Lesson 7 -
The Visible Kingdom of Christ
Note:
These are the physical notes that were given for the bible study. I was absent
and did not transcribe the lesson itself.
The surviving believers from the period of
the Great Tribulation finally enter into the millennium period. This period
lasting a thousand years will see Christ reigning over a kingdom encompassing
the whole earth. The establishment of this millennial kingdom is the answer to
the question posed by the disciples to Jesus in Acts
1:6. The restoration of the kingdom to Israel is the promise of the
Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:16) where God
has decreed that a descendant of David
will reign over a kingdom that will endure forever. It is also related to the
promise of the covenant made by God with Abraham that his descendants namely
the nation of Israel will inherit the promised land . As Jesus Christ, a
descendant of David through the lineage of his earthly father Joseph (Mat 1:1-17) establishes his throne in
Jerusalem , the center of the promised land, both these covenant promises are
finally fulfilled. The governance of the visible kingdom of Christ will be a
theocracy with Christ as the divine King and the glorified saints reigning with
him (Rev 5:10 , 20:4). Conditions in the millennial kingdom will be near perfect.
Christ will reign in righteousness. (Isaiah
32:1) He will be a benevolent despot(Rev 19:15). As a result, there will
be perfect and complete justice for all, and sin will be immediately punished (Isaiah 11:4). The millennium will be an era of
worldwide peace. The earth will be increasingly productive as the curse to
which the earth was subjected when Adam sinned will be reversed. However, even
though the lifespan of the millennial people will be much longer than our
present lifespan, there will still be death (Isaiah
65:20). In the beginning the millennial kingdom will only be populated
by believers. As time goes on, these believers will have children. The
population of the kingdom will increase. Outwardly everyone will give
allegiance to Christ the King but inwardly there will be rebels. This inward
rebellion in the hearts of a great portion of the people will not be outwardly
manifested during the millennial period, partly because Satan, the incorrigible
head of rebellion is then still locked and sealed in the Abyss (Rev 20:1-3). At the end of the millennium,
Satan will be released from his prison. He immediately goes out to do what he
has been doing for millennia after millennia. Once again he finds among the
people a multitude whom he can deceive. He gathers them for a final assault
against Jerusalem. But fire comes down from heaven and devours the armies of
Satan. He is then thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and
false prophet had been thrown (Rev 20:7-10).
Their torment will be continuous ,without respite and will last forever. This is followed by the Great White throne
judgement of unbelievers of all time who will raised and judged. They will
finally be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev
20:11-15).
Rev 20:4
I saw thrones on which were seated those who were given
authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because
of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not
worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their
foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand
years.
Questions
- Relate Mat 3:2 with the millennial kingdom.
- Why will God release Satan from his prison in the Abyss at the end of the Millennium?
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