What about the Millennium and the Final Judgment?
The defeat of Satan
At this point in time, the Antichrist has come, established himself as head of a ten-nation confederacy, and has led them into the bloodiest battle of all time, Armageddon! At the end of this horrible massacre, Jesus Christ returns, and He throws both the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:1–14).
Regarding Satan, the Scriptures tell us, “For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit” (Isaiah 14:13–15).
This is Satan’s day of humbling. Though he was at the top of the heap of demon powers, he is now bound by a single angel.
All the hosts of the fallen angels, the demons, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the world of nonbelieving people were under his complete domination until this day. Now Satan is bound in the bottomless pit with his cohorts—chained for 1000 years!
A world of peace
“He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, like showers that water the earth. In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 72:4–8).
What kind of world will there be when Satan is chained? The wolf will dwell with the lamb—animals will be tame and docile (Isaiah 6:6–8). There will be no more disabilities, suffering, or crime (Revelation 21:4).
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray” (Isaiah 35:5–8).
There will finally be world peace
“He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).
The curse that came upon the world because of sin will be lifted
“For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God’s curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us” (Romans 8:19–23 NLT).
Believers ruling with God
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them” (Revelation 20:4).
Jesus, in giving out our rewards, says, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17).
Who will believers judge? It would seem we would rule different aspects of the Lord’s kingdom on earth. It will be a rule of love, but there will be a tremendous number of people on the earth who will need direction. The tribulation believers who have survived will still be in their physical bodies and will still have sinful natures. They and their children can choose to rebel against God, and some of them will.
Satan is released.
One thousand years in the bottomless pit doesn’t change Satan. Upon being released, Satan once again begins to deceive the world. Amazingly, though man has enjoyed great security, prosperity, peace, perfect ecology and government, he still desires to rebel against God.
“The heart is the most deceitful thing there is and desperately wicked. No one can really know how bad it is” (Jeremiah 17:9).
Satan is sent to Hell.
The great deceiver is thrown into Hell, for eternal torment. “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
