Temple Baptist Church - 2-20-2022
Revelation 20:4-6
A. The Reality of the Millennium. The word "Millennium" means 1000 and is a word that we use to describe the Kingdom Age, also called the Golden Age. In the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, there are 6 different references to the future reign of our Lord Jesus Christ for a period of 1000 years. To ignore these verses or to spiritualize these verses is biblical ignorance. The Millennium is a reality that will soon come to pass as it could be just 7 years away.
B. The Ruling of the Millennium. The Millennial Reign of Christ will not be by elected or self-elevated dictator. God has a plan for its ruling.
1. Rule By The Saviour. Isaiah 9:6 - 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.
Psalms 2:6 -Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
He who alone is worthy will judge those who unworthily judged Him.
2. Rule By The Martyred Saints. 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.
I believe that those who have paid the ultimate price for faithfulness will be given power in judgment over those who follow the paths of those who have taken the mark of the beast. Though there will not be another mark of the beast, there will be those who hate God and would have taken it if offered.
3. Rule By The Saints. Revelation 20:6 - 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.
Luke 19:17 - And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
I am not sure just how this will work but the Lord has already planned it.
4. Rule By The Rod of Iron. Revelation 12:5 - And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
In the Millennium, there will be no prosecutorial discretion; there will be no plea bargains; there will be no reduced sentences. Justice will be justice equal and swift for all our omniscient Lord will knows when one transgresses.
C. The Restoration of The Millennium. Though the curse upon the heavens and the earth will not be completely removed at this time, this Kingdom Age will have many characteristics of the Garden of Eden.
1. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Peace - Isaiah 2:4 - And he shall judge among the nations, 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.
War no more until the end of the 1000 years and that one will not last long.
2. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Joy - Isaiah 65:18-19 - But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Though tears will not be wiped away until after the White Throne Judgment and the new heaven and earth, I believe the Bible teaches that as there was joy in the Garden of Eden, there will be great joy during this time.
3. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Holiness - Zechariah 14:20 - In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
No Satan to annoy! No filth to be seen! No ungodly Hollywood or Rock Stars allowed!
4. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By His Glory - Isaiah 60:1-2 - Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
People in our day are "Gospel Hardened." People in that day will be "Glory Hardened." They shall see the Lord as He is and hate Him for it.
5. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Comfort - Isaiah 66:13 - As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Every need and desire met by the One who owns it all and controls it all. We will truly have need of nothing.
6. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Justice - Jeremiah 23:5 - Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
The Lord will be in charge of all: Lawgiver, Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Our President does not make law as he is to execute laws as they are written. As King, our Lord will make law and execute law.
7. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Full Knowledge - Isaiah 11:9 - 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.
When there is something that you do not understand, there is something that you do not know. All will know in that day and therefore all will understand, which leads to all being accountable.
8. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Instruction - Micah 4:2 - And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
There will be instruction in righteousness which reminds me of the Sermon on the Mount.
9. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By A Partial Removal Of The Curse - Isaiah 11:6 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.
Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Most of the curse will be removed and life will much as it was before the fall.
10. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By No Sickness - Isaiah 33:24 - And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.
No more need of masking or vaccinations! No doctor or hospital visits. Evidently there will be a removal of the things that cause sickness and death.
11. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By No Birth Defects - Isaiah 29:18 - And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
All births will be normal with not genetically caused deformity.
12. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Longevity - Isaiah 65:20 - There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
People who follow after the Law will live as those in Genesis, chapter 5.
13. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Honest Labor - Isaiah 65:21-22 - And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Everyone will have work to do, and production will be maximized through honest labor.
14. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By Worship - Zechariah 14:16-17 - And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
Worship will be rewarded, and the lack thereof will also be rewarded.
15. The Millennium Will Be Characterized By The Fullness of The Spirit - Ezekiel 36:26-27 - A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
It is the spirit of man that is God conscious. Everyone will be given a soft heart that longs after God and righteousness.
What a day that will be!
No comments:
Post a Comment