For a Thousand Years
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Tonight we are continuing or End of Days sermon series.
Through the series my hope is that not only will you grow or perhaps be reminded of the end times events in the Bible but will be encouraged that though we are living in the last days and the world around us seems to be chaotic and crazy that God is in complete control and that in the end we will be with Him in paradise for eternity if we just trust Him and remain faithful to His word.
To provide a quick recap of the series week one was on the literal accuracy of end times prophecy and I used Daniel chapter 9 as an example. Week two my messaged entitled Caught Up examined the rapture of the church and how not only is it biblically accurate but something that should comfort every Christian alive today. Week three in my message Heavenly Rewards I spoke about the Bhema seat of Christ and how we live our life today as Christians does in fact bless us with treasures in heaven. And last week my messaged called He is Coming Back Again took a look at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. If you missed any of these messages I believe they are on our Facebook page.
This brings us to tonight’s message entitled For a Thousand Years where I will be discussing the Millennial Reign of Christ.
The Millennial Reign of Christ
The Millennial Reign of Christ
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who 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 for 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.
6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
The Devil is Bound
The Devil is Bound
Verse one begins with John stating that he saw an Angel come down from heaven and that it was holding the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
These keys signify access and authority. Said differently, the Angel is given access to the devil and the authority to imprison him.
Just for clarification, the beast and the false prophet were evil and demonically possessed people but the dragon or serpent is the devil himself.
So John is seeing is that the Angel has been given access by God to the devil and also the authority to imprison satan.
This is interesting because God could have bound satan at any time but chose not to so that His plans and purposes could be fulfilled. Myself as I am sure some of you may have been asked the question by others which is why didn’t the Lord imprison the devil earlier or create the devil in the first place?
The answer is that the Lord is seeking a true loving relationship with us and therefore we have the free will to choose to follow the Lord who is good and love or choose to follow evil and sin is which is the devil.
Because God is love we are not under subjugation or forcefully made to love God but rather as in all true loving relationships loving someone is a choice of one’s free will you cannot force someone to love you and God does not force us to love Him. However, with that being said since God is also righteousness and justice we are held accountable for our choice.
The Lord does not desire that anyone perish but unfortunately many people will choose sin and judgement instead of the love of God and the grace and mercy found only in Jesus Christ.
And even though people may make that choice God knows how wicked the devil is and how he is constantly trying to lead people away from God and into sin and for his rebellion and wickedness the Lord will issue justice and wrath on the devil.
Verse 2 & 3 - satan is bound for 1,000 years
Verse 2 & 3 - satan is bound for 1,000 years
We read in verses two and three that the Angel binds the devil in chains, throws him into a pit, seals the lid and satan is imprisoned in the abyss for a thousand years.
This means that the devil is imprisoned for the entire length of Christ’s earthly kingdom
With the devil bound it ensures a period of peace .
With satanic influence removed the nations will not be deceived to rebel against God during the Millennial Reign
Then the devil will be released at the end of the 1,000 years but only for a short period of time.
The words “he must be released” echo that fact that the release of satan is not by his own power but rather it is part of God’s bigger plan and purpose to permanently remove all evil from the world and restore heaven on earth.
Christians Rule with Christ in the Millennium
Christians Rule with Christ in the Millennium
Verses 4 & 5 - show the saints governing with Christ in Jerusalem for the 1,000 year reign of Christ’s earthly kingdom
In verse 4 John sees thrones and those seated on them have been given authority to judge.
To be seated on a throne in the Bible indicates great power and authority has been given to the one sitting on it
The Bible describes the throne of God the Father, the throne of Glory which Jesus sits on, the 12 thrones for the 12 apostles of the Lamb, the thrones of the 24 elders and also thrones for the saints.
Daniel chapter seven verse nine is an example of a Bible verse that tells us there will be thrones placed in heaven.
9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.
10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
Also, it is important to know that at this point in the prophetic timeline we as the church are the bride of Christ. We were already raptured, gave an account at the Judgement Seat of Christ and returned with Jesus at the Second Coming.
This means as the Bride of Christ we will be seated beside Him as we can read in Revelation 3:21
21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Verse 4 speaks about the martyrs
Verse 4 speaks about the martyrs
4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who 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 for a thousand years.
These martyrs are the people who were killed during the tribulation
We know this because Christians martyred prior to the tribulation are raptured with the rest of the church and are at the wedding supper of the Lamb
This “second rapture” is a point of controversy for some but it should not be. The church is raptured prior to the tribulation then those who are killed during the tribulation will go to heaven but must wait to have their spirits reunited with their physical bodies to receive their renewed spiritual bodies like we as the church have during this time.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.
10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
The martyrs are comforted, given white robes which shows that they have been redeemed by putting their faith in Christ and are now being clothed in His righteousness
They are told to rest until the time when the tribulation is over and then they all will be raptured together similar to how the church was all raptured together before the tribulation
Now that the millennial reign is here the martyrs are raptured to meet Christ and fellow believers and we will all sit on thrones and be priests of the Father and the Son during the millenium.
Many Bible scholars and myself as well believe that millions of Christians will be martyred during the tribulation period
As I discussed last week there is grace to be saved during the tribulation but it is a severe grace that will most likely cost people their very lives.
This is yet another reason for us to have a sense of urgency about helping others grow in Christ so that they do not have to suffer and die but can be saved during our current age of grace by which we are saved through our faith in Jesus where most people will not have to be martyred for their faith unless they are in a violent intolerant part of the world.
Who Will Be in the Millennial Kingdom
Who Will Be in the Millennial Kingdom
The Bible teaches us that everyone who enters the Kingdom will be righteous. Also, that there will be many people from all the nations of the world.
This means that Jesus will be there ruling the Kingdom and the church as the bride of Christ will be there. As we discussed the martyrs from the tribulation time frame will be there as well. Also, the righteous people of the Old Testament such as the prophets, Abraham, Moses, Noah and David will be there to name a few.
In addition, there will also be any people that repented and believed and made it through the tribulation without being martyred.
Also, since there is no death and lifespans are once again increased people will live long lives.
This explains the question some people have which is if everyone who enters the Millennial Kingdom is righteous than where did the people who rebel and join satan come from at the end of the thousand years when he is released.
We know that the Bible teaches that Jesus will rule with a rod of iron meaning he will deal swiftly and immediately with sin as it occurs so there will not be active outward sin. However, because some people will not have spiritual bodies because they survived the tribulation their offspring will still have the fallen nature of man and will have to choose to follow Jesus. This is why they are deceived by the devil when he is released. I will speak more about that next week in our next part of this series.
Closing
In closing I want you to remember when we study the end times prophesy that the design of apocalyptic literature is to not only foretell future events from a biblical perspective but also to encourage each of us as believers.
It is easy to look at the state of the world we are living in and feel discouraged or worried but that is not God’s desire for your life. Jesus wants us to be encouraged that while things will get worse as the end draws closer we can trust His word and His character that He will make a way for those who seek Him to be with Him in paradise.
As we read today, there will be many martyrs saved during the tribulation time period but it is a severe grace meaning it will cost them their lives and they will be living in the worst time in human history.
First of all we should stand in awe at the grace and mercy of the Lord that even during His wrath if people repent and follow Him that He is perfect compassion and will allow them to be saved.
But in addition, this should create a sense of urgency within us as believers that the prophetic clock is ticking and we need to share Jesus with as many people as possible before the tribulation where it will most likely cost them their lives or worse yet they may not get saved at all.
While I understand that not everyone is going to be a Pastor or an Evangelist we all have the ability to share Jesus in some way and we all have the ability to support the church in some way so that the good news of Jesus can be shared with as many people as possible.
For some it may be praying, some it may be volunteering for a ministry group or event, for some it may be to faithfully attending services, for some it may be sharing our posts on social media for some it may be financial support, for others its inviting people to church and for most of us my hope is that we are doing a combination of these things and more.
Whatever it looks like for you and your situation we need to be a united body with all hands on deck to share the hope of life that only comes from a right relationship with Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Have a blessed week and remember joy is found in Jesus!