Sermon -- All Saints' Day, transferred (November 3, 2024)

REVELATION 20:4-6

THEY LIVE AND REIGN WITH CHRIST.

In the name + of Jesus.

      One of the principles of Bible interpretation is “Scripture interprets Scripture.”  In other words, the clear, simple words of Scripture clarify the words which are more difficult to understand.  God’s word is true.  No teaching of the Bible will contradict another.  If an interpretation or a teaching contradicts what is clearly stated elsewhere, then we know it is wrong.  So, we let Scripture interpret Scripture.  That principle of interpretation will help us with the Revelation of St. John, particularly this part of Revelation from which many false teachings have spawned.

     Revelation is hard to understand because it is filled with figurative language.  For example, St. John recorded, “Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1).  These 144,000 are all those “who had been redeemed from the earth” (Revelation 14:3).  If we understand that number literally, eternal life is restricted to precious few across the history of the world.  However, the Bible states clearly, “We have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).  Jesus has paid the redemptive price for all people.  Those who believe in him are the ones who benefit.  Jesus states, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).  He does not put a cap on this number.  Therefore, the number 144,000 is symbolic.  12 is the number of the Church (e.g., 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel).  12 times 12 (144) is the Old Testament Church times the New Testament Church.  Ten is a number of completeness.  Ten times ten times ten is 1,000—complete, completer, completest.  Therefore, the sum total of those who believe in God’s promises from the Old and New Testament Church is 144 times 1,000, or 144,000.  It is just as Scripture plainly teaches, “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21).  They live and reign with Christ.

     Now, let’s look at the verses from Revelation 20.  The clearer verses of Scripture will help us understand John’s vision.  St. John wrote, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed” (Revelation 20:4).  When we hear “thrones,” we think of one who reigns.  We know that Jesus lives and reigns over all things.  But John uses a plural here, “thrones.”  So, this does not refer to Jesus but to the saints who live and reign with Jesus. 

     John also saw “the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands” (Revelation 20:4).  In John’s day, Christianity was illegal, and the Roman government sought to snuff out the word of God and the testimony about Jesus.  To do that, they killed those who made the good confession.  Some were killed by lions.  Some were crucified like the apostles Peter and Andrew.  Some were beheaded like the apostle Paul.  To the world, these people were losers.  The real power seemed to be with the governments who seized and killed God’s people.  But these saints are not losers.  They are not even dead.  St. John saw them, living and reigning with Christ in the glories of heaven.

     St. John also noted why they forfeited their lives on earth.  He said they “had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands” (Revelation 20:4).  Again, some take this literally, expecting that we will be tattooed or receive some physical marking.  This interpretation has fostered some strange ideas and unnecessary fears.  To understand how to interpret this image, let’s consider another part of Scripture.  Scripture interprets Scripture.

     When the Moses called the Israelites to be faithful to the Lord, he commanded them to hold faithfully to his word.  Moses said, “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. … You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:6,8).  The Pharisees took this quite literally, tying small boxes to their foreheads and around their wrists.  Unfortunately, the words of Jesus did not take root in their hearts.  So, the literal binding of these words to their heads and hands was useless.  Their heads rejected the Christ and their hands were dedicated to killing him.

     To have the mark of the beast on you is to use your head to adopt worldly ideas and to employ your hands to take up sinful endeavors.  God’s people are to flee from these things.  St. Paul wrote, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (Colossians 3:5-6).  Through baptism, you have been marked as God’s people for purity and decency.  Your head, your heart, and your hands have been set apart for godliness.  Jesus Christ has delivered you from the coming wrath by taking away your sins.  The only way you can be condemned now is if you take your sins back.  This requires continual repentance by us.

     St. John saw the saints who had departed from this world.  They live and reign with Christ.  St. John wrote, “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  …This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection!  Over such the second death has no power” (Revelation 20:4-6).  St. John is not suggesting that there will be multiple resurrections from the grave.  The rest of Scripture speaks of one resurrection at which time all will be raised from the grave for the final judgment.  So, what is this first resurrection?

     Scripture interprets Scripture.  Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (John 5:25).  Who are these dead?  St. Paul answers that.  He wrote, “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1-2).  You and I are by nature sinful.  We were dead in sin, unable to change our condition, powerless to reconcile ourselves to God.  Even the best we have to offer to God is corrupted by sin and unclean. 

     Therefore, God had to act.  St. Paul wrote: “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5).  So, you are no longer dead in sin.  You have been given a living and active faith which trusts God’s word and strives to do God’s will.  This is the first resurrection—those who were dead in sin are now alive with Christ.  Since you are alive in Christ, the second death has no power over you.  The grave cannot keep you.  Hell will not touch you.  Jesus Christ has delivered you from all of this.  And God’s people who have departed from this world still live.  They live and reign with Christ.

     Now we come to St. John’s words which have spawned commonly held false beliefs.  St. John observed the saints in heaven and said, “[The saints] 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 ended” (Revelation 20:4-5).  All numbers in Revelation are symbolic, but many conclude that it is no longer symbolism once we get here.  Many teach that Jesus will return to set up an earthly reign that will endure for a literal 1,000 years.  Jesus, however, said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:26).  He will not change his mind for 1,000 years.  Recall that the number 10 is used throughout the whole book to express completeness.  10 times 10 times 10 is 1,000—complete, completer, completest.  So, what is this complete time?  It refers to the time in which Jesus Christ will live and reign over all things.  When will that be?

     Scripture interprets Scripture.  “[The Father] raised [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:20-22).  As we pray every week, Jesus Christ lives and reigns over all things.  Not “he will,” but he does!  He is seated at the right hand of God the Father from his glorious ascension until he returns to judge the living and the dead.  That is the entire New Testament era.  That is the 1,000 years. 

     Therefore, right now, God’s saints live and reign with Jesus Christ.  Many live and reign with the Lord Jesus in glory.  They dwell in the Church Triumphant, forever victorious over sin, death, and the devil.  Nothing can harm them any longer, as they await the resurrection of all flesh.  But at the resurrection, not all will rise to have eternal life.  As St. John noted, “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended” (Revelation 20:5).  Unbelievers remain dead in sin.  The do not come to life in this world.  Unbelievers will be raised from their graves, but it is not to live.  Rather, they will be cast into the second death—forever cut off from the Lord of Life whom they rejected. 

     But you are God’s redeemed.  You are marked with baptism for a glorious future.  And while it does not seem like it, you live and reign with Jesus Christ now.  Although you see and feel your sins, they are all forgiven.  Although your body is frail and failing, you are children of the resurrection.  Although you appear weak and you struggle against temptations, you are the children of God.  Jesus Christ has marked you and continues to assure you of this so that you do not lose hope.  Right now, your life is hidden in Christ, and the glory to come will not be revealed until the Last Day.  Do not be deceived by your weakness.  You are the saints of God.  The goal and prayer of every Christian is to be God’s saints in glory—whether we live a long life or die young.  Either way, life in the kingdom of God does not end.  Together with all the saints and angels, we rejoice in Jesus’ endless reign and boundless love.  For Jesus Christ lives and reigns for us; and all God’s saints live and reign with him.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.