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Who will Populate the Millennium?

While the New Universe is surely coming, there remains one more interim step after the Tribulation, the Millennial Kingdom Age. This will be a time of environmental and social perfection that is overseen by the Lord Jesus Christ. To better understand the role of the nations in the New Universe it may be helpful to better understand their origination as an identifiable end time’s group.

Last time we considered the formation of the New Universe now let us think on the question of who will be there to enjoy the blessings God has planned. The Bible tells us the Triune God will be there; the church will be there along with God’s angels and the redeemed of Israel, both resurrected and mortal, and a group called the nations.

Throughout the Bible the term nations has been applied to Gentiles collectively; it is reasonable to assume the term applies to Gentiles in this context as well. Where then did these Gentiles come from; they are distinguished from the church but they have been saved. We’ll need to look back a little and see what happened to get us to this point.

The Sheep and the Goats

At the end of the Tribulation there is a judgment; the judgment of the sheep and the goats. Let us look at Matthew 25:31-46 where it is written:

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?³⁹  When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. ⁴² For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

This judgment comes at the time of the Second Advent and those judged are living mortal human beings who have survived the Great Tribulation and either accepted Christ as Savior, the sheep, or those who have rejected Christ as Savior, the goats. The sheep are invited to take part in the Kingdom that is being formed, the Millennial Kingdom which will last 1,000 years. These are the ones who will populate the Millennial Kingdom and whose eventual descendents will rise up in rebellion when Satan is loosed for a season. The goats are cast into the lake of fire before the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom where they will remain forever.

The Millennial Kingdom

For 1,000 years the Lord Jesus Christ will reign over the earth and provide a perfect environment for all its inhabitants. As in the Garden of Eden, there will be a peace and harmony that is only possible when the Prince of Peace is sovereign.

The Millennial Kingdom will begin with only those who have Jesus Christ as Savior and will include both mortals and immortals, those with resurrected or transformed bodies. The church will have been resurrected or transformed at the end of the church age which is brought to a close by the Rapture of the Church; Israel will have been nationally transformed or resurrected at the Second Advent.

The mortals who enter the Kingdom will include both Jews and Gentiles; these are the ones who will have children and repopulate the earth. Although this generation is saved, they still have their fallen sin nature which will then be passed on to their children.

There are indications in the Bible that life spans will again be long as they were before the flood; the Bible does not specifically mention the mechanism by which this is achieved but I think it possible the water vapor canopy will again be in place to protect the earth and its inhabitants.

Satan Bound

One key aspect of the Kingdom is the binding of Satan; Satan is bound for most of the 1,000 years and is only released at the very end. In Revelation 20:1-3 it is written:

“20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.”

God is once again providing perfect environment for everyone on earth. No one can say they have been corrupted by their environment and are therefore victims of circumstances. In this perfect environment the population will grow rapidly and many children will be born, all with a dead spirit requiring the new birth.

While many will receive Christ as Savior and be born again during the Kingdom age, many will sadly reject the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. This once again puts to rest the erroneous notion that perfect environment will produce perfect people!

Next time we will continue with the release of Satan and its deadly consequences.