A woman was sitting in the waiting
room for her first appointment with a new dentist. She noticed his diploma,
which bore his full name. Suddenly, she remembered that a tall, handsome,
dark-haired boy with the same name had been in her high school class so many
years ago. Could this be the same guy I had a crush on way back then she
wondered?
She quickly discarded any such thought when she met the balding,
gray-haired man with the deeply lined face. He's way too old to have been my
classmate, she thought to herself.
Still, after he examined her teeth, she asked, "Did you happen to
attend Morgan Park High School
"Really?" he said,
looking at her closely. "What did you teach?"
The years do this to us. We age.
We get older. Things wear
out. But a day is coming when this will
no longer be true. Many places in the
Old Testament talk about a future time without war (Isaiah 2:2-4), a time of
fairness for the poor (Isaiah 11:4), a time without sadness or sorrow (Isaiah
30:19). It is the time when the wolf and
the lamb will live together (Isaiah 11:6).
This is the Millennial Kingdom; a time when those who are still mortal
will live long, healthy lives. “For My people’s
lives will be like the lifetime of a tree.
My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands,”[1]
wrote Isaiah (Isaiah 65:22). And these
events begin once Jesus returns to rule the earth for a thousand years.
Revelation chapter 20 describes
the events that take place once Jesus returns to the earth and defeats the
armies of Satan. John says, “Then I saw an angel
coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his
hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is
the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he
threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would
not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed;
after these things he must be released for a short time.
4 Then I saw thrones, and
they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their
testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not
worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their
forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6
Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection;
over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and
of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.[2]
Notice what John described
here. He said that once Jesus returned
to the earth, Satan is actually bound in the abyss for a thousand years. He will not be able to deceive those who are
still alive. Any Jew or Gentile who
survived the 7-year tribulation will not have to deal with Satan’s constant
temptations. However, these survivors
are not automatically included in the Millennial Kingdom. While Christ rules from Jerusalem, those who
survived the Tribulation period will be judged; before Christ reigns on earth,
the “sheep” need to be separated from the “goats.”
Those seated on the thrones are
given authority to judge. And it seems
these are the Twelve Apostles. Jesus
once promised that “when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious
throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel” [3]
(Matthew 19:28).
So, according to Jesus, it is the
Twelve Apostles who sit on those thrones, and
they are given the responsibility of deciding who is permitted to experience
the blessings of this Millennial Kingdom.[4] Of course, you and I are not apostles, but we
are disciples of Jesus. We are part of
the Church - a building built on the foundation established by the Apostles
(Ephesians 2:20). So, these twelve men
represent the Church as they sit on these thrones.
The first group to experience the
blessings of the Kingdom are those who had been killed during the
Tribulation. Although their faith in
Jesus came too late to experience the Rapture, they are still counted among those
who believe. Judged worthy, they experience a
bodily resurrection and become priests who reign with the Lord for a
thousand years (verse 6). Some Bible
scholars also believe the Old Testament Saints will be part of this first
resurrection as well (see Daniel 12:2-3).
Other groups of people will be
permitted to experience these blessings, but they need to be judged
worthy. Keep in mind that not everyone
will be killed during the Battle of Armageddon.
Some survivors will be Jewish while others come from different
nations. The Old Testament prophet
Ezekiel wrote that Jews will be judged at this time; they will be called
together from where they are scattered and will be examined (compare Ezekiel
20:33-38). The prophet Zechariah spoke
of this day as well. In chapter 12, he describes
the Millennial Kingdom as the time when the Jews finally realize that Jesus was
and is their Messiah. Any Jew who
survived the Tribulation will look at Jesus and know
they had been wrong all these years; their Messiah did come, but they missed it. Israel will experience a national repentance (Zechariah 12:10).
And finally, Jesus indicated that
non-Jewish survivors of the Tribulation will be judged as well. This is the lesson He teaches in Matthew
25:31-46. A Gentile (a non-Jewish person)
will be judged based upon his or her actions during the Tribulation; this is
when the “sheep” are separated from the “goats.”
Of course, these judgments are not
related to salvation. This is a time of review to purge unrighteousness from the
Millennial Kingdom of Christ; it may be associated with biblical passages that
speak of being cast into outer darkness.
Regardless, the final Day of God’s Judgment happens at the end of this
1,000-year period.
This Millennial Kingdom of Christ
is the “golden age,” or the “utopia”
people have dreamed of for centuries.
Humanity will be free from war, sickness, and even death. And, perhaps you wonder why this will only
last 1,000 years. Well, we will see that
even during this time of global peace, and during a period where Jesus can be
seen and heard, people will still turn their back on God (we’ll talk about this
next week).
While Jesus rules this earth for a
thousand years, you will be by His side.
It’s more than what we expected; far more than what we deserve. And yet, think about the great victory you
have won in this life. You are a normal human being who struggles with
sin. You battle temptation every
day. Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
You face pressure from your peers.
Society lures you toward the sensual things in life. Greed and envy are all around you. And yet, despite all these distractions, you
choose Christ. You accept Jesus, whom you cannot see, over the
tangible things in this life. No matter
what tactic Satan may use against you, you remain steadfast and immovable in
your devotion to the Lord… and that, my beloved friend, is an incredible
victory; a victory worth celebrating.
So, whether you want to dwell on this or not, one day, you will find
yourself seated at a place of honor. You
will receive a glorified body either through the resurrection or through the
rapture. And, “everyone who has given up houses or brothers or
sisters or father or mother or children or property, for [the Lord’s] sake,
will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life”[5]
(Matthew 19:29).
[1]
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version.
(2009). (Is 65:22). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2]
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.
(1995). (Re 20:1–6). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Mt 19:28). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4] This is not choosing who is saved; that
judgment is reserved for Christ. This is
choosing who will experience the joys of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ; those
who will experience this time of great blessing.
[5]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Mt 19:29). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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