Earth's Golden Age

Well, it was supposed to be the perfect town. After all, it was planned and built by Disney. The town of Celebration, Florida, 16-April, Acre Utopian community of 11,000 people, just 10 minutes from Walt Disney World, was developed to promote Disney values. Disney designed the buildings, Disney designed the educational system, the healthcare options and policies. Most of the homes look the same. They even have the same plants in the front yard. During winter evenings in Celebration, Florida, the town gets a gentle dusting of artificial snow every hour, just like Disney. But that Utopian dream community was shattered in late 2010, December 2010. The first murder occurred in that town. Within three days, the first suicide occurred in that town. On the part of a man whose business was failing and whose marriage was failing, holding himself up in his beautiful new home and began firing. After a tense standoff with police, he took his own life. According to one British news agency, they reported it this way. These incidents have added to the signs that cracks are forming in the sugary veneer of the town where visitors can take horse and carriage rides through picket fence line streets. Events like that would be sad in any place and are. Any loss of human life made in the image of God is tragic, especially in those kinds of circumstances. But in a Utopian community, they teach us another lesson. And that lesson is try to provide the very best atmosphere for people. The problem is you've still got people with sinful hearts. And you cannot address that issue with beautiful picket line streets, cookie cutter homes with beautiful flowers, and Disney values. It doesn't change the heart of man and thus does not ultimately change the environment no matter how beautiful it looks or how pristine it's designed to be. There is coming, however, on this earth, a time called Earth's Golden Age. A time when Jesus Christ will come and rule over this earth, that's going to be a lot better than Disney can do it. And that's what we're going to look at today. We're going to look at Earth's Golden Age. We've been in a series of prophetic themes, the series entitled The End of the World as we know it. This world will, as we know it, come to an end and will be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. But there are certain events leading up to that that the Bible makes clear. We've been looking at those events. So as we look at God's Word, we can see the end of the world as we know it from God's Word, as we can tell from His Word what's going to happen. In this chart that we have been using, we've been looking at these events. We have already looked at, here we are right here, we're in the church age, we have looked at the rapture, the first prophetic event that the Bible talks about when Jesus will come back to catch up His bride, the church. Those who have already died in Christ will be resurrected. Those of us who are alive and remain, when Jesus comes, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, will meet the Lord and we will ever be with the Lord. That's called the rapture. We've also looked at what happens to us after the rapture, the judgment of believers works. So what is called in the Scriptures, the judgment seat of Christ. We've looked at that as well when we will give an account for our lives and how we've lived them for Christ, whether or not with an eternal perspective, an eternal values in mind or strictly from an earthly perspective. We'll give an account of that to the Lord. While that is happening with us in heaven on earth, we'll occur a seven year tribulation period. We've seen that as a time when the Antichrist, Satan's puppet, substitute king for Christ, will rule over this earth and it will be a time of incredible trouble upon Israel, upon all those who name the name of Christ and also the outpouring of God's wrath upon this earth, the tribulation time. We've also already in this series looked at what culminates the seven year tribulation, the return of Christ to the earth. The second coming is what we call it. When Jesus comes back at the second coming, he will come back to judge the nations and to judge Israel, but also to set up his kingdom. And it is that kingdom which we're going to look at this morning. Here you see it called the millennium because the Bible indicates that Jesus will reign and rule on this earth in an earthly kingdom for 1000 years. We'll take a look at that later. So the very name for this kingdom, millennium comes from two Latin words, one mill, thousand, the other annum, year, thousand years, mill annum, millennium. That's where we get the name. It's the thousand year rule of Christ. It is earth's golden age. It is the time that all of us would like to be experiencing right now, especially during times of hardship. When Jesus rules on this earth, things will be much different than they are today. We're going to look this morning at four features of the millennium. Now let me say just quickly that there are basically three views of the millennium. There are some people who believe, and they're called post-millennialists, they believe that Jesus will come post-millennium. In other words, He will come after the millennium. These people believe that the church will usher in a time on earth, a golden age on earth, that the church by the spread of the gospel will usher in really the kingdom of Christ. Then Christ will come after that kingdom to consummate the age and to begin the eternal state. Those people are called post-millennialists. The popular form of it today is called reconstructionism. But that's one view. We at Johnson Chapel do not believe that's the most biblical way to see the millennium. A second group of people are called omillennialists. They look at the millennium and they just kind of go, oh, what's that? They really don't believe in a literal rule of Christ on the earth for a thousand years. They believe that Christ is right now ruling in heaven, and that's the only rule He will accomplish over the saints who are in heaven. And to some degree on this earth through His church, there is no thousand year literal reign or kingdom on the earth according to omillennialists. At Christ's second coming, according to them, everybody will be resurrected. There will be a general judgment, general resurrection, and Christ will usher in the eternal age. We also do not believe that's the best way to see the scriptures. We believe that if you take the scriptures, both Old Testament prophecies and New Testament teaching, literally in their normal sense, the Bible seems to teach that Jesus Christ returns to this earth before the millennium. That's the reason we are pre-millennial. That indicates we believe that Jesus will come to this earth and set up the kingdom himself. Church doesn't set it up. We don't usher it in through the preaching of the gospel. It's not just the kingdom in heaven. There will be, although Christ is ruling in one sense now, and the church is sometimes called the kingdom work of God in the New Testament. It is one form of Christ's rule. There will still be a thousand years of literal rule on this earth. What is that like? What is that time period going to be like? That's what we're going to look at this morning. Four features of the millennium. If you'll find your place in your Bible, Isaiah 2. We're going to focus on a lot of verses this morning. Most of them will be on the screen, but two passages will camp out in just a little bit, and Isaiah 2 and 11. Those two chapters describe in beautiful detail what the millennium will be like. But don't just start reading Isaiah 2. Just want you to have your Bible open there so you'll know this is a Bible message. We're going to put some other verses on the screen to start with. The first feature of the millennium that we're going to look at is the people in the millennium. In other words, who's going to be here on earth in the millennial kingdom? Who's going to be the people that Christ will rule over on this earth? There are four groups that the Bible clearly teaches. The first group is saved Jews. The second group of the millennial kingdom will be involved in the millennial kingdom of Christ. Here's the scene. When Jesus comes back at his second coming, the Bible teaches that he will gather Israel, all Jews from wherever they are in the world, and bring them to the nation of Israel. That is the return of the nation of Israel that the Old Testament prophesies. Not the return that we saw in 1948 and happens today because that return is a return in unbelief. That had to happen in God's program for certain things to happen during the tribulation time. But the return of Israel to their land that's prophesied in the Old Testament is at the second coming of Christ. Probably the most exclusive and most detailed passage about it, which we're not going to take the time to look at, is in Ezekiel 20. Read it sometime when you go home. Ezekiel 20 verses 33 to 44, describe that God will bring Jews from all over the world, bring them to the wilderness outside the city of Jerusalem, and there he will judge them. The Bible clearly indicates he will have them pass under a rod, in a sense. He will separate the rebels and those who do not know him from those who do know him. And those who do know him form the Israel, all of whom are saved. And they enter in their physical bodies, they've lived through the tribulation time, they enter in their physical bodies into the millennium, saved Jews. A couple of passages refer to this in the sense that all Israel is saved. That's the result of what happens in this judgment, so that all of Israel that goes into the millennium will be believers. They'll be saved. Zachariah 12, on the screen for you, this passage. On that day, and if you follow the context from the beginning of chapter 12, he's talking about the day of Christ's return, on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attacked Jerusalem. This is at the Battle of Armageddon. 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 first born son. They will see Jesus coming back, and they will turn to him as their Messiah, realizing in this moment of their desperation when the Antichrist is trying to squash them with his army, they will realize Jesus coming, they will recognize him as their Messiah, and they will be saved. And the very next verse, chapter 13, verse 1, describes it this way. On that day, a fountain will be open to the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity. So they will be saved. Paul speaks of it this way in Romans chapter 11, verse 25. I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, speaking to the church, so that you may not be conceded. Israel has experienced the hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved. How's that going to happen? The next verse tells us, as it is written, quoting from Isaiah, the deliverer will come from Zion. He will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And that's described in what we just read in Zachariah. When Jesus comes back, when the deliverer, when the Messiah returns at his second coming, that's when Israel, as a nation, will turn to him. They will be judged. Those who have not believed in him will be taken away. And those who have trusted Christ as their Savior will enter into the millennium in their natural bodies. They have lived through the tribulation and they will enter into the millennium in their natural bodies. First group, second group, is saved Gentiles. Okay, god will also bring Gentile nations together that are on earth at his second coming and he will judge them as well. Matthew chapter 25 speaks very clearly about that judgment and tells us exactly when it will be. Look at these verses. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, that can be none other than the second coming. And in the context, it's quite clear that's what that's talking about. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance. What is their inheritance? Notice, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. This is at the second coming. No question about that. Jesus has come to the earth. If you put all the other events together, he's defeated the enemy, the antichrist. He is ready to set up his kingdom and as he judges the Gentile nations, those sheep, who as he goes on to describe in the judgment, have provided for Jews during the tribulation time, especially those who have carried the gospel. They have identified with them, indicating that they are believers from the heart. They are Christ's sheep. Those believing Gentiles will be taken straight into the kingdom. They will inherit the millennial kingdom of Christ. They also will go into the kingdom in their natural bodies. So you've got Jews and Gentiles who are living at the end of the tribulation time after judgment. They go into the millennium in their natural bodies. I'm emphasizing that because that's important to understand. Everybody who starts the millennial kingdom at the beginning of that kingdom will be believers, whether they're a Jew or a Gentile, they will all be believers. But they are people who are in their natural bodies. They will have children who will be born during the millennium, some of whom, although they are under the rule of Christ and his kingdom, do not give allegiance to him in their hearts. That helps explain some other things that will happen in the millennium that we'll see a little bit later. But it's important to understand that these two groups of people are already living on planet Earth. They're alive at the end of the tribulation and they are ushered directly into the millennial kingdom in their natural bodies. There are some other people, however, that the Bible talks about that will be in this kingdom who will be in their resurrected glorified bodies. The third group of people are Old Testament and Tribulation Believers. Old Testament believers, that's where Isaiah and David and Moses and other Old Testament believers come back, are resurrected, come back to live on this Earth. They are resurrected according to Daniel 12, as we saw last time when we talked about the second coming. They're resurrected at the second coming. And they are in the millennium in their glorified bodies. Look at these verses, Matthew 8, verses 11 and 12. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with whom. With Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom, in other words Jews who have rejected Christ, that's the audience he's speaking to in that passage. The subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of tea. Jesus was saying there will be Gentiles who come from the east and the west, who will sit down at the feast in the kingdom of heaven with Old Testament saints, with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. So there will be Old Testament saints there, resurrected because they've been resurrected at the second coming. But they'll be there in the kingdom. There will also be Tribulation Believers in the kingdom. People during the Tribulation time who have died during the Tribulation will be resurrected at the second coming. And they will also be involved in the kingdom. Revelation 20 makes this very clear. Look at these verses. John says, I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. Who are these people? He goes on to describe them this way. They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark in their foreheads or their hands. So these are people that have been in the Tribulation time. But they've been resurrected, you see. They died during the Tribulation. So they've been resurrected. And the Bible says, they came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. So they will be on earth reigning with Christ. So you've got saved Jews, saved Gentiles, all in their natural bodies, alive at the end of the Tribulation going right into millennium. Then you've got Old Testament saints who have been resurrected and Tribulation believers who died during the Tribulation, who also are resurrected and are there ruling and reigning with Christ. But guess what? That's not all. There's a fourth group of people. And that is church age believers. You and me. If we know Christ is Savior, we will also be there in the millennium. The Bible makes that clear in a couple of passages, Matthew 19 verse 28. Jesus talking to his disciples said this, truly I tell you at the renewal of all things. What's that? That's when he renews the earth. And he goes on to describe it when the Son of man sits on his glorious throne. And this earth is renewed. That's the millennium. When that happens, he says to these 12 disciples, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So the disciples will be here during the millennium. Peter, Paul, John, Thomas, Andrew, or Tholum, the rest of them with the exception of Judas, whether or not it will be Paul or Matthias, the one chosen in the early church. I don't know. That's not our subject this morning. But there will be 12 disciples ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel. So their church age believers, but so are you. So am I. Did you know the Bible says we'll be there too? 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 2. Paul says to the people who are trying to take each other to court, he says, do you not know that the Lord's people will judge the world? And if you were to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? What Paul is saying is, come on, you better get used to being able to decide these things without going to secular courts of law because someday you're going to judge the world. Did you know that the the millennial kingdom, Mayor of Princeton, maybe sitting in this room today? It is not too far fetched to think that there will be nations, cities, towns, just like we have them today, although in a much better state than we have them today. And some believer may judge, may rule over the city of Princeton. Don't put in your applications that will be decided by Christ himself, but it's not too far fetched to think that could happen. Because we will rule and reign with Christ on this earth. So those are the people that will be involved in the millennial kingdom. Saved Jews and Gentiles that come out of the tribulation and go directly in their natural bodies into the millennial kingdom, but also resurrected Old Testament believers, Tribulation believers, and Church believers. Church age believers. What an interesting situation and scenario this will be. The second feature of the millennium that we want to talk about is the government in the millennium. What's the government going to be like? It's going to be great. It's going to be unlike anything we have ever known. I want to talk a little bit about its structure. How is the structure of the millennial government going to work? Well the Bible teaches first of all that Christ is the King. And he is the King over all of the earth. Jesus Christ, a benevolent, gracious, perfect, righteous, just ruler will rule over the entire earth. Look at these verses. Probe or Revelation chapter 19 tells us this is what happens at the second coming. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. That's the judgment of the second coming over the armies who've gathered together to fight him. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. This is his judgment as he comes. But then notice this title on his robe and on his thigh. He has this name written King of kings and Lord of lords. And again, Revelation 20 tells us that Jesus will rule. Verse 4, we've already seen. Let's click to the next slide. Those who rule with Christ who had not worshiped the image, they will reign and rule with him a thousand years. Next slide says, the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. Those are unsaved people. We'll get to them next time. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection, the resurrection of believers. The second death has no power over them. Second death meaning spiritual death. Eternal separation from God has no power over them. But they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Jesus will rule and reign over this earth for a thousand years. And as we have already seen, the disciples will rule over the twelve tribes of Israel. I don't know if they'll be called governors or what they'll be called. And then we will also help Christ judge the world. Believers who are in their glorified bodies will help rule and reign over those who are populating this earth in their physical bodies. That is the structure of the millennial kingdom. What about its character? What is it going to be like? Okay, you're in Isaiah 2. Told you we were going to get there now is the time. Isaiah chapter 2 we find out what the character of this kingdom is like and the government is like. First of all, it will be over the entire earth. Look at Isaiah 2 verse 1. This is what Isaiah's son of Emma saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established at the highest of the mountains. It will be exalted above the hills. Now notice this and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. We're going to stop there in the middle of verse 4. But you get the clear vision of the kingdom here that it will be a worldwide kingdom that all nations will be under the rule and reign of Christ and Jerusalem will be the capital that the center of this kingdom. It will actually be elevated in location. It will be elevated. Zachariah 14 talks about the mountain being lifted up geographically and Jerusalem will be the focal point of the earth with Jesus ruling and reigning from the city of Jerusalem on the throne of David. And all nations will come to Jerusalem to hear the word of the Lord. Guess who the Bible teacher is going to be? Jesus Christ is going to be teaching the Bible. You say, wait a second, do we need to study the Bible in the Millennium? Yes. Yes. Even in our glorified bodies, we will continue to learn because none of us are omniscient. None of us have all knowledge. That's an attribute of God himself that is not shared with us. So we will continue to learn and grow and we'll be able to learn more about the Bible and Jesus will be the teacher. He's better than David Jeremiah. He's better than Charles Stanley. He's better than Chuck Swindall. He's better than John Piper, John MacArthur. You get to hear the word taught by Jesus himself. Wow. What a time that's going to be ruling over all of the nations and teaching the word from Jerusalem. Not only is it a rule over all of the earth, it is a reign of peace. Middle of verse four, they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. In other words, no more armaments, no more arms, weapons of warfare. There will only be weapons or instruments of agriculture in the kingdom. Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore. West Point is going to be shut down. Anapolis is going to be shut down. Colorado Springs, Air Force Academy is going to be shut down. They're all going to be shut down. No more training needed for warfare. That will not happen. Will not be needed in the millennium because there will be no warfare. It will be perfect peace on the earth when Jesus rules. Thank God for that. Isn't it amazing that the amount of conflict in this world and the scary nature of potential conflicts that we even face in our world today? None of that in the millennium. This is not talking about the present day as these verses are often used. It's not talking about peacemaking efforts in our day, although we ought to applaud any peacemaking efforts that happen in our day. This is talking about a time when Jesus will be ruling and there will be no more war and no more training for war. So it is a reign of peace. Thirdly, it is a reign of righteousness. Look over at chapter 11 of Isaiah, chapter 11. First couple of verses introduced the Messiah who comes from David's line. It is Jesus Christ. And verse 3 says, he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears. In other words, he will not pass judgment by appearances or by hearsay. As much justice so called happens in our world today, that's not the way Jesus will rule. This will be a perfect rule of righteousness. Look at verse 4. But with righteousness, he will judge the needy with justice. He will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rot of his mouth, with the breath of his lips. He will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. So Jesus will be entirely righteous. No corruption, no lying, no campaign promises, no political scandals, none of that kind of thing. Jesus will rule with complete righteousness in this kingdom. But it will also be a rule of absolute power and authority. You saw that in verse 4. He will strike the earth with the rot of his mouth, with the breath of his lips. He will slay the wicked. You say, are there any wicked people in the millennium? Yeah, there will be. I mentioned earlier, people will be born during the millennium, in their natural bodies to parents of people who came into the millennium in their natural bodies. Some of them will not give allegiance to Christ, although they are under his government. They will be dealt with quickly, justly and thoroughly. And Jesus will deal with the wicked himself in his kingdom. So that's the character of the government of this kingdom. I am so thankful that we do not have to put our confidence in any human government. The only government that will once and for all solve the problems of mankind is the government of Jesus. Christ, the King of kings, and the Lord of Lords, will set up a kingdom that in its character and its structure will be exactly what God has intended all along. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to that time. Quickly, the conditions of the millennium. What will the conditions be like? What will look be like on earth? What will life be like in the millennial kingdom? Well, a couple of things, and then we'll break them down. First of all, it will be a time of great spiritual blessings. Great spiritual blessings. And the greatest, maybe of all, will be that Satan is bound. Satan is no longer free to roam the earth and deceive the nations. Look at these verses on the screen, Revelation chapter 20, verse 1. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven. This is right after chapter 19, right after the second coming, and the destruction of the army, the antichrist, the Battle of Armageddon. What happens next? So an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the abyss or the pit, and holding in his hand a great chain, he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 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. Get back to that in a moment. Say, how do you bind a spirit being? How do you put a spirit being in chains? I don't know, but God can do it. Okay? God is God. He can do that. In whatever way this language is indicating, God will bind Satan to where he cannot be any more free to roam this world and deceive people through the vain philosophies that he deceives people with today. No more relativism, no more secularism, no more materialism, no more pluralism, no more all of the isms that Satan deceives people with today. None of that Satan will be bound. There will also be universal knowledge of the Lord throughout the earth. What a spiritual blessing that will be. Are you still in Isaiah 11? If you are looked down at verse 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. And then it's a good foot back to chapter 2. Again, chapter 2 and verse 3. Many people will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his way so that we may walk in his path. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. There will be worldwide knowledge of Christ. Now, please understand that does not mean that every person on earth will personally in their heart yield allegiance to Christ. They will be under his rule in government and outwardly, if they are going to survive, will give allegiance to his kingdom. But there will be people who will not trust him from their hearts. We'll see what happens to them in a moment. But there will be universal knowledge of the Lord. The word of God will be universally spread across the world. Everyone will have the opportunity to know Jesus in a personal way in the millennial kingdom. What a great spiritual blessing that is. Another great spiritual blessing is the unhindered power of the spirit of God throughout the entire world. Isaiah 11 describes the spirit of God upon the Messiah. Jesus, in verse 2, the spirit of the Lord will rest on him. The spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. The Holy Spirit will empower the Messiah and through him, the spirit of God will empower all of the earth. Joel talks about the Holy Spirit falling upon people in the millennial kingdom and giving them signs and wonders. The power of the spirit will be universal across the earth. What a great spiritual blessing. And then we've already seen the worship of Christ in Jerusalem. Now we will worship him throughout the world wherever we are living, wherever we are, but we will also have the opportunity to go to Jerusalem. And literally here the word taught at his mouth and worship him there in the capital city. What a great, great time. That's going to be a spiritual blessing. But it will also be a time of physical material blessing. What's it going to be like to live on earth during earth's golden age? We've already seen it will be a time of perfect justice. Isaiah 11's told us that that Jesus will not judge by hearsay or by appearance. He will judge with righteousness. And so everybody is treated justly and righteously in Christ's kingdom. But here's something interesting about the millennium. As far as physical material blessing is concerned, the curse will be lifted mostly. The curse will be lifted. By and by, overall we can say the curse will be lifted. The curse, what is that? Well, that's the judgment that was placed on the earth after Adam's sin, after his fall in the Garden of Eden. And you read it in chapter 3 of Genesis where the earth was cursed so that the earth has trouble bringing forth crops without a bunch of weeds taken over. And it's hard to eke out a living from the land and there's drought and there's famine and there are natural disasters and all of that as a result of the judgment placed on this earth also that carries over to our physical bodies. That will be lifted in the millennium with a couple of exceptions that the scriptures talk about. That curse will be lifted. Well, will that be like the prophets tell us? Look here in Isaiah chapter 11. Look at verse 6. This is the effect that we'll have on the animal kingdom. 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. Can you imagine that? A little child leading around lions and leopards and wolves? That'll happen. Verse 7. The cow will feed with the bear. Their young will lie down together and why is that? Into the verse. The lion will eat straw like the ox. God will change their nature in the lifting of the curse to where carnivores become herbivores. Those that fed on flesh will now feed on plants. God will change the nature of animals to where they will no longer attack one another. That's part of the lifting of the curse. Now look at this in verse 8. The infant will play near the cobra's den. The young child will put its hand into the viper's nest. How you like that, moms? Let your little kid go out and play with snakes? That doesn't sound right. Does it? But it's all a part of the kingdom lifting of the curse. It will be fine. You can play with a snake, a poisonous snake. Maybe there won't even be poison in them. Then you can play with a snake just like you would play with a cat or a dog because all animals are now changed in their nature. Verse 9. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain. So the animal kingdom will be changed. Weather patterns will also be changed. Look at these verses on the screen in Joel. Be glad people of Zion rejoicing the Lord your God for he has given you speaking of the time of the kingdom. He has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain. The vats will overflow with new wine and oil. In other words, there will be just the right amount of rain and moisture on this earth to bring abundant crops. Joel further describes this in chapter 3 of his prophecy when he says, then you will know that I the Lord your God dwell in Zion. My holy hill Jerusalem will be holy. Never again will forewarners invade her. In that day the mountains will drip new wine. The hills will flow with milk. All the ravines of Judah will run with water. If you have been to Israel, you know, it's not like that now. It's a very desolate country for the most part. A fountain will flow out of the Lord's house and will water the valley of occasions. And Amos in one of my favorite descriptions of the bounty of the land and the millennium. Amos says it this way in Amos chapter 9, the days are coming declares the Lord when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. You see the cycle of sowing, planting and reaping will just occur continuously. The seasons will all run together. So new wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. In other words, crops will be so bountiful. The land will be so productive that you can plant crops and the minute you harvest them and get them up, you can go right behind and plant them again. There's no need for the land to rest. What an amazing time this will be on planet earth. But it's also a time of increased health for those who are in their natural bodies. Remember, there will be people in their natural bodies that go into the millennium through the tribulation time. Isaiah 65 says something about them. Never again will there be entered an infant who lives with a few days or an old man who does not live out his years. The one who dies at a hundred. That's why I say the curse will not be completely lifted. There will be some people in their natural bodies coming out of the tribulation time who although they have increased health will die. But the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child. See if you die in your hundred years old people will say, wow, that that was too soon. The one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered a curse. In other words, someone doesn't reach a hundred. It's probably because the Lord judged the wicked like he says he will. So increased health obviously because the curse is lifted. There will be increased health even for those in their natural bodies that lived in the tribulation time. There will be increased health during that time. All that to say this is a time of general prosperity on the earth. No matter what area you look at, it is an area at time of general prosperity. It is the peak of earth's history until we get to the new earth. We'll come to that in a later message and it is earth's golden age. Earth's golden age. However, we cannot end a message on the millennium without being honest with the way the scriptures describe the end of the millennium. How will it end? It will end with Satan's release and rebellion. Remember he was bound for the thousand years not able to do any work on earth. But remember also we talked about the fact there will be people in their natural bodies born in the millennium who although they are subject to the government of Christ have not given him their allegiance in their hearts. And that must be drawn out and judged. And that is the reason why Satan is released and leads one final revolt in rebellion. Look at these verses where it is described. Revelation 20 verse 7. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Megag and to gather them for battle in number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loved. They surround Jerusalem. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the Bible goes on to say then that Satan himself is cast into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever and ever. That is the end of the millennial kingdom. It is kind of a startling ending. How is it possible that after a thousand years of Christ's rule on this earth, Satan is allowed to be released. How is it that he can amass an army of people who would rebel against Christ? How is it that that army can be so great that they numbered like the sands of the seashore? How is that possible after one thousand years on planet earth under the righteous rule of Christ? How is that possible? Ah, there are lessons to be learned from that. Quickly the lessons to be learned from that are one, a good environment is not man's need. The millennium will be the best environment that the human race has ever been under. And Jesus Christ is going to show once and for all that even the best environment does not necessarily change the heart of a person. There will be people who grow up in the kingdom born during a millennium, grow up during that thousand year rule who do not give Jesus their allegiance from their heart, surrounded with the best of everything. Earth's golden age and they will still choose to rebel against him. What we need is a changed heart. What we need is to recognize that Jesus Christ is not only King, not only ruler, he is the Savior who died for us. All that knowledge will be made clear to the millennium, but not everybody will accept it. But the only way people will be in heaven is through allegiance to Jesus Christ from our hearts that we know that He died for us on the cross and we trust Him from our hearts. Those who don't do that in the millennium must be weeded out from the true believers and that's the reason why Satan is allowed to have this one last chance to deceive people. Only those who have not trusted Christ will follow Him. It is not a good environment that people need. You can spend your whole life working for the best conditions on planet earth and you will make this earth a much more comfortable place from which people will go to hell. We must invest everything we are and have into the gospel that people know that Jesus died for them and that the only way to be in heaven is not through getting a better home in a better neighborhood in celebration for it or wherever that may be. It's not by putting a nice veneer of the right environment over your life. It is by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior for the forgiveness of your sin. That is what the human race needs and that is where our energies and passion must go to the gospel, the gospel of Christ. It also teaches us that man will reject Christ in the midst of the best of spiritual blessings. Some of you wonder how could my child turn against the Lord when I train them better, I raise them to no Christ. Some of you have agonized over that. Listen folks, there will be people who are hearing Jesus Christ Himself teach the Bible who turn against Him. We can do the best we can possibly do. It takes the spirit of God moving in the hearts of people to change lives. There is another lesson this teaches us and it is that no one is ever forced to trust Christ even in the millennium. When Christ is ruling on planet earth, no one is ever forced to trust Christ. The provision has been made through the death of Christ. The invitation is given to all who will believe the invitation is given in Scripture. The last chapter of the Bible says, whosoever will may come. The invitation is that broad because the provision is made for you and for me. And so Jesus says, and the bride says, the church is supposed to say, according to Revelation, whosoever will may come. If you will trust Jesus as your Savior, you can be saved today, your sins forgiven and you can be assured of a home in heaven, but God will never force you to make that choice. He leaves that to you. The provision is made. God must do His work in drawing you to Himself. He does that through making you aware of the gospel and working in your heart so that you recognize your need. When you come to that point that you realize you need Jesus as your Savior, you must trust Him as your Savior. You must believe in Him as your Savior. God will never force you to do that. The question is this today, in light of what we know will happen in the future in the millennial kingdom. The question for you and me today is this, where you and I live, where we are today. Have you recognized your need of Christ? Have you realized that Jesus died for you when He died on the cross? And have you placed your faith in Him as your Savior? If you've never done that, my friend, you could do it today. All you need to understand is that Jesus, God's perfect Son, came to this world to die, to pay for your sin. You cannot pay for your own sin. You cannot do enough good deeds to outweigh the sin of your life. You need a substitute, one who took your sin and paid for it, and that's what Jesus Christ did. And if you will recognize that and you will say, my hope of eternal heaven, my hope of eternity with God in heaven is entirely in what Jesus did for me. And so I trust Him and Him alone as my Savior. If you will do that, my friend, then God will wipe the record of your life clean, the record in heaven will have the righteousness of Christ put on it. You will be one of His children and you will be assured of a home in heaven. That's what it means to be saved, to be saved. Will you make that decision today? It's bowed together in prayer. Father, we thank You that You have made the way clear. And we thank You that we know that Jesus Himself is the way, the truth, and the light. No man comes to the Father but by Him. So I pray today, Lord, if there's anyone here who thinks that if they just clean their life up a little more, if they just start living a little better, if they just get over some of their bad habits that maybe they could do well enough to where you would smile on them and be pleased with them and let them into heaven, Lord, I pray that if there's anyone like that here today, that they would realize that we'll never get them to heaven. They must open their hearts in faith to Jesus Christ and trust Him as Savior. I pray, I pray that there would be someone here today who would realize that and would be willing to trust Jesus, or it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.