THE JUDGE OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
Both Acts 10:42 and 2 Timothy 4:1 tell us that the Lord Jesus was appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. Before the millennium the Lord Jesus will judge the living unbelievers on the throne of glory (Matt. 25:31). After the thousand years all the dead people of the nations will be resurrected, and the Lord Jesus will judge them at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-12). So the Lord will be the judge of the living unbelievers before the millennium, and He will be the judge of the dead unbelievers after the millennium. By these two judgments the Lord Jesus will fully clear up the situation among all the Gentiles.
From among the Christians the Lord Jesus desires to get a group of kings to rule over the earth with Him. From among the Jews the Lord Jesus desires to get a group of priests to teach people how to serve Him during the millennium. Then from the Gentile world He desires to get a group of people who will be the nations during the millennium and also during the new heaven and the new earth. Thus, there are the kings, the priests, and the people. Everything works together for the kingdom! We must realize that the Gentiles at that time will only be preserved, not regenerated. They will be preserved from being condemned and lost, but they will not be regenerated.
CREATION RESTORED
Acts 3:21 says that heaven must receive the Lord Jesus until the times of restitution of all things. From the time of the fall of man, the whole of creation became degraded. Since that time everything has been under decay and corruption. According to Romans 8 all of creation is groaning under the bondage of corruption. Every new item soon becomes old because it is under the law of decay and corruption. A little baby looks so fresh, but an old man does not look fresh because he is under the process of decaying. The more we grow, the more we are decaying. Our physical body is under the principle of the bondage of corruption. When the Lord Jesus comes back He will bring the restitution. Restitution will be versus the corruption. Everything will be restored. Restitution is a kind of restoration.
Speaking of the time of restitution, Isaiah 65:20 says, "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed." During that time one who is a hundred years old will be considered as a child. Everyone will live hundreds of years.
Isaiah 11:6 further says, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." At the time of the restitution, or restoration, all the beasts will be meek and gentle. The lions and leopards and wild beasts will not hurt people. The children can play with the lions, the vipers, and the poisonous serpents. Neither shall there be any more war. The spears shall be made into plows. There will be no more fighting; instead there will be farming. That will be the time of real peace upon the earth, because everything will be restored and restituted.
(The Kingdom, Chapter 42, by Witness Lee)
