We have one day every other week in our house that me and my girls call “the crazy day.” Every other Wednesday I work, come home to grab the girls and their music, and get one to violin and the other to piano in time to get the other from violin to get the other from piano in order to get us all to church before 5pm. In the last leg of our “crazy day” the subject of eternity came up in our car ride.
We laughed as we thought about eternity. My girls, 14 and 11 years old, both shared how the thought of forever made them dizzy. I laughed as I agreed. My 14 year old shared my exact same sentiment of how everything in this life eventually ends, but there is still the next thing. In eternity, there is no next thing. You are in the finality of forever.
However, there is a next thing before we enter what we consider eternity. I reminded my girls about the 1000 year reign.
Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4-6
My 14 year old exclaimed, “I forgot about that! So we don’t just die and then enter into heaven and float around on the clouds all the time!” (The float around on the clouds was said with sarcasm, she knows the reality of the eternal worship of our Creator God and the Lamb that was slain)
There is a next thing when we take our last breathe on this earth. Those that have gone before us in the Lord are in His presence. They are waiting with anticipation for the next thing just as we are, but they are no longer suffering from the consequences of this fallen world. They are indeed with Jesus as He waits to hear the Father say, “It is time!” (Matthew 24:27, 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16)
I shared with my girls, that this is why what we do here on this earth matters. This life is building our resume for the 1000 year reign. What you do with the life Christ has given you while on this earth is determining how you will serve Him when He comes in all His glory to set up His earthly kingdom. Satan will be defeated and bound for a 1000 years and the King of kings and the Lord of lords will rule the entire world in righteous, and we who love Him and serve Him today will rule with Him in that tomorrow.
This is why Jesus shared the parable of the good and faithful slave…
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
Matthew 25:23
It’s not about being in charge of many things in this age… it’s about the age to come. Those that preach a gospel that declares that our best life is now is preaching a lie from the pits of hell, because that is NOT what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ preached.
You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Matthew 10:22
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Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
Matthew 24:9
If you are not willing to obey Him, serve Him, and suffer with Him today, what makes you think He will choose to trust you to rule with Him when He takes His 1000 year world throne?
Think about it.
Now, after that 1000 years Satan will be released from His chains and true to our human nature, even after humanity has lived 1000 years under the rule of God Himself, Satan will STILL be able to mobilize an army to come against Christ and the people of God. However, he and all those who side with him will be defeated. It will be a short fight (Revelation 20:7-10). Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, along with all those who followed him. Then all those who died throughout the ages without repenting from their sin and trusting in the promises of God will be raised and cast in behind them.
Now is when the world as we know it, the entire earth passes away. God will create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1) and now we have eternity.
So beloved, there still is a next thing. We don’t die in this age to become angels floating around on the clouds. We don’t enter the pearly gates. We enter the presence of the Lord and we wait with great anticipation for our loved ones in the Lord to join us as we return to rule and reign with the One who redeemed us. It will be our last mighty work with Him to declare His glory for a 1000 years.
So beloved, I ask… How’s your resume?
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Titus 2:11-14