I’m sure that most of us know the words of Revelation 20:6 very well: “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.” This one verse reveals so much about our destiny. Let’s break it down.
“Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.” What an understatement that is! Imagine the exhilaration we will feel as we rise in the air to meet Christ—as we realize we actually made it and that the struggle was worth it. As it says, we will be not only blessed but also made holy through the change from flesh to Spirit, which means we will be pure, perfected, and consecrated.
“Over such the second death has no power.” We know from Hebrews 9:27 that it’s appointed for all men to die once—that is part of the cycle of life in the flesh. But those in the first resurrection don’t need to worry about the second death, which is for those who will be cast into the Lake of Fire after rejecting their full opportunity to choose God’s way of life. Those in the first resurrection are in no danger of the second death—they will have received eternal life. They will live forever from that point forward.
If the verse ended right there, we could assume that, having achieved the goal, those in the first resurrection could just relax and bask in the glory of being in the Family of God, perhaps high-fiving each other and comparing notes with fellow victors. But the verse doesn’t end right there. It goes on to say that “they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”
So, forget sitting by a beach with a piña colada in your hand during the Millennium. This says that those in the first resurrection will be given jobs, and not just any jobs—they will be kings and priests. There are many articles and sermons available at LCG.org that address being a king, but this article will focus exclusively on our destiny to be priests of God and of Christ—because I’m sure there are many who have doubts about their ability to do that job. Each of us can likely come up with all sorts of reasons why we are unfit to be a priest. But if we take this verse at its word, there will be no exceptions. It doesn’t say that some or many will be priests of God and of Christ; it implies that all those who are raised to eternal life in the first resurrection will be priests.
The good news is that God will play a major part in your success as a priest. Before you even start the job, God will make three specific changes that are going to make all the difference. So, let’s examine your future role as a priest of the Father and of Christ, first by seeing what God is going to do to make the job easier. Then, let’s look at what important aspects you will bring to your role as priest—because no matter your background and imperfections, you can be a priest of God. With the combination of what God will do and what you bring to the table, you can do this!
The World Will Be Rebooted
God is going to reboot this world by establishing His Kingdom when Jesus Christ returns. The key word here is reboot, because, let’s face it, there are so many issues in society that will never be fixed through human effort—no matter how much time people are given. That is why backing any of mankind’s causes is ultimately futile.
Many of our world’s divisive issues are driven by anger, which will increase until we come to the point described in a passage that’s very familiar to us. “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:21–22). But we know those days will be shortened “for the elect’s sake.” This tells us that the inevitable conclusion of man’s self-rule is his own destruction. Even if man were given another 6,000 years, the result would be the same. But we didn’t come to this point overnight. The major societal issues we see today are the result of thousands of years of this self-rule. We are witnessing the cumulative effect of mankind doing what is “right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). And, as we often hear during the Feast of Trumpets, these days will be shortened by one event: the return of Jesus Christ.
This event will be like a hard reboot, which is what you call restarting an electronic device when it’s not working properly. Whether it’s a smartphone, a computer, or a tablet, it undergoes a hard reboot when you manually restart it. Restarting is one of the most effective methods to try when troubleshooting problems with electronics. Sometimes, it even requires pulling the plug out of the wall outlet and plugging it back in!
It’s interesting that God used a reboot once before, with the great flood of Noah’s day—but that was more like a soft reboot. It didn’t take long at all for mankind to return to the same destructive path as before. The flood only delayed the inevitable result that we read about in Matthew 24. But Jesus Christ’s return will be a hard reboot—a pulling of the plug—because, at that point, only a hard reboot will be able to clear out the mess the world is in.
In the visions God gave him, the Apostle John describes that dramatic change:
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:11–16).
The glorified Christ will arrive with authority to put down all rebellion, and that act alone will bring the most monumental shift in the history of the world: The Kingdom of God will be established on this earth. And this will be a permanent change—not like the flood, after which the world quickly began to fall back to the way it was before. We read that “in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44).
The Saints Will Be Changed to Spirit
This act of a hard reboot will have major societal consequences, but our change will be the most significant personal change imaginable. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52).
There’s no way for us to comprehend how significant this change will be, but Jesus gave us a hint, saying that “the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43). To shine forth as the sun is a pretty significant change! When He adds us to His Family, God will give us abilities far beyond what even the angels have ever had.
Satan Will Be Removed
But, just as importantly, God will also remove something—or, rather, someone. He will put away the enemy—Satan, the devil—as pictured by the Day of Atonement. We read the following:
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while (Revelation 20:1–3).
It’s currently impossible for us to comprehend what a difference this will make, because we’ve never experienced even a second of our lives without Satan’s influence. But this act alone will eventually change the prevailing mood over all the world—removing the pervasive spirit of rebellion against authority, particularly against God. This change of atmosphere won’t happen immediately after Satan is put away, but there will gradually be less and less of that rebellious nature permeating society, which will make people more receptive to God’s way:
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2–3).
A reeducation process will begin, and the law and word of the Lord will be the foundation of education in the Millennium. People will be receptive; they will want to learn. One of the most important aspects of successful teaching—and of success as a priest—is the students’ willingness to be taught. And during the Millennium, the people will have that willingness! Today, when you try to teach people whose minds God has not opened, you face resistance. It’s going to be different then, when every human mind in the world will be opened!
When we think about our future role as priests, we need to understand the difference that the changed society will make. Through monumental acts—a hard societal reboot, the saints’ change to Spirit at the first resurrection, and the removal of Satan—God will put us in a position to succeed as priests.
The Role of a Priest
But let’s turn our attention to what we will bring to the table in our role as priests of the Father and Jesus Christ during the Millennium. Most of you, if you were told today that you were going to be ordained into the ministry, would want to run at a thousand miles per hour in the opposite direction. A lot of that reaction is because many expect perfection from the ministry, which is why ministers are often judged harshly for any personal failings or perceived hypocrisy. But while the role of a minister is necessary and God-ordained, none of us are perfect.
Additionally, many expect ministers to know everything about the things of God. Who would want to live under the weight of such expectation? Most do not. This view of the ministry surely affects the common view of being a priest, which can also sound like a very intimidating job. When most hear about being priests, they think something like, I can’t do that. I am in no way equipped or qualified to handle that.
But it helps to have the responsibility defined the way Lesson 16 of the Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course describes it: “Priests are responsible for teaching God’s way of life—making the way of salvation clear and easy to understand” (“Destined to be Kings and Priests”). This description of the priest’s role immediately makes it seem much more manageable and less intimidating. Most brethren already do this with their family members—or at work, at school, or in other situations where one strives to make the way of God clear and easy to understand.
To help the role of priest seem even less intimidating, note what God Himself says about the job of a priest: “They shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezekiel 44:23). This boils the role of a priest down to its essential part: teaching the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. I hope we all have a pretty good idea of what that difference is! You can do this because, ever since God called you, you’ve been learning that difference—not perfectly, but as you grow God is continually adding to your store of knowledge and understanding of His law and how to apply it to life.
Once people are taught the difference between right and wrong, they learn to further discern between them by putting that knowledge into practice. And this is what we’re all learning now—perhaps hundreds of times a day—in the many decisions we face in our everyday lives. What should I do with my time? Should I click on this link? Should I watch this show? Should I listen to this music? Should I dwell on this thought? All the decisions that we must make every day of our lives involve our discerning between good and evil, what is right and what is wrong. This is what spiritual maturity is all about—and we’re learning it on the job, every day.
Scripture tells us that “solid food belongs to those who are mature, for those who through practice have powers of discernment that are trained to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:14, Modern English Version). We’re doing this all the time, every day of our lives, through those hundreds—perhaps thousands—of big and small decisions we must make as the people of God.
Our Invaluable Experience
Lesson 16 of the Bible Study Course also says that “mankind’s problems are in large part caused by the inability to distinguish between what is proper and what is not.” There’s a veil over the people of this world, and there are so many ungodly influences that Satan uses to confuse them. And we would be just as much in the dark if it weren’t for God opening our minds. We’re plugging into God’s word and learning how to implement it daily—that’s the difference. We learn from experience that whenever we choose wrong over right—which we sometimes do, and sometimes with full knowledge that it’s wrong—we suffer the consequences. Many of us know this fact all too well.
Perhaps our circumstances today are the result of a series of bad decisions we’ve made. In fact, some may believe that they’ve made so many serious mistakes that there is no way they could ever be priests of God—that they’ve disqualified themselves from having that role. But we need to consider that one of the most important aspects we’ll bring to our roles as priests in the Millennium is our experience—what we’re experiencing now in life. That means the full range of what we learn in this life, both the good and the bad. The totality of our human experience is valuable for teaching those who will be living during the Millennium. None of it is wasted.
When we know that we need to change, we need to change. We need to repent—and, as we know, our repentance doesn’t remove the consequences of our bad decisions. But God can even work with those. Lesson 16 of the Bible Study Course says, “True disciples of Jesus Christ are being prepared, through lessons learned and character built in this lifetime, to rule on earth in God’s Kingdom as kings and priests.” That brings such an important perspective on exactly how all the lessons we learn, easy and hard, fit together into our roles as priests of God.
Most of us would probably think that being an expert in God’s law is what will make a good priest of the Father and of Christ—that we have to memorize book, chapter, and verse of every scripture, being able to explain everything about God’s law. Knowledge of God’s law will absolutely be necessary, but it is our experience that includes what we’ve learned about applying God’s law, to the point where no one can gainsay what we’ve learned; we know, from our own experience, the benefits of keeping God’s law and the consequences of breaking it, and no one can tell us otherwise. That is invaluable for teaching people. Look at the Pharisees: They knew God’s law inside and out, but that didn’t make them good spiritual guides!
This practical experience of continually trying to apply God’s law in everyday life will make us effective priests. Because we’ve been there, who better to help teach, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21)? This is also why Jesus Christ is the perfect High Priest for us; He came down to this earth as flesh and blood to experience what we are experiencing, to go through it Himself.
One of the most encouraging verses in the New Testament tells us that “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus made all the right decisions, but because He had that experience of deciding and can relate to us through it, we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (v. 16). That’s our High Priest—and we will be priests of God for the people of the Millennium. Because we’ll have been there, as Christ was, we will be able to relate to their struggles as Jesus does to ours. We will have compassion and empathy toward those learning in the Millennium—because of our experience now.
Nothing Wasted
As a minister, I’ve heard people say that they think their lives are a waste and that they have nothing to offer. But everything we go through in this life is valuable; none of it is wasted, because we don’t know how something we’ve experienced will be useful to someone in the future during a time of need. If you’ve known the struggle of overcoming a weakness, you can help in a way someone who hasn’t struggled cannot. It will all work together for good (Romans 8:28).
For example, many in God’s Church have experienced terrible trauma—either trauma that was inflicted on them or trauma that they brought upon themselves. Who better to help those who have gone through the trauma of the Day of the Lord than those who have experienced personal trauma in this life? Who better to comfort these people? If you have experienced trauma, know that when you are serving in the Millennium as a Spirit-born priest, you will be specifically suited to comfort those people who will have gone through the worst trauma in history.
The Apostle Paul talks about our obligation to pay God’s comfort forward. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4).
Many in God’s Church who have been through trauma have also been comforted by God in many ways, to the point where they now have a sense of peace and perspective. These verses tell us that we are also able to share comfort with others—and this will be especially true when we are priests. There are many experiences that God’s future priests have had in this life that will be used to help the men and women of the Millennium.
We all hope that the remarkable prophecy of Revelation 20:6 will include every one of us in the Church of God: “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.” That immense blessing includes being a priest of the Father and of Christ. Between what God will do for us so that we can be successful in that role and what we each bring to the table ourselves from what we’re learning and experiencing in this life, we can all sincerely believe that the role of a priest will not be beyond our abilities. I hope you are convinced that you can do this!