A resurrection begins the 1,000-year period. (For more on the subject of death, see Study Guide 10.)

It is called the first resurrection. The saved — blessed and holy — from all ages will be raised in it.

The second resurrection takes place at the close of the 1,000-year period. The unsaved will be raised in it. It is called the resurrection of condemnation. Notice: the resurrection of the saved begins the 1,000 years; the resurrection of the unsaved ends the 1,000 years.

As the 1,000 years begin: the most devastating earthquake and hailstorm in history strike the earth; Jesus returns in the clouds for His people; and all the saints are caught up into the air to meet Jesus. (See Study Guide 8 for more on the second coming of Christ.)

The living unsaved will be slain by the very presence of Christ at the second coming. When an angel appeared at Jesus’ tomb, the entire group of Roman guards fell as dead men (Matthew 28:2,4). When the brightness of all the angels, God the Father, and God the Son combine, the unsaved will die as if hit by lightning. The wicked already dead when Jesus returns will remain in their graves until the end of the 1,000 years.

It will be impossible to repent during the 1,000 years, because there will not be a person alive on the earth. The righteous will all be in heaven. All the wicked will be lying dead upon the earth. Revelation 22:11,12 makes it clear that the case of every person is closed before Jesus returns. Those who wait to accept Christ until the 1,000 years begin will have waited too long.

The word for bottomless pit in the original Greek is abussos, or abyss. That same word is used in Genesis 1:2 in the Greek version of the Old Testament in connection with the creation of the earth, where it is translated deep: the earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. The words refer to the earth in its dark, disorganized form before God brought order to it. Jeremiah, describing the earth during the 1,000 years, used virtually the same terms as Genesis 1:2: without form and void, no light, no man (Jeremiah 4:23,25,28). So the battered, dark earth with no people alive will be called the bottomless pit during the 1,000 years. Isaiah 24:22 also speaks of Satan and his angels during the 1,000 years as shut up in the prison.

The chain is symbolic — a chain of circumstances. A supernatural being cannot be confined with a literal chain. Satan is tied down because he has no one to deceive: the unsaved are all dead and the saved are all in heaven. The Lord confines the devil to this earth so he cannot roam the universe hoping to find someone to deceive. Forcing the devil to stay on the earth, alone with his demons for a thousand years with no one to deceive, will be for him the most galling chain ever forged.

The saved from all ages (and probably even good angels) will participate in the judgment during the 1,000 years. The cases of all who are lost, including the devil and his angels, will be reviewed. This judgment will clear up any questions the saved might have about those who were lost. In the end, all will see that people are shut out of heaven only if they did not really want to live like Jesus or to be with Him.

The New Jerusalem will settle where the Mount of Olives now stands. The mountain will be flattened to make a great plain, upon which the city will come to rest. All the righteous of all ages (Zechariah 14:5), the angels of heaven (Matthew 25:31), God the Father (Revelation 21:2,3), and God the Son (Matthew 25:31) will return to the earth with the holy city for Jesus’ special third coming. The second coming is for His saints; the third is with His saints.

At the close of the 1,000 years (when Jesus comes the third time), the wicked will be raised. Satan, loosed from his bonds, will then have an earth full of people (all the nations of the world) to deceive.

Satan, true to his nature, will immediately begin lying to the people left on the earth — the wicked from all ages. (For the origin of Satan, see Study Guide 2.) He may claim that the city is really his, that he was unjustly deposed from the heavenly kingdom, that God is power hungry and ruthless. He will convince them that, if they unify, God does not have a chance. With the entire world against one city, victory will likely appear certain to them. The nations will then unite and marshal their armies to surround the New Jerusalem.

Fire will suddenly come down from heaven (not up from hell, as many believe) upon the wicked, and all will be turned into ashes, including the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). This fire that destroys sin and sinners is called the second death. There is no resurrection from this death; it is final. Notice that the devil will not be tending the fire, as is commonly believed. He will be in it, and it will put him out of existence. (For more on this fire, sometimes called hell, see Study Guide 11. For death, see Study Guide 10.)

God will create new heavens and a new earth, and the New Jerusalem will be the capital city of the earth made new. Sin and its ugliness will be gone forever. God’s people will at long last receive the kingdom promised to them. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away (Isaiah 35:10). It’s too fabulous to describe and too glorious to miss! God has a place prepared there for you (John 14:1–3). Plan to live in it. Jesus is waiting for your consent. (For more on heaven, see Study Guide 4.)

Jesus said that when the signs of His coming are being fulfilled rapidly, as they are today, we should rejoice and know that the end of this world of sin is near — even at the doors. And the apostle Paul said we can know the end is near when there is a great movement for peace in the world. Finally, the Bible says God will cut the work short (Romans 9:28). So without a doubt, we are living on borrowed time. While on earth, Jesus taught that the Lord will arrive suddenly and unexpectedly at an hour known to no one but God the Father (Matthew 24:36; Acts 1:7). Our only safety is to be ready now.