Will the earth be de-peopled or repopulated?
The word “millennium” is not found in the Bible, but is derived from two Latin words: “Mille,” meaning thousand, and “Annus,” meaning years. The thousand year period usually referred to as the millennium is briefly described in Revelation 20:1-6.
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
According to this scripture, the righteous are resurrected at the beginning of the 1,000 years, but the rest of the dead live not again until the 1,000 years between the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, which is the age of peace and happiness for the righteous.
A great change will take place when Christ comes the second time. The earth will be repopulated. Christ will call all nations before Him. He will separate the righteous from the sinners. The righteous will enter the Kingdom, but the wicked will go into everlasting punishment.
Matthew 25:31-46.
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye have me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The resurrected righteous, with the living righteous, will be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18,
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
...but notice carefully they are not taken to Heaven, but caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and in the clouds. Christ did say that no man ascended to Heaven, but he that cometh down from Heaven.
John 3:13.
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Jesus stated in another place, “…Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.” John 13:33. Jesus spoke at this time to two classes, to the Jews and to us. In Proverbs 10:30 the Lord said, “The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.” By the above text it proves that the earth, at Christ’s second coming, will be repopulated with a holy and desirable people, as Christ will separate the sheep from the goats, at His coming.
Christ comes at the sounding of the seventh angel; the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ. Revelation 11:15. "15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."
Those that are resurrected at Christ’s coming, they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:6.
"6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."
And they shall reign on the earth.
Revelation 5:10.
"10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
This is between the two resurrections; and not in Heaven.
In Daniel 2:44, the Lord said, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
There is no hope for sinners during the millennium, for everyone’s eternal destiny has previously been fixed by the following decree: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:11-12. Not only does probation close, but the scriptures repeatedly declare that all sinners will be destroyed when Christ comes. Paul says “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” I Thessalonians 5:2-3.
II Thessalonians 2:8. "And then shall the Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming."
The wicked shall hide in the mountains and rocks, “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” Revelation 6:15-16.
“For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.” Isaiah 38:18. This forever brushes away the thought of salvation beyond the grave; the decision has already been made.
AGRICULTURE WILL BE ENJOYED
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22. This proves beyond all arguments that the earth will not be depopulated or desolate in the millennium age.
NO WILD ANIMALS
A safe country for sheep and cattle as the lion and bears will eat hay and straw and have no thirst for blood. There is no danger of snake bites, no wild or unruly animals.
Isaiah 11:6-8.
"6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den."
Children shall lead the lion, and a suckling child shall play over the hole of a serpent.
CLIMATE
No tuberculosis, or cancer, malaria, high blood pressure, heart trouble, indigestion, nor any other sickness will be there.
Isaiah 33:24.
"24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity."
The seasons will be very pleasant and delightful. No tidal waves or earthquakes, no crop failures.
Genesis 8:22.
"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
Well watered.
Revelation 22:1.
"1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb."
HOUSES
Every settler has a home already provided, which is far better than any we have at the present time.
John 14:1-3.
"1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also."
Those who desire to build may do so as material will be furnished free.
Isaiah 65:21.
"21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them."
EVERY MAN SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD
In the last days the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountain and people shall flow into it. Neither shall they learn war any more.
Micah 4:1-4.
"1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the lord of hosts hath spoken it."
This will take place at Christ’s second coming.
This will be a glorious time, no sickness, death or funerals. No doctors or undertakers. No one can afford to miss this opportunity. Christ will be our King and High Priest. We are to pray for the kingdom to come and His will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10.
"10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
(Reader, are you praying for Heaven’s journey?)
Christ must reign (on earth) till all enemies are put under His feet. New Jerusalem and the throne of Christ will endure the flames which destroy the wicked at the end of the millennium.
I Corinthians 15:25.
"25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet."
“Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.” Zechariah 8:3. The Lord is referring to the beloved city coming down on the earth in the millennium.
Christ said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:1-2.
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3. Notice Christ did not say, Where I go ye can come.
Dear reader, it lies within your power to settle this question in your own favor NOW! Tomorrow may be forever too late. Christ said, “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7.
Church of God, Body of Christ
Oakland, OR