The Destiny of the Bride of Christ - Part 12
“In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame, and I will gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted.”—Micah 4:6 (AMPC)
During the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ, the land of Israel will be completely restored to God’s chosen people. The original boundaries of Israel will be restored. Everything that God originally promised to Abraham will be restored. There will be no man-made “two-state solution” dividing the land at that time.
“I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”—Genesis 17:7-8 (NLT)
Organizations that previously opposed Israel will no longer exist. God’s people will live in the land of their heritage in peace and safety with no fear of harm.
Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob (Israel) and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine]. They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery (unfaithfulness) which they perpetuated against Me, **when they live securely in their own land and there is no one who makes them afraid. **When I bring them back from the nations and gather them out of their enemies’ lands, then I shall show Myself holy [and My justice and holiness will be vindicated] through them in the sight of many nations. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them to their own land. I will leave none of them there [among the nations] any longer. I will not hide My face from them any longer, because I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” says the Lord God.”—Ezekiel 39:25-29 (AMP)
“And He will raise up a signal for the nations and will assemble the outcasts of Israel and will gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
“The envy and jealousy of Ephraim also shall depart, and **they who vex and harass Judah from outside or inside shall be cut off; **Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex and harass Ephraim.
“But [with united forces Ephraim and Judah] will swoop down upon the shoulders of the Philistines’ [land sloping] toward the west; together they will strip the people on the east [the Arabs]. They will lay their hands upon Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will obey them.
“And the Lord will utterly destroy (doom and dry up) the tongue of the Egyptian sea [the west fork of the Red Sea]; and with His [mighty] scorching wind He will wave His hand over the river [Nile] and will smite it into seven channels and will cause men to cross over dry-shod.
“And there shall be a highway from Assyria for the remnant left of His people, as there was for Israel when they came up out of the land of Egypt.”—Isaiah 11:12-16 (AMPC)
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”—Isaiah 35:10 (AMPC)
Acceptance of Their Messiah
This will not just be a physical restoration of Israel, but there will be a spiritual restoration of Israel as well. There will be a remnant of the people of Israel who will finally recognize Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah. There will be a remnant of Israel who will be part of the Overcoming Bride of Jesus Christ.
“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”—Romans 9:27-28 (NKJV)
The “natural branches” will be grafted back into the “olive tree,” as we are told in Romans 11:24-25. This is the great mystery that the Apostle Paul tried to explain to us in Romans chapters 9-11.
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” — Romans 11:25-27 (NKJV)
“So I say, have they stumbled so as to fall [to spiritual ruin]? Certainly not! But by their transgression [their rejection of the Messiah] salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous [when they realize what they have forfeited]. Now if Israel’s transgression means riches for the world [at large] and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment and reinstatement be! … For if their [present] rejection [of salvation] is for the reconciliation of the world [to God], what will their acceptance [of salvation] be but [nothing less than] life from the dead?”—Romans 11:11-15 (AMP)
The Messiah who came to Israel the first time as a suffering servant will come again as the ruling King.
“Those who are weak will survive as a remnant; those who were exiles will become a strong nation. Then I, the Lord, will rule from Jerusalem as their king forever.” As for you, Jerusalem, the citadel of God’s people, your royal might and power will come back to you again. The kingship will be restored to my precious Jerusalem.”—Micah 4:7-8 (NLT)
Pure Language and Pure Religion
At that time, English will no longer be the most spoken language in the world. In fact, English may not be spoken at all!
Jesus will reverse the confusion of languages that occurred because of the Tower of Babel, and everyone will speak one pure language. That language might be Hebrew, or it might be a wholly new language for this new era.
Also, the Church will no longer be divided by different Christian denominations. In fact, religion as we know it will cease to exist. People everywhere will live in the Truth Jesus Christ and the very presence of God Himself. There will be no more need for the offices of ministry as we know them in this age, because, as Paul tells us in Ephesians, the five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers is only needed to prepare and build up the Church “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13 NKJV).
We will likely no longer have a need for the “gifts of the Spirit.” Those gifts will likely be replaced with “the powers of the age to come” that are mentioned in Hebrews 6:5. Instead of moving *occasionally *in the *gifts *of wisdom and knowledge, we will likely *abide *in the *Spirit *of Wisdom and Knowledge at a much higher level.
“Love will never end. But all those gifts will come to an end—even the gift of prophecy, the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, and the gift of knowledge. These will all end because this knowledge and these prophecies we have are not complete. But when perfection comes, the things that are not complete will end.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. It is the same with us. Now we see God as if we are looking at a reflection in a mirror. But then, in the future, we will see him right before our eyes. Now I know only a part, but at that time I will know fully, as God has known me.”—1 Corinthians 13:8-12 (ERV)
“Then I will make the people of all nations speak a pure language. All of them will speak the name of the Lord. And they will worship me together. People will come from where the Nile River begins. My scattered people will come with gifts for me. Then Jerusalem will not be ashamed of the wrongs done against me. I will remove from this city those who like to brag. There will never be any more proud people on my holy mountain in Jerusalem. Only the meek and humble will stay in my city. And they will trust in the Lord. Those who are left alive of Israel won’t do wrong. They won’t tell lies. They won’t trick people with their words. They will be like sheep that eat and lie down. No one will bother them.”
“Sing, Jerusalem. Israel, shout for joy! Jerusalem, be happy. Rejoice with all your heart. The Lord has stopped punishing you. He has sent your enemies away. The King of Israel, the Lord, is with you. You will never again be afraid of being harmed. On that day Jerusalem will be told, ‘Don’t be afraid, city of Jerusalem. Don’t be so discouraged that you can’t do anything. The Lord your God is with you. The mighty One will save you. The Lord will be happy with you. You will rest in his love. He will sing and be joyful about you.’
“I will take away the sadness planned for you. It would have made you very ashamed. At that time I will punish all those who harmed you. I will save my people who are hurt. I will gather my people who are scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every place where they were disgraced. At that time I will gather you. At that time I will bring you back home. I will give you honor and praise from people everywhere. That will happen when I give you back your riches. You will see this with your own eyes,” says the Lord.
— Zephaniah 3:9-20 (ICB)
“Those the Lord has saved will return to their land. They will sing as they enter the city of Zion. Joy that lasts forever will be like beautiful crowns on their heads. They will be filled with gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing will be gone.”— Isaiah 51:11 (NIRV)
