What Happens During The Millennium?

Name: Rodrigo
Question: Hi Brandon, thank you in advance. Will the 144,000 be the only ones that will be saved? I know that after the Millennium there will be the white throne judgment where the gentiles and people without the chance of knowing God will have one.

In the Millennium only those who have been strong in the faith and have been killed keeping the faith will be with God enjoying and learning with The Father. The rest of the people is in the white throne judgment isn’t it?

Answer: Rodrigo, thank you for the question.

Let me summarize this here.

Rest assured, far more than 144,000 people will be saved during the Tribulation. Moreover, a multitude of Saints, including those from long ago, those who held the faith of Christ during their lifetime will take part in the “first resurrection,” obtaining eternal life upon Christ’s return, (Revelation 20:4-6).

What about everyone else?

Many will need to prove themselves during the Millennium. You can think of abortion victims, the mentally ill (etc.), and those who never heard the Word of God in a meaningful way.

Everyone else will simply wait for their judgement at the White Throne, which occurs at the end of the 1,000-year reign of Jesus.

With that said, let’s prove it, and fill in all the details

The Time Periods

From our present day forward, there are three time periods.

  1. The Present Day
    • The goal: Share God’s Word with the world, (Matt 24:14).
    • How does it end: The Tribulation.
  2. The Millennium
    • The goal: Teach those who failed God or never had the opportunity to hear His Word.
    • How does it end: The White Throne Judgement.
  3. The Eternity
    • The goal: Live in peace with God, forever.

To be clear, our present day will carry on until the return of Jesus which occurs after the Great Tribulation. Christ’s return ushers in His 1,000-year reign, known as the Millennium. Once the Millennium has concluded, then we begin the Eternity living in peace with God forever.

The 144,000 And The Tribulation

The 144,000 are not the only ones that will be saved, thank the Lord. The 144,000 are the Saints who are Sealed with the Word of God. They will be Sealed before the Four Winds are loosened which occurs just before the Tribulation, (Revelation 7:1-3).

Let’s read about it.

Revelation 7:4
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

The 144,000 Saints who are Sealed come from the Twelve Tribes of Israel. 12,000 from each of the Twelve Tribes make up that total (12,000 x 12 = 144,000). You can read about that in Revelation 7:5-8.

The Saints are Sealed with the Word of God so they cannot be deceived or harmed by Satan, and so they can proclaim the Testimony of Christ during the Tribulation, (Revelation 9:4).

This will be the moment in time when many of them are brought before “kings, rulers” and even Satan. It will the moment when the Holy Spirit speaks through the Saints, providing a witness before the entire world, that no one will be able to deny, (Luke 21:12-15).

This event, along with the testimony of the Two Witnesses will turn many back to God.

Look what else we find after the Tribulation.

Revelation 7:9
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;

This verse, along with Revelation 7:14 proves the 144,000 are not the only ones who are in good grace with God during the Millennium. There will be “a great multitude” of all peoples who take part in the “first resurrection,” and they will “stand before the Throne of God.”

The Events Of The Millennium

Now the word “Millennium” simply means, “a period of a thousand years.”

What thousand years?

The 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ that follows the Tribulation.

Once the Millennium begins, one of the first events includes an angel (probably Michael) who comes from Heaven,

Revelation 20:2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

On the first day of the Millennium, Satan is bound in chains and placed into “the bottomless pit.” Satan will have no influence over mankind for this 1,000-year period of time, (Revelation 20:3).

Revelation 20:4
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.

Notice, on the first day of the Millennium, we have a little Judgment Day here.

All of the people who were killed for Jesus, and the Word throughout history, including those who did not accept the Mark of the Beast, “lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

During the Millennium, the Saints will walk with Christ here on earth, though God Himself does not come to earth until the Eternity, (Revelation 21:3-4).

Revelation 20:5
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Those who take part in the “first resurrection” were granted an immortal body and soul. They obtain eternal life and become judges in Christ’s Kingdom, (1 Corinthians 6:2).

On the other hand, “the rest of the dead” refers to everyone else.

Being, all the people who did not obtain an immortal soul. “The rest of the dead” are the people who are spiritually dead. They have a “mortal” soul which means, “liable to die,” (1 Corinthians 15:54). Obviously they are alive, everyone goes to Heaven when they die.

These people are considered “dead” as they did not accept Jesus or they never knew Him. To help you understand, this expression “the rest of the dead” is similar to the believers who “sleep in Jesus,” as 1 Thessalonians 4:14 tells us.

Hey, either you are in Jesus or you are not alive.

Let’s continue.

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.

There we have it again.

The people who always stood with God throughout history, and during the Tribulation, are the only ones who take part in the “first resurrection.” Not only do they obtain everlasting life, but they become priests of God and Christ, and some even judge as we read, (see: How Do We Obtain The Crown Of Righteousness?).

It is these priests who will teach “the rest of the dead,” the spiritually dead about God and help them overcome any error. These priests will help educate those who truly never heard the Word of God, or never were able due to some mental impairment as one example.

Satan Is Loosened From His Prison

Now at the very end of the Millennium, Satan is released from his chains and the bottomless pit. He then goes “out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.” Unfortunately, Satan is very successful. So successful, he gathers “them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea,” (Revelation 20:8).

You would think upon seeing Christ stand before them, everyone would convert. Yet, that is not the case. Some people are just truly wicked, and it is these people who join Satan in one final onslaught against the Saints of the Most High.

As Satan and his hordes of wicked people “compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them,” (Revelation 20:9).

Satan and all those who followed him are instantly consumed by God’s Fire. They just suffered the fate of the “second death.” This occurs literally moments before the White Throne Judgement. In fact, I believe it’s one and the same. Satan is simply the first cast in.

This will fulfill prophecy from long ago, all in sight for everyone to see, (Ezekiel 28:18).

The White Throne Judgement

Revelation 20:11
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

We are now officially at the White Throne Judgement which occurs at the very end of the Millennium.

What happens next?

Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Again, we are not talking about literally dead people. God “is not a God of the dead, but of the living,” and dead people do not stand, (Luke 20:38).

All we are talking about is “the rest of the dead,” the spiritually dead of Revelation 20:5 who will be judged by their works. If they did not change their ways and accept God and Christ, they are quite literally done for.

By the way, did you catch that…

How are we judged?

‘According to our works.’

Revelation 20:14-15
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Not only are “the rest of the dead,” the spiritually dead permanently destroyed if they did not turn to God, but death itself, and “hell” which means the “grave” are permanently destroyed.

The Eternity Begins

This will be the moment in time when 1 Corinthians 15:55 is fulfilled.

The moment when God will “make all things new,” (Revelation 21:5).

The moment when,

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.

Revelation 21:4
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