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`For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder ... Of the
increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD
of hosts will perform this' (Isa. 9:6,7).
`... but with righteousness He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the poor of the earth'
(Isa. 11:4 N.I.V).
`He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the
oppressor ... He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall
spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and
violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight' (Psa. 72:4,12-14).
`Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign
and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth ... and this is His name whereby He shall be
called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS' (Jer. 23:5,6).
There is no doubt whatsoever that the world will never experience righteous and absolute fair rule until He Who is
`the King of kings' returns and takes complete control.
The knowledge of God. There is no doubt that man's failure is not only due to his innate sinfulness and
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frailty, but also to his ignorance of God, His character and His ways. The prophecy of Isaiah opens with God's
lament over the ignorance of His earthly people Israel, in spite of their training by priest and prophet:
`Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth ... The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel
doth not know, My people doth not consider' (Isa. 1:2,3).
Israel had fallen lower than animals; for animals recognised their owners, but Israel refused to do so, hence their
abysmal failure. However, all this will be rectified in the millennial age for then `the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea' (Isa. 11:9). First, redeemed and restored Israel will come to a full
knowledge of God under the terms of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:33,34; Isa. 54:13), and then, as the greatest
missionaries of all time, they will take this knowledge to the ends of the earth with consequent blessing that is hard
to appreciate at the present time of Christ's rejection.
Freedom from Oppression. Another characteristic of the coming kingdom on earth which is linked with the
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Lord's administration of justice is freedom from oppression of any kind, social, political or religious oppression will
not be tolerated.
`He (the Lord Jesus) will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; He will crush
the oppressor' (Psa. 72:4 N.I.V).
`I the LORD have called thee (Israel) in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee
for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from
the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house' (Isa. 42:6,7 and see 49:8,9).
With the binding and imprisonment of Satan, so that he is not able to deceive the nations for 1000 years, a colossal
hindrance to the establishment and maintenance of the kingdom will be removed by God (Rev. 20:1-3). In fact, it is
difficult to imagine earthly conditions that are free from this terribly sinister power that is now designated as the
`god of this world' (2 Cor. 4:4), who blinds the minds of all unbelievers and energises the present world system,
which is utterly opposed to God and all His great redemptive purpose.
The 20th chapter of Revelation is the only Scripture that gives us the length of the Messianic mediatorial
kingdom on this earth. Six times in this chapter its duration is said to be 1000 years hence the title `millennium'
which means a thousand (Rev. 20:2-6).
The amillennialist takes exception to the literal interpretation of 1000 in this context. Some go so far as to say
this is the only reference to a millennium in the Bible. This is foolish, for the Old and New Testaments give full
descriptions as we have seen, of this glorious time. If they mean its length, then it is correct.
But on what sound grounds of interpretation do they take part of this chapter literally, but spiritualise the word
`thousand'? The words of Dean Alford are to the point here: