Yogi Berra, in one of his famous sayings, told us: "If you don't know where you are going, you will end up someplace else." That's really a profound statement of theology. We need to know the road ahead, one which Jesus called "narrow"—the one that "leads to life" (Matthew 7:14). That's the road I'm taking, and I hope it's the one you're planning to take too.
We all need paths and plans for living. Almost everything requires planning, doesn't it? A football game, a wedding, a vacation, a career. Planning for the future becomes a sort of full-time job as we grow older. But notice how often our plans are kidnapped by our fears of the future.
World conditions are going from bad to worse with almost unthinkable threats coming from the hostile governments around the world. Western nations have lost their spiritual foundations. Dr. Ben Carson in his book The Perilous Fight warns us that a war is being waged in America on both faith and family. He wrote, "Unhealthy families produce not just unhealthy individuals but entire generations of unhealthy families. Which is exactly what we're seeing in our culture today."1
It would all be so discouraging if not for God's Book full of divine prophecies and promises about the future from Him who can do something about it. The Lord has plans too—and His plans are perfect.
Listen to these verses about God's plans for us:
Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. - Psalm 40:5, NIV
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. - Psalm 33:11
We have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. - Ephesians 1:11, NLT
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11, NIV
The Lord has plans too—and His plans are perfect.
A hope and a future! Plans for tomorrow that undercut the fears of today! I've spent the last year pouring myself into an oft-neglected topic regarding God's future for us. It's the thousand-year reign of Christ. In my book The Coming Golden Age I want to share with you what the Bible says about this remarkable period of time. I'll give you a few details now, but in this article I especially want to tell you why this is so important.
Jesus Provides for Us in This Life
True information about our sure and certain future provides us with undeniable and undying encouragement. Just think! The unfolding of history—including the pressures of elections and national uncertainty—is not disordered chaos leading to hopelessness. God has a plan for this planet, and His penetrating providence is ruling and overruling the turmoil on earth in ways that are leading to the impending Rapture of the Church, the seven years of Tribulation, the return of Jesus, and the establishing of His glorious Golden Age of global peace during His predicted Millennial Kingdom. I've also determined that all the blessings of the Millennium—which will one day be physical, literal, political, and geographical—are available to you and me right now on a spiritual, personal, emotional, and experiential level. For example, the Millennium will be a time of peace, holiness, and worship. When we glimpse how that will be manifested on earth in the future, it helps us appreciate and experience the inner peace, personal holiness, and daily worship that should characterize us right now.
In talking about the ultimate blessings promised to us during the Millennium and eternity, the apostle Paul wrote, "We believers ... have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory" (Romans 8:23, NLT). The Holy Spirit, who is eternal and transcends time, has brought us tokens of the future to enjoy now.
Jesus Will Transform Us for Glorified Life
Then, at just the moment He has planned, Jesus will return for us. The Lord will appear in the sky, the trumpet will sound, the angel will shout, and the dead in Christ will be resurrected. The generation of Christians still alive at that moment will be caught up—raptured!—to join the others. Our bodies will undergo a great transformation, and we'll never again worry about aging, sickness, mental illness, fleshly temptation, or death. Christ will keep us close to Himself for the next seven years as the world undergoes a tremendous time of tribulation—the last death rattles of a collapsing planet.
Jesus Will Rule With Us in Our Millennial Life
Just as the world is in the worst throes of carnage ever known to humanity, the Lord will come again with you and me in His wake. He will bring the Tribulation to a conclusion, and His feet will again stand on the Mount of Olives. As He enters Jerusalem to assume His throne, the thousand-year clock will begin ticking.
We call this the Millennium—the Coming Golden Age. It's the Kingdom to come, the fulfillment of all the promises God made to Israel in the Old Testament. It's also the bridge of time that will take us into the eternal enclaves of the new heaven, the new earth, and the everlasting capital of New Jerusalem.
The Millennium will be a joyful time for all the saints of all the ages.
The Bible is packed with information about that day, much of it in the Old Testament. The reason has to do with Israel. While the whole world will rejoice during the Coming Golden Age, the nation of Israel will finally see the fulfillment of all God's promises to her. But Israel will not be alone in receiving those promises. The Millennium will be a joyful time for all the saints of all the ages.
The nation of Israel will no longer be attacked, and people will ask to be blessed by a Jewish person (Zechariah 8:23).
The wildlife on earth will no longer harm each other. They will live in harmony with each other and with us.
My friend, when Jesus establishes His earthly reign, kings will fall down before Him. Nations will serve Him. He will establish His Kingdom with justice and judgment. His people will be righteous, and Israel will inherit its land. War will be suspended, and the Lord's dominion will stretch from sea to sea.
And we will be there, ruling with our Lord, having positions of responsibility and authority. You will be of use to Him. He will say, "Well done!" and give you more glorious assignments.
We will be there, ruling with our Lord, having positions of responsibility and authority.
Jesus Will Be Living With Us in Our Eternal Home
The Millennial reign of Jesus Christ will take place on our present earth, which is surrounded by the vastness of the material universe. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." This original creation will continue to the end of the Millennium, but Peter tells us about its ultimate demise: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10).
Peter went on to say, "The heavens will be dissolved, being on fire .... Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:12-13).
The apostle John takes up the story at that point, telling us: "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away" (Revelation 21:1). As I've said many times, we'll not spend eternity in some vaporous state. We'll physically live on a beautiful, huge, earth-like planet with a glorious capital—New Jerusalem. We will see His face, and His servants will serve Him.
An old song says that Jesus gives us "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!" Yes, all because of God's promise that a better day is coming. A brighter future is ahead.
Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, is the Lord of our past, our present, and our future. Let His hope flood your soul, lift your spirits, and give you joy as you follow His straight and narrow pathway to life as He intends it to be!
1Dr. Ben Carson, The Perilous Fight (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024), 35.
This article was first published in the October 2024 issue of Turning Points Magazine & Devotional. Request your complimentary subscription today!
