HOW BELIEVERS WILL RULE. Just as Jesus chose the twelve apostles to delegate authority over Israel when the Millennium comes (Mt. 19:28-30), so He will choose leaders to delegate authority over the nations. Those saints who overcame great trials with Him will gain great authority.
“He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father” (Rev. 2:26-27).
Why will the saints need to use such force as to break the nations? Because the Second Coming will in some ways resemble a Second Conquest. The armies of God will not only destroy the Antichrist’s armies which have gathered at Armageddon. They will have to go into all nations and conduct a massive disarmament campaign (Isa. 2:4; Mic. 5:7-15). They will also break down the remaining shells of the Antichrist power structure there (verse 11).
The armies of God will have resurrected and glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15:42-44). They will come with supernatural power “over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:10; see also Jer. 12:14-17).
They will also confront the massive destruction wrought by the 7 trumpet plagues and the 7 bowls of wrath. One third of the grass and trees on earth will have turned to ash and cinders (Rev. 8:7). All springs, streams and seas will have turned to blood (Rev. 16:3-4).
To heal the earth, they will need an even greater authority than Moses had when turned the Nile into blood. But they will have biblical promises to rely on. “For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah. The scorched land will become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water” (Isa. 35:6-7; see also Isa. 41:17-20). The time will come for what the apostle Peter called “the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times” (Acts 3:21).
Sowers and builders
In order to build and to plant (Jer. 1:10), they will turn from holy soldiers into holy sowers and builders. God will reward His good and faithful servants with fields to sow and places to build and occupy.
“Now he who plants and he who waters are one. But each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building…no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ…If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward” (1 Cor 3:9,11,14).
Whoever sowed well in this life will reap great harvests in God’s kingdom. Whoever built their lives well on His foundation will gain authority to build and govern His kingdom.
During the Millennium, sowing and building will have both physical and spiritual implications. We will rule with Christ over both physical and spiritual things. Creation will rejoice as it comes under the kingdom and glory of a new Adam (Rom. 8:19-22), and becomes like a new Eden (Ezek. 36:33-36). The fivefold ministry will keep building up His body until we all reach unity and maturity in Christ (Eph. 4:11-16). His kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven.
Ruling over sinners till the last judgment
But not completely. Though Satan will be bound, sin will still exist. Some who never received the mark of the beast, but who never received Christ either, will survive (see Isa. 66:18-19; Zech. 14:16-19). They will multiply during the Millennium. Many of them will receive Christ. But some will refuse, and remain in sin.
For that reason, His kingdom on earth will need judges to “settle disputes for many peoples” (Isa. 2:4 NIV). These judges will rule with the discernment of the Holy Spirit and the gentle fruit of the Holy Spirit. For the meek “will inherit the earth” (Mt. 5:5).
Still, some people will rebel against their rule and attempt to go their own way. They will not go far, because the ruling saints will have the authority to break them “as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces” (Rev. 2:27).
However, at the end of the thousand years, Satan will return and deceive many nations. They will follow him into the final rebellion. But fire from heaven will devour them and end their defiance. And the last judgment will open the way for a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 20:7-21:1).
At that time there will be no sin to judge, nor resistant subjects to govern, only realms of glory for His saints! The Lord God Himself “will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22:5).
End-Times Guide articles on how believers will rule
Related sources on how believers will rule
The Book of Revelation (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)—Robert H. Mounce
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