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Refreshment in Refuge

    by Gina Burgess

1,000 Years of Peace
Date Posted: January 24, 2021

After God has dusted and cleaned up the earth and the heavens so that life can continue upon the face of the earth, those who made it through the final 45 days of clean-up are the Believers who made it through the Great Tribulation, both Gentiles and Jews. Joel 3:1-3 tells us “For behold in those days…” “before the coming of the great and awesome day of Jehovah” (Joel 2:31). Jesus speaks of it in Matthew 25:31-33, with the judge being the Messiah. These saints are the ones who will inhabit and procreate and fill the earth.

Those who are snatched up to meet Jesus in the air before the beginning of the Great Tribulation will judge, along with Christ, those who died in the Great Tribulation without receiving the mark of the Beast upon their foreheads or upon their hand. Revelation 20:4 tells us this: “And 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 for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads, nor in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

So now we have two separate groups entering the Millennium: Those who will reign with Jesus as joint heirs of Him, who have their glorified and eternal bodies; and those who still have their physical, human body who became believers during the Tribulation and who lived to tell about it when it was all said and done as prophesied.

The only people entering the thousand years of peace are Believers. These are they who will take part in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The fourth stage in the Jewish wedding is the marriage feast. If you recall, Jesus began His ministry with a wedding feast in Cana.

Those Christians who became Believers after Jesus rose from the dead and before the Great Tribulation begins are the Church and this is the Bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2) The old testament saints and the saints of the Tribulation are the friends of the groom (John 3:29). We can see a picture of it in the parable Jesus spoke in Matthew 22:1-14. The King sent forth his servants to bid those invited to come to the marriage feast of his Son, and they would not come. He sent out other servants and they would not come. Some went to their farms, others to their merchandise and some laid hold of the servants and “treated them shamefully and killed them.” The King was very angry and sent out his armies and destroyed the murderers and burned their city. He bade his servant to go out to the highways and byways and invite those to come in. The servants did so and many listened and accepted the invitation. When they got to the wedding feast, the King gave them all brand new wedding clothes. The King spotted the one who did not have wedding clothes on and asked him what he did there. The man was speechless. The King “cast him out into the outer darkness” of weeping and gnashing of teeth. There is a whole sermon in this parable.

The Pharisees and Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day won’t be participating in the marriage feast because these are the ones invited but refused to come.

Isaiah 25:6-8 also speaks of a feast in which is predicted that the Lord God will have swallowed up death forever. This is an important point as we shall see later.

We know of the future peace in the world because of Isaiah 2:2-4 which verse four states “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nations, neither shall they learn war anymore.” At no time in history has this ever happened. The Middle East certainly has been a hot-bed of malcontent since before the Romans conquered it. Isaiah 11:6-9 also talks about peace even in the animal kingdom. And the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. That is a much saturated place. I am so much looking forward to that! And as mentioned last week, Isaiah 65 specifically in verses 17-25. The renewed heavens and renewed earth. These are not to be confused with Revelation 21-22.

Verse 20 of Isaiah 65 discusses life and death in the Millennium. No more infant fatalities, no more SDS, no more abortions. All babies will live to at least 100 years old. At the 100th birthday, if the person has not become a Believer in Jesus Christ, that person will die, and will die accursed thus the assumption that it is an unbeliever who dies at 100. Death in the Messianic Kingdom will only come to unbelievers who were born after the Millennium of Peace began.

The newly born humans will inherit the sin nature as all humans have since Adam and Eve’s disaster in the Garden. Satan will be bound during this time of peace, which is why such peace is possible. But, even though Satan is bound, humans still can rebel within their sin nature. Satan won’t be around to seduce, but the sin nature is quite capable of seducing itself. When a sinful thought is entertained and then acted upon, it isn’t always Satan at work. Sometimes it is the nature with the siren song at work. (Romans 7:20) Make no mistake, as all through the Bible, salvation will come by faith in Jesus and what He did on the cross, and being raised from the dead.

Gloriously, Jeremiah 31:31-34 tells us that every single Jew and all those who are born Jewish will be saved during the Millennium. Only within the Gentiles will there be unbelievers. Those who are Believers and who become Believers will live throughout the 1,000 years. Now, don’t give me that look. Adam lived 930 years, and many of the patriarchs lived numerous centuries. Also remember that God has wiped the tears from every one. He has swallowed up death forever.

The peace filled Millennium will also be filled with agriculture industry, and a time of building. Life will be sweet because crops won’t fail and there will be much personal peace and prosperity. Many essentials of the curse upon mankind from Adam’s day will be lifted. Disease, vermin, pathogens will not cause the havoc they do now. The earth and heavens will be pristine, therefore the good things will prevail. However, we know from Zechariah 14:16-19 that for those who do not come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles, there will be no rain. Also, if Egypt does not go, God will send disease to it and to all the nations who do not go up to observe the feast of tents. Thus some elements of the curse will remain, but sent by God. The judgment will come because of disobedience, just as it did with Adam in the Garden.

For the Believers, the Obedient life will be very, very good. For the unbelievers and the disobedient, life will be hard.

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Biography Information:

Gina Burgess has taught Sunday School and Discipleship Training for almost three decades. (Don't tell her that makes her old.) She earned her Master's in Communication in 2013.

She is the author of several books including: When Christians Hurt Christians, The Crowns of the Believers and others available in online bookstores. She authors several columns, using her God-given talent to shine a light in a dark world. You can browse her blog at Refreshment In Refuge.

If you'd like to take a look at some Christian fiction and Christian non-fiction book reviews check out Gina's book reviews at Upon