The Millennium refers to the 1000-year reign of Christ on the earth. This Messianic Kingdom, where the Messiah reign on the earth, will occur at the Second Coming of Christ, and the land promise made to Abraham and his descendants will then be fulfilled (Gen. 15:18-21). In addition, the promise made to David in 2 Samuel that his descendant will sit on the throne forever will also be fulfilled. Without a Millennium these unconditional promises made by God go unfulfilled, which of course would call God's character into question. Now the belief in the literal Millennial Kingdom of Christ comes from Revelation 20:1-6 where it is said to last 1,000 years six times. There are a plethora of passages throughout the Bible that characterize this kingdom of Christ.

Physical characteristics of the Millennium
(Is. 2:2; Ezek. 47:1-12: 48:8-20; Zech 14:4, 8, 10)

Isaiah 2:2… “Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.”
Ezekiel 47:1-12... “ Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side. When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins. Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me back to the bank of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then he said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh. “It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. “And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to Eneglaim there will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many. “But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. “By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 48:8-20… “And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the allotment which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in width, and in length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it. “The allotment that you shall set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width. “The holy allotment shall be for these, namely for the priests, toward the north 25,000 cubits in length, toward the west 10,000 in width, toward the east 10,000 in width, and toward the south 25,000 in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in its midst. “It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the Levites went astray. “It shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy place, by the border of the Levites. 13 “Alongside the border of the priests the Levites shall have 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the width 10,000. “Moreover, they shall not sell or exchange any of it, or alienate this choice portion of land; for it is holy to the LORD. “The remainder, 5,000 cubits in width and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open spaces; and the city shall be in its midst. “These shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits. “The city shall have open spaces: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250 cubits, on the east 250 cubits, and on the west 250 cubits. “The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment shall be 10,000 cubits toward the east and 10,000 toward the west; and it shall be alongside the holy allotment. And its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. “The workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. “The whole allotment shall be 25,000 by 25,000 cubits; you shall set apart the holy allotment, a square, with the property of the city.”
Zechariah 14:4… In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
Zechariah 14:8… And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
Zechariah 14:10… All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.

Wild animals tamed (Is 11:6-9; 35:9; Ezek. 34:25)

Isaiah 11:6-9… And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 35:9… No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there.
Ezekiel 34:25… “I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.


Crops abundant (Is 27:6; 35:1-2; 6-7; Amos 9:13; Zech 14:8)

Isaiah 27:6… In the days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and sprout, And they will fill the whole world with fruit.
Isaiah 35:1-2… The wilderness and the desert will be glad, And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; Like the crocus It will blossom profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, The majesty of our God.
Isaiah 35:6-7… Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
Amos 9:13… “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills will be dissolved.
Zechariah 14:8… And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

Human longevity increased (Is 65:20-23)

Isaiah 65:20-23… “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them.


Spiritual/religious characteristics and events

Satan confined in the Abyss (Rev 20:1-3)

Revelation 20:1-3… Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

Millennial temple built (Ezek. 40:5-43:27); Memorial sacrifices offered (Jer 33:17-18; Mal 3:3-4; cf. Ezek. 43:18-27; 45:13-46:24)

Jeremiah 33:17-18… “For thus says the LORD, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.’ ”
Malachi 3:3-4… “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness. “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

Passover/Unleavened Bread Feasts (Ezek. 45:18-25; Zech 14:16-21)

Ezekiel 45:18-25… ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary. “The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court. “Thus you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who goes astray or is naive; so you shall make atonement for the house. “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. “On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. “During the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to the LORD seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering. “He shall provide as a grain offering an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram and a hin of oil with an ephah. “In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he shall provide like this, seven days for the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering and the oil.”
Zechariah 14:16-21… Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.

Nations worship in Jerusalem (Is 2:2-4; Micah 4:2; 7:12; Zech 8:20-23; 14:16-21)

Isaiah 2:2-4… Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
Micah 4:2… Many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Micah 7:12… It will be a day when they will come to you From Assyria and the cities of Egypt, From Egypt even to the Euphrates, Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
Zechariah 8:20-23… “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”
Zechariah 14:16-21… Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.

Worldwide knowledge of God (Is 11:9; Jer 31:34; Micah 4:5; Hab 2:14)

Isaiah 11:9… They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
Jeremiah 31:34… “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Micah 4:5… Though all the peoples walk Each in the name of his god, As for us, we will walk In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Habakkuk 2:14… “For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.

Holy Spirit upon Israel (Is 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:24-29; 39:29; Joel 2:28-29)

Isaiah 32:15… Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fertile field, And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
Isaiah 44:3… ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;
Ezekiel 36:24-29… “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. “Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.
Ezekiel 39:29… “I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD.
Joel 2:28-29… “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

New Covenant w/Israel fulfilled (Jer 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-32)

Jeremiah 31:31-34… “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Ezekiel 36:25-32… “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. “Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. “I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. “Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. “I am not doing this for your sake,” declares the Lord GOD, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!”

Righteousness/justice prevail (Is 9:7; 11:4; 42:1-4; Jer 23:5)

Isaiah 9:7… There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Isaiah 11:4… But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Isaiah 42:1-4… “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
Jeremiah 23:5… “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.

Political characteristics of the Millennium

Israel united (Ezek. 37:15-23)

Ezekiel 37:15-23… The word of the LORD came again to me saying, 16 “And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17 “Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand. 18 “When the sons of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’ 19 say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” ’ 20 “The sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21 “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms. 23 “They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

Israel at peace (Deut 30:1-10; Is 32:18; Zech 3:10; 14:11)

Deuteronomy 30:1-10… “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, 2 and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, 3 then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 “If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. 5 “The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. 7 “The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 “And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. 9 “Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; 10 if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.
Isaiah 32:18… Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;
Zechariah 3:10… ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
Zechariah 14:11… People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.

Abrahamic Covenant land grant fulfilled (Gen 15:18-21; Ezek. 47:13-48:8, 23-27)

Genesis 15:18-21… On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”
Ezekiel 47:13-48:8… Thus says the Lord GOD, “This shall be the boundary by which you shall divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two portions. 14 “You shall divide it for an inheritance, each one equally with the other; for I swore to give it to your forefathers, and this land shall fall to you as an inheritance. 15 “This shall be the boundary of the land: on the north side, from the Great Sea by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad; 16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran. 17 “The boundary shall extend from the sea to Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north toward the north is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. 18 “The east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, Gilead and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side. 19 “The south side toward the south shall extend from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt and to the Great Sea. This is the south side toward the south. 20 “The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the south border to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This is the west side. 21 “So you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. 22 “You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the aliens who stay in your midst, who bring forth sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23 “And in the tribe with which the alien stays, there you shall give him his inheritance,” declares the Lord GOD. 1 “Now these are the names of the tribes: from the northern extremity, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath, running from east to west, Dan, one portion. 2 “Beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion. 3 “Beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, Naphtali, one portion. 4 “Beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion. 5 “Beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion. 6 “Beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, Reuben, one portion. 7 “Beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion. 8 “And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the allotment which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in width, and in length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be in the middle of it.
Ezekiel 48:23-27… “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion. 24 “Beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion. 25 “Beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion. 26 “Beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion. 27 “Beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion.

Christ in Jerusalem rules over Israel (Is 40:11; Micah 4:7; 5:2)

Isaiah 40:11… Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
Micah 4:7… “I will make the lame a remnant And the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever.
Micah 5:2… “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

Davidic Covenant fulfilled (Is 9:6-7; Jer 33:17-26)

Isaiah 9:6-7… For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
Jeremiah 33:17-26… “For thus says the LORD, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.’ ” 19 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 “Thus says the LORD, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, 21 then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. 22 ‘As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’ ” 23 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected them’? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. 25 “Thus says the LORD, ‘If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, 26 then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.’ ”

Christ rules over the nations (Is 11:3-5; Micah 4:2; Zech 14:9; Rev. 19:15)

Isaiah 11:3-5… And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; 4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
Micah 4:2… Many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:9… And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
Revelation 19:15… From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

Resurrected saints reign with Christ (Matt 19:28; 2 Tim 2:12; Rev 5:10; 20:6)

Matthew 19:28… And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
2 Timothy 2:12… If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
Revelation 5:10… “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
Revelation 20:6… Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Universal peace (Is 2:4; 32:17-18; 60:18; Hosea 2:18; Zech 9:10)

Isaiah 2:4… And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
Isaiah 32:17-18… And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. 18 Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;
Isaiah 60:18… “Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.
Hosea 2:18… “In that day I will also make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky And the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, And will make them lie down in safety.
Zechariah 9:10… I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

The world blessed through Israel (Micah 5:7)

Micah 5:7… Then the remnant of Jacob Will be among many peoples Like dew from the LORD, Like showers on vegetation Which do not wait for man Or delay for the sons of men.

Like most pieces of literature, both ancient and modern, the passages throughout the Bible have a context. And taking things out of context is dangerous. One particular Bible passage near and dear to Christians in America is 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Why was this verse written, and does it really have application for America today?

The passage is a quote from God, and He was speaking to King Solomon sometime around 965 BC right after Solomon had completed the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. God appeared to him and told him how He had selected Jerusalem as the place where animal sacrifices were to be made in order to temporarily atone for sin until the Messiah came to fulfill what those animal sacrifices pointed toward, namely the death of THE Lamb of God – the Messiah. And because God had chosen Jerusalem in the land of Judea in the land of Israel (Palestine/Canaan) as the Promised Land where God’s people would dwell and be blessed, God also promised to curse those who rejected Him and thus polluted the land with their sins. Solomon was to know that the Israelites – God’s chosen people – would be blessed if they obeyed God and cursed if they rebelled. But even though God would curse them for their disobedience, He told Israel that if they would call out to Him and repent, He would heal their land of the ravages He would send upon it. God’s restoration was contingent on their repentance, for the land of Israel was special to God, and Jerusalem was the permanent home of God’s blessings. To understand this, context is vital – beginning in v. 11, continuing to v. 22. And if verse 14 is taken out of context, then the passage is woefully misinterpreted and misapplied.

First, the passage was written to Israel – God’s chosen people through whom the Messiah came to offer salvation to all peoples, not just Israel. Second, the provision for repentance meant that if the Israelites turned from ignoring God and/or worshipping pagan gods, then God would hear their prayer from His seat in Heaven and forgive their sins. Third, God would also send rain on their famine-ravaged land that had become parched due to their rebellion (because the Israelites were farmers, a dry land caused them to go without food). Thus, the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey, would only remain fertile if Israel remained faithful.

The question for us is can we replace the original location of 2 Chronicles 7:14 – Jerusalem in the land of Israel – with America? Has God blessed the soil of America, and has He made any eternal promises regarding our land? The answer is NO. America is blessed insofar as it is fertile and full of prosperity for we materialistic Americans. But so are other lands around the globe, and most of these are not Christian. Then again, neither is America Christian!

The point being is that 2 Chronicles 7:14 does not apply to the United States. If we as Christians actually did come together and pray for our nation in fervency, God has given no promise to heal us (whatever that may mean). And forgive our sins? If we’re Christians then God has already forgiven our sins through our faith in Jesus Christ. God’s promises lie with Israel, and all who bless Israel and the seed of Abraham (the father of Israel) will be blessed.

Our land will likely be destroyed, but Israel will never be destroyed since God has made eternal promises to that land and His people. The church should be praying for Israel’s peace, but before peace is had there, there will be a war so bloody that countless people will perish. Jerusalem will have peace, and Israel will know Christ. We should pray for that! Maybe we as Christians should pray instead that our weak preachers open the Bible and preach God’s word while cutting out all the fluff of how to have a happy marriage, finding your purpose, and how to have your best life now. Thus, we should pray for the things that God has promised to answer. 

 

Acts 15:5-18… Some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

In the first century, just like the modern day, there were some who stood up to proclaim their belief that circumcision was necessary for Gentiles (all non-Jews) to be saved. They apparently did not understand grace and were requiring Gentiles to become Jewish (through circumcision) in order to be truly saved by Jesus Christ.

These legalists, called Pharisees, had a history of forcing the Jews to obey the letter of the Mosaic Law while they themselves missed the spirit of that Law. Therefore it isn’t surprising to find them foisting their legalism upon the Gentile church. This apparently growing belief among Jewish converts led to the first church council which met to discuss this problem.

The gathering together of the church leaders that day was intense. One side was pushing for works in addition to God’s grace for obtaining true salvation while the other was about salvation by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ alone – the same debate that exists between denominations today. The Apostle Peter stood up in the midst of the debate and humbly asserted his own influence and spiritual calling among the brothers. He reminded the gathering that day that he had been appointed to preach to the Gentiles and bring them to belief in Christ. This he had done, and he witnessed, along with other Jews, the phenomenon of Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit and afterward speaking in tongues (Acts 10:44-48) as a result of their conversion to Christ for salvation. And at no time did these Spirit-indwelt Gentiles become circumcised! Peter reminded them that God had made no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, giving both groups the Holy Spirit and making them one.

So Peter’s question in v. 10 solved the issue. Why would the Jews tell the Gentiles that they also had to keep the Mosaic Law in order to be saved – a burden that no Jew from Moses to John the Baptist was able to keep? This made no sense, and Peter told them that in doing so they were putting God to the test – they were slandering God’s gift of salvation by grace alone.

Peter summarized the Christian faith in Acts 15:11: “we” (Jews) are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way “they” (Gentiles) also are. Peter himself taught that God’s grace alone saves a man apart from works. Today, some still claim that God gives grace but only to those who work for it by abstaining from certain food, drink, and activities. Don’t believe it! Good works follow salvation; they don’t merit it. Faith is the root of salvation; works are the fruit (Ephesians 2:8-10).