One thousand years, justice served

July 5, 2020 (Sunday)

 

Today we look at the millennial kingdom. Satan is imprisoned in the Abyss for 1,000 years. Meanwhile the saints rule!

 

Who are the people who rule during this time? I am so glad you asked. Revelation 20:4 tells us, “Then I saw thrones, and people took their seats on them, and judgment was given in their favor. They were the ones who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and God’s word, and those who hadn’t worshipped the beast or its image, who hadn’t received the mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and ruled with Christ for one thousand years.” [CEB]

 

First, they were “the ones who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and God’s word.” In other words, they are martyred (killed, murdered) for their faith in Jesus. The specific means of execution indicates they are from a specific time period. If we continue with the clues, their identity will be clearer.

 

Second, is seems they have come out of the Great Tribulation, "those who hadn’t worshipped the beast or its image, who hadn’t received the mark on their forehead or hand." So in the last seven years, they are given the honor of martyrdom due to their refusal to worship the beast (Antichrist) or receive the "mark of the beast." I can see why people want to see Revelation in past terms or to understand it as an over-arching picture of humanity after the cross rather than the future. The trouble is these images are very specific. Leading me to think they come from a relative short and specific time frame.

 

Finally, “They came to life and ruled with Christ for one thousand years.” As humans we suffer from the illusion of physical death. While death is an end of sorts, it is NOT the end. These saints, who have come out of the Great Tribulation, are restored to physical life and given reign of the earth for one thousand years.

 

At this point, it is explained, “The rest of the dead didn’t come to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection.” [Revelation 20:5 CEB] We sometimes get confused about the bodily resurrection of “the saints” (God’s faithful people). One system of thought is this resurrection is a resurrection of all the saints up to this point in history. Thus, the people alive during this period of time are God's saints. However, this seems to contradict the immediate text and the rebellion at the end of the millennial kingdom.

 

They are, “Favored and holy are those who have a share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will rule with him for one thousand years.” [Revelation 20:6 CEB] Notice two key thoughts. They are “favored and holy.” Favored is the common idea for “blessed.” Meanwhile, “holy” means "separate." These people are a specific segment who are favored (blessed) and made separate for the task of ruling with Christ for one thousand years. In other words, this is not the bodily resurrection of all the saints.

 

A significant theological idea is found in this verse. It is “the second death.” Death, in Paul’s theology, is physical AND spiritual. Or maybe more accurately physical death is an illustration of spiritual death. Spiritual death is the state of being separated from God.

 

Paul described this state in Ephesians 2:1 – 3, "At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else."     [CEB]

 

Is this a description of who you were or who you are? Is your behavior guided by whatever feels good? Do you do whatever you want without thinking about what God says is right or wrong? If so you are spiritually lost, condemned in the “second death,” and heading for an eternity of torment in the very real lake of fire.