In Revelation 1:7, we are told that as Yeshua ascended to heaven, so He will return in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ‘Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.’
The purpose of the Second Coming is to establish the kingdom of God on the earth. This is what we pray in the Disciple’s Prayer.
MILLENNIAL EVENTS
There will be near ideal conditions
· Israel will be a holy place and the focal point of world events
Isaiah 65:18-23 ‘But be ye 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 thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.’
· Israel will be the centre of physical and spiritual restoration of the Jews as promised in the Scriptures
Ezekiel 37:21-22 ‘And say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.’
· After the spiritual regeneration, there will be a national re-gathering of Israel from all over the world.
Isaiah 11:11 – 12:6, Jeremiah 16:14,15, Ezekiel 11:4-18, 36:24, Amos 9:14-15, Zephaniah 3:18-20, Zechariah 10:8-12. Never again will the Jews be dispersed.
· The Jews will permanently possess the entire land as promised to Abraham.
· Thereafter all the covenantal promises will be fulfilled. There will be permanent peace and security throughout Israel.
· There will be righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
Romans 14:17 ‘For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.’
· There will be perfect justice. Isaiah 11:3,4 ‘And He is made to breathe in the fear of YHWH. But He will not judge by the sight of His eyes, And not decide by the hearing with His ears. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.’
· No lawlessness is allowed as Messiah will rule with a rod of iron.
· The wolf will dwell with the lamb. Isaiah 11:6 ‘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.’
· They will beat their swords into plowshares. Micah 4:3 ‘And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’
· Yeshua as the Son of David and king of kings will fill David’s throne. 2 Samuel 7:11-16 and 1 Chronicles 17:10-14. Isaiah 9:6,7, Zechariah 12:10
· Almost perfect environment – the earth will produce abundantly
· Only those who have sinned grossly will die. They will not be able to blame the devil. It is because of their own sin nature that they sin.
· One will know that the entire Bible is true and that Yeshua exists. Isaiah 11:9 ‘They will not do evil and not destroy in all My holy mountain. For the earth will be full of the knowledge of YHWH, as the waters cover the sea.’
· Yeshua will be worshipped in the Millennial Temple
Jeremiah 33:15-22 ‘In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.’
Zechariah 14:16-21 ‘And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, YHWH Tzevaot, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.’
Ezekiel 40-48
· The Millennial Temple and sacrifices reinstated as a memorial.
· The reign of Yeshua the Messiah will extend to the Gentiles. All mankind will know that Yeshua is Lord.
· We will reign with Yeshua
Revelation 5:10 ‘And has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign with Him’.
The spiritual restoration of Israel is a key event prophesied over the years and reaching fulfillment at this stage. The present unbelief of Israel is not permanent and the full acceptance of Jesus as Messiah will occur in the Millennium.
. The regeneration of Israel begins during the Tribulation just prior to the Second Coming.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 ‘Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.’
· Israel will confess her nation’s sin. Jeremiah 3:11-18 ‘And YHWH said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, says YHWH; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, says YHWH, and I will not keep anger for ever.’ Hosea 5:15 ‘I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.’
· Israel will plead for the return of the Messiah. This was prophesied in Isaiah 64:1-12, Joel 2:28 and Zechariah 12:10-13:9. It is fulfilled in Zechariah 12:10, Matthew 23:37-39.
These words are recorded in Isaiah 53:1-9 ‘Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.’
· Israel will be saved fulfilling the prophecy of Romans 11:25-27. ‘For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.’
· The Holy Spirit will indwell all believers. Ezekiel 36:24-27 ‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.’
· Spiritual life will be released in an unprecedented way – joy, peace and true worship. Ezekiel 36:24-27 ‘For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.’
THE FINAL REBELLION
Revelation 20:7-10 ‘And when the 1000 years are completed, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. And will go out to deceive the Nations which are in the 4 corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the Land and encompassed the citadel of the saints and the beloved city. And there came down fire out of heaven and devoured them. And the Devil that deceived them was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone where both the Beast and the False Prophet are and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.’
During the 1000 years that Satan is confined, his nature will not be changed. When he is released, he will again attempt to take the place of God and receive worship and obedience that is due to YHWH alone.
Who will respond to him?
Remember that there are ideal conditions during the millennium. The descendents of the original believers who entered into the Millennium who profess salvation but without the reality.
Sequence of Events
The 1000 years ends with the 2nd resurrection of the unsaved and the Great White throne of Judgement. Satan is then loosed for a little season
Revelation 20 ‘And I saw an angel descending out of heaven, having the key of the Abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon – the old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him 1000 years and cast him into the Abyss and shut him up and set a seal on him that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the 1000 years be completed. Afterward he must be loosed a little season…….’
- Satan is released. He goes out to deceive the nations in the 4 corners of the world.
- Gog and Magog.
- A great number join in the rebellion
- They march across the breadth of the earth to get to Jerusalem. No attempt is made to stop their journey.
- They will surround Jerusalem in an attempt to capture the capital city and the whole world.
- But fire came down and devoured them.
The Lake of Fire has been prepared as the final judgment place of Satan and the fallen angels Matthew 25:41 ‘Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.’
The beast and the false prophet were cast in 1000 years earlier.
Revelation 20:10 ‘And the Devil that deceived them was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone where both the Beast and the False Prophet are and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.’
All the unrighteous will also be consigned there after the great White throne Judgment..
With the judgment of Satan and those who joined with him in the rebellion, the Millennium will come to a sudden end paving the way for the New Heavens and the New Earth.
REFERENCES:
1. Israel in the Millennium, Timothy J Demy, The Prophecy Study Bible, KJV
2. The Millennial Kingdom, Chuck Smith, The Prophecy Study Bible, KJV
3. Expository Glossary of Terms used in Messianic Teaching, Dr Johan van Rooyen
4. Sheila Burke, Shalom Ministries