January 15: WHAT IS THE MILLENNIUM? (part 2)
And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become as refuse on the ground. Jeremiah 25:33
We’ve begun to gain a vision of the cataclysmic alterations to earth, even as the Savior and His angels are conducting the redeemed to the indescribably beautiful City of God. In our opening verse, Jeremiah addresses religious leaders, shepherds (v.34), painting a picture of the inevitable consequences of misleading the flock. The beginning of the millennium is punctuated with a distinction between leaders and followers of false teachings (compare Revelation 19:20 to v.21).
Ever since the cross of Christ, Satan and his demons have been quarantined on the earth, without leave. (Revelation 12:10-13). But now there is no one to tempt and harass, for the people of God are on their way to Heaven and everyone else is dead. The condition of the earth in this state of disarray is compared to its state before Creation: without form and void (Genesis 1:2, Jeremiah 4:23). Other descriptive translations: bottomless pit*, deep (Psalm 69:15), and abyss (Luke 8:31). The Greek for this is “abussos.”
*Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for a little while. Revelation 20:1-3
The entire earth is a horrific mass grave. At the time of the first resurrection (that of the redeemed), the unrepentant dead simply remain dead (Revelation 20:5). This earth, the abode of Satan, becomes a prison for him. With no one alive to deceive, he has a thousand years to observe the results of his lies and deceptive style of government, a government that stands in rebellion against the God of love. The angels that he succeeded in deceiving are surely looking around, thinking “and this is what we left heaven for.” The once beautiful earth is a pit of death and its stench. There is no mention of any sort of repentance during this thousand-year period. Satan, who knows the word of God, knows that the wicked dead will be raised, just as prophesied: The rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. (Revelation 20:5)
About 700 years before the apostle John penned Revelation, Daniel was shown something of what would be happening in Heaven during the millennium:
The court was seated, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:10 (see also Revelation 20:12)