Characteristics of the Millennium

This is Hans Schile from the Finishing Well Podcast.

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So let's talk about the characteristics of the millennium. It will be a time of peace. And I think all of us look forward to that, but the Old Testament has predicted this.

If you go to Micah chapter 4, verses 2 through 3, Many nations shall come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths. For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and rebuke strong nations afar off, 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. So let's turn also to Isaiah 11, 6 through 9. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion, and the fattling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young one shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. It will be a time of prosperity.

Isaiah 35. We have read these verses before and really thought, So when will the lion lay down with the lamb? It will be a time of prosperity. In Isaiah 35 verse 10, And the ransom to the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads, and they shall obtain joy and gladness. And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. The desert will bloom like a rose when the kingdom of God covers the earth. The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose abundantly and rejoice. Even with the joy and singing, the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, Be strong, do not fear. Behold your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God, and He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, and the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing, for water shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water, and the habitations of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the highway of holiness.

So this talks about the prosperity of the millennium, and how the desert will become lavish and lush. It will be a time of purity. Holiness will pervade the earth.

And that is very different from today. You know, we're speaking of a time where there will be mandatory righteousness, as I've heard it described in the past. In Isaiah chapter 11 verse 9, they shall not hurt nor destroy, and on my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Isn't this amazing, that the earth shall be full with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. There's a verse in the Bible where it talks about how people have a knowledge of the Lord, but don't come to know him.

And here it says that the whole earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, which is very different than today. Let's turn to Isaiah 25 verse 9, and it will be said in that day, Behold, this is our God. We have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord.

We have waited for him. So all of those that enter the millennial kingdom, who have patiently waited on their redemption for the Lord, will see it, draw near. One, at his second coming, but two, they will live it in the millennium. In Isaiah 66 verse 23, And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord.

Very different time than what we're living today. And lastly, to talk about purity, it is mentioned in Zechariah chapter 13 verse 2, It shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. And I will cause the prophets in the unclean spirit to depart from the land.

So all the idols will be taken away. There will be no need for prophets, because God will rule from Zion himself. It will be a time of perpetual health, and this is really what intrigues me the most, probably. It's because, as you know, I'm a physician, and in the time of the millennium, I won't have anything to do.

I'm going to have to find a different job. I'm going to praise the Lord for sure. But here in verse 20 it says, No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who is not fulfilled in his days. For the child shall die 100 years old, but the sinner being 100 years old shall be accursed. So the curse of the flesh will be reversed, and the reason that we have sickness, disease, and infirmity now is because we live in a sin-sick world. But it'll be interesting to see how mortality is affected, and that there will not be mortality.

There will not be morbidity in the millennium, and I'm excited about that. But it is also a time of personal joy, and if you look at Isaiah chapter 9 verses 3 through 4, you have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For you have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. Let's turn to Isaiah 12 and 3. Therefore with the joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Isaiah 14 7 through 8.

The whole earth is at rest and quiet. They break forth into singing. Indeed the cypress tree rejoices over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since you were cut down, no woodsman has come up against us. Isaiah talks a lot about this time of personal joy, and there are a number of other verses. I'm very excited about what the millennium will be. Chapter 20 covers the millennium as well as the great white throne judgment, which I said that we would talk about them differently, as they are two distinct events. So let's move on to the rest of chapter 20 verse 11 through 15. Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose faith the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened.

And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.

And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Here we see the judgment of the spiritually dead. It occurs after the millennium.

This is known as the second resurrection. So let's look at the place of the great white throne judgment. We don't know where it takes place, but we do know where it does not take place, in heaven or on earth. Because in verse 11 it says, at the appearance of the Lord, the earth and heaven fled away.

Also, sinners cannot enter into the presence of God in heaven. This judgment takes place somewhere between heaven and earth. We see the words great white throne. Great is the infinite one who is the judge.

White stands for its divine holiness, purity, and justice. And throne speaks of the majesty of the one who has the right to determine the destiny of his creation. All of those are Jesus Christ. The person and the great white throne judgment is Jesus Christ himself.

It is emphasized by the names. Also, we find this in some of the new testament books. So let's turn to John chapter 5 verse 22. For the father judges no one, but he has committed all judgment to the son.

So we know that because Jesus Christ died on the cross and gave his life, his inheritance will be the right to rule in the millennium kingdom. Also, the right to judge our works as well as those acts of the sinner. So we see that in John 5 chapter 22.

In Acts 10 verse 42, we see, and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify. That is, he who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and of the dead. So the judge of the living is at the judgment seat of Christ, those that have eternal life, and the judgment of the dead is those that are at the great white throne judgment. Christ will judge spiritually living, those at the judgment seat of Christ, and Jesus Christ will judge the spiritually dead at the great white throne judgment. Christ is the one who's gave his life for the redemption of those he is about to judge. He must reject those who's rejected him and his plan for salvation. And I think that's what a lot of people today do not understand, is that the fact that Christ gave his life is the standard in which we'll be judged by. So we've gone over the name of the great white throne judgment, the person at the great white throne judgment, but let's look at the people.

Because in verse 12 it says, And I saw the dead small and great, which is a phrase used in the Old Testament as well as five times in Revelation. It tells us that every class of people will be represented in that day. God is no respecter of persons as far as righteousness, also as far as judgment.

It will affect all classes of people. The purpose of the great white throne judgment, why is this necessary? Because Christ died, because he has offered this gift of grace, because we are guilty, there is an atonement that needed to be made. Christ made that atonement. And by making that atonement really develops a standard for forgiveness.

And when we reject that standard is why the passing of a sentence needs to occur. So let's read Romans chapter 2 verses 5 through 11. But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds. Eternal life to those who by patient continuance and doing good seek for glory, honor and immortality, but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek.

But glory, honor and peace to everyone whose works what is good to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for there is no partiality with God. That sentence is hell. So the passing of the sentence and the stipulation of the sentence, we're going to talk in two parts, but the sentence is hell. In verse 12, the books were opened, another book, the book of life, all the dead were judged according to their works and by the things written in these books. We can know based on what I read in Romans, based on the condition of her heart, what type of judgment we're laying up for ourselves. So it's not like it's God's fault, it's our fault. So if you're thinking, if this wouldn't have happened, or if that wouldn't have happened, no, God knows all that.

And even the condition of our heart will determine the type of judgment we will receive. So again, there will be books that will be opened, but how God is going to judge, he's going to judge according to the truth. That truth is, but we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

That is Romans two and two. But when God judges according to the truth, that truth is that he is God and there is no other. Before there was, he was. And at the end, he will still be.

He is everlasting to everlasting. And he gave his son as a payment and penalty for our sin, because said alone, there is none righteous, no, not one. We are eternally sinful in our own right. And outside the intervention of God, we will never be righteous.

Our righteousness is like filthy rags. And we needed atonement. The sacrifice foreshadowed the need for atonement. Jesus Christ is that ultimate atonement.

And what we do with that gift is mediated out of the condition of our heart. And based on the actions of our heart, whether we reject him or accept him, we will be judged according to that truth. We're going to be judged according to our deeds. In Romans two, verse six, it said, But God will render to each one according to his deeds. Also, God will render to each one according to the secrets of man, by the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. God judges according to the secrets of men, what is in the heart. You know, a lot of people see our righteous exterior, they don't see our ungodly hearts that need the grace of God daily.

Sometimes I almost mean it by minute, even in my own case. As we move on to the books, it says the books were opened. And I want to spend some time in the books that are going to be opened. And the books were opened another the book of life, all the deeds were judged according to their works and by the things written in the books. And actually in studying Dr. Jeremiah's book to escape the coming night, he expounds on these books.

And so I borrowed a lot of this from him. First, I want to talk about the book of conscious. So let's read Romans chapter two, verse 15, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscious also bearing witness and between themselves, their thoughts, accusing or else excusing them. You know, our conscious can accuse us or it can excuse us.

Romans chapter two, verse 15 says that the Gentiles had the work of the law written in their heart. Wherever you go, you find people with an inner source of right and wrong. The Bible calls that our conscious. That's how you can see sinners do good things or say, well, this is right or this is wrong. It's their consciousness, that inner beacon that tells us what's right or what's wrong. The conscious is not an infallible guide to right or wrong. Our conscious is not perfect, is what I'm saying. But when it is brazenly violated, it shows an attitude towards sin that may be brought to bear against the unbeliever.

You know, and I don't know about you, but I know some people that I've wondered if they even have a conscious just in how self-serving they are and things that they do. The next book is the book of words that is mentioned in Matthew chapter 12, 36 through 37. But I say to you that every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words, you will be justified. Thank you for having a thirst for the truth as you have been listening so faithfully. I'm Dr. Cheryl Davis. You've been listening to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Truth Matters is a ministry of The Truth Project, a North Carolina-based ministry dedicated to teaching biblical truth and sound theology to those inside and outside of the church. If you'd like to listen to these messages on demand, go to ProjectTruthMatters.com and click on the podcast link. Dr. Davis is also available to speak to your ministry group or church function. She can be reached by email at CherylDavis at ProjectTruthMatters.com. Or if you'd like to send a letter, the address is Project Truth Matters, Post Office Box 159, St. Paul's, North Carolina, 28384. You can hear Truth Matters devotionals on weekdays at 820 a.m. and 520 p.m. Until next time, let's all work together to teach a biblical truth, to assist, equip, edify, and encourage one another, and bring the gospel to the world, because truth matters. This is the Truth Network.