THE 1000 YEAR MILLENNIUM - THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST - ON EARTH OR IN HEAVEN?

The mainstream teaching on the 1000 year millennium teaches that we will reign with Christ on earth during the 1000 years with the world still continuing, sinners still living, being born and dying etc, but Jesus will rule the nations and there will be peace over the earth. There are different variations of this teaching, but this seems to be the main teaching that people believe. Now who do you think wants the world to believe that a time of 'peace and safety' is coming upon the earth, with the "CHURCH" REIGNING over the world? The Roman Catholic Church and her apostate daughter churches. But what does the Bible say?

"For when they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

Sudden destruction - yes, and make note of those words, sudden destruction is coming to all those who are deceived by the 'peace' plans of the Roman Catholic Church and her apostate daughter churches. Now there is one very big problem with this teaching. Let us look first at what the Bible says is going to happen to this world and those who do not obey the gospel of Christ to lay the foundation for the truth.

The 7 Last Plagues: - Before the second coming of Christ and before the beginning of the 1000 year millennium, we are told in Revelation 16 that the 7 last plagues are going to be poured out upon the world:

Revelation 16:1-21 ...'And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image ... the second poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea ... the third poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood ... the fourth poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire ... the fifth poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain ... the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared ... to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty ... the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air ... And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great ... And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.'

So we have sores upon those who worship the beast, his image and receive the mark. We have all the waters turning to blood and all creatures dead in the waters. We have the sun scorching man and land with great heat like never before, which will cause fires all over the world. We have the gathering to the great battle of Armageddon. We have an earthquake like has never been witnessed before which moves mountains out of their places and huge hailstones that wreck absolute devastation. So even before Jesus returns, the world is going to experience great destruction and suffering upon the wicked, with no more fresh water to drink to stay alive. Now let us look at the second coming of Christ:

2 Peter 3:10,12 ...'But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up ... Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?'

Luke 17:26-30 ...'And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all ... Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.'

Revelation 19:11-21 ...'And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war ... And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses ... And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God ... And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.'

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 ...'And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.'

Does any of this paint a picture of Jesus bringing in a time of peace on earth, with sinners continuing to live? No. Not only will the plagues bring massive destruction to the world, Jesus' return finishes it off, by destroying the world and laying it waste. And did you notice that ALL sinners who obey not the gospel of Christ are destroyed. Luke 17 and Revelation 19 above clearly confirm that all who are not saved when Jesus returns are destroyed. Those who are deceived by this 'peace and safety' message will find themselves right in the middle of 'sudden destruction.' How anyone can read the above and believe the world is going to carry on as normal but in peace, is beyond me. There are even Old Testament prophecies showing the condition of the earth after Jesus returns:

Isaiah 24:1,3 ...'Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof ... The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.'

Jeremiah 4:23-26 ...'I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.'

Zephaniah 1:2-3 ...'I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.'

What does the 'presence of the LORD' bring to wicked unrepentant man, those who obey not the gospel and this sin laden earth? Destruction. Our God is an 'all consuming fire' (Hebrews 12:29). And when Jesus returns, as you can see above, all the wicked are going to be destroyed and this world is going to be 'laid waste.' Yes, there will be 'peace' on earth after Jesus returns, but not in the way mainstream churches believe. The earth will experience peace, because everything and every sinner will be destroyed, and the earth laid waste. There will be no sinners continuing to live to 'reign over.' They will all be destroyed, with the land and cities consumed.

We have an Old Testament type which also helps us to understand the 1000 year millennium. God set up a 7 day weekly cycle from the beginning, with 6 days for work and the 7th day as a Sabbath of rest, where no work was to be done. The 6 days matching 6000 years of 'working' the earth (a day with the Lord is as a thousand years) and then the 7th day Sabbath rest matching the 1000 year millennium, in which the earth would have it's rest. This is also shown in the type given to Israel regarding the land. Look at the following Bible verse:

Leviticus 25:4 .....'But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.'

In His parable in Matthew 13, Jesus told us that the field is the WORLD. So the 6 years working the land would represent the 6000 years of working the earth. Then the 7th year Sabbath rest for the land would represent the 7000th year which is a 1000 year Sabbath rest for the earth. But did you notice that the land was NOT to be sowed or pruned during the 7th year Sabbath? This matches the fact that during the 1000 year millennium the earth would NOT be sowed with the gospel, nor pruned for the kingdom, nor worked at all, because there is nothing to sow or prune during the 1000 year millennium, as all the wicked are destroyed by Christ's coming and the earth made desolate as you have seen above. But if life continues as the mainstream teaching says, then the earth cannot receive its sabbath rest for the 1000 years.

The wheat and tares parable taught by Christ gives us a vital truth to understand regarding this. Not only does the wheat and tares parable PROVE the popular 'rapture' teaching to be false. It also shows this 1000 year millennium reign on earth teaching to be false. Jesus taught us through this parable in Matthew 13 that God's people (the wheat) and the wicked (the tares) grow together until the harvest. The harvest is the second coming of Christ for His church, according to Matthew 13 and is the 'end of the world.'

So if the harvest of the church is the 'end of the world', with the wicked destroyed and earth 'laid waste', then what is there to reign over? NOTHING! As the earth is receiving its sabbath REST.

So let us take a look at what REALLY happens during the 1000 year millennium. Let us go through the verses in Revelation 20 and compare them with other scripture to gain a true Biblical understanding of what is going to take place.

Revelation 20:1-3 ...'And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.'

So Satan is going to be bound for the 1000 years. But what is this 'binding' in the 'bottomless pit'? Satan isn't going to be literally bound in a pit, wrapped in chains where he can't move. There are many prophetic symbols in Revelation Bible prophecy, and the bottomless pit is one of those prophetic symbols. Let's take a look at the bottomless pit.

Revelation 11:7 ...'And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.'

Is this a literal beast that rises out of a pit to kill God's people? No! A beast in prophecy is a symbol of a nation/kingdom of this world, which we know from Daniel 7:23.

Daniel 7:23 ...'Thus he said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.'

So when it says that satan is 'cast into the bottomless pit' and 'bound in a pit', it basically means he is bound to the earth with no one to tempt or deceive. But why? Why has he got no one to tempt? Let us take a look further into Revelation 20.

Revelation 20:4-5 ...'And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.'

We see TWO groups of people here. One group LIVE and reign with Christ for the 1000 years. The other group is DEAD for the 1000 years. And we are told that this is the 'first resurrection.' We found out above that those who are killed at the second coming of Christ are the lost. So let us take a look at some other Bible verses to find out what happens at the 'first resurrection.'

Revelation 20:6 ...'Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.'

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ...'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.'

Matthew 24:30-31 ...'And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.'

Do you see what happens at the first resurrection, which is the return of Christ? This STARTS the 1000 year millennium period, and those TWO groups of people are the lost who are KILLED when Jesus returns and the saints who 'meet the Lord in the air.' But where do we saints go then? The earth is now desolate and is to receive its 'sabbath rest.' Let's take a look:

WHERE WILL THE SAINTS BE DURING THE 1000 YEARS?

John 13:33 ...'Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you ... Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.'

So where is Jesus speaking that He would go which the disciples could not follow Him at that time? Some say Jesus was speaking of His death. But if we continue into chapter 14, we will see Jesus explain:

John 14:1-4,12,28 ...'Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know ... I go unto my Father ... Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father.'

Remember, the chapter divisions were added by the translators, so we should read the end of John 13 and the beginning of John 14 together in context. And what do we learn about where Jesus was going? To His Father's house (New Jerusalem) in HEAVEN. Jesus confirms that the "whither I go" is to His Father in heaven, which the disciples could not follow straight away, but they could at a later time. When? Jesus confirms ... "if I go ... I will come again and receive you unto myself." First of all, Jesus did not say He would receive the disciples at death. No, He said He would receive them (and us) when He returns at the second coming. But look at what Jesus is clearly saying. That He was going to the Father, which the disciples could not follow straight away. But that they (and us) would follow Him when He returns. Follow Him where? To Israel? No. To the Father's house in heaven. Jesus didn't say that He would come back so that where we are (on earth) there He would be also. No. He said that He would return and receive us unto Himself, so that where He is (IN HEAVEN), there we would be also. This is the time (His return) that Jesus was pointing to when He told the disciples that they could go where He was going - to heaven!

So Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4 that we are 'caught up' to meet Christ in the air when He returns. And Jesus said in John 13-14 above that He WENT to His Father's house (IN HEAVEN) to prepare a place for us and that He would return to receive unto Himself, so that where He went, we could follow and be where He is - in heaven. Does this language sound like we remain on earth, or go to heaven with Christ for the 1000 years? Sounds very much to me like we go to heaven with Him. But look at the following types also:

The Israelites march around the city for 6 days and then 'ASCEND UP' INTO THE CITY on the 7th day - Joshua 6:2-5 ...'And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.'

Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain to be transfigured after six days - Mark 9:2 ...'And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.'

Do you see the types? After 6 days (6000 years), Jesus leads His people UP, not down. And these things above are done after 6 days because God is teaching us that after 6000 years, we will also 'ascend up to the city' - New Jerusalem city, which is in heaven and doesn't come down on earth until AFTER the 1000 year millennium, as Revelation chapters 20-21 points to.

So Satan is 'bound' ON EARTH and has no one to tempt, because there is NO MAN on earth during the 1000 years. The lost are dead and the saints are taken to heaven with Jesus. Satan is the one on earth during this time, NOT the saints or Christ. We do not come back to earth until AFTER the 1000 years when the lost are resurrected to receive their final judgment in the lake of fire and the earth is renewed by that fire.

Now did you notice in Revelation 20:4 that judgment is given to the saints and they sit on thrones during the 1000 years? Please mark this point well. Where are these thrones that the saints sit on to judge? In Daniel 7:9 we are told that 'thrones are set up and the Ancient of Days did sit.' Who is the Ancient of Days? It is God the Father. And where does He preside on His throne? IN HEAVEN (Psalm 11:4). This is a judgment scene IN HEAVEN. So where are the saints going to go to after they 'meet the Lord in the air' to judge? HEAVEN. This is where the judgment of the lost will take place and as the apostle Paul said ... "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" (1 Corinthians 6:3). So we will take part in the judgment of the lost and wicked angels, with God the Father presiding over the judgment. And this clearly takes place in heaven, NOT on earth.

Please understand that point. The apostle Paul said that when Christ returns, we 'meet Him in the air.' This is because Christ does NOT set foot on earth when He returns. Instead, we meet Him in the air and go to HEAVEN with Him for the 1000 years.

Revelation 20:7-8 ...'And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.'

What did Revelation 20:5 say about the lost? That they did not live again UNTIL the 1000 years had expired. And what does verse 7 above say? That when the 1000 years are expired, Satan is loosed out of his prison. So basic logic tells us that Satan being loosed out of his prison coincides with the lost being resurrected. This is how Satan is loosed from his prison when the 1000 years are ended. The wicked are resurrected and Satan can now gather them under his leadership again.

Revelation 20:9,14 ...'And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them ... This is the second death.'

After the 1000 years, we return with Christ and the holy city - new Jerusalem - descends to earth (Revelation 21:2). Satan deceives the resurrected wicked to attack and take the city. They surround the new Jerusalem to capture it, but then God intervenes and fire comes down from God, which devours the lost. Earth is renewed by those fires and the saints inhabit the new earth forever in peace, joy and righteousness. This is the true time of 'peace on earth' and the time of 'reigning' over the earth for the saints with Jesus. When all is done, the wicked, along with Satan are finally destroyed, the earth made new and we live forever in peace on the new earth.

Let's face it, why would we reign over a desolate earth? We will be reigning with Christ IN HEAVEN, in glory! Praise God! Do not be deceived by this movement of the fallen churches to bring about a reign of peace on earth, and accept Satan as Christ. The churches are allowing themselves to be ruled by antichrist, rather than the REAL Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Please do not be deceived. Please seek the truth!

The churches are so focused on literal Jerusalem on earth, when it is new Jerusalem IN HEAVEN we should be focused on ... "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." (Galatians 4:26)

John 14:1-3 ...'Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.'