The Story: 2 Chronicles 36:11-21

When our world was first created, a perfect balance existed in nature. Man, animals, and plants lived in total harmony. But with the entrance of sin, everything changed. Man started eating animals, and animals began eating each other. Thorns and thistles sprouted everywhere. Even the soil was weakened by the scourge of sin. God told Cain, "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength." Genesis 4:12.

This is one reason the Lord commanded the children of Israel to rest the farmlands every seventh year (Exodus 23:10, 11). It would give the ground a chance to recover its vitality and provide a volunteer crop for the poor to eat. But most of God's people ignored this law and simply refused to obey it. Then came a day of awful judgment. Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, came to Judah and slew those who had rebelled against him. Others were carried off to the golden city of Babylon. Meanwhile, Israel lay quietly in ruins, "until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath." 2 Chronicles 36:21. At the end of 70 years, the survivors returned to Canaan to replant the promised land and to rebuild Jerusalem.

For 6,000 years now, Jesus has been sowing the seed of the gospel. The Bible tells us that "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 2 Peter 3:8. Soon King Jesus will come to harvest the world. Some will be slain by the brightness of His coming, and the rest will be carried off to His golden kingdom. Then this tired old planet will keep a 1,000-year Sabbath!

The Study
Fill in the blanks after reading each Bible text.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the ________ himself shall ______________ from heaven with a shout, ... and the ________ in Christ shall ________ first.

Revelation 20:4, 5 And they lived and reigned with Christ a ________________ years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the __________ resurrection.

NOTE: The one thousand years of Revelation 20 is often called the millennium. The word "millennium" does not appear in the Bible. It is simply a Latin composite of two words: "milli," meaning "one thousand," and "annum," meaning "years." The second coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the righteous marks the beginning of the 1,000 years. The saints of all ages (described as "blessed and holy" in verse 6) will be raised in this first resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be ______________, In a moment, ... at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on ______________________.

Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his ________________ body.

2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord ... shall ______________ with the brightness of his coming.

Revelation 16:18, 20, 21 And there was a great ____________________, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. ... And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great ________ out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent [about 75 pounds].

Revelation 20:1, 2 An angel ... laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and __________ him a thousand years.

NOTE: See the 1,000-year chart at the end of this lesson for a summary of the events that will take place as the 1,000 years begin.

John 5:28, 29 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 ________, unto the resurrection of __________________.

Revelation 20:5 But the rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were ________________.

NOTE: The second general resurrection is the resurrection of the wicked. It will take place at the close of the 1,000 years.

Isaiah 24:1, 19 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth __________, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down. ... The earth is utterly broken down.

Jeremiah 4:23-26 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and ________; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled. ... There was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. ... The fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the ____________ thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.

Jeremiah 25:33 And the __________ 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 ____________.

NOTE: The earth will be totally devastated by the earthquake and hailstorm that strike at Jesus' second coming. It will be left in complete darkness. Dead people will lie strewn across the earth's surface, with no one weeping or having funerals, because none will be left to cry. The righteous will all be in heaven, and the wicked will all be dead. (See supplements on "The Bottomless Pit" and "What Chains the Devil?")

John 14:3 I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that __________ __ ____, there ye may be also.

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and ________________ was given unto them: ... and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

1 Corinthians 6:2, 3 Do ye not know that the ____________ 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?

NOTE: During the 1,000 years the saints will be in heaven, participating in the judgment. They will not decide who is saved or lost, because this will already have been determined by God. They will simply confirm the judgments of God. "For thy judgments are made manifest." Revelation 15:4. The fairness of God's punishment for the lost will be affirmed, as well as the rewards for the righteous (Revelation 22:11, 12). This phase of the judgment is for the benefit of the saints. For example, suppose you get to heaven and discover that your beloved pastor is not there — yet some infamous criminal is there! You would probably need an explanation. The angels will guide us through the record books to settle any doubts. At the end of this phase of the judgment, the saints will have no questions left to ask. All will be totally convinced of God's justice, love, and His totally fair dealings with all. They will declare "For true and righteous are his judgments." Revelation 19:2. (See supplement entitled "The 1,000-Year Chart.")

Zechariah 14:1, 4, 5, 9 Behold the day of the Lord cometh, ... And his feet shall stand in that day upon the __________ of ____________, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall ____________ in the midst thereof. ... And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. ... And the Lord shall be king over all the earth.

Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming ________ from God out of ____________, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

NOTE: At the close of the 1,000 years, the New Jerusalem with the saints inside will come down from God out of heaven and land on what is now the Mount of Olives. The Lord will flatten the land to make a great plain for the city's landing spot.

7. What will happen next to free Satan from his prison?

Revelation 20:5, 7 But the rest of the ________ lived not again until the thousand years were finished. ... And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be ____________ out of his prison.

NOTE: After the wicked are resurrected, Satan will once again be free to deceive and manipulate them.

Revelation 20:8, 9 And shall go out to ______________ 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 __________________ the ________ of the saints about, and the beloved city.

NOTE: Satan will deceive people into believing that he was unjustly deposed from heaven and that together they can capture the city and take control. Realizing they are shut out of the holy city, the wicked will organize an attack to conquer the New Jerusalem.

Revelation 20:11, 12 And I saw a great __________ ____________, and him that sat on it, ... and the dead were ____________ out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

NOTE: God's throne will suddenly appear in the heavens above the city, and the final phase of the judgment begins. The assault on the city of God is thus brought to an instant halt. The books will be opened, and every person's life will be made to pass before him. Everything will be open for the wicked and righteous to see. God will not tolerate a massive cover-up (Luke 12:2, 3).

Romans 14:11 As I live, saith the Lord, __________ knee shall ______ to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Philippians 2:10, 11 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 ______________ that __________ Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 19:1, 2 I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, ... true and __________________ are his __________________.

NOTE: The wicked will all freely admit that God has been fair and just and that He tried desperately to save them, but they openly chose to reject Him and to live a selfish life of sin. After this universal admission, the sin controversy will be forever settled and it will be safe to destroy sinners.

Revelation 20:9 ________ came down from God out of heaven, and ________________ them.

Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the ________ of ________.

NOTE: God's fire will then fall upon the wicked and form a vast lake of fire all around the city of God. This fire will turn them all to ashes (Malachi 4:3). The devil will have no control over this fire, which is called hell. Instead, he and his angels will be in the fire and will also be punished and then turned into ashes (Revelation 20:10; Ezekiel 28:18). This fire is called the second death (Revelation 20:14), from which there is no resurrection.

Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I ____________ new heavens and a new earth.

Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were ____________ away.

2 Peter 3:13 We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth __________________________.

NOTE: At the end of the 70 years of Babylonian captivity, the children of Israel returned to the promised land and rebuilt the city. After the millennium, the saints will witness Jesus create a new world on the ashes of this purified planet. After the fire goes out, God will create new heavens (atmosphere) and a perfect new earth, where sin will never again rear its ugly head (Nahum 1:9). The perfect kingdom that Adam and Eve lost by sin will be restored in all of its Edenic glory. Peace, joy, love, happiness, and perfection will rest upon God's people forever!

Revelation 21:3 Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will __________ with ________.

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the __________.

NOTE: Both God the Father and God the Son will live with their saints on the new earth. Just think of it — having God for a neighbor!

 

 

Your Response

ANSWER: ____________

Supplement: This section provides additional information for further study.

Events that begin the 1,000 years:

• 1. Jesus returns FOR His saints

• 2. Devastating earthquake and hail

• 3. Righteous dead resurrected

• 4. Living righteous changed, then caught up to meet the Lord in the air

• 5. Wicked slain by the Lord's coming

• 6. Satan bound

• 7. Cloud carries righteous to heaven

Conditions and events during the 1,000 years:

• 1. Saints in heaven participate in judgment of the wicked

• 2. Earth in devastation and total darkness

• 3. No people alive on earth

• 4. Satan and his angels forced to remain on earth (bound)

Events at the close of the 1,000 years:

• 1. Jesus returns WITH His saints

• 2. Holy city descends upon the Mount of Olives

• 3. Wicked resurrected and Satan loosed

• 4. Satan persuades wicked to attack the holy city.

• 5. Wicked are judged

• 6. Fire from heaven destroys attackers and purifies earth, then goes out

• 7. God creates new heaven and a new earth

The Bottomless Pit

The words "bottomless pit" are the same words used in the Greek Old Testament to describe the earth before Creation was completed. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Genesis 1:1, 2. The word "deep" is translated from the Greek word "abusos." It refers to the earth empty of people, in total darkness, and without form and void. The word "abusos" is used again in Revelation 20:1, where it is translated "bottomless pit." During the 1,000 years, the world will be like it was before Creation was completed. So "deep," "bottomless pit," and "abusos" all refer to the same thing — the earth in a dark, torn-up condition with no people alive to possess it.

What Chains the Devil?

During the 1,000 years, the devil is chained in the pit "that he should deceive the nations no more." Revelation 20:3. Because the devil is a spiritual being, a literal chain would not stop his deceptions. Only one thing would stop him from tempting people – if there were no people! At the beginning of the 1,000 years, the wicked are all slain and the righteous taken to heaven, so Satan and his angels are forced to stay on this earth with no one to tempt. For 1,000 years they will roam among the dark, ruined cities littered with dead bodies to behold the fruit of their rebellion. No more galling chain has ever been forged. It's a chain of circumstances. We use the same expression today, as in, "I'd like to go with you, but my hands are tied." It is in this manner that Satan and his angels are bound. "And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days they shall be visited." Isaiah 24:22.

A Second Chance?

Many teach that there will be an opportunity to repent during the 1,000 years. Some call it a "second chance." However, this is impossible. During the 1,000 years, the righteous will be safe in heaven, and the wicked on earth will all be dead. An unsaved person could not repent during the 1,000 years any more than a corpse could suddenly sit up in his casket and repent at his funeral. Both are dead. The second-chance teaching delights Satan, who hopes people will postpone making a decision for God, believing they will have another opportunity during the 1,000 years.

Others claim that during the 1,000 years, those who had never heard the plan of salvation will be given an opportunity to repent. But the truth is that Jesus will not return to this earth till all have heard His wonderful message of life and salvation and have decided for or against it (Matthew 24:14; Mark 16:15, 16; Revelation 14:6, 7).