The earthly section of the millennial kingdom will be the restored kingdom of Israel—the kingdom of David (Acts 1:6; Mark 11:10). In the Old Testament the Lord promised the Jewish people that the Messiah, the anointed One, would come to inherit the throne of David and restore the Jewish nation, that is, the nation of Israel (Gen. 49:10; 2 Sam. 7:13, 16; Psa. 2:8-9; 72:1-20; 89:4; 110:2-3; Isa. 9:6-7; 11:1-5, 10; Jer. 23:5-6; 30:9; 33:14-17; Ezek. 21:27; 34:23-24; 37:24, 28; Dan. 2:35; 7:14; Hosea 3:5; Amos 9:11-12; Zech. 3:8; 6:12-13; 9:9-10). When the Lord Jesus came the first time, the Jews were expecting the Messiah to restore His kingdom (Luke 2:25; 3:15; 7:19; John 1:41; 7:27, 41). However, it will not be until the Lord’s coming back that He will restore the Messianic kingdom (Matt. 23:39). The kingdom which the Lord, the Messiah, will restore—the kingdom of Messiah or the kingdom of Israel to be restored in the future—will be the earthly part of the millennium, the tabernacle of David which the Lord will rebuild (Acts 15:16). The Lord will sit on the throne of David and reign over the house of Jacob (the Jewish people, Luke 1:32-33), ruling over the nations of the earth during the millennium (Psa. 2:8; 72:8; Dan. 7:14; 2:35).
The earthly section of the millennial kingdom will be the realm for the saved Jews to be God’s priests to teach the nations (Zech. 8:20-23). Zechariah 8:23 says, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” This verse indicates that during the millennium every Jew will be a priest. Among the ancient Jews, the priests were the minority among the people of God. The people received teaching and instruction concerning God from the priests. They taught the people how to worship and serve God. That was a picture of the future situation in the earthly section of the coming millennial kingdom. During the millennium the Gentiles will take the converted Jews as priests. Ten Gentiles will come to one Jew, asking him to teach them how to serve the Lord. Because they will hear that the Lord is with the Jews, they will come to learn how to serve the Lord. This means that, during the millennium, the Gentiles will be the nations and the converted Jews will be the priests, teaching them to worship God.
We have seen that in Matthew 25:34 the Lord reveals that the restored nations will inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. This kingdom will be the earthly section of the millennium.
The earthly section of the millennial kingdom will be the realm for the restored nations to be God’s people. The converted Israelites will be the priests leading the people to worship God. Around the Jews within the earthly section of the millennium will be the preserved, restored, and restituted nations. Therefore, in the earthly section of the millennial kingdom, the converted Jews will be the priests, and the nations who will be restituted, restored, and preserved will be the people. Creation will be restored, there will be no more war, and the earth will be full of peace. What a marvelous and glorious kingdom that will be!
At the end of the old creation, the kingdom will be delivered back to God the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-26). After the Lord has finished the work of purifying the restored nations and of perfecting all the believers during the dispensation of the millennium, He will return the kingdom which He received from the Father, to the Father. This will be the close of the old creation. Then the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem will come in. The restored and purified nations will be around the New Jerusalem as the people, and the New Jerusalem will be the eternal kingdom of God for God’s manifestation and for our eternal enjoyment and experience.
First Corinthians 15:24 says, “Then the end, whenever He delivers up the kingdom to God, even the Father; whenever He annuls all rule and all authority and power.” The Greek word translated “end” here actually means completion. This verse refers to the end of all the ages and dispensations of the old creation. The end will not occur at the completion of the church age but at the completion of the millennium. Then there will be eternity with the new heaven and the new earth.
In verse 24 the word “whenever” is significant. It points to the time when Christ annuls satanic authority, subdues all His enemies (v. 25), abolishes death (v. 26), and delivers up the kingdom to God the Father; that is, when all the negative things are done away with and the entire purpose of God is fulfilled, the old creation will come to its end.
At Christ’s coming back, He will bring the kingdom of God to earth. Then for a thousand years He will execute the kingdom. Then, at the end of the millennium, the Lord will deliver up the kingdom to God.
After accomplishing redemption, Christ went to receive the kingdom from the Father (Luke 19:12, 15). Before the millennium, He as the Son of Man will have received the kingdom from God, the Ancient of days, to rule all the nations for one thousand years (Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 20:4, 6). At the end of the millennium, after the Lord has defeated Satan, the Devil, and his evil angels (as all rule, authority, and power) and even death and Hades, putting all enemies under His feet and casting all of them, including death and Hades, into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10, 14), He will deliver the kingdom back to God the Father.
In 1 Corinthians 15:25 Paul says of Christ, “For He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet.” The longer Christ reigns, the more enemies are put under His feet. Eventually, at the end of the millennium, the last age of the old creation, every enemy will have been put under the feet of Christ. The word “until” indicates this and points to the end of the thousand years. That will be the time when every enemy has been put under Christ’s feet.
In verse 26 Paul goes on to say, “The last enemy that is being abolished is death.” Immediately after the fall of man, God began His work to abolish sin and death. This work has been progressing through the Old and New Testament ages and is still in progress today. When sin is done away with at the end of the old creation and when its source, Satan, is cast into the lake of fire, death will be abolished. It also will be cast into the lake of fire with Hades, its power, after the last and final judgment at the white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). When this last enemy has been abolished, Christ will deliver the kingdom back to God the Father.