What happens during the Millennial Reign of God and Jesus?

I have often wondered what it is going to be like during the Millennial (1,000) Reign following the Tribulation. Let me begin by telling you there are many hints of how we will live during these years, what will happen to us, how long life expectancy will be, if work is still required, will there be families, children, animals? Let’s begin by understanding something that Isaiah 55:8 tells us:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.”

The meaning is too obvious. We need to take God and the Word of God at its word without trying to make God into something that fits our ideals. We need to understand that he makes us into something he wants. After all, if we created god then it/he is useless for eternal or even current needs or events. But God created us. That being so, he is the potter and I (we) are the clay. The clay pot does not tell the potter what we wish to look like; what shelf we want to be on; do we get a window view; or if am I going to be a tall, short, round, skinny or a corpulent pot. We are what we are so let’s get past that. What we need to know is our purpose. That is to worship the Lord God almighty, make Christianity a way of life not a religion, and realize our destiny is determined by our acceptance or neutral or flat out rejection of HIM.

Let’s avoid for now the discussion of the Tribulation (pre-post-or mid), plan of salvation, or any preaching. Let’s simply review the facts as the Bible tells us per what life will be like during the Millennial Reign of King Jesus.

Understand that this will not be a totally inclusive blog per life in the Millennial, but it will be inclusive of enough references to give us a great idea of what it will be like during the Millennial Reign.

Wikipedia defines the Millennial *Reign as:

*Often identified as Kingdom.

Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for “thousand years”), or chiliasm in Greek, is a belief held by some Christian denominations that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which “Christ will reign” for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state (the “World to Come” of the New Heavens and New Earth).

Theopedia describes the Millennial Kingdom as: (http://www.theopedia.com/millennial-kingdom)

…the thousand-year reign of Christ specifically mentioned in Revelation 20:1-6. This is usually seen as the same Messianic Kingdom anticipated by the Old Testament prophets.

Let’s first realize the 1,000 years will not be spent on the beach, in churches, standing around the Throne of God in Jerusalem or flying about the universe with a pair of angel wings. All but the last are possible but not the norm for life during the Millennial Kingdom. Recall, or learn for the first time, this reign of Christ in Jerusalem will come out of and at the end of the Great Tribulation. The pre-Tribulation time will be as “the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37). It will be wise for the reader to read through to verse 39. This is the world situation leading up to the beginning of the 7-year tribulation and the Apocalypse, Day of Reckoning, Armageddon or Day of Destruction as so many movies, books and discussions have and continue to be based upon. But this is not a written monologue of pre-tribulation events.

Mankind, along with some strong assistance from Satan, will have all but been eliminated by wars, disease, starvation, murder when Christ returns to the Mount of Olives and proclaims himself King of Kings and ruler of the world. Yes, there is a little thing called Armageddon at this point in history and yet to be played out, but this article is about life for those who survive and enter the Millennial Kingdom.

Skipping past the resurrection of some of the dead, the return of those who were (will be) in the Rapture prior to the Tribulation period, and those Christians and Jews killed during the Tribulation we get to our goal; life during the Millennial Kingdom and reign of Jesus Christ ON EARTH. It is not my intention to explain why some of these prophecies have what is known as plural or dual points in history and that which has yet to happen. We are going to simply look at life during the Millennial Kingdom; ”thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth (millennial kingdom) as it is (already) done in heaven.”

Here is the setting: Christ returns to the Mount of Olives to the east of Jerusalem; an area now known as the West Bank. He declares himself King of the world then must defeat the combined forces of the King of the North (Antichrist: Europe or the resurrected Holy Roman Empire), the king of the South (Islam?: Middle East and Africa) and the forces from the north and east:*China and Russia? These forces will gather together to invade and eliminate Jerusalem/Israel (Joel 3:2; Zechariah 14:2; Matthew 24:29; Revelation 20:8) but only after having fought amongst themselves (Matthew 24:7).

*Daniel 11:44 involves the forces from the east and north; i.e. China and Russia in this now global conflict that precedes the Millennial Kingdom (M.K.).

Isaiah 11:9 (ESV): They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD [just] as the waters cover the sea. The “they” mentioned here is any of God’s creation. Even the earth itself will recognize its creator and be in peace. It will be full of the knowledge of the Lord meaning it KNOWS who is now in charge of planet earth.

Jeremiah 31:33 (ESV): “In the future (Millennial Kingdom) I will make this agreement with the people of Israel.” This message is from the LORD. “I will put my teachings in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (emphasis mine) Israel will be directly under the ruler-ship of the Lord God. They have rejected him since the split between Israel northern kingdom and Judah southern kingdom back around 922 B.C. The ten tribes of the northern kingdom 200 years later are dispersed though out the world by the Assyrians (720 B.C.) and other enemies. These people migrated to Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and the Isles of the seas losing their identities over time. During the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM they will all be back in Israel and KNOW WHO THEY ARE; i.e. God’s Old Testament chosen people.

Acts 11:18 (ESV): “…so God is also allowing those who are not Jews to change their hearts so that they can have the life (MILLENNIAL KINGDOM) he gives? These are what the bible refers to as the Gentiles or Greeks meaning all other people on earth who are NOT part of one of the Tribes of Israel. People will know Jesus is on the throne in Jerusalem and will be offered the opportunity to accept him just as will all the people of Israeli descent. During the M.K Israel is gathered together in their ancient homeland. In other words, during the Millennial Kingdom, everyone will be given an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior, sovereign king. Bottom line, during the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM both Jew and Gentile will have the same king and option to make a personal commitment to follow him. Faith is less of an issue as people will be able to see him as the undisputed King of Kings.

Ezekiel 36:26 and Ephesian 4:24 (ERV): I will also put a new spirit in you to change your way of thinking. I will take out the heart of stone from your body and give you a tender, human heart.” The Ephesians passage is very similar and includes Gentiles in this promise from God. There are those today who simply cannot fathom living a life for Christ. They have their religion or religious beliefs and desire to make God fit their life instead of the other way around. God promises in these two passages that during the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM God himself will remove their resistance and put a new heart (desire) in them; one that fits the millennial Kingdom attitude. However, it will still be a person’s personal choice to stick with it.

1 Chronicles 29:17a (ERV): My God, I know that you test people, and that you are happy when people do what is right. God will take our word for giving him allegiance but will test our hearts to see if it is a heart of true faithfulness or superficial and a convenience faith. Why? During the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM we will still have a free will; one that must make choices. This is where Hebrews 6:4-6 and chapter 10:26-27 come into reality… “once those who have tasted of the goodness of what God” puts in front of those in the coming age [MILLENNIAL KINGDOM], if s/he falls away, there will be no additional forgiveness, but judgment during the Great White Throne Judgement at the end of the Millennial Reign of Jesus from Jerusalem. This is evidence of humans still having a free will and choice during the M.R. We will not be robots.

Ezekiel 36:37 (ERV): “I will also let the family of Israel come to me and ask me to do these things for them. I will make them grow and become many people.” This is about Israel but not to their exclusivity. Back up one verse… “Then the nations that are still around you will know I am the LORD and that I rebuilt those places. I planted things in this land that was empty. I am the LORD. The nations??? There will be nations during this 1,000 years reign from Jerusalem, but probably not quite as many as there were at the time of the Battle of Armageddon. This is an excellent promise for Gentiles, those other than Israelis (too often mistakenly lumped together as Jews) that they will see the benefits of following this King in Jerusalem.
Their example will be visible and it will encourage the rest of the world to desire the same thing.

Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV): “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” During the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM we will have a new spirit put within us. Go back to Ezekiel 36:26 (the spirit put within us) This means no more quibbles over the neighbors fence, fights in the street, drug wars, and so on. We will live in a perfect society. The correct word here might be utopia; a real one.

Luke 10:27 (ESV): “you shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself.” This means peace and harmony within the Millennial society. A good time all the time one might infer.

Christ will rule in perfect fairness and righteousness. The above is an example of the Millennial Kingdom compared to something with which we are already familiar. We can see the form of government (theocracy) that will exist during the Millennial Kingdom, per Isaiah 33:22. There will also be absolute justice as Christ will rule with an Iron Scepter; i.e. no more gray areas of wrong or right. Everyone will know the laws and standards of this kingdom.

There will still be individual nations. According to Revelation 2:25 & 26, we will also know who our rulers will be. Society will be simple; obey the laws of the land, do not hinder others, worship God and prosper.

Isaiah 2:3:

1. The world capital will be Jerusalem
2. We will learn the ways of God because he will teach us.
3. The world court will no longer be in Hague, Netherlands, but in Jerusalem

Isaiah 2:4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. During the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM there may still be disputes. They will all be judged justly and end at that point. Weapons of war will be melted down or hammered into farming and garden utensils. This means that there will still be farming and home gardens. West Point and other military schools throughout the world will be no longer. What a wonderful promise. War will be extinct. Also see Psalm 46:9-10, Micah 4:3. Powerful assurance of a Millennial peace for all who enter it, are raised from the dead to enjoy it or born into it.

Revelation 20:1-3 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. (2) And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, (3) and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Satan or the evil one will no longer be able to influence the minds of man nor be a destroyer of nature or any of God’s creation. Evil, animosities and natural enemies will no longer be at odds. One will be able to take his or her pet lion for a walk (supposition is mine). Nations will not have the devil on one shoulder whispering into one ear and one’s conscience on the other should whispering into his or her other ear. One voice will be there. We find this fact and promise in:

Isaiah 30:21 …your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. The obvious… the advice will be whispered into both ears, but the choice will remain with the individual since free will is built into mankind. This suggests to this author that I will be able to hear in both ears; something I have not been able to do since 5 years old. Now I like this one!!! (PTL) However if we back up two verses to Isaiah 30:19, there is still the possibility of tears and sorry. Verse 19 reads (ESV) He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. This side of the Millennial Kingdom days we may pray for a long time before realizing an answer; praying for a loved one, an *illness, justice, etc. Verse 19 assures us that during the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM as soon as we begin to pray the answer will be on the way. Not just an answer, however, a solution as justice will be perfect.

*Revelation 22:1 “And he showed me (Apostle John) a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” This is a water of LIFE; (v2)” …on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” This will be Medicare in its finest form; perfect for all illnesses and just for the taking. We might even name it Millennial-care. Kind of a catch phrase we may easily add to our vocabulary at this time.

Revelation 22:5 “And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light.” There are additional passages in scripture that talk about the sun shining 7 times more brightly and the moon itself shining like the sun… Isaiah 30:26.

Personal Note: This is not a welfare article where the author does all of the work and provides all the information. The reader is trusted to delve into the WORD too.

2 Timothy 2:15 explains this. This article did not come out of thin air. It took work, time, study, research and verification along with supporting scripture. Some scriptures are listed as to where to find the information. As Nike puts it…”Just Do It.”

There will be plenty to eat and food to spare with a peaceful setting in which to harvest. No longer will there be a need for welfare lines, food stamps and handouts like food kitchens and food banks. We find this Millennial promise in Micah 4:4. It reads… (ESV)”… they (those living during the Millennial Kingdom) shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them af1raid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.” *Wine (Joel 3:18) and food on every ranch. To help with interpreting Joel 3:18, it does not mean wine will drip from the rocks or from some type of wine-spring. The mountain vineyards and produce will be as abundant as they were when the land flowed with milk and honey.

Also read Matthew 6:11; Ezekiel 34:12-16; Amos 9:13

*Wine (‛âsı̂ys in the Greek) It means freshly squeezed juices; a sweet juice; Strong H6071 & Brown-Driver-Briggs)

It should go almost without comment that there will no longer be a race issue, be it nuclear or human. There is no room in scripture where people should be divided by race; tribes and nations perhaps, but not race. This will be doubly so during the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus and God the Father. Yes, Jesus and God. Remind ourselves of the Lord’s prayer… Our Father (God) in heaven… thy kingdom come.” (Read Zechariah 14:1-21)

When that kingdom is initiated there will be a great valley created that runs east to west and down the center of the Mt. of Olives. This was hinted at earlier in this article, but when Jesus Christ descends to the earth, he plants his feet on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem; today’s West Bank. When he does, the Mount will split north to south creating a huge valley. It will be in this valley where the forces of the King of the North, King of the South and forces from the east and west will unite to defeat this person claiming to be the King of Kings. Theologians sometimes mistake this as Battle ground as Armageddon (Har Megeddo), but that is 55 miles north of Jerusalem in the Valley of Jezreel . The forces against God and Jesus will gather in Har Megeddo but will march to the Valley of Jehosephat to destroy Jerusalem. This is another article. For now we leave this topic to a later time.

Geologists of modern day seismic knowledge have found a natural fault line that runs east and west through the Mt. of Olives. How many geologists or seismologist existed with sophisticated electronics back in the 1^st century A.D.? Zechariah 14: 4 states: (NIV) “On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.” This means the Millennial Kingdom will have a huge valley that did not previously exist and it is evidence of what just happened with the 2^nd Advent of Christ; i.e. his return to earth but this time to stay as King of Kings ruling from a throne in Jerusalem.

Coincidently, it is also a valley that will create a water-way river from under the raised throne of Jesus in Jerusalem and flowing to the Jordan River. Why is this significant? Hold on to your laptop. Currently many ecologists, environmentalists and scientist point to the fact that the Jordan River is so siphoned by irrigation systems up stream it no longer can provide adequate water for the Dead Sea which is downstream. According to…

http://www.sfgate.com/green/article/Dead-Sea-Jordan-River-valley-face-ecological

The water supply is a disaster already in motion. The Dead Sea is losing its water, dropped 20 feet in depth and sinking and now has a salt content of that makes humans look more like bobbers than swimmers. The siphoning of water has caused the Dead Sea to shrink by 30 percent over the last 20 years, according to FOEME. The World Monuments Fund has added the Jordan River and the Dead Sea to its 100 most endangered sites.

Now. what does the Millennial Kingdom promise per this human caused environmental disaster? Ezekiel 47:8 states: “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. To understand how this happens, read Ezekiel 47: 1-8. You will be amazed at the coming Millennial Kingdom events; one of the many promises of change during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ. Ezekiel 47:7 points out the great number of trees that line the banks of this fresh water river and whose leaves have the cure for all illnesses; great healing comes from these monthly re-leafing and fruit producing trees.

Not an aside here, but since the Throne of God is situated in the rebuilt Temple of God, the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM will have the Temple Mount AND the Holy Temple back on it.
Will there be families and children???

Isaiah 11:6 says, YES! Here we find little children playing with what we today call wild animals. In verse 8 we find nursing and weaned children playing next to a vipers nest without injury or any concern of the parents. What a wonderful Millennial Kingdom this is going to be. Not yet heaven, but one might call it a 1,000 year period of adjustment. BUT! There is more. Keep reading…

Isaiah 65:20 (NIV) “Never again will there be in it (the 1,000 years) an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.

1. No infantile or crib death. Children born during the M.R. will live to become adults; very old adults in comparison to today standards.
2. Old men/women will live out their days. No sudden deaths from diseases, addictions, pollution, etc. We don’t know what that time will be but a 100 year old man or woman will be thought a mere child. Do we return to the days of pre-Noetic society when ages of 500 were common place? Does this also mean that 300 year old men and women might still raise families? There is a possibility per in the wording of Isaiah 65:20.
3. Anyone who fails to reach 100 years of age will be considered under a curse of some sort.
4. #2 and #3 above suggests that there will be death during the 1,000 year reign of Christ in God’s Kingdom. If a person per Isaiah 65:20 dies before the age of 100 “they will be considered accursed.” We don’t know what may be the causes of these deaths but one can venture a guess… rejection of Christ a second time?

 

We see normal activities like building houses, living in them, planting vineyards, eating fruit, bearing children, and sometimes even death. (http://www.matthewmcgee.org/millen.html)

Ezekiel 37:25-26 says, “And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.”

These people are God’s chosen, predestined to occupy the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (renamed Israel). They never did occupy the Promised Land due to their sin and falling away from worshiping God. Man has failed to keep the covenants of God but God is not slack in keeping his end of the promises. 2 Peter 3:9; Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalms 89:34. Note also in the above verse from Ezekiel… God will multiply them. This means that during God’s Kingdom on earth and soon to come, people of the Old Testament promise/covenant will be exceedingly well populated; forever more. Born again believers will spend eternity in heaven.

Crop failure will be a thing of the past; pre-rapture/Tribulation years.

Leviticus 26:4 I will send you rain at the right time, so that the land will produce crops and the trees will bear fruit. There is one exception to this promise of timely rains during life in the Millennial Kingdom of God. We find that in Zechariah 14:17. Other than this exception, fields in our current age that are desert, dry, and unfruitful, will be cultivated during the Millennial Reign. Leviticus 26:5 makes this even clearer.

There is one more aha moment per life during the Millennial Kingdom. That has to do with land elevation of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. Let me end this paper with a quote from scripture and allow you, the reader, to determine how this will make things better during the Millennial Kingdom of God.

Read Ezekiel 47:1-9… remember this is not intended to be a welfare article on the Bible.

Eze 47:1 The man led me back to the entrance of the Temple. Water was coming out from under the entrance and flowing east, the direction the Temple faced. It was flowing down from under the south part of the Temple past the south side of the altar.

Eze 47:2 The man then took me out of the Temple area by way of the north gate and led me around to the gate that faces east. A small stream of water was flowing out at the south side of the gate.

Eze 47:3 With his measuring rod the man measured 560 yards downstream to the east and told me to wade through the stream there. The water came only to my ankles.

Eze 47:4 Then he measured another 560 yards, and the water came up to my knees. Another 560 yards farther down, the water was up to my waist.

Eze 47:5 He measured 560 yards more, and there the stream was so deep I could not wade through it. It was too deep to cross except by swimming.

Eze 47:6 He said to me, “Mortal man, note all this carefully.” Then the man took me back to the riverbank,

Eze 47:7 and when I got there, I saw that there were very many trees on each bank.

Eze 47:8 He said to me, “This water flows through the land to the east and down into the Jordan Valley and to the Dead Sea. When it flows into the Dead Sea, it replaces the salt water of that sea with fresh water.

Eze 47:9 Wherever the stream flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish. The stream will make the water of the Dead Sea fresh, and wherever it flows, it will bring life.

Hints: the Dead Sea is filled with freshwater and fish; people must still make a living and eat; animal life; the many trees that line the banks of this NEW river flowing out of Jerusalem.

 

PS: For additional insight and blessing, open your bible and read Isaiah 29:16-eoc. Yes, the Millennial Kingdom is almost beyond our vision except, studying scripture tells us much about what life during this 1,000 will be like. After this 1,000 years of Christ on earth we find the Great White Throne Judgment then the New Heaven and the New Earth. Praise the Lord!

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