The Millennium: A Brief Overview
Good morning, everyone. I was asked to do a brief overview of the Millennium, so here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhhQm1ujTK8
In the Hebrew Scriptures, there isn't a "second" coming. It is all one day (Zeh 12:10; cf. John 19; Rev 1). Daniel's seventy weeks are continuous (Daniel 9). And the Sabbath is taken away all at one time (Amos 8). This idea is seen in the disciples of Jesus as well as His critics (Luke 19, 24; Acts 1). They assumed the coming of the Lord (Jesus exercising His authority as King to restore Israel) would be immediate. To counter this, Jesus introduced the parable of the talents (Luke 19; Matthew 25) and the ten virgins (Matthew 25). The "delay" and "long time" of these two parables marks the time between the Cross and Parousia. It corresponds to the long-suffering of God in 2 Peter 3 and the millennium.
Revelation 12 is a picture of the judgement without the millennium. It "skips" from the ascension to the flight to the wilderness. The Devil is cast down for a "short time" which is the same "short time" of Revelation 20 and Revelation 6. 1 Peter was written from "Babylon" (Jerusalem - where Peter was an elder) to encourage the saints who were being persecuted by the Devil during this same "little while" of tribulation (1 Peter 5:11). The same one of Revelation 6, 12, 20. It was the necessary time of fiery trial at the appointed time of judgement (1 Peter 1:6; 4:5, 7, 12, 17).Peter was writing after the millennium.
I wrote a little essay on the Millennium last year covering these same ideas: