almost everyone knows the lyrics to  isaac watts famous hymn joy to the world   but few people realize that it is really a miscast  hymn it’s not a christmas hymn really at all even   though it’s in the top three of the favorite  christmas hymns of all time listen to the words   and see if you understand what i mean joy to the  world the lord has come let earth receive her king   did we receive the king when  jesus was born at bethlehem   let every heart prepare him room and heaven and  nature sing joy to the world the savior reigns

let men their songs employ while fields and floods  rocks hills and plains repeat the sounding joy   no more let sin and sorrow grow nor thorns infest  the ground he comes to make his blessing flow far   as the curse is found has that happened did it  happen he rules the world with truth and grace   i don’t think so not yet and makes the nations  prove the glories of his righteousness and the   wonders of his love only during the millennium  which comes after the second advent of christ   will the words of joy to the  world really be fulfilled

only during that time we’ll be able to sing  these words with real meaning in our heart   now in your bibles there is a place to which  you should turn which is the central passage   for this discussion and it’s the 20th chapter  of the book of revelation revelation chapter 20.   revelation chapter 20 introduces the glorious  reign of christ on this earth which is known as   the millennium now let’s take the mystery out of  the term millennium it is a latin word which is   made up of two words the words melee which mean  a thousand and the word anim which means years