For some weeks now, we have been dealing with the prophetic word on the things that will surely happen in the future. Look at what God said concerning those that read, hear and keep the words of this prophecy:
If we are really living as citizens of Heaven, we must be looking forward to the things to come. Your proper understanding of the things to come will make a huge difference in the way you live your life today.
Last week we looked at “The Millennial Kingdom of Christ.” Today, we are going to look at “What the Millennial Kingdom of Christ will be like.”
What is the millennial kingdom of Christ? This is simply a title given to 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth after the tribulation.
The 1000 year reign will be the beginning of Jesus’ eternal reign over the earth. “…and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4).
What will be the time period of the millennial kingdom? It will be from the time Satan is bound and cast into the bottomless pit to the time he is released (Rev. 20:2-8).
What will the millennial Kingdom of Christ be like? The Bible speaks of the conditions during the millennium as a perfect environment both physically and spiritually. The following points summarise what the Bible teaches about the millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
1. The Bible tells us that only believers will enter the millennial Kingdom of Christ.
“No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there” (Isa. 35:8).
2. In the millennium God will lift the curse off the earth. The curse is three-fold: 1) The curse of spiritual death, 2) The curse of poverty, and 3) The curse of sickness (Gen. 3:17-19).
The principle of decay has been removed, and now instead of decay it will have life, instead of degeneration it will be generative. It is going to go from being a desolate waste land to having all kinds of life just like what happened on the 3rd day of creation (Isa. 55:13).
3. In the millennium Christ will set up a One World Government and rule as King (Isa. 9:3-7; Lk. 1:32-33).
How then will Jesus rule in the millennial Kingdom? He will rule with a rod of iron. He will rule like a dictator, but a righteous or sinless authority, above reproach and corruption (Isa. 40:9-10; Rev. 12:5).
Why would Christ rule as a dictator? Jesus will rule as a dictator because He wants people to do right. And that is exactly what people don’t want. Rather they prefer to do things according to their own evil desires.
In the millennial kingdom of Christ, everyone must do things Jesus’ way. Period! Matthew 5, 6 and 7 will be the Constitution for the millennial Kingdom of Christ, and it tells us exactly how things must work in the millennium.
4. The millennium will be a time of strict discipline (Matt. 5:29-30). If you sin this time, Jesus will drop you alive straight into hell (Isa. 66:4).
5. Who are those that will rule with Jesus? The ones that got saved and made it when Christ came to rapture the church will rule with Jesus in their glorified bodies. But those that were not raptured but still made it through the tribulation will reign with Christ in their natural bodies. This means that the ones in their natural bodies will die someday, although they will live for a long time (probably 700-900 years).
Nobles and Governors will also rule with Jesus (Isa. 32:1, NLT). Followers of Jesus will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28).
5. Christ will set up one world language (Zeph. 3:7-9).
6. Jerusalem will be the political centre of the world (Zech. 8:3).
7. Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:1-3).
8. There will be total peace on earth during the millennium. Total peace is expected since the “Prince of Peace” will be completely in-charge (Isa. 32:18; Zech. 9:10; Mic. 4:2-4).
9. Jesus will put an end to wars. “And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Micah 4:3; Isa. 2:4).
10. Nothing will hurt in the millennium. Poisonous snakes will no longer harm anyone, and the earth will go back to what it was in the Garden of Eden(Isa. 65:25, KJV).
11. God will wipe away Israel’s tears and they will worship Him along with the redeemed. God said, “I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in My people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more” (Isa. 65:19).
Everyone will come to Jerusalem to worship God. “In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters” (Zech. 14:16).
The surviving Israelites will be gathered to Zion to worship God (Isa. 11:11-16).
What will happen to the nations that refuse to come to Jerusalem to worship God? They will have no rain (Zech. 14:17-19; Isa. 66:24).
What will happen to the nations that refuse to serve the Lord? Such nations will be destroyed (Isa. 60:10).
12. It will be a time of immense rejoicing (Isa. 44:23; Isa. 52:9; Isa. 61:7, 10).
13. It will be a time of the greatest comfort the world has ever known ((Isa. 40:1-2, NLT; Isa. 52:9).
14. It will be a time of true Holiness (Isa. 35.8).
15. The knowledge of God will increase. “…for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2:14).
16. In the millennium, God will optimize growing conditions for abundant and fruitful harvests, making Israel like Eden (Ezek. 36:29-30).
17. Those who dwell in Zion will experience physical and spiritual healing and wholeness (Isa. 32:24; Isa. 35:5-6a).
18. The plant life will change in the millennium. The deserts will become like a forest (Isa. 35:1-3, 6).
19. Animals on the earth will be restored to peace and prosperity (Isa. 11:6-9).
20. The people on earth will live much longer in the millennium – Increase in lifespan (Isa. 65:20-23, NLT).
21. Israel will be converted back to God and restored to the rule of the Messiah (Zech. 12:10-14).
22. People will be coming to Jerusalem to seek the Lord in the millennium (Isa. 8:22-23).
23. There will be no divided territory in Israel, but Israel will get all of what had been promised to her (Isa. 26:15).
24. There will be a temple and a priesthood during the millennial kingdom (Ezek. 37:26).
25. But there will be no temple there during the New Jerusalem and eternal age (Rev. 21:22-27).
26. The nations of the earth will bring treasures to Zion (Hag. 2:6-9).
27. Israel will be given a new name, and so will any Gentile who repents (Isa. 62:2).
28. The presence of God will be immediate and intimate with His people (Isa. 65:24-25).
So, this is what the millennium will look like when Jesus Christ is ruling (Zech. 14:9-11).
In closing, I would like to ask a question: What is the purpose of God for the millennium? The purpose of God for the 1000 year reign of Christ is to fulfil the promises He made to the world that cannot be fulfilled while Satan is free and humans have political authority. Some of these promises called covenants were given specifically to Israel (Gen. 15:18-20; Numb. 34:1-12; Deut. 30:1-10; Gen 13:15, 17:8, Ezek. 16:60; 2 Sam. 7:16). Other promises were given to the nations of the world (Dan. 7:11-14) and creation (Rom. 8:18-23; Isa. 11:6-9, 32:15-16).
Are you saved? Are you living according to the instructions of the Scriptures or according to your own desires? If you die now, where will your final destination be – heaven or hell? Accept Jesus Christ today as your Lord and Saviour, and you’ll be full of joy forever.
Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!
Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Head Pastor) 18.10.2020
Jesus l love you with all my heart Amen
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