Well, last time we wrestled with the texts that promise that one day we will see God, and those texts that say that we cannot see God. And today we have a question about when the children of God will see Jesus himself face to face. Will that be sooner, or will it be later?

The question comes in to us from John in Denver, Colorado. Pastor John, I see two biblical realities I cannot reconcile in my own mind, and you are the man for the task. First, I see a strong emphasis that Jesus is about to return to earth. The church stands on her toes in anticipation, it seems.

Also, I see a millennium, a 1,000 year period on earth before Christ returns. We are not in the millennium, I don't think. So Christ is at least 1,000 years off and soon to return. How do I reconcile those two realities? Hmm. There is one place in the Bible where this 1,000 years is spoken of explicitly, and let's read it because my guess is most people don't see it in context very often.

They just bandy these things about. So let me read verses 1 to 6 of Revelation 20 and then try to answer his question. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years and threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the 1,000 years were ended.

After that, he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.

They came to life and reign with Christ for 1,000 years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1,000 years were ended. This is the first resurrection. In my view, a lot hangs on what you make of that statement. That resurrection, rising to reign with Christ for 1,000 years, this is the first resurrection.

Where does that happen will make all the difference. Number six, "Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death," that's hell, "has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for 1,000 years." So there's the one place in the Bible where explicitly it says there'll be 1,000 years, sometimes called millennial, meaning 1,000 millennial reign of Christ on the earth.

Now the question that divides Bible-believing Christians is how this 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth, followed by a complete revolution of things in the new heavens and the new earth, how that relates to the second coming of Christ. Some say the 1,000 years, the millennium, is a reference to the period of time where we are right now as Christ reigns in heaven today, till he puts all of his enemies under his feet.

And then Christ comes back after this age of mission to the nations is complete, and then there's the new heavens and the new earth, they're established, and that view is called amillennialism. Not the best name, I think most of them would agree. What it means is that there is no future millennium that we're waiting for because we're in it now.

So amillennialism, not the very greatest title, because they would say, "No, there is one and we're in it now." And it's symbolic for a very long period of time in which Christ is reigning now. Some others say that the 1,000 years is a real period of lengthy glory in this age.

We're not in it yet. It will come just before Christ comes so that the gospel triumphs in the world. The world is Christianized, by and large. Peace and righteousness hold sway in the world. And then after that, post that, this is postmillennial, Christ returns. So that's called postmillennialism because the second coming happens after a real future, long time of triumph for the gospel in the earth.

And then here's the third view, and I put myself here. Some say that the 1,000 years happens after Christ comes again, or he comes pre- before the millennium, and that's why it's called premillennialism. And then after Christ comes to a very rebellious earth and establishes his reign, there is a long, long period of glorious rule of Christ on the earth.

Now, John's question makes it sound to me like he's not aware of this view. I mean, he says, "We are not in the millennium." Okay, I agree with that. I don't think so, he says. So Christ is at least 1,000 years off. I don't know where he gets that necessity.

And soon to return, he says, "How can it be soon to return if there's 1,000 years between us and Christ?" So my answer is that Christ may not be at all 1,000 years off because a millennium does not have to come first. That's my view. It comes after Christ's return.

So Christ could come very, very quickly. I pray he does. I have really good friends who hold all three of these positions, and so I'm not going to withhold my fellowship or friendship over these kinds of disagreements. But I would simply suggest to John that he study that section and get some books and read about these views, that he study that section in Revelation, and that he read especially verses 4 to 6 of Revelation 20 very carefully and ask what the first resurrection looks like it refers to.

That's when the millennium begins. They came to life, reigned with Christ for 1,000 years. This is the first resurrection, and then the millennium starts. I think that resurrection is the resurrection at the coming of Christ, the second coming, and that's when the millennium begins. So John can press on with his joyful sense of expectation in the Lord's return.

It could happen very, very soon. He doesn't have to wait 1,000 years. Thank you, Pastor John. Thank you for the question, John. Thanks for listening to this episode. You can find our audio feeds and you can keep up with our episodes as we release them, and you can sift through our over 1,000 episodes now in our archive.

And you can do all of that through our online home at DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn. Well speaking of timing and when we can expect things to happen, does God know the day and the hour when we will each die? Is our time set? Has he set that time? And is God in control of the day and hour?

That's the question coming up on Friday as Pastor John scours the Bible to find all of the evidence that he can find to make his answer from Scripture. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. We'll see you then. Thanks for listening to the Ask Pastor John podcast. 1 Desiring God's Plan for the World 2.0 Desiring God's Plan for the World 3.0 Desiring God's Plan for the World 4.0 Desiring God's Plan for the World 5.0 Desiring God's Plan for the World 6.0 Desiring God's Plan for the World 7.0 Desiring God's Plan for the World 8.0 Desiring God's Plan for the World 9.0