The Covenants Will Be Fulfilled
Revelation 20:4-6
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
John is sharing with us about the one-thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ. He tells us that both the saints who were martyred in the Tribulation by the Antichrist, and all those who are part of the first resurrection, will reign with Christ. Remember the “first resurrection” includes everyone who has repented of their sins and by faith believed in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ in both the Old and New Testaments. Daniel the prophet wrote about this resurrection in Daniel 12:2. Jesus also spoke about these two resurrections in John 5:28.
Today we want to continue to talk about the purpose and character of the Millennium. Isaiah gives us more insight of the nature and character of this Kingdom reign of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 11:3-9: “His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.” (This no doubt is what takes place at the end of the Tribulation and at Armageddon when Jesus comes back to the earth.)
Isaiah goes on to write: “Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.”
This is just a few of the prophesies that will be fulfilled when Jesus returns, and His Kingdom is set up on the earth for the one thousand years. As we said one of the first purposes for the Millennium is to fulfill the prophecies of Jesus Himself setting up His kingdom!
Another purpose of the Millennium is to see the complete fulfillment of all the covenants that God made with Israel. This age is instituted out of necessity in order to full these covenants. The first of these covenants would be what is known as the Abrahamic covenant. This concerns both the land and the seed of Abraham that still yet has not been fulfilled but will be completed in the Millennium. If you have the time you can see these covenant promises in Isaiah 10:21-22; 19:25; 43:1; 65:8-9; Jeremiah 30:22; 32:38; Ezekiel 34:24; 30-31; Micah 7:19-20; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:16-18. Israel’s continued existence, their possession of the land, and their inheritance of blessings are directly related to the fulfillment of this covenant.
The promises of what is known as the Davidic covenant concerning the King, the throne, and the royal house are fulfilled by the Messiah in the millennial age. See these verses: Isaiah 11:1-2; 55:3, 11; Jeremiah 23:5-8; 33:20-26; Ezekiel 34:23-25; 37:23-24; Hosea 3:5; Micah 4:7-8. The fact that Israel has a kingdom, over which David’s Son reigns as King, is based on this Davidic covenant.
The promises in what is known as the Palestinic covenant concerning the possession of the land are fulfilled by Israel in the millennial age: Isaiah 11:11-12; 65:9; Ezekiel 16:60-63; 36:28-29; 39:28; Hosea 1:10-2:1; Micah 2:12; Zechariah 10:6. These references to the possession of the land promise fulfillment of the Palestinic covenant.
The promises known as the new covenant, which is the covenant of a new heart, the forgiveness of sin, the filling of the Spirit are fulfilled in the converted nation in the millennial age: Jeremiah 31:31-34; 32:35-39; Ezekiel 11:18-20; 16:60-63; 37:26; Romans 11:26-29. All the spiritual blessings Israel receives are fulfillment of this covenant.
God keeps His covenant promises!
God bless!
Comments