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Refreshment in Refuge

    by Gina Burgess

What happens in the Millennium 2
Date Posted: April 18, 2021

Matthew 5:18... Not one jot or tittle will pass away until all is fulfilled. The last thing that is written about in Revelation after Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, is the image of the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven, and the new heaven and new earth. In Matthew 5:18, Jesus speaks of heaven and earth passing away...

My point is: Even though Jesus will be King of Kings on earth and reign, the Torah will still be in effect until the old heaven and the old earth pass away. Jesus came to fulfill the law not to abolish it. Ezekiel tells us a little bit about this in Ezekiel 45:17 "It shall be the Prince's part to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the drink offerings, at the Feasts, on the New Moons and on the Sabbaths, at all the Appointed Feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel."

Why?

The best I can discern is because where there are humans, there is a proclivity (or a weakness) for sin. Sometimes we just can’t help ourselves. That is what Sin Nature means, or at least that is what most scholars say. It is the most accepted definition of “sin nature”.

Which is why, I believe, Satan is bound during that 1,000 years and why it is called The 1,000 Years of Peace, even though it won’t be complete Peace. The whole point of the 1,000 years of peace with Satan and his minions bound is that Man is still sinful. Man cannot live a sin free life--not even with the Holy Spirit living within him and not even with Satan bound, not even with Jesus living among us. Humanity is debased and not worthy to enter into God's presence. Flesh and blood caused sin to enter the world and Flesh and Blood paid the price as a scapegoat to cover that sin in the fleshly state. It is only the new glorified body that can enter into God's presence. That body is newly created by God Himself and is a gift of mercy.

This is why there won't be a really New Heaven or really New Earth until Satan meets his fate and man meets his. There will, however, be a Refurbished Heaven and Refurbished Earth.

Have you ever bought a refurbished computer from Dell? I have. It comes beautifully packaged, with all the software and all the warranties and booklets, cords, and everything just like a brand new computer. But, it is not new. Someone else has bought it, handled it, and returned it for what ever reason. God will repackage Heaven and Earth just like new, but they won’t be really new. We discussed this What happens in the Millennium? But what about that glorified body?

Let’s talk a little bit about that kind of body. If the body is glorified, it is non-corruptible which has the physical meaning of never dying and the Spiritual meaning of never sinning again... being completely, living, thinking, breathing completely sin free from the first nanosecond of its creation. The hard part is trying to understand that. It is a Spiritual State which we can aspire to, but never attain because we humans are still in that sinful nature state. It is possible for us, if we maintain a close attachment to the LORD, to live sin free for a time. Yet, we are not sin free, for there have been times in the past that we sinned. The only Person to have never sinned was Jesus. The Glorified Body is completely sin free and will always remain sin free.

How do I know that? Because Paul said that to die is to be with the LORD. Jesus is the Door to Heaven and that is the residence of the LORD. For us to be in God’s presence, we must be sin free. 1Corinthian 15:50ff. We are joint heirs with Christ Romans 8:14 Therefore, since we will be incorruptible, we ever shall be sin free, for Revelation 20:14-15 also tells us this as well. Finally, we’ll be the In-Crowd instead of the shunned, ostracized crowd.

The glorified vs the human state is an extremely interesting discussion. And you are probably thinking that Adam and Eve were not in a glorified state when they walked with God. That is very true, but then Adam and Eve were also in an innocent, blameless state. They had not yet rebelled against God. It was after their disobedience when God removed Himself from their close, personal fellowship. It does not mean that He never walked with humans again. Think about Enoch. Yet, to have that intense personal relationship was rare back then, not like today because of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling.

When we receive our glorified bodies, we will be able to enter into God's presence and will be heirs with Jesus. This will be an even greater and deeper and more intense relationship with God. We will be so in tune with Him, we most likely will be in a state where His thoughts are our thoughts, and His ways our ways. We will be above the angels at that point.

In Revelation 20:15... it says ANYONE not found in the Book of Life will be thrown in the lake of fire. Then chapter 21, everything is made NEW...the former things have passed away (4). Verse 6 God tells us at that time "it is done." Everything is fulfilled. The jot and tittle pass away.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that the glorified body is righteous, sanctified and completely different than the natural body. The 1000 years of Peace proves that man will still sin even though Satan is bound... But after the 1000 years the Great White Throne judgment is where all who are not found in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire... so, this says to me that there won't be any humankind left in the natural/physical state.

Therefore where do the "nations of those who are saved" in 21:24 come from if not the millennium humans? And those that are unsaved are judged at the Great White Throne so it doesn't follow that those in the nations around the city don't have their names written in the Book of Life, does it?

You may also be thinking, why would God go to the trouble of telling us nothing unclean will enter into the city if there is nothing unclean? It’s an excellent question. I'm not sure unless it is His promise that He won't ever again allow another space of time when something evil like Satan is allowed to roam the New Heavens and New Earth.

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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

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