Sorry, I'm still not tracking. Peter is speaking to Israel about the restitution of all things. Does this pertain to the Millennium, and if so does the Church take part in this Millennium? (We are talking about physical land and not just our status of 'In Christ' as the new creation/man.
Yes. In both cases I'm talking of a physical Land. In Genesis 1:26-28 God makes man in His image and likeness to display Him, and He commands man to rule the earth, sea and sky. This theme is followed throughout the Bible and God never gives up His plan. The Bible ends with a City made of men which has the glory of God and rules forever (Rev.21:11, 22:5). The fall of man delayed God, but only in that He could unfold more of His glory. God's recovery plan started with Abraham - a Syrian, Gentile, idol worshiper. To Abraham God promises a number of things.
- Seed as the Sand of the Sea Shore
- Seed as the Stars of Heaven
- Seed that would bless all the families of earth
- Seed that would possess the "Gates of his enemies" ( a "Gate" in parable is the rule, or government of a city)
- A physical piece of the earth with borders - Canaan
Since the hindrance to God's work is always the flesh of man, Abraham's side of the Covenant of Promise, was circumcision - a "sign" that he put the flesh aside for God's purpose. Abraham then learned that he would not receive this Land in his lifetime. Thus, Abraham proved his faith over and above what God wanted. Not only did he believe God fr the Land, leave his home country and fellowship with God, but three times he showed by his actions that he believed that he would receive the PROMISES IN RESURRECTION. So, God extended the PROMISE to include, with Canaan, the WHOLE EARTH (Rom.4:13).
When our Lord Jesus came He came as Israel's Messiah and King. But He also came as Maker and Inheritor of all things. He not only offered Israel their Kingdom back, but He offered them the Whole Earth. The whole package would be ruled by the rules that were in place in heaven, so our Lord Jesus prayed;
"Thy (God's) Kingdom COME (to earth), thy will be done on EARTH as it is in heaven". That is, the Kingdom of God would be a Kingdom of rule by Heaven and Heaven's rules. But Israel stumbled. The reason that Israel stumbled was that the cause of all their woes was not foreign kings ruling over them. That was just the symptoms of a broken Law. Israel needed to go to the root of the problem - their sins. So the call was, from John Baptist and our Lord Jesus, "REPENT" - for the Kingdom (out) OF Heaven is at hand." Israel believed that they had the Law of God and were keeping it, and refused to humble themselves and admit that they were fallen apostate and in darkness.
The outcome of our Lord's Jesus' overtures to Israel is well known. They rejected their Messiah and chose Caesar. So in Matthew 21:43 the Lord withdraws the offer of the Kingdom (out) OF Heaven and declares that it will be given to another people. But because of the Covenant of Promise for Canaan, Israel will still get their Land. So when the Millennium dawns, our Lord Jesus sets up His everlasting Kingdom on earth after defeating the military power of the Gentiles in one swoop at Armageddon. This Kingdom covers the whole earth and will be ruled by Overcoming Christians (Lk.19:17-19). But within this Kingdom out OF Heaven is a special subsection - Canaan.
It is special for two reasons. (i) It is the fulfillment of God's Promises to a single man and his Seed, and (ii) our Lord Jesus, Emanuel, will set up His Residence in Jerusalem and take His rightful position as King of Israel. However, the RULERS of Israel, just like the Nations, will be Christians. So second in command in Israel during the Millennium will be David
(Hosea 3:5; Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23-24, 37:24-25). We can see from the Psalms that David believed in our Lord Jesus. This makes Him a Believer - looking forward just as Moses did in Deuteronomy 18:18. Under David will be the twelve Apostles, each ruling one Tribe (Matt.19:28). That is, Israel will be ruled by Overcoming Christians, but who were once Jews.
But our Lord Jesus is Maker and King of the whole Earth. So His rule goes out from Jerusalem into the Nations via His most trusted Christian servants - those who proved in their lifetime to be utterly loyal and obedient to Christ, their Head (Matt.24:45-47; Lk.19:17-19). Israel is Israel and enjoys her recovery to the fullest. The prophets speak of wonderful blessings, safety and peace. But the earth will be ruled in "righteousness peace and joy" by the Church's Overcomers.