~~The Thousand Year~~

Since The Lord revealed to me that the word ‘thousand�?did not have a numerical meaning at the first, I cannot say with any assurance that the ‘thousand�?years means 1,000 years. God spoke to me one night and told me that ‘thousand�?does not mean a number.

So I looked this word up in the Strongs dictionary. And it was true that it did not have a numerical meaning in the beginning. So according to God himself, we are not speaking of a definite time period. And this is why I have been so reluctant to try to teach on this yet. I need to do some more studying on this first. But since I have been asked to teach this, I will say what I can about this right now. But when God reveals more to me, I will come back and tell what it is. I might have to change something later if God shows me something different from what I am about to say.

One of the original meanings of thousand was the ox. It is said that this is the first letter of the alphabet. It also meant family; teach or learn. Twelve, ten, two also have this same meaning. So I think that in the Word, these words have a different meaning than we think of. But since it eventually came to have a numerical meaning, I will just for now go with that meaning. The other way is something I do not yet have the revelation on.

One thing which seems certain from the Scriptures, is that this time period will be a time of complete peace on this earth. It will also be a time when the Saints of God will be ruling this earth and will use force to cause everyone on earth to be obedient to the Word of God.

Zech. 14:8. And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

9. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

10. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.

11. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. [When has this ever been?]

12. And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

14. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

15. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

16. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

17. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

18. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

19. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness Unto The Lord; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

21. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

Since the word ‘millennium�?is not in the Scripture I will not use this term. God told me once to use only scriptural terms. That is our safety.

Now even if I had no other Scripture than the one above in Zechariah, that would be enough to me to prove that this thousand years is spent ruling on this earth. It also proves that there will be people here who are not God’s people. They will be ruled over by the Saints. We will use those plagues to force them to come and worship the Lord.

In this Scripture is shown the Battle of Armageddon before the time of peace is brought in.

Zechariah 8:1. Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying,

2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

3. Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.

4. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

5. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

6. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.

7. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;

8. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

This Scripture shows the return of Jesus to this earth and the setting up of the Zion of peace. These little boys and girls playing in these streets of Jerusalem are the fulfillment of this:

Jer. 31:11. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

12. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

13. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

14. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.

15. Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

16. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

17. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

This speaks of those children who were killed by Herod at the time of the birth of Jesus. See that is shows their resurrection. Then these children coming again to their own border are those children playing in the streets of Jerusalem during this thousand years of peace. Praise our Holy Living God. I fully believe my own dead children will be among these children playing forever.

Now to prove that this time of peace is for the whole earth:

Is. 14:3. And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,

4. That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! The golden city ceased!

5. The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.

6. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

7. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

8. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

9. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

10. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us?

11. Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

17. That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?

This is one of the best Scriptures proving that this time of peace is for this whole earth. This shows the time Satan, the king of Babylon is cast down into hell. [V9].

Now verse seven says that the whole earth is at REST, AND IS QUIET.

Surely we all know that this has not yet been seen on this whole earth. At REST AND QUIET! Glory! What a wonderful time that will be. I do long for that day.

Verse 26 shows that God has purposed to break the Assyrian, which is a type of Satan, out of the whole earth. Once again this shows this time of peace is for the whole earth.

Revelation 20:1. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Now the above Scripture tells of the time when we will bind Satan and shut him up for the thousand years of peace. Notice that at the end of the thousand years, he will be loosed out of the pit and go out to deceive the nations of this earth one more time. This proves that the thousand years is still full of mortal beings. Only those saints who were resurrected at the beginning of this time period will be immortal. All others will still be in a mortal body. By the fact that the first resurrection takes place at the beginning of this thousand years proves that it is a time still ahead of us. The fact that Satan is not here deceiving any nations during this time also proves that this time did not start with the resurrection of Jesus and those OT Saints. There has never been a time when Satan was not here deceiving people.

If you will read Eze. 37, 38 and 39, you will see the resurrection spoken of in 37. Then you will see the very same thing which was told in Rev. 20, that at the end of the thousand years, Satan will be loosed and go out again to deceive the nations, Gog and Magog. So this is the two witnesses required to prove this is true doctrine.

Isaiah 11:1. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

3. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Verses 1-3 speaks of the first coming of Jesus to this earth. Verse 4 goes to the time when he will smite the earth and bring his wrath on the wicked. This is the time when he shuts Satan up in that prison. So this is the time of the beginning of the thousand years.

Verses 5-9 are telling of the glory of the thousand years of peace. Read especially 9-- They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Now I just want someone to show me a time in history where this condition has ever existed. I say it has never been. It is yet ahead of us. It is for this earth, not some far away place called heaven. It will be heaven here on earth.

Is. 60: 11. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

12. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.

14. The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee; The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal Excellency, a joy of many generations.

16. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

17. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.

18. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

19. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

20. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

21. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

22. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.

Verse 18--violence shall no more be heard within thy borders. The sun and moon shall not go down; thy people shall inherit the land for ever. Now surely this is proof of a time which this earth is yet to see.

Is. 65:17. For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

19. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

20. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

21. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.

24. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

Now see that it is repeated in this Scripture that the wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. The child shall die an hundred years old. This shows the longevity of that first age has been restored; yet it is not the immortal life. The sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

This shows that sinners will still be living here in this ‘new heaven and earth�? This is that thousand years of peace. It is not the immortal world of eternity. It shows us still building, planting, eating and enjoying the work of our hands. This is a time of peace but still a time of mortal life. This is that glorious thousand-year reign of Christ and His Saints on this earth.

By: Jo Smith-- Nov. 5, 2003.