We have noticed lately, as the coming of Christ draws nearer and nearer, that many Christians who have spent years in complete darkness on these subjects, are being stirred up to serious inquiry. Take the following extract from a letter before me:— “I now wish for a little more light on the church during the millennial reign. You say in harmony with Joel that Christ will come to this earth and gather the living nations for judgment. Will Christ, in administering judgment, and the after blessing, be on this earth during His one thousand years’ reign? In your tract on the millennial reign, page 9, you imply that the saints will look down upon this earth. If so, how will the church be reigning with Christ? Will not the church be helping to administer in the government of the earth during the millennial reign, in harmony with the parable of the ten pounds in Luke 19:17, ‘Have thou authority over ten cities;’ and so with the five pounds? Let us turn to the scriptures for answers to these questions—questions evidently on the minds of great numbers of Christians. It will be important to notice what we find in the Old Testament as to God’s purpose of blessing to this earth, centering in the people of Israel. “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.” (Deut. 32:8, 9.) “Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.” (Deut. 33:3.) These and all the words of Jehovah shall be fulfilled to them, His chosen nation.
The Psalms are largely occupied with the sufferings of their Messiah, and the sufferings of the remnant of Israel. And after the sufferings, the reign of Christ, Jehovah, Messiah. In Psalm 2 The kings and rulers of the earth take counsel against Him, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” He asks for the inheritance of the earth for judgment, but asks not for it during the period of the church being gathered. See John 17:9.
We thus learn that the millennial reign will be brought about, not by the gospel, but by judgments. Then in Psalm 8 we have a greatly enlarged view of the millennial glory of Christ, “Ο Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.” And though there is not one word in this Psalm about the church, yet the Spirit in Paul refers to it, as applicable to the great truth of Christ the Head of the church too. “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.” (Eph. 1:19-23.) The apostle does not go on to quote Psalm 8:7, 8. He carefully distinguishes between the celestial and terrestrial glory of the kingdom. We must keep this distinction before us in our inquiry: the glory above the heavens; and His kingdom and glory on the earth.
If you now read Psalm 72 you will have no difficulty in seeing that this is entirely the theme of the earthly dominion of Jesus, as Israel’s Messiah. But over the whole earth, “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” (Ver. 8.) The Psalms will become a deeply interesting study if we read them as referring to God’s future dealings with His ancient people. “In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.” (Psalm 76:1, 2.)
We are told expressly that it is Israel that is before the mind of the Lord in the prophecy of Isaiah: “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” (Isa. 2:1.) No doubt the Holy Ghost often uses these precious chapters to the Christian. Indeed, as in the Psalms, we see a far wider range of the glories of Jehovah Jesus, than only as the Messiah of Israel, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.” (Isa. 9:6, 7.)
That child, who is the mighty God, &c, has been born, and rejected by Israel. Yet He must be established on the throne of David, according to these words of God. True, there is no statement as to His being on the earth, or the church with Him during the one thousand years.
That in chapter xi., which gives a very full description of His millennial kingdom, is all on earth. And the same judgment as is named in Psalm 2:9 is shown to be the prelude to the millennial kingdom. “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,” &c. (Ver. 4.) Then the peaceful millennium, when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Israel and Judah are gathered from the ends of the earth. Yet there is no evidence again of the residence of the Messiah during the one thousand years. No doubt there is a reason for this, and that reason will yet be plain to us, as we go on. Yet He is in the midst. “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” (Chap. 12:6.) “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Read chapter 25:6-9.
Precious also are the promises to Israel in Isa. 3, and then the atoning death of the Lord Jesus in chapter 53., and the blessing as the result in chapter 54., and when iniquity has come to the full, chapter 61, then the Redeemer shall come to Zion. (Ver. 20.) As Paul also quotes in Rom. 11, when the time of the kingdom and glory is come to Israel: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee,” &c. But still not one word as to the church being on the earth with Christ. (Isa. 9:1.)
Let us read Isa. 61 carefully. We know that verse 1 and half of verse 2, as quoted by the Lord in Luke 4, refers to His presence then on earth. And though as to His body He is now above all heavens, yet all through this period of the church He still continues through His gifts to proclaim here the acceptable year of the Lord. It is actually the jubilee up to this moment. He is still proclaiming liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, Now read Isa. 61:3 to end of chapter 62, What wonderful blessing for Zion, Jerusalem and Israel, and the Gentiles during the millennium! But no statement as to the church, Indeed it was hid, as we are told in Eph. 3, Many details are given as to how all this will be brought about in chapter 66:8-22. All nations shall come up to Jerusalem to worship the return of Messiah is also foretold in Jeremiah 23:5-7: “In his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely,” &c. And there can be no doubt to those who believe the word of God, that all this shall be fulfilled.
In the prophet Ezekiel we have some most remarkable details as to the millennial kingdom, The wondrous grace of God to Israel, chapter 37:23-28. We learn here that David will have the place of king and prince in the millennial kingdom. “My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” Then after the destruction of then great enemy of the north in chapters 38 and 39, we have the description of the millennial temple in chapters 40 to 47. Yet there is no special reference to Messiah having His residence, or bodily presence, in this temple. In other words, there is nothing to indicate that this temple is the center of Christ’s throne or reign. The prince of chapter xlvi. must not be mistaken for Christ; verse 2 Could not be true of Christ, “He shall worship at the threshold of the gate.”
Daniel says: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days.” And the glory of the terrestrial kingdom is given to Him. (Ver. 14.) The same kingdom and dominion is also given to the saints of the most High. (Ver. 27.)
In Micah also very distinctly is it foretold that that blessed One, who was born in Bethlehem, and has been taken up to the Father in heaven, is to be ruler in Israel, “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.” Margin.
In Zeph. 3 after the judgment (ver. 8), comes the glorious reign: “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
So, in Zechariah again, after the judgment comes the reign of Messiah. “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives.” (Chap. 14:4.) “And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.... and the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” How great is the blessing reserved for the remnant of Israel, who shall be saved as objects of mercy. The earthly supremacy shall surely be theirs, and theirs the earthly glory with Jesus, when He shall be King over all the earth. Yet we must admit there is nothing in the Old Testament that implies that the supreme place of the throne of Jesus, Lord of all, will be on this earth, or that it will be the dwelling place of Himself and the church His bride. Whilst it is as clearly revealed that Israel will have a place of wondrous dominion and glory in their land, when we come to the New Testament fuller revelation of the purposes of God, we shall then see the perfect harmony of all scripture as to the coming reign of Christ. Before we do that, the reader would do well to turn and compare the whole scope of promise and prophecy in the Old Testament. Study carefully the context of the scriptures referred to in this short paper. Do not forget that the Holy Ghost means what He says. When He speaks of Israel or Jerusalem, He means Israel and Jerusalem, and not the church, This world’s cup of iniquity and apostasy is fast filling up. How rapid the increase of worldly pleasures and amusements, infidelity and superstition, and the nations preparing for mutual slaughter. Soon He will come. He says, “I come quickly.” All this makes our inquiry, the millennial reign of Christ, deeply interesting Let us then look in the next place at the teaching of the New Testament.