The millennial kingdom is the title given to the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. Some seek to interpret the 1,000 years in an allegorical manner. They understand the 1,000 years as merely a figurative way of saying “a long period of time.” Not a literal, physical reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. However, six times in Revelation 20:2-7, the millennial kingdom is specifically said to be 1,000 years in length. If God wished to communicate “a long period of time,” He could have easily done so without explicitly and repeatedly mentioning an exact time frame.
Promise of Christ’s second coming
The Bible tells us that when Christ returns to earth, He will establish Himself as king in Jerusalem, sitting on the throne of David. The unconditional covenants demand a literal, physical return of Christ to establish the kingdom. The Abrahamic covenant promised Israel a land, a posterity and ruler, and a spiritual blessing (Genesis 12:1-3). The Davidic covenant promised Israel a king from David’s line who would rule forever. Giving the nation rest from all their enemies.
At the second coming of Christ, these covenants will be fulfilled as Israel is re-gathered from the nations (Matthew 24:31), converted (Zechariah 12:10-14), and restored to the land under the rule of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Bible speaks of the conditions during the millennium as a perfect environment physically and spiritually. It will be a time of peace, joy, and comfort. The Bible also tells us that only believers will enter the millennial kingdom. Because of this, it will be a time of obedience, holiness, truth, and the knowledge of God. Christ will rule as king. Nobles and governors will also rule, and Jerusalem will be the political centre of the world.
Stature of a Man
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (605-562 BC) had a dream that disturbed him so much that he could not sleep. Daniel, a young Israeli prophet interpreted and recorded it for us in Daniel chapter 2. The prophet divulged that the troubled king had marveled at a massive stature forged in the shape of a man.
The stature’s head was molded out of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, it stood erect on two legs of iron, and its feet were comprised of a mixture of iron and clay. And, to his utter amazement, the king also witnessed a stone – careening like a meteor out of the sky to strike the stature at its feet. The great statue was subsequently obliterated, and its dust blew away in the wind. Suddenly, the sky-felled stone grew into a might mountain, until it filled the entire earth. Daniel credited God alone for the revealing of what King Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed. As well as what the dream had meant – the prophesied end of all human empires.
The meaning of the Stature
The statue represented four temporal human kingdoms followed by a fifth divine kingdom. The head of gold, explicitly identified Nebuchadnezzar to be that head as king of the Babylonian Empire. The chest and arms of silver represented the Medo-Persian Empire, which would decades later conquer Babylon. The belly and thighs of bronze, represented the supplantation of the Medo-Persian Empire by Greece and its division after the death of Alexander the Great in 324 BC. The legs of iron, would come to be identified as the Roman Empire. Rome’s final, divided, weakened condition was represented by two feet comprised of a mixture of iron and clay. The ten toes corresponded to the ten horns, indicating the final form of earthly human government would divide the world into ten regions. Each one ruled by a powerful king.
The vision presented the power of each successive human government as growing less centralized, until the final one would comprise a power-sharing arrangement among ten kings and one “little horn” who would rise to rule the entire world. But only for a brief time. Nebuchadnezzar’s vision foretold how a day would come when human governments, in all their forms, would be wiped away by the arrival of that stone not cut by human hands. The fact that the stone that came from the sky denotes a divine origin. Mountains in the Bible often symbolizing a king, kingdom, or throne. Daniel had prophesied that a divine ruler would burst from the sky at the speed of a streaking meteor to obliterate all human governments and establish His illustrious kingdom – one that will encompass the entire earth. This kingdom will be known as the millennial kingdom.
Jews return to the land of Israel
Jesus Christ’s steadfast promise to return to sit upon the throne of David is tied timing-wise of the most significant Bible prophecies ever made – the regathering of the Jewish people back to the land of Israel. Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 28, that as long as the Jewish people remain in continuous rebellion against God and reject His salvation, God would exile the Jews from their covenantal land and scatter them across the face of the earth. History records that the Jews in Nebuchadnezzar’s time were exiled and scattered. Later, Moses’s prophecy concerning rebellion and exile was executed yet again, this time carried out by Romans in AD 70. Like the earlier Babylonian exile, this second exile would also not be permanent. The Bible prophesies that just before the second advent of the Messiah, the Jews must return from worldwide dispersion and be regathered back into the land of Israel.
God keeps His Covenant with Israel
Why has God kept a remnant of Israel intact throughout the centuries of dispersion? Having endured homelessness, persecution, pogroms, and even the Holocaust, the survival of the Jewish people is the greatest miracle in history. The answer is firmly because God is faithful. He always keep His promises. He never breaks His covenants. His promises never fail, and that includes His Davidic promise. God is always faithful to His people. And the Almighty has proclaimed that the descendants of Israel will never cease to be a nation. He already promised that His law will one day be written on their hearts. Jesus foretold that the advent of His return will happen only when Israel is finally ready to cry out in combination of weeping and joy. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!”
The Day of the Lord
The Lord will bring salvation to the Jewish people though the Day of the Lord. How will mankind react to this apocalyptic “day?” And why exactly did Zephaniah say God will bring such devastation upon the earth? Because, men “have sinned against the LORD.” The sins of the world will have become so egregious, that just as in the days of Noah and Lot – God’s perfect sense of justice will compel Him to wage a full-scale apocalypse of the earth. In the dispensing of His perfect justice, God will make righteous a remanent who will turn from their wickedness and believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour.
The suffering Lamb will return as the roaring Lion! Like a meteorite streaking out of the sky, Jesus will land on top of the Mount of Olives with such earthshattering force that the hill splits in two. With epic fury, the long-foretold deliverer – the Lord of Hosts – will charge into battle and fight for Mount Zion in His role as defender and preserver of His city, Jerusalem. The Antichrist along with his false prophet will be captured and thrown alive into the lake of fire. Satan will be chained and thrown into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years.
The Earth Restored after the Tribulation
Both the demonic and human governments that failed so miserable will, at last, be no more. Not a single solitary governmental organization will be left to plan any reconstruction efforts. But, like a painter who has been presented with a blank canvas, the time will come for that stone to fill the entire earth and rebuild it as the kingdom of Christ. Only the Anointed One possesses the divine power to restore the earth to its pristine condition. Only the Great Architect of the cosmos can transform a dying world into a thriving ecosystem.
Prince of Peace will Reign
The book of Isaiah provides many interesting details concerning Jerusalem’s role during the kingdom. We learn that it is from Jerusalem that the Lord will teach His moral law to the peoples of many nations (Isaiah 2:3). For it is there in that Holy City that the Prince of Peace will reign on the throne of David. God’s faithful Jewish remnant will all gather together to live in that city, and they will make it their home (Isaiah 11:10, 11).
The citizens of Christ’s kingdom will also include the resurrected redeemed of the church age (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). The “sheep” survivors of the tribulation, who will remain in their earthly bodies (Matthew 25:33, 34). The tribulation martyrs (Revelation 20:4). And Old testament saints (Danial 12:1, 2). The Gentiles from Egypt and Assyria, as well as many other nations far off, will one day begin making their annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Isaiah foretold how these pilgrims will enjoy the King’s lavish banquet. They will be filled with gladness and joyful shouting. Festive harmonies will be carried upon the winds in Zion.
The people will shout from the rooftops the good news that there, in Jerusalem, the Lord God omnipotent reigns. They will praise Him for having forgiven their sins. It has also been foretold in the book of Isaiah that even with the millennial Jerusalem’s greatly expanded dimensions, far beyond the meager acreage of today, the city will still not be large enough room for the world’s inhabitants to visit all at once. This amazing level of activity following the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, Israel and Jerusalem will truly be a holy land and a holy city that will be the focal point of all earthy activity.
The Temple Rebuilt
We learn that not only will Jesus Christ be called by the new name of Yahweh Tsidkenu (the LORD are Righteousness), but also during that time, Jerusalem, meaning the “City of Peace,” will forevermore be called Yahweh Shammah, meaning “the LORD is there” Ezekiel 48:35). The city’s change in name is meant to express the Lord’s forgiveness of the Jewish people and their restored solidarity with Him.
For almost two millennia, there has been no Temple in Jerusalem. The Jews have attended synagogue services around the world to pray, read the Scriptures, and perform various ceremonies. Deep in their hearts, they have had longing for the messianic age and another Temple to be built in Jerusalem. Zechariah 6 prophesied that the divine carpenter will be the very one to build His temple.
Animal Kingdom at Peace with Mankind
While God will never again destroy the earth with water, we learn that He will nearly destroy it with His wrath during the tribulation. As the earth teeters on the brink of extinction, the Prince of Peace will return triumphantly to restore peace. One of the many glorious aspects we can anticipate about the millennial kingdom involves a radical change in our relationship with the animal kingdom. Nature will, at long last, be at peace with itself. Every animal will no longer live in fear of mankind, but in solidarity with us. Isaiah described this future idyllic scene. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25). Isaiah told us that all animals will adopt a vegetarian diet once more.
Bounty of Food
With the restoration of the planet the Creator will have the world teeming with life. A great bounty of food that will characterize the millennial kingdom. Bounteous days are coming to the earth! During the kingdom of Christ, crops of food will grow in largess and with stunning rapidity (Amos 9:13).
Lifespan Extended
Another one of these bountiful blessings will involve the counting of the lifespan of its citizens, not in decades, but in centuries! The prophet Isaiah foresaw this glorious day when humanity will be rejuvenated and people’s lives prolonged (Isaiah 65:21, 22).
For 1,000 years, the subjects of the kingdom will know a world of peace, righteousness, and justice. At least once a year, the Davidic King will lovingly greet His children in Jerusalem. They will flock to look upon His shining face and listen intently to His wise teachings. No poverty or want will plague mankind. Both the human and animal kingdoms will share in the bonds of mutual friendship. This will be a world enjoying its sabbath rest.