Is the Millennium Mentioned in the Old Testament?

by Gerard
(Vienna, Austria)

Question: The millennium is only mentioned in Revelation chapter 20. There appears to be no mention of it in the Old Testament or other New Testament books. Could it be that the millennium is code for something else?

Your explanation of why the saints might be in the millennium (to prepare for judging the not yet resurrected, or to understand their judgment) - should this take 1000 years to achieve? This reason actually appears a weak argument and I think is not reflected in other scripture - the lack of understanding/reason adds weight that such a millennium is a guess, and therefore probably (statistically, guesses are often wrong) not correct.

Considering it is 2000 years since Jesus' time, do you think the church age could be the millennium, or part of? The generalization of length (maybe using an estimation to hide dates or expectations) is a figure that gives a scale, not an exact rendition. Jesus gained authority after His resurrection; maybe he chained Satan after this event. Satan's angels/demons are not mentioned, maybe they still are in effect. The Catholic church and political systems (beasts and false prophet) are in existence in the church age!

This leaves the gap between the two general resurrections unresolved. However, from descriptions of Jesus' return, it appears the universe behind Jesus on His return is being destroyed, and after the rapture the earth is destroyed, so the second general resurrection would be around the same time (sorry to be vague, I'm not as studied as yourself.) Also at this point (or shortly after, I have no timescale) is the new heavens and earth.

What do you think?

Answer: Hi Gerard. I will try to answer your questions.

The word "millennium" does not appear anywhere in the Bible but the concept of a 1000-year period is definitely there - and is mentioned as such only in Revelation 20. The Millennium is a period of time within a train of events, including the Second Coming etc. in chapter 19. A code for something else? - I don't thing we should try to make the Bible any more complex. The Sabbath (Saturday), the seventh day of the week and God's holy day is symbolic of the millennium. Just as a week consists of 6 days followed by a sabbath of rest, so salvation history (many believe) will be 6 thousand years followed by a 7th thousand-year period of rest for the world.

The saints will have a 1000-year opportunity to judge and investigate each case. That doesn't mean they will be doing it the whole time. At the end of the millennium, as the Great White Throne Judgment is about to happen (Rev 20:11), no one will be able to say "I didn't have enough time to go over the books." The saints will be involved in judgment:

"Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" (1 Cor 6:3)

We should avoid any guesswork in trying to understand the Bible but allow it, as far as possible, to interpret itself.

The past 2000-year church age could not be equal to a 1000-year period (math tells me that!) of future events. It is not Jesus, but an angel (Rev 20:1) that chains Satan at the beginning of the 1000 years.

The gap between the two resurrections is not unresolved - it is clearly spelled out in Revelation 20. The rest of the universe will be fine; it is the earth that will be returned to the "without form and void" condition it was in before creation week. The second resurrection is at the end of the millennium. This is all clearly laid out on my page about the millennium. Please read it. The new heavens and the new earth are after the millennium. (Rev 21:1)

I hope that helps. I will add that many people see various Old Testament scriptures as being fulfilled in the millennium as they understand the millennium to be a time when God will reign over the earth from the earthly Jerusalem. I will address this in a coming series titled "All Eyes on Israel" Watch for it.