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Amazing Facts

The Millennium

Joe Crews

The Millennium Part 1

20 serious crimes are committed every 3 seconds in the United States, day in and day out.

Next year that incidence record will be even greatly increased if present trends continue.

But today we will learn of a time when no human being will commit a single crime or sin for 1, 000 years.

You say, I can't believe that will ever happen.

Well, friends, I don't speak these things to myself today.

The Bible says it with unerring accuracy concerning the future and concerning what lies ahead for this world.

Vainly, man has been looking for some golden age when there would be no violence and when perfect peace would prevail in this world.

The Bible, of course, speaks about a millennium in which Satan will be chained, and this has been the hope of millions of Christians.

But when does that thousand years of peace begin?

That is a subject we are going to talk about in our broadcast today and perhaps another day or 2 as well.

Satan will be bound and no human sin will be committed for this long period of time.

But let's lead into it now, friends, and discover 1 of the most fascinating truths contained in the entire Bible.

I know some people think that things will get better and better here in this world and that finally we will evolve into some grand utopian condition of peace.

I wish the doctrine of a temporal millennium was really true, but friends, it won't happen that way.

It certainly is not going in that direction now, is it?

People are not getting better and more holy and more righteous.

In fact, it will continue to be so according to 2 Timothy 3.13, that says, but evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Now let me say here first that I did not invent this doctrine, and if I did, you could just turn off your radio, it wouldn't be worth hearing, just my opinion.

But the Bible has some very certain things and some very authoritative things to say about the coming events of this world and how it will all end.

Jesus said, "...in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines and commandments of men." Now people have followed 1 another and what other men have taught.

Human speculations and theories have been accepted as truth.

Multitudes have depended too much upon men instead of finding the answer out of God's great book.

So we are going to study this thing from Genesis to Revelation and let God's Word speak, confirming and establishing every single point by a plain, Thus saith the Lord.

Now the word millennium is not even found at all in the Scriptures.

It comes from 2 Latin words, mele and anum.

Now we do read, of course, about this thousand year period and mostly in the book of Revelation chapter 20.

We find, in fact, that the Millennium Doctrine clusters very closely around the doctrine of the resurrection in the Bible.

In fact, we read of 2 general resurrections from the dead.

Jesus said in John 5, 28, 29, marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice, 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." Now friends, turn in your Bible to Revelation 20, verse 6, And you will read a description of that first resurrection.

"...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." Now notice something.

Only the good people will have any part in the first resurrection.

It says, Blessed and holy is he that hath part.

And it further tells us that they begin to reign with Christ at that very point, at the resurrection of the righteous dead.

This first resurrection is the beginning of the millennium.

And what about the rest of the dead, the wicked people who do not come up at that time?

If you will just go back to the fourth verse of Revelation 20, you will read almost the same thing that we have read in verse 6.

It speaks here of those who do not worship the beast, neither had his mark in their forehead or their hands, and it says, "...they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Now in Dr.

Moffat's translation we read it this way, they came to life and reigned with Him a thousand years.

We will read right on into the next verse, verse 5, and it says, But the rest of the dead live not again, until the thousand years were finished.

Now the rest of the dead, of course, had to be the wicked people, and they will not be resurrected at all until the end of the thousand years.

So right here we have things very well nailed down.

We have a thousand year period with a resurrection at the beginning of the good people and a resurrection of the wicked at the end of that thousand years.

Now when does that first resurrection take place which introduces the Millennium?

In 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 16 we read the answer, 1 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.

Now there you have the first resurrection again.

It is mentioned here when the good people arise.

And it takes place when Jesus comes back from heaven and the trumpet blows.

The great second advent then marks the beginning point of the millennium.

At that time the righteous are brought forth out of their graves.

Now when Jesus comes, there will be 4 classes of people to deal with, the righteous living and the righteous dead, the wicked living and the wicked dead.

Let's see if we can find out what happens to each 1 of these classes of individuals at that time.

First of all, what about the righteous dead?

Well, we have already found out that they will be brought forth and go up to meet Jesus in the clouds.

Reading on in 1 Thessalonians 4, 17, it says, "...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." Now, Friends, listen, the feet of Jesus will not even touch the earth when He comes a second time.

The righteous will go up and join Him there in the clouds, both the righteous dead and the righteous living.

But in what form do they rise from the grave?

Are they still weak and diseased perhaps as when they went into the graves?

Let's read the answer in 1 Corinthians 15, 51-53, Behold, I show you a mystery.

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

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.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this immortal must put on immortality." So there we have it, friends.

All of these people will be given new bodies, glorious immortal forms that will never die, never feel pain, and they join Jesus in the clouds as He descends with His holy angels.

And where do they go from there after meeting Christ in the air?

In John 14, 2-3 we find the promise of Christ just before He went away from this earth.

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." Why they go right on up to that place Jesus prepared where the mansions are and where the home of the Father is located.

The righteous will spend a thousand years with Jesus in heaven.

First of all, what about the wicked people that were in their graves when Jesus returns in glory?

Well, we have read about that already in Revelation 20, verse 5.

It said, "...the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years were finished." So those wicked dead simply remain in their graves without coming forth at all at the coming of Jesus.

And what of the wicked ones who are living here when he returns?

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.

Those wicked ones will be slain, cut down by the bright glory of God, it will just seem that a thousand volts of electricity has been turned loose and they will drop dead wherever they are all over this earth.

You see, friends, sin cannot exist in the presence of God, And these people are simply destroyed by the glory of His transcendent holiness and majesty.

So now the righteous are all in heaven and the wicked are all dead here during the thousand years.

Some people believe there will be a second chance after death or after Christ comes.

They talk about some period of a second probation when all can be saved if they choose.

Well, friends, this is simply not biblical, not at all.

Let's settle it now and settle it forever from the Word of God.

We will not be able to accept Christ at any later time after the coming of Jesus.

In fact, let's read 1 verse here that will completely settle this matter in every mind.

Revelation 22, 11, and 12, He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, And he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.

And he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.

The Millennium Part 2

It's estimated by scientists that the heat of a pinhead-sized speck of the sun's center could kill a man a hundred miles away.

Yet the time is nearing when the sun will be completely blacked out.

Stay tuned for the amazing facts about this world in total darkness.

Hello this is Joe Cruz and the Amazing Facts broadcast, Facts Which Affect You.

Now in our last broadcast we introduced the intriguing subject of the Millennium, when no human sin or crime will be committed for a period of a thousand years.

By way of review, let's establish the time when this period of peace will begin.

We discovered that the resurrection was tied closely to this subject.

The Bible speaks of 2 general resurrections from the dead, in fact.

In Revelation 20, verse 6, we read about 1 of them, the first 1.

Notice how it is worded, "...blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.

He shall reign with Christ for a thousand years.

And then in verse 4 we read that these righteous people, the blessed and holy people, come to life and reign with Christ a thousand years.

Now, friends, notice that this is only the good people.

In fact, it is in the next verse, verse 5, that we read about the rest of the dead or the wicked people.

It says, But the rest of the dead live not again, until the thousand years were finished.

So the millennium, then, is this period of 1000 years between the 2 resurrections.

But when does that first resurrection take place which introduces the millennium?

We find the answer in 1 Thessalonians 4, 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." So there is the first resurrection.

Again, the righteous dead are brought out of their graves at that time and caught up to meet Jesus, and that is the beginning of their thousand-year period of living and reigning with Him.

So the wicked are going to be slain at that time, the living wicked at least, when Jesus comes.

In 2 Thessalonians 2, we read that they will be cut down and destroyed by the brightness of His coming.

The righteous living are translated, caught up to meet Jesus in the air, and all the righteous go to heaven to live for that period of a thousand years.

The wicked are left here dead on the earth, scattered everywhere, according to the prophet Jeremiah.

There will be no second chance, friends, for anybody to be saved after Jesus comes.

Every case has been settled for all eternity.

The wicked are all dead, of course, and They certainly can't accept Christ during this time, and the righteous have already been given immortality and are in heaven because they were caught up to meet Jesus.

Now friends, let's ask this question, what about the earth itself?

What will it look like during this awful period?

Isaiah tells us a bit about it in chapter 24, verses 1, 3, 19, 20.

He says, Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down.

The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled.

The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.

The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage." Now listen, friends, it will be just like a great big giant reaching out and taking hold of a little toy.

The earth will be moved right off its axis, according to this, and out of its orbit.

And that is because of that tremendous earthquake which the Bible describes as taking place at that time.

In fact, here is the way John describes that earthquake in Revelation 16, 18, and 20, 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." Now try to think of it a moment, friends.

It says that inhabited islands are simply going to disappear in the midst of the sea.

Hailstones weighing fifty-seven pounds are going to come crashing down on this earth, and what escapes destruction from the earthquake will be made into kindling wood by the tremendous hailstones coming afterward.

Now perhaps you read about an earthquake some time ago where thousands were killed, just simply swallowed up by the ground itself.

10 or 12000 people died in that earthquake.

There was 1 earthquake, in fact, in Italy a few years ago in which seventy-five thousand people died in just 10 seconds.

In Japan at 1 time 250000 people died in 2 minutes' time.

But these are all child's play compared to the 1 we just read about in Revelation 16.

Jeremiah saw this earth afterward and he tried to describe it.

He tried to put into human language the utter picture of desolation and complete destruction that met his eye in that vision.

Let's try to get it in mind as we read Jeremiah's description of it in chapter 4, verse 23, I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void, and the heavens, and they had no light.

Now listen, friends, talk about your complete blackout.

We are told that there will be no light even.

Some time ago the electric generators failed in 9 states and 3 provinces of Canada.

30000000 people had no electricity, and it was dark.

But now think of this time when the whole earth is going to be blacked out.

We read this from Jeremiah there, verse 24 and 25 from chapter 4, he says, I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

Now notice, friends, the sun has simply gone out.

It will be completely blacked out, and the earth will be in utter darkness.

There will be no man, simply because the righteous have been taken to heaven, and the wicked are all dead, scattered, as Jeremiah said, over the face of the earth.

And then he said, all the birds of the heavens were fled.

Just think of it, not even an animal left.

And then in verse 26 he says, 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.

You see Christ has returned in this picture, and at the presence of the Lord all these things took place.

The birds fled, men were removed out of the earth, the sky was darkened, and the whole earth was blacked out during that awful thousand years.

No wonder we read in the Bible that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

We have no conception, my friends, of what God will do to this earth as a consequence of sin.

Now the question arises, where is Satan during all of this great demonstration?

Going back to Revelation 20, 1-3, we read about the devil during the millennium.

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 a 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.

The devil is bound for that thousand years and cast into the bottomless pit.

I remember this subject being preached when I was a child and the impression that it brought to me.

And I always wondered, what is the bottomless pit?

I could see a great big hole going right down through the earth and the old devil cast into 1 end and then falling out down on the other side.

I am sure the preacher explained it better than that, but that is the scene that printed on my mind.

Well now, what does it really mean, friends, and where is this bottomless pit located?

We do not have to speculate about it at all.

Look at the very first book of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1 and verse 2.

And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

Now notice that we are talking here about a formless, shapeless world.

You see the raw material, we are sure God had brought that into existence but it had not yet been shaped.

Order had not yet come out of this earth.

It was still in darkness and the dark, it says, was upon the face of the deep.

And that word deep is the Greek word abusas in the Septuagint Scriptures, and we get our word abyss from that Greek word abusas.

Now listen, that very same word which describes this earth when it is all broken down and disorganized before God called order out of it, that very same word abusas is used over in Revelation 20 and is translated bottomless pit.

So you see this world in its chaotic condition, in its desolate form, is the bottomless pit.

God called it that in the beginning, and He calls it that again during the thousand years.

Satan will be confined then right here on this dark, shapeless, torn-up world for this period of time while the saints of God are in heaven.

Now you remember that they are in heaven at that time.

Now somebody asks, well, how are they going to bind Satan with a chain during that period?

The Millennium Part 3

At a simple touch a mountain will split from 1 side to the other creating a vast plain.

In a moment I'll be back with the amazing facts about the world's largest landing field.

Hello this is Joe Cruz on The Amazing Facts Broadcast, Facts Which Affect You.

Now today we continue our study into the great millennial period when the saints will be safe from the devil for a thousand years.

Hasn't it been fascinating to follow the simple Bible account of the final events of earthly history, friends?

With clear, sharp strokes, God lays bare the final destiny of every person who has ever been born since time began.

We establish scripturally that the thousand years will begin at the Second Coming of Christ.

At that time the righteous will be resurrected and caught up to meet Jesus in the clouds.

The living righteous will also be changed in a moment and caught up to join the resurrected saints, and all then will go to heaven to be with Jesus for that thousand-year period.

We learn further that the wicked will all be slain at the Second Coming of Christ.

For the first time since creation the earth will be emptied of its human inhabitants.

The righteous are in heaven, the wicked will all be dead.

Isaiah says that the earth will be dark and turned upside down.

John the Revelator tells what Satan will be doing at this time during that thousand years, bound in a bottomless pit, he says, and he will not be able to deceive a single person during that period.

Now, by comparing scripture with scripture, we also found that the bottomless pit is actually this earth in its chaotic, formless, empty, dark condition.

Now today we are going to find out what will happen at the end of this thousand year period.

Our first text is Revelation 21, verse 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.

Yes, friends, at the end of this period all the saints will come right down from heaven in that great heavenly space city, the New Jerusalem.

God will prepare a special landing strip for that city, by the way, right over in the land of Old Jerusalem now.

The Mount of Olives will split, will cleave right in the middle and separate to provide a great level landing spot for this new Jerusalem when it descends.

Let's read the description of that now in Zechariah 14, 3 and 4.

Series

The Millennium

The Millennium Part 3

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

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Three Cosmic Messages: Earth's Final Conflict

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