THE MILLENNIUM

Having established His Kingdom in power, the Lord will return to the glory from where He will rule over the whole world. Ps 7:7; Ps 47:5; Rev 7:15 (Almeida Versão Revisada).

The Lord will sit on His throne in heaven as Priest and King, as the true Melchizedek, and will reign in peace for a thousand years. This period is called the Millennium. Zech 6:13; Ps 103:19; 110:4; 47:7,8; Rev 20:4; Ps 22:28; Zech 14:9; Rev 22:3; Lev 23:33-44 (Feast of Tabernacles).

After the judgments of war have ended and the Millennium has been introduced, there will be far more women than men in the world. Isa 4:1. God will gather together all things in Christ. He will be the center of everything both in heaven and on earth. Eph 1:10 (Almeida Versão Revisada).

Christ will reign, as the Son of Man, over the entire Universe. Ps 8.

The dominion of His Kingdom over the earth will extend from one end of the seas to the other. Ps 72:8; Zech 9:10; Ps 2:8.

The extent of His Kingdom will have no end. 2 Sam 7:12-16; Dan 2:44; 7:14,27; Luke 1:32,33; Ps 145:13.

In His Kingdom righteousness will prevail. Isa 9:7; 11:4; 16:5; 32:15-20; 61:11; Ps 72:1-7; Ps 45:6; Acts 17:31; Ps 98:9. Padlocks and keys will no longer be needed during the Millennium. Zech 5:3,4; 14:11.

Every evil person who manifests during Christ's reign will be judged publicly as soon as they manifest. Those who sin will do so without there being a tempter. Satan will be bound at that time. A simple lie will not go unnoticed. A flying scroll (book) will go out from the Lord to traverse the whole face of the earth and will fall upon those who practice evil. This purification of every sin that is practiced on the earth will happen every morning for all the thousand years. Ps 101:3-8; Zeph 3:5; Zech 5:1-4; 1 Kings 2:36-46; Ps 34:12-16.

There will be a world of peace. Ps 72:6-8; Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3; Hos 2:18; 1 Kings 5:4; Ps 46:9; Isa 60:18; Ps 147:14.

The Kingdom will include two spheres: the heavenly sphere, called the Kingdom of the Father, and the earthly one, called the Kingdom of the Son of Man. (Matt 13:41-43; 26:29; Dan 7:13,14). The Kingdom of the Father will be formed by all the saints of the Old Testament era, by the Church (the bride of Christ), and by the group of Jews and Gentiles martyred during the tribulation. They are all the heavenly saints. (In short, all those who were raptured and those who participated in the first resurrection). The Kingdom of the Son of Man on earth will be composed of the remnant of Jews preserved throughout the tribulation, of the tribes of Israel that have been gathered, and of the Gentile peoples of the earth. Rev 7; Gen 22:17; Dan 7:22.

Heaven and earth will be reconciled. There will be harmony between them. Hos 2:21-23; John 1:51; Gen 28:12-15.

The Lord, after having taken His inheritance (all created things) by His power, will share it with the Church, His bride. Eph 1:11-23; Rom 8:17; Ps 2:8; 1 Cor 3:21-23.

The heavenly saints will reign over the earth. Rev 5:10; Heb 12:22; Dan 7:22. The heavenly saints will be like the Lord in the moral aspect (1 John 3:2), and also physically (Phil 3:21). Just as the Lord will be in the "dew of Your youth", they too will be restored to the springtime of life (Ps 110:3). The elderly saints, whose physical and mental faculties have been ruined, will all be restored to strength and vigor in their resurrected bodies. They will never again see corruption. 1 Cor 15:42-57; 2 Cor 5:1-4. Just as they were made in the likeness of the Lord morally and physically, the heavenly saints will have the capacities of their glorified bodies immensely increased. They will be able to visit the earth, going up and down all over it in an instant (Luke 24:30-35), and they will pass through solid objects like walls, etc. (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-29). However they will not have qualities of omniscience or omnipotence, which belong only to deity.

The Heavenly Jerusalem* will have walls of jasper stone, twelve gates of pearl (three on each side of the city), twelve foundations of precious stones, and a street of gold, transparent as glass. Rev 21:9-14,18-21.

[ Note: *There are three Jerusalems that should not be confused with one another:

the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22; Rev 21:10-22:5), which is the dwelling place of the saints on high during the Millennium period; the earthly Jerusalem (Jer 3:17; 30:18; Ps 48; Ezek 48:15-20), which is the dwelling place of the prince and of other saints, probably of the royal family of David during the Millennium; and the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:2), the city of the saints in the Eternal State. All are called holy (Rev 21:2,10; Joel 3:17). ] In the heavenly city there will be a river of pure water of life; the tree of life bearing fruit on each side of the river, and the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle. Rev 22:1-3.

The heavenly city will be in the shape of a cube with each edge measuring 2,220 kilometers. The total dimension will be approximately 11 billion cubic kilometers! Rev 21:15-17. There will be no temple in the heavenly city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb will be its temple. Rev 21:22. There will be no night in the heavenly Jerusalem. There will be no need for the natural light of the Sun and the Moon, for the inherent glory of God will be the light there. The city will shine with divine glory. Rev 21:23,24.

The Lord will be seen and worshiped personally by those who are in the heavenly city. Rev 22:4.

The heavenly Jerusalem will be seen above the earthly Jerusalem. Isa 4:5,6; Rev 21:9-22:5.

The Lord will present His bride, the Church, to the world. She will have a place of association with Him in His kingdom. He will be glorified and admired in His heavenly saints when the world sees them. This is the day of Christ. 2 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 21:9-2:5; Phil. 1:6,10; 2:16; 1 Cor. 1:8; 3:13; 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; John 8:56.

The reward, which Christians will then have received at the throne of Christ, will be manifested before the whole world on the Day of Christ. They will receive the privilege of participating in the administration of the earth during the Millennium, to the same measure of administration and justice that they have learned while still on earth. Rev. 20:4; 1 Cor. 6:2; Luke 16:9-12; 19:11-19; Matt. 24:45-47; 25:14-23; Rev. 2:26,27.

The twelve apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ will have the special privilege of participating, from heaven, in the government of Israel. Matt. 19:28.

The Lord will espouse Israel in a figurative sense. "And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, that you will call me:

My husband". Hos. 2:16-20; Isa. 54:4,5; 62:4,5; John 2:1-11; Ps. 45; Song 3:6-5:1. The Lord will rejoice over Israel with singing. He will be silent (rest) in His love. Zeph. 3:17.

The land of Israel will be cleansed of the dead. A great sepulcher called Hamongog (valley of the multitude of Gog) will be built for the burial of the Russian hordes and the armies of the nations that followed them to battle. Its location will be in an enormous valley east of the Dead Sea. Ezek. 39:11. It will take seven months to bury the dead and seven years to burn the weapons. Ezek. 39:9,10,12.

The entire land of Israel will be rebuilt after its desolation. Isa. 61:4; Ezek. 36:10; Ezek. 33-35; Jer. 30:18; Amos 9:14.

The entire extent of Israel's inheritance will comprise the land that goes from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates. The enlarged land will be around 480,000 square kilometers. The area west of the Jordan River, going to the Mediterranean Sea, will be divided into parallel strips dividing the country according to the twelve tribes of Israel (Ezek. 47:13-48:35). It is likely that this area is destined more for residential purposes and its extension to the east to the Euphrates is destined for pastures. Ps. 47:4; Gen. 15:15-18; Ex. 23:31; Josh. 1:4; Isa. 26:15 (Almeida Versão Revisada); Isa. 54:1-3; Mic. 7:11 (Almeida Versão Atualizada).#17# An area of approximately 80 kilometers in diameter in the land of Judah, "Geba and its surrounding villages" (Josh. 21:17), up to "Rimmon" on its southern border (Josh. 15:32) will be raised in the form of a plateau. This will be the location of Jerusalem and the temple area. (Ps. 68:29; Ps. 122). Because it is elevated, Jerusalem will become extremely prominent over the land. The broad plateau will also provide the necessary space for the nations to visit Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. The entire area will be called "mountain of the house of the Lord" Mic. 4:1,2; Zech. 14:10,11; Isa. 2:2,3; Ezek. 40:2.

In the area of this great plateau an "oblation" or "heave offering" will be offered by Israel to the Lord, which will be a holy portion of the land, measuring

1. X 25 large cubits* (Ezek. 40:5;

41:8) or 14 X 14 kilometers (196 square kilometers). The oblation will have an area for the priests and their families, the Levites and their families, and for the city of Jerusalem. Ezek. 45:1-6; 48:8-20.

[ Note: *A large cubit measured 56 centimeters. It appears that this cubit is used in all the dimensions of the temple in Ezek. 40-48. ] A new temple (or sanctuary) will be built and will be located in the oblation a few miles north of Jerusalem. It will be a "house of prayer for all peoples". Ezek. 40-42:20; 45:1-5; 48:8; Isa. 56:7; Rev. 7:15; Ps. 68:29.

There will be an area of 500 X 500 reeds around the temple complex (a reed measures 3 meters and 36 centimeters - Ezek. 40:5) which is approximately three thousand square kilometers. That is enough space for 280 football fields! Ezek. 42:15,20; 45:2.

The temple complex within the area of 500 X 500 reeds will measure about 500 X 500 cubits. That is enough space for almost 8 football fields! Ezek. 40-42. It is likely that the temple will not be built with gold and silver like the first temple that was built by Solomon (1 Kings 5-8). Gold and silver are not mentioned in the plans of the Millennial temple. Perhaps it will be white, which would signify the purity and righteousness that will characterize that period. Ezek. 40-48.

Israel and the Gentiles will work together in the construction of the temple. Isa. 60:10; Zech. 6:15; 1 Kings 5:1-10.

There will be only three gates to enter the temple complex (in the outer court). There will be no gate to the west. Likewise there will be only three gates to enter the inner court where the great altar will be located. Ezek. 40.

The absence of the veil in the Millennial temple is noteworthy. In its place there will be double-leaf doors at the entrance (Ezek. 41:24). This means a much greater degree of access than that which Israel knew in Old Testament times, when there was a veiled entrance to the presence of the Lord (Ex. 26:31). Still, it is much less than the broad entrance and free access that Christians enjoy now through the Spirit through the torn veil (Matt. 27:51; Heb. 10:19-22).