For thousands of years humans have looked for a utopia on earth. Sadly, one does not exist at this time anywhere on the planet. It did exist in the Garden of Eden but humans gave up the right to that utopia and their right to dwell there.
In Eden, Adam and Eve chose to obey Satan and rebel against God. Satan, in the form of a serpent, told them that if they disobey God and eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they would become like Him. They used the free will that God had given them and chose to listen to Satan instead of God.1 This first sinful act committed by humans gave the Title Deed of the earth to Satan. The apostle Paul confirmed this when he wrote:
"In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of
them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto
them."
- II Corinthians 4:4
The bad news is that Satan does indeed have reign over the earth at the current time. The good news is that Jesus Christ reclaimed the Title Deed of the earth with His sacrificial death and resurrection. With His crucifixion He defeated the power of Satan and the power of death over humankind. As the writer of Hebrews states:
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and
blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that
through death He might destroy him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
- Hebrews 2:14-15
Jesus now has the authority to redeem the earth from the power of Satan at the time of His choosing. As we read in the Book of Revelation, Jesus will start the reclamation process with the Tribulation Period. Before John saw this Period beginning, he wept because he didn't think anyone was worthy to perform the act of starting this process. However, he soon saw the only One who was worthy:
"And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a
book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven
seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the
seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither
under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look
thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found
worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look
thereon. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not:
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals
thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne
and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood
a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven
eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all
the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right
hand of Him that sat upon the throne. And when He had
taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders
fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps,
and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of
saints. And they sung a new song, saying, You are worthy
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for You
were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out
of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."
- Revelation 5:1-9
Jesus opens the sealed book in chapter 6 of Revelation and thereby begins to redeem the earth from the power of Satan. The process is complete after Jesus comes to earth again and judges the nations of the world. He then establishes His reign in place of Satan's by ruling from the Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Book of Revelation, He will rule for a thousand years:
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And
he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a
seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more,
till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he
must be loosed a little season. 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."
- Revelation 20:1-4
Christians call this period of Jesus' rule "The Millennium". There are many aspects to this time on earth. However, I will only discuss a few of them in this chapter.
The purpose of the Tribulation Period was to punish the inhabitants of earth for their rebellion against God. It also allowed the Jewish people to accept Jesus as the Messiah. The Millennium has a purpose too.
I believe the primary reason that God is going to rule the earth for a thousand years through His Son Jesus is to show humanity what He wanted for them all along.
In the Garden of Eden God conversed daily with Adam and Eve. He made the earth beautiful and bountiful for His human children to enjoy. God also gave Adam and Eve dominion over the animal kingdom. These animals would not harm them but live in harmony with them. All Adam and Eve had to do was dwell there and fellowship with God. He told them to enjoy the pleasurable experience of procreation and to fill the earth with their children and their children's children. However, God did not want humans to be robots so He gave them a mind and a freedom to exercise their will with it. He hoped that of their own volition they would love Him as their Creator Father. Sadly, they wanted more than what God was offering them.
Adam and Eve wanted to become "Gods" themselves. The result of this was their expulsion from paradise and a life of toil and hardship. God still loved them and made clothes for them from animal skins to protect them. However, their relationship with Him was no longer on the same intimate level that it had been in the Garden. Humans now had to offer sacrifices to fellowship with God. Since that day (with the exception that occurred during Jesus' first coming), mankind can only interact with God on a spiritual level.
The good news is that in the Millennium God will again dwell in the midst of His Creation. As we will see, the animal kingdom will once more live peacefully with humans. Life spans will increase to the lengths of those at the beginning of human history. However, humans will still have free will to act. This time though, God restrains Satan for the duration of the Millennium so he will not be able to exacerbate any sinful human behavior. One other thing that will be different during this time is what will happen to those who think about sinning against others. Jesus will be ruling with a "rod of iron" and will not tolerate any overt rebellion by humans. He will punish them immediately for their sins. Lastly, the fact that there will still be aberrant behavior by some persons means that the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth will not be a perfect utopia. In Chapter 14, I will discuss a time when, finally, only perfection will exist.
We saw that at Jesus' second coming, one of the first acts He commits is the casting of the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the lake of hellfire. Yet He allows Satan to exist one thousand more years before He brings down His final judgment upon him. This will not be much of an "existence" since God is going to restrain Satan until at the very end of those thousand years.
After John sees Jesus return to the earth and after Jesus judges the nations of the world, he wrote what he witnessed next:
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the
key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And
he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a
seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more,
till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he
must be loosed a little season."2
With this action the angel of the Lord removes satanic influence from the earth. The humans who repopulate the earth during the Millennium will be freed from the Devil's authority to harass and oppress them. They will still have free will though to make good and bad decisions. If their bad choices adversely affect others Jesus will judge them swiftly with a "rod of iron". At the end of the Millennium God allows Satan to be loosed for one final battle. God will deal summarily with him and bring him to his final fate.
The devastation to the earth that occurs during the Tribulation will make the world uninhabitable for any extended length of time. The judgments of God and very possibly the use of nuclear weapons will burn up large parts of the earth. The catastrophic events that take place will render the majority of the water on the planet undrinkable. God will have to renovate the earth so that humans can dwell on it. He will accomplish this between the judgment of the nations and Jesus' triumphal entry into the Temple in Jerusalem.
God spoke of the restoration of the earth through His prophet, Isaiah:
"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and
the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create:
for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people
a joy...For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I
will make, shall remain before Me, says the LORD, so shall
your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to
pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one
Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before
Me, says the LORD. And they shall go forth, and look upon
the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against
Me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be
quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."3
This passage use to trouble me from a doctrinal aspect. God states here that He will create a "new heavens and a new earth". The context of this prophecy clearly relates to the Tribulation Period and the Millennium. He says that humans will look upon the dead bodies of those who transgressed against Him during the Tribulation. He also mentions the moon and the Sabbaths. Since there will be no time references nor a sun or moon in eternity this has to refer to the Millennium.4 The problem I had was the fact that the in the Book of Revelation John saw a new heavens and earth at the beginning of eternity.5 Thus, I couldn't reconcile the use of the same phrase "new heavens and earth" with the idea that God was speaking prophetically of two different new creations. However, the descriptions used in both of these prophecies led me to conclude that God will indeed recreate the cosmos and earth twice in the future. For the omnipotent Creator of the universe this will be but a simple matter as the prophet Isaiah declares:
"Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being His
counselor has taught Him? With whom took He counsel,
and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of
judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him
the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a
drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the
balance: behold, He takes up the isles as a very little thing."6
I believe this renovation of the earth starts with Jesus' second coming when He sets His foot upon the Mount of Olives. As we read previously the mount will split in two which creates a new valley. After that and before Jesus enters the new Temple in Jerusalem, the Lord will restore the rest of the earth. He will somehow protect those humans that survive the judgment of the "sheep and goats" while this renovation takes place. Once He is finished the earth will once again be like the Garden of Eden:
"For the LORD shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her
waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden,
and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and
gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the
voice of melody."7
"And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the
former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities,
the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall
stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the stranger
shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers...For as the
earth brings forth her bud, and as the garden causes the
things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD
will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before
all the nations."8
The prophet Joel also speaks of the bountiful fruitfulness of this renewed earth:
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains
shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with
milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and
a fountain shall come forth out of the Temple of the LORD,
and shall water the valley of Shittim."9
The earth will truly be the paradise that God had originally created it to be. It will be ready for humans to dwell in and multiply. However, before that can occur two events must take place.
The first one is the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. This will be the fourth and final Temple built on the earth. The Bible states that the Messiah will build the Temple for the Millennial Kingdom:
"And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaks the LORD of
hosts, saying, Behold the Man whose name is the
BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He
shall build the Temple of the LORD. Even He shall build
the Temple of the LORD; and He shall bear the glory, and
shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a Priest
upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between
them both."10
In Chapter 3, I mentioned that the Old Testament uses the appellation "Branch" as another name for the Messiah. Therefore, Jesus will rebuild the Temple at the beginning of the Millennium. The third or Tribulation Temple that the Antichrist enters and defiles will be destroyed at some stage during the Tribulation by one of the earthquakes that occurs or by the armies of the Antichrist. The Temple that Jesus builds will be a magnificent edifice.
The first description that Ezekiel provides is that the Temple will sit on a high mountain in Jerusalem:
"In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the
beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the
fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the
selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and
brought me there. In the visions of God brought He me into
the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain,
by which was as the frame of a city on the south."11
Though Jerusalem currently rises above its surrounding area, it is not located on a "very high mountain". However, we read that when Jesus sets His foot upon the Mount of Olives an earthquake occurs and splits the mount in two. This event must also change the surrounding topography sufficiently enough to create this new mountain in Jerusalem. Ezekiel continues and gives the specific dimensions of the Temple in the rest of this prophecy.
Isaiah confirmed the fact that the Millennial Temple will sit on a high mountain when he wrote:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, 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"12
It is possible that this mountain could be the highest one in the world after the renovation takes place. In any case all the inhabitants of the earth will visit it.
This Temple appears not to have any of the furnishings of the previous Temples except for the altar. Ezekiel does not mention seeing the Ark of the Covenant, Table of Shewbread, or the Menorah. I believe the reason Jesus omits these things is because He Himself will visibly reside in the Temple.
The Ark was the means by which the Jewish high priest entered into God's presence once a year. Now, God will be present in His Son Jesus who will be sitting on His throne. The prophet Jeremiah confirms the fact that the Ark of the Covenant will not be in the Millennial Temple:
"And it shall come to pass, when you be multiplied and
increased in the land, in those days, says the LORD, they
shall say no more, The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD:
neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember
it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any
more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of
the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to
the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem"13
The Table of Shewbread was where the priests placed twelve loaves of bread, which were symbols of God's presence among the twelve tribes of Israel. Again, Jesus' presence renders this furnishing as unnecessary. He told His disciples at His first coming, "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to Me shall never hunger; and he that believes on Me shall never thirst."14
Lastly, the menorah or seven-branched candlestick gave light to the inside of the Temple. Jesus declared, "I am the light of the world: he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."15 As the prophet Haggai declares, the glory of Jesus' presence will illuminate the Millennial Temple:
"For thus says the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little
while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the
sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the
Desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house
with glory, says the LORD of hosts."16
The "Desire" of the nations is another appellation for the Messiah who will bring the true peace and righteousness that the world has desired. His glory will fill the Temple.
Ezekiel does see an altar in the Temple courtyard:
"And He said unto me, Son of man, thus says the Lord
GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day
when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon,
and to sprinkle blood thereon. And you shall give to the
priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which
approach unto Me, to minister unto Me, says the Lord
GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering. And you shall
take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it,
and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border
round about: thus shall you cleanse and purge it. You
shall take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall
burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the
sanctuary."17
The fact that Ezekiel sees an altar and the people offering sacrifices on it during the Millennium has troubled some Christians for centuries. They don't see why sacrifices would be offered in the future since Jesus was the perfect sacrifice that God accepted on behalf of humanity.
First, I want to point out that John, in writing about the Millennial Kingdom in the Book of Revelation, declares that the resurrected and gloried saints of God will act as priests:
"Blessed and holy is he that has 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."18
From this passage I must conclude that the glorified saints will be the priests offering the sacrifices in the Millennial Temple. These offerings are for the benefit of the people living during the Millennium. However, I do not believe they will be redemptive in nature. They will be more along the lines of commemorative sacrifices. The people will remember daily the sacrificial death of Jesus and the shedding of His blood. Today, Christians commemorate the death of Jesus by receiving communion. This sacrament involves the eating of Jesus' "body" and drinking of His "blood" as a sign that they have received Him as their Savior. So too will the people of the Millennium commemorate Jesus' sacrificial death through these sacrifices.
It appears that Jesus Himself will also offer sacrifices on behalf of the people just as He offered Himself as a sacrifice at His first coming:
"And it shall be the Prince's part to give burnt offerings,
and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and
in the new moons, and in the Sabbaths, in all solemnities of
the house of Israel: He shall prepare the sin offering, and
the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace
offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel."19
Again though I do not believe these sacrifices will be redemptive in essence. They will be a sign that the people have accepted Jesus as their Messiah and received His sacrificial death for their own salvation. These sacrifices will be evidence of their relationship with God through His Son Jesus. By performing these sacrifices Jesus will show them that God's original purpose for ordaining the animal sacrifices for the Jews was to point to the death of His Son as the perfect redemptive sacrifice.
There is one other feature to the Millennial Temple that I want to mention. Ezekiel saw in his vision of the future a stream of water flowing from the Temple:
"Afterward He brought me again unto the door of the
Temple; and, behold, waters issued out from under the
threshold of the Temple eastward: for the forefront of the
Temple stood toward the east, and the waters came down
from under from the right side of the house, at the south
side of the altar...Then said He unto me, These waters
issue out toward the east country, and go down into the
desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into
the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to
pass, that every thing that lives, which moves, wherever
the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very
great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come
there: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live
whether the river comes...And by the river upon the bank
thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees
for food, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit
thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit
according to His months, because their waters they issued
out of the Sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for food,
and the leaf thereof for medicine."20
This life-giving stream will flow east from under the Temple into the Dead Sea. The water will "heal" the Dead Sea of its saltiness and fish will be abundant in it. The prophet Zechariah states that this stream will also flow to the Mediterranean Sea:
"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."21
Just as there were fruit trees in the Garden of Eden that had supernatural qualities, so too will the fruit trees in the Millennium. As Zechariah declared, this will all be part of the Messiah's Kingdom when the LORD shall rule over all the earth.
It is interesting that in the Book of Revelation John sees a similar life-giving river flowing out of Heavenly Temple in eternity. He also sees similar life-giving fruit trees along the banks of this river.22 According to the writer of the Book of Hebrews, the previous earthly Temples were patterned after the Heavenly Temple.23 Therefore, I believe that the Millennial Temple is also a type of the eternal Heavenly Temple that John saw.
Lastly, I want to discuss the timing of the rebuilding of this Temple. Before God ordained King Solomon to build the first "permanent" stone Temple, He commanded the Jews under the leadership of Moses to construct a temporary Temple.24 This structure was actually a large tent surrounded by canvas-type walls. The Old Testament calls this Temple the "Tabernacle". God's glory burned like a pillar of fire above the Tabernacle by night and a cloud pillar by day. The Tabernacle was to be set in the middle of the Israelite camp during their wanderings in the wilderness.
After God had delivered the Jews from their bondage in Egypt, He led them safely into the wilderness between Egypt and Israel. During this exodus from Egyptian slavery the Jews had to build temporary shelters or booths to live in. God's glory resided in the midst of the Israelite camp in the Tabernacle. When He moved the temporary camp went with Him. He commanded the Jews to commemorate this deliverance by making booths or tabernacles each year:
"In the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have
gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast unto
the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath,
and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. And you shall
take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,
branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and
willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the
LORD your God seven days. And you shall keep it a feast
unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute
forever in your generations: you shall celebrate it in the
seventh month. You shall dwell in booths seven days; all
that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your
generations may know that I made the children of Israel to
dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of
Egypt: I am the LORD your God."25
This is the seventh and final God-ordained Jewish feast called the Feast of Tabernacles. The Jews were to observe this feast starting on the 15th of Tishri.
I believe Jesus will "construct" the Temple on the 15th of Tishri in order to fulfill this feast. Previously I had said that He might return to earth on the 10th of Tishri to fulfill the sixth Jewish festival, the Day of Atonement. Just as God commanded the Jews to build their booths or tabernacles on the 15th of Tishri, so too will Jesus build His tabernacle, the Temple, on that day. This would complete the fulfillment of the seven feasts that God ordained the Jews to keep.
I mentioned at the end of the last chapter that there is one more feast day spoken of in the Bible. Although this feast called Chanukah was not ordained by God, I believe Jesus will fulfill it nonetheless.
The second event that must take place, before humans spread out across the new earth, is the coronation of Jesus as the King-Messiah.
When Jesus came to earth the first time the Jewish people proclaimed Him as the Messiah. This proclamation took place when Jesus rode on a lowly donkey from the Mount of Olives down and across the Kidron Valley and back up through the Golden Gate into the Temple:
"And when they drew near unto Jerusalem, and were come
to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two
disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over
against you, and straightway you shall find a donkey tied,
and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto Me.
And if any man says anything to you, you shall say, The
Lord has need of them; and straightway he will send them.
All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was
poken by the prophet, saying, 'Tell ye the daughter of
Zion, Behold, your King comes unto you, meek, and sitting
upon a donkey, and a colt the foal of a donkey.' And the
disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And
brought the donkey, and the colt, and put on them their
clothes, and they set Him thereon. And a very great
multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut
down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the
way. And the multitudes that went before, and that
followed, cried, saying, 'Hosanna to the son of David:
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest'."26
Christians refer to this entrance into Jerusalem as the "Triumphal Entry". Sadly though, at Jesus' crucifixion many of the Jews rejected Him as the Messiah.
When Jesus sets up His Millennial Kingdom on earth He will once again ride from down the Mount of Olives and up through the renovated Golden or Eastern Gate. Every human on earth will still be dwelling temporarily around Jerusalem after the judgment of the "sheep and the goats". They all will participate in the coronation process. This time however, the Jews and Gentiles will proclaim Jesus the Messiah and this proclamation will stand.
Jesus will not be riding upon a lowly donkey but will be riding upon the mighty, white horse that John saw Him descending from heaven on. This will truly be a "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem and into the Temple. He will enter through the Eastern Gate. The prophet Ezekiel saw the glory of God entering through this gate in the Millennial Jerusalem:
"Afterward He brought me to the gate, the gate facing east.
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the
east; and the sound of His coming was like the sound of
many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. And the
vision I saw was like the vision which I had seen when He
came to destroy the city, and like the vision which I had
seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. As the
glory of the LORD entered the Temple by the gate facing
east, the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner
court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the
Temple."27
It is interesting that the Muslims took this prophecy so seriously that they sealed up the current Eastern or Golden Gate and placed a cemetery in front of it. Their purpose in doing this was to keep the Jewish Messiah from entering Jerusalem since any Jew walking on graves would become unclean. This was an exercise in futility as Jesus will clear the way and open the gate when He comes at His triumphal entry:
"Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the
Sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. And He said
to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened,
and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of
Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.
Only the Prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD;
He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall
go out by the same way."28
Jesus will enter the gate and proceed into the Temple. From there He will reign over the earth. Ezekiel witnessed His entry into the Temple:
"While the man was standing beside me, I heard one
speaking to me out of the Temple; and He said to me, "Son
of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the
soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the
people of Israel for ever."29
I believe the "one" speaking to Ezekiel was Jesus Christ Himself. He uses the first person to declare that He will walk in the Temple and will sit on His throne there. Just as God was surrounded by the Israelites in His Tabernacle in the wilderness, so too the Messiah will be surrounded by the Jews in the Millennial Temple.
As I stated earlier, I believe that Jesus will enter the Temple on the 25th of Kislev. This will be the 1335th day after the Antichrist defiled the Tribulation Temple as prophesied by the prophet Daniel.30 On that day the Jews celebrate the rededication of their Temple after Antiochus Epiphanies had defiled it. That rededication involved the lighting of the menorah for eight days. The Jews call this day the Feast of Dedication or Chanukah in the Hebrew language. In the Millennial Temple there will not be a menorah to light. However, when Jesus enters the Temple He will illuminate it with the light of His glory.
After Jesus' coronation as King of the Earth I believe He will give the resurrected, glorified saints their "assignments" for the Millennium. John spoke of this in the Book of Revelation:
"Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection!
Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be
priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him
a thousand years."31
Jesus will send the saints around the earth to govern in the different lands. Since these saints will be in their final, perfected, eternal states, their judgments will also be righteous and just. Other saints will have the honor of ministering as priests in the Temple. The interaction between glorified beings and humans will be a normal occurrence during the Millennium. After all the supernatural events that the survivors of the Tribulation Period witnessed, their contact with these eternal beings will be accepted as an ordinary part of their lives.
This will complete the renovation of the world. Now the people who survived the Tribulation Period and the judgment of Jesus can inhabit the earth.
In the Millennium, there will be a new relationship between humans and God, each other, and the animal kingdom:
"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and
the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
But be you 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. There shall be no more then an
infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days:
for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner
being an hundred years old shall be accursed. 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 My
elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall
not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are
the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring
with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I
will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion
shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the
serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My
holy mountain, says the LORD."32
God states that He will be in Jerusalem rejoicing in His people. No longer will humans have to wait for an answer from God to their prayers. He declares, "before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear". Jesus will be sitting in the Temple in Jerusalem speaking personally with the inhabitants of the earth.
Humans will reap the benefits of their own labors. Criminals will not be able to infringe upon another person's life. Jesus will rule with a rod of iron as the Psalmist says:
"You are my Son; this day have I begotten You. Ask of me,
and I shall give You the heathen for your inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You
shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O you
kings: be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the
LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son,
lest He be angry, and you perish from the way, when His
wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put
their trust in Him."33
Not only will Jesus not tolerate any criminal behavior, He will stop it before it occurs. Just as He will hear the thoughts of His people before they speak, so too will He know the thoughts of those who wish to do evil. His judgment will fall on them immediately. There will be no lawyers to get their clients off on a technicality for Jesus' judgment will be righteous and true.
In this passage God alludes to the idea that those humans who re-populate the earth during the Millennium will once again live to great ages. A human will be as an infant at one hundred years of age. Some will probably live the full length of the Millennium while others will die because of their sinful attitudes.
Isaiah also said that the dangerous animals would live peacefully together. In another passage, he declares that the animal kingdom will also live peacefully with humans during the Millennium:
"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 cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper's
den."34
Children will be able to play with the animals that previously would have harmed them. The animals will no longer have territorial disputes and will eat grass instead of attacking each other. The world will return to the utopian state that God had originally created for Adam and Eve. There they had lived in harmony with nature and the animals in the Garden of Eden.
There will be no more wars between humans during this time. God declared in an earlier prophecy that He gave to Isaiah:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, 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 He shall judge
among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: 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 any more."35
After the false peace treaty that the Antichrist made with the world at the beginning of the Tribulation Period the earth will finally know true peace under the rule of the true Messiah. There will be no more wars until the end of the Millennium when God defeats Satan.
There will also be a lasting peace between the Arabs and the Jews. The prophet Isaiah foresaw the time at the end when the Arab nations would accept the God of Israel for their own:
"In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst
of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to
the LORD. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto
the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry
unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and He shall
send them a Savior, and a great one, and He shall deliver
them. And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the
Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do
sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the
LORD, and perform it. And the LORD shall smite Egypt:
He shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the
LORD, and He shall be entreated of them, and shall heal
them. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to
Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the
Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with
the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with
Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the
land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying,
Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My
hands, and Israel Mine inheritance."36
Isaiah states that someone oppresses Egypt in the future. I believe this oppressor is the Antichrist. In Chapter 10 I mentioned that the king of the south would come against the Antichrist in a battle leading up to Armageddon. The prophet Daniel stated that this king would command a confederation of Arab countries to fight the Antichrist:
"[The Antichrist] shall stretch forth his hand also upon the
countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he
shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver,
and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans
and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train."37
Daniel said that Egypt would not immediately escape from the wicked, oppressive hand of the Antichrist. However, Isaiah said that God would send a Savior to deliver the Egyptians at the end. They will accept this Savior and turn to the LORD God of Israel. Assyria, which then consisted of what is now the modern countries of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Kuwait, Egypt will also accept the God of Israel for their own. The Middle East will finally experience true peace, as all of the Arab countries will worship alongside of the Jews.
The Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ will truly be an unprecedented time in human history. The world will live together in harmony with creation just as God meant for it to do from the beginning.
However, there is a saying that all good things must end. This is true with the Millennium. John wrote in the Book of Revelation:
"And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be
loosed from his prison and will come out to deceive the
nations which are at the four corners of the earth, that is,
Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is
like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the
broad earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the
beloved city; but fire came down from heaven and
consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was
thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast
and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day
and night for ever and ever."38
God is going to culminate the long history of humankind by defeating the one being who did more to destroy it then any other force in the universe. At the end of the Millennium God is going to give Satan one last opportunity to defeat His plans.
After one thousand years the earth's population will have grown exponentially. Those who were the last to be born during this time will probably be the ones who will want to rebel against God and His Messiah. Up to this point Jesus will have immediately judged those who sought to hurt others. Now though He lets Satan gather them together as an army where God will judge them all at once. This too is a parallel to the beginning of human history. In the Garden of Eden God allowed humans to choose to obey Him or to follow Satan. This will be the last time that humans will be able to make this choice. Sadly, there will be humans that make the same fatal choice as Adam and Eve. They will side with the Devil and suffer the consequences. God brings fire down from heaven and devours the entire army of rebels. Then He casts Satan into Hell for eternity.
Isaiah, in a prophetic allusion to this demise of Satan, declared:
"When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and
turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to
serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of
Babylon: "How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury
ceased! The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the
scepter of rulers, that smote the peoples in wrath with
unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with
unrelenting persecution. The whole earth is at rest and
quiet; they break forth into singing. The cypresses rejoice
at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, 'Since you were laid
low, no hewer comes up against us.' Sheol beneath is
stirred up to meet you when you come, it rouses the shades
to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises
from their thrones all who were kings of the nations. All of
them will speak and say to you: 'You too have become as
weak as we! You have become like us!' Your pomp is
brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots
are the bed beneath you, and worms are your covering.
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of
Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid
the nations low! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to
heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on
high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north; I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make
myself like the Most High.'" But you are brought down to
Sheol, to the depths of the Pit. Those who see you will stare
at you, and ponder over you: 'Is this the man who made the
earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world
like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his
prisoners go home?'"39
At the beginning of human history Satan had stirred the people of the earth's hearts to rebel against God. He influenced them to build a tower at Babylon in order to make a name for themselves apart from God. Isaiah speaks of the "king of Babylon" here as an allusion to Satan. He wanted to ascend on high and become God but instead was cast down into the deepest part of Hell. The nations of the world will look on him and see him as he really is. They ask rhetorically, "Is this the one who created such terror for the human race?" Sadly he is, but he himself will now suffer the terror of Hell for eternity.
With this God brings an end to human history. The time has now come for the most horrific event since the beginning of the universe to take place.
1 Genesis 2:8-9; 3:1-24
2 Revelation 20:1-3
3 Isaiah 65:17-18; 66:22-24
4 Revelation 21:23
5 Revelation 21:1
6 Isaiah 40:13-15
7 Isaiah 51:3
8 Isaiah 61:4-5,11
9 Joel 3:18
10 Zechariah 6:12-13
11 Ezekiel 40:1-2
12 Isaiah 2:2
13 Jeremiah 3:16-17
14 John 6:35
15 John 8:12
16 Haggai 2:6-7
17 Ezekiel 43:18-21
18 Revelation 20:6
19 Ezekiel 45:17
20 Ezekiel 47:1,8-9,
21 Zechariah 14:8-9
22 Revelation 22:1-2
23 Hebrews 8:1-5
24 Exodus 25:9-26:37
25 Leviticus 23:39-43
26 Matthew 21:1-9
27 Ezekiel 43:1-5
28 Ezekiel 44:1-3
29 Ezekiel 43:6-7
30 Daniel 12:11-12
31 Revelation 20:6
32 Isaiah 65:17-25
33 Psalms 2:7-12
34 Isaiah 11:6-8
35 Isaiah 2:2, 4
36 Isaiah 19:19-25
37 Daniel 11:42-43
38 Revelation 20:7-10
39 Isaiah 14:3-17
