Click
the links below to explore Part 5 of 7 of the Millennial Reign of Christ.
1.The Saints of
the Millennial Age.
2.When Will
The Millennial Reign Commence for the Saints?
3.The Last
Mass Resurrection Of The Saints Happens Before The Millennial Age.
4.Saints
Will Judge The World.
5.Saints
Will Rule During The Millennial Age According To Their Faithfulness in The
Current World.
6.Saints
Will Become Celebrity Icons Of This Age.
7.David Will
Become King Again.
8.The Twelve
Apostles Will Rule Over Each Twelve Tribe Of Israel.
9.Saint’s
Reward For Faithfulness In Serving Christ.
10.
Backslidden Saints Will Miss Out Of The Blessedness
Of Ruling And Reigning With Christ.
11.
Location Of Resurrected
Saints’ Home During The Millennial Age.
12.
How Do I Become A Saint To Enjoy These Blessings?
The saints that are
destined to rule with Jesus Christ during this era,
are those who would have received salvation during their initial existence on earth
before death. They are the group of people who would have pledged allegiance to
serving God and Jesus Christ during brief life time.
These comprises of
people mentioned in the Old testament, New Testament, all born again believers
since Christ’s resurrection 2,000 years ago, Great Tribulation Saints,
and all people who lived on earth and did not have opportunity to hear
the gospel or the law of Moses, but albeit lived righteously according to their
conscience (Read Romans 2 verses 12 – 15).
These people (symbolised as “elders” in Revelation 5 verse 11) will
probably number in their hundreds of millions according to all the above
classification of God’s people who previously existed on earth.
While God originally
made humans to be a little lower than the angels (read Psalm 8 verses 4 – 8), the book of Luke 20 verses 34 – 36 shows that the saints mentioned above will
be elevated by God to be equal to the holy angels. Just as the Angels of God,
these saints will no longer intermarry or die any more. But they will be given
power, honour, glory and kingdom with Jesus Christ. (read
Revelation 20 verse 4, Revelation 5
verses 9 -12).
These saints are also
described as joint heirs with Jesus Christ in Romans 8 verse 17. Just as Jesus Christ is Heir
to God, so as Jesus Christ made this group of individuals joint-heirs with Him.
As a result, at the start of the millennial age, these saints will possess the
kingdom alongside Jesus Christ (read Daniel
7 verse 18).
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Just as the date of
the Rapture of the Christian church
from earth is uncertain (Matthew 24
verse 36), so is the commencement of the Millennial reign of Christ (read Acts 1 verse 6, 7). This is because the
commencement of the Kingdom of Christ on earth hinges on the date of the
rapture which will be the start of events leading to the second coming of Jesus
Christ.
The Millennial age
could happen during the present generation or after. In other words, it could
start in the next 10 years (i.e if the rapture
takes place today), next 50 or 100 years and etc. Nobody knows the time.
However Jesus Christ gave numerous signs which will herald the commencement of
this age. And it is the current generation of human beings that is witnessing
majority of these signs now. All the signs surrounding Christ’s imminent return
have all happened with the exception of five events namely; Rapture of the Christian Church, 7 yrs Great Tribulation, the great war
of the Battle of Armageddon on Earth,
judgement of the nations and Resurrection of the Great Tribulation
Saints.
During the first advent of Jesus Christ on
earth two thousands years ago, the people of that generation failed to spot the
prophesied signs surrounding Christ’s first advent on Earth and Christ rebuked
them for this (Read Matthew 16 verses 1
– 5). In order for the current generation not to make this same mistake,
Christ has given plenty of signs that will signal the beginning of the Millennial age. God made it clear that the generation of
human beings who will start witnessing signs mentioned in Matthew chapter 24, Luke chapter 21 will experience all the events
surrounding the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Please
click here
to view the signs.
Jesus Christ specifically said in Matthew 24 verse 34; Mark 13 verse 30; Luke
21 verse 32 that the generation of human beings witnessing these signs will
not pass away till everything prophesied (including
the Millennial age) becomes fulfilled.
In II Timothy 4 verse 1, two events will
immediately precede the millennial age. They are “judgement of sinful nations” which Jesus Christ
judges and send into perdition of an eternity of suffering in the lake of fire
(refer to Matthew 25 verses 31 – 46).
And the second event is the resurrection of the Saints who were killed during a
7 year Great Tribulation on earth
(refer to Revelation 20 verses 4 – 6,
Revelation 7 verse 14).
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The above
resurrection is the last resurrection of the righteous which will take place on
earth just as the millennial age is about to commence (Daniel 12 verse 2, John 5 verses 28,29).
This last resurrection is the final gathering of all of God’s people who will
rule and reign with Jesus Christ forever (Read Ephesians 1 verse 10, John 6 verses 39,40,44,54, John 11 verse 24,
Hebrews 2 verses 14 - 15). From the account of the book of Job 19 verses 25 – 27, the resurrection
happens after an individual’s initial existence on planet earth, the person
then dies and his or her mortal body succumbs to decay. However when the resurrection takes place, this same
individual comes back to life on the
same planet earth a second time with a new immortal body which is designed
never again to die (II Timothy 1 verse
10, Romans 8 verse 23, Hebrews 9 verses 27 & 28).
The first mass
resurrection took place immediately after the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ 2,000 years ago (Read Matthew 27
verses 52 & 53). This involved all old testament
saints who until Jesus Christ went inside the earth and later rose again onto
the surface of the earth, were kept in a peaceful place called “PARADISE”. This
paradise was located inside the earth and opposite to a place of suffering
known as Hell fire (Read Luke 16 verses
19 – 31, Luke 23 verse 43, Ephesians 4 verse 8 – 10). The second mass
resurrection of the saints will involve the present church of Jesus Christ on
earth during an event popularly known as the “RAPTURE” (Read I Thessalonians 4 verse 13 – 16).
The resurrection
which takes place at the start of the millennial age is the third and last mass
resurrection of the righteous dead who would have died during the seven years
Great Tribulation on earth Revelation 6
verses 9 – 11, Revelation 7 verses 13 - 14.
Even though the last
resurrection happens couple of thousands years after the first resurrection and
at least seven years after the second resurrection, all saints involved in the
three different resurrections will be united at the start of the millennial
reign in order to rule and reign with Jesus Christ forever I Thessalonians 4 verse 17b. The Bible described this time as a point in
human history when “... the time came
that the saints possessed the Kingdom” (Daniel 7 verse 22, Daniel 7 verse 27).
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During this time, all
the saints of God will rule the world as priest and kings. They will enjoy the
privilege and position of authority and will be highly honoured by their human
subjects (Isaiah 61 verse 6, Revelation 1 verse 6, Revelation 5 verse 10, 20 verses 4 - 6, I
Corinthians 4 verse 8, II Timothy 2 verse 12). These saints will take over
the governance of the millennial era and rule over countries, cities and towns
(Daniel 7 verse 27, Matthew 24 verses 44
- 47, Luke 19 verse 17). They will be responsible for administering justice
and punishment to offenders at that time (Psalm
149 verses 5 - 9, I Corinthians 6 verse 2). Because sin will still be in
the heart of humans of this time, the saints will be saddled with the
responsibilities of maintaining law and order. This may come as surprise,
however the Bible clearly states that despite the peace and tranquillity of
this period, Jesus Christ will rule during this period with iron rod of
discipline (Psalm 2 verse 9, Revelation
2 verse 27, 12 verse 5, 19 verse 15, Isaiah 11 verses 4 & 5). All
sinners of this era who would refuse Jesus Christ,
will be accursed and they will all be sent into the lake of fire after the
Millennial age (Isaiah 65 verse 20, Revelation 20 verses 7 - 10).
According to I Corinthians 6 verses 2 – 3, not only
will the saints judge human beings
during the millennial age, but some of the angels of God will be subject
to these saints (i.e it is not yet clear how this will happen,
but the Bible says that both the resurrected saints and angels will rule and
reign with Christ). God will exalt these saints to position of authority
required to give assignments to Angels to carry out assignments for the glory
of God during this era.
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During the millennial
age, the saints will exercise authority, power and reign over the nations of
the earth in accordance to their faithfulness in serving Jesus Christ during
the current age of grace (i.e present moment).
Jesus Christ’s life, death and glorification epitomises the experience which
each saint will experience in the current world before the glorification of the
Millennial age. Just as Jesus Christ first existed
2,000 years ago to serve mankind (through
his death and resurrection) before His glorification and authority over the
world during the millennial age, so will every saint must of necessity first
exist on earth to serve Jesus Christ and fellow human beings (i.e during this present time) before such
saint can be qualified to assume position of authority and power during
millennial age (Read John 13 verses 5 –
17, Matthew 20 verses 20 - 28).
It is the book of Luke 19 verses 12 - 27, Matthew 25 verses 14 – 30 which guides
the church on the manner in which the Saints will rule during the millennial
age. While the accounts in both scriptures are described as parable, they are
nonetheless allusion or description of what is going to take place during the
millennial era.
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In Daniel 12 verse 3, Matthew 13 verse 43,
the saints will be honoured and well respected. They will become celebrities of
this age with power and influence over the nations of the world (Revelation 2 verses 26 – 28). The
saints would have the same authority of the “morning star” or Jesus Christ as
shown in Revelation 22 verse 16, Numbers
24 verse 17.
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During this time, David
the King of Israel will once again be given the privilege to serve under the
messiah Jesus Christ. Just like all other old testaments saints who will be
resurrected and given different responsibilities during the millennial age,
David’s responsibilities at this time is to once again rule and reign over the
children of Israel. This reign of David is not the same as the previous one
documented in the books of Samuel, Kings
and Chronicles, rather this is a
future rule because all passages below are prophecies which happened after the
death of David. Unlike David’s first reign at about 1,000 BC when Israel was
split between the Northern and Southern tribes of Israel, David will reign over
a combined nation of Israel during the millennial age (Ezekiel 37 verse 21 – 25, Jeremiah 30 verse 9, Ezekiel 34 verse 23 –
26, Hosea 3 verse 4 & 5). David will carry out this task under the
authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read Luke
20 verses 42 – 44.
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According to Luke 22 verse 30, Matthew 19
verses 28 - 30 the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ who walked with Him while Christ was
alive on earth 2,000 years ago (with the
exception of Judas Iscariot who was replaced by Matthias in Acts 1 verse 26) will be given the
responsibilities of ruling over each of the 12 tribes of Israel under the
resurrected old testament King David during the millennial age. Presently the twelve tribes are
unidentifiable by human beings due to the dispersion of the nation of Israel
among all nations of the world, but at the start of the millennial age, Jesus
Christ Himself will restore the 12 tribes back into Israel.
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In the parables
found in Luke 19 verses 12 - 27, Matthew
25 verses 14 – 30 ,
the noble man represents Jesus Christ who went back to heaven after His first
advent on earth in order to receive a kingdom.
This kingdom represents the millennial reign of Christ. But before Jesus
left the earth (i.e 2,000 years ago), He created a church
which started off with 12 disciples and now numbers in hundreds of millions of
disciples or Christians all over the world. The last mandate of Jesus Christ to
His followers is to preach the gospel (Mark
16 verse 15). Preaching the gospel in this sense will entail each Christian
using his or her gifts or talents to tell others about Jesus Christ. The first and second servants
in this parable represents faithful Christians who used their gifts and
talents to serve Jesus Christ during their lifetime. Their reward is according
to their level of faithfulness and not according to the type of talent. For
example, an evangelist, pastor or preacher who is gifted in speech and ability
to communicate to multitudes of people is not any better than an old Christian
lady whose ministry is praying and fasting for salvation of souls into the
kingdom of God. Both will be rewarded according to their faithfulness and love
to both Christ and fellow human beings (Read Luke 2 verse 37, I Corinthians 13 verses 1 - 8). Their rewards will
far surpass their faithfulness within their limited lifespan on earth (i.e during their first period of existence on
earth). These saints will be rewarded as follows,
·
(Firstly)
Glorification of all saints through the resurrection or rapture to meet Jesus
Christ in the air and then going to heaven to be with Jesus Christ forever
(Read I Thessalonians 4 verses 13 – 18). At
this point, all the saints will be provided with new heavenly bodies that will
never die,
·
(Secondly)
Rewards in heaven with all kinds of crowns and heavenly materials blessings
including beautiful mansions (Read John
14 verse 2, II Timothy 4 verse 8,
James 1 verse 12, I Peter 5 verse 4, Revelation 2 verse 10, 3 verse 11, I
Corinthians 9 verses 25 – 26, Hebrews 13 verse 14)
·
(Thirdly)
Participating in a massive, lavish and the biggest wedding celebration in
history known as the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” between Jesus Christ and His
resurrected and glorified Church. This will involve Jesus Christ dinning with
all of His people. This includes heroes of the Bible both in the new and old
testaments, and all the hundreds of millions of Saints of ages past (Read Revelation 19 verses 6 - 9, Luke 22 verse
18, Matthew 8 verse 11, Luke 13 verses 28,29).
From the above scriptural passages, note that the children of the kingdom that
are cast out are not believers, but the unbelieving Jews of Jesus’s
time 2,000 years ago who would not believe in Jesus Christ. All believers or
born again believers from all over the world are those the bible describes as “… coming from the East, West, North and
South”. Please read the entire verses in Romans chapters 10 & 11. This passage will help you understand
how the Jewish nation was temporarily casted out (because of unbelief), while the church of Jesus Christ comprising
of born again Jews and gentiles of every nationality was grafted into the
kingdom of Christ.
·
(Fourthly)
Saints will be given the privilege and honour of ruling over cities, towns,
countries and every other form of institutions that will exist on earth during
the millennial age and forever in the new heaven and earth.
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The parables in Luke 19 verses 12 - 27, Matthew 25 verses
14 – 30 also talked about the unfaithful servant who did not only hide his
master’s talent, but also falsely accuse his master of reaping where his master
did not sow. This unfaithful servant symbolises all backslidden believers who
will turn away from Jesus Christ before their death on earth or before the
rapture of the Christian church. Hiding their talents means they stop following
and serving Jesus Christ.
Once again, we must bear in mind that these
passages are parables out of which Jesus Christ brought out some principles to
illustrate what will happen in reality at the end of the world. Literal
application of these parables will appear to suggest that both faithful and
unfaithful servants will be rewarded and punished at the same time in the
presence of Jesus Christ. However, this is not going to be the case. All
faithful servants would start receiving their reward at the point of their
death or rapture (Note: the completeness
of the reward of the Saints will only happen after the judgement Seat of Christ
immediately after the rapture). And also all unfaithful servants would have
started their punishment at the point of their death on earth (but will receive their final judgement
during the Great White Throne).
All unfaithful
servants who dies in their backslidden state before
rapture of the Christian church will instantly end up in Hell fire forever. And
those who will be in a backslidden state and be alive when the rapture takes
place will be left behind to face the anti-christ
during the 7 years Great Tribulation.
If these backslidden servants repents and turns to
Jesus Christ during the Great tribulation
period, they will be restored back to Jesus Christ, killed by the anti-Christ,
but resurrected to rule and reign with Jesus Christ forever. If
these backslidden saints however chooses to continue ignoring Jesus Christ and
rather choose to accept the mark of the anti-christ (also known as the Mark of the Beast),
they would then have sealed their fate to suffer in the lake of fire forever.
A place of “…outer darkness, where there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Read Matthew 25 verse 30, 24 verse 48 – 51, Revelation 14 verse 9 - 11).
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According to John 14 verses 1 - 3, Hebrews 13 verse 14 Jesus Christ is
presently constructing homes comprising of big mansions for all His followers
that have lived or will live in the present dispensation. By the time Jesus
Christ calls all His saints to join him in the air (also known as rapture), these Heavenly homes would have been ready
and completed for the hundreds of millions of God’s saints. Immediately after
the rapture, these saints will be introduced to the new eternal homes in
Heaven.
However when
Jesus Christ and these saints returns to earth to commence
the millennial age, these mansions will still remain in Heaven. But after the
millennial age (or 1,000 years reign),
these Heavenly mansions which are presently located in a particular section of
the third heaven (also known as the New
Jerusalem) will descend onto the new rejuvenated earth (during the second dispensation of the
existence of mankind). Please read Revelation
21 verses 1 - 3, Hebrews 11 verses 10, 14 - 16, Revelation
3 verse 12. In the book of Hebrews
11 verses 8 - 10, the bible gives an example of one of these saints whose
name is Abraham. Abraham lived just like any human being born onto earth.
However Abraham knew that his life on earth is not his permanent place of
residence, but in the Heavenly city described above.
During the
millennial age, the saints of God will have access to both Earth and Heaven (where their mansions are still located).
The saints of God have been resurrected with heavenly bodies that are not
limited by time and space. These saints would be like the angels of God that
can travel at incredible speed both on Earth, in the Space and back to the
third Heaven (Matthew 22 verse 30, Mark
12 verse 25).
While all
natural human beings of the millennial age will carry on being born onto earth
and would have their life limited onto planet earth (just as is happening at the present moment), the resurrected saints
of the millennial age would be able to live on planet earth and at the same
time be capable of travelling back to their mansions in heaven. The main responsibilities of the resurrected saints of the millennial age is
to administer the earth and to rule along with Jesus Christ over natural human
beings that will be born onto earth during that time (Romans 8 verse 17).
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In Titus 2 verses 11 – 13, the grace to
obtain the salvation required to become one of the above saints has now
appeared unto all men. It has appeared through the continuous presentation of
the gospel of Jesus Christ to each individual person. It is now up to that
individual person to accept this salvation which is free. This person becomes
saved after repenting from His or her sins and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord
and saviour. God then sends His Holy spirit into that individual so as to
preserve him or her until the time of redemption of the physical body during an
even known as the Rapture. The Rapture secures the glorification of the Saints
(read Ephesians 1 verses 12 – 14).
The Salvation
required to become one of the above Saints is meant for every human being.
Nobody is exempted. Unlike human beings that may never forget crimes committed
by a fellow human being and as a result damns the culprit to either
imprisonment or death, God will forgive and turn any such evil human being into
one of the above saints, provided such person repents from such sins and accept
Jesus Christ.
The Salvation
required to become one of the above Saints is now only obtainable from Jesus
Christ through faith. It is faith in Jesus Christ that saves and not just works
of self righteous lifestyle (Ephesians 2
verse 8). People who are merely practicing religions and
living properly (which is right to do and
a requirement to make Heaven), but without accepting Jesus Christ as their
Lord and saviour cannot be saved. They are not going to become one of
the above Saints, but will end up in Hell fire. A good example for illustration
is the case of Jesus’ disciple, Judas Iscariot and the thief who died on the
cross beside Jesus Christ.
Shortly before his death, the thief asked Jesus Christ to remember him in Paradise. Here was a man who probably have been a thief for most his life. He didn’t have the opportunity to do any good thing to atone for his sinfulness. He was not privileged to go to the Sanctuary and ask God for mercy or to be near Jesus during three and half years of Christ’s ministry on earth. Yet a simple act of belief in Jesus Christ expressed as “…remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23 verse 42) saved this thief from the horrors of Hell-fire forever. On the other hand Judas Iscariot, someone that was self righteous and who was privileged to be Christ’s disciple, witnessed Christ’s miracles and even exercised power over unclean spirits, failed to put his trust in Christ. He only enlisted as one of Christ’s disciples for personal gain because he was a thief (read John 12 verses 4 – 6). He took advantage of his closeness to Christ to make a gain of thirty pieces of silver by selling Christ (Matthew 26 verse