Chapter 13 The Millennium

“They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Rev 20:14b ESV

Revelation 20 contains the principal verses that suggest there will be a period of a thousand years when the saints will reign with Jesus after his return to Earth.

“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Rev 20:4-6 ESV

Although these verses describe a period of a thousand years, they may just be indicating a long period. Whether we interpret the length of time literally or figuratively, it appears clear that during this period those who truly followed Jesus in their mortal lives will be resurrected and will reign with him.

In Emerging from the Rubble we describe the experiences of four ‘saints’ who are raised at the start of this period. One is Thomas, the disciple of Jesus who initially doubted his resurrection but subsequently is thought to have travelled to India and was martyred there. The other three are fictitious characters who are similarly depicted as having been martyred for their faith. Revelation 20:6 describes those who are raised at this time as ‘priests of God and of Christ’ and Matthew 24:47 as ‘masters over all that Jesus possesses’; we think of them as Jesus’ helpers and describe how they are sent to live alongside some of the survivors of the calamity to help them and show them the way of agape love.

The characteristics of the millennium are not described clearly in the gospels or the New Testament letters. As we have seen, Revelation provides us with some insights but most of the information about this period comes from the Old Testament prophets, especially Isaiah and Zechariah. It is often difficult to determine if a prophecy is referring to an event within the historical timeframe of the author, the millennium, the new earth or more than one of these, so we would encourage you to read these books and decide for yourself. If you are interested, we have included our thoughts on how the OT books describe the characteristics of the millennium in articles on our website.

What is the role of those resurrected at this time?

After Jesus’ return he will teach his followers how to consistently demonstrate agape love. We believe that he will place them in the groups that survive the calamity where they will learn about their new bodies – how they recover from injury, do not age and enjoy strong mental faculties. They will also learn patience and how to show forgiveness and mercy in all circumstances. These people are already sincere followers of Jesus who have proven their trustworthiness in this current age.

Below are some of the verses in the Bible that can be interpreted as foretelling the teaching role that Jesus and his followers will carry out in this period. These verses need to be studied in their context; as always with prophecies, their accuracy will only be determined once the appropriate period has arrived.

“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Isaiah 2:2-3 ESV

“And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.” Isaiah 22:22 ESV

“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention.” Isaiah 32:1-3 ESV

In Emerging from the Rubble we describe how Thomas and the other saints are able to travel large distances to receive guidance from Jesus and rest from their mission. They make these journeys by means of teleportation. After his resurrection, Jesus is described in the Bible as being able to travel great distances and even to walk through walls without difficulty (Acts 8:39, John 20:19); we felt this gave us permission to imagine new dimensions of physical embodiment. This is not a major aspect in our understanding of the logic of love and is not mentioned in Hope for Everyone, but it is quite fun to think about.

Our vision of the millennium provides the setting for Emerging from the Rubble, where those who have survived the calamity are forced to eke out a living without the benefit of modern facilities. Once they have scavenged all they can from stores and warehouses, they have to grow their own crops to survive. The different groups of survivors fight over the scarce resources available but, with the influence and example of the saints, have the potential to learn to live in peace with each other.

The episode in Emerging from the Rubble in which Yan is kicked by Owl indicates how immortal bodies might recover from attack or injury. We take the resurrection of Jesus as our guide and assume that, however severe the injury, immortal bodies require a maximum of three days to recover.

In the millennium period, we suggest that the Earth returns to an environment similar to that which existed before the flood, when people lived much longer, some for almost a thousand years (Gen 5:27). We assume that people with mortal bodies will have a very long lifespan unless something out of the ordinary occurs. In our narrative, Owl takes his own life on his one hundredth birthday, an age at which he would have been considered still young based on our understanding of Isaiah 65:20.

The millennium will come to an end with the destruction of the Earth (Isaiah 51:6, 2 Peter 3:7,10). Rev 20:8-9a indicates that a battle will take place at the end of the millennium; this might be caused by people turning against Jesus because they do not trust him to save them as the destruction of the Earth draws near.

Rev 20:9b and Rev 21:1 suggest that the Earth will be consumed by fire. Yvonne, one of the saints alive at this time, looks back and describes her experience in Hope for Everyone (the chapter entitled Johan: Questions and Revelations). The new earth that replaces our current world is the setting for this second book.

We accept that other, less literal explanations are possible in understanding these texts about the millennium. As with all our suggestions, we are not trying to convince anyone that our understanding is correct or in any way the ‘best’, but rather we seek to demonstrate how such prophecies could work out in practice within the logic of love.