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.
"Pre-millennial" is the teaching that the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth will occur after He returns, which it will (just as Revelation 20 is after Revelation 19).
1 , 0 0 0 y e a r s
"Post-millennial" is the teaching that man will properly prepare the earth for 1,000 years for Christ’s return. Yeah right! Some wolves actually say this with a straight face. This is unlearned and unstable thinking and it is not going to happen. See Romans 3 again or watch any world news broadcast tonight regarding man’s ability to create peace on earth. This is “good words and fair speeches” which deceive the hearts of the simple. In other words, it is a wolf fattening up his ignorant sheep for easy pick-pocketing.
"A-millennial" is the teaching that there is no such thing as the 1,000 year reign of Christ. He is just reigning in the hearts of believers since the crucifixion. Imagine that after reading Revelation 20:1-7 where the 1,000 year reign of Christ is literally stated six times.
You cannot possibly understand most of the Bible except through a pre-millennial dividing of the word. Thousands of verses will be utterly obscure without this foundational doctrine.
God is not the author of obscurity or confusion. So, pre-millennial it is which is in agreement with Isaiah and the prophets. Onward!
A few short years from now, us saved Christians are going to spend 1,000 years on earth with Christ. Think about that –
you are only seven or so years away from a 1,000 year period on earth with Christ. |
It is just around the corner. Even if it was fifty years from now, you would still be spending 95% of the next 1,000 years on earth with Christ.
This is a big deal to me and you, and the Bible has much information about it. The second coming of Christ with his bride and angels is by far the most documented event in the Bible because Christ receiving his kingdom is what the Bible is all about.
So let’s spend a little time discovering what life will be like during the millennium.
I t i s v e r y c o o l !
OK, so Christ returns, wipes out the Gentile non-believing enemy, rescues the remnant of Israel, binds Satan into a bottomless pit, and sits on the throne of David. He begins to rule as a righteous judge with a rod of iron.
Revelation 19:15
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations:
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: .....
The earth and its people are so ruined at this point that it will
actually take 1,000 years to straighten everything out. How do we know this?
Revelation 20:7-9
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And 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.
9 And 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.
Can you imagine? There will be people with enough pride to actually defy the king who is righteously ruling the earth. At the end of 1,000 years, loosed Satan will gather a huge army of rebellious sinners for one last attempt to regain the kingdom. They will be devoured by God’s fire from heaven and that will be that.
At the beginning of the millennium, nations will be gathered and be judged by Christ as figurative sheep or goats (Matthew 25:31-46).
Matthew 25:32
and before him shall be gathered all nations:
and he shall separate them one from another,
as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
The sheep helped the Jew during the tribulation, the goats did not. The sheep are saved; the goats go to hell, prepared for the devil and his angels. Nations or individuals or both, I don’t know. This is the element of good works required in the tribulation period to be saved.
It would have been much easier to get saved before the rapture and avoided this mess. Anyway, God will bless them that bless the Jew and curse them that curse the Jew.
Israel is still God’s firstborn son, although rebellious at the moment. |
Yet all of the literal promises will be literally fulfilled to the literal nation of Israel.
Christ is then going to literally rule and literally reign the literal earth through literal Israel. And some very, very interesting things are going to happen.
The earth in many respects will be like the garden of Eden, but maybe with modern conveniences as people live and travel around the globe. All will be invited to come to Jerusalem to worship the king.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass,
that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
All of this is in preparation of the new heavens and new earth (earth #3), |
the new Jerusalem:
1500 miles long x
1500 miles wide x
1500 miles high,
Revelation 21:16
And the city lieth foursquare,
and the length is as large as the breadth:
and he measured the city with the reed,
twelve thousand furlongs.
The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
and the kingdom of the heavens after the millennium, everlasting and ever-expanding.
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.
Luke 1:33
and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Here are some millennial nuggets I found on my own to daydream about (just summaries of the words, see the full scriptures to confirm what I am writing; in fact, always check the scriptures for yourself to confirm what any preacher, shepherd, teacher, or wolf is telling you):
Thus saith the Lord GOD;
The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days;
but on the sabbath it shall be opened,
and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
Isaiah 11:1-5. Israel will rule the earth in the spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and fear of the Lord. The poor shall be judged in righteousness and the meek shall be reproved and the wicked shall be slain. Righteousness and faithfulness shall be the standard of the government.
Isaiah 32:17-18. Peace, quietness, assurance.
Isaiah 33:20-22. Quiet Jerusalem with a permanent tabernacle, the Lord as judge, lawgiver, savior.
Isaiah 40:5. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed for all flesh to see it, just as prophesied. Although there should be no unbelief, there will be some, even though everyone will actually see the Lord with their own eyes.
Isaiah 54:3. Israel shall rule over the Gentiles.
Micah 4:1-5. People will travel to Jerusalem to hear Jesus teach and they will follow his ways. He shall convince nations not to make war.
Zechariah 14:9-20. Jesus will be king of the earth, and there shall be no more utter destruction. There will be an annual feast in Jerusalem and there shall be no rain on those who do not attend. And even the bells of the horses and the pots in the Lord’s house shall proclaim the holiness of the Lord.
Revelation 20:6. We shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
Isaiah 54. This is the Lord’s eternal promise to Israel. Read it as if you were a prodigal son, or an abandoning spouse, returning home and being unconditionally loved and promised eternal blessing and safety. If you don’t choke back a tear, you got no heart.
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.
9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.
11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
Genesis 24:60. Rebekah, the wife of Jacob (aka Israel), is told she will be the mother of thousands of millions. That’s a minimum of 2,000 x 2,000,000 = 4 billion people, or greater than half of the current world population. Just a starting point, I suspect.
Isaiah 11:11-12. The Lord shall recover the remnant of Israel and gather them from the four corners of the earth. |
The so-called gathering of Jews to Israel
today is for naught as Israel is still rebellious to Jesus Christ and will be
almost obliterated by Antichrist in the great tribulation. Mr. Jew, Sir, with all due respect, stay away
from Israel until the Lord summons you.
Otherwise, it will be dangerous to your health.
Isaiah 49:1-3. The Lord decided that Israel would glorify God by serving Him and ruling the earth for Him before it was even born. Right now, Israel’s strength through God is hidden as a strong arrow in a quiver waiting for the right moment to shoot forth and conquer.
Isaiah 49:13-16. The Lord has not forsaken or forgotten Israel any more than a breast-feeding mother can forget her own child. He has not forgotten her, He will not forget her, and He has graven her upon the palms of his hands (me too!).
Isaiah 49:22-23. Gentiles shall bow down to Israel, literally.
Isaiah 61. Israel shall be served by other nations. They shall be named Priests of the Lord and be called Ministers of our God. The nations will find the Lord through Israel, as was originally intended 4,000 years ago. Israel will receive double blessings for the shame and confusion it has suffered and shall have everlasting joy. The Lord loves judgment and will make an everlasting covenant with Israel. Righteousness and praise will spring forth before all the nations.
Joel 2:27. The Lord is in the midst of Israel and not in the midst of any other nation and the Israelites shall never be ashamed.
Amos 9:8-11,15. The Lord will destroy all sinful kingdoms, but not Israel. The tabernacle of David will be raised up as it was in the days of old. And Israel shall be planted in their land and no more pulled up. Their land, by the way, is much of today’s Middle East.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them,
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
and have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air,
and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Isaiah 11:6-9. Wolf with lamb, leopard with kid, calf with lion, all led by little children. Cow with bear, lions shall eat straw. Suckling babies shall play with poisonous snakes and young children shall play with rattlesnakes. No animal shall hurt anyone. The earth, including animals, will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.
Isaiah 27:6. Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
Isaiah 35. The desert shall rejoice with joy and singing (nature makes beautiful sounds) and shall blossom as the rose. The blind shall see. The deaf shall hear. The lame man shall leap like a deer. The dumb man shall sing. Waters shall break out in the wilderness and streams in the desert. A highway, with no beasts, shall provide a way to Zion for the redeemed. In Zion shall be songs, joy, and gladness – no sorrow or sighing.
Isaiah 51:3. The wilderness of Zion shall be like Eden and the desert of Zion like the garden of the LORD - full of joy, gladness, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isaiah 55:11-13. The Lord’s words shall come to pass. Joy and peace will be ours. The mountains and hills shall sing and the trees shall clap their hands. (Watch a large tree with large leaves in the wind, like a hickory or maple tree. It looks like it is “clapping its hands”. In the millennium, I think the trees will “clap” for the Lord in perfect harmony with the “singing” of the mountains and hills!) No thorns or briers - fir trees and myrtle trees instead as an everlasting sign from the Lord.
Amos 9:13
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed;
and the mountains shall drop sweet wine,
and all the hills shall melt.
Genesis 1:29-30. As in Eden, fruit is meat for man and every green herb is meat for animals.
Ezekiel 47:9-12. The waters shall be healed and there shall be a very great multitude of fish and they shall be easily caught.
(Jesus ate fish in his glorified
body after he resurrected (Luke 24:42-43), so we should also be able to eat
fish - just no more beef and pork because they will be your pets.) Fruit trees will grow on the banks of the rivers,
producing fruit faster than it can be consumed, and the leaves of the fruit
trees shall be for medicine.
(Personally, I am not going to get sick in my immortal body, but there
must be others in natural bodies that can.
But perfect health care will be on every fruit tree. Instead of “take two aspirin and call me in
the morning”, it will be “stick a leaf between your cheek and gums”.)
Joel 2:21-25. The Lord will do great things. The pastures will spring. The trees will bear fruit. There will be the right amount of rain. There shall be plenty of wheat, wine (new), and oil, and no pests shall eat the crops.
Amos 9:13. The plowman shall overtake the reaper and the seed planter. In other words, the crops will be so plentiful that they cannot be picked before it is time to replant. I don’t know what the rest of the verse means, yet.
Joel 3:18. There will be no shortage of good things to drink, including new wine, milk, and water. A fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord (This is surely the living water Christ offered to the woman at the well in John 4. It could also be a literal fountain of water, special water).
..... Where is he that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him.
There will be a lot of this going on, so you should start practicing now.
Can you imagine? You are now grounded on a cursed earth in a corruptible body in the middle of a war between your soul and your flesh. Soon you will be raptured through the universe to spend seven years in heaven, get married to Christ and return to earth on a horse (greater even than Secretariat!).
Then watch Christ defeat all the armies of the world in one fell swoop.
Then rule and reign with Him literally from David’s throne in Jerusalem. Glory! Glory!
You have no problems, you have guaranteed hope! (another good preaching subject)
Isaiah 12. (Self-explanatory)
1 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
5 Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.
6 Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
OK, it’s gonna be a great
thousand years !
If there is work to do, it will be enjoyable and you will never run out of energy. You will have the mind of Christ, understanding the Bible, which is also eternal.
Psalm 119:89
For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.
You can eat all you want and not gain weight and it seems to me that if you flew here from heaven you will still be able to fly. I just hope I get to keep the horse.
Sometimes I think about taking a trip to Alaska or Africa or the Himalayas or some beautiful place. And maybe I will someday. But right now I am thinking that it will be so much easier in the millennium which is just a few years away. And cheap too!
But most of all, I want to be safe and secure, leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus.
Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ! That will come from my mouth for all of eternity. Five hundred years from now, my Christian friends and I will gather by the river for dinner on the grounds (fish, honey, bread, fruit, water, and grape juice) and everyone will say “Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ”! It will never end. It can’t.
God’s pure blood is eternal and is the only payment that allows me to get from here to there and stay there.
Literal pure blood of God’s Lamb,
thank you very much!
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