The Millennial Reign of Messiah

This blog came out of a recent phone conversation with a believer who did not think there would be a thousand-year reign of Christ (Messiah) on this earth. He believed that the solitary reference of such an event in the Book of Revelation (Chapter 20) was not enough to convince him it should be taken literally. That instead it should be understood spiritually, which meant seeing that the reign was already taking place now through the life of the believer.

Now I have never been able to keep all those theologies straight that are described as postmillennialism, premillenialism, dispensational premillennialism, and amillennialism. In restudying them last week, I decided the two premillennial viewpoints came closest to my understanding that Jesus would reign over the world for a 1000 years with Jerusalem as His capital, which would then be followed by the new heaven and the new earth. The view of my believer-friend on the phone was closest to the ammillennial and postmillennial view that dispenses with the visible reign altogether. Of the four view, the postmillennial one is the least attractive because it sees the world getting better and better through the influence of the gospel, culminating in the final judgment and new heaven and new earth. But one look at the world today shows you that ain't going to happen.

Anyway, the Lord just showed me this morning that contrary to popular understanding, the 1000-year-reign of Messiah is not just found mentioned in the 20th chapter of Revelation. Rather it is found throughout the Bible, only it is called "the Day of the Lord." As we know, the apostle Peter informed us that, "One day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). We are just so used to thinking of the "Day of the Lord" as a time of judgment, that we forget the judgment is just God's way of cleaning up the world to get ready for the new Day when he will bring in the promised times of worldwide blessing through His nation Israel. Of which all those in Messiah are included.

In addition to the "Day of the Lord" references, the "restoration of the Kingdom of David" in the promised land is one of the most prophesied events in the Old Testament. That's why the apostles asked Jesus just prior to His ascension, "Is it at this time that you are restoring the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6). Clearly they were hoping it was, understanding that He was the promised son of David who would sit on that throne. However, it wasn't time for the kingdom to be manifested fully yet. The kingdom had come, but it would remain hidden within the hearts of those who were called to be His loyal citizens - on that point, I agree with my telephone friend - until all the lost sheep of Israel had been found and brought home. Then will the kingdom come - with a bang!