Chapter 36: His Reign on the Throne of David

After the war is over, the beast and false prophet destroyed, and Satan bound, the reign of the Son of Man on the throne of David will begin—a thousand years that will fulfill prophecies spoken long ages before. He will be the only King, the Son of the Highest, the Son of Man reigning over the earth:

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 (Luke 1:32–33).

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth… and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5–6).

This was no late idea. All through the Old Testament it was promised that the Messiah would reign on David’s throne—a promise God confirmed with an oath (Psalm 132:11; Psalm 89:3–4; 2 Samuel 7:12–13; Isaiah 9:6–7; Luke 1:31–32). The angel Gabriel told Mary that her Son would receive “the throne of his father David,” and that His kingdom would never end. That throne—long empty since Israel’s kings fell—will at last be filled by great David’s greater Son.

Here it is right to pause and acknowledge, honestly and humbly, that sincere Bible-believing Christians have understood the thousand-year reign in more than one way. This book presents the premillennial understanding—that Christ returns before a literal thousand-year reign on the earth, ruling from Jerusalem on the throne of David. Other faithful Christians hold the amillennial view (that the “thousand years” is a symbolic picture of Christ’s present reign from heaven, between His two comings) or the postmillennial view (that the gospel will so advance that Christ returns after a long golden age). These are matters on which we may discuss, and even differ, without dividing; godly people who love the same Bible read Revelation 20 differently. What all agree upon is the blessed core: Christ will return, He will judge, He will reign, and God wins.³⁵⁶

A Regenerated Earth

The thousand-year reign of the Lord Jesus will take place on this present earth—but an earth renewed. During the Great Tribulation the earth will have been terribly ravaged by the judgments of God; and so the Lord will regenerate the heavens and the earth, restoring it for Himself, His bride, the Jewish people, and those of the nations counted worthy to enter. Jesus Himself spoke of this renewal:

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).

Notice the word “regeneration”—a making-new. The same power that makes a sinner a new creature will one day make the groaning creation new. During His reign, people will go on living on the earth in their various nations; the environment will be restored and made fruitful again, and human life will be long, as it was in the earliest days—the days of Adam, Seth, Enosh, and Methuselah, when people lived for hundreds of years.

This present age of the Millennium is not yet the final, eternal state; death has not yet been fully abolished, though it is greatly restrained. Isaiah paints the picture:

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth… the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her… 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… The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock… They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD (Isaiah 65:17–25).

What a world that will be: no more untimely weeping; long life restored, so that to die at a hundred would be to die but a child; homes built and enjoyed, vineyards planted and their fruit eaten; prayers answered before they are finished—“before they call, I will answer.” And the animal creation itself at peace: the wolf feeding beside the lamb, the lion eating straw like an ox. The long war between man and nature, and between the creatures themselves, will be stilled, for the Prince of Peace will reign.³⁵⁷

Iniquity Even in a Perfect Kingdom

Astonishingly, even in this near-perfect kingdom—with the King reigning in person from Jerusalem, and Satan himself bound—the shadow of sin will still be found in the human heart. There will be those who, though the devil no longer tempts them, will still by their own free will refuse to come up to Jerusalem to worship the King. This is the deep truth about sin: it is not merely the devil’s doing but our own; and where hearts remain unyielded, iniquity appears even under the most perfect government imaginable. Upon such rebellion God sends a fitting discipline—the withholding of rain:

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. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain (Zechariah 14:16–17).

Here is a sobering lesson: a perfect environment does not by itself produce a perfect heart. Even Eden, unspoiled, saw rebellion; and even the Millennium, with the King present and the devil bound, will reveal that the human heart needs not merely good surroundings but a new nature. Only the new birth—not even a thousand years of paradise—can finally cure the disease of sin.

The Saints Reigning With Christ

Throughout this thousand-year reign, the saints will reign together with Christ. Here, in summary, is what Scripture indicates will be true of the saints and of those living on the earth during His reign:

• Those who remain in the nations (and they will be few, for many will have died in the tribulations, plagues, and the war of Armageddon) will go on living, and will go up to Jerusalem, where Jesus and the saints reign and rule the world.

• Only the saints will be raised in the first resurrection to reign with Christ, and for them there will be no more death; “the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (Revelation 20:4–5).

• Those who remain in the nations (not yet transformed, their bodies still mortal) will continue to live—but with greatly extended life—and will marry and bear children; a person dying at a hundred will be reckoned to have died young (Isaiah 65:20).

• The whole earth will be wonderfully at peace, for the devil is bound for the thousand years; even the wolf and the lamb will feed together (Isaiah 65:25; Revelation 20:1–3).

• At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be loosed for a little while and will gather the nations for one final rebellion—the war of Gog and Magog—which God will crush utterly, before the great white throne judgment and the eternal state (Revelation 20:7–10).

Christ’s rule will extend, both spiritually and literally, over the entire earth. The heavens and the earth will be renewed, restored toward Eden-like conditions; the earth will be fruitful, and men will enjoy the fruit of their labors. Let us close this chapter by hearing how the Scriptures describe the character of His leadership during those thousand years on the throne of David:

• “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4).

• “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).

• “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one… and men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited” (Zechariah 14:9–11).

Righteousness for the poor, justice for the meek, the knowledge of God’s glory covering the earth as the waters cover the sea, one Lord reigning over all, and Jerusalem dwelling in safety at last—this is the reign of the King on the throne of His father David. The One who came first as a Lamb, and who will come again as a King, will at last be seen and owned by all the earth for who He truly is: Yahweh, the I AM, Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords. “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth.”