The Millennial Kingdom... almost Heaven on Earth

This is the third blog of the four-part series I started a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t read the blogs on the rapture and the great tribulation, please do so first to follow along the future events in chronological order. This will be a bit of lengthy blog, but I request you to read through it as I am confident You will be excited to see what's in store if you are a believer in Christ!

I love travelling. If money and time were nonfactors, I would probably spend a lot of my time visiting different countries, exploring the incredible variety of adventures offered by nature, going on safaris in all the continents to see the wildlife in their own habitat, tasting all the different cuisines etc. etc. etc. My dream vacation is to visit Israel; I would love to actually see the places that are mentioned in the scriptures and walk along the paths our Lord and Savior Jesus walked. Next on my bucket list is to go to Africa; to see with my own eyes a pride of lions, witness the great wildebeest and zebra migration, take a helicopter ride over the Victoria Falls, hike the Mount Kilimanjaro... the list is endless. Coming back to reality... Is this possible? Well sure, if I plan it out correctly, I could probably squeeze out a few weeks' trip to Israel some time in the future. I just need to make sure I drag my body out of bed the rest of the 50 weeks, put up with the annoying corporate culture, not use up too much of my PTO, set aside a nice chunk from the bank, and pray nothing else comes up between now and then to hopefully have a memorable 2 weeks of vacation. In the meantime, there could always be another 'pandemic', another set of travel restrictions, bad weather, sickness, and many other unexpected events that can potentially ruin my travel plans. Let's say everything worked out and I did get to go. Would it be safe with all the political chaos and threats of war and ever-increasing violence? Would I truly get to enjoy the experience, or would I be constantly worried and looking over my shoulder wondering if and when the next explosion will come about? The fact of the matter is, with anything that we currently do in this world, even if it's for rest and relaxation, there is always an element of risk and uncertainty involved. Uninvited inconveniences and dangers are potential realities that can interfere in our lives anytime despite our carefully crafted plans.

What if the above-mentioned scenario was a little different? What if I didn't have to labor throughout the year in a job, that I don't care much for, just to earn the money to afford my necessities and interests? Instead, what if I had the perfect job that I was designed to do? What if I didn't have to rely on an airplane and could just fly wherever I wanted to faster than a jet... or, gently cruise the skies enjoying the magnificent view below... based on my 'travel speed' preference for that day using my own glorified body? What if I could just walk up to those pride of lions in Africa with 100 percent assurance they won't harm me, or hover over the Victoria Falls without the help of any aircraft, or hike the Kilimanjaro at whatever speed I like without feeling tired? What if I could casually stroll through Israel, or any country for that matter, marveling at the sites without any concern for my safety? You may think I have an impractical weird imagination, but this is just a tiny sample of the type of utopian environment that awaits a believer during the period called the millennial kingdom of Christ.

The scriptures talk in great length about this 1000-year (millennial) period on earth when Christ will rule the world in peace and righteousness. I will attempt to be brief and try to summarize some of the main points detailed in the bible about this coming kingdom. To pick up from where we left of in the last blog; the antichrist and false prophet have been thrown in the lake of fire, the unbelievers have been destroyed and await their eternal judgement and punishment, and satan has been locked in the bottomless pit after the great tribulation.

Only two categories of people will enter the millennial kingdom.

The first category will consist of 3 subgroups of believers with glorified bodies. 1) The raptured saints from the post Christ church age (the ones who were alive and the departed ones who received their glorified bodies at the rapture), 2) The martyred saints (those who were killed during the tribulation for accepting Jesus and received their glorified bodies after Jesus returned post the tribulation), and 3) the Old Testament saints (who I presume will receive their glorified bodies post the tribulation as well since scriptures talk about David ruling under Christ during the millennial kingdom as well). This is the group that will have incorruptible body, similar to that of Jesus, and have the sin nature removed. It's this blessed assurance that allows me to dream and look forward to one day being able to fly, appear and disappear, etc. as I fantasized about at the beginning of this blog.

The second category will consist of the believing Jews and believing gentiles who survived the tribulation. They will enter the millennial kingdom in their natural, earthly bodies but will have many of the curses removed. They will live long lives like the forefathers used to in the pre-flood era and will marry and have many generations of children that will fill the earth. They will eventually die (they will also be resurrected with eternal bodies after the millennial kingdom) but will have lived many centuries. Infact, someone who dies at 100 years old will be considered young as a child and accursed (Isaiah 65:20).

So, what is the purpose of this millennial kingdom? After all, Revelation 20 describes that at the end of it, satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit to tempt humanity again for a short while and, as a result, the people who will come to rebel against God will be like the sand of the sea. Satan finally being thrown into the lake of fire to join the antichrist and false prophet and the great white throne judgement of the unbelievers for eternal damnation etc. are events that will only take place at the end of the millennial reign. After that, as per Revelation 21 and 22, the existing heaven and earth will pass away and be replaced by the new heaven and new earth (which I will talk about in the concluding blog of this series next week) and an actual completely perfect and sinless environment, where there is no more death, crying, pain etc., begins into eternity. So then, you may be wondering, why does God have this 1000-year period? While it's almost perfect, why can't we just skip this part and go straight from the tribulation into the new heaven and new earth? A primary purpose of this millennial reign is for God to fulfill the many promises listed throughout the Old and New Testament scriptures on this earth before the onset of eternity.

One promise is to the nation of Israel. They are given a promise of land in Genesis 15:18 that extends from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River. Scholars estimate this to be about 300,000 square miles. In reality, over the centuries, only about 10,000 square miles (only about 1/30th) of this promised land has been occupied and considered as nation of Israel; and thus, is yet to happen. Isaiah 2 also talks about Israel being exalted over the other nations. This topographical shift may take place in the aftermath of the tribulation as Christ sets up his rule and reign from Jerusalem. Israel will finally have peace as prophesized in 2 Samuel 7: 10; "And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning". God also has a spiritual covenant to fulfill with Israel, with His laws being fully written in their hearts and knowing Him fully, and God forgiving them of their iniquities (Jeremiah 31: 31-34). The majority of Israel have always rejected Christ and Israel's complete acceptance of Him as the true Messiah will only be realized after the tribulation and fulfilled during the millennial kingdom.

The gentile nations are also given promises. During the millennial reign, the world won't be ruled and controlled by a group of evil 'elites' as is the case now, or by an ultimate cruel dictator such as, the antichrist. Our God, Jesus Christ, will be the perfect and righteous King. "He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4). No more nuclear weapons and rumors and threats of war. No more useless politicians who conspire to do evil. This will be the ultimate time of peace as known to man. There won't be any wars and violent crimes as Jesus will rule righteously with a rod of iron and mete out judgement such as the following scripture shows. "If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain." (Zechariah 14:17).

Another promise is to the church, the believers. The scriptures mention in many passages how His followers will rule and reign with Jesus. I will just quote a few verses. "If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He will also deny us."(Timothy 2:12). "To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations" (Revelation 2:26). "You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth." (Revelation 5:10). Over the centuries, 'true Christians' have never been really given the authority to rule and reign. Infact, most of the time, what we suffer for our faith is ridicule and persecution. We, the glorified saints, will be given the right to righteously rule and reign over the nations - the earthly inhabitants in their natural bodies, during the millennial kingdom under the authority of the ultimate King, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Don't worry, we won't have the capability to misuse our authority since we will not be capable of sin after we receive the glorified bodies. Not only will we ruling over them; we will also be serving them, teaching them, guiding them, sharing our experiences with them... and above all, pointing them ultimately to Christ. How much authority and responsibility God will give to each one of us will be determined by how we live our life for Him right now; so, make it count.

There are even promises for creation itself. "For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:19-22). Below is amongst my favorite verses in the bible. "And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fattened steer will be together; And a little boy will lead them. Also, the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."(Isaiah 11: 6-9). I can only imagine how wonderful and glorious this time will be when Humanity and the rest of God's creation will live in perfect harmony.

Ultimately, there is a promise that God will fulfill on this earth as for Jesus Christ Himself. Luke 1: 30 -33 states, "And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." (David is referred to as Jesus' father here due to Jesus coming into flesh in human form to save mankind from our sins from David's lineage). Furthermore, Daniel 7:14 writes "And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Everything was created for Jesus and through Jesus. He is the author of our salvation and faith. His kingship and reign will be everlasting. There has to be a time on this earth before eternity that "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2: 10-11). Jesus came to earth the first time as the lamb to be sacrificed for our sins. He will return the second time as the conquering lion! He was mocked and ridiculed and rejected by the small nation of Israel the first time. He will be acknowledged as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords of all the nations in the world the second time!

(I would like to give credit to the YouTube videos by Dr. David Jeremiah and Allen Parr for clearly explaining some of these millennial kingdom promises while I was researching.)

While the above promises written in scriptures will find fulfillment in the millennial kingdom, there is another purpose for the reign that can be inferred: to show the wickedness of the human heart and the necessity of Christ alone for our salvation and redemption. It's easy to blame our environment, our upbringing, our circumstances etc. as to why we sin and don't act right. The millennial kingdom demonstrates that the primary cause of our rebellion isn't the environment, but the sin nature of our heart. After reading all the above scriptures that detail the perfect environment (where satan is not even present to tempt humanity except at the very end of the millennium), it may be hard to imagine how anyone can rebel against Him. It's important to note that it is written Christ will be ruling in the millennium with a rod of iron... not a feather. Why is that? While there won't be any outward acts of rebellion such as wars and acts of violence etc. during this time; internally, in the heart of earthly man, the sin nature will still be present. While it is true that only the believing Jews and gentiles (who survive the tribulation) will initially enter the millennial kingdom, keep in mind that billions of people will be born during this time. As is the requirement now for salvation, each person born then will also have to consciously make the individual decision to accept Christ. Eternal salvation isn't inherited from parents or generations; it has to come from acceptance of Christ alone as Savior for salvation within each person. Sadly, despite being in Jesus' presence and experiencing peace in the kingdom, many people born during this perfect time will still not accept Him. They will grudgingly obey Him but will despise Him in their heart. Revelation 20 numbers the ones who will side with satan upon his short release as sand among sea. How tragic is that? How is this possible you may ask? Didn't satan and the fallen angels rebel in Heaven despite being in the presence of God? Didn't Adam and Eve choose to disobey and eat of the fruit despite having a close relationship with God? Didn't Judas betray Jesus despite being with Him all those years?

To conclude, the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ will be an amazing time on earth that is on the horizon in the near future. For a believer, this exciting journey will start with the imminent and soon rapture of the church before the tribulation, followed by the 1000-year millennial reign and then eternity in the new heaven and the new earth. I am excited to see what God will have me do in the millennial kingdom! No more waking up at 5 AM with a tired body, no more traffic, no more tiresome jobs and errands, no more being dependent on money, no more ageing, no more sin and guilt, no more diseases, no more death. I will have unlimited energy, physical strength and mental capacity in my glorified body. God puts some interests and desires and skills uniquely within each one of us that shapes part of our personality. As you can tell from the introduction of this blog, I am pretty passionate about nature, wildlife, travelling etc. Who knows?... maybe a part of my millennial kingdom assignment would be leading a forest restoration project in Africa that was destroyed during the tribulation. Maybe He will allow me to rule and reign over a village in Hawaii?! Whatever kingdom work Jesus will bless me with, I am confident it will be amazing and uniquely suited for me beyond my wildest dreams! What about you?

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