The age to follow the present age is to last a thousand years, per Revelation chapter twenty, and is why it is called "the Millennium." Following that age will be what is called "a little season," and then the first age of "the ages of the ages" will commence along with the first generation of that first post millennial age. That age is summarized in the oracle of God which says "behold, I make all things new." (Rev. 21: 5)
Having in the preceding chapter shown how the scriptures indicate that the human race will go on generation after generation throughout the ages to come, we now offer additional proofs for this position. Seiss offered several clear proofs of that in the remarks cited from him in the previous chapter. It is also the teaching of Ephesians 3: 21, as we saw. It was seen in the plural use of "aion."
Another argument for this view is deducible from the fact that we see "the nations" existing in the Millennium and in the new heavens and earth over whom the resurrected saints rule as plenipotentiaries under Christ. These nations are ruled over by those saved in the ages preceding the Millennium. It is not a case where one group of saints are ruling over another group of saints. Let us begin by looking at several important texts in the Book of Revelation about "the nations."
"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 winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." (Rev. 19: 14-15 kjv)
This scene describes the close of "the day of wrath," or "day of the Lord," or "day of vengeance," or "time of tribulation," when the saints have been raptured into the lower sky to meet the Lord and to then descend on horses with him in order to destroy the Antichrist and the wicked who have chosen him to rule over them. It is the scene for the "battle of Armageddon." (Rev. 19) It occurs at the end of "this present evil age" and inaugurates the Millennial age. It is when the saints fulfill this role, described in the Psalms:
"5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;
7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord." (Psa. 149: 5-9 kjv)
It is when he "smites the nations" and begins to "rule them with a rod of iron," along with those who have overcome through faith and the blood of the Lamb of God (Rev. 12: 11; I John 5: 4). After Christ has smitten the nations he will rule over them. But how can he rule on earth over "the nations" if they are all destroyed by the coming of Christ? It seems clear that he and the overcomers cannot rule over "the nations" after the day of wrath and destruction (which includes great tribulation) if no one is left on earth. Therefore, we conclude, and the record shows, that not every unsaved person is destroyed in the final battle of Armageddon at the end of the present age, a battle which culminates in the imprisonment of the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and all those people who were in league with Antichrist, yea, of Satan himself.
Thus "the nations" over which Christ and his saints rule can only be the remnants of the nations who remain alive at the end of the tribulation and day of vengeance. From this remnant of unsaved humanity will be the seed of new generations of humanity in the Millennium.
I say "unsaved" because they were not among those who were raptured, resurrected, and glorified prior to the start of the Millennium (yet who probably become believers and servants of Christ after his appearing). But, in another sense we must say that they were not "unsaved," for they were not destroyed by Christ in the battle that ends this age, but were "preserved" to be allowed opportunity to submit to Christ and enter the Millennium.
The remnant of mankind who were not resurrected with the righteous, and were not caught up to meet the Lord in the air, will be the children of the those slain by the battle of Armageddon. It reminds us of something similar occurring in the old testament.
"26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness." (Num. 14: 26-32 niv)
Not only is Christ declared to rule "the nations" with a rod of iron, but so too are those who are overcoming believers of this present age promised the same. Notice again from the Apocalypse of Christ:
"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)
That cannot be made to be fulfilled in the earthly lives of the elect people of God, as Amillennialists or Preterists would affirm. Those commentators who think it is being fulfilled now (by preaching the gospel or some other way) are resisting what is clearly the teaching of the text, which demonstrates that the ruling power over the nations is not what is now realized. It is simply self evident that the people of God are not the rulers of the present world. No, rather, Satan is "the god of this age" (II Cor. 4: 4), or "prince of this world" (used three times by Christ in the gospel of John; 12: 31; 14: 30; 16: 11). Believers do not rule over the nations of the world during "this present evil age," especially not with a rod of iron.
Further, the reward to the victors comes after "the end" of one's life's work. So, it cannot be what any Christian can now say that he or she is doing.
Some who resist seeing this fulfilled in the Millennium or in the ages following will say that saints who have died in the Lord are ruling the nations from heaven now. But, that is not tenable. We cannot read the text as we want, or to make it say "whoever overcomes and keeps my works till the end of his life will, when he dies and goes to heaven, begin to sit on thrones to rule over the world." A similar promise is made to the faithful in Laodicea:
“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” (Rev. 3:21)
Sitting upon a throne is connected with being given power and authority to rule over the nations. Revelation chapter twenty tells us when it is that the saints sit on their thrones and begin their rule over the world. It is after the resurrection of the righteous, after the day of wrath has come to completion, after Satan, Antichrist, and the False Prophet, along with their followers, have been defeated and imprisoned.
This power to rule the nations reminds us of the Lord’s parable in Luke 20:13-17, wherein the faithful servants were promised rule over "five cities" or "ten cities," depending on how they served their Lord. It is interesting that those who “overcome” or “conquer” are the very people who are persecuted, thrown in prison, and even subjected to martyrdom (see Rev. 2:3,9-11,13).
Further, if departed saints are ruling over the nations, then we can certainly be able to give a positive answer to those who ask bible teachers this question - "do believers in heaven see and observe what is going on down here on earth?" If the ruling over the nations is a present phenomenon for believers who have died and gone to Paradise, then we must say they see everything, for how can you rule over nations that you have no participation with? No, the fact is, this future ruling over the nations by the saved shows that not all the inhabitants of the earth are killed off during the days of vengeance or day of the Lord. Just as the destruction of the earth and its inhabitants by the flood left a very small remnant ("eight persons" including Noah), and became the seed for a new age and new heavens and earth, so too in the destruction occurring by the day of the Lord.
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season...And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." (Rev. 20: 1-3, 7-8)
"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. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it." (21: 24-26)
"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (22: 1-2)
These three texts tell us much about who are "the nations" over whom Christ and the saints will rule in the Millennial age and in the ages following. That they are distinct from those who rule over them, i.e. the saints of God, is quite apparent.
Dr. David Reagan wrote (See here emphasis mine)
"Near the end of chapter 21, as John is describing in detail the various aspects of the New Jerusalem where the Redeemed will reside forever, he suddenly interjects what is to many a jolting statement about nations that will be on the New Earth outside the New Jerusalem: 24) The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25) In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26) and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27) and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Nor is that all that is said about these nations. In the next chapter, John tells about seeing a River of Life flowing from God’s throne with the Tree of Life on each side of the river bearing twelve kinds of fruit every month (Revelation 22:1–2). And then comes the next mysterious statement: “…and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2)."
Reagan continues:
"These verses pose some intriguing questions: Who are the nations on the New Earth outside the New Jerusalem? Why do these nations need healing?"
I am satisfied that it is the ongoing race of mankind who will have experienced the fruits of redemption, including the removal of original sin, the outpouring of the Spirit, and renewal, and the government of Christ with his people.
Reagan continues:
"A third solution to the mystery is the idea that those saved during the Tribulation who entered the Millennium in the flesh, and those born of these people during the Millennium who accept Jesus, will be transferred to the New Earth in their natural bodies and will live outside the New Jerusalem and repopulate the New Earth. Take, for example, the famous illustrator of the Bible, Clarence Larkin (1850–1924). He argues that before the earth is consumed in fire, God will “take off the righteous representatives of the Millennial nations that He proposes to save, and when the earth is again fit to be the abode of men, place them back on the New Earth, that they may increase and multiply and replenish, as Adam and Noah were told to multiply and replenish the current earth” (Genesis 1:27–28 and Genesis 9:1).5 He further states that when the ever increasing population of the earth becomes too large, the excess will be used to populate other planets.6 Larkin concludes with this observation:7 God will not permit Satan to block His plans for peopling this earth with a Sinless Human Race. The death of Christ was not merely to redeem a few millions of the human race, but to redeem the Earth and the Race itself from the curse of sin, and the dominion of Satan."
I read most of what Larkin wrote when a young disciple. I have several of his books in my library, including his book with all his charts (excellent work! although I am not Dispensational as he) called "Dispensational Truth." I also have his book "The Spirit World" (a good book) and "Rightly Dividing The Word," and "The Book of Revelation." He also wrote several other books, many which I have not as yet read. He did believe that the rapture and resurrection of the righteous occurred before the great tribulation (Pre Trib view).
Reagan continues:
"Likewise, Henry Morris (1918–2006), the renowned creation scientist, speculates that the nations on the New Earth could very well be those saved during the Tribulation and Millennium who will be transferred to the New Earth in natural bodies.8 He admits that this interpretation is “fraught with difficulties,” but he points out that it solves several problems. After all, the Scriptures refer many times to “perpetual generations” (Genesis 9:12) and to “everlasting covenants” (Genesis 9:12–16). Also, we are told in Isaiah 9:7 that “there will be no end to the increase of His [the Messiah’s] government or of peace…forevermore.” Morris admits that his proposal is “highly speculative, but does appear somewhat reasonable.”9 He then states that perhaps “the more likely alternative exposition” is that these are “nations of the saved” who are residents of the New Jerusalem, “but have also been given national boundaries on the new earth.”10"
In the previous chapter I too mentioned how the view that the human race is to continue forever as a propagating species causes some problems for other areas of bible doctrine, such as on the doctrine of original sin. But, there are difficulties in rejecting that view, as we see. Those who think the human race is to end being what it was originally constituted to be have problems with the texts that speak of eternal generations and of nations who are ruled over by the saints.
Reagan continues:
"David Hocking agrees with Morris’ speculative proposal. He writes: “Probably those who come out of the Tribulation period, those described as ‘sheep’ in Matthew 25:31–46, and those born during the Millennium who do not rebel against the Messiah, are all a part of the ‘nations’ on earth in the eternal state.”11
I rather think, as shown previously, that it is the children of the wicked who survive the day of wrath and tribulation and who will inherit the earth and be the seed of a new age (as was Noah and his three sons) and follows the pattern wherein the Lord, with few exceptions, killed off the adult Hebrews who left Egypt for the promised land and let their children become the inheritors. Further, Jesus said that "the meek will inherit the earth" which may be a reference to these youthful, relatively innocent, remnant from the destroyed nations. They will be the nations who treated the brethren of the Lord (his church and Hebrew people) well. (See Matthew 25: 31-46)
Reagan continues:
"John MacArthur agrees: “Another possible interpretation is that this phrase [nations on the New Earth] refers to the believers living at the end of the Millennium. According to that view, the statement…refers to the translation of those believers before the uncreation of the present planet.”12
Others agreeing with this idea include E. W. Bullinger, J. A. Seiss and Keith Krell. It is also the position of Hal Lindsey.
J. A. Seiss (1823–1904) wrote: “I …hold it to be a necessary and integral part of the Scriptural doctrine of human redemption, that our race, as a self–multiplying order of beings, will never cease either to exist or to possess the earth…Ransomed nations in the flesh are therefore among the occupants of the new earth, and the blessed and happy dwellers in it, as Adam and Eve dwelt in Paradise.”13
I agree, though I cannot be too dogmatic about it.
Reagan continues:
"There are two very detailed articles about perpetual generations that can be found on the Internet: Darrel Mitchell: “God’s Plan: Eternal Inhabitants.”21 F. M. Riley: “A Thousand Generations”22 Both of these authors agree that there will be nations of people on the New Earth who will exist in natural bodies. They also agree that these people will be composed of unresurrected saints who come from two groups: Those saved during the Tribulation who live to the end of the Tribulation and are allowed to enter the Millennium in the flesh. Those born during the Millennium who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior."
Though I have not read these books, I hope I can do so in the future.
Reagan continues:
In a footnote in his Systematic Theology, Charles Hodge wrote:
"Mr. David N. Lord devotes to this subject two chapters of his book on The Coming and Reign of Christ. New York, 1858. He says (p. 151), that the Scriptures teach that the earth is “to continue forever, and that mankind are forever to occupy it, and multiply in an endless succession of generations; and that it is to be the scene of Christ’s everlasting kingdom and reign.” He argues this from the covenant made from Noah; from the promise made to Abraham that his seed should forever possess the land of Canaan; and from the promise made to David that his seed should sit on his throne and reign forever. This perpetuity of the human race on the earth and in the flesh, he considers one of the most clearly revealed purposes of God concerning the family of man. Instead of the number of the redeemed being nearly made up, he holds that they are to go on multiplying through all eternity." (Vol. III, See here)
"to Him [is] the glory in the assembly in Christ Jesus,
to all the generations of the age of the ages. Amen"
Ephesians 3 : 21 (Young's Translation)
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