The Millennial Reign of Christ

November, 2003

by: Jack Hughes

• Prophecy and End Times

The Thousand Year Reign of Christ

Have you ever wondered what will happen after the Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ? Have you ever wondered what you will be doing when Jesus rules and reigns from Jerusalem? Have you ever wondered what the earth will be like at that time and how much technology will be used or if angels will be seen by mortal men, and what will happen to those who die during Christ's reign on earth? This Calvary Review article is the fourth in a series focusing on critical prophetic events. So far we have looked at the Second Coming of Elijah, the Rapture of the Church and the Tribulation. In this Calvary Review we want to focus our attention on the time immediately after the seven year tribulation period, most often referred to as “the thousand year reign of Christ” or “the Millennium.”

Jesus Christ's Universal Reign as God

When you start studying what it means for Christ to reign, you open up a large can of worms. The Scriptures have much to say about Jesus Christ, His reign, and the reign of God in general. But before we look at the thousand–year reign of Jesus Christ, it is helpful to understand some of the various aspects of His reign which are distinct but related to His thousand year reign on earth.

First we need to ask, “What does it mean to reign as king?” The answer is complex but simply stated, in order for someone to be a reigning king he must have 1) sovereign authority, 2) power to rule, 3) a kingdom or a sphere of dominion, and 4) subjects to rule over. Every king needs these things or he is not a king.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus is God incarnate, one of the three members of the triune Godhead or Trinity. Jesus existed before He was born of the Virgin Mary. He has eternally been one of the three persons of the Godhead. Hence, any general reference to God's rule, especially before Jesus was born, is a reference to Christ's rule. Jesus, as God, before his incarnation ruled all of creation. This is the universal reign of God.

Many places in the Old Testament present God as the ever–reigning King who rules over all of creation. For instance Psa. 10:16 says, “The Lord is King forever and ever.”Psa. 22:28 says, “For the kingdom is the Lord's and He rules over the nations.”Psa. 29:10 says, “The Lord sat as King at the flood; yes, the Lord sits as King forever.”Psa. 47:7-8 says, “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a skillful psalm. God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.”Psa. 145:11-13 says, “They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power; to make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.” All of these texts, and many others, tell us that God has, is, and will forever reign over all creation. Jesus, even before His birth, ruled the universe as God.

Jesus Christ's Spiritual Reign

There is another aspect of Jesus' reign that needs to be understood so it can be distinguished from Jesus' earthly reign. It is His spiritual reign. The New Testament teaches that Christ is spiritually reigning over the lives of those who know and love Him. Christians confess Jesus as “Lord” and they obey Him as their King. Even though Jesus is not physically present, we still acknowledge Jesus as our King and we still seek to obey His commands.

When Jesus was on earth, He was the King of kings and offered the kingdom to those who would receive it. In Matt. 12:28 Jesus, speaking to the Pharisees, said, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” And Jesus did cast out demons by the Spirit of God and the kingdom of God was upon them. Why? Because Jesus was the King, He had authority, He had power and He had subjects to rule over.

But the Jewish leaders and many of the people did not want Jesus to be their king. In the parable of the wicked vine growers, Jesus, speaking to the Pharisees, said this in Matt. 21:43, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.” Jesus was “The King” and during His ministry on earth He offered His kingdom to those who would have Him as their king. But even though Jesus is the King, he has never ruled and reigned from Jerusalem. He has never proven himself to be the King of kings.

In Mt. 13:31-33 Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed which is small to begin with but grows to become like a small tree. He also compared the kingdom to a little leaven placed into a large amount of dough, which soon grows and spreads until the entire batch of dough has permeated the leaven. In these two short parables Jesus illustrates how his spiritual kingdom will start out small but increase in size over time and eventually pervade everything. When the Gospel is preached and people repent, believe, and are saved, they become citizens of the kingdom. They become the subjects of Christ. Even though Christ is not literally ruling and reigning on earth at this time, yet His kingdom is growing as the subjects of His kingdom are increasing. This is why Paul, speaking to the Colossians, said this in Col. 1:13, “For He [Christ] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Though Jesus is not physically reigning on earth, those who believe in Him literally have their membership transferred from Satan's worldly kingdom to the spiritual kingdom of Christ.

Jesus Christ's Earthly Reign

After the seven year tribulation period, Jesus will come a second time to earth. He will not come as a helpless baby again or as a humble carpenter to be persecuted, falsely accused and crucified. He will come as the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Judge of the living and the dead. He will enter physically into time, space, and history where He will prove to angels, demons, and men that He is the King of kings, not only in title but in deed. He will first execute those alive on earth who, during the tribulation period, would not repent and receive Him as their King by faith. Satan will be bound and He will establish peace, righteousness and justice on the earth.

There are many Scriptures that describe the thousand–year reign of Christ. For instance, in Dan. 2:44 when Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream Daniel says, “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” Isaiah in Isa. 2:2-4 speaks of the same kingdom saying, “Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. and He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.” Later in Isa. 11:6-9 Isaiah speaks the earthly reign of Christ by saying, “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”Isa. 65:20 says, “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; for the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed.” Zechariah prophesies of the physical coming and reign of Christ upon the earth in Zech. 14. In Zech. 14:9 he says, “And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.”

All of these texts, and many others, describe the kingdom of Christ on earth. Jesus will reign over all the nations from Jerusalem. He will be physically present. There will be geographical changes on the earth. There will be justice and righteousness. The curse will be mostly lifted so that animals that are normally hostile will become non–aggressive and people will live extended lives as before the flood.

Just as men like Moses and David were God's representatives to the people (mediators), so Jesus will physically mediate His rule on earth. A mediator is one who stands between or represents one party to another. When Jesus is physically present on the earth, ruling and reigning from Zion, He will be the representative between God and man. This is why Jesus' earthly reign is also called His “mediatorial reign” because Christ is physically present to represent God to the people.

So we have learned that there is a universal kingdom that consists of God's rule over all creation at all times. Secondly, we have learned that there is a spiritual kingdom where Christ, though absent in body, rules over believers as their King. When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ, they are added to Christ's spiritual kingdom and submit to Jesus as Lord. Finally, we have learned that Jesus will physically reign over all the earth from Zion as the King of kings. This is called His mediatorial reign. Jesus will be physically present on the earth and represent God to the people.

The Duration of Christ's Earthly Reign

Amazingly, the nature and duration of Christ's reign has been debated. The reason for this is that people have different ways of interpreting the Bible. Some see Christ's Kingdom as only spiritual. Some see Christ's Kingdom as literal but of an indefinite period of time. We teach that Christ's Kingdom will last one thousand years. We believe this because that is what Rev. 20:1-7 teaches. This is what the Apostle John said would happen after the Tribulation: “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison…”

A simple reading of this text tells us that Jesus will reign for a thousand years. Six times John tells us the duration of Christ's reign. If you are a believer, you will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years! We have seen that Christ has a universal reign, a spiritual reign, and a physical earthly reign. Don't let the problems of this world get you down. Keep your hopes up — because the King is coming!