As we shall see, the “gospel of Jesus Christ” will be proclaimed during the Millennium. We are currently in the “Day of Grace” (commonly referred to as “the Church Age”) where the gospel of Christ is being preached and souls that are saved become part of “the Church.” The church began on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down to indwell believers and to form the church (Acts 2:1-4, 47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; and Ephesians 1:22-23). The nation of Israel is still in unbelief during the “Church Age” until the “fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (when the “last soul to complete the church has been saved” …see Romans 11:25).

After the Rapture, the seven-year Tribulation Period will begin and God will then resume His dealings with Israel and He will seal 144,000 Jewish missionaries to preach the “gospel of the kingdom” and many will be saved (Revelation 7:1-14). After the Tribulation the Millennium (the “Kingdom Age” where Christ will rule for 1,000 years) will begin (Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46; Revelation 20:4-6). Those who were saved during the Tribulation will “enter into the kingdom on earth” (Matthew 25:32-34) and those who were lost will “go away into everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:41, 46).

Though everyone is saved at the beginning of the Millennium, many will be born throughout the Kingdom Age and they will have the “gospel of Jesus Christ” preached to them. How do we know this? We know this by reading Psalm 22, a well-known Psalm that starts out in verse one with the words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” We know these words were spoken by Jesus Christ on the cross when He was forsaken by God as He was being judged for our sins so we could be saved (Isaiah 53:5-6, 10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18). The sinner who believes that Christ “died for their sins, was buried, and rose again the third day” is SAVED and God declares them RIGHTEOUS (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and Romans 3:21-26). If you read on in Psalm 22:23 we see Jesus speaking to the Jews who will enter the Millennium Kingdom, “You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!” These Jews are there because they were SAVED and JUSTIFIED through faith in Christ. Now let’s read Psalm 22:27-28, “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’S, and He rules over the nations.” This means that in every Gentile nation there will be those who are saved who will worship the Lord. This is speaking initially of all the Gentiles who entered the Millennial Kingdom at the beginning (as we saw in Matthew 25:32-34) but it will also include Gentiles (and Jews) who are born and who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ when it is preached to them. There will be “missionaries then who preach the gospel to them” and they too will be SAVED and JUSTIFIED. How do we know this? Ah, because the Psalm ends with these wonderful words, “A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, THEY WILL COME AND DECLARE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS TO A PEOPLE WHO WILL BE BORN, THAT HE HAS DONE THIS.” These missionaries will declare that Jesus was indeed “forsaken of God to pay for their sins.” Jesus said on the cross, “IT IS FINISHED” (John 19:30) and their message will be “He has done this.”  God, who is RIGHTEOUS, will “JUSTIFY those who believe in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

Regarding discipline, there will be outbreaks of sin by those who are unsaved but they will be quickly cut off (cursed…Isaiah 65:20d). At the close of the Millennium, after Satan is released from the bottomless pit, those who were never saved will follow him in his last rebellion against God and they will all be destroyed and the devil will be “cast into the lake of fire” (see Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10).  (DO)  (665.1)