End times series:
Revelation 20,
Matthew 24, Luke 17 and
The Millennium
By Liaf
We talked about the Second Coming of Christ in the last message. So many people confuse this with the rapture. No. The rapture is when we meet the Lord in the air according to the Bible. Later on we shall talk about the feast days of the Hebrews which were religious festivals held several times throughout the year. They were prophetic of things to come. The trumpet feast represented the rapture of the church, the spiritual seed of Abraham and will have its Earthly fulfillment in the re-gathering of Israel at the Second Coming. The Day of Atonement afterwards has its type in the Judgement Seat of Christ in heaven. We’ve already talked about that a little where Satan is eventually cast down to the Earth in Revelation 12. The last feast is the Tabernacles feast that foreshadowed the millennium here on Earth. So unless one wants to believe in the "U-turn" rapture when we meet the Lord in the air and then come back down with him, we can see that the rapture occurred earlier, and as we already stated this would happen before the Tribulation. Besides, if there were a "U-turn" rapture, the "Day of Atonement" prophetic type would be skipped and the feast would lose its meaning. Besides, the church would not be judged here on the Earth. We as saints are coming back already in fine apparel. This means the Judgement Seat of Christ already occurred. Christ wants that settled beforehand.
When Jesus returns, we saw in Revelation 19 that there will be a great Armageddon slaughter and the beast and false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire. In addition to this, Israel will be re-gathered (and will be judged with the nations before being allowed to enter into the joy of the millennium) and this will include the "sheep and goat" judgement that Christ mentioned in Matthew 25 of the remaining people who are alive. Before we continue, let’s take another look at the Armageddon slaughter from Christ’s perspective.
How many times have you sit in church while a grave evangelist tried to scare people into salvation? He would preach in a quivering tone saying, "no man knows the day or hour". He would warn of the impending rapture and you’d better be ready if it’s today.
Then he’d quote Matthew 24:39-42 "And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." First of all, notice the order of the events that transpire in Matthew 24. These verses come well after the other Tribulation events. I thought this rapture was supposed to happen before the Tribulation? It does. But let’s look at the Bible more closely and see what it says. Back in verse 28 it says, "For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Luke 17 makes the connection. Jesus said, "Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." Sounds like the same event to me because the same passage is virtually verbatim. The disciples asked Jesus where they would go. To this Jesus replied, "Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." Another translation is "vultures" as opposed to eagles. So I’d like to ask that grave evangelist who warns every thinking person that they will go to hell if they do not see things his way, "Are you going to be one of those taken in these passages?" "Oh yes, praise Jeeeesus, I’ll be there." That’s what I (Liaf) thought. You know what? These verses are speaking about people being mustered for the battle of Armageddon! Those taken would be the unfortunate ones because their fate is the vultures! Remember those birds mentioned in Revelation 19? Keep up this erroneous preaching and you’ll be there, Mr. Grave Evangelist. So don’t let that kind of preaching scare you. Next time just snicker knowing that he is misquoting scripture, perhaps sincerely, albeit ignorantly. Then direct him this way to set some things straight.
All throughout the Old Testament there are references of Israel (the Lost Tribes) returning to their land. Ezekiel 37 is my favorite (and the most clearly stated). Other example passages include Jeremiah 31:8-10 (notice their large population size), Isaiah 11:11-12 (which is what Jesus was quoting from) and the apocryphal book of II Esdras 13. These are just some of many passages. Micah 5 also states the Lost Tribes’ militarily mighty, albeit scattered state because of the Assyrian Antichrist. During the Tribulation, many Israelites will go again into captivity. Some of the strong "Lost Tribe" nations will fight (e.g. at Jerusalem in Zechariah 14) but as Micah 5:10 says, "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds". It even seems that some of the Israelites were making a little headway when there is this crushing defeat about to happen to them. As Jesus said, many Israelites will be plundered and taken captive midway into the Tribulation, and any left in Jerusalem later according to Zechariah 14 will then be able to flee their oppressors when the Lord returns. Because of their captivity, this is why Isaiah 11 speaks of them coming back from Assyria, Egypt, and so forth. This terrible time on Earth during the Tribulation is called "The Time of Jacob’s Trouble" according to Jeremiah 30:7. The descriptions in these passages about serving "David their King" can only be applied to end-times when David is raised again to rule over them. Pertaining to Israel and Judah being re-gathered and rejoined, Jesus said it this way in Matthew 24:31, "And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, [the feast of Trumpets foretold the gathering of God’s people Israel] and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." This is identical to Isaiah 11:12 which states "from the four corners of the earth." II Esdras 13 describes the returning ten tribes of Israel as "peaceable multitude" some which were "glad, some were sorry, some were bound, and other some brought of them that were offered." And yes, it does say ten tribes that dwelt in Arsareth until the last days.
Israel will then be judged along with the "sheep and goat" judgement timeframe to see who will enter the land. Ezekiel 20:34-38 says, "And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD."
Many "Lost Tribe" ministries teach this is a regrouping and purging of Israel that happens as they go through the wilderness to their new homeland. That does not bother me, for prophecy often has double fulfillment. An example is the warnings given to Israel about trials, pestilence, captivity and what-not in the writings of Moses if they disobeyed the Law. As I have already stated, this "seven-times" punishment has its fulfillment in the long 2520-year timeframe and again in the short seven-year during the Tribulation. The short one is more intense. However, these verses apply to end-times. Notice they will be judged and as II Esdras 13 says about those finally saved, " they that are found within my borders".
Jesus then speaks plainly of a "sheep and goat" judgement in Matthew 25:31-45. In a nutshell without quoting the entire passage, all the nations will be there before the Lord to be judged. Those who are believers (as evidenced by helping the people of Israel) are allowed to enter the Kingdom. The rest (the goats) are cast into everlasting punishment. The "sheep" I want to point out will be real, live, red-blooded people who will live throughout the millennium. Later, they will have offspring who will rebel. We shall get into that shortly when we deal with Revelation 20 (which by the way, we did not get to yet). As Paul said, "flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of God." These rebels are still going to be flesh driven. Sit tight, folks. This is a loooooong message. I’m sure this passage in Matthew is another one of those that some grave evangelist quoted to scare you into doing good works. I will not deny the principle applies, but this is really an end-time judgement on those who lived through the Tribulation. Joel:3:2-3: I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. This valley between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives is not the same place as Armageddon. The connection here is more with Zechariah 14. Any remaining people being judged (as opposed to the slain and eaten ones at Armageddon and the rotted ones that attacked Jerusalem) will be at the "sheep and goat" judgement. This will separate the good from the bad people so that only the good will enter the Kingdom. This makes everybody ready to enter the millennial Kingdom.
With all this said, this paved the way for Revelation 20---- I’m just starting! Turn with me in your King James Bibles to Revelation chapter 20:
Revelation 20:1-6: And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
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.
The millennium starts off with Satan being bound for 1000 years. This is so that everybody who enters into the Kingdom (and their future offspring) will have a perfect environment uninfluenced by Satan. This will be like the Garden of Eden all over again. The purpose will be to test people so that nobody can have an excuse when Satan is released again. God deals with the heart and not outward conformance to his Law. The millennium is going to be a time of great peace, prosperity, knowledge, and worship of God. People will live to great ages. As a matter of fact, I believe they will probably live the entire time just as Adam and the generations thereafter lived long lives. My "two cents" is that when there is another judgement (the Great White Throne) after that, they will be transposed (as in the rapture) or resurrected for the new heavens and Earth. The rest will get their final eternal punishment (more on this soon). Notice that John then mentions thrones. This is the same as Daniel 7:9 that says, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire." Likewise Paul said that we (the church) would judge nations and angels. This passage in Revelation is John’s version of the "sheep and goat" judgement. Although I am stating judgement will take place as though the Lord will do the judging (and he does), we must remember that his people, the saints, will also have thrones and their say in the judgement. Also notice that the martyrs will share in ruling and reigning with Christ. But we can safely surmise that even if the passage did not say that. I am assuming this is written as a comfort for those who will endure persecution. The rest of the people (the sinners who died before or during the Tribulation) would get their judgement later in what is called the "Great White Throne Judgement" (more on that soon). Don’t let the "first resurrection" throw you. Some believe that if this was the "first resurrection", that there is no pre-Trib rapture and resurrection. No. This resurrection that is called the "first" is with respect to the millennium at Christ’s return. There is one before and one after the millennium. For starters, Jesus raised Lazarus. What resurrection number was that? How about the people who were raised at the time of Jesus’ resurrection? Which one is that? The "minus one"? The first half? Is this a number line so that resurrections before this one in Revelation 20 have a lesser value than one? I’m being ridiculous, I’m sure. But you get the point. In a nutshell, we can piece together Scripture to state the fate of each and every person (or group) at this time. Saved people before the Tribulation are raptured (the dead in Christ are resurrected). The 144,000 later on are raptured in the middle of the Tribulation and join the rest of the saints. The martyred saints who died during the Tribulation are raised again to rule and reign with Christ at his Second Coming. The living believers, or the "sheep" are the live, red-blooded people who will enter the Kingdom. As for unbelievers, all those who died before or during the Tribulation will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgement (more on that soon). Those who are yet alive at Christ’s return will be thrown into everlasting punishment in the "sheep and goat" judgement. Let’s see. That includes believers from all times and different ages both alive and dead, and this includes all unbelievers from all times and ages both living and dead. Did I miss anybody? Of course we already stated the beast and false prophet get their portion in the lake of fire at Christ’s Second Coming. God wanted to make sure they got their special punishment. Let’s continue reading Revelation 20:
Revelation 20:7-10: 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.
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.
I highlighted almost all of these verses because they are all important. After the peaceful millennial rule of Christ, Satan will be loosened again to deceive the nations, Gog and Magog. You may ask, is this where Ezekiel 38 takes place instead of the middle or end of the Tribulation like we said? No. In Ezekiel 38, Gog and Magog are from the north parts. In this situation, Gog and Magog come from the four quarters of the earth. "Why? I thought they were destroyed," you may ask. Well, I’m sure that some of these Gentiles were believers that entered the millennium. This proves that all nations will share with Israel, yet they retain their identity. They will prosper and spread all over. Their children will then finally rebel. Shortly, I will show Scripture that states how all nations will do homage at Jerusalem where Israel will be elevated during the millennium. These rebels, influence by Satan, will again make an similar attack against Israel, namely Jerusalem (the beloved city) just as their ancestors did but the Lord God will instantly destroy them (supernaturally the same way their ancestors died)! This separates the truly lost (and rebellious people) from the righteous so that God can make way for a new heaven and Earth. By the way, according to Ezekiel 39, Israel will be burying the remains of the fallen people of Gog for seven months before the millennium commences. (I thought I’d throw that in.) Satan will be cast into an eternal lake of fire and eternally tormented with the beast and false prophet. Later on, all the lost will join them there. Let’s complete our reading of this chapter.
Revelation 20:11-15: And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
At this point, the Earth and heavens will melt away "with fervent heat" as Peter said.
2 Peter 3:12: Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
But then Peter goes on to say, "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
In the temporary age of "nothingness" there will be a "Great White Throne Judgement". According to this passage, the dead are judged by their works. Now we know that nobody makes it in based on their works, so the implication is that this is the judgement of all unbelievers who died before or during the Tribulation (the living ones at Christ’s return were already judged as "goats"). The general consensus is, anyway, that these are the unbelievers. To a degree, yes. However, the very fact that the book of life is present implies that the righteous ones who lived during the millennium must also be judged because their lives post-dated the time of the rapture, first resurrection and so forth. I would assume they enjoy the same fate as earlier saints: translation into glorious bodies. Nevertheless, the unbelievers will take their part in the eternal lake of fire with the devil and his angels. This is known as the "second death". Jesus raised to life eternal so that he has authority to raise everybody, either to eternal life or death. You may be asking, "The devil and his angels? Where did you get that idea that the other angels are going there too?" At this judgement, angels will be judged as well. This event is what Paul meant when he said we would judge angels since we are one with Christ. Jude mentioned that angels "which kept not their first estate" were "reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." These angels I believe, are the ones that were especially nasty (and naughty) ones who participated in the Genesis 6 incident. They mated with human women to form abominable hybrids. God wanted to reproduce himself through Adam and the Tree of Life, but Satan and his cohorts wanted their own race! So these are a very special category of angels, although Paul’s statement implies a judgement of all fallen angels. It’s just that these were imprisoned (while others are allowed to roam free) until the Great White Throne Judgement (See Matthew 25:41). Can you fathom all of this? I can hardly do so. Just think! We will judge nations and angels! The supernatural "behind-the-scenes" workings of demonic powers are hard enough to comprehend. However, we will be given knowledge, power and authority to judge them as if we knew everything about them and everything they ever done! It blows me away, I’m not sure about you. It sort of puts our petty worries and bickering with one another into perspective, doesn’t it? That completes this chapter, but I am not done yet. I want to summarize some of the main features and conditions that we will enjoy during the millennium. After all, this is what this site is about. I don’t want to gloss over the millennium to get to the part about the "Great White Throne Judgement" after the millennium.
Needless to say, the millennium will be the peaceful reign of Christ (Isaiah 11:5-8, Micah 4:1-3). Zion will be restored, literally elevated, and safely inhabited (Amos 9:11-15, Micah 4:1). The transfiguration of Christ on the mount was a "type" of millennial reign of Christ. Christ in his transfigured form, along with Moses and Elijah typified Christ with the saints ruling and reigning. Meanwhile, the disciples (yet in their human form) represented the physical people of Israel in the Kingdom safely "lifted up" and safely inhabited (Zechariah 14:10-11). Israel’s ways of worship will be restored in the land. Once they were the oracle people of God without Christ literally in their midst. Now they have the glorious headship of Christ. The last chapters of Ezekiel (chapters 40-48) address the reestablishment of their worship in the land. This involves a new millennial temple (Ezekiel 40-41), the priesthood (Ezekiel 42-44), feasts and holy days (Ezekiel 45), offerings (Ezekiel 46), and King David will be raised for them again (Ezekiel 34:11-24, Ezekiel 37:24). You may be asking, "Why is King David there again? Isn’t Christ supposed to be the ONE KING over Israel?" Yes. Christ is. "But you said David!" Yes I did. "But that’s two!" No. Go figure that one out. Don’t you think that David will be resurrected also? All the land will be given back to them, which involves the tribal allotments (Ezekiel 47-48, Ezekiel 11:16-18). Needless to say, Christ will give them a new heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 11:19). The passage in Jeremiah has dual prophetic applications, as does much of prophecy. The first time was during the gospel age. Notice that both houses are mentioned, but later in this passage only the house of Israel is addressed. That’s because the "lost" house of Israel was destined to bring the gospel message to the world during the age of grace. Later on when all the people are re-gathered to the land, this will apply to all Israel. Israel’s fortunes will be restored and they will increase both materially and in population (Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37). They will live to a great age. (Zechariah 8:1-13). As a matter of fact, those who "make it in" will probably live for the entire 1000 years just as Adam and the generations after him once lived. I cannot imagine an "Eden" with death there. In the end (since they are in their physical forms) I am assuming they must be translated into glorious bodies like the rest of the saints in order to prepare them for the new heavens and Earth. I cannot find Scripture that specifically says that, but how else would they get there in that form? They would enjoy the same glorification as the rest of the saints, I’m sure of that.
Christ’s reign will be universal and worldwide (Zechariah 14:9). The Gentiles and nations are also affected by the reign of Christ. The Gentiles will come to bring offerings to the Lord (Zechariah 14:16-18). The temple will be glorified again (Haggai 2:7-9). Before I go on, many see the "desire of all nations" as Christ. Maybe he is the desire of the multitude of Israel’s nations during the gospel age. He certainly is not the desire of heathen nations. However, if we look at the context of this passage, the subject is the temple. The returned exiles from Babylon were mixed with joy (because they rebuilt the temple) and sadness amongst the older people (who remembered the splendor of Solomon’s temple compared to this one). This prophecy was given as an assurance of a greater time when the temple would be elevated again with many offerings. This temple in the millennium will exceed the glory of all the others. Lastly, the Earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord and righteousness (Isaiah 11). I am going to stop here. This message was long. However, I wanted to conclude by showing some of the many blessings that will come to Israel and the entire world during the millennium. If you look at other prophecies, I’m sure there are others and with more detail. I wanted to give the general idea here.
The next message will touch on the new heavens and new Earth. This is the last of all end-time events, but this ends everything, and eternity begins.