The Tranquility After The Second Coming Series

INTRODUCTION

Men have always dreamed of a golden age. Plato in his Republic envisioned a time when the crooked things in life would be made straight. Bacon dreamed Atlantis would be a place of universal peace and prosperity. Presidents have dreamed of utopia in programs like the new deal, the new frontier, the great society, the new world order, and I have a dream. However, the golden age is not going to be ushered in by man’s programs, plans and policies. It will not happen because of man’s deals and dogmas, laws and legislation, or his treaties and talks. This time will be brought about only when Jesus comes to rule and reign upon the earth. Only during the Millennial reign of Jesus will Paradise Lost become Paradise Loosed. In this message I want to share several aspects concerning Paradise being loosed upon this earth when Jesus comes to establish His earthly Kingdom.

FIRST, THE PROMISE OF THE MILLENNIUM

The promise of the Millennium is based upon a covenant. There are different kinds of covenants in the Bible. There are certain promises that were made to particular men of God. God will always fulfill his promises and covenants, whether made to a man, men, or a nation. There are basically two kinds of covenants.

A) The Conditional Promise -- Here God lays down specific conditions before the promise is fulfilled. For example, 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name (talking about the Israelites), shall humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Notice, there are certain prerequisites to be met before the privileges are experienced. “If My people…then God.”

B) The Unconditional Covenants -- There are also unconditional covenants. One was the promise God made to David that He was going to establish a kingdom through David’s offspring that would never be overthrown. It is found in 2 Samuel 7:12, “And when the days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers (talking about David dying), I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels and I will establish his kingdom.” This will be fulfilled when Jesus sits on the throne during the Millennium, because Jesus is of the lineage of David. Now you can find that to be true in Matthew 1:1 and following, and Luke 1:31-32.

Another unconditional promise is found in the prophecy of Daniel 2:31-34, “Thou, O king, sawest and beheld a great image…” Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream and Daniel is interpreting it. “This great image whose brightness was excellent stood before thee and the form thereof was terrible. The image head was of fine gold. His breast and arms were of silver. His belly and thighs of brass. His legs of iron. His feet of iron and of clay. Thou sawest until a stone was cut out without hands which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay and break them in pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken into pieces together, that became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great image. This image was a picture of the world powers that would rule the earth until Jesus comes back to set up His Millennial Kingdom. In that vision are seen the Babylonians, represented by the gold. Daniel 3 records that Nebuchadnezzar made that golden image. The silver represents the reign of the Medes and Persians. The brass symbolized the Greeks and Roman rulers.

Then Daniel said there was coming a ruler whose feet were part iron and part clay. Obviously, this is an inherent weakness—the mixture of iron and clay. This represents the antichrist. He will be a world ruler. The ten toes symbolize the ten nations that will play a part in his federation. The mark of the beast will be employed. In verse thirty-four, Daniel says a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the feet that were made of iron and clay. Then, the Bible says that everything was broken into pieces. This mysterious stone is the Lord Jesus Christ. All through Scripture Jesus is symbolized as the “Stone” or the “Rock”. You can find this in Genesis 49:24, Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, and 1 Corinthians 10:4.

The Lord Jesus Christ is going to destroy the works of darkness at the Battle of Armageddon. He will demolish all enemies and take His rightful place as Ruler of the world. Now, keep in mind that Jesus’ second come in the air was to catch away the saints. He will come to Mount Olivet and there fight against the devil and demonic forces of the world. The Bible says the blood will flow as high as the horse’s reigns. It will be a terrible time of slaughter and bloodshed for the whole world. Jesus will crush the feet of the iron and clay powers. This is the promise of the Millennium.