The Millennial Reign Of Christ-Introduction
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday November 1, 2009
The Day of the Lord: The Millennial Reign Of Christ-Introduction
Lesson # 31
Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation 19:11.
This morning we will continue with our study of the prophetic subject known as “the Day of the Lord” by beginning a study of the millennial reign of Christ.
The word “millennium” is derived from the Latin words mille, “thousand” plus annus, “year.”
The corresponding Greek expression in Revelation 20:4-7, chilia ete, gives rise to the term “chiliasm,” properly a synonym for “millennialism.”
The term “chiliasm” has been superseded by the designation “premillennialism.”
The word “millennium” denotes a biblical doctrine taught in Revelation 20:1-6 and throughout the Old Testament.
It describes the penultimate triumph by the Lord Jesus Christ over Satan and the kingdom of darkness and the establishment of the kingdom of God on planet earth.
The distinctive feature of this doctrine is that Christ will return “before” the thousand years and therefore will characterize those years by His personal presence and exercise of His rightful authority, securing and sustaining all the blessings on the earth which are ascribed to that period.
This thousand year period takes place between the resurrection of the church, Israel, born-again Gentiles and the resurrection of unsaved at the end of history.
At His Second Advent, the Lord Jesus Christ will bring to an end Daniel’s Seventieth Week, which is also known as the Great Tribulation period.
At His Second Advent, the Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven with the elect angels and the church to deliver Israel from Satan and the non-elect angels and Antichrist, the false prophet and the Tribulational armies.
At that time, our Lord will destroy the Eastern and Western Confederacies and will have Antichrist and the False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:11-19), He will imprison Satan for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3) and will establish His millennial reign on planet earth (Rev. 20:4-6).
Revelation 19:11, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”
Revelation 19:12, “His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.”
Revelation 19:13, “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
Revelation 19:14, “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.”
Revelation 19:15, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
Revelation 19:16, “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’”
Revelation 19:17-18, “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.’”
Revelation 19:19, “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”
Revelation 19:20, “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.”
Revelation 19:21, “And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
Revelation 20:1, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.”
Revelation 20:2, “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”
Revelation 20:3, “And he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.”
Revelation 20:4, “Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
Revelation 20:5, “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.”
Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”
The Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ Himself will reign bodily in Jerusalem for a thousand years as the King of the earth and Israel will be head of the nations.
During this time, God will make a display of the absolute authority of divine government through the rule of the Messiah.
Zechariah 14:1, “Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.”
Zechariah 14:2, “For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.”
Zechariah 14:3, “Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.”
Zechariah 14:4, “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”
Zechariah 14:5, “You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!”
Zechariah 14:6-7, “In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.”
Zechariah 14:8, “And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and the other half toward the western sea (Mediterranean); it will be in summer as well as in winter.”
Zechariah 14:9-10 describes the millennial reign of Christ.
Zechariah 14:9-10, “And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin's Gate (North wall) as far as the place of the First Gate (Northeastern corner of the city) to the Corner Gate (northwestern extremity), and from the Tower of Hananel (at the opposite extremity of the “corner gate,” in the northeastern part of the city, Jer. 31:38) to the king's wine presses.”
Zechariah 14:11, “People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.”
Zechariah 14:12, “Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.”
Zechariah 14:13, “It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another's hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another.”
Zechariah 14:14, “Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance.”
Zechariah 14:15, “So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.”
Zechariah 14:16, “Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Feast of Tabernacles).”
As we will note in our study of the millennium, the Lord Jesus Christ will literally fulfill the four unconditional covenants that God established with the nation of Israel: (1) Abrahamic (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:16; 22:15-18; 26:4; 28:14; 35:11; Ex. 6:2-8). (2) Palestinian (Gen. 13:15; Ex. 6:4, 8; Num. 34:1-12; Deut. 30:1-9; Jer. 32:36-44; Ezek. 36:21-38). (3) Davidic (2 Sam. 7:8-17; Ps. 89:20-37) (4) New (Jer. 31:31-34; cf. Heb. 8:8-12; 10:15-17).
There will be perfect social (Is. 12:1-2; 29:22-23; Jer. 31:23-25; Zeph. 3:18-20; Zech. 3:9; 9:11-12; Rev. 21:4), economic (Is. 4:1; 35:1-2; 30:23-25; Jer. 31:5; Ezek. 34:26; Mic. 4:1; Zech. 8:11-12; Ezek. 36:29-30; Joel 2:21-27; Amos 9:13-14), environmental (Is. 4:5; 30:26; 35:1-3; 60:19-20; Rom. 8:19-20) and political conditions (Is. 9:7; 11:5; 12:1-2; 29:22-23; Jer. 23:5; 31:29-30, 23-25; Zeph. 3:18-20; Zech. 9:11-12; Rev. 21:4).
The Messianic reign is the final divine trial of sinful man on this earth before the Great White Throne Judgment and destruction of the earth.
The millennial age is designed by God to be the final test of fallen humanity under the most ideal circumstances, surrounded by every enablement to obey the rule of the King, from whom the outward sources of temptation such as Satan have been removed, so that man may be found and demonstrated to be a sinner by nature.
This leads us to the communion service and so therefore, could we have our ushers pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.
Luke 22:14, “When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.”
Luke 22:15-16, “And He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’”
Luke 22:17-18, “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.’”
Luke 22:19, “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
Luke 22:20, “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’”
