In the coming kingdom the overcoming believers will reign with Christ. Revelation 20:4b says, “They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years,” and verse 6b says, “They shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Furthermore, in 2 Timothy 2:12a Paul says, “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” These verses indicate that in the coming manifestation of the kingdom the overcoming believers will reign with Christ as His co-kings.
In the coming manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, the overcoming believers will rule over the nations. In Revelation 2:26 and 27 the Lord Jesus says, “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father.” This is a prize to the overcomers of reigning with Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom. This promise of the Lord strongly implies that those who do not answer His call to overcome degraded Christianity will not participate in the reign of the millennial kingdom. In Psalm 2:9 God gave Christ authority to rule over the nations. In the coming kingdom Christ will give the same authority to the overcoming believers.
Revelation 12:5 tells us that the man-child “was about to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod.” In the millennial kingdom the ruler will be a shepherd. The iron rod in this verse is the authority of Christ which He gives the overcomers. The overcomers will exercise the authority of Christ over the nations and rule them with Christ in the millennial kingdom.
In the Lord’s teaching about faithfulness in Luke 19:11-27, He indicates that the overcoming believers will rule over the nations. Verse 17 says, “Well done, good slave; because you became faithful in the least, have authority over ten cities.” In verse 19 He says, “And you, be over five cities.” Having authority over ten cities or five cities signifies the overcomers’ reigning over the nations. Furthermore, these verses indicate that the overcoming believers’ reigning in the coming kingdom as a reward will differ in extent.
Finally, in the coming kingdom the overcomers will rule over all the possessions of the Lord. In Matthew 24:47 the Lord says concerning the faithful and prudent slave, “He will set him over all his possessions.” The faithful ones will be set over all the Lord’s possessions as a reward in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
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