Shalom, Questor.
Questor said:
I have always particularly liked the idea of those of the heathen that survive to the end of the tribulation, protected because they have not taken the mark, and the Jews that did not take the mark, remaining to have Yah'shua rule with a rod of iron, and presumably with the elect that are caught up to Yah'shua in His return running the DMV, and policing the beat, and teaching the classes, so that people learn to live in Yah'shua's laws...love YHVH and Love your neighbor as yourself.
It seems particulary amusing that all the governments today are moving toward a central planned government that does not work well, and yet, when Yahshua is King over the earth, all will be ultimately in His hands and it WILL work. In fact, I long for the day.
It is clear that the nations will in some ways survive, but those ruling them will be of Yah'shua.
But if any refuse to obey, they will have wrath indeed.
Q
Well, yes ... and, no. SOME of the governments will be governed by haMelekh Yisra'el (the King of Isra'el) right away, but others will take time to fall in line. Yeshua` will be BUILDING His World Empire throughout the Millennium as He subdues His enemies, one by one. The following passage has its focus on the Resurrections, but reading between the lines and synchronizing and harmonizing this passage with Revelation 20 gives the correct chronological order:
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: (1) Christ the firstfruits; afterward (2) they that are Christ's at his coming.
24 Then (3) cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
KJV
So, in chronological order,...
1. Yeshua` returns and raises His own at His coming;
2. Yeshua` begins His reign at the start of the Millennium;
3. He continues to put "all rule and all authority and all power" under His feet throughout the Millennium (a thousand years; Greek:
chilia etee);
4. The last enemy He conquers is Death;
5. Then, He turns the Kingdom over to His Father, submitting Himself to His Father's rulership;
6. And, God is "all in all."
Here's how they harmonize with the Revelation:
1. Yeshua`s return begins in Revelation 11 and ends in Revelation 19. (It's a PROCESS, not a one-day event!)
2. Yeshua` begins His reign after He incarcerates haSatan (Hebrew for "the Enemy");
3. He continues to put "all rule and all authority and all power under His feet," which runs from Revelation 20:4-15. This includes the final, general Resurrection and the subsequent Great White Throne Judgment, culminating in the assignment to the Lake of Fire and Sulfur or the Lake of Burning Sulfur.
4. "The last enemy He conquers is Death" is found specifically in Revelation 20:14;
5. Then He turns the Kingdom over to His Father in Revelation 21:1-8;
6. Finally, God is "all in all" found in Revelation 21:9-22:5 in the eternal state after the first 1000 years of the Messiah's reign.
One can also harmonize this with some of the parables about the Kingdom in Matthew 13, particularly the parable of the wheat and the tares, as Yeshua` explained it:
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
...
36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
KJV
1. The Messiah returns and sets up His Kingdom, placing some of His newly resurrected children, the good seed, in key roles within His administration;
2. As He conquers and subdues some of the nations, His messengers discover that infiltrators were planted into the administration of the Kingdom;
3. The Messiah reigns through the Millennium, allowing the infiltrators to grow with the children of the Kingdom;
4. "The last enemy defeated is death," corresponding to the general resurrection and the final Great White Throne Judgment is the harvest at the end of the Millennium;
5. When the Messiah turns His Kingdom over to His Father is to be found when the wheat is gathered into His barn; and
6. The time when God is all in all forever is when the righteous will "shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father."
The passage in Matthew 25:31-46 regarding the prophecy about the judgment of the "sheep" and the "goats" is to be found at the BEGINNING of the Millennium when Yeshua` populates His initial Kingdom:
Matthew 25:31-46
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
KJV
Note the words of verse 31: "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels or messengers with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of his glory." This parallels Gavri'el's prophecy in Luke 1:30-33:
Luke 1:30-33
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
KJV
Thus, the Millennium is just the first 1000 years of His reign, but His Kingdom over the house of Ya`aqov shall last forever! However, that first 1000 years (while haSatan is locked away in the abyss) will be a time of building the World Empire for His Father.
So, carefully looking at Matthew 25 again in light of these supplemental verses, this judgment is a WAR TRIBUNAL! The "sheep" and the "goats" are NATIONS that are gathered before Him through their LEADERS or REPRESENTATIVES! The Messiah is not judging individuals in Matthew 25; He is judging NATIONS as GROUPS of people! Those NATIONS that had treated "one of the least of these my brethren" well inherited a place within His Kingdom. Those who did not treat His people kindly "shall go away into everlasting punishment." And, although they are DESTINED for "everlasting punishment," they are not THEN thrown into the fire! These are the nations over whom He has already conquered at the beginning of His Kingdom, i.e., the nations who had come against His people just before His arrival and from whom He had rescued His people in the battle on the plain (`emeq) of Yizr`e'l (Jezreel) below the watch tower of Har Megiddown (The Tel of Megiddo; "Armageddon" in Greek; Hosea 1:9-11; Joel 3:9-21; Ezekiel 38-39; and Revelation 16:12-16; 17:9-14; 19:11-21).