In the US, we are approaching a presidential election. It will take place in November. But the president will not take office until January. There will be around seventy-five days from the time he or she is declared president until the new government takes effect.
What will happen during those seventy-five days? One of the major things that will occur is the new president’s setting up his or her cabinet. The president will be the most powerful person in the world for the next four years and will need many people to help with governing. These people will fill numerous positions of authority, both in the US and almost every country of the world (as ambassadors and their staffs members). Obviously, it will be a privilege and reward to be among those chosen for this honor. The president-elect will have to make many decisions. The president’s helpers and their respective responsibilities will become official. They will have much to do to prepare for their roles in the government. It’s a wonder that it could all be accomplished in just seventy-five days.
Something similar will happen when the greatest “President” of all time begins His administration. When Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation, He will come to establish His eternal kingdom. There won’t be any more elections!
The second part of the Tribulation–during which the Man of Sin leads the final and most terrible rebellion against God and His people–will last 1,260 days (Rev 12:6). The prophet Daniel discusses this period of time throughout the book he wrote. At the end of the book, he adds some very interesting information. He writes: “Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days (Dan 12:12).”
The Lord will return on day 1,260 at the end of the Tribulation. But Daniel says there will be blessings received by His people seventy-five days later, on day 1,335. What will happen during those seventy-five days?
Daniel doesn’t say. But it is reasonable to think that the blessings refer to the rule of Christ over His creation. All of the Bible looks forward to His government. What a day it will be when that government begins!
I’ll tell you what I think will happen during those seventy-five days. The Lord will return on day 1,260, which marks the end of the Tribulation. But there are things that must happen before His reign begins. There will be several judgments. In two separate judgments He will judge the Gentiles and the Jews who are alive at the end of the Tribulation. Old Testament believers will be resurrected and judged at this time. It may be that the Church will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ after the Lord returns.
Believers of every dispensation will receive their rewards during these judgments. Daniel talks about rewards in chapter 12 (vv 3, 13). It is then that each believer will know what role he or she will have in the Lord’s kingdom.
In my mind, it will be like the time when the US president-elect announces those who will fulfill roles in the coming administration. During the seventy-five days that Daniel mentions, Christ will announce those who will hold positions of leadership and responsibility in His reign. Believers of all ages will be rewarded with positions in His kingdom before it actually begins.
I am sure other things will occur during those seventy-five days. But for those believers who will rule with Christ in His kingdom, I have to think that even the anticipation of serving the Lord and others in whatever positions they will occupy will be unimaginably wonderful. It must be very exciting for a person to be given a role in the cabinet of a modern-day president. Such a person will look forward to it with eager expectation. In the days after the Lord’s return, I suspect that Christ’s future partners will be giddy with excitement as they look forward to what they will be doing forever as honored members of His cabinet.
