For a Thousand Years
Notes
Transcript
The Millennial Reign of Christ
The Millennial Reign of Christ
verses 1-6
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 1 - Keys signify access and authority.
The beast and the false prophet were evil and demonically possessed people but the dragon is the devil.
The Angel is given access to the devil and the authority to imprison him.
God could have bound satan at any time but chose not to so that His plans and purposes could be fulfilled.
Why didn’t the Lord imprison the devil earlier?
The Lord is seeking a true loving relationship with us and therefore we have the free will to follow the Lord and are not under subjugation. However, we are held accountable for our choice.
The Lord does not desire that anyone perish but unfortunately many people will choose sin and judgement of the love of God and the grace and mercy found only in Jesus Christ.
Verse 2 & 3 - satan is bound for 1,000 years
the devil is bound in chains, imprisoned in the abyss and the abyss is sealed over
the dragon is imprisoned for the 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
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 power but rather it is part of God’s bigger plan and purpose to permanently remove 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 9 is one 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.
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
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.
millions of Christians will be martyred during the tribulation period
there is grace to be saved during the tribulation but it is a severe
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 cost them their lives or worse yet they may not get saved at all.
Look I understand that not everyone is going to be a Pastor or an Evangelist but we can 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 at an event, for some it may be to faithfully attend services, for some it may be sharing our posts on social media for some it may be financial support for others it may be a combination of these things. 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
I hope to see everyone again next week as we will continue our end times sermon series.
Have a blessed week and remember joy is found in Jesus!