By Ken Blue
“And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” Revelation 2:27.
There’s no end to the stories one will hear about the thousand year rule of Christ on earth. There is the notion that only the spiritually saved enter it. Some teach the whole earth will be a Garden of Eden. Then there is the idea that everyone will know the Lord, that witnessing will not be permitted. There are those who think there’ll be no rebellion, sin, or death, and all will be vegetarians and live in harmony. These are just a few of the many stories you will hear.
The rule of the nations will be a dictatorship. Not only will Christ rule in Israel with a rod of iron, so will those appointed as government leaders. Notice; “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalm 2:8-9. See Revelation 2:26-28.
Jesus comes back to Israel, and sets His kingdom up there first. The way to visualize the process is to imagine dropping a stone into a pool of water. The ripples are the greatest, and move fastest at the point of impact. Thus, the first order of business will be the organizing of His kingdom within the boundaries of Israel. The Twelve Disciples will rule the twelve tribes. See Daniel 12:12. Then, He sends Jewish evangelist into all the world to preach the Kingdom gospel, or good news. Miracles and supernatural powers will be restored to those Jews who preach to the nations.
National representatives will travel to Israel each year to worship the King, and observe the feast of Tabernacles. Those who do not will be judged by the withholding of rain on their nation. That results in drought and crop failure. “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. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.” Zechariah 14:16-19.
It appears life expectancy will be extended. “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” Isaiah 65:20. A person, who dies at age one hundred, will be considered but a child. However, those who commit sins worthy of death will be executed. “And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”Isaiah 11:3-4.
People will not be vegetarians, and animals will not live in harmony. “And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD. 28 And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. 29 They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. 30 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house. 31 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.”Ezekiel 44:26-31. The above is speaking of the thousand year kingdom, and Jerusalem is in the heart of it. Meat will be eaten, and animals will still kill each other. That is the meaning of the word “torn.” When the lion and the lamb lie down together, probably, only one of them will get up.
By the end of the thousand years, the earth will be filled with those who hate the King and His rule. Satan will be released, and lead a rebellion against Jesus the King. His end is as follows. “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:7-10.
If I have misrepresented the kingdom of heaven, I would welcome your comments.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.