1,000 Years of Peace
Find out who stays behind and what happens on earth, as well as in heaven, during the millennium.
What did Jesus promise before ascending to heaven?
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.
Jesus said He would go to heaven to prepare a place there for His children, but He promised He would then come back again to take them up to heaven to live there with Him!
Was this promise repeated during His ascension?
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
The promise was repeated by the two angels who appeared to His disciples during Jesus’ ascension. They said He would return in the same bodily, personal manner as they saw Him ascending into heaven.
What will happen during Jesus’ second coming?
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.
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Because Jesus conquered death, all those who died in Him throughout the ages will be resurrected at His coming and, together with the righteous who remained alive, will be taken up to live with Him in heaven, never to be separated from Him again! But the earth will be destroyed by the most devastating earthquake and hailstorm since the creation of Adam and Eve. Revelation says the hail will weigh about a talent, which is about 75 pounds, and the earthquake will cause every island as well as the mountains to move out of its place!
How will the unrighteous experience His coming?
For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Because sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God, to everyone who didn’t accept Jesus’ sacrifice on their behalf so He could cover their sins the second coming will be like a consuming fire because they will have to pay for their sins themselves. Revelation 19 uses symbolic imagery to describe how they will be destroyed by the brightness of His holy presence.
What happens to Satan at this time?
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.
The chain described here is a symbolic chain of circumstances because Satan will be confined to planet earth without anyone to tempt or deceive since the saved are in heaven and the unsaved are dead, and for the first time since his rebellion in heaven, he is deprived of his power. This will be his fate for 1,000 years. It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “bottomless pit” is “abussos,” or abyss, and it is the same word used in (Genesis 1:2) for the word “deep,” meaning the earth will resemble its original state during this time.
Who else is bound with him?
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
The angels under Satan’s command whom he managed to deceive in heaven and persuade to join him in his rebellion against God will also be confined to planet earth during this 1,000 year period.
What happens to the lost?
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 second coming of Jesus kills the unrighteous due to the brightness and holiness of His presence, and they remain dead during the 1,000 years, meaning they will not have an opportunity to repent because the time to do so has run out.
What happens to planet Earth?
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
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. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
The earthquake and hailstorm at Jesus’ second coming will return the earth to its original state—a dark and disorganized place unsuitable for life (Genesis 1:2).
Will Christ establish an earthly millennium?
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Scripture’s portrayal of the earth’s desolation shows that the belief in an earthly millennium following Christ’s return (known as dispensational premillennialism) is unbiblical. Another view, postmillennialism, holds that Christ will return after a millennial period in which Christianity prevails throughout the world, particularly at the governmental level. This perspective is often held by Christian nationalists, but it too is unbiblical, for Christ declared that His kingdom is not of this world. In fact, when describing the end of the world, Jesus never spoke of a period of universal peace; after warning of nations in distress and people’s hearts failing from fear, He went directly to His coming in glory (Luke 21:25-27). A heavenly millennium, therefore, is the only view that is consistent with all of Scripture.
What do the saved do in heaven?
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.
Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments.
The saved from all ages that are in heaven during the 1,000 years will be part of the next phase of the judgment during which they will have all their questions answered about God’s dealings with sin and sinners. They will not be determining who is saved or lost because God will have already determined that, but the cases of all who are lost, including Satan and his angels, will be reviewed, and the fairness of God’s judgment will be confirmed.
What happens at the end of the 1,000 years?
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 his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. … and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. … And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
At the end of the 1,000 years Jesus will return to earth for the third time, and the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven with all the saved. Jesus will then flatten the Mount of Olives, creating a great plain on which the city will settle. And just like the resurrection of the saved marked the beginning of the 1,000 year period, the end of this period will be marked by a second resurrection, and this one is of the unsaved of all ages.
What happens to Satan?
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.
After the second resurrection, Satan will be free once again to deceive and manipulate the unsaved.
What happens next?
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 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.
For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Satan manages to deceive the wicked, who realize they are shut out of the New Jerusalem, and persuades them to surround the city and attempt to capture it. But God’s throne will suddenly appear, bringing the attack to a halt and beginning the final phase of the judgment. The wicked will see their life pass before them and realize that God did everything He could to save them from their life of sin, but they did not heed Him, and without the sacrifice of Jesus covering their sins, they are left to pay for their own sins.
How will they respond?
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
All the wicked bow before God as they acknowledge that He has been fair, just, and longsuffering. After this acknowledgment, the controversy between good and evil will be settled, and it will be safe to eliminate sin and those who chose to cling to it.
What happens to them?
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.
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.
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Fire then falls upon the wicked, as well as Satan and his angels, forming a lake of fire all around the New Jerusalem. This is the second death from which there is no resurrection, marking the end of the controversy between God and Satan, good and evil. For the God of love (1 John 4:8), this will be a difficult thing to watch because every single person who is destroyed is one whom He loved and for whom Jesus died. He did everything He could to save them, but they persistently rejected Him, and so He has no other option left. Once there is nothing but ashes left (Malachi 4:3), the fire will go out, and the universe will finally be free from sin.
What happens once the fire goes out?
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
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 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.
God then creates a new heavens (atmosphere) and a new earth in which righteousness dwells! Everything that Adam and Eve lost will be restored, and the redeemed of all ages will live in perfect love, joy, and peace throughout eternity with God!