The 1000 Year Millennium
The word 'Millennium' doesn't appear in the Bible, although it is used throughout the world to describe the 1000 years after the second coming of Christ, which we find in Revelation 20.
Revelation 20:2-7 ...'And he laid hold on the dragon, that 
old
serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound
him a thousand years, 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. And I saw
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness
of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not
again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 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. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
loosed out of his prison.
Starting Point for the 1000 Year Millennium
So first of all, we need to find the starting point of the thousand year millennium. Can we get a starting point from the above scripture? Yes. In verse 6 it says ...'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.' ... So the first resurrection starts the thousand year millennium. Let's have a look at a couple more verses from the Bible with regards to the first resurrection.
Matthew 24:30-31 ...'And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.'
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ...'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.'
So we have the second coming of Christ Jesus in the above scripture, where He sends out His angels to gather the saved. The dead in Christ rise first and then those who are Christ's and still alive at His coming, they are 'caught up' with those who have been resurrected and they meet Christ in the air. A vital point to remember about the second coming of Christ, is that He does not touch the ground when He returns, we meet Him in the air. So we can clearly see this is the first resurrection above, and is the starting point of the 1000 year millennium.
Note: In Revelation 20:5 it says that 'the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished'. The rest of the dead are those who are lost (the wicked), that were either killed by 'the brightness of His coming' (2 Thess. 2:8), or were already dead at Christ's coming.
How Many Resurrections?
How many resurrections will there be? There will be two resurrections. It says in verse 6 of Revelation 20, that they are blessed who have part in the first resurrection. So if there is a first resurrection, then there is also a second resurrection, as it says in Revelation 20:5 ...'But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.' ... The lost were destroyed or already dead at the second coming, and it says above that they lived not again until the thousand years were finished. Now logically, they need to be resurrected to live again. So this would be the second resurrection at the end of the one thousand year millennium. Notice what it says in Revelation 20:7-8 ....'And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.' ... For satan to be loosed out of his prison and deceive the nations of the earth, the rest of the dead (the lost) must have been resurrected. This is the second resurrection at the end of the thousand years.
Where Will Satan be During the 1000 Year Millennium?
Now satan isn't in a physical prison wrapped in chains. There are many prophetic symbols in Bible prophecy, and the chains is one
of them. He is bound by circumstance. And the circumstance is the fact that he is already bound to this earth, ie. he cannot get
into heaven. The saved have gone to heaven, because they have met Jesus "in the air" and then ascend up into heaven with Him for
the thousand years, and the lost are dead. Therefore, satan is left roaming the earth for one thousand years with no one to
tempt. This is how satan is bound, until the thousand years have expired and the lost are resurrected and then he can go and
deceive them. Notice what is says in the following verses:
Revelation 20:2-3 ...'And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 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.' ... So it says here that satan is cast into the bottomless pit. Now what is the bottomless pit? Revelation 11:7 ...'And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.' ... A beast in prophecy is a symbol of a nation/kingdom of this world. (For further study on the beast, visit who is the antichrist or the Bible Antichrist). This beast as we can see in the verse above ascends out of the bottomless pit. Now a nation (the beast above) rises up out of the earth, so the bottomless pit is a prophetic symbol of the earth. So when it says that satan is 'cast into the bottomless pit' and 'chained' and 'bound in prison', it basically means he is bound to the earth with no one to tempt or deceive. He has a thousand years to ponder what he has done.
What Will the Earth be Like During the 1000 Year Millennium?
Most end times prophecy teachers out there contend that during the 1000 years after Jesus returns at the second coming, He will rule the earth, ON EARTH, and there will be peace amongst the nations as Jesus rules from Jerusalem. But there is a BIG problem with this teaching. Take a look at the following verses describing what the earth will be like during this time ...
Isaiah 13:13 ...'Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.'
Isaiah 24:1 ...'Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.'
Jeremiah 4:23-26 ...'I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.'
Jeremiah 25:33 ...'And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.'
The wicked are destroyed at Jesus' second coming, the saints go to heaven with Jesus and as we can clearly see above, the earth will lay desolate for the 1000 years. You see, this is what the earth will be like during the thousand year millennium. It won't be a happy, peaceful place where Jesus reigns the nations, it will be desolate, laid waste and empty! And satan will be bound to it for the thousand years.
What do the Righteous do During the 1000 Year Millennium?
We've discovered that the lost are dead, and satan is bound to a desolate, empty earth, but what about the saved who have gone to heaven with Jesus. What will they be doing? By the way, we know that the saved will be with Jesus in heaven and not on earth, because Jesus said it Himself ... John 14:1-3 ...'Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.' ... We know that we will spend eternity living on the new earth, so for us to be with Jesus in heaven, we would need to be there during the 1000 year millennium. So Jesus will take us to heaven to be where He is for the thousand year millennium. But what will we do? End times prophecy reveals the truth ... Revelation 20:6 ...'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.' ... So we will be priests. What is the purpose of us being priests during the thousand years? We will take part in the great judgment of the lost, and during this process, God will reveal to us why certain people who we knew and loved did not get into the heavenly kingdom. During this time, God will reveal to us more fully His judgments.
1 Corinthians 6:3 ...'Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?' ... This verse also confirms that we will take part in the judgment of the lost. We will even take part in judging the wicked angels.
After the 1000 Year Millennium
So at the end of the thousand year millennium, satan will be released from his prison. Now remember what it meant by satan being in prison? The fact that he was on earth alone, with no one to deceive or tempt. So for him to be released, the wicked must be resurrected (this is the second resurrection) and satan will then go forth to deceive the nations (the lost) one more time ... Revelation 20:7-8 ...'And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.' ... This is satan's last stand against Jesus. He gathers the lost nations on the earth for one final battle.
Note: One thing you will notice about the book of Revelation, is that it is not in chronological order.
Revelation 21:2 ...' And I John saw the holy city, new 
Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.' ... So the new Jerusalem descends down from heaven onto the earth. The saints are inside the
city with Jesus.
Revelation 20:9-10 ...'And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.' ... This is the final battle. Satan, with the lost nations who he deceived once more, go up to the new Jerusalem to attack it and try to take control. But as we know, God gets the victory and He reigns fire down from heaven and the wicked and satan with his angels are destroyed by fire. It says that they are tormented forever, but this isn't a literal forever. Satan and all the wicked will be destroyed completely. See the truth about hell for more on this.
Many people believe that the 'camp of the saints' and the 'beloved city' in the above verse is earthly Jerusalem. But this is impossible. Remember what state the earth is in during the 1000 years millennium? It is desolate, everything is destroyed, including Jerusalem in Israel. So this 'beloved city' must be the new Jerusalem from heaven.
2 Peter 3:13 ...'Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.'
Revelation 21:1-4 ...'And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.' ... Satan, his evil angels and the lost are destroyed and are no more. Sin has been removed from the universe and the saved live forever with God and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the new earth. Praise God!!
Summary of Events Surrounding the 1000 Year Millennium
- Jesus returns at the second coming.
- The wicked are killed by the 'brightness of His coming'.
- The dead saints are resurrected and together with the living saints, meet Jesus in the air.
- The earth is laid waste.
- Satan is bound on earth by circumstances of having no one to tempt.
- The thousand year millennium starts.
- The saints are in heaven for a thousand years with Jesus and take part in judgment.
- The thousand year millennium ends.
- The lost are resurrected and satan gathers them for battle.
- The New Jerusalem descends to earth with Jesus and the saints.
- Satan and the lost go up to the new city to attack it.
- God reigns fire down from heaven and destroys satan and the lost.
- Heaven and earth is renewed and the saints live forever with Jesus.
Friend, this is the Bible truth from God's Word about the thousand year millennium. There is a life awaiting us that no one can even begin to imagine ... 1 Corinthians 2:9 ...'But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.' ... Do you love your Saviour? Do you give your all for Him? Are you willing to give your very life for Him? Satan has already been defeated by Christ, when Christ gave His life on the cross. The 1000 year millennium is coming, and it is up to you which side you choose to be on. Give your all to Jesus now, and serve God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Jesus is Coming Soon!!