The Greatest Vacation Ever

By Pastor Aubrey Duncan

A Tired and Worn-out People

Our world continues to be engrossed in conflict, confusion, and plagued with uncertainty. The looming climate change crisis is rapidly accelerating as nations struggle to find answers. One expert remarked: “People see that climate change is already a threat and will continue to be a growing threat in the future, and they support changes to keep people safe and prepared, especially on the local level” (Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist at Climate Central).

Additionally, we are all involved in, whether you are aware of it or not, the Great Reset. This is a grand, world-wide proposition to reorder the world’s economic, social, and religious systems, ostensibly to mitigate the climate change crisis and implement a more equitable standard of living for all humanity. That program, concocted by the World Economic Forum, is affecting the human family in ways that most do not realize, and when fully implemented, it will radically alter everyone’s life beyond anything we can now imagine.

The WEF is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, which states as its mission: “Engaging the foremost political, business, cultural, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas”. The United Nations, International Monetary Institutions, and the most powerful political and religious entities are in cooperation with the World Economic Forum to change the course of human history in accordance with what they deem fit and necessary.

Part of their collective vision is to develop a new order of human beings referred to as transhumanism—an amalgamation of man and machine. The proponents of this revolutionary concept are certain that they can improve on God’s design. In fact, its advocates believe that they can make men into gods. Yes, they firmly believe that they can upgrade God’s greatest creation through genetic engineering and technological schemes such as “brain implants.” One of the benefits for humanity that this powerful cabal, responsible for no one but themselves, is touting is that their mechanizations will provide eternal life.

When one considers current world conditions, it makes you feel that you really need a vacation. The atmosphere is mind-boggling and deadly toxic. You just want to get away from it all, engage in some serious reflection, and hopefully chart a course for your own sanity and survival.

Thankfully, the God of Creation already has a course laid out for that vacation we all so desperately need. As He looks upon the schemes of His rebellious creation, He expresses His thoughts: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually’ (Genesis 6:5). Not unlike the days of Noah, when He expressed that sentiment, God is inviting everyone to come on the vacation He has chartered for all who accept His invitation. The vacation He offers us is beyond the comprehension of our finite minds. It is the greatest vacation you can ever have.

Vacations are always wonderful occasions. Much time is spent selecting the destination. The best travel and hotel deals are sought after. There is careful planning as the raw excitement about visiting a new place grows ever fonder. Whether the destination is near or far, the very thought of taking a break from one’s daily routine and the stresses of everyday life brings joy to the heart. Seldom can one resist the temptation to let everyone know that they are going on vacation. In fact, people relish in sharing the great news.

But what if your upcoming vacation is the greatest one you could ever have? How would you prepare for it? How much joy would it bring to your heart, and how many people would you tell about it? Of course, that would depend on how excited you are and how much you are looking forward to that vacation. I invite you to consider what could be the greatest vacation you could ever have and pray that you will become excited about it and treat it with at least the same fervor as your previous vacations.

Several years ago, I was looking at a documentary on a major television network focusing on end-time events. A leading televangelist, who was a featured guest on this program, was talking about the Millennium. In one segment, he referred to the millennium as a time of peace and bliss upon the earth for God’s people. In the next segment, out of the same lips, this profoundly influential evangelical preacher declared that God’s people could be ‘raptured’ away any second now from the earth. He went on to say that after being raptured away, God’s people will have the opportunity to see the destruction that is taking place on earth.

I wondered to myself: What Bible does this dear man read? Of course, his pronouncements are what are parroted by ‘leaders’ and followers alike in most of Christendom. Even without any Bible knowledge, one can discern that such teachings, taken together, are, at best, confusing. How can one be raptured away and at the same time enjoy a thousand years of bliss upon the earth. Creator God is not the author of confusion. By His grace, I shall show from the Bible what God really says about the Millennium. You will discover that the Millennium will be the greatest vacation you can ever have.

The Greatest Vacation Begins

The word ‘Millennium’ does not appear in the Bible. It is a combination of two Latin words: Milli, meaning one thousand, and Annum, meaning year. Most Christians understand that the Millennium is a reference to the thousand-year period mentioned in the book of Revelation: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness for Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4)

There is no dispute that there will be a millennium of peace and unspeakable bliss for God’s people. The problem arises when one tries to determine where this experience takes place. Some say that it occurs on earth. Others contend that it takes place in heaven. In this discourse, we will find out, from God’s word, what the Millennium is, where and when it takes place, and what happens before, during, and after it.

It must always be kept in mind that the story of redemption is revealed to us in an unbroken chain of divine truth that connects perfectly together. Any teaching that does not fit into that chain must be rejected. It is impossible to reconcile the secret rapture followed by a thousand years of bliss upon the earth, as this famous Evangelical and so many others believe. Both concepts are erroneous, deceptive, and dangerous. Neither fits into God’s perfect, self-defining Plan of Salvation for men’s souls. Let’s find out how the Millennium fits into that unbroken chain and where you can spend your greatest vacation ever.

The apostle Paul teaches us clearly how and when that vacation begins: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep … For 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; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17). Our greatest vacation ever now begins.

Take careful note that we get immortality at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, not one second before (1 Corinthians 15:51–53). We do not have it now, nor do our dear, dead loved ones. They are simply sleeping in their graves, awaiting the call of the Lifegiver, Jesus Christ Himself.

The apostle John tells us exactly what happens next at Jesus’ second coming, to which Paul referred in 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 (quoted above). The apostle John identifies the next perfectly fitted link: “But the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection … Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:5–6).

Based on the inspired record, God’s people were not on earth when the Millennium began. Jesus, their Redeemer, takes them to heaven with Him to begin their greatest vacation ever. Plain and simple enough, isn’t it?

So much for God’s people. Now, let’s take an inspired look at the fate of the wicked. First of all, the wicked dead will already be dead, buried in their graves. But what happens to the living wicked when Jesus returns? Paul again answers: “Now we beseech you, bretheren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him … and then shall the wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming … And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:1, 8, 10).

John again adds more detail to the picture: “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;  And said to the mountains and rocks, ‘fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation 6:14–17).

In addition to the plain teachings of Paul and other New Testament writers on the fate of the saved and unsaved when Jesus returns, we have great insight on the condition of the earth at Jesus’ coming and during the Millennium from the prophets of old.

Jeremiah writes: “A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth: for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord … and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth  even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered , nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” (Jeremiah 25: 31,33).

He explains in another place: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens and they had no light … I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly…I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heaven were fled … I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord and by His fierce anger … For thus hath the Lord said: the whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end” (Jeremiah 4:23–27).

The prophet Isaiah agrees completely: “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken His word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish … Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitants of the earth … The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly … And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall be visited” (Isaiah 24:3-5,17,19, 22). Notice the consistency and similarity with Jeremiah’s and Isaiah’s accounts of the condition of the earth when Jesus returns. We see the same account in Revelation 19:11–21. Quite remarkable, isn’t it? Certainly, you do not want to be on earth during the millennium.

The prophet Zechariah further describes this event:  “And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth” (Zechariah 14:12). He also states: “And His (Jesus) feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half toward the south” (Zechariah 14:4).

Isaiah declared that after all the destruction and devastation upon the earth, it would be visited. But what exactly is he talking about? John answers: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison … And the sea gave up the dead which were in it: and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to his works” (Revelation 20:7, 13). The wicked dead are now resurrected in the second resurrection.

Satan is now freed from his prison. His is a prison of circumstances; he has no one to tempt. The righteous are safely enjoying their greatest vacation ever, in heaven with their Savior. The wicked are all dead. But now, he is loosed out of his prison by virtue of the fact that he has people to tempt and deceive in the persons of the resurrected wicked. His circumstances have changed. He continues his work of deception and convinces the now-resurrected wicked that they can capture and overtake the New Jerusalem as it descends to the earth, carrying the redeemed after their greatest vacation ever.

The Enemy Finally Defeated

It has always been the devil’s desire to take the place of God (Isaiah 14:12–17). This is what the great controversy is all about. John continues: “And they (the devil and his armies of resurrected wicked) shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog to gather together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea … And they went up on the breath of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from heaven, and devoured them … death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death … and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14–15).

The second death, total and complete separation from God, is what Jesus experienced on Calvary’s cross for those who accept Him. The wicked, having rejected Him, now pay the price of their sins for themselves.

Gog and Magog are terms used symbolically to portray the utter destruction of the wicked. They do not refer to the literal nations of Old Testament times, historically nations that fought against God’s people and were woefully defeated. They do not exist today (Ezekiel, chapters 38, 39). So it would be with those who come against the New Jerusalem as it descends to the planet with God’s people enjoying their greatest vacation they ever experienced.

The fire that destroys the wicked is the same fire that purifies the earth from sin and makes it ready for inhabitation by God’s redeemed. Jesus teaches: “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

John the Revelator puts it all in proper perspective. He assures us: “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. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:1–5).

This is the word of God: a golden chain of divine truth.

• Jesus comes, visibly and literally, gathers His saints, and takes us to heaven.

• We live with Him there for one thousand years. The Millennium, the greatest vacation ever.

• The wicked are dead and are scattered across the face of the earth.

• During that time, the earth is broken apart, void, and uninhabited. No life exists on earth. This is Satan’s prison; he has no one to tempt.

• At the end of the thousand years, the wicked dead are resurrected, only to continue in their wickedness by attempting to capture the City of God, New Jerusalem.

• Fire comes down from heaven and devours them.

• The same fire that destroys the wicked also purifies the earth and makes it new for God’s people to enjoy throughout eternity.

• Sin and sinners are no more. The earth was made new, and Jesus tabernacles with us forever.

What a perfect plan and a glorious day! The greatest ever, indeed. God, according to His plan, takes care of the sin problem and all its blighted effects. You need not be deceived by man’s erroneous theories. Your salvation must be based upon the word of God and not man’s smartness. The visible, literal Second Coming of Christ fits like a hand in glove with the Biblical teaching of the Millennium. There is no schism. No confusion surrounds it. Such are all the doctrines that comprise God’s plan of redemption for men’s souls. They are indeed a golden chain of unified truth.

Unlike the errors of the secret rapture and a Millennium of peace on earth, God’s word gives us light. It provides clear direction and sets us free from human tradition and deceptive inventions. Paul’s counsel to us: “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

May this counsel not only give you a clearer picture of the greatest vacation ever, but may you purpose in your heart to be there. The alternative is devastating.

About: Follow Pastor Aubrey Duncan at his Unfolding Prophecy Page