Reference: Thousand Years
Fausets
The millennium. The period of Christ's coming reign with His saints over this earth, delivered from Satan's presence. As Satan and His kingdom in successive stages sink, Christ and His kingdom rise (Revelation 19-20). Satan, having been foiled in his last desperate attempt to overthrow Christ's kingdom by Antichrist or the beast, shall by the just law of necessary retributive consequence be bound immediately afterward and imprisoned in the bottomless pit a thousand years. (See ANTICHRIST.) On the same just principle they who have suffered for Christ, and not worshipped the Godopposed world power, shall come to life again and reign with Christ (2Ti 2:12), at His coming, a thousand years. Their resurrection is "the first resurrection." (See RESURRECTION.) "The rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished: blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."
Ten, the "world number", raised to the third power, the "divine number", expresses the world pervaded by God. Possibly the "thousand" may extend much longer than the literal number. So also (Php 3:10.) Paul's ambition was to "attain the resurrection from out of the rest of the dead" (exanastasis). So our Lord declares (Lu 20:35), "they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain the resurrection from the dead cannot die any more, for they are equal unto the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection." Again, to the apostles (Lu 22:18), "ye are they who have continued with Me in My temptations, and I appoint unto you a kingdom as My Father hath appointed unto Me, that ye may eat and drink with Me at My table, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Again (Mt 19:28), "ye that have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Those "beheaded (virtually or actually, literally, hatcheted) for Jesus and for the word of God" stand first; then they" who have not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands," i.e. did not treat the world's riches, ambitions, and pleasures as their portion. Jesus implies, in reply to the request of Zebedee's two sons, that there are places of peculiar honour reserved by the Father for those who drink Christ's bitter cup (Mt 20:22-23). Thus, "whosoever shall lose his life for Christ's sake (in will or deed) shall save it" (Mr 8:35). Satan thought to destroy God's people by persecutions (just as previously to destroy Christ, Revelation 12); but the church is not destroyed from the earth, but raised to rule over it; Satan himself is shut up for a thousand years in the "abyss" (" bottomless pit"), preparatory to the "lake of fire," his final doom. As before, by Christ's ascension, he ceased to be accuser of the brethren in heaven, so during the millennium he ceases to be seducer and persecutor on earth.
As long as he rules in the darkness of the world we live in an atmosphere tainted with evil physical and spiritual (Eph 2:2). Christ's coming will purify the world (Mal 3:3). Sin will not wholly cease, for men shall be still in the flesh, and therefore death will come, but at long intervals, life being vastly prolonged as in the days of the patriarchs (Isa 65:20); but sin will not be that almost universal power that it is now. Satan will no longer seduce the flesh, nor be the "god" and "prince of this world" (Joh 14:30; 2Co 4:4), which now "lieth in the wicked one" (1Jo 5:19). The flesh, untempted from without, shall become more and more subject to the spirit. Christ with His saints, in transfigured bodies, will reign over men in the flesh. The millennial nations will be prepared for a higher state, as Adam would have been in paradise, had he never fallen (Re 21:1-24,26).
This will be the manifestation of "the world ("age", aion) to come" already set up invisibly in the saints in "this world" (Heb 2:5; 5:5). As each seventh year was Israel's year of remission, so of the world's seven thousands the seventh shall be its sabbatism (Heb 4:9, margin). Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Cyprian, expected an earthly millennial kingdom; not until millennial views carnally confounded the state of the transfigured king-priests with that of the subject nations in the flesh, and the church itself sought a present visible kingdom with Rome as its center, instead of hoping for it only when Christ shall come, was the doctrine abandoned by the church and apostasy set in. Earth, not becoming transfigured until after the millennium, shall not be, during it, the meet home for the transfigured saints; but from heaven they with Christ rule the earth, the comparatively free communion between the heavenly and earthly churches being typified by Christ's communion at short intervals with His disciples during the 40 days between His resurrection and ascension.
Old Testament prophecy everywhere anticipates Christ's kingdom at Jerusalem: Jer 3:17; Isa 4:3; 11:9; 35:8; 22/type/leb'>60:22,22; Ezekiel 37 to 48, etc., etc. He confirms His disciples' expectation of it, but corrects their impatience to know the time (Ac 1:6-8). The kingdom begins, not as the carnal Jews thought, from without, but from within, spiritually; then when Christ shall be manifested it shall be manifested outwardly (Col 3:4; 1Jo 3:2). The papacy blasphemously anticipates the visible headship which Christ shall then assume, "reigning as kings" without Christ (1Co 4:8).
When Christianity became a worldly power under Constantine, the future hope was weakened by joy over present success (Bengel); the church becoming a harlot ceased to be the bride going to meet her Bridegroom. The saints' future priesthood unto God and Christ "in His temple" (Re 1:6; 5:10; 7:15; 20:6) is the ground of their kingship toward men. Men will be willing subjects of the transfigured priest-kings whose power is the attraction that wins the heart, not counteracted by devil or beast. Church and state will be coextensive; and the church and the world no longer in mutual repulsion. The distinction between them shall cease, for the church will be co-extensive with the world. The veil shall be taken off Israel first, then off all people, and the kingdoms of this world shall be the kingdoms of Christ (Re 11:15; Isa 25:7). Christ's glorious appearing, the church's transfiguration, antichrist's destruction, and Satan's binding, will dispose the nations to embrace the gospel.
As a regeneration of elected individuals "taken out" from Jews and Gentiles (Ac 15:14) goes on now, so a regeneration of nations then. As the church begins at Christ's ascension, so the visible kingdom at His second advent. What the transfigured priest-kings shall be in heaven, that the Israelite priest-kings shall be on earth. A blessed chain of giving and receiving: God, Christ, the transfigured bride, i.e. the translated church, Israel, the world of nations. The outpouring of the Spirit on Israel (Zec 12:10) will usher in the new period of revelation, which has been silent so long as Israel, God's chosen mediator of revelations, and of establishing His manifested kingdom on earth, has been in the background. God from the first, in dividing to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, set their bounds "according to the number of the children, of Israel" (De 32:8). Now is the time of preaching; then shall be the time of liturgy of "the great congregation" (Ps 22:25; Ezekiel 40 to 48; Zec 14:16-21; Isa 2:3).
Art and music will be the handmaids to spiritual worship, instead of drawing off the soul to sensuousness. Society will be pervaded by the Spirit of Christ. Earthly and heavenly glories shall be united in the twofold election: elect Israel in the flesh shall stand at the head of the earthly nations; the elect spiritual church, in the heavenly kingdom, shall reign over both. These elections are for the good of those to whom they minister respectively; compare, as to Israel's mediating blessedness to the nations
See Verses Found in Dictionary
they will not see the land that I swore by oath to their ancestors, and all those who despised me will not see it. But my servant Caleb, because another spirit was with him, he remained true after me, and I will bring him into the land that {he entered}, and his offspring will take possession of it.
{When the Most High apportioned} [the] nations, at his dividing [up] of the sons of humankind, he fixed the boundaries of [the] peoples, according to the number of the children of Israel.
And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land that your foot has trodden on will be an inheritance to you and your sons forever, because you remained true to Yahweh my God.'
From you [is] my praise. In [the] great assembly, I will pay my vows before those who revere him.
You send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of [the] ground.
many peoples shall come. And they shall say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, and may he teach us part of his ways, and let us walk in his paths." For instruction shall go out from Zion, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations and he shall arbitrate for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. A nation shall not lift up a sword against a nation, and they shall not learn war again.
And this shall happen: He who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone written for life in Jerusalem,
And a wolf shall {stay} with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie down with a kid, and a calf and a lion and a fatling together {as a small boy leads} them. And a cow and a bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together. And a lion shall eat straw like the cattle. read more. And {an infant} shall play over a serpent's hole, and {a toddler} shall put his hand on a viper's hole. They will not injure and they will not destroy on all of my {holy mountain}, for the earth will be full [of the] knowledge [of] Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
They will not injure and they will not destroy on all of my {holy mountain}, for the earth will be full [of the] knowledge [of] Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
And they will hang all of the heaviness of his father's house on him, the offspring and the offshoot, all of the small vessels, from the {bowls to the jars}.
And on this mountain he will {destroy} the face of the shroud, the shroud over all peoples, and the woven covering over all nations.
And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. [The] unclean shall not travel through it, but it [is] for them, he who walks [on the] way; and fools shall not wander about.
But the wicked [are] like the churning sea, that is not able to keep quiet, and its waters toss up mire and mud.
The small [one] shall become tribe, and the smallest one a mighty nation. I [am] Yahweh; I will hasten it in its time."
The small [one] shall become tribe, and the smallest one a mighty nation. I [am] Yahweh; I will hasten it in its time."
There will no longer be a nursing infant {who lives only a few} days, or an old man who does not fill his days, for the boy will die {a hundred years old}, and the one who {fails to reach} {a hundred years} will be {considered} accursed.
[The] wolf and [the] lamb shall feed like one, and [the] lion shall eat straw like the ox, but dust [shall be] [the] serpent's food. They shall do no evil, and they shall not destroy on all {my holy mountain}," says Yahweh.
At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of Yahweh,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and they will no longer go after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
Daniel {explained} and said, "I was looking in my vision in the night, and look, the four winds of heaven were stirring [up] the great sea. And four great beasts [were] coming up from the sea, differing {from one another}.
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to [the] nation of [the] holy ones of the Most High; his kingdom {is an everlasting kingdom}, and all the dominions will serve and obey him.'
I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the animals of the field, with the birds of the heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground; [the] bow, [the] sword, and [the] war I will abolish from the land, and I will let them lie down in safety.
And the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many nations, like dew from Yahweh, like showers upon the grass which does not wait for a man, nor delays for the children of humankind.
And he will build the temple of Yahweh, and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them." '
And I will cut off [the] chariot from Ephraim, and [the] horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow will be cut down, and he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion [will be] from sea to sea, and from [the] River to [the] ends of [the] earth.
" 'I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look to me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him, as one wails over an only child, and they will grieve bitterly over him as [one] grieves bitterly over a firstborn.
And Yahweh will be king over all the earth; on that day Yahweh will be one and his name one.
{And then} every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship [the] king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths. {And then} whoever of the clans of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, it will not rain on them. read more. And if the clan of Egypt will not go up and come in, on them will be that plague Yahweh inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. On that day there will be [inscribed] on the bells of the horses, "Holy to Yahweh." And the cooking pots in the house of Yahweh will be [holy] like the sacrificial basins before the altar. And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a {trader} in the house of Yahweh of hosts on that day.
He will sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the children of Levi, and he will refine them like gold and like silver, and they will present to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.
Blessed [are] the meek, because they will inherit the earth.
The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds,
And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that in the renewal [of the world], when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me--you also will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
But Jesus answered [and] said, "You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but [is] for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life on account of me and of the gospel will save it.
And summoning ten of his own slaves, he gave them ten minas and said to them, 'Do business {until I come back}.'
And it happened that when he returned [after] receiving the kingdom, he ordered these slaves to whom he had given the money to be summoned to him, so that he could know what they had gained by trading.
And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small thing, {have authority} over ten cities.'
So he said to this one also, 'And you be over five cities.'
but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and [to] the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the product of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has {no power} {over} me.
So [when] they had come together, they began asking him, saying, "Lord, [is it] at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" But he said to them, "It is not for you to know [the] times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. read more. But you will receive power [when] the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest part of the earth."
Simeon has described how God first concerned himself to take from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also make alive your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you.
For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy [to be compared] with the glory that is about to be revealed to us. For the eagerly expecting creation awaits eagerly the revelation of the sons of God. read more. For the creation has been subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of the one who subjected [it], in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its servility to decay, into the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and suffers agony together until now. Not only [this], but we ourselves also, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves [while we] await eagerly [our] adoption, the redemption of our body.
And if their trespass [means] riches for the world and their loss [means] riches for the Gentiles, how much more [will] their fullness [mean]?
For if their rejection [means] the reconciliation of the world, what [will] their acceptance [mean] except life from the dead?
Already you are satiated! Already you are rich! Apart from us you reign as kings! And would that indeed you reigned as kings, in order that we also might reign as kings with you!
Behold, I tell you a mystery: we will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience,
so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,
When Christ, [who is] your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
if we endure, we will also reign with [him]; if we deny [him], he also will deny us;
Now in a great house [there] are not only gold and silver vessels, but also wooden and earthenware [ones], some of which [are] for honorable use, and some of which [are] for ordinary use. Therefore, if someone cleanses himself from these [things], he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
Consequently a sabbath rest remains for the people of God.
Consequently a sabbath rest remains for the people of God.
Thus also Christ did not glorify himself to become high priest, but the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you,"
For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [by] following ingeniously concocted myths, but [by] being eyewitnesses of that one's majesty. For [he] received honor and glory from God the Father [when] a voice such as this was brought to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." read more. And [we] ourselves heard this voice brought from heaven [when we] were with him on the holy mountain,
But by the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will disappear with a rushing noise, and the celestial bodies will be destroyed [by] being burned up, and the earth and the deeds [done] on it will be disclosed. [Because] all these things are being destroyed in this way, what sort of [people] must you be in holy behavior and godliness, read more. [while] waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed [by] being burned up and the celestial bodies will melt [as they] are consumed by heat! But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness resides.
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in [the power of] the evil one.
and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father--to him [be] the glory and the power {forever and ever}. Amen.
The one who conquers, I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also have conquered and have sat down with my Father on his throne.
and made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth."
and made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth."
Because of this, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne {will shelter} them.
And the seventh angel blew the trumpet, and there was a loud voice in heaven saying, "The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign {forever and ever}."
Blessed and holy [is] the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over this person the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea did not exist [any] longer.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea did not exist [any] longer.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea did not exist [any] longer. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. read more. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God [is] with humanity, and he will take up residence with them, and they will be his people and God himself will be with them. And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist [any] longer, and mourning or wailing or pain will not exist [any] longer. The former [things] have passed away."
And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist [any] longer, and mourning or wailing or pain will not exist [any] longer. The former [things] have passed away." And the one seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all [things] new!" And he said, "Write, because these words are faithful and true." read more. And he said to me, "It is done! I [am] the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give [water] from the spring of the water of life freely. The one who conquers will inherit these [things], and I will be {his God} and he will be {my son}. But [as] for the cowards and unbelievers and detestable persons and murderers and sexually immoral people and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their share [is] in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death. And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and lofty mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and lofty mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, that has the glory of God. Its radiance [is] like a precious stone, [something] like a jasper stone, shining like crystal.
that has the glory of God. Its radiance [is] like a precious stone, [something] like a jasper stone, shining like crystal. It has a great and high wall that has twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written on [the gates] which are of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel--
It has a great and high wall that has twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written on [the gates] which are of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel-- on the east, three gates, and on the north, three gates, and on the south, three gates, and on the west, three gates.
on the east, three gates, and on the north, three gates, and on the south, three gates, and on the west, three gates. And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them [are] twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them [are] twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the one who spoke with me was holding a golden measuring rod in order that he could measure the city and its gates and its wall.
And the one who spoke with me was holding a golden measuring rod in order that he could measure the city and its gates and its wall. And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is the same as [its] width. And he measured the city with the measuring rod at twelve thousand stadia; the length and the width and the height of it are equal.
And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is the same as [its] width. And he measured the city with the measuring rod at twelve thousand stadia; the length and the width and the height of it are equal. And he measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits {according to human measure}, which is the angel's.
And he measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits {according to human measure}, which is the angel's. And the material of its wall [is] jasper, and the city [is] pure gold, similar in appearance to pure glass.
And the material of its wall [is] jasper, and the city [is] pure gold, similar in appearance to pure glass. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every kind of precious stone: the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every kind of precious stone: the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.
the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates [are] twelve pearls, each one of the gates was from a single pearl. And the street of the city [is] pure gold, like transparent glass.
And the twelve gates [are] twelve pearls, each one of the gates was from a single pearl. And the street of the city [is] pure gold, like transparent glass. And I did not see a temple in it, for the Lord God All-Powerful is its temple, and the Lamb.
And I did not see a temple in it, for the Lord God All-Powerful is its temple, and the Lamb. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon, that they shine on it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp [is] the Lamb.
And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon, that they shine on it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp [is] the Lamb. And the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
And the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.