(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)
Let me begin by making it clear that this commentary is written from the viewpoint of a pre-tribulation and pre-millennial position as they relate to future prophecy.
To clarify: A pre-tribulation view holds that the Rapture (removal) of the True, Christ-worshipping and honoring Church will take place prior to the events of the 70th week of Daniel (Tribulation, Time of Jacob’s Trouble). The events related to this 7-year period are described beginning in Chapter 4, verse 1 of the Book of Revelation, and end with the physical return of Jesus Christ to the earth that is described in Revelation 19:11-16.
A pre-millennial view holds that there will be a literal period of one thousand years following the physical return of Jesus Christ, where He will literally/physically rule and reign over the earth and all those who survive the judgments of the Tribulation (but have received Jesus as Savior during that time). Those saved people will enter this period as redeemed individuals but who are still “in the flesh” and who still live with a sin nature, as do redeemed individuals at the present time. They will serve to repopulate the earth. This is described in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 20, V1-6.
Those who enter the Millennial Kingdom will only be those who have received Jesus Christ (sheep). Unbelieving, Christ-rejecting individuals will be cast into eternal punishment (goats). This judgment (commonly referred to as the “sheep and goat judgment”) is described in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 25, V31-46.
This judgment should not be confused with the Great White throne judgment of all those who rejected the Grace and Salvation paid for by Jesus Christ for all who received Him throughout all human history. That judgment is described in Revelation Chapter 20, V11-15.
Satan will be bound and cast into the Abyss for the Millennium as well:
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time” (Revelation 20:1-3).
These conditions are important to understand, as they underscore the reason for the Millennium and God’s purpose in it.
Over time we have all heard humanly expressed reasons why there are so many ills in the world and that these ills are to blame for all the other ills in the world. This kind of victim mentality, circular reasoning, is a specialty that humans have honed to a fine art.
In the end, it is truly all about “it’s not my fault,” finger-pointing, and blame redistribution in order to deflect from the real man-centered causes of self-inflicted misery that this world has indeed come to: rebellion against God.
At the present time, casting blame elsewhere, any elsewhere, for one’s own faults is the default position that a large majority of people seem to assume. As ever, there are exceptions, but accepting responsibility is becoming a rarity.
Walt Kelly’s cartoon character, Pogo, expressed this inescapable reality best: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
In the centuries following the first advent of God’s Messiah and humankind’s rejection of Him, rejection of Him and His saving Grace has led the world along a path of increasing misery and grief due to rising levels of sinful behavior. History confirms this.
As ever, God provided an indictment, in advance, of the singular reason for this degradation in the human condition:
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Will the workers of iniquity never learn?” (Psalm 14:1-4).
The Patient Endurance of the Lord.
Because of God’s Mercy and desire for all people to be saved, this degradation has been contained, with occasional spikes of evil that He has allowed to occur for His own purposes. (Ex: God used WWII and the Holocaust to bring about the rebirth of Israel.)
Throughout all this time, God’s Word has promised an eventual judgment of sin and a renewal of His original plan for mankind: a renewed creation that will be as He originally intended it to be before the fall of man due to refusal of the one and only restriction God had placed on the first man and woman (Genesis 2:16-17).
An honest evaluation of our own hearts should make it clear to us that we would have committed the same disobedience that Adam and Eve did.
There is no honest way to deny that.
The final dispensation of God’s plan is the Eternal Kingdom, which will follow the Millennium and the Great White Throne judgment of (Revelation 20:11-15).
So why, after the completion of the prophesied judgments of Revelation (Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls), the Battle of Armageddon, and the destruction of the unbelieving inhabitants of the earth, would God bring about the Millennium?
Unless the reader has gone through the course of their life, avoiding the unpleasant realities of everyday activity here in 2023, the cacophony of noise made by those with a platform from which to pontificate has held that the problems in the world could all be solved and a utopian world of peace and harmony can be obtained — that is, if everyone’s needs were provided for by a compassionate and loving governmental body with a compassionate and loving leader that would serve all the nations of the world with equal treatment for all (a vacuous lie leading to a vicious communism under antichrist).
Of course, all this perfection would be achieved, so say the proponents of this humanistic hubris, without the need for God.
And here in 2023, they openly proclaim it, and nearly every government embraces it.
America is rapidly becoming an “also ran.”
Now to the crux of this article
God has not given me any special revelation, so I must be clear that this summation is entirely my own opinion. It is based on studying the Word of God over the last 29 or so years; however, it is still just my understanding of God’s Word, His Nature through the study of it, and the conclusions that His Word seems to demand.
The reader is urged to study the entire Word of God and draw his/her own conclusions.
In the final dispensation of the world (the Millennium), prior to the beginning of the Eternal Kingdom, God is setting about providing the very utopian world conditions that humans have constantly declared would bring everlasting peace and harmony.
- A one-world government run by a Loving and Benign Leader (in this case, Jesus Christ), who will actually be that loving leader and dispense true justice and provide fair and equitable treatment to all nations (races).
- A perfect environment with no pollution, with an atmosphere free of unhealthy elements caused by man-made activities.
- A natural world with animals and plant life existing in harmony with a nature that is no longer under the curse imposed on it by God after the fall of man, which gave sin its foothold.
- Humans with a lifespan restored to that which was normal before the fall (approximately 900-1,000 years).
- A system of laws that will be fairly administered and will not allow favoritism, bribery, extortion, plea bargaining, or any of the other lawless practices that are common today. Criminals will immediately be dealt with according to God’s Law.
- There will be no wars or rumors of wars between nations and kingdoms.
- People will dwell in safety.
- Disease and suffering will be unheard of (but death will still exist).
Although the people who repopulate the earth at the beginning of this time will be redeemed followers of Christ and therefore be saved, they will have children in the usual way of the flesh, and their offspring will have the same sin nature as has existed since the fall. It will still be necessary for them to repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ as Savior, just as it is today.
As time goes on, many of them will not, just as it is today.
“When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison, and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore. And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:7-11).
God is not capricious or petty and has no need to prove Himself. I believe He permits this final disposition for the benefit of all who love Him and will become part of His eternal family to illustrate that:
- He gives every conceivable chance for people to repent and be saved.
- Even under the most perfect conditions, people will still readily embrace evil and desire it in their own nature.
- Satan will be able to raise the willingly rebellious into a Godless army in almost no time, even though his influence has not been actively present in the world over the entire 1,000 years.
Having made these facts clear, there will no longer be any reason to prolong the existence of evil. God will deal with this rebellion quickly and permanently.
The Millennium ends, and eternity begins (Revelation 21 + 22).
“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him'” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Hallelujah!
The special message I promised you:
For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life:
You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.
It requires that you come before God on His terms.
And, what are His terms according to His Word?
- Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
- Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
- That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
- To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
- Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross.
- To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.
God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.
- No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
- No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
- Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.
If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.
“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).
There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.
The answers are in the Word of GodThe Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Pro Salvator Vigilans
To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com