In this lesson we will consider the prophecies concerning the millennial kingdom.
After the Lord deals with the believers, the Jews, the nations, and Antichrist with his followers, He will bring in the millennial kingdom. The word millennium means “one thousand years.” The millennium refers to the time between Christ’s second coming as a King to rule the earth and the new heaven and new earth. This time will last for one thousand years. There are many verses in the Old Testament 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. These verses speak of those who reign with Christ for a thousand years.
The millennium will bring in the restoration of all things. Acts 3:21 says, “Whom heaven must indeed receive until the times of the restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.” The restoration will affect not only man but also the entire old creation—heaven, earth, the animals, and even the trees. Everything that was cursed through the fall of man will be restored. There are many prophecies in Isaiah, Zechariah, and the Psalms regarding the millennium bringing in restoration. Isaiah 30:26 says, “The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, / And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, / On the day when Jehovah binds up the breach of His people / And heals the wound left from His stroke.” This indicates that the sun and the moon will be restored to their original condition. Furthermore, all creatures will be restored to their original condition. The beast and the cattle will be restored to such an extent that “the wolf will dwell with the lamb; / And the leopard will lie down with the kid” (11:6). This will not be miraculous; rather, it will be normal and common. Verse 8 says, “The nursing child will play by the cobra’s hole, / And upon the viper’s den / The weaned child will stretch his hand.” When Christ comes again, everything will be restored. The trees will flourish, and the flowers will blossom abundantly. According to 35:1-2, “The wilderness and the desert will be glad; / And the desert will exult and blossom / Like the rose. / It will blossom and blossom, / And even exult with exultation and a ringing shout.” Furthermore, “water will break forth in the wilderness, / And streams in the desert. / And the desert mirage will become a pool, / And the thirsty ground, springs of water” (vv. 6-7). Also, “a highway will be there, and a way, / And it will be called, The Way of Holiness” (v. 8).
The millennium will be the last age in God’s old creation. In order to understand this properly, we need to realize that the universe is composed of three periods. The first period was the time before the creation of Adam. No one can tell how long that period of time was. The second period extends from Genesis 1:2 through the end of the coming millennium. Following this second period, there will be a third period—the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem—that will last for eternity.
The second period of the universe is the period of accomplishment, the time during which God accomplishes His eternal purpose. This period of accomplishment began with the creation of man and will be completed at the end of the millennium. The second coming of the Lord Jesus will not end this period of accomplishment. The Lord’s second coming will be a further step in the accomplishment of God’s purpose. The old heaven and the old earth will continue for another thousand years after the Lord’s coming back. Those one thousand years will be a continuation of the period of accomplishment. Therefore, God’s accomplishment of His purpose began with the creation of man and will be completed at the end of the millennium, not at the time of the Lord’s second coming.
The millennium will be the last and most crucial part of the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose. Although the millennium will be wonderful, during that time the old heaven and the old earth will continue to exist. At most, the millennium will be a time of restoration. The old heaven and the old earth will be restored during the millennium, but they will not yet be changed from the old to the new. The changing of the old heaven and the old earth into the new heaven and the new earth will require a thousand years. Hence, the period of time from the creation of Adam until the second coming of Christ will issue in the restoration of the universe. However, to issue in the renewal of the universe will require another thousand years. After this last thousand years, the entire universe will be changed from the old to the new. Then there will be the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem.
Between eternity past and eternity future, there are four dispensations: the dispensation before law, the dispensation of law, the dispensation of grace, and the dispensation of the kingdom—the millennium. All four dispensations, including the millennium, belong to God’s old creation, not to His new creation. The old creation is used by God to prepare the three kinds of people that He needs: the overcomers in the church to be the kings in the millennium, the saved Israelites to be the priests in the millennium, and the restored nations to be the people in the millennium. During the dispensation of the millennium, God will also continue to perfect the believers who were not willing to cooperate with God’s sufficient grace to be perfected during the church age. Therefore, the millennial age will be used by God as an age of preparation.