The sixth dispensation, known as the millennium or the golden age, is characterized by the reign of Christ on earth for a thousand years, following Satan's imprisonment in the abyss. This era will see true justice inaugurated as Christ rules righteously, with glory evident in all his dealings. The Transfiguration serves as a picture of the millennium, highlighting Christ's glory, the company of believers who will reign with him (both heavenly and earthly), the divine canopy of glory, and the eventual contrast with the eternal state. While the millennium will be an elevated age of peace and prosperity, it will not be a perfect age, as human failure and sin will still occur, though immediately dealt with by Christ.
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I'm talking about the vast of our six dispensation. Now, I don't know how disturbed some of you may be that Mr. Schofield has seven, and they don't altogether agree with Mr. Booth's six. We're not really falling out with anybody. We've chosen this way of presenting the panorama of time, because the six days of the recreation theme to illustrate these six dispensations. But don't be too distressed when you discover Mr. Schofield has seven, some other people have five. The thing is to try to cover God's program for the ages.
Now, we'll go over to the chart here for the moment just before we begin to read. And I want you to notice, I'm going to read it for you, that this, which is this dispensation which is painted gold, does not have a dark shading. at the end of the dispensation. It comes after this. The reason for that is a wiggly line that goes down here and that comes up here. Now you'll remember that wiggly line, very appropriate, represents Satan, and I was talking about him briefly the other night, and the fact that he has access to the heavenlies when the sons of God, Job tells us, presented themselves in the presence of God, Satan came with them.
But in the fifth dispensation, we talked about last night, Satan is going to be defeated in a war in the heavens. He'll be cast to the ground. He'll continue concentrating on tormenting men during the Great Tribulation. And then, to begin this age, this golden age, Satan will be... imprisoned in the abyss and he will be imprisoned for a thousand years and then he will be released and he will lead Gog and Magog to battle against the Christ and he'll be destroyed with fire coming down from heaven now just in case it puzzles you where will Gog and Magog come from Where will the people come from who, after a thousand years of the reign of the Lord Jesus, will be available for Satan upon release from the abyss to lead in rebellion against the Lord Jesus?
Especially since only those will enter into the millennium who are believers, believing nations and believing Jews, only believers, will begin the... age of the millennium being subjects and rulers with the Lord Jesus during this golden age. Where then do God and may God come from? Well, the millennium, wonderful as it's going to be, golden age, though it's going to be, will not be a perfect age. The child shall die and a hundred years old, but there will be death during the millennium. And they'll be sinning during the millennium. But the king himself will put it down with an iron glove, an iron hand, a rod of iron.
He will not allow sin to grow. It will be dealt with immediately when it raises its head. But during the thousand years, especially with longevity coming back again, there'll be lots and lots of children born. And lots and lots of children growing up. and lots and lots of children growing into adults, and every one of them, even during the millennium, born with an unregenerate heart and needing to be saved. And it will be those people, countless thousands of them born during the millennium, who have obeyed the Lord Jesus because they feared the consequences.
When Satan is released from the pit, they'll be there ready to be led in rebellion against the Lord Jesus, and that rebellion will prove to be the final one, and the Lord Jesus will deliver up the kingdom, the millennial kingdom that is, into the hand of his Father, and it will be merged into the eternal state, and he, the king, during the millennium, will continue the king throughout all eternity. Now I still didn't read the chart to you, did I? Here we have a square. And it tells you, and I'm sure most of you can see it, Christ and his bride in the New Jerusalem.
Now I'm convinced that the Old Testament believing saints will be there too. And the rule of the Lord Jesus will be, in a sense, twice delegated. He will rule during the millennium. He will rule through the New Jerusalem. And he will rule through the Jew in the Old Jerusalem. Underneath the title the millennium here, we can read Israel, one nation in the land, and under that the spared Gentiles blessed. So remember, everyone who enters in to the millennium is a believing person. Every nation involved...
is a believing nation. Now I'm going to do something just a little different tonight because I believe, as I said I think in one of the mornings, that what the Word of God says about these things is more important than anything I might say about it. So I'm going to make no apology for taking time to read to you from the scriptures about the millennium. And I'm going to read tonight for a little change from the new international version. It is so clear and so easy to understand, and I'm going to read to you from Revelation chapter twenty.
Now, if you want to turn to these passages, I shall be reading them in just a little different language, but you can follow. Revelation chapter twenty. and a couple of verses out of Revelation chapter two. Now you're going to need all your fingers for these readings, but if I give them to you and you care too, you can find them, and then we can go from the one to the other. Revelation chapter twenty. Now back to the end of the Old Testament, Zechariah chapter fourteen. Now after we've read that, keep your finger there because we're coming back to Zechariah six and Zechariah eight.
So hold on to Zechariah. Then we're going to read from Psalm seventy two, after which we're going to go into the book of the prophet Isaiah and begin at the second chapter. And I'm going to read two or three portions in Isaiah. And then, as I said, we're going to come back again to Zechariah. Now you'll be wanting a title for the sixth dispensation. For the first one, we have the introduction of light. The second one, the institution of order or government. The third one, the indoctrination of Israel.
The fourth one, the interruption of grace. The fifth one, the indignation of deity. And this last one, the inauguration of true justice. Not until the just King reigns can there be an inauguration of true justice. But this is what we have in the millennium, the Golden Age. Now Revelation chapter twenty and verse one. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the abyss, and holding in his hand a great chain, he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
He threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be set free for a short time." I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection, or the completion of the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him for a thousand years. Now let's go back to the second chapter of the book of the Revelation. Revelation chapter two. Now you're going to say to me, this is where we find the message to the seven churches.
Well, partly in chapter two and partly in chapter three. But look at the end of the second chapter. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nation. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He will dash them to pieces like pottery. Just as I have received authority from my Father, I will also give him the morning star, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Now I don't think there's anything very puzzling about what I've read so far. Now let's go to Zechariah chapter fourteen.
And again, let's read from the early part of the chapter. We'll read from the second verse. Zechariah chapter fourteen, that's the last chapter in the book of the minor prophet or the minor prophecy of Zechariah. Please don't imagine that these books are called minor prophets because they are less important than the major prophets. It's only because they are shorter that they are called minor prophets. Please remember that. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it. The city will be captured. The houses ransacked and the women raped.
Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations. Now here we have an echo from last night as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be splitting two from east to west, forming a great valley with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Aesel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, King of Judah.
Then the Lord my God will come, and all the Holy Ones with him. Let's read on a little further. On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime, a day known to the Lord, when evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea. and half to the western sea in summer and in winter. The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord and his name the only name.
The whole land from Diba to Riman south of Jerusalem will become like Araba, but Jerusalem will be raised up and remain in its place from the Benjamin Gate. to the site of the first gate, to the corner gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal wine presses. It will be inhabited. Never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secured. And again, I don't think there's anything puzzling about that reading. Now let's go to Psalm seventy-two, a prophetic psalm written again about the millennium. The seventy-second Psalm.
And I realize I'm taking up time, but this is the Word of God, and it's very clear and absolutely self-explanatory. Psalm seventy-two and verse eight. Speaking of the Lord Jesus, prophetically it says, He will rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes shall bow before him, and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him. The kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him, and all nations will serve him.
For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live. May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. in the same Psalm.
May his name endure forever. May it continue as long as the sun. All nations shall be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever and ever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen. Now Isaiah chapter two. And in this prophecy we have some very remarkable detail about the millennium. In fact, after all these readings I won't need to preach tonight because you'll know all that is to be known about the millennium.
Though there are lots more scriptures I could read, I just chose a selection of them to read to you this evening. Look at the second verse of Isaiah chapter two, will you? In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and all nations will scream to it. Many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.
The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more. Chapter eleven. And verse six, the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together, and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear. Their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the vipers' nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Now turn to chapter thirty-five, will you? On again in Isaiah to chapter thirty-five and verse one. The desert and the parched land will be glad.
The wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom. It will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it. The splendor of Carmel and Sharon, they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Verse five. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb shall shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness, and strings in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and weeds and paparice will grow, and the highway will be there.
It will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it. It will be for those who walk in that way. Wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get upon it. They will not be found there, but only the redeemed will walk there, and the ranch One other chapter in Isaiah, chapter sixty-five and verse nineteen.
Sixty-five and nineteen. I will rejoice over Jerusalem, and take delight in my people. The sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be any infant that lives for a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years. He who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth. He who fails to reach a hundred will be considered a curse. They will build houses and dwell in them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people. My chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.
They will not toil in vain, or bear children doomed to misfortune. For they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call, I will answer. While they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lamb will eat straw like the ox. But dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy in all my holy mountain. I'm going to omit the last ones in Zechariah because I didn't time my reading, and I do want a little time to talk about these things, but you can read Zechariah six and Zechariah eight at your leisure.
I want to take you now into the New Testament and to Luke chapter nine. This is where we have the story of the transfiguration, and it seems to me to be a beautiful picture of the millennium. And so I'm going to use it just to leave one or two very simple things with you. Verse twenty-eight of Luke nine says, and he came to pass about an eight days after these things, he took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed... The fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering, and behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory, and spake of his deceit, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep. And when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, that is the two men, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias, not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they feared as they entered into the cloud, and they came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear him. And when the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone, and they kept it close and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
I want to point out four things to you about the transfiguration that speak to our hearts about the millennium. There is, first of all, of course, the Christ. And then secondly, there is the company. And thirdly, there is the canopy. And finally, there is the contrast. Four things. And what lessons can we learn from them? Now the dispensation we're talking about tonight is the last dispensation, the millennium, the sixth on our chart. And you'll remember that the sixth day was the day on which Adam was created and given dominion.
So the sixth day speaks of rule, it speaks of dominion, and it pictures for us the dominion and rule of the Lord Jesus and the thousand years of his rule upon the earth. Now he'll be ruling through his bride and the saints in the New Jerusalem, through the converted Jew upon the earth, but he will be the king. In the garden, Adam had rule over the garden. He had rule over the creation.
He was to name the beast. He was to have rule over them. And he was also given the control, the rule over his wife. There was dominion in that sixth day, when man was brought into the picture, And it does speak about the dominion of the Lord Jesus. Now you will notice that it is the imprisonment of Satan that forms the boundaries for this sixth dispensation. When he is put into the abyss so that he cannot deceive the nations anymore, the reign of the Lord Jesus is not going to be impeded by him.
And the thousand years begins. And it doesn't end until, or it ends as he is released from the Abbas for just what your King James Version says is to be a little Caesar. Now come with me to the Transfiguration and see it is an apt picture of the Millennium. There are three accounts given of the Transfiguration, and you might like at some point in the not-too-distant future to compare the one with the other. Matthew, in referring to it, speaks of the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
Mark, in speaking of it, speaks about the kingdom of God coming. Luke, when he tells the story, uses also the phrase, the kingdom of God. So it is not far-fetched that we should take the Transfiguration and use it as a picture of the Millennium. Now the characters are all on a mountain. They've climbed a mountain, and a mountain is an elevated place. The Millennium is an elevated age. There's not a dispensation to compare with it. All down through time... Men have looked forward to this day, they've looked forward to this age, they've looked forward to such a dispensation, most of them never to know it.
But now it is dawned, Satan is bound in the abyss, and the Lord Jesus takes over the reins of government into his hand, and so the dispensation, like the place on which the transfiguration happened, is an elevated... things. Now the transfiguration came to an end. It was a prescribed period. And this dispensation also is a temporary one. As surely as it has a beginning, it is going to have an ending. Now the reign of the Lord Jesus will not end. but the reign of the Lord Jesus over the earth in this fashion will come to an end.
Like the transfiguration, it is for a specified amount of time, a definite period. Hence the beginning to the dispensation on our chart and the end to the dispensation. Six times in seven verses, in one chapter in the book of the Revelation, We read the phrase, a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand years, and yet the non-dispensationalist tells us that that figure really has no significance. It's a figurative figure. I believe that God specifically, especially since he does it six times in seven verses, wants us to believe that the earthly reign of the Lord Jesus will be precisely that long.
One thousand years. Now, the word millennium is not found in our Bible. It's composed of two words. Actually, I think they're Latin words. One meaning a thousand, and the other meaning years. So it's an appropriate word, although we don't find that word in the Bible. It does say time and again a thousand years. And as I said, it is bound by the incarceration and the release of Satan, the serpent. the devil. Now, these four things that I've mentioned, and I have ten minutes, eleven minutes, to talk about the four of them, begin with the Christ.
Let's take a look at the Lord Jesus, at the Transfiguration. First of all, he's surrounded by those who acknowledge his headship. Peter is there. James is there. John is there. And eventually Moses and Elias. Now that speaks of the millennium. When the Lord Jesus begins his reign, he'll be surrounded only by those who acknowledge his entry. For all will be believing who enter in to the millennium. The rest of the men are dead. They've either died in the famines, died in the diseases, and died through the judgments that have been poured out from heaven.
But whatever it may be, they are dead. And it's after this period we read, I saw the dead. Small and great stand before God. The judgment of the great white throne, and you can see it on the chart there, is the judgment of the dead. Those that enter into the millennium are all believing. So in the millennium, as at the transfiguration, the Lord Jesus will be surrounded by those who acknowledge his headship. And the Bible says so many times of the millennium he will reign. Micah tells us he'll reign in Zion. Zechariah tells us he'll have dominion from C to C.
The book of the Revelation tells us he'll reign forever and ever. A thousand years he'll reign upon the earth or over the earth. And then his reign will continue into eternity and go on forever and ever. Go back to the transfiguration. You'll find the Lord Jesus, who's surrounded by those who acknowledge his headships, acclaimed by the Father. Acclaimed by the Father. This is my beloved Son. Hear him. God will have no truck with sin. Christ will not become a part of the sin, and sin will be dealt with immediately because not only is it true that the Lord Jesus will reign, but the Bible leaves us in no doubt about the fact that the Lord Jesus will righteously reign.
How else could the Christ of God, the righteous one, reign than righteously? And that demands that he deal with sin as soon as it raises its ugly head. That's why his reign during the millennium is spoken of as reigning with a rod of iron. He will have no truck with sin. He will deal with it as soon as it raises its head. The one who will reign will righteously reign. They come back again to the Transfiguration, and there you see the Lord Jesus clothed in glory. His raiment became white and blistering. So much so that undoubtedly it struck terror into the hearts of those who wakened and observed it.
That would be their initial reaction. This one who reigns and reigns righteously will reign righteously, the Bible says, in might. And glory will be obvious in all of his dealings, whether they be in judging sin or in ministering personally to the needs of his people. And that's what the king is going to do during the millennium. He will personally minister to his own, his subjects over whom he has dominion. so much more we could say about the Christ. What about the company? There's a heavenly duo, and there's an earthly trio.
Peter, James, and John are the earthly group, and Moses and Elias, the heavenly group. And I think that this is very, very apt, because when the Lord Jesus reigns during the millennium, he will be reigning through a heavenly group. and he'll be reigning through an earthly group. The bride will be with him in heaven, as will the Old Testament saints, I believe, and, too, the Tribulation saints, and those who have taken part in that first resurrection, the heavenly group, and the Jew converted, will be reigning upon the earth with the Lord Jesus, and they form the earthly company.
Moses and Elias, the heavenly duo. Now there was a difference between Moses and Elias. You remember that Moses died and God buried him and nobody knows where except that it was on Mount Nebo. But he died and was buried. Elias never died. He was caught up, you'll remember, in a chariot of fire. Now here you have the heavenly group represented for us by these two. We have those who died and been resurrected. We have those who haven't seen death but have been caught away at the rapture, and here they are united as a heavenly company.
Those that died and are resurrected, represented by Moses, those who have been caught away at the rapture and changed and ushered into the presence of the Lord Jesus, to go no more out forever, represented by Elias, who was caught away and never saw death. The earthly trio, Peter... that we have the people on the earth during the millennium. Peter representing Israel, who will be the ruling group through whom the Lord Jesus will exercise his dominion. And then you have James and John who are brothers who... represent, I believe, the brotherhood of the nation over whom the Lord Jesus will reign and who will know for the first time unalloyed bliss and joy and wonderful peace with the Prince of Peace reigning.
So in the company we have a very apt illustration of the millennium, in the heavenly duo and the earthly trio. We know there's going to be an old Jerusalem, And it will be the center of the whole earth. All the government of the world will go out from the earthly Jerusalem. It in turn will be answerable to the new Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem. In the earthly Jerusalem, the old Jerusalem, there will be a temple, a millennial temple. There will be the sun. There will be service, day and night. In the heavenly Jerusalem, there is no temple.
And there is no sun. And there's no light, very different than one from the other, but the Lord Jesus nevertheless will be exercising his dominion over the earth through them both. But you'll notice that during the Transfiguration there was weakness. The three disciples fell asleep. That picture is for us the millennium too. There'll be weakness during the millennium. Men will die. And there will be men who will sin, and they'll be punished for their sin. Yes, there'll be human failure in the millennium, as there was human failure at the transfiguration. And will you notice, too, that while Moses and Elias were concerned about heavenly things, they talked with the Lord Jesus about the death that he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
But Peter, James, and John, they were concerned with earthly things. let us make the three tabernacles, let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, one for Elias, because they didn't know what to say. So much for the company. Now finally, what about the canopy? No, this is not the final one. There's one other one after this, the canopy. His raiment became white and blistering. I think the revised version gives dazzling I look this word up. There's a word in the Greek for lightning, and it is the word astrapto. Lightning, astrapto.
But the word that is used here is ex-astrapto. That is something brighter, greater, more magnificent than the lightning. That was the canopy of a transfiguration. And it's but a small picture of the glory that's going to characterize the Lord Jesus, that canopy of glory that overspreads the millennium. You notice this canopy of glory. It was shed over the heavenly company. It was shed over the heavenly company and the earthly company, even though the earthly company at first didn't appreciate it because they were sleeping.
It was shed over the heavenly company. the earthly company, and the whole of the top of the mountain. And so it is the glory of the Lord during the millennium will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. That's the canopy. The reason why there's no sun in the heavenly Jerusalem is because the land is the light thereof. And the Bible says the nations are going to walk in the light of that city. And that, of course, is speaking of the glory of the Lord Jesus. If it was the canopy for the transfiguration, it will be in much greater and majestic fashion the canopy for the whole of a thousand years of his reign.
We have to finish with the contrast. When the transfiguration was over, and the disciples came down from the mountain, They kept it close and told no man. That certainly was not illustrative of the millennium because we read, In that day the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, like the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Then men will know. then there will not be a groping vainly after knowledge it will overspread the earth for the Lord Jesus is the teacher as well as the ruler he is the importer as well as the governor I think we ought to we ought to finish with a realization that this does not bring time to an end.
There is a short season that follows, when Satan leads those I spoke of at the beginning in rebellion against the Lord Jesus, who are called God and made God. Now when they are destroyed with fire coming out of heaven, and not until, then those who have been destroyed by that fire out of heaven, and it would be destroyed in one way and another throughout this period of time because they would not believe in the Lord Jesus because they would not follow God's command and please live to please God then a resurrection will take place the second resurrection and it will be a resurrection unto damnation then will be set up with great white flow The dead small of great will stand there.
Every one to be shown the books in which are written his evil deities, and one book, the Book of Life, let me make a suggestion to you here. I'm not blogging on it. But if children, when they die, go to heaven, and only those whose names are in the Book of Life go to heaven, the names of children must be in the Book of Life. And now I may have that stated, really, that when a child is drawn, is narrated, and is written in the Book of Millennials. For it wouldn't happen that many columns around the Gillette Millennials, but in which he has a relative responsibility and delivery, the delivery is right upon the Gillette.
The Gillette is a writer. And I believe that the willingness of the Worry as a great writer followed, the Book of Millennials, is produced series, then they deserve to be known as the ladies who stand before their fellow in our network. I merely doubtfully use it so that you might show to any of the rich individuals the trace in that book that which means the man spent his life. Are they united? Because he didn't trust the Lord.