Will people die during Jesus' Messianic Millennial Kingdom?



Question / Comment -  Will people born in the Millennium (Messianic Kingdom) die?

Hi,

The survivors of the great Tribulation do not receive resurrected bodies. In the millennium period they'll marry and have children. Some say that Isaiah writes that they will die. Will the people born in the millennium die?

Thanks

JPN Reply:


Hi,

thanks for the question. The short answer is yes. The longer answer is as follows...

We know from scripture that the 'last enemy' to be defeated is death. The Bible says:

1Co 15:21-26 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. (22) For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (23) But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (24) Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. (25) For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (26) The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

So we obviously know that death itself will be destroyed and put away for ever. But when does this happen? Revelation puts things into sequence for us. We find that death itself will be thrown into the lake of fire at the Great White throne of judgment which occurs AFTER the Messianic / Millennial Kingdom of Jesus.  

Rev 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

Straight after this point scripture speaks of the New heaven and the New Earth and so, with death destroyed, we read the following:

Rev 21:3-4 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (4) He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

So we know that death is utterly destroyed once and for all at the end of the Millennium, but what of your specific question...

Can people that are born in the Millennium die? 

Yes they can. The book of Revelation doesn't go into any great specifics concerning the conditions of life during this 1000 year reign of Jesus on Earth but the Hebrew prophets certainly did. And, as you alluded to, Isaiah speaks of the ages that people will obtain during that time. He also speaks of death during this time. He writes:

Isa 65:20 Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but 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 accursed. (21) They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. (22) 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. (23) 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. (24) Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. (25) The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the LORD.

So scripture tells us that during the Messianic Kingdom/Millennium people will live 'as the days of a tree' and no one will die in infancy. We should remember that the conditions on Earth will return to how they were prior to the fall of Adam and Eve. There will be no curse upon creation. No killing within the animal kingdom. There will be no pesticides, pollution, harmful radiation etc... just a perfect world. Every piece of food will be giving the body all that it needs for renewal once again. Even in the first few hundred years after the fall you will note that some lived into their 900's. That will be how it is again. 

However - scripture does give a warning. It says 'he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.' We need to remember that people born in the days of this Kingdom will still have sinful natures. While there will be perfect conditions around them, that doesn't mean that it will be perfect within them! They will still sin and have the free will to follow the Lord or not. Jesus will still rule 'with a rod of iron' during this time because of the sinful nature of man (Psalm 2:9) So it seems that death before 100 will be a punishment for those that rebel against the rule of the Lord Jesus during the Messianic Kingdom. Jewish Messianic scholar Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum believes this is will be for Gentiles only. As quoted from Dr Chuck Missler:

Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum... suggests that death in the Millennium will be for unbelievers only. Nowhere in the Bible does it speak of a resurrection of Millennial saints. This may be why the resurrection of the tribulation saints is said to complete the "first resurrection" (Rev 20:4-6). From the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34, it would seem that there will be no Jewish unbelievers in the kingdom; all Jews born during the Millennium will accept the Messiah before their 100th year. Unbelief would thus be among the Gentiles only, and therefore, death would exist only among the Gentiles.

When speaking of the rule of Jesus Christ in Isaiah 11, you will note that in the midst of all the glories of that age, there is still the mention of death for the wicked during that time.

Isa 11:1-9 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (2) The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- (3) and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; (4) but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. (5) Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. (6) 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. (7) The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. (8) The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. (9) 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.

I hope this helps. None of this involves the believer obviously.

No more death once the believer gets their new body!

At the rapture of the church we receive a body like unto His body that can never die, grow old, or fail in anyway! I'll leave you with that thought : )

1Cor 15:49-55 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. (50) I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (51) Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- (52) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (53) For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (54) When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (55) Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?


God Bless!