Our service to God in heaven will be in three different time periods: during the Tribulation, during the Millennial Kingdom, and after the Millennial Kingdom in the New Jerusalem for eternity.We will start our conversation from Revelation 7, which is during the Tribulation period.

Revelation 7:13-17

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 16 “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (bold for emphasis)

This passage (beginning at v. 9) provides us with a glimpse into heaven in which John saw a great multitude in white robes standing around the throne of God and before the Lamb (Christ), worshipping God with all the angels and the elders (the resurrected church). They are the resurrected believers of the Tribulation who were martyred for their faith.

Verse fifteen tells us that they serve Him day and night in His Temple. We don’t know much about this heavenly temple, but we know that it is where the throne of God is and where His presence is. And we can only wonder what they (and we) will do to serve Him day and night. But in their service they will be well cared for. They will not hunger or thirst. They will be out of the heat of the sun. The Lamb will be their shepherd and will guide them, and He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Our service during the millennial kingdom will also be quite a mystery in that we don’t know many details of it. But we do know that we will always be with God and with Christ. And our home will be in the New Jerusalem, which will probably, at that time, be somewhere hovering over the earth. I am also inclined to believe that while we are serving on the earth we will be invisible (most of the time), as are the angels.

As I have outlined in my book, The Coming Millennial Kingdom, there will be at least five great purposes of the Millennial Kingdom: 1) to restore harmony to His creation, 2) to demonstrate God’s perfect government on the earth, 3) to fulfill God’s eternal covenants with Israel, 4) to display the character and glory of Christ, and 5) to provide a final test for man.4  I’m sure that in some way and form we, with the angels, and also with all the believing mortal leaders, will be serving Christ to fulfill these purposes. It will be an exciting time.

Our service after the Millennial Kingdom will be equally, if not more exciting. Revelation 22:1-4 gives us the setting.

Revelation 22:1-4

Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

Here John sees a crystal-clear river flowing from the throne of God. And it flows out into the golden streets of the heavenly city into every neighborhood, where on either side of the river will be the tree of life bearing fruit; and even the leaves of the trees will bring healing (or nourishment). And in this place (heaven) there will no longer be any curse. And the throne of God will be in it. I take this to mean that God will be everywhere showing us His presence.

This next part has to do with our service. It says that we are His bond-servants, that we will see His face, and that His name will be on our foreheads. In some respects, this sounds restrictive. A bond-servant is like a slave; and to have His name on our forehead means that He owns us and He is our master. Yet in other ways, this sounds very comforting and securing. Because we know that He loves us and cares for us, and He will never leave us. And we will never want to leave Him. Being very near Him and looking at His face is what we always desire. And to serve Him night and day will be our greatest joy.

And you think that is great, look at what Luke 12:37 tells us. In this parable Jesus tells us that “he will gird himself to serve, and have them [his slaves] recline at the table, and will come and wait on them.” Here Jesus is telling us that in heaven He will also serve us and wait on us. In so doing, He will demonstrate to us that He too will enjoy serving us. Yes, serving each other will be one of the great joys we will share together.

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4 Stephen Nielsen, The Coming Millennial Kingdom (published by Stephen Nielsen, 2017), p.49.