Millennial Kingdom – Purpose

God’s reasons for the Millennial Kingdom

The purpose of the thousand-year reign is to allow for the fulfillment of the promises God made with Jesus, Israel, the Saints, and Creation to vindicate His Holy name.

“Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.“ Ezekiel 36:22-24

“So, when they (disciples) had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” Acts 1:6–7

This verse clearly indicates that Jesus is yet to come to restore the Kingdom to Israel. The Millennium is the prophetic climax of God’s overarching redemptive agenda. His completed promises to Israel, found in the unconditional covenants, will be on full display before a world of believers and unbelievers alike.

Soon after the birth of the Body of Christ at Pentecost (Acts 2), Peter spoke these words to his fellow Jews from Solomon’s Portico

“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Acts 3:10-21

“But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” 1 Corinthians 15:23-25

The Messiah must reign over his kingdom until he has defeated all his enemies. Once this is accomplished, Jesus will hand over the kingdom to the Father. When the Kingdom of God is handed over to the Father, it will be free of sin and death, identifying it as the Eternal State (Revelation 21:4, 8).

Promises to King Jesus

The Millennium is all about Jesus. He will reign supreme.

“Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

In Psalm 110, David records the promises that God (The Father) made to Jesus. God the Father invites Jesus to sit at His right hand until He makes Jesus’ enemies a footstool. Jesus will rule over, judge, and shatter His enemies while His people worship Him freely. This combination of judging enemies and being worshiped by the faithful cannot happen in the eternal heaven, because in heaven there will be no sin or rebellion to judge.

In Daniel 7:11-14, Jesus is given dominion over all the people, nations, and languages before His enemies are permanently destroyed.

Promises to Israel

God’s covenant with Abraham was unilateral (one-sided) it was unconditional, and it remains unfulfilled as does the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant.

The Abrahamic Covenant: Numbers 34:1-12 outlines the exact borders Israel is to possess; the nation of Israel has yet to encompass these specific boundaries.

“On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring, I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” Genesis 15:18-20

“Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:5-6

The legitimacy and authenticity of Judaism come from the fact that the entire nation was a part of the revelation. God spoke to the entire nation at Mt. Sinai. And these words that He spoke are yet to be fulfilled

Even before they went into the Promised Land Moses told them their entire checkered history, including their being cast out of the land and dispersed throughout the nations but also the end of the story when God would regather them and their Messiah will rule the nations and they will be a people, “holy to the Lord your God”.

“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” Deuteronomy 28:1

“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,” Deuteronomy 28:13

“And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as He has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, and that He will set you in praise and in fame and in honour high above all nations that He has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as He promised.” Deuteronomy 26:18-19

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.“ Deuteronomy 30:1-3

“And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:5-6

The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7) is the promise that God made to David that David’s heir would sit on the throne of Israel. Jesus is that heir, but He has yet to take His physical, political birthright.

The New Covenant: It outlines the promise that Israel as a nation will return to God and worship their Messiah. These covenants will be fulfilled during the 1000-year reign.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke… For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31-33

“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.” Isaiah 59:21

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbour and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:8-12

The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation

Moses was told on Mt Sinai to speak these words to the people of Israel just before God spoke directly to the entire nation. Israel has yet to be that nation but it will fulfill this prophecy in the Millennium.

“Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Genesis 19:5-6

“ Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” Romans 11:25-27

“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Acts 3:19-21

MAP OF ISRAEL TODAY

Promises to the Saints

Daniel 7:11-14 says that Jesus will be given dominion over all the nations. The whole world will know God.
“For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:9

In addition to Jesus’ rule over the nations, His resurrected Saints will be given positions of authority to rule with Him.

“You were slain, and by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:9-10

“When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” 1 Corinthians 6:1-2

Promises to Creation

Jesus’ sovereignty will extend beyond human political systems and into all of creation. The curse will be partially lifted. Animals will live in peace again in Israel.

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.” Isaiah 11:6-9

“And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.” Isaiah 33:24

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;” Isaiah 35:5-7

The main purpose of the Millennium is to prepare the Nations and saints for the Father coming in the fullness of His glory to the new earth.

Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

Revelaion 22:3-5 “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. 

Writing about the Millennial Kingdom, Paul stated, “Then comes the end [of the Millennial Kingdom], when He [Jesus] hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power [it will take time to do this]. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet”

1 Corinthians 15:24-25 “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

The purpose of Christ’s one-thousand-year reign is to abolish “all rule and all authority and power” and to “put all His enemies under His feet.” The Millennial Kingdom is a transition period from the Fallen Earth to the New Heaven and New Earth.