Preparing for the Millennium

Many people of various religious beliefs look forward with great anticipation to the glorious Millennium in which peace will reign, Satan will be bound, Christ will return and there will be no wickedness for a thousand years.  How will this Millennium begin? 

Some believe that Christ will come and simply burn up the wicked and take over the world and its governments by hostile force while the righteous are taken away and/or protected by the Rapture.  They believe that this will begin the Millennium.

It is clear that however the Millennium begins, there must be groups of people who are righteous enough to live on the earth during this wondrous time.  What we must also consider is that these people will not be forced to live contrary to their own agency or freedom of choice.  Those who live in the Millennium will do so because they have learned to live as if they were in the Millennium already.  They will not experience a huge shift in lifestyle, disposition or nature.  

Those who live in the Millennium will live their lives today as if the Millennium had already started.  They will already be peaceful; they will not be murderers, liars, thieves, or whoremongers.  They will be righteous, already.

In this sense, there must be enough righteous on the earth who are living millennial lives before the Millennium can begin.  If there are not, then the earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.  This also means that the Millennium will be postponed indefinitely until a certain number or percentage of the people are ready for his coming and ready to live in the thousand years of peace.

By this, we can see that the Millennium will not begin until we have learned to live it and thereby begin it.  In many ways, we will bring the Millennium by our righteousness.

One example of how the Millennium will come by our righteousness can clearly be realized in the prophecy which tells us that Satan will be bound for a thousand years such that he will have no power over the children of men. 

At the beginning of the Millennium, the world will be transformed into a Terrestrial kingdom and all things that cannot abide the Terrestrial glory will be burned by the purifying fire of God’s spirit and destroyed. In the same way we as individuals are baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost, the earth will be baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost which will purify it and everything on it making it a Terrestrial world. 

Most think that Satan will be bound by God as if he could be held with chains and ropes. This is not what we learn from the scriptures.

“And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth.” – 1 Nephi 22:26

“And Satan shall be bound, that he shall have no place in the hearts of the children of men.” – D&C 45:55

It is because of the righteousness of the people that Satan has no power. During the Millennium the only people who will be resurrected will be “the just” or those who qualify for Celestial Glory. The unjust who qualify for Terrestrial or Telestial Glory will be resurrected at the end of the millennium with the resurrection of “the unjust”. (For an explanation of this, in more detail, see Part 6 – Resurrection)

“16 Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice of the Son of Man:

17 And shall come forth; they who have done good, in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil, in the resurrection of the unjust.
…
50 And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just – 

51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—

52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;

53 And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.

54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
…

65 These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just.

69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.” – D&C 76:16-17, 50-54, 65-70

Remember that in D&C 76, only the Celestial people are called “just men”. The Terrestrial people are called “Honorable men”, and the Telestial are called the wicked.

To qualify for the resurrection of the just, we must meet the criteria given in these verses, the last of which is to be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise which is how we make our calling and election sure and by which we become members of the Church of the Firstborn. Only members of the Church of the Firstborn will be resurrected with the just.

Satan will be bound by the righteousness of the people because there will be no one alive who will give Satan power in their lives during the millennium. This is the same state the people lived in as recorded in the Book of Mormon for nearly two hundred years after Christ came, (see 4 nephi 1:1-26).

At the end of the Millennium when the unjust are resurrected, Satan will be loosed for a short period because there are people on the earth who again give Satan power in their lives.

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

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.” – Revelations 20:7-8

This means that before the Millennium can come, WE must learn to bind Satan in our lives by our righteousness. Until enough people can do that, the earth will not be prepared to enter into the Millennium. This places the timing largely into our hands to determine when the Millennium will start.

“Satan only gains power over man through man’s exercise of his own agency; and when Satan shall be bound, as the Lord says he will be for a thousand years, one of the great powers that will help bring this to pass will be man’s agency. The Lord has never forced men against their will to obey Him. He never will do so. If Satan, therefore, has power with man, it is because man yields to his influence.

Children can resist Satan. They can obey the Lord. They can be righteous. They can take a course which will give them power over Satan. And every child which takes this course helps bring to pass the fulfillment of the words of the Lord concerning the binding of Satan.” –  George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth, 1:86

We give you our witness that the Millennium WILL NOT come until we as the great majority of the people of this earth are prepared for it.

Christ will not come until we are prepared for and have already received him.  Christ has already come to individuals and will continue to visit individuals who are ready to receive him.  Those who have been visited by Christ have received the Second Comforter.

Christ will continue to come to individuals until small groups are prepared to receive him.  Then he will come also to these small groups until larger groups are prepared.  Then he will come also to these larger groups until the world at large is prepared.  Then he will return to the earth to reign over a planet who wants and desires him to reign. 

He will not come as a tyrant conqueror to a people he must subdue.  He will come to a people who will rejoice in his coming and who desire him to sit on the throne and reign over them.  When the earth is ready to receive him, then he will come and the earth’s Millennium will begin.

For those who want to qualify for the Millennium and help it to come quickly, it becomes important to know, “How do we bind Satan by our righteousness?”

We answer this question in greater detail in our book, “Bringing the Millennium”. However, we want to call out the part of this process which directly relates to the Atonement of Jesus Christ as has been taught thus far.

Before we answer this question, we must first understand where Satan gets his power. Visualize if you will the greatest tragedies witnessed in our history.  Most of these horrors have been performed by those who fear and hate the very thing they are fighting against, and most often, these great evils are done in the name of the God of some religion or in the name of some moral and worthy cause.

Consider some of the major events which have plagued our planet:

• Various Wars and Genocides as Recorded in Holy Scriptures 
• The Inquisition
• The Witch Hunts
• The Crusades and other Religious Wars
• The Unrest of the Middle East
• The Holocaust
• World War I & II
• Destruction of the Twin Towers
• The War on Terror

All of these and so many more atrocities have resulted by the same means and logic.  When we understand clearly how Satan has used us as pawns and caused such great misery repeatedly during the history of this planet, then we are easily able to see how his power and influence can be removed such that he becomes helpless and weak and unable to continue leading us into carnage.  

What we are about to share with you is how Satan has ruled this world and how he will lose his power over this world.  We will teach you the mystery that has persisted since the fall of Adam by which even you have played Satan’s pawn in your homes with your family, at work, in politics, and on the national and international fronts.  

It has most often been used by religions, governments and secret societies to motivate masses to support killing and even occasional murder of men, women and children.  It is the cause of nearly all wars, contentions, arguments, fights and disagreements.  It turns the good intentions of honest people to do the most horrific acts. 

It even was the means and motivation which directly caused Christ to be crucified and later the apostles to be put to death.  It is the root of Satan’s power.

Only when we understand the source of Satan’s power, will we be enabled to take away that power and bind him in our lives and thereby end our role as his unwitting pawns.  Eventually the whole earth will understand the principles by which he has reigned as God of this world.   And eventually he will be dethroned by our righteousness. 

In the temple endowment, we see the following conversation taking place between Satan and God.

GOD: I will place enmity between thee and the seed of the woman. Thou mayest have power to bruise his heel, but he shall have power to crush thy head. 

SATAN: Then with that enmity I will take the treasure of the earth, and with gold and silver I will buy up armies and navies, false priests who oppress, and tyrants who destroy, and reign with blood and horror on the earth! 

In this conversation Satan tells us exactly how he intends to “reign with blood and horror on the earth. His power comes from our enmity for evil. 

What is Enmity?

Enmity is defined as:

“A feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity; antagonism.” – Dictionary.com

 

“Deep-seated, often mutual hatred.  …the feeling or expression of deep-seated ill will. Enmity is hatred such as might be felt for an enemy.” – thefreedictionary.com

Who is “the Seed of the Woman”?

The woman is Eve, the great Matriarch and the Mother of all living.  Her seed is all mankind, (except Adam). 

Almost all mankind have been taught from a young age, a natural enmity toward what we suppose to be evil.  We support those people and causes that we believe to be right and good. We fight against those people and causes that we suppose to be wrong or evil.  

The more extreme our view of a person is, the more we support them or fight against them.  If we believe that a particular person or group is extremely good, then we support them more than a group that we believe to do a little good.  If we believe a person or group to be extremely evil or bad, then we fight against them more than we would a group that we believe to be misled or a little bad.

This is caused by the enmity that God placed between us, (the seed of the woman), and Satan.

Even Satan worshipers have enmity toward those whom they believe are evil.  The difference is that they believe that Satan is the good guy who is trying to free us from an oppressive and tyrannical God by giving us forbidden knowledge.  So, even Satanists have enmity toward what they suppose to be evil or bad.

Satan is able to use this enmity to his advantage…  Here’s how…

The Building of Armies

Because we hate evil, Satan has only to separate us or divide us into groups with common interests, goals or beliefs and then convince us that those who do not belong to our group or those who do not share our common interests, goals or beliefs are evil.

Once we are persuaded to believe that those not associated with us are evil, our enmity for evil will motivate us to fight against them and they against us.  Both sides of this fight will be convinced that they are right/good and the other is wrong/evil.  Not only wrong, but wrong to the point they must be stopped at all costs.  Wrong to the point that your life should be put on the line to stop them. Wrong to the point that killing them is better than letting them live.

         While Satan is busy convincing us that our enemy is evil, he is also busy convincing our enemies that we are evil. In this way both sides of every conflict believe themselves to be right or godly and justified and their opponents to be wrong, evil and at best misguided or deceived.

Those who are caught up in the false drama created by Satan honestly and deeply believe that they are doing God’s will and that they are actively engaged in a meaningful and pivotal conflict between good and evil, right and wrong.  The reality is that both sides often become the evil they are fighting against.  

Good people on both sides feel that they are doing God’s will by removing the evil from the earth.

The Principles of Peace (taught in our book, Bringing the Millennium), teach the principles that undo his power and control over us and prepare us to experience the Millennium of Peace where Satan is bound in our life because of our righteousness. But the great principle which destroys Satan’s power entirely is that you love your enemy…

Love Your Enemy

Jesus shared his wisdom and the ultimate solution to ending Satan’s reign and beginning the millennium saying,

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? – Matt. 5:43-47

We think that somehow we can destroy evil by fighting against it. So, we begin to fight against those we deem to be evil. Our enmity moves us to tear down and criticize those who disagree with us, hate us or oppose us and from there we are on the path to all levels of war.

When we love our enemies and do good to them, we refuse to hurt or destroy them.  We are no longer pawns for Satan. He no longer has power over us to buy up armies and navies, false priests who oppress, and tyrants who destroy, and reign with blood and horror on the earth.

Loving our enemy does not mean that we have to agree with them, obey them or join them. (You might join them if it is the right thing to do, but not in doing what you believe is evil.) Loving your enemy means that you accept that they are progressing just like you are. You forgive them for their trespasses against you. You are not afraid of them but understand and accept their freedom to believe as they wish. You even protect their right and freedom to believe according to their own will and desire just as much as you protect your own freedom of conscience. You do not allow them to hurt others or take away the freedoms of others in any way, only to govern their own lives according to their own beliefs and experience exactly as you want for yourself.

God placed enmity between us and Satan so that we would not follow Satan willingly.  Satan has to trick us into doing his will by getting us to think that we are doing God’s will. From the beginning, he mastered this deception and has used it to trick us into destroying one another. The ultimate solution to this issue is to love your enemy. 

“And in that day the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face.

27 And in that day whatsoever any man shall ask, it shall be given unto him.

28 And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man.” – D&C 101:26-28

The only way to bind Satan is to do exactly what Jesus taught by loving our enemy. 

At the end of Jesus’ life, the crowd shouted “Crucify him!”  They allowed a known criminal to go free instead of an innocent man.  He was at that moment their enemy and the least among them.  While we were not there, we have an opportunity to show what we would have done if we were.  Jesus taught us very clearly saying,

 

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. – Matt. 25:40 & 45

Take notice that he said that how we treat the stranger is how we have treated him.  And how we treat the prisoners who are lawfully convicted criminals, (Murderers and rapists included), is how we treat our Savior.

Who is your greatest enemy? Take a moment and determine whom you consider to be the least. How you treat those that you esteem to be of least worth, the least righteous and the least important is how you would have treated your Savior. Do you shout for their crucifixion or do you pray, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do…”?

There is a great and last enemy we must learn to overcome with love. An enemy which has tried to destroy us from the beginning and make us miserable like unto himself. What greater enemy do we have than Satan himself?

Essentially, in order to finally overcome Satan, we must learn to love the ultimate enemy, we must love Satan. God placed enmity between Satan and the seed of the woman.  With that enmity, Satan reigns with blood and horror on the earth.  To end his reign, we must remove the enmity we have for Satan and replace it with love. Then Satan has no power over us and our own personal millennium can begin. 

When people teach that we need to fight against evil or fight against Satan, be aware that they are acting as Satan’s pawns without knowing it. We cannot beat Satan by fighting him or by war. For if we did, we would be using evil, and therefore serving Satan to do so. He cannot be defeated so long as we are serving him by using his ways. To do so only gives him greater power.   

Satan can only be defeated by employing the powers that belong to God, which are love and righteousness and those things which come from and are of goodness and light. 

When enough people have overcome Satan by loving him as their greatest enemy, then we will stop learning war. 

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” – Isaiah 2:4

Isn’t this the purpose of the “At-one-ment”, to make us at one with God and man?

“And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue and holiness before me.

 25 And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself.

 26 For what man among you having twelve sons, and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one: Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the other: Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there—and looketh upon his sons and saith I am just?

27 Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” – D&C 38:27

“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” – 1 John 3

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” – 1 John 4:7

“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” – Luke 6:35

NOTE: If you are interested in learning more about how to build Zion and prepare for the Millennium, please read our book, “Bringing the Millennium”.