Hi all,
Having just finished a sort series summarizing the chaos of the Tribulation, let us proceed to the transition from man’s government to the government of Jesus, known as the Millennium.
Jesus materializes at His return
Ever since His ascension in Acts 1, when a person sees the Lord it is because that person is allowed to see or be in the Spirit realm, where He is. Paul saw the Lord in Acts 9, as did the believer named Ananias. Paul saw Him again in Acts 18 in Corinth, and again in Acts 22:17. The apostle John called it being ‘in the Spirit’ in Revelation 1:10 and 4:2. The first use is when he was in the Spirit and saw the Lord in His realm, and the second use was when he was caught up into heaven.
For me, when my physical eyes are open and my spiritual eyes are opened to His realm, it is like an overlay of 2 parallel universes I see at the same time. This is described as happening to Elisha and his servant in II Kings 6: 15-17 who saw both the natural world around them AND the angelic army protecting them.
But at the return of Jesus He will come out of the Spirit realm to be once again solidly in the natural world, and we will have our ‘glorified’ bodies as well that we may rule and reign with Him. As the angels said at His ascension: “This same Jesus who you have seen taken up into heaven, will come (back) in the same way as you’ve seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1: 11
The story of The Revelation is the story of transitioning, violently so, the end of man’s government and the start of the 1,000 reign of Jesus as King over the whole earth.
Consider from a political perspective what will happen at the return of Jesus
When any king, queen, president, prime minister, dictator or despot takes office, they must first establish order, leadership, and infrastructure that their administration may function.
Jesus reveals His course of action concerning this in Matthew 25: 31-32: “When the Son of man comes in His glory, and holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory: And before Him will be gathered all nations, and He will separate one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.”
We can understand practically speaking that representatives from all nations will be brought before Him, but there is another nation not hitherto considered: The nation of His people, who are also citizens of the nations of earth. From within the nations gathered before Him, Jesus will gather His people as He continues in v33-36:
“And He will put the sheep (nations) on His right, and the goat (nations) on His left. To those on His right He will say, ‘Come you blessed of my Father, and inherit the kingdom which as been prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I hunger and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to me.”
Relationships
To make a point yet again – notice His standard for judgment on His people: It isn’t how nice the church sound system is, or your attendance or giving money, nor even how many you won to the Lord. Jesus says His measuring stick is relationship and social based giving to those in your circle of friends, family, neighbors, coworkers – food, clothing, hospitality, visiting the sick, imprisoned and those in need.
As I’ve said so many times, anyone can say they are born again, but that claim is unproven for it is unseen in the heart. God in His wisdom determined righteousness is proven within the framework of relationships. That is why we are told to judge one’s fruits, not their heart, but the fruit of their lives, and that fruit is seen within relationships.
You are going into government service
Paul confirms the fact the Lord’s ‘sheep’ will be separated from the rest and rule the nations in I Corinthians 6: 2-4: “Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? ….Don’t you know that we will judge angels?” (The word ‘judge’ is administrative, and would be better translated in modern English, ‘rule’, ‘govern’, ‘to decide’. It is not heaven/hell, but rather as a ruler making determinations and giving instructions.)
In The Revelation 20: 4-6, John describes seeing thrones and the saints given authority to rule with Christ for 1,000 years, a throne being the seat of authority.
A point of order:
People sometimes ask why I usually refer to the last book of the Bible as The Revelation, rather than ‘Revelation’ or ‘Revelations’. The reason is simple and is explained in The Revelation 1:1: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God (Father) gave to Him to show His servants things which must shortly come to pass…”
It is a revelation which the Father gave to Jesus in the form of a sealed scroll. John is called up to heaven in chapter 4, and he saw the Father on His throne surrounded by 24 elders and the cherubs, which are angelic winged creatures around the Father’s throne.
In chapter 5 a dilemma is presented: The Father has a scroll in His right hand, but verses 1-5 tell us no man is worthy to open the scroll. John ‘cries much’ because no one is worthy, but his sorrow is brought to an end by an elder in verse 5: “Don’t cry, because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the root of David has prevailed to open the book and to loose its 7 seals.”
Immediately Jesus begins opening the revelation found in the scroll by breaking the 7 seals…and that is the rest of the book of The Revelation.
Next week, about Jesus ruling from Jerusalem, the tone of His rule, our part, and more! Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
