Jeremiah 23:4-5 “I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking," says the Lord. (5) "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.”
The above passage of scripture confirms the truth to us, that the Lord’s saints will feed the children of God with the word of God in the age to come. And again, we see that the saints will be likened to shepherds that are looking after the Lord’s flock. And so, from what we can see in scripture, the reigning of the saints will not be dictatorial as this world reigns, but rather in the form of being a shepherd to God’s people. As an aside, from a practical viewpoint, we need to remember that whereas the saints will be awake 24 hours every day, their constituents will only be awake for 12 of those hours. And so, when the saints are not performing their priestly duties and their shepherding duties, they will be enjoying fellowship and sharing meals with the Lord Jesus and the rest of the saints in the New Jerusalem. And then finally I need to mention the point that was raised earlier, about the saints that forfeit their eternal inheritance because of their chosen lifestyle of sin in this current age. These saints will also not receive any crowns or thrones from the Lord, and will thus not be eligible to reign with their fellow saints. For don’t forget, that in the same parable where the Lord taught us about the servants who received authority over ten and five cities, there was also the unfaithful servant that received none.
Michael E.B. Maher
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