Does Christ return to Heaven after the thousand year reign, and then return to earth after the seventh trumpet?

Question

After the thousand year reign is over we read in Revelation 20:v7-8

When the thousand years are over,Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth-Gog and Magog-to gather them for battle

The scriptures that interpret the above scripture must be Revelation 16:v12-16,

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates,and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east.

13 Then i saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs;they came out of the mouth of the dragon,out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14 They are the spirits of demons performing miraculous signs,and they go out to the kings of the whole world,to gather them for battle on the great day of God Almighty.

16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

From the above scriptures i understand that,

The sixth angel has poured out his bowl and verse 14 indicates that the great day of God Almighty is imminent, but the seventh trumpet has still to be sounded, which will herald Christ's return.

Rev 11: v 15 reads, The seventh angel sounded his trumpet,and there were loud voices in Heaven,which said:

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,and he will reign for ever and ever."

The above scripture confirms Christ has returned.

My question is where did Jesus go when the thousand year reign finished and when Satan was released from his prison.

The reason i ask this question is because if Jesus was on earth at the first resurrection,this implies to me that the second coming of Christ happened then.

Answer 1

The basis for my answer is the assumption there is a resurrection of those who died believing in Christ, which is the first resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and verse 16 in particular, say,

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise FIRST.

A first resurrection implies a second resurrection. In Revelation 20:4-7, we read:

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Since the verse divisions in the Bible are NOT inspired, from the way verse 5 is set up, you might think the first resurrection does not occur until the thousand years are finished. We can see, however, that the ones who take part in the first resurrection reign with Christ for a thousand years. The words "this is the first resurrection" describe what is happening in verses 4 and 6, not in verse 5.

Verse 6 talks about "the second death," which clearly has no power on the righteous, since they reign with Christ for 1000 years. What is this second death? Verses 14 and 15 tell us:

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Clearly, there are four groups of people at the Second Coming of Christ: the righteous dead, the righteous living, the wicked dead, and the wicked living.

The Seven Last Plagues

Notice the seven trumpets and seven plagues are, contrary to popular belief, BEFORE the second advent of Jesus. In Revelation 16, the first six plagues are poured out, and then in verse 15 Jesus says,

"'Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.'"

Then in chapter 17, the seventh plague is poured upon Babylon, and verse 18 describes the destruction of Babylon. In Revelation 18:4 Jesus says to the righteous who are in Babylon,

Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

In the seventh plague the people of God are upon the Earth. Chapter 19 is about the marriage supper of the Lamb, which happens immediately after His Second coming (seeMatthew 25:1-13).

The Events in Chronological Order

In order, then, the events are as follows:

1. These first six plagues are poured out.
2. Jesus prepares to come.
3. The people of God come out of Babylon.
4. Jesus comes and the FIRST resurrection of the righteous dead occurs. They are taken up to heaven with the righteous living (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
5. As described at the end of Revelation 19, the rest are destroyed by the brightness of Jesus. At this point the Earth is left void and bereft of life, and Satan is left to see the results of his uprising.
6. The millennium begins, during which the righteous reign and judge with Jesus. Since at this point the righteous are in heaven and the wicked await destruction, I suggest the judgments which the righteous make will show why Jesus' judgments were fair. If, for example, a brother from church is not one of the righteous, we will then see why he is not.
7. At the same time, the millennium also starts for Satan, who is bound and therefore unable to tempt anyone.
8. The 1000 years are fulfilled and the second resurrection takes place. All of the wicked of all time are raised and deceived by Satan one last time to go to war against God and His Holy City which has come down.
9. At the same time the wicked are being raised, the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven and is encompassed by the wicked (Revelation 21:2-3).
10. A careful reading of Revelation 20:8 and 9 indicates that as the wicked are about to attack, they are shown their evil works, and they all will then bow down and confess they were wrong (Romans 14:10-12, and Philippians 2:9-11). They do not repent, however. If they could take the city of God by force they would.
11. They are then destroyed in the lake of fire and brimstone, which was prepared for the devil and his angels (Revelation 20:10-15).
12. The Earth is then re-created (Revelation 21) and we inherit it and repopulate it, as originally planned(Revelation 21; Matthew 5:5; Proverbs 11:31).

In conclusion, Isaiah 66:22 and 23 tell us,

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord."

Answer 2

Revelation 19 and 20 for the most part are in chronological order.

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16

This individual on the white horse is Christ. He is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. His name is the Word of God. And John 1 tells us the word of God is Jesus Christ. So here John the revelator sees the return of Christ, coming with the armies of heaven, all the holy angels. This event is a day of celebration for the saved. For it is written “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

What then happens to the lost who are living when Christ returns?

Thankfully the very next verses in Revelation 19 tell us. Revelation 19:17-21 says

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”

And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

If you notice here the verse says that “The flesh of all people” “were killed with the sword” (Revelation 19:18-21) When Jesus returns, all the saved are taken to heaven, and all the living lost perish. Therefore the seven last plagues fall before the return of Christ. It is in this life that we determine our destiny. There is no second chance, no second probation for those who witness Christ’s return. Jesus said that His return “will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy…” (Luke 21:35-36)

After the return of Christ, the resurrection of the saved and the emptying of the earth, the apostle John continues to write saying

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven… He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:1-2)

Satan who “did not open the house of his prisoners” who were bound to him by sin, is now himself chained (Isaiah 14:17). Chained in a hopeless bottomless pit for a thousand years with no one to tempt, Satan is absolutely miserable. “But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.” (Revelation 20:5) Revelation 20:5 is a key verse. When Jesus returns all the saved are made alive and taken to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 51-52). “But the rest of the dead” that is the lost, “did not live again until the thousand years were finished”; which means that after the thousand years the lost rise again. Jesus speaking of this says “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (John 5:28-29) Jesus said in John 5:28-29 that in the future there will be two resurrections, the resurrection of life for the righteous and the resurrection of condemnation for the wicked, but these two resurrections occur at different times based on Revelation 19 & 20.

After the thousand years, all the lost are resurrected to face their punishment (Revelation 20:5). “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.” (Revelation 20:7-8) “Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of his power and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner and through them endeavor to execute his plans. The wicked are Satan’s captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their graves and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny.” (Revelation 20:7-10, Ezekiel 38:10-12, 18-23, 2 Corinthians 11:14, John 8:44, The Great Controversy p. 663)

More info here - http://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/media/e/1602/t/the-millennium-of-peace--part-1.aspx

Answer 3

Generally put by pre-millenialists, the last trumpet occurs at the beginning of the millennium.

in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

1 Cor 15:52

This would be, by pre-millennialists, the first resurrection, or the believers resurrection.

Christ would then rule on the Earth for the 1,000 years, physically and literally on the "throne of David", and, at the end of that time, satan would be released from the pit to make war on the saints.

It appears that Jesus is still on the Earth at the end of this period, and that the wicked attempt a final overthrow of Christ's rule. Nothing in the Scriptures indicate His removal.

At the end of Revelation 20, the Great White Judgment occurs. There is little to indicate this transition, Scripturally, but it is seen as the end of natural history.

See here for more information.