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When
we come to Revelation 20:2-7, we are told six times that the 1,000
years is the length of Satan’s imprisonment, and it is the
length of Jesus’ reign on earth - the length of His kingdom.
The thousand years are literal and real. This means that the world
will finally be free of Satan’s influence. Wow! That will
be awesome! The world will finally have peace because of the Prince
of Peace, and His justice will rule. There will be no more biased
politics or deceitful legal maneuvers on this earth; and sin will
not be called holy, and holiness will not be called evil because
the Righteous One will rule and He will be just. Glory to God!
The
Thrones. Next,
the Apostle John sees people sitting on some thrones.
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Then
I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given
to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word
of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his
image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and
on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years. (NASB) Rev. 20:4 |
Who
is sitting on these thrones and why? The answer is found in Dan.
7:27, Matthew 19:28, 2 Tim. 2:12, and Rev. 2:26 where God promised
the Old Testament saints, the twelve apostles, and all the New Testament
believers that they would reign with Him during the kingdom. Rev.
20:6 also says that everyone - all the saints - who come to life
at this time will reign with Jesus.
This
means that those who were “beheaded” or murdered for Jesus Christ
during the Tribulation will return to life and sit on the thrones. The Greek
word for the phrase “come to life” means “to live.” That
is, these folks who were once dead will some day live again. They will be part
of the resurrection for all of the saints. Daniel 12:1-2 and Hebrews 11:35, 39-40
tell us that the Old Testament saints will also be resurrected at this time and
reign with Jesus for 1,000 years. This is great news! Every saint since Adam
and Eve will reign with Jesus during the kingdom for one thousand years.
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