om heaven, the resurrection of the wicked dead, the loosing of Satan,
and the final destruction of the wicked.

During the one thousand years the earth lies desolate; Satan and his
angels are confined here; and the saints, with Christ, sit in judgment
on the wicked, preparatory to their final punishment.

The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season,
and he and the host of the wicked encompass the camp of the saints and
the holy city, when fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours
them. The earth is cleansed by the same fire that destroys the wicked,
and, renewed, becomes the eternal abode of the saints.

The millennium is one of "the ages to come." Its close will mark the
beginning of the new earth state.]

[Illustration: CHRIST COMING FOR HIS OWN

"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," Rev. 20:4.]

THE MILLENNIUM

The word "millennium" means "a thousand years." This definite period is
referred to specifically in but one chapter of the Bible, the twentieth
of Revelation; and in that chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We find
it to be:

The period during which the saints reign with Christ in judgment.

The period during which Satan is bound.

The measure of time between the two resurrections, that of the just and
that of the unjust.

An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium will show:

1. The events that mark its beginning.

2. The events that occur during the thousand years.

3. The events that come at the end of the period.

We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures:

That the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ.

That the reign of the saints with Him in judgment is not on this earth,
but in heaven.

That this earth, void of human inhabitants, is Satan's prison house
during the thousand years.

That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined is
executed upon Satan and all the wicked.

That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment, and
renewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved.

1. Events at the Beginning of the Thousand Years

The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that the millennium
begins with--

The Resurrection of the Just

Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says:

"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of
the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the fi