A Short Story
By Annette Halsey
As Rose lay on the bed, her gaze passing over the too-familiar walls, her mind wandered to the future. For her whole life, she had dealt with illness and disability, and (according to the doctors) she would die soon. While she grieved for the pain her death would cause to her family, and knew it meant the end of a special time she had to encourage others and grow with the Lord through difficulties, looking forward to life in the Kingdom was thrilling. The end of Revelation told of an eternity of the Lord’s servants being in His presence, but even before that, it told of Christ’s resurrected servants reigning with Him for 1,000 years. Having no sin and death, the Eternal Kingdom would be the best, but the preceding Millennium was described more in the Bible—and it would happen first—so her thoughts often turned there. Over the past years, Rose had wondered how the ecosystem would work without animals killing each other, imagined how fascinating it would be to meet followers of Christ from different centuries, and contemplated what it would really be like to reign with Christ and see and talk to Him.
Today, however, her mind wandered down another trail: would she feel loss in the Millennium because she had never had children? If Adam and Eve had never sinned, it seemed logical to Rose that all of their children would have grown up healthy, gotten married, and had children of their own in accordance with the command to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Though her suffering had filled in the details of her life in many unique ways, including many opportunities to follow the Lord and to store up rewards as He had commanded (Matthew 6:20), she still felt some loss that she had never known the joy of motherhood. However, the Lord knew what He was doing. If He chose not to give her the option to be a mother, He had a reason for it. Even, Rose wondered, if a woman never married because she chose to follow God in a path that was better walked single, or for some other reason a woman who had wanted to be a mother couldn’t be due to the fallen state of the world, wasn’t it still fair to say that God knew what was going on, and had a plan? In the end, Rose did know that God is a comforter of those who mourn, and she was glad that she could leave her uncertainties in His care.
Not long after these thoughts, Rose departed her mortal body. The time in heaven seemed almost impossibly short before the believers there returned to the earth and experienced the Judgment Seat of Christ. For Rose, the best part was when her Lord looked at her and said, “WELL done, my good and faithful servant!” Never had she imagined such joy as she felt then!
The Lord continued, “You will rule over ten cities, cities that you will watch grow from the beginning. Entering this Kingdom are many children whose parents never believed. You will be a mother to ten of them, teaching them and caring for them until they have grown, and each will establish a city within your region of the country. My dearest daughter, you served me so faithfully during your struggles. Enter into the joy of your Master!”
With the understanding Rose had had in her previous life on earth, she could not have explained how time seemed to move now: it did not rush by, so that hours of joy slipped away before you enjoyed them, nor did it drag on in the way that seemed to make each minute take months. Somehow, time always seemed to move at the perfect pace, with responsibilities and rest, plenty of joy, and many interests. Before long, Rose was established in a beautiful and functional house, with children ranging in age from a seventeen-year-old to a tiny baby.
Each day she could take time to talk to and listen to her children, and mark milestones in their growth. In the Kingdom, new days did not herald new worries. Just as in families through the ages, each child had their own interests and ambitions. The twins loved exploring in the woods, and when she trekked out after them, she would usually find them doing something like timing each other to see how fast they could ride a giant cat down the trail, or building various propulsion systems for boats. While cars could transport people, they told her, there were so many other ways to explore for getting from here to there—some were fast, others quite interesting, and some extremely efficient.
On rare occasions, Rose would remember what she had experienced and seen of childhood in her natural life. Even in situations where the children were loved and cared for by their parents, the child-raising years in the old days had been full of uncertainties and a constant struggle for the child to learn, explore, and enjoy while the parents attempted to help, protect, and guide them. Now, peace, plenty, and safety were everywhere.
Daily, Rose had questions to answer from her children, chores to sort, and a multitude of decisions to make, but it was satisfying rather than overwhelming. The older children had memories of the pre-Kingdom era, and were amazed by the contrast between that time and the current ease of life, understanding of science, and worldwide teaching about the Lord; the younger children grew up starry-eyed with the opportunities in the world around them. Despite her happiness, Rose took teaching and talking with the children seriously. Not only did she want them to live happily in this current age, but she also wanted them to be in the Eternal Kingdom as well. Since the King’s law was enforced justly and quickly, people behaved, but (just as was the case since the first human sin) it wasn’t behavior but belief that determined who would enter the Eternal Kingdom (John 5:39-40, 6:26-29, 20:31; Romans 3:21, 4:3-4).
No one that her children knew died during their growing years—Rose wondered if that made it easier for them to believe in the Christ for eternal life, if it made it harder, or if it was just another set of circumstances that could be used for good or twisted for evil, like the many experiences in her own mortal life. Looking back, Rose was thankful for the experience she had had living for the Lord through a lot of hard times in the “old days”: the lessons she had learn about pondering questions and asking for wisdom stood her in good stead, and reminded her to make sure that she took plenty of time to listen to the children, not just to make sure they were fed and clothed. And nothing was better than being able to go to the Lord directly for advice on the toughest matters. Sometimes He told her directly what to do, and sometimes He told her, “Try, and learn.” Additionally, Rose was supremely happy in the community, and she took some questions to her own parents, or to another glorified believer. Since glorified bodies could travel quickly, and there were no lies or jealousy between any of the glorified believers, this source of companionship and wisdom was as much a part of her daily life as her house and children.
Rose’s eldest daughter remembered a life of hurt and neglect in the pre-Kingdom world. She reveled in Rose’s love and the affection shared between siblings, and her favorite chore was minding the baby. Of Rose’s children, she was the first to marry and start a family of her own, settling down with her husband to farm, raise their own children, and plan activities including Rose and the rest of the family.
Next in age was a son who was 16 when the Millennium started. While he loved his nieces and nephews, Rose watched him grow into his adult years and decades beyond without marrying. In the first couple of decades, he had helped with the desert restoration projects, especially enjoying returning home to develop new tools and equipment that were needed. Later, he traveled Kingdom-wide as a consultant in mechanical engineering and nano-chemistry. As a teenager and young man, he was good at pulling his siblings into his projects, and teaching them (both for their benefit, and to get extra sets of skilled hands to help with his projects). Eventually, he ran an organization thousands-strong which trained apprentices in the science and skills to become teachers and technicians, capable of creating items that many people had declared were impossible to manufacture.
Just as in the pre-Kingdom days, some people moved away from their homes when they grew up—but not Rose’s children. Like Job’s children, sons and daughters alike were granted a generous portion: in this case, an area large enough for their growing work and/or family, and enough extra acreage to expand into large cities. Spouses, students, and society moved to their area, and the family helped each other with daily life and vocations. Predictably, it was the twins who set up the easy-travel system between the ten new homes. As the years passed, they used some of their oldest brother’s technology to upgrade it to accommodate the travel needs of ten cities’ worth of people.
As the decades passed and the children grew up, Rose transitioned from planning daily chore schedules to being the head of the regional government. She was now a grandma of many, and often joined her children and their families for meals; she also led the governments of the rapidly growing municipalities. Her glorified body easily kept up with all those activities, as well as the regular gatherings with glorified brothers and sisters and with the King Himself. Despite still living in mortal bodies during the Millennium, her children and grandchildren were happier and healthier than would have been possible in the pre-Kingdom eras, and the passing of decades did not leave them worn and infirm.
Rose did not feel deprived of motherhood at all.
Disclaimer: Please note that artistic license was utilized in this fictional story for the purpose of drawing readers to ponder and further study what the Bible has to say about the Kingdom. This piece is intended to excite curiosity about the Bible and Biblical truths, and not meant to be used as dogma.
If you want to study certain topics further, these are some of the passages that helped shape the story:
2 Corinthians 5:10 The Judgment Seat of Christ—Believers are judged by Christ, not to determine where they will spend eternity (John 5:24), but to receive praise or rebuke according to how they have spent their lives.
2 Timothy 2:12 Faithful believers shall reign with Christ (Also, if we deny being His, He will deny us the privilege of reigning with Him, though [v13] He will not deny that we are His.)
Revelation 20:1-7 The Millennial Kingdom—During the 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth, called the Millennial Kingdom, people will still sin (Rev 20:8). Satan will be locked up, and the Lord will govern the world. This passage also touches on faithful believers reigning with Christ–not just Tribulation saints, since 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 tells us that the dead in Christ rise before the living in Christ are caught up to be with Him.
Isaiah 65:20-25 Conditions in the Millennial Kingdom—In Isaiah 65, verse 20 speaks of people dying, so this is not the Eternal Kingdom (death ends in Rev 20:14), but there is widespread peace, including safety from animals (at least in Israel/[the Lord’s] holy mountain).
Luke 19:11-27 Faithful servants reigning over cities—This specific parable includes two different levels of faithful servants (who earned 10 minas and 5 minas), an unfaithful servant (who earned no minas), and the enemies of the king. While an in-depth study of the New Testament on rewards shows many degrees of reward and various specifics, I liked using this one in the story.
Numbers 14:29, 31 Those below 20 years of age are not judged the same as adults.
What does the age limit for Exodus-era Israelites entering Canaan have to do with this story? The Bible teaches that God lets people choose their beliefs and actions (Acts 13:46, 2 Samuel 15:22-23, and many other passages–this in itself is a good Bible study) even if they often can’t choose their circumstances or their roles in God’s plan (Romans 9:10-12). Even those who haven’t heard directly about God are capable of searching for Him based on whatever they do know (Romans 1:20-21; Acts 17:22-31) and He responds to those who search for Him (Acts 16:9; Hebrews 11:6b). However, the Bible doesn’t specify what happens to those who died before they were old enough to understand and believe. It seems to violate God’s justice to give unbelieving children eternal life when His promise of eternal life was made only to those who believe; it seems a greater violation of justice to condemn children to the Lake of Fire when they never had a chance to believe. This story is based on the conviction that since God allows children to die who have never had a chance to believe, He also has a way to deal with them justly; and on the assumption that the way He deals with them is to allow them to live out their mortal lives in the Millennial Kingdom. When I first heard 20 mentioned as the age of accountability, it seemed like an old age to be the cut-off, but 1) it is used several times in the law of Moses as the beginning of adulthood, and 2) it does showcase God’s longsuffering that He would wait until 20 to judge someone as an adult. A five-year-old may briefly understand that there is a God, there is sin, and there is death, but not really think much about the importance of those things; even a twelve-year-old may have heard about God’s promise but not really pondered it. By 20, a person has had ample opportunities to at least look at the world around them and want truth.
At the end of the Tribulation, those who rebelled against the Lord are killed (Rev 13:16-17, 14:9-11, 19:19-21), and those who did not are glorified—yet somehow, there are still humans left who can sin, and who are having children (Rev 20:8, Is 65:20). To me, a logical option is that the children living at the end of the Tribulation enter the Kingdom in mortal bodies (rather than dying or being glorified at that point), and it’s not a huge jump from there to include children who have died from all eras. Since the Bible does not specifically teach that, it may be wrong–but if it is wrong, our righteous and merciful God has an even better plan.
Annette Halsey is a wife and homeschooling mother who is passionate about theology and the importance of serving God in the responsibilities you currently have.
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