A Golden Age is Coming!
Can you imagine a golden age to come when war, disease, sorrow and suffering will be virtually eliminated and people live to a very old age, a golden age unlike anything before it since the fall of man, where the nations no longer learn the art of war but beat their swords into ploughshares? The Messianic Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah our Lord Jesus will see a wonderful restoration and regeneration of the earth in the age to come. This is what the Lord Jesus meant when He spoke of the regeneration or renewal of all things at the end of this present age. (Matthew 19:28) It will be that time when the earth fulfils the original purpose for which God created it, namely for the benefit of man. (Genesis 1:26-31)
New Heavens and earth
In the Millennial Kingdom the heavens and the earth will be renewed and made new. Isaiah the prophet speaks about this regeneration when God says through him; “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” Isaiah was seeing the Millennial age and the final eternal age in alignment with each other, the first one foreshadowing the final one. Isaiah also tells us that in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom that Jerusalem will be established as the capital of the world and that the nations born in this age will come up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD and His Son on Mt Zion. (Psalm 2:6)
As the waters cover the sea
Israel will prosper in every way under the rule of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. People will live to a very old age, women will not miscarry and work will not be a burden. God will answer His people before they call upon Him and both the wild and domesticated animals will lie peacefully side by side. As for Satan dust will be his food as he lies chained in a deep dark pit out of contact with humans. War, suffering and disease will have virtually been eliminated. God’s Word also tells us that the Torah will go out from Zion and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem and that the knowledge of the LORD will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 65:17-25; 2:1-5) (Habakkuk 2:4)
Satan’s doom
The Millennial Kingdom of a thousand years of peace and prosperity will be the harbinger of the future final and eternal age to come. In the Millennial Kingdom people will still age and die but not so in the eternal and final state. At the end of the Millennial age Satan will be loosed from his prison and raise a final global rebellion against the Lord Jesus and His saints at Jerusalem, a rebellion that will be instantly crushed and terminated. Satan will go into the lake of fire to join the Antichrist and the false prophet who are already there. Those, whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life when the books are opened at the Great White Throne Judgement, shall also be consigned to that place where their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched. After this, death and Hades will also be thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 19:7-14) (Isaiah 66:24)
God tabernacles among men
Isaiah’s prophecy of the Millennial Kingdom was a foreshadowing of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven perfectly fused with the new heavens and earth having been re-created. And so the apostle John writes…
“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. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 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, 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 for the old order of things have passed away.” (Revelation 20:1-4)
What will be the unique features of the New Jerusalem? What will it be like? Well John gives us a glimpse of this eternal age to come following the Millennium.
“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.” The heavens and the earth will be brand new creations as the old heaven and earth will have passed away. The Millennium will see a renewal of the old heavens and the earth but in the final and eternal state the old heavens and earth will be eliminated altogether. Those who belong to the Lord Jesus will inherit all of this for time and for eternity. There will be no more sea to divide nations but all of the redeemed will be as one family and walk in the light of the eternal city being the New Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:22-26)
“And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” The Holy City is both a physical city with dimensions but also represented in the glorified saints who, because of their glorified bodies, have been capable of dwelling on earth in time as we know it and in eternity where time does not exist. This will be the bride of the Messiah clothed with His immortality, righteousness, holiness, light and power. Only those who are making themselves ready to meet Him when he comes back at the end of this age will inherit the Millennial Kingdom. In these last days it is imperative that we keep the garments of salvation on and the lamp of our spirit amply supplied with the oil of the Holy Spirit to enable us to see our way in the spiritually dark days that lie ahead. The Lord Jesus is coming for a spotless bride dressed in the white linen of his righteousness and eager to meet Him! (Revelation 19:7-8, 14)
“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,” In the Old Testament the LORD dwelt in the Tabernacle in the wilderness and then in the Temple at Jerusalem. In the New Testament the LORD tabernacled among us in the person of the Messiah our Lord Jesus who was the living embodiment of the Temple in Himself. After His resurrection and ascension He tabernacled corporately and individually within His people through the Holy Spirit making His Body on earth living stones in a living Temple also called the faithful Assembly (Church). In the new heavens and earth the Lord Jesus, along with his saints, will be able to move between heaven and earth and travel the universe for that matter. Imagine witnessing how the LORD will still be creating and renewing the whole universe which will be expanding after He has commanded it into being. In the new heaven and earth perfection will be absolute and eternal. This is the destiny of all who believe and obey the Lord Jesus in this temporary life down here.
“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 for the old order of things have passed away.” Those who have lost loved ones in this life who were unsaved will no longer have memories of them in the New Jerusalem. All past memories of suffering, sickness, death and destruction will have been completely eliminated. In this life we may have sorrows and afflictions and sad memories about those of our loved ones we have lost who have died without knowing the Lord Jesus and his salvation. However, these memories will no longer exist in the final and eternal state. In that day when we know as we are known by God we will understand everything and why they happened but the pain associated with them will be gone. Of course those of our loved ones who are in the Messiah and have fallen asleep in Him are very much alive and present with the LORD. They have just gone ahead to await our arrival. In the New Jerusalem we will see them all again. (2 Corinthians 5:8) (Hebrews 12:22-23)
Eternity is forever!
It may be you are a believer in the Lord Jesus and you are reading this and you have only six months to live but this is not the end. You have a thousand years to look forward to, being completely free of sickness, pain and death and then all of eternity after that. As believers in the Lord Jesus we are aliens and strangers in this world because its desires, plans, ambitions, pleasures and pursuits lies in the power of the wicked one. Sickness aging and afflictions are our lot at times in this life. God does not want us too comfortable down here because our home is not of this world. Our ultimate destiny is the age to come followed by eternity. Our time down here is to fulfil the will of God and once that it is done we go home. Those who are not born again by the Holy Spirit are living only for this world and the things of this world. They will never be able to inherit the kingdom to come. (John 3:3) Eternity is forever!
Abraham had it right
Abraham the father of faith had it right. As it is written about him; “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10)
As it is also written; “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) This present world is finished, time is rapidly running out. The afflictions and trials we experience down here in this life cannot be compared to the weight of glory and wonder that will be ours at the rapture and resurrection of the saints. The earth is swaying and tottering like a hut in the wind because of the heaviness of its iniquity weighing heavily upon it. This present age is rapidly coming to a close. The axe is already laid to the root as we see the whole Middle-East as a huge powder keg waiting to explode at any time. Where are our eyes fixed? Are they fixed on the light of God’s Word or on the light in the living room? Are they fixed on the things of this world instead of upon that eternal city to come with spiritually solid foundations, whose architect and builder is God?”
Heaven or Hell
Heaven and hell are real places. The lake of fire is eternal and conscious torment. Heaven is eternal and conscious bliss. Spiritually speaking there are only two cites, one is the City of Satan, being this temporary present world with its passions, desires and pursuits, and the other is the City of God that is not of this world, but of the world to come. Which city do you belong to? Which one are you living in? You cannot be citizens of both at the same time. All of us are either dwelling in one city or the other. Hell and the lake of fire are worse than anything we can image. However, heaven and the eternal state to come are better than anything we can imagine. At the end of the day only those who do the will of God in this life will inherit the Kingdom in the age to come and all of eternity after that. (John 3:36) (Matthew 7:21-23)
As it is written; “For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:16-17) Through faith we can be as strong as the will of God is strong and persevere in it by His strength and power. May the blessed Holy Spirit empower and enable us all to love and obey the truth and to do the will of God from the heart. When the New Jerusalem has come down from Heaven to earth the Lord Jesus Himself will say to those who have loved His appearing; “Behold I am making everything new.”
