Scripture Reading: Rev. 20:1-6; 19:11-16, 19-21
Ⅰ
Christ is the Establisher of the kingdom—Rev. 20:1-6:
A
After fighting His enemies, Christ will establish the kingdom of God on the earth, the millennial kingdom, and reign with His overcoming believers for a thousand years—v. 2.
B
The whole earth must be cleared up as a preparation for God’s kingdom to come.
C
Only one thing remains, and that is Satan, the source of all the problems.
D
The first item mentioned in Revelation 20, a chapter concerning the millennium, is the binding of Satan:
１
Although the Lord judged Satan on the cross, that judgment has not yet been fully executed.
２
When the Lord returns, He will fully execute the judgment that He accomplished on the cross upon Satan.
３
Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss, being powerless to act or damage anyone; then the earth will become Christ’s kingdom.
E
According to the prophecies of the Bible, the millennium is in two sections: the upper, heavenly, section and the lower, earthly, section:
１
The upper section of the millennium is called the kingdom of the Father (Matt. 13:43), and the lower section is called the kingdom of the Son of Man (v. 41).
２
The kingdom of the Messiah, or the Messianic kingdom, is another name for the lower section of the millennium.
F
Revelation 20:4-6 reveals that Christ as the Establisher of the kingdom will reign with the overcoming saints:
１
Because the overcomers bring in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Lord will reign for a thousand years, and the overcomers will also reign with Christ for a thousand years.
２
Revelation 20:4 says, “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them”:
ａ
The word they refers to the overcomers.
ｂ
They are now sitting upon thrones, and authority to judge has been given to them:
⑴
To have the authority to judge means to have the kingdom—cf. Dan. 7:10, 18, 22.
⑵
Verse 4 in Revelation 20 indicates that the overcomers have received and are enjoying the kingdom.
G
The overcomers become qualified to reign with Christ by the humanity of Jesus being worked into them—2:26.
H
The overcomers who will reign with Christ in the millennium will enjoy the best resurrection:
１
Revelation 20:6 speaks of “the first resurrection.”
２
The first resurrection is also the “out-resurrection,” that is, the extraordinary resurrection for which the apostle Paul sought—Phil. 3:11.
I
Revelation 20:6a says, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection”; this must be the highest blessing—to inherit the kingdom manifested on earth and even to be the kings within it.
J
“They will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years” (v. 6b); the overcomers will be priests to contact God and co-kings with Christ to reign over the nations in the millennium (2:26-27; 12:5).
Ⅱ
In Revelation 19:11-16 and 19-21 Christ is revealed as the Word of God—King of kings and Lord of lords:
A
After His wedding feast (v. 7) Christ will come as a fighting General with His bride, the overcoming believers, who are His army, to fight Antichrist; man will even wage war directly against the Lord of lords and the King of kings:
１
Antichrist, the false prophet, and the ten kings and their armies will make war against the Lamb.
２
This war will be a fighting of the earth against the heavens, of man against God.
３
Christ’s enemies will become all the more evil, even declaring war against Him.
４
It is indeed astounding that man could actually declare war on God.
５
Christ, the Bridegroom, will come with His bride to fight against them.
B
“Behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war”—v. 11:
１
Faithful and True will be a title of Christ.
２
Christ is faithful both to God and to those who believe in Him.
３
In His faithfulness He defeats and destroys those who oppose God and persecute the believers.
４
He is also true in carrying out God’s economy and in caring for those who believe in Him.
C
Christ is God’s faithful and true Witness who sits on a white horse, judges in righteousness, and makes war:
１
Christ will come back to fight against Satan’s power of unrighteousness, which today operates in the world as the mystery of lawlessness and which will issue in Antichrist, the man of lawlessness—2 Thes. 2:3, 7-8.
２
The entire world is under the satanic power of unrighteousness.
３
In righteousness Christ will return to make war against the unrighteousness practiced by Antichrist and all his partners.
４
Christ will not only judge in righteousness but also fight in righteousness; He judges by fighting.
D
“His name is called the Word of God”—Rev. 19:13b:
１
This indicates that the Lord Himself is the Word of God.
２
That the Lord’s name is called the Word of God means that He is the expression, the testimony, and the speaking of God.
３
The Word of God is the definition, the explanation, and the expression of God.
４
In order to know God, we need to read, study, behold, contemplate, and gaze on Christ as the Word of God.
E
In Revelation 19, as the Word of God, Christ speaks for God by executing God’s judgment upon the rebellious people:
１
Even as the Lord fights, He speaks for God and expresses God.
２
God is not a God of confusion; He is righteous and sovereign; He is also a God of order, and as such, He cannot tolerate disorder and rebellion.
３
As Christ fights against the enemy, He will speak that God is sovereign, righteous, and orderly.
４
He will declare that God is the God over everyone and that He does not tolerate rebellion against His authority.
５
The Warrior is the Word; His fighting is the speaking of God’s Word.
６
The Lord’s fighting in the war at Armageddon will be a powerful speaking:
ａ
It will tell Satan, Antichrist, the false prophet, and the entire universe that God is sovereign and that no one can rebel against Him.
ｂ
The God of order will sweep away all rebellion.
Ⅲ
After Christ takes possession of the earth, He will reign over the earth as the King in the kingdom, ruling over the nations with His overcoming believers—20:4, 6; 2:26-27:
A
As the coming King, He will be the Head and the center in the upcoming kingdom of God in the millennium.
B
This will be the fulfillment of Isaiah 32:1, Jeremiah 23:5, and Zechariah 14:9, 17.
C
Christ has redeemed the earth and all its peoples (Col. 1:20) to be the sphere and components of the kingdom, He has sold all to buy the kingdom (Matt. 13:44), and He has rescued the earth with all its peoples from the usurpation of Satan (Rev. 20:2-3).
D
He will have the full right to be the King of the restored earth and the restored nations.
E
In His upcoming reign God’s authority and glory will be fully manifested (Matt. 6:13), and the whole earth with its peoples will be brought into righteousness, peace, joy, and the full blessing of God’s creation (Isa. 32:1, 16-18; 35:1-2, 5-7).