REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 20.4
Gleanings from the Book of
Revelation:
A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION TO JOHN
Chapter
Twenty
The
Millennium
Forward
Now that the Accuser and enemy of God are
bound for one thousand years in the Bottomless Pit, the peaceful Millennial
reign of Jesus Christ is finally at hand. Chronologically, John witnesses a
glorious panorama of God’s resurrected reward people sitting on thrones
reigning with Christ in the Kingdom.
Some have theorized there are dual simultaneous
Kingdoms: One, a heavenly one in its spiritual realm, and another earthly one
for those who physically enter as a remnant of Tribulation. The confusion lies
primarily between the Millennium Age and the Eternal State.
Logically, if Jesus appeared in His
glorified body on the Mount of Transfiguration (cf. Matthew 17:1-13), on the
Road to Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:13-35), in the upper room (cf. Luke 24:36-49; John
20:24-29), and for forty post-Resurrection days (cf. Acts 1:3), then presumably
living and glorified bodies can coexist.
2.
The Reign of Crist and the Saints
(Verse 4)
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them: and I saw the
souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of
God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had
received his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
Thrones
Apart from the Throne of God and the Throne of Glory on which
the Son of God sits, John sees thrones (plural) and people sitting upon them.
Thrones, thronos [2262] are stately seats
assigned to royalty or dignitaries. And they are also places of judicature.
Thrones are too for those in authority having the position
and privileges to govern with Christ and by Christ during His millennial reign.
There are three groups seated on these thrones thus far:
1. Old Testament saints sharing in judging
Daniel 7:18 - But the saints
of the most High shall take the Kingdom, and possess the Kingdom for
ever, even for ever and ever.
2. Twelve Apostles sharing in judging
Matthew 19:28 - And Jesus said unto them (the
Twelve), Verily I say unto you, That ye which have
followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the Throne of
His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.
3. New Testament saints sharing in judging
1 Corinthians 6:2-3a
- Do ye not
know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye
unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we
shall judge angels?
Brief History of Old Testament Judges
Initially, the Lord wanted a theocratic nation by which He
judged right and wrong amongst His chosen ones (cf. Genesis 16:5). As families
grew, Abraham’s descendants formed tribes or clans.
Judging during the Millennium is reminiscent of Israel's early Old Testament clans where elder tribal leaders would take up judicial
matters and settle disputes. They were known as shâphat.
For example, Judah judged and sentenced Tamar:
Exodus 18:24 - And it came to pass about
three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar, thy daughter in
law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring
her forth, and let her
be burnt.
Later Moses became the sole magistrate over the Israelites:
Exodus 18:13 - And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood
by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
However, after hearing many cases and upon his father-in-law
Jethro’s advice, Moses organized the nation into groups and appointed many
judges over God’s people:
Exodus 18:25-26 – And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers
of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
A Period of Judges
After the death of Joshua, apostasy reigned and God appointed
twelve consecutive judges to rule over Israel for over four hundred years. But…
Judges 21:25 - In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
A Period of Kings
Fearing the Philistines and seeing surrounding nations being
ruled by kings, Israel demanded a king to rule over them. So God, contrary to
His will, told His prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as king to rule them. The
account reads as such:
1 Samuel 8:6-7 - But the thing
displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to
judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And
the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the
voice of the people in all that they say
unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they
have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
Note: The most notorious court case was when King Solomon declared
to have a baby cut in two:
1 Kings 3:16-28
Solomon Judges Wisely
16Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. 17And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one
house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. 18And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered,
that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was
no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. 19And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid
it. 20And she arose at
midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid
it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. 21And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it
was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my
son, which I did bear. 22And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but
the dead is thy son, and the
living is my son. Thus they
spake before the king.
23Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. 24And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword
before the king. 25And the king said, Divide the living
child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. 26Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living
child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither
mine nor thine, but divide it. 27Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. 28And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had
judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
A
Final King-Judge
During
His thousand-year reign as the final King of Kings, the Lord will execute the
office of Judge and minister justice in all righteousness and truth with a rod
of iron. According to His will, judicial powers will be given to His servants occupying
thrones all over the world. Hence, truth and righteousness in all standards of
life (morally and spiritually) will surely come to pass:
A. As
prophesied by the Psalms in the Old Testament
Psalm 96:12-13 - Let the field be
joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD: for He cometh, for He cometh
to judge the earth: He
shall judge the world with righteousness, and the
people with His truth.
Psalm 96:10 - And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
B. As spoken of by Paul in the New Testament
1 Corinthians 6:2 - Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye
unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
2 Timothy 2:12 - If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign
with Him: if we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
And I saw the
souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of
God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had
received his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
Saints of the Tribulation
Apart from the three groups of saints sitting on thrones,
another class of souls is mentioned as coming to life and living and reigning
with the King of Kings. Special mentioned are martyred souls from the
Tribulation Period who also have been given authority to judge.
The word beheaded
is pelekizō in Greek and it connotes a person’s
head being chopped off with an axe. These
saints in their glorified bodies will act as agents carrying out the Lord’s
will.
Tribulation saints are designated by John in several ways:
1. They were beheaded for the witness of Jesus
2. They were beheaded for the Word of God
3. They were martyred for not worshipping the beast
4. They were martyred for not worshipping his image
5. They were killed for not pledging allegiance to the beast
6. They were killed for not having his mark upon their heads
7. They were killed for not having his mark upon their hands
These resurrected Tribulation saints, along with the others, will
likewise adjudicate from their thrones as Jesus Christ rules the people on
earth with a rod of iron. Special assurance is given by John's witness that
even though they suffered shameful and degrading deaths, they will be exalted (cf.
John 5:24: 6:40). And, for those who suffered with Christ shall reign with Him:
2 Corinthians 1:5 - For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
2 Corinthians 12:10 -
Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for
when I am weak, then am I strong.
In the next study, the topic of Resurrection(s) will be
examined.
QUESTIONS:
1. What will the Kingdom of God look like?
2. Who will occupy the thrones and rule with Christ?
3. How did judgeships come about?
4. Why did Israel have kings?
5. Why are Tribulation saints given authority to rule?
6. Why are judges on thrones needed in the Millennium?
7. Who has the ultimate authority during the Kingdom?
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