THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The Kingdom
Message Four—The Millennial Kingdom
Scripture Reading: Matt. 25:34; 13:43; Rev. 20:4-6; Acts 3:21; 1:6; Mark 11:10; Luke 19:12, 15
I. The word “millennium” means one thousand years; the kingdom of the Lord on earth will be for one thousand years; the millennium, then, refers to the time after Christ comes again as King to rule the world and before the new heaven and new earth—Rev. 20:4, 6: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
A. The millennium will be the last age in God’s old creation—Rev. 20:7-9: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
1. The first period was the time before Adam, the pre-Adamic age; no one can tell how long that period of time was. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
2. The second period of the universe extends from Genesis 1:2 through the end of the coming millennium. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
3. Following this second period, there will be the third period of the universe—the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem—which will last for eternity. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
B. The millennium will be the last and most crucial part of the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose—Rev. 20:10-15: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
1. Three evil things—Satan, the rebellious nature of man, and death—will still exist even at the end of the millennium. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
2. This indicates that the millennium will be the last age in God’s old creation, a time during which the Lord will work to eliminate these three evil things from God’s eternal universe. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
3. During the dispensation of the millennium, God will continue to perfect the believers who were not willing to cooperate with God’s sufficient grace to be perfected during the church age—Matt. 8:12. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
4. During the age of the millennium, God will also purify the restored nations to be the people on the new earth; therefore, the millennial age will still be used by God as an age of preparation—Rev. 20:12. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
II. The millennial kingdom will be the kingdom received by Christ from God the Father—Luke 19:12, 15: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
A. It comprises the kingdom of Messiah, which is the expectation of many devoted Israelites from the Old Testament to the time when Christ will come back to restore the nation of Israel—Dan. 9:25-26. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
B. And the kingdom of Christ, which is the expectation of the seeking believers in the New Testament age—Eph. 5:5. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
C. Hence, it will fulfill the desire of God, of the devoted Israelites, and of the believers in the coming age of one thousand years, which will be the last age of God’s old creation. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
III. The millennial kingdom will have two sections—the heavenly section and the earthly section—Matt. 13:43; Luke 1:32-33: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
A. The kingdom of the Father, as the heavenly part of the millennium, will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens as a reward to the overcomers—Matt. 13:43: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
1. The heavenly section of the millennial kingdom will be composed of all the Old Testament and New Testament overcomers—Matt. 8:11; 26:29. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
2. The heavenly section of the millennial kingdom will actually be the New Jerusalem in the millennial age—Rev. 3:12. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
3. The heavenly section of the millennial kingdom will be a reward to all the Old Testament and New Testament overcomers—Heb. 11:26, 39-40. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
4. The heavenly section of the millennial kingdom will be the realm for Christ and the overcomers to reign over the nations and for the overcomers to be priests of God and of Christ for one thousand years—Rev. 20:4, 6. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
B. The earthly section of the millennial kingdom will be the restored kingdom of Israel—the kingdom of David; the Lord will sit on the throne of David and reign over the house of Jacob (the Jewish people), ruling over the nations of the earth during the millennium—Luke 1:32-33; Psa. 2:8; 72:8; Dan. 7:14; 2:35: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
1. The earthly section of the millennial kingdom will be the realm for the saved Jews to be God’s priests to teach the nations—Zech. 8:20-23: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
a. During the millennium the Gentiles will take the converted Jews as priests. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
b. Ten Gentiles will come to one Jew, asking him to teach them how to serve the Lord. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
2. The earthly section of the millennial kingdom will be the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world for the restored nations in the millennium and the realm for the restored nations to be God’s people—Matt. 25:34: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
a. This aspect of the kingdom was prepared not before the foundation of the world but from the foundation of the world. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
b. The sheep will be transferred into the millennium to be the people on the earth under the kingly ruling of Christ and the overcoming believers and under the priestly ministry of the saved Jews. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
c. During the persecution under Antichrist, for the care of the believers and the Jews—God’s chosen people who will be left on earth—an eternal gospel will be preached to the nations. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
d. The gospel of grace brings eternal life into the believers that they may live by God’s life, whereas the eternal gospel brings the sheep into eternal life that they may live in the sphere of God’s life—Acts 20:24; John 3:15-16. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
e. In the kingdom of God as the sphere of God’s administration, there is the need for three kinds of people: the priests, the kings, and the people or the nations; the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world is for the restored nations to dwell in to be the people in the millennial kingdom. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
IV. After the Lord has finished the work of purifying the restored nations and of perfecting all the believers during the dispensation of the millennium, He will return the kingdom which He received from the Father, to the Father; this will be the close of the old creation—Rev. 20:4, 6; 20:7-10, 14: (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
A. Before the millennium, He as the Son of Man will have received the kingdom from God, the Ancient of days, to rule all the nations for one thousand years—Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 20:4, 6. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
B. At Christ’s coming back, He will bring the kingdom of God to earth; then for a thousand years He will execute the kingdom. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
C. At the end of the millennium, after the Lord has defeated Satan, the Devil, and his evil angels (as all rule, authority, and power) and even death and Hades, putting all enemies under His feet and casting all of them, including death and Hades, into the lake of fire, He will deliver the kingdom back to God the Father—Rev. 20:7-10, 14. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
D. When Christ annuls satanic authority, subdues all His enemies, abolishes death, and delivers up the kingdom to God the Father; that is, when all the negative things are done away with and the entire purpose of God is fulfilled, the old creation will come to its end—1 Cor. 15:25-26. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)
E. The end will not occur at the completion of the church age but at the completion of the millennium; then there will be eternity with the new heaven and the new earth. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 245)