In Blog #4 I left you with the question, "Does Jesus tell us when the Thousand Year Reign with Christ on the earth ends?" Remember, we have already established scripturally when the Thousand Year Reign with Christ on the earth began - the moment that Jesus rose from the dead His Kingdom of Heaven was established on the earth. A human being must be spiritually born again in order to enter His spiritual kingdom.
We have also learned that the word thousand describes an indefinite period of time, as earthly time is determined. By this information, we can conclude that the Reign of Christ on the earth will end the day the very last human being, who desires to do so, accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. At this time, the earthly reign of Christ will cease, because His purpose for this prophecy will have been fulfilled. But, the spiritual Reign of Christ will never cease.
Our omniscient God, Creator of all things, is the only one who knows when there is no one left on the earth who desires to be born again - no one left to surrender their allegiance to Jesus Christ. The end of the thousand-year reign with Christ on the earth, immediately ushers in the end of the world. How do I know?
The Apostle Peter gives us some insights regarding the return of Jesus Christ to gather His followers to Himself and usher them to His heavenly kingdom - ending His reign on the earth. Many wonder why Jesus has never returned in 2000 years, so have rejected Him and His Bible as false. But Peter says...The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance...II Pet. 3:9.
Regarding the day the Lord returns for His people, Peter says...But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up...II Pet. 3:10.
He comes as a thief in the night, means that Jesus Christ will not be expected. A thief arrives at your home unexpected, and hidden by the darkness of night. When Jesus Christ returns, human beings will be living for themselves in spiritual darkness, having no interest in Him or the Kingdom of Heaven - so they will not be expecting Him to come. Only His kids will be watching for His coming.
...scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation...for this they willfully forget; that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water...by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water...but the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men...II Pet.3:3-7.
The Apostle Peter explains that God kept His promise to destroy the violent idolatrous and immoral world of Noah's day - people seem to forget. But, the present violent idolatrous and immoral world is reserved to perish by fire. This time though, the earth will burn up - it will no longer exist. Does scripture reveal more about the end of the world?
Jesus spoke to His disciples in parables, many prophetic, saying...it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven...Matt. 13:11. One prophetic parable is found in Matt. 13:24-30 where He spoke in metaphors - Wheat & Tares. He explains these metaphors in the Parable of the Tares - Matt. 13:36-43. Please read them for the full story. Wheat and tares symbolize spiritual seeds to be sowed in a field. The field is the world. The good seeds - wheat - are the sons of the kingdom of God. The bad seeds - tares - are the sons of the wicked one - Satan. Both kinds of seeds are allowed to grow together in the world until the end of the world.
There is a harvest of all the spiritual seeds - human beings - at the end of the world, when God sends out his End-time Reapers to gather in the harvest - then the earth burns up. The tares - Satan's kids (all who offend and practice lawlessness) - are cast into the furnace of fire, where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. The wheat - God's kids - will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.
What did Jesus mean when He said...and as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man...Luke 17:26? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
In this series we are searching the scriptures in order to find out exactly when the Thousand Year Reign with Christ on the earth begins. Has it already begun or is it yet in the future? In the last three blogs we laid out evidence for when the first death and when the first resurrection occurred. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead He brought the Kingdom of Heaven to the earth, and deposed the reign of Satan on the earth. This is when the Reign of Christ on the earth began.
When Jesus Christ began His reign on the earth, He provided the only way for mankind to be reconciled to God, their Creator. If a human being repents of his sins and accepts Jesus Christ as the blood sacrifice - payment - for his sins, he will become born again...John 3:3. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new...II Cor. 5:17.
Is the born again experience the first resurrection for human beings? Does he begin his Reign with Christ on the earth the moment he is born again? For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ...Rom. 5:17.
When Adam sinned, death reigned through him to all human beings, but those who receive the gift of righteousness - forgiveness - through Jesus Christ, they will reign in life through Him. When a human being receives the gift of righteousness he has been...called out of darkness into His marvelous light...I Peter 2:9. He is no longer dead in trespasses and sins, but has been resurrected from death to life - first resurrection. Resurrection means: standing up again.
Now we know that scripture explains very clearly when the Reign with Christ on the earth begins for a human being - it is when he is born again. Your next question should be, "How does the word thousand qualify the Reign of Christ on the earth?"
...and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years...Rev. 20:4 - the last sentence. We must determine the definition of the word thousand. This particular word in the original Greek language is chiloi meaning: uncertain; an indefinite period of time. It can also mean continual or uninterrupted, depending on the context in which it is used.
If the word thousand in this text was meant as a numerical calculation, the Greek word would have been chilias. There is a big difference in the definition of these two Greek words. At the time this vision was given, John had no larger word in the vocabulary of his day to describe a long indefinite period of time, than thousand. The words million, billion or trillion had not been conceived.
In order to describe a long indefinite period of time, John could have qualified the word thousand by saying one thousand years, but this would put a limit to the amount of years for the fulfillment of the prophecy. John also could have said ten thousands of years, indicating unending - but he didn't mean unending.
The thousand year reign of Christ on the earth describes an indefinite period of time, because the opportunity to reign with Christ - become born again - must be offered to all generations of people until God says it is over - that time period cannot be calculated by men. So the Greek word chiloi was used by the translator to convey to the saints of God, there will be an eventual ending to the reign with Christ on the earth, but no human being knows when that will be.
We can glean more insight on the meaning of the word thousand from the Apostle Peter. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, a thousand years as one day...II peter 3:8. The word thousand in this text is from the same Greek word as above - chiloi - an indefinite or uncertain period of time.
The Apostle Peter explains that one day is as a thousand years - one and the same - a continuum in the spirit realm. Time on the earth has a beginning and an end. In the spirit realm there is no time - eternal life is continual, an uninterrupted existence. Time in the spirit realm is always now. This is why God told Moses that His name is I AM...Ex. 3:14.
Does Jesus tell us when the Thousand Year Reign with Christ on the earth ends? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrine of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
As we continue this series, keep in mind that the Revelation of Jesus Christ was given to His followers after He rose from the dead, not only to confirm what He told them while He was on the earth, but to reveal who He is spiritually and what is waiting for them in the eternal city. He also provided a thumbnail sketch of events that would come upon the earth during the Christian era.
Jesus Christ used riddles, enigmas, esoteric imagery and metaphors to convey His message, so that earthly rulers - secular or religious - would never understand, but true believers would understand and be prepared to receive His plans and purposes for their lives. In order to understand the hidden message, we must define the symbolism.
In the last blog we explained what scripture reveals about the first death - when this occurred. Because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, mankind became spiritually...dead in trespasses and sins...Eph. 2:1. If this is the first death, when was the first resurrection? When did mankind "stand up again" from death to life?
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation...for by Him all things were created that are in Heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers...all things were created through Him and for Him...and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist...and He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence...Col. 1:15-18.
The sinless Jesus, Son of the living God, offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, because...the wages of sin is death...Rom. 6:23. Since the man Jesus never sinned, His was a righteous blood sacrifice, enabling Him to victoriously rise from the dead. When He was resurrected three days after He was crucified, He became the...firstborn from the dead. This is the first resurrection.
By this victory, Jesus Christ defeated the power of death that had been foisted upon the human race by Satan, tormenting them for centuries. The moment Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, Satan was deposed as reigning king on the earth - no longer had dominion over every living thing on the earth. Jesus Christ now reigned on the earth and in the heavens - the Kingdom of Heaven had returned to the earth. The reign of Christ on the earth begins.
Now we can see clearly how the how the first resurrection - Jesus rising from the dead - initiated the reign of Christ on the earth.
During the reign of Jesus Christ on the earth, mankind is provided the opportunity to be spiritually reconciled to God. Salvation...is a gift of God...Eph. 2:8. If a human being, who is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, repents of his sins and accepts Jesus Christ as His personal Savior - gift of salvation - he will experience his first resurrection - stand up again from death to life.
The new believer will physically live on the earth, yet spiritually will begin to reign with Christ on the earth, as well as in heavenly places...Eph. 2:6. The doors of Heaven, previously closed to mankind due to sin, have now opened, because Jesus Christ offered the firstfruits of His salvation to His Father in Heaven...Rev. 14:3-5.
Jesus said to her...I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me though he were dead, yet shall he live...and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die...John 11:25-26. Jesus Christ offers to men, who are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, the only way to be reconciled to God - Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Mankind can choose to accept His offer, or they can reject His offer - God will never force men against their will. They can choose Heaven or Hell as their eternal home.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new...II Cor. 5:17. This text confirms that Jesus Christ made a new creation from an old dead creation. What God originally created in Eden was now spiritually dead - separated from fellowship with Him because of the sin of disobedience - first death. Satan kidnapped men from God - Jesus paid the ransom to get them back. Jesus rose from the dead providing the first
resurrection.
Is the first resurrection and the born again experience (John 3:3) the same event? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
And I saw thrones, and they sat on 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 worshiped 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...but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished...this is the first resurrection...Rev. 20:4-5.
In what realm - earth or spirit - does this scene take place? This text clearly reveals believers in Christ after they left the earth. They could not have arrived in the celestial city of God unless they had been born again, while they lived on the earth. Jesus said that we must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven...John 3:3.
This vision gives us a sneak peak of the throne of God in advance, providing assurance to the persecuted martyrs of Christ, that what Jesus promised them, while He lived on the earth, will be fulfilled. A very important purpose of the book of Revelation is the unveiling of the eternal side of life offered by Jesus Christ - His future plans and purposes for His human family in eternity.
In the first blog of this series I stated that reigned with Christ a thousand years is inextricably connected to the first resurrection. So how do I know this? Resurrection in the Greek language is anastasis meaning: standing up again. If someone is dead and stands up again - lives again - he has been resurrected. This leaves us with the question, "When was the first death that produced the need for a first resurrection?"
After God created the earth, firmament, and every form of life, He created Adam and placed him in a garden called Eden. Then He gave Adam the following warning...the Lord God commanded the man saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die."...Gen. 2:16-17.
Eve was created after this warning to Adam, but he shared God's warning with her. Then the serpent shows up in this peaceful garden, whom we know is Satan in disguise...Rev. 12:9.
When the serpent appeared on the scene he said to Eve...has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?...and the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die"...Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die...for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."...So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate...the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves covering...Gen. 3:1-7.
Actually Satan told her a half-truth - not a total lie. Satan knew that Adam & Eve wouldn't die physically - cease to exist - but he also knew they would die spiritually, which means spiritually disconnected - separated - from their Creator. They would lose the dominion God gave to them, over every living thing, when He created them...Gen.1:28. Satan took their dominion over every living thing for himself, and became god over them...II Co. 4:4.
This is the first death...therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned...Rom. 5:12. This transgression by Adam & Eve is called - original sin. The first death is a spiritual death - separation from the presence of God through disobedience.
Satan insinuated to Eve that knowing good and evil, as did God, was something to be coveted - equality with God. Yet, shame was their first experience after receiving their new-found knowledge of good and evil...Gen. 3:7. Terrific! When does the good stuff begin?
With his new earthly reign over every living thing, including mankind, Satan also held within his authority, the power of death over the inhabitants of the earth. From that day forward, Satan held men captive to the fear of physical death, since they weren't assured they were spiritually right with God...Heb. 2:14-15.
Scripture just explained when the first death - spiritual death - took place, so when does the first resurrection take place? When will mankind "stand up again" - from death to life? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
