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After the conclusion of the dispensation of grace, God will change for the last time the way of His work of the new creation on the man of the old creation. That is, He will set up His kingdom on the earth (Rev. 11:15) to carry out His administration and by His absolute righteousness bring to a conclusion the different kinds of people among the human race, that He may accomplish His work of the new creation in the old creation. This dispensation is called the dispensation of the kingdom. In this dispensation, righteousness will reign as king; hence, this dispensation is also called the dispensation of righteousness. It will begin with the second coming of Christ and end with the putting away of the old heaven and old earth, the old universe, covering a period of one thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6).
In the first two dispensations, the dispensation of the patriarchs and the dispensation of law, God obtained a group of perfected just men, the overcomers in the Old Testament, who are able to enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens to participate in Christ’s kingship and joy.
In the dispensation of the patriarchs, all those who took God’s ordained way by faith according to God’s promise were perfected to become the overcomers in their times. They were the fathers, such as Abel, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moreover, in the dispensation of law, the devout and just men, who absolutely kept the law by the offerings and the tabernacle, both of which typify Christ, were also perfected to become the overcomers in their times. Such men were Moses, Joshua, Caleb, and others who were perfected by God in the Old Testament, as mentioned in Hebrews 11. They all will receive the Lord’s reward and enter into the heavenly part of the millennial kingdom to enjoy the kingdom feast (Matt. 8:11) and to be co-kings with Christ (Rev. 20:4, 6).
In the dispensation of grace God is also gaining the overcoming believers in Christ, who will enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, becoming its main part, to be co-kings with Christ, ruling over the nations on the earth in the millennial kingdom.
The New Testament clearly indicates that before God the believers must not only deal with the matter of salvation but also with the matter of reward and punishment (Luke 19:22-26; Matt. 24:45-51; 25:1-30; Luke 12:42-48; 2 Cor. 5:9-10; 1 Cor. 4:5). When the dispensation of the kingdom comes, all believers must face this issue. We need to solemnly take the Lord’s word concerning the reward and punishment of the kingdom that we may be warned, encouraged, and attracted to press on toward Christ and to be the overcomers that we may receive a prize in the future.
According to the Scriptures, the significance of receiving a reward includes at least five aspects. First, to receive a reward is to receive a crown. There are different crowns: the crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8), the crown of life (Rev. 2:10), the crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4), the incorruptible crown (1 Cor. 9:25), and the crown of joy (1 Thes. 2:19; Phil. 4:1). The crown of righteousness will be awarded to those who faithfully follow the Lord and who love His appearing. It is called the crown of righteousness because it will be given by the Lord, the righteous Judge, to His faithful lovers. The crown of life will be awarded to those who suffer martyrdom for the Lord, caring not for their own lives and being faithful unto death, so that they may manifest forever the Lord’s powerful life, which is incorruptible (2 Tim. 1:10), which cannot be held by death, and which has passed through death and resurrection, proving that they have overcome death. The crown of glory will be awarded to those who willingly shepherd the Lord’s flock today. Since they care for the Lord’s intention and look after God’s flock, the Lord will give them the crown of glory that they may eternally express the glory of God, which is God Himself, in the universe. The incorruptible crown will be awarded to those who forsake the earthly joys to run the Lord’s way. In order to run the Lord’s way, they forsake all the temporary things of this world, things which are corruptible and which will pass away. Hence, the Lord will give them an incorruptible crown, declaring eternally that what they choose today is a glorious blessing which will last forever and which will never pass away. The crown of joy will be a reward to those who care for the Lord’s believers. Since they care for people’s souls and for people’s condition before the Lord, the Lord will make those whom they have cared for their crown of joy, testifying eternally in the universe to all their labor on others for the Lord’s sake.
Second, the significance of receiving a reward is to sit on the throne. This is the prize that the Lord, when He sits on the throne of His glory to exercise His authority, will give to the twelve disciples who forsook everything to follow Him (Matt. 19:28). It is also the prize that the Lord will give to all overcoming believers (Rev. 3:21). Every overcoming believer in this age will receive from the Lord the reward of sitting with Him on His throne.
Third, the significance of receiving a reward is to receive authority. This is the prize that the Lord will award to the believers who overcome and who keep His commandments until the end (Rev. 2:26). They steadfastly keep the Lord’s commandments to be the overcomers in the present age, when the church is in desolation and the world is in opposition to the Lord. Therefore, when the Lord rules over the world, He will give them authority over the nations, and they will reign over them with Him (Rev. 2:27). This is also the reward that the Lord will give to those who work faithfully for Him; some will have authority over ten cities, and others will have authority over five cities (Luke 19:17, 19).
Fourth, the significance of receiving a reward is to be a king. If we can endure sufferings and difficulties for the Lord in this age, we will also reign with Him in the coming age (2 Tim. 2:12). Throughout the generations all those who faithfully bear the testimony for the Lord, even suffering martyrdom for Him, will be co-kings with Him to reign over the world. This will be in the millennium. Therefore, kingship is also a prize which the Lord will give to the believers.
Fifth, the significance of receiving a reward is to be a priest. Those who faithfully bear the testimony for the Lord today, even giving up their lives for Him, will not only reign with Him but also be priests of God and of Christ (Rev. 20:6). In the millennium the Lord will give them a twofold status and qualification of honor. On the one hand, they will be kings, and on the other hand, they will be priests. As kings they will represent God before man, bringing God’s authority to man; as priests they will represent man before God, bringing man’s service to God. As kings they will participate in God’s reign to carry out God’s administration; as priests they will partake of God’s life to obtain God Himself, thus enjoying the topmost blessing in the universe, which is God Himself. Both of these blessings of honor are included in the reward which the Lord will give to the overcomers.
The Lord will give us a reward according to righteousness. It will not be given to us in the same way as salvation is given, according to grace. Since God’s salvation is according to grace, we receive it freely. However, since the Lord’s reward is according to righteousness, we must pay a considerable price to obtain it. The Scriptures contain many conditions for obtaining the reward, but in this lesson we will mention only the more important ones.
First, we will receive a reward according to our own labor (1 Cor. 3:8). Since the Lord’s giving us a reward will be according to His righteousness, our obtaining the reward must be according to our own labor. After we are saved, if what we produce before the Lord is gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12), the Lord will give us a reward. In the Bible, gold refers to the divine nature (Exo. 25:11, 17-18, 24, 31), silver, to redemption (Exo. 30:16), and precious stones, to the expression of God’s glorious image (Rev. 4:3; 21:11). Therefore, a work which is of gold, silver, and precious stones is a work which is of God and which corresponds to God’s nature, a work which is according to the principle of God’s redemption, and a work which is able to express God, manifesting the glory of God. If what we produce is wood, grass, and stubble, which is of man, of the flesh, and full of the earthly element and condition, we will not receive a reward from the Lord; rather, we will suffer loss.
Second, we will receive a reward according to our work (Rev. 22:12). This shows us that although receiving salvation does not require work, receiving a reward does. Whether we will receive a reward from the Lord depends on whether we have the work that is pleasing to Him. Such a work is the surpassing righteousness that we live out by His life (Matt. 5:20). How great a reward we will receive from the Lord also depends on how much of our work is pleasing to Him.
Third, we will receive a prize because we are faithful to the Lord unto death, not caring for our lives (Rev. 2:10-11). The believers’ ability to be faithful unto death, overcoming Satan’s infliction of death, is an issue of their living by Christ’s resurrection life. Because of this, they will receive the crown of life to enjoy the glory of life and not be hurt by the second death.
Fourth, we will receive a reward because we overcome (Rev. 2:7, 10-11, 17, 26-27; 3:5, 11-12, 21). The overcoming that the Lord requires is the victory that we achieve in fighting against anything that opposes His testimony and damages His kingdom. The Lord’s testimony rests with the church that He loves. His intention is to bring in the kingdom He treasures through the church He loves. Satan knows this and has been trying his best to frustrate the Lord’s intention. Therefore, the Lord wants us to fight for this and to overcome. Since this overcoming is necessary to the bringing in of the Lord’s kingdom, overcoming becomes indispensable to our receiving a prize and entering into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens. Our overcoming includes the following items: recovering the first love toward the Lord; enduring persecution or tribulations to be faithful unto death; not mingling with the world, rejecting hierarchy, and leaving the worldly organization of Christianity; removing the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church and not being contaminated by the defilement of idols and spiritual fornication; overcoming coldness, deadness, and decline; striving to keep the word of the Lord’s endurance and not denying His name; and not being self-satisfied, but humbly pursuing, opening our heart to let the Lord in to gain the ground in us and have fellowship with us. All these are conditions for receiving the reward. Only the overcomers can enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens to be enthroned. The defeated believers in the present dark and evil world will not be allowed to reign in the coming kingdom, which is of light and of righteousness. Those who are not able to be the overcomers in this age of desolation will not be able to be the rulers in the coming age of restoration. God’s ordination is that we must first fight and overcome, then we will reign.
Fifth, we will receive a reward because we love His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8). To love the Lord’s appearing and to love the Lord Himself are inseparable. If we truly love the Lord, we will love His appearing. All those who love the Lord and forsake everything for Him love also His appearing, that they may receive His reward; those who do not love the Lord, but love the world or love sin, are afraid of the Lord’s coming. Therefore, loving the Lord’s appearing is a proof that we love the Lord and live for Him today; hence, it also becomes a condition for us to receive His reward.
In the New Testament, the most obvious example in pursuing the reward is Paul. He ran with a definite direction, and he boxed, not as beating the air. He also buffeted his body and led it as a slave. He did this because he was pursuing a prize. He was afraid that in preaching to others the word concerning the prize, he himself would become disapproved and be unable to obtain the prize (1 Cor. 9:26-27). In order to gain the Lord’s reward, he endeavored to run, but even in his old age, when he wrote the Epistle to the Philippians during his imprisonment, he still did not have the boldness to say that he had obtained the reward. In Philippians chapter one, he was full of confidence concerning his salvation (Phil. 1:19), but in chapter three he was still not sure concerning his obtaining the prize (Phil. 3:13-14). Hence, although he had attained maturity to a considerable extent, he still paid attention to one thing, that is, forgetting the things which were behind and stretching forward to the things which were before, he pursued toward the goal for the prize.
At the time he wrote 2 Timothy, he had reached the end of his course and was about to suffer martyrdom for the Lord. Only then was he able to boldly declare that he would receive the prize. He had fought the Lord’s good fight, he had finished the Lord’s course, and he had kept the Lord’s faith. At that time he knew with confidence that the Lord had reserved for him the crown of righteousness, that is, the prize of righteousness, which would be awarded to him at the day of the Lord’s coming back (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
Therefore, we must not be deceived into believing that once we are saved, everything will be all right. Our salvation cannot be more secure than Paul’s. And yet, after he was saved, Paul endeavored to run and continued to pursue, because besides salvation there was also the matter of receiving the prize. We should take him as our example of one who strove for and pursued after the prize.
When the dispensation of the kingdom comes, on the one hand, Christ will reward, according to righteousness, the overcoming believers in Christ, and on the other hand, He will perfect, according to righteousness, the immature believers in the New Testament, disciplining them (Matt. 24:48-51; 25:26-30) that they may pursue maturity in life and come to perfection.
Many believers think that when the Lord comes back, at the time of the millennium, all the problems will have been resolved. Actually, when the Lord comes again, He will still chasten and discipline the immature believers. To be sure, today the Lord also chastens and disciplines the believers (1 Cor. 11:31-32; Heb. 12:5-11), but He will do so even more at His coming back. In fact, according to the biblical teaching, the discipline which the Lord gives to the believers today is fragmentary, partial, and incomplete, but at His coming again, it will be entire, whole, and complete. Therefore, the Lord chastens and disciplines the believers not only in the dispensation of grace today, but He will do so also in the coming dispensation of the kingdom. According to His righteousness and for His righteousness’ sake, the Lord will discipline and perfect the believers who, in the present age of grace, neglect His grace and are unwilling to be faithful in the pursuit of perfection on the way of His grace. God’s disciplining and perfecting work will cause the believers who previously would not seek maturity in the divine life, to have maturity in life that they may be qualified to enter into the new heaven and new earth to be the constituents of the New Jerusalem. Thus, they will be able to share together with the believers who have matured earlier the enjoyment of the blessing of God’s eternal life in its ultimate consummation in eternity.
At Christ’s second coming all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26). They will be saved by repenting and calling on the Lord’s name through God’s pouring out of the Holy Spirit (Zech. 12:10; Acts 2:18-21). According to the new covenant which God has made with them, they will be saved and regenerated; they will receive the law of life, a new heart, a new spirit, and God’s Spirit (Jer. 31:31, 33; Ezek. 36:26-27). Hence, in the aspect of being saved and regenerated they will be just like the New Testament believers. However, because they will be saved after the church has been raptured, they will not be included in the church and thus will be unable to join the overcomers of both the Old and New Testaments in entering into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennial kingdom to reign as kings; they will be able only to enter the earthly section of the millennial kingdom to serve as priests, teaching the nations, who are the subjects, how to serve and worship God (Zech. 8:20-23). This is the way God will deal, according to righteousness, with all the Israelites who will repent and receive Christ at His coming back.
The dispensation of the kingdom, which is the dispensation of righteousness, is only an age of restoration (Acts 3:21), and as such it is still a dispensation in the old heaven and old earth of the old creation. It will be used by God to chasten, to discipline, and to perfect the believers. It is not in the new heaven and new earth that all the work of the new creation will be completed. God will use the last dispensation in the old creation to complete His work of the new creation on the man of the old creation. That is, He will cause the immature believers in the dispensation of grace to mature in life, and He will cause the repentant Israelites, after the termination of the dispensation of grace, to become constituents of the new race in God’s new creation. Thus, God will complete the work of the new creation on the man of the old creation in the old creation, a work that will produce and perfect a new race. The peoples of the new race will be the constituents of the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth in eternity. They are the object that God intends to obtain in His work both of the old creation and of the new creation throughout the generations for the fulfillment of His economy in eternity. Thus, the processed Triune God and the transformed tripartite man will be mingled as one to be a mutual dwelling place for His ultimate corporate expression in eternity.
After the conclusion of the dispensation of grace, God will change for the last time the way of His work of the new creation on the man of the old creation. That is, He will set up His kingdom on the earth to carry out His administration that He may accomplish His work of the new creation in the old creation. This is the dispensation of the kingdom, which is also called the dispensation of righteousness; it covers the period from the second coming of Christ to the end of the millennium. In this dispensation, according to His righteousness, He will use the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens to reward the just men perfected in the Old Testament and the overcoming believers in Christ in the New Testament that they may participate in Christ’s kingship and joy. Moreover, according to righteousness, He will perfect the immature believers in the New Testament and also will deal with all the Israelites who repent and believe in Christ at His coming back. The dispensation of the kingdom, which is the dispensation of righteousness, is still a dispensation in the old creation used by God to chasten, to discipline, and to perfect the believers. It is not in the new heaven and new earth that all the work of the new creation will be completed. God will use the last dispensation in the old creation to complete His work of the new creation on the man of the old creation. That is, He will cause the immature believers in the dispensation of grace to mature in life, and He also will cause the repentant Israelites, after the termination of the dispensation of grace, to become constituents of the new race. In this way God will complete the work of the new creation on the man of the old creation in the old creation, a work that will produce and perfect a new race. Thus, the processed Triune God and the transformed tripartite man will be mingled as one to be a mutual dwelling place for His ultimate corporate expression in eternity.
