12/26/Su – The Millennial Kingdom

OT: “Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight will diminish. It will be a unique day known only to the Lord, without day or night, but there will be light at evening. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea, in summer and winter alike. On that day the Lord will become King over the whole earth  — the Lord alone, and his name alone.” (‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭14:3-9‬ ‭CSB)

At the close of Revelation 19, John described the return of Christ to the earth, followed by His army of angels and righteous and redeemed saints. Hundreds of years before that, God gave Zechariah a vision of the same event, but from an earthly perspective. Zechariah, who lived hundreds of years before Jesus, had a vision of Christ coming to earth and landing on the Mount of Olives – the very mountain Christ would ascend from into heaven hundreds of years later. The force of Christ’s landing caused a massive earthquake, which split the Mount of Olives in two, and caused the hilly region around Jerusalem to be flattened into a plain and Jerusalem itself to be lifted up on a mountain. On that day, when the exalted Christ makes Jerusalem His dwelling place, a river of living water will flow out of Jerusalem to the East and West, healing the Dead Sea and bringing life to an otherwise barren land. The Lord will become King over all the earth and He alone will reign.

NT: “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20:1-10‬ ‭CSB)

Upon Christ’s return, Satan will be bound in chains and cast from the earth, into an abyss, for 1,000 years. During that 1,000 years, the Lord Christ will rule from Jerusalem over the earth unopposed. The saints in Christ will be given positions of authority under the rule of the Lord, and together with Christ will usher in the Millennial Kingdom – the kingdom of God fully come to earth, where God’s will is done on earth just as it is done in heaven.

After the 1,000 year reign of Christ comes to an end, Satan will be released from his imprisonment and allowed to deceive the unredeemed of the world once again. It is surprising, that after 1,000 years of peace on earth under the rule of Christ, that people would still be willing to rebel against the Lord. That goes to show how poisonous and insatiable lust and pride can be. After all, Adam and Eve lived in perfect peace under the rulership of God, yet were deceived into lust and pride by the serpent. After 1,000 years of peace under Christ, there will be people who will also fall under the serpent’s deception again, and rise up for one final rebellion. At that final uprising, fire will fall from heaven and consume the last enemies of God, and Satan himself will be cast once and for all into the lake of fire – with his beast and false prophet – to suffer for eternity.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You, that as I remain in You, I will be among those who experience the first resurrection, and will not be subjected to the second death. I will be given the honor and privilege of serving under You as a priest of God and Christ – not only for the 1,000 years on this earth, but in the new heaven and earth for eternity. Help me keep that perspective in focus and allow it to encourage and exhort me to faith and righteousness as the day of the Lord draws more and more near. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.