Explainer: The Messianic Reign, The Kingdom of God

Various forms of Millennialism (A.K.A. Chiliasm) dominate the landscape of popular Christianity. So much so that even the most fundamental Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, the Two Natures of Christ, and Justification through faith alone are eclipsed by arguments about the minutia of eschatology.

Millennium is Latin for “1,000 years” – the period of time mentioned in Revelation 20:4-6—and only there. Thus, the entire edifice of Millennialism is built on two verses in the concluding chapters of the Bible.

But the Reign of the Messiah (Christ in Greek) has a far deeper and broader importance in the Bible. The Messiah’s reign on earth (i.e. the Kingdom of God) is among the most central doctrines of the Bible. It is prophesied in the Old Testament, announced in the Gospels and explicated by the Epistles.

By widening the scope of our Bible inquiry to all of the passages that speak of Christ’s reign, we can see a far more complete picture of the Messianic Kingdom that will enable us better to understand the duration of 1,000 years which is found in Revelation 20:1-6.

To search the Scriptures for the reign of Christ on earth, several key words will be useful. The first and most obvious is the verb, “to reign,” i.e. “to exercise sovereign power.” Both the Hebrew MaLaK (H4427) and the Greek Basileuo (G936) are verb forms of the word for King. (Strongs Concordance numbers are in parenthesis.)

Second, the verb, “to judge,” in Hebrew DeeN (H1777), and in Greek krino (G2919), after which the tribe of Dan is named, also looms large in our discussion.

Perhaps surprisingly, the verb, “to shepherd” Hebrew Ra’aH (H7462) and Greek poimaino (G4165) is nearly as important. Quite often this word is translated as “rule” because the context cannot mean literal shepherding. This should be no surprise since, in the ancient world, kings were often considered shepherds.

These three verbs yield a rich field of Bible passages to study. Below I have simply arranged some of the principle passages about the Messianic reign to bring fundamental aspects of the Messianic Reign into focus.

First, the Messiah is none other than Yahweh, the LORD Himself. Second, His appearance and reign is in the future of the Old Testament. Third, His Kingdom, once established shall continue into eternity.

Exodus 15:18  The LORD shall reign (H4427) for ever and ever. 

Psalm 146:10  The LORD shall reign (H4427) for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD. 

Isaiah 40:11  He shall feed (H7462) his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. 

Isaiah 52:7  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (H4427) 

Jeremiah 23:5  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign (H4427) and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 

Jesus is the Promised Messiah and is seated on His throne.  

Matthew 2:6  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor (H4910), that shall rule (G4165) my people Israel.  (Quoting Micah 5:2).

Luke 1:32-3  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign (G936) over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 

Matthew 21:9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna (NOW save us) to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 

Matthew 27:37  And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 

Acts 2:30-36  Therefore [David] being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 

1Timothy 6:15  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 

Hebrews 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Revelation 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

Revelation 7:17  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (G4165) them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 

He will gather His people out of their scattered places

Genesis 49:8, 10  Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. . . The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 

Jeremiah 23:6-8  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. 

Ezekiel 20:33-34  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule (H7462) over you: And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. 

Ezekiel 34:13  And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed (H7462) them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 

Micah 4:6-7  In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign  (H4427) over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. 

He shall reign not only over Israel, but over the Gentiles / all the earth.

1 Samuel 2:10  The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge (H1777) the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed (Messiah). 

Psalm 9:7-8  But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge (H1777) the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. 

Psalm 47:7-8  For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth  (H4427) over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. 

Psalm 96:9-10, 13  O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.  Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth (H4427): the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously. . . Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge (H1777) the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. 

Zechariah 14:8-9  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 

Romans 15:12  And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign (G936) over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. (Citing Isaiah 11:10)

Revelation 2:26-27  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule (G4165) them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. 

Revelation 11:15  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 (G936) for ever and ever. 

Revelation 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule (G4165) all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 

Revelation 19:15-16  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule (G4165) them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 

The saints will reign WITH Him

Isaiah 32:1  Behold, a king shall reign (H4427) in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. 

Jeremiah 33:20-21  Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign (H4427) upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 

Matthew 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging (G2919) the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luke 22:30  That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging (G2919) the twelve tribes of Israel. 

John 21:16  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed (G4165) my sheep. 

1 Corinthians 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge (G2919) the world? 

Acts 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed (G4165) the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 

Revelation 22:4-5  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign (G936) for ever and ever.  

Some passages speak of a set duration during His reign. These passages speak of the first portion of the Messiah’s reign, before sin and death are utterly destroyed on the Last Day.

1 Corinthians 15:25  For he must reign (G936), till he hath put all enemies under his feet. (Note: “till,” or until, does not mean that his reign will end after he has put all things under his feet--only that his reign begins before the Last Day. He shall reign forever and ever.)

Revelation 20:4  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 (G936) with Christ a thousand years.  

Revelation 20:6  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 (G936) with him a thousand years.

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Jesus is Still in the Boat

Luke 5:1-11

CrossTalk: Blessed Is the Nation Whose God Is the LORD

America’s Declaration of Independence depends on the truth that “all men are created equal.” Saturday, July 4th, celebrates its 250^th anniversary.

To say that all people are created is to say that there is a creator. This observation is so obvious as to be “self-evident.” Every person who ever lived knows that he or she did not appear spontaneously but came from another.

That creator is usually referred to as God. The Declaration refers to him as “Nature’s God” who wrote the “Laws of Nature.”

What the Declaration does not do is to define or describe who the God of Nature is. Christians regularly assume that Nature’s God is Jesus Christ. And they are not wrong.

But, for Thomas Jefferson—and the signers of the Declaration—it was enough to acknowledge that every person, tribe and nation is answerable to a common creator. Because of this, no person has an inherent right to rule another. Hence, all are equal.

Nations that fail to acknowledge this fact quickly devolve into tyranny, murder and chaos. That’s what happened in Revolutionary France and in the now defunct Soviet Union.

In fact, the 1954 Congress amended the Pledge of Allegiance in response to Soviet atheism. On Flag Day, President Eisenhower signed the bill behind the phrase, “one nation, under God.”

It is a good thing that we acknowledge a common creator. But it is an even better thing to know that Creator to be the Triune God. 

Because to know the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as One God is to know the Creator as the God who suffered, died and rose again for the sins of His creatures.

King David said, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12). This is not meaningless repetition. To say that God is the LORD is to confess that the Triune God of Holy Scripture—not Zeus, not Isis, not Molech, not Thor—is the God who created heaven and earth.

And the Bible goes on to teach us “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11). Jesus is the eternal Son of the eternal Father who with the Holy Spirit created all things. This same God redeemed you by His suffering and death on the cross and is the author and source of the one true faith.

And any nation whose God is this God will be a blessed nation.

David, of course, knows that nations as nations cannot have personal faith. Only people can do that. But David also knew that every decision that rules a nation is made by people who either believe that “God is the LORD” or not.

What David might not have foreseen is a nation that was not ruled by a hereditary king but by the people themselves. And that brings us back to America’s 250th anniversary.

Governments instituted among men are more or less godly as the people are more or less godly. Elected officialdom is more or less godly as the individuals elected to office govern their own lives under the one true God.

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of America, let us first submit our own lives to the Word of the one true God. Then, let us be bold to bring that faith to bear on all that we say and do to discharge our duties as godly citizens of the United States of America.

This nation, too, can be blessed whose God is the LORD. 

Christian Burial: Mike Kohout

Michael Dean Kohout

October 2, 1950 - June 24, 1996

Service Folder

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Christian Burial: Aaron Hess

Aaron Trent Hess

September 19, 1988 - June 14, 1996

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CrossTalk: Pentecost Fulfills God's Descent on Mt. Sinai

This coming Sunday Christians around the world will gather for the third great feast of Jesus.

The first one was in December. It is the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus. “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son” (John 3:16). We exchange gifts in remembrance of Jesus as the Father’s Gift to the world.

The second one was in early April this year. It moves with the Old Testament festival of Passover because it was on Passover “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The third great feast of Christianity also moves with the Old Testament festival calendar. As the Old Testament Feast of Weeks was held seven weeks after Passover, so the New Testament festival of Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks after Easter Sunday.

The book of Acts makes this clear. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1 [KJV]). Pentecost is a Greek word that simply means “fifty”—seven weeks plus Sunday.

Fifty days after the angel of death passed over the homes of those who had the blood of the lamb on their door-posts, and after the Children of Israel passed through the Red Sea on dry land, they celebrated the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai.

This is called the “Feast of Weeks” in Exodus 34:22 and in Deuteronomy 16. By the time Jesus was born, it was called “Pentecost.” And after Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into heaven, He did one more magnificent thing while the Jews were gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost.

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4).

 

Just as it is instructive to read the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus against the backdrop of the Jewish Passover, so it is helpful to read the events of Acts 2 against the backdrop of the Jewish feast of weeks—the momentous events that happened at Mt. Sinai.

“[T]here were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire” (Exodus 19:16-18). 

At the first Pentecost, the twelve tribes of Israel had been freed from slavery in Egypt and assembled together to meet with God. At the second Pentecost, the twelve Apostles were freed from slavery to the devil and assembled together in the Upper Room.

At the first Pentecost, God was present in the form of fire on the top of Mt. Sinai. At the second Pentecost, God was present in the form of fiery tongues on the Apostles.

At the first Pentecost, God spoke in a disembodied thunderous Hebrew voice so that “[W]hen all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die’” (Exodus 20:18-19 [ESV]). 

At the second Pentecost, God spoke in every language of the world, through the voices of fishermen, tax-collectors, and ordinary men. And, rather than scattering in fear, “the multitude came together” to hear the Word of God speaking in their own language in which they were born (Acts 2:6, 8).

This is the glory of Pentecost! Rejoice and be glad that you can gather in churches still today! And that you, by Jesus’ power, can hear the voice of God preached in your own native tongue.

 

CrossTalk: Live in the Light of Easter

 

We live in a world that has been forever changed. It was changed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

For all of our lives, and for two millennia before that, we have lived in a world where the promised Messiah has come. He has finished His battle with Satan and has crushed the Serpent’s head. Jesus has ended the Old Testament and ushered in the New Testament in His blood.

Jesus’ resurrection is the indispensable foundation of the Christian faith, its hope, of Christian love. St. Paul put it this way, “if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:17-20).

Nevertheless, we struggle daily with doubt. Despair harasses us. And love does not come easy. Our struggle is to live in the light of Easter—to internalize the reality of the resurrection.

The first step is to put yourself in the shoes of its first witnesses. You are no different than those who lived through the first Easter. They also struggled because, as St. John tells us, “As yet they knew not the Scriptures, that He must rise again from the dead” (John 20:9).

They didn’t know that He was risen. The clues were all there. The body was gone. The linen cloth was lying there. The napkin was folded, in a place by itself. But still, they went home dejected.

They interpreted the clues to mean something false. Mary could only conclude that “They have taken away the Lord from the tomb” (John 20:13). Not realizing the true significance of what they witnessed, they interpreted them as more evidence that Jesus’ enemies were still prevailing. “They did it. They are in control. We don’t know what they did to His body,” thought His disciples.

But they were wrong. And we know otherwise. For us, these clues are signs of the resurrection. We cherish these artifacts, and revel in the empty tomb. What a difference perspective makes! We know the Scriptures. They did not.

And today, in our lives and in our circumstances, we too are given clues that Jesus has deliberately left for us. We see His acts in the world, every single day. World events are never random. The good and the bad and the ugly—all events are of His making.

Jesus chose Judas, His betrayer, to be a disciple. The Father gave Pontius Pilate the authority to crucify Him. God Himself made Caiaphas High Priest, that year.

And the same remains true today. God is directing current events. And God has brought you into the world precisely for this moment. Whether God or you approve of what is happening, God remains in control.

You don’t yet know HOW God “will work [them] together for the good of those who love God” (Romans 8:28). But, because of the resurrection of Jesus, you know THAT He will.

Future generations will look at us and say, “How could they NOT rejoice?” Because they will see with hindsight.

We, on the other hand, live by faith. The Scriptures interpret the clues and make us glad—even before God’s plan is clear.

If we are still in sorrow, bitterness and anger, it is only because we—like the first visitors to the empty tomb—do not yet know the Scriptures. Observing the world apart from the Scriptures will make us misinterpret the clues and make us despondent.

So, let us consciously live in the light of Easter. That means to believe God’s promises for you as surely as if they have already happened. Because, in Christ, they have.