In the old creation, according to the arrangement of His economy, God uses the aforementioned four dispensations to carry out His work of the new creation in the man of the old creation, and He further uses a short period of insertion to carry out His work of restoration in the remaining nations through His eternal gospel. These two kinds of work produce the following results:
The first result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation is the producing of His chosen, called, and redeemed saints, including all the saved ones in the Old Testament and in the New Testament (Heb. 12:23; Rev. 5:9b).
The second result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation is the obtaining of a group of overcomers from among the redeemed. They will be the ones who are perfected and have reached the maturity in God’s life (Heb. 11:39-40; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21).
God’s work of the new creation in the old creation produces a third result, that is, the perfected and matured overcomers of both the Old and New Testaments constituting the New Jerusalem in the millennium (Rev. 2:7), which is the heavenly section of the millennial kingdom, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the age of the millennium (Matt. 13:43). Both the Old and New Testament overcomers will be there to enjoy God’s eternal life as a feast (Matt. 8:11; 19:29) and to reign as kings (Rev. 20:4-6).
At Christ’s second coming all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26) and be the priests in the earthly section of the millennial kingdom to teach the people of the nations to serve God (Zech. 8:20-23). They should be the twelve tribes of Israelites who will be sealed by the angels, as recorded in Revelation 7:1-8. They are saved through God’s pouring out of the Holy Spirit and by their calling upon the Lord’s name (Zech. 12:10; Acts 2:18-21). According to the new covenant which God has covenanted with them, they receive the law of life, a new heart, a new spirit, and God’s Spirit (Jer. 31:31, 33; Ezek. 36:26-27). Hence, they are regenerated and saved just like the New Testament believers. However, because they are saved after the church has been raptured, they are not included in the church and thus cannot join the overcomers of both the Old and New Testaments to enter into the millennial kingdom, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, to reign as kings, but can only enter the earthly section of the millennial kingdom to serve as priests. At the end of the millennial kingdom, they will be able to join all the redeemed people of God of both the Old and New Testaments to enter into the New Jerusalem and be included in all the redeemed people of Israel (Rev. 21:12). This is the fourth result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation.
In the short period of insertion God will gain a group of God-fearing righteous ones who will be restored (see point III in this lesson) to be the citizens in the millennial kingdom (Matt. 25:34). This is the first result of God’s work of restoration in the old creation.
The believers who have been called and redeemed, but who cannot enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennium to participate in the New Jerusalem of the millennial kingdom, will also become mature in God’s life after they have been disciplined and perfected by God during the millennium, the period of reward and punishment (Matt. 24:48-51; 25:26-30). This is the fifth result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation.