The Millennium will be a time of great prosperity, but at the end of the Millennium, “Satan will be released from his prison” (Rev. 20:8). Once again, Satan will deceive the nations and lead a final rebellion against God, but this final rebellion will be destroyed by God (Rev. 20:9-10) and there will be eternal consequences for the rebellious (Rev. 20:14-15). The Book of Revelation describes the rebellious as being thrown into the Lake of Fire. Anyone not found written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:15). In my opinion, the Lake of Fire is an image of God’s wrath directed against the rebellious, whether unbeliever or believer in Christ.
Of great importance, Revelation 21:4 explains that “there will no longer be any death [meaning physical or spiritual separation from God].” However, there will still be eternal consequences. We must reconcile Revelation, Chapters 20 and 21 with verses like Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11, and Philippians 2:10-11, which reads:
[A]t the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
At Philippians 3:21, we read that Jesus Christ has the power “to subject all things to Himself.” The Book of Revelation uses apocalyptic language (symbolic images and visions like the “Lake of Fire”) to explain God’s judgment and punishment of the disobedient and rebellious.
At 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, we read,
[T]hen comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power [contrary to the Father and Son]. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him.
So, in my opinion, it seems clear that death will continue to occur during the Millennium, and the last enemy to be abolished will be death, which will occur at the end of the Millennium.
At Revelation 21:4, we read,
“He [God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
In the Eternal State, all humans and angels will live in nonstop fellowship with God. Philippians 3:21 establishes that God has the power to subdue all things to Himself. The history of humans and angels proves that when we act contrary to God’s will, we produce evil, unnecessary hardship, and suffering. In the Eternal State, we will not be free to cause evil. We will all live in nonstop subjection to God, and God has the power to bring this about. Our freedom will not be an excuse to do evil. In the Eternal State, God will be “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28; Ps. 110:1), meaning God will be in complete harmony and unity with His creation. Even so, there will be eternal consequences for disobedience and rebellion against God in this life and the Millennium.
John, the Elder, was directed to tell the believers in Smyrna God’s direction to “Be faithful until death, and I [God] will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). At Revelation 20:4, John, the Elder, described that faithful believers will come to life and reign “with Christ for a thousand years.” John explained that the “rest of the dead [will] not come to life until the thousand years [are] completed” (Rev. 20:5) and that faithful believers will participate in the “first resurrection” (Rev. 20:5). At Revelation 20:15, we read that “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” In my opinion, those not found “written in the book of life” include both unbelievers and unfaithful believers. For both groups, there will be negative eternal consequences. Every believer has “eternal life” (John 3:15), but we have been told to “take hold of… eternal life” (1 Tim. 6:12). As we have discussed before, the Lake of Fire is an image of the wrath of God, which will be directed toward both unbelievers and unfaithful believers.
