Mission Venture Ministries

“Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:2). 

The topography of Israel and the world will be dramatically altered after the tribulation when the Messiah returns. When His feet touch the Mount of Olives, it will split down the middle, producing changes in Israel and the world. The ground around Jerusalem will be flattened, because of the great earthquake that will occur and Jerusalem will be elevated in all its pristine beauty. A river will flow out of the city into the Negev, causing the Judean desert to “blossom like the rose” (Isaiah 35:1) and the Dead Sea to be “healed” and the salty water there becomes fresh (Ezekiel 47:8). The earth will become like the Garden of Eden during the millennium.

The Bible tells us that when Christ returns to the earth He will establish Himself as King in Jerusalem, sitting on the throne of David (Luke 1:32-33). The unconditional covenants demand a literal, physical return of Christ to establish the kingdom. The Abrahamic covenant promised Israel a land, a posterity and ruler, and a spiritual blessing (Genesis 12:1-3). The Palestinian covenant promised Israel a restoration to the land and occupation of the land (Deuteronomy 30:1-10). The Davidic covenant promised Israel a king from David’s line who would rule forever – giving the nation rest from all their enemies (2 Samuel 7:10-13). 

At the second coming of Christ, these covenants will be fulfilled as Israel is re-gathered from the nations (Matthew 24:31), converted (Zechariah 12:10-14), and restored to the land under the rule of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

The millennial kingdom is the future reign of Jesus Christ on earth as He sits on David’s throne in Jerusalem. Everyone who enters that kingdom will be redeemed by God and therefore will be righteous (see Isaiah 35:8–10). Among those redeemed will be two distinct groups of people: those with glorified physical bodies and those with natural, earthly bodies. 

Those who occupy the millennial kingdom with glorified bodies can be divided into three subgroups: the church, whose bodies were either resurrected or changed at the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23, 51-53); tribulation martyrs, who are resurrected after Christ returns to earth (Revelation 20:4-6); and the Old Testament saints, who are resurrected at the same time (see Daniel 12:2). Those who occupy the kingdom with earthly bodies are the believers who have survived the tribulation and can be subdivided into two groups: believing Gentiles and believing Jews. 

Revelation 19:11-16 describes the second coming of Jesus Christ. This is distinct from the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53), which is an earlier appearing of Christ in the air. (There is no mention in Revelation 19-20 of any kind of rapture event. This implies that saints who are on earth when Christ returns will remain on earth to enter the millennial kingdom in their natural bodies.) 

Part of Jesus’ setting up the kingdom will be His judgment of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). The “sheep” are the righteous, who showed their faith by their good works toward God’s people; the “goats” are the unrighteous, who failed to aid God’s children. Christ will cast the unrighteous into the lake of fire for eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46). Because of this judgment, and because all Israel will believe at that time (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25-32), no unbeliever will enter the millennial kingdom (also see Matthew 13:24–30, 36-43). 

So, those who occupy the millennial kingdom, at the start, will be the righteous of all previous dispensations: believing Gentiles in earthly bodies as well as redeemed Israel in earthly bodies, and resurrected/raptured believers in glorified bodies. Those who occupy the millennial kingdom will be from “many nations,” but the knowledge of the Lord Jesus will be universal: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). 

It will be standard practice for those who occupy the millennial kingdom to travel to Jerusalem and worship the Lord in person: “Many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:2). 

All will be restored spiritually and physically: “‘In that day,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame my remnant, those driven away a strong nation’” (Micah 4:6–7). 

During the millennial kingdom, the saints in earthly, natural bodies will enjoy long lives (Isaiah 65:20), and they will produce children. By the end of the thousand years, the world is fully populated, and there are many, “in number they are like the sand on the seashore” who rebel against the Lord (Revelation 20:7-8). 

Children born during the millennial kingdom will have the responsibility to exercise faith in Christ, the same as all people of past ages. Some of those born during the millennial kingdom will choose to not believe. That is why Scripture speaks of those who die under a curse (Isaiah 65:20) and why the Lord lays out consequences for nations that do not worship Him: “If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain” (Zechariah 14:17). 

The Bible speaks of the conditions during the millennium as a perfect environment physically and spiritually. It will be a time of peace (Micah 4:2-4; Isaiah 32:17-18), joy (Isaiah 61:7, 10), and comfort (Isaiah 40:1-2). The Bible also tells us that only believers will enter the millennial kingdom. Because of this, it will be a time of obedience (Jeremiah 31:33), holiness (Isaiah 35:8), truth (Isaiah 65:16), and the knowledge of God (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14). Christ will rule as King (Isaiah 9:3-7; 11:1-10). Nobles and governors will also rule (Isaiah 32:1; Matthew 19:28), and Jerusalem will be the political center of the world (Zechariah 8:3). 

Revelation 20:2-7 gives the precise time period of the millennial kingdom. There are countless other passages that point to a literal reign of the Messiah on the earth. The fulfillment of many of God’s covenants and promises rests on a literal, physical, future kingdom. There is no solid basis for denying the literal interpretation of the millennial kingdom and its duration being 1,000 years. 

As we enter into the New Year of 2025 let us keep in mind that one day we will all enjoy the rewards of having accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, when we enter the Millennium in a physical or spiritual body and spend a 1000 years here on a renewed earth with Christ, before entering the New Jerusalem were will be spending a glorious eternity with Him. 

Therefore, “let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). 

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

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