Here are, to me, the best verses describing a true theocracy.
Isa 9:6 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isa 9:7 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 for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
When most people think of a “theocracy,” I suspect they think of a king over nation who can talk to God. They think of King David. David had the Spirit upon him. David spoke to God. God spoke to David, sometimes directly or through a prophet. God told David what to do, and David did it. People think, “That’s a theocracy.” When someone today speaks of a theocracy, they usually think of a king who can talk to God and does what God instructs him to do.
That is not a true theocracy.
Consider Webster’s definition. “Government of a state by the immediate direction of God…”
A true theocracy is not a king who does God’s will. A true theocracy is a nation who has God AS their king.
If you go all the way back to Moses and the Exodus out of Egypt, Moses met with the Lord on Mt. Sinai. The Lord offered a covenant to Moses and his people when He said in Exo 19:5, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine…” Moses took the offer to the people. The people said, “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do...” (Exo 19:8). When the people said that their nation became a theocracy.
In that moment, they elected the Lord as their king and bid their allegiance to Him and to all that He would have them do. Moses went back to the LORD. He was given the ten commandments, and the Lord became their king. The Mosaic law was His law. The new priests under Aaron were His priests. The new judges were His judges. God was their king.
The government of this new nation forged out of the Exodus from Egypt was headed up by God Himself. The people were under the direct government of Jehovah God. When God was amongst His people in the form of a cloud of Shekinah Glory, the true King of Israel, God Himself, led His nation as their King, through the wilderness. Moses at the time was a kind of regent, a mediatorial leader with vested authority given to him by the King, much as David will be in the kingdom.
But, of course, Israel would later demand to have a human king over them like all the other nations. In 1 Sa 8:7, the LORD would tell Samuel, “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” Then they got Saul. Later, in Samuel’s farewell address, he would tell Israel in 1 Sa 12:12 that “when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king.” When the Lord God was their king, they were living under a true theocracy, the direct government of God Himself.
We cannot help but once again make a connection between the beginning and the end, the formation of Israel vs. the endgame of Israel, which is the kingdom. You remember when we studied the Tribulation. There were many connections between how God handled Israel’s Exodus out of Egypt and how God handled the deliverance of Israel through the Tribulation. There are many parallels between the two. And now, the theocracy that was formed at the beginning of Israel will return in a far more glorious fashion at the end of it all in the kingdom. Everything about the theocracy of Israel in the OT was a pale foreshadowing of the incomprehensibly glorious reality of God ruling over them on the Earth.
Exegesis of Isa. 9:6-7
All these thoughts bring us back to what we read in Isa. 9 and a wonderfully Biblical definition of a true theocracy. Look at Isa 9:6, “For unto us a child is born…” Of course, Isaiah is referencing an earlier passage in Isa 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The incarnation of the Son of God would be through a virgin birth. He would be called Immanuel, meaning God with us.
One cannot even begin to describe the depths of what it means for Him to be called Immanuel. That is a future name they will give Him to denote the presence of God Himself in their midst, a name that is future still. Immanuel will be greatly spoken in the kingdom. First, the name Immanuel alone tells us that what is coming in the thousand-year reign is a true theocracy. God is with us. This is the direct government of God over man with God Himself here on the Earth.
Yet, prophecy doesn’t simply present Him only as God come down on this Earth. Prophecy also connects Him as a descendent of the great patriarchs of Israel. The Lord’s coming is presented as the son of David (Luke 1:32-33; Matt. 1:1; Isa. 9:7), in which He will, as rightful heir to the throne, assume David’s throne. His coming is also presented as the son of Abraham (Gen. 17:8; Matt. 1:1; Gal. 3:16), because when He returns, He will take possession of the Promised Land. He will regather His people to their land, and He will institute His kingdom with Abraham’s seed.
His coming is also presented as the manifestation of the Son of God and the Son of man (Acts 1:11; John 5:27) because God will rule on this Earth starting with the millennial reign and forevermore after that. He will be God-King on the Earth in a true theocracy, the direct government of God over mankind, which is why the Lord is often given these exalted kingly titles in Scripture like the King of Righteousness (Isa. 32:1), a King over Israel (John 12:13), King of Kings (Rev. 19:16), and King over all the earth (Zech. 14:9; Phil. 2:10). Prophecy also tells us that with His coming, God will do the work of Redeemer (Isa. 59:20-21; 62:11; Mal. 4:2), Judge (Isa. 61:2; 62:11; 63:1; Dan. 2:44-45; Dan. 7:9-10), Rewarder of the Saints (Isa. 62:12), Teacher (Isa. 2:3; Zech. 8:22), King (Isa. 33:17-22; 40:9-11; 52:7; Dan. 2:45; 7:25-27; Mic. 5:2-5; Zeph. 3:15), Prophet (Deut. 18:15, 18), Lawgiver (Isa. 33:22; Gen. 49:10), Shepherd (Isa. 40:10-11; Jer. 23:1, 3; Mic. 4:5; 7:14) and Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7).
I had often heard growing up that Christ, when He returns, will be prophet, priest, and king, which has a nice ring to it. The truth is, that barely scratches the surface of everything He will be and everything He will do when He reigns.
Also implied in the name Immanuel, or God with us, is that God’s advent will mean that the Earth will be exposed to His glory. I suspect that the light emanating from His very being will be on a par with what Peter, James, and John experienced at His transfiguration. I think of that as His kingdom glory. That is a scaled back version of His true glory in which normal sin-cursed people could actually approach Him and still survive being in His presence. The glory that is emanating from Him now at the right hand of the Father in Heaven is light no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see. That is the pure glory of His holiness, so powerful, it’ll eradicate anything unclean that enters that light. But the light no man can approach unto, that light will be emanating from Christ atop New Jerusalem in the eternal state.
There is this progression of the revelation of His glory. In His first advent, He has the appearance of a normal human. No glory. Just a glimpse of a little of His glory at His transfiguration. In the kingdom, that glory seen at His transfiguration will be His kingdom glory. Not cranked up to full yet but bright enough to make Jerusalem seven times brighter than it is now from the sun. But then, in the eternal state, we’ll get His full glory. That won’t be a problem then because everyone will be in their resurrected, glorified bodies, able to see Him as He is in all the fulness of His glory.
Yet, that won’t be the only type of glory that mankind will see in Christ in His millennial kingdom. Dwight Pentecost, in his “Things to Come” book, wrote, “there will (also) be the glory of a glorious dominion, in which Christ, by virtue of his obedience unto death, is given universal dominion to replace that dominion which Adam lost. There will be the glory of a glorious government, in which Christ, as David’s son, is given absolute power to govern (Isa. 9:6; Ps. 45:4; Isa. 11:4; Ps. 72:4; Ps. 2:9). There will be the glory of a glorious inheritance, in which the land and the seed promised to Abraham are realized through Christ (Gen. 17:8; 15:7; Dan. 11:16, 41; 8:9). There will be the glory of a glorious judiciary, in which Christ, as the spokesman for God, announces God’s will and laws throughout that age (Deut. 18:18, 19; Isa. 33:21-22; Acts 3:22; Isa. 2:3-4; 42:4). There will be the glory of a glorious house and throne, in which Christ, as David’s son, shall fulfill all that’s promised to David (2 Sam. 7:12-16) in His reign (Isa. 9:6-7; Luke 1: 31-33; Matt. 25:21). There will be the glory of a glorious kingdom over which Christ reigns (Ps. 72; Isa. 11:10; Jer. 23:6; Zech. 3: 10; Isa. 9:7).”
Another book pointed out there will also be the manifestation of His glory in the sense that people will just see and experience His deity. The people will quickly learn that He’s omniscient. The Lord would say in Isa 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. His omnipotence is, of course, also recognized (Isa. 41:10, 17-18; Ps. 46:1, 5). His omniscience and omnipresence will be possible because Christ is one with the Spirit. He is one with the Spirit and the Spirit will be everywhere. During the Lord’s first advent, the entire triune Godhead did everything together through Christ. Everything was of the Father, by Jesus Christ, through the Spirit. The same will be true in the kingdom.
Of course, Christ will still receive worship as God, as Creator, as Savior, as King (Ps. 45:6; Isa. 66:23; Ps. 86:9; Zech. 14:16-19). Righteousness will be fully manifested (Ps. 45:4, 7; 98:2; Dan. 9:24; Isa. 1:27; 10:22; 28:17; 60:21; 63:1; Mal. 4:2). The people will see on full display His divine mercy (Isa. 63:7-19; 54:7-10; 40:10-13; Hos. 2:23; Ps. 89:3). His divine goodness will also be seen in all He says and does (Jer. 33:9, 15; Zech. 9:17; Isa. 52:7). The will of His Father will be fully revealed and accomplished through the person of Christ as Messiah (Matt. 6:10). The holiness of His nature will be recognized by everyone (Isa. 6:1-3; Rev. 15:4; Ezek. 36:20-23; Isa. 4:3, 4; 35:8-10; Ezek. 45:1-5; Joel 3:17; Zech. 2:12). There will be a glorious illumination of divine truth to the world through Christ (Micah 7:20; Isa. 25:1; 61:8). So, through Christ as the new God-King, people will easily see, on full display, all that He is. Thus, the people will call Him Immanuel, God with us.
Back to Isa. 9. Isaiah wrote, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given… This is a point of comfort in the midst of judgment. The sense is that His coming is not for more judgment, more oppression, but His coming is for our benefit. He is given to us for our deliverance from sin and from Satan. You cannot help but connect unto us a son is given to what the Lord Himself said in Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. The point in both Isa. 9:6 and John 3:16-17 is that the Son is given by God to us for our benefit.
Notice also how Isaiah wrote, unto us a son is given: (colon) and the government shall be upon his shoulder… Bullinger makes the point that after the word given, we have a massive gap in prophecy in this one verse. The child has been born. The Son has been given, and yet, we’re still waiting to see the government upon His shoulder, which will take place in the kingdom. In fact, that gap between given and the word and is so big, you could include the entire of age of grace.
In any event, Isaiah writes that the government shall be upon his shoulder, which again is the best definition of a true theocracy, all of government resting on His shoulder. It’s not even shoulders, plural, it’s just one shoulder. In other words, the entire authority, the responsibility, the consistency, the power, the direction, all of that is vested in Him. Everything is centered around Him. Everything relies upon Him. And everything is held together by Him. He holds it up and holds it together, which no one human being could ever possibly do, but with God, it is so easy, all of government just rests on ONE SHOULDER.
Then we’re given names He’ll be called in the kingdom. Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
First, He’s called Wonderful. His reign, His kingdom, is wonderful because He IS wonderful. The attributes of God become the attributes of His kingdom. How do you define wonderful? For many of us, wonderful is just an adjective we randomly use to compliment something we like. “Hey, that’s wonderful.” But here, wonderful as it’ll be applied to Christ means He is astonishing. He excites wonder in people. He holds your attention because of His extraordinary abilities and goodness…
He’ll also be called Counsellor. He isn’t simply the King who will give advice. But as Counselor, He is expertly qualified to speak on everything, which is an understatement since God knows everything and created everything. A number of prophets also wrote of how the Lord will teach us of His ways. He isn’t simply governing but He is also actively teaching all who come to Him.
Next, He will be called The mighty God, the God of great power. He did with more ease make a world, than we can form a thought. Plus, power does not define God’s will but rather God’s will directs His power. And His will is holy. But people will see great evidence of His great power and people will call Him in the kingdom The mighty God, the God of great power.
Next, He will be called The everlasting Father, which isn’t just about Christ as a Father-figure who is eternal, but it is also an expression that speaks to His immutability. Christ, who is a Father-figure to all in the kingdom, is eternal, which means He will never change nor will the nature of their relationship to Him ever change.
Next, He will be called The Prince of Peace. He will be the peaceful prince. Because His nature is one of peace and He is a God of peace, the predominant characteristic of His kingdom will be perfect peace. He will not tolerate war or fighting. He will resolve conflicts, and He will execute perfect justice in order to maintain perfect peace in His kingdom.
There is a voluminous number of other titles for Christ as King in His kingdom that I couldn’t even begin to list them all. But I suspect that the volume of titles speaks to the endless worthiness of the praise due Him for our existence, for the brilliance of His creation, for the endless blessings He brings to man by freeing him from sin and Satan and coming to this Earth in His perfect holiness to rule over him with perfect righteousness. His very essence is praiseworthy not just throughout the kingdom but for all eternity. Thus, the names… the many names shows that Christ ruling on Earth is truly God, and His reign may rightly be called a theocracy, the direct government of God over man, and the personal attributes of Christ are inseparable from the characteristics of His kingdom. All of that makes Him an endless blessing to mankind and endlessly worthy of praise.
Consider Isa 65:24. You want to talk about perfect customer service? The servant king who always meets the needs of His subjects. In Isa 65:24, the Lord says, And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Can you believe that? The desires of the people will be anticipated. God will see their needs. He will impart the blessings they need before they cry to Him for help. God won’t wait for people to pray to Him before He responds. He will respond before they call out to Him. He will answer before they ask!
This reminds me of the Lord saying in Isa 41:17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. Isa 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. All of nature will be brimming with life but if you happen to be one of the mortals and you’re poor and needy in the kingdom and you happen to be somewhere and you’re thirsty and you can’t find water, the Lord will miraculously make water available to you. The Lord said, “I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” Can you believe that? This is what the Lord means. Before they call, I will answer. Before those people in the wilderness looking for water pray to God, the Lord will answer them before they call on Him. But then the Lord said, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. What did He mean by that? He means that even when people don’t realize that He’s already answered their prayers before they even call on Him and they still pray asking for help, He will still listen to them. It’s like Daniel 9:20-21. Before Daniel was even finished praying, Gabriel was already tapping him on the shoulder. Yet, the Lord listened to every word Daniel prayed even though He was already answering it.
Finally, Isaiah wrote inIsa 9:7 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 for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
He first writes, Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. In other words, we cannot conceive of the exercise of all the power and authority vested in Christ, and all of that power will be comparable to all the peace that will exist under His rule. All of the power vested in Christ shall be equal to all the peace that will be on Earth. There will be no end to His authority just as there will be no end to the peace.
Then he writes, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever… Christ Himself chose David’s throne and David’s kingdom to establish for Himself, and Christ will personally establish His own kingdom on that throne of David, to order it. He will setup the ruling structure of His kingdom, which will be orderly. God is a God of order and structure, not confusion, which means His reign will be orderly, organized. He will also personally establish His kingdom with judgment and with justice. This kingdom will be about the perfect reign of the rightness of God over mankind, over both the mortal and resurrected saints.
Characteristics of the Kingdom
Studying the kingdom in the OT, it’s like a little stream at the beginning, a few verses here and there, and then it becomes a flood by the time you get to the major prophets. It’s overwhelming. The glorious attributes of God are endless which makes the glorious attributes of His kingdom endless. I’m convinced you could write a million books and never scratch the surface about how glorious God’s kingdom will actually be. So I thought I might conclude the message with what I like to call KIO – Kingdom Information Overload. A list of many, many characteristics of God’s theocratic kingdom on Earth… so everyone listening can feel just as overwhelmed as I do with all this information about the kingdom.
First, we know that Christ the King, the rightful heir to David’s throne, of the seed of Abraham, going all the way back to Eve, He’d first be born of a virgin in Bethlehem, rejected of men, crucified as a substitutionary atoning work for the sins of all mankind, and He will return in glory after Daniel’s 70th week.
Satan and all his minions will be bound. The evil doers will be cut off (Psa. 37:9-10; Jer. 31:29-30), and all the wicked social, religious, economic, and political systems of the Satanic cosmos will be liquidated.
Christ’s kingdom on Earth is a true theocracy, the direct government of God over man with God Himself present here on the Earth. Jeremiah would write, But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king (Jer. 10:10).
Not only that, we find Israel’s anticipation of a future, true theocracy as early as Numbers 24:17-19 where it is promised that the “Sceptre shall rise out of Israel”, which is the “Star out of Jacob.” That “Sceptre” is the One in whom all authority resides, who will destroy His enemies and raise up Israel to prominence.
His theocracy will be (a) on the earth; (b) centered at Jerusalem; (c) with a regathered and restored Israel; (d) and extending over all the nations.
Christ will rule in the power of the sevenfold Spirit (Isa. 11:2, 3).
His authority is absolute.
There is no limit to the scope of His sovereignty (1 Chron. 29:11-12).
Righteousness will be the descriptive term characterizing the nature of Christ’s rule and His kingdom as a whole. He will reign with perfect righteousness (Isa. 32:1). Righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins (Isa. 11:5). With righteousness shall He judge the poor (Isa. 11:4; Cf. Ps. 72:104). Sitting upon His throne He will judge righteously. He loves to judge. He will be ever ready to judge, and He will always be swift to judge matters when He’s here (Isa. 16:5). All of that, to me, speaks to the Lord’s own personal excitement about coming back to the Earth to reign. He is excited about the kingdom. The Lord also said in Isaiah, “I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off” (Isa. 46: 13; 51:5). Jerusalem shall be the source from which all righteousness will flow into the world in all its brilliant glory. The righteousness of that city shall “go forth as a brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory” (Isa. 62:1c-2a). Zion shall be called “the city of righteousness” (Isa. 1:26). The Lord proclaimed, “I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness” (Isa. 60:17). The Gentiles will be proclaiming in the kingdom, “Jehovah reigneth! He shall judge the people righteously” (Psa. 96:10). Arno Gaebelein pointed out that just as His grace reigns today, it’s His righteousness that will reign in the kingdom. As the earth bringeth forth her bud, “the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations” (Isa. 61:11) so that the people shall be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified (Isa. 61:3). Those who thirst after righteousness shall be filled (Matt 5:6). As a priest after the order of Melchizedek, He is the mediatorial king of righteousness (Psa. 110:4; Heb. 7:2). The key words of Christ’s reign are righteousness and peace. The Psalmist would tell us that “In his days shall the righteous flourish and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth” (Ps. 72:7). But I loved Psa. 85:10, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
Additionally, because God is holy, His theocratic kingdom will also be holy. Holiness will be manifested through the King and His resurrected saints who will serve as administrators of His kingdom over the Earth. There are verses that talk about how the land will be holy. The city will be holy. The temple will be holy. The resurrected saints will be holy. And the Lord Himself is, of course, holy. (Isa. 1:26-27; 4:3-4; 29:18-23; 31:6-7; 35:8-9; 52:1; 60:21; 61:10; Jer. 31:23; Ezek. 36:24-31; 37:23-24; 43:7-12; 45:1; Joel 3:21; Zeph. 3:11, 13; Zech. 8:3; 13:1-2; 14:20-21). All the various holy things that will exist in His kingdom is so extensive, I can only offer a brief overview. The Lord will make bare His holy arm (judgment at His revelation) and gain the victory over His enemies (Psa. 98:1; Isa. 52:10). Isa. 6:13 tells us the holy seed shall become the substance. The 144,000 will form the nucleus of the new nation of Israel and through their ministry, millions of souls will be saved and brought into the fold of Israel, which will blossom into a massive holy nation when all the saints of old are resurrected. At the start of the kingdom, everyone shall be called holy. Everyone shall be viewed as righteous, having had their filth washed away by the blood of the Lamb (Isa. 4:3-4). A highway of holiness will be raised up to allow the rest of the ransomed of the Lord to return to Zion (Isa. 35:8-10). God will speak in holiness. What he speaks and how He speaks is holy and the reaction to His words is joy (Psa. 60:6). The Lord will inherit Judah. His portion in the land now called holy (Zech. 2:12). Jerusalem shall be holy (Joel 3:17). A holy oblation dedicated to the Lord will be reserved for the sanctuary and its ministers (Ezek. 45:1-5). The Lord will exalt His holy mountain (Psa. 48:1; Jer. 31:23; Isa. 27:13) and establish His holy house, the law of which shall be holiness (Ezek. 43:12). This shall be His dwelling and Israel shall no more defile His holy name (Ezek. 43:7). All nations shall know that the Lord, the Holy One, is in Israel (Ezek. 39:7). According to the holy oath that sealed the Davidic covenant (Psa. 89:35-36), Christ will reign over the nations of the Earth from the throne of His holiness (Psa. 47:8-9). The priests will teach the normal, mortal people the difference between the holy and profane (Ezek. 44:23), and these priests shall all appear before the Messiah in holy array (Psa. 110:3). In that day upon the bells of the horses will be inscribed “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD,” and all the pots and pans found in Jerusalem and Judah shall be just as holy as the sacred vessels inside the Lord’s house (Zech. 14:20-21).
Christ and His government will deal swiftly with any outbreak of sin should that occur (Ps. 2:9; 72:1-4; Isa. 29:20-21; 65:20; 66:24; Zech. 14:16-21; Jer. 31:29-30). “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isa. 11:4). Any overt act against the authority of the King will be punished with death. But it seems that sufficient enablement will be given to the saints through the fulness of the Spirit, the universal knowledge of the Lord, the removal of Satan, and the manifestation of Christ’s presence here on Earth all to sufficiently talk most people out of egregious sins. But not everyone. Some will sin. And there will be swift judgment and justice.
Justice carried out by the Lord will always be perfect justice. There is also this sense of exacting inflexibility when it comes to His justice because true righteousness means true, perfect justice for every crime in His kingdom (Isa. 9:7; 11:5; 32:16; 42:1-4; 65:21-23; Jer. 23:5; 31:23; 31:29-30). There are a number of verses that have given me the impression of inflexible righteousness and justice but the most compelling is Isa 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. (See also Isa. 11:3-5; 25:2-5; 29:17-21; 30:29-32; 42:13; 49:25-26; 66:14; Dan. 2:44; Mic. 5:5-6, 10-15; Zech. 9:3-8).
A lot has been written about how the millennial age brings about the fulfillment of all the covenants that God made with Israel. First, the Abrahamic covenant. The promises in the Abrahamic covenant concerning the land and the seed are fulfilled in the millennium (Isa. 10:21-22; 19:25; 43:1; 65:8-9; Jer. 30:22; 32:38; Ezek. 34:24, 30-31; Mic. 7:19-20; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 3:16-18). Israel will finally possess all their land and the perpetuity of their inheritance are directly related to the fulfillment of this covenant through the Lord’s Second Coming. Second, the Davidic covenant. The promises in the Davidic covenant concerning the king, the throne, and the royal house are fulfilled in Christ’s Second Advent (Isa. 11:1-2; 55:3, 11; Jer. 23:5-8; 33:20-26; Ezek. 34:23-25; 37:23-24; Hos. 3:5; Mic. 4:7-8). The fact that Israel has a kingdom, and David’s descendent, who happens to be the Messiah, now reigning as King, is all based on that Davidic covenant. Finally, the new covenant, which replaces the old Mosaic covenant. The fact that the old law is being replaced because the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins, doesn’t mean that the law is going away in the kingdom. The law will take on a new form, written in the hearts and minds of the resurrected saints. They will in their resurrected bodies perfectly and naturally follow the law.
Instead of disunity in Israel, unanimity will be such that all the resurrected saints will see eye to eye again in Zion. Isa. 52:8 says, Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
Plus, there will be a widespread Gentile submission to the authority of Christ (Psa. 22:27-28; Mal. 1:11).
As we mentioned in previous messages, the sin curse will be lifted off nature and the animal kingdom. Long life restored to humans, and there will be healing.
National and individual peace is the fruit of Messiah’s reign (Isa. 2:4; 9:4-7; 11:6-9; 32:17-18; 33:5-6; 54:13; 55:12; 60:18; 65:25; 66:12; Ezek. 28:26; 34:25, 28; Hos. 2:18; Mic. 4:2-3; Zech. 9:10).
The fulness of joy because of the presence of the Lord will also be a distinctive characteristic of this millennial age as well (Isa. 9:3-4; 12:3-6; 14:7-8; 25:8-9; 30:29; 42:1, 10-12; 52: 9; 60:15; 61:7, 10; 65:18-19; 66:10-14; Jer. 30:18-19; 31:13-14; Zeph. 3:14-17; Zech. 8:18-19; 10:6-7).
Glory is another aspect. The kingdom will be a glorious kingdom, in which all the glory of God will be fully manifest (Isa. 24:23; 4:2; 35:2; 40:5; 60:1-9).
There will be great comfort. The King will personally minister to every need, as we mentioned earlier (Isa. 12:1-2; 29:22-23; 30:26; 40:1-2; 49:13; 51:3; 61:3-7; 66: 13-14; Jer. 31:23-25; Zeph. 3:18-20; Zech. 9:11-12; Rev. 21:4).
There will be full knowledge by every soul of the Son of God sitting in Zion. It’s not just knowledge of Him but also knowledge of His righteous ways. Plus, universal knowledge of the Lord will help temper inadvertent opposition to God’s will through ignorance. (Isa. 11:1-2, 9; 41:19-20; 54:13; Hab. 2:14).
There will be instruction. The people of this Earth will learn the rightness of the Lord’s ways directly from His kingdom of priests (Isa. 2:2-3; 12:3-6; 25:9; 29:17-24; 30:20-21; 32:3-4; 49:10; 52:8; Jer. 3:14-15; 23: 1-4; Mic. 4:2). Plus, Christ Himself will teach the people like a Father teaches a son. The intelligence of people in the kingdom is a fascinating rabbit hole. People will be smarter and filled with joy. We’ve covered that with the sin curse removed from nature, nature itself will be fertile, vibrant, teeming with life. As a result, people will be more curious. They will learn more about God in their studies of nature. They will love it. Plus, there won’t be an internet in which people will have to discern what’s true and what’s fiction. God’s internet for His kingdom is nothing less than the Holy Spirit Himself. Access to all knowledge and all of it is true. Plus, these people will be living 800-900 years like Adam. And at 800 years old, they’ll still be full of life, their cognitive abilities still firing on all cylinders. Do you think these people might learn a thing or two over the course of 800 years? 800 years of being taught by the Lord and His priests. 800 years of experience and studying the Earth. And even after 800 years of life on this Earth, they will STILL be learning from the Lord! The intelligent level of discourse between people in the kingdom won’t even compare to the insanity we have to deal with today.
There will be absolute freedom from all forms of oppression and persecution for believers. (Isa. 14:3-6; 42:6-7; 49:8-9; Zech. 9:11-12). David wrote in Psa. 72:4 that the Lord shall break in pieces the oppressor.
There will be labor, and the people will love laboring. There will be a perfect economic system, in which the needs of people are abundantly provided for by labor in that system, under the guidance of Christ. (Isa 62:8-9; 65:21-23; Jer. 31:5; Ezek. 48:18-19). Agriculture and manufacturing will provide employment.
There will also be economic prosperity. There will be rich and poor, but the standard of living is so astronomically through the roof in the kingdom compared to what we have now, you gotta ask, what is poor in the kingdom? A poor person in the kingdom would be a dream come true for the wealthiest person today. You’ve got health, long-life, a fertile land, tame animals, peace, comfort. You’ll have a house you designed and built that will never depreciate. What more could you possibly need except to drink of the Lord’s righteousness to feed your soul? (Isa. 4:1; 35:1-2, 7; 30:23-25; 62:8-9; 65:21-23; Jer. 31:5, 12; Ezek. 34:26; Mic. 4:1, 4; Zech. 8:11-12; 9:16-17; Ezek. 36:29-30; Joel 2:21-27; Amos 9:13-14).
There will also be one unified language around the globe. The Lord said in Zep 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.
There will be unified Worship. All the world will unite in the worship of God and Christ (Isa. 45:23; 52:1, 7-10; 66:17-23; Zech. 13:2; 14:16; 8:23; 9:7; Zeph. 3:9; Mal. 1:11; Rev. 5:9-14). The Lord would say in Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. How will people be able to travel around the globe to Jerusalem to worship the Lord? The Holy Spirit Crazy Transportation Service. The Spirit will transport you like – snap – THAT.
The Lord’s theocracy will also have an ecclesiastical aspect. He combines in Himself the office of both King and Priest. Church and State become one in aim and action. [Ps. 110:1-7; Ezek. 37:26-28; 43:1-7; Isa. 61:6; 66:23; Zech. 14:16-19].
There is also this aspect of the kingdom where the resurrected saints won’t simply be filled with the Spirit, but when you take into consideration all the verses about the Holy Spirit in the kingdom, particularly in Ezek. 36, you get this sense that all these people will actually be experiencing the true fulness of the Holy Spirit inside of them like never before. (Isa. 32:13-15; 41:1; 44:3; 59:19, 21; 61:1; Ezek. 36:26-27; 37:14; 39:29; Joel 2:28-29; Ezek. 11:19-20).
And finally, everything that is established in the kingdom will carry over into the eternal state. Almost every characteristic in the kingdom is almost always written as a feature that will be eternal (Joel 3:20; Amos 9:15; Ezek. 37:26-28; Isa. 51:6-8; 55:3, 13; 56:5; 60:19-20; 61:8; Jer. 32:40; Ezek. 16:60; 43:7-9; Dan. 9:24; Hos. 2:19-23). Almost everything about the kingdom will continue forever, but after those thousand years, God will judge all the unbelievers at the Great White Throne, and then He will redecorate the universe. We’ll have a new Heaven and a new Earth and most things will continue as it was but even more glorious.
SUPPLY OF GRACE 