The Millennium Christmas Wonderland
Pastor Leslie Chua
“…but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.”
Christmas is just around the corner. Like many people, I love Christmas carols. Their tunes evoke a sense of idyllic peace and tranquillity. I prefer the slower ones, such as “Silent Night, Holy Night” and “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” However, I especially enjoy the lively, contemporary version of "Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy).”
Recently, I listened to it and was momentarily struck by the lyrics in two stanzas.
Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.
I pondered: Do these lyrics accurately depict what occurred at the first Christmas when Christ was born? Perhaps the first stanza does, but certainly not the other stanza. While Jesus rules in the hearts of believers with truth and grace, He does not rule in the world.
Not yet, but someday Jesus will rule the world with truth and grace, and all humanity will experience the glories of His righteousness and the wonders of His love.
I am referring to the Millennium, the thousand-year period when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ rules over all the nations of the world. That is not a utopian dream but a reality prophesied in the Bible and promised by God.
The Millennium is frequently alluded to in the Old Testament. Among the eschatological topics, the Millennium is one of the most frequently mentioned in Scripture yet, strangely, the least discussed. Why that is the case, I am not sure.
____________________________________________
I am referring to the Millennium, the thousand-year period when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ rules over all the nations of the world. That is not a utopian dream but a reality prophesied in the Bible and promised by God.
____________________________________________
If the announcement of Christ’s birth on the first Christmas is good news, then the Millennium is also good news. Essentially, Jesus was born to bring atonement and salvation to mankind, so that those who believe in Him will enter the eternal kingdom of God. The Millennium is the interim stage before our final destination in the new heavens and new earth.
The Millennium in the Book of Revelation
The specific word “millennium” does not appear in the English Bibles. However, the idea of a literal thousand-year period is explicitly mentioned in Revelation chapter 20, not once but six times.
Verse 2: He (an angel) seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years…
Continuing in verse 3: …and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended.
Verse 4: They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Verse 5: The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.
Again, in verse 6: …but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.
And again, in verse 7: When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison…
Can you see the repeated emphasis on the one-thousand-year period, the Millennium?
Essentially, Satan will be locked in the bottomless pit, and Jesus will rule the whole earth during the Millennium. At that time, the world will be like a paradise.
The Timing of the Millennium
When exactly is the Millennium placed within the sequence of End-Time events?
____________________________________________
At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will return to Earth with the heavenly hosts, comprising the raptured Christians and angels. Jesus will defeat Satan, the Antichrist, and their followers. The Antichrist will be thrown into the lake of fire, and Satan will be imprisoned in the bottomless pit. Soon after, the Millennial reign of Christ will begin.
____________________________________________
We shall begin with the rapture of the church. The first major event at the end of this present age will be the rapture of believers in Christ. It will be followed by the Tribulation, which will last seven years. At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will return to Earth with the heavenly hosts, comprising the raptured Christians and angels. Jesus will defeat Satan, the Antichrist, and their followers. The Antichrist will be thrown into the lake of fire, and Satan will be imprisoned in the bottomless pit. Soon after, the Millennial reign of Christ will begin.
At the end of the one thousand years, Satan will be released. He will deceive the nations and lead a massive rebellion against God, but it will be swiftly suppressed. The devil will be captured and cast into hell, along with the rebels.
The next event is the Great White Throne judgment, where the unbelieving dead will be judged and condemned to eternal punishment in hell because their names are not found in the book of life.
After that, the present heavens and earth will be destroyed by fire, and God will create new heavens and a new earth. The new earth will be the eternal home of all believers in Christ.
The Characteristics of the Millennium
Back to the Millennium. What does the Bible reveal about the Millennium? How will living in the Millennium be like?
Although only Revelation 20 explicitly mentions the one-thousand-year period, the Old Testament alludes to it extensively—the prophets of old painted vivid pictures of the Millennium, waxing lyrical over it.
It is understandable, given the pathetic state of the world we live in. Humanity has always sought Utopia, hoping to live in a better world where righteousness and justice endure, and peace and prosperity prevail. The Millennium offers all that, and more.
____________________________________________
Although only Revelation 20 explicitly mentions the one-thousand-year period, the Old Testament alludes to it extensively—the prophets of old painted vivid pictures of the Millennium, waxing lyrical over it.
____________________________________________
I want to highlight four marvellous characteristics of the Millennium, as revealed in the Bible.
A Time of Peace
The Millennium will be a time of unprecedented peace, with no wars between nations and no strife among people. With Satan bound and Christ ruling as king over all the world, disputes will be settled justly and amicably, and flashpoints will be quelled quickly.
Peace will reign throughout the earth during the Millennium. The song the angels sang at the first Christmas will become reality – “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors” (Luke 2:14).
The prophet Micah prophesied about peace in the Millennium: “He shall judge between many peoples, and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away; 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 any more…” (Micah 4:3).
____________________________________________
The Millennium will be a time of unprecedented peace, with no wars between nations and no strife among people.
____________________________________________
The prophet Isaiah also spoke these words in Isaiah 2:4. At the United Nations’ headquarters in New York, there is a wall known as the Isaiah Wall bearing these exact words. However, the United Nations will never achieve its aspiration for global peace. Only God can do so.
Amazingly, peace will also be extended to the animal kingdom. The prophet Isaiah said: “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6-9).
Jesus will bring comprehensive peace during the Millennium, touching all creation and all aspects of life on earth.
A Period of Prosperity
The Millennium will also be a period of unprecedented economic prosperity.
Throughout history, the world has experienced cycles of economic booms and busts. Prosperity never lasts for more than a few decades, even during golden ages. But the prosperity of the Millennium will surpass anything we have ever seen in human history and be sustained. Abundance will be the order of the day in this new age.
Prosperity is always on everyone's mind. So, believers should look forward to the Millennium, when the entire world will prosper.
____________________________________________
The Millennium will also be a period of unprecedented economic prosperity.
____________________________________________
Look at these two prophecies of economic prosperity in the Millennium.
Isaiah declared: “For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew” (Zechariah 8:12).
Here is an amazing prophecy from the prophet Amos: “The time is surely coming, says the Lord, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it” (Amos 9:13).
Before the harvests are over, the farmers will already be sowing seeds. The exaggerated language about the ploughman overtaking the harvester indicates abundance and overflowing economic prosperity.
Longevity
The Millennium is also characterised by longevity. People will live much longer than they do now.
The average lifespan will be comparable to that of the generations who lived before the Flood in Noah’s time, when people lived for over 900 years.
The Earth’s atmosphere changed after the Flood due to environmental changes and, consequently, the ecology. As a result, human lifespan has shortened dramatically over the centuries.
____________________________________________
The Millennium is also characterised by longevity. People will live much longer than they do now.
____________________________________________
The earth’s ecosystem will be completely overhauled during the Tribulation. You only need to look at the final series of divine judgments, the bowl judgments, and the last judgment in particular. Except for Jerusalem, the entire earth will be flattened by massive earthquakes – “And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found” (Revelation 16:20).
The drastic change in Earth’s geography will affect its climate and ecosystem. Apparently, it will improve longevity, and humanity will live for hundreds of years once again.
This is not a speculation. Isaiah said so in a prophecy: “No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed” (Isaiah 65:20).
With an increase in lifespan, it can be safely assumed that sicknesses and diseases will be kept at bay. What a blessing!
A Time of Joy & Gladness
The Millennium is also a time of joy and gladness.
Earth’s inhabitants during the Millennium ought to be happy and contented because of peace, prosperity, and an excellent living environment, if not for any other reason.
____________________________________________
The Millennium is also a time of joy and gladness.
____________________________________________
The prophet Zephaniah proclaimed: “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival” (Zephaniah 3:17).
Again, Isaiah had something to say about the Millennium: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 12:3-6).
The presence of Jesus ruling over nations and upholding righteousness and justice alone is a cause for rejoicing and celebration.
This is the Christmas season, but I am not dreaming of a winter wonderland or a Christmas wonderland. Instead, I am looking forward to the Millennium, when Jesus Christ will rule as king over all the nations of the world, bringing unprecedented peace, joy, prosperity, and blessings.
And don’t forget that we will reign with Him for these thousand years. What a glorious time it will be for us! Hallelujah!
Have a blessed Christmas!