Page 157 - Eschatology - Masters revised
P. 157

Jesus will supernaturally enforce His righteous rule upon the earth. He will destroy His enemies.


               Its Occupants

               The subjects of this earthly kingdom will be the people, Jews and Gentiles, who survived the Tribulation
               Period and entered the Millennium in earthly bodies.  It would appear that at the beginning of the
               Millennium there will be not a single unsaved person in the kingdom.

               Those who enter the kingdom are those who are the sheep of the “Sheep and Goat” judgment.  They
               are those who believed in the message of the 144,000 witnesses and refused the mark of the beast
               during the tribulation. No unbeliever will survive to live on into the millennial kingdom. The righteous
               Gentiles, or sheep, will live on into the millennial kingdom. They will give birth to children and will
               populate the Earth. However, these are not the only ones who will be producing children during the
               millennial kingdom.

               The impression is given that when Christ returns, all Israel will trust in Him (Zechariah 12:10). They, too,
               will not receive glorified bodies (as did those who were raptured prior to the tribulation and those
               resurrected afterward). They also will produce children during the millennial kingdom.

               So, believing Gentiles, Israel, and resurrected/raptured believers (all of whom have glorified bodies) will
               occupy the Earth. It should be noted, however, that believers with glorified bodies will not be
               reproducing. There is no marriage after this life (Matthew 22:30).

               The Church will rule with Christ and have resurrected, glorified bodies. Responsibilities and privilege will
               be rewarded based upon Jesus’ evaluation of our sacrificial faithfulness to Him during our earthly life.
               Old Testament saints will be resurrected along with the saints who died during the Tribulation Period.
               They too will be present in glorified bodies.

               The only people living in the Millennial Kingdom with unglorified bodies which are able to reproduce are
               the saints physically alive at the end of the Tribulation period. The Jews who welcomed the rescue of
               their Messiah, and trusted in Him for eternal life, will come into the Millennium to reproduce and grow
               the twelve tribes of Israel. Also, the Gentile believers from every nation who survive the Tribulation
               Period, will come into the Millennium to reproduce and grow the Gentile nations living on the earth.
               These nations will bring their tribute to the King in Jerusalem.

               The Millennial Kingdom will need to be repopulated because the amount of living believers in Jesus
               Christ invited to join this kingdom from the Tribulation period cannot be very many. First, the Rapture of
               the Church of Jesus Christ before the Tribulation begins will remove a great number of people. Then, the
               book of Revelation reveals that the population on earth will drop dramatically during the seven-year
               Tribulation.

               Using only the passages where the book of Revelation reveals that a certain fraction of human life on
               earth will be killed, only 33% of the human life present on the earth at the beginning the Tribulation
               remains after Rev. 9:15.



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