Building Christians Up From The Foundation & Unto Perfection
Hebrews 6:1-3
Hebrews 6:1-3
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Before you read: This article is part of a larger series that builds on itself from the foundation up, with each study building on the last. If something in this article does not make sense to you or if you believe it to be incorrect please be sure you have read over the entire course before passing your final judgment. Also be sure to visit this page’s FAQ And Objections Page
In the last study we talked about the millennial reign of Jesus on the Earth. The items we discovered were as follows:
1. This 1,000 year period of time is literal.
2. It takes place AFTER Jesus returns to Earth.
3. The dead in Christ are raised to live and rule with Jesus during this time.
4. The Lord will slay the wicked who come against Jerusalem at the beginning of it.
5. This will be a time of healing.
6. There will still be people that are born and die.
But, there is one question left unanswered. Who will occupy the millennial kingdom? If Jesus has returned and the wicked are destroyed that means only the righteous will be left. The Bible tells us the righteous will have new bodies and will not marry. How then can there be people who are born and die in the millennial kingdom?
If you are like me then you have heard and believed a few things that aren’t quite true. Thank God we can unlearn things! I’ve had to go back to certain passages of scripture that I thought I understood to find that I didn’t get it at all.
What scriptures am I talking about? Well, first let’s lay out the problem again.
1. If the wicked are destroyed only the righteous are going to be left.
2. If the righteous are changed into their new bodies at the return of Christ then they will not have children.
3. Therefore, there can be no one born and no one will die during this millennial kingdom.
4. BUT the Bible says people will be born and die during it.
5. WHAT ARE WE MISSING?!
So if the Bible tells us there will be children and people who sin and die during this time how can those statements be true? Perhaps we have made a few assumptions? We need to go into the scriptures to see if what we already believe is ACTUALLY what it says.
With all of the verses that tell us Jesus is going to fight against the wicked at His return and “the slain of the Lord will be many” it seems easy to assume Jesus is going to eliminate ALL of the wicked. But let’s look at a passage in Zechariah.
Zechariah 14:1-3
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
If you read down to verse 5 you will find it tells us “and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” This is clearly at the return of Jesus. It tells us this is the “day of the Lord.” It is when the Lord Himself will fight against those who come against Jerusalem. We will be going into great detail on this event. But for now I want to focus on the millennial reign of Jesus on Earth itself.
Zechariah 14:16-18
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
There will be people left of the nations that Jesus fought! And they are called heathen. These are not Christians. They enter the millennial kingdom ALIVE.
Daniel 7 is another place we can find this.
Daniel 7:12-13
12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
The beasts referred to are nations of people. Again we see kingdoms spared from total destruction at the coming of Jesus. Their dominion is taken away, but their lives are prolonged for a while. Clearly if these were the saints who rule and reign with Christ their dominion would NOT be taken away.
It took me by surprise when I discovered this. After all, were there not many verses that show there would be no wicked people left? Apparently not if you look at those verses again without the assumption already in your mind. It may take you some time to sort this one out. I know it took me some time!
This truth answers the question of who will occupy the millennial kingdom having children who live and die.
So the answer to the question of who will occupy the 1,000 year kingdom is answered by throwing out assumptions and looking at what the Bible really says (as usual). Not all of the wicked are killed at the return of Jesus. They will enter the new kingdom with their natural bodies. This is set in stone through scripture.
Now, before we go into details of the return of Jesus, the rapture, the tribulation, Antichrist, and so on I think there is one other subject we need to look at. What happens AFTER this 1,000 year period?
Continue To Unit 6A:6 – The Day Of The Lord – The End Of The Millennium OR
Return To Christianity 101 Unit 6A – The Resurrection & the Big Picture
March 19, 2020 at 1:21 pm | | No comment
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