The Millennium

Today I decided to study what the scriptures teach about the Millennium.  There are not a whole lot of passages that speak of the Millennium, and most of them are in the Doctrine and Covenants.  The word itself appears only twice in all of scripture.  The first is a simple witness from the Savior that the Millennium will be a reality: “For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come” (D&C 43:30).  That small testimony tells us not only that the Millennium will be real, but that the prophets have indeed spoken about it.  The other place we see the word in the scriptures is in the words of the prophet Joseph as he pondered a promise from the Lord to see His face (see D&C 130:16).  Despite the fact that we only have these two references to the specific word, there are several teachings that we have which help us understand what will take place in the Millennium. 

                One of the most common themes in the scriptures that do speak of the Millennium is that Satan will be bound for 1000 years.  Nephi described it this way: “And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years” (1 Nephi 22:26).  The Lord said this about it: “And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man” (D&C 101:28).  John confirmed, though, that the binding was more than just from the righteousness of the people, it will be literal: “And [the angel] laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 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” (Revelation 20:2-3). 

The Lord seemed to be paraphrasing this language of John in another revelation: “Satan shall be bound, that old serpent, who is called the devil, and shall not be loosed for the space of a thousand years” (D&C 88:110).  Simply put, “Satan shall be bound, that he shall have no place in the hearts of the children of men” (D&C 45:55).  What a glorious day the Millennium will be for that reason alone!

                We don’t know a lot about what will happen during those 1000 years, but we do have a few indications from other scriptures.  The main thing we know is that Christ will be physically among those on the earth.  As Joseph Smith put it, “Christ will reign personally upon the earth” (Articles of Faith 1:10).  The Lord Himself described it this way: “For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years” (D&C 29:11).  Another revelation that Joseph received described Christ’s reign on the earth further: “For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver” (D&C 45:59).  Probably the best description in the scriptures of what life will be like during the Millennium with the Savior among the people is D&C 101:23-34.  From that we learn that there will be no enmity among living things, “there shall be no sorrow,” and there will be no death except those who die in old age and are changed in “a twinkling of an eye.”  Another thing I am looking forward is this promise: “in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things—Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof— Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven.”  Many questions that we have on earth now will remain unanswered, but we can have confidence that in the Millennium we can have our questions answered.  Sign me up for Creation 101 in that day!

                There are a few more scriptures that teach what will happen at the end of the Millennium.  We know that Satan will again be released for a brief time.  “And then he shall be loosed for a little season, that he may gather together his armies” (D&C 88:111).  John saw this in the book of Revelation: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth” (Revelation 20:7-8).  We know that at this point some men will be wicked again: “And again, verily, verily, I say unto you that when the thousand years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I spare the earth but for a little season” (D&C 29:22).  But the small triumph for Satan will be short-lived: “And then cometh the battle of the great God; and the devil and his armies shall be cast away into their own place, that they shall not have power over the saints any more at all” (D&C 88:114).  John described it in a little more detail: “Fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.  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 for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:9-10).  And that will be it—wickedness will be no more and will never come again.  Those who are faithful then have this great promise: “They shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).