CHARLO, New Brunswick, March 3, 2024 – Jesus never talked about it. He didn’t even mention it in passing. In fact, he never said a word about a golden age “heaven on earth” millennial kingdom that is allegedly supposed to be established at some point in the future. Don’t you think it’s odd that he never said anything about a golden age during his ministry years, either publicly or in private with his disciples? You would think he’d at least have given a general description of it. He certainly talked in great detail about God’s Kingdom – why didn’t he say anything about a millennial kingdom?

The reason Jesus never talked about it is because it’s a lie of the devil based on a misinterpretation of scripture. The devil’s very good at misinterpreting and misapplying God’s Word, as we know from Jesus’ tests in the wilderness. In Revelation 20, which for most people forms the sole scriptural basis for their understanding of the millennial kingdom, the prophet sees the souls – not the bodies, the souls – of the resurrected. Note also that some of these souls are those of beheaded believers. The prophet sees these beheaded saints in their glorified (that is, heavenly) bodies that are obviously no longer without heads (or at least we hope not). But why would glorified saints come back to live on Earth? Why, for that matter, would Jesus? What possible reason would any of them have to do that? Even more to the point, could they even do that?

According to scripture, God’s holy angels do on occasion come to Earth in their glorified bodies, but only for very brief visits, such as when the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary or the angels to the shepherds. Glorified bodies are not well suited to time and space, which is why Jesus wasn’t fully glorified until his ascension. Even in their non-glorified forms, the holy angels never stay very long on Earth (I think their overnighter in Sodom with Lot’s family was their longest recorded stay here). So how are these resurrected saints in their glorified bodies going to manage to live hundreds of years on Earth, allegedly as priests, surrounded by a still very imperfect and fallen nature?

The answer is they’re not, and the so-called Earth-bound millennial golden age kingdom is a fairy tale based on a lie. Revelation 20 isn’t about a golden age; it describes God’s Kingdom on Earth, which is a spiritual realm founded by Jesus. It’s referred to as a “millennial” period not because it lasts a thousand years, but because it lasts a lengthy and indeterminate (only God knows how long) period of time. So far, it’s been nearly 2000 years and counting. From that realm, Jesus reigns over all souls, including the souls of his spiritual enemies, both mortal and immortal. Note that his enemies are not in the Kingdom, but he still has authority over them. Reigning as priests with Jesus are all the saints who’ve been resurrected in what is called the first resurrection, along with born-again believers who are still on Earth in their mortal bodies (that would be us!).

We know that true believers are resurrected because Jesus said they are and then he revealed two of them – Moses and Elijah – during the transfiguration. We’re told that Moses and Elijah appeared in shimmering white robes and their faces shone “like the sun”. In fact, the disciples found their appearance so overwhelming, their legs gave out from beneath them and the usually straight-talking Peter could only babble nonsensically. Scripture describes other people responding similarly to God’s holy angels. Whenever they appear in glory to us humans, the angels nearly always say “Fear not!” as an opener, as their presence seems to strike fear in us or to physically incapacitate us, or both. I can’t imagine that a kingdom where all the humans were perpetually fainting or on the verge of fainting would function very efficiently or would be considered a golden age.

Jesus didn’t talk about an earthly millennial kingdom because there’s never going to be one. Jesus’ focus was God’s Kingdom on Earth, which is the Church of true believers: He taught about it. He preached about it. You could even say he waxed poetic about it. God’s Kingdom on Earth formed the lion’s share of Jesus’ teachings, and rightly so: His followers needed to know how to live in the Kingdom after their rebirth.

Jesus, as Messiah and Lord, reigns over us now and has done so since his resurrection. He took his place at the right hand of God after his ascension, and we who are born-again are in his Kingdom. What does it mean to be in God’s Kingdom? It means we’re spiritually protected from our enemies, the same ones who were Jesus’ enemies during his time on Earth. These enemies have no power over us, thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice. More specifically, they have no power over us as long as we remain loyal to God. They may briefly have power over our bodies, as they did over Jesus’ body during his arrest and execution, but they have no power over our soul.

Do I believe that Jesus will return to Earth? Absolutely I believe that Jesus will return because he said he would. He said he would return in glory (that is, in his glorified body) and that he would send his holy angels to gather together the last of his believers to take them Home. He did not say he was coming back to set up an earthly kingdom; what he did say is “My Kingdom is not of this world”. He also reminded us that, as his followers, we we’ll have trouble in this world, but we should take heart because he’s overcome the world. Never once does he talk about a golden age.

The Kingdom of God has been up and running for the past nearly 2000 years and is the closest thing we’ll ever have to Heaven on Earth. So be very wary of wolves coming to you bearing good news of a future earthly golden age marketed as a messianic millennial kingdom, because if Jesus didn’t mention it, it ain’t gonna happen.