SUBJECT: Satan

QUESTIONS:

Why is Satan loosed at the end of the 1000 years of the rule of Christ?  Am I correct in thinking that the millennium is a spiritual OJT (on the job training)?

ANSWER:

When we look at the greater perspective of the millennium we come to understand why certain things take place.  Let us look at the plan, point by point and see if that will give us some insight.

1] Man given reign over his own affairs for 6000 years from Adam.  During this time, Christ comes in human form to set things back the way they were (that is the law, that men had made a religion in itself) and to magnify the law (that is, to show that law points to Godly principles and that we should live our lives invoking these principles [fruits of the Spirit]).  He also came to establish the church through which the good news of the gospel would be preached and published.

2] To accomplish this feat, God will call certain individuals (called firstfruits) to help in the spreading of the gospel.  These firstfruits make up the church.  These are the individuals that raise up to meet Christ in the air upon His return and who will reign with Christ for the 1000 years.  They will be turned to spirit beings at the return of Christ.

Clearly, since these spirit beings are “new to the job” so to speak, I suppose that you  could consider the 1000 years as OJT for them.  In actuality, God will give us all the knowledge, wisdom, understanding, talents and gifts we need to perform any duties He puts us to in addition to all these things that come automatically in being changed from flesh to spirit.

There is nothing specific about this other than the fact that we will reign with Him:

Revelation 20:6

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.

3] Now, by the time Christ returns, there will have been a great tribulation and billions will have been killed.  There will be several million people that will live into the 1000 year period.  These people will experience God’s way of living.  They are all called into the Salvation Process.  They will conduct their lives without influence from Satan.  He will be bound for those 1000 years.  The population will grow.

Another purpose for the millenium is to prepare the planet for the second resurrection and those billions and billions of people that will be brought back to life at that time.

These people will be resurrected and given the knowledge and truth of God.  Once that is accomplished, they then must, for a period of time be exposed to Satan to see if they can overcome him now that they clearly know what the truth is.  Hence…

Revelation 20:7-10

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 for ever and ever.

4] As the Bible states, God changes not (Malachi 3:6) therefore He will do the same with the resurrected billions that He has done with the firstfruits.  He will let the billions of the second resurrection know the truth and then they will be exposed to Satan for final testing.  This testing is called the White Throne Judgement.  Each person will live approximately 100 years and be taught the truth (Isaiah 65:20).  If at the end of this period they still reject God, they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.  Also thrown there will be those raised in the third resurrection that have already rejected the rulership of God.

 
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