The Millennium
Revelation 20:1-10
Message #37
We started looking at the Millennium last week with the precursor message "Israel And The Millennium."
Today we look at us and the Millennium.
At the first Triumphal Entry, when Jesus entered Jerusalem to pay the penalty for our sins on the Cross, the people of Israel thought the literal Kingdom of God was ooming to earth. But they didn't understand the first Triumphal Entry was to win victory over sin, and death, and the grave.
The second Triumphal Entry will be when the literal physical Kingdom of God actually does come to earth. Today we see the second Triumphal Entry where Jesus does what Israel thought he was going to do at the first Triumphal Entry.
At the end of Revelation Chapter 19, the clean-up crew was busy at the Battle of Armageddon. The birds of the air were gorging on the flesh of the enemies of God, and the Antichrist and the False Prophet had been thrown into the Lake of Fire. Jesus has returned to earth. He’s conquered his enemies, and he’s about to set up his Kingdom here for 1,000 years.
The first order of business is to put Satan on ice for those 1,000 years in order to prepare the way for the 1,000-year, very real, tangible, and actual reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. So, God sends an angel to easily bind the devil for the 1,000-year Millennium.
Revelation 20:1–3 (NLT)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.
2 He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years.
3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.
That is going to be a great day. On that day, your enemy, the accuser, the deceiver, the head of all spiritual darkness, will be bound and thrown into the bottomless pit so that he might not deceive the nations anymore until the 1,000 years were finished.
But then, the end of verse 3 says Afterward he must be released for a little while. (We’ll get to that in a minute.)
Then, straightaway, in verse 4, we get a glimpse of our role in the Millennium. Today, I am going to focus on one area of our role that will hopefully leave a mark in your mind.
Revelation 20:4 (NLT)
4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
The New Testament is clear the followers of Jesus will rule with him in the Millennium, as we see in Matthew 19:28, Luke 19, 1 Corinthians 6:2.
This means all Believers who are taken up in the rapture prior to the Tribulation, along with the Martyrs who have been killed for their faith in Jesus during the Tribulation, and Daniel Chapter 12 and Isaiah Chapter 26 also put the Old Testament Believers right here with us.
So, it’s Old Testament Believers, New Testament Believers, and Tribulation Believers all represented here in the Millennial reign of Christ on earth.
(verse 4) They ALL came to life again and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
There is so much scripture (especially the Old Testament) about the reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. So, let me just review some of what scripture says about the 1,000-year Millennium.
The earth will be filled with peace, scripture says, during the Millennium because Jesus is reigning, he is ruling, and the devil is bound. There are three things that cause destruction in the world today, and they are the same three things that cause destruction in your life. It is the work of the enemy, Satan. (He is bound) It is the work of the world, meaning the world system that Satan has spun, and it’s taken us out. (The world is taken out.) And then the third thing is your own flesh, which is honestly what takes most of us out. Most Christians fall to their own flesh; the devil doesn’t have to have anything to do with you because you just take yourself out.
Unfortunately, the flesh will still be in some people during the Millennium – those who enter the Millennium alive, who survive the Tribulation, and they have faith in Jesus. They enter the Millennium. And so, they bring their flesh with them. For us, we’re glorified. We’re in a glorified state, and so, our flesh has been permanently, eternally conquered.
The earth will be filled with peace, like not since the Garden of Eden, because Christ will be ruling. There will be no war. Micah 4:3 says, “Swords will be beat into plowshares.”
Isaiah 35 says holiness will prevail as the earth is truly united under Jesus Christ. The world will worship only Jesus Christ. The peace will extend even into the animal kingdom. There will be no fear even among the animals, and resurrected Believers will rule the earth with Jesus.
Believers will rule with Jesus? What does that mean? Well, we don’t know exactly, but we get an idea in Luke Chapter 19. Turn there. And also in Luke 19, we see a very cool connection between the 1st Triumphal Entry and the 2nd Triumphal Entry. The Triumphal Entry is the event we celebrate on Palm Sunday, where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds cried, “Hosanna!” because they thought Jesus was coming to set up his earthly Kingdom. But the first time Jesus came, he came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. The next time Jesus comes, it’s to take his rightful position, ruling and reigning over his creation here on earth.
So, in Luke Chapter 19, and if you have a Bible with headings in it, look at the heading just above Luke 19:28. The Triumphal Entry. And then look at the first few words of verse 28 (NLT) “After telling this story . . .” (and then the Triumphal Entry begins).
Luke 19:11 (NLT) - Just before Triumphal Entry
11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.
That verse (11) ties the Triumphal Entry to this parable Jesus had just previously told. Jesus was headed for the Triumphal Entry, and his followers thought he was going to set up his Earthly Kingdom right then!! And so, Jesus tells them a parable to correct their view. And he’s going to teach us something about the Millennium at the same time while he is on his way to the first Triumphal Entry. He’s going to teach us about the second Triumphal Entry as he is on his way to the first Triumphal Entry.
Luke 19:12 (NLT)
12 He (Jesus) said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return.
That is Jesus ascending to Heaven to be crowned King, and then he’s going to return.
Luke 19:13 (NLT)
13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’
Jesus is saying, “I’m leaving, and I’m going to leave you with something that you can use for the good of my Kingdom while I am gone.” These servants represent all Believers. The money represents what God has given us to invest (for his Kingdom’s sake) until he returns. (If your Bible says talent, this does not mean natural aptitude or skill. It is a former weight and unit of currency used by the ancient Romans and Greeks.) Jesus is using money here, but it’s not “just money.” Jesus left us gifts to invest for his Kingdom’s sake. He left us gifts. This is where all the gift studies are, and this is where all the money studies are – Jesus gives so that we can invest in the Kingdom and be part of the Kingdom. Notice carefully that each servant is given the same amount to invest. That takes this parable out of 1 Corinthians 12 (the gift list), Ephesians 4:11, and even Romans 12 – the three main gift lists. This is the same gift given to all Believers. Which, for me, is faith. We all have been given a measure of faith. That’s what Romans 12 says.
Luke 19:14 (NLT)
14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’
That’s Israel. This is a picture of the unbelieving world rejecting Jesus. So, the servants are not doing this – it’s the people; it’s the unbelieving world rejecting Jesus. (We’ll come back to them, and you’ll know why that verse is there in a minute.)
Luke 19:15 (NLT)
15 “After he was crowned king (That’s in Heaven), he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. (Now Jesus is back on earth, he’s been crowned as King, and he calls his servants in to whom he had given the money.) He wanted to find out what their profits were. (how they used what he gave them)
We dealt with this in detail in our message “The Bema Seat Judgment” in message number 13 of this Revelation series. The last time we taught Revelation, it was called “Judgment, Rewards and Loss.” It was about the same text. You can go back and get this message. This is where Believers show up, and our lives are tested by fire. It’s not a salvation issue – it’s a reward issue. Yes, the Bible talks about rewards – it’s true.
Luke 19:16-17 (NLT)
16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ (I don’t think he is talking about for himself. I think he’s talking about for the Master.)
17 “ ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’
What? What a weird reward! “Lord, when am I going to be governor of ten cities if I’ve used what you’ve given me to benefit your Kingdom?” But, remember, the subject of this parable is the Kingdom of God on earth during the Millennium. The Bible says over and over again that we’re going to rule and reign in the Millennium, that we’re going to judge even angels. We’ll judge people and angels. And if you’re saying, “Hey – we’re not supposed to judge; only God can judge me,” but we will. We will judge the people who are not in the glorified state. We, because we are in the glorified state because we’ve been resurrected, and so we’re not operating in the flesh anymore. But there are still people in the Millennium (tons of them) that are still carrying around the flesh. And so, we will be sitting in judgment – meaning judging over circumstances and situations for the people who are still in the flesh. I need you to wrestle with the fact that this parable is about the Millennium. And so, Jesus says, “Your Faithfulness with what I gave you on Earth - will determine what you do in my Kingdom . . .” meaning the Millennial Kingdom.
Luke 19:18-19 (NLT)
18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’
19 “ ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’
(Don’t spiritualize something that can be believed as it’s written – believe it. Don’t let someone say, “Yeah – that’s what it says, but it’s not what that means.”)
Again, Jesus is showing a reward in the Millennial Kingdom that is equal to the level of faithfulness in this life. And again, it’s important to see all these servants were given the same amount to invest. One was faithful to ten times, one was faithful to five times, and their rewards in the Kingdom matched their faithfulness here. (Notice Jesus doesn’t compare them. He simply says, “Well done. You did something with what I gave you.)
Luke 19:20-26 (NLT)
20 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe.
21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’
22 “ ‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant,
23 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
24 “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’
25 “ ‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’
26 “ ‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
Isn’t that an incredible teaching for Jesus to give right before the Triumphal Entry? And so, Jesus makes it clear throughout both the Old and New Testaments that our faithfulness to the Lord today will determine what we will be doing in the future Kingdom. It has an impact. That’s a great teaching on the Millennium, isn’t it?
And here is the verse you don’t want to read.
Luke 19:27 (NLT)
27 And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king (from verse 14)—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’ ”
Yikes! That’s what you call ending up on the wrong side of the parable. You don’t want to be in verse 27. Wherever you want to be – it’s not here.
And remember, the whole “cloud, harp, toga” thing is from the devil to convince you it’s not that big of a deal. You’re going to be active. You’re going to be active; you will be serving the Lord, ruling and reigning with him.
So, now that we’ve gotten a little “picture” of our role in the Millennium – let’s go back to Revelation 20.
Again, speaking about resurrected Believers, the last sentence in verse 4 said, They all came to life again (that’s the resurrected Believers), and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:5 (NLT)
5 This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)
We can split up resurrections. In general, there are only two.
Two Resurrections
One for the saved
One for the unsaved
(and there are a couple of little sub-resurrections in there) However, in general, it is saved and unsaved.
In John Chapter 5, Jesus says that the saved will be resurrected to life. The unsaved will be resurrected to judgment.
Here, in verse 5, we see the first resurrection for all Believers. We’ll see the second resurrection again next week in the resurrection to judgment. You want to be in this one. Every single person will be part of one of these resurrections . . . So, choose wisely.
Revelation 20:6 (NLT)
6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death (referring to the second Resurrection – the one to Judgment) holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.
What can you compare THAT to?
What can you compare to a resurrection where:
Eternal death has no power.
We’ll be priests of God and Christ.
We’ll reign with him in a perfect world for 1,000 years.
The Millennium is going to be so incredible, so unbelievable AND that’s just the warm-up for eternity with Christ. I promise you there is nothing in this world that can even remotely compare to eternal life with Jesus Christ.
For those who teach, “You can have your best life now through Jesus,” they are wrong. They haven’t read this because you can’t have your best life now. You live in a sin fallen condemned world where tribulation is promised by God.
But you can have your best life in the Millennium. That’s for sure – and into eternity. Praise the Lord!
The Millennium is just the warm-up. It’s like the wedding banquet, the wedding feast at the Marriage of the Lamb of the Church, and then we go on to eternity. There is nothing in the world that can compare to that.
Hopefully, we’ve got a little better picture of the Millennium.
But after the 1,000 years of perfect peace on earth with Jesus, Satan is actually going to be released again for a time. And you might say, “Why?”
Well, the earth has been repopulated during these 1,000 years by those believers who entered the Millennium in their natural bodies. And so, there’s a multitude of people who have never had to choose whether to put their faith in Jesus Christ or to reject him as their Lord, and they must have that chance to choose just like you and I do. God, in his grace, will give the people who have repopulated the same chance to put their faith in him. That’s the only way to have your sins forgiven. And remember, they’re born still with the sin nature in the Millennium, so they have to have a chance to choose. And so, Satan is going to be released, and the people will have to choose.
Revelation 20:7–8 (NLT)
7 When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison.
8 He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog (a reference for all the nations)—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.
There’s a world full of people who have lived under the perfect peach of Christ for 1,000 years with Satan bound. And now, far too many of those people will be so easily turned against Jesus to join Satan for one more attempt to battle Jesus Christ.
How many? Verse 8 says their number is like the sand of the sea. Really? After 1,000 years under the perfect rule of Jesus Christ in the Millennium without Satan and without the world system, that says something about sin nature, doesn’t it? And Satan is able to do this easily even after the Millennium because although Satan and the temptations of the world are gone, the sin nature is still alive and well in those who have been born during the Millennium. And so, Satan works on the sin nature of this multitude (just like he works on our sin nature), and he deceives them into rebelling against God, even to the point of being willing to join Satan to fight against God.
Now, the names God and Magog are the same names as in the great Ezekiel 38-39 battle. BUT this is not the same battle, but this is the same type of battle where Satan gathers all those willing to join him to fight one more battle against the Lord and his people.
Revelation 20:9 (NLT)
9 And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people (that is all the resurrected in Christ) and the beloved city (Jerusalem). But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.
All Satan knows is to fight God and to deceive and destroy the people who are made in God’s image – that is all he knows. But this multitude that joins Satan to fight God at the end of the Millennium should have read their Millennium history books about the beginning of the Millennium. Jesus wiped out his enemies with a Word at the beginning of the Millennium. And here, God wipes them out again with fire from Heaven. Satan gets to surround the Beloved City” (Jerusalem). And God is like, “I can’t believe you guys” . . . whooommpp!!
Finally, God is done with Satan at this point. He has easily deceived those in the Millennium, just like he so easily deceives people today. But his final day of judgment comes – here.
Revelation 20:10 (NLT)
10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Finally, Satan in the place that was specifically prepared for HIM!!! In Matthew 25, Jesus says that this eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. It was not prepared for you. But God respects your free will, and he will let you go there if you choose to. And I don’t know what lies you’ve believed about hell not even existing, but the Bible says very clearly hell is a lake of fire where there will be torment day and night forever. And that description should make one thing crystal clear to us – don’t go there!
Outer darkness, Lake of Fire, torment forever – Don’t go there.
It was prepared for the devil and his angels, and Jesus Christ is the only way to avoid it!
In John 14, Jesus said this.
John 14:6 (ESV)
6 . . . “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Maybe you know someone today who is choosing to be an enemy of God and even going to war with God. Maybe you remember a day when that was you. Or maybe today, that might still be you.
Don’t choose eternal separation from God.
Don’t choose to join Satan’s rejection of God.
As long as you are still breathing, there is still time to change your eternity. Receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and commit to follow him as your Lord. The results will be an incredible, unimaginable eternity with him that starts with an indescribable 1,000 years of reigning on this earth with Jesus.
Today we look at us and the Millennium.
At the first Triumphal Entry, when Jesus entered Jerusalem to pay the penalty for our sins on the Cross, the people of Israel thought the literal Kingdom of God was ooming to earth. But they didn't understand the first Triumphal Entry was to win victory over sin, and death, and the grave.
The second Triumphal Entry will be when the literal physical Kingdom of God actually does come to earth. Today we see the second Triumphal Entry where Jesus does what Israel thought he was going to do at the first Triumphal Entry.
At the end of Revelation Chapter 19, the clean-up crew was busy at the Battle of Armageddon. The birds of the air were gorging on the flesh of the enemies of God, and the Antichrist and the False Prophet had been thrown into the Lake of Fire. Jesus has returned to earth. He’s conquered his enemies, and he’s about to set up his Kingdom here for 1,000 years.
The first order of business is to put Satan on ice for those 1,000 years in order to prepare the way for the 1,000-year, very real, tangible, and actual reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. So, God sends an angel to easily bind the devil for the 1,000-year Millennium.
Revelation 20:1–3 (NLT)
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.
2 He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years.
3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.
That is going to be a great day. On that day, your enemy, the accuser, the deceiver, the head of all spiritual darkness, will be bound and thrown into the bottomless pit so that he might not deceive the nations anymore until the 1,000 years were finished.
But then, the end of verse 3 says Afterward he must be released for a little while. (We’ll get to that in a minute.)
Then, straightaway, in verse 4, we get a glimpse of our role in the Millennium. Today, I am going to focus on one area of our role that will hopefully leave a mark in your mind.
Revelation 20:4 (NLT)
4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
The New Testament is clear the followers of Jesus will rule with him in the Millennium, as we see in Matthew 19:28, Luke 19, 1 Corinthians 6:2.
This means all Believers who are taken up in the rapture prior to the Tribulation, along with the Martyrs who have been killed for their faith in Jesus during the Tribulation, and Daniel Chapter 12 and Isaiah Chapter 26 also put the Old Testament Believers right here with us.
So, it’s Old Testament Believers, New Testament Believers, and Tribulation Believers all represented here in the Millennial reign of Christ on earth.
(verse 4) They ALL came to life again and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
There is so much scripture (especially the Old Testament) about the reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. So, let me just review some of what scripture says about the 1,000-year Millennium.
The earth will be filled with peace, scripture says, during the Millennium because Jesus is reigning, he is ruling, and the devil is bound. There are three things that cause destruction in the world today, and they are the same three things that cause destruction in your life. It is the work of the enemy, Satan. (He is bound) It is the work of the world, meaning the world system that Satan has spun, and it’s taken us out. (The world is taken out.) And then the third thing is your own flesh, which is honestly what takes most of us out. Most Christians fall to their own flesh; the devil doesn’t have to have anything to do with you because you just take yourself out.
Unfortunately, the flesh will still be in some people during the Millennium – those who enter the Millennium alive, who survive the Tribulation, and they have faith in Jesus. They enter the Millennium. And so, they bring their flesh with them. For us, we’re glorified. We’re in a glorified state, and so, our flesh has been permanently, eternally conquered.
The earth will be filled with peace, like not since the Garden of Eden, because Christ will be ruling. There will be no war. Micah 4:3 says, “Swords will be beat into plowshares.”
Isaiah 35 says holiness will prevail as the earth is truly united under Jesus Christ. The world will worship only Jesus Christ. The peace will extend even into the animal kingdom. There will be no fear even among the animals, and resurrected Believers will rule the earth with Jesus.
Believers will rule with Jesus? What does that mean? Well, we don’t know exactly, but we get an idea in Luke Chapter 19. Turn there. And also in Luke 19, we see a very cool connection between the 1st Triumphal Entry and the 2nd Triumphal Entry. The Triumphal Entry is the event we celebrate on Palm Sunday, where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds cried, “Hosanna!” because they thought Jesus was coming to set up his earthly Kingdom. But the first time Jesus came, he came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. The next time Jesus comes, it’s to take his rightful position, ruling and reigning over his creation here on earth.
So, in Luke Chapter 19, and if you have a Bible with headings in it, look at the heading just above Luke 19:28. The Triumphal Entry. And then look at the first few words of verse 28 (NLT) “After telling this story . . .” (and then the Triumphal Entry begins).
Luke 19:11 (NLT) - Just before Triumphal Entry
11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.
That verse (11) ties the Triumphal Entry to this parable Jesus had just previously told. Jesus was headed for the Triumphal Entry, and his followers thought he was going to set up his Earthly Kingdom right then!! And so, Jesus tells them a parable to correct their view. And he’s going to teach us something about the Millennium at the same time while he is on his way to the first Triumphal Entry. He’s going to teach us about the second Triumphal Entry as he is on his way to the first Triumphal Entry.
Luke 19:12 (NLT)
12 He (Jesus) said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return.
That is Jesus ascending to Heaven to be crowned King, and then he’s going to return.
Luke 19:13 (NLT)
13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’
Jesus is saying, “I’m leaving, and I’m going to leave you with something that you can use for the good of my Kingdom while I am gone.” These servants represent all Believers. The money represents what God has given us to invest (for his Kingdom’s sake) until he returns. (If your Bible says talent, this does not mean natural aptitude or skill. It is a former weight and unit of currency used by the ancient Romans and Greeks.) Jesus is using money here, but it’s not “just money.” Jesus left us gifts to invest for his Kingdom’s sake. He left us gifts. This is where all the gift studies are, and this is where all the money studies are – Jesus gives so that we can invest in the Kingdom and be part of the Kingdom. Notice carefully that each servant is given the same amount to invest. That takes this parable out of 1 Corinthians 12 (the gift list), Ephesians 4:11, and even Romans 12 – the three main gift lists. This is the same gift given to all Believers. Which, for me, is faith. We all have been given a measure of faith. That’s what Romans 12 says.
Luke 19:14 (NLT)
14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’
That’s Israel. This is a picture of the unbelieving world rejecting Jesus. So, the servants are not doing this – it’s the people; it’s the unbelieving world rejecting Jesus. (We’ll come back to them, and you’ll know why that verse is there in a minute.)
Luke 19:15 (NLT)
15 “After he was crowned king (That’s in Heaven), he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. (Now Jesus is back on earth, he’s been crowned as King, and he calls his servants in to whom he had given the money.) He wanted to find out what their profits were. (how they used what he gave them)
We dealt with this in detail in our message “The Bema Seat Judgment” in message number 13 of this Revelation series. The last time we taught Revelation, it was called “Judgment, Rewards and Loss.” It was about the same text. You can go back and get this message. This is where Believers show up, and our lives are tested by fire. It’s not a salvation issue – it’s a reward issue. Yes, the Bible talks about rewards – it’s true.
Luke 19:16-17 (NLT)
16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ (I don’t think he is talking about for himself. I think he’s talking about for the Master.)
17 “ ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’
What? What a weird reward! “Lord, when am I going to be governor of ten cities if I’ve used what you’ve given me to benefit your Kingdom?” But, remember, the subject of this parable is the Kingdom of God on earth during the Millennium. The Bible says over and over again that we’re going to rule and reign in the Millennium, that we’re going to judge even angels. We’ll judge people and angels. And if you’re saying, “Hey – we’re not supposed to judge; only God can judge me,” but we will. We will judge the people who are not in the glorified state. We, because we are in the glorified state because we’ve been resurrected, and so we’re not operating in the flesh anymore. But there are still people in the Millennium (tons of them) that are still carrying around the flesh. And so, we will be sitting in judgment – meaning judging over circumstances and situations for the people who are still in the flesh. I need you to wrestle with the fact that this parable is about the Millennium. And so, Jesus says, “Your Faithfulness with what I gave you on Earth - will determine what you do in my Kingdom . . .” meaning the Millennial Kingdom.
Luke 19:18-19 (NLT)
18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’
19 “ ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’
(Don’t spiritualize something that can be believed as it’s written – believe it. Don’t let someone say, “Yeah – that’s what it says, but it’s not what that means.”)
Again, Jesus is showing a reward in the Millennial Kingdom that is equal to the level of faithfulness in this life. And again, it’s important to see all these servants were given the same amount to invest. One was faithful to ten times, one was faithful to five times, and their rewards in the Kingdom matched their faithfulness here. (Notice Jesus doesn’t compare them. He simply says, “Well done. You did something with what I gave you.)
Luke 19:20-26 (NLT)
20 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe.
21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’
22 “ ‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant,
23 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
24 “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’
25 “ ‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’
26 “ ‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
Isn’t that an incredible teaching for Jesus to give right before the Triumphal Entry? And so, Jesus makes it clear throughout both the Old and New Testaments that our faithfulness to the Lord today will determine what we will be doing in the future Kingdom. It has an impact. That’s a great teaching on the Millennium, isn’t it?
And here is the verse you don’t want to read.
Luke 19:27 (NLT)
27 And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king (from verse 14)—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’ ”
Yikes! That’s what you call ending up on the wrong side of the parable. You don’t want to be in verse 27. Wherever you want to be – it’s not here.
And remember, the whole “cloud, harp, toga” thing is from the devil to convince you it’s not that big of a deal. You’re going to be active. You’re going to be active; you will be serving the Lord, ruling and reigning with him.
So, now that we’ve gotten a little “picture” of our role in the Millennium – let’s go back to Revelation 20.
Again, speaking about resurrected Believers, the last sentence in verse 4 said, They all came to life again (that’s the resurrected Believers), and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:5 (NLT)
5 This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)
We can split up resurrections. In general, there are only two.
Two Resurrections
One for the saved
One for the unsaved
(and there are a couple of little sub-resurrections in there) However, in general, it is saved and unsaved.
In John Chapter 5, Jesus says that the saved will be resurrected to life. The unsaved will be resurrected to judgment.
Here, in verse 5, we see the first resurrection for all Believers. We’ll see the second resurrection again next week in the resurrection to judgment. You want to be in this one. Every single person will be part of one of these resurrections . . . So, choose wisely.
Revelation 20:6 (NLT)
6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death (referring to the second Resurrection – the one to Judgment) holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.
What can you compare THAT to?
What can you compare to a resurrection where:
Eternal death has no power.
We’ll be priests of God and Christ.
We’ll reign with him in a perfect world for 1,000 years.
The Millennium is going to be so incredible, so unbelievable AND that’s just the warm-up for eternity with Christ. I promise you there is nothing in this world that can even remotely compare to eternal life with Jesus Christ.
For those who teach, “You can have your best life now through Jesus,” they are wrong. They haven’t read this because you can’t have your best life now. You live in a sin fallen condemned world where tribulation is promised by God.
But you can have your best life in the Millennium. That’s for sure – and into eternity. Praise the Lord!
The Millennium is just the warm-up. It’s like the wedding banquet, the wedding feast at the Marriage of the Lamb of the Church, and then we go on to eternity. There is nothing in the world that can compare to that.
Hopefully, we’ve got a little better picture of the Millennium.
But after the 1,000 years of perfect peace on earth with Jesus, Satan is actually going to be released again for a time. And you might say, “Why?”
Well, the earth has been repopulated during these 1,000 years by those believers who entered the Millennium in their natural bodies. And so, there’s a multitude of people who have never had to choose whether to put their faith in Jesus Christ or to reject him as their Lord, and they must have that chance to choose just like you and I do. God, in his grace, will give the people who have repopulated the same chance to put their faith in him. That’s the only way to have your sins forgiven. And remember, they’re born still with the sin nature in the Millennium, so they have to have a chance to choose. And so, Satan is going to be released, and the people will have to choose.
Revelation 20:7–8 (NLT)
7 When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison.
8 He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog (a reference for all the nations)—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.
There’s a world full of people who have lived under the perfect peach of Christ for 1,000 years with Satan bound. And now, far too many of those people will be so easily turned against Jesus to join Satan for one more attempt to battle Jesus Christ.
How many? Verse 8 says their number is like the sand of the sea. Really? After 1,000 years under the perfect rule of Jesus Christ in the Millennium without Satan and without the world system, that says something about sin nature, doesn’t it? And Satan is able to do this easily even after the Millennium because although Satan and the temptations of the world are gone, the sin nature is still alive and well in those who have been born during the Millennium. And so, Satan works on the sin nature of this multitude (just like he works on our sin nature), and he deceives them into rebelling against God, even to the point of being willing to join Satan to fight against God.
Now, the names God and Magog are the same names as in the great Ezekiel 38-39 battle. BUT this is not the same battle, but this is the same type of battle where Satan gathers all those willing to join him to fight one more battle against the Lord and his people.
Revelation 20:9 (NLT)
9 And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people (that is all the resurrected in Christ) and the beloved city (Jerusalem). But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.
All Satan knows is to fight God and to deceive and destroy the people who are made in God’s image – that is all he knows. But this multitude that joins Satan to fight God at the end of the Millennium should have read their Millennium history books about the beginning of the Millennium. Jesus wiped out his enemies with a Word at the beginning of the Millennium. And here, God wipes them out again with fire from Heaven. Satan gets to surround the Beloved City” (Jerusalem). And God is like, “I can’t believe you guys” . . . whooommpp!!
Finally, God is done with Satan at this point. He has easily deceived those in the Millennium, just like he so easily deceives people today. But his final day of judgment comes – here.
Revelation 20:10 (NLT)
10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Finally, Satan in the place that was specifically prepared for HIM!!! In Matthew 25, Jesus says that this eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. It was not prepared for you. But God respects your free will, and he will let you go there if you choose to. And I don’t know what lies you’ve believed about hell not even existing, but the Bible says very clearly hell is a lake of fire where there will be torment day and night forever. And that description should make one thing crystal clear to us – don’t go there!
Outer darkness, Lake of Fire, torment forever – Don’t go there.
It was prepared for the devil and his angels, and Jesus Christ is the only way to avoid it!
In John 14, Jesus said this.
John 14:6 (ESV)
6 . . . “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Maybe you know someone today who is choosing to be an enemy of God and even going to war with God. Maybe you remember a day when that was you. Or maybe today, that might still be you.
Don’t choose eternal separation from God.
Don’t choose to join Satan’s rejection of God.
As long as you are still breathing, there is still time to change your eternity. Receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and commit to follow him as your Lord. The results will be an incredible, unimaginable eternity with him that starts with an indescribable 1,000 years of reigning on this earth with Jesus.