Earth Center of the Universe: The Millennial Age

A perfect world still won’t fix a sinful heart and that’s one of the most sobering claims in Bible prophecy. We keep walking through Pastor James W. Knox’s series on the earth as the center of the universe, moving from the “glory age” of Christ’s millennial reign to the final crisis that proves why God must do more than improve our environment.

We connect passages across Matthew 24, Isaiah 40, Zechariah 14, Ezekiel 40–48, 2 Peter 3, and Revelation 20–22 to track the big movements: the return of Jesus Christ to rule and reign, the preparation of the land around Jerusalem, and the promise that the Lord will be King over all the earth. Then we face the hard question of why the millennium has an end, why Satan is loosed, and how the last rebellion is answered with God’s decisive judgment.

From there, the spotlight shifts to the new heaven and new earth and the breathtaking “no more” realities: no more curse, no more death, no more sickness, no more night, and a world illuminated by the presence of God and the Lamb. We close by bringing it home with a clear gospel invitation to trust Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as your only hope of salvation.

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Transcript

Welcome And Series Setup

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Welcome to the Preaching the Cross Radio Podcast, featuring the radio ministry of Pastor James W. Knox of the Bible Baptist Church of Delha, Florida. Our prayer is that these half-hour Bible study programs will bring the lost to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and enable the saved to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Savior. Now here's your host, Pastor James W. Knox.

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All right, thank you so much for that kind word of introduction. I'm Brother James. I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, and I welcome you to the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast. A 30-minute program sponsored in your area by people who believe. The Holy Bible to be the pure and perfect word of God and believe that Bible is the place wherein is revealed. God's own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior for sinful, fallen mankind, the way of salvation through God's Son, that is, by grace through faith, and all the minute details of God's dealings with man on planet Earth, whether it's a saved man on his way to the glory of heaven or an unsaved man on his way to the torment of hell, the Bible will tell you all that you need to know to live about life, uh, all you need to know about the afterlife, about uh previous lives that were lived before yours. Everything you could ever want to know is in the Bible, including the history of God's dealings with the beings that inhabit, have inhabited, and will inhabit planet Earth. And that's been the subject of our discussion now for quite some time on these broadcasts, this being the eleventh program in our series on the earth as the center of the universe. And we

The Millennium And Its Restorations

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hope and pray that these programs have been of interest to you, been very instructive for you, and we trust and pray that the program today will be much the same. We were talking when we left off last time about the glory age of the earth, the day when the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, will come to rule and reign over planet earth. We've been talking about the various things that will uh be changed at the return of Jesus Christ. We talked about the uh fact that the curse would be removed from the vegetable kingdom and that plant life would flourish once again as it did before the fall. Uh, we talked about the fact that long life, like that enjoyed by uh those living before the flood in Noah's day would be restored. We talked about the fact that the curse upon the animal creation would be removed. We discussed the fact that the child would receive his proper place in life, and that the favorable conditions which men lived in and lived under during the days before the flood, uh Noah's great flood, uh, would be found once again on planet Earth. We talked about the restoration of a unified language. We talked about Satan being removed for one thousand years, uh bound in chains and uh cast into that bottomless pit, and then uh greatest of all, that all these things being made ready, the earth shall receive her king, the true king, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he comes in power and glory. The

Earth Prepared For Christ’s Return

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order of these events set forth in Matthew twenty-four, twenty-nine and thirty, first the days of tribulation, then the catastrophe, and finally the appearance of the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and the Bible says in Zechariah chapter fourteen, verse four, that at that day his feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem. But before his feet touch the earth, the way will be prepared for his coming. In Isaiah chapter forty, verses four and five we read, Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill should be made low, and the crooked should be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. There will be a great earthquake in Palestine. The physical features of the holy land will be completely changed, that depressed valley of the Jordan, which remains as a reminder of the awful fate of Sodom and Gomorrah will be elevated. The topography of the country will be so completely changed that, as Zechariah fourteen, verse eight says, living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the hinder sea, and the rivers which Ezekiel saw flowing by the millennial temple in Jerusalem shall become an actuality. These are talked about in Ezekiel chapter forty through forty eight. Then, Zechariah fourteen nine, the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. You see, God will make his enemies his footstool as he promised to do, and he will rule in their midst. His magnificent and majestic reign will extend from sea to sea. The heavens above and the earth below shall resound with his praises. In Psalm seventy two, verses eleven and twelve, the Bible says, All kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him, for he shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper. With the Prince of Peace upon the throne, nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Micah chapter four, verse three. Truly, it will be an age of glory. Glory for the earth, glory for the vegetable kingdom, glory for the animal kingdom, glory for the redeemed of the human race, and above all, glory for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ Himself. In Psalm 72, the Bible says, His name shall endure forever. His name shall be continued as long as the Son, and men shall be blessed in him. All nations shall call him blessed. What a wonderful day that will be when Jesus Christ receives the place that rightfully belongs to him as King of Kings and Lord of Ords.

Why The Millennium Must End

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But you know, the glory age, as wonderful as it as it is, as it will be, will not be the final period of man's existence. The millennium is the culmination of the kingdom of heaven, which is the fitting climax of earth's history, but it must have an end when Scripture shows that the reigning Christ shall deliver up the kingdom to the Father in first Corinthians chapter fifteen, verses twenty four and twenty five. A still greater day for the earth is coming. The larger kingdom of God, which includes the kingdom of heaven and embraces the entire universe of universes, is to have the earth for its center and capital. Before

The Coming Fire That Purifies

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the earth can truly become the center of the universe, it will have to be purified by fire. This will be the circumstance which will call for its last catastrophe. The passage in Second Peter chapter three and verse ten is perhaps misunderstood by many. It is true that the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the works of the earth shall be consumed. The earth will be purified by fire. This would be impossible if the present globe were to be supplemented by another. What we are dealing with is another catastrophe like to that when the earth was flooded prior to Adam's creation, prior to the regeneration of things, the restoration of things, the reconstruction, as we called it earlier in our study, after the first great catastrophe. This is the similar type of catastrophe, only the cleansing agent, the purifying agent, in this case, in the future day, will be fire and not water. You recall after the flood in Noah's day, God put the rainbow in the sky and promised that he would not bring a cataclysm of water again to the earth. So the future catastrophe will take place as a result of fire. Some great celestial catastrophe will completely alter conditions upon earth. We can only speculate how this will be brought about since the Word of God has not revealed to us the means of its accomplishment further than that fire will be the purifying agent. This planet will be marvelously prepared for the last and most distinguished period of its history. Listen to Psalm number 102, verses 25 and 26. Of oldest thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure. Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed. But why are a new earth and a new heaven necessary? Will not the millennial conditions be ideal? Why should millennial civilization be obliterated by such a disastrous instrument as fire? Well, you see, fire is a great purifying agent, and it will be employed as it was after the angels' rebellion, Genesis chapter one and verse two, that all trace of human sin may be eradicated from the face of the earth. The catastrophe that introduced the millennium removed the curse of sin, but the post-millennial catastrophe will remove sin itself. While Christ is reigning upon the earth during the millennium, the vast majority of the people will be converted, but nevertheless, there are some who will continue in sin. These will only yield a feigned obedience to the King of Kings. Why the Psalmist speaks of this professed allegiance in Psalm 66, verse 3, Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. Submission, yes, but enemies they continue to be. Many contend today that all man requires in order to be good is a proper environment. But here, under the very highest and best government and environment, we will find man yielding feigned obedience to Christ, and when opportunity comes for rebellion, once more he will lift up his hands against the Lord Jesus. As God will permit no one to enter into that holy and happy eternal state but those who love him, we can understand why Satan must be loosed at the end of the millennium in order that his feigned fidelity on the part of the wicked may be exposed. Once more, Lucifer will be able to deceive the nations with a rebellion against God, and sadly, he will be successful once again. You know, man never learns. Satan's organized army will appear before Earth's capital, Jerusalem, for the purpose of overthrowing the existing form of government and establishing another. Let me read

Satan’s Release And Final Revolt

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it to you from Revelation chapter twenty. Revelation chapter twenty, and beginning at verse seven. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and should go out to declare the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about and the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and he shall be and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Now the fire that comes down and destroys this apostate army will undoubtedly be part of the great conflagration that will purify the earth, as the saints of God were caught up and delivered from the tragic period of tribulation, so the loyal adherents of the king will be protected from the burning fire that shall consume the sinful dross and debris of the earth. Even as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, better known as Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, were preserved from the fiery furnace in the days of the king of Babylon. The last chapters

What The New Earth Removes

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of Revelation give us a picture of the new heaven and the new earth. In the first place, it is to be observed that there is no more curse. Much of the curse was removed before the millennium, but the occasion of the curse was not entirely eliminated. It would be better to look at this very carefully and think about just exactly what is going to take place. Revelation chapter 22, verse 3. 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, they shall see his face, his name shall be in their foreheads. Now, what a wonderful thing it is when Satan is no longer merely chained for a period, but he shall be fully and completely and finally cast into the lake of fire, he will no more be able to come forth to trouble the nations, and the sole influence on planet earth during this great eternal day will be that of the righteous Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the second place, the Bible says there is no more death. While man's physical environment will be greatly altered during the millennium, his natural body will not be transformed until later. Births and deaths will continue among the human race as hitherto, but with the passing of the glory age, there will end the days of mortality. The natural body shall be supplanted by the spiritual body, and the terrestrial people uh temple, I'm sorry, shall give way to the celestial. Those living after the this time period will no longer be subject to death as you and I are. Then what does that mean? There'll be no more sickness, there'll be no more hospitals, there'll be no more disease, there'll be no more plagues, there'll be no more uh viruses and accidents and all these terrible things that take life. All will be removed. Now, a lot of people in our world today, believe it or not, actually think that man is going to bring in the kingdom, and that Jesus Christ will not return until man has established a perfect kingdom of righteousness, peace, and harmony on the earth. And then Jesus will come. And they often quote the passage, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God from 1 Corinthians 15, 50, as a conclusive argument against the bodily return of our Lord and the establishment of his millennial kingdom on earth. But it must be observed that the Scripture distinguishes between the kingdom of heaven, which belongs to Jesus Christ, and the kingdom of God. Flesh and blood shall indeed enter the terrestrial kingdom of Christ. In fact, we read that while men live longer, death will be in evidence up to the very end of a thousand years. First Corinthians 15, 25 and 26 says, For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. So death is not destroyed, has not been destroyed, and will not be destroyed until the final dispensation of all, that is the eternal kingdom. But in the celestial kingdom of God, which will follow the millennial kingdom, that's the thousand year reign of Christ, the kingdom of heaven on earth, those who died in corruption shall be raised in incorruption. Those who died in dishonor shall be raised in glory. Those who died in weakness shall be raised in power. In the purified and glorified earth through the midst of its capital city will be flowing the river of life. On either side of its banks will be growing the tree of life, the leaves of which will be for the healing of the and the health of the nations. Then shall be fulfilled the promise, Revelation 2 7. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. What a glorious, glorious day that will be. In the third place, we should observe that there will be no more night. Revelation 22. During the millennium, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold as the light of seven days. This according to the Bible in Isaiah chapter thirty, verse twenty-six. If the position of the earth relative to the sun was shifted, say to the orbit of Mercury, she would receive seven times as much light as at present, while the light of the moon would be greatly intensified. But it's more probable, however, that the passage of a celestial visitor through the solar system would be less likely to alter the present orbit of the Earth than to agitate the activity of the sun, so that it would radiate for a period at least far more heat and light than it does at present. This increased expenditure of energy would correspondingly multiply the illumination of the earth and moon as well as the other members of the solar system. In the post-millennial earth, the earth as it will stand after the thousand-year kingdom of heaven, we see that the great luminaries of the heavens are no longer necessary. In all probability, this earth will be a self-luminous and flaming orb to the casual observer. Only glorified immortal men will be dwelling there, but we'll find that the the light uh more dazzling than the sun, the light more beautiful than the light of the largest stars, the light will not be generating from planet Earth, but will be generating from the throne of God, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember in your Bible how that once upon a time Saul of Tarsus was traveling on the road to Damascus, and all of a sudden he saw a light from heaven brighter than the light of the sun, blinded him. It actually blinded him as they as they say out in the world, it knocked his eyes out. Well, listen to this. Revelation twenty two, verse five. There should be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. What is this light? Well Jesus said, if you remember, he said, I am the light of the world. He said in John 1, this is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and I can't say for an absolute certainty, but it sure looks like from reading the Bible carefully that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, will be the light thereof, even as the Bible states it. In the fourth place, it's to be observed that there is no more sea. No more sea. During the millennium, men would live to an advanced age, and the population of the earth would be greatly increased. But if the shifting of the poles would return the tropical climate to the Arctic regions, millions more would be accommodated in what are now the uninhabitable portions of the globe. We talked about this in our series of messages entitled the Doomsday Files, and you can obtain these by writing to us at the address given at the close of the broadcast. But while births and deaths will never alter the numbers that will populate the new earth, its capacity would be tested by the great multitude of angels and saints which gather at this center of the universe, but the vast portions of the globe which are now surrendered to the oceans will then be available. The seas which now cover three-fourths of the globe could possibly be dried up, and the new earth would provide abundant room for the great number whose names are written in the book of life. However, if that sea referred to is the great crystal sea before the throne of God, and that is vanished away as we talk about in our series of studies on the Book of Revelation, then it's very, very possible that those twelve houses of the solar system could indeed be the future habitation of mankind. We can't go into all those matters today on this radio broadcast, but it certainly is something of great interest, and we're going to encourage you to write to us to try and obtain some of these materials at the close of the program. In the fifth place, it is to be observed that there will be no more cities. The glory of man's civilization was his cities. But these will all have been destroyed in Earth's great fire. The city is not only the product of man's pride, as we saw earlier in our study, but it is the seat of sin. When Abraham left the decadent civilization of Ur to dwell in tents with Isaac and Jacob, Hebrews 11 10 says he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The patriarch had a vision of the eternal city which shall be revealed in the final age of Earth's history, and the new Jerusalem which comes down from heaven will be far more majestic and magnificent than the. Than the capital of the millennium. It will be the capital of the universe. According to SISE, S-E-I-S-S, its boundaries would reach from the farthermost of Maine to the farthermost of Florida, from the shores of the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. Why, if you take the measurements given for the foundations of this city in the Word of God and place them down over a map of our contemporary world today, the new Jerusalem, the foundation, the base of that city, would cover all of Great Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Prussia, European Turkey, and half of European Russia. The greatness of Nineveh, Babylon, Rome, or Paris, London, New York, yes, even the greatness of the millennial Jerusalem itself would be totally eclipsed by this great city of God. It will be the center of all creation, and its presence upon the earth will mightily magnify this little planet and designate it as the capital of the universe of universes. What a marvelous future God has in store for them that love him. In the sixth place, it is to be observed that there will be no more temple. Why, even in the millennial dispensation, the world will not be without a temple. It was the meeting place between God and His people, set aside for His honor and glory, but now that the earth has been purged from sin, God will re-enter it and dwell with His people. Instead of the temple, there will be the throne. It is a solitary throne, it is an unshared throne. It is a changed throne, it is an eternal throne. Unlike our Lord's millennial throne, its majesty is unshared and unique. The saints reign, but their thrones, if they have thrones at all, are certainly not named. It is the presence of God upon his throne, which will so marvelously illuminate the earth and make the glory of its light to exceed that of the sun. Instead of bringing their offerings to the temple, the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor to the very throne of God. It is the presence of God upon his throne that will make the earth the metropolis of the universe. Now we've reached the apex and the finale of the eternal state and a culmination which brings the Bible's most far reaching prophecy to a close. And they shall reign forever and ever. Not they shall live and reign a thousand years, but rather they shall reign forever and ever. And here, the final words of Scripture leave the sons of God. They're clothed as princes of eternity, the supreme officers through whom the throne acts with regal activities and enormous responsibilities. Here we have fulfilled the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, fathomless and supreme. When he said in John 17, 22, The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them. Here is realized in all its marvelous magnificence, that glorious, golden promise. He that overcometh shall inherit all things. And I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Revelation 21 7. Think of it. Sons of God, heirs of glory, princes of supreme sovereignty, participants of the endless bliss and glory of God's great dominion. First Corinthians 15 24. Then cometh the end. When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and authority and power. The closing chapter of Earth's tragic history is complete. The earth is the center of the universe, the center of creation, the capital of the kingdom of God, which extends throughout all the vastness of God's great and glorious creation.

The Personal Question Of Salvation

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Let me ask you something, my friend. While God is on the throne, Jesus Christ his Son is glorified, and all the creatures living in the universe are enjoying his bountiful blessings. Where will you be? Will you be among among that great number of eternally living, saved souls enjoying God's reign? Or will you be cut off from all this, alone in outer darkness, weeping and wailing and gnashing your teeth, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched? You know that choice is yours. I know there are a lot of religious men today that tell you that your destiny was set before you were born, but that just is not true according to the Bible. The Bible says, Choose you this day, whom you will serve. As many as received him, the Lord Jesus Christ, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, and God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Oh, my friend, I hope and pray that you will live forever in this glorious kingdom of God. You can. Do you believe Christ died for your sins? Do you believe he was buried? Do you believe that the third day Jesus rose from the dead, and that the only hope you have of being saved from your sin is to put your faith and trust in God's sin bearer, his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe that, would you call upon the name of the Lord and be saved?

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Thanks for tuning in today. Join

Where To Get More Teaching

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us every weekday for another episode of the Preaching of the Cross Radio Podcast. For hundreds of hours of in-depth expository Bible teaching, please visit our YouTube channel, James W. Knox Sermons, our sermon audio page, Bible Baptist Land. Or our website, Bible BaptistTeland.com. Until next time and throughout eternity, may Jesus Christ be praised.