Gathering and return of the
people of Israel.
The Millennium – a preview of the
second, the New Creation.
The living conditions in
Israel.
The world government in the
Millennium.
The Prince of Peace will put
an end to all wars.
Table – World history: A week with
millennial days.
The "Millennium" is the period of time which follows immediately
upon the "Day of the Lord". The event which links these two periods of time is –
apart from the First Resurrection of the martyrs for life and reign on the earth
– the return of the redeemed to the land of Israel. After that the Lord will
move into the newly built temple in Jerusalem, Israel will defeat all its
hostile neighbors and will become the head among the nations. The Lord will rule
over the nations with the resurrected martyrs in peace and righteousness for a
thousand years.
Subsequent to these one thousand years we await "the end of the world", a period
of time which begins with the last futile fight of Satan against God and which
ends with the Universal Judgment and the dissolution of the First Creation.
An argumentation about the fact if the "one
thousand years" are really real thousand years,
is in my option not necessary on account of the fact that in the Bible it explicitly says here "a thousand
years" for six times. And to illustrate the absurdity of a denial of the
millennium (amillennialists), here are briefly the relevant biblical passages.
And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
Rev 20,1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the
abyss and a great chain in his hand. 20,2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the
devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 20,3 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. Rev 20, 1- 3;
They will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Rev 20,4 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.
20,5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years
were completed. This is the first resurrection. 20,6 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. Rev 20,4-6;
Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth.
Rev 20,7 When the thousand years
are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 20,8 and will come out to deceive the nations which
are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them
together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 20,9 And they came up on the broad plain of
the earth and surrounded the camp of
the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. Rev 20,7-9;
The view that the Millennium already took place in the past (preterists) or
would happen at present (Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church) can be refuted
quite clearly on the basis of the following evidence. We therefore assume that
the Millennium is about events of real thousand years, which will only happen in
the future.
At the beginning of the Millennium after the reorganization of heaven and
earth on the Day of the Lord, the gathering and return of the Israelites who
remained all over the world to their land takes place. At that time the people of
Israel will change their ways and return to their God. Also the Gentiles will
recognize the God of Israel and bring the Israelites from the Diaspora to their
land.
I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them.
Jer 32,36 "Now therefore thus says the LORD God of
Israel concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the
king of Babylon by sword, by famine and by pestilence.’ 32,37 "Behold, I will
gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My
wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and
make them dwell in safety. 32,38 "They shall be My people, and I will be
their God; Jer 32,36-38;
The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place.
Isa 14,1 When the LORD will have compassion on
Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers
will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 14,2 The peoples
will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel
will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the LORD as male servants and
female servants; and they will take their captors captive and will rule over
their oppressors. Isa 14,1-2;
Their sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms.
Isa 60,4 "Lift up your eyes round about and see;
They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar,
And your daughters will be carried in the arms. Isa 60, 4;
To bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of the LORD.
Isa 60,9 "Surely the coastlands will wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar,
Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the LORD your God,
And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you. Isa 60, 9;
A detailed description of these events can be found in chapter
09.
(See also Chapter 09: ""The
return of the redeemed.")
Irrespective of the fact that many Gentiles will come to faith
in the Millennium – or rather to a change of their ways since they will see the
Lord and therefore do not have to have "faith" in anything – , the Millennium is
the fulfillment of all prophecies for the people of Israel – in contrast to the
congregation of Jesus Christ, which does not have an earthly, but a heavenly
promise. All promises of the Scriptures which relate to the Kingdom of Peace of
the Messiah and with that also to Israel will find their fulfillment in that
time.
In those interpretations which see the Millennium as a symbolic metaphor, the
real background can be seen in most cases in the fact that there all promises
which refer to Israel in the Scriptures are assigned to the "church" or to the
congregation. And as one can hardly reinterpret more than seventy passages from
the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which deal exclusively with the statements
about the future of Israel in the kingdom of the Messiah, the entire Millennium
is simply left out.
But also in the New Testament we have quite unambiguous statements about the
fact that Israel can expect this special salvation. So Paul tells us – and with
that at the same time all those who want to deny these promises to Israel – that
we shall not consider ourselves wise in this respect.
Until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in all Israel will be saved.
Rom 11,25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be
uninformed of this mystery – so that you will not be wise in your own
estimation – that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness
of the Gentiles has come in; 11,26 and so all Israel will be saved; just
as it is written, "the deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove
ungodliness from Jacob." 11,27 "This is My covenant with them, when I take away
their sins." 11,28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your
sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of
the fathers; 11,29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
11,30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown
mercy because of their disobedience, 11,31 so these also now have been
disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown
mercy. Rom 11,25-31;
Therefore, the sense of the Millennium seems to be also to let
the Gentiles recognize that God does not regret the appointment of Israel. On
the contrary, as the text above, from Rom 11,30-32 tells us, Israel fell into
disobedience because of us, in order that – after the fullness of the Gentiles
has come in – also they are shown mercy and are saved, just as we were also
shown mercy by God and were saved by him.
And also the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews calls upon the Israelites not
to be deprived of the promise of the Messianic Kingdom due to unbelief. He
compares this promise to the promise of the Promised Land after the Exodus from
Egypt. At that time they had to stay in the desert for forty years until all
people who did not believe in the Promised Land had died. The point at issue
here is the rest which is promised to the people of Israel in the Millennium.
Just as God took a rest on the seventh day after the six days of Creation, he
also promised a "day of rest" for Israel for the end of times.
The disobedient were not able to enter because of unbelief.
Hbr 3,7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says,
"Today if you hear His voice, 3,8 do not harden your hearts as when they
provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, 3,9 wher4e your fathers
tried Me by testing Me and saw my works for forty years. 3,10 "therefore I was
angry with this generation, and said, they always go astray in their heart, and
they did not know my ways’ 3,11 as I swore in My wrath, ‘they shall not enter
My rest.’" 3,12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an
evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 3,13 But encourage
one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none
of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 3,14 For we have become
partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until
the end,
3,15 while it is said, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts,
as when they provoked Me." 3,16 For who provoked Him when they had heard?
Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 3,17 And with whom
was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies
fell in the wilderness? 3,18 And to whom did He swear that they would not
enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 3,19 So we see that
they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Heb 3, 7-19;
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
Hbr 4,1Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise
remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
4,2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the
word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those
who heard. 4,3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,
"as I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter in My rest," although His works
were finished from the foundation of the world. 4,4 For He has said somewhere
concerning the seventh day: "and God rested on the seventh day from all His
works"; 4,5 and again in this passage, "they shall not enter My rest."
4,6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who
formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
4,7 He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a
time just as has been said before, "Today if you hear His voice, do not
harden your hearts." 4,8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not
have spoken of another day after that.
4,9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
4,10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his
works, as God did from His. 4,11Therefore let us be diligent to enter that
rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of
disobedience.4,12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any
two – edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both
joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
4,13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and
laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Heb 4, 1-13;
But the outward circumstances of this future epoch of time are
at the same time also a preview of the New Creation, of the heavenly Jerusalem
in the eternity of God. Therefore we recognize also in many prophecies for the
Millennium a prefulfillment of God’s promises for eternity – even if this
prefulfillment is restricted, because it is an earthly one. This is also the
reason why God’s blessing will obviously only extend to Israel in the
Millennium, and here especially to Jerusalem and why the "paradisiacal"
conditions in the Millennium as they are described in the prophecies mainly
concern the people of God (from all nations) in Israel and the land of Israel.
Contrary to the opinion of some exegetes unfortunately there cannot be found any
proof in the Scriptures of the fact that the whole world – that is to say also
the nations living then – will be under these blessings of God in the
Millennium. All passages in this connection speak of "Zion" or, what is
identical with that, "Jerusalem", "the land" (Israel) or "on my Mount" (Mount
Zion) as the place of the events.
(See also Table 12: "The earthly
and the heavenly Jerusalem.")
We want to compare these parallels between Israel in the
Millennium and the heavenly Jerusalem in the New Creation on the basis of some
examples.
My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.
Eze 37,26 "I will make a covenant of peace with
them; it will be a covenant for world – time with them. And I will place
them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst for world – time.
37,27 " My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God,
and they will be My people. 37,28 "And the nations will know that I am the
LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst for
world – time (cs. Buber).""Eze 37,26-28;
The text above from Eze 37,26-28 is based upon the German
translation of Martin Buber with intention. When we read this passage
from the Scriptures in the German version by Luther, there is talk of the
"everlasting covenant" and the sanctuary shall be among them "forever". This is
not the case with Buber, who sticks to the original text as close as possible.
There it says "covenant for world – time" and the sanctuary will be in their midst
"for world – time".
And here we meet with one of those difficulties with the text, which sometimes
outlast centuries due to an inexact or superficial translation and often conceal
the right point of view in exegesis. Many passages in the prophets of the Old
Testament which – still in our present translations – are translated with
"everlasting", "in eternity" or "forever", do not really mean eternally, that is
to say extending to the New Creation of God in the days of eternity, but only
"until the end of days", that is to say until the end of the world.
Martin Buber was the first one who pointed out this subtle difference and
translated these passages completely correctly with "for world – time" (instead of
everlasting) and "covenant for world – time" (instead of everlasting covenant).
Only with this understanding it can be found out which texts do actually belong
to the Millennium – which takes place still in the "world – time" – and which
texts already belong to the New Creation of God, to the heavenly Jerusalem. The
text from Isa 61,8 may serve as an example of this:
I will faithfully give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Isa 61,8 For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate
robbery in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an everlasting covenant with them. 61,9 Then their offspring
will be known among the nations, And their descendants in the midst of the
peoples. All who see them will recognize them Because they are the offspring
whom the LORD has blessed. Isa 61,8-9;
If here this covenant with Israel in verse Isa 61,8 actually
applied eternally, that is to say also in the New Creation, the statement in the
next verse: "Then their offspring will be known among the nations …" would not
be understandable, since there will not be any Gentiles in the heavenly
Jerusalem. Therefore Buber translates here correctly with "I make a world-time covenant with them", that is to say no everlasting covenant, but a covenant that is made
for the time in which the world still exists, namely until the end of this
world.
In the following text from Eze 37,25 the consequences of exegesis can be seen
quite clearly:
They will live on it forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever.
Eze 37, 24 "My servant David will be king over
them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My
ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. 37,25 "They will live on the
land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will
live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David
My servant will be their prince forever. Eze 37,25;
These statements presented difficulties to a good many
interpreters since "forever" means "everlasting". But in eternity it will not be
David who will be the prince but Jesus Christ will rule with the Father. And so
David was simply made "Christ" on the grounds that Christ is an offspring of
David (Jer 23:5), and therefore "David" would actually mean Christ here.
But with this false conclusion in the analysis one did not realize that it is
not Christ in the days of eternity, who is meant here, but actually David, who
will be raised from the dead by God and who will be prince over Israel in the
Millennium (Eze 37,24), whereas the Lord Jesus will be the king of the world
over all princes of the nations in this kingdom of his. Buber translates both
passages with "world – time" – that is to say the time in which this world still
exists – and gives these prophecies their true sense back with that.
We find similar connections for instance also in Isaiah 32:14; Jeremiah 31:4;50:5;
Ezekiel 43:7,9, Joel 3:20; Obadiah 1:10; Micah 4:5; and many others.
The following two examples shall show that there are, however, also statements
in the Scriptures which actually refer to the days of eternity and therefore
also have to be translated with "everlasting".
Israel will not be put to shame or humiliated to all eternity.
Isa 45,17 Israel has been saved by the LORD With an
everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated to all
eternity. Isa 45,17;
We will walk In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Mic 4,5 Though all the peoples walk Each in the name
of his god, As for us, we will walk In the name of the LORD our God forever
and ever. Mic 4, 5;
As Luther’s translation has already assigned another meaning to
the properly speaking absolute expression "everlasting" – as we have seen above
(world-time) – one had to make the rather inappropriate attempt to find a
comparative for these passages from the Scriptures and hit upon "forever and
ever". And as Buber did not use the word "everlasting" anywhere improperly, he
can use here "everlasting" – in the concrete sense of the word – and translates
these two texts with "everlasting" and "to all eternity".
So we can assign the text from Eze 37,26-28 quoted at the beginning
unequivocally to the Millennium and compare it with corresponding statements for
the New Creation, in Rev 21,3-4.
He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.
Rev 21,3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne,
saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among
them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 21,4
and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be
any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first
things have passed away." Rev 21,3-4;
No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light.
Isa 60,19 " No longer will you have the
sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light;
But you will have the LORD for an everlasting (world-time) light, And your God for your
glory. 60,20 "Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will
have the LORD for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be
over. Isa 60,19-20;
Although no further argumentation is necessary here, in order to
assign this text to the Millennium (Isa 60 is the prophecy of the
millennium) – in the context there is talk about the
"juniper of Lebanon" and other circumstances, which do not have any justification
in the heavenly Jerusalem – we find also here the mistake in the translation
described above. In verse Isa 60,19 we have again the statement "you will have
the Lord for an everlasting light" although there is no talk of "everlasting" in
the original text. Therefore Buber also translates "for HE himself is your light
for the world – time, your God".
Nevertheless it can be easily recognized that also here the heavenly Jerusalem of Rev 21 is already anticipated. While,
however, there, in the New Creation, a sun and a moon do not exist at all any more, here in the Millennium apply these
conditions, and also some others, such as outpouring of the Holy Spirit, fertility of the soil, the age of mankind and
God himself will dwell in the temple in Jerusalem and light up the city day and night as a wall of fire all around it.
The glory of the Lord
will shine that bright that men will see neither the sun nor the moon and will
not need them as light either. The fact that the converted Gentiles as well as
the people of Israel will celebrate the Sabbath and each new moon in honor of
their God – as it is commanded in the regulations for the sacrificial service in
the Millennium by the prophet Ezekiel – proves, however, that there will remain
both the sun and the moon (new moon) in the Millennium.
The people of the land shall also worship before the LORD on the sabbaths and on the new moons.
Eze 46,3 "The people of the land shall also worship
at the doorway of that gate before the LORD on the sabbaths and on the new
moons.
46,4 "The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the LORD on the
sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish;
46,5 and the grain offering shall be an ephah with the ram, and the grain
offering with the lambs as much as he is able to give, and a hin of oil with an
ephah.
46,6 "On the day of the new moon he shall offer a young bull without
blemish, also six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish. Eze 46,3-6;
But from this connection also quite an important conclusion can
be drawn with respect to the congregation at our time today. Paul tells us in
the Epistle to the Colossians:
Which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
Col 2,16Therefore no one is to act as your judge in
regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath
day – 2,17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the
substance belongs to Christ. Col 2,16-17;
Paul tells us here on the one hand that these commandments and
rules are fulfilled for us faithful Christians in our Lord Jesus Christ and that
they therefore do not require a separate observation by us. He even warns us
against heretics proclaiming false doctrines, who could tempt us into following
such commandments.
On the other hand, however, he also points out to us that all of this is a
"shadow of what is to come" and thus gives us to understand that he knows the
prophecies of the prophets of the Old Testament very well with regard to the
Messianic Kingdom and that he knows to rate them correctly. He knows that there
will be such commandments and festivals again – in future – in the Millennium.
When we ask ourselves now why these commandments were prescribed in the old
Israel, why they are not prescribed today, and why they then, in the Millennium,
have to be observed again, we see strictly speaking only one difference:
Whenever God is in direct contact with his people – in former times as column of
fire or column of smoke and with the order to the prophets to prophesy,
afterward, in the Millennium, as visible and audible God in the temple in
Jerusalem – these commandments of veneration and thanksgiving are required. In
the time in between, that is to say also in our time today, where God is neither
visible nor audible, where there are not any prophets any more either, it is
faith alone – to be more precise the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ – which
establishes the connection between our God and us.
Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.
Jn 20,28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord
and my God!" 20,29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you
believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." Jn
20,28-29;
So it is the Christian faith that does not see and nevertheless
believes which is beatified here also by the Lord. These faithful do not need
any revelation of the Lord in order to believe in him. They do not need any
special ceremonies, huge churches or pompous liturgies either in order to prove
their faith to themselves and to their environment. Their belief is in their
hearts, and the daily conversation with their God does not take place in
churches, by means of loudspeakers and in well – formulated words, but in our
inner room, in spirit and often in tears and desperation.
However, this belief does not remain hidden for the environment for that reason.
The Lord has shown to us how we can recognize the "good tree".
So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Mt 7,17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but
the bad tree bears bad fruit. 7,18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor
can a bad tree produce good fruit. 7,19 "Every tree that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 7,20 "So then, you will know them
by their fruits. 7,21"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven
will enter. Mt 7,17-21;
So, it is not the position, the rank, luxurious clothes,
eloquence or other outward appearances, which make up the true Christian, but
his inner character and the behavior toward his fellow men and the entire
Creation resulting from that. So, if we discover through such a behavior of a
man that he endeavors to do God’s will, we should give him our love – no matter,
how high or low his rank may be.
So, while in the Millennium the illuminating power of the sun and the moon will
be "eclipsed and outshined" in the true sense of the word due to the shining
glory of the Lord, who will dwell in the temple in Jerusalem, according to Isa
60,19, there will actually be no celestial bodies any more then, in the New
Creation. The people in the heavenly Jerusalem do not need any sun or moon to
light the way for them by day or at night. It is the glory of God, which will
light the way for them – and this time really eternally – and the Lamb will be
their light and therefore there will not be any night any more.
(See also Discourse 63: "Conditions
of life in the Millennial Kingdom.")
And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God illumined it.
Rev 21,23 And the city has no need of the sun or
of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp
is the Lamb. 21,24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the
earth will bring their glory into it. 21,25 In the daytime (for there will be no
night there) its gates will never be closed; Rev 21,23-25;
In the last days the mountain Zion will be established as the chief of the mountains.
Mic 4,1 And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of
the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will
stream to it. 4,2 Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us
about His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth
the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Mic 4,1-2;
Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Jerusalem.
Isa 40,9 Get yourself up on a high mountain, O
Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem,
bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, "Here
is your God!" 40,10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm
ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him.
Isa 40,9-10;
When heaven and earth are reorganized on the Day of the Lord by
means of worldwide earthquakes and the destruction of all cities, three striking
topographical changes emerge for the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem
(Mount Zion). In order to facilitate the return home to Israel for the redeemed
of the Lord from all over the world, the whole land will be turned into a huge
plain, the "Highway of Holiness".
For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake.
Isa 54,10 "For the mountains may be removed and the hills may
shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be
shaken," Says the LORD who has compassion on you. Isa 54,10;
God wants to lower all high mountains and the everlasting hills and to fill up the valleys.
Bar 5,7 For God wants to lower all high mountains and the
everlasting hills and to fill up the valleys to make them even with the ground so that Israel
can go home safely under the glory of God. Bar 5,7;
I will make all My mountains a road.
Isa 49,11 "I will make all My mountains a road, and My highways
will be raised up. 49,12 "Behold, these will come from afar; And lo, these will come from
the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim." Isa 49,11-12;
Every ravine will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low.
Lk 3,3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins 3,4 as it is written in the book of the words of
Isaiah the prophet, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ’make ready the way of the
LORD, make His paths straight. 3,5 ‘every ravine will be filled, and every mountain and
hill will be brought low, the crooked will become straight, and the rough roads smooth; 3,6 and
all flesh will see the salvation of God.’" Lk 3,-4-6;
A highway will be there, a roadway for the redeemed, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
Isa 35,8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And
it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on
it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.
35,9 No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will
not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 35,10 And the ransomed
of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With
everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow
and sighing will flee away. Isa 35,8-10;
As we have learned above, in Mic 4,1-2 and Isa 40,9-10, Mount
Zion with the temple of God will be the highest mountain and Jerusalem will lie
on this mountain. And in Ps 48,3 it is prophesied that this mountain will lie
"in the far north".
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north.
Ps 48,2 Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the
whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King.
48,3 God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold. Ps 48,2-3;
A detailed analysis of these statements can be found in chapter
08.
(See also Chapter 08: "The
reorganization of heaven and earth.")
With the prophet Ezekiel we find then also instructions for the
construction of the temple in the Millennium as well as for the reconstruction
of the city of Jerusalem.
The measurements of the city of Jerusalem in the Millennium 4500 cubits on all sides.
Eze 48,16 " These shall be its measurements: the
north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500
cubits, and the west side 4,500 cubits. 48,17 "The city shall have open
spaces: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250 cubits, on the east 250
cubits, and on the west 250 cubits. 48,18 "The remainder of the length alongside
the holy allotment shall be 10,000 cubits toward the east and 10,000 toward the
west; and it shall be alongside the holy allotment. And its produce shall be
food for the workers of the city. 48,19 "The workers of the city, out of all the
tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. Eze 48,16-19;
The dimensions of the city on each of its sides shall be 4,500
cubits. If you convert this into meters, this comes to a length of a side of
about 2,220 m. And if we compare this figure with the data in the Revelation
here below, in Rev 21,16, about the new, the heavenly Jerusalem, we see an
amazing connection.
He measured the city, twelve thousand furlongs; its length and width and height are equal.
Rev 21,16 The city is laid out as a square, and its
length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod,
twelve thousand furlongs; its length and width and height are equal.
Rev 21,16;
Twelve thousand stadiums correspond to approximately 2,220 km.
And with that the Jerusalem of the New Creation would be exactly a thousand
times larger than the Jerusalem of the Millennium.
But there is even a further correspondence between earthly and heavenly
Jerusalem. The statement from Rev 21,16 does not only refer to the "length and
width" of the city, but also the "height of the city" has the same dimensions.
Therefore, some people want to see the heavenly Jerusalem as a "dice" with equal
lengths of the edges. But this is very unlikely and if we take a closer look at
it, it cannot be necessarily concluded from the text either. It is rather to be
assumed that the form of the city corresponds to a pyramid with an uppermost
height of the top of 12,000 stadiums and that therewith the heavenly Jerusalem –
just as the earthly one in the Millennium – , lies on a "high mountain", which is
maybe a thousand times higher than that in the Millennium as well.
(See also Chapter 14: "The New
Creation.")
Water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east.
Eze 47,1Then he brought me back to the door of the
house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house
toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from
under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. Eze 47,1;
Living waters will flow out of Jerusalem.
Zech 14,8And in that day living waters will flow
out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other
half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
Zech 14,8;
New Creation:
And there is no longer any sea.
Rev 21,1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth;
for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer
any sea. Rev 21,1;
A river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22,1Then he showed me a river of the water
of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22,1;
On the bank of the river there were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
Eze 47,6 He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen
this?" Then he brought me back to the bank of the river. 47,7 Now when I had
returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many trees on the
one side and on the other. 47,8 Then he said to me, "These waters go out
toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the
sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh.
47,9 "It will come, about that every living creature which swarms in every place
where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these
waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where
the river goes. Eze 47,6-9;
New Creation:
On either side of the river was the tree of life.
Rev 22,2 in the middle of its street. On either
side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit,
yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing
of the nations. Rev 22, 2;
The life expectancy of men which will obviously correspond to
the one before the Flood and which will amount to roughly speaking 1,000 years
(Isa 65,20), as well as lions that eat straw and bears that graze together with
cattle, and a little boy who drives calves and lions together to the pasture
(Isa 11:6-8), will evidently only be possible in Israel. For there – and only
there – will not be any sin (Isa 11:9). This is also confirmed below by
Isa 65,25, where all these blessings are restricted to Israel, when it says, "They
will do no evil nor harm in all My holy mountain". The rest of the
peoples will presumably live under similar conditions like today.
The youth will die at the age of one hundred, who does not reach this age will be thought accursed.
Isa 65,18 "But be glad and rejoice forever in what
I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for
gladness. 65,19 "I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My
people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the
sound of crying. 65,20 "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. Isa 65,18-20;
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people.
Isa 65,21 "They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 65,22 "They will not build
and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime
of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will
wear out the work of their hands. 65,23 "They will not labor in vain, Or bear
children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the
LORD, And their descendants with them. Isa 65,21-23;
They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain, says the LORD.
Isa 65,24 "It will also come to pass that before
they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 65,25
"The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the
ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in
all My holy mountain," says the LORD. Isa 65,24-25;
Old men and old women will sit in Jerusalem, each man
with his staff in his hand because of age
Zech 8,3 "Thus says the LORD, ‘I will return to
Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the
City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy
Mountain.’
8,4 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in
the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because
of age. 8,5 ‘And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls
playing in its streets. Zech 8,3-5;
So, the people in Jerusalem will get very old. "Someone who is a
hundred years old (today approximately a ten – year old child) will be
called a boy". We can conclude from that that the age of the people in
Jerusalem will increase tenfold and will amount to approximately a thousand years.
This also corresponds with the statement in verse Isa 65,22, where it says, "For
as the lifetime of a tree, there will be the days of My people". Thus these
people will reach again the age which Noah and his contemporaries had reached.
And with this we can see another important connection. Due to the great age that
the people in Jerusalem – and only in Jerusalem – will reach, this people of God
from all nations will greatly multiply in the course of the centuries. They
will spread out further and further, far beyond the present borders of Israel.
Also the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Millennium is
restricted to the people of Israel. Here, one has to take into account that the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Christians started at Pentecost and was
finished with the return of the Lord before the Millennium.
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants.
Isa 44,1"But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen: 44,2 Thus says the LORD who made you And
formed you from the womb, who will help you, ‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;
And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
44,3 ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry
ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your
descendants; 44,4 And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by
streams of water.’
44,5 "This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’S’ And that one will call on the name
of Jacob; And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the LORD,’ And
will name Israel’s name with honor. Isa 44,1-5;
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.
Eze 36,24 "For I will take you from the nations,
gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. 36,25"Then I
will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from
all your filthiness and from all your idols. 36,26 "Moreover, I will give you a
new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone
from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
36,27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes,
and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
36,28 "You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be
My people, and I will be your God.
36,29 "Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for
the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. 36,30 "I will
multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will
not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. 36,31 "Then you will
remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe
yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. 36,32 "I
am not doing this for your sake," declares the Lord GOD, "let it be known to
you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!" Eze 36,24-32;
I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace.
Zech 12,10 "I will pour out on the house of
David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of
supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and
they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep
bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. Zech 12,10;
The outpouring of the Spirit of God is directly connected with
the remission of sins. Also here we can see that Christians and Jews have
completely different expectations of salvation. Whereas for Christians, provided
that they have adopted the belief in Jesus Christ, the remission of sins and the
inherence of the Holy Spirit have been possible for two thousand years and up to
the return of the Lord, this promise will be fulfilled only after the appearance
of the Lord for the Jews and for those Gentiles as well who come to the "faith"
– or to be more precise to a conversion – only then.
In this connection it must be pointed out that if there is talk about the "Jews"
here, it is not primarily the fact that these people belong to a certain race
that is meant here, but the religious affiliation to the orthodox Jewish faith.
This persuasion does see a great prophet in Jesus Christ, but has never
recognized and acknowledged him as the Son of God, that is to say as the Messiah
who was promised to them. Therefore they are still waiting for this Messiah even
today.
This hope of theirs will be fulfilled in the Millennium then. However, they
delayed their salvation that they were to expect for thousands of years with
this blindness and thus detached themselves from the other faithful in Christ in
time – irrespective of an identical final expectation.
In Israel there is a small group of approximately five thousand Jews who believe
in Jesus Christ as the Messiah of God who has already come. They call themselves
the "Jews believing in the Messiah". And, of course, today they are to be
classed totally with the congregation and also can expect the same salvation as
they. But also the Gentiles in the Millennium, who will then convert to the God
of Israel, will have to be reckoned among this people of Israel and will share
their expectation of salvation.
O people in Zion you will weep no longer. He will be gracious to you and He will answer you.
Isa 30,19 O people in Zion, inhabitant in
Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you
at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Isa
30,19;
The people who dwell in Jerusalem will be forgiven their iniquity.
Isa 33,20 Look upon Zion, the city of our
appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed
habitation, A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up,
Nor any of its cords be torn apart. 33,21 But there the majestic One, the LORD,
will be for us A place of rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will
go, And on which no mighty ship will pass –
33,22 For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king;
He will save us – 33,23 Your tackle hangs slack; It cannot hold the base of its
mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be
divided; The lame will take the plunder.
33,24 And no resident will say, "I am sick"; The people who dwell there will
be forgiven their iniquity. Isa 33,20-24;
But the outpouring of the spirit of God and the remission of
sins in and for Israel effects even much more. It is the essential reason why in
that time, in the Millennium, such a blessing lies on this people and
o n l y on this people – including the converted Gentiles in Israel.
Then the land will not only be "full of the knowledge of the Lord", but no sin
will be done anywhere either, as we can read here below, in Isa 11,1-10.
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD.
Isa 11,1Then a shoot will spring from the stem of
Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 11,2 The Spirit of the LORD
will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel
and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
11,3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what
His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; 11,4 But with
righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted
of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with
the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
11,5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the
belt about His waist. 11,6 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. 11,7 Also the cow
and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will
eat straw like the ox.
11,8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned
child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 11,9 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.
11,10Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will
stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Isa
11, 1-10;
The Lord will rule in righteousness and wisdom and in the land
of Israel the entire creation and all creatures will already be in the state
which we can expect then in the New Creation, on the new earth, in the new
Jerusalem on the whole.
The wolves will dwell with the lambs and the leopards will lie down with the
goats. Young lions will be driven to the pasture together with calves by a
little boy. And the bears will eat grass with the cows, just as the lions and
leopards will do.
These animals are not new "breeds" at all. It is not a new creation of God
either. It is the same lions, leopards, and bears, which formerly tore other
animals and also men to pieces as their prey. It is the outpouring of the Spirit
of God upon all creatures in this land of Israel which brought about these
changes.
And in this text there is also one promise that becomes quite clear, which was
in fact originally revealed by Paul to the Christians as a hope for the New
Creation, but which unequivocally also becomes reality here in the Millennium,
in Israel on the earth.
The creation itself also will be set free from corruption into the freedom of the children of God.
Rom 8,18 For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed
to us. 8,19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the
revealing of the sons of God. 8,20 For the creation was subjected to
futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 8,21 that
the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into
the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 8,22 For we know that
the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until
now. Rom 8,18-22;
In the Millennium in Israel "the ploughing and the harvest will
take place at the same time". Now we know that Israel is a very fertile land
already today. Due to the favorable climatic influences there are several
harvests a year. But nevertheless it is to be assumed that the situation in the
Millennium will be an incomparably better one.
There will not be a winter any more in Israel at that time. There will be a
constant, rather tropical climate all year round. Steady rainfalls at the
appropriate time will accelerate the growth of the field crops and fruits of the
trees so that sowing and harvest will be practically possible without any
interruption.
The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.
Joel 2,21 Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
For the LORD has done great things. 2,22 Do not fear, beasts of the field,
For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has borne its
fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. 2,23 So rejoice, O
sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early
rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early
and latter rain as before. 2, 24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, And
the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. Joel 2,21-24;
There will be peace for the seed and the remnant of Israel will be a blessing among the nations.
Zech 8,11 ‘But now I will not treat the remnant of
this people as in the former days,’ declares the LORD of hosts. 8,12 ‘For
there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will
yield its produce and the heavenswill give their dew; and I will cause
the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. 8,13 ‘It will come
about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and
house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not
fear; let your hands be strong.’ Zech 8,11-13;
The plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed.
Amos 11,13 "Behold, days are coming," declares the
LORD, "When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes
him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills
will be dissolved. Amos 9,13;
The fruit of the land will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.
Isa 4,2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will
be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and
the adornment of the survivors of Israel. 4,3 It will come about
that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called
holy – everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. Isa 4,2-3;
This climatic change in Israel, but also the change of the
climate of the whole world, could have been caused by the displacement of the
earth’s axis or even of the ecliptic of the planet due to the effects of the
global earthquake catastrophes at the reorganization of heaven and earth and
with that the position of the land of Israel with respect to insolation and
rainfalls could have been altered positively.
I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place.
Isa 13,13 Therefore I will make the heavens
tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of the LORD
of hosts In the day of His burning anger. 13,14 And it will be that like a
hunted gazelle, Or like sheep with none to gather them, They will each turn to
his own people, And each one flee to his own land. Isa 13,13-14;
When God gathers the Israelites in the last days and leads them
back to their land, they will find the houses destroyed and the fields
devastated. What had not been devastated at the catastrophes of the
reorganization of heaven and earth was demolished and destroyed by the
occupation forces.
But now the people of Israel will settle down to work. They will rebuild the
ancient ruins and will repair the ruined cities. They will plough the land and
will make the fields fertile.
Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins and repair the ruined cities.
Isa 64,4 Then they will rebuild the ancient
ruins, They will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair
the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. Isa 61,4;
I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places will be rebuilt.
Eze 36,33 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, "On the day that
I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be
inhabited, and the waste places will be rebuilt. 36,34 "The desolate land
will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who
passes by. Eze 36,33-34;
Then the nations that are left round about you will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt.
Eze 36,35 "They will say, ‘This desolate land has
become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate and ruined cities are
fortified and inhabited.’ 36,36 "Then the nations that are left round about
you will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted
that which was desolate; I, the LORD, have spoken and will do it." Eze 36,35-36;
The population of Israel will increase tremendously. There will
be throngs of people who will set out for Israel. We have to bear in mind that
in the catastrophes of the Judgment on the Day of the Lord, all people on the
earth saw and realized that the power of man, his sophisticated technology, his
weapons and strategies are a quantité négligeable, that is to say a magnitude to
be neglected, compared to the power of God.
And as God revealed himself at these judgments to the men on earth – he appeared
to all of them in the "great darkness" and he lit up the whole world with his
glory – those who survived do not have any doubts any more either that there is
a – and just this one – God.
Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it and the LORD will be a wall of fire around her.
Zech 2,1 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and
behold, there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2,2 So I said, "Where
are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see how wide it is
and how long it is." 2,3 And behold, the angel who was speaking with me was
going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, 2,4 and said to him,
"Run, speak to that young man, saying, ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without
walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. 2,5 For I, declares the LORD,
will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst. ’" Zech 2,1-5;
Zion lift up your eyes and look around; all of them gather together, they come to you.
Isa 49,14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me." 49,15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child And
have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not
forget you. 49,16 "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your
walls are continually before Me. 49,17 "Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and
devastators Will depart from you. 49,18 "Lift up your eyes and look around;
All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live," declares the
LORD, "You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride.
Isa 49,14-18;
As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
Isa 66,7 "Before she travailed, she brought forth;
Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy. 66,8 "Who has heard such a
thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be
brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her
sons. 66,9 "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?" says the
LORD. "Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?" says your God.
66,10 "Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her;
Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her, 66,11 That you may
nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be
delighted with her bountiful bosom."
66,12 For thus says the LORD, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a
river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will
be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. 66,13
"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be
comforted in Jerusalem." Isa 66, 7-13;
Your desolate and destroyed land – Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants.
Isa 49,19 " For your waste and desolate places
and your destroyed land – Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who swallowed you will be far away. 49,20 "The children of whom you
were bereaved will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make
room for me that I may live here.’ Isa 49,19-20;
The number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea.
Hos 1,10 Yet the number of the sons of Israel
Will be like the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered; And
in the place Where it is said to them, "You are not My people," It will be said
to them, "You are the sons of the living God." Hos 1,10;
(See also Chapter 04: "The Great
Darkness.")
But those who flock to Jerusalem will not be only Israelites.
The "Gentiles who could escape", that is to say those men from the nations of
the world, who survived the catastrophes on the Day of the Lord and adopted the
belief in the one and only God, want to go to the then actually "Promised Land",
too.
And the whole world realizes "Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood,
futility and things of no profit." And they follow the offer of God, who shouts
at them, "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and
there is no other."
Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.
Isa 45,20 "Gather yourselves and come; Draw near
together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about
their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save. 45,21 "Declare and set
forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from
of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is
no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except
Me. 45,22 "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God,
and there is no other. Isa 45,20-22;
They come from the ends of the earth and say, Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood.
Jer 16,19 O LORD, my strength and my stronghold,
And my refuge in the day of distress, To You the nations will come From the
ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood,
Futility and things of no profit." 16,20 Can man make gods for himself? Yet
they are not gods! Jer 16,19-20;
The men from all the nations will say to the Jews: Let us go with you, for God is with you.
Zech 8,20 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will
yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 8,21 ‘The
inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, "Let us go at once to entreat
the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go."
8,22 ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in
Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ 8,23 "Thus says the LORD of
hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of
a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."‘"
Zech 8,20-23;
The men from all the nations will say to the Jews: Let us go with you, for God is with you.
Zech 8,20 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will
yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 8,21 ‘The
inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, "Let us go at once to entreat
the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go."
8,22 ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in
Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ 8,23 "Thus says the LORD of
hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of
a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."‘"
Zech 8,20-23;
Then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
Isa 14,1 When the LORD will have compassion on
Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers
will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 14,2 The
peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of
Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the LORD as male
servants and female servants; and they will take their captors captive
and will rule over their oppressors. Isa 14,1-2;
All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you, The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you.
Isa 60,4 "Lift up your eyes round about and see;
They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And
your daughters will be carried in the arms. 60,5 "Then you will see and be
radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the
sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. 60,6 "A
multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All
those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear
good news of the praises of the LORD. 60,7 "All the flocks of Kedar
(son of Ismael) will be gathered together
to you, The rams of Nebaioth (daughter of
Ismael) will minister to you; They will go up with acceptance on
My altar, And I shall glorify My glorious house. Isa 60,4-7;
Considering the text above, in Isa 14,2, it means that Israel now "takes captive their captors" (Arabs?). And right above, in Isa 60,7 we learn that Islam has also converted to the God of the Bible ("the rams of Nebajoth [daughter of Ishmael, the brother of Isaac] … on my altar"). As pleasing as this is, of course, and as well it fits into the context of Israel’s restoration to peace,
this statement does contain an "oppressive" mystery. If one
does not merely skim this text, but reads it carefully, it can be seen that Israel – before this nation comes to rest
and power in the Millennium – was "taken captive by their oppressors".
But even more: they were taken captive by "their oppressors". This means that today’s Israel,
in the time leading up to the Millennium, will be led away captive from their land into a new
diaspora. And this now also agrees with all those scriptural passages which
prophesy: God will "gather them from the remote parts of the earth"
(Jer 31:8; Isa 11:12; Eze 37:21; Mic 2:12; etc.).
As the people dwell in Israel today, such a "gathering" would not be necessary
at all. And exactly this circumstance, that Israel will be once again led away
captive from its land, the Zionists want to cover up in our days by claiming
that the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948 and the return of many Jews
to Israel would have already been this "gathering".
Also the third temple was devastated by the earthquakes on the
Day of the Lord and is lying in ruins now. Now it will be rebuilt. In the book
Ezekiel, in the chapters 40 to 43 we have detailed instructions how this temple
is to be built.
The temple will be rebuilt.
Eze 40,1 – 46,24 Instructions to build a new
temple. Eze 40:1-49; Eze 41:1-26; Eze 42:1-20; Eze 43:1-27;
And as we read above, in Zech 8,23, "In those days ten men from
all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew saying, ’Let us go with you, for
we have heard that God is with you’", according to Zech 6,15 also foreigners
will come and assist in the building of the temple.
Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.
Zech 6,15 "Those who are far off will come and
build the temple of the LORD."Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has
sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God.
Zech 6,15;
And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.
Zech 14,20 In that day there will be inscribed on
the bells of the horses, "HOLY TO THE LORD." And the cooking pots in the LORD’S
house will be like the bowls before the altar.
14,21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of
hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And
there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.
Zech 14,20-21;
The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former.
Hag 2,6 "For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Once
more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the
sea also and the dry land. 2,7 ‘I will shake all the nations; and they will
come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’
says the LORD of hosts. 2,8 ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares
the LORD of hosts. 2,9 ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than
the former,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’
declares the LORD of hosts." Hag 2,6-9;
Now the above text from Hag 2,6 – 9 displays also here the
prophetical principle of multiple revelation. On the one hand the first
revelation took place under Herod, who turned the second temple that was
reconstructed under Serubbabel into the eighth wonder of the world.
The spiritual fulfillment of this prophesy in the symbolic "house of the
congregation" which is interpreted by some exegetes may be shared as far as the
faith is concerned, but as far as the lexical meaning of this text is concerned:
"The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former", two buildings
are unmistakably compared to each other here. Therefore a temple must be meant
here which is to come later in history.
Therefore another interpretation, which relates this prophesy to the second, the
New Creation, does not hold water because there will not be any temple any more
in the New Creation, as Rev 21,22 tells us.
I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God and the Lamb are its temple.
Rev 21,22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God
the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Rev 21,22;
So, if above, in Hag 2,9, there is talk about the future glory
of this house, one has to think of a building and it can be hardly
related to "God the Almighty… and the Lamb".
So, as final fulfillment there remains the one in the Millennium, which also
fulfills all other criteria of this text, too – the nations (Gentiles) come to
the temple (that means they are converted and come to the God of Israel), they
bring their treasures and the Lord will give salvation at this place.
So, here, in the Millennium, the nations bring their treasures to Zion, to the
temple, on the altar of the Lord as a sacrifice which is well pleasing to God.
Later on, in the New Creation, the splendor and the affluence of the nations
will be brought into the city, the new Jerusalem, for there will not be a temple
any more, but God the Almighty and the Lamb will be their temple (Rev 21,22-24).
A circumstance which often is not perceived in the interpretation is the fact
that between today and the Millennium there will be even a further – a third
– temple built and also destroyed again.
He will stop to sacrifice and grain offering; in the temple there will be abomination of desolation.
Dan 9,26 Then after the sixty – two weeks the Messiah
will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come
will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end
will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are
determined.
9,27 And he will make hard the covenant with the many for one week, but in the
middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and
in the temple there will be abomination of desolation, even until a
complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes
desolate. Dan 9,26-27;
Above, in Dan 9,27, we read the statement that "in the
sanctuary" there will be abomination of desolation. There is no doubt that by
this "sanctuary" the temple in Jerusalem is meant. This is also confirmed to us
by the hint that sacrifices and meal offerings are to be abolished. For
according to Jewish law, sacrifices and meal offerings can only be sacrificed if
there is a temple with an altar.
But as the verse before, Dan 9,26 tells us: "…the people of the prince who is to
come will destroy the city and the sanctuary…" Titus destroyed the city and the
temple in 70, and since that time there is no temple any more and no divine
service either in Jerusalem.
We realize here very well that between Dan 9,26: "…and the people of the prince
who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary …" and the
next verse, Dan 9,27: "… and in the temple there will be abomination of
desolation …" (Mt 24:15;!) there is a period of up to now nearly two thousand
years.
This long time without any divine service is also prophesied by the prophet
Hosea.
For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without sacrifice.
Hos 3,4 For the sons of Israel will remain for
many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and
without ephod or household idols. 3,5 Afterward the sons of Israel will
return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come
trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days. Hos 3,4-5;
And Hosea adds here that "afterward" the Israelites will return
to their God and seek him and their king David trembling. This refers
unmistakably to the Millennium, to the time when the people of Israel will be
gathered and brought to their land and when David – after he has been raised
from the dead by God – will be prince in Israel.
But from that we can draw the conclusion that at the time of the Antichrist
(seventieth week of seven years) there will be a temple, a fact that is not the
case today. Also Paul confirms this in 2The 2,1-4.
He who opposes takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
2The 2,1Now we request you, brethren, with regard
to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2,2
that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a
spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the
Lord has come. 2,3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come
unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son
of destruction, 2,4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so – called god or
object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying
himself as being God. 2The 2,1-4;
The consideration that this third temple will now also be the
temple which will be consecrated in the Millennium, fails because of two
essential statements of the Scriptures. In the first place because of the
logical consequence that also Jerusalem with its temple will be destroyed at the
global earthquake on the Day of the Lord and that it will therefore lie in ruins
at the coming of the Lord to Zion, in the Millennium. This is also told to us by
several passages from the Scriptures, such as for instance:
The Lord restores Zion, shout joyfully together, you waste places of Jerusalem.
Isa 52,8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their
voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes
When the LORD restores Zion. 52,9 Break forth, shout joyfully together,
You waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has
redeemed Jerusalem. Isa 52,- 8-9;
And in the second place because of the fact that according to
Zech 6,15 and other passages from the Scriptures, in the Millennium,
under the reign of the Messiah, a new temple will be built, and that even the
converted Gentiles will assist in the building of this temple.
Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the LORD.
Zech 6,12 "Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of
hosts, "Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He
is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. 6,13 "Yes, it is He who will
build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and
rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of
peace will be between the two offices."‘ 6,14 "Now the crown will become a
reminder in the temple of the LORD to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen the son of
Zephaniah. 6,15 "Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the
LORD." Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And it
will take place if you completely obey the LORD your God. Zech 6,12-15;
So, the temple in the Millennium is the fourth temple. We
can probably reckon with the erection of the third temple already in the
foreseeable future. Already now all preparations for the building of the temple
are made in Israel. Roger Liebi reports in his book "Jerusalem, an
obstacle for world peace?" page 103 and the following approximately, to give the
gist of what he says:
"In recent years the ’Temple Institute’ founded in Israel in 1988 has produced
the devices for the divine service in the third temple under enormous financial
expenditure. Among the altogether 104 various temple devices there are for
instance menorahs, a washbasin of copper, a censer of gold, offering cups of
gold and silver, vessels for water and for the wine drinking offering, the
sacred diadem made of pure gold for the high priest, shovels for the work at the
altar for burnt offerings, clerical robes, an urn and lots for the great Day of
Atonement, trumpets of silver, ram’s horns, harps for the temple music of the
Levites and many more.
Several other organizations want to take care of the training of priests (Kohanim)
for the service in the future temple. Another group which wants to take care of
the future temple, has already provided the corner stone for this third temple.
It is a stone that weighs approximately 4 tons, which had to be pared without
any metal tools, but with the help of pebble stones alone.
In Jerusalem contributions pour in for the erection of this third temple from
Jews from all over the world, and at present the reconstruction only fails
because of the fact that the Dome of the Rock has been standing at the place of
the old temple, in Eastern Jerusalem, for now about 1,300 years and moreover
because of the fact that this part of the city is presently still under the
control of the Palestinians."
The Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ, will be king in
Zion, and he will be the only king of the world. All nations of the earth –
including Israel, which will get David as their prince who will be raised from
the dead – will only have princes as their rulers.
And the Son of God will rule on the earth in righteousness. He will pronounce a
fair judgment for the poor and miserable, beat the violent without any mercy and
kill the godless. And the martyrs from the First Resurrection will reign with
him.
He will build the temple of the LORD, and will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne.
Zech 6,9The word of the LORD also came to me,
saying, 6,10 "Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah;
and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah,
where they have arrived from Babylon. 6,11 "Take silver and gold, make an ornate
crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
6,12 "Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, a man whose
name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the
temple of the LORD. 6,13 "Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the
LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus,
He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the
two offices."‘ Zech 6, 9-13;
The shoot from the stem of Jesse will judge with righteousness and decide with fairness.
Isa 11,1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem
of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 11,2 The Spirit of
the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The
spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
LORD. 11,3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by
what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; 11,4 But with
righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted
of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with
the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 11,5 Also righteousness will
be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
Isa 11,1-5;
The holy ones of the first resurrection will reign with Christ for a thousand years.
Rev 20,6 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. Rev 20,6;
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.
Rev 5,9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy
are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and
purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and
nation. 5,10 "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and
they will reign upon the earth." Rev 5,9-10;
Indeed, in that time one cannot maintain that men did not know
anything of God. They experienced him in the judgment of the catastrophes on the
Day of the Lord and they experience him now, as the God of Israel who has made
the land of his people the paradise on earth.
Therefore it cannot be ignorance if there are still some nations among the
nations who do not want to listen to this God. Therefore these people are not
"poor, seduced sheep", but liars, cheats, robbers, and murderers, who have never
known what to do with truth and righteousness, and who now try again to go their
own ways.
In order to understand the justice of the punishment threatened to them by the
Lord correctly, we have to bear in mind that these people are not simple
"godless", that is to say people who did not accept God because they did not
know of him. These people are the sons of their father, the Devil. They are not
without God, they are against God. And just as the poor and miserable will
finally obtain their right now, those who are not willing to renounce their
malice, will be destroyed. The circumstance that even in the Millennium there
will still remain some people who do not want to acknowledge God and accept his
reign only perforce, emerges from the fact that at the end of the Millennium an
enormously great number of people will run up to Satan who was released in order
to fight with him the last battle against God.
This spiritual turn of so many people cannot have happened within a very short
time. And as it cannot be assumed that Satan has still centuries of time for
bringing about such a change after he has been released from this prison, only
the realization is left that, also in the Millennium, many people are not
willing – in the presence of the living God on earth – to acknowledge this God
but turn away from him and wait for the satanic "deliverer".
For the other nations of the world, outside of Israel, the living conditions
will be quite normal. On account of the special climate they, too, will
presumably be able to bring in several harvests a year. However, also here the
view that the Lord will then give "prosperity, splendor, and happiness to his
subjects, as mankind has tried so seek it in vain up to that time" is wrong
inasmuch as these promises only refer to Israel – as already explained above.
And if one of these nations refuses to make a pilgrimage to the Feast of Booths
to Jerusalem every year, it is punished by the withdrawal of rain. This will
then lead to a famine in this country with all its consequences. These nations
will not experience any remission of sin and thus no outpouring of the Spirit of
God either. Therefore their lifetime will be continued to be restricted to a
maximum of one hundred and twenty years and these countries will also lack all
the other circumstances which are effected by the Spirit.
But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it, declares the LORD.
Jer 12,16 "Then if they will really learn the ways
of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ even as they taught My
people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people. 12,17
"But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and
destroy it," declares the LORD. Jer 12,16-17;
And the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly ruined.
Isa 60,12 "For the nation and the kingdom which
will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined.
Isa 60,12;
The families which does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, there will be no rain on them.
Zech 14,16 Then it will come about that any who
are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year
to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of
Booths. 14,17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does
not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no
rain on them.
14,18 If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on
them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go
up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 14,19 This will be the punishment of
Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the
Feast of Booths. Zech 14,16-19;
Finally, no nation will raise the sword against another nation.
And also here we have to distinguish clearly between Israel and the nations in
the Millennium. In Israel there will be peace because in this land the malice of
men, in fact, the malice of the whole Creation was eradicated by God. So, they
will not do any harm because God has given them "another heart". The evil has
been rooted out in their hearts. The situation looks partly different with the
other nations. Of course, also there will be many people who honestly turned to
the Lord. But there are still quite a lot left who did not accept God and who
hide their feelings for fear or calculation. But also they will keep quiet and
will not wage war because they know that punishment would be the immediate and
inevitable consequence of that. And so, the first real, true, and only Kingdom
of Peace on earth will come into being.
And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, and will make them lie down in safety.
Hos 2,16 "It will come about in that day," declares
the LORD, "That you will call Me Ishi – "My husband" – And will no longer
call Me Baali. 2,17 "For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So
that they will be mentioned by their names no more. 2,18 "In that day I will
also make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky
And the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword and
war from the land, And will make them lie down in safety. 2,19 "I will
betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in
justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, 2,20 And I will betroth you to Me
in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD. 2,21 "It will come about in that
day that I will respond," declares the LORD. "I will respond to the heavens, and
they will respond to the earth, 2,22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to
the new wine and to the oil, And they will respond to Jezreel. 2,23 "I will sow
her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not
obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My
people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’" Hos 2,16-23;
And He will judge between the nations, and nation will not lift up sword against nation.
Isa 2,2 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. 2,3 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. 2,4 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.
2,5 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. Isa 2,2-5;
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace over his kingdom.
Isa 9,5 For every boot of the booted warrior in the
battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the
fire. 9,6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the
government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 9,7 There will be
no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and
over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and
righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will
accomplish this. Isa 9,5-7;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.
Mic 4,3 And He will judge between many peoples And
render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then 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 train for war. 4,4 Each
of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them
afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. 4,5 Though all the
peoples walk Each in the name of his god, As for us, we will walk In the name of
the LORD our God forever and ever (cs. with Buber: for world – time and eternity).
Mic 4,3-5;
I will cut off your horses and destroy your chariots, and cut off your cities and sorceries.
Mic 5,10 "It will be in that day," declares the
LORD, "That I will cut off your horses from among you And destroy your chariots.
5,11 "I will also cut off the cities of your land And tear down all your
fortifications. 5,12 "I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you will
have fortune – tellers no more. 5,13 "I will cut off your carved images And your
sacred pillars from among you, So that you will no longer bow down To the work
of your hands. 5,14 "I will root out your Asherim from among you And destroy
your cities. 5,15 "And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath On the
nations which have not obeyed." Mic 5,10-15;
The Messiah will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be to the ends of the earth.
Zech 9,10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will
speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from
the River to the ends of the earth. Zech 9,10;
Whereas the Messiah, the Son of God, will rule as the only king
over the whole world, the individual countries will not be ruled by kings any
more, but by princes. As we can see in the following two passages from the
Scriptures, these princes are elected and installed by the Messiah. All of these
princes are men believing in God who also rule and judge justly after the
example of their king. In Ps 47,10 they are even called the people of the God of
Abraham.
A king will reign righteously and princes will rule justly.
Isa 32,1 Behold, a king will reign righteously
And princes will rule justly. 32,2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind
And a shelter from the storm, Like streams of water in a dry country, Like the
shade of a huge rock in a parched land. 32,3 Then the eyes of those who see will
not be blinded, And the ears of those who hear will listen. 32,4 The mind of the
hasty will discern the truth, And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to
speak clearly. 32,5 No longer will the fool be called noble, Or the rogue be
spoken of as generous. Isa 32,1-5;
The princes of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the God of Abraham.
Ps 47,7 For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with a skillful psalm. 47,8 God reigns over the nations, God
sits on His holy throne. 47,9 The princes of the people have assembled
themselves as the people of the God of Abraham, For the shields of the earth
belong to God; He is highly exalted. Ps 47,7-9;
Then the Lord will also raise his servant David from the dead
for his people in Israel so that he may be their prince in the Millennium.
My servant David will be prince among them;
Eze 34,23 "Then I will set over them one shepherd,
My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their
shepherd. 34,24 "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David
will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken. Eze 34,23-24;
The sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king.
Hos 3,4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many
days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without
ephod or household idols. 3,5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return and
seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling
to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days. Hos 3,4-5;
They shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
Jer 30,8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’
declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and
will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.
30,9 ‘But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I
will raise up for them. Jer 30,8-9;
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations.
Jer 31,6 "For there will be a day when watchmen On
the hills of Ephraim call out, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our
God.’" 31,7 For thus says the LORD, "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, And
shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise and say, ‘O
LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel.’ Jer 31,6-7;
Now all promises for Israel have come true. Israel is the "chief
of the nations", the people has multiplied like the sand of the sea, the
Gentiles come to Israel in order to worship the Lord, their God, Israel dwells
safely and without any enemies, the land is fertile and the evil has been
eradicated, David is their prince and their God is king over the whole world. At
the end of these one thousand years Satan will then be released again for a
little while. Once again he is allowed to seduce millions of men and to drag
them with him into damnation.
(See also Chapter 11: "The end
of the world.")
But after that comes the true, the eternal "Kingdom of Peace".
Then the long time of fearful waiting of the entire Creation is finished and it
will be set free from the slavery to transitoriness and mortality into the
freedom of the children of God in eternal life, as Paul tells us in Rom 8,18-22.
The creation itself will be set free from corruption into the freedom of the children of God.
Rom 8,18 For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed
to us. 8,19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the
revealing of the sons of God. 8,20 For the creation was subjected to
futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 8,21
that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption
into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 8,22 For we know
that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together
until now. Rom 8,18-22;
Jewish day of the week |
Jewish chronology years running |
THE MILLENNIAL WEEK But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 2Pet 3,8; (Ps 90:4) |
Christian chronology years BC/AD |
Christian day of the week |
Jom Rischon |
0 200 400 600 930 |
Creation of Adam and Eve Death of Adam |
-3760 -3560 -3360 -3160 --2830 |
Sunday |
Jom Scheni |
1000 1056 1656 1755 1946 |
Birth of Noah Flood Dispersion (confusion of languages in Babel) Birth of Abram |
-2760 -2704 -2104 -2005 -1814 |
Monday |
Jom Schlischi |
2006 2121 2647 2728 2767 |
Death of Noah Death of Abraham Birth of Moses Exodus (Ex 12:1-20) Death of Moses |
-1754 -1639 -1113 -1032 -993 |
Tuesday |
Jom Revi’i |
3000 3174 3277 3760 3793 3830 3895 |
Destruction of the Solomonic Temple Jerusalem is being rebuilt (Dan 9:25) Birth of Jesus Christ Death of Jesus Christ Destruction of the Herodian Temple Bar Kokhba Revolt – Israel in the Diaspora |
-760 -586 -483 0 33 70 135 |
Wednesday |
Jom Chamischi |
4000 4236 4400 4600 4855 |
End of the Western Roman Empire Start of the Crusades |
240 476 640 840 1095 |
Thursday |
Jom Schischi |
5000 5252 5400 5776 5800 |
Discovery of America 2016 AD The Great Tribulation (Rev 6:1 – Rev 20:6) |
1240 1492 1640 2016 (2040?) |
Friday |
Schabbat |
6000 6600 6800 7000 |
Start of the Millennium They shall not enter My rest. (Hebr 4:8-9) The end of the world The Resurrection / The Last Judgment |
2240 2840 3040 3240 |
Saturday |
Rev 20:2-7;
(See also table 01: "Chronological table from Adam to Jacob")
(See also table 14: "The Great Tribulation – classified by events.")
(See also discourse 122: "Still 224 years to go till the Millennium.")