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Works of Arthur Pink: Pink, Arthur - The Redeemer Returns: 15-10. The Consummation of the Redeemer's Return
TOPIC: Pink, Arthur - The Redeemer Returns (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 15-10. The Consummation of the Redeemer's Return
Other Subjects in this Topic:
The Redeemer’s Return
The Consummation of the Redeemer’s Return or The Millennial Reign
Chapter 10
"And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one."
Zec_14:9
It should now be evident to every unprejudiced reader that there are two distinct stages in the Second Coming of Christ:—His coming in the air, and His coming to the earth; His coming for the saints, and His coming with the saints. The first great purpose before Him in connection with His return is to receive His people unto Himself. Just as of old God translated Enoch to Heaven before He sent the Deluge upon the ungodly, so will the Church be removed frown this earth before the vials of His wrath are poured out upon it. The second great purpose before the Lord Jesus will be to return to the earth itself, there to set up His Kingdom and reign in righteousness, and it is the nature, the scope, the blessedness, and the duration of this Kingdom-reign which is now to engage our attention.
In popular parlance the era of the Messiah’s reign is referred to as the "Millennium" which is a compound word signifying a thousand years. From the remotest antiquity men have longed for and talked of a Golden Age, of an age in which righteousness and peace should prevail, and oppression and war should cease. Poets have sung of it, politicians have dreamed about it, and inspired prophets have described it. This era of blessedness is variously denominated in the Scriptures. It is termed "the Regeneration" (Mat_10:28); the "Last Day" (Joh_6:40); the "Times of Refreshing" (Act_3:19); the "Times of Restitution" (Act_3:21); the "Kingdom" (1Co_15:24); the "Day of Christ" (Php_1:6); the "Dispensation of the Fullness of Times" (Eph_1:10).
There are more Scriptures which treat of the Millennium or Kingdom-age than perhaps any other one subject in the Bible. The difficulty is to classify them all. For purpose of simplification we shall now consider the Millennium under seven heads, namely, the Millennium in relation to Satan, to Christ, to the Church, to Israel, to the World, to Creation, and to Sin.
1. The Millennium in relation to Satan.
In our last chapter we saw that Christ descends from Heaven to find an organized effort to prevent Him coming back to the earth. Under the leadership of Anti-Christ, the kings of the earth with their armies assemble together at Armageddon with the express purpose of making war upon the Lamb (Rev_17:14). It is in connection with this impious revolt that we read, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh" (Psa_2:4), laugh at their folly and madness, "The Lord shall have them in derision." As well might a worm seek to resist the tread of an elephant as the creature hope to succeed against the Almighty. As well attempt to roll back the ocean as aim to frustrate the counsels of the Most High. "For the Lord of hosts hath purposed and who shall disannul it? and His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" (Isa_14:27). A short work will our Lord make of the proud rebels—"And the Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the Beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone" (Rev_19:19). This accounts for two of the persons in the Trinity of Evil. But one other still remains to be dealt with. Before the Messiah’s Kingdom can be set up, the great Usurper must first be cast out.
There can be no thousand years of righteousness and peace on earth while the great Enemy of God and man is at large. Post-millenarians, who expect the Kingdom to be brought in by the preaching of the Gospel and the activities of the Church, and Peace-idealists and Social-reformers who look for a Golden Age to be brought about by legislation and civilization, all leave out of their schemes and considerations one dominating factor, namely, the Devil. Behind all anti-Christian systems, back of all the inveterate opposition to the Gospel, beneath all the evil and wickedness which stalks rampant through the earth, is that old Serpent, the Devil. And nothing finite can remove him. Nothing human can disturb him. None on earth can bind him. Man is incompetent to cope with his mighty adversary. Legislation cannot reach him, and the Church is powerless to rid the world of his awful presence. The only One who is mightier than he, is God-the Almighty, and there can be no Millennium, no era of righteousness, and peace, no Golden Age, until the Son of God Himself returns in person and removes and imprisons the Arch-Foe.
The removal of Satan from this earth is described in Rev_20:1-3, "And I saw an angel (We believe this "angel" to be the Lord Jesus Himself—the uncreated Angel of the Covenant (Mal_3:1). If it should be asked, Why term Him an angel? the answer is, To connect Him with Israel, the covenant and earthly people. See Gen_22:15-16; Gen_48:16; Exo_3:2; and compare Rev_7:2, Rev_8:3; Rev_10:1) come down from heaven, having the key of the Bottomless Pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the Bottomless Pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years shall be fulfilled." Satan will be "bound" which is the fulfillment of our Lord’s word in Mat_12:29—"How can one enter a "strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house." The "strong man" is our Adversary, the Devil; his "house" is the children of this world, in contradistinction to the children of God who are the "House" of Christ (Heb_3:6); the "binding" of the Strong Man is described in the Passage quoted above from Revelation 20; the "spoiling of his house" is the delivering of his captives (see Isa_42:7). Satan will be "cast into the Bottomless Pit" which is the fulfillment of Isaiah 14—"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the Pit" (Isa_14:12-15). Satan will be shut up in the Bottomless Pit and a "seal" shall be set upon him, which is God’s answer to that which we read of in Mat_27:66, "So they went and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch"—what he has sown that shall be also reap. Thus will terminate that struggle which has lasted for six thousand years, a struggle which has been waged for the dominion of the earth.
At last the "roaring lion" (1Pe_5:8) will have been overcome, overcome by the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Man with the bruised heel will have crushed the Serpent’s head, and the word spoken in Eden will then be fully accomplished. And who can describe or even imagine the blessed consequences! No more shall the brethren be accused before God (Rev_12:10). No more shall the daughters of Abraham be "bound, lo, these eighteen years" (Luk_13:16). No more shall Satan tempt and try, harass and hinder the saints of God. For a thousand years the earth shall be rid of the Evil One and in his place there shall come "Times of Refreshing from the presence of the Lord" And this leads us to consider,
2. The Millennium in relation to Christ.
It has been divinely ordained that our Lord should fill three great offices—the Prophetic, the Priestly, and the Kingly. As Prophet, He acts as God’s Spokesman: revealing God’s mind, communicating God’s will, unveiling God’s heart. As Priest, He acts as Mediator between God and men, and by means of His atoning sacrifice He reconciles believers to God, represents His peoples’ interests before God, interceding for them and pleading their cause. As King, He will reign over men, enforcing God’s laws, and upholding on earth the claims of His Throne. It is of Christ as King we shall now speak.
Toward the dose of David’s reign, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, bidding him go to the king and, among other things, tell him, "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy Seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build an house for My name and I will establish the throne of His Kingdom for ever" (2Sa_7:12-13). At a later date, in one of the great Messianic prophecies, it was announced concerning our Lord that "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever" (Isa_9:6-7). Hence it is that the very first verse of the New Testament reads, "The Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, (thus linking Him with Israel’s throne) the son of Abraham."
Just before our Lord was born, an angel appeared unto Mary and said, "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the House of Jacob for ever: and of His Kingdom there shall be no end" (Luk_1:30-33).
Sometime during our Lord’s infancy certain wise men, who were led by a star, came to Jerusalem (the royal city), asking, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" (Mat_2:2). Our Lord, then, was born King of the Jews, but as the inspired Word informs us, "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not" (Joh_1:11). Israel would not own Him; instead, they cried, "We have no king but Caesar" (Joh_19:15). And when Pilate wrote an inscription and placed it over the Cross—"This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," they desired him to alter it and substitute, "He said I am King of the Jews" (Joh_19:21), which is further proof that the Jews had rejected Him as their King.
It was announced then, in Old Testament prophecy, and confirmed by the angel to Mary, that our Lord should occupy the throne of David. In order to the fulfillment of this, our Lord, according to the flesh, sprang from one who was a lineal descendant of David, and therefore, He was born "King of the Jews." But as we have seen, Israel rejected their King and crucified Him. And what we now desire to emphasize is, that, Jesus Christ has never yet assumed the Kingship! On the contrary, He taught His disciples to pray, "Thy Kingdom come." Furthermore, He said, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for Himself a Kingdom, and to return. And it came to pass that when He was returned, having received the Kingdom" etc. (Luk_19:12, Luk_19:15). Christ’s receiving of the Kingdom and His return synchronize (cf. 2Ti_4:1). Christ, then, is not King today, for He has not yet received the Kingdom, nor has He yet occupied the throne of His father David. Nowhere in the Epistles do we find Him denominated "The King of the Church." Jesus Christ is Savior of the Church, Lord of the Church, Head of the Church, but He is not King of the Church, for He has not yet entered upon His Kingly office, and He will not do so until the beginning of the Millennium. In the Millennium Christ will rule and reign over the earth, not only as King of the Jews, but as King of kings and Lord of lords. It is then that the prophecy of Zechariah shall be fulfilled—"And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day (a yet future day—see the context) shall there be one Lord, and His name one" (Zec_14:9). Our Lord’s Kingship over all the earth leads us to the consideration of another important line of truth.
When Adam was created God said, "Let us make man in our image, and let them have dominion." At the beginning, earth’s scepter was committed into the hands of man (see Psa_8:4-8). But right on the scene of his creation came one who disputed Adam’s right to earth’s sovereignty, and who succeeded in wresting the scepter from his hands. Satan brought to bear upon him a diabolical temptation: Adam succumbed, and falling, he forfeited his dominion over the earth. As the consequence, Satan became "The Prince of this world," and as such approached our Lord in the temptation, when he took Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and "sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me" (Mat_4:8-9). But on the Cross, the Lord Jesus regained the scepter which Adam lost; and here is the key to Revelation 5.
In the fifth chapter of the Apocalypse a remarkable scene is brought before us. The beloved apostle sees a book—"written within and on the back side, sealed with seven seals"—in the right hand of Him that sat on the Throne. Then he hears an angel saying, "Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" Next we are told, "And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon." Many have been the conjectures concerning this mysterious "blink," but by comparing Scripture with Scripture we think there can be no doubt as to what is here in view. In Jer_32:6-15 we read of a field being bought, and the receipt (the "evidence") of the purchase is termed a "book," and this book was "sealed." It is to a similar transaction that Revelation 5 refers. The book seen by the apostle contains the title deeds to this earth. These title deeds which Adam lost have been recovered by Christ. They have been recovered by "purchase," and the price paid was the precious blood of the Lamb. In Mat_13:44 we read of a Man who "goeth and selleth all that He hath, and buyeth that field" and in verse 38 (Mat_13:38) of the same chapter we are told "The field is the world." Hence it is that the apostle was told, "Weep not: behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof" (Rev_5:5). What is seen in vision in Revelation 5 becomes actual fact when the Lord Jesus returns to the earth. It will be at that time the "purchased possession"—the earth—is "redeemed" (Eph_1:14). Hence, when he comes back, His first act will be to eject Satan from it, establish His Kingdom upon it, and exercise "dominion" over it.
Another Scripture which throws light upon the Millennium in relation to Christ is 1Pe_1:13. Here the second coming of our Lord (to the earth) is termed, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." This is in contrast to the first advent. When He was here before, His Divine glory was veiled and much of His power and majesty were concealed. But when He comes back again His Divine glory shall be fully manifested, instead of appearing as the gentle Lamb, He will come as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Instead of standing before human tribunals to be judged of men, He will summon all nations before Him and sit in judgment upon them. Instead of appearing in humiliation, weakness, and shame, He will be revealed in regal power and majesty. Instead of coming to be the Victim, He will return as the Victor, to sit upon the Throne of His Glory. So, then, the Millennium is the time when our Lord enters into the exercise of His Kingly office, when He will reign in power and exercise dominion over all the earth, and when His personal Glory shall be fully manifested. We turn now to consider,
3. The Millennium in relation to the Church.
As we have seen in previous chapters, it is at the first stage of Christ’s second coming that the Church is removed from the earth. At the Redeemer’s descent from Heaven, the Church, like Enoch and Elijah, is miraculously caught up, caught up to meet the Lord in the air and evermore shall it be with its glorious Head. Therefore, when the Savior returns to the earth, the Church will accompany Him. This is clear from Colossians 3:4 and Jude 14, so often quoted in these pages.
Exactly what part the Church will play during the Millennium it is not easy to say. Few details are revealed. A moment’s reflection will show why this is the case. It is in the Old Testament that the Millennium receives the fullest consideration, whereas the Church is the subject of New Testament revelation. Moreover, we must remember that the Millennium is the time when God’s Kingdom is revealed on earth, whereas the Church is a Heavenly creation, and has a heavenly citizenship and destiny (Php_3:20; 1Pe_1:4). Nevertheless, one or two things are sure. The Church will be with Christ throughout the Millennium, and not only so, the saints will reign with Him—"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the brook, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on (or "over") the earth (Rev_5:9-10). And again we read, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Rev_20:6). Who can picture the blessed accomplishment of this promise! For two thousand years the saints have (more or less) lived as strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Many of them have been maligned, ostracized, persecuted and martyred. They went forth unto Christ "without the camp, bearing His reproach" (Heb. 13:18). But now shall they be richly rewarded. They suffered "with Him" and now shall they be also "glorified together" (Rom_8:17). And then will it be fully manifested that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom_8:18).
In the Parable of the Pounds we have a Scripture which sets forth one aspect of the reward which shall he enjoyed by the faithful in that day. "And He (Christ) said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities" (Luk_19:17). This Scripture seems to intimate that during the Millennium the saints will occupy a prominent part in the government of the world. Yea, it is written, "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?" (1Co_6:2). Ah! how different things will then be. The first shall be last, and the last first. Positions shall be completely reversed. Today the children of God (that is, those who really walk as such) are despised and hated by the world. This is the promise of our Lord: "And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father" (Rev_2:26-27). Yes, Christ’s position. Christ’s power, Christ’s prerogatives, shall be shared by His people, for He and they are one.
Again, it is during the Millennium that the Unity of the Church—in contradistinction to the innumerable sects in Christendom which now divide believers—will be fully manifested, and our Lord’s prayer of Joh_17:22-23 fulfilled— "And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou has sent Me, and hast loved thrum, as Thou hast loved Me." Not until the "Day of Christ" will the world "know" these ‘things, for then it is that we shall all have come "in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph_4:18). Yes, and then it is, also that Christ shall come "to be glorified in His saints and admired in all them that believe" (2Th_1:10). In that day, the Church will be an object of beauty, wonderment, and admiration to all the world. It will then be fully seen what great things the Lord hath done for His Church, in giving it a higher place—a place nearer to Himself than that which even the holy angels will occupy. We turn now to consider,
4. The Millennium in relation to Israel.
"And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,—Unto thy seed have I given this land" (Gen_15:17-18). Here the two great periods of Israel’s history were made known to Abram in figure. The vision of the smoking furnace and the burning lamp intimated that the history of Abraham’s descendants was to be a checkered one. It was a prophecy in symbolic action; and like all prophecy was to have a double fulfillment. The order was first the sorrow and suffering, and then the glory and joy. There was first the smoking furnace of Egyptian bondage, and titan the burning lamp which typified the brilliant reign of Solomon. After which there was the furnace, again, the furnace of the Babylonian captivity, and since Israel crucified her Messiah the furnace has been seven times hotter than ever before. Yet is it written, "For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, for Jerusalem’s sake 1 will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth" (Isa_62:1).
A remarkable statement is found in Deu_32:8 which antedates the actual history of the Jews. "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel." Israel is here seen to be present before the mind of God six hundred years before they had any national standing in the earth, and two hundred years before the birth of their father Abraham. Yet, even at that remote period, God assigned to the descendants of the then scattered sons of Adam, their position in the earth according to the number of that people which was not then born. Here, then, we learn God’s purpose concerning the chosen nation—Israel is God’s earthly center.
In Gen_13:14-15, we read "And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward. For all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." And again in Gen_15:18 we are told, "In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto they seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates." The land of Palestine has been given unconditionally to Abraham and his descendants, "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Rom_11:29). But these Divine promises have never received anything more than a partial fulfillment. The patriarchs themselves were but sojourners in a strange country, so much so, they needed to purchase a burying ground it for their dead. It is true that in the days of Joshua, Israel entered into possession of the Promised Land, but it is to be particularly noted that they entered Canaan under the Covenant of Law (see Deu_27:1-3, Deu_27:8-10; Deu_28:1 etc.), and hence their continued tenure of it was conditioned upon their obedience to Jehovah. But, as is well known, they failed to walk in the Divine statutes, and turned aside after false gods. And long did Jehovah bear with their waywardness. Prophet after prophet was sent unto them, calling them to forsake their sins and return unto the Lord and He would abundantly pardon. But in vain. Ultimately the point was reached when God’s patience became exhausted, and in judgment upon them He sent them into captivity, from whence nothing more than a remnant has ever returned to their own land. It was to be descendants of this remnant that the Lord Jesus came. To the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" He was sent (Mat_10:5-7; Mat_15:24). But He received no better treatment at their hands than did the prophets who were before him—"He came unto His own and His own received Him not."—He was despised and rejected of men, and Israel disowned their King and put Him to a shameful death. While their Messiah was hanging upon the Cross, "All the people said, His blood be on us, and on our children" (Mat_27:25), and God took them at their word! A few years later Jerusalem was besieged, captured and destroyed by the armies of Titus; hundreds of thousands of Jews were slain, and the remainder of them carried away into captivity. Since that time they have been a homeless nation, and wanderers on the face of the earth. Literally has the prophecy of Hosea been fulfilled, "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king" (Hos_3:4). And yet, in spite of all, they have preserved their national individuality, and have never been absorbed by the other nations.
Now, it is evident that the nation of Israel has been preserved for a purpose, and what that purpose is, God’s Word makes known. A marvelous future yet awaits these descendants of Abraham. Jerusalem is now trodden down of the Gentiles, but it is only to continue thus "Until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luk_21:24). The tabernacle of David, now fallen down, is to be restored (Act_15:16), and the one who has been for so long the sport of the nations shall yet become its "head" (Deu_28:13).
The restoration of Israel occupies a most prominent place in the Scriptures of truth and three things should be particularly noted in connection therewith. First, the restoration of Israel cannot take place until after the Church has been removed from the earth. Second, the restoration of the entire nation will be a gradual one. Third, restored Israel will occupy a much more exalted and glorious position than any it has held in the past, not excepting the reign of Solomon. The first of these three statements is based upon Act_15:14-17 where we are expressly told that it is not until "after" God has taken out of the Gentiles a people for His name that He will return and build again the tabernacle of David. The second and third statement, above, will now be considered at more length.
In Zec_12:9-10 we are told, "And I will pour upon the House of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierce, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." Here is the starting-point of Israel’s moral restoration, namely the repentance of Judah. Be it noted that this prophecy contemplates the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem only, for it is not until a later date that God deals with the Ten Tribes. With the above Scripture should be linked 2Co_3:15-16—"But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it (Israel) shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away." One of the first consequences of Judah’s turning unto the Lord in repentance will be the removal of the veil now upon their heart.
The restoration of the Ten Tribes is brought before us in Ezekiel 34—the whole chapter should be read— "For thus saith the Lord God; behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that He is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will teed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God" (Eze_34:11-15). The Ten Tribes restored to Palestine shall be united to the House of Judah and the two Houses become one again—"Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the Children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land: And I will make them a nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one King shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out in all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so they shall be My people, and I will be their God. And David My Servant shall be King over them; and they all shall have one Shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land which I have given unto Jacob My Secant, wherein your father have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and My Secant David shall be their Prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them: it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and will multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctity Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore" (Eze_37:21-28).
With the restored and re-united twelve tribes God will make a new covenant—"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they stroll be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer_31:31-34; cf. Jer_32:37-44; Isa_59:20-21).
Early in the Millennium Jerusalem will be rebuilt: "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling-places; and the city shall be builded upon her own little hill, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof (Jer_30:18, cf. Jer_31:38-40). Furthermore, the Temple itself will be re-built, built under the immediate supervision of the Lord Himself—"Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the mart whose name is The BRANCH; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the Temple of the Lord: Even He shall build the Temple of the Lord: and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both and they that are far off shall come and build in the Temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent Me unto you." (