The Millennial Reign Of Christ | 26Nov2023

Pastor West: [00:00:01] Good morning and welcome to Gracelife Church. And we want to welcome our guests who are joining us, by whichever way you are, YouTube, Facebook, later time listening audio. And we're in our, I think, our fifth teaching on the End Times. And today we're going to talk about a favorite subject if you're a believer. And that's the millennial reign of Christ. And I know there's a lot of details and there's a lot of scriptures, and we we're not trying to teach every chapter and every verse, but we're giving you a systematic, chronological order of the things that will be happening in the end times so that we can have answers for ourselves and we can have answers for those who ask us. And so if you don't get it all, write down the verses. We'll go to some of them, but I will give you all the references I want to remind the people here and those listening doesn't happen automatically, but within, you know, pretty close time. You can go to the website and you can get the services will be transcribed so that you can read it off if you don't want to. I don't have time to go back and listen all the ways where you can just go and you can hit it like a PDF and you can you can read sometimes faster than you can, you know, then you can actually listen to it. So that's available to you.

 

Pastor West: [00:01:20] So that's coming so many ways. You're we don't really have much excuse in our time. We have we have so much help available to us. When you talk about the millennial reign of Christ, we're in revelation chapter 20. If you want to go there, I'm in the new King James Version. It's a little bit newer than the King James Version. I can tell you all have a long week. That was just a little. Yeah. And so we're going to be we're going to be reading verses one through seven. So this is the millennial reign of Christ. And someone says, well, the word millennial is not in there. Well you would be exactly right. But like I said, the word Bible is not in the Bible either. But the thousand years is what the millennial reign is. And we'll give you more information on that. So y'all ready to go? This is the fun time. This is exciting time. There is. If you're a believer in Christ, there is no bad news for you. I don't mean just during the millennial reign. I mean from today here all the way out. The Bible says when you see these things happening, Jesus said, he said, these are just the beginning of sorrows he's talking about in Matthew 24 and 25 he said, but we need to pick our head up, lift our head up and say our redemption draws nigh. And so the reason we want to teach some of these things is we understand that we are in we're not in the end times.

 

Pastor West: [00:02:46] We're in the end of the year. You're in the very sliver of time and people say, well, I've heard that all my life. And we used to sing Jesus, come and sing You're Closer Than You was yesterday. And if you're watching the news, you don't see ears at war all the time, do you? And so you're in the very end times. There is, there is no there is no signs for the rapture. There's tons of signs for the Second Coming. But but there is none for the rapture. The coming of Christ to rapture. The churches the Scripture talks about is imminent. In other words, imminent is not immediately. It just means it comes and doesn't. Nothing has to happen for Christ to come back. Many things will happen. And so we're beginning to see already the setup of the Second coming. And what I mean by Second Coming, I think you all know by now is after the seven year tribulation, when we're going to heaven, we have the marriage supper of the lamb, and we go to the Bema Seat to be rewarded. But simultaneously on the earth is the worst time on the planet that's ever taking place. And you don't want to be here for any of that part, but that's it. So we come back with him after seven years.

 

Pastor West: [00:03:53] Israel is under siege. Israel is about to be wiped off the map, you know, during the Ezekiel 38 war, primarily, we're talking about Gog and Magog. Then you'll see it again here in revelation. It's not talking about the same characters in Ezekiel 38 War. Gog and Magog are those who come against Israel, mostly mostly from the north during the Ezekiel War. But when Christ comes back, we come back at the second time. They're coming from the four corners of the earth. All the nations of the Earth primarily are coming back to wipe Israel off the map, and we come back with Jesus, you could say in the nick of time. And he deals with everything. At one time we all come back with him riding on a horse. How cool is that? And he Bible says he just speaks the word out of his mouth. I wonder where he got that from. Oh, he's been teaching that all these years, hasn't he? That your words make a difference. And so here we are in the millennial reign. So we want to go to chapter 20, verses one through seven. New King James Version for me says, I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, so that he should deceive the nations.

 

Pastor West: [00:05:15] No more to the thousand years were finished, but after that he must be released for a little while. And I saw thrones, and sat upon them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness to Jesus, and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Verse five. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, and there shall be priest of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him for a thousand years. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison in verse eight, and he will go out to see the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle whose number is as the sand of the sea. So this is primarily the in the revelations, the verses that talk about it, where it says thousand years, thousand years, thousand years, thousand years.

 

Pastor West: [00:06:23] And I want us to go back and read. Look at verse one through three again. It says, I saw an angel coming down from heaven. Now it seems to me that implies how many angels. Coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit. And did what? And I'm somebody. Some were saying that. Excited about that? You've never lived on this planet without devils and demons. But you're going to live for a thousand years without a hint of demonic activity. And one angel is going to come down. Just one angel is going to come down. This is an angel coming down from heaven. And he's going to bind him and shut him up. Amen. Now let's say that we say, say, bind him up. Shut him up, shut him up. Well, let's do that little bit. Say, bind him up. Him up. Shut him up, shut him up. In other words, we're just about one angel, right? Amen. And are you going to say? Come on, baby, come on. Just those of you who can't see. You're listening. This is the heavy chain. Don't know what the chain looked like there, but this is so the angels are going to say, come on, baby.

 

Pastor West: [00:08:02] I added that part. That's the worst translation. We're going to bind you up and we're going to shut you up. So the the millennial reign starts off really, really good. I'll leave it there so you can think about it. Praise the Lord. I was serious about when you go out there in 47 degree weather, look for a chain in your shed before church. You're serious? Praise the Lord. I had to crawl over a zero turn in 14 boxes to find that chain. Hallelujah. So I want you to be highly impressed. Amen. Thank you. Can you imagine we're going to be in a world with no fear. No fear, no no disease and no pain. No worry, no lack, no suffering, no sickness, no medicine. You won't go see a doctor. You might see some people who are doctors and say, man, you're really taking a vacation, aren't you? Huh? So that's what God's people have to look forward to. Some of the things. The millennial kingdom. It's a thousand years that we live in a perfect world with Christ as our ruler. Now, when I say the perfect world, I'm speaking of. As for believers, Amen. So you understand that we're going to inhabit this world at the same time, for those people who survived and made it out of the Great Tribulation, because they'll be, they'll be there'll be a lot of people.

 

Pastor West: [00:09:25] I mean, if you we've already looked at the scriptures before, basically half the population of the world dies after we leave during the seven years. But that's going to leave probably a few billion on the Earth. Who's not going to die. And there's going to be some that will be saved. We're going to be going to be a lot that's going to be saved, but some will not have been saved and still have rejected Christ through the tribulation. Jesus will come deal with them immediately. I'll teach this at another time is the you know, it's the parable of the, of the of the sheep and the wolves. And he's going to he's going to judge them, and he's going to put wolves on one side and sheep on the other. And if you're, you know, if you're not a sheep, you're a wolf. And if you're a wolf, you're gone and you're you're cast into the fire. And then he'll deal with you a thousand years later, which is the second death. And her resurrect those and he'll judge them and everyone else who's died. I mean, you know, when someone dies, if they don't go to heaven, they go to hell. They're already in hell. But they aren't even judged yet. If Hitler didn't get forgiveness, he's already in hell. But he hasn't. He hasn't even been judged yet. But the severity of hell, of what it's going to look like for him for eternity.

 

Pastor West: [00:10:34] So the so. So if someone dies today and they don't know Jesus, they're in hell, but they don't even know the severity of eternity until they're judged for it. So we're going to be on the planet because, you know, when we're raptured, we receive Christ and those who died before us. They're raised up before us, and we all get a new body, a spirit body, right? So now we come back with Christ at the end of the seven year tribulation. Here we come on a white horse, and we're here for the thousand year millennium reign. And you're here. You are in a spirit body just like Christ, living with people who are mortals, who used to be like you. And we'll probably look at them like, oh my gosh, you know, I mean, so it's kind of that's never really happened like that before. So just think about it. You're going to have a planet of people. We're going to be walking around as Jesus with with spirit bodies that walks through walls. Huh. Doesn't no pain, no sickness, whatever. And you're going to be living with people who survive the tribulation, and then they'll be having children through the thousand years, through the thousand year millennial reign. And and so it's going to be a very special time. But but in that sense, because of you being a believer, you'll be in a perfect world with Christ.

 

Pastor West: [00:11:56] And Jesus is the ruler. He's not one of the rulers. He is the ruler. And he, I'm sure he'll have in every country, just like we have now, our structure of government. You have, you know, nations or for us, you know, you have not a king, but you have a president and you have governors and mayors and all such as that. I'm sure that'll be something like that. But who will be over all of this? Jesus Christ, I don't think anyone's going to vote on anyone. I think Jesus is going to appoint who he wants over there. There won't be no one stealing a vote, and there'll be no hanging chads to go look at. I mean, Jesus will appoint you, and if he needs to, he will remove you. So that's how that's going to work. So there's going to be a perfect system. There's going to be a perfect world. So in our state of being with chaos in the world as it is now, with all the things that's just chaotic, from the from immorality to the world to wars and Israel's at war right now. Despair economically, politically, socially. I mean, this world is in a downward, downward spiral, is it not? I mean, have you ever saw it like this ever before? No one ever has. I just want to remind you, you don't have to turn to John 1633.

 

Pastor West: [00:13:09] In the Passion Translation, Jesus says, and everything that I've taught you is so that peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you will experience trouble and sorrows. But you must be courageous. For I have conquered this world. So he went ahead of you and conquered what's in front of you. Paul wanted you to know what it would look like at the very end before Christ comes. And here's what he said in Second Timothy or in Timothy. I think it's sorry I didn't write down the reference, but verse one, I think it's second Timothy one 1 or 2 one just listen. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come, for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful people had many of those yet unholy people unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong and headstrong, haughty lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God. They'll have a form of godliness, but not its power from such turn away from them, he said. Turn it, Paul said. Turn it. Turn away from him. Could you say that? Describe the time that we live in right now so we know the world is desperate for peace. Just peace. Why? Why wouldn't we be? You're. Your soul longs for it.

 

Pastor West: [00:14:50] So the millennial reign will be that it'll be a time where Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years, and he will be the supreme sovereign ruler during Christ's reign. We know we just said that Satan will be bound. He'll be sealed, he'll have no influence. He'll have absolutely no influence whatsoever. No one can say, well, the devil's been messing me this week, or, you know the devil. Try to tell me this. No, you've made that up yourself. If you tell us that and we're going to straighten you out really quick so you'll Satan will have. So you've never lived like this. Satan will have zero influence. You will have zero temptation. Zero. Of course, some temptations won't. Maybe won't matter. Like if you there and there's a, there's a dozen donuts, you might think, I think I will. It may not be no side effects to them. And I always said, you know, they're kind of a donut and they're holy food they got anyway, I don't know, but I can't give you a reference to that. But I'll, I'll look on it next week, see if I can find something. And so the millennium. The word millennium is made up of two Latin words mille and annum. Mille. Mille means a thousand and means year. So millennium is the 1000 years. And that term we read it is in revelation chapter six, and it's mentioned six times. Six times in eight verses.

 

Pastor West: [00:16:11] Is the word thousand years or millennium spoken. Now, this is something interesting. I mean, you know, just to think about because it's almost Christmas time and, you know, so we people like Christmas music and we sing Christmas hymns. And how are you familiar with the Christmas hymn Joy to the world? And George the World was written by a man named Isaac Watts. Many, many years ago. And turns out that Joy to the world is the third most favorite Christmas hymn of all time. Only thing is that Isaac Watts never read it. He wrote the song, the lyrics. It was not for a Christmas song. That was never his intention. But by his own admonition, he said the world. The song Joy to the world is a not a Christmas hymn, but is a song to be sung during the millennium reign. After the after the Great Tribulation and the wars one and then we're living here on peace. And so he never wrote this to be the Christmas hymn. And so listen to the lyrics. This is part of the lyrics, some of the stanzas, and see if you can understand his intentions. Joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let earth receive her King. Now, I didn't say let church people or believers, but let the earth receive her King. Did the earth receive Jesus to be the King? When Jesus was born in Bethlehem? No.

 

Pastor West: [00:17:37] Herod was still trying to find out who the child was and killing. Did everyone acknowledge Jesus in Bethlehem as to be would be the Lord and the King of the earth? No, it never has happened. Let let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the world the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ. While fields and floods and rocks and hills and plains. Repeat the sounding joy no more. Let sin and sorrow grow. Nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow. Far as the curse is found, he's come to make the blessings flow in the millennium as far as the curse has ever been found. Has this happened yet? No. Is Jesus ruling the world with truth and grace today? No. Has he made the nations prove the glories of their righteousness and the wonders of his love? The whole world. You know, I don't get out of Jemison a whole lot, but, I mean, you all go other places, but I'm going to go with. No. So not until the second coming of Christ. And Jesus ends the war comes to an end where he captures the Antichrist and the false prophet, and he locks them into the lake of fire and brimstone. They're cast there. They go there a thousand years because Satan's in a pit. But the Antichrist and the false prophet, they go straight to the eternal fire, and then Satan will join them a thousand years later, approximately.

 

Pastor West: [00:19:01] So that's when the beginning of the piece will begin to rule and reign. Then the millennium reign where Jesus rules from his throne, from Jerusalem over the entire world. Then we can sing during the millennium reign. Joy to the world. The Savior reigns. The earth has now received her king. That'll be fun singing that song. So we want to keep on remembering through this, that this teaching that we are here. The believers are here. But you have the believers who were saved during the tribulation period. And so you've got natural people in mortal bodies with people with such as yourself is going to be here with a spirit body co-inhabiting the earth at the same time. Probably translation will be something. It happened in the scriptures. It happened with Paul. It happened with different I mean, Philip, he was translated different people. I mean, you may have an assignment to get to and you may be like, boom, they're going to send you over there. And here you are 200 miles. You know, they're in there in about three seconds or less. So it's going to be an interesting time to be alive on the earth. And so there's there's a lot of controversy about the millennial millennium. And when you when you study it, there's there's all sorts of opinions. And I'm going to give you the easy version of these things.

 

Pastor West: [00:20:23] Generally, I don't give you every side of everything because, you know, it's just like some things you like. How did anyone come to that thought process? And so you have people who don't believe that, you know, that we're going to be raptured. And there's the group that believes we're going to live through the tribulation. And, and but here's the basically the three perspectives on the millennium. And you might say, well, what's what? Why is it that important that we understand that anyway? About the thousand years? I don't see why it's even that important that we understand the different perspectives. But it's very important that you do understand it because because the way that you decide on this thing and how you come to the to the right conclusion, will determine how you interpret any kind of scripture. Let me tell you what I mean. So let's talk about the first group of people. Some people refer to themselves as Postmillennialist post their post, so they believe that Jesus Christ is going to come back to this earth, or he won't come back to the earth until the thousand years of kingdom live has happened. In other words, we're here. But he but he doesn't come back until after the thousand years. That train of thought came about in the mid 17th century, and he was a Unitarian minister by the name of Daniel Whitby, and he teaches that we the church without Christ being here.

 

Pastor West: [00:21:42] We're bringing about the millennium by the preaching of the gospel for a thousand years. And the more we preach, the more we propagate the gospel. More people around the globe will be converted and eventually conquered for Christ. God's system will eventually prevail across the earth and kind of set up a utopian, wonderful world. And it'll be it'll be so nice that now Christ can come back and rule and reign, because the the church would have won his throne for him to come back. Isn't it nice for us to win Jesus's throne for him? Boy, aren't we a big help? Well, that was very popular. We. We can laugh at it today, but in 17th century, that was very popular. But over the next 100 and so years and. And now you can't hardly find someone who's a post millennials because their thing was they said the World War One will will kind of end all wars and then there'll be peace. Well, it took place in the motto of the for post millennials of World War One was this is the war that will make the world safe for democracy. So now that we're in 2023, that concept has faltered a bit. Uh. Because there came about World War two. And now several wars since then and now the post millennials kind of lost their voice. And so, you know, if we got to make the world better in fit for Jesus to come back, it's not looking so good.

 

Pastor West: [00:23:29] I mean, if you as a post millennial and you thought the world was getting better and you were somehow alive on the earth and Israel is under attack, that theory is not panning out too good. The world is not getting better. I mean, Jesus, like, I want to come back, but y'all got to get it. I mean, I can't come down there like that. I mean, let's go, let's go. Giddy up man. Well, we'll he'll never make it back. Now the second viewpoint is referred to as a millennialism. Say it with me. A millennialism. And so when you put an A in front of the word, it negates. When you put a millennialism negates the value of the word. That's what it does. So a person with this view or belief, one who is a millennialism, takes all the passages that we read in revelation 20, and all the scriptures that speak about the millennium and they say these passages are really symbolic, because what they are, they're not they're not meant to be actual interpretations of what will be, but they're symbolic of it. So what they're telling you is that the church will inherit the millennial blessings that were given to Israel. These are not actual things. They're just. They're symbols is what they are. This is someone who's a millennialism. In other words, their viewpoint would believe in is that in revelation 20 that things are happening right now? Because if you just boil it down to what someone who's a millennial is, the church is completely reigning over the world now.

 

Pastor West: [00:25:03] Now, as believers, we have authority over over Satan and over the devils. But is the world ruling and reigning? Is the population of the world ruling reigning over Christ now? So if you're an a millennial, what you're really saying plainly is welcome to the millennium because you're in the millennium right now. You're in. You're in this time of great peace right now. Dear God, I hope not. What about you? So if this is the millennial reign of Christ for a thousand years, more of this. I mean, what do we have to look forward to? Shoot us thyself. Anyway, but. But if you studied the scriptures and the prophecies of peace and purity and prosperity, of what will happen in the millennium, and no more suffering, then you know that those that the promises aren't fulfilled yet. But I'm going to tell you they're coming quickly. The promises are coming quickly, and the exact opposite of this day is in your very near future. Can I get an amen? Yes. So the biggest problem with someone who's a millennial, the way that they think is you have to spiritualize and you have to symbolize all the Old Testament scriptures and the New Testament scriptures.

 

Pastor West: [00:26:16] And if you go that route, then you have to get away from the literal translation of the Bible, and then you have no control of anything. When you get away from symbols and you get away, or if you say, this is just a symbol and this is a, you know, this is a type and this is just a I'm going to spiritualize this. You don't really mean that, then that's how you interpret all the rest of the scriptures. And then you can make the Bible say anything that you want to. All you got to do is pull from everywhere, right? We've heard this one before, like you could. These are scriptures from different passages, and I can just pull up from anywhere. How many know Jesus hung himself? The scripture said Judas hung himself. There's another place that Jesus said, go do likewise. It. So would that be would that be good information? Jesus hung himself. Go do likewise, and you shall enter into the joy of the Lord. That's three different scriptures from three different places. But you put them all together the same thing you want to. So then we have what we call premillennialism. It's the oldest of all of the three views, and I believe this is the one that's biblically sound and has accurate doctrine. Premillennialism teaches that Jesus Christ himself will physically return to this earth. He will defeat his enemies, and there will be a real battle at the end called the Great Tribulation.

 

Pastor West: [00:27:35] Afterwards, he will set up his kingdom on this earth. He will reign. We will reign together with him for a thousand years. That's what we believe. That's what we know to be true according to the scriptures. So what happens when Christ reigns over the earth during after the seven year tribulation? What happens then? Well you begin. You begin the setup of the 1000 year period. The reign of Christ Jesus puts an end to war. He deals with the Antichrist. He deals with the false prophet. He puts Satan away for a thousand years and there's no more war. And then we won't go there. But Isaiah two four is a reference to the millennial reign. And it says this there's no war. So they're going to beat, they're going to beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. A nation shall not lift up a sword against a nation. Neither will they learn war any more. They will not war. They will not learn war. They will know. They will know war no more. So think about that for a moment. 1000 year millennial reign. 1000 years of peace. So there's there's there's no war. There's no rumors of war. There's no threat of war. No country needs funding for war. No need to, you know, work for biological nuclear weapons when you need you need zero funding for it because it's a time of peace and prosperity such as the world has never seen since the fall of man.

 

Pastor West: [00:29:00] So we believe in the literal kingdom. That's why we believe, as the scripture said, there will be a literal time on earth, a thousand year reign. The reason why we believe that is because Jesus said it was. And we believe if we can believe the King, we can believe the kingdom. It's because Jesus told us it would be so. There happens to be 109 little prophecies about Jesus first coming. And 220 more prophecies of the Second Coming yet to be fulfilled. Everything we're talking about today is in our future. Most of our preaching when we minister is we're talking about what Jesus already did for us, and rightfully so. Now we're talking about what's ahead of you, what lies ahead of you in your future. So there's 220 remaining prophecies about the Second Coming to be fulfilled now. So who will be the subjects, you might say, of the millennial reign? Well, Daniel 727 promises that the Old Testament saints will reign in bloom. So those who lived in the Old Testament. Hoover, who will receive Christ as the way that they knew how to receive God. They'll reign in the millennium. The New Testament saints will reign with Christ in the millennium. But then there's a third category of people who will be present and lived in the millennial reign.

 

Pastor West: [00:30:23] And we just read the verse while ago in revelation 20, verse four. This is the third category, and these are the people who were who were saved, but they died or they were killed during the Great Tribulation. And that's revelation 24. It said, when I saw thrones and sat and sat on them, and judgment was given to them, and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead or their hand. They came to life again and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. So the people who would not take the mark of the beast, those who were killed, those who died, those who were beheaded, will be raised back to life again and join us in the millennium. That means Jesus keeps his word, his word to tribulation. Martyrs. Jesus always keeps his word, which will be Jews and Gentiles. So we're the. They're the living mortals who survived the tribulation. Many of them. And like I said, about half the population will be killed during the tribulation. Then Isaiah 65. This is really cool. Isaiah 65, verse 17 and 18. The people who went through the tribulation will not remember it. God is good. The survivors of those who died in the tribulation will not remember any of those days.

 

Pastor West: [00:31:53] Verse 17 says, I am creating a new heaven and a new earth, and the troubles of the past will be forgotten. No one will remember them. Verse 18, my people will be happy and rejoice forever because of what I will make. So don't be here for the seven years. But if you do, and you live through it and you're saved and you come with us in Millennial Reign, you won't even be able to tell a story about it because you won't remember any of it. How about that? Another reason for someone to say, well, what's the reason for the millennial reign? Well, can't cover all of them today, but I'm going to cover some of them. Why a thousand year reign? Well, because it was prophesied. So God's keeping his word to the Jews. He's keeping his word to some Gentiles. He's keeping his word to Jesus that he would rule and reign. He's keeping his word to you. He says, because I want you to live on this planet as it was supposed to be without sin. And it's going to take me a thousand years just to reward you for it. Man. So he wants to. You're eternally rewarded, but he wants you to have some rewards on this earth where you fought the battle. I'm you like that. You know, it's on this planet that you dealt with him. Bind him up, shut him up, bind him up, shut him up, bind him up, shut him up! So it's a time to reward the people.

 

Pastor West: [00:33:16] There's a multiplicity of Bible scriptures that promises, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, guarantees that God's people are going to be rewarded for living a faithful life. I'll go through these like rapid fire. Isaiah 4010 says, behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. The Son of Man will come in the glory of his father and with his angels. Colossians 324 says, remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, who will give you what he promised his people. Yes, for your serving Christ, because he is your real, real Lord. Isaiah 2212 says, behold, I'm coming quickly, and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to their work. Matthew 2523 the Lord said to him, well done, thou good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a few things. I will make your ruler over many. There's a multiplicity of scriptures we don't have time to go through today, but it'd be a time of reward. It'd be a time of great peace. It'd be a time of great prosperity. It'd be a time of great fruitfulness during the millennium. We'll all be assigned a place of authority. Everyone will have something to do. It won't be a punishment. It'll be your promise. You'll enjoy what the Lord gives you to do.

 

Pastor West: [00:34:37] Your work will be a reward. It will not be a punishment because you'll be ruling and reigning with him. You're going to have a lot. You're going to have the Scripture says, during the 1000 years, the earth will be repopulated so vastly it'll be like the sands of the sea. So you're going to have all these mortal people living with all of us. New Testament saints, the glorified bodies, and we're going to have a lot to do with them. There's going to be interaction with them. You'll be helping them all the time, and perhaps even before they see it. I was looking at some scriptures that you might even be there right before this and you'll say, uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh, or someone might fall off a ladder. You may get there within a half a second before or a half a second after they get their head. You just boom, healed. And don't don't ever try that at home. Just saw it on TV. So our work is going to be a reward. Remember in the parable of the talents. Same way this what Jesus taught that he gave a work and he came back and checked on it. Well, we have we have an assignment. That's what we have for 1000 years. And so in the parable of the talents Jesus taught, our role as servants and rulers is rewarded by your faithfulness.

 

Pastor West: [00:35:47] So how you're living now, what you're doing in life and how you're doing it now is determine your assignment in the millennium. If you're faithful now, he he'll reward your faithfulness for 1000 years. The. The more you give of yourself to the Lord now will determine what you'll be doing, what your assignment will be for a thousand years. You're actually writing your resume resume right now for the millennium. If you're doing the least you can do just to get by, you're probably going to have a job for about a thousand years, just about like that. It will beat the out of hell being there. But a thousand years is what you'll be here. So you're absolutely right. And your resume for how you live and what you'll be doing for the thousand years. Well, so once again, the millennium is going to be a time of great peace and prosperity on the earth. And it's it's so vastly peaceful. There's no way. I mean, we can read the scriptures, but we can't even begin to let it extend into our minds just what it'll be like. This peace is going to extend into the animal kingdom. How about that Isaiah 11? Listen to this six through nine in the translation. Isaiah 11 six through nine inches the RV it says, then wolves will live at peace with lambs, and leopards will lie down in peace with the young. Goats, calves and lions and bulls will all live together in peace.

 

Pastor West: [00:37:12] A little child will lead them, bears and cattle will eat together in peace, and all the young will lie down together and will not hurt each other. Lions will eat hay like cattle. Even snakes will not hurt people. Babies will be able to play around a cobra's hole and put their hands into the nest of a poisonous snake and not be hurt. Don't try that today. Don't try that today. There is a curse on the earth, and. And there's enough demons around to make sure that you'll get what you think you're going to get. So this is there's no demons. There's no demonic activity. So the peace of God extends all the way into the animal kingdom in their thinking. They're not vicious. They're not eating one another. Someone said, we're all going to be vegetarians. I'm not ready to go there today. But anyway, move right along. But no devil influence, no curse. Jesus is ruling from Jerusalem. What will the earth be like during the Millennial Kingdom? Well, once again, Jesus will rule from Jerusalem. Zechariah 14 nine in the NASB says, in the Lord will be king over all the earth, not some, not over Jerusalem. The Lord will be king over all the earth, and in that day will be the only one, and his name the only one and only one king and ruler over all the earth.

 

Pastor West: [00:38:32] Only one king and one ruler over all the earth. So the political pundits will have nothing to do. Yeah, so I don't know what CNN will be. Probably won't be. And they say, well, that's not fair for them to be by themselves. Well, they won't be. They'll have MSNBC to be with them and stuff like that. So anyway, Joe 317 adds that Jerusalem will be the capital city. Joel 317 says, then you will know that I am the Lord your God. Dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain, so Jerusalem will be holy. Am I going too fast? Market for one and to and Zechariah 14 1617 says, Nations will come to Jerusalem to visit Christ. And the Word of God will be taught to them from Jerusalem. So people will come from nations, Micah said, and Zacharias. They're going to come to visit Christ in Jerusalem and to be taught. By Christ from Jerusalem. You want to miss that Bible study? You want to tell you why you don't want to miss it. Take just a moment. Micah four one and two in the NASB. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills, and people shall flow to it. And many nations shall come and say, come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, that we may walk in his paths, or his counsel.

 

Pastor West: [00:40:15] For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of God from Jerusalem. Excuse me. So you see that you got natural people here. They're safe, but they're mortals, and they're still learning the word of God. They're still having to be taught. They're still in the council. So they go to Jerusalem to be taught by Jesus Christ himself, and to get his counsel to walk in his counsel. Zechariah 1416 and 17 in the NASB says, then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King. In other words, I'm not saying this is an absolute, but it looks like you're going to go at least once a year. So it says the nations that went up, that went against Jerusalem will go from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, to celebrate the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles. And it shall be the whoever of the families of the earth that does not go up to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, that there will be no rain on you. You know, if you don't come, you don't keep your one year appointment. He says it's fine. You over there. Don't be looking for no rain.

 

Pastor West: [00:41:30] Hmm.

 

Pastor West: [00:41:32] Just interesting, huh? Ezekiel 34, verse 23 and 25 says, When Christ rules as king over the world, he will shepherd Israel, and it will be a time of peace. And there's another prophecy about the Millennial Kingdom and Isaiah 35, actually one through ten. But I'm just going to read some of it because we are told that the road leading to the city of Jerusalem is called the the, the Highway of Holiness. You ever heard of a highway named holiness? But the road leading into Jerusalem is going to be called the highway of holiness. And verse nine says, and the redeemed will walk on this road. That is the only only believers will be allowed to go up into Jerusalem. In other words, those that you're all believers in a sense. But but you have people that's born during the millennium. You got to get this because not everyone during the millennium, because there's going to be a lot of people are going to marry and have children, not us. We're being spirit bodies. We won't marry, we won't have children, but they'll repopulate the earth. But the people alive during the Millennial Kingdom will have to make a decision for Jesus, just like you had to make. We won't teach you today, but the Scripture teaches that many will look at him and will say, this is him. I mean, we never saw him, but this is who we believed in.

 

Pastor West: [00:42:53] And now all this. Yeah, that's him. And they'll say, nah. There reject him at a time with no demonic activity. So he says no one but a believer is going to walk on my road, the Highway of Holiness. Mm. People get by. You might say. I don't like to use that word. During the dispensation of grace. That's not the way the Lord is. You're living in the dispensation of grace. Jesus paid for it all. But he didn't. He didn't pay for it for you. Just because I have grace. Just like it'd be okay. Because, you know, I got grace. That is. That is the misuse of grace. And so it says that only only the only the believers will walk on the road of the holiness of highway of holiness. It says all the earth will know God. And Isaiah eight nine says, they will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. During that time it says, vegetation will flourish during the millennium. Ezekiel 3426, the B part and 27 eight part. There's prophecies that God will send rain showers and produce fruit with great increase, so vegetation will greatly increase. There won't be any down years, it'll be just majorly productive. Joel 318 adds that vineyards will be so productive and mountains will drip with sweet wine.

 

Pastor West: [00:44:29] It says in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah will flow with water, and the spring will go out from the house of the Lord. Another little thing. We're just kind of giving you some things that's going to happen during the millennium. People will live for hundreds of years, just as they did before the flood. And as their 6519 through 20. Now, when I say people is going to live longer lives, I'm not talking about you. You're going to live forever. I'm talking about people who survive the tribulation. They're still in a mortal body. People who's going to be born during the millennium. They're going to be in a mortal, natural body. But you're not going to be. But even people who's going to be in a natural body is going to return back to the way it was before the flood, and they're going to live hundreds of years. Hundreds of years, you say, I don't know if I believe that. Or you don't think. You don't think I mentioned it without Scripture, did you? Isaiah 6519 and 20 says, I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people, and there will no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying. No longer will there be an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days.

 

Pastor West: [00:45:44] For the youth. Will die at the age of 100, and the one who does not reach the age of 100 will be thought as a child accursed. So you're talking about someone who's alive in an astral body. If they died 100 years old, then we thought like they were just a youth, a teenager, and like he must be cursed or something. In Isaiah 6522 is more precise about this. It says. It says the lifespan of people will be like the trees. You ever thought about that before? Like, it's kind of weird that a tree outlives a human. A man plants a tree, and a tree outlives a human. A man takes a tree, makes lumber, builds a house. And the house that lives 2 or 3, 4 or 5 generations of people. He said they won't be that way during the millennium. People will live like the trees. The NASB says, for the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of my people, and the chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. Or the ESV says, my people shall long enjoy the work of their labor of their hands. In other words, people are just going to live a long, long time as what was before the flood. In Genesis chapter seven, the shortest lifespan recorded during that time was Enoch.

 

Pastor West: [00:46:58] He had the shortest life, but he had a good reason for being short. He left. He was 365 years old, and he was talking with the Lord one day, and he says they were having a really great conversation. This is Eric speaking, not the Scripture. And the Lord says, well, why don't you come to our house? We'll talk about it some more, he says. Okay, so he just went with the Lord and didn't come back. He didn't die. He just. He just went with the Lord. So if the Lord invites you to this house tomorrow, just know if you if you accept it, you probably won't get to come back. Oh. Anyway, so 365 years. The longest one to live on the earth was Methusula. Genesis 527. He lived 969 years. So I don't know if we're going to have any country space left on this planet. So if you got any land, hold on to it or it's going to be worth a lot of money. You say, I'm waiting for Walmart. Walmart won't be able to pay nothing compared to what your land is going to be worth. Can you imagine what a family reunion is going to be like? If she's your great great great great great great great great great great great great great daddy. You got someone who's three? I mean, there'll be kids 600 years old having kids and thinking, why not? We're still young.

 

Pastor West: [00:48:15] Why not? No big deal. That's just a state of mind. Get giddy up. Because the same conditions will exist again in the Millennium Kingdom. No sickness, no disease, no deformity, no miscarriages. All that ceases. It's over forever. You like the millennium? Isaiah 6523 says, in that day the deaf will hear the words of a brook. Wow! And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. They will not labor in vain or bear children for calamity. In other words, there will be no miscarriages, for they are the offspring. Of the blessed, and they're blessed by the Lord himself. No miscarriages. That's a few things that happen during the millennium. Now, I teach you all this because it's your future. Why teach this? Because he said to revelation says, blessed is he that reads this book. Why do we need more about it? Because we need to understand the time that we're living in. Jesus scolded his people. He says, why is it that the sons of Issachar know more about the end, the time that they're living in than you know? He said you have enough wherewithal about you to look and say, looks like it's going to rain. It looks like it's going to be a storm. He said, but the sons of Issachar knew the times that they they would live in, so they would know how to live according to the times.

 

Pastor West: [00:49:40] Do you know what time that you live in? In other words, this should be as as you know, as. That hustle mentality that Joe Mars talks about. In other words, when you get down to the last minute in a ball game or two minutes, you've got to throw the playbook out. Things that aren't normal plays. You don't do them because you just don't have time. I mean, you wouldn't trust me in plays, you know, in the first quarter. And, you know, when you got to hour and a half hours left. But but you're in the very end times. So we have to develop the hustle mentality. We have to understand that there's a great harvest. We don't want anybody left behind. I mean, if you just think in context of the scripture that if he doesn't come back at the end of the seventh year to the it's called the tribulation and the Great Tribulation, exactly both three and a half years, first, three and a half years will be a lot more peaceful than the last three and a half years. The first three and a half years, the Antichrist will come on the scene, but he'll come as a man of peace, not as a man of war. And the world will be in such chaos. They will be looking for answers. It will need a one world government to survive.

 

Pastor West: [00:50:58] It looks like. And he will provide all that. He will. He will have charisma. He will. He'll have a silver tongue. He'll. He is the most evil, deceptive person the world has ever seen. Hitler is a kitty cat kitten compared to him. If you rolled Mussolini and all them multiply them times 10,000, it won't be compared to what this guy is going to be like, but he will not show his cards until the three and a half years. And he'll go in the temple, and there'll be no more sacrifices here, because I'm God myself, and you'll worship me, and he'll demand that the image and then the mark will be instituted. And to buy or to trade, or to sell or to eat, to have any kind of commerce, you will have to take the mark in your head and the market in your hand, and as soon as you take it, you are doomed for hell forever. Many won't take it. Some will starve to death, some will be beheaded. Revelation 24 says, but I will even reward those martyrs who wouldn't take the beast. And he said, I'll raise them up, and they'll live in the Millennial Kingdom with me. I'm glad they have that opportunity, but dear God, don't do it now. All you got to do is receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

 

Pastor West: [00:52:10] Why wait? Why not now? Why? Why put yourself through that type of situation? Its deception is what it is. Satan is the God of this world system. You don't think gods are on this planet, do you? I mean, I just read a few scriptures of what the millennium's going to look like for you for a thousand years. Peace, prosperity, increased long life, mean animals. I mean, could you imagine if your if your kid put a your little girl, boy put the hand down and the cobra's hole and pulled out and just played with it and was like, oh daddy, I wouldn't do at all. I love to battle. Well, we don't love snake rattles. I don't know the difference. I mean, you may know it. I don't know the difference between a good snake and a bad snake. I mean, I've had people say, don't kill them. I'm a good snake. I said, not that. And bam! Well, how do you know what's the good? They're all bad. If they're slithering, they're bad. I read about them in Genesis three. Ain't like none of them. I always just thought a good snake was a dead snake. How about you? Well, you won't have any of that millennial reign. I don't suppose there'd be any such thing as fire ants. What did that come from? It came from a curse. There won't be any such thing as a beast thing.

 

Pastor West: [00:53:29] Mm.

 

Pastor West: [00:53:33] So we never even let our minds extend to what it would be like before the fall of mankind. That's what it returned to. The only difference is you'll be on the planet with with with mortal people. And you'll be immortal. Immortal? They'll have a mortal body. And you won't, man. They're going to get an upgrade. They could live hundreds of years. They won't go through what you went through. I mean, that's why there's going to be special promises just for you. Because you're in that mortal body. It says it dies little by little every day. But the Spirit's renewed day by day. But yet because of sin in the earth. The last enemy to be put under foot is what is death, and Jesus is the key to it. He holds the whole thing. So there is going to be a generation of people alive on the earth. When you look at the scriptures, when you look at the prophecies, when you understand the signs of the Second coming, when you can see the signs of the Second Coming today, while you're still on the planet, when you can see Israel under attack, and when you can see the nations coming against Israel to wipe her out. And Iran says death to Israel, all goal is to remove her from the face and the memory of the earth and death to America. Who helps her. That is the spirit of Antichrist. The only reason why the Antichrist hasn't made his move is because he can't. And he can't make his move.

 

Pastor West: [00:54:58] Because you're the light of God in the world, and you are the great restrainer of the Holy Ghost who lives in you. The Holy. What I'm saying is, the devil can have his way because of you, the great restrainer of the Holy Ghost who lives on the inside of you. So if he can't have his way in that way, don't let him have his way in other ways. Did you. Did I tell you about revelation 20? There's going to be an angel. Did I mention that today? How many angels was it now? A multitude. How many? One angel is going to come down and he's going to say what? Come here baby. Right. He said your time. Thousand years. Thousand years. Go to put him in the pit. Go and bind him up and set him up. Shut him up. Bind him up and shut him up. So we're headed to a good time. If you all want a chain like this, I'll sell it for $105 today. I said that, but anyway, praise God. We're headed for a great time. So we're going to. We got a little ways to go because we're we're going to get into the eternal, our eternal state of heaven. And then I'm going to preach on heaven. I've never preached on heaven. And I'm going to tell you everything I can find in Scripture about heaven and what it's going to be like for for us to live in heaven forever. Amen. Amen. God bless you.