"I Am Glad For Your Coming"

I have stated in years gone by that many bible teachers and students do not understand the amount of time involved in the second coming of Christ. See How Long Is The Coming Of Christ? and the follow up article here. I showed that just as we cannot confine the first "coming" of the Lord as taking in only one minute, hour, or day, so too with his second coming. 

The word often used for "coming" is the Greek word "parousia" and means "arrival" or "presence."* The first coming or presence of the Lord was thirty three years. The second coming also cannot be restricted to a single event occurring in an hour, or a day, or a few years. 

As an example of how we use the word "coming" in the same way, as not denoting what takes place in an instance, but to a longer period of time inclusive of much more, we often say to a guest in our house "I am glad for your coming." We certainly do not simply mean we are glad that he traveled "to" our house, but that he also came and had his presence with us for a period of time. Don't you see?

*"parousia" (translated as "presence") is used by Paul in contrast with "apousia" (translated "absence") in Philippians 2: 12 (KJV). 

Beliefs about the Afterlife (xxxxii)

Who is meant in this oracle from the risen Lord Jesus Christ by "every eye will see him" and "they who pierced him"? Is it only the people who will be still alive on earth when Christ descends from the clouds of heaven? Or, will it mean everyone who has ever existed will see Christ descend, all being resurrected simultaneously (and which must immediately precede his descent, so that they are all on earth and look up to see Christ descending)? It seems clear that it is a description of the eye witnessing of those who are alive on earth, for several reasons.

First, the second coming of Christ will precede the Millennium as the chronology of the book of Revelation shows, especially chapters nineteen through twenty one, and which other scriptures confirm. 

Second, this final descent of Christ from the clouds follows the rapture or catching up of the saints to "meet the Lord in the air" and follows the resurrection of the bodies of the righteous dead, as we saw from I Thessalonians chapter four. But, if they meet him in the clouds, then their eyes will not see his coming as men still on earth do, who are looking upward to see it, but they will be rather participating in his final descent and seeing it from a different perspective. They will then become "escorts" of Christ for the raptured saints will meet the coming King in the clouds, which then become a kind of entry foyer (or greeting room) for redeemed men to greet and welcome Christ to earth, the home of humanity. The Greek word for "meet" in I Thessalonians 4: 17 means to go out to greet someone who is coming to you so that you can escort him the rest of the way to your home. Notice these other places where such a meeting occurs (same Greek word apantesis):

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom...And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” (Matt. 25: 1, 6)

“And so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns...And when we came to Rome...” (Acts 28: 14-16) 

 

Again, we notice how Paul is journeying "to Rome." On the way to Rome "the brethren" meet Paul at the "Appii forum," at the "three taverns." Do they then leave with him and go back from where he started? Or do they meet him for the purpose of accompanying him the rest of the way to Rome? Likewise, when the saints "meet" Christ in the air, it will not be for the purpose of going back to Heaven with him, but in order to accompany him the rest of the way to the earth. Thus, risen and raptured saints will act as both escorts of Christ, but also are equipped as soldiers in the army of the Lord to execute final judgments. 

Third, it cannot refer to the eyes of the wicked dead who have been resurrected for that does not occur at the time of the rapture and resurrection of saints, at the time of the first resurrection of the righteous, and cannot therefore occur before Christ's descent from the clouds; And it cannot occur till one thousand years after the resurrection of the righteous. 

Therefore "every eye" must mean the eye of every human who is present on earth at the time when Christ descends from the clouds of heaven, and it would exclude every believer who had died in the Lord up till that time so that there are no believers on earth between the time of Christ's descent with the risen saints from the clouds to earth. However, once Christ is standing on the earth, and imprisons Antichrist, Satan, et als., many will repent and believe, both among the Jews and Gentiles, among the few who have survived the great tribulation and the apocalyptic judgments. 

They Who Pierced Him

If every eye of the living inhabitants of the earth shall see Christ descend from the clouds, then how do we understand the affirmation that "even they who pierced him" shall see him with their eyes? If this is a reference to the Roman soldiers who were the unit in charge of Jesus's flogging, torture, crucifixion, and piercing, then this would prove that "every eye" includes all the resurrected dead, for they must have been resurrected prior to Christ's descent in order to see it. Further, we can assume that the soldiers, with but one exception, probably died as unbelievers, and if they are intended by "they who pierced him," then it would prove that these Roman soldiers must have been resurrected prior to Christ's descent so as to witness it from earth. 

Another reason why "they who pierced him" probably does not refer to the Roman soldiers is because the text uses the plural "they" for those who pierced him. But, the gospel record indicates that a single soldier pierced the side of Christ. "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear" (John 19: 34). 

Now, it is possible that "they who pierced him" may include not only the one soldier who did the actual piercing, but all those who participated in the crucifixion, and so this by itself is not all the proof needed to sustain the view that the words allude to the soldiers or to Pilate, and such others. But, when we look at the prophecy of Zechariah chapter twelve, we see clearly who is meant by "they who pierced" the Messiah.

"7The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." (Zech. 12: 7-10 nkjv)

There is no doubt that the "Me" in "they will look on Me whom they have pierced" is, as we know now for certain, was Jesus (or Yeshua) the Christ (or Messiah) and that the "they" are the Jewish people, or more particularly, those of Jerusalem and Judah. Therefore it is very probable that "they who pierced him" in Revelation 1: 7 are the same as those in Zechariah 12: 10. 

So, when was this prophecy fulfilled? In the first coming of Christ? Or, in his second coming? Or, in both, being another example of dual fulfillment?

In both comings of Christ the Jewish people, including Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, it may be said that they looked upon the Messiah they had slain. But, the national great weeping and grieving, as over the death of a firstborn son, does not find fulfillment in his first coming. Yes, a few individual Jews became Christians after realizing their sin in crucifying Christ (as in Acts chapter two and the day of Pentecost) and grieving over the fact, but that cannot be the entire fulfillment of the mourning of the prophecy.

Further, it is not only the tribes of Israel who will mourn when they see Christ appear (as Zechariah's prophecy says) but, as the prophecy of Christ in Revelation 1: 7 says, then "all the tribes of the earth shall mourn." Second, the text does not say "all the tribes of the earth and under the earth shall mourn." 

Therefore by "every eye" we are to understand "every eye of each person who is alive on earth when Christ descends from the clouds." The wicked dead are not part of this "every eye," therefore. 

On this text John Gill wrote:

"And they also which pierced him; his hands, feet, and side, when they crucified him; both the Roman soldiers, who actually did it, and the body of the Jewish nation, the rulers and common people, who consented to it, and at whose instigation it was done; these, being raised from the dead, shall see him with their bodily eyes, whom they so used, 

 

And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him; all the wicked, in the several parts of the world, will lament, and wring their hands, and express the inward terror and horror of their minds, at his appearing; they will fear his resentment of all their wicked words and actions; will dread his wrath, and tremble at his righteous judgment..."

Here, Dr. Gill, though a Premillennialist, totally misses the interpretation and meaning of this oracle of the risen Lord Jesus. First of all, where is the resurrection of the wicked dead even mentioned in this oracle? There is no resurrection of the wicked dead prior to this coming of the Lord from the clouds, which there must be if "every eye" denotes every eye of the wicked dead. 

First, if that were so, then the resurrection of the wicked dead occurs before the Millennium, but Gill believes that the resurrection of the wicked follows the Millennium per Revelation chapter twenty. No, the text is telling us about the wicked who will be alive on earth when he descends from the skies. When that occurs the righteous dead have already been raised and the living righteous will have been instantly transformed, and they then together rise to meet Christ in the clouds. So, the only ones left to see with their eyes are the wicked or lost. However, as we have seen, when Christ actually sets his feet on earth, there will be some who instantly believe in him, among both the Jewish nation and among the Gentile nations. 

Since only one soldier pierced the side of Christ and the texts in both Zechariah and Revelation say a plurality pierced him ("they"), it shows that the single soldier is not who is intended by the words "they who pierced him."  But, in the same way it could be said of the Jews who said "crucify him, crucify him," especially of the Jewish rulers who condemned him to death and turned him over to the Romans. So, Paul wrote:

"14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost." (I Thess. 2: 14-16 nkjv)

Further, Peter on the day of Pentecost, Peter says to his Jewish brothers:

"22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it." (Acts 2: 22-24 nkjv) 

When the text in Revelation speaks of people who pierced Christ seeing him when he comes in the clouds and stands upon earth we should not think of its fulfillment occurring by a resurrection of the unsaved dead, whether Romans or Jews, but only of Jews who are living at the time of Christ's return and descends from the clouds. Therefore, "they which pierced him" means "they who killed him," which is laid at the feet of the Jewish nation (ethnicity). 

What we have endeavored to prove is that "the nations" over whom the redeemed of both Israel and the Gentiles are those living people who mourn with repentance when Christ comes and who are allowed to enter the Millennium and be the seed and foundation of a new world. This fact is so important for us to understand if we are to understand life in the Millennium and in the other ages following.

In the next chapter we will look at the Jewish and Gentile conversions which take place when Christ descends from the clouds and stands upon the earth.

Irony In Moral Advice

"They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved." (I Peter 2: 19 ESV)

There is so much irony among those people who tell others how to live when they themselves don't live right. That is seen in the above verse of the apostle Peter. Imagine that! A slave promising to give freedom! A drug addict telling us about how to have self control! A man who has been divorced twelve times giving advice on how to have a lasting happy marriage! Preachers who talk about the need of holiness and yet who get rich preaching and who live ungodly lives clandestinely are cases of situational irony and hypocrisy. Lots of those kinds of preachers around today. 

Today, on the political left, now led by perverts and the ungodly (for the most part), we hear them tell us, or shall we say, dictate to us, how to live our lives, when they don't know how to run their own lives. It reminds me of a song I heard when a teenager, from the song "Sunshine" by Jonathan Edwards, a top hit from 1971, with these lines:

I don't feel much like dancing 

Some man's gone, he's tried to run my life 

Don't know what he's asking

But he can't even run his own life 

I'll be damned if he'll run mine, Sunshine (repeated)

By "some man" we can well mean "liberal person," which in today's political speech denotes someone who is for promoting all kinds of sexual perversions and sin, for commanding us to live by their rules or die (which is what Communists, Fascists, and other authoritarian regimes, dictators and tyrants, do), to call white black, and black white, and call evil good, and call women men and men women, etc. Another example of irony from the ungodly on the political left is the fact that what labels they put on others, with whom they disagree, are more fitting for themselves; such labels as racist, fascist, cult follower, etc. 

Yet, the irony is apparent in that the rich and powerful elites, who are often denouncing Christians and the ten commandments, do not live fuller and richer lives than poor Christians, who know inner peace and contentment, and who attempt to live godly and moral lives. 

Of course, it is not only innocent irony we are talking about, but irony that is seen in hypocrisy. And, there is plenty of that on the part of ungodly who tell us how to live, how to eat, drink, and be merry. 

"How blessed is the person, 

who does not take the advice of the wicked, 

who does not stand on the path with sinners, 

and who does not sit in the seat of mockers." 

(Psalm 1: 1)

S.H. Ford on the Ordo Salutis

Samuel Howard Ford 

D.D.,L.L.D

1819-1905

For a list of the books that Dr. Ford wrote and some biographical information from those who knew him, see (here). He wrote "The Origin of the Baptists" and "History of Kentucky Baptists," and other historical writings. He was also editor of "The Christian Repository" in the 1850s through the 1880s. 

Dr. Ben M. Bogard, the well known Baptist, wrote the following about Dr. Ford (See here).       

"S. H. Ford was born in Bristol, England, February 19, 1819. He came with his parents to America when he was a child and the family settled in Missouri. His father was a preacher of ability, and soon after coming to Missouri he became pastor at Columbia, where he preached the gospel with good effect for several years. 

 

In early life S. H. Ford was converted and called into the ministry. He entered Bonne Femme College, where he graduated with distinction, and afterwards studied at the State University at Columbia, Mo. 

 

In his senior year at the University he was called to the care of the church at Jefferson City, Mo. Although he was only twenty-five years old, he was even then a great preacher. It was here he began a career which has not been equalled, in many respects, by any other man in America. He has been pastor in Memphis, Tenn., Louisville, Ky., and St. Louis, Mo. 

 

He was for several years editor of the Western Recorder, Louisville, Ky., and for near forty-six years he has been editor of Ford's Christian Repository.

His career as editor, including his connection with the Western Recorder, has been longer than that of any other editor in America. Dr. J. R. Graves had been editor of the Tennessee Baptist for forty-nine years when he went home to Heaven, but S. H. Ford has been doing the work of editor for fifty years and is still wielding an able pen.

He has written two valuable histories. His Ecclesiastical History and his Brief Baptist History are reliable, clear, and strong. His book on What Baptists Baptise For is the best book of the kind which is now on the market. But, perhaps, his greatest work is THE GREAT PYRAMIDS. This is a scientific work and manifests unusual ability.

The best things he has written, however, have not been published in book form. His strong article on current topics in the Christian Repository shows him to be what he is: ready, strong, accurate. Although engaged frequently in heated discussions, he has never lost his balance, and, perhaps, no other man has been engaged so constantly in the discussion of current theological topics. Conservative, logical, safe, and honest, he has nearly always been found on the side of right and truth. No man has stood more constantly and tirelessly for Baptist principles. He has stood like a great stone wall against every attack on Orthodoxy. No other man has so thoroughly exposed and answered this "Invisible, Universal, Spiritual Church" theory as he. His discussion of that question, in part, is published at the close of this sketch, and the reader may judge for himself how thoroughly he has done his work.

During the civil war Dr. Ford was elected a member of the Confederate Congress. His gift as an orator and his happy knowledge of human nature would have made him a power in politics, but like many other men, he sacrificed all of that for the privilege of fighting the good fight of faith in Prince Immanuel's army. In his eighty-first year he is still at work, and he will die in the harness."

Wrote Cathcart about Ford:

"He is a firm Baptist, and he has had discussions with Alexander Campbell, Bishop Spaulding, of the Catholic church, and Dr. N. L. Rice. Dr. Ford is a Hebrew and Syriac scholar; he is well read in general literature, and is specially familiar with the Romish controversy. In his theology he is a Calvinist. In the past twenty-seven years he has written upon almost every subject bearing on the religious issues of the times. He is now sixty years of age, and is as active, energetic, and laborious as ever." ([From The Baptist Encyclopedia, William Cathcart, editor, 1881; reprint, 1988, pp. 404-405; See here) 

If I live long enough, I hope to read the works of Ford further. I don't agree with Landmarkism (although I agree that we cannot as Baptists recognize infant sprinkling as baptism) and its chief ideas, and don't like it that he supported the confederacy, yet that does not mean that he should be totally shunned in reading his theological works. 

Here is what he says about the ordo salutis. They are from my entry in "The Baptist Gadfly" for April 20, 2009 (See here). All highlighting mine. 

"Whether regeneration precedes repentance and faith, or whether it is the immediate consequence of faith, has long been, and still is, a question debated, often with considerable feeling. The doctrine that the first work done for the sinner, in the process of conversion, is his regeneration, and that he is then, and may continue long, a regenerate unbeliever, appears to many sound Christians an evident absurdity. And yet, if, as is acknowledged, the sinner is "dead in trespasses and sins" how absurd to speak of his exercising living, saving faith, before he has been made alive, or regenerated!

The supporters and opposers of each of these statements or doctrines have unsparingly exposed the inconsistencies or absurdities of the other. The logomachy has been continued and is almost endless. Logic and metaphysics have been brought into requisition to draw distinctions without a difference; and to-day, the introduction of the question in a company of preachers, or a ministers' meeting, will awaken interest and debate sooner than almost any other subject.

Now, the question is,—by what terms are his merciful operations on the soul designated in the inspired word? The result of his agency is, most undoubtedly, a new, holy, and glorious life. But the incipient workings on the conscience, the understanding, and heart—producing compunction, conviction, repentance—what terms shall we use in speaking of these? Now there are serious objections to the use of the word regeneration when speaking of this first awakening of the sinner to a sense of danger and of sin. The principal and most serious objection is, that the Bible never uses this term to describe it. Indeed, this objection is sufficient to lead to an entire abandonment of the use of the word regeneration in this connection.

"We have thus examined the only places where the term palig-genesia (regeneration) occurs, andin neither case does its usage warrant its application to the first work of the Spirit on the awakened soul. From this we conclude that it is incorrect to say that the sinner is first regenerated, that he then penitently seeks Christ, and exercises faith in his finished work.

Dr. Ford was a Calvinist and yet he did not put regeneration prior to conviction of sin (as do the Hardshells) nor prior to faith and repentance, as do "Reformed Baptists" and other Hyper Calvinists.

He states that it is an error, an absurdity, to say that - "The doctrine that the first work done for the sinner, in the process of conversion, is his regeneration."

And he says:

"Now there are serious objections to the use of the word regeneration when speaking of this first awakening of the sinner to a sense of danger and of sin."

I have written on this very thing over the years. "Regeneration" cannot be defined as "the first thing God does internally or externally in an unbeliever to make him a believer" for then there would be no such thing as pre-regeneration divine activity, which is so contrary to scripture that it needs no proof for presentation now. What he says is in direct opposition to Two Seed and Hardshell Baptist ideas about the ordo salutis and what constitutes regeneration (renewal) or rebirth. For instance, "awakenings" of conscience and conviction of sin and lost condition are not instances of regeneration, as Hardshells and Hyper Calvinists affirm, but are what operations of the word and Spirit precede regeneration. Ford understood this as the great old Calvinists of the past.

And, what danger does Ford refer to when speaking of Hardshells and Hyper Calvinists who think that "first awakening" and "sense of danger and of sin" are evidences of regeneration? Well, I have written much on that also. If a man is under conviction of sin, or awakened to his lost condition, and he meets preacher H and meets preacher B and relates this fact, preacher H says "well, this state you are in is evidence that you are already saved." However, preacher B says "well, you need to confess your sins to God, repent of them, turn to the Lord and believe in Christ, and you will be saved." Now, if the man is really not saved, then can you see the danger in Hardshells giving false assurance to a lost soul?

Further, it is absurd and dangerous to affirm that the Holy Spirit is telling an awakened soul that he is lost in sin when in reality he is not lost, for then the Holy Spirit would be affirming a falsehood. I have also written extensively on this point.

Ford also said: "Logic and metaphysics have been brought into requisition to draw distinctions without a difference."

Amen to that brother Ford! I have said the same thing many times in showing the absurdity of Hardshellism. They have done this so many times and in so many ways. I cited from Lasserre Bradley, Jr., Hardshell Baptist leader, from his paper THE BAPTIST WITNESS (March 1997 Volume XLVI Number 3) under the heading "Preachers' Meetings" wherein he said:

"Mysticism has had its influence among our people." (See my former citation here)

I wrote about it in "Hardshell Mysticism & Esoteric Christianity" (See here). In that post I also cite these words from one of the founders or forgers of "The Primitive Baptist Church" (or Hardshell/Old School), from Elder Lemuel Potter:

Elder Potter (Hardshell leader at the end of the 19th century) wrote: 

"About half a century ago metaphysics was introduced among the Old School Baptists..." 

I have also stressed how the Hardshell's soteriological system relies almost exclusively on logic and philosophy for its belief propositions rather than upon the plain declarations of scripture. So many articles on this point. Just ask them to give the scriptures that plainly say

1) a person is born again apart from believing and repenting

2) many unbelievers are born again children of God and have gone to heaven

Use the search box for my series on "Awakenings." 

Further, though they rely on their logical reasoning and deductions for their aberrant theological propositions, yet we have shown how they often reason fallaciously. Ironic. 

J.A. Seiss - Importance of Eschatology

The reverend J. A. Seiss, 19th century Lutheran pastor, and author of many fine books on theology, the pyramids, the gospel in the stars, etc., and that great work "The Apocalypse," wrote the following which I heartedly endorse and say "amen."

"That religion which does not look for a returning Saviour, or locate its highest hopes and triumphs in the judgment scenes for which the Son of man must reappear, is not the religion of this book, and is without authority to promise salvation to its devotees. And those addresses to the Churches which have no "Behold he come" pervading or underlying them, have not been indited by "the Seven Spirits of God," nor sent by Him whose Apocalypse is the crown of the inspired Canon. Murmur at it, dispute it, despise it, mock at it, put it aside, hate it, and hide from it, as men may, it is a great fundamental article of the Gospel, that that same blessed Lord, who ascended from Mount Olivet, and is now at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, shall come from thence to judge the quick and the dead, and to stand again on that very summit from which he went up. This is true, as Christ himself is true; and "he that hath an ear to hear, let him hear." Amen." (The Apocalypse, pages 55-56; See here)

Beware of preachers and churches that ignore or neglect the study of eschatology. As I have stated before, when I was a Hardshell I starved to death trying to find preachers who taught about the second coming of Christ and of unfulfilled end time prophecies. What I gained in those days of early bible study I got from reading Premillennialists, including Dispensationalists. Just as there were some in the apostle Paul's day who "despised prophesying" (I Thess. 5: 20), so also in our day. Or as other translations say:

New International Version - "Do not treat prophecies with contempt" 

New Living Translation - "Do not scoff at prophecies" 

English Standard Version - "Do not despise prophecies"

I think that decrying the study of eschatology, or unfulfilled prophecy, or the doctrine of the second coming of Christ, and showing contempt for others who study earnestly those prophecies, is a violation of the command of the apostle.

I also say that any Christian who is disinterested in studying eschatology has something amiss in his or her thinking as a bible believer. Christ wants his people to know the signs of the times. So, let us not be ignorant and let not the day take us by surprise.

Beliefs about the Afterlife (xxxxi)

The above itemized list of characteristics of the Millennium are what we have seen already in our study of that coming age. That list could be extended, no doubt. 

What we are investigating at this point in our study of the afterlife is the description of life in the next "age" following this "present evil age," which age will last a thousand years, both for the redeemed of all preceding ages (who will be resurrected at the end of this age) and for living saints who will be instantly transformed and translated without dying. (See I Thess. 4:  16-17; I Cor. 15: 51-52) 

It will be also be an investigation into how such redeemed people will spend the first thousand years of eternity in their glorious resurrected and spiritual bodies. Though not completely, yet to a large degree, it will also be the way redeemed, resurrected, and glorified immortal human beings will live their lives as those who have eternal life.

We are also looking at how the remnant of humanity (who were judged as worthy to inherit the kingdom and separated as sheep from goats) lived their lives in that glorious age (that follows their having survived the day of wrath and tribulation). We have observed how both immortal resurrected saints and mortal peoples (we will call them the sheep nations, or the meek) will occupy the new heavens and earth that Isaiah foresaw and dwell and work together. 

Separation at the Harvest

"24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matt. 13: 24-30)

"36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (36-43)

This separation of wheat from tares (weeds) occurs at the end of the age when "the harvest" is gathered, which occurs when Christ returns. The separation of wheat from weeds teaches the same truth fact as the separation of sheep nations from goat nations. In both cases a division of living peoples who remain alive till the end of the judgments of the Apocalypse has occurred (the intent of which is to destroy the bulk of humanity and to punish them). It deals with those, wicked and righteous, who "remain unto the coming of the Lord." No disembodied spirit from either heaven or hell is gathered. No, the spirits of the wicked dead remain in Hades till after the Millennium as the record says (as we have cited in earlier chapters):

"12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Rev. 20: 12-15 nkjv)

This judgment of "the dead" after the Millennium should not be confused with the judgment of the living which occurs immediately prior to the Millennium, or with the separation of wheat from tares or of sheep nations from goat nations. There is a gathering of "the dead" to be judged, but the gathering and separating of living peoples who remain unto the coming of the Lord is not the same thing. 

First, the separating of wheat and tares, sheep and goats, occurs at the return of Christ and prior to the Millennium, but the judgment of the wicked dead souls of Hades occurs after the Millennium. 

Second, the separating judgment of sheep and goats, wheat and tares, involves no resurrection of the dead (for it only involves living peoples who remain after the resurrection and ascension of believers to meet Christ in the air and after the end time ordained destruction), but the great white throne judgment involves the resurrection of the bodies of the wicked dead. 

Third, some of the living nations will be allowed entrance into the Millennial kingdom but others will be sent away to endless punishment, but at the great white throne judgment it seems that all who are judged out of the books according to their works are condemned, not any being named in the book of life, and so suffer "the second death." 

The division of people at the second coming, which these two texts foretell, is not a separation of dead souls or spirits of the wicked from the righteous. They are already separated for that occurred when each died, whether sheep or goat or whether wheat or tares. No, as previously shown, the judgment of the living is distinct from the judgment of the dead. The story of the division of sheep and goat nations or of wheat and tares is a division of peoples who remain alive at the time when Christ has completed his descent to earth and stands on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. This takes place, chronologically, at the end of Revelation chapter nineteen and just prior to chapter twenty and the beginning of the Millennial reign of Christ. 

Those left alive at the conclusion of Christ's coming and after the end time day of wrath, vengeance, and tribulation, that is, after "the apocalypse," compose three groups of people. First, there are the saints who are alive. Second, there are unbelievers, who are the tares, or the goat nations (and who may or may not have been in league with Antichrist). Third, there are the meek (including small children), the ones who did not align with Antichrist, and who helped persecuted Christians and Jews, being the sheep nations, and who believe and confess Christ at that time (though not previously). 

At some point between the sounding of the last trumpet (7th) of Revelation's day of judgments upon the world and race of men, the righteous dead are resurrected and the righteous living saints are instantly transformed so that all the redeemed of prior ages rise to greet the Lord in the foyer of the skies and take their places in the army of the Lord and then descend with him from the clouds to execute the will of the Lord, the commander in chief, upon all the wicked who remain alive, and along with the angels, to bring them all together for the separation. Here is how Paul described it:

"15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." (I Thess. 4: 13-17 nkjv) 

Here we have living saints experiencing the second coming of Christ in a way distinct from dead saints. Some believers will be still "alive" and "remain until the coming of the Lord." They are not the only ones who will be alive when Christ comes. Among the unbelievers there will also be some who remain alive on earth and who were not killed in the judgments of the Apocalypse.

Another passage that speaks of living believers at the time of the second coming is this:

"Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (I Cor. 15: 51-52 nkjv)

These two passages confirm that the living peoples who remain unto the coming, the full coming, of the Lord and King, Jesus Christ, will be special in several ways. Besides being simply the last generation of this present evil age, they will also be the ones who will witness all the scenes of the days and years involved in the coming day of judgment and in the coming (presence or arrival) of the Lord. You have four classes of people who will be concerned with that coming period of time. First, believers who remain alive. Second, believers who have died and who in spirit are in Heaven. Third, unbelievers who remain alive after the day of destruction or the judgments of Christ's apocalypse. Fourth, unbelievers who have died and who are spirits in Hades. 

So, in regard to the harvesting of the wheat, there is a resurrection involved for the bodies of the righteous dead and for a reunion with their glorified heavenly spirits. Their spirits will descend from heaven with Christ (they being in their temporary bodies in the intermediate state as we have previously taught) and their bodies will arise from the dust of the earth and be reunited with their glorified spirits in the air, where they meet with Christ and with the believers on earth who remained alive to that time, and who are then instantly transformed in their physical bodies and experience the same glorification of their bodies as believers whose bodies were raised from the dead in the harvest of the wheat. 

However, at the time of the resurrection of dead believer's bodies and the translation (or transformation) of living believers, there is no resurrection of the dead bodies of unbelievers who will in spirit be occupying Hades at that time, nor any summoning them from thence to come forward so as to be harvested. No, as we saw, the resurrection of the wicked dead does not occur till after the Millennium and their being brought soul and body to stand before the great white throne. However, there will be a continual harvest of souls (spirits) for Hades (of the tares) as living unbelievers are killed in the tribulation and apocalyptic wrath or else cast away into eternal torment when the sheep and goat nations are divided.   

In the previous chapters I have cited from John Walvoord. I cite him again now from the same source, where he talks about life in the Millennium. (See here) He wrote (all emphasis mine):

"Much of the confusion that exists in regard to the millennium and the eternal state stems from a failure to distinguish between the promises that are given to the last generation of saints who are on the earth at the time of the second advent and the promises that are given resurrected or translated saints in both the Old and New Testaments."

This is in sum what we have been demonstrating thus far in this chapter. There is often a failure to distinguish between those wicked persons who remain alive on earth after the resurrection of dead saints and the instant translation of living saints, and after the apocalyptic destruction. Some of these will become instant believers and some will not accept the rule of Christ, though they are forced to confess his Lordship over them. Thus, the living will be separated and this is what is taught by the parable of the wheat and tares and the prophecy of the sheep and goat nations. 

In the preceding chapter we noticed how one of the things that characterized those sheep nations at the time of Christ's sitting on his glorious Millennial throne was that they had been kind to the Lord's brothers in various ways. We should also recall that the sheep peoples don't realize that they have done anything helpful to the Lord himself. The Lord Jesus had told them that they had helped him when he was hungry, thirsty, homeless, in want of clothes, and in prison. But, they replied with a question wherein they asked when had they done such things to him? That is when the Lord and King says to them "inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." These had not been believers in Christ prior to this judgment of living peoples, but they had been friendly towards them, and had not rejected the message of Christ, though they had not fully embraced it either. Now, however, they do become believers, and so Christ says to them "come you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." This scene reminds me of a couple other passages of scripture. Said Jesus:

"He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." (Matt. 10: 41-42 kjv)

The sheep and wheat peoples will be such people who were kind to Jews and Christians, yea to other such sufferers, in giving them what they need as much as possible, even giving a cup of cold water to a needy or persecuted Jew or Christian.

"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." (Matt. 5: 5)

Surely every believer who has ever lived will "inherit the earth." And, by "the meek" Christ no doubt refers to them. We ought therefore to conclude that all born again children of God are meek, though it seems that many of them don't seem to manifest that quality. But, meekness is not only a characteristic of saved people, it is also a trait of some humble unsaved people. I think meekness will be one of the qualities of the sheep nations who have been kind to Christians and Jew. 

This will be a good start to the "age to come." All the practicing wicked will either have been destroyed during the tribulation period that precedes Christ's final leg of his coming (which is the time of the resurrection and translation of saints) or will be judged as being tares (weeds) and goat nations and sent away into endless punishment. What is left are people, mostly very young people, who had been kind towards Jews and Christians, and are humble and meek, and who believe instantly when they see Christ appear. These will enter the Millennial kingdom in their mortal bodies, but yet filled with the Spirit, and yet they are not confirmed in immortality, but enjoy a conditional immortality, as the texts in Isaiah's prophecy of the new heavens and earth describe. Among these, death will be rare.

Make no mistake about it, some people who witness the coming of Christ, especially the end of his coming, will be converted when they see Christ, and the aforementioned texts affirm it. Certainly, as we will show in the next chapters, many of the natural Jews will be so converted when they see Christ appear in addition to those sheep peoples from among the Gentiles.

Beliefs about the Afterlife (xxxx)

"Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, 

To make the land a desolation; And 

He will exterminate its sinners from it."

(Isaiah 13: 9 nasb)

Earlier, we stated that not all the individuals of the nations are smitten so that no one is left alive, following the tribulation and wrath, for Christ and his people begin their rule on earth over the nations, but this can only be so if some are left alive to become the seed for the new peoples of the Millennial age, just as Noah's three sons and their wives became the seed of a new world. There are many reasons for believing in a remnant of the race who survive the day of judgment, or day of the Lord (corresponding to chapters six through 19 of the Apocalypse). First, in talking about the tribulation of the days of the second coming, the Lord Jesus Christ said this in confirmation of that fact:  

"And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matt. 24: 22)

Lots of people are killed by the divine judgments (wrath and tribulation) connected with the return of Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. Under the first four judgments of the Apocalypse, we have the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, and by these four and their judgments one fourth of the world's population is killed. (Rev. 6: 8) We also read of more killed after this:

"It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind." (Rev. 9: 14-15)

But, even with such devastation and death on such a large scale there are still a few, a remnant, who survive. The days of that awful destruction will stop short of universal death of all human beings so that a few flesh are "saved," i.e. preserved from physical death. This is also what is confirmed by other passages. Wrote Solomon:

"For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it." (Pro 2: 21-22) 

It is also what is foreshown by Isaiah. Chapters 24-27 describe the end times that are connected with the second coming of the Lord and "that day," also known in scripture as "the day of the Lord," and "the day of wrath," and "the day of vengeance," and "the day of tribulation," and "the day of judgment," and "the day of redemption," and "the day that shall burn as an oven," etc. Notice the whole of chapter 24 and then compare it with what unfolds in Revelation chapters 6-20.

"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. 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. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left. The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of the tambourine ceases, The noise of the jubilant ends, The joy of the harp ceases. They shall not drink wine with a song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. The city of confusion is broken down; Every house is shut up, so that none may go in. There is a cry for wine in the streets, All joy is darkened, The mirth of the land is gone. In the city desolation is left, And the gate is stricken with destruction. When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, Like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; For the majesty of the LORD They shall cry aloud from the sea. Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light, The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I said, “I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.” Fear and the pit and the snare Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall be That he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit Shall be caught in the snare; For the windows from on high are open, And the foundations of the earth are shaken. The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again. It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, And on the earth the kings of the earth. They will be gathered together, As prisoners are gathered in the pit, And will be shut up in the prison; After many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the LORD of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously."  (Isaiah chapter 24)

Though the word for "earth" may simply mean "land," and cannot in itself denote what is true of the whole planet, yet the context of this chapter, along with the other three in this prophecy, show that it means the whole earth or planet. In fact, if one reads this chapter and then reads chapters six through twenty of the book of Revelation, he will see the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.

The great tribulation is alluded to in the words denoting one trouble after another, such as the pit and snare, the pit, and when the heavens rain down evils. This is what we see in the book of the Revelation, the book foretelling what will occur in the day of the Lord's return to earth. It occurs in that day when the Lord comes to "punish" the wicked and begin his reign on earth "on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem." So we read in the prophecy these words of the prophet:

"For when Your judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." (26: 9)

That is what we see described in chapter twenty four, where this four chapter prophecy began, for we saw tribulation and death sent to the inhabitants of the earth so that few are left alive. It is the time when Christ comes to reign in Mt. Zion. It is through these judgments, associated as they are with the apocalypse of Christ (which is his coming, appearing, or revelation), and the day of the Lord, that men will receive the vengeance of the Lord so that they will be condemned to sufferings and death, except for a small remnant. This end time destruction kills nearly everyone except for a "few men" who are left. This is what the Lord himself stated, as we have seen. 

Though most during this time fail to repent and turn to the Lord (See Rev. 9: 20-21; 16: 8-11), or to "learn righteousness" by God's end time wrathful judgments, the few remaining mostly do learn righteousness, and that very learning is necessary for them to be given opportunity to enter the Millennium and live, as mortal men on probation, and not follow Adam's and Eve's example.  

That we might further see how the prophecy of Isaiah 24-27 involves the time of the second coming (or the time period between Revelation chapter six through twenty), notice these words from chapter twenty six:

"Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain." (26: 20-21)

Again, that is fulfilled at the time of Christ's return when he comes bringing wrath, vengeance, judgment, tribulation, etc., on the wicked inhabitants of the earth, the very thing we see in the judgments of Revelation chapters six through twenty. Notice also this verse from chapter twenty seven:

"In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea." (27: 1)

So, who is Leviathan the fleeing and twisted (or crooked) "serpent"? And, what does it mean for him to be punished? And, if he is the same one designated as "the reptile that is in the sea," what does it mean for such sea monster to be slain? And, when and how will the Lord punish and kill this sea monster? 

In the book of Christ's return, or of his glorious Apocalypse, and of his executing upon the world the judgments written against its last generation, Satan is described as a sea monster and there is every reason to believe that he is the Leviathan of the above passage. 

The whole forty first chapter of Job is a discourse of God himself upon this creature. He ends that chapter with these words:

"He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.” (verse 34 nkjv)

A "serpent" is a superior creature of the sea as "Behemoth" (chapter 40) is a superior creature of the land. But, "serpent" is also a label or fitting symbol of Satan (or he who was once known as Lucifer). So many scriptures refer to him by that name. In was by inhabiting a serpent (who could it seems go on land as well as sea, as most snakes can) that he first appeared to Adam and Eve and quickly enticed them to disobey God's prime directive even though God had warned them of the consequences. So Paul says "as the serpent beguiled Eve" (II Cor. 11 3); And, he is referred to as "the great dragon," and "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan." (Rev. 12: 9; See also 12: 14-15, 20: 2) Just as the Lord Jesus referred to Herod as "that fox" (Luke 12 : 32) so he refers to Satan, or the Devil, as "that old serpent," i.e. the serpent that seduced Eve, as Leviathan. The sea monster is a fitting symbol of Satan. 

Further, when Paul says to the Philippians "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision" (Phil. 3: 2), he was not warning against animals which are literal "dogs," but against people who are like dogs (thus being a symbol or metaphor). In fact, people use the word "dog" in the same way today, as when they say "he is a dog." It is thus used to speak of some negative quality of dogs which is seen in human beings. So Peter compares apostates from the Christian faith to a dog who returns to eat its own vomit. (II Peter 2: 22) 

Also, Paul says that he "fought with beasts at Ephesus." (I Cor. 15: 32) Though some think that he fought with real animals, being thrown to the lions, so to speak, as was Daniel and many early Christian martyrs who died in the Roman coliseum, I rather think that he is referring to men who denied the resurrection (as did the Sadducees and some of the Greeks on Mars Hill when hearing Paul preach about it). They are labeled by Paul as "beasts" or "animals" or even "monsters." 

The evil governments are viewed as monsters and beasts in the books of Daniel and Revelation, and in both the Antichrist is styled "the beast" or "the monster." 

Further, Job also speaks of Leviathan by the title "the fleeing serpent." Says he: "By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent." (Job 26: 13 nkjv)

This reference to "the fleeing serpent" or "the crooked serpent" (KJV), has a dual reference or application. First, to the constellation that goes by that name and secondly to Leviathan, to that "old serpent the Devil," to "the Satan." The constellation Cetus, the sea monster, is one of the largest constellations in the heavens, and no doubt pictures him. But, other constellations also allude to Leviathan or to the Dragon or Serpent. Said one source:

"The term bariach, rendered "crooked" but better as in the Revised Version, margin as "fleeing," is applied by Isaiah to "Leviathan" (liwyathan: Isa 27:1), properly a "wreathed" or writhing animal, twisted in folds, and hence also called by the prophet `aqallathon, "crooked," "twisted," or "winding"; a very appropriate designation for Draco, the great polar Dragon. But the latter was not the only "crooked serpent" in the constellations; there were three others, two of which were placed with an astronomical significance not less precise than the coiling of Draco round the poles. Hydra, the Watersnake, marked out the original celestial equator for about one-third of its circumference, and Serpens, the Adder, lay partly along the celestial equator and then was twisted up the autumnal colure, and reached the zenith with its head." (See here)

So, the point elaborately made is this: the context of Isaiah chapters 24-27 show that it has not yet been fulfilled but will be fulfilled at the second coming of Christ and that his execution of the judgments of the book of Revelation are accompaniments of his future coming (parousia), revelation (apocalupsis), or appearing (ephiphania). 

Further, Isaiah 24 says that all the inhabitants of the earth will be killed in the fiery judgments of the great tribulation and day of wrath except for a remnant. Only few people will be left and it is these living peoples who will be assembled in order to divide them in the manner described by Christ in Matthew 25. The nations who were helpful to the "brothers" of the Lord will be granted right to enter the Millennial kingdom while those who were not helpful will be sent away into everlasting fire. This shows that both the sheep and the goats are distinct and separate from the "brothers." 

If "the nations" designates Christians or believers in Christ, then we would have to read the text in this manner - "inasmuch as you (sheep nations) have done it unto the least of these OUR brethren" (or "your brethren") instead of "these MY brethren." In this prophetic scene we have several participants (individuals or groups) mentioned. They are Christ, the brothers of the Lord, the sheep nations, the goat nations. 

When Christ refers to his "brethren," most think he refers to the Jews, for Christ does call them his own people and the apostles also addressed their fellow Jews as "brothers" even though they were not saved. But, I rather think he has reference also to Christians. That being so, those few who remain alive among the nations, following the destruction attending Christ's return, are judged on how they were related to 1) the government of the beast or Antichrist, and 2) the treatment of Jews and Christians. 

In the days of Isaiah chapter 24 and Revelation chapters 6-20 a person will be forced to take sides in the six thousand year old war between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. But, there will be a few who will refuse to become followers of the beast and to take his mark, though they are not yet believers in Jesus. And, these will no doubt help Jews and Christians survive end time persecution by the Antichrist and his henchmen in much the same way Schindler, the German, helped Jews survive Hitler's genocide of Jews or as others who helped Jews and Christians in some manner. 

So, we have shown I think that there will be some few humans left after the judgments of the Apocalypse, and that these will be divided as sheep from goats. The sheep nations will be those who enter the Millennial kingdom as mortal humans, most of them being believers in Christ on some level. After all, it is written:

"For it is written: “As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” (Rom. 14: 11 nkjv) (See also Phil. 3: 10; Heb. 6: 13)

The living nations who stand before God at the end of the present age and at the inauguration of the age to come will bow the knee to Christ and confess his Lordship and gladly enter into his kingdom. But, if this is the case, then what can we make of the fact that at the end of the thousand years, when Satan is loosed from his prison, he is able to deceive many nations, as Gog and Magog, to rebel against the Lord? How could only believers enter the Millennium but by its end there are many who are not confirmed believers? Surely it is so because 1) many of the believers who entered the Millennial kingdom were like the Israelites who, after crossing the Red Sea miraculously, believed in Jehovah,* and 2) their children, born in the Millennium, did not become true lovers of Christ, but only feigned obedience.

*9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. 10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. 12 Then believed they his words; they sang his praise. 13 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel." (Psa. 106: 9-13 kjv)

It will be the job of the Millennium's rulers, all under Christ, to govern the world, to run its cities and towns, to enforce its laws, and to manage its prosperity. This is in part how believers, after their resurrection, will spend their days. They will not be the only ones who govern the age to come, as we have seen. It will, however, be a monarchy under the King of kings and Lord of lords, in a pyramidal structure of government.

In the next chapters we will look further into how life will be for believers in the Millennium, and how life will be on earth during the reign of Christ and his kingdom.

Beliefs about the Afterlife (xxxix)

"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." 

(Revelation 20: 6 nkjv)

"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) 

According to this text (which I have called attention to in previous chapters), the rule of Christ over the nations is yet future, and follows after his first "smiting the nations," which smiting occurs throughout the events of the Apocalypse (via the seven seals, trumpets, and vials) and culminates in the final battle of Revelation chapter nineteen. Following the smiting of the nations of that chapter is when he shall rule over the nations with a rod of iron. Several facts are deducible from the text and its several affirmations.

First, the smiting of the nations occurs at the same time as the treading of the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of God. Throughout the judgments of Revelation chapters 6-19 God is in wrath smiting the nations. 

Second, not all the individuals of the nations are smitten with death, agonizing death, for how can Christ rule on earth over the nations if none are left? 

Third, the smiting of the nations precedes the ruling of the nations, and neither has yet been fulfilled or come to pass. 

Fourth, the ruling of the text is what we see occurring after chapter nineteen (which chapter pictures the final stage of his coming again). It occurs in chapter twenty when Christ is enthroned along with the church (body of believers), the apostles, the Israelites who will be converted when Christ appears (then joined to resurrected believing Israelites of the old testament who have been resurrected, such as king David), and they all begin to rule. Recall the text we have cited previously:

“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)

It seems that Christ, in this text, says that he was enthroned when he ascended bodily into heaven forty days after his resurrection. So, is Christ already seated on his throne and ruling with a rod of iron? In addressing that question let us read into the record these words of Christ:

31“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then 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: 35for 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; 36I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40And 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.’ 41“Then He 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: 42for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43I 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.’ 44“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?’ 45Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt. 25: 31-46 nkjv)

Here, the text says that Christ sitting on the "throne of his glory" is yet future, coming to pass when he comes the second time, when "he comes in his glory" to reign from the "throne of glory." Notice the two adverbs of time in the passage ("when" and "then"). It is "when" he comes again that he "then" sits upon "the throne of his glory," the one also promised to the overcomers. Yet, Rev. 3: 21 says that after Christ conquered (via his death and resurrection, or his first coming) that he then "sat down" on "his Father's throne." Obviously, the "Father's throne" is not the same thing as "the throne of the glory of the Son of man." In the text there is a distinction Christ makes between "my throne" and "my Father's throne." 

Though Christ is now, since his bodily ascension into heaven, seated "at the right hand of God" (Heb. 1: 3; Eph. 1: 20-21; Rom. 8: 34; Col. 3: 1; I Peter 3: 22; etc.), or at the right hand of the throne of God, he is not yet seated on the "throne of his glory" in the Millennial kingdom. The present session of the risen and glorified Christ, as the son of man, occurred when Christ ascended bodily into heaven. So we read in Mark 16:19: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” But, that is not when Christ sat on the throne of his glory as the text in Matthew 25: 31 speaks of, for that occurs when Christ comes the second time from heaven to earth. 

Notice how carefully worded are the statements about Christ's present session on the throne of the Father, and at his right hand. 

“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven.” (Heb. 8: 1)

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12: 2)

These two verses speak of the present session of Christ on the throne of his Father, on his right hand, as the Son of God who is now and forever joined to his human body and soul. But again, it is the throne of deity and divinity, as well as the throne of the Father. Notice how Christ is viewed in his post incarnation state, where he is both Son of God (divinity) and Son of man (humanity) in what theologians call "hypostatic union" of the two natures of Christ, in this famous text: 

“But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7: 55-56)

Notice it is "Son of Man" and not "Son of God" who sits on the right side of the Father's throne. He has a glorified body and even "stands" to welcome the martyr Stephen into heaven. But, again, it is the Father's throne, or the throne of Deity, and not the throne of Christ nor the throne of David. In the text from Matthew 25: 31 we saw where Christ, when he returns, will sit on "the throne of his glory," a throne distinct from the Father's throne. Jesus referred to his enthronement at the second coming in other verses, such as this:

"Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Matt. 19: 28)

This text cannot be made to be a description of what has already been fulfilled. Dr. Gill, in his commentary, tries to do so, however, writing as follows:

"when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory in the regeneration; not in the resurrection of the dead, or at the last judgment, but in this new state of things, which now began to appear with another face: for the apostles having a new commission to preach the Gospel to all the world; and being endued with power from on high for such service, in a short time went every where preaching the word, with great success." 

No, "the regeneration" is not what took place in the past by the preaching of the gospel and the institution of the new covenant or of the church. That is a misinterpretation of the text. Though Gill is a Premillennialist, he nevertheless does not adhere to the practice of interpreting prophecy literally, or being always fulfilled literally. This is what is called "spiritualizing" texts which are meant to be taken literally, and instead give them a symbolic or figurative application. I have found other Premillennialists who do the same, especially those who claim to be "Reformed" or "Calvinistic." But, as with the "duck test" (a form of abductive reasoning), so in this regard. The duck test is usually expressed as "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck." 

Some Premillennialist look and act like Amillennialists in the way they spiritualize literal texts, and in how they interpret the bible's prophetic scriptures, especially the book of Revelation. Amillennialists are often heard saying of the prophetic portions of scripture (especially of unfulfilled prophecies and the book of Revelation) -- "it is 'apocalyptic' or symbolic" (meaning it is not literal, but esoteric). When they say such things they are talking like Amillennialists and leave prophecy to be some enigma or code that only a few can interpret or make sense of. So, Gill, in his interpretation of the above passage, is acting like an Amillennialist. He does not take the prophecy of Christ literally. 

But, the passage makes no sense unless it is interpreted literally, and not to see the "regeneration" as the time when the earth is renewed at the second coming of Christ, a thing talked about elsewhere in scripture, in both testaments (as we have seen in previous chapters). Further, it is highly likely that the session of the twelve apostles on twelve thrones, ruling over the twelve tribes, occurs at the beginning of the Millennium when the righteous all are enthroned (per Rev. chapter twenty). No, rather, as many commentators agree, by "the regeneration" is meant the change that will come to the world when Christ comes and inaugurates the "age to come," or the Millennium. 

Gill says further:

"When the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, or glorious throne; as he did when he ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God; and was then exalted as a prince, and made, or declared to be Lord and Christ; and was crowned in human nature, with honour, and glory, and angels, principalities, and powers, made subject to him:

But, as we have seen, the right hand of the throne of God, or throne of the Father, is not the same as the glorious throne of the risen Christ, for as we have seen, it is not till Christ comes again that he then sits on the throne of "HIS" glory (as distinct from the throne of the Father or God). 

Gill says further:

 

"ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones: for though Judas fell from his apostleship, yet Matthias was chosen in his room, and took his place, and made up the number twelve; a metaphorical phrase, setting forth the honour, dignity, and authority of their office and ministry, by which they should be judging the twelve tribes of Israel; doctrinally and practically..." 

Why is the language of Christ a "metaphorical phrase"? Is "twelve tribes" literal or figurative? Is it a reference to spiritual Jews (which would include believing Gentiles) as Amillennialists and figurative interpreters think? Then, which tribe am I a member of as a Gentile who is a Jew inwardly? If "twelve tribes" is literal, then why not "thrones"? Further, if the ruling of the twelve is done through their writings, then how is the ruling limited to Jews only? Would it not be that the apostles rule over both Jews and Gentiles in this manner? If "thrones" in this text is metaphorical, then why does Gill think it not metaphorical in Revelation chapter twenty? Further, if we believe that the apostle Paul is not one of the twelve (the common view), then he is not ruling over the twelve tribes by his writings? What about the inspired writings of Mark, Luke, Jude and James, the Lord's brothers? Do they not rule by their writings too? You see how untenable is Gill's interpretation and of the perils of not taking scripture literally.

Not only is Christ not now seated on his own glorious throne, nor is he now seated on "the throne of David." Recall these words of the angel Gabriel to Mary: 

"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1: 32-33)

This has not yet been fulfilled. Certainly not literally, and literally is the only way we are to interpret it. Let us again note what Dr. Gill said on the passage. Wrote Gill:

"...here it intends not his throne, in a literal, but in a figurative sense; for as David was a type of the Messiah in his kingly office, hence the Messiah is called "David their king", (Hosea 3:5) so his throne was typical of the Messiah's throne and kingdom; which is not of this world, but is in his church, and is set up in the hearts of his people, where he reigns by his Spirit and grace; and this is a throne and kingdom "given" by the Lord God." 

What is a figurative throne? The throne of David was literal when David occupied it, but it is not literal when Christ occupies it? That is just not tenable. Further, why is David excluded from ruling over the twelve tribes along with the twelve apostles and all under Christ, the super David? The prophecies about David's future rule should be interpreted to refer to David himself. If not, why not? Is that not the plain reading of the text, prima facie? The passage in Hosea that Gill cites reads as follows:

"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days." (Hosea 3: 4-5)

I see no reason to think that "David" in the passage denotes Christ, son of David, nor Solomon, nor any other son of David. All the other terms in the prophecy are literally interpreted, so why make David a figurative term for the Messiah? Further, surely "Lord their God" and "the Lord" in the text includes the Son of God, even in his incarnate state, so this would exclude him from being the David of the text. The other prophecies of the future reign of king David are found in Jeremiah 30: 9, where the prophecy says "instead, they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” Speaking of the same, God says through the prophet Ezekiel, “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.” (Ezekiel 37:24) 

Judgment of the Living Nations

The judgment of the sheep and goat nations (peoples) of Matthew chapter twenty five, cited above, is not a judgment of the dead, but of the living at the time when Christ returns and judges those who are left alive following the destruction of the apocalypse of Christ or day of judgment. There is to be both a judgment of the dead and of the living. The judgment of the wicked dead occurs at the great white throne judgment after the Millennium as the latter part of Revelation chapter twenty informs us. But, the judgment of the wicked who are alive at the return of Christ is distinct from it, preceding the Millennium. 

Wrote Pentecost in "Things To Come" (pg. 344) under "The place of the judgment" in regard to the judgment of the nations:

"Inasmuch as this judgment follows the second advent, it must be an event that takes place on the earth. It can not be said to take place in the eternal state. Peters says: 

As there is no statement that any of these nations arose from the dead, so there is none that any part of them descended from heaven to be judged; the language, provided no previous theory is made to influence it, simply describing nations here on the earth, in some way, gathered together at the Second Advent."

Wrote Pentecost under "The subjects of the judgment":

"It is to be observed that those brought into this judgment are living individuals, not the dead that have been resurrected and brought to judgment. Peters says: 

The question before us is this: Does the “all nations” include “the dead,” or only living nations? In deciding this point we have the following: (1) Nothing is said of “the dead.” To say that they are denoted is inferred from the fact that this passage is made—wrongfully—to synchronize with Rev. 20:11-15. (2) The word translated “nations” is never, according to the uniform testimony of critics and scholars, used to designate “the dead,” unless this be a solitary exception.…(3) The word is employed to denote living, existing nations, and almost exclusively “Gentile” nations. (4) The Spirit gives us abundant testimony that precisely such a gathering of living nations shall take place just before the Mill. age commences, and that there shall be both an Advent and judging.…(6) National judgments are only poured out upon living, existing nations, and not upon the dead who are devoid of any organization belonging to the idea of nation or state.…(7) As there is no statement that any of these nations arose from the dead, so there is none that any part of them descended from heaven to be judged." (pgs. 344-345)

I believe that is correct. It also should be viewed in the same way as Paul's words to Timothy. He said:

"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom." (II Tim. 4: 1 nkjv)

Wrote J. A. Seiss in his famous work "The Apocalypse" on Christ judging the living and the dead:

"There is an important distinction, noted in the Scriptures, and in all the creeds, between the judgment of "the quick" and the judgment of "the dead.'' The common idea is, that all men, those that have died, and those who are found living at the time, shall be judged alike, and in one and the same great congregation."

 

The bible does not teach that all, wicked and righteous, will be resurrected simultaneously in one general or universal resurrection. I was taught that as a young minister in the "Primitive Baptist" church, who are mostly Amillennial and believe in one general resurrection. But, it did not take long in my beginning years of bible study to begin to see that it was an error and that the bible teaches that the resurrection of the righteous will occur one thousand years before the resurrection of the unrighteous. One of the texts those who believe in a general resurrection use is the text about the judgment of the nations, or of the sheep and goats. 

Wrote J. A. Seiss further:

"It is conceived that the dead will all be simultaneously resurrected, and all the living simultaneously changed, and that only then the judgment will sit for the adjudication of the eternal destiny of each. Painters and poets have outdone themselves in their efforts to portray the overwhelming majesty and terror of so grand and universal an assize. But it is not according to the plain letter of the Scriptures, or of the creed of the Church. If the day of judgment is ever to come, it must find people living upon the earth, who are described as "the quick." They must, therefore, either be judged in the flesh, while still living in their natural life, or they must meet with some miraculous transformation equivalent to the resurrection, by which they lose the distinctive character of "quick." Such a change before the judgment, has also been accepted and affirmed concerning all who shall be living when the day of judgment comes. Thus, Bellarmin teaches, that the breaking in of that day will instantaneously end the natural life of all the living; that they will all be suddenly struck dead, and by the same stroke transformed into precisely the same state in which the resurrected shall be; and that then all distinction between "quick and dead" will have entirely and forever disappeared. And, if we take the doctrine of the simultaneous judgment of all men, we are necessitated to accept some such explanation. But then what becomes of the judgment of "the quick," as distinguished from the judgment of "the dead"? There is, in that case, no such judgment. All natural life in the flesh being ended and overpast before any judicial awards are made, the judgment becomes only a judgment of the dead, or rather of immortals; for there are no subjects of it except those who have ceased from the natural life, and passed into the post-resurrection state. The distinction made by the Scriptures and the creeds, between the judgment of "the quick" and the judgment of '' the dead," is thus turned into a distinction without a difference — a mere matter of words, signifying nothing in particular. But the phraseology of Jesus and his inspired apostles, so uniformly employed wherever the subject is touched, is not thus to be slurred over, and stripped of its proper and natural signification. If words have any meaning, "quick" does not mean "dead," and "dead" does not mean "quick;" and the judgment of the one cannot, therefore, be the judgment of the other." 

Agreed, though so many miss seeing this.

Wrote J. A. Seiss further:

"Two distinct classes are unmistakably intended, not only as to that state in which the day of judgment finds them, but also as to that state in which the day of judgment deals with them. If the natural life of "the quick" ends before they are judged, then theirs is not a judgment of the quick any more than of the dead, and one part of the sacred description utterly falls away. We must, therefore, allow a judgment which respects men still living their natural life in the flesh, the awards of which they receive, and have visited upon them in their distinctive character as "quick." (pgs 322-324)

Agreed, though so many miss seeing this also.

Wrote J. A. Seiss further:

"And even as respects the judgment of "the dead," there lurks in the popular idea a mischievous and confusing error. People take the resurrection as a mere preliminary of the judgment, and view the judgment itself as something distinct from the resurrection, and coming after it. The language of the last trump they conceive to be: "Awake, ye dead, and come to judgment." They consider that the dead are to be awakened for the purpose of being judged. It is also true, that not all the awards of the judgment are made or go into effect till after the resurrection; but the resurrection is itself a part of the judgment. The resurrection of the wicked is certainly something different from the resurrection of the saints. It is different both in character and in time. The one is a resurrection "in glory," and the other is a resurrection of "shame and everlasting contempt." The one is "adoption, the redemption of the body" and the other is "the resurrection of condemnation.'' The one is a "change of our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body," and the other is a mere reversal of the state of death, with all the corrupt fruits of the sowing to the flesh still clinging to him who is the subject of it. (Gal. 6 : 7, 8.) The one is the peculiar privilege of the elect, of those who are Christ's, who rise at Christ's coming, and live and reign with him the thousand years; the other is subsequent — eito — afterwards — and embraces "the rest of the dead " who live not again until the thousand years are finished. (1 Cor. 15 : 23, 24 ; Rev. 20 : 4, 6.) These distinctions are very plainly drawn, and embrace the very highest things of our faith. Nothing that comes after the realization of them can add anything not already substantially included. The estate and destiny on both sides is thus effectually and irreversibly settled in advance. We accordingly would have the anomaly of the chief work and result of the judgment accomplished and concluded, before the judgment itself sits! The truth is, that the resurrection, and the changes which pass "in the twinkling of an eye" upon the living, are themselves the fruits and embodiments of antecedent judgment. They are the consequences of adjudications then already made. Strictly speaking, men are neither raised nor translated, in order to come to judgment. Resurrections and translations are products of judgment previously passed, upon the dead as dead, and upon the quick as quick. "The dead in Christ shall rise first," because they are already adjudged to be in Christ; and the living saints are caught up together with them to the clouds, because they are already adjudged to be saints, and worthy to attain that world. And the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished, and the rest of "the quick" are "left," by virtue of judicial decisions already had, and of which these things are the results. Whatever, in the line of increased blessedness or enhanced damnation, may come after, is only the further carrying into effect of what was already predecided, before there could be either resurrection or translation. And what so irreversibly fixes the estates of the persons concerned, must necessarily, in the very nature of things, be their judgment. The judgment is not a sham formality, or a solemn farce; it is something real; and the substance of it is the award to every man according to his works. And when we see these awards in potent effect in the very life which the dead live again, it is absurd to be thinking of the judgment as only a grand assize to which resurrection and cessation of natural life are only preliminary. And if the true judgment thus precedes, or is already embodied in, the resurrection and translation, it must necessarily take hold of the dead as dead, and the living as living. The language which the Scriptures and the creeds so carefully preserve, is thus found to possess a literal accuracy and depth too generally overlooked. We profess to believe that Christ "shall come to judge the quick and the dead." He does not come first to raise "the dead" and then to judge them, but he judges them as dead, that they may rise in their appointed lot, and share the resurrection of the just. He does not first come to change "the quick" in order to judge them; but to judge and discriminate between them while yet living, in order that those accounted worthy may be "changed," and caught up together with the resurrected ones, and that those adjudged unworthy of so high a portion may be cut off from it, and made to suffer still other inflictions in this world. And it is to these judicial dealings with people "left," and living in the flesh, that the action under these horses refers." (324-327) 

 

So, we sum up. The Millennial age will see the living nations (the remnant few who remain after the judgments of the Apocalypse) judged as to whether they will be cast away from the land of the living and denied entrance into the Millennial new heavens and earth or be allowed to continue to live and to enter the Millennial kingdom and be the seed of a new human race. 

Establishing that the Millennial new heavens and earth will find people who are mortal, and who are living lives as mortals, marrying and giving in marriage, having children and families, etc., and being "the nations" who have been thus purged, we see something about what it will mean for 1) Christ to rule on earth over the nations, and 2) Converted Israelis to reign on earth over their own land and over the Gentile nations, and 3) for king David to reign over Israel and the nations under Christ, the super David, and 4) the twelve apostles, who will likewise rule on earth, and 5) the church, or body of believers (the elect) to rule on earth over the nations (and its cities and towns). 

Knowing these various occupants of the coming new age of a thousand years helps us to understand what our first thousand years of our "eternal life" as believers, as saved and redeemed people, will be like. In the next chapter we will continue our look at how we will spend the first thousand years of our life in the ages of the ages yet to come.