“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14
No rivalry or jealousy
Since the “one flesh” relationship will not exist among the saints it will be possible for those who have been married more than once to share happy companionship with more than one partner. There will be no rivalry or jealousy, only thankfulness and love and appreciation of the different qualities each has given to the other and which they may still give.
For those who have been mis-matched in this life or have been denied a marriage partner there will be the richest opportunities for splendid comradeship among the saints of all the ages since Adam. And if a good marriage is one of the most rewarding experiences in this life, then we can be sure that God has something far more wonderful and satisfying in store for all those who love Him. God through the prophet Isaiah comforts the faithful eunuchs who have been deprived of human marriage with the promise of a special blessing:
“Even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off” (Isa 56:5). We must remember that the promised joy of renewed relationships, whether of family or friend, can be in no way exclusive as they may be at present. The saints are primarily one family in Christ Jesus and this is the unity that must predominate. However since the Lord is very merciful and understanding it seems likely that the saints of each generation will be allowed to begin their Kingdom life in the company of those they already know and love in the Faith. In the course of the millennium each saint will come to know all the other saints since the time of Adam, so that when the Lord Jesus delivers up the Kingdom to his Father, he and they will all be truly one. This would be the supreme fulfilment of that most wonderful prayer that the Lord Jesus prayed just before he suffered:
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (John 17:21).
A process of spiritual education
If this ever deepening fellowship is a process, then so is the spiritual education of the saints. God could perfect and glorify this earth in a moment of time, but He has chosen to take a millennium to do so. Thus it would seem that, after the initial period of divine intervention and miracle when the new order is being established, then God’s righteous laws will be allowed to take their course. The world is gradually made beautiful, the mortals are patiently educated, taught and trained in the ways of God under the supervision of the saints, and the saints themselves will learn more and more about the mind of God and His great purposes from the Lord Jesus himself.
There will be so much to do and to learn that the thousand years will hasten by. That the saints are not instantly endowed with full knowledge seems confirmed by the fact that even the angels were not informed of all the details of Christ’s coming for they themselves desired to “look into” the Old Testament prophecies (1 Peter 1:12). Neither did they know during Christ’s ministry the day and hour of Christ’s second coming. This prospect of continuing to grow in knowledge and spiritual perception with purified and perfected minds is exciting, for it will be progress of the finest kind. Thus with the work of administration and rulership, the times of refreshing in the presence of the Lord and the vast opportunities for ever increasing knowledge of God’s ways, there will be constant purposeful activity in God’s service – a very busy time indeed.
Although the saints will not experience physical pain and suffering personally, they will be very sympathetically aware of the problems of the mortal population. Just as the angels in Genesis 3 knew good and evil by experience (for the word “know” in this connection conveys the idea of experimental knowledge), but were not tempted by anything outside the will of God, so the saints will recognise sin in all its forms among the mortal population, yet will not be influenced by it. The bias to sin will have been removed for ever, so temptation in any form will have no power. Like the angels they will be vehicles of God’s spirit, ever fulfilling the will of the Creator, as the Lord Jesus has ever done.
The saints will still have right emotions. As the angels now rejoice over one sinner that repents, so they must grieve when we sin and fall away. It is possible to grieve the Holy Spirit of God and to crucify the Son of God afresh by denying him. The Lord Jesus suffered righteous anger against wickedness and hypocrisy and so it will be with the saints. Just as long as there is mortality on this earth there will be some sorrow and sadness which will be shared in measure by the immortal rulers. Thus it is only after the last Judgement at the end of the Kingdom that God can finally fulfil His greatest promise:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev 21:4).
Then when all sin and rebellion is finally destroyed and the faithful of the Kingdom Age are made immortal, God will at last dwell with men. They “shall see his face: and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev 22:4).
“We make the answer now”
And the qualifications for those who long to share that glorious time? We all know them: obedience to God’s commands now and continuing in them faithfully, suppressing the works of the flesh and developing the fruits of the spirit. We have before us the perfect example of the Lord Jesus who showed us the way, and the mind of Paul:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Gal 5:22–23).
The Lord requires these lovely characteristics in all those who will share his Kingdom and rule for him. How splendidly different the world will be when these principles prevail from Christ’s throne in Jerusalem down to the remotest village in the furthest corner of the earth. With this wonderful and sure hope before us, let us meditate upon the Kingdom more often and more deeply and let us pray most earnestly that the Lord will say to each one of us:
“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt 25:34).