Revelation 3:11 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”
A word of warning needs to be mentioned in this regard, for just as the reward of our crowns can be earned so it is that they can also be given up. In writing to the church in Philadelphia, as quoted in the above passage of scripture, our Lord Jesus informed them that they had already received their crowns and that they were laid up for them in heaven. But our Lord also admonished them to hold fast to what they had and ensure that no one took their crowns away from them. Clearly the saints can have their crowns taken away from them otherwise our Lord would not have made the comment that He did. So how is it possible for the saints to lose the crowns they have already attained? Our Lord answered that question for us by telling us to hold fast to that which we have. In other words we cannot afford to rest on our laurels (so to speak) in this life and stop doing good works after a period of time, but rather we need to remain diligent in keeping good works all the way to the end of our time here on the earth.
Psalms 48:12-13 “Walk about Zion, and go all around her. Count her towers; (13) Mark well her bulwarks; Consider her palaces; that you may tell it to the generation following.”
Those who receive crowns and thrones of authority on that day will also receive palaces in the New Jerusalem as part of their reward, for you will recall that our Lord said that in His Father’s house were many dwellings and that He was going to prepare a place for His saints (John 14:2). In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit confirms this truth to us when He describes the palaces in the New Jerusalem, and you will recall that in a earlier quoted passage of scripture that the Holy Spirit also mentioned the palaces of the saints in the New Jerusalem (Psalm 122:7).
Isaiah 65:17-21 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind… (21) They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”
We have mentioned the reigning of the saints over the nations of this world during our Lord’s millennial reign, however for those who receive thrones of authority their reign will not come to an end after that age but will continue to extend into the ages to come. So who will the saints reign over in the ages to come? All children that have died have gone to heaven because they belong to God as His children, and they are waiting for God the Father to create the new earth, for they will be the ones who inhabit God’s new earth thus making up the nations in the ages to come. It is therefore these nations over which the saints will reign for all eternity. And so not only will the Lord’s saints receive palaces in the New Jerusalem but they will also receive lands and houses in the new earth that God will create. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah confirms this truth to us when He speaks about the house that will be built and the vineyards that will be planted in God’s new earth.
Michael E.B. Maher
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