Biblical View of Christ’s Kingdom and the Eternal Kingdom
Represents peace (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Despite the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that was mentioned in my last post, there will still be those who will not receive the Holy Spirit that is offered to them. At a certain point, Christ will come for his bride and those who have not put the hope of their future in him will remain on the Earth. This event, which some call the Rapture, has a lot of controversy around this event and when it will occur, but it makes sense that Christ would come for his Church, which Scripture refers to as his bride (2Co 11:2; Ep 5:25; Rv 19:7), and this event matches how a Jewish man retrieves his bride so they can be together from that time forward. What typically occurs in a wedding is a marriage supper where the bride and groom celebrate with friends and family. This will also occur in heaven during this time, called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rv 19:9) as events on Earth occur that is known as the Tribulation Period. While this is a time on Earth when Satan will try to set up his kingdom on the Earth, it is mainly about Israel. Satan will be against Israel because if he can destroy Israel, then the remainder of God’s plan cannot come to pass because Israel is a key component of that plan. A lot of bad things happen to many across the globe, but the main effect is to get Israel ready for their king to come back for them (Jr 30:3).
When Christ returns, he comes with his bride, the Church who had been raptured (Rv 19:14). He overcomes Satan and his forces (Zc 9:16), redeems Israel (Zc 13:1), and sets up his kingdom (Zc 14:9), referred to as the Millennial Kingdom. As this kingdom is set up, the righteous and unrighteous who survived the Tribulation will be separated with the unrighteous removed from the earth (Mt 25:31-46) and Satan will be bound (Rv 20:2). The righteous who died before they were part of the Church (Da 12:1-2) and those martyred during the Tribulation Period (Rv 20:4) are resurrected at this time and become part of this kingdom’s population. This kingdom will last for 1,000 years (Rv 20:3) and will be a time of ultimate peace, not only for humans (Is 2:4; Mi 4:3; Zp 3:13) but for all the animals as well (Is 11:6-7; Ho 2:18). Many people will be born during this time, and they will need to decide about accepting their King as their Messiah (Is 65:20-23; Ek 47:22; Zc 8:5-8). This is part of the reason that Israel will lead the world in worship of Jesus Christ as the King of kings (Ek 40-48). These passages in Ezekiel show that sacrifices at a newly created temple will occur, probably because death will not occur during this time and this will be the only evidence for people to understand what death and separation means so they can understand their destiny if they decide not to accept their King as their Messiah who died as payment for their sins. This is somewhat implied as there is no further resurrection of the righteous mentioned in Scripture.
A lot of changes will happen topographically as well. When Christ descends on the Mount of Olives, a great earthquake will occur. The Mount of Olives will split in half (Zc 14:4), the city of Jerusalem will split into three parts (Rv 16:19), many islands will disappear (Rv 16:20), many mountains will become flatter (Is 40:4; Rv 16:20), and Jerusalem will be raised (Zc 14:10) and become the highest point on the Earth (Is 2:2-4; Mi 4:1-8). A new river will flow from Jerusalem starting under the new temple with part flowing into the Mediterranean Sea and the other part flowing into the Jordan River and Dead Sea (Ek 47: 8; Zc 14:8), giving life to the Dead Sea where a fishing port will become established there (Ek 47:9-10). Many deserts will bloom (Is 35:1-2) and there will be much prosperity and abundance for everyone (Am 9:11-15).
Not everyone, however, will accept their King as their Messiah. Any rebellion will be quelled swiftly (Rv 19:15). When the 1,000 years are ended, Satan will then be released for a short time and then be ultimately destroyed and placed in a fiery pit after he and his followers try to come against Christ and the city of Jerusalem (Rv 20:7-10). After this rebellion, the second resurrection ensues, i.e., the resurrection of the unrighteous. They will be raised, judged by opening certain books that recorded their deeds, and another book, the Book Life, will be searched. Their names not being found there will cause them to meet the same fate as Satan and his angels (Rv 20:11-15).
After that time, Christ will then set up an eternal kingdom where there will no longer be sin, a new Earth will be created, and a New Jerusalem will come down from heaven and dwell on the Earth (Rv 21:1-4). Also, the River of Life and the Tree of Life will be available again (Rv 22:1-5). Only perfection will be ours forever. This is something totally worth working toward. Are you willing?
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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens