Chapter 3

The Millennial Kingdom of God—Its Leaders—From Righteous Able to Us

Zechariah 14:9, “The Lord will be king over the whole earth.  On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.”  Jesus, Yeshua is here on earth.  Zechariah 14:9 says he’s the King of the earth.  Satan, the unseen but very real ruler-deceiver of this world has been removed, locked away in the Abyss as Revelation 20:1-3 says.  Next event is found in Revelation 20:4-5, “I saw thrones on which were seated those who have been given authority to judge.  And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God.  They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands.  They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)  This is the first resurrection.” Part of this is looking back to the 1^st resurrection which has just taken place, just prior to this event of locking Satan and the demons away.  Remember Jesus’ parable about the “mina’s” or talents—to one was given authority to rule over ten cities, to another five cities?  That’s us, believers in Jesus, Yeshua, who have been changed or resurrected to immortality at the 7^th trumpet blast!  (cf. Revelation 11:15-19; 1 Corinthians 15:49-54.)  These are our thrones!  Revelation 2:26 says, “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—‘he will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I [Jesus] have received authority from my Father.”  Revelation 5:9-10, “With your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (NIV)”…You have made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on earth.” (KJV)

          God was planning this government from the very beginning.   Haven’t you ever wondered, sometimes in amazement, why Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, Joshua (and all the righteous Judges, David and the holy prophets) were tried and tested by
God so much in their lifetimes?  During this “age of man” which stretches from the time of Adam up until Jesus returns (the 2^nd coming), God has been quietly training and grooming his top-flight leaders for government positions in the Millennial Kingdom of God.  Jesus, through his divine insight (Isaiah 11:1-5) will obviously choose the most qualified and righteous, the best suited for each and every position within the Millennial Kingdom of God.  Oh, by the way, this Kingdom of God will go way beyond the time of the 1,000 years mentioned in Revelation 20:4.  The Kingdom of God has existed at God’s throne in the 3^rd heaven forever and forever, stretching back forever (don’t try to think about how long forever is, you will burn-out your brain).  But God’s Kingdom from the 2^nd coming onward will have a huge number of kings and priests, within it, immortal beings who had once been human beings.  A concept Christians have not yet grasped (not many of them yet), is that Jesus-- from Adam until his 2^nd coming--has been training a leadership cast, or group of beings, a group which will hold far more authority than any of those who follow us into salvation and immortality during the time-span of the Millennial Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God will rule over men and women during the time-span of the Millennial Kingdom of God, but as the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:49-54, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”  When we’re born-again, filled with the Holy Spirit, the kingdom does exist within us by and through the Spirit of God who dwells in us.  But our mortal bodies are have not inherited the kingdom of God, we have not inherited leadership roles or positions within it, and we are not yet in that sense full citizens.  We are, as Paul brought out elsewhere, like little children who have an inheritance waiting for them when they grow up, but as yet haven’t inherited yet.  Neither do we inherit until the 1^st resurrection.  Just how people will become immortal during the 1,000 year period Jesus has not revealed yet.  But rest assured, as many prophecies in Isaiah point out, salvation will be offered to everyone alive at that time.  We will read some of those prophecies in this study.  But get one thing clear.  All the righteous saints, from Abel right up to the time of Jesus’ return, are going to be active members of a leadership group within the Kingdom of God which will be ruling over man on earth.  We Christians during the Church Age will have had to overcome our own human nature which has been infiltrated with Satan’s nature, this evil world, and Satan (and his demons).  Thus our rewards will be far greater.  Jesus prophecied in Isaiah 40:10-11 that he is returning and bringing his reward with him.  As we will read in Luke 19:11-26, Jesus gave the parable of the “mina’s”.  The reward for developing the “talents” the Lord gives each of us is to be a ruler over cities, the number of which is determined by how well we develop what has been given us.  Salvation is a free gift, but our spiritual development, the sanctification process, and the good works we do during our Christian lives, earn us rewards within the coming Kingdom and government of God.  This isn’t a works trip.  But God does hold out a super reward for our spiritual performance.  And as the parable indicates, develop and grow we must, or else we stand a chance of loosing it all.  Those aren’t my words, so all you grace and no works people, don’t get upset with me.  (And this has nothing to do with the grace we really receive, that hasn’t changed.  This is about rewards for actions.)  Those are the words of Jesus in the parable.  In verse 15 when it says “he returned home”, that’s the 2^nd coming.  What did he do?  Verses 15-19 shows he rewarded each servant according to what?—how he multiplied what was given to him.  The reward—rulership over cities--greater authority for greater achievement.  Let’s read the parable again.  Luke 19:11-27, “While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.”  See, back then even they believed in a literal kingdom of God which was prophecied to appear and change the world.  They had all been brought up reading Isaiah 35 and the other prophecies which are quite literal.  And those which had been fulfilled had been literally fulfilled.  Jesus isn’t disagreeing with them that a literal kingdom of God would appear.  He was just going to enlighten them on some details, and that it wouldn’t be happening immediately.  The apostles still continued to believe the kingdom would be brought to the earth during their normal lifetimes.  They had obviously not really heeded Jesus teaching in this parable, that it would be awhile.  It’s been almost 2,000 years now.  But it will occur.  “He said: ‘A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.  So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas [margin: about three months wages]. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’  But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’  He was made king, however, and returned home.  Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.  ‘The first one came and said, ‘Sir, you mina has earned ten more.’  ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied.  ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’   ‘The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’  His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’  Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.  I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man.  You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’  His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant!  You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?  Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’  The he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’  ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’  He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing [i.e. nothing to show for what was given to him], even what he has will be taken away.  But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”  What an encouraging message for those believers who are developing the spiritual minas that have been given to them. 

          Does the Bible give us any hint as to the governmental structure of the coming kingdom?  Thee are fourteen positions that have been clearly spelled out in Scripture:

          Zechariah 14:9, “The Lord will be king over the whole earth…”  Jesus Christ, Yeshua haMeshiach will be King of the earth.

          Jeremiah 30:8-9, “In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them.  Instead they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”  i.e. David will be in the f1st resurrection to immortality, and as the Lord prophecied here, David will be placed as king over the 12 tribes of Israel, as is brought out in Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37:15-28 is a prophecy about the 12 tribes of Israel—both houses, the house of Judah and the House of Israel--being regathered, and reunited at the 2^nd coming of the Messiah.  Verses 24-25 are about king David at this time.  “My servant David will be king over them (verses 15-23, all of Israel), and they will all have one shepherd.  They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.  The will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived.  They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.”  Verse 27, “My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.  Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.”  Hosea 3:4-5, “For the Israelites will live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or teraphim.  Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king.  They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.” So, any questions about who will be King of the world, or who will be king over Israel?  OK, that’s two leaders out of the fourteen listed. 

          Now let’s see who will be king over each tribe of Israel.  Let Jesus tell us.  In Matthew 19:28 Jesus says, “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me [i.e. the 12 apostles are being directly addressed here, so this refers to them and them alone] will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”  Luke 22:29-30, “And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”   

          So we have Jesus, King of kings, Lord of lords, King of the earth, and David king over the 12 tribes of Israel, and the 12 apostles, each a king over one of the 12 tribes of Israel.  What about the rest of the structure?  That’s where speculation takes over.  We don’t know it will happen this way, but let’s speculate a little bit, in an intelligent manner, and maybe fill in some blanks.  Hebrews 11 mentions many notable overcomers who we know will be in the kingdom of God (also called the kingdom of heaven, even though it will end up on earth).  Abraham was promised the whole land of Israel as an inheritance, and ultimately the whole world under the Lord.  He will probably be directly under Jesus.  Why?  Do you know of anyone who had their faith developed like Abraham?  Isaac and Jacob will probably be directly under Abraham, forming a three-some team.  In the transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared, glowing as did Jesus.  We know from Daniel 12:1-3 and Revelation 1:13-16 that those in the resurrection, and Jesus, glow like the sun.  So Jesus, Moses and Elijah probably represent three major parts in the Millennial government of God.  In verse 9 of Matthew 17 Jesus specifically called this a “vision”.  A “vision” is like a look or peek into future.  Many of Isaiah’s prophecies were “visions” given to him by the Lord so he could faithfully write them down.  So the transfiguration was a “vision” of what is to come, and how Jesus, Moses and Elijah will appear, and how we will appear in the resurrection to immortality that Paul spoke of.  In Mark 9:3-4 says, “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.  And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.”  In Matthew 17:2 is says, “’There he was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light…”  Then in verse 9 Jesus says, “Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”  Jesus called this a vision.  Peter, knew the Feast of Tabernacles represented the coming kingdom in symbolism, ran up and asked if he should build three tabernacles, he was so excited (and going off half-cocked as he usually did). So this indicates this was a vision of the way Moses, Jesus and Elijah would look in the coming Kingdom of God when Jesus returns.  They just saw Jesus as John did in the vision that became the book of Revelation, and this image of Jesus can be found in Revelation 1:13-16.  Moses was trained under the greatest Gentile government of the times, and also ruled as the head of God’s civil government over the children of Israel for forty years in the Sinai Desert.  Moses will probably be the head of the worlds civil governments under the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob team, which is under Jesus, Yeshua.  What about Elijah?  What was his claim to fame?  Elijah restored God’s true religion in Israel when it was ruled by a godless king and even more godless evil queen.  Ancient Israel was a theocracy where church and state were united under two people, Moses and Aaron, who both were under God.   World church administration will probably be under Elijah’s authority.  State governments will be under Moses.  While king David will be over the re-united nation of Israel.  Who under Moses will be over all the Gentile nations?  Daniel was one of the greatest prophets, as well as a trained ruler-administrator over the world’s first Gentile world empire, the Babylonian empire.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will probably be under and assist Daniel.  These three really had their trial-by-fire, proving their loyalty to the God of Israel (read Daniel 3 sometime for the full account). 

          Joseph, son of Jacob or Israel, saved the whole known world from starvation by wise administration of “the breadbasket of the ancient world,” Egypt.  He may be placed over world agriculture, science and technology.  Egypt wasn’t only the breadbasket of the world, but was the leader in science and technology of the times.  Joseph had to combine all the knowledge of Egypt’s agriculture, science and technology in this project God gave him through Pharaoh. 

          Job--some believe he was either Cheops or the builder of the Pyramid of Cheops.  He may be over world urban renewal and building projects, along with Zerubbabel, who built the 2^nd temple. 

          Read through Hebrews 11, the list grows.  Ezra and Nehemiah, Ruth, Mordecai, Jonathan, Saul’s son.  The list goes on.  Then again, born-again, Holy Spirit filled and led believers in Jesus during the Church age (2,000 years worth!) will all be a part of this government.  No one gets left out (except perhaps the “servant” who doesn’t develop his “mina”—scary thought).  Now how I’ve put this together may not be exactly the way it will be set up by Jesus.  You may have other people you think belong in certain positions, and you may be right.  We can only be sure about the 14 leaders the Bible mentions, and their positions.  That’s a sure thing.  And it’s also a sure thing the we all, all the overcomers and developer’s of their “mina’s” will be a kingdom of kings and priests in the coming Millennial Kingdom of God (Revelation 2:26; 5:9-10).

God had something to say about the birth of this kingdom through his holy prophet Isaiah.  Let’s read it.  Isaiah 66:8, “Who has ever heard of such a thing?  Who has ever seen such things?  Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?  Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.”  That’s us folks!  Yes, Israel will be reborn, as a whole 12-tribed nation in quick order at Yeshua’s return.  But we’ll be born as a nation of kings and priests, reigning with Jesus over the whole world, as immortal beings, glowing like the very sun—“in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:49-54).  That’s the reward of the saints, a reward Jesus is bringing back with him to earth.  Isaiah 40:10-11, “See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him.  See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.  He tends his flock like a shepherd:  He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” 

End Chapter 3  Continue to Chapter   4