Reigning From Above

Scripture calls the first 3½ years of the last Day (the 7th Day), the Wrath of that Day. It is when God’s vengeance is brought against evil. It is when the Antichrist and his coalition of armies coming against Israel are destroyed. The culminating event is known as the Great Supper of God (Revelation 19:17). The Antichrist and the False Prophet are thrown into the Lake of Fire. The spiritual force behind them, Satan, is thrown into the bottomless pit, a compartment of Hades (Hell).
 
Revelation 20:3 explains: “He [God] cast him [Satan] into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.” This happens near the end of the 1,000-year reign of Christ (the Day of the Lord), so that those born during Christ’s reign have one final opportunity to accept Christ or follow Satan.
 
People have asked us, “Why on earth would anyone choose to follow Satan when the perfect Son of Man is among them, ruling on the earth?” That’s a good question. It points out a common misunderstanding about Christ’s rule. The word translated as “on” the earth in Revelation 5:10 is the Greek preposition epi, which has several meanings. As with many of our English prepositions, the meaning is determined from the context. It can mean over, upon, on, and on behalf of. Looking at the context of Revelation 5, we can ask, “Is the revelation emphasizing the physical location or the fact that we are reigning with Christ?”
 
When in doubt, we go to other passages in the Bible to help us out. In Luke 19:12-24, Jesus likewise emphasized the fact that we will have authority over the earth. Psalm 23 confirms that we shall dwell in the House of the Lord, His Temple, forever. It is our prepared place with our Father that Jesus promised in John 14. Psalm 84 describes the blessing of dwelling in the House of God.
 
Yet here’s the clincher. Accepting Jesus as our Savior is an act of faith, trusting in the unseen risen Lord. If Christ is present on earth during His reign, faith is not required. Seeing is believing, and that is not faith. If Christ is still in Heaven during His reign, then faith is required.
 
Think about it for a moment. Satan is bound in the Pit. The hierarchy of the evil spiritual forces now influencing the earth in the heavenlies as described in Ephesians 6:12 has been cast down and replaced by us as the heavenly immortal government. The Bible says many turn to the Lord as a result of witnessing the rapture and the defeat of the one-world order. The only thing hindering people from accepting Christ then is their fallen nature and their own will.
 
In John 14, Jesus promises His disciples that He will never leave them or forsake them. Yet He then tells them He is leaving (His death and resurrection), which is for their own good. How is that possible? Because Jesus also tells them that He will send the Spirit to live in them. The Spirit is the power and anointing of the Godhead, of which Jesus is part. Jesus doesn’t have to be physically present on the earth during the two great Days of the Church because the Spirit is present with us.
The same Holy Spirit will still be present on the earth. The latter rain outpouring of the Spirit will come upon the Jews and the inhabitants of the earth during Christ’s reign.
 
That is how we know that we reign with Christ from above, from Father’s House. Now you know why Satan is released one last time. Not surprisingly, the fire of God squelches this rebellion instantly, and Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire as part of the final judgment. Stay tuned to find out when we do come to the earth.                

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