END TIMES
UNFOLDING

The Thousand Years

This is mentioned by name in Rev. 20. There are probably many other references to this age; we do not have the information to differentiate it from the age after the resurrection.
Strangely, this period is controversial. Some say we are living in it now; others say it has already happened. What does the Bible say?

Rev 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the bottomless pit.

Furthermore, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, along with those who had not worshipped 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 for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection.

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.

People dispute whether this is going to happen or is about to happen. I cannot see how they can put forwards the argument that these 1000 years are not about to happen. These are not vague statements that have many interpretations. This is stated clearly for three different people.
Jesus reigns for 1000 years.
The saints are his priests for 1,000 years.
And Satan is imprisoned for 1000 years.

At the end of 1000 years, Gog and Magog rise with a vast army. You cannot get that stated more clearly, yet there are so many books talking about the rise of Gog and Magog at the end of this age. When you see books with this in them, ignore them. This view of Gog and Magog has to be in a close battle with the Pre Tribulation Rapture for the stupidest things we believe about the end of the age. One has no scriptures that clearly back it up, and the other has scriptures that clearly state when it is to happen. Or though one is just dumb, the other is malevolent.

 

The first resurrection

There are one hundred million who die during the tribulation, plus those who have died directly for Christ over the ages. They come back to life and have been priests for Christ for the last thousand years. The first resurrection. This must be a wonderful thing to experience. Do they spread out and repopulate the earth, or are they just priests in and around Israel? What is their relationship with those who survive the Day of the Lord? When the new heaven and new earth come down, and we get a new Jerusalem (the bride of Christ and not the church), God now lives with man. A statement saying this finally happens That brings into question what exactly this “ruling with an iron rod” will be. Jesus rules with an iron rod, and the saints come to life and reign with Christ. Yet, Christ is not on earth with men. There is information missing here for us to get a full understanding of this working relationship.