The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season, and he and the host of the wicked encompass the camp of the saints and the holy city, when fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. The earth is cleansed by the same fire that destroys the wicked, and, renewed, becomes the eternal abode of the saints. The millennium is one of "the ages to come." Its close will mark the beginning of the new earth state.] [Illustration: CHRIST COMING FOR HIS OWN "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," Rev. 20:4.] THE MILLENNIUM The word "millennium" means "a thousand years." This definite period is referred to specifically in but one chapter of the Bible, the twentieth of Revelation; and in that chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We find it to be: The period during which the saints reign with Christ in judgment. The period during which Satan is bound. The measure of time between the two resurrections, that of the just and that of the unjust. An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium will show: 1. The events that mark its beginning. 2. The events that occur during the thousand years. 3. The events that come at the end of the period. We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures: That the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ. That the reign of the saints with Him in judgment is not on this earth, but in heaven. That this earth, void of human inhabitants, is Satan's prison house during the thousand years. That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined is executed upon Satan and all the wicked. That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment, and renewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved. 1. Events at the Beginning of the Thousand Years The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that the millennium begins with-- The Resurrection of the Just Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says: "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead [the wicked] 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." Rev. 20:4-6. There are to be two resurrections. The apostle Paul said that this was the teaching of all Scripture: "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15. The first resurrection, that of the just, marks the beginning of the thousand years. Christ's Second Coming When is this first resurrection, in the order of events in this "day of the Lord"? It is at the second advent of Christ. One scripture, out of many, will suffice to state it: "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." 1 Thess. 4:16.