Following World War I the heads of several national governments concluded that a centralized, globally-recognized, globally powerful authority needed to be created that would prevent such a catastrophe from ever taking place again.  With this in mind the League of Nations was formed.  It was hoped, and many believed, that this united force would be able to prevent a two-nation conflict from evolving into another world war.  Because of man’s ignorance of and unbelief in God’s Word, he assured itself that the days of world wars was over.  Man, it was believed, had solved the problem.  However, within a generation the world once again found itself in the grips of another global conflict, one which would take many more lives than its predecessor.  Refusing to learn the lesson God was teaching, self-reliant man once again embraced the idea that a centralized, multi-national organization could maintain peace on earth.  Having rejected the lesson God was teaching, man created the United Nations.  At last, man had the ability to prevent man from killing man.

However, since its formation in 1948 there has not been a time when war was not being waged on planet earth.  On average, ten wars are ongoing at any given time between two peoples in ten locations on planet earth.  It has become apparent that man is incapable of living at peace with his fellow man–a fact that true believers have known all along.  Fact is, man without God =war, along with famines, floods, droughts, fires, freezes, diseases, epidemics, pandemics, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, crime, financial depression, hatred, lust, murder, human sacrifice (abortion), human slavery, etc. In some cases several of the above catastrophies will be ongoing at the same time in the same place affecting the same people.  For example, right now (winter-2021) a large section of the United States is suffering under two God-sent curses–COVID-19 and an unprecedented blast of snow and ice, the state of Texas being ground zero–literally–where the Lord is displaying His wrath.  While this is going on several nations are gearing up to take the nation down as soon as she finishes destroying herself from within.  This will happen within the present generation.  Why?  Because America, even so-called Christian America, does not and will not believe and obey God.  As a result, her self-inflicted destruction at the hands of the world’s heathen is set.  For a preview of what is about to happen, read about God’s treatment of our ancient ancestors–ancient Israel.

I have concluded that, man being man, there can be no peace without war.  There are those people who want what other people have, and will do whatever is necessary to attain it.  What is necessary usually involves war.  Therefore, the one who has something must fight the one who wants that something.  The outcome is a winner and a loser.  Then, and only then, is there peace between the two entities.  Bullies want peace–they want you to peacefully submit to them.  As long as man refuses to submit, the result will always be war, whether on the personal or on the national level.  A time-proven truth is that there will always be someone, somewhere lusting after what someone else possesses.  And the cycle continues.

Such is the plight of man without God.  And such will continue to be the plight of God-rejecting man until the soon-coming return of Jesus Christ to this earth to end the madness, which is the subject of this series.  This will be a time when, as the Prophet Isaiah tells us, men will “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into prunninghooks; and nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more” (2:4).  As this series will show, world peace is only one of the blessings the Lord will afford mankind.  God will one day enable man to live in harmony with Him and with his fellow man.  The soon-to-arrive period of time when this will take place is commonly referred to as “the Millennium.”

The word “millennium” comes from the Latin word mille, meaning 1000.  The Millennium will consist of the 1000 years that will follow the return of Christ to the earth in order to establish the Kingdom of God.  Biblical fact: no one except Jesus Christ has ever gone to heaven, is in heaven or will ever be in heaven.  Read The Kingdom of God.  Key word–“Kingdom.”  This is the crux of the “gospel” preached by Jesus while He was on earth (Mat. 4:23).  This is the same gospel that was then preached by His apostles of old and continues to be preached by His modern day apostles (“sent ones”).  The preaching of the kingdom gospel reflects obedience to Christ’s Words as recorded in Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout all the world as a witness to all nations, then the end will come.”  Note: His gospel is not about about Himself, but rather about the coming Kingdom of God.  Satan’s false prophets preach continuously about Jesus, but not about His message.  For this reason God calls them “false prophets” who preach a perverted gospel which the Apostle Paul warned about in Galatians 1:6-9.

The word “gospel” refers to the good news about the coming kingdom of God.  During that 1000 year period a number of things will be done as the Messiah cleans up the mess man has made during the previous 6000 years since his creation in the Garden of Eden.  This series will relate God’s word concerning what will take place during those 1000 years, who will be alive during that time period and what they will be doing.  Following this series we will study what God tells us will happen at the time of the Great White Throne Judgment which will immediately follow the end of the Millennial age.  Eternity will then begin.  Those who have qualified for life on a new earth and under a new heaven will live throughout eternity with God, Christ and Their Very Elect saints.  God’s Very Elect will live within Kingdom headquarters–New Jerusalem–which will sit inside a wall-enclosed area that will be 1500 miles long and 1500 miles wide which will be located in the area Biblically known as the Promised Land.  Others–those who will have proven themselves worthy of eternal life during the Millennium–will live throughout the earth.  Their lives will be  filled with peace, joy and plenty.  The Very Elect–those who will rise in the first resurrection–will oversee everyone and everything in the universe.  Read God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe and The Three Resurrections.  Key words–“Caretakers” and “Resurrections” respectively.

Now let us learn what God tells us about the coming Millennium and answer the questions found in the title of this series.  But first a reminder of who, when the spiritual smoke clears, will be welcomed into God’s global Kingdom.  These people are Biblically known as spiritual Israel–God’s true church (Gal. 6:16).  Everyone, whether biological Israelite or biological Gentile, must become part of God’s Israelite (Law-obeying) Church in order to be saved either in this life or during the Millennium.  Jesus said: “Salvation is of the Jews.”  All Jews are Israelites.  Israelites–the descendants of the patriarch Jacob (Israel)–today number in the hundreds of millions and are scattered throughout the world.  Not knowing their biological ancestry, they call themselves “Gentiles” and are known by true Gentiles (heathen) as Gentiles.  Read Who and Where is Israel Today? and White Fields.  Key words–“Today” and “Fields” respectively.

The Scriptures tell us that, under the leadership of His Son, God will create and maintain a righteous government that will produce and maintain an earthly paradise.  He promises to turn the earth into one incredible utopia.  Beginning with His Very Elect and using them as His models and teachers, God will bless people of all nations who will have surrendered themselves to Him by embracing His Holy Vision.  Read the three-part series titled Visions of Holiness.  Key word–“Visions.”  Now let us examine the future of those who embrace His vision.

Following the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment, Jesus Christ will identify Himself to the descendants of ancient Israel who will have been held captive following the defeat of the modern day nations of Israel–primarily the United States, Britain and the Jews of the Middle East.  He will lead them to their ancient dwelling place–the Promised (Holy) Land–where they will take up residence.  This is brought out in Isaiah 27:6: “He (God) will cause the descendants of Jacob (Israel) to take root (be established) in (geographical) Israel where they will blossom and bud and spread their fruit over the face of the earth.”  In Ezekiel 36:8-11 God promises Jacob’s descendants that He will not only multiply the fruit of their land, but will also multiply their numbers.  He promises to bless them greatly and will prove to them that He is the Lord.  In Zechariah 8:7,8 He promises to lead them out of captivity and into the Promised Land where He will dwell in the midst of them.  Then He will be their God and they will be His people.

In Amos 9:14,15 and Ezekiel 36 He promises to rebuild the cities that had been devastated during the Great Tribulation and the Terrible Day of the Lord (Joel 2:11).  Israel will never again practice heathen ways and will never again be slaves to heathen people.  Happiness will permeate the restored cities of the world (Jere. 33:10-14/ Zech. 8:4,5).  Christ will make Jerusalem the example for the entire planet (Isa. 62:1,2,7).  The laws of nature will function as they were designed to function so that nature can serve God’s people as she was designed to do (Deut. 28:12/ Isa. 41:18).  The Middle East, which is today little more than sand and rock, will undergo an astonishing transformation.  Waste places will become fertile and beautiful forests will grace the once-barren landscape (Isa. 41:14-20; 35:1,2,7).  L.J.