Revelation 20:4
I 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 about Jesus and because of the
word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received
its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
There is going to be a glorious time on earth in the
future, called the Millennium - a word which is a combination of the words mille,
meaning a thousand, and annus, meaning year. The above verse is taken
from Revelation 20, where the words “a thousand years” appear no less than six
times – strong affirmation of the fact that such a time actually will exist!
It is not only here in the book Revelation that the
Millennium is spoken about. Altogether there are more than 400 verses in more
than 20 different passages in the Old Testament alone that deal with this time when
Jesus will personally rule and reign over planet earth. We read about it in
numerous places in the New Testament also.
The controversies surrounding the Millennium are easily silenced
if we just decide to read and accept the revelation as given to John by God.
For instance, the timing of the Millennium is clearly given in our quoted verse
– John saw the Tribulation martyrs, who were beheaded because they had not
received the mark of the Antichrist or its image and had not worshiped him.
They were resurrected and then reigned with Christ a thousand years - the
Millennium therefore begins after the Tribulation.
The belief that there is no literal Millennium, but that
God’s Kingdom already started at the cross and we are therefore now living in
the Millennium, cannot hold water as we clearly read in Revelation that Jesus
will first physically reign here on earth for a thousand years before the rest
of eternity unfolds. The fact that it has now already been more than two
thousand years after the cross adds to the impossibility that this belief is
true, it also is plain to see that Satan is not bound at the moment! And if you
believe that the Millennium will only start after the church has prepared the
earth for His coming, working diligently until peace, righteousness and
prosperity is to be found all over the globe – then I am afraid that the utter
chaos and destitution and wars that will be a sign of the end times will make
this an impossible goal to accomplish.
What is the reason for the Millennium? It is so that
God’s promises to Israel and also His promises to the church can be fulfilled.
Among others, God promised that Israel will be the Head Nation on earth,
occupying the whole territory given to Abraham and his offspring in Gen
15 and not just the sliver of land that currently comprises Israel. He
promised that living water will flow from Jerusalem into the Dead Sea,
redeeming it so that fish will be found there. He promised that old men and
women and young children will be relaxing in the streets of Jerusalem. For the
church, He promised that we would rule and reign with Him here on earth. All
these will happen in the Millennium, where we will really experience heaven on
earth!
Points to ponder: Paul exhorts us to encourage one another with
all the wonderful blessings that God has promised us if we only keep our faith to
the end (1 Thess 4:18). The Millennium is one of those blessings
– imagine a world where animals do not kill each other anymore; where a child
can play with a cobra; where the earth will bring forth what is sown into it in
abundance and where nobody will have to work extremely hard to let that happen.
A time when Satan is locked up! Let us
look forward to it with eagerness and joy!
