Kingdom Foreshadowing Kingdom :: By Mark A. Becker
In this study guide, Kingdom Foreshadowing Kingdom, we are going to delve into the similarities and distinct differences between the Messianic Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal Kingdom.
We will be citing several Tanakh (Old Testament) passages for the Messianic Millennial Kingdom and primarily utilizing Revelation 21 and 22 for the Eternal Kingdom, comparing the similarities and distinct differences between these two kingdoms within several topical subheadings.
All underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.
Regeneration vs. New Creation
Messianic Millennial Kingdom: When Christ comes back at the end of the Tribulation, He will restore or regenerate Earth, the heavens, and men and women’s bodies to immaculate conditions.
“Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” – Matthew 19:28
The animal kingdom will also have an Edenic-like restoration.
“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.
“And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” – Isaiah 11:6-9
Messiah Yeshua’s regeneration of the heavens and Earth foreshadows God’s new creation of a new heavens and a new Earth in the Eternal Kingdom.
Eternal Kingdom: After Satan’s release from prison and the last rebellion at the conclusion of the Messianic Millennial Kingdom – followed by the Great White Throne Judgment – God will create a new creation, evidently based upon the originally exceedingly perfect creation He created in the beginning.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea…
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” – Revelation 21:1, 3-5
This is the Kingdom we should all long for – where “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Jerusalem vs. New Jerusalem
Messianic Millennial Kingdom: Earthly Jerusalem will be where Jesus rules and reigns from during His Messianic Millennial Kingdom
“At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem…” – Jeremiah 3:17
Messiah Yeshua, the Lord God, will come to Jerusalem to set up His mighty Throne.
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
“Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.” – Isaiah 40:9-10
Jesus Christ’s righteous rule from earthly Jerusalem in Israel in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom foreshadows the New Jerusalem that will descend from the new heavens to the new Earth in the Eternal Kingdom.
Eternal Kingdom: The detailed beautiful description of the Holy City, New Jerusalem, can be found in Revelation 21:12-23.
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband…
“And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal…” – Revelation 21:2, 10-11
What a Holy City this will be!
Temple vs. Throne of God
Messianic Millennial Kingdom: The Millennial Temple will be present in the Messianic Kingdom. Ezekiel chapters 40-43 give the physical details of this Temple.
“And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.” – Ezekiel 41:23
The Messianic Millennial Temple in Jerusalem foreshadows the Throne of God within the New Jerusalem in the Eternal Kingdom.
Eternal Kingdom: In the Eternal Kingdom, there is no Temple, as “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of” the Holy City, New Jerusalem.
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” – Revelation 21:22
Since “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of” the New Jerusalem, our Lord’s promise to the church at Philadelphia takes on an even greater meaning:
“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” – Revelation 3:12
In God’s eyes, we will be pillars within the New Jerusalem. Each of us will be a pillar in the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, as the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are Personally the Temple of the Holy City, New Jerusalem, and we “shall go no more out” of our eternal home! Why would we?!?
The Messianic Millennial Kingdom will be glorious compared to our sin-drenched world today; however, the curse will not have been entirely removed, as sin will still be found within the hearts of those born into that Kingdom. And death, though rare, will also be present. The curse, in all its forms, including death, will not be found in the Eternal Kingdom.
The Throne of God, gloriously, will be present in the Holy City, New Jerusalem!
“And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” – Revelation 22:3-4
Consequently, in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom, the Throne of God will not be there, as God the Father will remain in heaven throughout, but Messiah’s Throne will be present, for it is His Kingdom!
“Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” – Matthew 19:28
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory…” – Matthew 25:31
“And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” – Luke 22:29-30
The Messianic Millennial Kingdom is Messiah’s and Israel’s Kingdom. As such, Yeshua promised His Jewish disciples that they would judge the twelve tribes of Israel and eat and drink at His table in His Kingdom in Jerusalem.
In the Eternal Kingdom, however, “the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it [New Jerusalem]” (Revelation 22:3), just as John “heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).
Now that is a Kingdom I cannot wait to be a part of!
Nations Coming to the Temple vs. Nations Coming to the Holy City
Messianic Millennial Kingdom: Those flesh and blood Gentile human beings who survive the Tribulation and are found worthy to enter into our Lord’s Messianic Millennial Kingdom – the Sheep of the Separation of the Sheep and Goats Judgment – and their subsequent offspring will all come to Jerusalem and its Temple to worship the King for 1,000 years.
“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” – Zechariah 14:16
Israel will be the leading nation of all nations, Messiah, the world’s King, and Jerusalem the Messianic Millennial Kingdom’s capital.
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
“And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” – Micah 4:1-2
Israel, as promised, will be the head and not the tail any longer.
The nations that will come to Jerusalem to worship Messiah Yeshua in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom foreshadows the nations coming to the New Jerusalem in the Eternal Kingdom.
Eternal Kingdom: The nations will come to and into New Jerusalem in the Eternal Kingdom.
“And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
“And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
“And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.” – Revelation 21:24-26
The Holy City, New Jerusalem, will always be open for holy and righteous business!
Sacrifices vs. No Sacrifices
Messianic Millennial Kingdom: There will be sacrifices in the Millennial Temple, as noted in Ezekiel 45:9-25, 46:1-24, along with other ordinances.
These sacrifices are meant to be a memorial to what Jesus Christ has done in His perfect, once for all sacrifice on the cross for all people – Jew and Gentile – who come to Him by grace through faith. Those born in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom will evidently need this visual aid of an innocent substitute to fully understand the gravity of sin and to demonstrate what Christ also did for them on the cross to reconcile them back to God – for those who would believe.
Here is an example of some of the sacrifices that will be offered for Israel:
“And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.” – Ezekiel 45:17
Eternal Kingdom: Because there is no Temple and Altar in the Holy City, New Jerusalem, there will obviously be no sacrifices of any kind in the Eternal Kingdom. All sacrifices will have ceased at the close of the Millennial Kingdom and will never be needed again in the Eternal Kingdom.
River of Waters from the Temple vs. Water of Life
Messianic Millennial Kingdom: There will be a river flowing out from under the Temple in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom.
“Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
“Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.” – Ezekiel 47:1-2
These waters are emanating from The House of God, The Messianic Millennial Temple. Ezekiel 47:3-6 shows the size and depths of the waters, and Ezekiel 47:8-11 gives the details of the teeming aquatic life that will be within the waters.
The river of waters that issue out from the Messianic Millennial Temple in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom foreshadows the Water of Life that will issue out of the Throne of God in the New Jerusalem in the Eternal Kingdom.
Eternal Kingdom: There is no mention of aquatic life in the “pure river of water of life” in the Eternal Kingdom. This Water of Life in the Eternal Kingdom emanates from “the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” – Revelation 22:1
“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
“And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” – Revelation 21:5-7
What promises we have in Messiah Yeshua!
Trees vs. The Tree of Life
Messianic Millennial Kingdom: There will be many trees lining both sides of the river that flows from the Temple in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom.
“Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other… And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months [literally, “their fruit every month they will bear”], because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” – Ezekiel 47:7, 12
The many trees that will be on either side of the river of waters that flow from the Temple in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom foreshadows the one Tree of Life that spans both sides of the river of the Water of Life in the Eternal Kingdom.
Eternal Kingdom: There will be one Tree of Life that spans the Water of Life that flows from the Throne of God and the Lamb within the New Jerusalem.
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” – Revelation 22:1-2
Interestingly, both the trees in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom and the Tree of Life in the Eternal Kingdom will provide fruit for sustenance. The trees in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom “shall bring forth new fruit according to his months” – that is, each tree will provide its own unique fruit every month – while the Tree of Life in the Eternal Kingdom will “bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month.” What an amazing Tree this will be, baring twelve different fruits every month!
Similarly, the trees in the Millennial Kingdom will provide “medicine” and The Tree of Life “healing for the nations.”
The “medicine” in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom appears to be more of a physical reliever for the human beings that will fill that Kingdom, while the “healing of the nations” in the Eternal Kingdom seems to be more spiritual and emotional in nature.
The Greek word for “healing” is θεραπείαν “therapeian” from 2322 θεραπεία “therapeia” (where we get our English word therapy), and very intriguingly is also rendered household in Luke 12:42.
This “healing for the nations” in the Eternal Kingdom will undoubtedly be a part of, and in addition to, God’s mercy when…
“… God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” – Revelation 21:4
What a merciful and compassionate God we have. Many of our tears will undoubtedly result from seeing our family members and close friends – or our household – who rejected God’s free gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, thrown into the Lake of Fire after The Great White Throne Judgment, which will be the last event before God creates a new heavens and new Earth for the Eternal Kingdom (Revelation 20:11-15).
Jesus, speaking to His church at Ephesus, promised them and us:
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” – Revelation 2:7
Since the bride of Christ will be resurrected in glorified everlasting bodies, it seems that our having access to the Water of Life and Tree of Life in the Eternal Kingdom is more of a privilege than a necessity. Truly, these are special promises from our Lord and Savior!
What a beautiful sight this Tree of Life, spanning the Water of Life flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the New Jerusalem, will be!
Reigning Over the Nations vs. Reigning Over the Nations?
Messianic Millennial Kingdom: All resurrected Saints will reign with Christ over the nations in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom.
The bride of Christ shall reign over those born in flesh and blood bodies, as recorded in the letter to the church at Thyatira:
“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.” – Revelation 2:26-27
Every Saint in the cumulative First Resurrection, which includes all the Saints from creation through the Tribulation, will reign with Messiah Jesus in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom as priests of God.
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” – Revelation 20:6
The resurrected Saints from creation through the Tribulation will rule and reign with Christ over the nations is a foreshadowing of God’s people reigning on the new Earth from New Jerusalem.
Eternal Kingdom: All Saints will reign forever and ever in the Eternal Kingdom.
“And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
“And there shall be no night there [New Jerusalem]; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” – Revelation 22:4-5
Who or what shall those in the Holy City, New Jerusalem, “reign for ever and ever” over?
I am not a “prophetic mystery man.” I do not see a mystery under every prophetic rock, and I spurn prophetic sensationalism as best as I can. But I do see a mystery here when I consider what I have termed “The Last Sheep.”
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” – Revelation 22:14
While this passage can certainly be applied to all believers in every dispensation in general, and the church specifically – for Christ’s commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:3) – there may very well be another group of believers this verse is addressing.
Everyone since creation, from the resurrection/rapture of the church up to the resurrection of those beheaded by Antichrist – referred to in totality as the First Resurrection (Revelation 20:6) – will have already attained their glorified everlasting bodies, and their right to The Tree of Life is assured.
And since all believers who have been resurrected in their glorified everlasting bodies will have their eternal home in the Holy City, New Jerusalem, itself, then this blessing could very well be for those who are the Last Sheep.
Who are they? What is their destiny? Can we know for certain, or can we at least make an educated Scriptural guess with what we do know?
Without being dogmatic, attempting to answer these questions and more are what The Mystery of the Last Sheep seeks to address.
Conclusion
One of the major reasons I put this study guide together is that recently I have come to realize that some Bible teachers – both past and present – have erroneously taught that Revelation 22 is speaking of the Messianic Millennial Kingdom. Clearly, as we have seen, this is not so.
Similar to Revelation 17 and 18, through Revelation 19:4, Revelation 21 and 22 are to be considered one unit.
As we noted in God’s Kingdoms – Part 5 – Summary and Conclusion:
When it comes to the book of Revelation, only a handful of verses are dedicated to the Millennial Kingdom, with virtually no description of this kingdom – other than its length and Satan’s imprisonment – as those narratives are provided for us in the Tanakh (Old Testament) when God’s promises to Israel will be fulfilled.
On the other hand, the last two full chapters of Revelation are devoted entirely to the Eternal Kingdom. This really should not surprise us, as the Eternal Kingdom will be the culmination and consummation of God’s plan for mankind that essentially began with the Salvation Kingdom that Messiah Yeshua procured for us from His sacrifice on the cross, along with His death, burial, and resurrection. The Eternal Kingdom is the kingdom that God has prepared before the foundation of the world for those who love Him.
My prayer is that this study guide to the similarities and distinct differences between the Messianic Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal Kingdom – Kingdom Foreshadowing Kingdom – has helped to alleviate any unfortunate confusions.
When the Bible student and teacher keep in mind these similarities and distinct differences between these two Kingdoms, properly cutting straight or rightly dividing the Word of Truth, they should find this of great help in their own personal Bible studies.
May our Lord and King richly bless you all as you all continue to love and serve our Lord and love and serve others. Keep reaching the lost for Christ while we still have time.
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May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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