The Millennium is the one thousand year period spoken of in the twentieth chapter of Revelations and is the time that every believer is looking forward to experiencing when the Lord returns. According to this chapter in Revelations, the Millennium begins just after the Rapture and the first resurrection and those saints who are caught up by the Lord, spend the next thousand years as priests with Christ and with God.
There are two groups of people that we need to focus on concerning this resurrection and the Millennium and they are (1) the group that goes to be with the Lord for one thousand years and (2) the group of people who are excluded from this experience. The question arises about who these resurrected saints are. Why are they chosen to take part in this first resurrection? What did they do to become eligible for this honor? Where do they live during these thousand years, on earth or in Heaven? The same questions apply to those who do not take part in this first resurrection. Why are they not chosen? Who are they? Where will they be during these one thousand years?
It should be obvious, because of the statements made in the eighth verse of the following scripture that the earth will continue to be populated with people during the millennium, for it speaks of satan once again deceiving the nations as he did before the Millennium began. So these nations and people must still be populating the earth during this thousand-year period.
Revelations 20:7-8 “And when the thousand years are expired, satan shall be loosed out of his prison, {8} And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth,”
Some Bible teachers say that those resurrected saints will spend the Millennium with the Lord on the earth and base this teaching on Revelations where it says that the redeemed spoken of here will reign on the earth. But this statement saying “on the earth” is not consistent with other relevant scriptures concerning where the redeemed will be taken. Jesus himself said in John 14:3 that He would return and take those believers to where He was—back to Heaven.
John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
Now if there is any question about where Jesus went, let us look at what the angels said in Acts 1:11; Jesus was taken up into Heaven.
Acts “Which also said, you men of Galilee , why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.”
So why was the statement made in Revelations about the redeemed reigning on the earth? The Greek word “epi” in the original scriptures could have been translated into English as: on, over, above, upon, and several other words. However, I believe that the word “on” was used because of a theological understanding of the person who made the translation. The more appropriate choice of the English word to be used was the word “above.” It is obvious that if the Lord redeems believers and takes them to where He is, it will be in Heaven and they will reign above the earth.
If the resurrected saints, as some teach, do reign with the Lord on the earth, does it seem likely that the Lord would once again turn satan loose on them after the Millennium was over, as is stated in Revelations 20:8-9? I do not think so. So without a doubt, the resurrected saints will be in Heaven with the Lord during the Millennium, and those who are left out of the first resurrection will remain on the earth.
One other thing that needs to be covered at this time is that all those who spend the Millennium with Christ are not just the believers who were raised from the dead; neither does Revelations chapter twenty say that. The Apostle Paul tells us in First Thessalonians there will be believers still alive on the earth, when the Lord returns, who will be taken to be with Him, along with those who are resurrected from the grave.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, ............ and the dead in Christ shall rise first: {17} Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air”
Yes, the Apostle Paul says that not only will the dead in Christ rise from the grave, but those who are in Christ and still alive will be caught up together with them.
The Lord Jesus gave us a picture of this rapturing of believers in Matthew 24: 40-41 and Luke 17: 34-36 when He said that in a number of situations one person will be taken and the other person will be left. These verses are speaking of the time of the first resurrection and the rapture of the believing saints.
Throughout the earth, both in daytime and at night, where two people will be engaging in something together, those who are prepared will be taken up, and those who are unprepared will be left on the earth.
Matthew 24:40-41 “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. {41} Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
Luke 17:34-36 “I tell you, in that night there shall be two in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. (35) Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (36) Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
So when the Lord returns, the dead in Christ will be resurrected, and those who are alive will be caught up with them to spend one thousand years with Him in Heaven.
But now just who are those that are taken to be with Him in the Millennium? Are they all those who have believed on the Lord? And are those who are left on the earth all sinners, who have not believed? To get a good picture of this, the Lord showed us a perfect example when He told of the ten virgins in chapter twenty-five of Matthew. There were ten virgins, believers, who were waiting for the return of the bridegroom (the Lord). Five of them were wise and ready for His return and five were not. Those that were wise or ready had oil in their lamps, which represents the Holy Spirit. Both the five wise and the five foolish were believers and had the testimony of Jesus, but the foolish virgins did not have the Holy Spirit (oil in their lamps).
If we remember back where Paul tells of Christ returning and taking those who were in Christ, members of His body; they were the ones who go in the rapture and the first resurrection. The only way to enter into the body of Christ is to be baptized into Him and receive the Holy Spirit, so the five foolish virgins did not have the Holy Spirit. Even though they believed in Him, they had not received the Holy Spirit and were not in the body of Christ. With this example that Jesus gave us, we see that only those believers who have received the Holy Spirit, and are in Christ, will be taken in the rapture and the first resurrection.
When Christ receives His Bride, those who are members of His body go into Heaven to spend the next thousand years with Him. But there will be two groups of people left on the earth, those believers who did not receive the Holy Spirit (had no oil for their lamps) and those who are unbelievers. Then will come to pass the prophecy in Revelations 22:11.
Revelations “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he who is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
Both the unjust and the filthy, those still living in their sins and the people living righteous and holy lives—but had not gone all the way to Pentecost and received the Holy Spirit—will be left on the earth during the Millennium. These are they who will take part in the final resurrection and the great white throne judgment.
So what happened to these righteous and holy people that they were not prepared for His return? How did the five foolish virgins miss out on being prepared by not having oil in their lamps? Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23 … only those that do the will of my Father will enter in.
The Apostle Peter was given the keys to the Kingdom by Jesus and was told that whatever he said would be approved in Heaven. So on the day of Pentecost, Peter told the people that if they would repent of their sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Now if Peter’s word was authorized in Heaven, and he commanded the people to be baptized in Jesus name, then that must be the way it is to be done. Since the Lord said that He was the way, and there is no other name under Heaven by which we can be saved, we need to be baptized the way Peter said to do it, in the name of Jesus Christ.
This is what the five foolish virgins missed. They had been told what to do, but failed to obey. Having not been baptized in the name of the Lord, they failed to receive their oil, the Holy Spirit. They lived righteous and holy lives, but failed to be baptized in His name. He said strait is the gate and narrow is the way, and even though many would be called, few would be chosen.
So now we have seen that the Rapture and the first resurrection occur at the same time, when the Gentile dispensation is over, and the Lord returns to catch away His Bride into Heaven to spend one thousand years with Him. We also have seen who those are that are to be a part of that Bride and why.
Now let us examine the next question. Will those who are left on the earth be aware of what has happened, or will this event come and go without anyone being aware of it?
In the example of the ten virgins, which the Lord gave us, we read in the sixth verse of Matthew, chapter twenty-five that the cry was made that the Bridegroom was coming, and all the virgins arose and began to prepare.
No matter if that cry was made the instant before He came or if it was made for years before He actually came. After He returned and took His Bride and closed the door, the five foolish virgins were aware that it had happened. The 11th verse says that those foolish virgins cried to Him to take them also, so they were very much aware of what happened.
In the examples that the Lord gave us in Matthew 24: 40-41 and Luke 17: 34-36, He said that there would be two sleeping in one bed, two working in the field, and two grinding at the mill; one would be taken and one would be left. It should be obvious here that those that are left would know what happened to those who were taken. For one thing, those left would be aware that those taken were believers and had without doubt testified to the ones left that the Lord would return and take them away one day. In this example, we have no indication whether those left were also believers (foolish virgins) or unbelievers, they could have been some of both groups.
John says in Revelations 1:7 that He will come with clouds and every eye will see Him. When Jesus was carried away, as is recorded in Acts 1:9, His Apostles plainly observed Him being carried away into Heaven. When the prophet Elijah was carried away, Elisha saw it occur. Then we also need to look at the scriptures telling of His resurrection from the tomb. When they went to look for Him, no body could be found. This must be an example of what will occur at the first resurrection.
So it should be obvious, when the time comes that He returns, many graves will open and the bodies of those who are in Christ will be changed and will ascend up into the air along with those who are still alive, and there will be many witnesses to them being carried away. Yes, the world will know what has happened, and there will be much weeping and wailing on the earth by those who are left.
Will anything be occurring on the earth just prior to His return that will give us an indication that the time is near?
In Matthew chapter twenty-four, the Lord speaks of a number of things that are to occur leading up to the time of His return. He tells us there will be wars and rumors of wars, famines and pestilences and earthquakes, and He said that many false prophets would arise, deceiving many people. He also said that many people would be delivered up to be afflicted and killed because of their testimony in His name. He spoke also of the Abomination of Desolation and the persecutions and afflictions of that time. Well, these things have either come to pass or are taking place right now. But there is one final thing that will occur just before He returns, and we see what that is in the thirteenth chapter of Revelations.
The Apostle John speaks of the worship of an image of a beast and the receiving of the mark of the beast, his name or his number as being a period of persecution occurring before the first resurrection. Yes I know that many have taught that the Bride does not go through a period of tribulation, but it is plain by the scriptures that this period of tribulation or persecution occurs before the Bride is taken away.
In Revelations 20:4, it tells of those who are taken in the first resurrection, as having not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark. So this tells us that this persecution precedes the return of Christ. There is a lot of speculation by Bible teachers throughout the world saying what they believe this persecution will be, but we will not include that as a part of this study. Whether this is a literal persecution by a world power or one of a spiritual nature is yet to be made clear, but when it occurs, those in the body of Christ will no doubt be aware of it. The main point to be made of this discussion is that this will occur before His return.
What we want to cover at this time is the following question: What will life be like for those who are left on the earth when the Millennium begins? The scriptures do not elaborate on this in much detail, but there are a few statements made that could give us some indication during this period of time.
One most important aspect influencing life on the earth during this period of time is that satan will be prevented from continuing to deceive the people of the world. For in Revelations chapter twenty, it tells us that satan will be bound for this one thousand-year period.
Revelations 20:1-3 “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. {2} And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and satan, and bound him a thousand years, {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”
As we look into the scriptures to see what kind of influence satan has had in years past, we should be able to get a picture of what life will be like without him being able to control life on the earth. Let us first start in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden.
Satan began his deception in the Garden of Eden when he was able to deceive Eve and get her to doubt that God’s Word was true. Satan was so successful at doing this with Eve that he has continued this same kind of deception since then.
With much reluctance, I must compare the way satan works his deception to the way that God works His works, through man. Satan uses man, by first deceiving him into interpreting the Word of God to mean something other than what God meant, then to teach others by way of his own interpretation. This means of deception has been instrumental in the division of God’s people, and it is the foremost cause of the diversity of beliefs that have caused man to setup so many different churches, each one with their own set of doctrines based upon some man’s interpretation of God’s Word.
But when the Lord returns and catches away His Bride, with the world witnessing the event and the deception of satan put to an end, God’s people will, without a doubt, have the blindness of their eyes healed and return to the one truth of God’s Word. At this time, the influence and control of all the world’s religions and church organizations will be ended, and the people will then realize the meaning of the Lord’s words when He said:
John 8:31-32 ... “If ye continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed; {32} and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Now let us look at another aspect of the work of satan by going to the book of Job, and we’ll see how satan influences people’s lives when God allows it to happen. Satan put all kinds of sickness and affliction on Job and caused him to lose all that he had, including his children. Sickness and affliction are not the work of God, but they are the works of satan. Without the power of satan in the world during this Millennium period, sickness and disease should be absent.
The Apostle John said that all manner of sin was the work of the devil, so if the devil is bound up for a thousand years, sin should not be a part of a man’s life.
1 John 3:8 “He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Throughout the scriptures, it tells how satan tempts man to lust after certain things and enters into the heart of man causing him to do those things that are against nature and against other men. The temptations of satan are the causes of strife, wars, conflicts, envy, and idolatry and will be absent during the Millennium with satan out of the way.
Doctor C.I. Scofield, who edited the Scofield Bible, said he believed that the Millennium would be a time of universal peace, prosperity, long life, and prevailing righteousness.
I believe that the Millennium was what the prophet Isaiah was speaking of when he said: “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not life up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isa 2:4)
For one thousand years those obedient to the Word of the Lord will be with Him in Heaven, while on earth a peaceful existence will continue until the thousand years comes to an end. God made this world and all that is in it in six days and rested on the seventh. In like manner, after six thousand years of trying to get man to live by His Word, He will again rest for one thousand years with His obedient Bride in Heaven until the time of His judgment comes.
No comments:
Post a Comment