The word millennium is derived from two Latin words, “mille” which means thousand, and “annum” which means year. Millennium therefore means one thousand years. In eschatology, the millennium refers to the one thousand -year reign of Christ which occurs at the end of the present age after the battle of Armageddon. The word millennium occurs only in chapter 20 of the Scroll of Revelation in the entire Bible. It is used six times in the first seven verses of Revelation 20. It refers to the literal one thousand-year reign of Christ. Although the reign of the Messiah was well known to the OT prophets, the length of that reign was not specified. Therefore its duration was not known to the OT prophets. They knew it would be for a long time; for the prophet Isaiah wrote: ” There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed”(Is.65:20). If a man who dies at the age of one hundred years is regarded as a child, then certainly the old shall be several hundreds of years of age.
It is part of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. A biblical mystery is something that has always been part of God’s plan which was not revealed in the OT, but was revealed in the NT, and is always known by divine revelation. We can see that the millennium has all the three characteristics of a biblical mystery. It therefore qualifies, and should be referred to as a biblical mystery; for there is no way John the revelator would have known it other than by divine revelation, inasmuch as it was not revealed to any of the OT or NT prophets who were before him. It was not even revealed to any of his contemporary apostles and prophets. Though they were aware of the Millennial Reign of the Messiah, none of them other than the Apostle John the revelator specified its duration in their writings.
God created the world in six days. On the seventh day He rested, and He hallowed it(Gen.2:1-3). After the creation of man, God leased the world to Adam. The Heaven of Heavens belong to God, but the Earth has He given to the sons of men(Ps.115:16). Adam was to be God’s representative in the earthly domain of His Universal Kingdom. God is a spirit being without a physical body with which to relate to the external physical environment . So, He could not rule the world directly. He could only do so by proxy. Adam became His point man. Adam was to reign over the Earth for six days, each day corresponding to a thousand years or a millennium(2 Pet.3:8). The seventh day is the Shabbat of the Lord. Man works for six days, the seventh is the Shabbat of the Lord(Exod.20:8-11). Therefore Adam’s rule over the Earth was to last six millennia. According to Jewish calendar we are in the sixth millennium. This year beginning Tishri 1 is 5776. The Jewish calendar which is lunisolar is dated from day one of the creation of Adam. At the expiry of the sixth millennium, at the commencement of the seventh millennium, the rulership of the Earth will revert back to God who is the owner and Land Lord of the Earth. “Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of the heavens and the earth”(Gen.14:19).
But Adam transferred the rulership of the Earth to Satan when he transgressed the commandment of the LORD “not to eat the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”(Gen.2:16,17). Satan became the God of this Age. Satan’s rule over the Earth will expire at the end of the sixth millennium which is the end of God’s lease to Adam. Adam’s transaction with Satan was legal and binding inasmuch as Adam was God’s representative in the earthly realm of His Universal Kingdom. Adam had the legal right to transfer the lease to Satan inasmuch as he was God’s representative in the earthy domain of His Universal Kingdom, but not the moral right.
In the temptation Satan promised to hand over to Jesus the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them if He would bow down and worship him(Matt.4:9; Luk.4:6,7). Jesus did not question Satan’s right to the rulership of the Earth, simply because it was a legal transaction between Satan and Adam. If it were not so, the temptation would carry no weight. As a matter of fact, Jesus addressed him as the prince of this age(Jon.14:30). He is the god of this age and the prince of the power of the air(2 Cor.4:4; Eph.2:2). Satan was seeking a subordinate role for Jesus under his rulership in the Millennium. He attempted to trick Jesus into accepting the crown without the cross. If Jesus had failed, there would have been no pure human blood with which to redeem man. There would have been no kinsman redeemer or “Goel.” If Jesus had condescended, Satan would have scored the goal he failed to score when he attempted to hybridize the whole human race in Gen.6. He very well knew that Jesus was God’s representative in the earthly realm of God’s Universal Kingdom after the fall of Adam. Satan being the trickster that he is never mentioned to Jesus the duration of his reign over the Earth. It was a limited rule based on the duration of God’s lease to Adam.
Adam never had the Title Deed of the Earth. The Earth was never sold to Adam. The Earth was leased to him. What he had was the certificate of occupancy which would be withdrawn at the expiry of the lease. The Title Deed of the Earth belongs to God who is the eternal LORD of the Earth. The Title Deed of the Earth is the Seven-sealed Scroll which is kept in storage at the Throne Room of the Temple in Heaven. Adam was not qualified to break the seven seals and to open the Scroll. No man in Heaven nor on Earth was qualified to break the seals and to open or unroll the Scroll. No angel was qualified either(Rev.5:1-3). No wonder therefore that John the revelator wept sore(Rev.5:4). But the Lion from the tribe of Judah has prevailed to break the seals and to open the Scroll(Rev.5:4-14). Man could play the role of the “goel,” but he was not sinless. The holy angels who did not ally themselves to Satan in the rebellion in Eternity Past were sinless being locked in righteousness but could not play the role of the “goel” because they were not human. The “goel” must be a human being, the kinsman redeemer. Jesus, though God, is both human and sinless. So, He has prevailed. He is the kinsman redeemer, the “goel.”
At the expiry of the sixth millennium, God will recover his rulership of the Earth. Because God the Father has no physical body, He can only rule the Earth by proxy. The first Adam failed. The second man prevailed. “The first man is of the earth earthy: the second man is the Lord from the heaven”(1 Cor.15:47). As the last Adam, Jesus took the whole of humanity to the cross. As the second man, He created a new species of humans. If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new species of human being(2 Cor.5:17). Jesus created a new species of human beings, the 42nd generation(Matt.1:17). Jesus will be the Father’s representative here. Though He is God, He is also man. He has a physical body with which to relate to the external physical environment. Of all the three persons of the Godhead, Jesus is the only one who possesses a physical body with which to relate with external physical environment. Because He is the Son Of Man He can represent God here on Earth. In the millennium, Jesus shall reign over the Earth in the behalf of the Father.
Throughout all ages, great men have assayed to establish a kingdom on Earth that would last a thousand years. Charlemagne nursed the ambitious plan of a thousand year Holy Roman Empire. Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer of Nazi Germany, referred to his empire as The Thousand-year Reich. Unfortunately it lasted for just twelve years(1933-1945). That men had toyed, romanced and grappled with the idea and notion of a thousand year kingdom on Earth is evident in history. They could not achieve it because they did not begin to fill the lofty credentials of the “Goel.” It is the prerogative of the God-Man. Jesus is the God-Man, the heavenly archetypal man.
The Millennial Reign Of Christ.
The Millennium will begin 75 days after the close of the 70th week of Daniel, 45 days after Christ physically repossesses the Earth at the end of the Battle of Armageddon. At the start of the Millennium, Satan shall be evicted from the Earth’s premises, and incarcerated in the bottomless pit throughout the entire length of one thousand year reign of Christ”(Rev.20:1-3). According to the prophet Daniel, after God recovers His rule over the Earth from Satan, The LORD GOD Almighty will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed:
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall never be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever”(Dan.2:44 ).
God Almighty shall reclaim His rule over the Earth at the blowing of the seventh trumpet. The antiChrist and his Eighth And Final Beast Empire, the kings of the East, North and South and their kingdoms shall still be in existence at that time. They shall be annihilated four weeks later at the battle of Armageddon.
Prior to the breaking of the seals, God the Father hands over the Tittle Deed of the Earth to the Son who then proceeds to break the seals. This is very significant. Adam never had the Tittle Deed of the Earth. Therefore Adam was never the sovereign ruler of the Earth. As we have pointed out, Jesus is given the Tittle Deed of the Earth. In other words, He shall be sovereign over the Earth. The Father shall give Him full authority to rule the Earth. Nevertheless He shall be subject to the Father in order that the Father may be all in all. “For He has put all things under His feet. But when He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which put all things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all”(1 Cor.15:27,28).
Although Jesus will be the absolute and sovereign ruler of the Earth in the Millennium, He shall still be subject to the Father who is the sovereign Lord of the universe.
David: The King Of Israel
This is a controversial subject. Would it be David, the king of Israel who would be resurrected to rule over the nation of Israel in the Millennium? Or would it be David’s Greater Son, our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ? We will probably never be that sure until we enter the Millennium.
On both sides of the top of elevated Mount Zion on which sits the Millennial Temple will be areas designated for the residence of David, King of Israel. The prophet Jeremiah wrote: “But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I shall raise up unto them”(Jer.30:9). Whether this is a direct reference to David who shall be raised up to rule over Israel in the Millennium, or David’s Greater Son, Jesus, is not readily resolved. The prophet Ezekiel added his voice: “And David my servant shall be king over them; and they shall have one shepherd: and they shall walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes , and do them”(Ezekiel.37:24).
The nation of Israel shall no longer be divided. They shall have one shepherd and one God, and David will be prince over them. There will be no more false gods, and idolatry shall be wiped off from the Earth. The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens(Jer.10:11). “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it”(Ezek.24:23,24 ).
Robert Van Kampen, one of my fathers in eschatology is of the opinion that whereas Christ rules over the whole earth, David shall rule over Israel. Christ shall rule over the whole Earth from His Throne Room in the rebuilt Third Jewish Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. This will be the Fourth and the Millennial Temple sitting atop the summit of the renovated, expansive and elevated Mount Zion. On either side of the holy area, to the east and to the west, will be areas designated for the prince, from where David will rule over Israel. Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel shall be renovated and so also the whole land of Israel. “Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the place shall remain after the manner thereof”(Jer.30:18).
The twelve Apostles of the Lamb shall be rulers over the twelve tribes of Israel. “Ye are they which have continued with Me in my temptations. And I appoint unto a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel”(Luk.22:28-30). “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son Of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel”(Matt.19:28).
Other Kings And Kingdoms
During the Millennium, there will still be nations. These nations will be administered by their own rulers. The resurrected saints shall have oversight over these nations. The resurrected saints shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. “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”(Rev.20:6). The saints who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast neither his image, who refused to be beast-marked either on their foreheads or in their hands shall also be resurrected, and shall reign with Christ for a thousand years in the Millennium. “And saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years”(Rev.20:4).
These other nations shall have their own governmental structure and organization under the overall rulership of Christ. During the Millennium, God’s glory shall illuminate not only Israel and her Holy City Jerusalem, but also all the other nations of the world and their cities. “And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.” Solomon, the wise, rich and opulent king of Israel is usually not spoken of as a prophet, but in Psalm 72, he prophesied about the universal reign of the Messiah over the nations and kings of the Earth. “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness(the Arab and Asian nations) shall bow before Him: and His enemies shall lick the dust. The Kings of Tarshish and of the isles(European and Asian nations) shall bring presents: the Kings of Sheba and Seba(African nations) shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him”(Ps.72:8-11).
During the Millennium, all the nations of the Earth will not only serve and glorify God, they shall also serve and honor Israel. They shall not afflict the Jewish people any more as they do in the present age. “Thus saith the LORD GOD, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: and thou shall know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me”(Is.49:22,23). The final ingathering of the Jews from the diaspora at the end of the Battle of Armageddon shall be effected by the Gentile survivors of the Day Of The LORD. As they congregate to Jerusalem for the Sheep And Goat Judgment, they shall bring the Jews who survive the wrath of God in the diaspora. The Jews who survive the Day Of The LORD in diaspora shall be witnesses of these Gentiles in the Sheep and Goat judgment of the Gentile nations, either to justify or condemn them: inasmuch as these Gentiles will be judged on the bases of their treatment of the Jews during the Great Tribulation at the hands of the antiChrist. The believers then in their eternal immortal resurrection bodies shall be their witnesses as well.
These nations are the Gentile survivors of the wrath of God. “The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick dust like the serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear before Him”(Mic.7:16,17). They shall come out of their fortresses, the rocks and mountains where they were hiding during the wrath of God(Rev.12:14-17). They shall come trebling, and in fear and dread of our LORD. They shall assemble in Jerusalem for the Sheep and Goat Judgment. “when the Son Of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He separate them one from another, as the shepherd divideth his sheep from the goat”(Matt.25:31,32). The sheep shall be justified. They shall enter the millennium and repopulate the Earth alongside their Jewish counterparts. The goats shall be liquidated and consigned to Hell.
During the Millennium, the Jew shall be revered unlike in the present age when they are denigrated, maligned, and persecuted. “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you”( Zechariah.8:20-23). This should not be a surprise; for Jesus shall rule the world from His Throne Room in the Fourth And Millennial Temple on Mount Zion. People shall come from all over the world to see God in Jerusalem. In those days, it shall be fashionable to befriend a Jew in order to facilitate access. This is not bribery but seeking divine favour.
Events In The First Day Of The Millennium
There are about five specific events that occur on the first day of the Millennium. These events are recorded sequentially in Revelation 20 & 21, with the exception of Rev.20:7-15, which is parenthetic and records the The White Throne Judgment which occurs at the end of the Millennium. The parenthesis of Rev.20:7-15 is a detailed explanation of the second death which occurs at the end of the Millennium at The White Throne Judgment. The second death is the Lake Of Fire. “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”(Rev.20:14,15). The Sheep and Goat Judgment which also occurs on the first day of the Millennium is not recorded in the Scroll of Revelation, but is recorded in Matt.25:31-46.
(1) Satan Chained
God gave Adam a limited control over the earthly domain of His Universal kingdom. This limited but powerful control over the Earth was usurped by Satan when Adam fell through transgression. So, Satan became the god of this age. The consequence of the fall was the corruption of the whole human race and the entire creation. Jesus came to reverse the consequences of the fall. The redemption of man and the whole creation occurs in stages. At His first advent Jesus dealt with spiritual death brought about by sin. At His second advent, He will wrest physical control of the starry heavens and the Earth from Satan. He will reclaim God’s rule over the Earth. He will receive absolute, divine and sovereign control over the Earth. Therefore Satan and his demonic hordes shall be evicted from the Dark Void and the starry heavens and from the Earth’s premises.
Precisely at the midpoint of the 70th seven, Satan and his hordes of fallen evil angels were evicted from their abode in the dark void and the starry heavens. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”(Rev12:7-9).
At Armageddon, Satan’s forces under the command of the antiMessiah shall be totally annihilated. The antiChrist and the false prophet shall be cast into the lake of fire, but Satan and his fallen evil angels shall still be roaming the Earth until incarcerated in the shaft of the abyss. To eliminate his influence in the lives of the citizens of the Millennial Kingdom Of God, Satan and his evil demonic hordes must be evicted from the Earth’s premises and incarcerated in the bottomless pit.
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal of upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years shall be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season”(Rev.20:1-3).
Christ would have none of Satan’s influence on the citizens of his millennial kingdom. Therefore he must be bound and incarcerated. Although it is not mentioned that his demons were bound, it is obvious that they too were bound with him, lest they negatively influence the citizens of the millennial kingdom of the Messiah. Because he will be bound for a thousand years, he will, of necessity be bound on the first day of the Millennium.
(2) The Sheep And Goat Judgment
With the antiChrist’s army and the armies of the others kings and kingdoms of the Earth destroyed at Armageddon, and anyone with the mark of the beast executed, all that will be left would be the ones who do not have the mark of the beast. Before any of these can enter the Millennium to repopulate the Earth, they must pass through the Sheep and Goat Judgment to determine their eligibility to enter into the millennial reign of the Messiah.
“When The Son Of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: 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; And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come Ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered , and ye gave me Me meat: I was thirsty and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in: Naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, Ye have done it unto Me. Then shall He say unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited Me not. Then shall they answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt.25:31-46).
Jesus shall personally conduct this judgment from His Throne in the Throne Room of the newly built Fourth And Millennial Temple at the center of the Holy Area at the summit of renovated and elevated Mount Zion. It shall occur when He comes in His glory with His holy angels, just as we have pointed out after the Battle Of Armageddon(Rev.19:11-21). All nations, that is, those who survived the wrath of God and the final battle of Armageddon, shall be gathered unto Him in Jerusalem. All survivors of the day of His Wrath who were not immediately executed as a result of being beast-marked shall appear before Him in Jerusalem. None of the Gentiles who appear at the Sheep And Goat Judgment shall have the mark of the beast. Any survivors of the wrath of God who bears the mark of the beast shall be immediately executed. If any man has the mark of the Beast, the wrath of God abides on him.
All His angels will be with Him. It therefore follows these survivors shall be miraculously gathered to Jerusalem, considering the devastation caused by the final wrath of God. It shall take 45 days to gather all surviving Gentiles to the land of Israel for this judgment. It is within this 45-day period, the Restoration Period of the Kingdom, that the Earth will be renovated.
Jews who survive the wrath of God would not be required to appear at this judgment, having accepted Him as their Messiah when they see His nail-pierced hands(Zech.12:10-14), shortly before the sounding of the seventh trumpet when the mystery of God is finished at the completion of the spiritual kingdom of God. Of course, Jews who survive the day of His Wrath, who are beast-marked, shall be executed instantly like all others. But the plain truth is that no one with the mark of the beast will survive the wrath of God; for the wrath of God abides on any one who is beast-marked(Rev.14:9,10). The Greek word translated nations in KJV is ethnos which could also be rendered heathen, peoples, or Gentiles. The Hebrew equivalent is Goyim which is used by Jews to refer to non-Jewish peoples. It is not a reference to independent political states. It refers to individuals of all ethnic groups other than the Jew. So the sheep and goat judgment is the judgment of individuals of all ethnic groups other than the Jew who survive the day of His wrath, rather than independent nation states. No Jew will appear or be judged at the Sheep And Goat Judgment.
God’s wrath would have destroyed anyone who has the mark of the beast(Zeph.1:17). “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascended up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name”(Rev.14:9-11).
When the first avenging angel poured his bowl into the Earth, it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon them who worshipped his image(Rev.16:2). Most probably therefore, no one with the mark of the beast shall survive the Day Of His Wrath which ends with the seventh and final bowl judgment at Armageddon. However if any man who is beast-marked is left alive after the Battle of Armageddon, the one shall be instantly executed; for no man with the mark of the beast shall appear at the sheep and goat judgment much less enter the Millennium.
Besides, those who appear at the Sheep And Goat Judgment do not seem to know why they are being judged. This is not what one would expect of those who have denied Christ and were beast-marked. It is therefore obvious that it will be Gentiles who rejected the mark of the beast, who neither acknowledged the antiChrist as God, nor Christ as Messiah, who somehow survived the wrath of Satan during the Great Tribulation, and God’s wrath during the day of the Lord, who will be required to make their way to Jerusalem during the 45-day restoration period to appear at the Sheep And Goat Judgment of the Gentile survivors of the wrath of God in the Day of The lord.
The basis of this judgment will be the Gentiles treatment of Jews and Christians in hiding during the great tribulation by the antiChrist. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me”(Matt.25:40). Their treatment of these Jews and Christians would be considered as their treatment of Christ Himself. “Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as Ye did it not to one of the least of these, Ye did it not to me”(Matt.25:45). The witnesses at this trial will be surviving Jews who have just been regathered from the diaspora, and perhaps resurrected saints who will reign with Christ in the Millennium. The reason why I include Christians among His brethren is because the Dragon shall make war with the remnant of the offspring of the woman who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ(Rev.12:17). Just as Jewish remnants in their mortal bodies gathered to the land of Israel from the diaspora at the end of the Battle of Armageddon shall be present to witness the Sheep And Goat Judgment, so also shall the resurrected saints in their new glorified eternal immortal resurrection resurrection bodies be present to witness; for they shall be priests of God and reign as kings with Christ for a thousand years.
“Bring forth the blind people that have eyes and the deaf that have ears. Let all nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, it is truth. Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen; that Ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He: before me there is no God formed, neither shall there be after me”(Is.43:8-10).
The Jewish witnesses will not be objects of Christ’s judgment. When the nations are gathered, the Gentiles will be permitted to present their witnesses from amongst the Jewish survivors in order that they may be justified. The surviving Jews from amongst the Gentiles are God’s witnesses that He is just in His acquittal or as the case may be His condemnation of the Gentiles. The resurrected saints shall also be witnesses that He is just in His acquittal or else condemnation of the Gentiles as the case may be. Those who have harmed Jews and Christians or otherwise refused them assistance in their time of distress shall be condemned whether or not they are beast-marked.
“Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, Ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” ( Matt.25:41). Those who befriended Jews and assisted them, the righteous Gentiles shall be spared, and go into eternal life, but those who did not shall go into everlasting punishment(Matt.25:46).
It is not enough not to take the mark of the beast. It is not enough not to harm believers. Indifference towards persecuted Jews and Christians merits one the status of a goat. Christ shall say to them, ” inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteousness into life eternal”(Matt.25:45,46). The cynical ones who believe that the fact that they are not beast-marked merits salvation shall be condemned. On the other hand, those who are not beast-marked, who lay no claim to salvation shall be justified. Although these gave drink to His thirsty brethren, fed the hungry, clothed those who were naked, visited the prisoners, invited the strangers and destitute amongst them into their homes, they did not believe it was sufficient to earn them salvation, nor did hey believe they were doing it to Jesus. They expressed wonder as to when they did all these. Salvation is by grace alone through faith, and that also the gift of God. These righteous Gentiles were also elected before the foundation of the world(Eph.1:4,5;2:8,9).
(3) The Beheaded Martyrs Resurrect
The time of resurrection of the beheaded martyrs is a controversial issue amongst biblical scholars. Were they raised from the dead at the time of the rapture of the saints, or were they raised, and given a new eternal immortal resurrection body on the first day of the Millennium? One thing is very clear, this group of martyrs may include some of those under the altar at the breaking of the fifth seal who were given a new eternal immortal resurrection body at the Rapture.
“And when He had broken the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with aloud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given to every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled”(Rev.6:9-11).
The fifth seal martyrs were told to wait until their fellow brethren who were to be killed were also martyred. There is a complement of believers to be martyred during the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist. When that number is complete, God amputates the Great Tribulation with cosmic disturbances associated with the breaking of the sixth seal. At the Rapture of the church when the Shekinah appeared in the heavens, shortly before the breaking of the seventh seal, these martyrs were also raptured and received new eternal immortal resurrection bodies. If the beheaded saints were part of the fifth seal martyrs, why were they left out until the first day of the Millennium?
“And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image , neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years”(Rev.20:4).
As we have pointed out earlier, when they came to life, and received their new eternal immortal resurrection bodies, earlier at the Rapture of the church or on the first day of the Millennium is a debated issue in some theological circles. Malvin J. Rosenthal and Robert Van Kampen are of the opinion that these particular souls, beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus, and because of the word of God, must be given their new eternal immortal resurrection bodies on the first day of the Millennium. The Greek verb translated ‘lived’ in the KJV or ‘came to life’ in the NASV is “ezesan.” It is in the aorist active tense. Dr. Robert Gundry, the noted Greek scholar, in a private communication with Robert Van Kampen, commented:
“The parallelism of the aorist verb in this passage, for sitting, giving, living and reigning, indicate actions that take place at the same time. Naturally it is the context which determines the time referred to by these verbs, clearly at the beginning of the Millennium, because the passage in question ends with ” and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years, ” thus defining exactly when the action takes place.”
They conclude therefore that the beheaded martyrs were raised from the dead on the first day of the Millennium rather than at the Rapture of the church. When they rose from the dead, at the Rapture or on the first day of the Millennium is not vital to our teaching on the end times. However, there seem not to be any reason their resurrection from the dead delayed until the first of the Millennium.
The First Resurrection
The first resurrection refers to the general resurrection of believers and saints of all ages unto life. As we have borne the image of the earthy, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly(1 Cor.15:49). It is accomplished in phases.
(1) The first phase occurred when Christ who is the firstfruits of them that slept rose from the dead. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept”(1 Cor.15:20). When Christ rose from the dead, the OT saints and believers also rose with Him. “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the city, and appeared unto many”(Matt.27:52,53). Did these dear saints re-enter their graves to await the resurrection at the Rapture? I doubt very much.
(1) The first phase occurred when Christ who is the firstfruits of them that slept rose from the dead. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept”(1 Cor.15:20). When Christ rose from the dead, the OT saints and believers also rose with Him. “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the city, and appeared unto many”(Matt.27:52,53). Did these dear saints re-enter their graves to await the resurrection at the rapture? I doubt very much.
(2) The second phase is the resurrection of the dead in Christ which occurs at the Rapture.
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God; neither corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality”(1 Cor.15:50-53).
We shall be raptured to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with Him.
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them that are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rose first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words”(1 Thess.4:14-18).
(3) The third phase will be the resurrection of the beheaded martyrs on the first day of the Millennium?
“And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they live and reigned with Christ a thousand years”
(4) The fourth phase of the first resurrection is the resurrection of the saints who lived in the Millennium. Although it is not explicitly mentioned in the Scriptures, it is logically reasonable that those who entered the Millennium in this mortal body, and repopulated the Earth will some day exchange it with a new glorified eternal immortal resurrection body; inasmuch as flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption(1 Cor.15:50).
I personally believe that the millennial saints would be the ones whose names are found in the scroll of life at the White Throne Judgment, and therefore would be justified. There are some biblical scholars who believe and teach that all those who appear at the White Throne Judgment will be condemned. Why are there the scroll of life and the scroll of works? If those whose names were not found in the scroll of life were condemned, it therefore follows that those whose names were found in the scroll of life would be justified.
If the millennial saints are not justified at the White Throne Judgment, where then are they justified? The essence of the scroll of works is to show everyone who appears at the White Throne Judgment that by works no man shall be justified. By works every man shall be condemned, because by works of the law shall no man be justified; for by the law of works is the knowledge of sin( cp Rom.3:20). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God(Gal.2:16,17; 3:11,24; 5:5:4; Rom.3:23). And again the wages of sin death, but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus the Christ(Rom.6:23)
The resurrection of Christ who is the firstfruits of them that slept, the resurrection of the dead in Christ, the resurrection of the beheaded martyrs, and the resurrection of the millennial saints are all part and parcel of the first resurrection which is the resurrection unto life. “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”(Rev.20:6).
The Second Resurrection: The Second Death
The second resurrection is the resurrection unto condemnation. It is the resurrection of judgment(Jon.5:29). It is the second death. It occurs at the White Throne Judgment.
” Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death”(Rev.20:14).
This is in contrast to the first resurrection which is the resurrection unto life. The firstfruits of the second resurrection, the resurrection unto condemnation, will be the antiChrist and the false prophet, who shall be taken captive at the Battle of Armageddon and cast alive into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone(Rev.19:20).
The Identity Of The Beheaded Martyrs
Robert Van Kampen of blessed memory was of the opinion, though not adamantly that the beheaded martyrs of Rev.20:4, are the same as the fifth seal Martyrs under the altar. I personally do not share this view. I do have some strictures with his view. First, the fifth seal martyrs were told to wait until their fellow brethren to be killed were fulfilled. Then and only then would God avenge their death. There is a complement of believers to be martyred during the Great Tribulation by the antiMessiah. When this is number of saints to be martyred is complete, God interrupts the Great Tribulation with cosmic disturbances. And then the church shall be taken away from the scene of persecution, raptured as it were. Second, what will be the reason for leaving those beheaded martyrs behind when their fellow saints are raptured? Thirdly, it is not mentioned that the fifth seal martyrs were all beheaded. All we were told is that they were slain for the word of God and the testimony which they upheld. The way and manner in which they were martyred was not revealed. Fourthly, it is highly probable that the beheaded saints were amongst them, but is evident that not all those who were killed for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus had their heads cut off. Rev.20:4 stated unequivocally that these martyrs had their heads cut off. It therefore follows that they are a special group of saints whose testimony were particularly provocative and insulting to the antiChrist and his evil empire.
However, I do share the view with Robert Van Kampen that these martyrs who had their head cut off were Jewish believers who would bear witness of Christ in the Holy Land during the Great Tribulation. These Jewish believers do not only refuse the mark of the beast but will go about brazenly, from one city to another in the land of Israel, right under the noses of the antiChrist and the false prophet, proclaiming the gospel and persuading their fellow countrymen not to be chipped with the mark of the beast. Their behavior would be considered subversive to the government of the antiChrist. It is likely that the antiChrist would not see them as religious buffoons who are to be ignored but rather as treasonous felons. The antiChrist will view them as political rivals and anti-governmental subversives. Hence, the execution by decapitation. The Greek word is “cephalizomai” which means to cut off the head, or decapitation. This is to show the gravity of their offense, and to serve as a deterrent to other would-be subversives. They are indeed anti-governmental and subversive; for they represent the rival government of the Messiah.
We know that they would not have gone all over the cities of Israel before the Son Of Man comes(Matt.10:23). In other words their job would only be complete when the Messiah annihilates the antiChrist and his armies at Armageddon, and retakes physical possession of the earth. Therefore their number is probably not complete until the end of Armageddon. Hence, their resurrection on the first day of the Millennium 45 days after the Battle of Armageddon. So, some of them who were amongst the fifth seal martyrs would have have to wait till the first day of the Millennium to receive their new eternal immortal resurrection bodies, rather than at the Rapture of the church. Without the faithful witness of these martyrs, the remnant of Israel who would follow the Messiah into the Millennium would have died in unbelief. Because of their special witness, they shall be raised to life to reign with Christ for a thousand years. They have led many to Christ at the expense of their own lives. They shall shine like the stars for ever(Dan.12:3). Are Jewish believers the only ones who will be beheaded during the Great Tribulation? Or is it only in the land of Israel that Christians will be headed during the Great Tribulation? The answer is emphatically no. The fifth seal martyrs are from nations and tongues. It is certain that some of them were beheaded for the word word of God and the testimony which they upheld. In that case therfore, it is certain that some of them were among the beheaded saints mentioned Rev.20:4.
(4) The New Heaven And New Earth
Before the Millennium begins, the present heavens and Earth have to be cleansed from the defilement of sin. The wars, the famines, the pestilences and earthquakes, the Great Tribulation by the antiChrist, the cosmic disturbances asssociated with the breaking of the sixth seal, the seventh seal and its attendant trumpet and bowl judgments and the final Battle of Armageddon will cause a lot of devastation on the Earth and its environs and the atmospheric and starry heavens. Therefore the Earth and its environs, the atmospheric and starry heavens shall be renovated to make the Earth habitable again before the millennial reign of Christ begins. As touching this, the prophet Isaiah wrote:
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come mind. But be ye glad and rejoice in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy”(Is.65:17,18).
The destruction of the present heaven and Earth shall be a limited destruction not total annihilation. Apostle Peter in mockery of the scientific uniformintarians who deny that God ever intervened in human affairs in the past nor shall intervene in the future called attention to the Noahic flood.
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. For this they willing are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heaven were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the present heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness”(2 Pet3:3-13).
As the world of Noah perished in the waters of the deluge and had to be renovated, even so shall the present heavens and Earth perish in the fires of the Day Of His Wrath, and shall be renovated to make it habitable again. It is also comparable to the kind of devastation that occurred in Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities of the plain, Zeboim and Adama when they were destroyed with fire, brimstone and sulfur from heaven. Except for the Jewish and Gentile remnants protected by God, the entire Earth shall be filled with death and destruction. The destruction caused by the Day Of The LORD, shall be a limited one, not total annihilation. So the new heavens and new earth shall not be entirely new but refurbished heavens and Earth. The Greek word translated new here is not “naos” but “kainos,” which refers to something old but renewed or refurbished. So this is not creation ex nihilo, creation out of nothing, which is a primary creative act. It is not a direct creative act. It is an indirect or secondary creative act, that is, creation out of what is already in existence. It does not refer to something entirely new, which has not exited before, but rather the renewal of something that has existed before.
The renovation of the heavens and the earth shall begin on the first day of the 45-day Restoration Period and completed by the first day of the Millennium. It is difficult to imagine how Jesus will renovate the heavens and the Earth. The survivors of the wrath of God, and the Sheep and Goat Judgment shall still be in their mortal bodies. They shall repopulate the Earth.
The eternal fires shall burn in Edom throughout the Millennium as a momorial of His indignation towards antisemism.
“Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at the plague thereof. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD , no man shall abide there, neither shall the son of man dwell in it”(Jer. 49:17,18).
It will take seven months to bury the dead at Armageddon, and seven years to dispose of the wreckages of war.
“Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand staves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of the graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. And they shall severe out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. The passengers that pass through the land, when they seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog. And the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land”(Ezek.39: 8-16).
There will be a restoration of the edenic relationship between heaven and Earth. It will be new heavens and a new Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness(3 Pet.3:13). The evil consequences of the fall of Adam shall be removed. There will be no more erratic weather patterns, no excessive monsoon rains, no hurricanes and tropical storms. There will be no more swelling of the oceans, no more flooding. There shall be no more oceans in the first. There shall be seas or perhaps big rivers. Animals will be restored to their pristine edenic state. There will be no more carnivores. All animals will be herbivorous. The lion will eat straw like the ox. A toddler shall put its finger in the den of the cockatrice. There shall be no hurt and destruction in the Holy Mount of the Lord. There shall be no more poisonous serpents. All animals will be tamed by the glory of God that fills the Earth as the waters cover the sea.
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and the spirit of counsel and mighty, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reigns. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and the little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea”(Is.11:1-9).
We see here that all creatures shall revert to their pristine pre-fall estate. The rule of the jungle will no more apply. It shall be no more be dog-eat-dog society, the survival of the fittest. All creatures will be tamed. Men will no more be mugged by wild beasts; for there shall be no wide beasts at all. All animals whether domestic or living in the forest shall be tame. There shall be no more poisonous snakes. All snakes shall lose their venom. There shall be no more snake bites let alone envenomation. The rattle snake, the spitting cobra, the constrictor boa and the anaconda, the grizzly bear, the lion, the tiger and the leopard, the rhinoceros, the chimpanzee, the gorillas, the buffalo, and all other animals and creatures shall be at peace with one another and with man.
There shall be no poisonous lizards and insects. There shall be no more blood sucking insects. All mosquitos shall feed on fruit juice. All insects shall feed on fruit juice and vegetations. The vampire bat shall no more suck blood either of animals or of humans.
There shall be no more poisonous sea snakes. All fishes shall be at peace with one another. The shark shall become herbivorous, so also the whale, and all other sea creatures. They shall not hurt no devour in My holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
The deserts of the Earth shall be reclaimed. The whole Earth will be of one weather, subtropical. There shall be no more torrential downpours. The Earth shall be wetted by the dew of the heavens every morning and evening. The Canadian and Siberian permafrost shall be reclaimed. So also the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. The Atlantic and Pacific oceans shall varnish freeing huge expanse of land for farming and human habitation. In this age scientists tell us that one-fourth of the ice-free surface of the earth can support a population of 40 billion people. Food does not go round because of human greed. In the Millennium the curse on the Earth shall be lifted. The Earth shall yield her increase. There shall be no more drought and no more famines and dearth. There shall be no pestilences, no earthquakes, no tsunamis, and no volcanic eruptions. Mountains shall no more spew hot ash and larva. There will be plenty to eat and drink. The Earth shall yield her increase. Human greed and corruption shall be things of the past. There shall be no more hoarding of commodities. Food preservation will be at the optimum level. Wastage of food, if any, shall be minimized. There shall be equitable distribution of wealth. Everyone will produce maximally and take what one needs. There shall be no competition let alone cut-throat competition.
There shall be no more insect vectors of diseases. There shall be no more parasites. All bacteria, viruses, rickettsia and chlamidia shall be non-pathogenic. The river of life from under the Throne Room of the Lord shall water the Earth, bringing healing to the land. It will always be planting season and harvest time. There will be natural drip irrigation from the river of life from the Throne of the Messiah in the Fourth And Millennial Temple on the renovated and elevated Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and the dew of heaven shall wet the earth morning and evening. The tree that shall grow by the banks of the river of life shall yield twelve manner of fruits for the nourishment of the body. The leaves of the tree shall be for the healing of the nations and for the maintenance of health. Citizens of the millennial kingdom shall live out their lifetime. Those who die at the age of one hundred shall be regarded as infants. They shall be no more infants of days. But the sinner being an hundred years old shall be cursed(Is.65:20).
This shall be the time the whole creation had waited and travailed for.
“For we reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are save by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it( Rom.8:19).
The whole creation alongside the redeemed of the Lord groan and travail together until the present time, waiting for the redemption of our body, when we shall receive our glorified eternal and immortal bodies, when we shall be free from the frailties and restrictions of our mortal bodies, into the glorious Liberty of the sons of God. The whole creation itself shall be freed from the bondage of corruption into the glorious Liberty of the sons of God.
It is the time of regeneration.
“And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son Of Man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel”(Matt.19:28).
We see here that the twelve apostles of the Lamb shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel in the Millennium.
It is the time of restoration of all things. “And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heavens must receive nail the time of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began”(Acts 3:21).
Jesus must remain in heaven until the time of restitution of all things when God Almighty shall regain control of the Earth; then shall He sit upon the throne of His father David, and rule over Israel and the whole Earth.
Nations will not learn war any more; for there shall be no more wars. “And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow shares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more”(Is.2:4)
Hebrew shall be the universal language in the Millennium. This will ease travels and communications. Because there will be good infrastructure, it will be extremely easy to move around. Though there will be national boundaries, border crossing will be facilitated by one international language and the good intentions of the citizens of the millennial kingdom.
The Lord shall rule the Earth with a rod of iron. No murderer will be kept alive at the expense of law abiding citizens of the millennial kingdom.
The nations shall congregate to Israel to worship the Lord in His Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. “And 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 teach us of His ways, and we shall walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem”(Is.2:3).
There shall be no more arguments as to which is the true God; for Satan and his hordes of fallen evil angels shall be evicted from the Earth’s premises and bound in the shaft of the abyss for a thousand years: thusly eliminating the corrupting influence on the citizens of Christ’s millennial kingdom. There shall be no more idols to worship. “The idols shall be abolished from the earth. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heaven”(Ps.96:5). “Their idols are silver and gold”(Ps.115:4). “The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands”(Ps.135:15). “The gods that have no made the heaven and the earth, even they shall perish from under the earth, and from under these heavens”(Jer.10:11). “And the idols He shall utterly abolish”(Is.2:18). All the idols would have bee done away during the Day Of His wrath.
“And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake terribly the earth. In that day, a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they have made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”(Is.2:19-22).
Men shall no more practice witchcraft. There shall be no more observers of times nor necromancers nor star gazers. There shall be no more secret societies nor false religions. With Satan and his fallen evil angels bound in the bottomless pit, the antiChrist and the false prophet cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone, and all the idols and graven images destroyed during the Day Of His Wrath, there shall be no more sacrilege. This shall be the state of affairs throughout the Millennium until Satan is paroled at the end of the Millennium, when he shall deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth.
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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”(Rev.20:7,8).
With the curse on humanity greatly reduced, Satan and his fallen evil angels incarcerated in the shaft of the abyss, the antiMessiah and the false prophet cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone, and the idols utterly abolished from the Earth, God, man, and His angels shall have unbounded fellowship and communion. It will be heaven on Earth. The heavens and the Earth shall be in holy union and embrace.
The New And Heavenly Jerusalem
There are some biblical scholars, especially of the pretribulation persuasion that teach that the new and heavenly Jerusalem shall appear at the end of the Mellennium as part of the New Heaven And New Earth. How long this new heavens and earth will last is not specified. Beyond this, according to them is the eternal state. But a careful examination of the Scriptures will reveal that the new heavens and new Earth is synonymous with the millennial reign of Christ. And the new and heavenly Jerusalem and the conjoint Fourth And Millennial temple on the renovated and elevated Mount Zion is the focal point of the millennial reign of Christ. After the Millennium and the subsequent White Throne Judgment is the Eternal State. Whatever the eternities future would look like, we are not told. The secret things are for God; but the things which are revealed are for us and our children, to the end we may keeps the words of the instruction(Deut.29:29). Therefore we shall be content with what is revealed, and not venture to thinker and speculate with divine secrets of the future.
Jesus promised His disciples that after the Rapture, He will never again be separated from them.
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again , and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”(Jon.14:1-3).
After the Rapture we shall never be separated from Christ again.
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them that are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout , with the voice of the archange, and with the trump of God: and the dead inChrist shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words”(1 Thess.4:13-18).
As we can see, it is explicitly clear that the church will never again be separated from Christ after the Rapture. And in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established(1 Cor.13:1; Numb.35:30). This is indeed so because after the Rapture of the church, after the end of the 70th of Daniel, during the 30-day reclamation period, while the forces of God are pounding the antiChrist and his evil kingdom here on Earth, the Bema Seat Judgment of the believers at which the saints are rewarded and bejeweled and the Marriage Of The Lamb to His decorated bride will take place in Heaven. The bride who now becomes the wife, will never again be separated from her husband. The new Jerusalem which is now in construction in Heaven will descend from Heaven to rest on summit of the renovated and elevated mount Zion. At the summit of mount Zion is The Fourth And Millennial Temple described by the prophet Ezekiel(Ezek. 40-43), built by Christ Himself during the 45-day restoration period of the kingdom. The new and heavenly Jerusalem shall be the residence of the resurrected saints, the wife of Christ and the OT saints and the angels of God during the Millennial Reign Of Christ.
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son”( Rev.21:2-7).
Here the new and heavenly Jerusalem is referred to as a bride adorned for her husband. This is a metaphor. It is no more the bride of Christ as the house of the newly wed is the wife of the man. The house of the newly married man is the bride to extent that the wife dwells in that house. When he is home, he sees the wife who welcomes him. She is the center of attraction and the joy of the husband, and vice versa. The just decorated church at the bema seat judgment, newly wed at the marriage of the Lamb now abides with Him in the new and heavenly Jerusalem descended from God out of Heaven. It is the tabernacle of God amongst men. It is hollow at the base and merges with the Throne Room of The Fourth And Millennial Temple at the summit of Mount Zion. This city has no temple, God and Christ are the temple of it(Rev.21:22). In reality the city does not need another temple. It is conjoint and contiguous at the base with The Fourth And Millennial Temple on the renovated and elevated Mount Zion, probably the highest point on Earth in the Millennium. The Fourth And Millennial Temple projects upwards in the center of the city.
The inhabitants of this city shall not need the light of the sun, moon, and stars to get by. The dwellers of this city are God, His angels and the resurrected saints of both the OT and MT. God and his angels have no physical bodies. Jesus and the resurrected saints have glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies. Neither God and his angels nor Christ and the resurrected saints require the physical light of the sun , moon and stars. They have the life of God, “Zoe eioneis,” in themselves. The life of God in them is the light. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men”(Jon.1:4). The Lamb is the light thereof(Rev.21:23). The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not(Jon.1:4,5). The light source of the believer is in his spirit. It is the new life in Christ. In this age, it is eclipsed by the mortal body. But in the regeneration, it shall be unhindered, unhamperd, and unimpeded by the new and glorified eternal immortal resurrection body. The resurrected body is both transparent and translucent. In the resurrection there are no secrets. Everyone sees through everyone and knows what the other person is thinking. Thoughts are loud and transparent. There shall be no natural nights in this city. Therefore, It shall be always 12 noon.
In that city, there shall be no death, no ache, no pain, no sorrow, therefore there shall be no crying. The former things of pain, sickness, disease, death are passed away. These are the consequences of sin. When sin is eliminated, so are its consequences. The nations of them that serve Him shall walk in the light of it: and the Kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it(Rev.21:23). These are not earthly kings in their mortal bodies. The risen and glorified saints shall reign with Christ. They are the kings and priests of Christ. They shall be given rulership over nations, peoples, and tongues. They are the ones who shall bring the glories of the nations of the earth in the Millennium into the new and heavenly Jerusalem.
Men in their mortal bodies cannot approach this city. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incoruuption(1 Cor.15:50). The mortal body cannot tolerate the light of this city. It shall literally melt away. Anyone who ministers in the anointing of the Holy Spirit knows that it wears out the physical body. There is a level of the anointing that this mortal body of ours cannot tolerate. “There shall in wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s scroll of life”(Rev.21:27). The unglorified saints living in their mortal bodies here on Earth in the Millennium cannot approach this city. They have not experienced consummative sanctification or glorification. There are still intrinsic imperfections and impurities in these souls in their mortal bodies. Therefore they cannot approach this city. They can worship in the temple in some designated areas but they cannot enter into the new and heavenly Jerusalem.
In contrast to the Earth in the Millennium, though minimized, because Christ shall rule the Earth with a rod of iron(Ps.2:9; Rev.12:5; 19:5), there will be pain, ache, sorrow and death. It will be so, because those who enter the Millenium and repopulate the Earth, do so in their mortal bodies. They shall still be subject to sin. They still have to come to the saving knowledge of Christ every man on his own. Some will not accept Christ as their personal Saviour. Because they sin, they shall die young. Those who die at the age of 100 years shall be regarded as babies. There shall be no more thence and infant of days, nor an old man that hath not fulfilled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be acursed(Is.65: 20). There shall still be sin in the Millennium amongst those living in the mortal body. But it shall be reduced to the barest minimum due to the presence Christ, the saints, and the holy angels, and the absence of Satan and his fallen evil angels. Christ shall rule the Earth with a rod of iron. There shall be immediate and swift punishment of sin.
“And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bear twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: the leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever”(Rev.22:1-5).
As we have pointed out, the new and heavenly Jerusalem which descends from God out of heaven shall be contiguous with The Fourth Temple at the summit of the renovated and elevated Mount Zion. The renovated and earthly Jerusalem shall be the capital city of the world. The temple is the center of attraction in the Millennium. It is the seat of Christ’s Government, the headquarters of His Administration. Men from all over the world shall flock to it to pray and to see God in the flesh. In this temple, the heavens and Earth are in holy union and embrace. In the temple, God, man, the resurrected as well as those in their mortal bodies, and the angels of God are in holy communion. It is the focal point of the Millennium. It is the merging of the spheres. In it, the living in their mortal bodies and the dead and resurrected in their glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies are in holy communion.
The Throne Room of Christ’s Government shall be in the temple. From that Throne Room, the river of life shall flow in two directions. Upwards to the heavenly Jerusalem. Downwards to the earthly Jerusalem and the rest of the world. The river that flows downwards to the earthy Jerusalem and the rest of the world is described in Ezekiel 47. This river shall water the land of Israel and the rest of the world. It shall be teaming with fishes. It will heal the land and make it fruitful. It will make the desert blossom like the rose. It shall flow into the sea(Ezek.47:8). The seas of the world which have been polluted by human activities and the judgment of God in the day of His wrath shall be healed, and purified by the waters of this river of life. There are some that teach that there shall be no seas in the Millennium because the seas and the fresh water lakes were destroyed by the wrath of God. And there were no more sea(Rev. 21:1). But it is obvious from Ezek.47:8 that the downward flowing river shall end up in the sea. The prophet Zechariah spoke of living waters that shall flow out of Jerusalem: “And it shall be that in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be”(Zech.14:8). The prophet Joel predicted that a stream shall flow out of the house of the Lord: ” 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 out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim”(Joel 3:18).
The trees shall also bear fruits for food. The leaves thereof shall be for the healing of the nations(Ezek.47:12). The Hebrew word translated medicine here means bruises and minor ailments. That is quite understandable because sin itself and its evil effects on the human body shall be drastically minimized. We shall elaborate on this in our study of the earthly Jerusalem in the Millennium.
Here we are more interested in the river that flows upwards to the new and heavenly Jerusalem. It flows in its Broadway. On either side of the river, and in the midst of it, shall be a tree that bears twelve manner of fruits. This fruits shall be food for the dwellers of the new and heavenly Jerusalem. The leaves shall be for the healing of the nations of them that are saved. Now, do the inhabitants of this city ever get sick? No. Why do they need healing? They do not need healing. They need the leaves of this tree for the maintenance of health. Angels eat food. Manna is the food of the angels(Ps.78:24,25). When Jesus rose from the dead, He ate broiled fish(Luk.24:42). Resurrected saints also eat food. Food is for maintenance of the body. The leaves of this tree aid in the maintenance of health.
The Dimensions Of The City
“And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof and the wall thereof. And the city lieth four-square, 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 heights of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel”(Rev.21:15-17).
One of the seven avenging angels with the seven last plagues who talked with John the revelator has a golden reed to measure the city, the wall and the gates. That one of the seven avenging angels was called to measure the city probably indicates that this is not an event that occurs at the end of the Mellennium, that is one thousand years after the wrath of God, but rather prior to it, at the beginning of the Mellennium. The city has the shape of a cube. The length, the breadth and the height of it are equal, about twelve thousand furlongs. A furlong is about one-eighth of a mile. This is about 1500 miles or 2500 km. A reed is a measuring instrument used in the ancient Near East. It is about ten and one-half feet long, about 10 meters. He measured the wall thereof, it was about 144 cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. A cubit is the length of an average man from the tip of the middle finger to the tip of the elbow. 144 cubits is equal to 216 ft, or 72 yards, about 66 meters. This is the thickness of the wall. It is thicker than the wall of Jericho and Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon. It is virtually impregnable. The wall of the city was made of glass, and the city itself of pure gold like clear glass. Do we suppose that these are earthly materials? No. This city is built of heavenly materials.
A full description of the new and heavenly Jerusalem is given in our comments on the Scroll of Revelation. In that comment, the other aspects of the city like the gates of the city, the foundations of the city, the substance of the foundations, the substance of the gates and the lights of the city are described in fine details.
The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb
The timing of this event in the millennial reign of Christ is not specified in Scripture, we know it shall take place in the early stage of the Millennium. The marriage of the Lamb to His bride has taken place in Heaven during the 30-day reclamation period after the Bema Seat Judgment of the saints at which they are bejeweled. The bride is now rewarded and decorated with crowns of gold studded with precious stones, jewelries, and gems. The Earth has been restored during the 45-day restoration period. The Earth and the heavens have been cleared of demons. Satan is bound in the Bottomless Pit for a thousand years. The fallen evil angels are sent to Hell. The antiChrist and the false prophet have been cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.
The new and heavenly Jerusalem has descended from God out of heaven. It is merged at its base with the fourth and millennial temple built by Christ on the renovated and elevated Mount Zion. The 144,000 Jews hidden in Azel during the final wrath of God are now reunited with Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and all mankind(Zech.14:5). All Israel is now saved(Rom.11:26). The Gentiles who survived the Great Tribulation, the wrath of God, and were justified in the Sheep and goat judgement have repopulated the Earth. The new heavens and new Earth have been created. The earthly and millennial Jerusalem have been renovated, and has become the eternal capital of the Earth. Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and of all mankind has been coronated King of kings, and Lord of lords. He sits on the throne of His father David, and reigns king for ever from the throne of God and of Christ in the Throne Room on The Fourth And Millennial Temple on Mount Zion. All is now set for the marriage supper of the Lamb. The bride is united with her husband in the new and heavenly Jerusalem.
The marriage supper of the Lamb is the reception that follows the wedding or marriage of the Lamb that has taken place in Heaven earlier. On that day, Christ will drink anew the fruit of the vine with His disciples in His Father’s Kingdom. “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s Kingdom”(Matt.26:29). It is interesting that here Christ refers to the millennial kingdom as My Father’s Kingdom. Although He is sovereign over the Earth, He is subject to the Father who is all in all(1 Cor.15:27,28).
This will be the most glamorous wedding of all ages, with all the pomp and pageantry of the heavens. God Almighty will make a feast of wines on the lees for all nations.
“And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the LORD GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it”(Is.25:6-8).
Food and drink shall be in excess of everyone’s fill. The bride shall be resplendent in glory, and the scene stupendous. The only thing that shall be compared to it will be the marriage of the Lamb that took place earlier in Heaven.
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come , and His wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called to the marriage super of the Lamb. And He saith unto me , These are the true sayings of God”(Rev.19:7-9).
The heavens, the galaxies will display their stupendous glories in magnificent splendor. It will be a lavish banquet unlike anything seen before. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb(Rev.19:9). The bride will be adorned for her husband, gorgeously appareled(Rev.21:2). Christ Himself shall be so glorious in appearance that the light of His countenance shall illuminate the whole universe. The marriage supper of the Lamb shall be part of the celebration of God’s victory over the kingdom of darkness, on the same footing as The Marriage Of The Lamb , and The Bema Seat Judgment of the saints.
The Bride
There are some biblical scholars who believe and teach that the bride will consists of the saints of all ages. I do not share that view for the simple fact that John the baptizer refers to himself as the friend of the bridegroom. He that has the bride is the bridegroom. Jesus is the bridegroom, that is not debatable.
“He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth Him, rejoiceth because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly , and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from above is above all”(Jon.3:29-31).
John’s own testimony about himself is that he is a friend of the bridegroom. He stands by the bridegroom and hears His voice. This therefore my joy is fulfilled. He cannot be Christ friend standing by Him at the wedding and the subsequent reception, the marriage supper, and be part of the bride at the same time. My conclusion therefore is that John is Christ’s bestman.
Christ’s own testimony about John the baptizer is that: “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater that he”(Matt.11:11).
Of all those born of women, there hath not arisen any greater than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. The questions are who are those born of women, and who are the least in the Kingdom of heaven. My understanding is that Christ was referring to the OT saints, and the NT saints. Of all the OT saints there was none greater than John the Baptist, but the least among the NT saints, the church, the bride of Christ, the least is greater then he. My conclusion therefore is that the OT saints are not part of the bride of Christ, inasmuch as John the baptizer who is the greatest of them all is less than the least of the NT saints, is not part of the bride but his friend or bestman at the wedding in heaven and the marriage supper, the reception on Mount Zion in the new and earthly Jerusalem.
The Attendees
At every wedding and the subsequent reception, there are invited guests. At the marriage super of the Lamb there will also be invited guests. The Father and the Holy Spirit though invisible to those in their mortal bodies will be the hosts of the wedding. The OT saints will be the there. John the baptizer will be Christ’s bestman. Some of the greats among the OT saints like fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Elijah, David etc will be seated at the table. The angels of God will be there. Some of them, like the archangels Michael and Gabriel will be seated at the table. A good number of the angels will wait on the guests, inasmuch as they are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation(Heb.2:14) Those in there mortal bodies who repopulate the Earth in the Millennium will be there. The 144,000 of the children of Israel who follow the Lamb wherever He goes will be there. They will most probably be part of Heaven’s security details. The Jews who survived the Great Tribulation and the wrath of God in the Day Of the Lord shall be there.
How do we know that the marriage supper of the Lamb shall take place on Earth? Because there was found there one who did not have a wedding garment( Matt.22:11-14). This is probably one of the survivors of the sheep and goat judgment. This cannot happen in Heaven. This cannot happen in heaven because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit in corruption(1 Cor.15:50).
Summary
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom as of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord , and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever”(Rev.11:15).
The celebration of the marriage supper of the Lamb marks the completion of the defeat of Satan and his fallen evil angels. Satan, the supreme personality of evil, the corrupter of the Earth and all mankind has been defeated, evicted from the Earth’s premises and incarcerated in the shaft of the abyss. The antiMessiah and The False Prophet have been cast into the Lake Of Fire And Brimstone. All those who gave allegiance to Satan by capitulating to the authority of the antiMessiah have been destroyed. God Almighty has reclaimed His rule of the the Earth usurped by Satan. Christ has regained physical possession of the Earth at Armageddon. He has received the Kingdom from the Father, and crowned King of kings, and Lord of lords. He has re-established the Kingdom Of God on Earth over which He, Christ would rule for ever.
“And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth “(Rev19:6).
The Jewish survivors of the Great Tribulation and the Day Of The LORD have come to the saving knowledge of Christ. The gentile survivors of the Great Tribulation, the wrath of God, and the Sheep And Goat Judgment have been brought to the saving knowledge of Christ. They have entered into the Millennium to repopulate the earth alongside the remnants of Israel. All nations, kindreds, peoples and tongues are represented. The church has been raptured, The Bema Seat Judgment at which the saints of all ages are rewarded and bejeweled have been held. The decorated bride of Christ is married to Him. The heavens and the Earth have been cleansed from the defilement of sin.
“The new heavens and Earth have been created. Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered nor come to mind”(Is.65:17). The whole Earth is restored and renovated. The new and earthly Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel and of the whole Earth has been rebuilt. The fourth and millennial Temple have been built on the summit of Mount Zion, the highest point on the new Earth. The new and heavenly Jerusalem, the abode of the bride of Christ, all resurrected saints and the angels of God has come down from God out of heaven to merge with the the millennial temple at its base on Mount Zion. Christ is reunited with His bride never to party again.
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”(Rev.21:3,4).
From the Throne Room of God and of Christ, livings waters flow downwards towards Jerusalem and the rest of the earth, bring healing to the Earth and the seas. The waters team with fish, and there are lots of fishing activities. The tree by the banks of the river yields fruits which are food, and the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations of them who dwell on earth in their mortal bodies of bruises and minor ailments.
From the Throne Room also the river flows upwards as it were to the boardway of the new and heavenly Jerusalem. The tree which grows by the banks of the river and in the midst of it yields twelve manner of fruits. The fruits are food for the dwellers of the new and heavenly Jerusalem, some of whom are angels, and others resurrected saints in their glorified eternal immortal resurrection bodies. The leaves of the tree also are for the sustenance of health.
From the Throne Room, Christ shall rule over the Earth with rod of iron. David or his greater son is king over Israel. The twelve apostles judge Israel. The saints reign with Christ over the nations of the Earth, and are priests of Christ, and of God. The glories and wealth of the nations are brought into the new and heavenly Jerusalem in which there is no night. It is always day. Man, angel, and God are in holy communion, union, and embrace. The heaven and Earth are in holy embrace. From year to year, all nations come to worship God in Jerusalem and to observe the yearly feast of tabernacles(Sukkot). Jerusalem and its Holy Temple are the focal point in the Millennium. The Jews are revered all over he world, and there is no more antisemism(Zech.8:23).
With this, the Earth has been restored more or less to its pristine state before the fall of Adam.
Avraham Shallom.
Mt Zion Heritage Ministries 
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