Reigning as Centurions Over the Earth

       Mat. 8:5-13 records Jesus healing the Roman Centuri0n’s paralyzed servant. When Jesus says He will come and heal the man, the Centurion says that isn’t necessary. He explains, “only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (vs. 8-9).
         No wonder Jesus marveled at the Gentile’s faith. “Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’ And his servant was healed that same hour” (v. 13).
          The Centurian understood how authority works. He realized that he alone didn’t have the power to order his soldiers. His authority came from the power he served—Rome. The level of authority that a person or group of people have is based on their relationship with a higher recognized authority.
           As believers, we serve the Most High God, God Almighty, even as Jesus served God during His earthly ministry. The level of authority wielded is dependent upon one’s position. As the firstfruits harvest dedicated to God, we are “in Christ” and seated with Him in the 3rd Heaven, as the ruling heavenly court (Phil. 2:9-11).
        End-Time Lesson: As the result of the rapture, we are the heavenly centurions, under God’s authority. The angels are our servants (Heb. 1:14) and the Jewish saints on the earth are the soldiers under our authority during the 1,000-year reign over the earth. As God’s earthly servants, the Jewish saints only have delegated authority on the earth (as with Adam).
          As His Body, we are before the throne of God, the place of ALL authority both in heaven and on earth, making the heavenly declarations based on God’s Word. Our servants (the angels) and our soldiers (Jewish saints on the earth) carry these out.
          This centurion authority brings down a huge high place in God’s end-time highway. The two most popular, man-made views of the end-times say that we must come back down to earth to rule during Christ’s millennial reign. Hopefully by now you can see why this doesn’t make any sense, given the authority of the Most High God.
            One reason why some may insist on these erroneous views is in Rev. 5:10 which says we reign on the earth. Forgive me, but I have to give another brief grammar lesson so that we can see clearly what God’s Word says. The word used in the Greek for “on” is epi. It is a preposition, which means it shows position. Like our English prepositions, that one word covers quite a few possible positions: over, on, upon, and on behalf of, just to name a few. It is used figuratively of things, affairs, and people whom one is set over and power is exercised.
            The only way to know which of our English words is the correct translation is the context of the passage. The context in Rev. 5 is the review of Jesus’ ascension. Because He has overcome death, Jesus is worthy to take the scroll of inheritance over the earth. Our Lord has given us His authority to continue His ministry on the earth. So here it is appropriate to say we (believers) extend His rule on the earth.
            Once the Church is raptured, however, the context changes. So when Rev. 2:26 uses the same Greek word (epi) in one of the promises to the Church, it is translated as “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations”  Why over instead of on? Because we remain in Heaven during the last Day. We rule over the earth, giving our delegated authority to the Jewish saints who are on the earth.
            Scripture says we do not come back down to earth until the end of the 7th Day. And even then, we do not come back to this fallen earth. We come back to the new earth that God makes with the new heavens. This is when the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is celebrated because all has been made new, it is the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21).