It can be confusing or difficult to ascertain from Scripture who will repopulate the Earth during the Millennium when several categories of people will be present at the end of the tribulation. (Note: The Millennial Reign of Christ immediately follows the seven-year tribulation on Scripture’s prophetic calendar.)
The first category of people on Earth at the end of the tribulation are glorified believers who accompanied Jesus from Heaven for His second coming. This group of saints will not marry or repopulate the Earth during the Millennium because they are “the bride of Christ” and were already resurrected and glorified. Their role will be to assist Jesus as He rules and reigns.
Matthew 22:30 says, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in Heaven.”
Revelation 2:26–27 says, “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father.”
1 Corinthians 6:2 says, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”
The second category of people alive on Earth at the end of the tribulation are the 144,000 Jews God sealed at the beginning of the tribulation and preserved throughout it. These individuals will remain in their physical, natural bodies upon Jesus’ return and will (presumably) marry and repopulate the Earth during the Millennium.
Revelation 7:4-8 says, “And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.”
Revelation 14:1 says, “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.”
The third category of people alive on Earth at the end of the tribulation are Gentile believers who trusted Jesus for salvation during the antichrist’s rule and escaped martyrdom for their faith. These individuals are “the sheep” whom Jesus will separate from “the goats” when He judges those on Earth after His second coming and before He sets up His Millennial Kingdom. These individuals will remain in their physical, natural bodies and will (presumably) marry and repopulate the Earth during the Millennium.
Matthew 25:31-34 says, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”
The fourth category of people alive on Earth at the end of the tribulation are unbelievers. These individuals (“the goats” in Matthew 25:31-34) will not occupy nor repopulate the Earth during the Millennium but be judged and cast into hell after Jesus’ second coming.
Matthew 25:31-33, 41, and 46 say, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left... (verse 41) Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels...’ (verse 46) These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The fifth category of people alive on Earth at the end of the tribulation will be infants and children. Some will be the children of unbelievers who took the mark of the beast during the tribulation. Others might be orphans whose parents were executed by the antichrist for placing their faith in Jesus during the tribulation (unless they are killed along with their believing parents). Additionally, some boys and girls will be the offspring of believers who escaped execution by the antichrist despite putting their faith in Jesus during the tribulation. Logic would dictate that all infants and children (under the age of accountability) would enter the Millennium in their natural, physical bodies and eventually marry and help repopulate the Earth.
Matthew 19:13-14 says, “Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’”
Mark 10:13-14 states, “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’”
In addition to the 144,000 Jews, Gentile believers, and children who will enter the Millennium in their natural, physical bodies (and ultimately repopulate the planet during that time), children born during the 1,000 years will also eventually marry and repopulate the Earth.
A few interesting facts to consider when evaluating who will occupy and repopulate the Earth during the Millennium are Creation and the worldwide flood. In both instances, Jesus used holy and righteous individuals to begin or restart the world’s population. Never once did He utilize unbelievers to accomplish such a feat. Therefore, it only seems logical that He would do the same for the Millennium, especially since He destroys the ungodly upon His glorious return.
I hope this information helps shed some light on this fascinating topic.
