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Who lives in the millennium?


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I'm trying to understand ....

Futurist teach a future dispensation when Jesus reigns on earth, over all nations, from David's throne in Jerusalem.

Who lives on that millennial earth?

Resurrected/raptured Christians?
Converted Jews & Gentiles?
Wild animals living peacefully?

All is wonderful - but are we still having children? Children who are secretly rebellious & evil in heart, just waiting for Satan to appear to lead them?

Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

If that is a future millennium, no-one would follow Satan.

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I'm trying to understand ....

Futurist teach a future dispensation when Jesus reigns on earth, over all nations, from David's throne in Jerusalem.

Who lives on that millennial earth?

Resurrected/raptured Christians?
Converted Jews & Gentiles?
Wild animals living peacefully?

All is wonderful - but are we still having children? Children who are secretly rebellious & evil in heart, just waiting for Satan to appear to lead them?

Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

If that is a future millennium, no-one would follow Satan.



Correction, No they don't, God teaches us this, and its right in the pages of the Bible.

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Anyone who has been resurrected will be as the angels of God in Heaven, not given in marriage.

Matt. 22:30, "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."

However, natural human beings will live on Earth and reproduce, and for the majority of the Millennium all will be well until Satan is released to deceive the nations. Satan being in prison for 1,000 years is one of the greatest things about the Millennium.

Rev. 20:7-8, "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, "8": And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea."

Edited by Rick Schworer
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The Raptured and/or resurected believers will reside in the New Jerusalem and rule with Christ. The earth will be populated by those who survive the Great Tribulation. They will be having children and such during those thousand years.

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Even with Christ ruling, even with worldwide peace, many will not be happy, for peace is not what they want, what they want is everything going in their favor.


One of the reasons behind the Millenium is to show just how depraved man is. Even living under perfect rule in the most perfect world possible, without the heart change that comes from accepting Christ, man will rebel given the first opportunity.
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Thank you for the various replies.


The Raptured and/or resurected believers will reside in the New Jerusalem and rule with Christ. The earth will be populated by those who survive the Great Tribulation. They will be having children and such during those thousand years.

That I can agree with, to a point, as the New Jerusalem is the heavenly city, of which we are citizens. Those who have experienced the first resurrection are citizens of that city. They live & reign with Christ. (Gal. 4, Heb. 11, Rev. 20 & 21)

But - Do we then live on earth with our glorious resurrection bodies, & does Christ vacate his glorious heavenly throne to sit on a earthly throne? Do we, & our glorified Saviour have human communication with the ungodly, unresurrected, still mortal humans, who may be living in outward peace, but with unregenerate hearts?

If death is the last enemy, & we gain the victory by our resurrection, how can the enemy continue on earth & ultimately defy God? Read 1 Cor. 15.

1Cr 15:50 ¶ Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

How can there be any mortal sinners in a future millennial kingdom? Premil teaching defies Scripure.

Jesus taught that the first resurrection was conversion, & was taking place even while he was on earth:

Jhn 5:24 ¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.


He further taught that the resurrection of the dead, both good & evil would take place in the same hour, not separated by a millennium.

Jhn 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

In Rev. 20, it is the souls of the martyrs who live in reign, having enjoyed the first resurrection. The first resurrection is therefore not a bodily resurrection. It is a transfer to heaven of those who have already experienced life-giving conversion. They are not on earth, but reigning with Christ.

Rev 20:4 ¶ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [i saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Edited by Covenanter
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Thank you for the various replies.


That I can agree with, to a point, as the New Jerusalem is the heavenly city, of which we are citizens. Those who have experienced the first resurrection are citizens of that city. They live & reign with Christ. (Gal. 4, Heb. 11, Rev. 20 & 21)

But - Do we then live on earth with our glorious resurrection bodies, & does Christ vacate his glorious heavenly throne to sit on a earthly throne? Do we, & our glorified Saviour have human communication with the ungodly, unresurrected, still mortal humans, who may be living in outward peace, but with unregenerate hearts?


That is my interpritation of these verses:

Is. 32:1, "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment."

Is. 1:2-4, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. "3": And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. "4": And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

Zech. 8:22-23, "Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. "23": Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you."


If death is the last enemy, & we gain the victory by our resurrection, how can the enemy continue on earth & ultimately defy God? Read 1 Cor. 15.

1Cr 15:50 ¶ Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. How can there be any mortal sinners in a future millennial kingdom?


The last enemy, death, is defeated after the Millennium, not before. The Millennium is just a dispensation like any other dispensation, with it's own set of particulars. There is a HUGE difference between the Millennial Kingdom and the Everlasting Kingdom. In the Everlasting Kingdom, there is no sin or death - that is not the case for the Millennial Kingdom.


Premil teaching defies Scripure.

Jesus taught that the first resurrection was conversion, & was taking place even while he was on earth:

Jhn 5:24 ¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.


When a person gets saved, their dead spirit is made alive - they are resurrected spiritually, so you do have a point there. But when it comes to the body, that's a whole other matter.

Job 19:26, "And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:"

I Cor. 15:42-44, 50-53, "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: "43": It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: "44": It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body..."50" Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. "51": Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
"52": In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. "53": For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."


He further taught that the resurrection of the dead, both good & evil would take place in the same hour, not separated by a millennium.

Jhn 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.


Hour can just as well mean "time", i.e. "it was their finest hour".



In Rev. 20, it is the souls of the martyrs who live in reign, having enjoyed the first resurrection. The first resurrection is therefore not a bodily resurrection. It is a transfer to heaven of those who have already experienced life-giving conversion. They are not on earth, but reigning with Christ.

Rev 20:4 ¶ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [i saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.



Everyone doesn't get resurrected at the same time, because their have already been people resurrected as part of the first resurrection.

Matt. 27:52-52, "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, "53": And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

We're supposed to be resurrected at His coming, which is very clear in I Thess. 4:15-18. What you're saying is that He comes back after this 1,000 years of reigning spiritually. He comes to the earth, and everyone is resurrected at the same time, after reigning 1,000 years.

When did the 1,000 years begin? In 1,000 A.D.? Has it started yet? Because, like we talked about, if the 1,000 years spoken of in Revelation 20 are happening now, that means this is happening now:

1. Jesus is ruling the Earth with a rod of iron.

Rev. 19:15, "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."


2. Animals are not preying upon each other.

Is. 65:25, "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

Is. 11:6-9, "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. "7": And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. "8": And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. "9": They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."



3. All the nations that have gone against Jerusalem are now worshipping Jesus.

Zech. 14:16, "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, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles."


4. Jerusalem is where Jesus is to be found.

Is. 2:2, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it."


5. The world looks towards Jerusalem for the law.

Is. 2:3, "And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."


6. There is worldwide peace.

Is. 2:4, "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."


7. People live well over 100 years old.

Is. 65:20, "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."
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Something puzzles me in all this.

If Jesus is ruling from David's throne in Jerusalem and christians are living in the new Jerusalem which as Dispenstionalists tell us is situated somewhere in space. How can we be forever with the Lord. Surely the Lord Jesus will be at the centre of the new Jerusalem?

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Something puzzles me in all this.

If Jesus is ruling from David's throne in Jerusalem and christians are living in the new Jerusalem which as Dispenstionalists tell us is situated somewhere in space. How can we be forever with the Lord. Surely the Lord Jesus will be at the centre of the new Jerusalem?

Whose throne did David sit on?
1Sa 8:6 ¶ But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

[select for Copy; Double click to (de-)select all] 1Ch 29:23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father,

There is no reason to insist on the Lord Jesus sitting on David's throne in earthly Jerusalem. The Jerusalem throne was a temporary manifestation of the heavenly throne of the LORD. The LORD's promise to Jeremiah was either broken for 2,700 years since the captivity, or gloriously fulfilled by the Lord Jesus in his resurrection & ascension.

Jer 33:17 For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

Act 2:29 Men [and] brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ,


There are lots of other questions that need sorting out. My problem with disps is not so much understanding disp teaching, but that both OT prophets & NT prophets are made to focus on a dispensation when believers are spectators. They seem to make the promised blessing of Lord Jesus in his Revelation to his readers to be that they will not be around.

They major on making OT prophecy future end times, relate to the nation of Israel & the ethnic Jews, rather than to Christ & the believing Israel, believing Jews, as taught in the NT. They put their own interpretation of OT prophecy above the teaching of Jesus & his Apostles in the NT. Luke 24 requires us to see Jesus Christ in OT prophecy. Edited by Covenanter
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Rick Schworer
When did the 1,000 years begin? In 1,000 A.D.? Has it started yet? Because, like we talked about, if the 1,000 years spoken of in Revelation 20 are happening now, that means this is happening now:

1. Jesus is ruling the Earth with a rod of iron.
2. Animals are not preying upon each other.
3. All the nations that have gone against Jerusalem are now worshipping Jesus.
4. Jerusalem is where Jesus is to be found.
5. The world looks towards Jerusalem for the law.

My approach to these points will be to examine the cited Scriptures using the paradign the Lord Jesus outlined in John 5 - leading up to the resurrection, & Mat. 13 - the parable of the tares. Jesus' teaching will be contrasted with disp teaching.

In the 'tares' parable, Jesus carefully explains: Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Look around - both wheat & tares are growing together. The harvest is coming at the end of the world.

In John 5, Jesus explains that conversion is a resurrection to life. He further teaches Jhn 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

You want to read 'hour' as 'time' so that you make that hour into 1,000 years. Yet you complain when I teach that the present 2,000 years is the millennium.

I cannot see in the Lord's teaching any suggestion of a millennium after he comes for the resurrection (aka rapture.)

I will therefore use the Lord's own paradigm to interpret the Scriptures you have cited.

1. Jesus is ruling the Earth with a rod of iron. (Rev. 19:15)
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

That is final - pottery does not survive an iron rod, nor do grapes survive the winepress. The allusion is from Psalm 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

2. Animals are not preying upon each other. (Isaiah 11)
Isaiah is prophesying Gospel days, when the Gospel goes throughout the earth, & sinners of different nations become one people of God in Christ. Those who once fought & killed become men of peace. And ultimately, the will be a NH&NE where all is peace, even among the animals. Fierce animals are frequently used as illustrations of fierce nations.

3. All the nations that have gone against Jerusalem are now worshipping Jesus. (Zech. 14:16)
That is the purpose of God as declared to Abram in Gen. 12. Realised in the NH&NE.

4. Jerusalem is where Jesus is to be found. (Isa. 2)
The last days temple is not in earthly Jerusalem, not is it of man's construction. It comprises believers - a spiritual house, & we are citizens of the heavenly city. (John 4, Gal. 4, Heb. 11)

5. The world looks towards Jerusalem for the law. (Isa. 2 out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem)
It was sent out by the 'great commission.' This is the Gospel to the world.

6. There is worldwide peace. (Is. 2:4)
See Isa. 11 - it is Gospel peace & ultimately the NH&NE.

7. People live well over 100 years old. (Is. 65:20)
As Isaiah is writing about the NH&NE, that is surprising. I submit that this is an idealised vision of peace & prosperity where the people of Israel sincerely submit to their God. That vision is typical of the ultimate NH&NE where the resurrection & new creation is even more wonderful.

None of your suggestions allow for a resurrection/rapture millennium going so horribly wrong. Nor do they explain why the first resurrection is of souls, NOT bodies, nor why Jesus consents to live with rebellious sinners, when he was grieved by them during his time on earth.

Only by understanding the millennium as the present Gospel age can these questions be properly, Scripturally answered. Edited by Covenanter
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None of OT prophecies allow for a resurrection/rapture millennium going so horribly wrong. Nor do they explain why the first resurrection is of souls, NOT bodies, nor why Jesus will again consent to live with a faithless and perverse generation, when he was grieved by them during his time on earth.

Only by understanding the millennium as the present Gospel age can these questions be properly, Scripturally answered.

Mic 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 pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Rev 20:4 ¶ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [i saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Mat 17:17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

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Abraham did not expect the 'land' promise to be fulfilled literally.

Hbr 11:16 But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. (Heb. 11:8-19)

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Abraham did not expect the 'land' promise to be fulfilled literally.

Hbr 11:16 But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. (Heb. 11:8-19)


Perhaps not for himself, but he did expect the land promise to be literally fulfilled for his offspring. This, in part, is why Abraham insisted upon buying the tomb and land to bury Sarah. He knew his family would one day possess the land and wanted that one place to be the family burial plot.
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Matthew 25:31-46 KJV indicates that the righteous survivors of the tribulation and judgment of the sheep and goats go into the kingdom.

Isaiah 65:17-25 KJV Indicates that those survivors will have offspring which live long but die. Most of the kids will be alive at the end of the kingdom age.

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