The Day Of The Lord – End Of The Millennium

In our last few studies, we have talked about the second coming of Jesus. We have also talked about a period of one thousand years in which He will rule on earth. But if you have been paying attention in our studies, there is something that hasn’t happened yet: the final judgment.

Last we knew, Satan was bound while Jesus reigned on earth. But at the end of a thousand years, with Jesus literally ruling on earth, the Bible tells us Satan will be set free.

Choice in a Perfect World

You may be thinking, “Why on earth would God do that?!” I don’t blame you if you do. The last time he was loose, he did a lot of damage. But God has a plan for everything. That includes a reason for letting him out. That reason goes all the way back to the garden of Eden.

When God first created man, He created him perfect.

Adam was not created evil. His heart was not corrupt. He lived in a perfect world, with perfect provision and direct fellowship with God. There was nothing wrong with creation.

That tree was there because love requires choice. Obedience that has no alternative is not obedience at all. Respect without the ability to disrespect is just programming. God was giving them free will, so they could choose to love.

The fall did not happen because the world was bad. It happened because a choice between obedience and disobedience means there is a possibility of choosing disobedience. The moment we were given free will, it became only a matter of time before someone chose disobedience.

When people accuse God of creating a world that He knew would fall, they are really cursing Him for creating them with freedom to love while knowing their choice would be sin. They are shifting blame. But if you want a world filled with love, it’s the only way to make that happen.

Despite those who claim God should be able to violate wisdom and logic to create a stone so heavy even He cannot lift it, God does not operate that way. Many people think of God as magic. They think He used magic to create the world. But the Bible says God used His wisdom and understanding to do it—not magic. Order is more important to God than the ability to create chaos.

So since He desired a universe filled with love, He knew there had to be not only the possibility for hate, but the certainty of it.

Letting Satan loose will show people once again that even in a world filled with righteous peace and the rule of someone perfect, there will be those who choose to rebel simply because they can.

Just like Adam and Eve were not forced to sin, the people at the end of the Millennium will not be forced to rebel. They will choose to.

And when they choose rebellion in a perfect world under perfect rule with Jesus physically present, it proves something forever:

• Sin is not just the result of suffering.
• Sin is not just the result of bad governments.
• Sin is not just the result of Satan’s pressure.

The final release of Satan proves that the core issue of sin was never the devil alone. It was always having free will that made us unstable (not imperfect, just fragile). There was no way to take choice from us and expect us to choose love at the same time.

This final demonstration stops every excuse for the sin of people. It places the blame back on the individual making the choice, not on the One who gave them the choice.

After the Millennium, no one will ever be able to say:

• “I would have believed if the world was different.”
• “I would have followed God if Satan wasn’t so powerful.”
• “I would have obeyed if God ruled directly.”

Because at that point, God will have ruled directly. Satan will have been removed completely. And the only reason they will have had to sin is their own choice to be evil. God is clear of all charges of forcing people to be the way they choose to be.

Eden showed free will in a perfect world before sin. The Millennium will show free will in a perfect world after sin. But eternity will be different from both. It will be a world where sin has been judged, removed, and forever rejected. God will not remove choice, but the hearts of His people will be so fully settled in truth that rebellion will never rise again.

The Final Battle Between Good And Evil

The Bible goes on to tell us exactly what Satan will do when he is released.

Sin is not just a problem of environment or government. It is a choice to love something else more than God. And if you get right down to the bottom of it, sin starts with pride, which is love of self.

That is what happened to Satan in the beginning. He loved himself more than God. He said, “I will be like the most high,” and he chose his own glory over God’s glory.

When you love yourself more than the truth, you will do some nasty things. You will lose all control of your senses. If the truth is up, then you look down. Good becomes evil, and evil becomes good. Because your moral compass points to you, not true north—which is God.

So when those who entered the new millennium without new life and new bodies hear Satan speak, they and their children will have an opportunity to make their choice known. If they never came to love God more than themselves, their moral compass will not guide them, and deception will rule over them.

Satan will fool them into thinking they can overcome God and take control themselves. So they will gather themselves and prepare for war.

This army, led by Satan himself, will surround Jerusalem, where Jesus is ruling. But no one in that city will be trembling.

There is no long war. There is no struggle. There isn’t even a hint of conflict within the city. God Himself simply brings the rebellion to its final end. In the snap of a finger, these people who thought they could shake their fist at God are consumed in flame.

I’ve heard many people say they will stand up to God on judgment day and shake their fist at Him. They say they will judge and accuse Him. Some even say they will fight Him. This is their end.

They don’t get to have any impact on God or His people. They don’t get to feel vindicated. They don’t provide a challenge at all. They are simply consumed by fire in the presence of God and His people.

This is the event God spoke of when He promised that He would never again flood the earth with water but would destroy it with fire.

God Himself is the consuming fire. God has stepped into the universe without hiding His glory.

Again, we find in these verses that the heavens will pass away and everything will be burned up. This event happens after the 1,000-year reign of Jesus when the wicked gather against the city.

This does not happen at the return of Jesus at the beginning of the millennial reign. It happens after it. So you may be wondering why Peter says it happens when the Lord comes as a thief in the night. It sounds like His second coming.

Look at the verses before it, though:

This isn’t Peter telling us time doesn’t matter to God. The passage is about both the return of Jesus and the entire thousand-year rule of Him. It is all considered the day of the Lord.

In Isaiah, it speaks of the day of the Lord’s vengeance and tells us that this day is also a year of recompenses. In Revelation 6, it tells us the day of His wrath has come, but reading on in Revelation, we see this day of wrath stretched out over time as the judgments of God take time to be poured out.

The context of what Peter is talking about lets us know he is saying the day of the Lord begins at the return of Jesus and ends at the end of 1,000 years when God unleashes the final judgment. So it comes as a thief in the night at His return and ends with the heavens and earth burning in fire at the end of His rule.

The End

After this final judgment, sin is dealt with forever. Death itself is destroyed. Hell itself is cast into the lake of fire. All judgment is completed. Only the Lord and His saints remain.

God creates a new heaven and earth. The reign of Jesus continues forever. There is no sin, no death, no suffering ever again. There is only eternal life with God and joy forever.

Come, Lord Jesus!

This unit has been an overview of the end. But there are a lot of details between now and then. Our next unit will go into depth on the timeline of events that are soon to take place.

Unit 6 Complete. Return To Course Home To Begin Unit 7 – The Latter Days – A Detailed Look OR

Return To Christianity 101 Unit 6 – The Resurrection & the Big Picture