The Millennium

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Good morning, Chapel family. Great to be with you today. We’re taking a few months to walk through the book of Revelation. For the first 25 years of my ministry I didn’t preach Revelation, because I saw it being misused in so many ways. I saw people obsessing and arguing over timelines and details and speculations. And I just didn’t want to be part of that. But a few months ago I had a change of heart, because I saw the world changing in some undeniable ways. I could feel our culture turning its back on God and becoming more secular and prideful and materialistic and violent and just darker. So I revisited Revelation, and I realized, “This is the message we need to hear.” Now that we’re nine weeks into this series, I believe that more than ever.

So Revelation is actually a letter written by John the Apostle to a group of churches at the end of the first century. If I had to summarize the message of Revelation, I would say something like this: The world is getting darker. Opposition to Christ and his church is getting stronger. But God is in control, and in the end God wins. So stand firm in your faith. That was the message to the churches in 95 AD—so the world was already getting darker back then; we’re just further down that road. So this is the message they needed to hear, and it’s the same exact message we need to hear.

So today we come to probably the most controversial chapter in the whole book—chapter 20. It talks about a thousand-year period of time that we call “The Millennium.” (“Millennium” just means “a thousand years.”) So that sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well…not really. Over the years, people have argued and debated over this; sadly, Christians have divided over this—like, “If you don’t believe what I believe about this chapter of the Bible, you can’t be in my church!” That’s embarrassing. So we’ll take a little bit of time to talk about the different sides in the debate. But not too much time. You know why? Because I’m not going to focus on things that are unclear when there are plenty of things that are very clear. Does that make sense? So in this chapter about the Millennium, there are things that Christians debate and will continue debating until Jesus comes back. But there are other things that every Christian agrees on. And those are the things we’re going to focus on, because those are the things that are going to help us stand firm in our faith in this world that keeps getting darker.

So…let’s read the Scripture, and then we’ll dive in. Revelation 20, the whole chapter. I invite you now to hear the Word of God…

1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has

no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. This is the Word of the Lord.

Theologians have debated just about every part of this chapter. But I’m going to skip the smaller debates, and just go right to the biggest debate. Here’s the biggest point of disagreement: When does this happen? When is this thousand-year period? Specifically, when does it happen in relation to the return of Christ? So there are three main views, and it’s actually worth taking a few minutes to talk about those.

First, there’s a view called postmillennialism. That’s the belief that Christians will be so effective in spreading the gospel, that the world will get better and better, and we will actually bring in the kingdom of God on earth. Peace will prevail! And after a thousand years of that, Jesus will come back and heaven will begin. So Jesus comes back “post”—after—that thousand year period. So that’s postmillennialism.

Then there’s a view called amillennialism. The prefix “a” is Latin for “not.” In other words, there’s not going to be a literal thousand years where Jesus reigns on earth. They say this passage is symbolic of what Christ is doing right now through his church. So they would say we’re living Revelation 20 right now. And then some day Jesus will return and heaven will begin. That’s amillennialism.

And then the third view is called premillennialism. That’s the view that this world is not getting better, but when Jesus returns it will get better really quick, because he’ll set up an earthly kingdom and personally reign for a thousand years, and then heaven begins. So Jesus returns “pre,” or before, the Millennium. So that’s premillennialism.

Is everybody totally confused yet?

Now: I personally take a premillennial view. I believe that in order for God’s kingdom to come on this earth, it’s going to require Jesus being here in person. So I believe Jesus will return to this earth and reign for 1,000 years; I believe during that time, God will fulfill the promises he made to Israel back in the Old Testament, and it will be a time of flourishing and peace unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And then the final judgment, and heaven starts after that. So I am premillennial. That’s my position.

But here’s the thing: there are really committed, biblically-knowledgeable Christians who take a different view. And knowing that keeps me humble. I’m just going to throw out a few names (and you

might not have heard of any of these people) but knowing that leaders like Tim Keller and John Ortberg and the late JI Packer and RC Sproul and Paul Tripp and Joni Eareckson Tada all take a different view on this keeps me humble. If I find out one day that I was wrong on this, it’s not going to crush me. When you stand before Jesus someday, he’s not going to say, “Okay—here’s the big question: are you premillennial, amillennial, or postmillennial? I need an answer now.” That’s not going to be on the test. Isn’t that a relief?

So...bottom line: there are lots of debated parts of this passage; some of you have a view on it, and it’s fine to have a view, but please hold your view loosely.

At the same time, there are other parts of this passage that are crystal clear—that every serious believer agrees on. Mark Twain once said, “It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it’s the parts I do understand.” So for the rest of this message, let’s focus on the parts that we clearly understand. (And I think that was the longest introduction to a sermon I have ever given).

So…no matter how you interpret the timing of all this, the Millennium clearly reveals three things. And these are things we need to know if we want to stand firm in our faith.

First: The Defeat of Satan. I think sometimes, we make the mistake of thinking that God and Satan are basically equal powers. But it’s not even close. The only eternal being in the universe is God—he’s the uncreated Creator. Satan, on the other hand, is a created being. He was created by God, along with all the other angels. And everything God creates is good—so Satan started out good! But then something happened. Look at Revelation 12, verse 9: The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Jesus talked about this same event in Luke 10:18—he said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” So at some point, before the creation of humankind, Satan rebelled against God, and he was cast out of heaven.

And then look what it says three verses later—in Revelation 12:12…

Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.

Satan knows his time is short! And in Revelation 20, he gets one last chance to cause havoc—after being chained up for a thousand years, God lets him out of the abyss to deceive the nations one last time. So he gathers people from all around the world to come and make war on Jesus and his followers. But as soon as he gets close to God’s people, what happens? Fire comes from heaven and destroys him, and he’s thrown into the lake of fire for eternity.

In other words—here’s the point: Satan is a defeated enemy. He’s lost the war, and he knows it. He’s a defeated enemy.

And sometimes, I think we forget that. We give Satan far too much credit. We see the world getting darker; we see opposition to Christ and his church getting stronger, and we say, “Oh man, Satan’s winning.” I promise you, Satan’s not winning. He knows his time is short, so he’s thrashing around, filled with fury, trying to drag down as many people with him as he can.

I’m going to guess there are some ways he’s trying to drag you down. He’s tempting you with anger or envy or doubt—or maybe he’s controlling you through that stupid habit of overeating or overdrinking or porn or pain pills or vaping. And you feel like he’s just got you in his claws. But I have to tell you, if you belong to Jesus Christ, you no longer belong to Satan. He’s been defeated; he no longer owns you. So don’t give him more credit than he deserves.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones, the great Scottish preacher, illustrated this by talking about the freed slaves in America after the Civil War. He said,

There were many thousands of people who had been brought up as slaves and lived as slaves. But slavery was abolished. However, the former slaves had to learn how to reckon themselves to no longer be slaves. The old masters continued to act like masters, though they could no longer legally exercise that authority. Though they could still be cruel and violent, they no longer had the law or the federal government behind them, so if they were resisted they could not prevail. The former slaves also had to fight the tendency of all human beings to act according to habits and customs and practices which had long been engrained. The way to get rid of the evil is to tell yourself what is true: you are no longer a slave; you are free! The masters keep saying, “I own you!” But you have to turn to the masters and say, “You don’t own me, and I don’t even own myself! Praise the King, He owns me.”

Don’t give Satan too much credit. We should respect his power—he’s a real, spiritual being, and he does real damage. But he’s no match for the power of God. He was thrown out of heaven; he was defeated at the cross; and one day he’ll be destroyed completely. So stand firm in your faith. You have a far greater power on your side.

Okay—here’s the second thing we learn from the Millennium: The Depth of Sin. The depth of sin. Think about this: if the premillennial view is correct, like I think it is, then during these thousand years, Jesus himself will be physically present in this world. I mean, that in itself is just a mind-blowing thought! Jesus will be here—ruling over New York and Chicago and Cairo and Paris! Not only that, but the nations will get along with each other—can you imagine that? The environment will be restored to health—no more smog over Los Angeles; no more plastic in the Pacific Ocean. Not only that, but Satan will be chained and taken out of the picture, so it’ll feel like the oppressive darkness has just lifted! This will be an incredible period of history, living under the leadership of the only perfect King who’s ever ruled.

And yet, in the midst of those near-perfect conditions, one thing will still remain. You know what it is? Sin. Human beings will still have the capacity to sin. So there will be some people, or maybe many people, who—even though they’re outwardly submitting to the rule of Jesus—inside, they’re restless and prideful and looking for the chance to rebel. So when the opportunity finally comes, at the end of the thousand years, when Satan comes out of that pit, and he says, “Why don’t you come and follow me?” just like that, countless people will follow Satan and rebel against Jesus. It’s really scary, isn’t it?

Sin runs really deep in the human heart. And I could preach entire sermons on this, but let me just make this point: earlier I said, “Don’t overestimate the power of Satan.” But here’s what I’m saying now: “Don’t underestimate the power of sin.” It’s good to have a healthy realization of the sin in your heart. Because if you don’t, you will become proud and self-righteous. You’ll become an expert in seeing the faults of others, but you’ll be blind to your own faults. And that’s not good for anyone.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn spent eleven years in a Soviet prison camp for no good reason. It would have been so easy for him to look at the Soviet leaders, and say, “Those are the evil people! I’m the good

guy!” But look what he wrote: "If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” That’s an amazing thing to say, isn’t it? From a guy sitting in a prison camp? But he’s exactly right.

It's so healthy for us to be aware of our own sin. In fact, let me give you a quick 3-question quiz to see if you’re in touch with your own sin. Three little diagnostic tests—here we go…

Number one: Do I confess my sins to God regularly? Not just in general, but do you confess specific places where you’ve fallen, and ask for God’s forgiveness?

Number two: When was the last time I asked for someone’s forgiveness? Think about that. I had an opportunity to apologize just a few days ago, and I’m telling you, part of me was looking for excuses, and looking to shift blame. But by God’s grace, I just said, “I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have done that.” It was so healing. When was the last time you just apologized?

And then third: Do my social media posts (or, if you don’t use social media, your speech)—does it come off as mocking and smug? In other words, you’re great at noticing other people’s faults, and calling them out, but you’re blind to your own?

Here’s the point: When I say, “The world is getting darker, so stand firm in your faith,” I don’t mean, “Be proud and self-righteous.” I don’t mean you look at the world, and say, “Oh, you terrible people. Thank God I’m not like you!” You look at your own heart, and you say, “Man, I’m just as messed up and guilty as anyone else! And my only hope is the grace of God.”

So…don’t overestimate Satan; don’t underestimate sin. And then here’s the last thing we see in the Millennium that’s just crystal clear: The Certainty of Judgment. I’m going to re-read verses 11-15, and I want to invite you to feel the weight of this passage…

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

I’m going to be very transparent with you: this is a difficult thing to read. I believe deeply in the truth of this book, so I believe in final judgment and hell. But I struggle with it more than I struggle with any other part of our faith. I have lost loved ones, and I’ve stood over their coffins, and sometimes I’ve spoken at their funerals, not knowing where they went. You talk about emotional agony? Now, some of you might think, “Well I believe in Jesus, but I don’t buy this concept of hell.” But you really can’t do that. I mean you can, but you’re making up your own Jesus. Jesus taught about hell all the time, using language very similar to this.

C.S. Lewis wrote this about hell: “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, especially, of our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason.” And that’s exactly how I feel.

This is one of those places we need to remind ourselves of Isaiah 55:8-9…

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We also need to remember that God is a God of perfect justice. Like it says in Genesis 18, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” And he will. We can trust his judgment. So even if I don’t fully understand this, I have to realize I’m not God, and let God be God.

So it says everyone who’s ever lived stands before the throne of God, and these two kinds of books are opened. In some of the books, there’s a record of everything every person has ever done. That’s scary, isn’t it? And twice in the passage, it says everyone “will be judged according to what they have done.” Wow! So in one sense, that’s just going to prove we’re all guilty, right? All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. But in some of the books there will be evidence of something different. See, the Bible says we are saved by faith alone, but that faith always shows up in the way we live. And in some of those books, there will be unmistakable evidence of faith: kindness, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, willingness to suffer for Christ.

But the ultimate test—the ultimate criterion for judgment—is found in that other book: the Lamb’s Book of Life. It says anyone whose name is not found in that book will be thrown into the lake of fire. But the opposite is also true: anyone whose name is found in that book will be welcomed into the New Heavens and the New Earth, which we’re going to talk about next week, and I can’t wait to explore that and just dream about that together.

So why is that one book so decisive? Back in Revelation 13:8, it gives a fuller title for the book. You know what it’s called? The Book of Life of the Lamb who was Slain. The Book of Life of the Lamb who was Slain. See, I don’t care who you are—those other books with everything you’ve ever done written in them—they’re going to have some bad stuff! I know mine will! So if God is truly fair and just, why won’t he make me pay for all those things I’ve done? Because of the Lamb who was Slain. At the cross, my sins were already paid for. My Savior suffered on my behalf—in my place. So I can approach day of judgment with confidence—not because I’m good enough—I’m so not! But simply because I’m trusting in the Lamb who was slain. I hope you are too.

“It ain’t the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that bother me; it’s the parts I do understand.” And here’s what I understand from Revelation 20:

-Satan is a defeated enemy, so don’t let him own you.

-Human sin runs deep, so be humble.

-And judgment day is certain, so be ready. And the only way to truly be ready is to put your full confidence in Jesus Christ.