Chapter 13
Christ Reigns on Earth
“5 ¶ And a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.’ 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.’” (Re 19:5-6 NAS)
This is the beginning of a one thousand year reign of our Lord on earth. It began with His appearance in the air and the gathering of His people unto Himself. This is the long awaited “Day of the Lord.” At the blast of the seventh trumpet, Christ’s arrival was announced, and we went through the list of things that were about to be accomplished. We then read a more detailed account of the judgments that were poured out as the wrath of the Lamb upon the kingdom of the beast. Here in the nineteenth chapter we are rehearsing those things that have been accomplished.
The Bride of Christ
“7 ‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 And he *said to me, ‘Write, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he *said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’” (Re 19:7-9 NAS)
The bride of Christ is made up of those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. They are clothed in fine linen representing the righteous acts of the saints. A wedding feast is planned and all those who are invited are highly blessed. The uniting of the Bridegroom with His bride is at hand.
The Final Battle
“And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.” (Re 19:11 NAS)
In a last ditch effort inspired by Satan, the armies of the earth gather together to do battle with Jesus as He comes to impose His government on the earth. The resistance seems to be an all out effort that includes kings, mighty men, bond and free, and great and small. The battle is short and decisive. The beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire and the other men are slain by the sword of God. The birds of the air are gathered to feast on their remains.
All of this is described in symbolic language. I am sure those of John’s day would not have understood our modern means of warfare. Neither can we fathom the power of God to annihilate any foe that would come up against Him.
Satan is Bound
“1 ¶ And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,” (Re 20:1-2 NAS)
Satan is not cast into the lake of fire at this time, but he is bound and put into the bottomless pit where he will remain chained for one thousand years. Satan and his lies will be stifled for a period of one thousand years. No longer will his influence and deception plague the earth.
Righteousness Reigns
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” (Re 20:4 NAS)
Those who were resurrected at Christ’s return are established as rulers in Christ’s kingdom here on earth. And they reign with Him for one thousand years. It states here that they are sitting on thrones and judging, but who are they reigning over? It would seem like there would be no one left considering all the tribulation, judgments, and wrath of God had finished. But there are people that have come through all of this and were not part of the first resurrection or those who were transformed at the time of the rapture. If we go back to Matthew 24 and 25 where Jesus is sharing insight into the future, we get a glimpse of what takes place after Christ has established His kingdom here on earth.
The Sheep and the Goats
“31 ¶ “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.” (Mt 25:31-33 NAS)
These verses have been used many times as if the sheep were Christians and the goats were the unbelievers. But when we consider the Scriptural context it become clear that this is not the case. The setting here is at a time after Christ has established His kingdom here on earth. At this time He gathers together the nations before Him. On His right hand are the sheep and on the left hand are the goats.
For those on His right hand, the sheep, there is a great blessing for them. They are to inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for them. But for those on the left hand, the goats, they are cursed and will be cast into the eternal fire that was created for the devil and his angels. So, what is important for us to note here is what it is that distinguishes the sheep from the goats.
Jesus tells them that they are being judged by the way in which they have treated Him. What was their response when they saw Him hungry, thirsty, a stranger, in need of clothes, sick, or in prison? If they ministered to Him when they found him in any of these conditions, then they are now going to be amply rewarded with life in His kingdom. If they saw Him in any of these conditions and had no compassion for Him, then their end would be with the wicked.
“37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” (Mt 25:37-39 NAS)
Obviously, these people are not knowledgeable about the Word of God. They seem to be clueless as to when they had ever ministered to or neglected to minister to Christ. Jesus’ answer to them is that if they had ministered to even the least of His brethren it was as if they had ministered to Him. Their selfless attitude reflected a character that Jesus was looking for in those who would be part of His kingdom. For those of us that have been born again and are His brothers and sister, these scriptures are a great encouragement, knowing how highly we are esteemed in God’s eyes.
The Thousand Year Reign
“5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” (Re 20:5-6 NAS)
If we glean from Scripture the references that speak of this time period, we are presented with a glorious time of peace in which righteousness reigns. Even the animals revert back to their original natures. All of nature lives in harmony without fear.
“And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the kid, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.” (Isa 11:6 NAS)
“And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.” (Isa 11:8 NAS)
“”The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.” (Isa 65:25 NAS)
The Thousand Year’s End
“7 And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.” (Re 20:7-8 NAS)
One thousand years of peace and prosperity and the world is full of people again. Satan is released from his prison and he proceeds to again turn people against God through deception. The rebellion is short lived as fire comes down from heaven and devours them. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire where he will be tormented forever and ever.
Final Judgment
“11 ¶ And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” (Re 20:11-12 NAS)
All of those who were not included in the first resurrection are now brought before the throne of God to be judged. All of those who were not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death from which there is no escape.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
“1 ¶ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Re 21:1-2 NAS)
John is given a vision of the place of our final abode. Everything is new, pure, and clean. As John attempt to describe this New Jerusalem it becomes apparent that it is beyond our wildest imagination. Those who live here are free from all of the unpleasant things that we live with today. There is no pain or sorrow only joy and gladness. There is a river of life and the tree of life with twelve manners of fruits. Nothing that is unpleasant will enter the gates of this city.
The greatest aspect of the city will be that God and the Lamb will be here and we will see His face and we will serve Him. And here we will live with Him forever and ever, Amen.