Some have offered the solution that the millennium is not literal but figurative. They say there will be no actual millennium in which Jesus rules the earth and the glorified saints rule with Him. Still others say we are already in the millennium, or that Jesus can’t come back and begin the millennium until the church has dominion over the world. What does Scripture say? Is the millennium an actual future time period? Will we literally return with Jesus, and will He rule the world from David’s throne?

We see in Psalm 22 that even as David describes his own suffering, the Holy Spirit inspires him to write things that would become true of Jesus, God in human flesh, in even harsher reality! Through David’s words, we look ahead to the suffering of the Messiah, becoming the beneficiaries of having all of this laid out in these verses.

In a world filled with war and terrorism, exploitation and extortion, lies and deceit, and political corruption, it is easy to become disillusioned by the present and take our eyes off the future. However, from the history of Israel, through the existence of the church, and right up to the end, God has always urged His people to keep looking up to Him rather than looking around at circumstances.

Our God is not limited in scope or in power. He isn’t the “god” of this or of that, but He is the Lord of all Creation, the mighty King! He isn’t worried about being challenged. He isn’t worried that He will be overthrown. He isn’t concerned about Allah ruling the world, nor is He fearful of any of the millions of Hindu gods. The New Age movement doesn’t frighten Him, nor does Buddhism or Scientology restrain Him or threaten Him with overtaking His kingdom. He is the King! He is coming to judge the world with His truth. 

The first thing he did, however, which is key, was to immediately confess that he was a sinner and to cry out to the Lord for mercy. Despite the awfulness of the situation, how sweet it is that David knew full well the character and nature of God, in that He is a God of mercy and is loving and kind. God is approachable, even to us—even in our sinfulness.

If the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to everyone who comes to faith in Christ, then everyone who comes to faith in Christ has the power to be a witness for Christ.