What Happens After Jesus’ 1000 Year Reign On Earth?
Bible Study Guide
(Verse 7) Jesus’ 1000 year reign over the earth from Jerusalem will pass without a single day of having Satan’s influence on the heart of mankind. Satan will be minimally pacing the confines of the Abyss within the bounds of his great chain.
The saints (believers in Christ) will have incorruptible bodies just as Christ had when He appeared after His resurrection. We will not be slaves to the physical laws of nature. Time and gravity will have no bearing upon us.
We will have responsibilities in governing with Christ. We don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like. We’ve been taught that we will rule and judge with Christ in earthly and spiritual matters.
“if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;” (2 Timothy 2:12)
“To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father.” (Revelation 2:26-27)
Why Does Christ Have To Rule For 1000 Years?
This is a great question. The answer lies in the Old Testament. The God of creation is a faithful God. He’s faithful to His covenants and His promises. Among His many promises are those He made to the world He created.
He promised there would come a time of peace on earth. It would be a time when Christ would return and defeat the enemies of God. God would place all His enemies under the feet of Christ as a footstool.
“The Lord says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.” (Psalm 110:1)
Jesus’ 1000 year reign would be a time that would revert back to the time similar to God’s original intent for His creation.
Further Study: Promise’s Made Through Isaiah of the 1000 Year Reign of Jesus
The same promise by God that gives reason for Jesus’ 1000 year reign upon the earth will also see the end of this Millennium Age. Because God also promised that an age much greater than Christ’ rule on earth would come. It would be a time of complete renewal of God’s original creation. We’ll get into that more in Revelation 21.
John records something unusual that’ll happen at the end of this 1000 year period. Satan will be released from the great chain that bound him. He’ll be free to go and exit the Abyss.
After a thousand years of thinking of all the sinful things he committed while opposing God, surely he’ll repent and turn back to God. Not a chance!
He Will Deceive the Nations
(Verse 8) Satan’s recidivism rate proves to be 100% after spending 1000 years bound up by God. The angel who was once full of God’s wisdom and beauty has proven to be foolish, ugly, and without shame.
The dragon’s first order of business is to go out in one last attempt to destroy God and all His creation. The army will be so large, it’ll be similar to the army that will oppose Israel in the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 and the Gog and Magog War.
Did God have to release Satan from the Abyss? No, He did not! Did He want to release him upon the earth one last time? Yes, He did! But why did God release Satan to influence the nations one last time?
It’s likely He wanted to demonstrate the prophecy spoken through His prophet Jeremiah.
“The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
A Utopian Society Is Not the Final Answer
For decades, individuals and corporations have been pushing this false pagan notion that all we need is to just love one another. This has all been under the real meaning that we should just accept and love sin committed by others and move on.
“Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20)
Christ will provide a perfect love from a perfect Savior. He’ll share that love with the nations for 1000 years. It’ll be a perfect utopia. A time like no other on earth. There’ll be no more wars. Children will play near snakes and the lion will eat grass alongside the lamb. What more perfection could you ask for.
After experiencing a perfect utopia for 1,000 years, they will immediately fall for Satan’s temptation when he is released. Notice what it says hear in verse 8. There won’t be a few people that will turn and follow Satan.
The number who will walk away from Christ’ perfect utopia on earth to follow Satan will be numbered “like the sand on the seashore.” Remember, the people will live their lives as always. They’ll marry and have children. The population will increase dramatically over 1000 years. Most of them will turn away from Christ and follow Satan when he’s released fro his chains.
We see this example playing out today before our eyes. Look how easily people are led astray to follow false narratives and lies that are disseminated by those in authority or the media. Whatever they hear, they hitch their wagon to and are willing to stake their claim and reputation on.
All to their own eternal destruction. Unbelievers say they want a Utopian society. But all they really want is Satan and sin.
What We Really Need Is Christ
Imagine this for a moment, the people who come through the Tribulation and enter the period of Jesus’ 1000 year reign will live entirely under the loving guidance and teaching of Christ and His saints.
Even still, once Satan is given the opportunity to influence their hearts, in a moment they’ll turn from God and join in with Satan to oppose God. This will demonstrate to the world how deceitful the heart really is.
Even Satan, after 1000 years of contemplating how easily he was captured and bound will turn turn from his ways. He and his evil desires will be beyond repair.
This is why we need Christ in our lives. All He did for us and our salvation was completed perfectly by Him on the cross. There is nothing more we can do except believe in Him and accept Him as our Lord and Savior.
He’s the only way we can defeat the influence of Satan in our hearts. Only through Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit can we battle against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)
The War That Was Never Fought
(Verse 9) This opposition of God by Satan will be the only battle and the shortest battle never fought. This passage gives no indication of a battle taking place. Satan’s army got as far as surrounding Jerusalem where Jesus will rule from.
In the breadth of God’s word, the battle ended before it even began. Satan’s army of nations is destroyed. This time Satan is not reserved for the temporal place called the Abyss. Rather, he’ll be joining his beast (Antichrist) and false prophet in the eternal place of the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
John makes it clear at the end of this passage that the unholy trinity will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur, not for 1000 years or 100,000 years. They will be there for “ever and ever.” This is the same place that has been reserved for all of those who’ve chosen not to believe but rather oppose God. They will all face the second death.
“But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.” (Revelation 19:20)
Even those who believed that doing good, being good and saying good was the path to salvation will receive a fiery wake up call. Their belief of “good” is the devil’s way of deceiving many making them think they’re on their way to God’s salvation. Instead, Satan was gently walking them hand in hand in the opposite direction.
Where is Satan’s Final and Eternal Destination?
(Verse 10) John watches as an angel throws the devil into the eternal place—the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Satan’s Antichrist and false prophet were cast here after the war of Armageddon.
The Bible is clear in this verse that torment is eternal. It will go on day and night with extra emphasis, “for ever and ever.” It’s interesting how humanity does so much to cling to this temporal existence we have here on earth while we pay little to no attention to eternal things that will never end.
Everyone who has ever been born of a woman will face judgment. There will be one final judgment after Jesus’ 1000 year reign on earth as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Let’s go take a look at this last judgment upon humanity and which group it’ll impact.
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