LESSON FIFTY-EIGHT

THE FUTURE OF THE BELIEVERS—
IN THE COMPLETING STAGE OF
GOD’S FULL SALVATION,
THE STAGE OF GLORIFICATION

(8)

OUTLINE

7. Participating in the coming kingdom—the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens:
   1. Being in the kingdom of the Father—the heavenly part of the millennium:
      1. Being the righteous, the sons of the kingdom shining forth as the sun.
      2. Drinking the cup of the new covenant new with the Lord.
      3. Feasting with the Old Testament overcomers.
   2. Inheriting the kingdom as a reward:
      1. Being the Father’s delight to give to the believers.
      2. Being God’s promise to those who love Him.
      3. Being an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
      4. Being an incentive to live an overcoming life.
   3. Inheriting eternal life and having a fuller enjoyment of the divine life:
      1. Being rewarded with the crown of life.
      2. Being rewarded to eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
      3. Being rewarded to have their names remain in the book of life.
   4. Gaining the soul, saving the soul, and enjoying the salvation of the soul.
   5. Participating in the joy of the Lord.
   6. Reigning with Christ.
   7. Ruling over the nations:
      1. Exercising the authority of Christ.
      2. Reigning differing in extent.
   8. Ruling over all the possessions of the Lord.

TEXT

We have seen that in the completing stage of God’s full salvation, the stage of glorification, the believers will be glorified, redeemed in their body, raptured, and judged at the judgment seat of Christ. Furthermore, the overcoming believers will be called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb and will be the heavenly armies following the Lord to fight against Antichrist. In this lesson we will see that, as the last aspect of the believers’ future in the completing of God’s salvation, the overcoming believers will participate in the coming kingdom.

VII. PARTICIPATING IN THE COMING KINGDOM—
THE MANIFESTATION OF THE KINGDOM
OF THE HEAVENS

After Christ and His heavenly armies fight against Antichrist, the false prophet, and their armies, the kingdom will be brought in. Then the overcoming believers will participate in the coming kingdom, which will be the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens during the millennium.

A. Being in the Kingdom of the Father—
the Heavenly Part of the Millennium

The millennium will have an earthly part and a heavenly part. The earthly part will be the kingdom of the Messiah (2 Sam. 7:13), the tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16), the restored kingdom of Israel (1:6), and the kingdom of the Son of Man (Matt. 13:41; Rev. 11:15). Christ as the Son of Man, David’s royal descendant, will be the King over the children of Israel. The heavenly part of the millennium will be the kingdom of the Father. This is the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens as a reward to the overcomers. In the millennium the overcoming believers will be in the heavenly part of the kingdom and will reign with Christ over the earthly part.

1. Being the Righteous,
the Sons of the Kingdom Shining Forth
as the Sun

The believers are sons of God the Father, and God is light (1 John 1:5; 1 Tim. 6:16). Because of this, today the believers shine as lamps (Matt. 5:14-16), but in the coming age the overcomers will shine as the sun. Matthew 13:43 says, “The righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” In this verse the righteous refers to the sons of the kingdom (v. 38). They will shine like the sun because they will have the surpassing righteousness (5:20). This righteousness is the indwelling Christ lived out of them so that they may live in the reality of the kingdom today and enter into its manifestation in the future. In the heavenly part of the millennium the overcoming believers will enjoy the Father as light, and they will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of the Father. They will be righteous to such an extent that they will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of the Father.