In this blog I should like to shed some light on what it is that we Christians will be doing when we return to the earth, with Jesus, when He sets up His millennial kingdom. This will happen at the end of the seven-tribulation when Jesus returns in all of His glory. First of all, we need to know that the millennial reign of Jesus is the most prophesied event, of all the events prophesied about, in the Bible. It’s also known as the 7th dispensation of time. The first six dispensations depict the various divisions of human history where God intervenes in the timeline, establishing significant transitions in biblical events. There are a total of seven dispensations of time; the millennial reign of Jesus being the seventh one. This type of biblical study is called dispensationalism, a blog topic for another day.
The Millennial Reign of Christ is ranked #14 of the 16 Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God; this is the fellowship that I am ordained with. For more information about the Assembly of God fellowship, the 16 Fundamental truths, and more specifically, their doctrinal position on the Millennial Reign of Christ, you can visit their website at ag.org. In this blog I will be writing about this one-thousand-years of global peace and prosperity that will occur when the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, will be ruling the world from Jerusalem.
Before we can get to the millennial reign of Jesus, the Lord must first return to the earth.
John the Revelator describes that that will look like this way.
“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp (two-edged) sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.’ – Revelation 19:11-16
- What John is describing here is none other than the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth. This is NOT the Rapture, rather, when Jesus returns, with His bride, to retake the planet. Yes, it’s true, He will be riding on a flying white horse; but so will we, His bride, also be riding on flying horses. We see Jesus in His glorified form; majestic, holy, radiant, glorified, and all powerful.
The ‘sharp sword’ that goes out of His mouth is His Word, the Word, being spoken. Christ is coming with great vengeance to retake the plant and rule it with a ‘rod of iron.’ This ‘rod’ is actually translated scepter and it references the scepter of a king; in this case, the King of kings. The first place that Christ flies over is the plain of Megiddo in northern Israel where the armies of the earth are amassed and marching toward Jerusalem to destroy it and her people, the Jews.
John the Revelator describes how the Lord intervenes.
“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.” – Revelation 19:17-19
- The world’s armies (what’s left of them) will be mustered on the plain of Megiddo in northern Israel. They will be slaughtered by the Lord and His heavenly hosts. Their bodies will be strewn out over the fields and massive amounts of birds of prey will flock to this area to eat their flesh.
When Jesus returns, the most powerful armies in the world will be reduced to bird food in this final battle of the tribulation. Some scholars believe that the saints will also be involved in this slaughter, but the Bible says that only Jesus is the one wielding a sword, and it comes from His mouth, meaning, He speaks and it happens.
“Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
– Revelation 19:20,21
- The beast and the false prophet will be immediately captured and cast directly into the Lake of Fire where they will suffer horrifically for all eternity. The beast is the man of sin who will have been leading the one-world government during the tribulation. The false prophet is the one-world religious leader who will have been leading the global false religion during the tribulation. Both of these men are mortal, and both will be the first of billions who will eventually be cast into the notorious Lake of Fire. The rest of the enemy armies will be slain on the battlefield in northern Israel.
John continues, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while” – Revelation 20:1-3
- When Jesus returns to the earth, with His Bride, He will have the devil cast into the bottomless pit. This is done by just one angel. This pit is located in an unknown subterranean cavern within the earth’s mantle where the devil and his hordes of demons will be sequestered for the entirety of the millennial reign of Jesus. There they will suffer, but not be able to escape from this place of holding.
The idea of sequestering the devil and his demons has more to do with restricting their evil influence over what will become the most peaceful and prosperous time in human history, the Millennial Reign of Christ. To do this, the enemy must be locked up, as it were, so that he will not be able to pervert what the Lord is about to do in the earth; that is, establish His earthly kingdom. What happens next is the cleansing of the temple and the Judgment of the Nations, two major events that must occur before the beginning of Christ’ millennial reign. I like to call this part of the narrative the 75-day interval.
“This 75-day interval is a time of preparation for the kingdom. Because so much of the globe will have been destroyed during the judgments of the tribulation, it is not at all surprising that our Lord will take some time to renovate His creation in preparing for the Millennial kingdom.” – Dr. Tim Lahaye
The final two verses in Daniel 12 say, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days (1,290). Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days (1,335).” – Daniel 12:11,12
- The phrase, ‘from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up,’ is a direct reference to the abomination of desolation that occurs when the antichrist desecrates the temple and sets himself up to be god. This happens at the mid-point of the tribulation.
We know that the mid-point of the tribulation is 1,260 days into the seven-year tribulation; which means that there is still another 1,260 days to go before the tribulation is over. The seven year tribulation will last for two sets of 1,260 days which is exactly 2,520 days. On the last day of the tribulation, Jesus Christ will return to the earth in His glorious Second Coming.
NOTE: People who missed the Rapture and are aware of biblical prophecy CAN know the exact day of Christ’ Second Coming by counting 2,520 days from the day the peace treaty is signed. However, in this passage, Daniel tells us that there are 1,290 days; an extra 30 days beyond Christ’ Second Coming.
Some scholars believe that this extra 30 days is referring to the cleansing of the temple because the context pertains to the temple and the desecration of it by the antichrist; it must be cleansed. We read in Ezekiel chapters 40 – 48 that the Lord will establish a millennial temple during the Millennial Reign of Jesus. This 30-day period will be a set time in which the temple will be cleansed, set up, and prepared for use during the millennium.
Then Daniel writes, “Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days (1,335).” – Daniel 12:12
‘Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.’ This is another 45 days where the righteous survivors of the tribulation who are found worthy at the Judgment of the Nations will be ‘blessed’ because they will be granted entrance into the Millennial kingdom where Jesus will reign for a thousand years. Everyone who enters into the Millennial Kingdom will be blessed and benefit from Christ’ leadership; Jesus will rule and reign ‘from the throne of His father David’ in Jerusalem. While it is true that much work will need to be done on the earth in the form of rebuilding and restoring Jerusalem, the temple there, and the entire planet; it is equally true that this restoration and rebuilding effort will be done with efficiency and effectiveness over the course of the beginning years of Christ’ millennial reign because Jesus will be in command and we will co-rule and reign with Him during this era.
To recap,
- The additional 45 days that are added to the 30 days totals 75 days. The angel said that those righteous people who make it through the tribulation and are found worthy to enter into the Christ’ millennial kingdom will be ‘blessed.’ This speaks to an individual blessing for each surviving person who has received Jesus during the tribulation, not taken the mark of the beast, and who is looking for His return.
This extra 45 days is a direct reference to the Judgment of the Nations which is a judgment that is reserved for all the survivors of the tribulation, the righteous (saved) as well as the wicked (lost) and Jesus will be the Judge.
The same way Christians are found worthy to escape the tribulation by way of the Rapture and the Bema Seat Judgment, so trib-saints must be found worthy to enter the Millennial Kingdom by way of the Judgment of the Nations. This means that a person found righteous by Jesus at the Judgment of the Nations is qualified to enter into the 1000-year Messianic kingdom. We don’t hear a lot of teaching on the Judgment of the Nations as to its purpose, what it represents, and when it will occur; however, Jesus makes is pretty clear that this judgment must occur prior to His millennial reign to vet all those who enter in.
Jesus referenced this in Matthew 25,
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
– Matthew 25:31-46
- In this passage Jesus gives us a brief, but accurate understanding of the Judgment of the Nations and what a person must do to ‘pass the test to be blessed’ and enter into His glory. The Lord wants us to be with Him and He reveals why the righteous win and why the wicked lose in this judgment.
People often ask the question, ‘How will the people of the post-tribulation world ‘be gathered’ before Jesus?’ The answer is ‘angel flight,’ and it’s revealed in Matthew 24,
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” – Matthew 24:29-31
- In this passage we see that what is occurring here is ‘immediately after the tribulation’ which infers that the 2,520 days are now completed, Jesus has now returned to earth with His Church, the Battle of Armageddon has been won, the temple must be cleansed (30 days), and the Judgment of the Nations must ensue for all the survivors of the tribulation (45 days).
This phrase, ‘and He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other,’ is what many post-tribulationists believe is the actual rapture. Afterall, the angels of the Lord are gathering Christ’ elect from the four winds of heaven. While this may seem logical to post-trib rapture believers, it doesn’t align itself with many other passages of scripture pertaining to a pre-tribulation Rapture. I believe this ‘great gathering’ is a gathering of all the people on the face of the whole earth, ‘from one end of heaven to the other,’ who have survived the tribulation. They are now being taken to the Judgment of the Nations in Jerusalem, Israel. Those righteous people who are found worthy to enter into the Millennial Kingdom, after surviving the horrific seven-year trial of the tribulation, will be greatly blessed as they will be qualified to enter in.
Over the months and years to come, the mortal bodies of these saints will physically rejuvenate, be healed, and strengthened physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. These surviving tribulation saints will marry, have families, and repopulate the earth, raising godly offspring who will serve the Lord during the thousand years of Christ’ reign. Later the offspring of these millennial saints will be tested by Jesus to see if their faith in the Lord is true; however, this will occur at the end of the millennium.
There is another group of people who will also be gathered to the Judgment of the Nations; these are the unrighteous who also survived the tribulation, but who took the mark of the beast. They did not repent of their wickedness and they relied on their own resources to endure the global judgments of God on the earth. These too shall be judged at this judgment, but they will be found unworthy to enter in; and thus they will be cast into Gehenna Hell to await their final judgment at the Great White Thorne Judgment.
As you can imagine, the world will be a mess. The seven-year reign of the devil and his demons, along with their henchmen will have wreaked havoc on the planet. In addition to this, the judgments of God upon the earth during the tribulation coupled with the extreme weather conditions labeled ‘climate change’ by the media, but were really ‘birth pangs,’ will have caused much global damage. Suffice it to say, this world will be in great need of repair, renovation, and restoration, and we, along with the survivors of the tribulation, under the Lord’s leadership, will be the ones to do it.
Part of the reconstruction process will be to refurbish the temple in Jerusalem. No doubt it will be in disarray. Sacrifices will be reinstituted when the temple is refurbished, which will commemorate Christ’ sacrifice and the need for man’s redemption through His blood. These sacrifices are for the Israelites and other nations who will worship in Jerusalem, at this temple, where all people will experience true Spirit-filled Israelite worship.
Priests will serve in this temple and the Jews will live in the whole land of Israel, the land that God promised to Abraham. Each of the 12 tribes will have a share of that sacred land. The Arab nations who currently live in and around Israel will be gone forever.
The Prophet Zechariah describes it this way, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” – Zechariah 14:16-19
In the OT, the sacrifices in the temple refer forward to the Messiah, but during the millennium, the sacrifices refer back (commemorate) to Christ’ death and resurrection. The sacrifices of the OT could never fully atone for the sins of the people, only Jesus can do that; and He did when He died on the cross for all sin. During the millennium, the temple sacrifices will not atone for sin, but they will remind people about the one and only atoning sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross; only His sacrifice atones for sin. In a similar way that Christians observe communion. The bread and the wine represent the body and blood of Christ. This act refers back to the death of Christ on the cross where Jesus instructed the NT believers to ‘do this in remembrance of Me.’ The animal sacrifices that will occur in this new temple during the millennial reign will represent the work that Jesus did, a work that is now finished. These sacrifices commemorate Christ’ work on the cross similar to how Jesus will retain His scars throughout eternity to remind us of what it too took for us to receive our salvation. Jesus will rule the entire planet from Jerusalem, from ‘the throne of His father David,’ after the tribulation, but before the creation of the new heavens and new earth.
Luke recorded it this way, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” – Luke 1:31-33
The removal of the curse will be implemented which will have a renewing effect on the environment; people will live longer as the sin principle will have been put down. The ‘lion will lay down with the lamb’ and ‘a baby with a venomous snake safely’ with no harm to anyone.
The Prophet Isaiah recorded it this way, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.” – Isaiah 11:6-10
The millennial temple will be constructed and enlarged significantly atop the temple foundation. Temple sacrifices will be reinstituted under Christ command, again, not for salvation, but for commemoration. Technology and longevity will accelerate tremendously in this Christ-centered, pre-Edenic world era. The millennial reign of Jesus will be a time when angels, glorified saints, and mortals will coexist peacefully.
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” – Revelation 20:4-6
When Jesus returns with His bride to the earth, He will first defeat the armies amassed on the plains of Megiddo in northern Israel. They He will continue His trek to Jerusalem where He will set His foot down on the Mount of Olives. The antichrist, the beast, and the false prophet will be defeated, and the Judgment of the Nations will ensue. Then the Lord will reclaim His throne and begin the massive oversight project of restoring the earth. The first part of this task will involve the saints of God, now in glorified bodies, and ready to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He has for them. The restoration and renovation of this earth will be the priority and we will join God where He is working in order to make that happen. We will be working with mortal men who will be disbursed around the globe to help with this major undertaking.
After the thousand years have been completed, the devil will be released from the bottomless pit and will be allowed to infect the planet with his deception, once again, in an effort to pervert and destroy God’s creation. The Lord will use this action to test those who have been born during the millennial era.
John records it this way, “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” – Revelation 20:7-10
If ever there were an end game prophecy pertaining to the devil and his demonic hordes, it would be here. The devil is the third person to be cast into the Lake of Fire. There he will suffer immensely throughout eternity, and one day, even he will confess that Jesus is Lord! After this happens, the Lord will commence with the final judgment of humanity, the Great White Throne Judgment.
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” – Revelation 20:11-14
This final judgment is only for the unbelieving dead; those who have died without Christ. While they will have been suffering in torment in Gehenna Hell, they will be brought up before the Lord to be judged and found unworthy to enter into His heavenly kingdom, thus, they will be cast alive into the Lake of Fire. What a sad and horrific ending to a life that would have otherwise been redeemed by God’s grace. Once the last unrighteous person is judged, the Lord will recreate the entire universe into a new heavens and a new earth. It will be perfect and will last forever. The celestial heavenly city will be permanently planted on the new earth and we will be able to translate between heaven and earth, with all the saints from both the OT and NT, who have been found worthy and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus.
John records it this way, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” – Revelation 21:1-5
- Here we can see how this transpires. The final statement in this passage is Jesus telling John, and us, that what He is saying is truth and it will happen (faithful).
“And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” – (vs.6-8)
- The finality of this event is established on the very words and person of Jesus Christ Himself, ‘the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.’ He identifies Himself as the source of this truth and then warns those who are carnal and sinful that they will not have a part in this blessed, eternal kingdom, but instead, will be cast into the Lake of Fire, the second death.
The New Jerusalem:
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs (1,377 miles). Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” – (vs.9-21)
- Here we get a better picture of what the descending of the heavenly new Jerusalem will look like, both in how it is affixed to the surface of the new earth and what it will look like in more detail. This should be of great interest to believers because this is where we are going to live throughout eternity.
The Glory of the New Jerusalem:
“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” – (vs.22-27)
- This final passage in this chapter gives more definition as to the role that the Lord plays in this city. He also points out that nothing that defiles it can enter into it, which answers the question of whether or not we will have a repeat performance of what took place in the first creation, the Garden of Eden, when the devil defiled it with sin. That will never happen again, and this passage proves it. Nothing that defiles will have access to this beautiful place.
While there is so much more I can say about what is to come, the greater goal here is to get the body of Christ excited about our future in Christ and a better understanding of what that looks like in context with scripture. Our lives are not over when the Rapture occurs, rather, they are just beginning. Our time in heaven, celebrating our marriage with Jesus, is just the icing on the proverbial wedding cake. We will return with Him and retake the earth. It will be renovated over time and we will enjoy it for a millennia. While we are not clear, with details, what and how that will look like for us, we do know that Jesus will assign us various places of responsibility during this era. This is why we must do well now with our lives now and those things that are entrusted to our care. The Lord is watching us and empowering us to do good in the works of our hands and the labor of our love. He is preparing us for greater things that are soon, but still yet to come. I hope you’re excited for the future work that God will do in us and that you’re ready to go!
Maranatha!
Encouragemen is a blog written by Pastor Rob Lee, recently relocated to Northwest Missouri. He lives with his wife of 32-years, near their three adult children, their spouses, and children (their grandchildren). Pastor Rob is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister, a former Lead Pastor (25 years), police chaplain, and community advocate. He continues to serve, consult, and disciple men of God, including those who are in the ministry.
Encourage Men 