Revelation
21,22
Events that take
place at the end of the 1,000 years
Begin Text:
Today, we conclude our
three-year study on the book of Revelation.
Before we get started, I would like to
refresh your thoughts on two issues from
last month’s presentation.
Issue
#1: An outline of 15 events surrounding the
Second coming:
----a---b---c---d---e---f---g---h---j---k---l---m---n---o—
a. 6th
bowl – demons sent out to the kings of Earth
b. Armageddon
begins as Jesus approaches
c. Second
Coming – 1,335th
Day of the Great Tribulation
d. Righteous
dead are resurrected on the Sunday (?) morning
e. Righteous
living called up shortly thereafter
f. The devil,
his demons and employees cast into the lake of
fire
g. A command
pronounced by Jesus kills the remaining wicked:
“Die”
h. Devil and
his angel’s locked in the Abyss by Sunday
noon
i. Saints
return to Heaven with Jesus to determine and
judge the wicked
(restitution) during the 1,000 years
- - - - - Earth desolate - - - -
j. At
the end of the 1,000 years, Holy City descends
k. Wicked
dead are resurrected to stand before God’s
White Throne
l.
Silence occurs in Heaven – 7th
seal – Everyone admits that Jesus is
righteous
and true, every knew bows, but the wicked are not
repentant for their sins
m. After
realizing their fate, the devil urges the wicked
to attack the Holy City
he deceives the nations into thinking they can
save themselves
n. Fire falls
from Heaven – burns up wicked – they
become ashes
o. New Heaven
/ New Earth created
---a---b---c---d---e---f---g---h---I---j---k---l---m---n---o
Let’s go through this outline again with
some additional details added in …
About 20 days before the
Second Coming occurs, when the sixth bowl is
poured out, the devil will send three of his most
powerful demons to visit the ten kings of Earth.
These demons will be on a
mission to get the disillusioned kings of Earth
to join with Lucifer and his angels in their
attempt to destroy Jesus and the Father as they
draw near Earth.
To convince the ten kings
that survival is possible, the demons will
perform a number of powerful miracles.
These
miracles will bolster the courage of these
disillusioned kings and they will join forces
with Lucifer to destroy Jesus and the Father with
nuclear missiles and anything else they can find.
This battle against an
approaching Jesus is called Armageddon in
Revelation 16 and it will culminate on the 1,335th
day of the Great Tribulation with a sudden and
total defeat for the enemies of Jesus.
The first visible sign of
the Second Coming will be a small cloud in the
sky. At first, Jesus and His glorious army will
look like a small cloud about the size of a man’s
hand.
When Jesus gets close
enough, nuclear missiles from the arsenals of
Earth’s kings will be fired toward Jesus.
These missiles will cause no harm.
The approaching cloud
contains the Father and the Lamb and this cloud
will continue to grow in brilliance and
definition as it nears the Earth.
Thunder
and lightening will emanate from this cloud and
the people of Earth will begin to cry – out
of fear.
Finally, after a couple
weeks of failed attempts to destroy Jesus and
His army with weapons of war, the cloud
containing Jesus and His angels spreads out and
it encircles the whole Earth. Its appearance will
be like flames of fire and noise louder than a
thousand B-52 bombers taking off will shake the
Earth and intimidate the living.
The people of Earth will run
for cover. The wicked realize they are helpless.
They are overwhelmed with fear of being captured
alive.
The righteous will be
overwhelmed with awe at the glory and majesty of
Jesus.
To the wicked, the appearing
of Jesus will be a horrible nightmare. For them,
Jesus is like a fearful monster in science
fiction movies that cannot be stopped from
causing great destruction.
At the appointed moment, on
the 1,335th day, everything on Earth
breaks loose.
The surface of the Earth
will be ripped up as if by unseen hands. The land
will heave, the mountains and islands will
tremble and start moving out of their places….
The once mighty armies of
mankind will cower and run for cover.
Revelation 6:15 Then
the kings of the earth, the princes, the
generals, the rich, the mighty, and every free
man hid in caves and among the rocks of the
mountains.
Revelation 6:16 They
called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall
on us and hide us from the face of him
who sits on the thrown and from the wrath of
the Lamb!
Revelation 6:17 For
the great day of their wrath has come, and
who can stand?”
The
Father will come with Jesus:
Matthew 26:63 But
Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to
him, “I charge you under oath by the living
God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of
God.”
Matthew 26:64
“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus
replied. “But I say to all of you: In the
future you will see the Son of Man sitting
at the right hand of the Mighty One and
coming on the clouds of heaven.”
The first thing to happen
during this upheaval will be the resurrection
of the righteous dead.
Jesus
will call the righteous dead to life and they
will come up out of the dust of Earth with
glorious bodies and they will not stop to visit
with their loved ones. No! They will shoot out
right of their graves and immediately ascend
toward Jesus who remains in the sky.
The wicked will see this
happen. And to their dismay, they will see people
resurrected which they recently murdered.
This
event will force the wicked to realize that their
doom is inescapable.
Note:
Jesus will not touch this defiled Earth at the
Second Coming. This is why the righteous dead
will meet Him in the air!
After
the righteous dead are resurrected and near His
side, Jesus will then call for the righteous
living.
The righteous living will be
transformed in a split-second.
Their filthy clothing, their
matted hair and tattered beards will disappear.
Their weak and frail bodies will look like
victims from the Holocaust. But, this will
change.
When
Jesus calls for them, they will be found hiding
in dungeons, caves, and deserts and suddenly,
their worn-out bodies and clothing will be
transformed into glorious bodies of health and
beauty.
They will
ascend and together with the righteous dead they
will meet the Lord in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,
with a loud command, with the voice of
the archangel and with the trumpet call of
God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first.
1 Thessalonians 4:17
After that, we who are still alive and are
left [on Earth] will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air. And so we will be with the Lord
forever.
After
the saints are safely hovering with Jesus in the
sky, and while the wicked are scrambling from the
wrath of the Lamb, Jesus sets the oceans of Earth
on fire.
I am guessing this
huge fire is related to the great earthquake that
accompanies the breaking of the sixth seal
– do you remember that this final earthquake
moves every mountain and island out of
their place?
Revelation 16:18
“….No earthquake like it has ever
occurred since man has been on earth, so
tremendous was the quake.”
Revelation 6:14 “….and
every mountain and island was removed from their
place.”
Speculation:
I have a suspicion that
Jesus will return Earth to one landmass
at the Second Coming --- just as it
was in the beginning.
Do you remember that in
Genesis 10:25, the landmass of the world was
divided into continents after the flood?
Science agrees [perhaps
you’ve seen National Geographic maps showing
how the irregular shapes of the continents will
combine and produce one landmass] that there
is much evidence concluding that Earth had one
land mass and one great ocean, but somehow, the
Earth became fractured.
I believe this fracturing is
described in Genesis 10:25.
So, if Jesus moves the
mountains and islands back together, the net
effect is that Earth would once again consist of
one landmass and one huge ocean.
Given the global convulsion
that attends the Second Coming, it’s quite
possible that natural gas and oil buried deep
with in the Earth could rise to the surface of
this huge ocean and these gases and this floating
stream of oil would enable the ocean to become a
fiery lake that looked like “burning sulfur”
to John. (Burning sulfur creates billows of
dark smoke.)
As
the saints look down on Earth, they see the
bodies of the devil and his angels along with all
of the devil’s employees the world over
thrown alive into this global lake of fire.
Remember, the devil’s
government (the great prostitute) will be
functioning all over the world at the time
of the Second Coming.
Since
the prostitute was a consolidation of religious
and political powers, this helps to understand
why Jesus consolidates the world into one huge
landmass. This makes the resulting ocean “a
huge lake of fire.”
Jumping ahead for a moment,
John says that in the Earth made new, there will
be “no more sea.”
This
comment suggests that at the end of the 1,000
years, the ocean will be dried up and millions of
square miles that cannot be used by human beings
at the present time will be transformed into land
and this land will be given to the saints as a
generous inheritance.
Anyway,
the devil and his angels and all his employees
will be thrown into this lake of fire and this
fire will burn for a 1,000 years.
The remainder of the wicked
will then be killed by a single word that
comes out of the mouth of Jesus. “Die!”
This command is described in
Revelation 19 as a sword that comes out of
Jesus’ mouth.
After they are separated from
their bodies, the devil and his angels will then
be returned to the Abyss where they
will be locked down in an invisible state and
chained to this huge fireball for 1,000 years.
After the devil and his
angels are safely locked down, the saints will go
to Heaven with Jesus and they will live with
Jesus in the New Jerusalem – just as He
promised.
John 14: 3 And
if I go and prepare a place for you [in my
Father’s house], I will come back and
take you to be with me that you also may be where
I am.”
After they get there, the
saints will begin their assigned duty of judging
the amount of restitution each wicked person
must provide.
Remember, the judgment
conducted by the saints during the 1,000 years
has nothing to do with whether a person
receives eternal life or eternal death.
Jesus Himself will make all
eternal life and eternal death decisions
before the Second Coming takes place.
This is another reason why
the doctrine of a pre-Advent judgment is
important.
People need to know that
Jesus decides who will be saved and who would be
lost BEFORE the Second Coming occurs!
So, the saints will reign
with Jesus, they will be given authority to sit
in judgment with Jesus during the 1,000 years to
determine the amount of restitution which
must be extracted from the wicked through
suffering.
Why is restitution
necessary!
God’s justice
demands full restitution.
Before the wicked are
permanently destroyed, God requires every
injustice to be converted into perfect justice.
Before
a New Heaven and a New Earth are created, all
wrongs will be made right – either
voluntarily (through genuine repentance) or
involuntarily (divine extraction).
Therefore, saints will
thoroughly review the case of every wicked person
and every wicked angel and they will
determine the amount of suffering which
must be extractedfrom every evil person to
achieve perfect justice.
Don’t
ever forget this: The whole universe has been and
will forever be subject to the golden rule.
God demands that everyone
make restitution for wrong deeds.
If you do so voluntarily
– out of genuine sorrow for your sin, you
will be blessed.
If restitution has to be extracted
from you, then you are under the curse of sin
because you are not sorry for your sin.
Actually, you are defiant about remaining in
rebellion.
Because wicked people have
no intention of making restitution, every
suffering they inflicted or imposed upon others
has to be extracted from their flesh by
fire.
Luke 12:5 “But
I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him
who, after killing of the body, has power to
throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
At the end of the 1,000
years, the Holy city will descend to Earth.
The wicked of all ages will
then be resurrected to face their Maker and to
receive their sentences. (Plural)
1. One sentence
concerns restitution, the length of suffering
required in the fire.
2. The other
sentence is the penalty for sin which is the
second death – a death from which
there is no hope for resurrection.
God sends fire down from the
sky at the end of the 1,000 years, the wicked
will be sustained in the flames of hell for as
long as necessary so that restitution can be
fully extracted from them.
Some of the wicked will
perish quickly as though “salted with fire,”
others will suffer horrible torment for a long
time.
This suffering will be
perfectly commensurate with their crimes –
the suffering they imposed upon others.
Then, at that time, the
enduring golden rule will be clearly demonstrated
to the universe. God will demonstrate that the
integrity of His law: “As you do unto
others, the same will be done
unto you.”
Think about this: The golden
rule is not an arbitrary rule.
The golden rule is the only
way that justice can be uniformly and fairly
administered among a wide range of created
beings having the power of choice.
Life for life.
Limb for limb.
Wing for wing for angels.
Tooth for tooth.
Bruise for bruise.
Finally, after the devil and
his angels finish suffering in the flames of hell
(they will burn for a long time – maybe a
few month), they will ultimately perish (cease
to be).
At that moment, the universe
will not only be purified, free of sin and
sinners for the first time in thousands of years,
but more importantly, the universe will see at
that moment that justice cannot be avoided or
escaped!
God
will not allow one sin to escape notice or
justice.
Murderers
may think they can cover up their crimes, thieves
may think they got away with their loot, liars
may think they can hide the truth, but this is
not the case AT ALL.
Profound
statement coming:
The drama at the end of the
1,000 years proves that God will resurrect
deed people if necessary to see that
restitution is extracted and justice is served!
After the earth is purified
by fire and sin and sinners are no more, Jesus
will proceed to create a New Heaven and a New
Earth and the saints will watch with awe and
amazement.
The meek will then inherit
the Earth and live happily ever after.
Revelation 21:7 He
who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will
be his God and he will be my son.
Revelation 21:8 But
the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the
murderers, the sexually immoral, those who
practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars
– their place will be in the fiery lake of
burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Malachi 4:1 “Surely
the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace.
All the arrogant and every evildoer will be
stubble, and that day that is coming will set
them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty.
“Not a root or a branch will be left
to them.
Malachi 4:3 Then
you will trample down the wicked; they will be
ashes under the soles of
your feet on the day when I do these things,”
says the Lord Almighty.”
Issue #2: Contrary
to what many people believe, the Bible does
not support the doctrine of an eternally
burning hell.
The Bible does teach that
hell will burn just long enough to satisfy the
demands for perfect justice and to destroy the
wicked and this is why hell is presented
in certain Bible passages as ongoing
suffering.
In
other words, hell won’t burn for eternity,
it will only seem like it to the wicked!
Mark 9:47 And if
your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is
better for you to enter the kingdom of God with
one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into
hell.
Mark 9:48 where
“’their worm does not die, and the fire
is not quenched.’
Mark 9:49 Everyone
[thrown into Hell] will be salted with
fire.”
Revelation 20:10
“And the devil, who deceived them, was
thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the
beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They
will be tormented day and night for ever and
ever. [unto the end of the age]”
Romans 12:19 “Do
not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for
God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is
mine to avenge; I will repay,” says
the Lord.”
Because most Christians
believe that hells burns for eternity, I would
like to give you a few reasons showing why the
Bible does not support the doctrine of an eternally
burning hell.
I
hope you will be able to remember some of these
points, so get a pencil if necessary and write
them down in your Bible:
1. The reward
that will be given to the saints at the last
day is eternal life.
In other words, the only
people to receive eternal life at the
Second Coming are the saints.
John 3:16 “For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life.
John 6:40 For my
Father’s will is that everyone who looks to
the Son and believes in him shall have eternal
life, and I will raise him up at the last
day.”
Ok, here’s the
problem: A person can’t burn and writhe in
hell throughout eternity without first receiving
eternal life.
In other words, a wicked
person has to receive eternal life before
he can writhe in hell for eternity.
But, the wicked will not
receive eternal life. The Bible teaches that eternal
life will be granted only to the saints, and
that the wicked will perish.
John 3:16 “For
God so loved the world that He gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life.
So, a wicked person
cannot burn in hell for eternity because wicked
people don’t receive eternal life.
2. Here’s a
second point that militates against the doctrine
of an eternally burning hell:
Most Christians believe that
Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for
our sins.
But, if the penalty for
sin is burning in hell throughout eternity,
then Jesus did not pay the price for sin.
Period.
Even if you say that Jesus
burned in hell for three days and three nights,
that is not eternity. Even after billions and
billions of years, eternity has just begun!
The fact that Jesus did not
burn in hell for eternity should cause every
person believing in eternal hell to reconsider
his theology.
In order to pay for
our sins, the penalty for sin had to be
imposed upon Jesus and it was.
So, what is the penalty for
sin?
The penalty for sin is
“death by execution – without hope for
resurrection.”
Genesis 2:16 And
the Lord commanded the man, saying, of every tree
of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Genesis 2:17 But
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it; for in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [be
executed]”
Adam and Eve were to be
put to death on the very day they sinned, but
Jesus seeing that they did not sin defiantly,
became man’s intercessor instead of man’s
executioner.
(More about this in a
moment)
3. Let’s
assume for a moment that a wicked person goes to
Hell at the time of death, why then are the
wicked resurrected at the end of the 1,000 years?
What is the point of
resurrecting Cain (the first murderer) if he has
been burning in Hell for the past 6,000 years?
Think about this: What would
be the point of resurrecting Abel if he had been
sitting at Jesus’’ side with the angels
for the past 6,000 years?
The doctrine of the two
resurrections is in direct conflict with
the doctrine of an eternally burning hell as well
as the idea of going to an immediate destiny at
death.
4. Let’
stake this process one step further: If a person
goes to Heaven or Hell at the time of death, this
necessitates judgment at the time of death. Someone
in Heaven has to make a decision for eternal life
or eternal hell at that precise moment.
But, the Bible fully
disputes the idea of immediate judgment at death.
The Bible teaches there is pre-Advent
judgment.
The judgment bar of Christ
has a beginning point in time and an ending point
in time, and the books of Daniel and Revelation
tell us the judgment bar of Christ began in 1844
and it closes at the end of the 1,260 days, just
before the seventh trumpet sounds.
Therefore, no one could
be judged by Christ prior to 1844. (Yes,
God the Father has made a few exceptions: Enoch,
Elijah and the 24 elders, but these exceptions
were made because there are a couple issues that
needed to be resolved and taking a few people to
Heaven was the best way of resolving these
issues.)
Even more, until Christ was found
worthy to take over the thrown of the Father
in 1798, Jesus could not judge anyone prior
to this date.
Daniel 7:10 “…The
court was seated, and the books were opened.”
Jesus said:
John 5:22 Moreover,
the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all
judgment to the Son,
John 5:23 that
all may honor the Son just as they honor
the Father. He who does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father, who sent him.”
With these words, Jesus
spoke of a time when He would be given the
throne.
At this time, He would be
honored even as the Father is honored and
worshiped.
Ephesians 1:9 “And
he [the Father] made known to us the
mystery of his will according to his good
pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
Ephesians 1:10 to
be put into effect when the times will
have reached their fulfillment – to bring all
things in heaven and on earth together under
one head, even Christ.”
The point here is putting
everything under Jesus did not happen until 1798.
And we know from Daniel 8 and Hebrews 8, that
Jesus could not judge anyone until 1844!
So, Bible prophecy says that
immediate judgment at death is not possible.
5. The Bible
teaches that a new heaven and a new earth will be
created after the old Heaven and Earth have passed
away.
Revelation 21:1 “Then
I saw a new heaven and new earth will be created
after the old heaven and earth has passed away….”
This verse means that hell
itself has to pass away. In fact, hell fire is the
means through which Earth will be purified of
sin!
Sin and sinners will have no
place on Earth, in Earth or under the Earth when
everything is made new.
God’s universe will be
clean.
6. If there is
an eternally burning Hell, what judgment is left
for the saints to conduct during the 1,000 years?
1 Corinthians 6:2
Do you not know that the saints will judge the
world. . . . ?
1 Corinthians 6:3
Do you not know that we will judge angels. . . .
?
Think about this: If all the
wicked receive the same amount of suffering,
e.g., burning in hell for eternity, then there’s
nothing for the saints to judge during the 1,000
years!
7. The Bible
declares the wicked will be devoured –
destroyed – annihilated – turned to
into ashes.
Malachi 4:3 Then
you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes
under the soles of your feet on the day
when I do these things,” says the Lord
Almighty.”
Listen carefully: Hell fire
will serve two purposes:
First, it is the means
through which restitution will be extracted from
those who would not repent of their evil.
Second, fire is God’s
method of executing the wicked and
purifying Earth.
Remember, it was said
earlier that the penalty for sin is death by
execution without the hope of resurrection. This
explains why Jesus was executed on the
cross and why He made the remark on the cross
that God had forsaken Him!
I’ll say more about
this in a moment. . .
The doctrine of hell is all
messed up by Christians today largely because
people don’t properly understand the
necessity for restitution, the doctrine of God’s
vengeance, the Second Death nor apocalyptic
prophecy.
Yes, I can see how people
conclude that people will burn in Hell forever.
There is a language in the
Bible that seems to support the idea of eternal
suffering in hell until you put everything
the Bible has to say about Hell on the table.
Then, and only then, does
the truth on this topic clear up.
The Bible is like a giant
crossword puzzle. When all its doctrines are
properly defined and understood, all of the
pieces will harmoniously align in one beautiful
mosaic.
8. Here’s
the final reason why Hell doesn’t burn for
eternity: God’s own law, the golden rule, does
not permit God to punish wicked people beyond
the point of achieving restitution. Period. God
abides by His own laws. This submission is proven
by the death of Jesus! The Father would not
allow Jesus to die if there had been any
other way to redeem man.
The point here is that there
is no sinner, not even the devil that merits
endless torture in hell throughout eternity!
If God tortured demonic
angels and “slightly wicked” people
throughout the endless ages of eternity, He would
be a tyrant because justice demands
that punishment be commensurate with the crime. Tyrants
don’t do this. They abuse their victims with
excessive punishment. Tyrants are not fair.
Look again at the golden
rule: “As you do unto others, the same will
be done unto you.” And you should see the
limits of torture in hell.
In summary, I believe that
God has deliberately made the matter of an
eternally burning hell a topic of controversy
to keep the subject of eternal burning
hell alive!
[pun intended]
By keeping the subject in a
state of controversy, it forces those who seek the
whole truth to resolve this complex issue and
for me, the truth on this topic is as clear as
the noonday sun.
God is fair and just. He
is truly a God of love. There is no meanness nor
arrogance in God. Look at Jesus washing the feet
of the disciples. This is an example of the
character of the Father for the Father and the
Son have the same character of love. They are one
in purpose, plan and action.
A few words about the
penalty for sin: The Second Death
Jesus died the
Second Death in our place. He did not have to
burn in hell for even 15 seconds because the penalty
for sin is not burning in hell.
As a co-eternal member of
the Godhead, Jesus suffered the most horrible
thing that a God having eternal life within
Himself and boundless love for His children could
experience.
Jesus went to His death
without any hope of resurrection.
Yes, prior to His death,
Jesus predicted his resurrection, but when Jesus
died on the cross, He died believing that He would
not be resurrected.
How is this possible?
When the Father applied the
curse of sin to Jesus on the cross, Jesus
experienced something He had never experienced
before. He was totally forsaken by the
Father.
Matthew 27:46 About
the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachchthani?”
– which means, “My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me?”
Jesus was abandoned by the
Father at the cross so that He would die without
any hope of a resurrection.
Here’s why:
2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for
us . . . .
Because sin was transferred
to Jesus, He had to experience the Second death
that is death by execution without hope of
resurrection.
Because we have a God of
love, God went first. He was the first to
experience the Second Death.
“Grace and Peace to you….
Revelation 1:5 “…
from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the
firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the
kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has
freed us from our sins by his blood.”
The title, firstborn of
the dead, means Jesus was the first to
experience the Second Death. He is called the
firstborn of those that sleep.
Think about this: In
order to save mankind, God had to experience the
penalty fro sin Himself.
God does not impose
suffering on human beings or angels that He has
not first suffered.
There was no need for Jesus
to experience torture in the fires of Hell
because experiencing torture in the flames of
Hell is not the penalty for sin! That
suffering is “payment in kind – as in
restitution.”
Torture in hell is all about
justice – extracting restitution from wicked
people who refuse to make their wrongs right.
So, what Jesus suffered on
the cross has nothing to do with restitution. It
has to do with the penalty for sin.
In order to rescue mankind
from the curse of sin, a member of the Godhead
– not just a righteous man – had to
die.
This fact puts the death of
Jesus on a higher plane than what most people
understand.
When you look at the cross,
you need to see an eternal member of the Godhead
dying in your place.
Justice demands a life for a
life.
A God had to give up His
eternal life in order for a sinner to have it.
On the cross, Jesus became
separated from the Father because Jesus had to
(a) to be executed and (b) die without hope of
resurrection.
And here is the heart of
God, this is the core of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, Jesus willingly gave up His life
on the cross without any hope of being
resurrected in order that we might have His
eternal life.
A co-eternal member of the
Godhead, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, was
willing to forever cease to exist in order
that we might be given His eternal life.
A greater example of love is
not possible throughout the whole universe –
in space and time.
This is the incomprehensible
love of God! This is what Jesus – a
co-eternal member of the Godhead – was
willing to do for you and me and even more –
the Father, who loved Jesus with a perfect love
that exceeds the love of a husband and wife
– was willing to allow it.
The plan of salvation is
not based on the death of a righteous man
named Jesus.
No, No, No!
The plan of salvation is
based on the willing death of an immortal,
co-eternal member of the Godhead.
Because an angel is a
created being, an angel could not redeem sinners.
Angels do not have eternal
life within them.
They are subject to death
and in fact, one-third of them will die the
Second Death in hell.
Because Adam was created
being, he could not redeem man. Adam did not have
eternal life within himself.
The point here is that Jesus
willingly gave up His immortal life as well as
His prerogatives as a co-eternal member of the
Godhead so that believers in Him could be
rescued from sin’s penalty.
Jesus achieved two things
for sinners: (1) He lived a life of perfect
submission to the will of God and this 33 years
struggle against sin produced a spotless robe of
righteousness which is freely granted to us
through faith in Jesus and (2) Jesus, as an
immortal God, He gave up His eternal life so that
we could have it.
Yes, Jesus did both! I
hop you can see why the Father has decreed “The
Revelation of Jesus Christ” must take place.
Such “universe class” love has to be
fully exposed!
Romans 5:10 For
if, when we were God’s enemies, we were
reconciled to him through the death of His
Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall
we be saved through his life!”
Jesus paid the penalty
for our sins by accepting our guilt and dying the
Second Death.
Jesus also provided the
righteousness we need by living a perfect life.
Now that you understand
these things, you should understand the song of
the numberless multitude around the thrown:
“And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation
belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and
to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:10)
This song means that
salvation was entirely God’s rescue, not
ours.
Such a profound love and
truth that will never cease to amaze the saints
after they get to Heaven and understand even more
clearly who Jesus really is and all that he
really is.
Its no wonder that in the
book of Revelation, the angels and elders fall on
their faces as they worship the Lamb and the
Father because there has never been nor will
there be a greater expression of love than
revealed in the plan of salvation.
Ok, now that you are
acquainted with the end time processes and
purposes, including the purpose of hell and the
second death, let’s look at the last verse
in Prophecy #11 and then move into the last
prophecy #12:
Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the
first heaven and first earth had passed away,
and there was no longer any sea.
This verse brings
prophecy 11 to a close… after the purifying
fires of hell have ended, a new Heaven and a new
Earth will be created. Prophecy #11 ends here and
the last prophecy in Revelation begins:
Prophecy #12 backs up a
little bit on the timeline because the descent of
the Holy City is the first thing to happen at the
end of the 1,000 years. So, prophecy #12 begins a
few weeks before a new Heaven and a new Earth are
created.
So, here’s the first
thing to happen at the end of the 1,000 years:
Revelation 21:2
I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the thrown saying,
“Now the dwelling of God is with men,
and he will live with them. They will be his
people, and God himself will be with
them and be their God.
The God described here is
plural, both the Father and Jesus.
We will see this
plurality unfold clearly as we go through this
prophecy. To keep you from getting confused, here
are two important points I want you to keep in
mind as we proceed:
1. Jesus
continues to rule on the thrown as the “active”
God until everything is made new. After
everything is made new, then Jesus will return
“the thrown” to the Father.
1 Corinthians 15:24
“Then the end [of sin’s drama] will
come, when he [Jesus] hands over the
kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed
all dominion, authority and power.”
2. The
Father, although present on Earth, will not be
seen by anyone except Jesus because He dwells in
unapproachable light. Jesus said:
John 6:46 “No
one has seen the father except the one who is
from God; only he has seen the Father.
1 Timothy 6:15
“….God [the Father], the blessed
and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of
lords,
1 Timothy 6:16
who alone is immortal and who lives in
unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or
can see. To him be honor and might forever.
Amen.”
So, when the term God is
used in this last prophecy, keep in mind that
Jesus is a God and He is a visible representative
of the Father.
Colossians 2:9
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity
lives in bodily form…”
So….
Revelation 21:4
He [Jesus] will wipe every tear from
their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old
order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the thrown [Jesus,
The Creative Agent of the Godhead] said,
“I am making everything hew!” Then he
said, “Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:6
He said to me: “It is done. I [Jesus] am
the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without
cost from the spring of the water of life.
Revelation 21:7
He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I
will be his God and he will be my son.
Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the
vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those
who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all
liars – their place will be in a fiery lake
of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Revelation 21:9
Out of the seven angels who had the seven bowls
full of the seven last plagues came and said to
me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the
wife of the Lamb.”
[Note: The wife of the
Lamb is not the city, the wife represents “the
redeemed.”]
Revelation 21:10
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a
mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy
City, [New] Jerusalem [full of saints],
coming down out of heaven from God.
Revelation 21:11
It shone with the glory of God, and its
brilliance was like that of a very precious
jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
Revelation 21:12
It had a great, high wall with gates, and
with twelve angels at the gates. On the
gates were written the names of the twelve
tribes of Israel.
Revelation 21:13
There were three gates on the east, three on the
north, three on the south and three on the west.
Revelation 21:14
The wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and on them were the names of twelve apostles
of the Lamb.
Revelation 21:15
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod
of gold to measure the city, its gates and its
walls.
Revelation 21:16
The city was laid out like a square, as
long as it was wide. He measured the city with
the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in
length, and wide and high as it is long.
[Note: 12,000 by 12,000 stadia = 144,000,000
square stadia. In other words, each side of the
Holy City appears to be about 1,500 miles in
length. Is it also 1,500 miles in height? Of
course, with God, anything is possible. However,
I am guessing that the height of 1,500 miles is a
brilliant shaft of light rising from the city. I
suspect this huge shaft of light is a type of
beacon, an entry and exit port through which the
saints and angels will travel as they visit
distant worlds. Of course, time will tell!]
Revelation 21:17
He measured its wall and it was a 144 cubits [-216
feet] thick, by man’s measurement, which
the angel was using.
Revelation 21:18
The wall was made of jasper, and the city of
pure gold, as pure as glass.
Revelation 21:19
The foundations of the city walls were
decorated with every kind of precious stone….
The first foundation was jasper, the second
sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth
emerald,
Revelation 21:20
the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the
seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth
topaz, the tenth chrysoprass, the eleventh
jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
Revelation 21:21
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate
made of a single pearl. The great street
of the city was of pure gold, like
transparent glass.
Revelation 21:22
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord
God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Revelation 21:23
The city does not need the sun or the moon to
shine on it, for the glory of God gives it
light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Revelation 21:24
The nations will walk by its light, and the
kings of the [new] earth [the 144,000] will
bring their splendor into it.
Revelation 21:25
On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there
will be no night there.
Revelation 21:26
The glory and honor of the [redeemed from all]
nations will be brought into it.
Revelation 21:27
Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will
anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,
but only those whose names are written in the
Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 22:1 Then
the angel showed me the river of the water of
life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the
thrown of God and of the Lamb
Revelation 22:2 down
the middle of the great street of the city, On
each side of the river stood the tree of life,
bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding
its fruit every month. And the leaves of
the tree are for the healing of the nations.
[Note: The
leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations…. This is not an herbal
drink made form the leaves. Rather, this language
indicates the saints will gather each month at
the Tree of Life and they will sit together under
the leaves of the Tree, in its pleasant shade and
get acquainted with each other. Eventually, the
diverse family of Adam and Eve will become
unified as one very happy family.]
Revelation 22:3 No
longer will there be any curse. The thrown of
God and the Lamb will be in the
city, and his servants will serve him.
Revelation 22:4 They
will see his face [of the Lamb], and his
name will be on their foreheads.
Revelation 22:5 There
will be no more night. They will not need the
light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord
God will give them light. And they will reign
for ever and ever.
Epilogue:
Revelation 22:6 The
angel said to me, “These words are
trustworthy and true. The Lord [Jesus], the
God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his
angel to show his servants the things that must
soon take place.”
Revelation 22:7 “Behold,
I [Jesus] an coming soon! Blessed is he
who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”
Revelation 22:8 I,
John, am the one who heard and saw these things.
And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down
to worship at the feet of the angel who had been
showing them to me.
Revelation 22:9 But
he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant
with you and with your brothers the
prophets and of all who keep the words of
this book.
“Worship God!”
Revelation 22:10
Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the
words of the prophecy of this book, because the
time is near.
[Note: This language
becomes applicable when the time is near. Unlike
Daniel, it was not necessary to seal up the book
of Revelation because it could not be “unlocked
until Daniel was unsealed. So, the point here is
that when Daniel is unlocked – at the time
of the end – Revelation will also be
unlocked and the return of Jesus will be near!]
Revelation 22:11
Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let
him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who
does right continue to do right; let him who is
holy continue to be holy.”
[At first, these words
may seem totally out of context until we
understand that they specifically apply during
the time of the end when the book is correctly
interpreted. During the Great Tribulation, the
human view will be forced by circumstances to
make tough choices as the Revelation of Jesus
takes place. Everyone on Earth will be forced to
take a position on Jesus Christ and His gospel.
Either He is with God or He is not. Our choice
will reflect our love for truth and our
willingness to submit to Jesus, as God will be
tested with persecution. On the other hand there
is rebellion and defiance and the mark of the
beast.
So, the test that is
coming will push each person on Earth into one of
two categories. Each categories has a
progression:
Let him who does wrong
continue to do wrong – and after he commits
the unpardonable sin, let him who is vile
continue to be vile;
Let him who does right;
after he is sealed – let him who is holy
continue to be holy.”
Revelation 22:12
“behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with
me, and I will give to everyone according to what
he has done. [The living will be judged according
to their deeds.]
Revelation 22:13
I [Jesus] am the Alpha and the Omega, the
First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. [I
am that I am. I was here since the dawn of
eternity, and I will be here if eternity ever
ends.]
Revelation 22:14
“Blessed are those who wash their robes [in
my blood, the blood of the Lamb], that they
may have the right to the tree of life and
may go through the gates into the city.
Revelation 22:15
Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic
art, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the
idolaters and everyone who love and practices
falsehood.
Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus have sent my angel to give
this testimony for the churches. I am the Root [Adam,
the grandfather of David came from my hands] and
{I am] the Offspring of David [that is,
I am the Grandson that sits on David’s
thrown forever – Jeremiah 33:17], and [I
am] the bright Morning Star.” [that
is, the brightest star in the Heavens, the star
used for navigation – you can trust me to
safely direct you throughout the endless ages of
eternity]
Revelation 22:17
The [Holy] Spirit and the bride [my
people] say, “Come!” And let him
who hears [pass the gospel along and] say,
“Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him
come; and whoever wishes [its your choice!], let
him take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:18
I [Jesus] warn everyone who hears the word
of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds
anything to them [during the Great Tribulation
– when this book will be easy to understand
but difficult to obey], God [the Father] will
add to him the plagues described in this book.
Revelation 22:19
And if anyone takes words away from this book of
prophecy [during the Great Tribulation],
God [the Father] will take away from him
his share in the tree of life and in the holy
city, which are described in this book.
Revelation 22:20
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes,
I am coming soon.” Amen. [And John said,]
Come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22:21
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s
people. Amen.”
Summary:
We have carefully examined
every verse in the book of revelation in this
series. We have investigated the:
1. The
Seven Churches
2. The
Seven Seals
3. The
144,000
4. The
Seven Trumpets
5. The Two
Witnesses
6. The
Four Beasts
7. The
Three angel’s Messages
8. The
Seven Bowls
9. The
Great Prostitute
10. The Fourth Angel’s
Message
11. The Appearing of
Jesus and the destruction of the beast and false
prophet
12. The destruction of
sin and sinners and the renewal of Earth
Of course, there is much
more that could be said about the revelation of
Jesus, but my hope is that now --- the whole book
of Revelation makes sense to you just as it
reads.
Most of all, you know why
the last book in the Bible is called “The
Revelation of Jesus Christ.”
I think it is so neat how
the Bible presents a progressive revelation of
Jesus. For example, Genesis 1:1 says, “in
the beginning, God created the heavens and the
Earth.”
As we proceed through the
Bible we learn later that Jesus is the Creative
Agent of the Godhead. It was Jesus who created
the Heavens and the Earth.
It was Jesus who came to
Earth and died for our sins.
Then, when we get to the
last book n the Bible, we discover that Jesus was
found worthy to take over the Father’s
thrown. Jesus is in charge of the Great
Tribulation and the termination of the sin
problem. And Jesus Himself will come back to
Earth and rescue His children from the curse of
sin and take us to His Father’s house.
During the past three years,
I have tried to share Revelation’s story
with you, but my words cannot do it justice. I
hoe this study has caused you to better admire
and love our Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
So, to the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit --- three separate and distinct
co-eternal Gods of eternal love and endless
compassion, this series is dedicated.
End Text:
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