How does the millennium relate to the eternal setting according to Revelation?
Revelation limits the earthly kingdom to a thousand years, the millennium. That thousand-year reign of Christ is a definitive period but merely the introduction to the eternal setting. In Revelation 21 the new heaven and new earth appear, and the kingdom economy moves right on into eternity.
Les explains that even though the earthly kingdom is promised to Israel, the book of Revelation puts a time limit on it of a thousand years, which is why it is called the millennium. That thousand-year reign of Christ is a definitive period, but it is merely the introduction for the eternal setting. Revelation chapter 21 then presents a new heaven and a new earth, and the whole kingdom economy will move right on into eternity. Les adds that eternity will be a viable exercise and a place of intense activity, without all the problems, tribulations, and sorrows we have now—quite the opposite of boring or monotonous.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
More Questions
How does the new heavens and new earth relate to the millennial kingdom?
The new heavens and new earth will be a carbon copy of the millennial kingdom as described in Revelation and the Old Testament, with the kingdom's aspects continuing into eternity.