David is named King of Judah in Hebron

David trusted God for years and years. He trusted God as his enemies closed in around him. He trusted God as he lived in caves. He trusted God even when he was alone and on the run. He trusted God when Saul tried to kill him. He trusted God when he was an outcast.

At last, the time had come. David had waited such a long time, for God’s promise given to him through the prophet Samuel. The promise was simple: You will be king. 

Now David asks God what he should do next. King Saul is dead. And it’s in David’s mind that he should go up to the towns of Judah, one of the tribes of Israel.

Have God ever placed something on your heart? You keep thinking about it. You’ve prayed about it. It pops into your head. People bring it up to you. In the scriptures as you read them it keeps coming up. Then finally, you ask God. And God makes it clear, this is the way.

It says in 2 Samuel 2:1 "In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.

The Lord said, “Go up.”

David asked, “Where shall I go?”

“To Hebron,” the Lord answered."

Notice it says, “in the course of time.” Don’t get pushy with God about timing. God does his own thing with timing. We have to wait patiently. Don’t insist God give you the answer ahead of time. He’ll tell you when he chooses to. We aren’t God. He is God.

Do you get that this is a spiritual way of living? It’s the 4th dimension of existence. We all live by the three basic instincts, security instinct, social instinct, and sexual instinct. The fourth dimension is God-consciousness, practically learning to communicate with God on a daily basis. Instead of desperately trying to manipulate events to fulfill your base desires, you instead live on the 4th plane, relationship with God. All the desires which used to control your life are now secondary to God's control. 

You can have an actual intimate relationship with God himself. One day at a time. Seeking His will. Listening for his voice. Studying his word. Applying it. And over the years you learn to walk with God. A lifelong journey of faith.

Then, in verses 2-4: “So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns. Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah.”

Trust God, the day will come, and sure enough the day came when David was anointed as king. But even now it’s not the full promise, it’s a big part of it though. He is anointed king of Judah. But the other tribes of Israel are not yet with him. 

Have you ever felt disappointed? Have you ever thought, "this isn’t all of it! I was hoping for more." I wonder if David struggled. Then again maybe he was grateful at least to be king over Judah.

Next, David finds out about the men who buried Saul. In verses 5-7:

"When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul, he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this. Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”"

He thanks these men who were faithful and gave Saul a proper burial.

But trouble in brewing in the rest of the country. The leader of Saul’s army is still trying to hold Saul’s empire together.

It says in verses 8-11: "Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel. Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months."

Abner, this military leader of Saul’s kingdom sets up Saul’s remaining son Ish-Bosheth as king over the rest of Israel. And now we have the start of a civil war in the kingdom of Israel, David and his troops at Hebron, and Ish-Bosheth and Abner at Mahanaim.

Next, the two armies meet at Gibeon. It says in verses 12-15: "Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.

Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.”

“All right, let them do it,” Joab said.

So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim (in Hebrew, Field of Daggers)."

So you have Joab leading David’s army. David isn’t there, he’s back in Hebron. And Abner leads Saul’s troops. They meet at a pool of water in Gibeon. They have twelve men from each group fight, twelve vs. twelve, and it gets bloody, with daggers. Each of them dies in this hand to hand combat. Apparently after this 12 vs. 12 fighting a greater battle broke out between the two armies.

It says, verses 17-23: "The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.

The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle. He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him. Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”

“It is,” he answered.

Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

Again Abner warned Asahel, “Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?”

But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died."

Abner doesn’t want to kill Asahel, he knows Joab, frankly they all know each other. It’s all Israel against Israel. It’s a civil war. So Asahel chases after Abner, and Abner suddenly turns, strikes him, and he dies. Abner didn’t want it to happen. But it did. And he kills him. Sad things happen in war, plain and simple.

Next, we see Abner making his last stand, in verses 24-28: "But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.

Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”

Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”

So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the troops came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.”"

Somehow, Abner, during his last stand on top of the hill, is able to speak the right words, to get Joab to turn back his troops. Stop this killing, no more. Have mercy. And Joab stops the fighting and lets them escape. For the sake of Israel. To hold it together. Sometimes you have to show some mercy. You have to stop and forgive them. You have to do something to bring peace. And that’s what Joab does here.

Abner and his men return to their capital city, of Israel, and Joab and his men return to Hebron, as it says in verses 29-32: "All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours and came to Mahanaim. Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing. But David’s men had killed three hundred and sixty Benjamites who were with Abner. They took Asahel and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and arrived at Hebron by daybreak."

All night they travel, and return to their respective cities, during the start of this civil war in the kingdom, between King David over Judah, and Ish-Bosheth over the other tribes. So now, a civil war has begun.

The final point today is that sometimes things get worse before they get better. It’s a mixed blessing, David becoming King of Judah, because the remnants of Saul’s empire aren’t done yet. They form into a confederacy and begin fighting against David. Sometimes it comes to blows, and everything seems out of control. But trust God in the storm, and he will get you through.

Jairus and his Sick Daughter: Don't be Afraid; Just Believe

"One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters."

Here is a similar illustration:

During the terrible days of the Blitz, a father, holding his small son by the hand, ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a shell hole. Seeking shelter as quickly as possible, the father jumped into the hole and held up his arms for his son to follow. Terrified, yet hearing his father's voice telling him to jump, the boy replied, "I can't see you!"

The father, looking up against the sky tinted red by the burning buildings, called to the silhouette of his son, "But I can see you. Jump!" The boy jumped, because he trusted his father. The Christian faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known." -Donner Atwood

I think it’s very important for us to understand as Christians that our God is fundamentally a God who loves to heal. He healed people thousands of years ago, and he continues to heal people today. But the requirement on our end is faith. We must have faith in God. Even when we can’t see. Even when we don’t know the future. Even when it seems impossible. Faith.

The Lord Jesus heals people physically, mentally, spiritually, he heals our past sorrows, he heals our broken memories, he washes away our sins. Our God is a healing God. That is fundamental to his character.

As we’ll see today in the gospel of Mark, we find Jesus again healing people.

It says in Mark 5:21-24: "When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him."

We want to bring our concerns to Jesus, just like Jairus does in this moment. He has faith that God can help him. And sure enough, Jesus goes with him.

Whatever is concerning you today, bring it to God. Sometimes we get so focused on the problem we don’t bring it to God. Instead we worry about it. We stress over it. Stop a second and realize, I need to pray right now, at this very moment. Then bring it God in faith.

We’ve got a situation setup here. Jesus is going with Jairus to his daughter who is sick. But then the unexpected happens. A woman in the crowds, is searching for Jesus, and she believes that Jesus can help her.

It says in verses 25-29: "A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering."

It's a divine interruption. These kinds of moments happen in life all the time. We’re super busy doing what we’re doing, and God interrupts the moment with something he wants us to do. Be sure to be willing in the moment to follow God’s leading.

This woman had been sick for 12 years. That’s a long time. She had suffered. She had wasted all her money on doctors and hadn’t gotten better. I bet many people here can relate to that statement. Been to doctors for years, but it never seems to get better. Eventually you start to give up on doctors, your faith in doctors fades away in the face of the problem you’re facing. But there is a faith with this woman, if she can just touch Jesus, she will be healed. And sure enough, by her faith, it is done for her. She is healed.

In verses 30-34: "At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”"

By her faith, she was healed. The combination of faith and the presence of Jesus, and Jesus heals her. Her part is to have faith. Jesus part is to do the healing. How is your faith today? Do you have a strong faith? A growing faith? It’s simple, yet profound, a trust in God, that he can and will help you. And he calls her daughter. Your suffering is over. Be healed.

Just like that, after twelve years of sickness and bleeding, this woman is healed by Jesus. That’s what God does. He breaks cycles of suffering. The bleeding had gone on and on for years. For me, I was caught in many cycles, repeating loops, troubles that never stopped, depression, laziness, lying, slowly growing cold in my heart. Even after all those years, Jesus breaks the cycle. What cycle do you need Jesus to break in your life? Believe he can help you. He will help you. Turn to Him.

But we turn back to Jairus and his daughter. Verse 35-36: "While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”"

This is the key scripture here in this whole chapter, I believe, is: "Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Make that the motto of your life: Don’t be afraid, just believe. Make that your goal on a daily basis. Don’t be afraid. Believe God. Trust God. Commit to God. Agree with God. Stay in Faith. Have faith as your baseline, your go to, your consistent mindset. Simple faith. Powerful faith.

Then Jesus takes his inner circle and goes to the home of Jairus, in verses 37-40: "He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him."

We see a contrast here between the faith of the woman with the bleeding issue and Jairus, they both had faith, but these people laugh at Jesus. So he clears them out and goes in. He wants people of faith surrounding him as he ministers to this young woman.

Similarly, in your life, surround yourself with people of faith. Surround yourself with people on the same mission as you. Then your faith will be built up. But if you spend all your time with faithless people, you may find your faith torn down and negatively impacted by others.

Jesus gets gathered with people of faith, and goes in.

In verses 41-43: "After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat."

Three people’s lives were changed on that day. The woman with the bleeding issue, she was healed at last, and her life was changed forever. She would not bleed again. Second, the little girl Jesus raised from the dead. She was dead, now she was alive again. Thirdly, Jairus himself. He saw his little girl raised from the dead. He would never be the same. But first he believed. Then the miracle came. It’s easy to believe after the miracle. But what about before the miracle? Can we believe then?

Who is this man Jesus who did such impossible things? How can this be? Has anyone in the history of planet Earth, ever been able to raise people from the dead? Buddha never did, none of the Hindu gods ever did, Muhammad never did, only Jesus Christ. No one has ever done anything like Jesus has done. No one has ever changed people and changed history like Jesus. That’s why we gather to learn more about Him, and help lead others to Him. No one else can help. No one else can save. No one else can deliver. No one else can heal. Only Jesus. Only Jesus. And if you’ll believe, really believe in your heart, you’ll see your life changed. You’ll see healing. You’ll see victories. You’ll see forgiveness. And he will change you forever, into a new person. But it takes faith. Will you dare to believe? Will you take a leap of faith? Because that’s what Jesus commands from His followers: Have faith; don’t be afraid.

Like the little boy who can’t see his father, but his father says, jump! Could you jump when you can’t see? That’s faith. Trust in God. Believe he’s there, and he can help you. Jesus can help you. So turn to Him now. Believe in Him. Call out to Jesus Christ and he will save you! Amen.

The Man who Lived Among the Tombs: The Gospel Hidden in Plain Sight

In my hometown growing up there was a main drive you’d go down called Grand Avenue. And as kids we’d often be traveling with the family in the car. And along grand avenue there was this huge grave yard, I mean like 5 blocks long, and we’d always say, hold your breath, as we passed by the graveyard. Because if you didn’t the dead would come to haunt you, because they were jealous you were alive and breathing. Silly kids stuff of course.

But I remember people who would hang out there at night. People drawn to the graveyards. People who felt a connection with the dead. It was strange. Even growing up there were groups of kids very much fascinated with darkness, we called them goths.

I’ll tell you this, for much of my life I was drawn to things related to death. I was drawn to zombies, the undead. I was drawn to darkness. I was drawn to the occult. Many people in our world today are drawn to evil. They wear shirts with skulls and cross bones on them. Have you ever noticed that?

There is this dark thread that runs through humanity. Self-destructiveness. We find something good, and later we seem to self-sabatoge. We find a good situation but we implode, and we discover later, many of us do, that I was my biggest problem. I was the problem.

Well, just as people are drawn to horror movies, drawn to evil today, long ago, in the time of Jesus, there was a man who lived in the tombs. He lived in a graveyard. And we’ll see how Jesus changed his story forever. Just as he continues to do for millions in the world today.

From Mark chapter 5, 1-5, “They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.”

Jesus and his disciples had crossed the lake during this storm, which Jesus calmed by an apparent act of will. Astonishing. But now they arrive at the other side of the lake.

And this man who was living the graveyards comes to Jesus.

This guy wandering in this area, I’ve seen people like that even today, in every city in the country, people who wander the city on foot, act strangely, often with mental health issues, struggling, out of control, in fact I was once similar to this man, wandering the city, out of control, and no one could bind me.

This man would wander the area, cry out in madness, and he would cut himself with stones. How little things change, we have people today in our society, who cut themselves, I know some in our church here had done that in the past themselves. I had a close friend in my twenties and she would cut herself.

In many cases that cutting is based around sorrow, pain, an inability to express what they’re feeling inside, and so they cut themselves. In this case in the scriptures, it’s because this man has been possessed and influenced by demons.

What exactly is possession? It’s when a demon has actually entered someone and is exerting a level of control over the person. All of today have been influenced by demons from time to time. It’s much more rare that any of would’ve actually been possessed by demons. Its rare in the United States for some reason. But in other nations, in non-Christian nations I understand it’s more common. But I’m sure it still does happen even here in our city.

Let’s see how Jesus deals with this situation.

Verses 6-10: “When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.”

Whose in control in this situation? Jesus is. Complete control. It’s not a fair fight between demons and God. God has total authority over demons. Just like in the book of Job, Satan needs permission from God to do anything to Job.

Similarly here, we see the demons basically pleading with Jesus for mercy. This man has apparently many, many demons, and if you were to count them, it would be about two thousand demons were inside this man. Scary stuff.

As Christians, demons can still influence us, but we shouldn’t fear them. We should fear God. God has authority over us and them. They can’t do anything to us without God’s express permission. Why would God give permission? To test our faith, to make sure it’s genuine and stands the test of difficulties and problems.

This is an odd portion of scripture though isn’t it? We’re all wondering, what’s really going on here. It’s about the man, and his redemption. But it feels like something more is going on here. There’s a picture here for us, of some deep theological truth.

In verses 11-13, “A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.”

This is something modern Christians and modern pastors don’t like to talk about. It just seems kind of detached from modern society. But it’s 100% real. Demons and angels are completely real. They exist here in our world today. There are millions and millions of them at work in our world. I tend to think they outnumber us massively, like for every one person there must be thousands of angels and demons at work in various ways. We can’t see them. But we can often sense their presence.

Non-Christians really don’t have any defense against demons. But Non-Christians do have angels assigned to them. Christians have total authority over demons. Christians also have angels assigned to them. Church facilities do as well. Areas do as well.

In the name of Jesus, basically, we can remove demons at any time, as we choose to. We can command them out of our homes, verbally. We can command them out of people if need be. The way Jesus talks to these demons is the way we should talk to them, in the authority of Jesus Christ, they simply have to obey, end of story.

So claim that authority in your life. When you sense the enemy nearby, cast them out in Jesus name.

So the demons request permission to go into the pigs, two thousand of them, and as soon as they went into the pigs, the pigs stampeded off the hill and into a lake below, off a ledge basically, and drowned in the waters below.

Next, verses 14-17: Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.”

The people of the region are terrified but what has happened. They are afraid. They see the man and he’s completely healed. He’s ok now. He’s safe. And the people are afraid. Sometimes we’re so used to things being a certain way, it’s almost scary when it changes. I was a lot like this guy, wandering the town, confused and self destructive, and people were shocked when I became a Christian. They didn’t know what to think. So they demand Jesus leave. They are pleading with him to leave. They don’t want change. They want things to stay the same.

Sharply contrasted with… verses 18-20: As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

The man who was healed is begging to go with Jesus. He doesn’t want Jesus to leave. But he instead wants to go with him. But Jesus says no, hold on, I want you to go and tell everyone what God has done for you. You’ll be my witness. And the man did so, he started telling everyone. No one could deny it. They knew about him. And how crazy he was. But they now saw that he was healed. And the people were amazed. They feared Jesus himself, but later would listen to the man tell his story.

Let’s put it all together. What’s really going on here? All of these things really happened. Like we often say, if we went back in a time machine to this moment in history we’d see Jesus, the disciples, the man, the pigs, all of it. But, it’s also symbolic for us today.

The man living among the tombs, represents you and me, before we knew Christ as our savior. We were dead in our sins and transgressions, self destructive, harming ourselves, like the man cut himself, among the tombs, dead in our sins.

But we were drawn to Jesus, even though our sinful nature fought against us, and tried to keep us away from Jesus, we came to Jesus and fell at his feet, just like the man.

And Jesus forgave all our sins, he cast out our sins. Just like Jesus cast the demons out of the man, and into the pigs. All that impurity, then rushed off the cliff and into the waters below, just like our sins had to be washed away in the waters of the blood of Jesus shed for us. The pigs were drowned in the sea, just like our sins were drowned away, destroyed by the blood of Jesus.

All of this becomes a public spectacle to display God’s righteous judgment against impurity, for all those in the region. Just as Jesus’ death and resurrection became a public spectacle for the world about God’s righteous judgment.

The man who had been in the tombs is made new. He becomes a new person with a new mission, he begins to proclaim what Jesus did for him, he becomes a witness of the Lord Jesus. Just as we as Christians are witnesses of what Jesus did for us, and we proclaim it to others in our city.

God often doesn’t send us out of our city, but keeps us here to testify to everyone about what God did for us, and the people are amazed.

10 Facts about the Millennial Reign of Christ

What is the millennial reign of Christ? The millennial reign takes place after the great tribulation, beginning at the moment when Jesus Christ returns to the Earth and defeats his enemies at the battle of Armageddon. 

The return of Christ is depicted like this in Revelation 19:12-16, "His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords."

King Jesus returns to the Earth, with the saints of God, to defeat the anti-christ, the false prophet, and his army. 

Jump forward to the next chapter, and we see the establishment of the millennial reign, which indicates that the saints involved in this reign are only those which gave their lives during the great tribulation. 

Revelation 20:4-6, "4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."

So let's consider now ten facts about the one thousand year reign of Christ on the Earth.

1. King Jesus Christ himself, in the flesh, will be the chief authority over every nation on the Earth, for a period of 1,000 years. 

Jesus will dictate total authority over the Earth from the capital city of planet Earth, Jerusalem. Often this time period is also referred to the time when Jesus will rule with a rod of iron and he will give his tribulation saints authority to "smash the nations to pieces like pottery (Rev 2:27). 

Daniel 7:27 ESV And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’

2. The Martyrs who died for Jesus under the anti-christ will reign with Christ during the millennial reign - From what I can tell, only those who were killed during the tribulation by the anti-christ and his forces will participate in the "first resurrection." Revelation says "blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection, for the second death has no effect on them." This would be several million people at least, I assume. It says in the word that during the millennial reign Christ will share his authority with them, so it's likely to speculate that the tribulation saints alive during this period would be given authority over different regions of the planet, to share in Christ's authority to rule over them, of course in turn taking orders from Christ himself from Jerusalem. 

3. King Jesus will rule with an "iron rod" to smash the nations to pieces like pottery - We find that Christ will rule with a firm hand, apparently punishing the nations if they refuse to do good and love mercy and walk humbly under His rule. 

Psalm 2:9 "You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

4. Feasts will be Celebrated - The nations of the planet will apparently make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to celebrate feasts, and events in the city with the messiah. In particular, the feast of booths is mentioned, in which Israel would remember their deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

According to Zechariah 14:16-17, "Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain."

5. The Word of God will be taught to all nations - All the nations will apparently travel to Israel during the millennial reign to learn the word of the Lord and to bring it back to their nations. 

Micah 4:1-2 In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

6. People will live in peace, the nations will no longer war, and weapons of warfare will be shifted toward agricultural use. Could the millennial reign be a time when the Earth returns to a more agrarian economy? 

Isaiah 2:4 ESV "He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

Isaiah 11:6-9 ESV "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

7. Messiah Jesus will rule from a "holy mountain" in Jerusalem, which could be a rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and/or it could be a situation like Mt. Sinai where the nations like Israel shall gather around the mountain and send representatives up to consult with King Jesus. Hard to say for certain, again, speculations only. 

Zechariah 14:4 "On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward."

8. For one thousand long years King Jesus will reign over the Earth, through his Lieutenants the tribulation saints, including the 144,000 saved out of the twelve tribes of Israel. I assume the 144,000 will reign in various regions of Israel, while the tribulation saints will reign over various countries across the nations of the Earth. 

From what I can tell, the survivors of the great tribulation, men and women who did not take the mark of the beast, but also did not become Christians either, will be the residents of the Earth. I assume their numbers would be in the billions. I would speculate probably about 33% of the remaining Earth's population that refused the mark, but also never became a Christian. Maybe less than that though, could be about 10% of say, so assuming there were about 10 billion population of the planet at the time of the onset of the great tribulation, this is speculative of course, then maybe 1 billion people? So maybe 1-3 billion people? Then again it could be much less, given the severity of the last judgments in Revelation. It could even be less than 500 million.  Or under 100 million. Hard to say for certain. Estimating those numbers is simple speculation. Interesting to consider though. Additionally, if the residents of the Earth continue to have marry and have children, by the end of the one thousand years the population of the Earth could be much higher. You'd also have to factor in lifespan during this time, would be 70-80 years, or much longer? Hard to say. 

9. Satan the adversary is released one last time at the end of the one thousand years. Though the anti-christ and the false prophet were defeated, as well as the demons at the end of the great tribulation, Satan must be released at the end of the millennial reign. 

Many wonder, why is that? Well, the remaining people of the Earth have lived with Jesus as their king for one thousand years. They are seeing face to face, he is their leader. And there are no demons at this time to tempt them, during the one thousand years. To track with God's justice, it seems only fair that these people must at last be tested, to see if they really are fully committed to following Jesus.

And indeed, we see in Revelation that their commitment for the most part was not strong.  Because once Satan is released, he goes out among the nations and gathers a massive army to once again attack Jerusalem, just like in the tribulation. This force he deceives and gathers is massive. It's described as being greater than the grains of sand on a seashore. 

But I assume, at the same time Satan is gathering this force from all the nations, there is a remnant from the nations, who are not fooled again by Satan, but instead they hold firm to Christ. Most likely this faithful remnant retreat to Jerusalem, to King Jesus, to seek protection from Satan's gathering force. But this all occurs to test their hearts. And the millennial reign is yet another grace from God, a final offer to the people who lived through the tribulation, but refused the anti-christ, to receive Jesus as savior, though I don't know if it would be the same as receiving Christ in our current era. The tribulation saints are obviously secure in their salvation, we're told the second death is no longer a danger to them. But what about the remnants from the nations? Will they have an opportunity to receive eternal salvation?  

Satan gathers this army and they march on Jerusalem, it says in Revelation 20:7-10: "7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

10. After Satan's final defeat, the old earth passes away

At last then, the adversary Satan is judged and condemned and removed forever. Then the great white throne judgment occurs. The old heavens and the old earth disappear. And God brings forth a new heavens, a new earth, and the city of God the New Jerusalem takes it's place on the surface of the New Earth, as the eternal city of God, where the faithful will live forever in peace and joy. 

Revelation 21:1-8 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”