...They Lived and Reigned...

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev 20:4)

I recently received an email from a man expressing confusion over the passage above. The man reasoned that since the only ones who reign with Christ are those who overcome the Beast', and since in his mind the Beast has not yet appeared, then it is obvious that none of the past saints will reign with Christ.

To make sure I understood his position, I asked if it made sense to him that only a small number of future believers who would overcome a one man 'antichrist' would be the ones granted the opportunity to reign with Christ for a thousand years. I asked if he was in fact implying that NONE of the past saints including the Lord's apostles would reign with Christ. His answer was striking:

'Why not, that's what the verse SAYS.' (my emphasis)

Somewhat perplexed I replied pointing out scripturally how the 12 apostles were promised the privilege of reigning with Christ, how the apostle Paul strived for the privilege to reign with Christ and how all believers are exhorted to strive for that very privilege. To this I received no reply.

This exchange illustrated to me how easily our pre-conceived ideas of what we feel MUST be true can get in the way when we read the Bible. The verse does in fact say that those who overcome the Beast will reign with Christ. What the verse does NOT SAY is that the beast is a one man future antichrist who will rule the world for seven years. Additionally, given the testimony of scripture elsewhere it seems ludicrous to use this verse as a means of EXCLUDING all past believers from the promises that they would reign with their Savior if they overcame.

Putting two propositions together; first that those who reign with Christ are the ones who have 'overcome the beast', and second that the right and privilege to reign with Christ was promised to the overcomers of even the earliest stages of the church, it seems to me that one should immediately be stricken with the thought THAT THE BEAST SIMPLY MUST BE SOMETHING BIGGER THAN A FUTURE ONE MAN ANTICHRIST. This is a simple, logical, and straightforward conclusion.

Why is it that so obvious a conclusion is so easily overlooked in favor of sensationalist, exclusive, or esoteric doctrines?

The Bible does in fact define what this 'beast' is in such precise language that all debate on the matter SHOULD cease. Such a simple answer does not however make good fodder for the pride of men's hearts, nor would it probably be nearly as effective in selling 'end times' books...