Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Revelation 20:4-6 speaks of resurrected believers joining Jesus in reigning during the Millennial Kingdom: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon 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 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. 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 death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” There is no immediate antecedent for the first “they” in verse 4, raising the question of who “sat upon” the “thrones.” The likely antecedent is found in Revelation 19:14: “And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” This interpretation is consistent with Revelation 5:8-10, which places the “four and twenty elders” – representatives of the Church – “on the earth” reigning with Jesus. The promise of Jesus to the apostles (Luke 22:29-30) will also be fulfilled at this time. In addition, the rest of Revelation 20:4b-6 makes it clear that the martyred saints of the Tribulation will also join with Jesus in His reign over the Millennial Kingdom and will have both religious (“priests”) and political (“reign”) responsibilities. We have our part in this fulfillment even now when we pray, “Thy Kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10a).Furthermore, “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him” (II Timothy 2:12a). Such is the fullness of the promises of our Savior God.