Zechariah 14:4-11 and Isaiah 11:1-10
Zechariah describes the Lord’s visible return in glory for us. In Zechariah 14:4, he says that the Lord’s feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives in that day. He will come in the air to rapture His blood-bought people, and his own will rise to meet him. But his coming will be secret, silent, and swift.
Seven years later will be His coming to the earth (see Acts 1-2 and Thessalonians 1:7-8). At this time, He will come with His people in power and in great glory. “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (see Revelation 19:11-16).
In a previous study we noticed how this took place. Upon His coming to the earth, certain physical changes will take place. The Mount of Olives will cleave in two, making a very great valley. Israel will be at the point of annihilation when this happens, and she will flee into it for safety. The believing remnant will see Him, whom their forefathers had crucified. As they see their Messiah they will say, “What are these wounds in your hands?” Then He shall answer, “I received these in the house of my friends” (see Zechariah 13:6).
This revelation will cause them great sorrow, and as they repent and receive Christ as their Messiah, “a nation will be born in a day.” This valley will extend from the eastern sea (the Persian Gulf) to the western sea (the Mediterranean Sea). Jerusalem will become the world’s greatest seaport and will also become the metropolis of the world. The Lord Jesus will reign over all the earth. And, as Luke 1:32-33 says, “He shall be great, the Son of the Highest shall sit upon the Throne and He shall reign and of His kingdom there shall be no end.”
Who, then, will inherit the earth during the Millennium? The earth will be inherited by both the believing remnant of the Jews, and also an innumerable company of Gentiles saved during the Tribulation (see Revelation 7). Their spiritual status will be determined at the time Christ judges the nations. Those whom the Lord recognizes as sheep will go into the Kingdom and be placed at his right hand. Then, the king will say to them, “Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (see Matthew 26: 31-46).
Only believers will enter the kingdom. Furthermore, at this time, those who were martyred during the Tribulation will be resurrected. In addition, Old Testament saints will also be resurrected. All of these saints will together live and reign with Christ one thousand years (see Revelation 20:4).
Why will the Millennium be such a time of unprecedented blessing?
1. The Millennium is the fulfillment of the promises given to Abraham and David: To Abraham’s seed, God promised perpetual blessings in the land. To David, God promised a royal house, a king and an eternal throne, “He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).
2. In the Millennium, Satan will be shut up in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (see Revelation 20:1-3). The Beast and the False Prophet will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Man will be tried under ideal conditions, but will miserably fail. Children born during this time will be unregenerate. This will be God’s final testing of man.
3. In the Millennium, the curse put upon the earth by Adam’s sin will be removed (see Genesis 3:17-19). Romans 8:22 says, “Creation groans and travails in pain until now... and waits for the manifestation of the sons of God.” The productive potential of the earth will be unleashed, and there will be continuous productivity. As Amos 9:13 says, “‘Behold the days shall come,’ saith the Lord, ‘that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper.’”
4. In the Millennium, the animal kingdom will lose its venom and ferocity.
The wolf will live with lamb.
The leopard shall lie down with the kid.
The calf and the young lion will be friendly.
And a little child shall lead these.
The cow and the bear shall feed together.
Their young shall lie down together.
The lion shall eat straw like an ox.
Snakes will lose their venom…little children will play with them (Isaiah 11:6-8).
5. In the Millennium, sickness will be removed, and no one will die of natural causes. A person who is 100 years old will be counted a child. There will be no cancer or arthritis. The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. The lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing. And there will be no impaired minds.
6. In the Millennium, there will be peace throughout the whole world- no armies, navies, air forces, or police force.
7. In the Millennium, there will be economic prosperity.
8. In the Millennium, there will be a unified language. The curse of Babel will be removed. As Zephaniah 3:9 says, “I will give to the peoples a pure language.”
9. In the Millennium, there will be unified worship. The entire world will worship the Lord Jesus Christ (see Zephaniah 1:4-16).
At the close of this illustrious reign, Satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit. See Revelation 20:7-9. He shall deceive many in the nations of the world. (Special mention is made of the leader and people of Russia. They welcome him gladly.) Satan will gather the rebels together, whose number will be as great as the sands of the sea. From the four corners of the earth, this satanic force will encompass Jerusalem, but fire will come down from God and devour them. In Revelation 20:10, Satan’s doom described for us, “The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
In Revelation 20:11-15, we see a description of the second resurrection and the Great White Throne Judgment. This judgment is described as great because of the almighty power demonstrated, as well as greatness of the eternal consequences.
In Revelation 1, we see a description of John’s vision. He sees both a great white and the one who is seated upon it, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then he sees a vision of all those who stand before God- they the dead, the small and the great. They are of all ranks and degrees-both high and low, both respected and outcast, both young and old.
He then sees the books being opened. But why? The dead, the small and great are being judged according to their works, which are written in the books. Every man is being judged according to his works. He sees the sea, the graves, and hell give up their dead and Death and Hell, Hades being cast into the lake of fire (Gehenna). This is the second death, and those who experience this death will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
In our past stories we have listened to the voices of the world, the Father and the Son, and now we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. “Be wise therefore oh Kings, he instructed ye judges of the earth.” It is a call to all mankind to be reconciled to the Son. To kiss His feet with trembling, to accept His wounded hand in token that you surrender to Him. Blessed are they who put their trust in Him.