1231. Israel’s Millennial Kingdom – Part 1

Today we begin a 3-part series on the Millennial Kingdom. Any serious student of the Bible knows that it is a real physical kingdom that will last for a thousand years. It was described by many of the Old Testament prophets, explained by Jesus in His parables, and discussed in Revelation 20. Still, for most of us, our understanding of it leaves a lot to be desired. As born-again believers, we look forward to it because we know that conditions will be idyllic and we will have new glorified bodies, but beyond that, it’s a mystery. So, what exactly is it?

To understand it, we must first stop making everything about us, and dig deeper into Scripture. If we do, we find that this is the “coming kingdom” the Jews of Israel had been anticipating when their Messiah would come on the scene. He would be their king and they would be His people. It would be a time of unprecedented peace and safety. Sadly for them, their failure to love, understand, and obey their God blinded them from recognizing their Messiah when He came. They were looking for a political and military leader who would deliver them from Roman oppression. Their Messiah, however came to deliver them from their sin which was separating them from God.

The Kingdom Postponed

As a result, the kingdom Jesus would have ushered in during His first coming had to be postponed until His second coming. In the interim, God would open the door for Gentiles as fellow-partakers of God’s promised blessings, thus, making the Jews jealous so they would desire what still could be theirs. He would also purge Israel of her idolatry and apostasy, the final phase coming during the horrific conditions on earth during the Great Tribulation. Only a third of all Jews alive would survive. God would gather them (Ezek. 36:24), pour out His Spirit of grace and supplication on them (Zech. 12:10), refine them as silver, test them as gold, and finally say, “They are My people.” After thousands of years of rebelling against Him, His people will finally say, “The LORD is my God (Zech. 13:9).

These are the Jews who will enter the Millennial Kingdom as national Israel. It is then that they will finally experience the fulfillment of God’s promises regarding the nation of Israel as outlined in His covenants. Conditions will be even better than in the glory days of David and Solomon. Israel will have “most favored nation” status throughout the earth. Anti-Semitism will be a thing of the past, and Israel will be recognized and honored by every nation on earth. People from all over the world will travel to Jerusalem to worship Jesus, Israel’s Messiah and the world’s king.

God’s Covenants

According to God’s covenant with Abraham, national Israel will finally be living in and possessing all the land God had promised. God would bless him and greatly multiply his seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand on the seashore; and his seed shall possess the gates of their enemies. In his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Israel would become a great nation, and Abraham’s name (then Abram) would be made great (Gen. 12:3; 22:17-18).

In God’s covenant with David, He built upon the seed promises in His covenant with Abraham (2 Sam. 7:12-16). This would be fulfilled in the Millennial Kingdom when David’s physical seed, Jesus, would establish His kingdom for a thousand years and on into eternity. These two covenants represent but a small sampling of how God’s plans for Israel are finally realized in the Millennial Kingdom. This is why some biblical scholars refer to it as Israel’s Millennial Kingdom.

This kingdom is also that which Jesus described as the kingdom of heaven. This should not be confused with the kingdom of God. The terms cannot be used interchangeably. The term “kingdom of heaven” is found only in Matthew’s Gospel, which was written to the Jews. Jesus’ parables regarding the kingdom of heaven are describing what life will be like in the Millennial Kingdom – a time when the will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:10).