The Spiritual Character Of The Millennial Reign Of Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday March 7, 2010
The Day of the Lord: The Spiritual Character Of The Millennial Reign Of Christ
Lesson # 35
Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 11:1.
This morning we will continue with our “Day of the Lord” series and in particular our study of the millennial reign of Christ, which helps to compose this prophetic period of history.
Today, we will study the spiritual character of the millennial reign of Christ.
The millennial kingdom will be characterized by the full manifestation of the Holy Spirit since the Spirit will indwell all believers during the millennial reign of Christ (Joel 2:28-29; Ezek. 36:22-28; 37:1-14).
The millennial kingdom will be characterized by righteousness since Christ will be the King reigning in righteousness (Isaiah 32:1).
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.’”
Isaiah 11:1-16, “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, and faithfulness the belt about His waist. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and those who harass Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim. They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west; Together they will plunder the sons of the east; They will possess Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon will be subject to them. And the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; And He will wave His hand over the River with His scorching wind; And He will strike it into seven streams and make men walk over dry-shod. And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant of His people who will be left, just as there was for Israel in the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.”
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.”
During the millennium, the prophecy of Psalm 85:10 will be fulfilled.
Psalm 85:10-13, “Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way.”
The Messiah’s presence in Jerusalem shall be the source from which all millennial righteousness will emanate in spectacular glory (Is. 62:1-2).
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 (Ps. 22:27-28; Mal. 1:11).
Through regeneration, Israel will possess the capacity for obedience because of the indwelling of the Spirit (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-31).
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 (Isa. 11:10; 61:11; Micah 4:2; Zech. 14:16).
Malachi 4:1-5, “And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, ‘Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war. Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. Though all the peoples walk each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”
Another manifestation of the spiritual character of the millennium will be holiness, which 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.
Psalm 47:8-9, “God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.”
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. 89:35-36).
The millennial kingdom will also be characterized by truth since the Lord Jesus Christ will judge the world by means of truth (Ps. 96:10; Zech. 8:7-8).
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).
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).
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).
Isaiah 2:1-4, “The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will 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 concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.”
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.
1 Corinthians 11:23, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread.”
1 Corinthians 11:24, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:25, “In the same way {He took} the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink {it} in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”
