Note to Newer Christians and the unsaved: The Kingdom studies found on this site are merely tools to aid in understanding the Kingdom message which Jesus and the disciples taught. The Kingdom studies pertain to the 1000 year reign in Heaven which is a REWARD for the righteous, holy and suffering Christians.

  It is NOT a second way to be saved.
It is NOT a second way into Heaven.
It is NOT a second Heaven.

 It is the  same eternal Heaven. But what the Kingdom message is about 
is a 1000 year time of REWARD in the one and only Kingdom of Heaven.
Because Jesus died for us, the one and only way to be saved is to be born again. 
Even when Jesus taught the 1000 year Kingdom message He first made it clear that 
"ye must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven"

If you are not saved, you can learn how to be saved by reading the short
article found on this site entitled: HOW TO BE SAVED ~ click here ~

 In this overview, we will not have a complete study of the reward of the reign in the Kingdom, for a complete study, please refer to the Word of God. Here is just an overview which is intended only to give the reader an overall look at this doctrine.

If you read your Bible at all, you have probably noticed two major teachings which seem to contradict each other.  One is the message of salvation into eternal life by grace...

Though many scriptures tell us this, we will look at just one here...
  Eph 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

I am sure you are aware that much of the Word of God teaches us how salvation is the free gift of God, because of His grace,  because of Jesus and His righteousness, and not of any works which we can do.

However you have probably also noticed some strange verses which seem to contradict this message of free grace.  You have probably noticed messages which are full of action words that tell us all these things we must do like... strive to be counted worthy, endure, press on, be holy and there are many many more.   You have probably seen Jesus tell us in Matthew 7:21 that not everyone who says to Him Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but He who does His Fathers will.  And the New Testament is packed full of what God's will for us is.   

Does this contradict the message of the free gift of just believing on Jesus to be saved?  

The Word tells us we are saved by grace through believing on Jesus, and yet this tells us that we must do the Fathers will to enter into the Kingdom!

You have probably also noticed continuous warnings by Jesus and the Apostles all through scripture, warnings and admonishments similar to this warning by Paul...

1 Cor 9:23
And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
 24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? 
So run, that ye may obtain.
 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Paul just said that he does what he does so that he might be a partaker with them. Partaker of what?  The Kingdom, the 1000 year reign.  He goes on to say that they do it to obtain an incorruptible crown.. again referring to the Kingdom of Heaven.  And he pulls no punches with making it clear that even he, the saved and very holy apostle Paul, could be castaway if he does not continue and press on.    Again, this seems to contradict the message of the free gift of salvation doesn't it?

Enlightenment:

In the Word of God you will find seeming "contradictions" about how to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  There are two clear cut messages of what we must do to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we understand and recognize these two messages, the seeming "contradictions" vanish and unity is restored throughout scripture.

They are:

• Salvation by grace through faith in and belief on Jesus. (Free Gift of God)
• Entrance into the 1000 year REWARD of reign with Christ. (Holiness, righteousness, striving, suffering and being Godly and obedient)

After a Christian is saved by believing on Jesus, he or she then needs to strive to achieve the reward of the 1000 year reign with Christ. This is based on Holiness, Godliness, obedience, striving, suffering etc. We do not obtain our salvation into eternity through righteous living, being Holy, suffering or striving. Our salvation into eternity can only come from being born again... saved. If we believe on Jesus, we are saved by grace into eternity.(John 3:16, Acts 16:31 and many more) It is our "position" in Christ.  We therefore are promised by God that we are saved for ever and ever. 

But being saved does not automatically guarantee our receiving the 1000 year reward of reigning with Christ.  This is a REWARD for the righteous. It is the Christian's MOTIVATION for living a Godly life, for abiding in God's will, for suffering for His sake, for striving to be counted worthy as Paul warns. Live slothfully, do not serve, and continue in blissful sin and lose your reward.

 Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Now the 1000 year Kingdom is a reward to those Christians who live holy, those Christians who endure, those Christians who suffer for His sake, those Christians who obey His commands, those Christians who overcome (sin) Those Christians who live holy and righteous lives.  If we endure, God will give us this tremendous reward and we will be able to rule and reign with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven for a thousand years.
It will be a beautiful time of reward. 2Tim 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

When we are living Godly lives, when we are fulfilling our purpose, then that means we are taking a bold stand against sin, we are living by the Word, we are witnessing to the lost.  And when we live in righteousness we will then suffer persecution will we not?  Our friends desert us, our family calls us nuts, people on the street will mock us and there may come a time when we may even die for Him.

Now above in 2 Timothy 2:12 Paul just told us that if we deny Him, He will also deny us.  What he is referring to is that suffering and persecution which the righteous Christian will no doubt experience.  The day may come when you may be challenged to renounce your Lord, on that day, will you stand firm in Him and endure suffering or martyrdom? Or will you deny Him as Peter did when faced with the guards in order to escape persecution? Will you follow the example of the Rich Ruler found in Mark 10?

Now you can begin to gain a little understanding into why the righteous, holy, suffering Christian will be especially rewarded with this 1000 year time in the Kingdom.  It is motivation for the Christian to endure all of what God has warned that Christ's followers would encounter.  There is a reason why Jesus said "take up your cross and follow me" What is the cross? It is a torture device, a symbol of suffering, an instrument of death. How is a Christian to endure all kinds of suffering, persecution and even martyrdom without any motivation?  We therefore have the hope of a tremendous reward, and the warning of the possibility of losing of that reward.

We have a graphic picture given to us by John in Revelation of who will be in the Kingdom at the 1st resurrection...

 Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Now these Christians obviously suffered for His sake, they were beheaded.  Now this is not saying that we must be beheaded to qualify for the reward, because the rest of scripture shows us that beheading and martyrdom is not the only way. But so is enduring, overcoming, being righteous, being holy etc etc.

But what about the slothful Christian?  What about those disobedient ones who did not do the will of God?  Will they enter in? John continues on with Rev. 20:5...
 Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Who are the rest of the dead?  The slothful disobedient Christians, those who did not live in God's will. ( It HAS to be the disobedient slothful Christians because those unsaved ones who rejected Christ will not live again, they will be cast into the lake of fire.)

But we also see that they will live again after that 1000 year period.  God confirms this with Rev. 20:11...

 Re 20:11 ¶ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

We see now, those Christians before God who did not enter into that 1000 year reward. They now stand before God, the great and the small.  Obviously some were found in the book of life and some were not.  Those who had accepted Jesus as their Savior will be found in the book of life and those who did not will not be found in that book.

God goes on in Revelation 21:4 to show us what happens to those Christians who had missed the reward of the 1000 years and endured punishment...

Rev 21:4 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.

No more death?
Yes, remember the death which hell gave up in Rev. 20:13.
Now we know that there are no tears for the Christians who take part in the 1st resurrection, because they will be on the thrones and judgment is given unto them above in Rev. 20:4.  They will have already entered into their reward.

And we know that God is not going to wipe away the tears of those who were eternally lost because they rejected Jesus Christ, they will not be found in the book of life, so they will be cast into the lake of fire.

That leaves only one group of people who God would be wiping tears from, and there will be no more sorrow, no more pain for them.. they are those disobedient Christians who were in hell for a thousand years while the righteous holy Christians had their 1000 year time reward.

Now in Revelation 20:13 we see that there were dead ones in hell.  This is where the slothful disobedient Christian had been imprisoned for that 1000 year period.  And then we see next in Rev. 20:14 and 15 that the imprisoned Christians were brought up out of hell and then hell and death, those not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire which is the second death. 

But notice that the slothful disobedient Christians were brought up out.  Also notice that hell is an entirely different place than the lake of fire, because hell itself is cast into the lake of fire, along with the dead who are not found in the book of life.

What all this shows us also is that obviously, all Christians will not be taken in the rapture, or the 1st resurrection.  One of the reasons Jesus said...

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Jesus had just been telling his saved disciples all about the end times.  The message is therefore to all saved Christians.

Now what does Jesus mean by "to stand before the Son of man" which is highlighted in red above?

There are two judgment seats.  One is the Judgment Seat of Christ.  The other is the Great White Throne which we have seen in the above passages.

The Judgment Seat of Christ is where the saved Christians will stand before Jesus and answer to all their deeds and works since they became saved.
Remember Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them ?  These Christians will have stood before the Judgment Seat of Christ.  They will be upon thrones and judgment will be  given to them. They will be ruling and reigning with Christ.  These obedient and holy Christians were allowed passage across the lake of fire which appears before the throne of Christ, they stand before the Son of man.

The reference to the lake of fire which is before the throne...
 Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

This is the Judgment Seat of Christ.  We find here a sea of glass before the throne.

 But in that sea of glass we also find fire...

 Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

Notice who is able to stand on this sea of glass and fire... it is those overcomers.  And we know that the disobedient Christian will not be able to stand before the Son of man, for they will not be able to endure the heat.

Paul confirms this in...
 1Cor 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (notice that even though we are in Christ, building upon HIS foundation, we still may build upon HIS foundation wood, hay and stubble. This refers to the saved yet disobedient Christian) (refer also to the parable of the talents)
 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; 
 yet so as by fire.

And we do see the disobedient Christian being saved.  Remember Rev. 20:13 when the dead are delivered up from hell, and then their tears are wiped away later.  Though these disobedient Christians will suffer punishment during that 1000 year time of reward, they themselves will still be saved. They will still have their eternal place in the Kingdom of Heaven.

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How to study and recognize the dual messages found in scripture...

In your future study of the Word, you can recognize and understand when Jesus or the disciples speak of the free gift of eternal salvation, or of entrance into the 1000 year Kingdom by examining closely the tense used in the passage.

Whenever they use words like "am saved" or "have been saved" or "are saved" etc. Or when they speak of having been saved by grace, or when they speak of the gift,  these passages are all referring to your eternal salvation which is forever and ever and is free.  They are past tense or present tense.  Already saved.  Am saved.

Whenever they speak in a future tense or speak of doing something to achieve or obtain then they are speaking of that 1000 year reward, the Millennial Kingdom which is to be sought after, prayed about, stove for, endured for, overcome for etc.

How do we know?

Because Jesus' disciples and apostles knew that they were already saved because they believed on Jesus.  They followed Him, they obeyed Him. They were saved Christians.  And even though they were already saved, they still mentioned having to strive for, endure and obtain.  It stands to reason that if they were already saved, when they speak of "striving for"  "enduring" or having "not yet obtained" they can only be speaking of the 1000 year reign with Christ.  You do not have to strive to obtain something you already have.

Also worthy to know is that the 3 New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the SYNOPTIC gospels.  In these books Jesus really concentrated on bringing to us the message of salvation into the 1000 year Kingdom.  He also does not neglect to immediately make known to us that we must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  This is the first and foremost thing we must do.  Jesus tells us that we must first be born again.  Then we are to go forth and strive in all these other ways to gain entrance into that 1000 year time of reward.

You will see a clear difference between the 3 synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and that of John.  In the synoptic gospels, Jesus didn't focus too much on salvation by grace because God in His foreknowledge knew that He would send John to teach and preach the message of salvation by grace into eternity.  That message of salvation by grace through faith is found in the book of John, along with other New Testament Scriptures.