Pastor Jonathan Laurie lists 6 features of Christ's 1,000-year reign on Earth
The son of Harvest Christian Fellowship Senior Pastor Greg Laurie recently laid out six attributes of the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on Earth during the End Times.
Pastor Jonathan Laurie, who is part of the Harvest leadership, preached a sermon on Sunday about Revelation 20, which describes how, after the Second Coming, Jesus will reign on Earth for 1,000 years.
“It’s going to be amazing; it’s going to be beautiful,” said Laurie. “It’s going to be like a brief layover in paradise before the real Paradise begins.”
Regarding the aspects that will define this millennium described in Revelation, Laurie noted that the first key aspect will be that “Jesus is King” and will directly reign over all the Earth.
“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. No more corrupt politicians, no more unjust rulings, no more backroom quid pro quo deals,” Laurie said. “Absolute righteousness will reign, and Jesus will be the King of the world.”
The second defining aspect of the millennial reign of Christ, Laurie added, will be “world peace,” quoting Isaiah 2:4, which reads in part that nations “will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.”
“There will be, finally, world peace. No more terrorism, no more bombs,” Laurie explained. “Over the course of human history, hundreds of millions have been killed in wars, maybe even up to a billion.”
“There’s no longer going to be need for weapons anymore, no need to lock doors or spy on each other’s countries … only God can bring true world peace.”
Laurie explained that the third aspect will be that “joy will abound,” noting that "there will be no more depression, there will be no more disease, no more cancer, no more wheelchairs, no more deafness or blindness.”
The fourth aspect of the millennial reign will be that “life will abound,” with Laurie quoting Isaiah 65:20, which reads in part, “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child.”
Laurie clarified that the people described in this passage were not believers who were taken up to Heaven during the rapture, but rather are those who remained on Earth and survived End Times tribulations.
“During this thousand-year reign, their lives, living in their mortal bodies, they will be the ones that get these amazing perks of life,” he continued. “They will be the ones that have abnormally long lives.”
The fifth aspect of the millennial kingdom of Christ, according to Laurie, will be that “the animal kingdom” will be “subdued,” referencing Isaiah 11:6, which predicts that “the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.”
“They’re all going to be domesticated,” he said. “You’re going to be able to go and see them up close and personal. What an amazing idea.”
“You’re no longer going to have to go to the zoo or have to go on some wild safari to go and find these animals. You’re going to be able to call out to them, probably have them come to you.”
The sixth aspect will be that “the curse of sin is lifted,” with Laurie explaining that Christians “will be ruling and reigning with Christ” and will be “overseers” on Earth.
Laurie then went on to explain how, after the thousand years has ended, Revelation records that the devil will be released from his prison for one final rebellion before he is defeated once and for all.
Laurie’s sermon was part of a multi-week series at Harvest centered on the End Times and various topics, such as the Second Coming of Jesus and the rapture.
Jonathan Laurie’s father, Pastor Greg Laurie, has preached the other parts of the series, including one message from late last month in which he said there are “signs of the times” in the modern day that indicate Jesus’ return is coming soon.
Examples Greg Laurie gave included "the emergence of China as a superpower," "the lessening of the United States as a superpower," "the repeated threats against Israel spoken of in the Bible," and "statements from our world leaders about a potential Armageddon" because of the war in Ukraine.
“I would add to this the explosion of technology, especially artificial intelligence, increasing government overreach in our lives, where the government is seeking to gain more and more control of what happens to us,” Greg Laurie said in his July sermon.
“I would also add the dramatic increase of drug use decimating American cities, international financial instability, mass shootings, the disintegration of the family, the calculated attacks against the family. The Bible says, ‘In the last days, there will be satanically energized times and things will go from bad to worse."