16) The Millennium and Final Judgment
The thousand years and final judgment according to the Bible
After Jesus returns, there will be a period of one thousand years called the millennium. In this lesson, we will study what the Bible teaches about this period and the final judgment.
The Beginning of the Millennium
What happens to the righteous dead at Jesus' return?
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Answer: They are resurrected first
1 Thessalonians 4:16: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"
Where are the saved taken?
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Answer: To the mansions in heaven, with Jesus
John 14:2-3: "In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
What happens to Satan at the beginning of the millennium?
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Answer: He is bound in the abyss for a thousand years
Revelation 20:1-3: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."
“During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, GC 660.4
During the Millennium
What do the saved do during the millennium?
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Answer: They reign with Christ and participate in the judgment
Revelation 20:4: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
How will the Earth be during the millennium?
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Answer: Without form and empty, desolate
Jeremiah 4:23-26: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger."
Where are the wicked dead during the millennium?
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Answer: In their graves — they do not come to life until the thousand years are completed
Revelation 20:5: "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."
The End of the Millennium
What happens at the end of the thousand years?
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Answer: Satan is released, the wicked are resurrected and surround the holy city
Revelation 20:7-9: "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive 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 compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."
What happens to Satan and the wicked?
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Answer: Fire comes down from heaven and devours them
Revelation 20:9-10: "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
“The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, GC 674.1
What is the 'second death'?
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Answer: Eternal destruction in the lake of fire, with no hope of resurrection
Revelation 20:14-15: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Before what throne will all appear?
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Answer: Before the great white throne for final judgment
Revelation 20:11-12: "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."
Now What?
The millennium is part of God’s plan:
- The saved go to heaven: During the thousand years
- Satan is bound: On the desolate Earth
- The saved judge: They review the cases of the wicked
- Sin is destroyed: In the lake of fire, forever
My Decision
I believe in God’s plan for the eradication of sin. I desire to be among the saved who will be resurrected in the first resurrection and reign with Christ during the millennium. I accept the justice of God in His final judgment.