INFORMATION ON JESUS’ MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

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I have found Reggie Kelly who hosts the website http://www.mysteryofisrael.org a tremendous resource for information on Jesus’ coming Millennial Kingdom on this Earth particularly to provide answers to questions such as “What Kind of Bodies will Israel have in the Millennium?:

  1. How is it possible that all of Israel will be saved and yet people will be going into the millennial reign of Christ on this Earth without being transformed and having new bodies?
  2. Will all Israel that’s a part of the church be transformed into heavenly bodies?
  3. How will people be going into the millennium without heavenly bodies?

First, we need to know what the text says? Second, what is the evidence for how the biblical writers expected to be understood? Were they correct in how they understood their own prophecies? Or was there a deeper, allegorical meaning that eluded their limited understanding? Was their interpretation of what Yahweh spoke merely a reflection of a “primitive, nationalistic, time-bound” understanding that would someday be replaced by a different interpretation that could not have been understood or recognized by the prophets or their contemporaries? That’s the hermeneutical question in debate.

After establishing the plain person’s reading of plain language, we can then begin to look for light as to how certain antinomies (difficulties/paradoxes) can be reconciled without violence to the original author’s intention.

The very meaning of the millennium is at stake here. Why should God make such a point of ending the age around the “controversy of Zion”, a conflict that is destined to draw all nations into an insoluble, inescapable dilemma over the Land and people of Israel that sets off the final world conflict? (Isaiah 34:8; Zechariah 12:2-3).

It will be a kind of valley of decision designed to test hearts, primarily over the issue of the nature of saving grace and the ‘kind’ of righteousness (not one’s own but the Lord’s alone) that can stand in the judgment. In other words, why should God be so determined to save an elect remnant of ethnic Jews (“natural branches”) unless it is to set forth the wayward nation that was given an irrevocable divine election as the statement and demonstration of His free and sovereign prerogative to change and qualify them for a final and secure inheritance of the Land by predestined grace.

He has set them at the center of the nations, that He might show in them for a thousand years of public demonstration, the power of His ability to choose whom He will, and quicken whom He will (Mt 11:27; Jn 5:21; Ro 9:18) at the “set time” of His choosing (Ps 102:13; 110:3; Isa 30:18; Gal 1:15-16), and thus finally and forever preserve, not only them but each and every one of their children after them in abiding holiness, never again to depart (Isa 59:20-21; Jer 32:40, et al.).

Why? What’s God out to prove? What’s His point?

The design/purpose is to press upon the consciousness of the nations God’s faithfulness to His immutable covenant word that most of the world doesn’t even know exists, as multitudes are even now being preconditioned to despise and dismiss His word by the events that are swiftly hurling us to the time of final reckoning.

That covenant (called synonymously “new” and “everlasting”) is not fully complete or satisfied (in all its original terms) until there is not a living Jew on the post-tribulation earth that is not born again and preserved in the “everlasting salvation” of the “everlasting righteousness” of Christ throughout the entirety of the millennial interim as an all holy nation, “never again” to depart (Isa 45:17, 25; 59:20-21; 60:21; Jer 31:34; 32:37-41, Dan 9:24, with so many more that could be listed ).

This uniformity of a completely saved and eternally preserved Jewish population at peace in their own, covenanted Land is the goal of the covenant, since only then will the long-blinded Jewish nation have their spiritual eyes opened. A coming day when the blind shall see, and those who always before resisted the Spirit opposer shall learn doctrine is promised all throughout Moses and the prophets (compare Deut 29:4 with Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-6; Isa 29:18, 24; Acts 7:51).

Only when, not a mere remnant, but “all” the people are righteous (Isa 60:21; Jer 31:34), with eternal righteousness not their own (Isa 45:24; 54:17; Jer 23:5-6; Dan 9:24), can they fulfill the covenant conditions and thus keep the Land forever in abiding peace and security.

This will be possible because the tendency to backslide and come back under the curses of the covenant will be forever cured by the everlasting righteousness of the everlasting covenant. No more will the righteous remnant suffer the sins and exile of the larger apostate nation, since all will be preserved in new covenant righteousness forever, “world without end” (Isa 45:17).

It is one thing for God to bring the Jews into the Land, but a radical transformation is required for them to be assured of permanent security in the Land. This is the very thing the everlasting/new covenant guarantees. From this, it is clear to see why the prophets understood that nothing short of a climactic, apocalyptic day of the Lord could ever bring about such a radical and permanent change in the whole of the nation.

More specifically, not all the nation but only the remnant who escaped death arrive at that ultimately transformative day (Ps 102:13; 110:3; Isa 66:8; Eze 39:22; Zech 3:9; 12:10; 13:8-9; Mt 23:39; Acts 3:21; Ro 11:26; Rev 1:7) .

This is why, not only a remnant, but the entirety of the nation must “all” know Him (Jer 31:34; Eze 39:22, 28-29) for them to be able to keep the Land forever, as promised in the plain language of the covenant. As I like to say, “For the Jews to inherit the Land forever, they must have a righteousness that is forever”.

This righteousness, which is the Lord’s own righteousness (Isa 45:24-25; 54:7; Jer 23:5-6), must extend, not only to a remnant but the whole of the nation and all the children born to them in future generations, lest the tendency to backslide send them back under the curses of the broken covenant.

This “everlasting righteousness”, which is none of their own, but the Lord’s alone, is that righteousness that was perfected in the Son and imputed to the believer whose faith is counted for righteousness. This righteousness, once imputed, is invariably made manifest by the gift and fruits of the enlivening Holy Spirit.

Of course, all of this applies now to every true-born believer of this age and the assurance of eternal inheritance in the age to come (both the millennium and the new heavens and earth), but God intended an earthly demonstration of His ability to accomplish this divine, self-assigned “mission impossible” here, on this earth with the Jewish people, at the scene of the crime, so to speak, in the presence of a helplessly bound enemy (Satan).

This grace needed to be exhibited and put on display by weak, natural jars of clay, supernaturally upheld in holiness by the gift of the Holy Spirit and nothing of human power.

Manifestly, God has set this interim period as the demonstration of His ability, not only “to graft them in again” but to keep them in, forever!. This requires an interim that is a glorious advance on the present age, yet short of the final, ultimate perfection that follows the millennium.

This newly and suddenly saved remnant of penitent survivors (like Paul’s sudden arrest on the Damascus road) will enter the millennium in their natural bodies and be assisted back to their Land by surviving Gentiles. Compare Isa 14:2; 40:22; 60:9; 66:20; Zech 8:23). Manifestly, these survivors from among the nations did not take the mark, but were also not yet born again (not yet “in Christ”) at the time of the last trump, when Jesus was revealed from heaven (Isa 26:12-13 with Mt 24:29-31; 1Cor 15:52).

Many scriptures speak of this sudden salvation of the surviving remnant of penitent Jewish survivors at the Lord’s post-trib return (Ps 102:13; 110:3; Isa 59:17-21; 66:8; Jer 30:6-7; Eze 39:22, 28-29; Zech 3:9; 12:10; Mt 23:39; Acts 3:21; Ro 11:26; with Rev 1:7) with the result that now, an all saved Jewish population will never again backslide and fall back under covenant judgment, but “all”, from the least to the greatest will know the Lord (Isa 59:21; Jer 31:34; 32:40; Eze 37:25; 39:22). This is the O.T. context behind Paul’s statement, “and so all Israel shall be saved”.

This sudden national salvation of a surviving remnant is everywhere shown to take place on the post-tribulation day of the Lord. Its purpose is the open and public vindication of “My covenant with them (natural branches) when I shall (future) take away their (the irrevocably elect and no less beloved enemy’s) sin …”

Several scriptures show very definitely that the time Paul has in view is the post-trib day of the Lord, which the N.T. obviously equates with Christ’s return. When Jesus arrives in glory, the dead in Christ, together with all those alive in Christ at the time, will be changed in an instant, immediately translated into glorified immortality.

At the same time (“in one day”; Ps 102:13; 110:3; Isa 66:8; Zech 3:9; Eze 39:22; Mt 23:39; Ro 11:26; Rev 1:7); a surviving remnant of Jews, having just been brought to the end of their power (Deut 32:36; Dan 12:7), “look upon their pierced Messiah”, and immediately go apart to weep in deepest contrition, as when Joseph revealed himself to his estranged brethren (compare Gen. 45 with Mic 5:3-4; Zech 12:10; Mat 23:39; Rev 1:7). After the great purgation of tribulation judgment, the newly saved Jewish remnant (Eze 20:33-40; Amos 9:9-10) goes into the millennium in natural, albeit Spirit filled bodies (Eze 39:22, 28-29).

Now, with it established that the scripture is very clear that a surviving remnant will make up the newly born nation, entering the post-tribulation kingdom in natural bodies, returning by every natural means of transport back to the Land to build and plant, to raise families, and witness to the nations, the question is naturally raised, “what will be the relationship of those who enter the millennial kingdom in their natural bodies and those who have been translated at the rapture?”

When taken together, the cumulative evidence of scripture creates what can be called a “necessary inference”. I believe the puzzle is only solved, with due respect to all that the scripture says, by recognizing what I like to call, a “dimensional divide”.

The mystery of the rapture is not a mystery as to its time. That is no mystery (compare Hos 13:14; Isa 25:7-8; 27:12-13; Mt 24:29-31 with 1 Cor 15:5-54 ). The mystery has to do with a ‘dimensional divide’ between those who will be putting on resurrected bodies with capacities that are like the angels and like the Lord in His post-resurrection appearances for the purpose of spiritual rule, (as for example, ruling over 5 or 10 cities), but in a realm of existence, not any less on earth, but not immediately visible to saved and unsaved mortals in the millennium (compare Mt 19:28; 22:30; Lk 19:17:18; 1Cor 13:12).

There is so much more that can help clarify and harmonize, but the greatest problem (other than failure to fully depend on the Spirit for the mercy of illumination) is the lack of O.T. literacy on the popular level, and on the scholarly level, the tendency to embrace of a set of apriori presuppositions that seeks to harmonize the testaments by a radical method of reinterpretation and spiritualization. It’s a great, historic deficiency in the church due to centuries of neglect of the OT and artificial, unsatisfactory solutions that fail to convincingly harmonize the Testaments.

The second point implicit in the questions is the relationship of the body to national Israel:

To be clear, Israel can only be saved as it becomes the body of Christ by the transforming, regenerating revelation of Christ. If they are alive to God, they are “in Christ”, and thus part of His body sharing in the unity of the Spirit, equally with all saints, whether Jew or Gentile.

“But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:17

In the natural order, there is a necessary and crucial distinction between Israel and the church, just as between male and female. But there is no distinction at all in the unity of the one new man, that is all who know the Lord, whether in times past, in this age, or in the millennial age to come.

This unity of the Spirit in the God-Man is not a new truth, but an old truth that has come to full light in the revelation of the mystery. (Remember this: something that is newly revealed, or has come to much greater light, does not mean that it did not exist before, just as the revelation of Jesus has brought much clearer light on the triune nature of the Godhead. Yet no one would say that such a new revelation created something that did not exist before).

In distinguishable contrast from the one new man of the Spirit, natural Israel and the supernatural preservation of Jewish identity throughout the generations, belongs to a corporate election that does not guarantee the salvation of any individual in the set-apart nation. Instead, precisely because of the covenant mandate, belonging to the Jewish race commends the covenant breaker to a “double” discipline, as foretold in scripture and witnessed throughout history.

So when Israel comes to faith on that day, they will be no less the living body of Christ, albeit with a unique and special calling, role, and stewardship to be lived out openly in the presence of the nations throughout the millennium.

Thus, the millennium exists primarily for this open covenant vindication and demonstration of every word and aspect of His everlasting covenant, to be lived out in literal detail before the nations and also the onlooking principalities and powers. This will show for a thousand years of open, fully visible demonstration that God was indeed able, not only to bring the people He first brought out of Egypt back into the Land, but now, because of an “everlasting righteousness” (namely, the righteousness of the Son), eternally secure to one and all, they will abide, preserved in holiness and peace in the Land, within the originally specified borders of the promise.

We are led then to infer, most necessarily based on 1 Cor 15:50-52, that all who come to faith during the millennium, with any who die in the Lord during the millennium, will be raised with their new body at the end of the millennium when the great transition to the new heavens and earth follows the final rebellion.

If that explanation does not fully satisfy every question, it is also to be considered that there is a mystery about time in the realm of the Spirit as it intersects with natural historical time. In any event, lingering questions must not be permitted to impose on the clarity of what the text plainly ‘SAYS’.

May the kind Shepherd, “come alongside”, and cause our hearts to burn within us, as He opens to us the Scriptures.

Reggie

THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE MILLENNIUM

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The Kingdom of God has several phases. One important but neglected Kingdom phase is the Millennium as it is a future transition phase on this Earth. Much of the church teaches that the millennium is being fulfilled today and yet the Bible teaches that it follows prophesied events that are yet to occur: worldwide tribulation, cosmic signs, the wrath of God, the rescue of God’s people, and the judgement of nations. Testimony of the millennium is found in both testaments of the Bible. The Old Testament prophets tell of a future time when Israel’s prophesied Messiah will rule all the nations of Earth. It is a time very different from our present age and the coming eternal state with a new Heaven and a new Earth. The New Testament tells us how long this intermediate period will be – one thousand years.

Since the Fall of Man, God has enacted a plan to bring this rebel planet back into conformity with His universal kingdom in which His will is perfectly done. Part of this plan is for His Son, Jesus, the Messiah, to rule the nations, including his enemies from Jerusalem. Israel is restored, the nation God established for His purposes. Jesus and the Saints will rule the nations with a rod of iron (see Psalm 2: The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed, Psalm 110, and Rev. 2:26-27).

“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

Jesus must fulfill the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants and rule over the planet that rejected Him. When this phase of the Kindom is completed this world will be destroyed. The rest of the dead are raised to face Jesus at the White Throne judgement. God creates a new heaven and new earth where only the righteous will dwell, at which time Jesus will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father.

NEXT ON GOD’S KINGDOM AGENDA

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The Kingdom of God has many facets to it. One important phase of God’s Kingdom which many of the denominational/institutional churches have got wrong is Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom. This is difficult to understand for several reasons: 1. The Christian church for the first two hundred years took the Millennial Kingdom position. 2. All of the O.T. prophets were shown the end of the story for Israel with their Messiah ruling and reigning over the nations. 3. Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom fulfills the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and particularly the New Covenant given to Jeremiah.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34

4. Explicit prediction is given in the Bible of an intermediate kingdom that is one thousand years long when Jesus and the resurrected Saints will rule the nations with a rod of iron. The curse is not fully lifted off the earth as people still die and need to be saved. Satan is bound in the Abyss for most of the thousand years but God allows him one last chance to deceive people on Earth and sadly we know he raises an army of rebellious people, their number like the sand of the sea. That rebellion is quickly put down and God finally destroys this Earth with fire. The second resurrection and the White Throne judgement follow. Only then does John see a new Jerusalem of incredible size descending from a new Heaven onto a new Earth where only the righteous will dwell.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:1-3

DID JESUS COME TO START A RELIGION?

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No, He did not. He came to set up a Kingdom and the only prayer He taught us to pray is

“Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven“… only then do we ask for our daily needs.

“And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:29-34

Next on God’s agenda for His Earth is for Jesus to set up a Kingdom on Earth where Jesus and the glorified Saints will rule and reign for 1000 years. God’s Word tells us exactly how Satan’s rule comes to an end. He is bound in the Abyss for most of Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom. He is released at the end and is still able to raise an army like the sand of the sea to come against Jesus and the Saints. I am reminded here of the time before God destroyed all of mankind except Noah and his family.

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” Genesis 6:5-6

How many churches are preparing believers for Jesus’ coming Millennial Kingdom on planet Earth? I would say very few, they are not even preparing them for the coming tribulation. The seven churches in Revelation represent the church in each of the last seven years prior to Jesus’ return and God pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet (7) and Bowl (7) judgments. Also, the six seals show us what will happen on Earth during the last seven years. Let us look at the Sixth Seal and the Sixth Church.

SIXTH SEAL: The celestial signs in the sky that precede the Rapture of the Saints and God pouring out His wrath upon the Earth. The Rapture happens at the trumpet blast and the opening of the seventh seal.

“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6:12-17

SIXTH CHURCH (Church of Philadelphia – Philadelphus means “love of the brethren“) This is the church that God is going to rapture

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name… Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” Revelation 3:7-8,10

The seventh church (Laodicea means “judgment of the people,”) This is the church God is going to spit out of His mouth. They will face the wrath of God but note, that God still calls them to repent (Rev. 3:14-22).

“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

CHINA NEEDS TO TAKE BACK TAIWAN AND WILL DO SO SOON

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The Biden administration stopped shipments to China of more advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips designed by Nvidia and others, part of a raft of measures that seek to stop Beijing from receiving cutting-edge U.S. technologies to strengthen its military.

  • Taiwan dominates the foundry market, or the outsourcing of semiconductor manufacturing (50%+).
  • Much of that dominance comes down to TSMC, the world’s largest foundry that counts major technology firms such as Apple, Qualcomm, and Nvidia as its clients.

Semiconductor designers and manufacturers are on a quest to make chips smaller and better. Currently, TSMC and its South Korean rival Samsung are the only foundries capable of manufacturing the most advanced 5-nanometer chips. China does not have a company capable of manufacturing these leading-edge semiconductors. They rely on just three companies — Intel from the U.S., TSMC from Taiwan, and Samsung in South Korea.

In order for China to maintain its dominant position in manufacturing it needs to maintain a reliable supply of leading-edge semiconductor chips and the easiest way to do that would be to take control of Taiwan which it already considers part of China.

China is still significantly behind Taiwan in GDP per head of population as is the situation with Hong Kong. Taking over Taiwan can only improve the economics of China.

Jesus told us that in the end times prior to His return, there would be wars and rumours of wars.

“And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24:6-8

We also know from this Scripture that kings from the East take part in the Battle of Armageddon against Jesus and the glorified Saints.

“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.” Revelation 16:12-14

Back to wars and rumours of wars: we are seeing this playing out in the Middle East, Russia, and Ukraine, and soon with China and Taiwan. When China moves on Taiwan what will the U.S.A and Russia do? In a recent War Game, Russia and China destroyed a “hostile submarine” in the “Sea of Japan.”

MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Russia and China held joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan on Friday and practised how to operate together and destroy floating enemy mines with artillery fire, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

The war games are part of naval cooperation drills between the two countries which run from Oct. 14-17 and involve warships and support vessels from Russia’s Pacific Fleet, including mine-sweepers and a submarine.

Time is short, what is God calling you to do at this time? For a Christian, it is an exciting time to be born. Next on God’s agenda is Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR PLANET EARTH ON GOD’S AGENDA?

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We already know how the next few years will play out. Why? Because the Bible, God’s Word is largely a book of prophecy. There are more than 1,000 Bible prophecies about Jesus’ second coming to Earth so I am sure God wants to prepare us for this event. Sadly, the religious leaders of the time of Jesus first coming to Earth misread it totally, not because of what the Scriptures said but because they wanted a Saviour from their Roman oppressors. They did not want the suffering servant depicted in Isaiah 53. What about the religious leaders of our day? Well, the Bible tells us that there will be a great falling away from true faith in the last days (apostasy) before Jesus returns. We see that already happening as many of the denominational/institutional churches have accepted gay marriage, and homosexual pastors/leaders. Look what Jesus told us would happen in the end times:

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:9-12

Are you taking these words of Jesus seriously? You should, because the re-establishment of the nation of Israel 75 years ago was the first major end-times prophecy fulfilled. The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus’ second coming to Earth is to rescue the nation of Israel at the battle of Armageddon when all the armies of many nations come against Israel. Israel did not exist as a nation prior to 1948 so all the end times prophecies which are Israel and Middle East-centered made no earthly sense. Its rebirth was miraculous and God has sustained it miraculously ever since despite Satan’s desperate efforts to destroy it.

The good news is that what’s next for this planet is Jesus’ Millennial reign on this earth for one thousand years, The earth will then have had six thousand years of man’s rule under Satan’s dominion. It is still to have 1,000 years with Jesus ruling the nations with the glorified Saints so that the covenants God made with Abraham, David, and the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) can be fulfilled. Israel will finally be the leading nation in the world with its Messiah ruling from a magnificent new Jerusalem.

During Jesus’ Millennial reign, Satan is bound in the Abyss but God allows him to come out at the end of the thousand years and he is still able to gather an army whose number is like the sand of the sea. I often wondered why during Jesus’ Millennial reign, He and the Saints have to rule the nations with a “rod of iron” until I read the following Scripture.

“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:7-10

GOD THE FATHER AND GOD THE SON’S ROLES IN ESCHATOLOGY

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Psalm 2 is just one of many End Times prophecies. It shows sinful nations in their rebellion against the Father and His Messiah (the Son). We know that God’s King is Jesus the Son since later portions of Scripture apply Psalm 2 to the Messiah and His reign (Revelation 2:26–27). Also, Psalm 2:12 speaks of the necessity of paying “homage to the Son,” an act of worship that is only true of a divine person and not a mere man. Thus the picture of Psalm 2 includes both God the Father and God the Son. The nations of the earth do not want God to rule over them (Psalm 2:1–3). But God the Father laughs and scoffs at these rebellious nations from heaven and lets them know that He will establish His “King” and His reign on the earth (Psalm 2:4–5). The realm of their rebellion will be invaded with the reign of the righteous Messiah. It is the Father’s desire to give the Son the nations as an inheritance and the Son will rule over them with authority (Psalm 2:7–9). Thus, the nations should stop their foolishness and submit to the Son because His wrath is coming (Psalm 2:10–12). Psalm 2 reveals two important things. First, God the Father intends to establish His Son as King over all the earth and the nations. And second, the Son will come with wrath and reign over the nations with authority.

“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine 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 bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” Psalms 2:1-12

We can know that the fulfillment of Psalm 2 is future since Jesus uses this passage as motivation for the church for faithful service now in Revelation 2:26–27:

“He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father.” Revelation 2:26-27

Psalm 110 has much in common with Psalm 2, as it also discusses the Father’s plan to establish the Son as King over the earth. It starts with David being privy to a conversation between the Father (Yahweh) and the Son (Adonai) who is also David’s Lord (“The LORD says to my Lord”). The message from the Father to the Son is that the Son, who is David’s Lord, the Messiah, is to have a session in heaven at the right of the Father. But this session is only for a limited period of time (“until”). When His session at the right hand of the Father is over, God the Father will give the Messiah (the Son) victory over His enemies from Zion in Jerusalem: The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies” (Ps. 110:2). The Son will shatter kings in the day of His wrath and will judge the nations (Ps. 110:5–6). So again, as was the case in Psalm 2, it is the Father’s plan for the Son to reign over the nations of the earth. This will occur with Jesus’ second coming to earth as described in Matthew 24–25 and Revelation 19–20.

Daniel 7:9-14 describes an important eschatological scene involving the Father and the Son. Daniel 7:9–10 describes a glorious scene of God the Father who is called “the Ancient of Days.

”We are told His vesture “was like white snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool” (9). His throne is ablaze with flames and thousands were worshiping Him. Then verses Daniel 7:13–14 describe the Son, who is referred to as a “Son of Man,” coming before the Father:

“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14

Here we see the Son before the Father, for the purpose of a kingdom being given to the Son. This passage has many parallels with the throne room scene of Revelation 4–5 and again emphasizes the plan of the Father to have the Son rule the earth with “an everlasting dominion.”

A New Testament passage that discusses the relationship of the Father and the Son to eschatology is 1 Corinthians 15:24–28. Here Paul discusses the Father and the Son in relation to the coming kingdom:

“Then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. FOR HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.” 1 Corinthians 15:24-28

The immediate context of this passage is Paul’s discussion of the order of God’s resurrection program. After the third stage of the resurrection program at the time of “the end,” Jesus will hand the kingdom over to God the Father (24). This shows that Jesus’ messianic reign has a termination or transition point to it. When it is over He “hands over the kingdom” to the Father. But this will not occur until Jesus reigns over His enemies and abolishes death. Thus, Jesus’ kingdom ends or transitions with a crushing, dominating reign of the Son. When “all things are subjected” to the Father, “then the Son Himself also will be subjected to” the Father (“the One who subjected all things to Him”). The picture here is beautiful and presents Jesus as God’s trusted and chosen instrument to restore the fallen creation to the will of God. Verse 27a links the Son’s reign with the creation mandate given to man––“FOR HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” Jesus as the ultimate Man fulfills the creation mandate. Man was created to rule and subdue the earth (see Genesis 1:26–28), yet this mandate was scorned when Adam decided to do things his way and disobey God. Neither Adam nor any mere human being could fulfill this mandate, but the Father chose Jesus, the ultimate Man, to do this. It is as if the Father told the Son, “Bring this sinful world back into conformity with My perfect will,” and the Son does it. And not only does the Son succeed splendidly, He presents this kingdom to the Father so that the Father may have the glory.

SUMMARY: These four passages teach us that the purpose of the Father in eschatology is to make sure the rebellious creation is brought back into perfect conformity with His will. And the purpose of the Son is to make sure the Father’s desire happens. He is sent as the Father’s instrument with full authority and power to rule over and restore all of the created order. As we survey Psalm 2; Psalm 110; Dan 7:9–14; and 1 Cor. 15:24–28 we see that it is God the Father’s intent to establish a kingdom reign of the Son (Jesus) on the earth to bring this fallen planet back into conformity with the will of the Father.

“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. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

FIRST AI NEWS PRESENTER ON AN INDIAN NEWS CHANNEL

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I have already posted on the speed with which AI. is replacing humans in just about all job categories. AI, combined with Robotics will have an unprecedented impact on the job market. The rapid changes in technology is making it difficult for education to keep up and provide people with the skills the market now needs.

Techochasm is just one of the end times signs. When a world rejects its Creator, it descends into lawlessness and chaos. Even when Jesus and the Saints are ruling on the Earth during Jesus 1000 thousand year reign they need to rule with a rod of iron.
“From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He (Jesus) will rule them with a rod of iron.“ Revelation 19:15

“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he (Saints) will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.” Revelation 2:27

Moreover, we are told at the end of the 1000-year reign of Jesus and the Saints, God allows the release of Satan and he is able to raise an army of rebellious people, like the sand of the sea, to come up against Jesus and the Saints. They are quickly dispatched but it reveals a lot about the heart of unregenerate man.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:7-10

GOD’S WORK DONE IN GOD’S WAY WILL NEVER LACK GOD’S SUPPLY

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We often hear people say, ‘The end justifies the means.’ In other words, it’s okay to do something dishonourable, if necessary, in order to achieve something honourable. But that is not a biblical perspective. God is as concerned about the process as much as the product.

“So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.“
2 Samuel 6:17

Early in King David’s career, he learned this lesson the hard way. He was moving the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. But he failed to follow God’s instructions on how to transport the Ark. A man died as a result, and the Ark’s movement was delayed for three months. There is a lesson there: God cares about how we serve Him as much as He cares about what we accomplish. For example, not only are we to speak the truth, but we are also to speak the truth ‘in love’ (Ephesians 4:15). We are to defend the faith but with ‘gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15).

Do God’s work today—yes! But do it God’s way so He is free to bless and honour it.
God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. Hudson Taylor

“In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:6

“Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.” Psalms 37:27-29

God tells us what is next on His agenda for this world. The rule of Satan and man on planet Earth is coming to an end. We are fast approaching the last seven years prior to Jesus’ return to this earth to establish His Millennial Kingdom about which we are given a lot of detail in God’s Word.

Check out http://www.millennialkingdom.net and Matthew Bryce Ervin’s book, One Thousand Years with Jesus – The Coming Messianic Kingdom.

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. 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 20:1-6

THE NUMBER OF LGBT TEENS SKYROCKETS

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One in four high school students in the United States identify as homosexual, bisexual or are questioning their sexuality, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This data was collected in 2021 so considering what governments and educational establishments are doing to establish LGBTQ as a legitimate and even protected lifestyle then these numbers will only increase.

God and His commandments are no longer held as sacred. The fear of God is nonexistent so what God told us would happen in His Word, the Bible is happening. Lawlessness will only increase until God pours out His wrath upon an unrepentant world.

“And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Mark 13:12-13

The latest edition of the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System found that 74.2% of high school students claimed to be exclusively attracted to the opposite sex in 2021. Of the remaining participants, 11.9% identified as bisexual, 3.2% as gay or lesbian, and 9% as “other/questioning.” The survey examines the responses of 17,232 students collected in 2021. 

Data compiled by Gallup, released in February, showed that the share of the American population identifying as LGBT had doubled over the past decade, driven by a large share of Generation Z categorizing themselves as something “other” than heterosexual. The survey examined Americans’ self-identification with the LGBT community based on responses from 10,736 adults in the U.S. collected in 2022.

Gen Zers, classified as adults born between 1997 and 2004, have a much larger share of their population identifying as LGBT compared to their older counterparts. Nearly one in five (19.7%) members of Gen Zers consider themselves part of the LGBT community. By contrast, just 11.3% of millennials identify as members of the LGBT community, followed by 3.3% of members of Generation X, 2.7% of baby boomers and 1.7% of the silent generation.  

Thank goodness God has prepared us by revealing in His Word (Bible) that prior to Jesus’ return, there would be a great falling away from God and His commandments.

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:12-14

He also told us that the Gospel of His Kingdom would be proclaimed throughout the world and only then will the end come. We need to make sure we are in step with God’s agenda in these last days so we get a well-done, good, and faithful servant.

“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’” Luke 19:17

What we do now determines the role we will have ruling and reigning with Jesus on this earth during His 1000 years reign.

“Also, I (John) saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. 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.”

Don’t forget to check out my new website http://www.millennialkingdom.net. God really wants us to know what is next on His agenda after Jesus returns first to rapture the Saints and pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world. Only then does Jesus return to earth with the Saints for the Battle of Armageddon at which time the Antichrist and the false prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire. Satan is cast into the Abyss for 1000 years after which he is released. He u still able to raise an army from unrepentant souls to come against Jesus and the Saints, Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom is a transition period when God fulfills the promises to Abraham when He established His nation Israel. Israel’s Messiah will rule the nations from a new Jerusalem.

The Millennial Kingdom also demonstrates that even with Jesus and the Saints ruling and reigning on this earth some people will still rebel against God’s rule over them just as Satan and one-third of the angels did.