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After the judgments of God have broken the strongholds of sin and reversed the pattern of centuries, the road to progress will be open worldwide. Gone will be the industries that supported a culture based on lust, selfish pleasure, and pride. Gone the video producers who made money at the expense of decency and morality. (Rev. 18:3-4, Luke 17:26-30) Gone the movie theaters and all the heroes of Hollywood. Gone the publishers of pornography and all indecent, immoral literature. (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Rev. 21:8) Gone all the perpetrators of crime, and the organizations that supported them. (Isa. 60:17-18; 11:9) Gone the war machine that consumed billions of earth’s resources. (Ps. 46:9; Isa. 2:4; Mic. 4:3) Gone the drug producers, pushers, and peddlers, along with all their worldwide money interests. (Rev. 18:9-19) Gone the industries that catered to human lusts, wanton pleasure, and greed. (1 John 2:15-17) Gone the power-hungry rulers who found pleasure in the suffering of their fellowmen. (Isa. 32:17-18) It is a transformation that we today can hardly picture in our most fantastic dreams. But just try to imagine what the presence of Divine power on earth will be able to do when resisters do not have to be pleaded with, or appealed to, or coerced—what a change! The ultimatum will be simply, Desist or die! As a result, two-thirds will have to be removed (Zech. 13:8). But those who remain will become part of a program that in a few short years will fill the earth with happy, God-fearing, God-honoring people. A Thousand Years In the allegory in the first of Genesis, after God had completed the work of creation in six days, He saw that His work was “very good,” and we read that “God rested the seventh day.” That seventh day became a pattern of worship, one day out of seven. In the bigger picture, it is a type of God’s larger plan: Six days, or six thousand years of work, developing the rulers for the new Kingdom; to be followed by one thousand-year Day of rest, when the new rulers, along with Christ, take over the management of the earth and God is said to “rest.” The writer of Hebrews speaks of this seventh day of rest as it describes God’s larger plan. The Israelite nation under Moses were not given a share in it because they did not believe. But, “there remains…a Sabbath-rest for the people of God…let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:9-11 NIV). After God has selected the rulers for His heavenly Kingdom on earth, He is said to “rest” because He turns the project over to these rulers, Christ and His saints (Dan. 7:27). This will be done at the Second Advent of Christ, at the end of the first 6000-year period. During the next phase of the project, the next 1000-year day, the vast multitudes who will compose the populace of the Kingdom will be developed, those who will fill the earth with the glory of the Lord (Num. 14:21; Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2:14; Rev. 7:9, 11-13). These people will be those who survived God’s purifying judgments and their descendants, and their probation day will be the thousand-year period which we are speaking of as the Millennium. When Christ returns with power and authority to conquer and subdue every form of evil, He will literally turn the tide of history. He will mandate new laws, new standards, and new codes of living worldwide. And He will have authority to enforce these new, righteous laws. The result will be the transforming of a largely godless culture into a worldwide, God-fearing people. How will this be brought about? The first reaction will be resistance, which we have already talked about, the Battle of Armageddon, a necessary step on the road to a new and better world. Transition Can you picture any of our modern cities or states under the rulership of Christ and the saints? Can you picture people accustomed to “doing their own thing,” making their own decisions in their own way, suddenly submissive to all the do’s and don’ts that the rulership of Christ will impose? There will of necessity be a period of transition. The second Psalm pictures this period of transition graphically, along with the human emotions that will accompany it. The chapter opens with the raging of the nations. Raging suggests anger, outrage, disapproval. Why? asks the Psalmist. What is their problem? The problem is that a usurper has arrived, and He must be put down! They do not stop to reason that this usurper bears the authority of the God of Heaven and has come to bring them good. They only know that He wants to tell them what to do, and their instinctive reaction is: Resist! Fight! For the first time in the history of the planet, all the nations are united against a common foe. We read: “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us” (Ps. 2:1-3). They set themselves against the new Ruler and His associates, the newly crowned kings and priests (Rev. 5:9-10), those who served God faithfully during the previous 6000 years. They set themselves against the very ones who could deliver and bless them. They believe that, acting together, they can successfully put down the new authority that has arrived. Their resistance is a fulfillment of Jesus’ own prophecy, given in the parable of the laborers, who say, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14, 27). But all such resistance is predetermined to fail. If only they could realize that by resisting they are harming themselves! |
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*God Angry? Why is God said to be angry? Is anger becoming to a God of love and justice? God does not become “angry” as we humans think of anger. He is not moved by any human passion. But His love and justice cannot tolerate evil. He can only make way for the good by eliminating the evil, those who resist Him. His “anger” refers only to the vengeance of His law. He “executes on them the written judgment” (Ps. 149:5-9). There is no judgment without warning; nothing by surprise; nothing unfair. |
What is the Lord’s reaction to their resistance? “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh” (Ps. 2:4). Who is puny man to challenge the power of Almighty God! As paraphrased in other translations, He “scoffs at them.” He “laughs them to scorn.” Then He openly “shall speak to them in His wrath,* and distress them in His deep displeasure” (Ps. 2:5). But Divine authority will be vested in this invading usurper. The next voice is that of God, speaking prophetically of Christ. “I have enthroned My king on Zion My holy mountain… ‘You are My son,’ He said; ‘This day I become your father. Ask of Me what you will: I will give you nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall shatter them like a clay pot” (Ps. 2:6-9 NEB). Notice who holds the power: the resistance of the powers of earth is as a clay pot against a rod of iron. If only they realized how futile were their efforts!
In the face of such inevitable destruction, the next passage is a solemn warning to the resisters: “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, |
| that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled” (NASB). No other options will be open. It will be literally “obey and live” or “disobey and die.” All will be compelled to “do homage,” to recognize earth’s rightful King. All will be compelled to “Give unto him the glory due his name.” Those who refuse will literally “perish in the way.” They will be cut off from among the living. “For the nation and kingdom which will not serve You [the God of heaven] shall perish” (Isa. 60:12). |
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As always there will be blessing for the humble, the penitent, the obedient. Notice the gracious promise to those who seek His favor: “How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” (Ps. 2:12 JB). Psalm 72 is a picture of the Millennium after the resistance has been overcome and Jesus Christ is the victorious, loved and honored King. New Laws and Justice One of the first steps in setting up the new government will be the establishing of universal laws. The prophet Micah describes this step: “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Mic. 4:1-2). The new laws will be strictly enforced for the good of everyone. The Book of Revelation describes the government as rulership with “a rod of iron” (Rev. 2:26-27). The rod of iron is a symbol of law firmly enforced for the good of everyone. The book of Revelation uses another symbol to describe the control of evil by firmly enforced law. During the Millennium, sin, typified by the term “devil” (diabolos, meaning adversary, i.e., sin and all sinners) will be “bound,” i.e., under strict control. For the first time in the history of the earth, universal law will be immediately enforced. No law breaker will be able to get away with any crime, because law enforcement agents will be everywhere all the time, and will have power even to read the mind of the willfully disobedient. Jesus had this power when He was on earth. He “had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). The apostle Peter had the same power when he pronounced judgment on Ananias and later on his wife Sapphira. They had sinned, and though they tried to cover it with a lie, they could not escape Divine justice. Even though they had not confessed and Peter did not have the testimony of witnesses, he could render a just verdict, saying: “Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:1-7). Imagine how different our world today would be if the criminal died in his tracks, stricken by an unseen angel of God! Suppose the police officer on the street could read the mind of his suspect, and also had power to execute an immediate penalty! What if every bank robber dropped over dead the instant he laid hands on the bag of money he had demanded of the cashier? What if every person who told a lie immediately lost the ability to speak? This is what the prophet meant when he said, “When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9). They will learn—speedily. |
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To visualize the Millennium, think about what will not be there that is so common to our world today: |
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No PROFITEERING The Babylonian economy, along with all Babylonian teaching and thinking, will be gone (Rev. 18:1-4). Gambling will be gone, along with all alcohol interests, tobacco interests, and drugs both legal and illegal. The entertainment industry will be gone, along with all the promiscuous publishing, and pornography, and the corrupt video industry. All child profiteering will be gone and the illegal ways people use to make money. There will be nothing “to hurt or to destroy” (Isa. 11:9). |
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This type of justice will be reality in the Millennium. No open evil will go unpunished. The Divinely appointed officers, able to read the mind of the violator, will administer punishment instantly, in this way eliminating the need for the law enforcement officers, courts and juries. The result: “Violence will disappear from your land; the desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there…Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. And as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord” (Isa. 60:18; 11:9 NLT). This is how the prediction of Micah will come true: “Everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken” (Micah 4:4). Everyone everywhere will be absolutely safe! New Educational System One of the first steps toward the making of the new world will be education. The survivors will have to be taught in the ways of God, both for their own good and the good of their offspring. Like those who served God faithfully during the previous 6000 years, they will have to be disciplined and proven, for God will have only proven character in His eternal Kingdom. |
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No FALSE RELIGIONS Today anybody can teach anything and find someone to listen. During the millennium, no false teaching will be allowed. Only the true Gospel will be promoted, and anyone who disagrees will be forced to comply or die. Today there are devil religions, and spirit religions, and numerous cults that have no God, no future and no basis. All will be gone during the Millennium. On the contrary, “they shall teach no more every man…his brother…saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me from the least of them unto the greatest of them” (Jer. 31:34). |
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A worldwide program of education will be initiated for the development of the vast and burgeoning populace. Everyone everywhere must “learn righteousness,” i.e., understand it, apply it, and teach it to their children. Everywhere in the world, new “rules” will be published. Morality—by God’s standard—will be taught, and the law will be enforced. No lying, no cheating, no devious conduct, no low morals will be tolerated, for “all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Dan. 7:27). Who will be the teachers in this vast program of education? Let us read from Isaiah chapter 66: “For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles” (Isa. 66:18-19). The earliest to learn and accept the policies of the new administration may serve as missionaries to the rest. As people submit to the new authority, they will be spared and given new assignments. “People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. The people of one city will say to the people in another, ‘Let us go to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us and to seek the Lord Almighty. We are planning to go ourselves.’ People from many nations, even powerful nations, will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to ask the Lord to bless them” (Zech. 8:20-22 NLT). Can you picture people from all nations coming to Jerusalem to learn of the one true God and His ways? |
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No PERSECUTION At the present time many people are persecuted in various parts of the world because others disagree with them. There is also ethnic fighting, waste, and needless suffering and destruction. All will be gone, and everyone will enjoy health and prosperity (Isa. 32:17, 18). |
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Earth’s Golden Age of Progress Can you imagine the ideal state where there is nothing to fear and every family is happy, everybody has enough of what they need, everyone has equal opportunity for a good education and a good life? This is what the Millennium will offer worldwide, when everyone who lives is serving God and working for the good of all. It will be indeed earth’s golden age! A thousand years sounds like a long time in our scale of thinking. Compared with our lifetime, it is. Think about having lived back in the year 1004 instead of now in 2004—how different our lives would be! We would not have electric lights. We would not have automobiles, or furnaces, or air conditioners. We wouldn’t have many of the common things we use every day—like running water, telephones, computers. If we think about how far progress has come in the last thousand years, can we imagine how fast it will advance during the next thousand years after Christ and His saints take over the government of the earth and there is no more need to spend earth’s energies and resources for defense, or war, or crime control or prevention? There will be no need for doctors, nurses, pharmaceuticals or any of the medical profession, because “the inhabitant will not say, I am sick” (Isa. 33:24). |
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No OPPRESSION / MISMANAGEMENT At the present time many people are oppressed by cruel governments, or those who misappropriate resources. There would be plenty of food for everyone on earth if it could be rightly divided. But this will not happen until the present administrators are removed and righteous authorities take their place (Isa. 60:17, 18). |
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There will be no need for the legal profession—no lawyers or paralegals, no courts, or judges. Justice and the administration of justice will be in the hands of those who know instantly and unerringly who is innocent and who is guilty without trial or jury, so there will be no need for costly trials or time-consuming investigations. The Department of Police, the FBI, and all secret service agents will be out of business. Can we imagine how many resources will be available for the beautifying of the earth, for meeting the needs of its burgeoning populace, when there is no evil to punish or restrain? Every part of life will be better for all who live! The 20th century saw progress unrivaled in the history of our planet. But there was also more wanton destruction, more suffering, more loss of life than in any century previous. Try to imagine a world without hate, a world without war, with no open rebellion, no agitators, no obstacles to progress. This will be part of earth’s Golden Age, the Millennial reign of Christ. |
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No SICKNESS OR SUFFERING During the Millennium there will not be any suffering. No one will be sick, no one will need the services of hospitals, or doctors, or medical insurance. Just think of the resources this alone will open up for education and progress!—just because there will be no more sickness (Isa. 33:24). Every one who lives will enjoy perfect health! |
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We can hardly imagine the change, yet all this is within the plan of God. Angels will be directing, using earth’s resources to bring about a new world that the Lord has planned, the kind of world He wanted from the beginning. It could have happened under human direction, if men and women had been willing to cooperate with God and had obeyed His laws. But they were not, and during the Millennium, the enforcement of His laws will force progress. Instead of resources being wasted, they will be used to eliminate want, and new moral and social standards will quickly remove the sad results of promiscuous living that are devastating our civilization today. Even the most backward areas will progress rapidly, and all because of the new authority at the top. For anyone who would hinder progress will be removed. Here is the key to progress: the control of evil. During the Millennium, with the devil bound, no one will be able to sell, or buy, or steal, or design any type of evil. Today the entertainment industry thrives because people want what appeals to their lower nature. All this type of profiteering will end because the devil (sin and all sinners) will be bound. Does anyone have an evil idea, or evil scheme that will bring in a great amount of money? He will not be able to execute or market it. Anywhere he goes, he will not be able to set up a business to sell trash, or filth. It will not be allowed. All the centers of evil will be shut down. Only in this way can the Lord bring about the Golden Age of peace and happiness. This time is pictured beautifully in Isaiah 65. |
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No MORE SIN Sin will not be destroyed, but it will be controlled. The Revelator saw this in graphic terms which he described in Revelation 20 verse 1 as an angel having the key to the bottomless pit, “and a great chain in his hand.” This is figurative language, but see what happens: “He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan,…”—here are four terms describing this power of evil: the dragon, serpent, the devil, and Satan. This powerful angel has this power of evil in his control. This tells us that the evil is not dead, but under control. He is bound, captive, chained. And then this powerful angel casts “him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished” (Rev. 20:2-3). |
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“I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear…They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord” (verses 19-24 NIV). |