The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is now doing a study of the last days which we define as the days that started with the beginning of Jesus' ministry until his return.
Let’s take a look at the event that criauses Jesus to come back to the earth and that is to end the conflict that would result in the complete desolation and Israel and the entire world spoken of at
Matthew 24:22 NIV [22] “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
Just a little background. There will be the war to end all wars.Revelation tells us that a massive superpower, or superpowers, known as the king of the East, will march through the dried-up Euphrates River to meet the combined forces of the Antichrist to fight this war to end all wars.
There are three important points that we need to realize about the return of Jesus.
First, when Jesus comes back, it will be public and seen by all. There will be no mistaking it when it happens.
Matthew 24:27 NIV [27] For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Second, Jesus will come immediately after the Tribulation period
Matthew 24:29-30 NIV [29] “Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ [30] “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
As the Battle of Armageddon is in full swing, Christ will visibly and physically return to the earth to establish His kingdom.
Third, Jesus’ return will be accompanied by sadness and weeping.
Zechariah 12:10 NIV [10] “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
This time, Christ will return in judgment to execute righteousness and justice on the earth.
HEAVEN’S ARMIES
When Christ returns, the believers will return with Him.
Colossians 3:4 NIV [4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Although Christians will be caught up to heaven in the Rapture, we will return with Christ to the earth in the Second Coming.
There will be survivors of the Tribulation period who will be alive for the millennial reign of Christ. And as improbable as it may seem, there will be unbelievers during the millennium who will be part of one final rebellion at the end of the millennium.
Let’s talk about the millennium or the 1,000 year reign of Jesus after the tribulation. During the millennium, Jesus will reign as king over all the nations of the world .at are left after Amageddon, or the for real war to end all wars.
Isaiah 2:4 NIV He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah 42:1 NIV “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
This will be the answer to the request in the Lord’s prayer
Matthew 6:9-10 NIV [9] “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
He was showing us that we should look forward to the day when He will rule as Kingof kings and Lord of lords. There will be no more corruption, no more terrorism, no more war. Everything will change. Then—and only then—will there be peace
.Isaiah 11:6-9 NIV [6] The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. [7] The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. [8] The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. [9] They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 32:18 NIV My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
The world will live in peace.
From the beginning of time, humanity has wanted for peace. We have joined peace movement. We have marched for peace. We have gone to war for peace. We have given prizes for peace.
People can try to visualize peace all they want, but no group of people and no politician ever will bring world peace. Sure, the Antichrist will bring his pseudo-peace, but it will not be real or lasting.However, this event of the Second Coming—and this event only—will bring an end to the senseless killing and wars of mankind. As honorable as the intentions of our government may be, we never will be able to effectively eradicate terrorism from the face of the earth. We will never be able to stop all wars and conflicts with military or political solutions. This will only happen when the Creator Himself returns and repossesses what is rightfully His.
Satan will be bound
Revelation 20:1-3 NIV [1] And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. [2] He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. [3] He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
The purpose of the 1,000-year reign is to fulfill various promises God made to the world. Some of these promises, called covenants, were given specifically to Israel. Others were given to Jesus, the nations of the world, and creation. Jesus’ 1,000-year reign will be a time of promises kept.
The Palestinian Covenant, also called the Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:1-10)
Deuteronomy 30:1-10 NIV [1] When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, [2] and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, [3] then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. [4] Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. [5] He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. [6] The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. [7] The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. [8] You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today. [9] Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, [10] if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
God has already fulfilled the personal aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant; Abraham did go to the Promised Land, he did have many descendants, and he is the forefather of many nations. Several hundred years after Abraham, Joshua led the Israelites to claim ownership of the Promised Land. But Israel has never possessed the specific boundaries that God promised
Genesis 15:17-20 NIV [17] When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. [18] On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— [19] the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, [20] Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
Numbers 34:1-12 NIV [1] The Lord said to Moses, [2] “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries: [3] “ ‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea, [4] cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon, [5] where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea. [6] “ ‘Your western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. This will be your boundary on the west. [7] “ ‘For your northern boundary, run a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor [8] and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the boundary will go to Zedad, [9] continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north. [10] “ ‘For your eastern boundary, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. [11] The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee. [12] Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. “ ‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’ ”
The closest to all of this land being under Isreal was during Solomon’s reign
1 Kings 4:21-25 NIV [21] And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life. [22] Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors of the finest flour and sixty cors of meal, [23] ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. [24] For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. [25] During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.
Although he did reign from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates, he did not hold the area from Mount Hor to Hazarenan into present-day Lebanon and Syria. In addition, the covenant God made with Abraham was that he and his descendants would have the land forever. The current Israeli state may be a step in this direction, but they still do not possess the boundaries God laid out.
The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7)
God’s covenant with David was that his line would never die out and that David’s heir would sit on the throne of Israel forever.
The covenant is in 2 Samuel but let's just read
2 Samuel 7:10-16 NLT [10] And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, [11] starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. “‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! [12] For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. [13] He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. [14] I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. [15] But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. [16] Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”
Biblical scholars agree that Jesus is the fulfillment of this covenant—one of the reasons His genealogy is given for both His adoptive father and His mother. The Jews understood this when they laid down palm branches and their cloaks as Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
We talked about that on Palm Sunday
Luke 19:36-38 NLT 36] As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. [37] When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. [38] “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
They expected Him to be a military/political leader that would liberate them from the Romans and make Israel a great nation again.
Jesus came into Jerusalem not to assert his sovereign rights to the throne of David’s political kingdom, but to declare his kingship in the hearts of those who would trust and follow him.
Zechariah 9:9 NIV [9] Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
But they didn’t understand the nature of Jesus’ work at the time was for the New Covenant, not the Davidic Covenant. The 1,000-year reign will be the beginning of Jesus’ reign over Israel and the entire earth.
The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
So what is this new covenant? Let’s first go to
Jeremiah 31:31-34 NLT [31] “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. [32] This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. [33] “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. [34] And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
The work of the New Covenant—Jesus’ death and resurrection to reconcile hearts to God—has been accomplished. But we have not yet seen the complete fulfillment.
Look at
Ezekiel 36:28 NLT [28] “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
This covenant is possible because of the Redeemer, and the reconciliation He provides will last forever.
Isaiah 59:20-21 NLT [20] “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the Lord. [21] “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!
This covenant does not mean that every Jew will be saved (“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the Lord). But it does mean that Israel as a nation will worship their Messiah. The Old Testament prophets who spoke of this covenant, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Ezekiel, all wrote that it will be fulfilled in the future. From the time of the prophets, Israel has yet to be an independent nation that worshiped its Messiah but according to what we read in Romans a couple of weeks ago they will as a nation and this will happen in the 1,000-year reign of Christ.
Romans 11:25-27 NIV [25] I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, [26] and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. [27] And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
Here Paul is implying a national turning back to God. The implication is they will turn to Jesus as the Messiah, and God will pour out His Spirit on the nation of Israel again. But before He does this and pours out His Spirit upon the Jews, the full gathering of the Gentiles must take place, the church will be Raptured.
Over most Jewish people today, certainly not all, there is a spiritual blindness in which they are not all that open to hearing about Jesus as their Messiah. God says that He will lift the blinder
Other Promises
Those are the covenants God made with Israel that are to be fulfilled in Jesus’ 1,000-year reign, but the Bible lists other promises that will be fulfilled, too. God promised Jesus He will make His enemies a footstool, and that Jesus’ followers will worship Him freely.
Psalms 110:1-7 NLT [1] The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.” [2] The Lord will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem; you will rule over your enemies. [3] When you go to war, your people will serve you willingly. You are arrayed in holy garments, and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew. [4] The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” [5] The Lord stands at your right hand to protect you. He will strike down many kings when his anger erupts. [6] He will punish the nations and fill their lands with corpses; he will shatter heads over the whole earth. [7] But he himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way. He will be victorious.
God promised the nations of the world that they would live in peace with Jesus as their ruler.
Daniel 7:11-14 NLT [11] I continued to watch because I could hear the little horn’s boastful speech. I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body was destroyed by fire. [12] The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer. [13] As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. [14] He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
And He promised creation that the curse would be lifted, animals and the earth would be restored to peace and prosperity on the earth would be lifted, and people would be freed from disease. These, too, will be fulfilled during the 1,000-year reign.
Romans 8:18-23 NLT [18] Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. [19] For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. [20] Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, [21] the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. [22] For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. [23] And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
The main purpose of Jesus’ 1,000-year reign is to fulfill the prophecies given to Israel and the promises made to Jesus, the nations, and the whole earth. God’s covenants were voluntary and one-sided. He promised He would bless Israel and restore the world in specific ways, and He will.
The millennium will really be paradise on earth.
No more war. No more depression. No more disabilities. No more wheelchairs or crutches. No more blindness or deafness. There will be joy and happiness.
Isaiah 35:5-8 NLT [5] And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. [6] The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. [7] The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived. [8] And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.
The curse that has been on the world because of sin will be lifted when Christ comes to rule and reign.
Also during the millennial reign of Christ will be universal justice and righteousness. No more corrupt lawyers and judges. No more frivolous lawsuits. No more corrupt rulings by judges with agendas.
Psalms 72:2-4 NLT [2] Help him judge your people in the right way; let the poor always be treated fairly. [3] May the mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful. [4] Help him to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors.
During the millennial reign of Christ, the whole world will be a paradise. What a wonderful day that will be.
There is still one more major event to take place and that is the judgment of those who did not accept Jesus as Savior and their final disposition along with Satan and his demons.
