REVELATION 20: RESURRECTED AND REIGNING WITH CHRIST

By Mark Creech, Op-ed Contributor Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Unsplash/Ben Vaughn

Though long out of print, "The Sunday School Times" once published an interesting story about a Christian woman talking to a Christian man about their future in Christ. "I have taken one ticket to glory and have no intention of returning," he said excitedly. The Christian then said, "Then you will be sorely missed." I have bought a ticket to return because I will not only meet Christ in glory, but I will also return to earth with him in great power and glory.

Benjamin Franklin, one of America's founding fathers, once said, "God granted that not only the love of freedom but also a thorough knowledge of human rights could encompass all the nations of the Earth, so that a philosopher could set his foot anywhere on its surface and say, "This is my country."

That day will come. That is what will happen when Christ returns to establish His kingdom, which will last for a century. This period is known as the "Millennium.

This time will begin after Christ returns from heaven and takes his saints with him. Then, God's enemies will be defeated at Armageddon, and Satan will be captured and thrown into the abyss. Sinners who survive the Tribulation will be exiled to hell, and saints who survive the Tribulation will enter the Kingdom. Then Christ will take the throne as ruler and leader, as he showed

Chapter 20 verses 4–6 tell of this wonderful future. The Bible says:

Then I saw the throne, and those who sat on it were given the power to decide. And I saw the souls of people beheaded for preaching the word of God and preaching about Jesus. They did not worship the Beast or his image, nor did they receive his signs on their hands or foreheads. Alive again, they all ruled with Christ for a thousand years.

This is an early revival. (Those who have died will not come back to life until a thousand years have passed.) Those who participated in the first resurrection were blessed and sanctified. They do not have the strength to face the second death, but they will be priests of God and Christ for a thousand years, ruling with him (Revelation 20:4-6).

Other evocative passages of Scripture also foretell this golden age, according to some scholars. In the Book of Daniel, it is mentioned:

However, the holy people of the most high will receive the kingdom and will rule forever... until the Ancient One, the Most High, comes and decides for his holy people. Then the saints will take over the kingdom. After that, the most high saints will have authority, power, and majesty over all the kingdoms of the heavens. (Daniel 7:18, 22, 27) "His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him."

The Apostle Paul said at the same time:

Do you not realize that we who believe will one day judge the world? Moreover, don't you have the ability to choose even these little things among yourself because you will judge the world? Don't you realize that we're going to do an angelic trial? So you can definitely resolve the usual disputes in this life.

Remembering what Christ said to the Church of Thyatira, which is the fourth of the Seven Churches of Revelation, Scripture says:

I will give dominion over all nations to those who are victorious and faithful to the end. They will control countries with iron rods and crush them like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star and the same authority that I had from my father. Revelation 2:26–28

The main belief of Christians is that salvation is the result of God's grace. It is not obtained through good works (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Faith in Christ and the actions he performs, not our own, cause it to happen. And the Bible teaches that while it is true that salvation can only be achieved through faith in Christ, sincere faith must also be accompanied by good works or a change of life (James 2:14–26). Believers must live their lives according to God's commandments, not because they want to be saved, but because they love the Savior and are grateful for his mercy.

In John Chapter 14, verse 15, Christ asks his disciples to obey his teachings. Believers are commanded to grow in their relationship with God, deepen their understanding of God's word (2 Peter 3:18), and strive to make every aspect of their lives conform to God's will (Colossians 3:17).

In addition, the Bible emphasizes stewardship in life (I Peter 4:10), where God's people are described as stewards of the resources and gifts he gives them. These resources give them the opportunity to glorify his name and advance his purposes.

In Luke Chapter 19 and verses 11–26, Jesus tells a parable referred to as "the parable of the talents."

In this parable, Jesus tells of a nobleman who gave ten talents to servants and asked them to invest the money when he became king. He returned and gave authority to those who were more talented. A servant remained silent, and his talent was taken away from him. The point of this parable is that obedience to God is generously rewarded, while neglect results in loss—not salvation, but reward.

I Corinthians Chapter 3 verses 10–15 refer to what Jesus said about wages, where the Apostle Paul speaks of the work of believers being tested by fire on the day of judgment. A person will receive a reward if their work survives, but if their work is exhausted, they will suffer losses but still be saved. This passage shows that, although all people believe that they are saved, the results they receive may differ depending on what they do in this world.

Note that John says that he saw the throne during the thousand-year reign of Christ. It shows the places of power that the Lord Jesus established on Earth. In the parable of the talents, what did the Lord Jesus mention as a reward for faithful servants? Jesus said:

"Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount! said the first waiter. Very good! The king shouted. You are an amazing waitress. You will be the governors of ten cities for your reward because you have been faithful to the little things I have entrusted to you. "Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount," the next servant said. Very good! The King declared, "You shall be governors over five cities," says Luke 19:16–19.

Although this text has some proper spiritualization and is widely used, there is no reason why it should not be interpreted literally. The rewards given include the privilege of managing and governing the city.

Although the New Testament centers on salvation, some verses encourage people to have a lasting perspective. In other words, our choices and actions today have a significant influence in the context of Christ's future kingdom. Those who are faithful with what they receive will receive greater responsibility and reward, while those who are unfaithful will lose what they have received. For those who are loyal to their master, there are different levels of appreciation, responsibility, and even status.

It is possible to say:

"We have to prepare now if we want to win later."

In order for us to rule the future with him, we must rule the present for Christ.

Honors and honorable positions in Christ's future kingdom are earned by work, not by grace alone. Some people of the Christian faith mistakenly believe that in the future, in the Kingdom of our Lord, all people will be equal. Everyone believes that they will be equally happy and satisfied, but some people will not thank you for their service.

Who specifically shapes those who occupy the throne of Christ's Messianic Kingdom? In his book known as Revelation Revealed, the late evangelist Jack Van Impe stated succinctly that those who took part in the first resurrection were those who ruled, "which includes the Old Testament saints, the saints of the Church Age, and the saints of the Tribulation." Van Impe continued:

Described in Daniel 12:1 and 2, and in I Thessalonians 4:16–18 and I Corinthians 15:15–54, is the resurrection of the New Testament believers. Resurrection of the Saints: undoubtedly, the distress of being martyred occurs at the 'glorious appearing of Christ' (Titus 2:13) when he returns to Earth. This opinion is found in Verses 9 to 11 of Chapter 6 [revelation]. Although the martyrs were looking forward to their resurrection at that time, they were told to wait "a little while longer, until their fellow servants and their brethren, who should have been killed as they were, were fulfilled."

Thus, we see that the throne is occupied by resurrected believers from Adam onwards, including the martyrs of the last tribulation. Each of them had participated in the first resurrection. Because they are members of the "royal priesthood," these saints are entitled to sit on the throne. In Chapter 5, verse 10, Christ makes them "kings and priests.".

Who can understand such a bad day? Never in history. This indicates that Christ will act as head of the world, his lieutenants on the throne will submit to him, and perfect truth and justice will spread everywhere.

Ms. Re. DeHaan gives an additional explanation of the revelation:

The Lord Jesus taught that all the dead will be resurrected in the future, as long as they live in this world. "Everything in the cemetery... will arise" [John 5:28–29]. His words were very clear. The majority of Christians are educated to believe in a "general" resurrection, or the resurrection of every person at the end of the world. However, the Bible and the teachings of the Lord Jesus offer a perspective far removed from this. According to Jesus and all the apostles in the New Testament, there will be two separate resurrections that will occur for at least a thousand years. One of these two resurrections will occur when Jesus reigns on Earth and establishes his Millennial Kingdom. Before this glorious age of the kingdom, those who survived the Old and New Testaments will be revived, but those who disappeared from the past will not be revived until the "thousand years are over." When the Lord Jesus Christ descends on the clouds of heaven, there will be the first resurrection. All the bodies of the saints who have slept in the grave will be resurrected and joined with the redeemed souls. Those who are conscious and happy waiting for the awakening of their bodies will be with them. The word "blessed hope" is used to describe the first resurrection that occurred at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ before the Great Tribulation, or Rapture. Our hope is not to build a kingdom of peace through human effort, and our satisfaction when we say goodbye to those we care about is not that they are now in heaven while their bodies crumble in the dust. The fact that people dear to us "absent from the body and... being present with God" does not make us happy. Our consolation is not that they are disembodied spirits while their bodies rot in the dust. Rather, our blessed hope is that Jesus Christ will come again to resurrect the bodies of our loved ones and unite them with their redeemed spirits. We will see them again as people with redeemed and glorified bodies, not just as ghosts and spirits. We will never meet again to be apart, but we will be together for eternity with our Lord and our loved ones below. Everyone involved in the early awakening expected this to happen. The greatest reunion the world has ever seen and known will happen at this glorious and imminent event. Not only will we meet him, the one who died for us, but we will also be reunited with our loved ones who died in the faith, never to be separated again.

Wow, as one old country priest said, "If it doesn't light your fire, your wood is wet!"

In Revelation Chapter 20 verse 4, it is stated that the saints who had suffered martyrdom were finally resurrected on the day of consummation, when Christ returned as King of Fighters on a magnificent white horse to remove all opposition to his lordship.

So, when the Apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 15:23 that there is a commandment for the resurrection of the righteous, "every man according to his own business," he is talking about what he means. The resurrection of the saints is complemented by the tribulation, which is part of the "first resurrection—the resurrection of the redeemed."

Indeed, "blessed and holy are those who shared in the first resurrection." The second death did not affect them. 6:).

That's really amazing! Although martyrs to Christ only died physically once, they were literally revived forever in the "first resurrection.".

Those who oppose Christ as Savior die twice:once when they die and twice when they are raised physically to be judged and cast into the lake of fire for the second death, which occurs during Christ's 1,000-year reign (Revelation 20:14).

Many years ago, Dr. A. Re. Bull, a Methodist missionary, talked about an amazing discovery in the Ryukyu Islands in Japan.

Amakusa Island has a large cemetery, said Dr. Bull. A marker states that the heads of 11,111 Christians were buried there. The year 1637, when the Japanese government demanded the expulsion of all Christians, serves as the grave's date. Those who were Christians were beheaded and buried separately.

The purpose behind this strange brutality was that the missionaries who brought Christianity to Japan fervently preached the physical resurrection of people who professed the faith of Christ. The Japanese authorities were so alarmed by this gospel teaching that they believed that removing the heads of Christians from their bodies at funerals would prevent them from returning from the grave.

However, God has determined that those who truly believe in the Savior to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life will surely rise from the grave with a new, eternal, indestructible body. They will live with Christ throughout the world.

In his sermon on Mount Matthew, Jesus said, "God bless those who are humble (God bless those who humble themselves before him), because they will inherit the whole earth."

Born again by the spirit, the children of God receive a ticket to two paths to glory. They will return to earth with Christ in great power and glory.

Elder Mark H. Creech served as Executive Director of the North Carolina Christian Action League, Inc. Prior to serving as the current pastor, he served as pastor at five Southern Baptist churches in North Carolina and one Independent Baptist Church in upstate New York.

News Sources: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/revelation-20-resurrected-and-ruling-with-christ.html?clickType=link-more-in-section