Many may ask what is the Millennium in the Bible, and this is because they have heard conflicting theories and interpretations. That the Millennium is a 1000 years already happened in the past, an age of the church. That Jesus won’t return until after the 100 years pass. Or confusing theological terms like Amillennialism, Dispensational Premillennialism, and Post- or Pre-millennialism.
But which interpretation is correct?
The only way to know? Study what the Bible says yourself. Take no man’s word for yourself.
These verses are about what the 1000-year millennium prophecied based on a chain of verses that are referenced in a specific order to help give clarity and context.* It has very minimal commentary so that you can do your own self-reflection and discovery of the verses. Many times the Bible explains itself if you just know where to look.
With each group of verses, there are probing questions to help you consider what is being said. Each verse in the study is linked to an online Bible, should you want to check the context of the verses around it. Also, allowing verification of what scripture says, as well as purity of a study based only on the Bible.
What great event will take place at the second coming of Christ?
- 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (KJV) — “15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 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: 17 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.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 (KJV) — “51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
Where will the redeemed ones go with Jesus?
- John 14:1-3 (KJV) — “1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 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. 3 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.”
- John 17:24 (KJV) — “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.“
- Revelation 7:9 (KJV) — “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;”
- Revelation 7:14-15 (KJV) — “14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.”
How long will they remain in heaven?
- Revelation 20:6 (KJV) — “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.”
“The word ‘millennium’ is from two Latin words, mille, meaning a thousand, and annus, a year — a thousand years. It occurs in but three places in the Bible, — Psalms 90:4, 2 Peter 3;8, and Revelation 20:2-7. In none of these instances does it refer to a time of great spiritual revival, peace, and prosperity.”
What will they do while there?
- Revelation 20:4 (KJV) — “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.”
Whose cases will they judge?
- 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 (KJV) — “2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?”
Where will all the wicked be during the thousand years?
- 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8 (KJV) — “7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:8 (KJV) — “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:”
- Revelation 20:5 (KJV) — “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”
What will be the earth’s condition?
- Revelation 6:14-17 (KJV) — “14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
- Isaiah 24:1 (KJV) — “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.”
- Isaiah 24:3 (KJV) — “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.”
- Isaiah 24:19-20 (KJV) — “19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. 20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.”
- Jeremiah 4:23-26 (KJV) — “23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. 25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 26 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.”
Where will Satan be during this same period?
- Revelation 20:1-3 (KJV) — “1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 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.”
“Satan is to be bound by a chain of circumstances. Now he is free to tempt all who are on earth. He leads his deluded subjects to follow his devisings. But the time is nearing when he will be ‘bound.’ The wicked will all be dead, and the righteous will be in the city of god. There will be naught for him to do but meditate upon the ruin he has wrought during the six thousand years of earth’s history.”
When will he be loosed for a little season?
- Revelation 20:2-3 (KJV) — “2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 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.”
What event “looses” him?
- Revelation 20:5 (KJV) — “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”
- Revelation 20:7 (KJV) — “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,”
- John 5:28-29 (KJV) — “28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
What will he immediately do?
- Revelation 20:8 (KJV) — “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.”
Against whom will they make war?
- Revelation 20:9, first part (KJV) — “And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city:”
How will the saints and the New Jerusalem reach the earth?
- Revelation 21:10 (KJV) — “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,”
What place is prepared for the city?
- Zechariah 14:3-5 (KJV) — “3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.”
What follows Satan’s warfare against the saints and the city?
- Revelation 20:9, last part (KJV) — “and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”
What is the grand climax of God’s gospel plan?
- 2 Peter 3:9-13 (KJV) —
“9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 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.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 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?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” - Revelation 21:1-7 (KJV) —
“1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
This study guide was based on Reading No. 5, pages 90-91 from How to Give Bible Readings, Brief Bible Readings for Busy People,
prepared by the Home Missionary Department
of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Review and Herald Publishing. Published originally in 1930.
View the original study guide, which this guide is based on, as a scanned PDF. Full credit to them.
*A Bible chain reference is a system of cross-referencing between different passages or verses of the Bible to connect and relate different concepts, themes, or topics mentioned in different parts of the Bible. It helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the message and meaning of the text. To use it, readers start with a particular topic or theme and then look up the corresponding list of verses, paying attention to the connections and relationships between them. Studying them in a particular order, helps one understand the topic from beginning to end. Just like peeling the layers off of an onion. It’s a useful tool for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of the Bible and its teachings.
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Home Missionary Department
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