The Perfect Government - Part A

One thing I can guarantee you, your future does not include you sitting on a cloud playing a harp to Gregorian chants. I hope you know God has a much cooler and multifaceted future ahead for you, but people get this weird mistaken notion that that's what heaven is going to be like.

Actually, we discover by studying the scriptures that there are several stages. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzel, Pastor Skip begins his message, The Perfect Government, and reveals that what awaits you in eternity may be very different than you think. Now, here's how you can help more listeners around the world connect with God's Word and grow closer to Jesus through broadcasts like this one today. You can play a vital role in this life-changing work today with a generous gift to support this ministry and help expand its reach into more major US cities. Visit connectwithskip.com slash donate to give generously and share God's love with others. That's connectwithskip.com slash donate or call 800-922-1888.

800-922-1888. Thank you for changing lives. Okay, let's turn to Revelation 20 and see what Skip has for us today. The name of this message is The Perfect Government. That is an oxymoron to our ears.

We have never seen a perfect government, and we never shall short of the kingdom age. I heard about a busload of politicians. They were driving down a country road. The bus ran off the road, hit a tree, and crashed into a farmer's field. The farmer who owned the field, the old farmer, was watching this happen.

He went over to investigate. Seeing the crash, he dug a hole and buried all the politicians. The next day, a sheriff—I heard an applause on that. Next day, the sheriff came out to investigate and looked around and saw the crash bus, but no people. So he asked the farmer, where are all the politicians? The farmer explained that he had buried them all, and the sheriff said, well, were they all dead? And the old farmer said, well, some of them said they weren't, but you know how them politicians lie.

President Ronald Reagan once said, the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, I'm from the government and I'm from the government and I'm here to help. But imagine a world where politicians are perfect, and therefore politics are perfect. Imagine a world where sin is dealt with immediately, decisively, where justice is meted out every single time, where justice rules and everything is fair. Well, that is the millennium. I know the term doesn't appear in the Bible, but so what? The term thousand years does, and guess what? We speak English, so in our language, we have a term millennium that means thousand years. So it is a thousand-year reign of Christ.

It is one that goes under several titles. It is called the dispensation of the fullness of times in Ephesians 1. It is called by Christ the regeneration in Matthew 19. It is also called in Acts 13 times of refreshing and also the restoration of all things. It's essentially a time of peace, prosperity, health, longevity, and we are given, as I mentioned, a very small outline of that in Revelation chapter 20. It presents the general character of a thousand years, a thousand years.

It is mentioned six times in seven verses. This is an era that politicians have either promised or longed for, poets have written about, singers have sung about, statesmen have yearned for. For example, Plato envisioned the ideal polis, the ideal city-state, where he said it would be run not by a king or a politician, but by a philosopher. There was the Pax Romana, two hundred years of enforced peace.

Pirates were banished from the seas, thieves were banished from roadways. Then in 1516, Thomas Moore wrote a book called Utopia. Utopia was a fictional island where there was a perfect political system.

That's why it was fiction, because we have not known such a system. Karl Marx believed that if you could eliminate class differences, you could eliminate all social problems. And some leaders in history have even hijacked the term millennium. Mao Zedong spoke about it.

Adolf Hitler used that term. In fact, I'm going to throw up an article from the New York Times dated September 6, 1934. The headline is, Hitler Forecasts No Reich Overturn in the Next 1,000 Years. The article in part says, Chancellor Adolf Hitler today proclaimed the arrival of the Nazi millennium, predicting that the next 1,000 years would not witness another revolution in Germany.

Yeah, that didn't turn out so well. He was equally positive that the national socialistic movement had now become absolute master of the Reich, and that its leadership rested in the hands of its best men. Well, what we are talking about is not just the myth. What we're talking about is not an allegory.

What we're talking about is not a fairy tale, nor is it a politician's failed inflated promise. What we're talking about is a Bible promise, God's divine promise of a kingdom set up on the earth. Now for that to happen, the earth will have to go through what I'm going to call an extreme makeover, a reconstruction, a rejuvenation, which the Bible alludes to in several passages in the Old Testament. Also, for that to happen, Satan has to be bound, and he will be bound, we are told, Revelation 20, verses 1 through 3, for 1,000 years. One thing I can guarantee you, your future does not include you sitting on a cloud playing a harp to Gregorian chants. I hope you know God has a much cooler and multifaceted future ahead for you, but people get this weird mistaken notion that that's what heaven is going to be like.

Actually, we discover by studying the Scriptures that there are several stages to your future, and one of those stages includes 1,000 years on a restored, rejuvenated earth. So what I'd like to do today in continuing the book of Revelation, chapter 20, beginning in verse 4, is give you four marks of the government, four marks of the governmental structure during the 1,000-year millennial reign. The first is sovereign authority.

The second is sovereign authority. Notice the fourth word in verse 4, and I saw thrones. Thranos is the Greek word, and thranos speaks of the throne of a king, absolute authority, royal authority, judicial power of a king and or the king's administration.

So I'll give you a thumbnail sketch. In the millennium, who's the king? Jesus will be the king.

We're introduced to him in chapter 19. King of kings. He had a name on his side that said, King of kings, Lord of lords. He is going to be the king. And one of the promises throughout the Bible is that God is going to set up a kingdom, an eternal kingdom. I remember when Nebuchadnezzar saw that statue in his dream of an image made out of a head of gold, silver, a chest of brass, belly and thighs, iron legs, feet of iron and clay.

You remember that story? And then he didn't know what it meant, so he called all the wise guys in. They didn't know what it meant, but Daniel knew what it meant.

God gave him the interpretation. Daniel comes and goes, oh, that's easy. It's a series of kingdoms. You're the first king.

You're the head of gold. But after you, there's the Medo-Persian Empire, the Grecian Empire, the Roman Empire. Those nations are coming. But then there's going to be a kingdom set up on the earth of 10 nations that are loosely coalesced. And in the time of those kings, Nebuchadnezzar saw a rock come out of heaven, strike the statue, decimate it, but fill the earth with a mountain. Daniel said, in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom on earth that will have no end. So that kingdom was predicted. It was also predicted to David in 2 Samuel 7, when God said, your progeny, the son of David, is going to come and rule, and I will establish his kingdom forever. So the Bible makes these predictions that there is a coming kingdom, and the kingdom will last forever. Moreover, the Scripture has several promises that, specifically, it will be a kingdom where Messiah will rule and reign from, listen, from the throne of David, the throne of David. So we bring this text out every Christmas.

This is just one of them, Isaiah chapter 9. Under us, a child is born. Under us, a son is given.

And then it says this, and the government will be on his shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward even forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. That promise was repeated to Mary when Jesus was growing in her womb. The angel came to Mary and said, He will be great.

He will be called Son of the Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Then our Lord made a promise to his disciples. He was talking to them one day, and he said, Not all of you will taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. In the very next chapter, a few of those disciples were on a high mountain. Jesus was transfigured before them and appeared with him, Moses and Elijah. They saw him in resurrected kingdom glory.

They got a preview of coming attractions, a preview of the coming kingdom. Now, with Jesus as King, I think you'll agree, it will be a perfect government, a perfect government. You see, government has always been the problem, not the problem, but one of the problems.

Let me explain. When man fell in the garden, everything was changed. We immediately became estranged from God. So, government came into existence, instituted by God, the dispensation of government, theologians call it, around Genesis 8 and 9, to restrain evil that was now innate in all human beings. But the problem is, even though God instituted government to restrain people from evil, the governments were led themselves by sinful people. So, any form of government, and for that matter, every form of government, is subject to abuse. So that no matter what kind of government you have, as long as humans are in charge of it, you're going to have problems, even democracy. Democracy is not the perfect form of government.

It's pretty good. Technically, we're not a democracy. We're a constitutional republic, but we run on a democratic set of values.

But it too is subject to abuse, as I think we have seen time and time again. The most efficient form of government is an autocracy. And I know people don't like that because there was one king making all the shots, and we should vote and not vote. But the most efficient form of government is an autocracy, where you have an autocrat ruling. If that autocrat is a good autocrat, things are good. If he's a bad autocrat, things are bad. Essentially, the kingdom is going to be an autocracy, a benevolent dictatorship, where Jesus, the perfect ruler, will be as king. But there's something else.

He's going to impart that rule through people. Because notice in verse 4, John doesn't say, And I saw a throne, but I saw what? Thrones. That's plural. I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Clearly, there is a plurality of administrative authority.

Not that Jesus needs our help, but He is going to employ our help, or somebody's help, them and they. The question is, who are they? We're not told completely in this sentence who they are. We're told in part who they are in the very next sentence.

Notice what it says. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God. These are tribulation martyrs. We've been reading about them through the whole book of Revelation. Who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, had not received the mark on their foreheads or on their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. That's part of the group.

Here's why. Who did God promise at any time would rule and reign with Him? Well, the answer is He promised that to several different groups. Group number one, Old Testament saints.

In fact, let me put this in first. There are several passages, I've counted six to be exact, in the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel 37 and Jeremiah 30, that made a promise that King David will help Messiah administrate rule in the Kingdom Age. It talks about David, perhaps resurrected from the Old Testament, helping Christ during the Kingdom Age.

Some say, well, that's just a reference to Jesus Himself, and I don't have time to unravel all that, but that's a possibility. But also, He promised that Old Testament believers, those who lived in faith in the Old Testament, would rule and reign with Him. In Daniel 7, verse 18, this is what it says, the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever. In the same chapter, verse 27, kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. Then in the New Testament, Jesus promised His 12 apostles would have a special role in the future kingdom.

This is Matthew 19, 28. Assuredly, I say to you that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So conceivably, you have a governmental structure of resurrected Old Testament saints, possibly even King David, along with 12 apostles promised an administrative role, who will rule over the 12 tribes of Israel. Maybe David and the disciples will rule in Israel from Jerusalem over the administrative district of millennial Israel, but that's not all. There's another group that has promised to rule and reign with Him, and that's us, New Testament saints. Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

It's really a great passage in 1 Corinthians 6. Paul knew that they were taking each other to court, and he goes, What's up with this? Why are you taking each other to the law court? You're Christians. You can figure this out. You should be able to settle your differences without taking it to the secular law courts.

And here's his rationale. Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And he continues by saying, Do you not know that we shall judge angels?

Now, I don't think the angels are too crazy about that, but nonetheless, the promise is we're going to judge the world, including angels. In 2 Timothy 2, verse 12, Paul says, If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. Then in Revelation 5, when the redeemed are gathered around the throne of heaven, they sing a song. The lyrics of that song in part are these, And you have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.

So it couldn't be clearer. We, along with Old Testament saints, along with 12 apostles, are going to be those who rule and reign. But then there's another group mentioned here in verse 4.

The souls of those who had not worshiped the beast, they were beheaded for their witness of Christ, etc. These are tribulation martyrs. Then go down to verse 6. Blessed and holy is He who has part in the first resurrection. Now, the first resurrection includes the resurrection of all the saved, because Jesus said there's going to be those who are raised to life, those who are raised to damnation.

Daniel 12 says the same thing. The resurrection to life are all the redeemed, all the saved, whether they are Old Testament believers, New Testament believers, tribulation believers. So all the resurrected of all the ages. Blessed and holy is He who takes place in the first resurrection over such. The second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years. So all the resurrected of all the ages will rule and reign with Him. Old Testament saints in glorified bodies, apostles in glorified bodies, New Testament saints in glorified bodies, tribulation saints in glorified bodies. Notice the qualifying term, glorified bodies.

I'm going to explain that in a minute. Christ will rule, but He's going to make it a family business. You see, you get to rule and reign with Me.

Now, you're hearing that. Some of you are going, man, that sounds like a lot of work. That is not my idea of heaven. Well, technically, this isn't heaven, is it?

We have been in heaven. We will then come with Him back to the earth, rejuvenated and restored. And by the way, you're not going to be all tired out then. You're going to have what kind of bodies? Glorified bodies.

So you'll be glorified. You'll have resurrected bodies. You'll have renewed minds. You'll have all the energy available. You're going to be tireless.

You're not going to go, oh, man, I don't want to do that. Now, let me give you another little clue that may or may not have to do with this. In Luke chapter 19, remember when Jesus said, I will say to them, well done, my good and faithful servant, because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, now take charge, listen, of 10 cities. And to another, He said, well done, good and faithful servant.

You've been faithful and little. Now take charge over five cities. You say, well, I don't really want to rule anything.

I'm not the kind of person who likes to rule stuff. Again, you're going to be very different than you are today. Yes, your body is going to be your body, but it's going to be resurrected, glorified, et cetera.

That's Skip Hyten. With a message from the series, The End is Near, find the full message, as well as books, booklets, and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com. Now we want to tell you about a resource that will help you gain a better understanding of end times prophecy. How have conflicts and wars in the Middle East set the stage for a future apocalypse? That's the question Ron Rhodes takes head on in his new book.

Listen to this. What do you see coming in the next five or six years that might do injury to the church? And without hesitation, I said, I really feel like we're going to see an explosion of subjectivism, experientialism, and mysticism, along with occultism and some paganism. How conflicts and wars in the Middle East have set the stage for the end times. This new book by Ron Rhodes addresses issues such as understanding Islam, rebuilding the temple, and the annihilation campaign from the Antichrist.

Here's Ron Rhodes commenting on Middle East events. Did you know that in Revelation 2 and 3, we read about the church 19 times? And then in the discussion on the tribulation in chapters 4 through 18, you don't see the church a single time.

It is gone. In 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 10, we are told that the church is to be delivered from the wrath to come. That word delivered literally means snatched, snatched away from.

We are to be snatched away from the wrath to come, which is a reference to the tribulation period. With your gift of $50 or more to Connect with Skip Heitzig, you'll receive a copy of this new book from Ron Rhodes. Your gift will support the production and expansion of the Connect with Skip broadcast. Call 1-800-922-1888 or go online to connectwithskip.com with your donation, and we'll thank you with a copy of Ron Rhodes' new book, How Conflicts and Wars in the Middle East Have Set the Stage for the End Times.

That's 1-800-922-1888 or connectwithskip.com. Come back again tomorrow for the conclusion of Skip's message and discover how what is coming when Christ returns is so much better than you can even imagine. As good as the earth is now, and it is a beautiful place, even in its fallen state, even in its confused state, even though the governments of humanity have ruined it, we have ruined it.

Still a pretty awesome environment. She ain't seen nothing yet. Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the crossing. Cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection. Connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.