The Millennial Kingdom Part 2

THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM—PART 2 Spring Valley Mennonite; April 14, 2019; Zechariah 8:2-3; 7-8; 20-23 Isaiah 65:17-25; I Corinthians 6:2 Last week, we began our study of the earthly Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. The sheer number of scriptures relating to this coming Millennial Kingdom forced us to divide the study; this week we are continuing. In our study of Revelation, we are taking a literal approach to interpreting Scripture, an approach which I would always recommend. The alternate approach of spiritualizing prophesy is a “slippery slope”, for if something plainly stated (taking into account figurative language) is interpreted to mean something entirely different, how can we safely understand any prophetic word with confidence? For example, many Bible teachers would say that all the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament have all been transferred to the Church. So, all this talk about the Land of Israel and the 12 tribes inheriting the land really means the Church will be richly blessed in heaven. In my opinion, such an approach makes much of prophesy meaningless. I believe this spiritualizing approach is why many people avoid studying prophesy altogether! But as I like to say, God places no premium on ignorance! But if we take prophesy literally, like we take all the rest of scripture, we have a system where everything fits together wonderfully. This is especially valuable in interpreting all the passages where promises are made specifically to Israel. Recognizing that Revelation 20 speaks of a literal Millennium gives a time and place for the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel of an earthly Kingdom where Messiah Jesus rules and reigns over the whole world from Jerusalem with a rod of iron. A valuable principle regarding Bible interpretation is this: “The plain sense is the best sense”. Last week we established from the prophesies of Isaiah and Daniel that this Kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom. Therefore, the Millennium is an intermediate step in the eternal kingdom of our Lord here on earth. After the final battle of Armageddon where the armies of the world are all annihilated, all the remaining people on earth will be judged, and only righteous believers, both Jews and non-Jews, will inhabit the Millennial Kingdom. This judgment of Gentiles is what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25 with the separation of the sheep from the goats. Ezekiel 20 describes the parallel sorting of Jews. The unrighteous inhabitants of earth are cast into the place of the wicked dead, awaiting the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the Millennium. All those who are the original inhabitants of the Kingdom will be believers, but their children, who inherit the sin nature of their parents, will need to choose to accept the forgiveness of their sins; they will each need to be saved. Amazingly, many will only give “lip service” to the Lord Jesus and will reject salvation. At the end of the Millennium, vast numbers of these unbelievers will join Satan’s final rebellion, a gathering of earthly armies to a battle referred to as Gog and Magog. Fire from heaven will take care of these armies. Satan then will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity. So, let’s continue exploring the plain sense of the many Millennial Kingdom prophesies. Turn to the book of Zechariah, the second last book of the Old Testament, right before Malachi. I. ASPECTS OF THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM Zechariah 8:1-3; 7-8; 20-23 (Read) During the Millennium, Jewish people will be granted the respect deserved as God’s Chosen People. The wealth of the nations will be freely given, most likely as joyfully given tribute and gifts to King Jesus. Isaiah chapter 60 gives details of this: (60:3-5, 11-through the rest of the chapter.) Zechariah 14:8-11: (Read) The geography of earth will be changed, noted here in Israel. In addition, Israel will possess all the area promised to Abraham; Genesis 15:18-21 tells us that Israel will expand to inhabit all the territory between the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates in Iraq. One fascinating detail will be that when Jesus returns, Zechariah 14:4 tells us that His place of “touch-down” will be the Mount of Olives, (it was from there that He ascended into heaven). When His feet touch the ground, the mount will split to the north and the south, forming a vast valley reaching to the Jordan river. Ezekiel 47 tells of a river that begins to flow from under the door of the Temple, beginning as a trickle, then becoming a deep river. Listen to this detail: (Ezekiel 47:1-10). The Dead Sea will no longer be dead, but a place where fish and wildlife abound. The earth will become very productive. Isaiah 35 tells how the desert will bloom and will become productive. Amos 9:13: “Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved.” There will be long life and gladness: Isaiah 65:19-25 (Read) Although I won’t read verses from Ezekiel 40-48, these chapters give detailed instructions about an expanded Temple in Jerusalem, far bigger and more glorious than any temple yet built. This description does not fit the Temple built by the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile; it doesn’t describe Herod’s Temple that Jesus saw in His day; it must describe a future Temple to be built in the Millennium. Memorial offerings will be reinstituted, as will the feasts of Israel. What will life be like for the world outside of Israel? II. WHAT ABOUT THE GENTILES IN THE MILLENNIUM? Since the Old Testament was written to the Jews, most of the verses describing the Millennium relate to Israel, but there will be great numbers of Gentiles—non- Jews—populating the earth also. All these groups of people, initially all believers, will also enjoy the prosperity and peace and blessing of the Kingdom. All the verses which tell of the riches brought to Jerusalem speak of the prosperity and fruitfulness of the gentile nations. Jerusalem will be the capital of the whole earth; war will cease, and all the resources of the nations will be available for the benefit of people. Righteousness, peace and tranquility will cover the earth, and there will be justice for everyone, great and small. Evil will be quickly judged. Isaiah 11:4-9 gives more information regarding this time of peace, even experienced in the animal world: Read Isaiah 11:4-9. Walvoord describes the earth: “The future is described as flourishing, the government as righteous, and abundant peace is promised as long as the moon endures. All kings bow down before Christ, and His rule extends from sea to sea. The earth will be filled with the glory of God. The desire of nations for peace, righteousness, knowledge of the Lord, economic justice and deliverance from Satan will all have its prophetic fulfillment. The major factors of the Millennium, including Christ’s absolute power, will include the perfect and righteous government and ideal circumstances on the earth. In many respects the rule of Christ as the last Adam replaces what God had intended for Adam who was placed in charge of the Garden of Eden.” (John F. Walvoord, The Prophesy Knowledge Handbook, Victor Books, a division of Scripture Press, p. 628) III. THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH IN THE MILLENNIUM What will be the role of the church? All those saved between Pentecost and the Rapture (including you and me!)—will be with Christ. This is the promise found in Jesus’ words of John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” After the Rapture, as part of the Universal Church, we will be with Christ in heaven, then return to earth as part of His Second Coming. We will always be with the Lord, as 1 Thessalonians 4:17 states, wherever He is. We are the Bride of Christ. The Millennium will be one extended Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 19:28, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children of farms for My name’s sake, shall receive may times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.” The idea of ruling is found in I Corinthians 6:2: Paul is speaking of the problem of Christians going to civil courts against other Christians: “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? Apparently, we shall be involved in judging the fallen angels who are the demonic forces in addition to “Judging” the world. I take it to mean that as resurrected saints, we will be involved in the administration of justice and righteousness among the people of earth. I am speculating, but we may be using our abilities and gifts to advise and lead these people to love and follow our Lord. As the Lord Jesus leads from His throne in Jerusalem, we may be helping to implement these laws and regulations. Even with the most moral society ever experienced on earth, many of the Millennial inhabitants will reject the forgiveness. MacArthur describes this rejection: “Even the utopian conditions of the Millennium will not change the sad reality of human depravity. As they did during His incarnational presence on earth, sinners will refuse the grace and reject the lordship of the King of all the earth. That is not surprising, since even the perfect conditions of the Garden of Eden were not sufficient to keep sinless Adam and Eve from rebelling against God. The issue regarding salvation is never lack of information (cf. Rom. 1:18–20); it is love of sin (John 3:19).1 2 Timothy 2:11-12, further states: “It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him we shall also live with Him; If we endure, we shall also reign with Him…” “Reigning” seems to be somewhat different than “ruling”. Reigning means enjoying and sharing the glory and benefits of the Kingdom. Certainly, one of those benefits will be the close fellowship and pleasure of being in close physical fellowship with the Lord Jesus. In Revelation 5:9-10 we read, “And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are You to take the book, and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” If we as the Church, the Bride of Christ, are to reign and rule on earth during the Millennium, as scripture makes clear, it seems we will be supervising and advising and administering justice among the peoples of the world, representing King Jesus. The exact nature of this ruling and reigning is yet to be revealed. In Romans 11, Paul speaks of the restoration of the Nation of Israel under the Messiah Jesus: Romans 11:11-12; 25-27. The vastness of distinct and detailed prophesies made about the coming Kingdom of the Messiah demand a time when these things take place. Add to this the fact that the covenants made to Israel, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant all were eternal covenants, and we have I believe ironclad proof for the Millennium where all these promises will be fulfilled, and which will be continued into eternity. That eternity is the subject of the last two chapters of Revelation, which describes the New Jerusalem and what happens after the final judgment at the Great White Throne. We shall dwell eternally in a perfect world with perfect bodies serving our wonderful Savior and Lord.