We’ve come quite a way in the last few weeks; from the rapture of the Church to the anti-christ coming on to the scene and the subsequent judgments from God which resulted from man’s rebellion and continued rejection of His mercy and grace being extended to the world through Christ.

We ended last week with the last seven judgments and the Lord Jesus about to physically return to this earth with His saints, to put an end to the rebellion and to rescue those who remained faithful to God, as they sought and trusted in the only Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is the event all of God’s people have been waiting for. And now, Jesus will come as He promised to destroy His enemies. This is what we read of in the book of Zechariah.

ZEC 14:3 "Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.
4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south."

Isaiah describes the utter destruction as our Lord Jesus comes to this earth and fulfills the promise that He is a just judge and God.

ISA 24:6 "Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left."

When Jesus Christ returns no one will be able to stand against Him, despite the fact that all of the kings of the earth will try as they come together at Armageddon to do battle against the Lord. The battle will not take long as the Lord gains the victory. And not only will every human being be destroyed who comes against Him, Satan Himself will not be able to stand either as he is cast into the abyss.

REV 20:2 "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time."

Everyone who is left will stand because Christ will make them stand in the power of His grace and strength, and they will have their strength renewed like the wings of eagles coming and lifting them up. Every person who remains in those days will be a true believer and the world is now about to start anew.

Every saint, from both Old and New Testaments, plus those who were raptured prior to the seven year tribulation, together with those who were martyred during the great tribulation, will have come back with Jesus at that battle of Armageddon in their glorified bodies. And now, we will all stand with Him united and rejoicing in the power of our God and Savior.

This will begin what is known as the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ in this earth, and that is our topic this morning.

Keep in mind that the earth has all but been destroyed; seven years of judgments from God, with the last three and half years being the most destructive. No rain has fallen for those three and half years. The entire earth has been scorched. No green plant or tree has survived. All food and water has been touched with God’s judgment. Nothing remains that could sustain life and yet, now with Christ’s return, all that is about to change.

Also remember, that the Kingdom age of Christ will be upon the earth where He will physically dwell and rule and reign. He will immediately begin to bring change to the earth and renovate this burned out planet. He will make all things new.

Christ will touch this world in a way which will resemble the days of Paradise with Adam and Eve prior to their sin. He will even restore man’s ability to live long and full lives to the degree that people will once again be able to live hundreds of years like in the days of Adam and Eve where they lived well into their 900’s. Adam lived to be 930 while the oldest man is recorded to be Methuselah who lived to be 969 years.

There will be children born into this world, shortly after the physical return of Christ, who will live practically the entire 1,000 years of Christ’s reign on this earth. Wars and premature death, pestilence and famine will be a thing of the past. The curse of sin on the entire world will be dramatically curbed during this 1,000 years. Isaiah speaks of some of the changes that God will bring about in those days.

ISA 40:4 "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

ISA 35:1 "The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus,
2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."

The last part of this promise given to Isaiah assures us that one of the major reasons for Christ’s physical return to this earth is to fulfill the covenant which God made with Abraham. Keep in mind that the Lord will be returning to Jerusalem to rule and reign from that city and to gather the Jews together as a nation; a nation which will in fact rejoice to see their Savior and who will recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

The nation of Israel was hardened in their heart, as Paul talked of this in his letter to the Romans, but we are told that that hardening was only a partial hardening and that one day their eyes would be opened. Well, it will be during the millennial reign that Israel will fulfill God’s covenant as they seek the Lord and worship Him alone as their one true God and Savior.

We are told that this covenant with Israel will be an everlasting covenant. And we will begin to see this fulfilled in the millennium. Here’s what we read of this covenant given to Abraham.

GEN 17:7 "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

During the millennial reign this will become a reality. But, instead of receiving and enjoying the land in part as they did throughout most of their existence, during the millennium it will be fully enjoyed, and more so since God has begun to restore the earth in a dramatic way.

Now, obviously an everlasting covenant will last more than 1,000 years and this will take into account the new heavens and the new earth which will be constructed after the millennium. But, that’s for next week.

This millennial reign will be enjoyed by not only restored Israel, but by the whole world. Joel prophesies of some of the changes that will take place in those days.

JOE 2:21 "Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things.
22 Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.
23 Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil."

Ezekial also paints a picture of a paradise in those days and an abundance the world has not known during those previous 7 terrible years.

EZE 34:29 "I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD.
31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.'"

The land flowing with milk and honey will be a reality unlike anything it has ever been in the past. God will bring His people Israel into the land to not only possess it fully, but to worship Him and enjoy the work of His hands in both their land and in their hearts.

ISA 35:3 "Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
10 ....and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."

Even the animal kingdom in those days will be transformed in a similar way to the days when Adam and Eve enjoyed their peaceful ways. In the days in the Garden of Eden the animals were all herbivores. They didn’t eat meat. All of them were at peace with each other and with man.

That would change as the curse of sin slowly began to invade the animal kingdom to where finally, after the flood, many animals became meat eating animals. In fact, from the very beginning both man and land animals were vegetarians.

GEN 1:29 "Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground -everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so."

Many of us may have read the verses about a restored animal kingdom before and have considered them, but it will become a reality as the Lord brings peace back to earth as Satan has no access to the world.

ISA 11:6 "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.
11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel;he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth."

The prophet Hosea also speaks of this glorious time where true peace will be brought to the earth. It will not be like the peace men talk about today, where they shout, peace, peace, but there is no peace. Our true peace will literally reside here on planet earth and He will bring the peace that only He can. That peace is the Lord Jesus Himself.

HOS 2:18 "In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.
19 I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion."

This is the relationship our Lord has always wanted with man and now, for the first time since Adam and Eve’s fall, this Paradise of the earth and the Paradise of God’s presence will be among men. God with us will be restored. Immanuel.

During this millennial reign of Christ it will be a time where people will live without war or the threat of war. There will be a true righteousness in the land as He is the true King over the earth.

ISA 9:7 "Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

Can you imagine a world where there will be no injustices? Can you imagine a world where there will be no fear of nations building their arsenals for war? David speaks of this time in Psalms 46 and 47.

PSA 46:9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
47:1 Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
2 How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!"

With the King of the universe sitting on a throne in Jerusalem He will personally see to it that this peace spreads throughout the world as we, who are in our glorified bodies, will play a role in keeping that peace and promoting the gospel of Jesus Christ as we point people to the living Savior in Jerusalem. No longer will people have to just take our word for it as we give them the word of God, they can see for themselves as they come to the city of the living God and see Him with their own eyes.

The prophet Micah speaks of this time during the millennium when the Lord will personally play a role in the affairs of men and will create an environment where all men will be at peace with each other.

MIC 4:3 "He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken."

Now, keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that men are without sin during this time. They may be made new creatures in Christ, but this world is still not totally without the curses of sin, and the sin nature of people, who survived the great tribulation. Sin has not been totally taken out of the way.

But the work of the Holy Spirit in those days and the very presence of Christ will curb sin dramatically, partly because the hearts of most people will have been touched by the love of Christ as they embrace Him by faith.

The work of the Spirit transforming the lives of people, as He transforms them into the image of Christ, will be shown in the way the world desires to please God instead of self. Though sin will still be present this millennial reign of Christ will be a time where the sanctification of redeemed people will flourish.

But what else will be taking place during this millennial reign of Christ? What will we be doing during this time? Well, one thing which will be happening during this time is the restoration of the earth and the people in the earth. They will have a thousand years to repopulate the world.

Cities and nations will have to be restored. But the miraculous hand of Christ will play an important role in accomplishing this. It is very likely that all believers who came back with Christ to this earth, and have been glorified and rewarded, will play a role in reestablishing the nations in the power of the Spirit.

We may play a role in helping to bring the infrastructure of society back, since all of this had been destroyed in the 21 judgments Christ brought on the earth. When we come back with the Lord He will put us to work in His kingdom on this earth. Keep in mind that we have been promised by God that we will reign with Christ.

2TI 2:11 "Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him...."

Part of our reigning with Christ will be during the millennium. There will be a need for practical abilities so that the world and the people in it will be able to begin rebuilding. There will be a need for engineers, there will be a need for contractors, there will be a need for all types of government leaders who will take their lead from Christ.

It is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that many of those positions will be supported by glorified saints, who will certainly have the abilities and the wisdom to help mankind not only get back on their feet, but encourage them to be on their knees as they encourage God’s people in the righteousness of Christ.

Nations will be reestablished. Cities will still need sanitation workers as much as they’ll need capable mayors and governors. It may very well be a more simpler life for awhile, but it will be life with needs, and people will need the type of leadership which will promote that peace which our King and Lord will compel with His presence in this world.

For the glorified saints who came back with Christ, transportation will not be a problem as we will be able to move about even as Jesus did after His resurrection. You’ll remember that He appeared and disappeared, He walked through walls, and was not restricted by the physical limitations of a simple human body.

In our glorified bodies this physical world will not hinder such travel as we go to and fro in the earth accomplishing Christ’s will as we travel back and forth to Jerusalem, to the city of our great King.

But, for the rest of mankind a sort of transportation system will have to be set up. And one of the reasons for such travel is to go to Jerusalem to see Jesus Christ and offer Him worship in person.

ISA 2:2 "In the last days the mountain of the LORD'S temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house 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."

The prophet Jeremiah also speaks about the nations streaming to Jerusalem to honor and worship the Lord.

JER 3:17 "At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
18 In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance."

The millennial reign of Christ will be an awesome time for all people in the earth. And the earth will be repopulated to where millions and possibly billions of people will once again inhabit the world.

That is not beyond the realm of possibility. Unlike past generations where the older people die off as babies are being born, this will be a time when few people will be dying of natural causes. Isaiah seems to allude to this prolonged and prosperous lifespan.

ISA 65:21 "They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
23 They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear."

Does this mean that in the days of the millennium the prayers of the saints will be answered in such a way that sickness and disease will be dealt with by our Lord to where the miraculous will be the norm?

Possibly. But, keep in mind that as glorious as this life on earth will be in those days, it is not the end-all when it comes to the purpose of Christ. Simply living a wonderful existence for a thousand years is only part of what this is all about.

The main objective in the millennial reign of Christ is to know Him personally as the One who came the first time to redeem us from the penalty and power of sin and to know that our Lord is in our midst, and that we have a unique opportunity to worship Him in spirit and in truth all our days.

This will be a time of renewed spiritual awareness. It will be a time of awesome fellowship with each other and our Lord and it will be a time of renewed reverence for the God who has made us one in Christ.

Yes, we will have opportunity to enjoy family as even the glorified saints will fellowship with family members who came through the great tribulation. And yes, there will be the normal things in life we will all still enjoy: picnics with family, awesome times of worship at church, a sense of accomplishment at the work people will be doing in those days, and on and on.

But just knowing that Jesus is in the earth will make everything worth living, knowing that at the end of the thousand years every trace of the curse of sin will be taken out of the way and sin will have absolutely no effect on the people of God forever more.

We’ll close here today. Next week we’ll deal with Satan’s little escapade at the end of the 1,000 years and what will happen to those saints living on the earth, together with many people who did not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ during the millennium, if you can imagine that.

We live in exciting times, but it’s only the beginning of an eternal adventure we get to share with our God, if we’ve placed our trust and faith in the One who has made it all possible. The Lord Jesus Christ.

ROM 11:36 "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."