In this issue of our Chapter and Verse Newsletter, I'd like to look at Life in the Millennial Kingdom.
First of all, let me start by defining the millennial kingdom. The word millennial means 1000 years. It comes from the Latin words mille, which means a thousand and the New Latin -ennium for year. Thus the word millennial means 1000 years.
Now the word millennial is not in the King James version of the Bible. However, Messiah's reign of a thousand years is.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
This is where we get the phrase "millennial kingdom."
The millennial kingdom is the period of time following the battle of Armageddon when Messiah will set up his thousand year reign here on the earth with several groups of people.
I would like to look at some of the prophecies regarding this period of time.
Isaiah 2:1-2 1The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2And it sahll come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Here we see that the temple of the lord will be rebuilt in the millennial kingdom referred to here in verse 2 as "the Lord's house."
Joel 3:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.Haggai 2:6-9 6For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. 8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. 9The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.Zechariah 6:12-13 12And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 13Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
During Messiah's reign, one of the things he will do is rebuild the temple. Christ will reign from Jerusalem, his capital, and rule the nations of the world with an iron scepter.
Isaiah 2:1-4 1The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3And 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: for out of Zion, shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
One of the responsibilities Jesus will have will be to settle any disputes between the nations of the world. The government that Jesus Christ will bring into office will be an honest, godly government.
Jesus will be untouchable and impervious to bribery and corruption. His administration will be true and just.
Look at how the New Living translation translates verse 4 of Isaiah 2.
NLT Isaiah 2:4 The LORD will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military training will come to an end.
How much good could be done with the money spent on the defense budget from all the countries in the world? Terrorism will be stamped out. This is only a temporal state, though. Even though it will last through the millennial kingdom, there must be one last chance for the devil to deceive this world.
Revelation 20:7-9 7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
This brings up another interesting point. The scriptures teach that Satan will be bound during this point of time. And yet when he is loosed, he is able to find a multitude of people who will be deceived and will turn against messiah and his people.
This is an incredible revelation to all who are trained and work in the field of deliverance. You would think that after living in a nearly perfect world with great abundance and the best leadership and government, you could have people that would be thankful and faithful to Messiah.
However, the devil has no trouble finding a multitude of people who are deceived into rebelling against messiah with every intention to kill him again.
Revelation 20:7-8 7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together, to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Verse 8 informs us that the number of people that Satan gathers will be as the sand of the sea. This brings up a very important point. If these people who lived in this paradise were free from all satanic invasion for the last thousand years, then how does the devil gather so many people together and deceive them?
The answer is the fallen nature of man. The old man, the flesh, call it what you will: the carnal nature of man is the weakness that the devil exploits to deceive so many.
How important is it for you to crucify the flesh? So many people today like to blame Satan for their problems, especially those who have been through deliverance. They keep coming back week after week for more deliverance and never seem to get totally free. Why?
For many, the answer is refusing to do your part to stay clean. They'd rather come to the minister and let him do all the work freeing them only to leave and open up to demons again.
If we refuse to live a clean life before God, there is no way we will avoid Satan and his demons from invading our lives. God will only take away your enemies, not your friends. You must make God's enemies your enemies.
Psalm 139:21-24 21Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 23Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Adam and Eve lived in an ideal paradise at one time too. They failed to guard their thoughts and considered what the adversary proposed. All mankind is still under the curse of the fall.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
No matter how many times you go through deliverance, if you refuse to live sanctified, you will never be free. Until you decide to control your thoughts and bring every thought captive to Christ, you will remain in the cycle of defeat a lifetime with only temporary release from your self-made prison.
Unless you take responsibility for your life, and that includes the choices you make, you will wind up defeated and discouraged. Jesus came to set the captives free. It is our job to remain free. …ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, NLT means the New Living Translation, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.