The word, millennium, derives from the Latin mille, meaning thousand. “M” in Roman numerals represents the number 1,000. Over time, “the Millennium” has become a reference to the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20, verses 2-7. The term “millennium” is not actually found in the Bible. We will use millennium in this Q&A as a parallel designation to the thousand years, as appears below in Revelation 20:2-7:
“(2) He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
“(3) and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
“(4) And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
“(5) But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
“(6) Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
“(7) Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison…”
Verses 2, 3 and 7 reveal that in the future and for one-thousand years, Satan will be restrained from ruling or influencing the earth; verses 4, 5, and 6 describe those who will be in the first resurrection and given eternal life in God’s Kingdom.
The beginning of the millennial reign of Jesus with His elect (those in the first resurrection) is a major focus point of biblical prophecy. Jesus clearly spoke of this end-time event:
“‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other’” (Matthew 24:29-31).
The Apostle Paul wrote of those who would be in the first resurrection when Jesus returns.
“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
He added the following:
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).
Again, referencing events surrounding the sounding of the trumpet which heralds the first resurrection, Paul writes:
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:50-53).
Jesus Christ will return with great power and majesty at the sounding of the seventh trumpet (Revelation 11:15). He will come to Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4), and those of the first resurrection, called saints, will be with Him (Zechariah 14:5; Jude 14). The Prophet Daniel also wrote of this:
“‘“Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him”’” (Daniel 7:27).
Jesus Christ, along with His elect, will begin the Millennium by stopping those who are destroying the earth (Revelation 11:18). Jesus warned about catastrophic events which would occur just before His return.
“‘For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened’” (Mathew 24:21-22).
Note this prophetic role of Jesus:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages’” (Isaiah 49:8).
The Millennium will become a time of restoration and rebuilding; of returning the captive people of Israel to their inheritance; a time of world peace through the government of God. Note this marvelous promise from God:
“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:2-4).
Jerusalem, troubled and fought over as it is today, will become the world capital during the Millennium when Jesus Christ returns to this world and establishes the Kingdom of God:
“‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,’ says the LORD. ‘Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem’” (Zechariah 2:10-12).
The following prophecy speaks of Jesus Christ’s rule as the Millennium begins with the establishment of the Kingdom of God:
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
“And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— ‘The LORD is one,’ And His name one” (Zechariah 14:9). And in the last part of Isaiah 11:9, this is said of the millennial rule of God’s government: “…For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.”
There are other places in the Bible that describe the Millennium, and one of those can be found in God’s Holy Day observances. One example is the Feast of Tabernacles. Here is what God has commanded:
“‘You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice’” (Deuteronomy 16:13-15).
Also, in Leviticus 23, further instructions are given for observing the Feast of Tabernacles:
“‘“You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God”’” (Leviticus 23:42-43).
While this observance portrays events which have already occurred, it also points to a future time. Israel was led out of Egypt to then enter the land of Canaan—the region in the Middle East that God promised to Abraham and his descendants. This promise is described as “My rest” by God in Psalm 95:11; Hebrews 3:11; 4:3 and 4:5.
In Hebrews, Paul explains that the rest of God is His Kingdom by showing that it is something we can enter in the future:
“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it” (Hebrews 4:1).
“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11).
Paul also shows that the weekly Sabbath is representative of the Millennium in reference to the rest of God:
“For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works’; and again in this place: ‘They shall not enter My rest.’
Since therefore it remains that some [must not in original] enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, ‘Today,’ after such a long time, as it has been said: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.’For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a [Sabbath] rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Hebrews 4:4-10).
True Christians anticipate the Millennium as the time when they will enter the Kingdom of God. Christians are “firstfruits” (James 1:18) of salvation. The Bible has many detailed references about what the Millennium will be like, and for those who faithfully observe God’s Holy Days, a deeper understanding will come.
The Church of the Eternal God and its affiliates have provided many Q&As, booklets, sermonettes and sermons which more fully explain topics such as the Millennium, the Sabbath and the Holy Days of God. These can be found on our websites—all of which can be referenced through www.eternalgod.org
Lead Writer: Dave Harris