In the Revelation, we read of the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ, which will take place after the Great Tribulation, when those who were beheaded by the Beast will reign with Christ for a thousand years.
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Rev. 20:4-6
This same event is described throughout the Old Testament as a time when the Remnant of Israel will be gathered to Jerusalem to rule over the nations.
In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. “In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. I will make the lame my remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. Mic.4:1-7
The above passages describe how a Remnant from Israel will be gathered to Jerusalem where the Lord will rule from Mount Zion. Accordingly, the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ will be a time when the resurrected martyrs of the Great Tribulation will be serve as priests with the faithful Remnant of Israel, and, together, they will rule over the nations.
Unfortunately, many confuse the prophecies that describe how the remnant of Israel will be gathered to Mount Zion, during the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ, with the creation of the modern-day state of Israel that occurred in 1948. However, a comparison of these two events reveals that the prophecies that describe the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ do not match what took place in 1948 as detailed below.
The movement to re-establish Israel as a nation began in the late 1800’s when Nationalist Jews (Zionist) began migrating to what was then known as Palestine. The migration of Jews to Palestine greatly increased during the events of World Wars I and II, as massive numbers of Jews from Russia and Europe fled from persecution. The migration of Jews to Palestine was opposed by the Arabs who lived there and by the surrounding Arab nations. As a result, the British Government, which was given control over Palestine following World War I, began blocking the ships that contained the Jewish immigrants from docking and diverted them to refugee camps. This, in turn, led to acts of terrorism against British targets by underground Jewish fighters. When Palestine was eventually partitioned between Jews and Arabs through a contentious vote of the U.N., in 1947, it resulted in armed conflicts between the two groups, and Britain chose to withdrawal from the Holy Land. When the U.N. agreement expired, in 1948, without a replacement plan, the Zionist in Palestine declared that their portion of land, given to them in the earlier agreement, was now a separate nation-state named Israel. This, in turn, led to a full-scale war between the new nation of Israel and the neighboring Arab countries. Although Israel was victorious in this war, several other wars have since taken place, and Israel’s existence as a nation is still contested by her enemies.
None of the above events are a fulfillment of the following prophecies that describe how foreigners will eagerly participate in the return of the Faithful Remnant to Jerusalem during the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ.
“And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.” Isa. 66:20
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” Zech. 8:23
Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors. Isa.14:2
Based on these and other prophecies that were not fulfilled in 1948, we know that the creation of the largely secular state of Israel that exists today is not a fulfillment of the prophecies in Scripture that describe how a future, priestly nation will be gathered to Israel during the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ. In addition, we read that during the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ, those who were beheaded by the Beast will serve as priests. Today, we see neither the martyrs, nor has the Great Tribulation already occurred, which, again, tells us that the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ is a future event that is yet to take place.
To read more about the order of events of the Last Days, click here: The Order of Events of the Last Days