Sinners in The Millennium?

Posted 6/15/2007

Grace be unto you all and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. There are questions that may arise in the minds of some people concerning the fate of sinners who survive through the great tribulation and thereafter enter the millennium that are to come upon this present world. Some are of the opinion that at the second coming of Christ and His saints at Armageddon, all sinners that will be living on the earth at that time having survived through the great tribulation without taking the mark of the beast will be judged and cast into hell, the abode of transgressors. This may persuade some to think that only the righteous living that became righteous after the rapture of the tribulation saints and did not take the mark of the beast will enter the millennium; that no sinner will enter into it except those that are born during that period. According to the scriptures, this theory that everybody who enters the Millennium will be born again and that the only sinners on earth during that time will be born in that period is erroneous. We have written this epistle to reveal to you all what is written in the scripture of truth concerning these things and the fate of some sinners who will be fortunate to survive the great tribulation without taking the mark of the beast, and who also did not persecute Israel and Zion during her time of travail. Below are proofs that some sinners will enter the millennium and will be given the opportunity to hear the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the very least that God could do for those that have never heard the gospel before but yet are in this world, and eventually survive through the great tribulation into the millennium

• There is no statement in Scripture saying that all men who enter the millennium will be righteous or born again. We cannot teach this from Matt 25:31-46 because the righteous mentioned in this scripture are those that did right and helped Israel doing her times of travail, whether born again or not. Any man can feed, clothe, visit, and do the other things said regarding the sheep nations of Matt 25:31-46 who enter the Millennium, without being born again. If these things by themselves alone constituted the new birth then many on earth today that are living in sin would have to be classed with the righteous; and this, the Scriptures would not agree to. The judgment of the nations as written in Matt 25 will be to determine who is worthy of entrance into the millennial kingdom to live in it; and being born again is not stated as a requirement either here or elsewhere. The truth is that not every person in all nations of the world will be gathered together at the judgment of the nations at the second coming of Christ; for some will not know that Christ has even landed on the planet earth until later. This is clearly written in Isa 66:19-21, Zech 8:23 and Isa 2:2-22. The judgment of the nations at the second advent will be an individual judgment of all involved with Israel at the second coming of Christ, and not a judgment of the wicked dead which takes place at the end of the millennium. The reason and basis of this judgment is treatment of Israel. God will curse or bless according to how men have dealt with Israel. He will forever fulfill the Abrahamic covenant which is eternal.
• It has to be admitted that there will be sinners in the millennium by children being born in the period as such, since all men born into this world are born in sin. For as it is written: in Adam, all die. Can it not also be true then that sinners could enter the millennium? If God would allow people to be born in sin during the millennium and live during that time, why would He destroy every sinner on earth before then, permitting none to enter that period? Merely living at one time or another does not justify the death penalty; it is the breaking of God’s death-penalty laws that determines death in any period. And more so, some on the earth today have not had the opportunity to know God’s commandments and keep it. That there will be sinners on earth during the millennium who will be subjected to the rule of Christ with a rod of iron is clear from Isa 65:20; 11:3-5, Zech 14:16-21, Rev 20:7-10.
• The main statement in Scripture indicating the salvation of men at the second advent of Christ concerns all Israel in Palestine (Isa 66:7-8, Zech 12:10-13:1, 9, Rom 11:25-29). There is no statement even saying that all the Jews still scattered through the world will be converted immediately at the second coming of Christ, much less all the gentiles in all parts of the earth including remote areas, some of whom will not know anything about the second coming of Christ, Armageddon, the judgment of the nations, or Christ’s rule in earth until the missionary and civil rulers go out from Jerusalem to extend this government to all parts of the earth. The idea of a blanket government falling suddenly upon all men in all parts of the earth and automatically taking over all the heathen is partly scriptural but not wholly. Contrarily, the idea that every heathen will be suddenly killed at the second advent of Christ, without an opportunity to hear and know the gospel and a privilege to accept or reject it is unscriptural.
• The truth is that Christ and His armies of holy angels and saints will come to Jerusalem at His second advent to fight and conquer the Antichrist and his armies at the battle of Armageddon on the day of His arrival (Zech 14, Rev 19:11-21). Thereafter, the nations will be gathered to judgment to determine who is worthy of death for mistreatment of Israel – this most likely would not involve every person in every nation on earth, but those responsible in various governments who have had dealings with Israel in the last days (Matt 25:31-46). After this, the resurrected saints and earthly missionaries of Israel will be sent out to preach the gospel (to everyone including sinners brought into the millennium from the previous age), and to take over all parts of the earth until the whole earth is brought under the subjection of Christ (Isa 2:2-4; 11:9; 52:7; 66:19-21, Zech 8:23; 14:16-21). How fast the millennial kingdom of Christ will extend over the entire earth is not known to us. There may be some local wars in heathen lands with ignorant tribes in the interior of certain continents where they have not heard of Jesus Christ in all their lives. These peoples could be some of the sinners entering the millennium as such. Zech 8:23 speaks of heathen submitting because of hearing about God reigning in Zion when Jewish missionaries go out from Zion and Jerusalem to win them to Christ. This again indicates the entrance of sinners into the millennium from a previous age
• It is plainly stated in Isa 2:2-4 that many, when they hear of Christ and His reign in Jerusalem, will say, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion will go forth the law (civil laws of the government), and the word of the Lord (the gospel) from Jerusalem. And He (the Messiah) shall judge among many nations, and shall rebuke many people.” Why would Christ need to judge and rebuke many in the millennium if all people at that time are already born again, and love Him enough to surrender to Him? If missionaries are right in telling us as some people say that at least a billion people in the world have never heard of the name of Jesus Christ, then it stands to reason that there will be multitudes of sinners from the present age for the millennial missionaries to convert. For this reason the Word of the Lord will go out from Jerusalem (Isa 2:2-4) and salvation will be offered to all men in that period (Isa 52:7; 66:19-21). Is it not also written in Zech 14:16-19 that those who refuse to send representatives to Jerusalem to worship Christ at the feast of tabernacles during the millennium will have no rain upon their lands as a sign of punishment? Does this alone not prove that all who enter the millennium will not be born again and obedient to the Lord’s government immediately, and thereafter they shall all be quashed? If all these were to be born-again people, would there be a question of obedience and a threat of punishment?
• From Dan 2:44-45; 7:13-14, 18, 22-27, Rev 11:15 and other Scriptures, we learn that all kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of God and of Christ. No passage hints that these kingdoms will be made up entirely of born-again people. What we do read of these kingdoms is that there will be sinners here at that time (Isa 65:20), men will need to be judged and rebuked (Isa 2:2-4; 11:3-5, Micah 4:3), kingdoms that will not submit will be destroyed (Isa 60:12), men will still need the gospel of salvation (Isa 11:9; 52:7), some will still disobey (Zech 14:16-21) and will eventually be judged, there will be enemies here to put down and subdue (I Corinth 15:24-28), and the final act of putting them down and bringing all things to the complete obedience of God will take place at the end of the 1,000 years (Rev 20:7-10). Many that come to know and obey the gospel of Christ in the millennium will yet be tested one final time at the end of the millennium when Satan shall be loosed for a little season. They will be truly tested to see if they are worthy to enter into God’s eternal new earth where there shall be no sin forever more.
• In 1 Corinth 15:24-28, Eph 1:10, Rev 20:7-10 it is clear that there will be enemies here throughout the entire 1,000 years; so we must conclude that those at the very first of the period will be sinners who have entered the Millennium from a former age. The purpose of Christ’s reign will be to put these enemies under His feet. The final conquering and destruction of all enemies of God and Christ will take place at the end of the 1,000 years, when Satan leads a final rebellion against God accompanied by all the sinners who have lived through the Millennium, having deceived many that once pledged their allegiance to Christ during the millennium thinking they are saved but are not. At this time, they shall all perish and be cast into eternal hell. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Peace be to you all. Maranatha.