You may remember, when we approached the year 2000, there was a rush of panic.

People were very anxious that when the clock ticked from December 31st, 1999 to January the 1st, 2000, our computer-dependent infrastructure would fail in

catastrophic ways.

There were nightmare scenarios of planes falling out of the sky, medical machinery shutting down, and financial

systems going haywire.

In the end, the only computer-related problem that occurred in my household on January the first

was that I still couldn't insert a USB cable correctly on the first attempt,

or the second attempt, which doesn't make any sense at all, given that there are only two possible ways to insert it.

But anyway, there's always been angst surrounding the millennium and exactly how the world will end.

If not a computer bug then perhaps a second Ice Age.

Robots turning on their masters, a burly asteroid with a grudge against Earth.

But what of scripture? Does scripture say anything about what will happen at the end?

Well a key chapter is Revelation chapter 20 which speaks of a thousand year period often referred to as the millennium.

This is the only place in the Bible which speaks of it, which is not to say it's unimportant,

but the figurative language of apocalyptic literature like this poses some unique interpretive challenges.

Revelation Chapter 20 describes an angel seizing Satan and binding him for a thousand years, after which time he's released for a while.

Then scripture speaks of believers being resurrected and reigning with Christ for a thousand

years.

The rest of the dead we're told did not come to life until the

thousand years were ended. Then Satan is released and deceives the nation stirring

them for battle against God's people until finally God overthrows Satan and all those with him.

Christians have interpreted the thousand years in several ways.

...