12-4-18 Why the Rod of Iron, Kings, and Priests?
Christ's 1,000 Year Millennial Reign: Why the Rod of Iron, Kings and Priests?
Here's Prophetic Hope for Those Redeemed by the Blood of Christ:
Yes, the seven (7) total years known as the Tribulation and Great Tribulation (a.k.a. the week of Jacob's trouble) was a devastating time on earth. Literally, a living hell on earth. Very, very, very few people survived it. What is left of earth is physically in shambles. Cities lay in ruins. Ecosystems are destroyed. The planet earth appears close to being dead, let alone being in a position to sustain a prolonged regeneration of mankind. The entire planet looks like a war zone. Continents and coastlines appear to have been redrawn. Mountain ranges are gone. Islands are gone. The earth doesn't look anything like what it did just a few, short seven (7) years ago.
What could possibly come next? More wrath? More destruction? The total and complete annihilation of the planet?
The answer is no, no and no. In Revelation 16:17, God says, "It is done." He has finished pouring out the last vial of the last seven (7) vial plagues. No more wrath. It is time for the healing process to begin.
The Miraculous Happens (as foretold in the Bible's book of Revelation):
At the end of the Tribulation, several things happened. Evil Babylon City was destroyed, the beast's evil empire was destroyed, the beast and the false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone. Satan was cast into the bottomless pit (maximum security prison) for 1,000 years. Christ defeated these enemies and evil men on The Great Day of the Lord (his second coming along with the battle of Armageddon). Those evil entities which would deceive the nations and mankind are gone from the earth. All that is left of man on earth is a small remnant of Jews and Gentiles scattered around the world. The saints of the Church Age were raptured/collected right before the onset of the Tribulation. The redeemed, martyred saints during the Tribulation have already been collected. The Jews have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. God has fulfilled his covenants, from antiquity, with the Jews. Jerusalem is now the center of the world. God next focuses on the judgement of nations, Christ's Millennial reign on earth, the heavenly city New Jerusalem, the renewal and regeneration of both the earth and population of mankind, and the final, end judgement (white throne) of evil men. Oh, and Satan also meets his end.
Through Jesus Christ, God fulfills a number of prophecies concerning the world as a whole, and also fulfills a number of covenants promised to the Jewish nation and people from thousands of years earlier. Promises made. Promises kept. This is the final 1,000 year period in God's divine 7,000 year plan or purpose for mankind on earth (but not the end).
1. Jesus Christ establishes his 1,000 year (millennium) kingdom on earth in the Jewish city of Jerusalem.
... "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15). (Emphasis added).
... "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgements are made manifest." (Rev. 15:4). (Emphasis added).
... "And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almight God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." (Rev. 19:14-16). (Emphasis added).
Jesus Christ rules the earth and nations of the earth with a "rod of iron." He won't tolerate petty border disputes, he won't tolerate nations coveting other nation's natural resources, no dictatorships, no oppression of people at the hand of their government, war among nations will be a thing of the past (the prior 6,000 years). The 1,000 years of Christ's reign on earth will bring peace. This will be the only time during the 7,000 years of man's history that there will not be bloodshed among nations and peoples. Christ will rule with an iron fist (rod) by quickly and decidedly handling any dispute. His decisions will stand and not be bent or comprised through petty politics and power struggles among the leaders of nations. The nations that remain from the sheep and goat judgements are saved by Christ. Their kings are approved by Christ and are welcomed in the heavenly New Jerusalem. There will be no wishy-washy, bumbling, bureaucratic, judgmental, biased United Nations group to contend with. Christ rules with an iron fist (rod). No broken political treaties, no threatening political alliances or cartels. No terrorist groups or proxies funded by insane national leaders. No government or world leader/king who wants to rule the world. Jesus Christ is the rightful one who is in the position to rule the world rightly and justly, and with a firm command of events and decisions. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His authority and power will be unquestioned and obeyed. As a result, the world will enjoy a 1,000 year golden period of peace, prosperity, longevity of life, a perfect 'Eden-like' living environment, significant increase in food production and heavenly medicine (leaves from the tree of life) to address medical ailments. I suspect that there will be a quantum leap in technology and in medicine. I believe knowledge will increase, but will be under the intense scrutiny of Christ. Nations will also come to Jerusalem to worship Jesus Christ, as his political seat and temple are in Jerusalem.
2. The judgement of the nations.
... "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4). (Emphasis added).
... "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (Matt. 25:31-34, 25:41 and 46). (Emphasis added).
... "And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it (new Jerusalem)." (Rev. 21:24). (Emphasis added).
... "And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it (new Jerusalem)." (Rev. 21:26). (Emphasis added).
The judgement of the nations is routinely regarded as the sheep and goat judgement. Nations that protected, aided, helped, fed, and sheltered the Jewish remnant during the Tribulation period are considered sheep. Nations that persecuted, hunted, starved or imprisoned the Jewish remnant are considered goats. The sheep nations are spared and are intact during the Millennium. The goat nations which did not aid the Jewish remnant are thrown into the lake of fire. Christ still desires there to be nations and national sovereignty on earth during his 1,000 year reign. Because of the physical renewal and restructuring of the earth, along with the sheep/goat nation judgement, national borders will be completely rewritten by Christ. As we don't know which nations will be considered sheep or which nations will be considered goats, we can't know which countries' sovereign borders will be redrawn. For thousands of years, empires have come and gone, their borders have come and gone. Countries have come and gone. Borders have been drawn and redrawn. The 1,000 year period of Christ's earthly reign will see the same thing. The world, its physical appearance and the nations' borders will look absolutely nothing like what they do today. The only exception is the land that was promised by God to Israel thousands of years ago. The Jews will finally live securely in their God sanctioned land promised to them long, long ago. The bible also indicates the kings of the sheep nations will be welcomed in heavenly city, New Jerusalem. The kings will bring their honor and glory into the heavenly city. I suspect that once the nations' sovereign borders are decided at the start of Christ's Millennial kingdom, they will stay intact (and not be changed or threatened) for the 1,000 years of his reign. I don't believe any current country or past empire enjoyed a one thousand year period where it did not have its borders continuously redrawn or sovereignty threatened by some other country or political entity.
3. Redeemed and saved men (saints) from both the Church Age (preceding the Tribulation) and the Tribulation period itself (martryed saints), co-reign with Christ for 1,000 years over the nations on earth.
... "And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father:" (Rev. 2:26-27). (Emphasis added).
... "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. 5:10). (Emphasis added).
... "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. and her child was caught up up unto God, and to his throne." (Rev. 12:5). (Emphasis added).
... "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them and judgement 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." (Rev. 20:4). (Emphasis added).
... "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Rev. 20:5-6). (Emphasis added).
Co-reigning and ruling over the nations with Jesus Christ is one of the many blessings and promises made to his redeemed people throughout the ages. Since will see Christ as he is and since our character was perfected in/by Christ for eternity at the rapture/resurrection, we will be able to obey and understand his leadership impeccably. His will is our will. His decisions will be our decisions. His decisions will be rightful and just, and we will follow suit. We will not be automatons. His decisions will be crystal clear to us and intelligently the right choice or discernment of the matter. It will be extremely evident and apparent of what the right thing is. We don't need to question his decision or come to a consensus. We will just have to administer his decision to make it manifest among the nations and countries on earth. No doubting. No second guessing. The right decision for all parties concerned, will come straight out of the gate. Christ promised that his kingdom rulership would be shared with those who believed in him, trusted in him, accepted the forgiveness of their sins through him, believed in his death and resurrection. Co-ruling alongside Jesus Christ, is an unfathomable honor and blessing. For those Christians who have experienced intense persecution or oppression at the hands of their governments will have a very hard time understanding this. However, among them that are chosen to participate in this co-reigning capacity will be joyful and thankful beyond belief. We don't know how Christ will choose those whom he wants to co-rule with him. It is my hypothesis that at the Bema seat judgement, when Christ evaluates what each member did for his kingdom while on earth, some Christians will be rewarded in some manner by having a role in the management of his kingdom on earth. We know that there will be roles as "Priests and Kings" in his kingdom, but what exactly these roles will entail doing ... we don't know. But Christ will surprise us, and whatever the role is ... it will be a blessing and honor to work alongside him! Imagine, this is just one of many, many, many blessings and honor that await those who love Christ and God during Christ's 1,000 year reign on earth from the city of Jerusalem in Israel.
A role as "Kings."
What are kings?
Besides being in a position of authority and decision making? A true King, as is Jesus, has earned the right to be King of Kings, by what he has done on behalf for those who believed in him and accepted his offer of forgiveness. Among many things, he provided an unfathomable number of people with forgiveness of their sins. If it wasn't for this gift, none of us would be serving for or with Him during his Millennial Reign. We rightly acknowledge Him not only as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but we also acknowledge Him as our head priest with God, the Father. Jesus Christ is our role model of a King.
A role as "Priests."
What are priests?
Besides being tasked with proclaiming and discerning things of a spiritual nature and truth? A true Priest, as is Jesus, has earned the right to be Head Priest, by what he has done on behalf for those who believed in him and accepted his offer of forgiveness. He reconciled us with the Father, the "I AM." It is Christ who bridged the gap between sinful, dead men with the Father. He provided us with a spiritual bridge across the great divide. As the Head Priest, Jesus provided us with righteousness (through his blood, death and resurrection) in order to be able to stand before Him and the Father. The Holy Spirit is a witness to this. As a Head Priest, Jesus co-shares the glory and power of The Father. We cannot know The Father unless we know The Son. As Jesus is the the Head Priest, we can know the Father through Christ. This is the true role of a priest. Conveying that which is rightful, true and just to those who are in need of knowing such.
During His reign on earth, Jesus administers his earthly kingdom from the rejuvenated city of Jerusalem in Israel. This is in fulfillment of the Jews recognizing Jesus as their Messiah and finally believing in Him for the forgiveness of their sins. Jerusalem becomes not only an earthly temple city where the nations come to worship Jesus, but it also becomes the political, ruling center of the world. Thus, both "kingly" and "priestly" activities will take place in Jerusalem and throughout the world. The redeemed saints from the Old Testament, from the church age of grace and from the tribulation period will co-rule with Christ as promised by Jesus himself. He shares his authority with us, both in ruling and in worship.
As stated previously, in redeemed and sanctified bodies, mind and spirit, we will see Christ as he is. We will become as He is. We will quickly, intelligently and rightly discern His intent and guidance. There will be no human sin or stupidity to get in the way. His will becomes our will. Satan will not be around to deceive us or lead us astray from Christ's true reign. Satan is locked up in his bottomless pit prison for Christ's thousand year reign. His evil legions are gone and disposed of during Christ's preceding "Day of the Lord" or Second-Coming. All Christ's enemies that would oppose his true and righteous reign are annihilated. All those who would deceive earthly, human priests are gone. As long as sinful man has been on earth in the flesh, earthly priests have been targeted by Satan to promote false religions, false doctrines, false theologies, false idols and all sorts of evil worship. The sordid tale of what is happening in the universal Catholic Church today is a painful example of this. This sinful situation will be eliminated by having those redeemed by Christ, with glorified bodies and righteous minds and spirits, participating in an un-deceived, sin-free manner and role. Our role will be to continue sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the nations of the world who make it through the "sheep and goat" judgment. Yes, earthly men in the flesh will still live on earth. Yes, the sinful nature of man will still reside in earthly men's hearts. Yes, it will still be necessary for the true gospel of Christ to be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. This time, the gospel will not be diluted, it will not be twisted into a lie, it will not be "word-smithed" into a crafty deception, it will not be made into a fable or denied. The truth will be rightly proclaimed by those who are chosen by Christ to do so. He trusts us, He died for us. He knows us. We are his people. We will rightly proclaim who he is from both a political/power perspective and from a spiritual/salvation perspective. There will be no evil standing in the shadows attempting to conceal or hide men from ever coming to a saving knowledge of their salvation through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Those who are chosen will be tasked (if you can call it that, rather, it will be our honor) to represent Christ to the nations and peoples of those nations. Exactly how this will play out, I do not know. Perhaps each chosen, redeemed saint will be assigned to a particular town, city, municipality, region, province, state, territory, country or border. We know from scripture that Jesus in fact had various holy angels in charge over watching his churches. We know this from the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia-Minor. Will our role replace that of some of the angels? I don't know and I don't think it matters. Jesus is in charge of exercising his authority as King and he will decide how he wants to administer his rule. In any event, it will be honor to be considered among the few or the many chosen to participate in his kingdom, in the capacity as a king or priest for one thousand years.
In the verses stated above, Christ assigns us status as "kings and priests". He does this for those Christians who were "overcomers" during the Age of Grace. He does this for the Tribulation Saints who "overcame" the worst that Satan could throw at them. Jesus specifically "made us" into Kings and Priests. It is his work in us, not our work or our doing. If it was our work or doing, we would be dead and in hell ... looking forward to the white throne judgement and lake of fire and brimstone in eternity. Instead, because we believed in what Jesus Christ offered us through the cross, he announces and recognizes us a Kings and Priests, to co-rule with him in his kingdom. We will have kingly/political roles and priestly/gospel roles. The tables will be turned. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Christians who were persecuted in their life by evil men/leaders and by Satan and his legions will now reign with Christ over the nations and peoples. The second death, lake of fire and brimstone will pass us but will instead possess evil men and Satan. Once the reality of this sets into the minds of the redeemed, we will express unspeakable joy and eternal thanksgiving to the one who saved us, the one who forgave us. Jesus Christ. King of Kings and Lord of Lord. Amen.
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