In answer to his disciple’s question at Matthew 24:3, Jesus tells them about events that would occur BEFORE he is installed as king and is given his kingdom of 1000 years by his God and Father in heaven. Among the many events that would have to occur was what he stated at Matthew 24:7:
Nation Will Rise Against Nation, and Kingdom Against Kingdom.
This scripture is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied scriptures in and outside of the religious system called by men, Christianity.
Almost all of the so-called “Christian” denominations spin this scripture has being (1) one of the signs of the last days and (2) warfare between the nations. Neither is true and I will show you why?
First of all, it was not signs (a series of events) that Christ’s disciples asked him for. Rather, they ask him:
What will be the sign (a single event) of your coming and of the end of the age?
As far as there being warfare between the nations, look again at Matthew 24:7. It does not say NATIONS and KINGDOMS (plural), rather it says NATION AND KINGDOM (singular).
Thus, a time period will exist over the earth where one nation and kingdom will be in contention with another nation and kingdom. In other words, there will be a time when there will be ONE nation and ONE kingdom over the earth. Another kingdom and nation will come and war with the one: Thus, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
It is not by accident that Jesus’ disciples asked him the question at Matthew 24:3:
Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
His disciples were keenly interested in the BEGINNING of a Kingdom and the end of THAT VERY SAME KINGDOM. What kingdom would that be? Christ’s kingdom of 1000 years.
At Matthew 24:3 Christs disciples were asking him, “What will be the start of your kingdom (the sign of his coming) and the end of your kingdom (end of that age).”
Christs Kingdom – when it begins – will last for 1000 years. It is a “definite” kingdom. It will have a beginning and an ending. (See Revelation 20:7)
When his kingdom of 1000 years ends, ANOTHER kingdom will rise up and establish itself over the earth. This is what Christ’s disciples would be interested in and so should we. What kingdom would “rise up” after the end of Christs 1000 year kingdom and set up a situation upon the earth in those future days where “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom?”
The answer is given in Revelation 20:7-8.
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
When Satan ascends up out of his prison of 1000 years, he goes out to “deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth…” Who are these nations? They are the “nations of people” who were subjects in Christs 1000 year kingdom. They are persons who were resurrected from the dead; all persons born since Adam (including Adam). That is why we see their numbers as being “like the sand on the seashore.”
Billions of persons will fill the earth in those future days. All taught by Christ. All reconciled back to their Creator. None in need of a mediator because Christ’s kingdom will have ended. They will be as Adam was, person one-to-one with God.
Areas of the earth that are today desolate and covered by desert and ice (North and South poles) will not be that way in the future. In God’s wisdom, he is preserving and reserving those areas for future use. It is quite possible that The Most High God will cause more “dry land” to surface from the oceans to make room for the vast numbers of people who will populate the earth like “sand on the seashore.” (Genesis 1:9)
Yet, when Satan ascends up out of the Abyss, he brings something up with him that will stand upon (control) those who populate the earth like “sand on the seashore.” What?
Consider Revelation 13:1-2:
The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
What on the shore of the sea? Sand! The nations of people that will populate the earth in those future days will be “like the sand on the seashore.” Who can count the grains of sand on the seashore? They will be a Great Crowd of people that “no man was able to number.” (Rev 7:9)
Today will all of our technology man CAN come up with a rough number of the population of the earth. Yet, there will be a future time period when the earth will be so full of people that their numbers cannot be counted. Where will these people come from? They are resurrected since from the beginning of Adam, and that explains why they cannot be counted and they are like the sand on the seashore. There is much more here.
The teaching of Christianity that those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will get them into heaven cannot be true for two reasons: (1) ALL of the dead are resurrected in the future by promise and no dead persons live in Heaven. The dead reside on earth in graves. (John 5:28-29) And (2) God’s Kingdom will come down to the earth, so why any need for anyone to go up to heaven? And, that is exactly what Jesus taught at John 3:13:
No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
So when we see the dragon “standing on the shore of the sea” it is showing him ascended out of the Abyss and in control of those nations of people after Christ’s future kingdom of 1000 years will have ended. (see Revelation 20-7-8)
When the dragon (Satan) ascends out of the Abyss, he brings something up with him. What? A beast! This is no literal beast. It is not a creature that lives in the literal sea because we see it “coming out of the sea.” This beast has things on it and about it that are “kingly” and “throne-like.” It has crowns on its heads.
Revelation 13:2 gives us a powerful clue as to what this beast is. Notice what the dragon GIVES this beast:
The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
Satan gives this beast his power, his THRONE, and great authority. That this beast is given Satan’s throne shows that it is a government. It is a “visible” kingdom with men running it that will be established upon the earth in FUTURE days that will have dominion and control over ALL of mankind who will be “like the sand on the seashore.”
The kingdom of the beast will be something to behold. It will have to be highly organized and efficient in order to rule over and control a population that no man was able to number.
Many persons have been duped and have had painted for them Satan the Devil and anything associated with him has being ugly, dark, and dastardly. They envision him and his angels (the demons) as hideous creatures. Yet, the devil and his demons are invisible and cannot be seen.
Too, the future kingdom of the beast will be a powerful, bright, peaceful and safe society for those who dwell in it. This is why the billions who will dwell in it will support (worship) and seek to maintain it forever. They will not want to see – what they feel is a good thing – go away and be taken away from them.
The Apostle Paul stated that 2 Cor 11:14 that Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light.
Apparently, Satan is not stripped of his “great authority” by God when he is initially imprisoned because we see him with “great authority” after he is released from his prison.
There is another place in scripture where we are told that Satan will have a Throne over the earth. It can be found in Revelation 2:13:
I know where you live—where Satan has his throne …
Yet, when the beast (satans kingdom) is established upon the earth and has complete control and authority over all of the nations of people (who will have been restored to God by Christ), it will be a “peaceful and safe” kingdom where all will be prosperous; a government that the nations of people who are like the sand of the seashore will not want to give up. They will ALL be thoroughly deceived to love and support (worship) it.
It should be noted that when Christ’s kingdom will have ended, the entire earth will have been restored to a paradise anyway. This will NOT change. When the Serpent deceived Eve, he did not change their environment. Rather, he dwelled within it. Likewise, in those future days after Christ’s kingdom over the earth ends, the earth will remain beautiful beyond belief and the people who are like the sand on the seashore will dwell in peace and safety under the established kingdom of Satan called “The Beast.”
This kingdom will take quite some time to be established. How long it will take, we do not know. People will not die a natural death in those days so time will be irrelevant. Yet, the primary purpose of Satan’s release from his prison and establishment of his Beast (Kingdom) over the earth is to prepare all of the nations of people of the earth to resist what MUST come down out of heaven to the earth: God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 6:10 and Revelation 21:2)
Satan’s deception of “the nations in the four corners of the earth” will be so complete and the people so completely loyal to his beast that they will believe it to be a kingdom that is invincible (see Rev 13:4).
People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?
Yet, a kingdom must come down out of heaven and establish itself “indefinitely” upon the earth.
Now we see TWO KINGDOMS: The one that will be established on the earth below and the one that WILL come down out of heaven above. One south. One north. A Kingdom of the South and a Kingdom of the North.
This explains the singular use of “kingdom” and “nation” at Matthew 24:7: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”
Two kingdoms: God’s Kingdom and the Kingdom of Satan (the Beast) will “contend” with one another.
Satan will have already pulled one-third of the angels “out of heaven” to his side. (Yes, Satan has angels. See Rev 12:3-9)
Satan will also have full control of all of the nations of people of the earth who are like sands on the seashore.
Yet, many might ask, “There is no way Satan can win a war against God?”
This is true and Satan knows this. He knows that his time will be short in those future days. (Rev 12:12)
But what many fail to see is that the contention between these two kingdoms will not be a battle using carnal and conventional weaponry because such weapons will not exist. And, if they did, what harm could they do to God and his angelic host?
No, this war will be of a different type. It will be a war over who has rightful ownership and dominion over the earth. Obviously, it will be the one who created it. But the people in those future days will be so thoroughly deceived and indoctrinated, they will believe that the earth is THEIRS and will view any outside threat to them as a threat to be resisted.
Only the Creator of the earth has the right to establish things indefinitely on it. This Creator will have already given His Son a kingdom over the earth for 1000 years. That the Creator GAVE it to His Son shows that His Son was given the authority of a king to rule over it for 1000 years.
However, when Satan ascends out of the Abyss “after the 1000 years,” he gives “The Beast” his authority over the earth and to rule over it. The earth was not created by Satan and he has no ownership over it and has no legal right or authority to give authority to anyone that he does not really have. But a part of his great deception in those future days is to cause the nations of people to believe that the earth belongs to THEM.
How many people do you know who TODAY think that this is “our planet.” Sadly, mankind treats it like his property. Mankind has no humility before God and is ruining His property.
Yet, Satan will prepare those who dwell in his kingdom (the beast) to resist what is assuredly coming down out of heaven: God’s Kingdom. The contention between these TWO kingdoms is what Armageddon is. Armageddon is NOT a war, it is a PLACE. It is the place where the battle over the earth will be waged. The place is Satan’s throne: The Beast. What sparks this engagement? (Rev 16:16)
There will be talk, voices, utterances, reports, and rumors that an outside invader is coming. Utterances that this invader must be resisted because it is evil and it wants to upset and take away their peaceful and safe way of life. No doubt Satan will start these rumors as he knows and sees how close approaching God’s Kingdom is, while the people like the sand on the seashore do not.
Satan will see one of his brothers – an angel – with a powerful message that will be declared in the earth. That message will spark the engagement over who is earth’s truthful owner of the earth and that that owner is approaching and will establish His kingdom upon it. (Rev 14:6)
The message that will begin to be disseminated in the earth by the angel will be “The Good News of the Kingdom of God.”
That message will be in contention with the rumors and reports disseminated by Satan that a malicious invader is coming and it must be resisted and that the message declared by the angel must be resisted and rejected.
This will be a time period on the earth where one’s loyalty to the beast will be put to the test. Satan will weed out and identify those who are receptive to the angelic declaration of the Good News of the Kingdom and will go after them.
Note: Satan will never be seen and neither will the people in the earth in those days know that Satan is behind all of this. It is through his “visible” government (by people) that he will operate. Thus, it will be “people” who will organize and go after those who are receptive to the angelic message.
(Do not the nations today demand a measure of loyalty from its citizenry? Persons perceived as disloyal, unsupportive or unpatriotic to their governments are frowned upon. Some of these persons are labeled as traitors. Some are imprisoned or executed [Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus Christ, etc])
Likewise, the angel with the Good News of the Kingdom message will not be literally seen or heard. There will be an outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit upon certain ones from this angel (who I believe is Christ himself) that will contain this message of God’s Kingdom. Those persons receiving this outpouring will then begin to teach spread the message of the Kingdom of God mouth to mouth. These persons will be viewed as Enemies of the State and the throne of Satan (the beast) will make their lives miserable unless they stop spreading this message and return their support the beast (that government). (Revelation 13:16-18)
Note: After he ascended into heaven, Jesus showed the powerful use and effect of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon selected ones. At Acts Chapter Two on 33 C.E. 120 men received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and they were able to speak and teach others “a message” in a language they themselves never learned. The result was that 5000 people became disciples. Another outpouring will occur in the days of the throne of the Beast and that message will spark contention between two kingdoms.
Satan (through his beast) will even sanction a death penalty upon those who do not reject the angelic message of the Good News of the Kingdom. Billions of loyal supporters of the beast will hate these dissenters, plot against them, betray them and turn them into the beastly authorities. This is where what Jesus said in Matthew 10:22 take on serious meaning:
You will be hated by EVERYONE because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
The world in those future days will be so supportive of the Beast that those who are receptive of the angelic declaration of the Good News of God’s Kingdom will be few by comparison. Their former friends will enter in among them and pretend that they too believe the angelic message but they will be spies and will betray them and turn them over to the Beast authorities. Jesus said in Matthew 10:21:
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.
Dear reader, do not be misled. This betrayal has nothing to do with our time period today. This is what will happen in future days after all of mankind has been resurrected, lived the 1000 years within Christ’s kingdom on the earth, and then find themselves within the Kingdom of the Beast.
It is during that future time – at the approaching of God’s Kingdom which will remove Satan and the beast – that we MUST stand firm and loyal to the angelic message about the coming of God’s Kingdom. If we stand firm, when God’s Kingdom does come, we will gain entry into it and be saved for eternal life in it.
Those who reject the angelic message – as it will be given as a witness to them that they accepted or rejected it – will not be saved for entry into Gods Kingdom when it comes down to the earth. They enter into what is called the Second Death: Nonexistence.
Another angel – a seventh one – will declare:
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.
Is that not what the battle is about? Who has ownership? The above scripture shows the outcome of the battle: The KINGDOM (singular) the world (the Beast) has become the KINGDOM (singular) of God AND his Messiah. In other words, God’s kingdom comes down and overtakes the kingdom of the beast and destroys the one who gave it authority and those who did not listen to the angelic declaration about God’s kingdom and with full knowledge fought against its establishment upon the earth.
What I have just written has nothing to do with the time period of TODAY. Yet, Christianity teaches it that way. And, that is how it is misleading persons AWAY from this truth.
The Nation Will Rise Against Nation and Kingdom Against Kingdom are about two kingdoms far in the future that will contend over ownership and authority over the earth.
