A Glimpse into the Millennial Age
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And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Revelation 20:4-6
Revelation 20:6 says that we shall reign with Him for a thousand years. Did you catch that? We are going to reign with Jesus Christ throughout His Kingdom on earth! During the millennium there are three categories of people:
1. The resurrected saints with new bodies (1 Corinthians 15). These include OT saints.
2. The unredeemed at the end of this age who did not receive the mark of the beast and continued to live on into the millennium (Isaiah 65:20, Revelation 20:7-9).
3. Those who received the mark of the beast (whom Jesus kills at His return) and the dead who did not receive Christ during their life. These dead await the second resurrection. They will be cast into the lake of fire with the devil and his angels (Revelation 20:14-15).
Isaiah 65, especially verse 20, bothered me for years. It reads: “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed.” I could not grasp how people could die in Heaven. Then I understood it isn’t about Heaven, it is about the millennium. During the millennium there are still unsaved natural people living on the earth. These people are reproducing and living life just like we do now with this one huge difference: the devil is bound during these 1000 years and is unable to effect or influence them. They can and do still die. Some do receive Christ and all have the free will to do so. Others become the enemies of God and are rallied by the devil when he is released from his prison at the end of the millennium. These are those who make war against Jesus at the end of the millennium—Magog. (Armageddon is at the end of this age and is Jesus’ war against the antichrist.) Revelation 20 goes on to explain:
Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 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. 9 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. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:7-10
Lately I have updated my favorite scripture. For over 20 years—more like 30—Hebrews 1:8 has been my favorite scripture. Now I have two: Hebrews 1:8 (the testimony of the Father about the Son) and Hebrews 11:10 (the significance of seeing the city—New Jerusalem):
But to the Son [Jesus] He [the Father] says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. Hebrews 1:8
[Abraham left everything] …for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10
If we saw the city—New Jerusalem—the city of the great King, where He will literally sit on His Throne and rule and reign during the Millennial Age, I believe we too, like Abraham, would leave everything for His Majesty, King Jesus. If we could see this City more clearly, like Abraham, it would capture our hearts in such a way that we too would leave everything for the City and the King of that City. The Bride of Christ is the City Abraham saw.
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.
19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.
This indeed is the City with foundations that Abraham saw. Having seen it he left everything and was willing to live as a wanderer in this life. We too will be a part of this City during the millennium. Psalm 46: 4 talks of this city. Jerusalem doesn’t have river that runs through her. Verse 4 of this psalm is describing New Jerusalem: There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. This river is more fully on display in Revelation 22. So beautiful the description yet we only get a glimpse of her here on earth.
I have two prayers I pray over and over: Lord, show me Your City and the Lion Who sits upon the Throne.
I want to see this City and her King.
Hey Berta, thanks for this post. I value the search you have been on to understand the scriptures -- especially in regard to the city and the bride.
ReplyDeleteSo for a long time I have been meaning to ask you some questions along these lines. What do you think will start the millennium reign? Is it purely the sovereign timing of God? Is it the bride having made herself ready? I have 2 more questions but I need to give some background before I ask. I believe that apart from salvation, we "enter" the throne room, by receiving the kingdom of heaven here into this earthly realm (Mark 10:15 and Heb 10:19-22) -- and that doing this is important for abiding in ways that prepare us for the second coming (1Jo 2:28). I also believe that doing this is central to what it means to seek the kingdom and what is involved in our having made ourselves ready as a bride (Rev 19:7). So, am I on the right track with thinking about it this way? And then also, my real question is this: to what extent does the quality of how well we receive the kingdom of heaven here, usher in the millennium?
Barry, I see that the Scriptures point to divine timing regarding the Millennium.
ReplyDelete• Matthew 24:36-37 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
• Acts 1:6-7 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
The flow of thought in Acts 1:6-8 is thus:
1. Disciples’ question: “Lord when is Your Kingdom coming?” They were thinking of an earthly Kingdom like King David’s, knowing Jesus was the Branch – the Root and Offspring of David. They had some understanding of Jesus as King, however they were looking for deliverance from Roman dominance and an earthly Kingdom.
2. Jesus said that there are times and seasons the Father has established in His authority. This is in direct response to their question about His Kingdom coming on earth.
3. Then Jesus talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Note He had already breathed on them in John 20 saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” So they were already born again. Jesus was talking about Acts 2 – Pentecost. This ties into the doctrine revealed in Luke 11:20: “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” So we find that whenever the Holy Spirit reveals the authority and power of God through His people then the Kingdom of God is manifesting in this age. The now and not yet. The Kingdom is manifesting now, but it has yet to fully manifest. That will take place in the Millennial Age.
(Hope this isn’t too much information.)
Regarding the bride being made ready: I see that God matures her in conjunction with the time determined by the Father regarding the return of Jesus and His Throne being established in Jerusalem during the Millennium. I do not believe the bride’s maturity determines the timing of the end of this age, hence ushering in the next. In Galatians 4:4 the Bible states that in the fullness of time God sent forth His Son. Here again God determined the exact time of Jesus’ first coming. God knew at this time the exact right dynamics would exist in the world to further the Gospel.
There will be the exact right dynamics in the earth that will all work together for another fullness of time, set again by the Father, for the end of this age and the beginning of the next.
“As to your real question”: to what extent does the quality of how well we receive the kingdom of heaven here, usher in the millennium? I don’t believe we even play a part in ushering in the millennium by receiving the Kingdom here. I do see that how we live here determines our rewards and authority in the millennium. We know that Revelation 20:6 says that we will reign with Jesus for 1000 years. Reigning means we will be doing stuff. Furthermore, throughout Scripture we see that there are rewards according to how we served the Lord during this life. I do not believe this has to do with how much we did, rather as to how faithful we were with what He gave us. A mother who loves her kids and does laundry all day can have as much reward as those who won 1000s to Christ.