Ekkehardt Mueller
The millennium is a fascinating and intriguing topic. Not only are Christians interested in it; even non-Christians and secular people too— certainly for different reasons. There was quite some hype with the change from 1999 to 2000 when people were afraid of the “millennium bug,” which would supposedly infect and make older computers and similar devices useless. The millennium plays a role in several movies. Some Christian films depict their version of the millennium mentioned in Scripture, while secular movies often associate the millennium with catastrophic apocalyptic events and extraterrestrials influencing earth and its inhabitants.
The millennium also occurs frequently in names such as the “Millennium Health” laboratory for drug testing services, the cybersecurity firm “Millennium Corporation,” “Millennium Marketing Solutions,” the “Millennium Physician Group,” “Millennium Bank,” and the “Millennium Clothing” store. The cities Chicago, Illinois, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, have a “Millennium Park” each. There are also schools and other entities that have “millennium” as part of their name.
The noun “millennium” is based on Latin (mille/thousand and annus/year), meaning a period of one thousand years.
In the Bible, “millennium” does not occur by name, but a specific one-thousand-year period is mentioned (Greek: chilia etē). This period has been called the millennium. Explicitly, it appears only in Revelation 20. But there is confusion among Christians what the period means. Some understand it symbolically and claim that the millennium began with Jesus’ first coming and refers to His reign throughout the ages. Others believe that the millennium will begin before Jesus’ second coming but suggest that God’s kingdom on earth transitions into the millennium in our time. There will be a long period of peace on earth. Others accept literal one thousand years, but opinions differ again on how to understand it.
A large group believes that at the end of world history, a seven-year period of tribulation will begin, which is caused by the antichrist. Christ will return invisibly to His church and take His people away from earth in a secret rapture. Then salvation will come to the Jews. They will turn to Jesus and will evangelize the world. After the seven years, Jesus will return visibly with His church, and the millennium will begin in which the Jews will be restored to their original position. They will live in Palestine, and Jesus will sit on the literal throne of David and rule the world from Jerusalem.
However, Seventh-day Adventists believe that the millennium is a period of one thousand years, beginning with the Second Coming. The redeemed will then be with Jesus in heaven, while unbelievers will die and rest for a thousand years before the final verdict will be executed, and a new creation will be accomplished.
The purely eschatological part (end-time part) of Revelation begins with chapter 15 and ends with the new heaven and earth plus the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21–22. Chapter 15 introduces the seven last plagues. These plagues are described in Revelation 16 and are elaborated in Revelation 17–19.
The sixth plague has to do with the final battle of world history, the battle of Armageddon, a spiritual battle between Christ and the evil powers (Rev. 16:12-16). The Second Coming, which will end this battle, is described symbolically as the coming of the kings from the east (Rev. 16:12). Jesus’ coming is like a thief in the night for those who are unprepared and a blessing for those who stay awake (Rev. 16:15).
The seventh plague describes the outcome of this battle. Symbolic Babylon will be destroyed (Rev. 16:17-21). One of the angels bringing the seven plagues (Rev. 17:1) portrays the fall of Babylon as a harlot (Rev. 17) and as the great city (Rev. 18).
Revelation 19:1-9 points to the gratefulness of the believers for being liberated from oppressive Babylon and looks forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The second part of Revelation 19 portrays the outcome of the battle of Armageddon symbolically. It ends with the sea beast and the false prophet (land beast) thrown in a lake of fire and their supporters killed (Rev. 19:20-21). It is a symbolic description of the Second Coming with the destruction of God’s enemies and the final salvation of Christ’s followers. The millennium of Revelation 20 follows directly. With its end, the new creation will be established. That we have a chronological sequence with some repetition indeed becomes evident in Revelation 21:9. There, an angel bringing a plague begins to show John the New Jerusalem, the bride of the Lamb. That means the angels of the plagues encompass the entire end-time part of Revelation (Rev. 15–22). The plagues have a negative outcome for God’s opponents and a positive outcome for Christ’s followers.
So, the coming of the rider on the white horse with His army, without a doubt, is Jesus, and it describes the Second Advent (Rev. 19:11-19). It is followed by the millennium, and the millennium, in turn, is followed by the new creation.
Revelation 20 consists of a part that takes place at the beginning of and during the millennium (Rev. 20:1-6): Satan is bound, and one hears about the believers’ fate and the fate of the opponents of Jesus. The second major part explains what will happen at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20:7-15). But this second part consists of two parallel scenes from different yet complementary perspectives. Revelation 20:7-10 deals with the battle for Jerusalem and Satan’s final defeat. The parallel section in Revelation 20:11-15 depicts the final judgment. Both sections end with the lake of fire.
At the end of Revelation 19, the death of the unbelievers is described. At the beginning of Revelation 20, John deals with the question: What will happen to Satan? According to verses 1-3, an angel binds Satan with a chain so he could no longer deceive anyone. The “chain” is a symbolic chain of circumstances. From the hustle and bustle that he has created (Rev. 12:12), Satan is now forced into a place of silence and solitude. The earth is completely depopulated because the unbelievers are dead, and the believers are with God and Jesus in heaven (Rev. 19:21; 7:14-15 and 1 Thess. 4:15-17).
Revelation 20:4, 5b, and 6 focus on the true believers. They have experienced the first resurrection in conjunction with the Second Coming. But now they reign with Christ for one thousand years in heaven. They take part in the millennial judgment as a kind of jury (see also 1 Cor. 6:2-3). In the middle of the description of the saved, John takes a mental leap to the lost (Rev. 20:5a) and reports that they remain dead during the millennium. From verse 7 onward, one hears practically only about the lost and Satan and only in passing about God.
With Revelation 20:7, the second part of Revelation 20 begins, which consists of two subsections. These are intertwined and run more or less parallel. If this is recognized, the following picture emerges:
1. The lost are raised after the completion of the thousand years. This is the second resurrection. “At the first resurrection all came forth in immortal bloom; but at the second the marks of the curse are visible on all… . All behold the Son of man; and those very men who despised and mocked Him, who put the crown of thorns upon His sacred brow, and smote Him with the reed, behold Him in all His kingly majesty.”1
2. Satan can, therefore, seduce them again (Rev. 20:5a, 7,13a).
3. They attack the New Jerusalem, which has come down from heaven in the meantime (Rev. 21:2). Ellen G. White notes that “He [God] will preserve the New Jerusalem containing the faithful of all ages.”2
4. But suddenly, the unbelievers and Satan find themselves before the throne of God. They are judged and condemned (Rev. 20:11-13). Two books are decisive for judgment. One is the book of life; the other is the book containing a record of human deeds (Rev. 20:12). Those who are written in the book of life have already been entirely saved by faith through grace at the Second Coming. The believers are the jury, not the defendants (Rev. 20:4, 6; John 5:24). The others are judged by their works. “Not only are we held accountable for what we have done, but for what we have left undone.”3
5. Then, the execution of the verdict follows (Rev. 20:9b, 10, 14-15).
Will it still be possible to avoid eternal loss by repentance after the Second Resurrection?
God does not want anyone to perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9, NKJV). “All heaven is interested in our salvation.”4 But there is no indication that at this point, that is, directly after the second resurrection when the judgment is taking place (John 5:29), one can still change his or her mind, repent, and be saved. The point of no return (John 3:36; Rev. 22:11) has already been reached with Jesus’ second coming. Only those who committed their lives to Him and followed Him before the Parousia will be raised in the first resurrection or transformed. The others will die and must participate in the second resurrection, the resurrection to judgment (John 5:28-29). While they will acknowledge God’s goodness and justice, they will have already opted out of salvation.
Will there be eternal torment for those experiencing judgment after the millennium?
Revelation 20:10 talks about eternal torment for those who are lost. The term “eternal” has several meanings in Greek, (1) without beginning and without end when applied to God, (2) with beginning and without end when applied to the eternal life of those saved, and (3) with beginning and with an end, in the sense of “for a time” (see Jon. 2:7). The latter is the case here. The enemies of God and His people will not burn forever. Fire will consume them (Rev. 20:9), and their fate is the second death (Rev. 20:14). The time is not eternal, but the result is. God has no pleasure in eternal torment. God would be grossly unjust if He would punish people in a so-called hell for billions of years and even unendingly, who have only sinned for 70 or 80 years. Such a God would be evil and vindictive, and not a God of love, holiness, and justice.
Also, such a scenario would keep sin in sinners alive for eternity instead of bringing the evil of sin and its terrible effects to an absolute end. Furthermore, death would not be death, and the new earth would continuously have the counter-image of an ugly grimace, that is, the agony of all agonies forever. Again eternal torment of the evildoers would distort God’s character, prove Satan right with His accusations against God, and imply that those who praise God’s “true and righteous judgments” (Rev. 16:7; see also 15:3-4; 16:5) are outrageous liars.
Why is there a need for a millennial judgment?
The judgment is needed for various reasons and purposes:
• It is needed for humanity’s own sake and the establishment of God’s reign of justice and fairness everywhere. Those who were betrayed, persecuted, and unfairly condemned by earthly courts and are appealing to the highest court deserve to be heard and justified publicly (Rev. 6:9-11), even if the evil cannot be undone. These people need closure. Perpetrators, oppressors, mass murderers, deceivers, and others must be brought to the point that they understand the evil they have done (Rev. 21:8; 22:15). While people may escape judgment on earth, justice needs to be established in a moral universe. Simultaneously, people must recognize the goodness of God and His principles for living fulfilled lives. The judgment goes in two directions: justifying the innocent, and holding evildoers accountable for what they have done, propagated, or left undone (Rev 11:17-18).
• It is needed so that other intelligent creatures of God (e.g., angels) will understand God’s decisions. Scripture indicates that a fall in heaven has preceded the Fall in Eden (Rev. 12:3-4). As the serpent misrepresented God to Adam and Eve, Satan had also misrepresented God to heavenly beings. The open judgment with the participation of redeemed humans is supposed to answer all remaining questions about God’s love and justice and show that God’s way of solving problems was the only right approach.
• It is needed to vindicate God. God could have evaluated and judged without an extensive investigative process and could have done it in a split second. He is omniscient and does not make mistakes. But others need to see a true revelation of His character, which will be displayed in the millennial judgment. Now, all created beings can genuinely love and honor Him.
• It is needed to eradicate sin forever and create permanent harmony. God’s judgment deals with the sin problem and attempts to eradicate it once and for all. Downtrodden justice and transgressed and humanly-altered divine commandments must be reestablished in a moral universe. Divine grace must depend on a human response of repentance, while unrepentant offenders must be kept out of His kingdom to avoid a relapse into the anarchy of sin. A thousand-year judgment is necessary to deal with the deep-seated sin problem and the individual cases of sinners who have not been raised in the first resurrection.
Where is Jesus all this time?
The apocalypse is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Where is He in Revelation 20? In the first six verses, the “testimony of Jesus” and “the word of God” are mentioned (v. 4), referring primarily to the prophetic word of the Old and New Testament (and Revelation).
The redeemed will be “priests of God and Christ” and “reign with Him for a thousand years.” It is a fulfillment of the promise to the church in Laodicea. The overcomers will sit with Jesus on His throne (Rev. 3:21) because they have opened their door to Him, accepted His salvation, let Him rule their lives, and enjoyed fellowship with Him.
Next, we are wondering who the person on the great white throne is. “The One on the throne” in Revelation is consistently applied to God the Father. On the other hand, many texts in the New Testament affirm that Jesus is the judge, and all people need to appear before His judgment seat (see, e.g., John 5:22, 27; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Tim. 4:1). Revelation 3:21 affirms that Jesus sits with His Father on the Father’s throne. The Judge whom we find in Revelation 20:11 may be both God the Father and Christ. Jesus is Judge, and is also only the Lamb!
Finally, the book of life of Revelation 20:12, 15 surrounds the last passage of Revelation. It is the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 13:8), which guarantees our salvation as long as we are found in it. A glorious, indescribable new earth without sin, suffering, and death will be ours, where we will fellowship with our Lord and Savior. We need to see our Lord in Revelation 20!
The millennium is part of the plan of salvation. It is the event prior to the creation of the new earth. To hear about the millennium is good news for the redeemed (Ps. 135:14). Judgment is not a threat to them but indicates that God will bring final justice and destroy sin with all its evil consequences. We are saved through Jesus and are found in His book of life. It means that we are always dependent on Him and must let go of all false self-assurance and attempts to try to save ourselves. On the other hand, because He has saved us, we follow Him “wherever He goes (Rev. 14:4). It means that we will not only be judged in the millennium but will also be reigning with Him.
Still, the judgment reminds us that we are accountable to God. His law is valid, holy, and good. It will be the yardstick in judgment, as emphasized in many places in Revelation (e.g., Rev. 12:17; 14:12). However, the evil powers disregard God’s commandments through false worship by erecting an image that is venerated, blaspheming God, breaking the Sabbath, killing, deceiving people through falsehood, and many more vices.
In contrast, believers demonstrate their faith in Jesus and their love to God by being obedient. They take the will of God seriously and avoid playing games with God, such as enjoying sin and pretending to follow Him. They rejoice in God and pray today and every day, saying: “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
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1 Ellen G. White, Early Writings, 292.
2 Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, 3:87.
3 Ellen G. White, “Not as Men Pleasers,” Review and Herald, September 22, 1891.
4 Ellen G. White, “Let Him Take Hold of My Strength,” Review and Herald, September 16, 1890.