MILLENNIAL KINGDOM – EARLY CHURCH FATHERS (2)

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This follows my earlier post, MILLENNIAL KINGDOM – EARLY CHURCH FATHERS dated February 8th, 2022. Once I have received feedback on this post it will go up on the website http://www.millenniumkingdom.net

Much of the information in this post is extracted from the excellent book by Matthew Bryce Ervin, One Thousand Years with Jesus: The Coming Messianic Kingdom, Resource Publications.

The death of Lactantius in AD 325 marked the end of Premillennialism as a commonly held belief in the church until after the Reformation of the 16th century. No doubt there were some saints that read the Scriptures and believed what they said about the Messianic Age, though their teachings on the matter are few.

Early as the year 170, a church party in Asia Minor—the so-called Alogi—rejected the whole body of apocalyptic writings and denounced the Apocalypse of John (Revelation) as a book of fables. Most groups are not so honest in their rejection of the plain reading of Scripture. Others claim to view Revelation and other prophetic writings in the Bible as inspired by God. However, the normal meanings of these prophecies are often obfuscated or ignored in favor of uncovering some hidden meaning. These secret meanings are often so foreign to the text that the original audience would never have arrived at them.

Origen and Allegory: The method of interpreting Scripture in this way is known as the allegorical hermeneutic. It was first promoted and largely developed by Origen at the turn of the third century. Origen (185–254 AD) was steeped in Greek philosophy, a perspective that greatly influenced his approach to understanding Scripture. This necessitated a militancy against Premillennialism. Greek Philosophy typically viewed matter as being flawed, or even evil, while the nonphysical part of reality was good. Only a nonphysical and purely spiritual kingdom was acceptable to Origen and those in agreement with his Alexandrian theology. Origen provided no unified alternative to the many prophecies on the future earthly reign of the Messiah as a system. Instead, various passages on the matter were each relegated to having vague “spiritual” meanings, if they were addressed at all.

It is difficult to overestimate the level of influence Origen and his allegorical hermeneutic had in shaping much of the Christian world’s approach to Scripture. One of his students, Dionysius, strongly opposed the promotion of Premillennialism through exegesis by the Egyptian church bishop Nepos. On what followed, German Lutheran Theologian, Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930) recounted: “Dionysius became convinced that the victory of mystical theology over “Jewish” chiliasm would never be secure so long as the Apocalypse of John passed for apostolic writing and kept its place among the homologoumena (those considered authoritative) of the canon . . . In the course of the 4th century, it was removed from the Greek canon, and thus the troublesome foundation on which chiliasm might have continued to build was got rid of . . . late in the Middle Ages, (God ensured) the Book of Revelation did recover its authority, however, the church was by that time so hopelessly entangled by a magical cultus as to be incapable of fresh developments.” Harnack’s explanation reveals that Dionysius was also motivated by a distaste for Judaism.

Theologian Renald Showers elaborated on the influence of antisemitism of the time. “Gentiles who professed to be Christians increasingly called Jews “Christ-killers” and developed a strong bias against anything Jewish. Because the premillennial belief in the earthly, political Kingdom rule of Messiah in the future was the same hope which had motivated the Jews for centuries, that belief was increasingly “stigmatized as ‘Jewish’ and consequently ‘heretical’” by eastern Gentile Christians.”

Some of the same people who claimed to worship a Jew as God in the flesh, and hold up the Scriptures that were written by Jews (cf. Rom 3:1–2), were at the same time eager to separate themselves from what was Jewish. What absurdity! Unfortunately, this attitude is still commonplace in much of the Christian world to various degrees today.

Showers listed three other primary reasons for the rejection of Premillennialism in the early church. First, the Montanists, a sect of Christians often deemed as heretical, happened to include Chiliasm among their doctrines. Premillennialism predated Montanism and was established orthodox eschatology, but still unfairly suffered from the guilt by association fallacy. Second, some believers feared that the Romans would increase their persecution of the church if it was taught that Jesus would return and destroy their empire. Third, a few were concerned that the focus on the return of Jesus to reign on the earth diverted attention away from the daily work of the church.

None of these reasons are based upon the responsible exegesis of Scripture. The veracity of any doctrine must be determined by Scripture alone.

Augustine was the bishop of Hippo, living from AD 354 to 430. He remains a much-praised theologian, particularly within Catholic Christian circles. Augustine serves as the cardinal figure in the turning away from Premillennialism. He once held to the doctrine before formulating the first truly developed alternative.

In The City of God, the bishop wrote on his transition: “There should follow on the completion of six thousand years, as of six days, a kind of seventh-day Sabbath in the succeeding thousand years; and that it is for this purpose the saints rise, viz., to celebrate this Sabbath. This opinion would not be objectionable if it were believed that the joys of the saints in that Sabbath shall be spiritual, and consequent on the presence of God; for I myself, too, once held this opinion. But, as they assert that those who then rise again shall enjoy the leisure of immoderate carnal banquets, furnished with an amount of meat and drink such as not only to shock the feeling of the temperate but even to surpass the measure of credulity itself, such assertions can only be believed by the carnal. They who do believe them are called by the spiritual Chiliasts, which we may literally reproduce by the name Millenarians.” Augustine refuted an argument never put forward by his opponents, a straw man fallacy. Premillennialists, whether in the early centuries or now, did and do believe that the joys in the Millennium are spiritual. They are, however, not only spiritual. And these blessings are certainly contingent upon God’s presence. Augustine insulted Premillennialists for anticipating the enjoyment of food and drink. This is an unfair characterization. Such an expectation is not based on carnal desire, but on the plain reading of several prophetic passages, including Isaiah 25:6 and Matthew 26:29.

Augustine’s influence was so dominant that Amillennialism went largely unchallenged until well into the Reformation. On why Premillennialism did not make an immediate return at that time, John MacArthur explained: The Reformers had it right on most issues. But they never got around to eschatology. They never got around to applying their formidable skills. You cannot fight the war on every front. And at the time of the Reformation, they were fighting the war where the battle raged the hottest and that was over the gospel and over the nature of Christ and over salvation by grace through faith and over the authority of Scripture. They were fighting the massive Roman system. And being occupied on those fronts, they never really got to the front of eschatology. This does not mean that the Reformers held to no eschatological position at all. It means that their high view of God’s word over the traditions of men was not seriously applied to what was a lower priority. This resulted in a lingering Amillennialism.

It is rather difficult to find more than a few pages in a row from Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion that lack a reference to Augustine. Such was the level of influence Augustine held over the reformer. Calvin even followed after Augustine in mischaracterizing the beliefs of the chiliasts or early premillennialists. If these fathers really believed that the reign of Christ would come to an end after the Millennium then they deserved to be mocked. Of course, this is not what the chiliasts believed, nor is it even a remotely accurate description of Premillennialism in general. The reign of Jesus does not end with the Millennium. He will remain King on the new earth for all eternity.

Joseph Mede (1586–1639) is one of the most fascinating figures from the twilight of the Reformation. He was not only a widely influential church scholar but also a naturalist and Egyptologist. Mede was well-schooled in biblical languages, subjects he lectured on at Christ’s College of the University of Cambridge. Mede broke with his contemporaries in returning to the literal interpretation of the prophetic Scriptures. His book, The Key of the Revelation, was a clarion call for a return to Premillennialism. Mede was certain that the thousand years of the millennium . . . represented the future reign of the saints with Christ . . . Mede Identified the millennium with the future seventh trumpet and the day of judgment, both of which, he argued, would last one thousand years. It was a systematic repudiation of the Reformer’s Augustinianism.

Mede was a harbinger; after him came the flood. William Twisse, Prolocutor of the Westminster Assembly, wrote a preface to the 1643 English translation of The Key of Revelation. In it, he rebuked Augustine for relinquishing the doctrine of Christ’s Kingdom on earth and praised Mede for returning to it. Isaac Newton, arguably the most prolific scientist in history, acknowledged Mede as the greatest influence on his interpretation of biblical prophecy. The list of church leaders and Bible scholars following Mede in becoming premillennialists continues at some length.

Postmillennialism: In the late 17th century, the Unitarian Daniel Whitby (1638–1726) developed a new alternative to both Premillennialism and Amillennialism: Postmillennialism. Just as the name suggests, Postmillennialism is the belief that Jesus will return after the thousand years of Revelation 20.

For Whitby, the Millennium, whether literal or figurative for a long period, is a golden age where Christianity has conquered the unbelieving world. During this time most, if not all, people will become saved and biblical values will flourish.

With the escalating persecution of Christians in our time which fits with Biblical prophecy it is hard to understand how Christians can hold to this view.

Charles Spurgeon wrote: “Paul does not paint the future with rose-colour: he is no smooth-tongued prophet of a golden age, into which this dull earth may be imagined to be glowing. There are sanguine brethren who are looking forward to everything growing better and better and better, until, at last, this present age ripens into a millennium. They will not be able to sustain their hopes, for Scripture gives them no solid basis to rest upon. We who believe that there will be no millennial reign without the King, and who expect no rule of righteousness except from the appearing of the righteous Lord, are nearer the mark. Apart from the Second Advent of our Lord, the world is more likely to sink into pandemonium than to rise into a millennium. A divine interposition seems to me the hope set before us in Scripture, and, indeed, to be the only hope adequate to the occasion.”

Like Mede, Twisse, Newton, Spurgeon, and Matthew Bryce Ervin, I am confident that the Bible teaches the following: Jesus returns first to rapture and meet the Saints in the air and take them to heaven, at the same time God pours out His wrath on unrepentant earth with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements. We are not given the time period but we know from Scripture that at the fifth trumpet judgement, demonic beings were allowed to torment people for five months. Personally, I think the time period will be one year and ten days the same time God poured out His wrath upon the earth in Noah’s day. This means the Saints will be in heaven for that time before they return with Jesus to defeat the Antichrist at the battle of Armageddon and to set up Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom.

MILLENNIAL KINGDOM – Early Church Fathers

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Many great historians and churchmen can be cited in affirming the early dominance of Premillennialism. Among them is the celebrated church historian Philip Schaff. He penned this oft-quoted passage:

“The most striking point in the eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm or millenarianism, that is the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment. It was indeed not the doctrine of the church embodied in any creed or form of devotion, but a widely current opinion of distinguished teachers, such as Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Methodius, and Lactantius” Schaff, History of the Christian Church Vol 11, p. 614

Contained in Barnabas’ epistle is this common early church millennial belief:

“Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, “He finished in six days.” This implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifieth, saying, “Behold, to-day will be as a thousand years.” Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished. “And He rested on the seventh day.” This meaneth: when His Son, coming [again], shall destroy the time of the wicked man, and judge the ungodly, and change the sun, and the moon, and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day. Ye perceive how He speaks . . . I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world.” The Epistle of Barnabus. Chapter 15, p. 146-147

Barnabus got it right both with the age of the earth and that Jesus will rule and reign on this earth for a thousand years and only then the White Throne Judgement followed by a new heaven and new earth.

Justin Martyr was an overtly premillennial ante-Nicene church father

Justin gave his most famous statement on the Millennium: “For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this [truth] and venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians . . . But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.” Dialogue with Trypho LXXX, p.239

PROOF JESUS CHRIST IS THE JEWISH MESSIAH

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The Seventy Weeks Prophecy of Daniel proves the Messiahship of Jesus. Those of us who believe in Him should recognize the profound degree to which the 70-weeks prophecy both verifies his Messianic credentials, and bears witness to the supernatural foreknowledge, sovereignty, and omniscience of God. Over 500 years before it happened, God told us when the Messiah would come, the first time with incredible accuracy and that He would come a second time. Purposefully there is a gap between the 69th week and the 70th week of the prophecy of an indeterminate time period. Remember, Daniel was told by the angel Gabriel, “Go your way Daniel, for the words, are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” Daniel 12:9

There is no doubt God used Daniel to encourage the exiled Jews by revealing God’s sovereign program for Israel during and after the gentile domination. The “Times of the Gentiles” began with the Babylonian captivity, and Israel will suffer under gentile powers for many years. But God reveals that this period will end and the time will come when God establishes His messianic kingdom on this earth.

“They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

Daniel repeatedly emphasizes the sovereignty and power of God over human affairs.

“The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will. Daniel 4:25

The God who directs the forces of history has not deserted His people. They must continue to trust in Him because His promises of preservation and ultimate restoration are as sure as the coming of their Messiah.

The Seventy Weeks Prophecy

“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.

Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war.

Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” Daniel 9:24;27

The Book of Revelation is God’s revelation to us of the time immediately preceding His second coming to first rapture His Saints, to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world and then to return to earth with the resurrected Saints to conquer the Antichrist and His forces and implement His Millennial reign. Revelation effectively unlocks “the words of Daniel that were closed up and sealed until the time of the end”.

Remember that Jesus specifically refers the disciples back to Daniel when He was answering their questions about the “end of the age” and His second coming.

“So when you see the abomination of desolation (Antichrist) spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Matthew 24:15

METAVERSE PART OF THE META-MORPHOSIS

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Meta-Morphosis: The dramatic change you aren’t seeing. This change is happening slowly every day, piece by piece. To us, living today, it’s almost invisible. We aren’t noticing it. But you can be sure that it’s a metamorphosis — a complete change into something totally different.

Virtual reality

It started with computers, then the internet, laptops, mobile phones, smartphones, Myspace, Facebook, virtual reality, augmented reality, cloud storage, cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, Sandbox, Decentraland…

It’s accelerating faster and faster.

We are transforming our reality from tangible, to virtually tangible. A world that is virtual, connected, and fully immersive in the cloud. And our lives will never be the same again…

You’ve likely heard the term metaverse — but you might not know exactly what it means. Well, that’s OK, because neither does anyone else! Everyone has their own idea of how it will evolve.

At the core of the metaverse is a blending of our physical world with the online world. The NFT tokens website describes it this way. “The Metaverse” is an all-encompassing term used to describe “a universe where we spend our lives inside that thing eternally”.

Or in the words of Mark Zuckerberg:

The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place. Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. 

‘In this future, you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parents’ living room to catch up.’

Meta is much bigger than a name change. This signals a major pivot of the Facebook business. It also tells us what may well be the next big tech revolution: The Metaverse.’

It won’t be a specific place because it will be all around us. It will change the way we shop, work, socialise, and seek entertainment.

It’s gained a lot of attention since Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was changing to Meta Platforms on 28 October 2021. This prompted a whole lot of people to start searching the word ‘metaverse’ as the Google Trend Charts demonstrate.

From a Christian and end-times perspective, metaverse (virtual reality) is the culmination of how Satan is using technology to take young people, in particular, away from God and His values. A further demonstration if you needed one that we are living in the prophesied “last days” before Jesus returns, first to rapture His Saints, second to pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world, and finally to return with the glorified Saints to rule and reign with a rod of iron on this earth for one thousand years. As the following Isaiah prophecy shows, God the Father and Jesus have unfinished business to fulfill with Jerusalem and His nation Israel.

“For Zion’s sake, I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake, I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.” Isaiah 62:1-4

“Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” And they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord, and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.” Isaiah 62:11-12

MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

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In order to know what the Millennial Kingdom will look like, it is critical to understand that the way Jesus does power is not the way the world does it! The world uses power, money, and war to promote its agenda. Look at the history of past ruling nations. Jesus says, “not in my kingdom!” In His kingdom, the rulers become the servants.

“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be servants of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45

Jesus will select from the Saints those that have been true servants of His in this life to select and supervise the rulers of nations in His Millennial Kingdom. It will not be a democracy, it is a Kingdom. In the Millennium, His Kingdom will have come just have believers have prayed for ever since Jesus taught us to pray.

“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9-10

Denying oneself, following Jesus, and loving others by living cross-bearing lives and suffering are interrelated. The life that Jesus calls us to is not easy. Suffering will come. Ask the Lord for help so that you may overcome prejudice, hatred, selfishness, pride, and whatever stands in the way of living a cross-bearing life of service for the sake of others. Know that your role in His Millennilal Kingdom will be determined by how you serve Him in this life.

GOD’S GRACE CAN REACH ANY HEART

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This story from Voice of the Martyrs is just one of many demonstrating the truth of these words.

It is the story of Sergei Bessarab who was shot to death in a small city called Isfara, where he had planted a church.

Sergei Bessarab became a Christian in prison as a result of another man also named Sergei who had prayed for Bessarab’s salvation. The two men had met in prison while Bessarab was serving time for his criminal activities.

In prison, Sergei prayed every day that Bessarab would come to Christ. But Bessarab was less than grateful for his friend’s concern. “Don’t waste time praying for me,” Bessarab told him.

Sergei remained steadfast in prayer, however, and Bessarab did eventually bend his knee to Christ. This should be a lesson for all of us. Keep praying, particularly for family members and loved ones. The former criminal became a bold witness for his Saviour both inside the prison walls and, after his release, as a pastor on the outside. In addition, he made frequent return visits to the prison to share the gospel with inmates.

Soon after, Bessarab and his wife Tamara moved to Isfara and planted a church, which began to grow as Muslims turned to Christ, a headline in the local paper asked the pointed question, “What’s Going to Be Done About Sergei Bessarab?”

Picture of a man playing the guitar
Sergei Bessasab strumming his gutar in worship

On Jan. 20, 2004, the son of a local mosque leader answered the question, shooting and killing Bessarab as he strummed his guitar during his nightly time of worship, Scripture reading, and prayer.

When the young man who killed Bessarab was convicted and sent to prison, Christians were waiting there to meet him. In God’s amazing providence, the killer was eventually assigned to a cell with a Christian prisoner who had been led to Christ and discipled by Bessarab!

And over time, the mosque leader’s son became Bessarab’s spiritual grandson, placing his trust in Christ.

Think about it, Bessarab was once a convicted criminal. Many would have written him off spiritually. His killer, a Muslim was also far from God, and some may have written him off as well. But God’s grace can reach any heart.

Picture the final chapter of this story: Pastor Sergei Bessarab stands worshiping before God’s throne with the man who ended his life on earth and perhaps the two may be working together on this earth again during Jesus’ soon coming Millennial Kingdom.

“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6

MILLENNIAL KINGDOM – GOVERNMENT & LAWS

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Government of Nations from Jerusalem

Jesus will rule from His throne in the inner court of the new Temple. Jesus will hold both the offices of king and priest, further cementing that the Messiah will fulfill the prophet’s words (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews. 5:10), a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne.” Zechariah 6:12-13

“Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

As prophesied, the Lord will be King over all of the earth, the government will rest on His shoulders and He will rule the nations with a ‘rod of iron’ from Jerusalem. This indicates the curse has not been totally lifted off the earth as people still die and some nations and people need chastening.

“For to us a child is born, to us, a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.” Isaiah 9:6-7

And the Lord will be King over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one (Zechariah 14.9)

Life without Satan

Today, God allows Satan to operate in this world within the boundaries God has set for him. In that sense, Satan is still “ruler or god of this world” (Jn 12.31, 2 Cor 4.4, Eph 2.2). His influence affects the lives of individuals, world governments, philosophies, education, and commerce. The good news is that at the start of the millennial age Satan is prevented from influencing anyone!

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent—that is, the Devil, or Satan—and chained him up for a thousand years.” Revelation 20.1-2

Life in the Millennium

So, in the absence of Satan, is millennial life perfect? No. The millennium is still a time of sin, death, rebellion, and harsh judgment. Its true character seems to fall between the present age (the “church age”) and the future sinless coexistence of the redeemed in the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21). With reference to death in the millennial age we read:

“No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. Isaiah 65:20

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.” Zechariah 4:5

Life will not be prematurely cut off by pestilence and war, but man will live long: “for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Isaiah 65:22b. The age of a hundred will be thought of as dying young; even the sinner, dying before his time as the penalty of his guilt, will live out 100 years. With this view, the effect of human sin will be reduced, but not eradicated. Death will still exist. Only in the New Earth will God finally wipe away all tears (Rev 21.4). Man’s sinful human nature will also result in national rebellion against Christ’s rule and will be firmly dealt with. Nations will serve the Lord or be punished severely. They will need to go up to Jerusalem and observe at least the Feast of Tabernacles or there will be no rain on their land.

“And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.” Zechariah 14:17-19

Work will be a blessing, not a curse. Moreover, the wise use of technology will be expanded.

“They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them.” Isaiah 65:21-23

“Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favour, I have had mercy on you. Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut, that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve, you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste.” Isaiah 60:10-12

Moses Temple Laws and Statutes

Ezekiel describes how Jewish life continues into the Millennium. The laws and statutes given by God to Moses will still be kept. Zadokites and Levites (caretakers) will still minister to the LORD in the temple.

“The Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord God.” Ezekiel 44:15

God’s Sabbaths, Shemitah’s, and Jubilees will be kept, as will God’s feasts like the Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Feast of Tabernacles (Ezekiel 45.21, 25).

“In a dispute, they (Zadokite priests) shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.” Ezekiel 44:24

Jesus appoints the resurrected King David as His prince over Israel.

The prince over Israel is a key millennial figure. His largely feast-centered duties are detailed in Ezekiel 45:9—46:18. It is the prince’s role to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings at all the appointed feasts, including the new moons and the Sabbaths (45:17). It is also David’s responsibility to cleanse the temple on the first day of each New Year.

Passover’s observance during the Millennium is quite significant and helpful in understanding these future animal sacrifices. Passover was a shadow of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and the propitiation effected by his blood so that God could pass over former sins (Rom 3:23–25). For Jesus was the true Passover lamb (1 Cor 5:7; cf. John 1:29; 1 Pet 1:19). Passover being celebrated even after Jesus returns means that the shadows that once looked forward to his works will become reflections that look back.

The prince will oversee Passover on the 14th of Nisan, the first month. The Passover still lasts seven days and includes the feasts of Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits (45:21; cf. Lev 23:5–10).

The prince will enter through his porch door to observe the priests as they provide burnt and peace offerings (46:2). He shall stand in the doorway as he leads the people, gathered just outside, before the LORD in worship (46:3). The prince’s offerings for the Sabbath day consists of six unblemished lambs with as much grain as he can give, a single unblemished ram with a bushel of grain, and a bushel with twelve pints of oil (46:4–5, 11). For the new moon, he will offer the same sacrifices with an additional unblemished young bull and a bushel of grain (46:6–7, 11).

When the people approach the LORD during the feasts, they must exit through the gate opposite the one they entered. This results in an easily organized flow of worshippers and allows them to experience more of the temple. The prince will enter and exit when the people do, though he will still make use of his personal entryway (46:8, 10). Every morning the prince will rise to lead the people in worship. He will provide a year-old unblemished lamb, about six pints of flour, and four pints of oil as a burnt offering (46:13–15).

“And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.” Ezekiel 34:23-24

“But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” Jeremiah 30:9

Note the territory, David the prince is allocated on either side of the Temple.

This reference to David’s sons is fascinating as it indicates that many will be resurrected with David and serve with him. His first son with Bathsheba that dies at birth no doubt will be among them.
“Thus says the Lord God: If the prince makes a gift to any of his sons as his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons. It is their property by inheritance. But if he makes a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty.” Ezekiel 46:16

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Jesus will set His twelve disciples as shepherds over the twelve tribes of Israel.

“Jesus said to them, Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:28

“You are those who have stayed with Me in My trials, and I assign to you, as My Father assigned to Me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke 22:28-30

“Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:3-4

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Jesus and the Saints will rule with a rod of iron and the death penalty will be reinstituted.

There will be no more wars, disputes will be quickly resolved. Jesus and the Saints rule with a rod of iron. The wicked will be killed.

“For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;” Micah 4:2-3

“He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness, He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked.” Isaiah 11:3-4

“She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron,” Revelation 12:5

“From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron.” Revelation 19:15a

The resurrected Saints are immortal and they no longer marry or have children and are considered priests of God who will reign with Him for the thousand years.

“And Jesus said to them, The sons of this age (Millennials) marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children since they are children of the resurrection.” Luke 20:34-36

“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6

“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron,“ Revelation 2:26

“Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.” Isaiah 32:1

Unlike today, people will be full of sense and understanding, and respect and admiration will be reserved only for those who deserve it.

“Even the hotheads will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer will speak out plainly. In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Scoundrels will not be respected.” Isaiah 32:4-5 (NLT)

The offices of judge and counsellor will be reinstituted

“I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward, you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.” Isaiah 1:26

“I will also make your officer’s peace and your magistrates righteousness. Isaiah 60:17

Feast Days

The Feast Days will be upheld and maintained by a resurrected King David note the penalty if nations do not come up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths).

“And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.” Zechariah 14:17-19

Sabbath, Shemitah and Jubilee

The lord created the Cosmos in six days and rested on the seventh day to set the pattern for man’s life on His planet. Six days we will work and the seventh is set aside as a holy day, the Lord’s Day, which will be a day of rest but also a day of worship of our Creator. In the Millennium, all nations will uphold the sabbath and the Saints assigned to each nation for observance of holy and feast days will ensure it is upheld. We know David will be given responsibility for observance of Holy and Feast Days so they will ultimately be responsible to Him.

God also gave Israel the Shemitah, a Sabbath year. It, like the Sabbath, was a Holy Year. There would be no working of the land. It was not only for the people but also for the land. The land itself would observe its Sabbath to the Lord. Note the poor had access to eat off the land. For the year, the land, in effect, belonged to everyone.

“When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year, there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord… The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves (treated like indentured workers) and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.: Leviticus 25:1-7

Just as striking as to what happened to the land during the Sabbatical year is what happened to the people on the last day of that year Elul 29. On that day a sweeping transformation took place in the nation’s financial realm. Everyone who owed a debt was released. And every creditor had to release the debt owed. The nation’s financial accounts were in effect wiped clean.

“At the end of every seven years, you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord’s release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner, you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today.” Deuteronomy 15:1-5

The year of Shemitah would begin with the releasing of land and end with the day of Remission when the people themselves would be released of all debt.

The Jubilee laws in the Torah are found within the Holiness Code in the book of Leviticus.

The Jubilee had nothing to do with the redistribution of land and assets, or with the “cancellation” of large debts in the way modern politicians and activists often define these things. Israelite society was set up in the Torah to prevent the formation of an elite landed aristocracy. The Jubilee helped to preserve Israel as a unified coalition of independent tribal families, each with their own land and local government. God had allocated the land to each tribe and it was to be maintained. The jubilee is a recurring safety net to prevent any permanent alienation of land. How exactly this will play out in other nations in the Millennium we are not told but I believe the Jubilee will apply.

It was a means of preserving some equilibrium between the different tribes, so that individual farmers and families, rather than a handful of landowners or government bureaucrats, could maintain their independence and live with dignity off their own land, to the glory of God.

The Jubilee points more towards an agrarian ideal of “living off the land,” one characterized by decentralization of power, the absence of business monopolies, and the protection of both the individual and the land itself from oppressive commercial and economic practices.

The Jubilee did not result in debt being “canceled” as if by a magic wand. The Jubilee was not aimed at obliterating “income inequality” or one person’s ability to gain more wealth than another. In terms of debt cancellation, what the Jubilee did was create a system whereby debts could be paid off by leasing one’s land to a temporary “purchaser,” so that by the time of the Jubilee the debt would be repaid to the purchaser/lender through the crops harvested from the land. This arrangement of debt repayment through land-lease agreements before the Jubilee is outlined in Leviticus 25:13–16:

Jubilee wasn’t about debt cancellation or debt forgiveness per se. It was an institution that allowed debts to be repaid without permanently separating a person (and their descendants) from their ancestral inheritance.

Certain laws in Deuteronomy 15 do appear to “cancel” some debts by requiring the lender to absorb the remaining costs in the seventh year. However, these were smaller debts held by the poorest of the poor (Deut. 15:1–8), which still had to be paid back to whatever extent possible. Overall, the Torah balances responsible debt repayment with charity towards the poor/indebted Israelite. One can be assured that this will be maintained in the Millennium.

Leviticus 25:29 says that properties bought within a “walled city” carried no “redemption rights” after one year and did “not revert in the jubilee,” meaning some people could acquire more properties within cities.

The Torah presupposes that people will enjoy what they produce, those different people will produce different amounts, and those different people will own different amounts of real estate. But it also presupposes care for the poor, and for those who have been forced into difficult life circumstances (e.g. debt, servitude, loss of property, etc.).

Cycles of rest, remission, and liberation are God’s ideal for His people and His entire creation.

If Israel failed to observe their Sabbath cycle of years, including the Jubilee, God promised in Leviticus 26:32-35 that they would be conquered and that their land would be given over to their enemies, in part, so that the land would have a chance to “enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths” (Lev. 26:34).

The natural Jubilee eventually evolved into a prophetic symbol of the holistic physical and spiritual freedom God’s people will experience when the Messiah arrives to establish His kingdom. In the Hebrew prophets, the Messianic Age is presented to us as the Age of Jubilee.

This prophecy given by Moses before Israel went into the Promised Land will ultimately be fulfilled in the Millennium. Note Israel “shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow“.

“And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” Deuteronomy 28:10-12

This post forms part of the website http://www.millennialkingdom.net. This website is being set up to inform believers on the coming Millennial reign of Jesus on this earth with the resurrected Saints.

WHAT YOU WILL NOT SEE IN THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM OF GOD

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Man’s attempts to glorify himself

The Burj Khalifa, this skyscraper is just over half a mile in height, making it the tallest building ever constructed. A reminder of the Tower of Babel. “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves,” Genesis 11:4

The Burj Al Arab hotel boasts having the highest tennis court in the world, but you have to make sure to keep the ball in the court…otherwise, you’ll never get it back!

  • Tallest building in the world
  • Tallest free-standing structure in the world
  • Highest number of stories in the world
  • Highest occupied floor in the world
  • Highest outdoor observation deck in the world
  • Elevator with the longest travel distance in the world
  • Tallest service elevator in the world

WHAT YOU WILL SEE IN THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM OF GOD

The wise use of technology such as Nuclear Fusion for the production of power. Nuclear fusion is the process of taking two separate nuclei and combining them to form a different nucleus. Here’s a very easy way to think about it: Nuclear fusion is what generates energy that is emitted from the sun.

In agriculture, we might well see the production of food using the latest technology. This is already happening in places like Israel and the two projects shown here.

Green architecture: growing food in high-rise buildings close to where it will be consumed so it is fresh. This picture is of Singapore Vertical Farms Using the latest drip technology.

Modular A-Frame construction

This vertical farming system, called “A-Go-Gro” technology, grows vegetables in A-shaped towers, each of six meters tall. These modular A-frames are quick to install and easy to maintain. Each tower consists of 22 to 26 tiers of growing troughs, which are rotated around the aluminium tower frame at a rate of 1mm per second to ensure uniform distribution of sunlight, good airflow, and irrigation for all the plants. The plants don’t get overstressed under the sun… at the same time they can get nutrients in the water equally.

This farming system generates significantly higher yields than traditional growing methods — they are safe, of high quality, fresh, and delicious. Large varieties of tropical vegetables are grown, such as Chinese cabbage, spinach, lettuce, Xia bai Cai, Bayam, Kang kong, Cai Xin, Gai lan, Nai bai, etc.

The vertical farming system is housed in a protected environment of PVC roofing and netted walls to enable the cultivation of tropical leafy vegetables under natural sunlight, all year round. All these efficiencies ensure that production costs are kept low. Operational costs include raw materials like soil and seed and electricity to pump the water driving the structures. The rotation system does not need an electrical generator. It is powered by a unique gravity-aided water-pulley system that uses only one litre of water, which is collected in a rainwater-fed overhead reservoir. This method also boasts a very low carbon footprint as the energy needed to power one A-frame is the equivalent of illuminating just one 60-watt light bulb. The water powering the frames is recycled and filtered before returning to the plants. All organic waste on the farm is composted and reused.

Robbe's little garden plants in violet light.

Robbe’s Little Garden is a Finnish greenhouse construction company specializing in hybrid greenhouse-vertical farming solutions, its first hybrid farm having been built in 2015 and including 500-square meters of growing space. Two years later, Robbe’s Little Garden built a four-layered vertical farm with a footprint of 4,400 square meters. Now, the company is working on its largest hybrid farm to date, which will be built in 2022 and span 11,000 square meters. The farm will produce arugula, spinach, and baby leaf greens to reduce Finland’s reliance on field-grown products imported from southern Europe. The hybrid system has a polycarbonate roof. However, it’s a completely controlled environment that will allow Robbe’s Little Garden to fully adapt to Finland drastic seasonal variations. The system will also be equipped with 500 kW of solar panels to power the farm’s LED lighting and cooling system during the summertime. Our products are going to be crazy fresh compared to imported products,” says Robert Jordas, owner of Robbe’s Little Garden. “We’re talking about minutes or a few hours after harvest, as compared to days or weeks for imported products.”

In the 11,000-square meter facility, Robbe’s Little Garden will only need two people for the production/growing area and five people in the packing area thanks to a fully automated system. This, as Robert explains, will help to keep the farm competitive within Finland but also prove its potential for other countries as well.

In Finland, vertical farming is already well established for the production of herbs and lettuce. By combining highly efficient technology with the market demand for local arugula, spinach, and baby leaf lettuce, Robbe’s Little Garden is pushing closer to Finnish food security every day.

MILLENNIAL KINGDOM – NEW TECHNOLOGY

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New technology will be wisely used in the Millennium. In fact. I believe Nuclear Fusion for energy production will be perfected as will many other technologies that are even unknown today. Moreover, resurrected Saints, such as Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler, will probably be in charge of ensuring these new technologies are only used for good. The temptation to use powerful new technologies for evil will still exist as humans will still be fundamentally depraved because of their sinful nature. This is why the Bible repeatedly tells us that in the Millennium Jesus and the Saints will rule with a rod of iron.

Chevron invests in nuclear fusion startup Zap Energy to ...
Chevron invests in nuclear fusion start-up Zap Energy

God reveals Himself (in part) through what He has created and it could be expected that His creation will display these aspects of His nature. Hence, we who are made in His image (Genesis 1:26–27) will continue to create as He creates.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Psalms 19:1

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Romans 1:19-20

Man being made in God’s likeness and given dominion over all the earth and its inhabitants (animals, fish, birds, and insects) would indicate man has the capability of understanding most of what God had made. Our having been given dominion over the creation (Genesis 1:28) and our having been commanded to love God with our minds (Luke 10:27) also provides moral justification for studying it. Indeed, to investigate our world brings glory to the Creator (1 Kings 4:30–34; Luke 12:27).

“It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,” Proverbs 25:2-3

Professor Rodney Stark*, “Christians developed science because they believed it could be done and should be done.”

Sequence and overall structure of DNA1. (A) A detailed sequence of DNA1. (B) The overall structure of DNA1 quadruplex. The complexity of the structure and information on multiple levels is mind-boggling.

The basis of modern science depends on the assumption that the universe was made by a rational Creator. An orderly universe makes perfect sense only if it were made by an orderly Creator. Moreover, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton — were all young-earth creationists (http://www.creation.com) Many key aspects in biology (as well as the other major branches of modern science) were discovered by creationists! For example, Louis Pasteur discovered that many diseases were caused by germs and showed that life comes only from life, Gregor Mendel discovered genetics, and Carolus Linnaeus developed the modern classification system. And even today, many scientists, including biologists, contribute greatly to their field despite believing in biblical creation and disbelieving the General Theory of Evolution (the theory that all the living forms in the world have arisen from a single source which itself came from an inorganic form).

Physicists and Cosmologists have come to realise that information was in existence prior to the creation of the universe. But information needs a substrate to instantiate it. Examples of information substrates are the DNA molecule that holds the genome. And as you will read further on DNA is the language of God. Information and its substrate are not all there is, there has to be an intentional mind behind it.

Biblically informed beliefs about God led to the prediction that the universe would have the characteristics necessary to do science, that men’s minds were capable of this, and that scientific endeavour would be fruitful. This was never a prediction of atheism. If it is understood that the universe “just happened” or has “just always been”, rather than being the creation of a rational God who endowed it with natural laws, why should anybody think that it would be orderly and its workings comprehensible?

Christian beliefs provided the basis for science, making possible medicine, sanitation, transport, communications, and all the other technologies that have so radically improved our quality of life. Technology will be further developed and utilised in the Millennium.

DNA – The language of God

Before being appointed director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins led the Human Genome Project and other genomics research initiatives as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the 27 institutes and centers at NIH. Before joining NHGRI, he earned a reputation as a gene hunter at the University of Michigan.[1] He has been elected to the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science.

Collins also has written a number of books on science, medicine, and religion, including the New York Times bestseller, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.

*Professor Rodney Stark is presently the Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University, co-director of the university’s Institute for Studies of Religion, and founding editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion.

Stark has written over 30 books, including The Rise of Christianity (1996), and more than 140 scholarly articles on subjects as diverse as prejudice, crime, suicide, and city life in ancient Rome.[2] He has twice won the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, for The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival, and Cult Formation (1985, with William Sims Bainbridge), and for The Churching of America 1776–1990 (1992, with Roger Finke).[3]

Check out my post on http://www.livingeternal.net entitled Millennial Kingdom – Power and Transportation

In the Millennium perhaps you will even fly to work in your own plane.

UN VOTES AGAINST TRUTH

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The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted a resolution erasing Jewish ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. It was the most controversial of a set of three resolutions that were passed together by a vote of 129-11 with 31 abstentions.

The other resolutions blamed only Israel for the impasse in peace efforts and denounced Israel’s “occupation” of the “Syrian Golan.”

The text of the UNGA’s “Jerusalem resolution,” made no mention of the holy city’s ties to Judaism or Christianity. It referred to the Temple Mount only by its Arabic name, al-Haram al-Sharif. It “deplored” Israeli settlement activity in and around Jerusalem, and Israeli “acts of provocation and incitement” at the city’s holy site. The resolution also accused Israel of displacing Palestinians from homes in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan and conducting illegal excavations in the Old City.

The vote’s passage was a foregone conclusion. With 193 countries and no protective US veto power, the Palestinians enjoy what Israelis refer to as “an automatic majority.”

The US voted against the resolution, saying it was “morally, historically and politically wrong” for the UN to deny Jewish and Christian ties to the city. Britain abstained.

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“The city will be surrounded by open country and for the housing of all the tribes of Israel… and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.” Ezekiel 48:15–19,35

One of the primary weapons used to discredit the legitimacy of the Jewish state in its ancestral and indigenous homeland has been the denial of Jewish history and millennia-old Jewish sites and archaeology.

Most such denials are cheap—easily disproven lies levelled by corrupt Palestinian leaders and Arab “scholars.” The apex of the tactic is what Israeli American writer David Hazony calls “Temple Denial”—”a campaign of intellectual erasure …  aimed at undermining the Jewish claim to any part of the land,” which he compares in brazenness to Holocaust denial.

Since Palestinians have never had sovereignty or control in this land, their attacks on Israel’s legitimacy depend on such fake history. They’re forced to “prove” that Jews are foreign colonizers, and that Muslims and Arabs have been there since time immemorial.

Unfortunately for them, the mere presence of the Temple Mount and countless Jewish sites around Jerusalem—predating the Muslim invasion and Arab occupation—completely undermine these lies.

If only they knew what God has planned for Israel when Jesus reigns on earth during His Millennial Kingdom.

At the United Nations, there are 22 Arab countries and 57 Islamic states meaning that the Arab and Muslim world has an overwhelming majority in all multilateral forums. This is what is constantly referred to as the “automatic majority” against the Jewish state by Israeli leaders, and what has led to systematic discrimination in international bodies. Also, between half and two-thirds of the world’s natural resources originate in Muslim-majority countries. This is a powerful tool of persuasion and the reason why so many so-called Christain nations vote with the Muslim majority.

The second resolution, titled “The peaceful resolution of the question of Palestine,” put the sole blame for the lack of peace on Israel. The text reiterated previous resolutions labelling settlements as illegal and made no mention of Palestinian terror.

“Spurring a culture of hate and incitement against Israel is more important to Palestinian leaders than improving the quality of life of their own citizens. The Jewish blood has barely dried, and you have the audacity to single out Israel for violence in Jerusalem? Today, you will vote on three resolutions. Three resolutions that have one purpose and one purpose only: to demonize Israel,” Erdan said.

The votes came on the heels of the UN’s annual “Day of Solidarity With the Palestinians” on Nov. 29. That was the day in 1947 when the UN General Assembly endorsed the Partition Plan, a recommendation to divide British Mandate Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The Jewish establishment accepted the proposal but the Arab world rejected it.

In other words, the UN was celebrating Arab rejectionism of the two-state solution.

The Partition Plan prompted Arab states to begin taking the earliest discriminatory measures against their Jewish citizens. That’s why Israel marks Nov. 29 as a day to recall the expulsion of more than 850,000 Jewish refugees from Arab lands.