One of my favorite authors, Paul E. Billheimer, states in his book Destined for the Throne, that…“The bride (of Christ) must learn the art of spiritual warfare of overcoming evil forces in preparation for the tasks that await her following the marriage supper of the lamb.” (Page 49)

Since reading that statement, it has been going through my mind… Why does the Bride need to overcome evil forces when she will preside with Jesus over a kingdom where there is no devil? It’s a valid question, I think. According to the Bible, in the millennial reign of Christ, there is no devil. He is bound for that time period. His activity on the earth is done; it is paused. (He is released at the end of the 1000 years for a time, but that is for another discussion.) There is no deception being caused by him of any human being. He is not able to tell lies to human beings. The reign of Jesus Christ on the earth will be mostly a time of peace and righteousness as Jesus and His people will be in charge. Jesus comes back with His people and sets up His kingdom on the earth. They will teach the ways of God to the people.

What happens during the Millennial Reign of Christ?

I believe the scriptures indicate that humans will continue being born on the earth during this 1000 year reign of Christ, meaning, they will be born with the sin nature, the nature that is bent towards evil. The difference between then and now is that they will be born in a time where the truth is taught everywhere. It’s not the final rule of God’s kingdom, but it is a time where the deceiver of mankind will be bound up so he cannot work on the earth. The truth will be taught unhindered by any deception from the devil. There will be no adversary.

But the Bible indicates there will still be those who rebel against truth and against God’s kingdom of righteousness. There will still be sin, but anyone who sins will do it from outright rebellion to the knowledge of the will of God. It will be an open rejection of the truth.

Men will know the truth, but choose to rebel

In the Garden of Eden, we see that this same behavior happened. We see it in what happened with Adam and Eve.  There were two things going on in the fall. The New Testament says that Eve was deceived by the serpent, but Adam was not. What that means is, that Eve was beguiled, and just to enlarge your understanding on that, she was enchanted, captivated, bewitched, dazzled, hypnotized, mesmerized, and seduced. This statement on Eve’s deception is found in 1 Timothy 2:14.

1 Timothy 2:14 goes on to say that Adam was not deceived; he knew what was happening. That means that because Adam was not beguiled, he then openly CHOSE to disobey God’s directives. This is what will happen during the 1000 year millennial reign of Christ. The word of God and the ways of God will be taught and lived in abundance on the earth. But because human people will continue to propagate, they too will get to choose to obey God or to disobey, just as Adam did. But they will not be deceived because satan is bound and cannot do his dirty work.

I have come to understand that the existence of an adversary here in the earth is what provides us humans, the children of the kingdom, the conflict and the friction that we actually need in order to advance and to grow in the knowledge and ways of God and to earn our rightful place alongside King Jesus when He comes to set up His Kingdom on the earth. We need to be trained in the truth after our salvation and learn to fight. This is how we learn to rule over our enemies, just like Jesus did. If we are faithful in what He has called us to do, we will rule with Him. We will be part of administering His government. After salvation, we learn to enforce His mandate and His mission, which was and is to “destroy the works of the devil.” We are learning to overcome the works of darkness and to judge righteously by learning to love people like God does.

Ruling in God’s kingdom

There are a few clues as to what we will be doing in that kingdom, when we see the kingdom come to earth, but 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 gives us some insight. “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?” Saints are not just who one church group decides to make saints; saints are all believers in Christ according to the bible, so this job opportunity is available to everyone.

Besides making judgment calls on angels and human behaviors, and because I am a reporter, I also see that earthly government officials take care of many things pertaining to a society in a community. They take care of the infrastructure of a village or city which serves the people, such as electricity, gas, and water needs. They appropriate funds to ensure that these matters are taken care of. They also distribute funds to improve the area, to bring in businesses that will bring in revenues. They mediate disputes between people living close together, and establish ordinances to ensure a just and tranquil society.

In Luke Chapter 19 we read a parable about the management of resources that ends with awards. One man is given the rule of ten cities, another of five cities. I believe this indicates the actual management of towns during the 1000 year time period that will be assigned to the overcoming church. These towns and cities are where human beings will still be dwelling and living out their lives, having families and repopulating the earth. The 1000 year reign comes after sin has reached its zenith and a great many evildoers are taken away from living here on the earth. It follows the seven years of the Great Tribulation.

Our purpose is maturity in the ways of God

As humans, I think I can safely say we don’t CHOOSE to grow up. Those who are raised strong in the ways of the Lord would be more inclined to yield to Him with right hearts. But most of us would likely stay infants forever if we were allowed to. The adverse circumstances presented by our adversary satan, forces us first into the kingdom when we finally see our own failures and our need of salvation, then presses us into maturity as we grow in the ways and knowledge of God. Maturity is what gives us a place of rulership in the kingdom of God. Learning to rule in the midst of an earthly war against enemies in the spiritual realm is what qualifies us to rule in that eventual kingdom when our King Jesus comes to reign.

Revelation 20:6 says, “Blessed and holy is he who has part 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.“