2. THE MILLENNIUM AND THE PREMILLENNIAL DOCTRINE

Article 4 2 7 of Calvary's Constitution states:

"We believe in the personal, visible and premillennial return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to judge this world and bring peace to the nations."  

God's Word plainly teaches that the ascended and ever living risen Christ, will one day return to earth "from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" ( 2 Thess 1:7,8 ).

For believers, this event is their "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13 ).

From many infallible signs we believe that the day of our Lord's return is soon, indeed, imminent, for we are living in the last days of the last days.

What will happen when our Lord returns?

Believers, who have been washed and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Lk 10:20 ; Rev 5:9 , 7:14 ), shall be changed, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" ( 1 Cor 15:51-52 ) and they "shall be like him" ( 1 Jn 3:2 ).

They shall then enter the glorious kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev 19:16 ).

Believers shall reign with the Lord on earth for one millennium i. e. a thousand years (Rev 5:10 ; 20:4 , 6 ).

The whole creation will be restored by the Lord to its original uncorrupted state, and the earth will be "delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom 8:13-23 ).

In that day "shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace.... He [ the Lord ] shall have dominion also from sea to sea… They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him… His name shall endure forever… men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed" (Ps 72 ).

Israel shall be restored (Isa 2:2-4 ; Zech 13 and 14 ; Rom 11 ). "And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem… And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one… And it shall come to pass, that… all the nations… shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts…" (Zech 14:8,9 , 16 ).

The Apostle Paul writes: "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Rom 11:26,27 ).

Universal Peace on Earth During the Millennial Reign of Christ

For the first time since the Fall, the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Isa 11:9 ).

"Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more" (Isa 2:3,4 ).

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox" (Isa 11:6,7 ).

Man's life expectancy rate will be greatly increased. "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old..."  (Isa 65:20 ). Death will be a rare event.

Mankind's arch enemy Satan shall be bound "a thousand years... and cast... into the bottomless pit."  (Rev 20:2,3 ). There he will be shut, so that he should deceive the nations no more during the thousand years.

For a thousand years the earth will be free from the wiles of Satan. At the end of the thousand years, God will loose Satan, and allow him a "last fling" to deceive the nations and gather them in rebellion against God. God sends down fire from heaven and devours them (Rev 20:9 ).

Satan's doom comes when he is finally cast "into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Rev 20:10 ).

Conclusion

The MILLENNIUM or THOUSAND YEAR REIGN of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be ON EARTH, (Rev 5:10 ), not in heaven. That this glorious reign shall be for one thousand years, free from the wiles of the devil, is mentioned six times in Rev 20 . Then shall come to pass the fulfillment of our Lord's Prayer, "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10 )