Christ the King
As we approach the end, what is to be our inheritance?
The millennial reign of Christ demonstrates why only those who freely chose to follow and obey Jesus can enter the Eternal City. This article continues the series ‘Revelations of Jesus Christ’ from the book of Revelation.
Before Jesus ascended to heaven the disciples asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1: 6). Jesus did not answer their question, instead He directed their thoughts to the task in hand. Their task was, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to be witnesses to Jesus throughout the earth. Jesus did not deny that a time would come, as prophesied in the Old Testament, when the Messiah would reign over all the earth. The timing of that reign, as with the timing of His return, was hidden with His Father.
In Revelation 20: 4 – 9 we have the answer to the disciples’ question. The Father has set the context in which the reign of His beloved Son will be established. Following the fall of the kingdom of this world and overthrow of the beast, Satan has been banished. The stage is set for the greatest coronation in history.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her that she was to bear a child, he announced that, “the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” (Luke 1: 32). Jesus is coming back to reign. All the crowns and all the symbols of authority of all the nations will be handed over to Him.
The reign of the Saints
When we are caught up to be with Jesus from that time onwards we will always be with Him (Thessalonians 4: 17). When He comes back to reign, we also come back with Him. “And I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was committed to them.” (Revelation 20:4).
Who is sitting on the thrones? The answer from Scripture is that all the saints are seated on thrones. The faithful in the church at Laodicea are promised that if they overcome, they will sit with Jesus on His throne. At Thyatira, the overcomers told that they will have power over the nations. In the vision of eternity the elders and living creatures sing a new song. The redeemed will be kings and priests and will reign on the earth. (Revelation 5: 9 – 10).
In the prophecies of Daniel it says that after a period of testing, the dominion will be handed to the saints of the Most High (Daniel 7: 27). The Corinthian church was scolded for taking one another to court when they should be preparing to rule over this world. (1 Corinthians 6: 1 – 2) Paul reminds Timothy that if we endure with Him we shall also reign with Him (2 Timothy 2: 12). It is the faithful church which is seated on the thrones, sharing in Christ’s rule.
Special mention is then made of the martyrs who died during the reign of the beast. For their comfort, those who give up their lives, are assured that they will live again to reign with Christ. They stood against the evil of Satan’s empire. Now they will be part of Jesus Christ’s administration which will rule the world.
The Millennium
The prophet Habakkuk foresaw this time. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2: 14). Psalm 72 provides some more detail of the reign of Jesus over all the earth. Isaiah foresaw a time of universal peace, (Isaiah 2: 4) and a time when the earth will be restored to its created harmony, (Isaiah 11: 6 – 9). Jesus will judge the earth with righteousness, (Isaiah 11: 4) and there will be abundance of crops (Amos 9:13).
For 1000 years this world will be under the benevolent rule of Christ. There will be peace and prosperity such as it has not known since the days before the fall. But Christ will have to rule with a rod of iron. (Psalm 2: 8, 9, Revelation 2: 26, 27, Revelation 12: 5). Anything that is contrary to the laws of God will be suppressed. Not all will rejoice at having to live under this benign but strict rule. The Bible teaches that after living for 1000 years in a perfect world, people rebel. They will seek to throw off His reign. At the end of the 1000 years Satan is allowed to tempt mankind one last time. He will taunt people as he did Eve in Eden: ‘Do you really want this man to rule over you?’ ‘Look at all the restrictions He places on your lives’. ‘You would be so much better off if I ruled over you’.
The gospel of the street is; ‘if there is a heaven I will be alright for I am a good person’. By implication, if God doesn’t allow ‘good people’ into heaven He is unjust. Rev 20: 4 – 10 demonstrates the absolute justice of Christ, in banishing even those who appear righteous in the eyes of the world, from his New Jerusalem. To explain this we will look at two widely debated passages.
The Sheep and the Goats
At the end of this present age there will be a judgment. (Matthew 25: 31 – 46). This is not the final judgement. The judgment is described in a parable which identifies three groups of people: the ‘Sheep’, who are selected because they showed compassion to ‘My brethren’, the ‘Goats’, who are rejected because they had no compassion, and ‘My Brethren’. Elsewhere Jesus defined His brethren as “those who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8: 21). At this point in time, the followers of Christ have been raptured, received a new body and returned with Christ to earth. My brethren, have already been separated out.
This parable is about who will populate the Millennial Kingdom. The sheep will be divided from the goats. They are to; “inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” The reward is based on their good works. Even a small act of mercy gains them entry into this kingdom. But that is contrary to the rest of Scripture which teaches that salvation is by faith.
From the foundation of the world it was the intention of the Father to establish a kingdom ruled over by His beloved Son. (Ephesians 1: 3-14). Therefore it can be said of this kingdom that it was prepared before the foundation of the world. The sheep are blessed because the Father has shown them mercy. They will be allowed to experience a world ruled over by Jesus Christ. The sheep are the ‘good people’ of this world, compassionate and kind but not believers. This is not a second chance. Their lives have not ended. It is these ‘good people’ who will make up the nations which populate the planet during the reign of Christ.
The fate of the goats, who showed no mercy, is to share Satan’s punishment in the everlasting fire. I believe that the goats are the same as the people who took the mark of the beast. Their torment is described in Revelation 14: 10 – 11.
The final rebellion
We move on to the final outcome of that reign which vindicates the justice of God. In Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 there is a description of when Gog and his hordes come up to attack Israel. I believe that two separate events, which tie in with Revelation 19 and 20, are described in these chapters.
In Revelation 19 there is an allusion to Ezekiel 39. The birds are gathered to the supper of the great God. It is a rebellion against Christ coming to reign on the earth at the end of the present age. Revelation 20: 8 makes a more direct reference to Gog and Magog as in Ezekiel 38. At the end of this present age when Jesus returns to claim His throne the people of this world will reject His rule and gather to fight against Him. Following the victory of Christ, all the wicked are removed. (Matt 13: 41).
These two descriptions of the rebellion by Gog warn us that the present age and the coming age will both end in rebellion. Both times mankind will resist the reign of Christ. The millennium proves that even the ‘good people’, in reality, hate His rule. All excuses that man makes as to why he disobeys God have now been answered.
For a time, men will live in a foretaste of the perfect kingdom of God. Their one wish will be to destroy it. The number of those who are stirred by Satan to rebel is like the sand on the sea-shore. They have experienced the reign of Jesus and seen this world returned to its former paradise. Yet despite the benevolent reign of Christ they will not submit to Him. Instead they listen to Satan.
Those who are outwardly good by the standards of this world but inwardly in rebellion cannot and never will be able to enter. The citizens of the millennial kingdom and all those who preceded them in the former ages, have one thing in common, “they love and practice a lie”.
It is the perfect justice of God that only those who freely chose to submit to His rule over their lives, can enter through the gates to the eternal city.