The reign of the King of glory
The Millennium: a term of recent popularity as we moved from the second millennium into the third millennium A.D. just 8 years ago. However, to the student of God’s Word, it holds much greater significance than the present day calendar. The millennium is the literal, earthly reign of the Lord Jesus Christ for 1000 years (Rev. 20:1-20).
Its beginning is marked by the second coming of Christ to defeat the Gentile nations that have waged war against Israel (Rev. 19:17-20). The Satanic Trio is also brought to judgment: the beast (Satan’s political leader) and the false prophet (Satan’s religious leader) are cast into the lake of fire, and Satan is cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 19:20; 20:1-3). The end of the millennium will be marked by the release of Satan from the pit, followed by his final rebellion against God and his eternal judgment in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10).
Although not exhaustive, the Bible does give us some details about life on earth in the millennium. The primary passages are Isaiah 11, 12, 65, 66; Ezekiel 40-48; Zechariah 14, and Revelation 20.
The millennial temple
God has always been the architect of the places from which He would receive man’s worship, such as the tabernacle of the wilderness wanderings and the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem; however, God has designed a temple of even grander proportions for His Son’s millennial reign in Jerusalem. It is known as the house of God and is the center of Israel’s corporate worship of the Messiah (Ezk. 40-46). The millennial temple will have some similarities to Solomon’s temple. The temple building is surrounded by the inner court and outer court (40:20, 27). It has a porch with pillars (40:48, 49). The dimensions of the sanctuary are the same as Solomon’s temple (41:1-4). The sanctuary is divided into the holy place and the most holy place (41:4). It is decorated with palms and cherubim (41:18-20). The millennial temple will also have some unique aspects that make it distinct from Solomon’s temple. There is no mention of the veil; it was rent at Calvary by God. Likewise, there is no mention of the ark of the covenant.
The worship of God
With the millennial temple erected, the worship of Jehovah will resume. The glory of the Lord will enter through the eastern gate and fill the house (Ezek. 43:4). All things pertaining to the worship of God are consecrated by animal blood sacrifice (Ezek. 43). Worship will be conducted in accordance to specified rules and order (Ezek. 44:4-5). No uncircumcised person, of both the heart and the flesh, shall enter into the sanctuary of God (Ezek. 44:9).
The Levitical priesthood will be restored, with some noted modifications. The Levites, who led the nation of Israel astray into idolatry, will continue to bear the shame and iniquity of their error and will not be allowed to come near to the holy things or the most holy place of God. They will be made servants of the temple and the preparatory tasks associated with the sacrifices (Ezek. 44:10-14). God will choose the sons of Zadok, who were faithful to God and His holy place when Israel departed into idolatry, to be the priests allowed into His most holy place (Ezek. 44:15-16). Here is a powerful lesson for the saints in every generation— God honors faithfulness (1 Cor. 4:2; Rev. 2:10, 13; 3:4, 8).
Millennial worship will involve literal animal sacrifices on the temple altar, with the sprinkling of blood and animal fat presented before the Lord (Ezek. 44:15; Zech. 14:21). Many believers struggle with this and seek to spiritualize the practice rather than to take it literally. The point of difficulty is in relation to the complete and finished work of Christ on the cross, after which no other sacrifice is needed (Heb. 10:10- 14). However, such detailed specifications citing the offerings and feasts of the millennium can hardly be denied to be literal. One cannot not ignore the presence of the Levitical offerings of the Old Testament with identical rules of the altar: the burnt offering (Ezek. 43:18), the sin offering (Ezek. 43:19), the peace offering (Ezek. 43:27), the meat offering (Ezek. 44:29), the trespass offering (Ezek. 44:29), the first-fruits offerings (Ezek. 44:30), and the daily offerings (Ezek. 46:13) In addition to the Levitical offerings, some of the Old Testament feasts of Jehovah are re-instated, such as the Passover (Ezek. 45:21- 24), the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ezek. 45:25), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Zech. 14:16). The millennial offerings are not an addition to the work of Christ any more than the Old Testament offerings were. Just as the Old Testament offering pointed forward to the cross, these millennial offerings point back to the cross, commemorative of the finished work of redemption obtained at Calvary by Christ.
During the millennium, Gentiles will come to Jerusalem to worship Christ as King and participate in the Jewish feasts. Disobedient nations who refuse to give such honor to Christ will be immediately punished (Zech. 14:16-19; Isa. 11:4b). The prevailing theme of the reign of Christ will be “Holiness unto the Lord.” The world of the “sacred” and the “secular” will be made one, as all things resound to the glory of the Lord (Ps. 89:17f).
The political government
The millennium will usher in the kingdom and, with it, the King. Israelites will not only experience a spiritual revival when they embrace Christ as their Messiah, but they will also be gathered politically as a nation to their King. Yes, the King of the Jews; but His reign will then extend from sea to sea. The Lord Jesus Christ, the carpenter’s son of Nazareth, will be enthroned with worldwide authority as the King of kings and Lord of lords, holding the title deed to earth (Rev. 5:1-10; 19:16). His world capital will be Jerusalem where He will sit on the throne of David, ruling the nations (Ps. 89:3-4, 18; Isa. 9:7; 11:9; Zech. 14:9).
The administration of His kingdom will be characterized by the nature of the King: righteous judgment, justice, and equity (Ps. 89:14-18; Isa. 9:7; 11:3-5; Heb. 1:8). The glory of His reign will be a reflection of the personal glory and beauty of the King (Isa. 9:6; 11:2). The blessings of the kingdom were described by our Lord in His sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3ff). Peace will prevail throughout His reign. Every enemy will be quickly subdued and every overt act of rebellion will be swiftly disciplined (Zech. 14:11, 17-19; 1 Cor. 15:24-25; Rev. 19:15).
The physical environment
The earth will be reshaped by the sovereign Lord whose rule and authority is world-wide. Some of these changes will reflect a pre-flood condition, before God permitted man to rule the earth by a human government. The millennium will put the government back on Christ’s shoulders and reflect His glory (Isa. 9:6; Zech. 14:6; Ezek. 43:2). Some of the changes given in Scripture are contained in verses difficult to interpret. Therefore, we shall only suggest that the following are some of the conditions which could potentially occur during the millennium.
• There could be changes in the hours of daylight and the intensity of the sun’s light upon the earth (Zech. 14:6-7; Isa. 30:26).
• Mountains and seas could be relocated and rivers could disappear while new rivers appear connecting existing seas (Isa. 11:15-16; Zech. 14:4, 8).
• The seasons of summer and winter will continue (Zech. 14:8).
• God will withhold rain upon the disobedient nations while blessing the obedient with rainfall (Zech. 14:17-18).
• The fear of man will be removed from the animal world. Likewise, beastly hostility will be changed. Peace and tranquility will unite man and beast, as in Adam and Noah’s day before the flood (Gen. 2:19-20; 7:13-16; 9:1-3; Isa. 11:6-9).
The physical earth, though inanimate, seems responsive to the power and authority of God’s rule (Mk. 4:39; Lk. 19:40). Such a display was evident when our Lord died upon the cross, as the sun refused to shine for three hours and the earth quaked. Paul reminds us that even the earth “groaneth and travaileth in pain” with us in this fallen sinful world. However, when our Lord sits on the throne of the earth and His kingdom stretches from shore to shore, the sun will refuse to stop shining and the earth will no longer quake. All things will exist in peaceful order under the supreme rule of the King.
Who will be in the millennium?
Although the Scriptures do not provide complete details on this topic, God’s Word does offer some guidance to the question at hand. We shall take groups up in the order of certainty, leaving for last the less certain.
The surviving Jewish remnant.
Israel will be tried in the wrath of God’s great tribulation. Two-thirds will die while one-third will be preserved, refined, and purified as gold. This last third is faithful, believing Israel that accepts their Messiah. They will be spiritually united to Christ and gathered back as a nation (Zech. 13:7-9; Isa. 11:11-13). They shall sing the praises of God as described in Isaiah 12.
The surviving Gentile nations.
The millennial earth is populated with both Jew and Gentile. The distinction is made often in Scripture (Zech. 14:16-19). This is the Gentile population that survived the great tribulation (Isa. 11:10; Ezek. 44:9). In some cases, they are invited to worship the King. In other ways, they are restricted from the holy things of God.
The tribulation saints.
These are the believers in Christ, both Jew and Gentile, who have not received the mark of the beast during the tribulation; they may have been martyred or have suffered for the name of Christ (Rev. 7:14-17; 20:4).
The New Testament saints.
God’s Word indicates that the saints in heaven will accompany the Lord Jesus as He descends to earth to defeat His foes and establish His Kingdom on earth. We would interpret these passages to include the New Testament saints which have already been raised, raptured, glorified, and married to Christ at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Zech. 14:5; Rev. 19:14). The role of the New Testament saints in the millennium is unclear. However, Scripture repeatedly states that we shall “reign with Him” (Mt. 25:21; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 1:6; 2:26; 4:9-10; 20:4). It could be that the crowns and rewards to the faithful stewards of Christ are symbolic of actual positions of authority assigned within His millennial government.
The Old Testament saints.
It was to these saints that the unconditional covenants of God’s promises in the Old Testament were given. The millennium will be the fulfillment of these covenant provisions. The Old Testament saints would be part of the “first resurrection,” which includes the righteous raised to “the resurrection of life” (Jn. 5:29). The first resurrection has many stages, the last of which would occur at the end of the great tribulation, likely the time when the Old Testament saints are raised (Dan. 12:1-3; Rev. 20:5).
God is both a holder of secrets and a revealer of secrets (Deut. 29:29). As is often the case in the area of prophecy, one must be content with what has been revealed and refrain from speculating on what has not been revealed. His ways are often past finding out and not intended for our finite minds (Rom. 11:33). In our observations about the millennium, our intent was to stay with only what has been revealed in Scripture. Beyond this, we will wait to see what else He has “prepared for them that love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).