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Many people mistakenly believe that the only scriptural
basis of a Millennial reign of Jesus is Revelation
20. But the concept of the Messiah returning to reign
over all the earth in peace, righteousness, and justice
is found throughout the Scriptures, both New Testament
and Old.
I. I believe Jesus is returning to reign on earth
because the Old Testament prophets say so.
a) Psalm 2:6-9 — David says the Messiah
will reign over "the very ends of the earth"
from Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
b) Psalm 22:27-31 — David again affirms that
the Messiah will be given dominion over "the
ends of the earth" at the time when He "rules
over the nations."
c) Psalm 47 — The sons of Korah rejoice over
the day when the Lord will be "a great King
over all the earth," and they state that
this will take place when the Lord subdues the
"nations under our feet."
d) Psalm 67 — An unidentified psalmist speaks
prophetically of the time when the nations of
the world will "be glad and sing for joy."
This will be when the Lord comes to "judge
the peoples with uprightness." At that time
the Lord will "guide the nations on the earth"
so that "all the ends of the earth may fear
Him."
e) Psalm 89:19-29 — The psalmist, Ethan,
speaks of the Davidic Covenant and proclaims that
it will be fulfilled when God makes His "first-born
the highest of the kings of the earth."
f) Psalm 110 — David says a time will come
when God will make the enemies of the Messiah
a footstool under His feet. This will occur when
the Messiah stretches forth His "strong scepter
from Zion." At that time He will "rule
in the midst of His enemies," for . . . "He
will shatter kings in the day of His wrath, He
will judge among the nations."
g) Psalm 132:13-18 — An unnamed psalmist
speaks of God's fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.
He says this will occur at a time when "the
horn of David" springs forth to reign from
Zion. He says "His crown will shine,"
and He will make Zion His "resting place
forever" for He will dwell there.
a) Isaiah 2:1-4 — Isaiah says that "in
the last days" the Messiah will reign from
Mount Zion in Jerusalem and the entire world will
experience peace.
b) Isaiah 9:6-7 — The Messiah will rule from
the throne of David, giving the world a government
of peace, justice, and righteousness. (Note: The
throne of David is not in Heaven. It is located
in Jerusalem — see Psalm 122. Jesus is not
now on the throne of David. He sits at the right
hand of His Father on His Father's throne —
see Revelation 3:21.)
c) Isaiah 11:3b-9 — The Messiah will bring
"righteousness and fairness" to
the earth when He returns to "slay the wicked."
At that time, the curse will be lifted and the
plant and animal kingdoms will be restored
to their original perfection.
d) Isaiah 24:21-23 — When the Messiah returns,
He will punish Satan and his demonic hordes in
the heavens and then will punish "the kings
of the earth, on earth." He will then "reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem" for the purpose
of manifesting His glory.
a) Jeremiah 23:5 — "'Behold, the days
are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I shall
raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He
will reign as king and act wisely and do justice
and righteousness in the land.'" (Note: The
term, "Branch," is a Messianic title.)
b) Jeremiah 33:6-18 — A day will come when
the Lord will regather the dispersed of both Judah
and Israel and will save a great remnant. At that
time the Lord "will cause a rigthteous Branch
of David to spring forth; and He shall execute
justice and righteousness on the earth."
a) Ezekiel 20:33-44 — The Lord says a day
will come when He will regather the Jews to their
land and will "enter into judgment"
with them. He says that at that time "I shall
be king over you." He then adds that "the
whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve
Me in the land."
b) Ezekiel 37:24-28 — The Lord says that
He will dwell in the midst of Israel after a remnant
of the Jews is regathered to the land and saved,
and He promises that "David My servant shall
be their prince forever."
c) Ezekiel 39:21-29 — The Lord says that
following the battle of Armageddon (verses
17-20), "I will set My glory among the nations;
and all the nations will see My judgment which
I have executed, and My hand which I have laid
on them."
d) Ezekiel 43:7 — While being given a tour
of the future Millennial Temple, Ezekiel is told
by the Lord: "Son of man, this is the place
of My throne and the place of the soles of My
feet; where I will dwell among the sons of Israel
forever."
Daniel 7:13-14,18,27 — Daniel says he was
given a vision in which he saw the Messiah ("Son
of Man") given dominion over all the earth
by God the Father ("the Ancient of Days").
And then he adds in verses 18 and 27 that the
kingdom is shared "with the saints of the
Highest One," and they are allowed to exercise
sovereignty with Him over "all the kingdoms
under the whole heaven."
Hosea 3:4-5 — The Jews will be set aside
"for many days," but a time will come
"in the last days" when they "will
return and seek the Lord their God and David their
king."
Joel 3:14-17,21 — Joel says that following
the battle of Armageddon (verses 14-16), the Lord
will dwell "in Zion, My holy mountain."
He repeats this in verse 21. And in verse 17 He
identifies Zion as the city of Jerusalem.
Micah 4:1-7 —Micah repeats in greater detail
the prophecy contained in Isaiah 2. Like Isaiah,
he says the Lord will make Jerusalem the capital
of the world. The world will be flooded with peace
and prosperity. All believing Jews will be regathered
to Israel, and "the Lord will reign over
them in Mount Zion."
Zephaniah 3:14-20 — This entire book is
devoted to a description of the day the Lord will
return to the earth in vengeance. The prophet
says that at the end of that day, when the Lord's
enemies have been destroyed, the Jewish remnant
will shout in triumphant joy because "the
King of Israel, the Lord," will be in their
midst.
Haggai 2:20-23 — The Lord says that a day
will come when He will "overthrow the thrones
of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms
of the nations." Then, using Zerubbabel,
governor of Judah, as a type of the Messiah, the
prophet adds: "'On that day,' declares the
Lord of hosts, 'I will take you, Zerubbabel, son
of Shealtiel, my servant,' declares the Lord,
'and I will make you like a signet ring, for I
have chosen you,' declares the Lord of hosts."
The reference to the signet ring means the Father
will grant His Son ruling authority.
a) Zechariah 2:10-13 — The Lord says that
when He comes, He will "dwell in the midst"
of the Jews, possessing Judah as "His portion
in the holy land" and again choosing Jerusalem.
b) Zechariah 6:12-13 — When the Messiah ("the
Branch") returns, He will build a temple
and "rule on His throne," and the offices
of priest and king will be combined in Him. Thus,
"He will be a priest on His throne."
c) Zechariah 8:2-3 — The Lord promises that
when He returns to Zion, He will "dwell in
the midst of Jerusalem," and Jerusalem will
be called "the city of Truth."
d) Zechariah 9:10 — The Messiah will bring
peace to the nations and "His dominion will
be from sea to sea."
e) Zechariah 14:1-9 — The Messiah will return
to the Mount of Olives. The Mount will split in
half when His foot touches it, and the Jewish
remnant left alive in Jerusalem will flee
the city and hide in the cleavage of the Mount.
Verse 9 says that on that day, "the Lord
will become king over all the earth."
II. I believe Jesus is returning to reign over
the earth because the New Testament prophets say so.
Acts 3:21 — In his sermon on the portico
of Solomon, Peter says Jesus must remain
in Heaven "until the period of the restoration
of all things about which God spoke by the mouth
of His holy prophets from ancient time."
The period of restoration spoken of here
will occur during the Millennium when the
curse is partially lifted and nature is restored
(Romans 8:18-23).
a) 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 — Paul says that
when Jesus returns "dealing out retribution
to those who do not know God and to those who
do not obey the gospel," He will also come
for the purpose of being glorified before His
saints. The return of Jesus to be glorified before
His saints and all the nations of the world is
one of the persistent themes of Old Testament
prophecy (Isaiah 24:23, Isaiah 52:10,13,
Isaiah 61:3, and Psalm 46:10).
b) 2 Timothy 2:12 — Paul says "if we
endure, we shall also reign with Him."
a) Revelation 12:5 — John sees a vision
in which a sun clothed woman (Israel) gives birth
to a male child (Jesus) "who is to rule all
the nations with a rod of iron."
b) Revelation 19:15-16 — In his description
of Jesus returning to earth, John says He bears
the title, "King of kings and Lord of lords,"
and John says He will "rule the nations with
a rod of iron."
c) Revelation 20:4,6 — John says that after
the return of Jesus to the earth, He will reign
with His saints ("those to whom judgment
has been given") for a thousand years.
III. I believe Jesus is returning to earth to
reign because the Heavenly Host say so.
Luke 1:26-38 — When the archangel Gabriel
appeared to Mary, he told her that she would
bear a son named Jesus who would be called "the
Son of the Most High." He then added three
promises that are yet to be fulfilled: "the
Lord God will give Him the throne of His father
David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob
forever; and His kingdom will have no end."
2) The Four Living Creatures and the 24 Elders
Revelation 5:9-10 — When John is raptured
to Heaven and finds himself standing before
the throne of God (Revelation 4), he hears "the
four living creatures" (special angelic creatures
called seraphim in Isaiah 6) and "the twenty-four
elders" (probably representative of the redeemed)
singing a song of praise to Jesus. In this
song they say that Jesus is a Worthy Lamb who
has made His redeemed a kingdom, "and they
will reign upon the earth."
Revelation 11:15 — Voices from Heaven make
a proleptic proclamation in the midst of the Tribulation:
"The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He
will reign forever and ever." (Note: A proleptic
statement is one that speaks of a future event
as if it has already occurred. This is a common
form of expression in prophecy because
all future events are settled in the mind of God
as if they had already happened in history.)
4) The Tribulation Martyrs
Revelation 15:3-4 — At the end of the Tribulation,
right before the final pouring out of God's wrath
in the form of the bowl judgments, all the Tribulation
martyrs who are in Heaven join together in singing
"the song of Moses . . . and the song of
the Lamb." In that song, they declare the
Lamb (Jesus) to be the "King of the nations,"
and they proclaim that "all the nations will
come and worship before Thee."
IV.I believe Jesus is returning to reign
on the earth because Jesus said so.
1)Matthew 19:28 — Jesus said that during "the
regeneration" (the same time as "the
period of restoration" referred to by
Peter in Acts 3:21), He will "sit on His glorious
throne," and the Apostles will join Him in
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
2)Matthew 25:31 — Jesus said that when He
returns in glory, "the Son of Man . . . will
sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations
will be gathered before Him" for judgment.
The throne of Jesus is the throne of David which
has always been located in only one place —
in Jerusalem (see Isaiah 9:6-7 and Psalm 122).
3)Acts 1:3-6 — Luke says that Jesus spent
40 days teaching His disciples about the kingdom
of God. Then, as He was ready to ascend into Heaven,
one of the disciples asked, "Lord is it at
this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
The question indicates that Jesus taught a time
would come when the kingdom would be restored to
Israel. Jesus' response to the question indicated
the same thing. He did not rebuke the question.
Rather, He simply said it was not for them to know
the times and seasons when the kingdom would be
restored to Israel.
4)Revelation 2:26-27 — Jesus says that He
has a special reward for any "overcomer"
who keeps His deeds until the end: "To him
I will give authority over the nations; and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron."
5)Revelation 3:21 — Jesus makes it clear that
the overcomers will reign jointly with Him: "He
who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with
Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down
with My Father on His throne." Again, the throne
of Jesus is the throne of David (Luke 1:32 and Revelation
3:7). The throne of David is in Jerusalem,
not in Heaven (Psalm 122). Jesus currently shares
His Father's throne. He is not sitting on His own
throne and will not do so until He returns to this
earth. Then He will allow the redeemed to share
His throne with Him.
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