The Spiritual Character Of The Millennial Reign Of Christ (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday February 5, 2025

The Day of the Lord Series: The Spiritual Character Of The Millennial Reign Of Christ

Lesson # 57

The outstanding characterization of the millennium is its spiritual nature for the millennial reign of Christ will be an earthly kingdom that will be most definitely spiritual in character.

The key words of the Lord Jesus Christ’s millennial reign are righteousness and peace, the former being the root of which the latter is the fruit.

Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. 18 Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places. (NASB95)

During the millennial reign of the King, the prophecy of Psalm 85:10 will be fulfilled.

Psalm 85:10 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. 12 The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. 13 Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps. (NIV 84)

The Messiah’s presence in Jerusalem shall be the source from which all millennial righteousness will emanate in spectacular glory.

Isaiah 62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. (NIV84)

Righteousness will be the descriptive term characterizing the rule of the Messiah as a whole because He will be the King reigning in righteousness.

Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign righteously and princes will rule justly. (NASB95)

He will judge the poor in righteousness and in judging and seeking judgment He shall be quick to bring about righteousness.

Isaiah 11:1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. (NIV84)

Isaiah 16:5 A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, and a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice and be prompt in righteousness. (NASB95)

Psalm 96:10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.” (NASB95)

Under the Lord Jesus, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled.

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (NASB95)

The millennial kingdom will also be characterized by obedience since there will be complete and willing obedience on the part of the Lord’s subjects.

Through regeneration, Israel will possess the capacity for obedience because of the indwelling of the Spirit (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-31).

There will be complete obedience in the millennial reign because of the absence of Satan and the fallen angels.

All the wicked evil social, religious, economic and political systems of Satan’s cosmic system will be terminated.

There will be universal knowledge of the Lord, which will eliminate opposition to God’s will through ignorance.

Not only will there be obedience in the nation of Israel to Christ’s rule but also there will be universal obedience among the Gentile nations.

There will be complete submission to the Lord’s sovereign authority in the millennium.

This perfect obedience to Christ’s authority will be another manifestation of the spiritual character of the millennium.

Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S and He rules over the nations. (NASB95)

Malachi 1:1 An oracle: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. 2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. “But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” the Lord says. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” 4 Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.” But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’ 6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ 7 “You place defiled food on my altar. “But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty. 9 “Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty. 10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty. (NIV84)

Another manifestation of the spiritual character of the millennium will be holiness since it will be manifested through the King and the King’s subjects.

The land will be holy, the city of Jerusalem holy, the temple holy and the subjects holy unto the Lord (Is. 1:26-27; 4:3-4; 29:18-23; Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:24-31; 37:23-24; Joel 3:21; Zeph. 3:11; Zech. 8:3; 13:1-2).

Christ will reign over the nations of the earth from the throne of His holiness (Ps. 47:8-9) and the fact that Christ will reign over the nations of the earth from the throne of His holiness will be according to the promise of the Davidic covenant (Ps. 89:35).

The millennial kingdom will also be characterized by truth since Jesus Christ will judge the world with His truth (Ps. 96:10).

Truth will triumph since “the Truth” Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ will reign.

Zechariah 8:7 Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; 8 and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.” (NASB95)

Isaiah 65:16 “Because he who is blessed in the earth will be blessed by the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My sight!” (NASB95)

Jeremiah 33:6 “Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. 7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first.” (NASB95)

Truth shall be joined together with mercy during our Lord’s reign and then Israel shall say the following:

Psalm 98:3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. (NASB95)

The millennial kingdom will be characterized by the full manifestation of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-29) since the Spirit will indwell all believers during the millennial reign of Christ (Ezek. 36:22-28; 37:1-14).

The filling of the Spirit will be common during the millennium.

This will be in contrast with the dispensations of human history prior to the millennial reign.

National and individual peace is the fruit of the Messiah’s reign (Is. 2:4; 9:4-7; 11:6-9; 32:17-18; 33:5-6; 54:13; 55:12; 60:18; 65:25; 66:12; Ezek. 28:26; 34:25; Hos. 2:18; Mic. 4:2-3; Zech. 9:10).

Joy will also be a distinctive mark of the millennial age (Is. 9:3-4; 12:3-6; Jer. 30:18-19; 31:13-14; Zeph. 3:14-17; Zech. 8:18-19; 10:6-7) and there will be a full knowledge of the Lord during the millennium because of the indwelling presence of the Spirit in the subjects of the Lord (Is. 11:1-2; 41:19-20; Hab. 2:14).

This knowledge will be the result of the instruction that issues from the Lord Jesus (Is. 2:2-3; 12:3-6; Jer. 3:14-15; Mic. 4:2).