Revelation
20:6 says, "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." This
thousand years is referred to several times in the same chapter and
insists that the faithful who are raised from the dead live and reign
with Christ a thousand years. But first, the following question should
be answered.
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WHERE
– IN HEAVEN OR ON EARTH?
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The
Bible gives the answer. Revelation 5:10 is clear. All those redeemed
by the blood of Christ out of every kindred and people and tongue and
nation, say "(Christ) has made us unto our God kings and priests: and
we shall reign on the earth." This accords with the direct statement
of Jesus our Lord "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the
earth." (Matthew 5:5) The Lord was directly quoting Psalm 37:11
"The meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace." The Psalmist continues in verse 29 stating, "The
righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein for ever."
The Hebrew term translated ‘ever’ in verse 29 refers to unlimited time.
So Jesus and the Psalmist are all referring to the same inheritance
for the redeemed of Rev 5:10 and 20:6. The place is this earth, and
the time….. for ever. So that should include the millennium.
However
there are some who say that this endless time on earth starts after
the thousand years are finished, and that the redeemed righteous are
taken to heaven for the thousand years. They claim that during their
absence the earth is desolate until their return, when only those redeemed
will be on the earth. But how then can the redeemed reign on the earth
if no one but the redeemed are there? Surely they will not reign over
one another then if the Lord forbids them to do so now. See Luke 22:25-26
Consider also the following:-
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THE
EVERLASTING INHERITANCE OF THE RIGHTEOUS
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Proverbs
10:30 "The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall
not inhabit the earth."
Proverbs
11:31 "The
righteous shall be recompensed in the earth : much more the wicked
and the sinner."
Psalm
104:5 "Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not
be removed for ever." (Hebrew for ever and ever).
So
if the righteous are never to be removed from the earth - an earth that
is to remain for ever and ever, they will not be taken to heaven for
a thousand years and then returned. They will be here for ever, and
the term "ever" must include the millennium.
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JERUSALEM
THE FUTURE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
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The
prophet Isaiah also clarifies the situation for us. He says, "It shall
come to pass IN THE LAST DAYS that the mountain of the LORD’S
house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. (Isaiah
2:2) He adds that all nations will want to learn God’s ways; that they
will walk according to His laws, and that war will be a thing of the
past. We also learn that "Out of Zion shall go forth the law and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2-4) The last days
of man's rule are described as perilous by Paul, (2 Tim 3:1)
and as harbouring scoffers who scorn the signs of Christ’s coming.
(2 Peter 3:3) It is clear that the 'last days', (Tanakh= the 'days to
come') when God’s house for worship is being built in Jerusalem, are
after Christ’s return. (Zechariah 6-12) Also, if only
the redeemed are present during the millennium, and they will already
know God’s ways, why does Isaiah say, "He (God) will teach us of his
ways, and we will walk in his paths:" (Isaiah 2:3) These people obviously
need God’s instruction, and must therefore be the subjects of Christ
and His glorified redeemed, during the millennium.
They
will also have weapons of war at the beginning of this thousand years,
for they will voluntarily "beat them into spears and ploughshares" as
the prophecy of Isaiah demands. So this millennium cannot be in heaven,
for the prophecy continues, "nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4)
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ALL
ENEMIES CONQUERED DURING THE MILLENNIUM
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The
pagan arch adversary, or leader of false Christianity (symbolically
called the 'dragon' and 'the devil' and 'satan') will be bound for a
thousand years. (Revelation 20:2) This false claimant to religious and
political leadership that deceived and opposed the Truth of God will
no longer deceive the nations. God’s Truth will for the first time in
history, be accepted by all people on earth, ending the great deception.
Revelation
20:6 speaks of a resurrection of the dead at the return of Christ. So
does the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:22-26 "For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his
own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's
at his coming. Paul then quickly brings his argument to its final conclusion
by saying, " Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule
and all authority and power. Grammarians tell us that the Greek word
"eite" translated "then" is a term used significantly to mark a transition
to a new point in the argument. Just how this transition is made is
supplied by the following verse which says, "For he must reign, till
he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death."
So
the end only comes after He has conquered all enemies during His long
reign on earth. He will then hand over the Kingdom to His Father that
God may be all in all. (Verse 27) This earth will subsequently be inhabited
only by the redeemed. It will then be "filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea." (Numbers 14:21 ; Habakkuk 2:14).
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JESUS
INVITES YOU TO PARTICIPATE
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Revelation,
3:21 "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."
Two thrones are indicated here.
1.
The throne that has been promised Jesus on earth. This throne is David’s
in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 7:12-16) and (Luke 1:30-33)
2.
Where Jesus now sits in Heaven by the right hand of God been promised
Jesus on earth.
The
promise of David's throne,is quite clearly a promise of a throne in
Jerusalem, for Jesus said "Swear not at all …….. neither by JERUSALEM
for it is the CITY of the GREAT KING." (Matthew 5:34-35) He has promised
those who overcome to share that throne in Jerusalem with Him. You can
be there by believing this Gospel unto salvation and by being baptised
in water in obedience to the command of Jesus. (Mark 16:15-16.).
