Do you believe that Jesus will rule and reign from Jerusalem on the earth for a thousand years, or do you believe that that is a carnal teaching, an earthly teaching, a taking of heavenly truths and making them earthly?
What does the Bible actually say? This is Michael Brown. You are listening to the line of fire. It is our goal. It is our mission. It is our calling to infuse you with faith, with truth, and with courage.
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Click subscribe. I personally hold to what is called a premillennial view. I am not pretribulational. I do not hold to a pretrib rapture or to the teaching of what's called dispensationalism. But I am what you would call a historic premillennial believer, that Jesus comes pre, before the millennium. He comes before, he sets up his thousand year kingdom on the earth, and that he will rule and reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years. After that, there will be the final rebellion, the final destruction of the wicked, and then we enter into the eternal age with the new heavens, the new earth, no more death on the planet of any kind, no more sin on the planet of any kind, because it is the new heavens and new earth with Jesus ruling and reigning and us, all of us being with him forever. But I do believe before that, there was a thousand year millennial kingdom, and as best as we can understand from the writings of the early church fathers in the first few centuries, they held to premillennial views as well. Dispensationalism, the idea of a pretrib rapture, comes much later.
That comes in the 1800s. But in the early centuries, you have this clear teaching that there will be a final antichrist, a final tribulation, the return of Jesus, and then the establishing of his kingdom on the earth for a thousand years before the eternal age. But, my issue is not so much what the early church fathers hold to, but what does scripture say?
Do we have a merit, do we have a reason to believe it? Is there scriptural merit in holding to this? Now some would say, with all respect, that's going backwards.
This is the opposite. This is taking earthly promises to Israel that have a spiritual fulfillment and bringing them back to earth. This is saying, God raises up Israel so that through Israel God will bring the Messiah, now the Messiah comes, and now the message goes to the whole world.
We don't go back to Israel. There was a time when Jerusalem was central. Jesus said in John 4, the day will come when either in Jerusalem or some other holy mountain will you worship, but you worship God everywhere in spirit and truth. If you say that Jesus will rule out Jerusalem, you are going backwards. Paul talks about the Jerusalem that is above, and the Jerusalem that is below is in bondage. And there's the heavenly Jerusalem that's written about in Hebrews, the 12th chapter. So to say there's going to be an earthly Jerusalem and an earthly kingdom or an earthly temple with earthly sacrifices, that's clearly going backwards. And that's why many do not believe in a pre-millennial view. They do not believe that when Jesus returns, he will set up his kingdom on the earth for a thousand years.
So let me tell you why I do believe that, and what I believe is a strength of this pre-millennial view. Let's take a look in Acts the 3rd chapter to the preaching of Peter. So we go to the New Testament, Acts chapter 3, and the preaching of Peter.
This is after the lame man who's been lame from birth has been healed. And now Peter is preaching, and he says this after his healing. He says in verse 17, Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders, but this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. So Peter's saying that Jewish repentance will bring the Messiah back. A wonderful, glorious New Testament truth, and Old Testament truth as well. That Jewish repentance will bring in the coming of the Messiah.
Now look at this. You repent, God will send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. Alright, so Jesus will remain in heaven until the time for the restoration of all things spoken of by the prophets. Now that's a noun, restoration of all things. The verb that comes from that same noun is often used in the Old Testament in the Greek translation, the Septuagint, speaking of the return of the Jewish people back to the land.
That's part of the great restoration, the return of the Jewish people back to the land. The question is, what are the promises the prophets speak about? Peter's saying Jesus will remain in heaven until this time of the restoration of all things spoken of by the prophets. This restoration of all things does not happen before he returns, but at the time of his return, this is when these things take place. So what did the prophets say would happen? Remember, this is New Testament.
Peter's saying these things will come to pass. Now, I have a question for you. Does the Bible prophesy a virgin birth? You would say yes. Was Jesus literally born of a virgin? Yes, he was. Does the Bible prophesy the place of his birth, the city of Bethlehem?
You would say yes. Well, he was literally born in the city of Bethlehem, was he not? Does the Bible prophesy his violent death?
Yes, he literally died a violent death. Does the Bible prophesy his resurrection? Yes, he literally rose from the dead. Does the Bible prophesy his healing ministry while on the earth? Yes, he literally healed the sick and raised the dead on the earth.
Does the Bible literally prophesy he will be rejected by his people and received by the nations of the earth? Yes. Did that happen literally? Yes. Okay, so the fundamental prophecies having to do with the first coming literally came to pass.
There are other verses that have a spiritual or allegorical meaning, but the fundamental verses about his first coming literally came to pass. Does the Bible literally say that he will return to Jerusalem? Yes.
Will he? Yes. Does the Bible literally say that his feet will touch down on the Mount of Olives? Yes. Will his feet touch down on the Mount of Olives?
Yes. So he is coming back to a physical place. He will literally return to that physical place. What will happen when he does? What did the prophets declare is yet to happen?
Let me read to you some beautiful descriptions. Isaiah chapter 11. But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse.
A twig shall sprout from his stock. The Spirit of the Lord shall alight upon him. A spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and valor, a spirit of devotion and reverence for the Lord. He shall sense the truth by his reverence for the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes behold, nor decide by what his ears perceive. Thus he shall judge the poor with equity and decide with justice for the lowly of the land. He shall strike down a land with the rod of his mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of his lips. Doesn't Paul say in 2 Thessalonians 2 that when Jesus returns he will destroy the Antichrist with the breath of his coming? Doesn't he say in 2 Thessalonians 1 that when Jesus returns he will destroy the wicked with the fire of his coming?
This is exactly what Isaiah is saying. Justice shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his waist. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard lie down with the kid, the calf the beast of prey, and the fatling together with a little boy to herd them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together, and the lion like the ox shall eat straw.
A babe shall play over a viper's hole, and an infant pass his hand over an adder's den. And all of my sacred mount, nothing evil or vile shall be done. For the land shall be filled with devotion to the Lord as waters cover the sea.
And that day the stock of Jesse that has remained standing shall become a standard to peoples. Nations shall seek his counsel, and his abode shall be honored. Peter's telling us that is going to happen on this earth when Jesus returns. If you don't hold to a millennial kingdom, then you say, well, this is just spiritual language. Well, what makes that spiritual when all the other applications of it are literal? In other words, Jesus will literally do these things and bring destruction to the wicked when he returns. And how is it we can say the prophecies of his first coming are literal verse after verse after verse after verse, but all the prophecies about his second coming are spiritual?
It doesn't make sense. Peter says Jesus is going to stay in heaven until these things come to pass. All right, an important announcement, and we get back with more scripture. I'm Dr. Paul Burnett, a board certified doctor of holistic health, and I've got some exciting news for you today about an amino acid formula scientifically shown to build lean muscle, improve strength and reduce recovery time at any age. Dr. Robert Wolf was a researcher of muscle health who raised 20 million dollars to fund 30 years of research, and now this formula is available in TriVita's MyoHealth.
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So call now 1-800-771-5584, 1-800-771-5584 or online at trivita.com. Welcome back, friends, to the Line of Fire. We are taking this entire month teaching about the end times, about the return of Jesus.
Looking at different views, growing up as to be fair to them, and then coming away with truth that is life changing, equipping that affects the way we live today. Let me read to you from Isaiah chapter 2, another famous prophecy. This will literally come to pass when Jesus returns.
It will happen. The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz, prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the days to come, the mount of the Lord's house shall stand firm above the mountains and tower above the hills. And all the nations shall gaze on it with joy.
Or the nations will come streaming to it. And many peoples shall go and say, Come, let us go up to the mount of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, that we may walk in his paths. For instruction shall come forth from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Thus he will judge among the nations and arbitrate for the many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not take up sword against nation. They shall never again know war.
As surely as that is written, it will happen on planet earth one day. And this is not yet the eternal age. God is still judging between nations. God is still acting righteously among the nations. We have not yet entered into the eternal age at this point. We can go to Isaiah, the 65th chapter, and see other glorious prophecies that are there as well. What's going to happen in the future and the glorious things that will unfold. And judgment on the wicked, once again, themes in Isaiah 65 and 66.
And these are wonderful promises. But still, even then, there's still death, there's still judgment, but there's peace on the earth. There's the glory of God on the earth. And sin is dealt with harshly and dealt with immediately. It's Psalm 2. It's Jesus ruling and reigning with an iron rod.
That's what's going to happen. For behold, I'm creating a new heaven and a new earth. The former things shall not be remembered.
They shall never come to mind. Be glad then and rejoice forever in what I'm creating, for I shall create Jerusalem as a joy and her people as a delight. And I'll rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in her people. Never again shall be heard there the sounds of weeping and wailing. No more shall there be an infant or gray beard who does not live out his days.
He who dies at a hundred years shall be reckoned a youth, and he who fails to reach a hundred shall be reckoned a curse. So there's still going to be life and death on the earth. This is kind of the beginning of the new heavens and the new earth until we get to the final realm.
So that's still going to be happening. We have not yet reached eternity. They shall build houses and dwell in them. They shall plant vineyards and enjoy their fruit.
They shall not build for others to dwell in or plant for others to enjoy. For the days of my people shall be as long as the days of a tree. My chosen ones shall outlive the work of their hands.
And it goes on from there. These are prophecies about the millennial kingdom. So Jesus returns, all of us who are believers are caught up to meet him in the air, and we descend with him. We are glorified. The whole world sees it happen, the triumph of Jesus and his church risen up together to meet him.
He's ecclesia, Jew and Gentile, together in the Messiah, saved, redeemed. We are resurrected. We receive our new bodies. We descend with him, so we go to meet him and escort him back. He sets up his kingdom on the earth and we rule and reign with him on the earth for a thousand years as the earth is repopulated, as the nations of the earth learn about the glory of the Lord. Look at what Jesus says to his disciples in this interesting verse in Matthew chapter 19. Matthew 19, Jesus says this, Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. So Israel entering the millennial kingdom with the nations, the survivors of the nations that went to destroy him. And here, the apostles ruling and reigning with Jesus over the tribes of Israel. This is something that's going to happen on the earth. Where do we get the idea it's a thousand years? Well, we get it from the book of Revelation in the 20th chapter.
Here's the problem. The book of Revelation is full of mystical vision. It's full of symbolism and numbers having special meanings and beasts and all types of apocalyptic characters occurring and being seen. So it's visionary. It is end of the world terminology. It is not meant to be read like a newspaper.
At the same time, you have to ask if if God is getting a message across here in Revelation 20. So let me let me read it to you. All right. I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He sees the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. Let's count.
All right. A thousand years is mentioned once. He threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ceased.
That's the second time. After that, he must be set free for a short time. I saw thrones on which receded those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus, because of the word of God. They 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 a thousand years. That's the third time it's mentioned. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. Fourth time it's mentioned. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
That's the fifth time it's mentioned. When the thousand years are over, that's the sixth time it's mentioned in just seven verses. Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and to gather them for battle, to number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them, and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The thousand years are mentioned six times in seven verses in Revelation 20, based on which many church teachers from all the way back in the early beginnings of the church taught that there would be a thousand-year reign of Jesus on the earth.
I personally believe it will happen as well. I don't divide over it. It is still future. What matters is how we live today. But let me tell you one reason I believe it's there. God gave promises to Israel, and he's going to fulfill those promises. And part of that fulfillment is Israel serving as a priestly nation on the earth to bring others into the knowledge of the glory of God. But there's another reason that I believe that God will bring the Millennial Kingdom on the earth. You say, well, why not just go straight into eternity, right? Jesus returns, and that's it.
We go straight into eternity. That's a very powerful thought. Many do hold to that and believe that.
But here's why I believe the Millennial Kingdom is important, and it's very, very relevant. How many people have you met? Maybe this is you. You'd say, I could believe in God, but there's too much suffering on the earth. Or I could believe in God, but why did he create a world in which people sin and there's so much pain? I could believe in a God that was here and tangible, and we could touch him, but he's so distant.
He's so far from us. I can't believe in a God like that. Well, God is going to remove all excuses from all human beings because he is going to be accessible to the person of his son on the earth, ruling and reigning out of Jerusalem. He will bring about perfect justice. He will not allow sin to triumph, and the earth will become a paradise. At the end of it, when Satan is released, people will still rebel.
Large numbers of human beings will still rebel. They will still turn against God. They will still reject God. They will still say, we do not want you to be God. And it is the ultimate proof, the ultimate vindication of God that people sin because they sin. Not because God is distant, not because God is evil, not because God is capricious, not because God is unfair, not because God does not care. Ultimately, we sin because we are sinful and we choose sin, and this will be the ultimate vindication on the planet so that no one throughout eternity could ever accuse God.
He will demonstrate for the whole universe to see that people sin because they choose to sin, just like Adam and Eve and a perfect paradise on earth with access to God, walking and talking with them, still chose to sin. Next broadcast, we'll talk about why date setting is not something that you want to do, and we'll be practical. We're not just going to tear down, we're going to build up as we always do.
This is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for tuning in. Just a reminder that we are listener supported. If we have been a blessing to you, if you're being enriched in the word and prayer and your own walk with God through this broadcast, then stand with us so that we can reach many, many more and bless many, many more. Together, friends, we're making a difference. So go to TheLineOfFire.org, TheLineOfFire.org, and click Donate.
