Part 3 - The Two Foundational Realities

The Millennium
By Norman Manzon

Part 3:

The Two Foundational Realities

The Messianic Kingdom is part of an extended series of studies in support of the We Believe statement* of The Association of Messianic Congregations. Much groundwork for this present study has been laid in The Messianic Kingdom - Part 1: Introduction and Part 2: The Inhabitants of the Kingdom. In addition to presenting recapitulations of future events that will take place prior to the Kingdom, they also address key aspects of the Kingdom that are foundational to the material presented here. It is therefore urged that they be reviewed so that the present study may be understood in the contexts addressed. For even greater detail concerning pre-Kingdom events, it is suggested that the following studies be read or reviewed: The Rapture, The Great Tribulation, The Second Coming of the Lord and The Destinies of the Dead.

It must be reiterated that the prophesied Kingdom is a literal, earthly Kingdom in which Yeshua will reign bodily as king over Israel and the world. An extended polemic to this effect is presented in section IV of The Messianic Kingdom - Part 1: Introduction.

We will begin with a restatement of those declarations in the AMC statement that have relevance to the Kingdom. Those aspects of it that have not yet been addressed will be addressed in this and subsequent studies.

AMC STATEMENT: KINGDOM EXCERPTS*

The Tri-Unity, Part 2: God the Son
We believe that God the Son became flesh in the person of Yeshua of Nazareth, the promised Messiah of Israel, who was conceived of the Spirit of God and born of the Jewish virgin, Miriam (Mary). We believe in His full deity and full humanity, His sinless life, and His miracles. We believe that Messiah Yeshua arose from the dead bodily, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for believers. He will come again in glory establishing His literal Millennial kingdom on earth. (Isaiah 9:6,7; Jeremiah 23:5,6; Micah 5:2; Luke 1:26-79)

Israel

We believe Israel is God's special people, distinct from the body of Messiah, chosen by Him to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. The election of Israel is irrevocable. . . . We believe the Abrahamic Covenant is an irrevocable, unconditional covenant God made with Jewish people. This covenant provides title to the land of Israel for the Jewish people and promises a descendant (the Messiah) who would come to redeem Israel and bless the entire world. The spiritual blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant overflow to all the nations. God will ultimately fulfill every aspect of the covenant in the Messianic Kingdom, both physical and spiritual. . . . (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-21; Romans 11:1-29)

Last Things

We believe in the personal, bodily, visible, and pre-millennial return of the Lord Yeshua. At that time He will lift the corruption which now rests upon the whole of creation, totally restore Israel to her own land, give her the realization of God's covenanted promises and bring the whole world to the knowledge of God. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men. . . . (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:30; Acts 1:11; Romans 8:19-23; 11:25-27; Titus 2:13) * Full AMC Statement

Beyond all other factors, two will dominate the Kingdom: the renovation of the heavens and the earth, which will determine the physical environment of the Kingdom, and the divine presence, which will determine its spiritual environment.

VIII. The Renovation of the Heavens and the Earth

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind (Isaiah 65:17).

Many say that this verse refers to the obliteration and recreation of the heavens and the earth spoken of in Revelation 21:1. Let us consider:

Meanings of Bara
Their leading argument is that the Hebrew word for create in the passage is bara, and that, “Bara means created out of nothing," with the implication that that is all that it means. But Genesis 1:27 states, male and female He created [bara] them. How did God bara them? The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7), and the rib [side] which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman (2:22). So bara can not only mean created out of nothing, it can also mean created or fashioned out of something, also.

Bara refers to a work that only God can do, but that work can either be a creation out of nothing or a fashioning out of something else.

Millennial Considerations
Isaiah 65:18-25, immediately following verse 17, speaks of death, building houses, planting and rebellion. None of these things will take place in the eternal ages, but a whole series of passages show that they will take place in the Millennium. In addition, Isaiah 19:25 tells us that there will be the countries of Israel, Egypt and Assyria, and other passages tell us that Babylon and Edom will exist in the Millennium, also, all with the same general borders that they've had historically - but there will be no countries in the eternal ages. The Mediterranean Sea will exist in the Millennium as will what is presently called the Dead Sea, familiar features of our present earth. Part 4: The Kingdom Environment will show how gloriously beautiful this familiar earth will be during the Millennium, just as one would expect from a renovation, whereas the eternal ages will be a completely different order.

Summary
1. The fact that bara can mean an act of God in which He fashions something out of something else opens the possibility that Isaiah 65:17 refers to a renovation.

2. Revelation 21 and 22 describes an absolutely different order of existence than will ever exist on earth prior to it, whereas the Millennial Earth will be very recognizable as the planet we live on.
3. Isaiah 65:18-25, immediately following verse 17, speaks of death, building houses, planting and rebellion, none of which will take place in the eternal ages. Death and rebellion will have no place in the eternal ages, but these imperfections and more will be present during the Millennium, which will be addressed in Section XV: Imperfections in the Kingdom in the next study of this series, Part 4 - The Kingdom Environment.
4. Various passages indicate that there will be countries and geographical features in the Millennium, and these phenomena will not exist in the eternal ages, either.

5. When a house or a car or anything else in renovated, we expect that it will be identifiable as the object given to renovation, that it will show very obvious improvements and that some imperfections will remain, for such is the nature of renovations. This combination of renovation features will characterize the Millennium, but not the new heaven and earth of the eternal ages.

The bara of Isaiah 65:17 cannot refer to the obliteration and recreation of the heavens and earth referred to in Revelation 1:1. It must refer to renovation in preparation for the Millennium.

A. Will the Heaven of God be Renovated?

It is clear that the earth will be renovated, but not so clear as to which heavens will be renovated. This may be illustrated by John Gill's comment regarding the word heaven in the Genesis 1:1 creation account: "By the heaven some understand the supreme heaven, the heaven of heavens, the habitation of God, and of the holy angels." [1] If some understand that the heaven of creation is God's Heaven, then some may also understand that the heavens of Isaiah 65:17 may include God's Heaven. Let us consider the matter.

There are those who believe that Scripture speaks of two heavens. One is the Heaven where God dwells: He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (Matthew 16:16), and the other refers to all of the universe that is above the surface of the earth: the atmosphere (atmosphere-stratosphere-ionosphere) and outer space. If it is true that there are but two heavens, then it would seem that one of the heavens that will be necessarily be renovated is the Heaven where God dwells - but there are other factors to consider.

Firstly, in 2 Corinthians 12:2, Paul writes of a third heaven: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago - whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows - such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

The People's New Testament comments: "The third heaven. A Jewish expression for that heaven which was beyond
(1) the air, and
(2) beyond the sun and stars; the secret place of the Almighty."

Albert Barnes (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible) agrees:

The Bible speaks of but three heavens, and among the Jews in the apostolic ages also the heavens were divided into three: (1) The aerial, including the clouds and the atmosphere, the heavens above us, until we come to the stars. (2) the starry heavens, the heavens in which the sun, moon, and stars appear to be situated. (3) the heavens beyond the stars. That heaven was supposed to be the residence of God, of angels, and of holy spirits.

This being the case, then the heavens of the Isaiah 65:17 could easily refer to the two heavens of the atmosphere-stratosphere-ionosphere and outer space, exclusive of the Heaven where God dwells.

Secondly, heaven in the Hebrew is always in the plural even when it is used in such phrases as birds of heaven (1 Kings 21:24), and birds can exist only in the atmosphere, one heaven; and the stars of heaven (Genesis 26:4), and the stars of the night sky exist only in outer space, one heaven. It is because heaven in the Hebrew is always in the plural that Genesis 1:1 is often translated, In the beginning, God created the heaven (singular) and the earth, and often, In the beginning, God created the heavens (plural) and the earth. Therefore, even if one holds the two heaven view, heavens can still refer solely to the single heaven of the natural world, the atmosphere-outer space heaven, exclusive of the Heaven of God.

To sum up thus far, whether one holds the two-heaven or three-heaven view, the renovation does not need to include the Heaven where God dwells.

Yet, the question remains unanswered: Will God's Heaven be among those heavens that will be renovated? But why would it have to be renovated? Can it even be defiled or corrupted?

Hebrews 9:11-12 tells us that, after His crucifixion, Messiah cleansed the tabernacle in Heaven with His own blood:

11. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12. and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Whether Heaven itself was actually defiled by Satan's rebellion and subsequent activity there (such as his slander of Job or accusation of the brethren in our present age) or whether Hebrews 9:11-12 is a picture of the acceptance of Messiah's sacrifice by God, one thing is certain: When Messiah cleansed the heavenly tabernacle through His own blood, He cleansed it of all possible satanic defilement there whether by sins committed by Satan past or future to that event - just as He cleanses us of all defilement through His own blood at the moment of our salvation whether by sins committed by us past or future to that event. The point is this: Whether Heaven is impervious to defilement or whether it was cleansed of defilement through His own blood, it will not need to be renovated.

Romans 8:22-23 lends clarity to what will be renovated:

22. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

It is the matter-energy-space-time creation that groans and suffers because of the curse of sin, and it will do so until our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body, meaning that after the saints receive their glorified bodies at the Rapture, the Lord will move to bring about those conditions that will set the stage for the renovation of our present curse-ridden physical universe.

The Heaven where God dwells will not be included in the renovation. What will be renovated will be the physical universe that now bears the curse of sin, which leads us to consider an important distinction.

B. When Will the Renovation Take Place?

Three considerations:

1. During the seventy-five day interval between the Great Tribulation and the Kingdom Age, the Lord will purge the earth by the removal of the Abomination of Desolation from the Temple, the casting of the Antichrist and the False Prophet into the Lake of Fire, the casting of Satan into the abyss, and the casting of the goat Gentiles into the Lake of Fire; and the Lord's pattern throughout Scripture is to first purge by judgment and then rebuild. Evidently then, the renovation will take after this seventy-five day period of purging.

2. Though Babylon and Edom will be cursed and utterly desolate during the Millennium (to be addressed in Part 4: The Kingdom Environment), the earth, as a whole, will undergo a tremendous renovation in preparation for its inhabitants.

1. The wilderness and the desert will be glad, and the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; like the crocus. 2. It will blossom profusely and rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. . . . 5. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah. 7. And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water: in the habitation of jackals, where they lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. (Isaiah 35:1-7)

The passage shows that people will be living in an already beautifully renovated area, indicating that the renovation took place prior to the Kingdom. This passage and many like it show that the renovation must be completed before the Millennium begins.

3. Another indication is found in what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 19:28: in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Regeneration here does not refer to the regeneration of human spirits, but the renovation of the heavens and the earth. According to the IVP Bible Background Commentary, "'Regeneration' was a term used for the future renewal of the world in Greek circles and naturally applied to Jewish expectations of a new world order."

But does the regeneration refer to a period in which the regeneration would take place over a period of time, or does it refer to a period of time before which the regeneration will already have taken place? Of the thirty or so translations I examined, most translate the passage as referring to that period after which renovation had already taken place. For example, in the new age (AMP); in the future world (CEV); in the regenerated world (CEJ); the time of the new world (ERV); in the New Age (GNB); in the world to come (GW); in the renewed creation (ISV); in the new world (Murdock). John Gill refers to the regeneration as "the new state of things."

From these indicators we can conclude that the renovation will take after the 75-day interval and before the beginning of the Kingdom - perhaps in an instant. The Lord is able to act rather quickly. Consider how quickly He created the entire universe in the first chapters of Genesis.

IX. The Divine Presence

As the renovation of the earth will determine and characterize the physical environment of the Kingdom, so will the nature of the divine presence on earth - specifically, the overwhelming and dominating influence of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit - characterize the Kingdom's spiritual environment.

Various aspects of the presence and sway of these two divine Persons will be addressed in due time, as will aspects of the renovated earth, but now we'll look at some chief passages that prophesy their presence.

A. The Presence of the Lord Jesus Christ

Although the Lord had been physically present on earth in various appearances as the Angel of the LORD (Genesis 16:7-14; Genesis 22:11-18; Judges 5:23; 2 Kings 19:35; et al) and during His sojourn as Jesus, He had never on any of those occasions reigned as King; but in the Kingdom He will reign as King over Israel and the whole earth.

Some of the passages that prophesy the kingship and sway of the Lord during the Kingdom Age are as follows. The sequence of events in these passages overlap, but I have set them in chronological order according to their key thrusts:

God Promises the Son the Throne of David

31. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33. and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.

~ Luke 1:31-33 ~

From the Great Tribulation to the Kingdom

1. Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2. The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3. "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" 4. He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. 5. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, 6. "But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7. “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8. 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9. 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'" 10. Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. 11. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. 12. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

~ Psalm 2:1-12 ~

King of Kings and Lord of Lords

11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

~ Revelation 19:11-16 ~

The King Will Sit on His Throne

But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. (Matthew 25:31)

The Kingdom Is Established

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."

~ Revelation 11:15 ~

B. The Presence of the Holy Spirit

Though the Spirit had been present on earth before and during the days of Jesus, He will be present in an overwhelming way in the Kingdom, as prophesied in these Old Testament passages presented in the order in which they appear in Scripture: [4]

15. Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is considered as a forest. 16. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness will abide in the fertile field.

~ Isaiah 32:15-16 ~

1. But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen. . . . 3b. I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants.

~ Isaiah 44:1-3b ~

28. "Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29. I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD.

~ Ezekiel 39:28-29 ~

28. "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days . . . . 3:1. When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.

~ Joel 2:28 - 3:1 ~

10. I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication. . . . 13:1. In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.

~ Zechariah 12:10-13:1 ~

Technically, the Zechariah event will take place near the end of the Tribulation; but we can be sure that the Spirit poured out upon Israel then will remain with them throughout the Kingdom because during that period and beyond they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them (Jeremiah 31:34).

These two Persons, who hold the authority of Creators of the earth, will exercise their authority in the Kingdom in marvelous ways. The result of their sway? The earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14).

X. Summing Up

The renovation of the heavens and the earth and the presence of the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit operating in their full authority are the two foundational realities that together will constitute the physical and spiritual environments of the Kingdom and set the tone for all else that will take place on earth during the Kingdom Age.

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Footnotes

1. Gill, John. Exposition of the Whole Bible.

2. Compare formless and void in Genesis 1:2 with the its uses in Jeremiah 4:23-24 and the use of desolation and emptiness in Isaiah 34:11. For a complete discussion, see Dr. Fruchtenbaum's Messianic Bible Study 186: The Seven Days of Creation, listed below.
3. In Steven Ger's The Book of Acts: Witnesses to the World, (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers,2004), chapter 1, subsection Spirit and Kingdom, Steven writes, "Another reason the apostles would have asked their question is that the Davidic Kingdom, the kingdom of God, is linked five times in the Hebrew Scriptures with the return of the Holy Spirit, the Shekinah glory of the Lord, to Israel (Is. 32:15-20, 44:3-5, Ezek 39:28-29, Joel 2:28-3:1, Zech 12:10-13:1)."

The MillenniumBy Norman Manzon