The Destiny of the Bride of Christ - Part 11
Regime Change
After the Battle of Armageddon, there will be a complete regime change as the Antichrist and his False Prophet, who formerly ruled the world, are summarily tossed alive into the Lake of Fire to suffer everlasting punishment (See Revelation 19:20 and Daniel 7:11.), and Satan will be imprisoned in the Bottomless Pit (Revelation 20:3).
The Lord Jesus Christ will establish His throne in Jerusalem and those faithful disciples in His Overcoming Bride who are counted worthy to participate in the first resurrection will be granted positions of authority in His kingdom, as we see the parable of the talents:
“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you proved yourself faithful and trustworthy in a very little thing, you shall [now] have authority over ten cities [in my kingdom].’”—Luke 19:17 (AMP)
“Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”—Daniel 7:27 (NLT)
This is what the Apostle Paul tried to get us to understand. He tried to help us to see the bigger picture—the higher calling.
“Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves?”—1 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT)
Judgment and Restructuring of the Nations
Daniel was allowed to see the destruction of the Antichrist and his kingdom. Afterwards, he saw that other national governments had their power taken away, but those nations would continue to exist under the reign of Jesus Christ.
“I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their power was taken away; yet their lives were prolonged [for the length of their lives was fixed] for a predetermined time.”—Daniel 7:11-12 (AMP)
The “beasts” that Daniel saw seem to represent powerful nations. Even in our natural, earthly realm, a nation will often choose a particular “beast” (animal) to represent it as a national symbol. America is represented by the bald eagle, for example.
“The first beast was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off, and it was left standing with its two hind feet on the ground, like a human being. And it was given a human mind.”—Daniel 7:4 (NLT)
This first “beast” may represent Great Britain. The lion is often used as a national symbol of Britain, appearing in the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. Daniel saw eagle’s wings separated from the lion, which may symbolize the separation of the American colonies (the eagle) from England in the 1700s. It used to be said that “the sun never set upon the British empire” because of its extensive colonization around the world. This nation may continue to exist during the reign of Jesus Christ, but it will never again be the world power that it once was.
“Then I saw a second beast, and it looked like a bear. It was rearing up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And I heard a voice saying to it, ‘Get up! Devour the flesh of many people!’”—Daniel 7:5 (NLT)
This second beast could represent Russia, which is often represented as a bear. In our day, we seem to be seeing a new awakening of the Russian bear as it seeks to devour the flesh of the Ukrainian people in its brutal “meat grinder” battles, even as it threatens other nations as well.
“Then the third of these strange beasts appeared, and it looked like a leopard. It had four bird’s wings on its back, and it had four heads. Great authority was given to this beast.”—Daniel 7:6 (NLT)
This third beast that Daniel saw could possibly represent Germany. Germany is usually represented by the black eagle, which appears on its national coat of arms. This may partly explain the bird’s wings on this beast that Daniel saw. A leopard may be used here to highlight particular characteristics of this animal as it relates to this nation. Its four heads may represent the four “Reiche” or ruling regimes of Germany. We know that the Third Reich was Hitler’s empire. The “Fourth Reich” may be the European Union, which might have crumbled long ago without the economic strength of Germany to prop it up.
Daniel seems to be telling us that these three nations will continue to exist during the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on earth, but they will not be the world powers that they used to be.
It seems also that when Jesus returns and establishes His Kingdom, the nations of earth will be judged and receive the ultimate consequences of their actions.
When we think of the judgment of God, we usually think of the final judgment that will take place when we all stand before the great white throne of God Almighty at the time when the books will opened and everyone will be judged according to what is written in the books. This judgment is described in Revelation 20:11-15, Daniel 7:9-10, and 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.
That final judgment before the great white throne of God Almighty will take place after the 1,000-year reign of Jesus on earth.
But evidently, there will be a time on this earth, after Jesus establishes His Kingdom, in which the nations will come before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to receive the everlasting rewards or punishments for their actions.
“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”—Revelation 22:11-12 (KJV)
Jesus describes this judgment of the nations in Matthew 25. Rewards and punishments are determined by how the people of the nations treated the people of God. The first verse of this passage gives us the timing for this judgment of the nations.
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”—Matthew 25:31-46 (NKJV)
Even now, a division seems to be growing and becoming more clearly defined between the “sheep” nations that support Israel and Christianity, and those “goat” nations who actively oppose them. The eternal consequences for these choices will be handed down personally from the throne of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
