The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Twenty-Two - A Oct 11, 2020 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T006_20201011.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Re 20:1 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; Today we will begin to look at the Millennial Kingdom. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday October 11th 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 22A This is the Day 1). Da 9:24 “Seventy sevens are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. Da 12:9 And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. 11 “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. 12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. 13 “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” At the end of the 75 days that follow Daniel’s 70th seven, when everything encompassed within the opening of the 7 seals on the 7-sealed scroll is complete, the mystery of God and the revealing of both the Son and the Father will be finished – Col 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Daniel, along with the other faithful OT saints, will have been raised to receive his inheritance; both an earthly and heavenly inheritance for those like Abraham, who had waited for the city with foundations whose builder and maker is God. a). In the final act of the 75 days, Gentile world power will be totally destroyed for all time, which we have seen graphically portrayed in – Re 19:17 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. 20 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. And the Gentile world power that we see destroyed here is prophetically pictured in the 4th part of the great image seen in Daniel Chapter 2 and the 4th beast seen in Daniel Chapter 7, but this final form of Gentile world power encompasses the whole of Gentile world power that had come before it, pictured in the first 3 parts of the great image and the first 3 beasts. Gentile world power that takes us back to and before the Babylonian captivity to the Assyrian captivity as well. b). And Gentile world power all the way back to the days of the Assyrian empire has been responsible for the deaths of countless numbers of Jews. And the spilling of Jewish blood comes with a price. c). The Jewish people, also guilty of blood, the blood of the Lord’s servants and ultimately their King, have a ransom available to them in connection with the cities of refuge. But no such ransom is available to the Gentile nations. They must pay the price themselves. d). And as we have seen, the destruction of Gentile world power will take place in the land of Israel with a focus on Jerusalem, where those who have previously been the slayer will themselves be slain – Nu 35:33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Re 14:20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs. [Approx. 200 miles] Ob 1:15 “For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. This same destruction is also pictured in Ezekiel Chapters 38-39 – Eze 39:3 Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD. 6 “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord GOD. “This is the day of which I have spoken………….11 “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. And that which is cleansed through the shedding of the blood of Gentile world power is the land of Israel, and by extension the entire earth, as this final destruction also concludes the redemption of the inheritance, an inheritance which we know to be the whole world – Ro 4:13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. And with the completed redemption of the inheritance will come 2 marriages. The marriage of Christ to His previously revealed Bride as typified in Ruth and Rebekah – Ru 4:9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.” Ge 24:67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death…….25:1 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And the re-marriage of restored Israel to Jehovah pictured through Abraham’s marriage to Keturah; that which is the subject of the first sign given in John’s Gospel – Jn 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding…………..9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” And also, at the conclusion of the redemption of the inheritance the one who is responsible for introducing sin into both the heavenly and earthly realms of the Kingdom will be dealt with – Re 20:1 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. In the Garden, the serpent had deceived the Woman for one specific purpose, to prevent the Man and the Woman from attaining the position of rulership for which they had been created. And it is with a view to preventing God’s firstborn son, Israel, attaining this position that we see his last desperate, deceptive action at the end of the 75 days – Re 16:12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And Satan not being able to deceive the nations again for 1000 years, can only refer to the same deception as previously seen in his actions at the end of the 75 days. e). Satan being bound and cast into the bottomless pit does not mean that human beings will not be able to sin during the Millennial Kingdom. Sin will be possible throughout the 1000 years for the same reason that it exists in the present, because of the sin nature, the old man. f). There will be many unsaved Gentiles who will enter into the 1000 years of the Kingdom Age, who will have children born in the likeness of Adam. g). The Millennial Kingdom is not the time when sin will be no more, that awaits the endless ages that we call eternity. And dealing with the endless ages will have to wait for another study. h). Perhaps we can pause here for a moment though and deal with the often-asked question, ‘How can unsaved Gentiles enter the Kingdom, but unfaithful Christians can’t?’ i). For the eternally saved, participation in the Millennial Kingdom has exclusively to do with having or not having a position of rulership with Christ, it has nothing to do with geography. We will remember that Lot, who provides a foundational type for the unfaithful Christian, is found on the same mountain as Abraham following the destruction of the cities of the plain, but he does not occupy the same position as Abraham. Abraham stood on the high ground before the Lord, whereas Lot was seen in a cave, a place of darkness and shame. j). The unfaithful, eternally saved, whether Christian, Jew or Gentile will be physically in the Kingdom Age, but completely separate from any participation in the rule of the One who is the light of the world. k). And let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that this doesn’t sound so bad. Let’s remember that the experience of the unfaithful, eternally saved, within the Kingdom Age is figuratively described through the metaphors of the lake of fire, the second death, the furnace of fire, the outer darkness and Gehenna; all seen in conjunction with the middle eastern idiom expressing extreme grief, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. 2). The distinction between the faithful and unfaithful, eternally saved with respect to a position of rulership in the Kingdom is seen in relation to the tribulation martyrs, following Satan’s incarceration, in Revelation Chapter 20 – Re 20:4 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. A couple of things we will keep in mind as we read these verses – The word ‘again’ in v5 needs to be removed. It is apparently not present in the majority of the original Greek manuscripts. And importantly its use alongside the word ‘live’, ‘live again’ carries with it the idea of bodily resurrection to physical life. a). Now as we know, having ‘life’ or ‘death’ in the Kingdom Age has nothing to do with physical existence but with rulership – we will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ - Every eternally saved person who has experienced physical death, must appear as a complete being, spirit, soul and body, bodily resurrection, to be judged with regards to rulership in the Kingdom. c). The faithful, eternally saved, as a complete being, will have a position of rulership and the unfaithful, eternally saved, as a complete being won’t. d). So then, the words ‘lived’ and ‘reigned’ in Re 20:4 are used synonymously. Two ways of saying the same thing. To have life in the Kingdom age is to rule, not to have life in the Kingdom age, is not to rule. e). Those who are killed during the tribulation, who are eternally saved but not faithful are those referred to in Re 20:5 as ‘the rest of the dead’ – not physically dead as all will have been resurrected bodily, but ‘dead’ with respect to a position of rulership in the Kingdom. f). They can be said to ‘live’ when the 1000 years are finished, because their eternal salvation guarantees they will have ‘life’ with respect to God’s regal purposes, for the eternal ages. And this will also be true for the unfaithful Christian, unfaithful Jews and unfaithful Gentiles. g). Those who will have ‘life’ with respect to rulership and the Millennial Kingdom are shown in v5-6 to have a ‘part in the first resurrection’. Again, we need to be careful with the words here. ‘First’ is not to be understood numerically, but in terms of quality – first = best. A part in the ‘best resurrection’. And this resurrection can be seen as the ‘best’ because it fulfills the purpose for which eternal salvation has been provided. Ruling in the Kingdom is the reason for being eternally saved. And we will note that the promise to those participating in the ‘first’ resurrection is the same as that given to overcoming Christians in Revelation 2:11 - Over such the second death has no power And pay careful attention to the word ‘resurrection’. Remember, the Greek word translated resurrection just means ‘to stand up’ and there is nothing in the word itself that speaks of a physical, bodily resurrection. Although this is exactly what it can mean, depending on the context in which it is used. The eternally saved killed during the tribulation, seen in Revelation Chapter 20, both faithful and unfaithful have all experienced bodily resurrection else they could not be seen here. Then out of this complete group, those who will have ‘life’, who will rule in the Kingdom, will stand up [out of] the rest who are ‘dead’ with respect to rulership. h). This is exactly the same idea as we have seen with the ‘out-resurrection’ of Christians at the Judgment Seat – Php 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the [out]resurrection from the dead. The same idea as the ‘better resurrection’ to be experienced by faithful OT saints – Heb 11: 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. And rulership in the Kingdom for these faithful tribulation martyrs is exactly the word picture presented at the beginning of Revelation Chapter 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And then stated directly at the end of v4 and repeated in v6 – 4…. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 6 they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. If we put what we see in v4-6 together it is clear that ‘judging’ and ‘reigning’ are to be understood as one and the same. Kenneth Wuest in his expanded translation says it this way – Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and authority to administer justice was given them. In this sense the entire Millennial Kingdom can be seen as a time of judgment for the Gentile nations, when God’s righteous justice will be administered. And the nature of God’s righteous justice which will be administered throughout the Millennial Kingdom can be clearly seen through that said about rulership and God’s 3 firstborn sons. 3). Re 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write……… 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; Re 12:5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron……. Re 19:15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. Ps 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.’ ” It would be inconceivable that those ruling with Christ, whether Israel or faithful Christians, could rule in any way other than that which has been assigned to the King of kings and Lord of lords. a). Rulership, judgment, the righteous administration of justice, is seen exercised only one way, ‘with a rod of iron’. A phrase that will only allow for an authoritarian administration of God’s righteous justice among the nations. b). Forget any ideas of democratic process, political correctness or politics at all for that matter. c). The Millennium will be a Theocracy administered in uncompromised righteousness and justice, where rulership will be in perfect balance and God’s blessing will flow through His joint heirs and the nation of Israel to the nations of the earth – Ge 22:15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” Zec 8:20 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Peoples shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities; 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, “Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD, And seek the LORD of hosts. I myself will go also.” 22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the LORD.’ 23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ” We will have to continue with this next time though – if the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Twenty-Two - A Oct 11, 2020 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T006_20201011.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Re 20:1 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; Today we will begin to look at the Millennial Kingdom. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday October 11th 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 22A This is the Day 1). Da 9:24 “Seventy sevens are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. Da 12:9 And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. 11 “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. 12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. 13 “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” At the end of the 75 days that follow Daniel’s 70th seven, when everything encompassed within the opening of the 7 seals on the 7-sealed scroll is complete, the mystery of God and the revealing of both the Son and the Father will be finished – Col 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Daniel, along with the other faithful OT saints, will have been raised to receive his inheritance; both an earthly and heavenly inheritance for those like Abraham, who had waited for the city with foundations whose builder and maker is God. a). In the final act of the 75 days, Gentile world power will be totally destroyed for all time, which we have seen graphically portrayed in – Re 19:17 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. 20 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. And the Gentile world power that we see destroyed here is prophetically pictured in the 4th part of the great image seen in Daniel Chapter 2 and the 4th beast seen in Daniel Chapter 7, but this final form of Gentile world power encompasses the whole of Gentile world power that had come before it, pictured in the first 3 parts of the great image and the first 3 beasts. Gentile world power that takes us back to and before the Babylonian captivity to the Assyrian captivity as well. b). And Gentile world power all the way back to the days of the Assyrian empire has been responsible for the deaths of countless numbers of Jews. And the spilling of Jewish blood comes with a price. c). The Jewish people, also guilty of blood, the blood of the Lord’s servants and ultimately their King, have a ransom available to them in connection with the cities of refuge. But no such ransom is available to the Gentile nations. They must pay the price themselves. d). And as we have seen, the destruction of Gentile world power will take place in the land of Israel with a focus on Jerusalem, where those who have previously been the slayer will themselves be slain – Nu 35:33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Re 14:20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs. [Approx. 200 miles] Ob 1:15 “For the day of the LORD upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. This same destruction is also pictured in Ezekiel Chapters 38-39 – Eze 39:3 Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4 You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5 You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord GOD. 6 “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord GOD. “This is the day of which I have spoken………….11 “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. And that which is cleansed through the shedding of the blood of Gentile world power is the land of Israel, and by extension the entire earth, as this final destruction also concludes the redemption of the inheritance, an inheritance which we know to be the whole world – Ro 4:13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. And with the completed redemption of the inheritance will come 2 marriages. The marriage of Christ to His previously revealed Bride as typified in Ruth and Rebekah – Ru 4:9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.” Ge 24:67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death…….25:1 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And the re-marriage of restored Israel to Jehovah pictured through Abraham’s marriage to Keturah; that which is the subject of the first sign given in John’s Gospel – Jn 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding…………..9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” And also, at the conclusion of the redemption of the inheritance the one who is responsible for introducing sin into both the heavenly and earthly realms of the Kingdom will be dealt with – Re 20:1 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. In the Garden, the serpent had deceived the Woman for one specific purpose, to prevent the Man and the Woman from attaining the position of rulership for which they had been created. And it is with a view to preventing God’s firstborn son, Israel, attaining this position that we see his last desperate, deceptive action at the end of the 75 days – Re 16:12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And Satan not being able to deceive the nations again for 1000 years, can only refer to the same deception as previously seen in his actions at the end of the 75 days. e). Satan being bound and cast into the bottomless pit does not mean that human beings will not be able to sin during the Millennial Kingdom. Sin will be possible throughout the 1000 years for the same reason that it exists in the present, because of the sin nature, the old man. f). There will be many unsaved Gentiles who will enter into the 1000 years of the Kingdom Age, who will have children born in the likeness of Adam. g). The Millennial Kingdom is not the time when sin will be no more, that awaits the endless ages that we call eternity. And dealing with the endless ages will have to wait for another study. h). Perhaps we can pause here for a moment though and deal with the often-asked question, ‘How can unsaved Gentiles enter the Kingdom, but unfaithful Christians can’t?’ i). For the eternally saved, participation in the Millennial Kingdom has exclusively to do with having or not having a position of rulership with Christ, it has nothing to do with geography. We will remember that Lot, who provides a foundational type for the unfaithful Christian, is found on the same mountain as Abraham following the destruction of the cities of the plain, but he does not occupy the same position as Abraham. Abraham stood on the high ground before the Lord, whereas Lot was seen in a cave, a place of darkness and shame. j). The unfaithful, eternally saved, whether Christian, Jew or Gentile will be physically in the Kingdom Age, but completely separate from any participation in the rule of the One who is the light of the world. k). And let’s not deceive ourselves into thinking that this doesn’t sound so bad. Let’s remember that the experience of the unfaithful, eternally saved, within the Kingdom Age is figuratively described through the metaphors of the lake of fire, the second death, the furnace of fire, the outer darkness and Gehenna; all seen in conjunction with the middle eastern idiom expressing extreme grief, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. 2). The distinction between the faithful and unfaithful, eternally saved with respect to a position of rulership in the Kingdom is seen in relation to the tribulation martyrs, following Satan’s incarceration, in Revelation Chapter 20 – Re 20:4 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. A couple of things we will keep in mind as we read these verses – The word ‘again’ in v5 needs to be removed. It is apparently not present in the majority of the original Greek manuscripts. And importantly its use alongside the word ‘live’, ‘live again’ carries with it the idea of bodily resurrection to physical life. a). Now as we know, having ‘life’ or ‘death’ in the Kingdom Age has nothing to do with physical existence but with rulership – we will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ - Every eternally saved person who has experienced physical death, must appear as a complete being, spirit, soul and body, bodily resurrection, to be judged with regards to rulership in the Kingdom. c). The faithful, eternally saved, as a complete being, will have a position of rulership and the unfaithful, eternally saved, as a complete being won’t. d). So then, the words ‘lived’ and ‘reigned’ in Re 20:4 are used synonymously. Two ways of saying the same thing. To have life in the Kingdom age is to rule, not to have life in the Kingdom age, is not to rule. e). Those who are killed during the tribulation, who are eternally saved but not faithful are those referred to in Re 20:5 as ‘the rest of the dead’ – not physically dead as all will have been resurrected bodily, but ‘dead’ with respect to a position of rulership in the Kingdom. f). They can be said to ‘live’ when the 1000 years are finished, because their eternal salvation guarantees they will have ‘life’ with respect to God’s regal purposes, for the eternal ages. And this will also be true for the unfaithful Christian, unfaithful Jews and unfaithful Gentiles. g). Those who will have ‘life’ with respect to rulership and the Millennial Kingdom are shown in v5-6 to have a ‘part in the first resurrection’. Again, we need to be careful with the words here. ‘First’ is not to be understood numerically, but in terms of quality – first = best. A part in the ‘best resurrection’. And this resurrection can be seen as the ‘best’ because it fulfills the purpose for which eternal salvation has been provided. Ruling in the Kingdom is the reason for being eternally saved. And we will note that the promise to those participating in the ‘first’ resurrection is the same as that given to overcoming Christians in Revelation 2:11 - Over such the second death has no power And pay careful attention to the word ‘resurrection’. Remember, the Greek word translated resurrection just means ‘to stand up’ and there is nothing in the word itself that speaks of a physical, bodily resurrection. Although this is exactly what it can mean, depending on the context in which it is used. The eternally saved killed during the tribulation, seen in Revelation Chapter 20, both faithful and unfaithful have all experienced bodily resurrection else they could not be seen here. Then out of this complete group, those who will have ‘life’, who will rule in the Kingdom, will stand up [out of] the rest who are ‘dead’ with respect to rulership. h). This is exactly the same idea as we have seen with the ‘out-resurrection’ of Christians at the Judgment Seat – Php 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the [out]resurrection from the dead. The same idea as the ‘better resurrection’ to be experienced by faithful OT saints – Heb 11: 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. And rulership in the Kingdom for these faithful tribulation martyrs is exactly the word picture presented at the beginning of Revelation Chapter 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And then stated directly at the end of v4 and repeated in v6 – 4…. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 6 they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. If we put what we see in v4-6 together it is clear that ‘judging’ and ‘reigning’ are to be understood as one and the same. Kenneth Wuest in his expanded translation says it this way – Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and authority to administer justice was given them. In this sense the entire Millennial Kingdom can be seen as a time of judgment for the Gentile nations, when God’s righteous justice will be administered. And the nature of God’s righteous justice which will be administered throughout the Millennial Kingdom can be clearly seen through that said about rulership and God’s 3 firstborn sons. 3). Re 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write……… 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; Re 12:5 She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron……. Re 19:15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. Ps 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.’ ” It would be inconceivable that those ruling with Christ, whether Israel or faithful Christians, could rule in any way other than that which has been assigned to the King of kings and Lord of lords. a). Rulership, judgment, the righteous administration of justice, is seen exercised only one way, ‘with a rod of iron’. A phrase that will only allow for an authoritarian administration of God’s righteous justice among the nations. b). Forget any ideas of democratic process, political correctness or politics at all for that matter. c). The Millennium will be a Theocracy administered in uncompromised righteousness and justice, where rulership will be in perfect balance and God’s blessing will flow through His joint heirs and the nation of Israel to the nations of the earth – Ge 22:15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” Zec 8:20 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Peoples shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities; 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, “Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD, And seek the LORD of hosts. I myself will go also.” 22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the LORD.’ 23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ” We will have to continue with this next time though – if the Lord is willing.