The
Kingdom of God will continue until all God’s purposes are complete. Then there will be a gradual
decline. The church will start to lose some of its zeal. It will continue doing good, but
will be motivated more by habit than love for the Lord. As men begin to trust more and
more on their own strength, the Spirit will be grieved, and this will accelerate the
decline.The external security of the church will prove to be
a trap, leading to inconsistencies, and carelessness. Discipline will be relaxed and
heresy will be tolerated. The church’s influence on the world will grow less and
less. The unconverted section part of the world’s population, which has been
constrained by the strong Christian influence in the world, will begin to fall in with the
spirit of the day. Once freed from the restraints of Christianity, they will begin to flex
their muscles. They will begin to act in a way which is more true to their character, as
they no longer feel constrained by Christian standards. This decline of faith in the
church, and lack of obedience in the world, will provoke the Lord to set in train the
events which bring the Kingdom age to a close.
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison. Rev 20:7
A number of people on the earth will have already placed themselves in Satan’s
hands, but he is subject to the authority of the Lord and cannot go to work without
permission. Satan does not break out by his own strength but is released by the Lord. As
the church goes into decline, he will be released for one last time.
This season is referred to as the short time, which suggests that the
events take place very rapidly. It will be a very short time
compared to the Kingdom age. Opposition to the Kingdom will
develop. gradually, as people will begin to take the blessings
of God for granted. They will think that have achieved them
by human strength and forget about God. This will open them to the
deception of Satan. This opposition to God will
culminate in the