THE WORLD TO COME

This world will begin with the physical return of Jesus to the earth to establish His Kingdom. It will not end. This world will be totally opposite of the one we live in right now. Those who practice righteousness will prosper, while those who practice evil will suffer for it. It is during this period that God's plan will find its fulfillment. Thanks to Jesus sacrifice for all men, God will bring all men to perfection.

This world will be divided into two main sections:

THE MILLENNIAL AGE

This is the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and the Saints (the Body of Messiah - Jesus as the head and us as the rest of the body). During this time Satan will be bound totally (Matthew 12:29, Mark 3:27, Revelation 20:1,3), authority will be given to Jesus and the Saints to judge the nations (1 Corinthians 6:2-3, Revelation 20:4-6). With no source of temptation to draw the people aside, the nations will learn righteousness (Isaiah 11:9, Isaiah 54:13, Jeremiah 31:34, Ezekiel 37:1-14, John 6:45, 1 Timothy 2:6, 1 Timothy 4:10, 1 Peter 4:6). The nation of Israel will lead the way in this process, ruling over the nations on earth.

It is obvious from scripture that during this time of the Millennial Kingdom the state of things will be very different from now. The main points to be seen in scripture are:

Jerusalem shall be the earthly centre of Christ's Kingdom (Isaiah 2:1-4).

There shall be universal peace on the earth (Isaiah 2:1-4).

Nature will be restored to harmony with man (Isaiah 11:6-9).

There will be no shortage of food for the earth's population (Isaiah 25:6-8).

There will be universal healing and protection from God (Isaiah 32:1-4; Isaiah 35:5-10).

The knowledge of the Lord will be universal (Isaiah 11:9).

The nations will be instructed in the ways of the Lord and the path to righteousness will be made easy for them (Isaiah 2:1-4; Isaiah 35:5-10).

Everyone will live to be at least 100 years old, but if they continue to sin after that they shall die for their sinfulness (Isaiah 65:17-25).

After this time of personal judgment death itself will be defeated (Isaiah 25:6-8).

Any form of evil will not be tolerated (Revelation 2:26-27, Revelation 20:4-6) and all who refuse to learn righteousness will be punished quickly and justly. But those who learn righteousness will experience blessings and prosperity. Very quickly the nations will realise that it is "profitable" to obey the Lord. After everyone living for 1000 years of this experience the people will have learned the lesson of "sin" and "righteousness" for them selves.

At the end of this age there will be a short "season" in which Satan will be given free reign to tempt the nations (Revelation 20:7-9). Those who are tempted and drawn aside from good will die for their own sin and be cast into the "lake of fire" with Satan and his angels (Revelation 20:12-15). This is the second death from which there is no hope of release. Those who withstand this temptation will go on to live forever in the new earth (Revelation 21:1).

There are those who will say that a man would be a fool to fall into temptation in the very presence of Jesus, but we must remember that is exactly what Adam and Eve did.

The purpose of the Millennial Kingdom is to give every man and woman a personal opportunity to prove their loyalty to Jesus. In this present evil world we have only a limited choice. Firstly we are all automatically condemned to death because of Adam's sin. Secondly not all come to a knowledge of "the only name under heaven by which we may be saved" (Acts 4:12) - Jesus. But during the Millennial Kingdom this will not be so. Every person will be on trial for their own life, and all will know Jesus (Isaiah 11:9, Jeremiah 31:34).

THE AGES TO COME

Finally when all God's plans are complete, Jesus will hand creation back to his Father (1 Corinthians 15:28) perfect in every way and thoroughly tried and proven. Then God himself will live with men forever as it was meant to be in the beginning (Revelation 22:1-7). In that age there will be no more death, no more pain or sorrow, no more suffering and no more evil. God himself will live with us, and he will not allow us to be hurt any more.

Maintainer: Graham Brodie, Email