the Millennial Kingdom ~ and the Rapture

In order to better understand the Rapture of the Church, it is very important to understand certain things about the soon-coming Millennial Kingdom Age.


Ignorance concerning that important thousand-year time period, seems to be prevalent amongst the churches; but not because the Bible has nothing to say about the Millennial Kingdom of Christ.  In fact, just the opposite is true, that is, the Bible has a great deal to say about that time when Jesus Christ shall again (bodily) be present on earth, albeit this time, as the great King of Israel and the Supreme ruler of the world.  It will then be a time of great peace such as the world has not known since before Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden.  It will be a time when "the 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" (Isaiah 11:6).

But that Kingdom shall not be peaceable of itself.  I mean, that throughout the whole earth, during the Millennial Kingdom Age, civil order and peace shall then be established and enforced with a rod of iron.  In Christ's message to the "seven churches in Asia," as recorded in Revelation chapters 2 & 3, one of the promises to the "overcomers" is as follows:

"And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father" (Rev. 2:26-7).

As I wrote in a previous post ("the Purpose of the Tribulation"), there is going to be a very small percentage of the world's (current) population, which shall survive the Tribulation and then be permitted to continue to live on the earth during the Millennial Kingdom Age, following the battle of Armageddon.  There are two vitally important factors involving those individuals, namely: 1) they shall all be natural (mortal) human beings; and, 2) they shall none of them be "saved," or "born again," or "regenerate" (which, expressions, are used to designate the saints of God).

Those two factors explain why it shall then be necessary to "rule them with a rod of iron."  Whereas most evidently believe that the Millennial Kingdom Age is going to be a time of "heaven on earth," so to speak; yet, it shall not quite be so.  Similarly as an entirely new world slowly began to emerge following the Great Flood in the days of Noah; so shall the population of the world, together with a plurality of newly formed civil societies with their various national governments, etc., emerge during the coming Millennial Kingdom Age.  Following the massive and horrendous destruction that is coming upon the whole world during the Tribulation, the beginning of the Millennial reign of Christ, especially, shall necessarily entail the work of reconstruction and nation-building.  (There is an abundance of Scripture references which support the ideas I am only summarizing herein.  If you may be interested to investigate those for yourself, you are invited to post your questions and/or comments, below, and I will try to respond.)  Nevertheless, here is but one such passage, which shows that there shall be a plurality of nations, during the Millennial Kingdom Age:

"In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.  In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance"  (Isaiah 19:23-25).

Every nation on earth is going to suffer unspeakable devastation during the Tribulation.  Every nation and government on earth shall be subjugated to the absolute authority of Jesus Christ, at his Second Coming.  Almost certainly, the first one- to two-hundred years of the Millennial Kingdom Age shall very largely consist, as I've suggested, of worldwide efforts involving rebuilding ~ and of re-populating.  Important, too, is the fact that none of the children born during the Millennial Kingdom era shall be "regenerate" persons, but they shall be natural, unregenerate human beings.  Human life shall continue; multitudes shall be born during the Millennium; and multitudes shall die.  Although, the life-span of humans shall be greatly increased, as is revealed in the following passage:

"There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.  And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.  They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.  They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.  And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD"  (Isaiah 65:20-25).

I highlighted a few words in blue color, above, which speak about there being "sinners" present in the Millennial Kingdom.  Knowing that fact, is centrally important in order to understand not only the nature and purpose of the Millennial Kingdom Age, but it is also needful in order to rightly understand the pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church.  I will briefly delineate a number of factors, all of which prove beyond any doubt that, during the Millennial Kingdom Age, Christ and the then-glorified saints shall rule over a world (on earth) consisting not of "saved," but of unsaved (unregenerate) persons; as follows:

1. The Bible reveals that a relatively small number of natural persons shall survive the Tribulation, and that those persons shall be allowed to continue to live on earth during the Millennial Kingdom Age.  As I have extensively argued in previous essays, there shall not be anything like a soul-saving Revival, during the Tribulation.  Thus, those, natural persons, who survive the Tribulation, shall not be Christianized, that is, they shall not be "born again" persons.
2. The Bible explicitly speaks about "sinners" being present, during the Millennial Kingdom (see, above).
3. The world's population, during the Millennial Kingdom, shall necessarily be "ruled ~ with a rod of iron."  Righteous persons, saved persons, don't have to be ruled over with a rod of iron.
4. The Bible says that Satan shall be loosed from the bottomless pit, for a short season, very near unto the end of the Millennial (1,000 years) Kingdom Age; and, that Satan shall then quickly raise up a numberless multitude, from amongst the world's human population, in a final rebellion against Christ and the saints (see, Revelation 20:8).  Thus proving that the world's population, during the Millennial Kingdom Age, shall consist of natural, unsaved human beings.

Scripture clearly promises that the glorified saints of God shall reign with Christ, on earth, throughout the Millennial Kingdom Age.  Whom shall they then rule over? the holy angels? or shall the glorified saints rule over each other?  No.  But the glorified saints, during the Millennial Kingdom Age, shall rule over the nations, "with a rod of iron."  Civil order and peace shall be strictly enforced by the worldwide government of Jesus Christ.  It is the immortal, glorified saints who shall be the world rulers in that government of Christ.

After the soon-coming Rapture of the Church, natural human life is going to go on throughout the Tribulation, and throughout the Millennial Kingdom Age.  But after the Rapture of the Church, never again (according to my very best understanding of Scripture) shall the gift of immortality be conferred upon any (more) human beings.  God shall continue to have dealings with the human race; but those dealings shall then (after the Rapture) take on a very different nature.  Life expectancy shall be greatly extended, during the Millennial Kingdom Age.  The world shall then be re-populated with natural human beings: all of whom shall be tested, during their lifetime in the Millennial Kingdom Age, for their faithful obedience to Jesus Christ ~ who shall then bodily be present on earth.

In sum, God's purpose involving natural human beings goes far beyond the Rapture of the Church.  This is a very deep subject ~ one which is very, very little known or understood, even amongst most Christian scholars and academics.  But this perspective ~ which is soundly based on Scripture, is extremely important to a right understanding of the Rapture.  The Rapture shall signify the closing of one Dispensation and the beginning of another.  God's program related to the Church Age shall then be concluded, which has long served to call out and to prepare a multitude of Redeemed human beings whom God shall glorify both their bodies and their spirits, and shall exalt them to be immortals ~ far above the order of human life; and, thus shall the Raptured, glorified saints be capable and qualified to sit upon the throne with Jesus Christ, to rule and reign over God's Kingdom forever.

Though the above discussion of the Millennial Kingdom is sketchy at best, yet, thoughtful Readers may perceive, in the few facts and details I have described, certain insights which suggest aspects of God's plan for the Eternal Kingdom, following the Millennial Kingdom Age; aspects which are practically unknown to mainstream Bible teaching....

In view of the foregoing discussion, the Rapture of the Church should now appear in a much purer light.  The Rapture is not merely one more 'event' to mark off of the prophetic calendar, as it were.  But the Rapture is a profoundly significant event ~ in the context of God's Eternal Kingdom.  God is never going to be "finished" with the human race, as such.  But the making up of the Body of Christ shall have its terminus, its end-point, in the Rapture of the Church.

The opportunity which has been given to all, throughout the Church Age ~ to become the "habitation of God through the Spirit," a living temple of God, and to be given the gift of "immortality," is not only an unspeakably great opportunity; but for that reason, it thus places upon us a very great responsibility.  It grieves me to see so many who have such an impoverished view, of the high calling of God in Christ (and of the Rapture), that they believe they can be carnally minded their whole life long ~ and yet be found worthy to sit with Jesus Christ in his throne.  It ain't gonna happen.

And they're not going to get a 'second chance,' after the Rapture.  Christ is nobody's fool.  He is Lord of all.  And he has plainly spoken.  I oftentimes say, there is only one reason why that anyone goes to hell ~ or, why that anyone shall miss the Rapture: that is, because they don't take God seriously.