At Christ’s 2^nd coming He will save Israel from annihilation, and bind “the Dragon (Satan)” for 1,000 years during His Millennial reign on earth. At His 2^nd coming, all His enemies will be destroyed, except the Devil, who afterward will be “cast into the lake of fire,” ending final rebellion. After the Tribulation’s final 3-1/2 years of “Great Tribulation” Christ will return to set up His Millennial Kingdom on the damaged earth, which will have been partially restored. All this fulfills the prayer Jesus gave His Jewish disciples; “Thy Kingdom Come… thy will be done In Earth” (Matt 6:10).

Christ will visibly return to earth exactly where He ascended from, “…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11; v12 “from the Mount called Olivet”).

In His return the victorious Christ will judge the Tribulation survivors first, and then reign in His Theocratic Millennial Kingdom with the “rod of iron.” During the last 3-1/2 years of the Tribulation before the actual Kingdom Reign of Christ on earth the wheat “harvest” will commence per Jesus’ parable concerning the ‘the wheat and the tares.’ The ‘wheat’ represents the kingdom believers, and the ‘tares’ represent the intermingled  phony believers called ‘tares’ who will be burned. As we’ve saw earlier, it’s clear that NO unbelievers will enter Christ’s Kingdom on earth. Matthew 13:30 and 40 say the ‘tares’ are to be gathered first to be burned. They are physically destroyed, as we would weeds from our garden.

“Let both (the wheat and tares) grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the (angelic) reapers, Gather ye together first the TARES (false intermingled pretending believers), and bind them in bundles to Burn Them: but gather the WHEAT (believers) Into My “Barn (repository).” (Matt. 13:30).

“…Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. ³⁷He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; ³⁸ The field is the world; the good seed are the Children of The Kingdom; but the tares are the Children Of The Wicked One (Satan); ³⁹The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world (Gk., aion, age); and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰As therefore the TARES are Gathered and BURNED In The Fire; so shall it be in the end of this world (age). ⁴¹The Son of Man shall Send forth His Angels, and They Shall Gather Out of (from) HIS KINGDOM all things that Offend, them which do iniquity; ⁴²And shall CAST THEM INTO a FURNACE of FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then (immediately) shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:36-43)

The ‘wheat believers’ are to be gathered into His “barn” as a place of protection security from Antichrist. Some believe that place is Petra, located in Edom (now Jordan), where Antichrist will not have authority. “He (Antichrist) shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom (Jordan), and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. (Dan. 11:41)

The parable of ‘the wheat and the tares’ in Matthew 13 is to be fulfilled as seen here in Revelation 14.

“I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown (divine authority), and in his hand a sharp sickle. ¹⁵ And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for THE HARVEST OF THE EARTH IS RIPE. ¹⁶ And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. (Rev. 14:14-16)

The Lord’s ‘angelic reapers’ (Rev. 14:39, 41 above) will harvest the kingdom’s genuine wheat believers into His “barn” of safety prior to the Millennium. The angels gathering these wheat believers is in contrast to Rapture where “the LORD HIMSELF” gathers “the body of Christ” unto Himself “in the air” to take them to heaven (1Thes 4:16-17). The wheat believers will be gathered into the Lord’s “barn,” and made secure during the last 3-1/2 years of the Tribulation.

“the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore (1260) days.” (Rev 12:6).  

Meanwhile, the “tares” (the imposters) will be crushed as grapes in “the great winepress of the wrath of God.” (Rev 14:17-19). The Lord knows His own; He knows the genuine wheat believers from the imposter tares.

Then also, in the parable of ‘the sheep and goats’ the “sheep” are His genuine Messianic Kingdom believers. The “goats” are the rebellious unbelievers who oppose God and His Christ (Matt 25:31-34). Again it’s clear that no unbelievers will be saved to enter the Millennial Kingdom. The ‘goat’ unbelievers “on the left” of the Lord will go to “everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matt 25:46)

“And he shall set the SHEEP on his right hand, but the GOATS on the left.” (Matt 25:33)

“Then shall he (the Lord) say also unto them (the Goats) ON THE LEFT hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, Into Everlasting Fire, Prepared For The Devil And His Angels” (Matt 25:41)

“these (goats) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into Life Eternal” (Matt 25:46)

Note there also will be those of “the nations (Gk. ethnos, Gentiles)” (Matt 25:32) who also are counted as His “sheep” because they helped the His “brethren (Israel)”

“the King shall…say unto them (the Gentiles)… Inasmuch as ye have done it (ministered) unto one of the least of these my brethren (Israel), ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:40)

Then the judgment of the sheep believers and goat unbelievers will divide out the rebels of ALL nations.

“I will also gather ALL Nations (Gentile and Jew), and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat (meaning, Jehovah-judged, i.e., Armageddon), and will plead with them (Heb., shapat, judge them) there for my people and for My Heritage (believing) Israel, whom they Have Scattered Among the Nations (Gentiles), and Parted My Land.”  (Joel 3:2)

The Book of Revelation confirms Jesus’ parables of the wheat and tares, and sheep and goat, whereby only genuine kingdom believers will enter the Millennium kingdom. The Lord will gather His believers of Israel out from among the nations of the earth into “the Land (Israel)” as has been long promised.

 “Our (Israel’s) God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. ⁴ He shall call to (angels of) the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people (Israel). ⁵ Gather My Saints (the elect of Israel) Together Unto Me; Those That Have Made a Covenant With Me By Sacrifice.” (Psalm 50:3-5)

“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall ‘bring again’ (Heb., shub, I shall reverse) the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem” (Joel 3:1)

“… in the time that I gather you (Israel): for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.” (Zeph. 3:20)

Note that King David paid for the site of the land of Israel and the Temple  (cf. 2Sam. 24:24, 1Chron. 21:23-25) more than 1,000 years before Jesus was born. Yet today we see and hear of the western nations encouraging the further division of “the land” of Israel and “the Holy City” of Jerusalem. Judgment will come upon all these nations who would ‘divide the land,’ including the USA.

“I (God) will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also DIVIDED up My Land." (Israel will be divided)”  (Joel 3:1-2)

The 1,000 year  Kingdom Reign of Christ that we call ‘the Millennium’ is of course still future. However, man’s kingdoms and empires will become smashed when the Lord comes again. The Lord will “break” and “dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psa.2:9) in the last days of the Tribulation period. He as the King of Kings and Great Stone who will smash all the Kingdoms of man, as we read in Daniel 2:34-35. In establishing His Kingdom, Christ will “break (to pieces)” (cf. Dan 2:35) the Gentile nations “with a rod of iron,” while two-thirds of Israel will die in the process of Israel being refined, before the Lord’s return.

“Thou shalt break them (the Gentiles) with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Psa 2:9). “… it shall come to pass in all the land,” says the LORD, That Two-Thirds In It Shall Be Cut Off and Die, but One Third shall be left in it (the Land): ⁹I will bring the One-Third Through The Fire, will Refine Them (Israel) as Silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They Will Call On My Name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This Is My People’; and each one will say, ‘The Lord Is My God.’” (Zech. 13:8-9)

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1 Peter 1:7)

During the Tribulation many new believers will be saved to Israel’s Messianic “gospel of the kingdom” that will be preached by the “two witnesses” (Rev 11:3) who will perform miraculous acts. Also, 144,000 of Israel’s twelve tribes will be “sealed” (Rev 7:2-8) from harm and preach “the gospel of the Kingdom.” Some people “of all nations” will be saved (Rev 7:9-17) along with a third of Jews who will be saved as Israel’s “remnant,” many being martyred for “their testimony” (Rev 12:17). Thus the Lord will save many from Satan’s kingdom to enlarge His righteous Kingdom on earth. This fulfills of Jesus’ end time prophecy.

“this GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM shall be preached in ALL THE WORLD for a witness unto ALL nations; and THEN SHALL THE END COME. (Matt 24:14).

Many kingdom believers will die as martyrs and yet a remnant will live through the Tribulation, and on into the Millennial and eternal Kingdoms on earth. They will have children born during the Millennial Messianic Kingdom. But still even then, everyone born physically of Adam’s lineage is “by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3) bearing the “Sin (nature) in the flesh” (Rom 8:3). They will have that “(Sin) spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience. (Eph 2:2b). Christ will have to “rule them with a rod of iron” (Rev.2:27). There will be only one religion during the Millennium – one of faith in the one true God according to the “gospel of the Kingdom.” Those who refuse to believe and worship Christ will be punished (Zech. 14:16-19) during Christ’s theocratic rule in the Millennium (Jer 23:5-6, Isa 65:20).

Though only believers will survive and pass from the Tribulation alive into the Millennial Kingdom, they will reproduce offspring who will are not born of God as believers, so these will also have to believe in order to survive the Millennium and enter the eternal Kingdom on the New Earth. The sin-nature in some of those born in the Millennium will be fully exposed soon after Satan is “loosed” from his 1,000 year imprisonment in the pit. Many will not only refuse salvation into Christ’s righteous Kingdom, but they will join Satan in his final rebellion. It’s not strange then that we read of Satan being loosed to stir up that final rebellion. In Rev 20:9 (below) we see the final rebellion; the rebels attacking Jerusalem are then “devoured by the fire of God out of heaven.” This will be  followed by casting the “Devil and his angels,” into “the lake of fire,” where the Antichrist and the false prophet were cast 1,000 years earlier, at the end of the Tribulation.

“… he laid hold on the dragon, that OLD SERPENT, WHICH IS THE DEVIL, AND SATAN, and bound him a thousand years,” (Rev 20:2) “…when the thousand years (of the Millennial Kingdom) are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations… And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints (Israel) about, and the beloved city (Jerusalem): and FIRE CAME DOWN FROM GOD OUT OF HEAVEN, AND DEVOURED THEM.” (Rev 20:7-9)

 “The Devil That Deceived Them Was Cast Into The Lake Of Fire and Brimstone, where the beast (Antichrist) and the false prophet are (already), and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Rev 21:10)

In summary, several years after the Rapture of the church, which is “the body of Christ” to dwell eternal in the heavens (2Cor 5:1b), immediately after the Tribulation period of judgments on the whole earth, will come the Millennial Kingdom reign of our Lord.

Thus, during the Millennial Kingdom The Lord will have to “rule them with a rod of iron” (Rev.2:27). Even then many will never believe and yield to the Lord, so they will join Satan in the final rebellion which the Lord will put down by destroying them all. It’s not strange, then, that we read this in Rev. 20:7-9 (above).

This ‘final rebellion’ is followed by the casting of Satan and all unbelievers into “the lake of fire.” This then brings in of the new heavens and the new earth in which all the reconciled find their all in Christ, “in whom dwelleth righteousness” in the Eternal Kingdom (Rev. 20:10-21:1; Eph.1:9-10; Col. 1:19-20)

It’s interesting and instructive to see in the book of Revelation how “the Lamb slain” occupies the center of the glory of the universe. Not one believer from any age will ever boast of his own righteousness in that day. All believers acknowledge their own unworthiness and proclaim the praises of the One who died for them that they might live, be justified, and gloried. All the fallen angels and the lost of all ages will acknowledge Jesus as The Lord in that day – every knee will bow!!! All who appear at the Great White Throne Judgment will bow their knee to Jesus Christ who humbled and submitted Himself unto…

“… death of the cross… God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That At The Name Of Jesus Every Knee Should Bow, of Things In Heaven, and Things In Earth, and Things Under The Earth; and That Every Tongue Should Confess That Jesus Christ Is Lord, to The Glory of God The Father” (Phil.2:8-11).