Mortals, behold the sacred seat
Of your descending King.”—Watts.
The Kingdom given to the Saints at the resurrection of the just.
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given for them: and I saw the persons of those beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and those, who had not worshipped the wild beast, nor his image, nor had received the mark on their forehead, or on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ the thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Happy and holy is he, who bath part in the first resurrection: on such, the second death hath no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him a thousand years!” Rev. 20:4-6.
“Thrones” are symbols of power. As the saints are to reign with Christ on the renewed earth, in obedience to the invitation: “Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” (Matt. 25:34); their being inducted into the kingdom is symbolized by their being seated on thrones. Thus they sing in the “new song,” addressed to Christ: “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall [pg 351] reign on the earth,” 5:9, 10. In the first chapter, also, all who ascribe praises to “Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,” also add: “and hath made us kings and priests unto God, and his Father,” 1:5, 6.
All the saints being thus exalted to kingly and priestly dignity, symbolizes the exalted rank they are to hold in the new creation—the symbols of their station being taken from the most exalted offices known on earth. Thus God said to ancient Israel: “Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation,” (Ex. 19:6); and the Christian church is addressed as “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people,” 1 Pet. 2:9.
The time when the saints shall reign on the earth is in connection with the destruction of the “little horn” of Daniel's “fourth beast,” which, as he saw, “made war with the saints and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom,” Dan. 7:21, 22. “The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever,” Ib. v. 18. “And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is [pg 352] an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him,” Ib. v. 27. “And they shall reign forever and ever,” 22:5. Thus the Saviour said: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” Luke 12:32.
Those who receive the kingdom are symbolized by the souls of martyrs, &c., living again and reigning with Christ. The symbol includes, with the martyred saints, those who had stood aloof from the worship of the beast and his image, and those who had not received his mark; who are shown by a parallel scripture to represent all who are redeemed to God “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation,” 5:9, 10. Some of these were symbolized, under the fifth seal, as crying from under the altar in anticipation of this day, 6:9. Now, with “their fellow servants,” they receive their reward.
The souls of the departed living again, can only symbolize those who have been subjected to death, and are again raised. Consequently they are the subjects of a real resurrection. And this is shown by the explanation of the symbol, which affirms that, “This is the first resurrection.”
It is denied by many that a literal resurrection is here taught; but in so doing they deny the faith of the church in its best and purest ages. In the first two centuries after Christ, there was not an individual, who believed [pg 353] in any resurrection of the dead whose name or memory has survived to the present time, who denied that the resurrection of the just is here taught.