The Thousand Year Peace.

We are continuing our study on the topic of the Millennium, the thousand-year reign of Jesus on Earth. In the third study on eternity, we talked about the resurrection of the saints at the return of Christ. Those who are born-again and walking with Christ will receive an imperishable body, a body of power that is immortal. This body will be like Christ's resurrection body, a body that had been sown in dishonor, but raised in glory (1 Corinthians 15:43). The saints are given authority to reign with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4; 1 Corinthians 6:2), and Satan will be bound and thrown into the Abyss (Revelation 20:1-3).

¹And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ²He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³He 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. ⁴I 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 for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped 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. ⁵(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years(Revelation 20:1-6 Emphasis mine).

Theologians and scholars call this thousand-year reign of Christ, the Millennium. The word millennium means a thousand. There are three beliefs about the Millennium. The first is called Amillennialism. An Amillennialist believes that the thousand years mentioned five times in the passage above is not a natural number but a symbolic number and represents the time we are in now, the church age. Secondly, there is postmillennialism. Postmillennialists also believe that the 1000-year period mentioned in the passage above is not a literal 1,000 years. In their view, the church will bring in a golden age of Christian ethics and that Jesus' Second Coming will come after that period. Thirdly, there is premillennialism, to which I hold. A premillennialist believes that Jesus' coming will be after a time of tribulation, that He will raise the saints, those who have been born-again of the Spirit, and that the saints will rule and reign with Him in a literal thousand-year reign on the earth.

The dragon, that ancient serpent that appeared in the Garden of Eden, also called the devil and Satan will be bound, verse three tells us, in the Abyss (Greek word is Abussos, a word that means bottomless, unfathomed; enormous; unbounded; immeasurable depth). There will be no more war until the 1000 years are up, and after that Satan must be released for a time. Try to imagine what our world will be like with Satan bound. What changes do you think will come about for those living on earth in total freedom from satanic influence?

For the saints, the body of Christ, in their new resurrection bodies, there will be no temptation towards evil and sin, and no more deception at work on the earth (v. 3). Our resurrection bodies will take away all fear of harm. There will be no fear of death. From the point when Jesus returns, all true believers in Christ are immortal. Our sin nature, also, will be taken away, and there will be no desire to sin at all. Because we will be operating in a free capacity, our creativity will be unleashed. We will see our bodies, souls, and minds operating at an entirely different level, free from constraint. We will experience life as God intended us to know it. Oh, how I look forward to it! I hope you are too.

Taken from the series Insights into Eternity found in the All Studies box on the Home Page. Click on the study The Millennium. Keith Thomas