DRAMA OF THE AGES !
31. 1000 YEARS
What will earth look like when everybody is either
dead or gone? Want to know? The Bible tells us!
Jer 4:23-26 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
But there are some beings that are going to
make this terrible scene their home for 1,000 years! Satan and his hosts
will be confined to this mess and will have 1,000 years to think things over
and await the final execution. Satan has promised his closest followers on
earth that he will resurrect them from the dead. He will have a millennium
to try, but he cannot even resurrect a fly!
The faithful will be with the Lord in heaven
and
there they will go over the books. The cases of all those who are lost
will be examined. God wants all to be satisfied that He has been fair and
just in excluding these from heaven. Also the amount of punishment they must
suffer will be recorded in the Book of Death.
At the close of the 1,000 years the redeemed
will return with Jesus to this broken and desolate earth. At His 2nd coming,
Jesus will not touch the earth. It is important to know this as Satan will
stage a counterfeit 2nd coming to deceive the people of the earth.
This will happen shortly before the REAL 2nd coming. Remember, if things are
continuing on this earth, Christ has NOT returned no matter what is
claimed.
At this third coming, Jesus will stand
on the Mount of Olives where he ascended from. It will split and form a
great plain and then the Holy City, the New Jerusalem will come down like a
great space ship and land there. After this God raises all the wicked dead.
They are like the sands of the sea for number! They come up with the
same signs of disease and wickedness that they died with. What a
contrast between these and the faithful in the city!
Satan goes right back to his lies as soon as
he has someone again to lie to. He tells these people that He did raise them
and that they can all work together and capture the city of God. How
long they prepare we do not know, but when they start to march against the
city, the gates are shut.
Then a high throne is scene above the city.
There is Jesus. As He appears all the wicked instantly see their whole lives
laid bare before them. All the times they turned away from truth to love a
lie. All the times they despised those who tried to warn them of this day.
Satan sees his cause is lost. For one brief moment he and all the wicked bow
before Jesus admitting that He is just. The Bible tells us: Isaiah 45:23
"I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."
But just as suddenly Satan starts up and
tries to get the mob to attack the city, but they know it is hopeless now
and instead they turn and attack him. People in this vast assembly blame
their leaders and their teachers for lying to them. Now the fantasies and
philosophies they once delighted in are seen to be what has destroyed them.
They begin to fight each other until fire is sent down by God and they are
destroyed forever.
When the fire goes out the earth is clean
from all signs of sin or sinners. Satan and his host are also destroyed.
Then the saints will watch as Jesus recreates this world into the paradise
it was in the beginning. This shall be the home of the saved forever and God
will dwell with them.
There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There is no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.
All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar,--worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe, and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation,--suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling
the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's name is written, and in all are the riches of his power displayed.
And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of his character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption, and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.
"And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." [REV. 5:13.]
The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love. {GC88
678}
Friends, what will it be to be there on that
day! You can be! Yes, no matter who you are or what your besetting sins, God
through Jesus has made available more than enough power for YOU to overcome.
He will get you ready if you will CHOOSE to obey and follow Him. Turn from
the rebellion of earth and come back to the Heavenly Father. You will never
regret it!
