In this message we shall cover two further aspects of the kingdom: the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world and the millennial kingdom.
After the Lord Jesus comes back, He will judge all the nations, all the Gentiles who will be left after the Lord destroys those Gentiles who follow Antichrist at Armageddon. To those on His right hand, who are regarded as sheep, the Lord will say, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). This aspect of the kingdom was prepared not before the foundation of the world but from the foundation of the world.
After the judgment at Christ’s throne of glory, the sheep will be transferred into the millennium to be the people on the earth under the kingly ruling of Christ and the overcoming believers (Rev. 2:26-27; 12:5; 20:4-6) and under the priestly ministry of the saved Jews (Zech. 8:20-23). In this way, they will inherit the kingdom prepared by God for them from the foundation of the world.
In the millennium there will be three realms: the first will be the realm of the earth, where the blessing of God’s creation, as mentioned in Genesis 1:28-30, will take place; the second, the realm of the nation of Israel in Canaan, from the Nile to the Euphrates, in which the saved Jews will rule over the earth (Isa. 60:10-12; Zech. 14:16-18); and the third, the heavenly and spiritual realm (1 Cor. 15:50-52), where the overcoming believers will enjoy the kingdom reward (Matt. 5:20; 7:21). The kingdom that the sheep will enter will be the first realm. The blessing of the first realm in the millennium, the blessing of God’s creation, was prepared for the sheep from the foundation of the world, whereas the blessing in the third realm, the blessing of the heavenly and spiritual kingdom, was ordained for the believers before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-4).
During the persecution under Antichrist, for the care of the believers and the Jews—God’s chosen people who will be left on earth—an eternal gospel will be preached to the nations (Rev. 14:6-7), as illustrated by the parable of the net in Matthew 13:47-50. The Lord will then judge the nations not according to the law of Moses nor according to the gospel of Christ but according to the eternal gospel. This is a matter of God’s dispensation. Those who listen to that gospel and treat the suffering believers and Jews well will be blessed and reckoned as righteous (Matt. 25:46) to inherit the kingdom (v. 34), but those who do not will be cursed (v. 41) and will perish for eternity. The gospel of grace (Acts 20:24) brings eternal life into the believers (John 3:15-16) that they may live by God’s life, whereas the eternal gospel brings the sheep into eternal life (Matt. 25:46) that they may live in the sphere of God’s life.
In the kingdom of God as the sphere of God’s administration, there is the need for three kinds of people: the priests, the kings, and the people or the nations. The kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world is for the restored nations to dwell in to be the people in the millennial kingdom.
After the Lord Jesus deals with the believers, the Jews, and the nations, He will bring in the millennial kingdom. The word “millennium” means one thousand years. The kingdom of the Lord on earth will be for one thousand years. The millennium, then, refers to the time after Christ comes again as King to rule the world and before the new heaven and new earth. In the Old Testament there are many verses concerning the millennial kingdom (Psa. 2:6, 8-9; Isa. 2:2-5; 11:1-10; 65:20-25; 30:26; Zech. 8:20-23; Psa. 72:1-17; Isa. 4:2-6; 9:7; 12:1-5; 16:5; 32:1-2; 40:9-11; 61:4-9; Zech. 14:16-21). In the New Testament the millennium is referred to in Revelation 20:4 and 6, verses that speak of those who reign with Christ a thousand years.
Acts 3:21, another verse that refers to the millennium, says, “Whom heaven must indeed receive until the times of restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.” This restoration will affect not only man but also the entire creation—the heavens, the earth, the animals, and even the trees. Everything that was cursed through the fall of man will be restored. Isaiah 30:26 says, “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days.” Today the sun and the moon are not normal because they have been cursed through the rebellion of Satan and the fall of man. As Genesis 3:17 and 18 indicate, the earth has been cursed because of man’s fall. Therefore, the earth today is not normal. But at the time of the restoration of all things, the earth will be restored to its original condition. Furthermore, the beast and the cattle will be restored to such an extent that “the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid” (Isa. 11:6). This will not be miraculous but rather will be normal and common.