What Is the Millennium For?

It started with doubt. You can read it on the first pages of the Bible: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1) When Eve said yes, the serpent twisted the truth suggesting that God was keeping something wonderful from Adam and Eve. The lie succeeded, Adam and Eve lost paradise, and sin continues to tear our world apart. We fell for the deception.

You see, the whole story of human sin on this planet started with mistrust. Satan planted doubt about God’s righteousness and love. Ever since, people have used the mess we produce as evidence that God is cruel, unjust, selfish, judgmental, selective, and demanding. But that is not how God is. God is love (1 John 4:8-16). Jesus is proof. In Jesus we see how God really is (John 14:9-11), and we get every reason to trust God.

The Bible tells us that Satan’s rebellion against God began in heaven. A third of the angels followed him (Rev. 12:4-9). Doubt spread among them too, even before us. The rebellious angels have been cast out of God’s presence, and the faithful ones carefully observe what’s happening in our world. God lets the heavenly beings judge whether “all his ways are justice” (Deut. 32:4). While human history still takes its course, books are opened and the court is seated (Dan. 7:9-10). The heavenly beings are given opportunity to see all decisions of God prior to the Second Coming. All questions can be answered, and every trace of a doubt will vanish before Jesus returns and all believers “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

For a thousand years (a millennium) after Jesus’ return, God will give each of us the same opportunity to verify His judgments (Rev. 20:4-6). We’ll be able to learn why each person was saved or lost. God will make Himself transparent to us too. We’ll get all the time we need to make sure that there is no reason to doubt God. God will be vindicated. Because, remember—it all started with doubt.