Matthew Defining The Kingdom Part 7

Revelation 20 is the first place that the Kingdom’s brought down to a  time frame. The Old Testament speaks of the Kingdom. Jesus spoke of the Kingdom. Paul refers to the Kingdom, but none of these put it into a time frame.

But in Revelation 20:1-2 it’s put into a time frame that we can understand. 1000 years.

 

Revelation 20:1-2,

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 

He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 

 

Look in these next few verses how many times the term 1000 years is brought out.

The Holy Spirit puts great emphasis on the fact that this Kingdom rule and reign of Christ will be a thousand years.

 

Revelation 20:3,

and he cast him (Satan) into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. 

 

The thousand years has been used twice in two verses. After the thousand years, Satan’s going to be released, and we’ll see that when we get to the Book of Revelation study.

Now in verse 4, John sees believers who have been resurrected, and brought up into the heaven of the heavens and he lists them.

Revelation 20:4-5

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 

But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 

 

Now that’s four times the thousand years is used in just four verses.

Let’s try and understand these resurrections.

 

We have all the believers all the way from Adam and through the Tribulation who’re now resurrected in various time frames and they’re now all in the Lord’s presence. But verse 5 refers to, “But the rest of the dead.”

There’re only two groups of people so far as God’s concerned, the lost and the saved. God desires all to be saved and come into the knowledge of the truth says 1^st Timothy 2 verse 4, but sadly He doesn’t get that desire. Man’s free will prevents that ever coming about.

So, if the saved are already resurrected and in the Lord’s presence, then the rest of the dead would have to be the lost.

They’ll stay in their original state in Hades, and they’ll be there for the entire thousand years of the Kingdom rule and after that they’ll be resurrected.

In order to pick up that resurrection, which is called the second resurrection, we go to Revelation 20 verse 14,

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 

 

This resurrection leads the lost ones to The Great White Throne Judgment. This is the final judgement of every person who’s ever lived that’s rejected God and His salvation, whether that salvation was through the Old Testament sacrificial system or the New Testament faith in the completed works of Jesus Christ.

We’ll study this awful judgement in detail at some other time, but we must know that no true believer will face this judgement.

We just want to see that the two resurrections are separated by a thousand years.

The lost have died physically but now they’re going to experience spiritual death, their separation from God forever.

Here you have these two great groups of humanity, the saved who are resurrected in stages before the Kingdom begins. Then, the lost of all the ages who’ll be resurrected here at the Great White Throne, and then go to their eternal doom.

The lost will also be resurrected and get a body fit for their eternity in the lake of fire, even as we believers will have a body prepared for eternal life.

So, in this first resurrection we see in Revelation 20:6-7,

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.

Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years. 

Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison. 

Out of the first seven verses here in Chapter 20, a thousand years is mentioned six times.

There’ll be a lot take place in that seven year period of the tribulation and one of them will be the marriage of the Lamb.

We’ll be studying that in detail later along with a study of the Bema Seat, the judgment of believers for reward.

 

Back now to Revelation 20:6 again,

but they (the resurrected believers) shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

 

This is the first resurrection. Now let’s go back to I Corinthians Chapter 15. The great resurrection Chapter, where the Apostle Paul deals with Resurrection in plain simple language.

I Corinthians 15:20-21,

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (or have died). 

For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

He clarifies that in I Corinthians 15:47,

The first man was of the earth, made of dust (Adam); the second Man is the Lord from heaven (Christ). 

 

When Elijah raised the widow’s son, that was not resurrection. He just brought that lad back to life, and then, at a later time, he died again. The same thing happened with Lazarus. Jesus called him from the grave, but he wasn’t resurrected. He was brought back to life. Lazarus also had to die again.

 

We need to be clear. Resurrection is a unique Sovereign act of God.

He’ll bring back a human being who has died, back from the dead, not just to die again, but back to eternal life.

When God breathed into man and he became a living soul back in Genesis, that separated man from all the other categories of life. How? Because man has an immortal soul.

 

That’s why Revelation speaks of the resurrection of the just to eternal life in God’s presence, and the resurrection of the lost to a life separated from God, or the second death. But they’ll also continue on throughout eternity.

Some teach that when a lost person dies they’re annihilated. But that doesn’t come close to lining up with Scripture. Sadly, they’re going to suffer and experience feeling and regret forever.

 

Christ was the first Person to ever experience Resurrection. And that’s why He’s called the first fruits (Plural) of them that slept.

 

I Corinthians 15:23,

“But every man in his own order Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”

Paul’s referring to the believer here.  That word `order’ speaks of Christ first then the rest at a later time.

That’s the group that Paul’s most concerned with and that’s the Church Age. The Grace Age, The Age of the Church, The Body of Christ. You and I as believers.

I Corinthians 15:24,

Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 

Now we know that’ll be after the Tribulation, but it’ll include various stages where all those believers who die during the tribulation are included.

So, after the tribulation we have the completed result of the first resurrection, every believer who by faith has believed the Son of God, Jesus Christ, between the beginning of the Church age through to the last believer to die in the tribulation.

 

Now we head back to Revelation 20:6,

Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. 

 

And, as if to confirm this we have Revelation 5 verse 10,

And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.

We can also look at Revelation 19:7,

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. 

Remember the Lamb, Jesus Christ, is to be married to the Body of Christ.

Revelation 19:8,

And to her (the Body of Christ, the Church) it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 

Now to verse 14 where we see we’re now included in this army that’s coming with Christ at His Second Coming,

And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 

 

Let’s tie it all together.

Not only are the Tribulation saints going to be included in that reigning and ruling with Christ for a thousand years but we, as believers, are also included.

 

Since we’re talking about the Church Age believer in the Kingdom as this Kingdom will come on earth, let’s look to the Book of Colossians.

Now Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, doesn’t dwell on the Kingdom as much as the Old Testament and the Gospels do, because they apply to Israel.

But nevertheless, we’re involved in the Kingdom.

In Colossians 1:12-13 Paul’s been praying for the Colossi Gentile believers,

giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 

Notice He’s delivered us, past tense and conveyed, or translated us, that’s you and I as believers into (what?) the kingdom of his Son.

 

We’re already members of the Kingdom. But remember, where is the Kingdom right now? In heaven, in the Person of Christ.

When He was on the earth John the Baptist approached Jesus and said, “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Why? Because the King was at hand.

So, when the King went back to glory, then the Kingdom is again in heaven. We never refer to Him as the King in the Church Age, but as Saviour and Lord.

But the Kingdom won’t stay in heaven, it’ll come back to the earth, and Paul says We’ll be with Him, part and parcel of that Kingdom.

So, we’re absolutely a part of this coming Kingdom, which’ll then be on the earth.

 

Now, Christ has returned, the Tribulation has run its course, and the question is, “Who is going to go into the Kingdom? Are they going to be flesh and blood? Will they be having families? Will they be reproducing?”

And the answer to all these question is, yes absolutely!

This Kingdom will be on the earth and will be the Utopia the world longs for but will never find.

 

Let’s look at Matthew 19-28 and Jesus is speaking to the Apostles after Peter asks what they’ll have in the Kingdom,

So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 

 

That’s the twelve apostles, Judas is out of course, and the twelfth apostle is more likely than not Paul. The book of Acts tells us that Matthias replaced Judas but there’s an incredible study around this that’s way beyond what we’re doing here.

The regeneration is restoring something back like it was. The earth’ll be like it was in the Garden of Eden.

When the Son of man sits in the throne of his glory, according to Psalms Chapter 2,  The twelve will also sit on twelve thrones, judging (or ruling) the twelve tribes of Israel.

 

This is very clear. When the Kingdom is set up the Nation is now under their King. Then, under The King, will be the twelve original Apostles each ruling the twelve tribes, there in Jerusalem in the land of Israel.

Let’s look at another verse or two and this comes back to the closing days of the Tribulation, but it’s all tied to the beginning of the Kingdom.

 

Luke 21:25-31 and it’s Jesus Himself speaking,

And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (That’s the end of the Tribulation)

Then they (the Jews) will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Remember, He’s addressing the Nation of Israel.)

Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 

So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 

 

Now come on over to the Book of Acts Chapter 1. The Crucifixion has come and gone and Christ has been raised from the dead. He’s spent forty days with the Apostles. And now verse 3,

to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 

 

Being seen! They saw Him with their eyes.

Now, back to the question, “Who’s going to go into the Kingdom?” Go to John’s Gospel Chapter 3 verse 2 and it’s the old story of Nicodemus, a portion we all know well. We’ve heard dozens of sermons on it. Here’s Nicodemus in verse 2:

This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 

 

Notice Nicodemus was head and shoulders ahead of most of the Jews of that day. He recognised that these miracles were telling him something, that Jesus was Someone special.

Verse 3

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, (or born from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 

Now what does that tell us? Who can go into the Kingdom? ONLY BELIEVERS!

There will be no unbelievers in the Kingdom.

Come back to Matthew 24:15-16 and it’s Jesus speaking again and remember Matthew 24 is all about the tribulation period,

“Therefore when you see the ‘ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 

“then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 

 

This is the escaping remnant of Israel. They go down to the mountains to the southeast of Jerusalem. It won’t be the whole nation, only the remnant and they’ll be in unbelief because they never recognised Christ as their Messiah.

God’s going to supernaturally protect them in those mountains for the last 3 1/2 years of the tribulation. Then, as this unbelieving remnant of Israel see Christ coming with glory and power at His Second Coming they will believe.

So, they, too, will get to go into the Kingdom.

 

Let’s look at this remnant as they see Jesus coming from the viewpoint of Zechariah. And remember that word `see’. They’d see Him.

Zechariah 12:10 and it’s God speaking through Zechariah,

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; (remember this is the house of David, no Gentiles are there) then they will look on Me whom they pierced. (at His Crucifixion) Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 

 

Not only will their physical eyes be opened but also their spiritual eyes. They’ll recognise that this arrival of The Christ, The Messiah is the One Who died back there on that Roman Cross in Judea.

Zechariah 13:6,

And one (this remnant of Israel) will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ 

 

Then this remnant of Israel will experience that new birth that Nicodemus was told he had to have in order to go into the Kingdom. This remnant will be the largest number of people to survive the Tribulation. It’ll be the seed of the Nation of Israel as they come into the Kingdom.

 

Remember that the earth will now be restored back to the way it was in the Garden of Eden before sin entered. It’ll be glorious and beautiful.

The remnant of Israel that God had protected during the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation will believe when they see Christ coming with power and great glory at His Second Coming.

They’ll see the nail prints in His hands, the wound in His side and believe and know that He was and is their Messiah, and they’ll then go into the Kingdom.

Remember that this remnant is the mixed group of Jews we saw in Matthew 24 as they fled Jerusalem. They’re not the 144,000 Jewish men who preached during the Tribulation.

They’ll be by far the largest nation in numbers to go into the Kingdom and now we have the Nation of Israel established.

 

Now let’s pick up the Gentiles.

Even though the Age of Grace was primarily to the Gentiles yet even in the Tribulation, God has been preparing Gentiles to go into the Kingdom in ordinary flesh and blood bodies.

Remember the Kingdom’s going to see a tremendous population explosion. So, by the end of that thousand years when Satan will be released for a little season to test those born during this Kingdom Age, there’ll be probably as many people on earth then as there are now.

In Isaiah 24:1-2 we pick up these Gentiles.

Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants. 

And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. 

This is about the terrible events taking place during the Tribulation.

 

Isaiah 24:3-4,

The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word. 

The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. 

See, even their wealth is not going to protect them.

 

Isaiah 24:5-6,

The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, (the basic laws of morality laid down back in the Ten Commandments), Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. 

Therefore the curse (that began with Adam) has devoured the earth, (it’s because of sin that all of these things take place), And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left. 

Are burned! Does this mean massive nuclear energy released? Could be.

These people are totally disobedient to everything that God’s instructed.

Despite all the terrible events, there’ll still be survivors.

There’re always some survivors even in the worst of calamities and it’ll be the same at the end of the Tribulation. They’ll be scattered around the planet from every nation that you can think of.

 

Let’s look at the statement of verse 6, “and few men are left.”

How many is a few? You can use any percentage you wish.

We have in the world today over 8 billion people.

Ten percent or 800 million is too high for a few. What about five percent? 400 million people.

Let’s bring it down to 1 percent of the world’s population and you still have 80 million. Still a lot of people.

 

Don’t forget that at the beginning of the Tribulation God sealed 144,000 young Jews who’ll preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Their main message will be, during almost all of the Tribulation, “The King is coming to set up His Kingdom.”

Many people will believe and be martyred. Some people will believe and survive.

Then some people who won’t believe will survive. So, all of the survivors combined are the “few men left” that we see in Isaiah.

 

Let’s go to Matthew and pick these survivors up again and see what happens to them.

Remember, no unbelievers can go into the Kingdom.

Satan’s going to be locked up, and we’ll start out with a generation of parents who’re believers.

In Matthew Chapter 25 we have the perfect description of how God’s going to do it and we’re dealing with a point in time where the supernatural will be almost commonplace.

Christ is going to supernaturally bring all of the survivors, from all over the world, to Jerusalem.

So, beginning in Matthew 25:31-32 Jesus speaking,

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, (that includes you and I; this is at His Second Coming) then He will sit on the throne of His glory. (His Kingdom rule in Jerusalem).” 

All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 

 

The biggest percentages of the population of the nations have been killed, as this is at the end of the Tribulation.

But we still have the survivors, who’re representative of their nations and He (The King) will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.

Here Christ the King will separate the believers from the unbelievers.

 

Matthew 25:33-34 Jesus still speaking,

And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 

Then the King (notice He’s already on the throne here ready to start ruling over the Kingdom) Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

 

Ephesians Chapter 1 tell us we were chosen in the mind of God before the foundation of the world.

God in His foreknowledge knew exactly which one of these Gentiles would hear the Gospel of the Kingdom from the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and believe.

Now to verses 35 and 36 and we must see this is not what saved them but what distinguished them as believers,

for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 

I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 

 

Matthew 25:37-40,

“Then the righteous (these surviving believers) will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 

When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 

Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 

And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.‘

 

That word `brethren’ is the secret here. Jesus was a Jew, so His brethren were Jews.

So, who is He referring to? The 144,000 that had preached the Gospel of the Kingdom during the Tribulation. It wasn’t their good deeds that saved these people when they helped the 144,000 evangelists. It’s never good works that saves anyone. They were saved by their faith in this message that was preached to them. And as soon as they were saved they were willing to help these people who had brought this saving message to them, even at the risk of their own lives.

Why? Because it’s a Christians’ nature to do things like this. So here, Jesus is showing that these 144,000 are going to suffer terribly all through their ministry. Go back to Revelation 7-3 for a moment, where the angel says,

“Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

 

Like when God put a mark on Cain, that no one could take his life, it’s the same way with these 144,000.

They’re sealed so that they could not be killed. Suffer, yes, but they couldn’t be killed.

Reading on in Revelation 7 we see that there’re 12,000 sealed from each of the twelve tribes.

Remember, if people don’t take the mark of the beast during this time, they won’t be able to buy or sell, and seven years is a long time if you can’t buy groceries.

It’s a long time if you can’t pay the mortgage, buy fuel, or pay a medical bill.

So, they’ll end up hungry and thirsty, and naked.

So, the 144,000 suffered during the Tribulation. They’re thrown in prison and they’re going to be hungry, and the only help they get is from these believers, who, although they will have little to spare, will sacrifice to help these 144,000. Then Jesus said in Matthew 25:40,

And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 

This is the only setting in which this text fits. You can’t put it into anything else. It’s simply the response of these believers who’ve survived the awful events of the Tribulation. Then in Matthew 25 verses 41 to 45 Jesus addresses the goats or unbelievers.

“Then He (The King, Christ) will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: (and they will ask why): for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 

“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 

Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these (the 144,000), you did not do it to Me.’ 

 

And now He gives each group what they deserve in verse 46:

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 

And although the Kingdom is described as a thousand years it is still the beginning of eternity. Everything concerning the Kingdom is an introduction to the eternity.

It’ll be interrupted, by a new heaven and a new earth.

So, when Jesus tells these people that’re going into the Kingdom that they are going into eternal life, they really are!

Will there be animals in this Kingdom?

Yes, Isaiah 11:6-9,

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 

The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 

The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. 

A little child shall lead them. Where did that little child come from? From believing parents.

Until next time my friend when we head back and take up the rest of the book of Matthew, May God reveal Himself to you through His Word.