The thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth is something I long to see. I can hardly wait until the time when Jesus shows one and all how the earth should be ruled.

Satan has tried for millennia to accomplish this and has always failed. He will make one last effort with the Antichrist, but the Bible tells us that he will fail again. He won’t be around to see Christ rule the earth, but we who belong to Him will be here, and what a day that will be. Jesus will let Satan loose after the thousand years is complete, but just long enough for him to lead a rebellion and meet his final judgment in the Lake of Fire.

The various rulers of this current world rule their countries in whatever un-Godly fashion they choose, but those days will be no more during the Millennium. In this country, for example, there will be no liberal elite who blaspheme and get away with it. Justice will be meted out the only way it should be, by God Himself.

As we see in the following verses, Jesus Christ will personally take the reins of control. His Word will be final.

1Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root.

2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

3 He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay.

4 He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited.

The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.

5 He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.

6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.

7 The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together.

The lion will eat hay like a cow.

8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.

9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.

10 In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. (Isaiah 11:1-10 NLT)

Those who populate the earth at that time will be survivors of the seven year Tribulation who did not take the mark of the beast. Those ruling at that time will be the Church, under the direct authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. I just love the irony in this. Those (Christians) who have been kicked around for the last two thousand years will be ruling. Their Lord (Jesus) who has been maligned in every way imaginable will rule as the one true God He is.

Israel, the most hated group of people who ever existed will be honored by all the other nations. Tribute will be brought to the land of Israel instead of bombs. Nations will look to Israel for comfort instead of annihilation.

As Joseph was rejected, sold into slavery and later ruled the nation under Pharaoh, Jesus was rejected by the world but will return and rule the world under God the Father.

I can just imagine a fictional example of an attorney defending a murderous thug before the court. There will be no insanity plea or deals to be made. There will be the razor sharp judgment of God. “Beyond a reasonable doubt” will be changed to “beyond any doubt.” There will be no delayed justice. It will be swiftly carried out.

There will be no EPA, FCC, FTA, FTC, HUD, IRS, SSA and all the hundreds of other acronyms. There will be no AAA, AARP, ACLU, NEA, UAW, UMW, etc. There will be no Air Force, Army, Marines, Navies. There will be no taxing agencies. There will be no “let’s go green” nonsense. There will be no “punch one for English” on the other end of the phone. There will not be those who won’t work and feed off those who do. There will be no “haves” and “have-nots.”

All will be at peace. Even the animal kingdom will be at peace with one another and with humans as well.

“6The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Righteousness will be the norm instead of the exception. The name of Jesus will be honored and worshipped.

“9…for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:9b-10 ESV)

In Isaiah 65:20 we see that longevity will be normal for all who live on the earth. Prior to the flood people lived up to 900 plus years. The same will be so during the Millennium.

What a glorious day that will be when the rightful heir of David’s throne rules the earth. This world will no longer be Satan’s domain, but the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, will rule from Jerusalem.

“In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:10 ESV)

Grant Phillips

I prefer not using names when speaking of others in a derogatory fashion. I’m not saying it is wrong if another writer chooses to do so. For that matter, the Apostle Paul cut right to the chase. For example:

“For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.” (2 Timothy 4:10 ESV)

“Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.” (2 Timothy 4:14-15 ESV)

I’m just saying, so far, I have chosen not to mention names. However, we do need to be aware of false prophets. They are very plentiful and very deceptive.

I will admit that I used to get rather annoyed when others would omit the names of those we need to avoid, but later realized that I can spot them without being told their names. “How so?” you say. I’m going to tell you … later, but first let’s go here.

All too often Christians may assume that false prophets will have a scowl on their face and angry demonic words dripping from their lips that will be easy to spot. They will say things that only the Biblically stupid would miss. Well … this is often true, but it is also true that many Christians are Biblically stupid. So where does that leave us? Sure, there are those false prophets who are obvious, even to the casual Christ proclaiming Christian, but are they always so obvious?

There are two types of false prophets; i.e. (1) the “in your face nut case,” and (2) the “sly and wily sweet talker.” The “in your face nut case” is easy to spot, because they will make proclamations that only a lunatic on another planet would buy into. However, the “sly and wily sweet talker” is like a vacuum cleaner, sucking in the weak particles lying around.

“6They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. 7Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:6-7 NLT)

Paul says of these false prophets that,

“These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses…” (2 Timothy 3:8 NLT)

These false prophets today would speak only of love and never judgment. Some would be so syrupy sweet you could almost taste the Maple flavoring. They would say we are all God’s children and should love one another. By the way, we are all God’s creation, but not all are God’s children. They would join up with the Lord’s enemies and “worship” in unison, compromising most all Biblical truth. They would speak the politically correct language of “many paths to God.” They would often be the intelligentsia of higher religious dribble, denying: the need for repentance, the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, that Jesus is God, one way to God (Jesus), the need for Bible study, the need to study prophecy (even though it comprises one third of the Bible), and that’s just a start.

Basically, these false prophets would say exactly what the world wants to hear, not what God says is truth.

“They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly…” (2 Timothy 3:5 NLT)

“…They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.” (2 Timothy 3:8 NLT)

So what is the best way to spot false prophets? How can we protect ourselves from these seemingly nice people who are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing? Some of you are not going to like the answer because it involves work, but here goes.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

The best way to spot a counterfeit is to know the original. How is that accomplished?

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

If you are a student (disciple) of the Word and know the Scriptures, you will be able to spot a phony (false prophet), assuming you know the Author of the Word course. Otherwise, you take the likely chance of being sucked in to their lying schemes. You will buy their books and attend their conferences. You will listen with rapt attention when they are on television or radio. You will practice their misguided philosophies. If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you will lose your own soul. If you are a child of God, you will be so confused you won’t know which end is up. Know the original, and you will recognize the counterfeit.

 

Grant Phillips