The Millennial Reign

.... When Jesus returns to the earth, He will initiate a series of judgments in the earth itself to prepare it for His thousand year reign:

.... ". . . and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed."

(2 Thessalonians 1:7-10)

.... The severerest possible judgment will fall on all those who outrightly troubled Christians (above), upon those who would have opposed the reign of Christ (Luke 9:27), and on those who knew Him, yet were disobedient. All these shall be cast into the everlasting fire (Matthew 25:41).

.... Nevertheless, the world will not end at this time. It is evident from the Scriptures that people and nations will remain on the earth even after Jesus returns and His reign begins. But who are these people, and what is their relationship to the kingdom?

.... We know, for example, that those who claimed to be Christians yet never really knew Him were left outside, so they will probably form a part of the nations that remain (Matthew 25:10-12). At least they were not disposed against Him. Apparently, unbelievers who were likewise unopposed to Him will remain in the earth as well. "For he who is not against us is on our side." (Mark 9:40).

.... "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while."

(Revelation 20:1-3)

.... During the thousand years reign, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). The nations, undeceived, will live in a time of abundance and harmony.

.... Also during the Millennium, the kingdom will be restored to Israel (Acts 1:6-7) and the saints will rule and reign with Christ as a royal priesthood (Revelation 20:6). As discussed in our previous two postings, some of the saints will be given authority over the earthly tribes or cities, or authority over kingdom tasks, during this extended time. The kingdom will have a capital or central place of government in the holy city of Jerusalem, the city of the great king. From there the saints will rule in Jesus’ presence, going out and coming in (John 10:9).

.... There is reason to believe that the financial empires, built by Christian stewards as discussed in one of our previous postings, will also remain in the world during this time, and will continue to grow. Through them, the wealth of the nations will be brought into Jerusalem:

.... "Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession."

(Isaiah 60:11)

.... However, the 1000 years of peace includes some perplexing questions. Many of the people of the nations are clearly unsaved (Revelation 20:7-9), and all of them have missed the first resurrection. So can they still be saved during this time? The answer is unknown, but a hint is given that, perhaps, at least some of them could still be saved (Revelation 21:24).

.... At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison once again:

.... ". . . and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them."

(Revelation 20:8-9)

.... The Lord will defeat Satan in this rebellion, and Satan himself will be cast alive into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10). The Lord’s triumph in defeating Satan will also bring the Millennial Reign to an end, and usher in the second resurrection, also known as the Resurrection of Condemnation. That will lead to the Great Day of the Lord, the Day of Judgment, which is also known as the Great White Throne Judgment -- and then to the second death in the Lake of Fire, where the disobedient and unrepentent souls of the ages join the devil in his eternal place of punishment.

.... We will discuss this further in our next posting.

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Daily Bible Reading: Titus 3