02.58. LECTURE No. 58 -- Rev_20:4-6
LECTURE No. 58 -- Revelation 20:4-6
Satan Will Go to the Bottomless Pit and Later Will Be Cast Into the Lake of Fire - Judgment Will Be Given Unto the Saints - The Martyrs of the Tribulation Period - The Kingdom Age in View - Before the Kingdom Age Can Be Ushered in; First, the Church Must Be Completed; Second, Antichrist Must Come and Reign for a Short Time; Third, A Remnant of the Jews Must Return to Their Own Land of Palestine; Fourth, Satan Must Be bound; and Fifth, Christ Must Ascend to the Throne of His Father David in Jerusalem - The Witness and Testimony of the Prophets to the Kingship of Jesus - The Object of the Kingship Reign of Christ - The Church Will Share in the Glories and Blessings of the Kingdom Age - There Will Be a Place Also in the Kingdom Age for Israel and the Nations Who Will Be Spared from the Great Tribulation - The Rest of the Dead Will Not Be Resurrected Until. After the One Thousand Years Have Been Fulfilled
OUR preceding lesson was based upon Revelation 20:1-3, where the Apostle John said,
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
In connection with this passage, we gave an outline study upon the subject of Satan, in which we traced his history from the beginning down through the ages, and we showed his downward course, first to the earth, and then to the bottomless pit, and finally to the lake of fire, which will be his final doom. The Martyrs of the Tribulation Period
We are now ready to advance in our study by considering what is written in Revelation 20:4-6, where it says,
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” A Prophetic Foreview of the Kingdom Age
These words occur in logical order in the Revelation and open to us an important field of thought for our earnest and prayerful consideration.
The passage itself is very brief, but the scope it covers is tremendous. Let us remember that we are here studying the things of the consummation, or those things which will occur after the rapture of the church and the tribulation have taken place. In other words, what we have here is a prophetic foreview of those things which will come to pass at the ushering in of the millennial reign of Christ, which is to follow the tribulation period. With Antichrist and the false prophet in the lake of fire, and with Satan in the bottomless pit, it will be time for a new order of things upon the earth.
Before the new order can be ushered in, however, several very important things must come to pass. These things have been mentioned in our previous lessons, but we mention them here merely to refresh your minds concerning what has been said. The Church Must Be Completed
First of all, before the things suggested in our lesson text can come to pass, the church, which is the body of Christ must be completed. The purpose of all Gospel preaching now, in this age of grace is for that very purpose. When God’s purposes in grace shall have been accomplished and the church is completed, the Lord must descend and catch away the church as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. This event is commonly spoken of as the rapture of the saints. The Antichrist Must First Come
Following the coming of Christ for His saints, the Antichrist must arise and rule with despotic power over the nations of the earth, as prophesied in Revelation the 13th chapter. The Jews Must Return to Their Own Land
Another important thing which must occur before the words of our lesson text can be fulfilled is the regathering of the Children of Israel back to the land of Palestine for the children of Israel and the land of Palestine are central in God’s plans and purposes for the future.
Satan Must Be Bound
Last of all, before the words of our lesson text can be fulfilled, Satan himself must be bound and cast into the bottomless pit in the manner described in our last lesson.
When all of these things shall have come to pass, it will be time for Christ to ascend to the throne of His father David and to reign over the house of Jacob forever, and from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Mind you, when He comes to reign, He will indeed be “King of kings and Lord of lords.” No Need to Doubt Christ’s Kingship So many people wonder whether or not Christ, when He comes, will institute a righteous government upon the earth. Any who are troubled concerning this point should let the scriptures answer their question. For instance, in Luke 1:30-33, the Angel Gabriel said to Mary the mother of Jesus,
“Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
What Daniel Said In addition to this important statement, the Prophet Daniel was given a vision of the Christ coming to reign over all nations. This is confirmed in Daniel 7:13-14, where it says,
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” The Prophecy of Zechariah To this great truth the Prophet Zechariah added his testimony saying, in Zechariah 14:9, “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.”
Isaiah Testified Also In Isaiah 11:1-5, the Prophet Isaiah prophesied of the coming reign of Christ, saying,
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
“And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord;
“And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
“And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” The Testimony of the Second Psalm That Christ is coming to reign over the nations is also confirmed in Psalms 2:6-9, where the Lord is quoted as saying to the Messiah,
“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
What Jesus Himself Said This same truth is confirmed in the New Testament in Matthew 25:31-34, where it says,
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Certainly, my friends, this group of scriptures confirm the fact of Christ’s, coming again and with such abundant evidence as this given in the scriptures, how could anyone doubt that Christ will come for the very purpose of establishing the kingdom of heaven upon the earth. The Object of the Kingdom Age With this fact established by the scriptures, we may well ask, “What will be the object of the thousand years’ reign of Christ?”
So far as God is concerned, it will be the fulfilling of all the promises which were given to Christ and which were promised in the covenants of the Old Testament Scriptures.
It will be God’s answer to the prayer which men were taught to pray saying, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Christ So far as Christ is concerned, it will be the establishment of the kingdom which the Father has promised unto Him, and for which He has long waited. In Hebrews 10:12-13, it says,
“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.” The People In Matthew 5:5 Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” When that time comes He will be able to confer upon the meek of the earth the inheritance which has been promised to them. The Saints So far as the saints of God are concerned, who will be upon the earth at that time, it will mean that sin and iniquity will be suppressed and put down so that righteousness will be enthroned. The Nations So far as the nations are concerned, it will be a time when they will be ruled over with an iron sceptre. Under the reign of Christ, all unrighteousness will be quickly subdued and evil will not be tolerated for one moment, for Jesus is to rule the nations with a rod of iron, which means that absolute justice will be speedily executed against any who undertake to promote any evil cause. A Time of Peace For the nations, the millennium will also be a time of peace, under the mighty reign of the Son of God. That peace will be the result of His reign, is confirmed in Isaiah 9:6-7, where it says,
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” The Natural Creation From the standpoint of the natural creation, the millennium will be a time of deliverance from the curse.
This is confirmed in Romans 8:20-22, where it says,
“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” The Church in the Millennium Now the question comes, “What about the church during the millennium or kingdom age?”
By this time the saints who constitute the church, which is the body of Christ will have been resurrected and raptured away to be with Christ. The scriptures plainly teach, however, that having been caught up to meet Him in the air, they will return with Him at the close of the tribulation period so that they also shall reign with Christ in their glorified bodies and have a part with Him in the glorious kingdom of the millennial period.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:14 it says “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”
Again in Jude 1:14-15, it says, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” The Church Will Share
It does not seem inconsistent to believe that the church will have some part in the work of the coming kingdom; for in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, it says,
“Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world, and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters, Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?”
We know also that in Luke 22:28-30, Jesus said to His apostles,
“Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Glorified Bodies
It is understood, of course, that when that time comes, those who belong to the body of Christ will have bodies like unto His own glorious body, which He possessed after His resurrection. After His resurrection, Jesus had power to ascend to heaven and to descend to earth at will. Therefore, if the church saints are to have bodies like unto His glorious body, we may expect that during the millennial or kingdom age, they will serve as the connecting link between the things of earth and the things of heaven with power to ascend or descend at will.
If this be true, and we believe it is, it removes all ideas of inconsistency which some people have thought existed in this regard. The church saints, therefore, reigning with Christ will no more interfere with the earthly order of Israel and the ongoing of the nations than the angels interfere with the ongoing of events now during the present dispensation. A Place for the Church, for Israel, and the Spared Nations
What I want us to see and to understand is that Christ is coming again to rule and reign over the nations of the earth. In the glorious kingdom, which He will establish, there will be a place for restored and converted Israel. There will also be a place for the spared nations of the Gentiles who will live through the tribulation period. There will also be a place for those who are members of the church which is the body of Christ! When that time comes, it will truly be the kingdom of heaven come to earth.
Christ and the Saints to Reign for 1,000 Years
Why have we taken time to speak of all these things? We have done so in order that you might understand the meaning of our lesson text in Revelation 20:4, where John said,
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”
These words should not be difficult of interpretation because they are a clear statement of fact and the truth which they contain is well confirmed in the scriptures. These words merely indicate that Christ is coming to rule and reign and that there will be those who will be associated with Him in the work of ruling over the nations in the glorious kingdom which is yet to come.
Two Classes of Believers In Revelation 20:4, it seems that two classes of believers are mentioned. In the opening portion of the verse, the Apostle merely said, “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them:-“
The second group are declared to be those who will be martyred during the tribulation period. The Rest of the Dead
Concerning both groups suggested here, in Revelation 20:5-6, the Apostle said,
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
“This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
There is no question, but what those referred to in these words who are destined to become kings and priests unto God are the blood-washed children of God, who have been saved through Christ during the church age, and those who will be saved during the tribulation period.
Kings and Priests Unto God In Revelation 1:5-6, it says,
“Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to him be glory, and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Again in 1 Peter 2:9, in speaking to his fellow believers in Christ, the Apostle said,
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” A Crown of Glory
Again in 1 Peter 5:4, the Apostle said, “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
Many other scriptures could be used to confirm and enlarge upon this point, but we who are Christians and those who will be martyred during the coming time of tribulation, have reason to rejoice that, unto us, thrones will be given and that judgment will be given unto us according to the Word of God, so that in the coming kingdom we shall be priests of God and of Christ and reign with Him a thousand years!
~ end of lecture 58 ~