EP. 249 What Happens After the Tribulation?

To View the Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/G9_FyiFuSiM

SHOW NOTES

Welcome back to the Hope Rescue Podcast! This week, in Episode 249, we're continuing our series on biblical end-times prophecy. In our last episode (Ep. 248), we examined the devastating events of the seven-year Tribulation period—God's righteous judgment poured out on a rebellious world. But today, we turn to a far more hopeful and glorious topic: the Millennial Kingdom, the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on earth.

This period—often overlooked or misunderstood—is not symbolic or spiritualized. The Millennial Kingdom is a future, physical reign of Christ on earth for one thousand years, following His Second Coming and the defeat of the Antichrist at Armageddon.

The Purpose of the Millennial Kingdom

The Millennial Kingdom serves at least two major purposes in God’s redemptive plan:

1. To fulfill God’s covenant promises to Israel. In Daniel 9:24, we read, “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city... to bring in everlasting righteousness.” The Millennial Kingdom completes what remains of Israel's prophetic timeline and fulfills the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants—promises of land, kingship, and spiritual blessing that have not yet been fully realized.

2. To reveal the unchanging condition of the human heart.Even in a perfect world—under the righteous rule of Christ with no satanic influence—there will still be rebellion. This underscores the truth that sin comes from within, not just from external temptation. The Millennial Kingdom will prove that even ideal circumstances cannot change the fallen nature of man apart from God's saving grace.

   
   

What Will the Millennium Be Like?

Revelation 20:4-6 describes the first resurrection and says, “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years... Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!” These resurrected saints, along with the Church (raptured and glorified prior), will reign with Christ in glorified bodies, ruling over earthly nations composed of those who survived the Tribulation.

Other Old Testament passages (such as Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65, and Zechariah 14) give us glimpses of what this reign will look like:

• Peace and justice will fill the earth, as Christ rules with a rod of iron (Psalm 2:9).

• The curse on creation will be partially lifted, allowing for long life, abundant harvests, and restored harmony in nature.

• Jerusalem will become the center of worship, and nations will stream to it to honor the King (Zechariah 14:16-17).

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Satan, during this time, will be bound and sealed in the abyss (Revelation 20:1-3), unable to deceive the nations. This allows for a unique age of righteousness and peace unlike any the world has ever known.

The Final Rebellion and Eternal Judgment

At the end of the thousand years, Revelation 20 tells us Satan will be released for a short time to deceive the nations once more. Shockingly, many will follow him in a final act of rebellion—despite living under Christ’s perfect rule. But it’s not much of a battle. Fire comes down from heaven and consumes them instantly, and Satan is cast into the lake of fire for eternity, where the Antichrist and False Prophet already are.

This event is followed by the Great White Throne Judgment, where the rest of the dead (those who rejected Christ) are judged according to their deeds and cast into the lake of fire—what Scripture calls the “second death.”

Why This Matters Today

The Millennial Kingdom reminds us that God keeps His promises, that Jesus will return to reign in righteousness, and that our hope is not in human governments or earthly justice, but in the coming King. As believers, we are not waiting for the world to get better—we are waiting for Christ to return and make all things new.

Let this truth anchor your heart: even in a world of chaos and confusion, there is a future day of perfect peace and justice coming. As citizens of heaven, we are called to live with this eternal perspective now, walking in faith, holiness, and urgency as we wait for His return.