The Day Of The Lord – End Of The Millennium

After a time of one thousand years with Jesus ruling on Earth The Bible tells us Satan will be loosed from his prison and make war with Jesus and the saints.

Remember, in the last unit we showed that there were people still on Earth that didn’t live in Jerusalem and were not of the saints. These people will see Jesus rule from Jerusalem, but since Jesus comes back in bodily form they may just see Him as a normal man that they can defeat.

So Satan gathers all of them together. They have had a thousand years to have children and increase their numbers. But also remember that the life expectancy has also increased so there are more people being born than die. The result is a mass amount of people deceived by Satan into thinking they can defeat Jesus.

So they all surround Jerusalem at this time, towards the end of the thousand years. But before they even have a chance to charge the city they are burned with fire cast from God Himself out of Heaven.

The Great Reveal

It is here and now at the end of the thousand year reign of Jesus that God rips open the veil of heaven between Him and the earth. This causes the earth to be moved and all of the universe with it. All of the stars move, galaxies move, everything in creation is quite literally blown away at the presence of God Almighty who is no longer hidden behind the black veil of darkness.

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.

Before I give a few other verses I want you to take note of the last verse here. It tells us that God Himself is a consuming fire. So note that this consuming fire has stepped into the universe without hiding His glory. When God came to Moses He only showed Him a portion and the face of Moses became so bright the people couldn’t look at Him.

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.

Remember that in Hebrews 12 it tells us that God would only do this ONCE. It also tells us that this ONE time will be the time when nothing will remain except for that which can not be removed. And only one thing can never be destroyed… that which is spiritual.

Again, see in Revelation 20:7-9 that this event is said to take place AFTER the 1,000 years. It can not, therefore, happen at the return of Jesus at the beginning of the millennial reign.

What Is the Day of the Lord

BUT WAIT! Peter tells us the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. It tells us that this happens at the day of the Lord. This is clearly at the return of Jesus.

These are just a few verses that tell us the return of Jesus will come as a thief in the night. It’s very clear that the day of the Lord is the same day spoken of as the return of Jesus. So how can the heavens and earth be burned with fire ONCE if it is burned TWICE? Once at the return of Jesus and again at the end of 1,000 years?

Peter gives us a HUGE clue here! Many people see this as a simple verse telling us that God isn’t worried about how long things take. Since the day and 1,000 years cancel each other out it seems like there would be no further meaning to it.

BUT, I want you to note that this verse is all about the return of Jesus AND the dissolving of heaven and earth. Peter is letting us know that the day of the Lord in scripture includes the ENTIRE 1,000 year period. The comparison to 1,000 years isn’t on accident. He could have said it was the same as 10,000 years. But he didn’t. He said 1,000 years because he was speaking of THAT DAY OF THE LORD.

In Isaiah it speaks of the day of the Lord’s vengeance and tells us that there is a year of recompenses in that day. In Revelation 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 fulfill.

Considering the context the word “day” is used in is the important thing here. In Genesis chapter 1 the word day refers to a standard day. That’s the context in that chapter. In 2 Peter the context tells us that the day can be both a standard day AND it can be a period of 1,000 years. Thus the context here tells us 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.

This is VITAL to understand the details of end time prophecy! This is how we can understand how the scripture can say the heavens and earth will be burned with fire ONCE. Because the day of the Lord BEGINS with the return of Jesus and doesn’t end until 1,000 years later. Thus we see how the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, last 1,000 years, and end with the heavens and earth being burned with fire.

The Final Judgment

It is at this time that the devil and hell itself is cast into the lake of fire. I personally believe this lake of fire is created during this time. I see it as the melted universe burned by the wrath of God. But that’s just my theory on that.

It is also at this time that God creates a new heaven and new earth. We see the new Jerusalem spoken of in Revelation now being the eternal home of the saints with God Himself living in the midst of it.

So now we have covered a brief overview of end time events. So far in this unit we have seen the resurrection of the saints, the 1,000 year reign of Jesus, and the new Jerusalem that will last forever.

But you have probably noticed a few details have been left out. What about the tribulation? When and how does Jesus return? Is there a rapture? What about the Antichrist?

This was on purpose. It was important for us to understand the overview before going into detail. You now know enough to explain the end result of the end times prophecies. Unit 6B will cover the details we have not yet examined.

Continue To Unit 6B – Coming Soon OR

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

May 31, 2020 at 9:29 pm | | No comment

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