3. The General Resurrection
All who have studied these truths know when the general resurrection takes place—at Christ’s glorious second coming—which is the hope of all ages starting from Adam. Enoch prophesied of the second coming way back in his time. Jude 14, 15. They will come from all places of the earth—graves, caverns, caves, dungeons, scaffolds, prison houses, etc., etc.,—-“a great multitude, which no man could number of all nations, kindred, and people, and tongues.” These are all who died in Christ, whether by faith during the Old Testament times where and when the animal sacrifices symbolized the perfect atoning sacrifice of Christ, or during the New Testament dispensation when all believed and died in faith on the complete efficacy of the actual sacrifice and blood shed at Calvary for the forgiveness and cleansing of all sin; the former shed at Calvary, the latter during His closing work as High Priest in the most holy of the heavenly sanctuary.
4.The Resurrection of the Wicked
The first grand deception and teaching of Satan in Eden is that sin, which is the transgression of the law of God (1 John 3: 4) has no evil consequences; its wages is not eternal death, and that the soul is immortal. “Thou shall not surely die.” These are the underlying reasons why multitudes of Christians studying the Bible do not understand these resurrections.
If the soul is immortal and ascends to heaven at death, why should there be a need for any resurrection? or for that matter, the second, literal coming of Christ? If the law has been done away with at the cross, as alleged, then all one needs to do is to simply “believe” or “have faith” but not obey the precepts of the Decalogue as God wrote them with His own finger, and still be saved eternally. Thus, the inevitable conclusion is Universalism—the belief that all Christians will eventually be saved. There is no judgment, hence, no need of “cleansing the sanctuary” (Dan. 8: 14) of the sanctuary message.
First, the word “millennium” is not a Scriptural word. It is a contracted Latin word, derived from two words, mille and anus. These two words mean “a thousand years.” Now these words “a thousand years” appears ten times in the Bible in the following verses of Scripture: Ps. 90:4; 2 Pet. 3: 8; Rev. 20:1-7; Eccl. 6: 6. What do they teach? The first two and the last verses quoted have nothing to do with the subject, as far as any millennial view is concerned. The other 6 verses as recorded in Revelation chapter 20, are the one generally referred to as teaching “thousand years of peace.”
The Three Kinds of Millenialists:
The Christian world, according to F. C. Gilbert, converted Jewish scholar, in his book Practical Lessons for the Church Today, 1926, is divided into three great classes addressing the millennium as follows: (1) The Millenial Dawnists (2) Pre-Millenialists (3) Post-Millenialists.
The Millenial Dawnist believe that the millennium began in 1914. Gilbert says that “The author of the Plan of the Ages, Vol. 1. p. 254 claims that “the 40 years Jewish harvest ended October, A.D. 69, and was followed by a complete overthrow of that nation; and that likewise the overthrow of ‘Christendom’ so-called, must be expected to immediately follow. The author concludes that, “if the great Jubilee year were to be only one year, like its type, it would have commenced October A.D. 1874, the end of the 2499 years. . . It is the antitypical Thousand Years of Restitution of all things, which commenced October, 1874.- Ibid, p. 187. This view teaches that Christ came the second time in the year 1874 as a spirit being, hence, invisible!!
The Pre-Millenialists believe that there is to be a thousand years of good time on this earth during which the “people of God” will have glorious reign, but the wicked will have a hard time. This class believes that this millennium will begin before Jesus comes the second time.
The Post Millenialist believe that Jesus will visibly return with power and great glory, and will resurrect His sleeping saints and take them to heaven. This commences the thousand years. Which do you think is the true Biblical view?
There are events clearly taught occurring before, during, and after the Biblical millennium. Satan hates these truths and has therefore spread his counterfeits that are taking the whole world
1.Events at the Beginning of the Millennium
- The “battle of the great day of God” in the Battle of Armageddon takes place at the sixth plague up till the opening of the seventh and last plague. Rev. 19:15, 17-19; cf. chs. 16: 12-16; 6:14-17. The spiritual “river Euphrates dries up in preparation for the kings of the east,” i.e., Christ and the heavenly angels appear to come from the east because the rotundity and rotation of the earth from whence the sun rises.
- Christ returns to earth as “King of kings” in full glory together with all the angels in heaven, bringing His eternal reward. Rev. 19: 11-16; cf. Acts 1:9-11.
- The glorious “first resurrection” or “the resurrection of the just” takes place. Rev. 20: 4, 6; cf. 1 Thess. 4: 16.
- The wicked are slain by the brightness of His coming; they cry “rocks fall on us.” Rev. 19: 19-21.
- Ascension of the saints. Rev. 20: 4; cf. John 14’1-3; 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17.
- Satan is “bound in the bottomless pit.” Rev. 20: 1-3.
2.Events During the Millenium
- Satan remains “bound” so that “he should deceive the nations no more.” Rev. 20: 2, 3.
- The earth is desolate, destroyed by the seven last plagues, particularly the seventh, and depopulated. Rev. 20: 3, 5; cf. ch. 6: 14; 16: 17-21.
- The translated and resurrected saints “reign as priests and kings” with Christ in heaven. Rev. 20:4, 6; cf. John 14: 2, 3; 1 Thess. 4; 17.
- Judgment of the wicked given to the saints. Rev. 20;4; cf. 1 Cor. 6: 2, 3.
3.Events at the Close of the Millenium
- The New Jerusalem descends with Christ and the saints in it. Rev. 21: 2; cf. 20: 9.
- The second resurrection, of the wicked, takes place. Rev. 20: 5, 6, 8 cf. vs. 12, 12.
- Satan “loosed” from his “prison.” Rev. 20: 3, 7.
- The New Jerusalem City descends from heaven. Rev. 20: 8, 9.
- The “lake of fire” –“the second death” destroys the wicked. Rev. 20: 10-15; 21: 8; cf. 2 Pet. 3: 7, 10, 12.
- The earth is made new! Rev. 21: 1-3; cf. 2 Pet. 3: 15.
We quote extracts from the chapter Desolation of the Earth of the Great Controversy (1911 ed) by E. G. White, which shows that the last end of the typical Day of Atonement services in the Old Testament portrayed this very time yet future to our time!
“Now the event takes place foreshadowed in the last solemn service of the Day of Atonement. When the ministration of the holy of holies had been completed, and the sins of Israel had been removed from the sanctuary by virtue if the blood of the sin offering, then the scapegoat was presented alive before the Lord; and in the presence of the congregation the high priest confessed over him ‘all the iniquities of the children of Israel. . . [Lev. 16: 21 quoted]. In like manner, when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed, then in the presence of God and heavenly angels and the hosts of the redeemed the sins of God’s people will be placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he has caused them to commit. And as the scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, so Satan will be banished to the desolate earth, and uninhabited and dreary wilderness.
“The revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced, and he declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years. After presenting the scenes of the Lord’s second coming and the destruction of the wicked, the prophecy continues [Rev. 210: 1-3 quoted].
“That the expression ‘bottomless pit’ represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the condition of the earth ‘in the beginning,’ the Bible record says that it ‘was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.’ Gen 1:2. Prophecy teaches that it will be brought back, partially at least, to this condition. Looking forward to the great day of God, the prophet Jeremiah declares: [Jer. 4: 23-26 quoted].
“Here is to be the home of Satan with his evil angels [1/3 of all created angels] for a thousand years. Limited to the earth, he will not have access to other worlds to tempt and annoy those who have never fallen. It is in this sense that he is bound: there are none remaining, upon whom he can exercise his power. He is wholly cut off from the work of deception and ruin which for so many centuries has been his sole delight.
“The prophet Isaiah, looking forward to the time of Satan’s overthrow, exclaims, [Isa. 14: 12-17 quoted].
“For six thousand years, Satan’s work of rebellion has ‘made the earth to tremble.’ He has ‘made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof.’ And he opened not the house of the prisoners.’ . . . Even the wicked are now placed beyond the power of Satan, and alone with his evil angels re remains to realize the effects of the curse which sin has brought. [Isa. 14: 18-20 quoted]. For a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During this time his sufferings are intense.” I urge all to study The Great Controversy for the end of all things in this six thousandth year is nearer than when we believed!!