The Millennium Series

Sunday, October 5, 2003

Title: Millenneum

Text: Rev. 20:1-10; Isaiah 65:20-25

Introduction

1. A little girl had been listening while her mother’s friends were talking about how Jesus was going to be coming back soon.

A. After a period of time, the child’s mother noticed that she hadn’t seen her little girl in awhile...

So her mother went to looking for her.

She finally found her up in the top floor of the house looking out a window

She asked her daughter what she was doing

she said, "Mommy, I heard you say that Jesus might come back today,

and I wanted to be the first to see Him.

See, I took a bath and put on a clean dress."

B. Well, Jesus hasn’t come back yet...

but He it could be today...

are you ready?

2. Well, we have certainly covered a lot of territory in the last several weeks.

A. We’ve covered from before the beginning of time...

we’ve talked about the Rapture....

what many people refer to as the 2nd Coming of Christ

we’ve talked about the Tribulation...

with the 7 seals...

and the 7 Trumpets...

and the 7 Bowls...

of God’s judgment upon sinful man...

And last week, we talked about Parousia...

or Christ’s TRUE 2nd Coming...

And Christ’s 2nd coming is the EVENT that begins the Millennium...

the 1,000 year reign of Christ...

Let’s read about it in our text:

3. Rev. 20:1-10; Isaiah 65:20-25

Body

1. Satan is bound

A. Satan’s greatest fear is finally realized.

Satan’s greatest fear is the 2nd Coming of Christ...

which we talked about last week.

and with the 2nd Coming of Christ...

satan’s time of lies and deceit...

His time of roaming to and fro seeking whom he may devour (job 1:7)

his time of tempting and twisting and seducing comes to an end.

Satan is bound and cast into the Abyss.

where he remains for 1,000 years.

B. With Satan bound, that sets up the beginning of the 1,000 years of peace and bounty that we call the millennium.

with Satan bound, there is no incentive toward evil...

it will be easy to live a righteous life...

temptations will be few and far between...

this will be in stark contrast to what life was like under the leadership of the anti-christ...

2. And during that same time, Jesus Reigns as King

A. We mentioned last week, that at the 2nd Coming of Christ

He wasn’t coming to die for our sin...

He wasn’t coming to be pushed around...

He was coming as KING...

He was coming as Conqueror...

And if there was any doubt that Christ conquered, I would think that the results of the Battle of Armegeddon would speak for themselves!

And after the battle, Jesus will establish His earthly Kingdom.

this will be the kingdom that the early disciples were longing for before Christ died on the cross.

This will be the kingdom that the mother of James and John was hoping that Christ would establish when she asked Jesus to let her sons sit on the right and left. Matt 20:21

B. This 1,000 year reign of Christ has been described beautifully in Scripture and in song

Isaiah 2:4 says, "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." (NIV)

Christ will compel all people and nations to live at peace one with another.

This will be a time of peace and prosperity

it will be a time of little sickness and little death...

no longer will young children die...

no longer will people be considered old when they are 80 or 90...

even when they are 100, Scripture tells us that they will be like a young child.

let me read that verse to you again:

"Never again will there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not live out his years;

he who dies at a hundred

will be thought a mere youth;

he who fails to reach a hundred

will be considered accursed.

Isaiah 65:20 (NIV)

undoubtedly, there will be people who live their entire lives in the millennium without tasting death.

crimes like murder, theft, rape, and so on will be non-existent

the earth will be furtile...

crops will be abundant...

The lion will lay down with the lamb...

Isaiah tells us: The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,