Sermon Tone Analysis

*Isaiah 2:1-4*

*Life in the Millennium*

“The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and shall be lifted up above the hills;

and all the nations shall flow to it,

and many peoples shall come, and say:

‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.’

For out of Zion shall go the law,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations,

and shall decide disputes for many peoples;

and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.”[1]

I believe that Jesus Christ was crucified and that He was buried in a borrowed tomb; and on the authority of Scripture I believe that He was raised from the dead on the third day.

I believe that He was seen by witnesses whom God chose before hand and that after fifty days He ascended into Heaven where He is now seated at the right hand of the Father.

Moreover, I am convinced that Jesus will return to this earth as He has promised and that He shall reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years.

I believe that all who are saved during this present Church Age are appointed to reign with Him throughout that glorious time known as the Millennium.

This is the Faith I have received from my spiritual forebears.

Within Christendom are numerous professing believers who deny that Christ shall physically reign on the earth.

Even among evangelical Christians are a surprising number that deny that He will reign for a thousand years.

I confess that I am a naïve literalist when it comes to Scripture.

When the Bible makes a declaration, I see no reason to discount what is taught.

Therefore, when I read the twentieth chapter of the Apocalypse, I accept that Satan will be bound and Christ will reign for a thousand years.

John recorded the glorious revelation, “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.

And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for */a thousand years/*, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, */until the thousand years were ended/*.

After that he must be released for a little while.

“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.

Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.

They came to life and reigned with Christ for */a thousand years/*.

The rest of the dead did not come to life */until the thousand years were ended/*.

This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!

Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for */a thousand years/*.

“And when */the thousand years/* are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.

And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” [*Revelation 20:1-10*].

The word “millennium” is derived from the Latin phrase */mille anum/*, which means “thousand years.”

Those who believe there will be a Millennium are sometimes referred to as millennialists or chiliasts (from the Greek term */chília/*, for one thousand).

When people dismiss belief in the Millennium because they say that the term only occurs in Revelation 20, the appropriate response is that though the statement is true on the face, in that one passage there are six references to the thousand years.

Moreover, the concept of Messiah reigning on earth occurs repeatedly throughout Scripture.

And it is one of those references that serves as a text for our studies this day.

*Why Will there be a Millennium*?

Before we consider what the Millennium will be like for those who are living at that time, it will be beneficial to ask what God’s purpose is in planning the Millennium.

Though the text does not directly address this question, the answer is provided through consideration of Scripture in its entirety.

Though we are not privy to all God’s thoughts, we are privileged through reading the Word to think God’s thoughts after Him.

In other words, through studying what God has provided through His Word, we can understand in a measure what He has done and why He has done it.

Throughout Scripture, God demonstrates His longing to redeem His fallen creature.

Our first parents rebelled, choosing to exercise their free will to disobey the Creator, resulting in death for the race and plunging the whole of creation into ruin.

Man is now incapable of making himself acceptable to God because he is totally depraved, every facet of his being contaminated by sin.

God’s interaction with man since that disastrous rebellion has been more than merely introducing divine covenants, God has systematically addressed every conceivable objection mankind could raise to obeying Him as Creator.

A dispensation is a period of time during which man is tested in respect of obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God.[2]

Dispensationalism endeavours to establish a unity in Scripture through focusing on the grace of God.

Although dispensationalists recognise differing dispensations whereby man was placed under trust by the Lord, they agree that response to God’s revelation in each dispensation is by faith.

Salvation is always by grace through faith.

Dispensationalists hold two primary principles: */maintaining a consistent literal method of interpretation/*, and */maintaining a distinction between Israel and the church/*.

Although there is some question about the number of dispensations, modern dispensationalists commonly speak of seven dispensations, each of which concluded in judgement.

Man was created and placed in a perfect environment.

Therefore, no individual can say that if only they lived in a perfect environment they could please God and serve Him acceptably.

Our first parents lived in such an environment and they rebelled, bringing judgement upon themselves and the entire creation.

The */Dispensation of Innocence/* [*Genesis 1:28-3:6*] ended in judgement as Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden.

Perhaps there are those who argue that we should let our conscience be our guide.

During the */Dispensation of Conscience/* [*Genesis 4:1-8:14*], covering the period of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden to the Flood, mankind lived in precisely that situation, and the dispensation ended in judgement as God sent the Flood to destroy the earth.

Undoubtedly, there are individuals who contend that if only there were authoritative voices to tell them how to live, they could please God, living in such a way that they honoured Him.

The Word of God teaches us that at one time the nations of the world were first united under Nimrod to oppose God.

This */Dispensation of Human Government/* [*Genesis 8:15-11:9*] ended with judgement at the Tower of Babel.

The */Dispensation of Promise/* [*Genesis 11:10-Exodus 18:27*] covered the period during which the patriarchs provided counsel to the peoples of the earth.

Their walk with God and the failure of mankind to heed their words or their teaching, concluded with judgement at Sinai.

Some people argue that if only God told mankind what He wanted, they would obey Him and please Him.

Of course, throughout the */Dispensation of Law/* [*Exodus 19:1-Acts 1:26*], mankind did have a perfect Law and they failed to keep it.

The judgement of God at the Cross of Christ demonstrated man’s inability to satisfy the just demands of Holy God.

Now, we are in the */Dispensation of Grace/* [*Acts 2:1-Revelation 19:21*], during which time God calls man to respond to His grace.

Even a cursory review of the world in which we live reveals that mankind is not generally pleasing God, nor is mankind disposed to find out what pleases God.

Rather, man is focused on gratifying his own desires, ignoring the will of God.

This present dispensation will conclude with judgement as God removes His people and pours out awful judgements on mankind throughout the Tribulation period.

Systematically, God has removed objections that people might raised to His call for faith.

Man, placed in perfect environment and in absolute innocence, is inclined to disobey God while pursuing his own will.

Our consciences are unreliable and we are unable to please God when we attempt to let our conscience guide us.

Strong government is not an answer to finding what pleases God.

Lord Acton was correct, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Living in light of the promise of God is no solution to the problem of man’s sin.

Neither is a perfect law capable of inducing obedience to the Law Giver.

Similarly, responding to God’s grace and goodness is insufficient to lead man into obedience.

This leaves the objection that if only God Himself would rule over the earth, man could please Him.

Throughout the Millennium, Christ Jesus, very God in human flesh, will reign from Jerusalem.

Man will have opportunity to live under the perfect rule of the Son of God.

Though we might imagine that everything will be perfect during that time, the Millennial Dispensation [*Revelation 20:4-6*] concludes with rebellion and judgement as the Son of God brings in the final judgement and at last removes sinners from His presence forever.

Throughout the dispensations, God will have removed every objection and mankind will be compelled to confess that salvation can only be by faith.

Man must be transformed; he is incapable of changing himself.

*Characteristics of the Millennium* — The next dispensation, which is also the final dispensation, is the Millennial Kingdom of Christ the Lord.

For one thousand years, Jesus shall reign over all the earth.

Our text speaks of the spiritual conditions that will mark the Millennial reign of Christ the Lord.

Weigh what Isaiah has written.

“In the future