As the world implodes, wars abound, morality collapses, and the threat of the coming Lawless One surmounts, believers are finding themselves praying, "come quickly Lord Jesus.Amen." (Revelation 22:21). For many The Second Coming of Christ will be preceded by what is called The Rapture, when all Christians who are devout shall be taken from the earth. This comes from the verses, "And the angels shall gather the saints from four winds," (Matthew 24:31) and "After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:17). However, Jesus Christ says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24:29-31). The feud between Pre-Millenials, AMillennials, and Post-Millenials is enough to cause a person to feel the "birth pains" alright. While it would be worthwhile to explain the different views of these people, I want to focus on a often overlooked part of millennial reign of Christ. It has been assumed that when Christ comes on clouds and appears over Jerusalem (Revelation 1:7, Zachariah) that he will then "With breath, Jesus Christ shall destroy Antichrist," (2 Thessalonians 2) and shorly after The Last Judgement, and Satan will be caste into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10) with his antichrist and false prophet. The problem is that the Scriptures actually reveal that there is a major gap of time and events that are being passed over.
Jesus Christ according to the Apostle John's vision is not going to judge everyone and every spirit right away. In fact, there is going to be a one thousand year reign of Christ over the Jerusalem that exists right now. Here is what the Scriptures say, "Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." (Revelation 20:5). This thousand years is not a metaphor for eternity or endless years, because the next verse says, "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who 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 reign with him for a thousand years." (Revelation 20:6-7). If a thousand years ends, it means it cannot be an allegory of eternity. This is further confirmed by Christ's suspended judgment of Satan, "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison." (Revelation 20:7). How can the thousand years be forever if Satan was bound for thousand years and is later then released? That would mean the thousand years is actually a measure of time, not a metaphor for all-time (eternity) like "seven times seventy." (Matthew 18:22). This thousand year reign of Christ prior to the coming of a New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1) is a fulfillment of the requirement that the Messiah, the Seed of David, must reign in Jerusalem, (Zachariah 14) which explains then way Satan is involved in this war against Jerusalem in Revelation chapter 20.
Most believers expect to be swept into the New Heaven and Earth when Jesus Christ returns, but Revelation and the other Scriptures indicate this is not so, for it says, "Then I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse. And its rider is called Faithful and True. With righteousness He judges and wages war. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, the Almighty. And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: King of kings and Lord of lords." (Revelation 19:12-17). This is an image of war, Christ wielding a sword of his mouth, and followed by armies to seize His throne in Jerusalem. I believe Revelation 19 is when Christ destroys the Antichrist ( with a breath, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, fitting since a breath and word are the same, and Jesus has sword coming out of his mouth and is called the Word of God in John 1:1,15), and sends the antichrst along with the false prophet to Second Death (Revelation 20:10), binds the devil for thousand years (Revelation 20:7), and wages war with nations until the final battle (Revelation 20:7-10). The Prophet Zachariah has detailed description of One Thousand Year Reign, "Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you (Jerusalem) will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women ravished; and half of the city will be exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from the east to the west by a very large valley, and half of the mountain will move toward the north and half of it toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; and you will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones (believers, angels) with Him. In that day there will be no light; the glorious ones (heavenly bodies) shall be darkened. 7 But it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord—not day and not night, but at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half of them to the western sea (the Mediterranean); it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord shall be the only one [worshiped], and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon, [the Rimmon that is] south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain [lifted up] on its site from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. It will be inhabited, for there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. Now this will be the plague with which the Lord shall strike all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. In that day a great panic and dismay from the Lord will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together—gold and silver and garments in great abundance. So like this plague [on men] there will be the plague on the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the livestock in those camps. Then everyone who is left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up [to Jerusalem] and present themselves, then no rain will fall on them. It will be the plague with which the Lord will strike the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles). 19 This will be the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of Egypt, and the [consequent] punishment [for the sin] of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).In that day there will be written on the little bells on the horses, “HOLY TO The Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be [holy to the Lord] like the bowls before the altar. Every cooking pot in [all the houses in] Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take them and boil [their sacrifices] in them. And in that day there will no longer be a Canaanite [that is, any godless or spiritually unclean person, whether Jew or Gentile] in the house of the Lord of hosts." (Zachariah 14:1-21). Note that when Jesus stands on Mount of Olives, that is the very place He ascended from after The Resurrection (Acts 1:1-11). Another thought, the lines, "In that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from the east to the west by a very large valley, and half of the mountain will move toward the north and half of it toward the south," (Zachariah 14:4) could be connected to Jesus Christ's own words, "He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20).
Zachariah is prophesying about the fighting that will take place at Jerusalem while Jesus reigns thousand years and that will finally end at last battle, "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison. and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:7-10). Even after Christ has returned (Revelation 1:7) and the Antichrist is slain (2 Thessalonians 2:8), there is going to be fighting, and reigning in Jerusalem as it stands today (minus the giant crack in Mount Olivet and the Kidron valley, "And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley." Zechariah 14:4 NKJV) This explains then what part of being on earth is for, there are going to be saints who assist in this reign and fighting of Jesus for one thousand years before the Final Judgement of Satan (Revelation 20:10) and the coming of paradise in the New Heaven (Revelation 21:1), New Earth (Revelation 21:1), and New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-18). Before Christ cleanses this world with fire (2 Peter 3:10) there shall be a thousand years of reigning and waging war against the wicked. This is a period often overlooked, as many brothers and sisters in Christ expect to simply join the ranks of heaven and enjoy unending joy; certainly this will happen, but there is priveledge that many are ignoring. I believe the martyrs (Revelation 6:11, Revelation 7:9-14) and the 144,000, as well as those who have endured through Tribulation will get to reign with Christ in this turbulent one thousand year reign.
It is surprising that despite God who is Jesus Christ having come back, all nations will still be making war against Him and Israel (Zachariah 14). This perhaps goes along with verse, "They called to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Revelation 6:16). This cross references with Jesus standing on Mount of Olives which cracks, and the mountains move, and people escape through them (Zachariah 14:4). It has been assumed that when Christ returns judgement is enacted swiftly and paradise is instituted immediatly; but Scripture paints a different picture. There is going to be a Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Old Jerusalem (today's Jerusalem) prior to a New Jerusalem coming (Revelation 21:2). I believe that part of reason we are here on Earth other than the Great Commission (share Gospel, Mark 16:15), is to build the character that will enable us to be among those who reign with Jesus for one thousand years. I think many good Christians who are not strong enough to endure the tribulation, whose flesh is weak, who even are saved by fire (1 Corinthians 3:15) will probably go straight to heaven, but those saints that dared to take a stand for the Savior, who chose to crucify their flesh, and seek God's Will (Matthew 6:33) with their whole hearts will find themselves involved in One Thousand Year Reign and the wars that take place; fulfilling this verse, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10); for they will have be part of the kingdom coming, the One Thousand Year Reign.
I think many of the devout crusaders, navy seals, and more who perished in their sacrifice (John 15:13) shall be in the army that comes back with Christ (Revelation 19:14). While it may seem alluring to just go to heaven and rest, why not strive to be among the privileged few who will help Christ in His reign before the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem arrive? It would be an honor to make the tribulation our boot camp for His One Thousand Year Reign! I believe earth is a training ground, a boot camp to see who can build the character (fruit of spirit, Galatians 5:22:23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control/self discipline."), maintain the discipline, and endure to the end (Matthew 24:12-13), and beginning of reign of Jesus (Revelation 20:4-6). So aside from sharing Gospel, and the love of God we need to consider are we really committed enough to be part of one thousand year reign. It will be for privileged few (see 144,000 in Revelation 7:4-10). I believe this is why Jesus says, "To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne." (Revelation 3:21). Jesus I believe is saying endure as He did, even through persecution, crucifixion, and you will reign with him in Thousand Year Reign, and then rejoice in the endless years of paradise (Revelation 21:1-20). Paradise is open to all who believe Jesus is God and Lord, and follow Him, but it is privilege to reign with Him during Thousand Year Reign; one I think we should seek and desire to be worthy of.
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