Christ is the reigning King over all creation. His great millennial kingdom consists of the period between his first advent and his glorious return. During his earthly ministry, though weak from the viewpoint of the average onlooker, Jesus nevertheless repeatedly declared that in him the kingdom of God had now arrived. And indeed, the signs of his reign were stamped all over his earthly ministry through his authoritative teaching, his miracles, and his casting out of demons. His earthly reign was also confirmed by the light of the gospel breaking upon the Gentile nations which, previous to his advent, had been held in darkness by an unbounded Satan.

“The resurrection of Christ is the great spiritual watershed for the nations. Satan no longer has free rein to deceive the nations, and this is good news for the Gentiles (Acts 13:47; Rev. 7:9-10). But it is also good news to the church: not until the ‘short time’ at the end, determined by God in his sovereign plan of the ages, can there be a world power or coalition with the potential to erase the people of God from the earth” (Johnson, 288).

The perspective of this portion of John’s vision is from Heaven. He sees all those saints who have died – chiefly, those who were martyred – and are now alive in God’s presence waiting on the resurrection of their bodies. In the end, life eternal is the inheritance of the saints. No matter what the world may do to God’s people, the end is always eternity in God’s blessed presence. And so we may live confidently in this world despite the trials and persecutions because our present and future are hidden in the victory of the Lamb.