People in The Messianic Kingdom
Who will live in the Messianic Kingdom (Millennium) at the end of the Tribulation? What will they look like? How many will there be? These are good questions, and Scripture supplies a lot of the answers.
During the Millennium there will be two people groups on earth: the Jewish people, and the Gentiles. Additionally, there will be two different types of bodies for the Millennial population, resurrected bodies and natural bodies.
- Peace By William Sttrutt Cir 1896 depicting Isaiah 11:6-7
Those going into the Messianic Kingdom in resurrected bodies will be:
- The people who are in the Church from the first Pentecost until the Rapture (I Thessalonians 4:14-17; I Corinthians 15:54; Jude 1:14; Revelation 19:14).
- Old Testament Saints (Isaiah 26:19).
- Great Tribulation Saints (Revelation 20:4).
- Possibly the 144,000 Jewish evangelists (to be described later).
Those going into the Messianic Kingdom in natural bodies will be:
- The Jews who made it through the Tribulation.
- The Gentiles who survived the Tribulation and the Lord’s judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
It is impossible to determine the population numbers of the Messianic Kingdom for these reasons:
- Unknown number of the members of the Church for its entire length of time.
- Unknown number of the Old Testament saints.
- Unknown number of Tribulation Saints.
- Unknown number of the Gentiles who enter the Kingdom.
The Jewish People in the Messianic Kingdom
- STC172909 A Rabbi tying the Phylacteries to the arm of a boy (oil on canvas) by Jewish School (19th century)
The present world wide Jewish Population stands at 13, 900,000
(2015, www.worldometers.info/world-population ). During the Tribulation two thirds (2/3), or 9,174,000, will die (Zechariah 13:8). That leaves 4,726,000 who will remain. This remaining 4,726,000 is known as “the remnant” because they made it alive through the Great Tribulation. Within this group, 144,000 will be “sealed” (Revelation 7:4). “Sealed” in the Greek is the word is sphragízō, from Strongs G4973, which means “to stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security” or “preservation from Satan (literally or figuratively, or possibly resurrected)” for the purpose of evangelizing the world for Christ during the last half of the Tribulation. The protection they have appears to come from a resurrected body. 4,582,000 Jews with natural bodies remain. This is a minimum number of Jewish people going into the Messianic Kingdom.
The New Covenant With Israel
Jeremiah 31:31-34
31Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32not 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 Jehovah. 33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more (ASV, 1901).
All the Jews going into the Messianic Kingdom will be converted and become connected to God. As Jeremiah said, God will place His law in their hearts and they all will know Him.
The Remnant will be Sinless
Zephaniah 3:13
13The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid (ASV, 1901).
This verse clearly states that “the remnant” of Israel will be sinless in the Messianic Kingdom. They will do no iniquity, nor speak any lies, or utter any deceit.
Ezekiel 36:25
25And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them. 28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29And I will save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine upon you (ASV, 1901).
God says to the Nation Israel, “And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.” He also says that He will give them “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you”. He says He “will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” which will create a sinless state in each Jew. None of this will be resisted by “the remnant” ,who now clearly believe in the Messiah.
Israel’s Population Will Increase in The Messianic Kingdom
- Scene from the 1956 movie The Ten Commandments.
Ezekiel 36:37-38
37Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: For this, moreover, will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them: I will increase them with men like a flock. 38As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am Jehovah (ASV, 1901).
This text follows from the previous section, and explains that the national salvation of the Nation Israel will result in a population increase of Jews, all knowing the Lord. This increase must come from the remnant of 4.5 million who made it through the Tribulation because they will have the natural bodies.
Ezekiel 37:23
23neither 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 of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God (ASV, 1901).
This is another affirmation that the Jews in the Messianic Kingdom will be sinless as the Lord will “cleanse them” and they will no longer defile themselves with idols, detestable things, or any other sins. As a result they will not participate in the Gog and Magog uprising led by Satan at the end of the Messianic Kingdom (Revelation 20:7-9).
The Gentile People in the Millennial Kingdom
There will be three groups of Gentile people in the Messianic Kingdom:
- Those who were part of the Church.
- Those who were saved during the Great Tribulation.
- Those who survived the Great Tribulation and the Lord’s judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
The Bible does tell us something of the number of Gentiles who will perish during the Tribulation. The present world population is approximately 7,300,000,000 (2015, www.worldometers.info/world-population). Combining the different verses of the book of Revelation, we learn that about 58% of the world’s population will die in the Great Tribulation:
- Roman Destruction of Jerusalem by David Roberts Cir 1850
Revelation 6:8
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth (KJV).
This verse in Revelation describes what happens as the Lord Jesus opens the fourth seal of the scroll. It releases a figure that is named “Death and Hell” (in the Greek “Hades”) who rides the pale horse, and he kills 25% of the earth’s population, that is, about 1,825,000,000 people. Some of these will be Jews and are accounted for in the two-third reduction.
Revelation 9:15, 18
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men…. 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths (KJV).
Here the “four angels” that are released to kill “by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths”, and an additional 33% die. Note that these “angels” are specifically prepared for this job to be done at a certain predetermined time. This happens during the sounding of the sixth trumpet judgment. This amounts to another 2,409,000,000 dead of the world’s population. Many more Gentiles will be killed at the Campaign of Armageddon, which are unquantifiable. Some of these will be Jews and are accounted for in the two-third reduction.
To summarize these figures so far:
Approximate Word Population Reduction
7,300,000,000 people in the world as of 2015
9,174,000 Jews who die during the Tribulation
1,825,000,000 25% who die in the fourth seal judgment
2,409,000,000 33% who die in the sixth trumpet judgment
3,066,000,000 Remaining, minus the unknown Campaign of Armageddon deaths
The Nature of the Two Bodies in the Messianic Kingdom
The Bible speaks of two types of human bodies that will be in the Messianic Kingdom, natural and resurrected, and Jews and Gentile will be present in both types of bodies.
Natural bodies do not need further explanation, but resurrected bodies do.
Resurrected Bodies
The very act of resurrection implies immortality in which we are raised to live forever.
- The Resurrection of Israel in The Vision of Ezekiel by Francisco Collantes Cir 1630.
The Doctrine of the Resurrection states that at death the human spirit is separated from the body (Genesis 3:19; Ecclesiastes 12:7; 2 Corinthians 5:8). A “resurrection” is an event where a dead body is raised to immortal life for an explicit purpose. This is different from somebody “coming back to life”. This doctrine is two-fold and pertains to (A) the resurrection of Christ and (B) the resurrection of humanity, including both saved and unsaved. In other words death does not end life it starts it!
In the Old Testament, the Doctrine of Resurrection is taught in Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2-3; Hosea 12:14. It was believed by the patriarchs, and revealed through the prophets (Genesis 22:5; with Hebrews 11:19; Job 19:25-27). The word “resurrection” does not appear in the Old Testament. It is usually described as dead men rising from the earth to life.
In the New Testament it is taught in John 5:25-29,I Corinthians 15:20-23; I Thessalonians 4:14-17; and Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15. This doctrine contains the implication of immortality, which means that they are raised to live forever. Christ was the first one to be raised from the dead with a resurrected body. Others were raised from the dead, such as Lazarus, had a normal body and physically died again later.
The Resurrection of the dead Believers occurs in five stages, beginning with 1 Corinthians 15:20-23:
1 Corinthians 15:20-23
20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (KJV)
The rest of the stages of resurrection are described in other books of the Scripture:
- First, Christ rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:2-23).
- Next will be the resurrection of the Church age believers at the Rapture. (I Thessalonians 4:16).
- Next will be the resurrection of the two witnesses in the middle of the Great Tribulation. (Revelation 11:11-12)
- Next will be the resurrection of Old Testament Saints (Isaiah 26:19).
- Last will be the resurrection of the Tribulation Saints (Revelation 20:4)
There is one more resurrection, and it is for unbelievers only. It happens after the one thousand year Millennial Kingdom on earth is completed, and none of these unsaved people will be in the Eternal Kingdom (Revelation 20:13).
Our Bodies Change
These verses in I Corinthians 15:54-58 describe that the body changes from corruption to incorruption, and is the final victory over death:
- From Godlikeproductions.com Artist unknown.
I Corinthians 15:50-58
50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? 56The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law 57But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (KJV)
The nature of the glorified body is described here:
1 Corinthians 15:35-49
35But some [man] will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? 36[Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other [grain]: 38But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 39All flesh [is] not the same flesh: but [there is] one [kind of] flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, [and] another of birds. 40[There are] also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial [is] another. 41[There is] one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory. 42So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. 46Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven. 48As [is] the earthy, such [are] they also that are earthy: and as [is] the heavenly, such [are] they also that are heavenly. 49And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (KJV)
Believers have a glorified, incorruptible body. We have Christ’s Risen body as an example:
Philippians 3:21
21Who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (KJV)
Some further information may be seen from the resurrected Jesus’ body, but we do not know what attributes are from the resurrection and which are attributed to His deity:
- Resurrection by Giovanni Bellini cir 1475-79
- His voice was recognized as being the same one He had before His death. (John 20:16)
- His physical features were recognized although not always immediately. (John 20:26-29)
- It was a real body of flesh and bone since it was embraceable. (John 20:17; 27)
- He was able to suddenly disappear. (Luke 24:31)
- He could go through walls. (John 20:19)
- His body could eat food. (Luke 24:41-43)
To summarize, a resurrected body will be:
- A body of resurrection power.
- A spiritual body.
- A heavenly body.
- An immortal body.
Conclusion
The population of the Messianic Kingdom will be made up of both Jews and Gentiles who will have either a resurrected body or a natural body. All will acknowledge Jesus as their King and Messiah. The Jews with resurrected bodies will consist of those who were in the Church, The Old Testament Saints, and those who were martyred because they will be believers in Jesus. The Other Jews going into the Messianic Kingdom will be those who converted during the Tribulation and survived it. They will not have resurrected bodies but will be sinless.
Daniel E,. Woodhead
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