The Battle after the Millennium

These verses describe some interesting conditions and happenings about the end of the Millennium, which I find fascinating to think about:

110 And so on, until the seventh angel shall sound his trump; and he shall stand forth upon the land and upon the sea, and swear in the name of him who sitteth upon the throne, that there shall be time no longer; and Satan shall be bound, that old serpent, who is called the devil, and shall not be loosed for the space of a thousand years.

111 And then he shall be loosed for a little season, that he may gather together his armies.

112 And Michael, the seventh angel, even the archangel, shall gather together his armies, even the hosts of heaven.

113 And the devil shall gather together his armies; even the hosts of hell, and shall come up to battle against Michael and his armies.

114 And then cometh the battle of the great God; and the devil and his armies shall be cast away into their own place, that they shall not have power over the saints any more at all.

115 For Michael shall fight their battles, and shall overcome him who seeketh the throne of him who sitteth upon the throne, even the Lamb. (D&C 88:110-115)

Verse 110 tells us Satan will be bound and not loosed again for 1000 years. One of the things that binds Satan is when he and his temptations are completely ignored. If no one listens, he has no power.

Verse 111 tells us that Satan will be loosed for a little season and allowed to gather together his armies. That means that people start giving into temptation again, which is sad. So there will be some apostasy similar to that described in 4 Nephi.

However, Satan will not be unopposed.

Verse 112 tells us that Michael the seventh angel (or archangel) will gather his armies, the hosts of heaven. We know that Michael is also Adam. So we’ll have the resurrected Adam and all the first-fruits of the resurrection still living on the earth since they were resurrected at the beginning. 

It seems absolutely incredible to me that people would apostatize even with resurrected beings—prophets, Saints, and once-martyrs—still living among them!  It’s insanity!  But it seems to be the case.

Verse 113 tells us the devil will gather the hosts of hell and come up to battle against Michael and his armies. I notice it is the wicked who initiate the attack, not the righteous.

Verse 114 says there will be “the battle of the great God” and the devil and his armies will be cast away to their own place and have no more power over the Saints.  

Now, I have to wonder what idiot will have decided it is a good idea to fight against godly, resurrected beings who can’t die any more.  Obviously mortal apostates can’t win against that!  But maybe they would be deceived into thinking that the resurrected are defenseless because of the profound concern for life they exhibit. Maybe the apostates will think the resurrected will choose to suffer anything rather than defend themselves by taking any life. (Because after all, if you take life, you’ve just ended someone’s probationary period and they might have repented.)  Still, the battles have to be fought for the sakes of those mortals who are still righteous.

Verse 115 says Michael will fight the Saints’ battles. This is an interesting modification on the usual assurance that the Lord would fight our battles.  From the perspective of righteous immortals, it would make sense to have a policy of choosing just one resurrected person to do all the fighting (since one immortal is more than a match for any number of mortals).  No overwhelming show of numbers is necessary. 

I found myself asking why this was all made known so far in the future if we wouldn’t have the change to see it happen in our lifetime. I think it is part of the way that God proves He knows the end from the beginning and prepares the way for various generations to build and exercise their faith in Him. We look at prophecies made far in the past about the gathering of Israel and we see them being fulfilled, so we exercise faith that God will continue to fulfill what He has said will happen in the near future and in the far future.  It will also give future Saints just as much reason to read our modern scriptures to see what has been said of them.

What does Isaiah say about nations in the Millennium?

So shall he sprinkle many nations;
the kings shall shut their mouths at him:
for that which had not been told them shall they see;
and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
(Isaiah 52:15)

This is a very interesting scripture. The Joseph Smith Translation of this scripture changes the word “sprinkle” to “gather”, so the line becomes “So shall he gather many nations”. Now, on the surface, this scripture seems to talk about the gathering of Israel, and we tend to think that the rest of the verse with it says that kings will be surprised to hear about it this gathering. However, something tells me there is something else. Kings have been given sets of scriptures and they’ve been visited by general authorities and they haven’t heard anything so shocking and inconceivable in these days that they have been rendered absolutely speechless.

In W. Cleon Skousen’s book, Isaiah Speaks to Modern Times, he pointed out that this prophecy was fulfilled in the past when the United States was set up as a free nation. Before then, kings had not considered the idea that they might not have a divine right of kingship or that the people had a right to change a tyrannical government. That was indeed an astounding and revolutionary idea back then. (W. Cleon Skousen, Isaiah Speaks to Modern Times, Salt Lake City: Ensign Publishing, 1984, 653-654.)

I suspect there is even more to come at the Millennium. I think that the news that kings and presidents are going to hear will be something they never thought about before, something that has even huger implications for them than the right of the people to change their government. It would be nothing less than the right of God to abolish nations. I think this scripture is talking about how in the millennium Christ will make a full end of all nations. He will gather all nations in one. There will be no United States, no Canada, no Mexico, no separate countries in North or South America or Europe or Asia or Africa. The whole earth will all be unified as one nation ruled by Christ. (He’s the king of the whole earth, so the whole earth becomes His nation.) No borders or walls, no passports, no visas, no immigration laws, no illegal aliens, no export or import taxes, no tariffs.

This is something that kings and rulers of countries have never thought about. They haven’t thought about what will happen when Christ comes to rule over the earth and what that will mean for their positions. When Christ says the country of England no longer exists as a political entity, that means that Parliament and the Royalty and the courts have been abolished too. When Christ says that the United States has been done away as a political entity, then that means the Supreme Court, Congress, the Presidency, and all the state government offices have all ceased to exist too. Every government will be abolished and Christ will take control himself, erasing borders, and divisions across the globe. “But, verily I say unto you that in time ye shall have no king nor ruler, for I will be your king and watch over you” (Doctrine & Covenants 38:21). The rulers will be told they are no longer in charge and they will become ordinary citizens. They will shut their mouths, because they will realize there is nothing they can say to change it.

The laws are going to be very different, but they will be perfectly familiar to those of us who have kept the commandments. “Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me, and you shall be a free people, and ye shall have no laws but my laws when I come, for I am your lawgiver, and what can stay my hand?” (Doctrine & Covenants 38:22, emphasis added)

The Millennial Promise of a Long Life

There shall be no more thence an infant of days,
nor an old man that hath not filled his days:
for the child shall die an hundred years old;
but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
(Isaiah 65:20)

This scripture points out that in the Millennium no one will die young anymore. There won’t be stillborn babies, or children who die, or teens, or even middle aged people who die. Anyone who dies will die of old age. This seems to suggest to me that no one will die of disease or accident, which is simply astonishing.

[B]ut the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed – This is a warning to anyone who thinks that a long life is synonymous to a happy life. Isaiah says here that if a sinner has a long life, it will feel like a curse to them instead of a blessing. He leaves the reason for this left unsaid—that only a righteous life is a happy life.

Why is this? The older you get, the more memories you have to look back on. Wicked actions, though they may give us momentary pleasure, will taste very bitter to a memory wizened over the space of years. We want to remember our past actions with satisfaction, and that will only happen if our actions were righteous. I suspect that many people feel such great nostalgia for their childhood and remember it as a happy time, because it was before they started making wrong choices. Many return missionaries consider their mission to be the best two years of their life, and I suspect it is because during those two years they were most committed to keeping the commandments and did the most righteous things worth remembering.

I suspect that this was behind the three Nephites’ desire to remain on the earth beyond the normal span of mortality. Certainly if they made better and better choices as time went on, they would become more happy. Part of the foundation for their happiness was teaching the gospel—a very righteous choice—and they wanted more time to do this . Christ knew what they felt, which was why he told them their joy would be full just like His joy was full. (3 Nephi 28:9-10)

I have found out that as I keep becoming a better person doing more good things and serving a little more each year than I did before, my life is getting better and happier! Each year seems happier than the last and I feel more nostalgic about the more recent past than I do about my childhood. Yes, my childhood was great, but my choices as a whole have gotten better since then.

I know that as you make better and better choices, you will find that your life similarly gets happier and happier.