Why a Millennium? – Continued
One reason for a literal millennium upon this earth, as we have seen, is for the restoration of everything that was lost in the Garden of Eden. Now, allow me to point out some more reasons for such a golden age.
The Persecuted Will Reign in the This Present World, Where They Were Victimized
Persecution, the act of a man suffering because of his faith, began in Genesis. It will end in the Millennium, and those who were persecuted will reign.
Genesis 4:8 – “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”
The Bible makes a comparison of Cain’s murder of his brother Abel to the world hating and persecuting us, the church.
I John 3:11-13 – “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.”
The connection is made – just as Cain slew his brother Abel, so the world will hate us and persecute us – because their own works are evil and ours righteous.
But it is the ones who have been persecuted and have suffered for the gospel’s sake – they will possess the most dominion in the Millennium.
Revelation 20:4 – “And I 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 had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
The Sins of Noah’s Day Will Be Traded for Righteousness
In Genesis 6, we are given a vivid description of the sin of Noah’s day. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the sin of Noah’s day is the AMOUNT of sin that was present at that time.
Genesis 6:11, 13 – “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence…And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
Twice in the description of the world in Noah’s day, we are told that the earth was FILLED WITH violence.
In the Millennium, however, this will be completely reversed.
Isaiah 11:1-12 – “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, the spirit of counsel and might, 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 [Here, Christ comes to judge], 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 reins. 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 a 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 sucking 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. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth [Here is the regathering of Israel at the second coming, immediately after the tribulation].”
You will notice, in the above passage, I underlined some phrases that show the events that take place when Christ comes to set up His kingdom after the tribulation. Verse 9, the part of the passage in bold print, gives us some great insight into the Millennium. In Noah’s day, the earth was “filled with” violence. But in the Millennium, the earth is “full of” the knowledge of the Lord. Just think! The world in the Millennium will be more saturated with the knowledge of the Lord than it is saturated with sin at this present time! What a thought! There is another verse of scripture that brings out this truth.
Habakkuk 2:14 – “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
Man Will Be Humbled, and the Lord Alone Will Be Exalted
In Genesis 11, man builds a city and a tower. Man builds the tower as a means to exalt himself, making a name for himself.
Genesis 11:4 – “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
God stopped this plan. He confounded their languages so that they could not exalt themselves in this way. However, man has tried ever since to rule the world, exalting himself. But in the Millennium, the Lord alone will be exalted.
Isaiah 2:1-5, 11, 17 – “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days [the last days of THIS EARTH], that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 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 will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations [Here’s the judgment of nations again], and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD…The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day…And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.”
Twice in this passage regarding the Millennium, it is said that “the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” Christ will be exalted as the King of kings and Lord of lords!
God’s Covenant with Abraham Will Be Literally Fulfilled
God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. In addition to this, God promised that wherever Abraham placed his foot, his descendants would receive that land, and they would possess it for ever.
Genesis 13:14, 15 – “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.”
God made a promise to Abraham concerning the land that he gave them. It was to be their land FOR EVER. Israel only lived in their land that God gave them a few hundred years. Even now, they do not possess all the land that God promised. BUT THEY WILL. God did not promise Israel a patch of land on the new earth; God promised them their land ON THIS EARTH. We have already seen that Jesus Christ will gather Israel at the end of the tribulation and place them in their own land. The Bible bears this out further.
Isaiah 14:1 – “For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.”
Why have a Millennium on this present earth? Because it is on this present earth where God promised Israel that they would have their land. They WILL possess that land, and they will live among their neighbors in peace, on THIS earth.
God’s Covenant with David Will Be Literally Fulfilled
God promised David that Christ would sit upon his throne. When Isaiah gave prophecy concerning Christ’s birth, this promise was reinforced.
Isaiah 9:6, 7 – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
This promise was reiterated to Mary when Gabriel foretold to her the birth of Christ.
Luke 1:31-33 – “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
Some may say that Christ will have David’s throne in the new earth, and not upon this one. There can be no truth to that, for David’s throne was not upon the new earth; David’s throne was upon THIS earth, in Jerusalem. Others may try to spiritualize the passage, saying that Christ will sit on David’s “spiritual throne.” David did not have a spiritual throne; David had a literal throne. Christ has not yet possessed that throne. At His first coming, Christ came to be a humble servant – to die for the sins of mankind. He did not come to reign the first time. He had no throne the first time He came. But He is coming again to defeat the powers that exist at that time, and He will then have a throne upon THIS EARTH.
These are a few reasons why I believe that the Millennium must be literal. So, I conclude this brief study. There are scriptures I did not use; there are other points that could be made. I repeat the statement I made at the beginning. This is designed to be a brief study. I hope the reader has found this study helpful.
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Zechariah 14:1-9 – “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be 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. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”
Matthew 24:44 – “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.”
