paul also referred to this millennial kingdom: Christ
will establish and build up his kingdom on earth, and he will then deliver this
kingdom up to God the Father at the end of his millennial reign, having put all
his enemies under his feet:
‘Then the end comes, when he hands
over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion,
authority and power. For he must reign
until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death… When he has done this, then the Son himself
will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be
all in all.’ (1 Cor. 15:24-26,28)
What
will the millennial reign of Christ be like?
The
Scriptures do not give us a detailed exegesis or a full picture of what the
millennial reign of Christ on earth will be like. Rather, it gives us prophetic glimpses and
allusions which are often interspersed with other prophetic Scriptures.
It
is clear to anyone with an objective mind that these prophetic glimpses and
allusions have not yet been fulfilled.
Neither do they refer to the end-times of the age in which we presently
live, and neither do they refer to the new creation which will happen after the
final judgement. Passages such as Joel
3:17-21 and Zechariah 14: 9-21, for example, clearly describe life on earth in
an age in which Christ reigns, but in a creation which is still far from
perfect. So they cannot be
describing the new creation.
Through
these prophetic allusions we are given insight and glimpses into aspects of
life in an age on earth which for us is yet future and in which Christ will
reign together with believers, but which precedes the eternal life which
characterises the new creation. This
is the millennial reign of Christ.
In attempting in this section to describe what the millennial reign of Christ will be like, I want to be clear only as much as the Scriptures themselves are clear, and not to make conjectures, or to give my own ideas, or to ask questions about the millennium that probably no-one really knows the answers to. So I will approach this by giving a point-by-point outline sketch which is based on the main prophetic glimpses and allusions which the Scriptures give us.
1.
The judgement of the
nations
Many
commentators believe that, just after the Second Advent (so at the beginning of
the millennial reign of Christ), the judgement of the nations will take place,
evidently to decide who will enter into the millennium. They do not identify this with the final
judgement at the great white throne, but with the judgement referred to in
Revelation 20:4:
‘Jesus said unto them, “I tell you
the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his
glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ (Matt. 19:28)
‘When the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly
glory. All the nations will be gathered
before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats…’ (Matt.
25:31-32f)
‘I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.’ (Rev. 20:4)
2.
God’s covenants will be
fulfilled on earth
During
the millennial reign of Christ the Messiah, the covenants of God with Israel
will be fulfilled together. God’s
everlasting promises to Abraham regarding the ‘promised land’ and his posterity
who would live there; the Davidic covenant wherein Christ would reign from
Jerusalem as Messiah; and the new covenant in Christ wherein Jews (and
Gentiles) who receive Jesus as Lord gain eternal life, will all come together
and be fulfilled at the same time.
Furthermore, by the beginning of or during the millennium, all six elements of Daniel’s vision of the seventy weeks will have been fulfilled. Sin and transgression will have been put to an end, and wickedness will have been atoned for; the age of righteousness on earth will be established; visions and prophecies regarding Israel and the Jewish people will be fulfilled, and the holy place, the fourth temple, will be consecrated for use during the millennial reign of Christ the King (cf. Dan. 9:24).
a.
The Lord Jesus will reign
as king over all the earth
After
the Lord Jesus returns in his Second Advent and overcomes Antichrist, he will
begin to reign from his throne in Jerusalem as king over the whole earth. The image of dashing pottery into pieces in
Psalm 2:9 below alludes to the ancient Egyptian tradition in which Pharaoh
would break pottery into pieces before he went out to battle to figuratively
express his coming victory over his enemies:
‘The LORD will be king over the
whole earth. On that day there will be
one LORD, and his name the only name.’ (Zech. 14:9)
‘I have installed my King on Zion,
my holy hill… Ask of me, and I will make
the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron sceptre; you
will dash them to pieces like pottery.’
(Ps. 2:6,8-9)
‘For to us a child is born, to us a
son is given… Of the increase of his
government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and
upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.’
(Isa. 9:7)
‘My servant David will be king over
them, and they will all have one shepherd.’
(Ezek. 37:24)
The
Lord Jesus will reign and rule as the Son of God, but also as a man, the Son of
Man. Therefore, during the millennium,
creation will be ruled over once again by a perfect man, and all our spiritual
enemies will be placed under his feet.
One fact that Gentile believers often tend to forget or to overlook is that the Lord Jesus was and is still a Jew. Ethnic Jewish people are his people. So when he reigns from Jerusalem, his own city where his name dwells, for one thousand years, the world will be ruled by a Jew, the Jewish Messiah who is also the Saviour of the whole world.
b.
The Jews will be
believers in Jesus as their Messiah
As
I made clear in chapter 20, many Jews will become believers in Christ as their
Messiah during the seven-year period known as Daniel’s seventieth week, prior
to the return of Christ in his Second Advent.
This is expressed repeatedly using the phrase below which denotes living
covenant relationship, and it would therefore imply that the Jewish people will
be partakers in the new covenant in Christ during the millennium:
‘My dwelling place will be with
them; I will their God, and they will be my people.’
(Ezek. 37:27)
‘I will say, “They are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is our God.’” (Zech. 13:9)
c.
They will dwell safely in
their ancient homeland
In
Ezekiel 47:13 – 48:29, we are given the details of the boundaries of the land
and how it will be divided between the tribes of Israel in the millennium.
‘They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.’ (Ezek. 37:25)
d.
The (fourth) temple complex will be built
in Jerusalem, and it will be used for worship during the millennium
See Ezekiel
40:1 – 47:12 for details of this temple and related matters.
This
fourth temple of the millennium was prophetically spoken of by the prophet
Haggai during the building of the second temple after the return of the Jews
from exile in Babylon:
‘In a little while I will once more
shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake the nations, and the desired of
all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory… The glory of this present house will be
greater than the glory of the former house.’
(Hag. 2:6-7,9)
In these verses, the shaking of the heavens and the earth is that which will take place just prior to the Second Advent of Christ; the coming of the desired of all nations is the Second Advent itself; and the greater glory of the temple is prophetically fulfilled in the fourth temple during the millennium.
e.
The nations will learn the ways of the
Lord, and they will come up to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the feast of
Tabernacles
During
the millennium, the peoples of the nations will come to Jerusalem to be taught
by the Lord, and they will seek to walk in his ways, because the knowledge of
his glory will fill the whole earth.
‘In the last days the mountain of
the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be
raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord, to the house 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.’ (Mic. 4:1-2, cf. Isa. 2:2-3)
‘For the earth will be filled with
the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’
(Hab. 2:14)
The
Feast of Tabernacles, a Hebrew feast ordained by the Lord, will continue to be
honoured during the millennial reign of Christ.
I mentioned in chapter 3 that this particular Hebrew autumn feast finds
its eschatological fulfilment in the millennial reign of Christ. God will once again dwell with (or
‘tabernacle with’) his people. They will
no doubt celebrate not only their deliverance from Egypt (of which this feast
was a remembrance, Lev. 23:33-43), but also their deliverance from the rule of
Antichrist through Christ their Messiah.
Believers
from the nations of the world will come up to Jerusalem every year to celebrate
this feast. However, nations that do not
do this will suffer a measure of divine discipline in consequence:
‘Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.’ (Zech. 14:16-19)
3.
Resurrected believers
will reign with Christ
During
this millennial reign, many overcoming believers who had been raptured before
the rise of Antichrist and who return with Christ, together with those who are
resurrected at the time of the Second Advent, will receive delegated authority
from the Lord and will reign with him. So
Christ will reign over the whole earth together with his bride during the
millennium.
In
the hope that we will prove to be overcomers, we should see our present life as
a training ground which is preparing us to reign with Christ after he returns:
‘To him who overcomes and does my
will to the end, I will give authority over the nations – “He will rule them
with an iron sceptre; he will dash them to pieces like pottery” – just as I
received authority from my Father.’ (Rev. 2:26-27)
‘“Well done, my good servant!” his
master replied. “Because you have been
trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”’
(Luke 19:17)
‘You have made them to be a kingdom
and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’
(Rev. 5:10)
‘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 came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years… They will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.’ (Rev. 20:4-6)
4.
The Lord Jesus will put
all his enemies under his feet
The millennial reign of Christ, in
which the Lord Jesus will reign on earth together with overcoming believers, is
a time during which his enemies will be placed under his feet. As the Last Adam and the Son of Man, he will
reign until he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power, and has put all
his enemies under his feet:
‘For as in Adam all die, so in
Christ all will be made alive. But each
in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong
to him. Then the end will come, when he
hands over the kingdom to the Father after he has destroyed all dominion,
authority and power. For he must reign
until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.’
(1 Cor. 15:22-26)
‘The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The LORD will extend your mighty sceptre from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies.’ (Ps. 110:1-2, cf. Heb. 1:13)
5.
It will be a time of
worldwide peace and prosperity
It
should be clear from my descriptions in the two previous chapters that, by the
time the seven bowls of wrath have been poured out, and when the battle of Ha
Megiddo is over and Antichrist is finally defeated, in many ways planet earth
will not been in a pretty state. It
will need much restoration, healing and renovation.
This
is one of the things that will happen during Christ’s millennial reign. This will not be the new creation which is
described in Revelation chs.21-22, rather it will be a period of restoration,
peace and prosperity on this present earth.
The immanent divine life and presence of Christ will be present on
earth, and it will bring peace and healing everywhere (cf. Ezek. 47:9).
So
the millennial reign of Christ will bring a long-lasting peace to the world, a
peace which the nations have long sought in vain. The prophet Isaiah in particular expresses
this in strong descriptive terms relating to animal life. Jerusalem and Judah will dwell in peace, and
they will prosper:
‘He makes wars cease to the ends of
the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with
fire.’ (Ps. 46:9)
‘He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for
war anymore. Every man will sit under
his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for
the Lord Almighty has spoken.’ (Mic. 4:3-4, cf. Isa. 2:4)
‘Then you will know that I, the
Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with
water. A fountain will flow out of the
Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias… Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem
through all generations.’ (Joel 3:17-18, 20)
‘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. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.’ (Isa. 11:6-9)
6.
People will experience
better physical health and greater longevity
This
picture of prosperity and blessing during the millennium is repeated again in
Isaiah 65:20-25. The prophet adds in the
fact that people will experience blessing also in terms of their physical
health and longevity of life. So,
although people will still die, yet they will live longer:
‘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; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 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. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain.’ (Isa. 65:20-25)
The
final rebellion
At the end of
the millennium, God’s purpose is to allow Satan to be released from his prison
in the Abyss. Satan, of course, will
then do what he has always done: he will go out once again to deceive the
nations. He will do this one final time,
in order to gather them together yet again to try to destroy the people and the
city of God, Jerusalem, in one last vain and desperate attempt to overcome the
Lord and thereby avoid his own eternal fate.
This
will be a final test for those who are living on earth, to expose lack of
submission in many hearts to Christ as Lord, and to expose once and for all the
intransigent evil of Satan’s heart.
Satan and his armies will be devoured with fire from heaven, and Satan
himself will be dispatched forthwith to his eternal fate in the lake of fire:
‘When the thousand years are over,
Satan will be released from his prison 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. 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. 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.’
(Rev. 20:7-10)
The
reference here to the nations as ‘Gog and Magog’ recalls the prophecy of
Ezekiel chs.38-39, of course. So
amillennialists see this passage in Revelation 20:8-9 to be the fulfilment of
the passage in Ezekiel, and they interpret it as the battle of Ha Megiddo at
the time of the Second Advent (which is at the end of the millennium as they
understand it).
However,
in Ezekiel chs.38-39, the nations involved in the conspiracy against Israel are
clearly only a handful of Middle Eastern nations, whereas here in Revelation
ch.20, the reference is to the nations ‘in the four corners of the earth,’ i.e.
the whole world.
So,
from a premillennial viewpoint, the best way to interpret this passage in
Revelation 20:8-9 is to see the conspiracy of Ezekiel chs.38-39 simply as a
historical and prophetic type of this eschatological conspiracy which will
happen as a separate event at the end of the millennial reign of Christ.
Copyright
Notice
THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[1] Of course, those
who have become believers and died during the millennial reign of Christ will
be raised at the end of the millennium at the time of the general resurrection,
and they are raised to eternal life.
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