The Millennium

Not clouds and harps — a literal thousand-year period with specific scriptural detail. What the Millennium actually looks like, who will inhabit the earth, what happens to missionary work, and how it all ends.

Ether 12:4

“Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”

Articles of Faith 1:10

“We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this [the American] continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.”

Events Leading to the Millennium

The millennial reign is preceded by a sequence of prophesied events centered on Jerusalem and the Second Coming. The broad outline from prophecy:

Partial Chronology from Scripture

  • Armies gather against Israel from the north (Ezek. 38:14–16; Rev. 16:12–16)
  • Two prophets raised up in Jerusalem; they prophecy and are killed by the gathered armies (D&C 77:15; Rev. 11:7–8)
  • After 3½ days, the two prophets are resurrected and ascend to heaven (Rev. 11:11–12)
  • The Lord stands upon the Mount of Olives; Jerusalem flees through a created valley (Zech. 14:4–5)
  • Righteous Saints who have slept come forth (D&C 45:45–47)
  • Those alive on earth are quickened and caught up to meet the Lord (D&C 88:96)
  • The armies gathered against Israel are destroyed (Ezek. 38:22)
  • All nations are gathered and judged (Matthew 25:31–46)

The Jews will look upon the Lord and ask: “What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?” (D&C 45:51–53). President John Taylor taught: “The Lord will be king over all the earth, and all mankind literally under his sovereignty, and every nation under the heavens will have to acknowledge his authority, and bow to his scepter.”

Revelation 19–20 describes this victory as a symmetrical chiasmus: Babylon unveiled, Babylon judged, rejoicing in heaven, Christ’s victory completed — then the millennial era — then Satan and his followers receive final judgment, and a new celestial world is unveiled.

Who Inhabits the Earth During the Millennium?

A common misconception is that only righteous members of the Church remain after Christ’s coming. Joseph Fielding Smith corrected this:

“Some members of the Church have an erroneous idea that when the millennium comes all of the people are going to be swept off the earth except righteous members of the Church. That is not so. There will be millions of people, Catholics, Protestants, agnostics, Mohammedans, people of all classes, and of all beliefs, still permitted to remain upon the face of the earth, but they will be those who have lived clean lives, those who have been free from wickedness and corruption. All who belong, by virtue of their good lives, to the terrestrial order, as well as those who have kept the celestial law, will remain upon the face of the earth during the millennium.”

Those of telestial glory will not be gathered with the Saints nor caught up at Christ’s coming (D&C 76:102). The Spirit of the Lord will be poured out upon all flesh — and “all will walk in the name of each person’s God,” though not all will be fully converted at first (Micah 4:5). Eventually, all will know the Lord — “from the least of them unto the greatest of them” (Jeremiah 31:34).

Revelation 21:4

“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.”

Conditions During the Millennium

Joseph Fielding Smith described the mortal condition during the Millennium: those living in mortality will not immediately pass through the resurrection. A change will come over them — they will not be subject to death until they are old. Men shall die when they are one hundred years of age, and “the change shall be made suddenly to the immortal state.” Graves will not be made during the thousand years. Children shall grow up “as calves of the stall” unto righteousness — without sin or the temptations so prevalent today.

D&C 101:23–37 gives detailed conditions of the millennial era:

Conditions of the Millennial Era — D&C 101:23–37

  • The covering which veils the earth shall be taken off (D&C 88:95)
  • The enmity of all flesh shall cease — lions and lambs together (Isaiah 11:6–9)
  • Whatsoever any man asks shall be given him
  • Satan shall have no power to tempt any man (1 Nephi 22:26; Rev. 20:1–3)
  • No sorrow, no death in the millennial sense
  • Infants shall not die; man shall live to the age of a tree
  • The righteous shall be quickened (changed) at death; the unrighteous shall not be resurrected until after the Millennium
  • All things shall be revealed — including the sealed portions of scripture (D&C 88:108–110; Ether 4:7)
  • Those who have been persecuted will partake of Christ’s glory; fear not death

Two World Capitals and the Saints’ Rule

The Saints from all eras of time will rule and reign and help govern the earth under Christ’s direction (Dan. 7:27; D&C 103:7). There will be two world capitals: Jerusalem in the old world and New Jerusalem (Zion) built in Missouri (D&C 84:2–4; Isaiah 2:3–4). The Lord will be king over all the earth, enforcing His laws and commanding obedience from all nations — and those who serve Him in righteousness will have communications with God and Christ, the ministering of angels, and knowledge of the past, present, and future.

Isaiah 2:3–4 / 2 Nephi 12:3–4

“And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths… And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

The New Jerusalem Coming Down from Heaven

Following or concurrent with the Millennium, the Holy City — New Jerusalem — will descend from heaven (Rev. 21:2). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that people of the earth will think it is a comet or a planet, but it is not. Its dimensions from Revelation 21:16–17 suggest a city approximately 1,500 miles square — roughly 53% of the width of the United States. Only the righteous will be able to enter the city and have access to the Tree of Life (Rev. 22:14).

D&C 133:24

The earth shall be as it was before the continents were divided.

Ezekiel 47:1–2, 12

The Tree of Life shall stand beside a river coming forth from the temple — and its leaves shall be for healing of the nations.

The Earth’s Final Glory: Celestialization

The Hebrew root for “new” in Isaiah 65:17 (chadash) points to refreshing rather than replacement — the earth will not be destroyed but glorified, not transcended but transformed. The polarization of earth and heaven will be overcome. Faithful Saints are promised “the fulness of the earth” (D&C 59:16) and “an inheritance upon the earth when the day of transfiguration shall come, when the earth shall be transfigured” (D&C 63:20–21).

The Earth’s Celestial Destiny

  • D&C 88:17–20 — The earth will be celestialized and populated by those of the Celestial Kingdom
  • TPJS 181 — “The earth will be rolled back into the presence of God and crowned with celestial glory”
  • D&C 130:9 — The earth will become like a sea of crystal — a Urim and Thummim to its inhabitants
  • D&C 130:10–11 — A white stone will be given to inhabitants, through which a higher order of kingdoms is made known

D&C 88:29

“Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved even if it so be as by fire. Behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off.” And those who have been quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

An Anchor to Our Souls

President LeGrand Richards wrote: “We are blessed in the privilege of living upon the earth when the gospel has been restored and having a knowledge of its truth. We are blessed to have a foundation upon which to build our faith, which makes every day a happy day as we associate with our loved ones. The nearer men and women live unto God in keeping his commandments, the greater is the love in the home and the greater appreciation of the knowledge that that love can continue throughout the eternities that are to come.”

D&C 76:50–53, 69

“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… 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…”

“These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.”

A knowledge of the Millennium gives us an anchor for our souls in this life. We can with hope and full assurance seek for a better country, a glorified inheritance, and a place on the right hand of God. The earth’s destiny is not destruction — it is exaltation. And in that exaltation, faithful Saints will have an eternal inheritance upon it.