Segment VIII

Revelation’s Matrix Begins to Grow

A   =    The sealing of the 144,000

B   =     The numberless multitude standing around the throne

C   =     The seventh seal

The Matrix Grows

In our earlier study, we discovered that the timing of the first seal is a critical matter. Because some things have to be understood before they can make sense and other things have to make sense before they can be believed, the books of Daniel and Revelation are hard to understand at first. God is very clever. He had the cryptic books of Daniel and Revelation written out thousands of years ago so they would be included and widely distributed as part of the Bible. But, God had them written in such a way that no one could figure them out what they meant until the book of Daniel would be unsealed at the appointed time of the end. However, once the rules of interpretation were discovered, the books of Daniel and Revelation become perfectly harmonious because the four rules produce a matrix that determines the timing for everything written in these two books. We saw the value of this matrix when we are able to determine that the seventh seal on the Books of Life would be broken at the end of the millennium.

Please examine the chart above again and notice an interesting feature. Prophecy #1 in Revelation (Revelation 4:1-6:17) covers six seals, and then Prophecy #2 begins with a discussion about the 144,000, but ends with the seventh seal. (Revelation 7:1-8:1) The same thing happens with the seven trumpets! Prophecy #3 (Revelation 8:2-9:21) discusses six trumpets, and then Prophecy #4 begins with a discussion on the Two Witnesses. (Revelation 10: 1-11:14) Then, Prophecy #5, which describes the seventh trumpet, follows Prophecy #4. The separation of the seventh seal from the six seals and the seventh trumpet from the six trumpets has been a mystery for centuries. I believe God had Revelation written this way to force us into using valid rules of interpretation. Then, when the book of Daniel would be unsealed and valid rules of interpretation discovered, the all important matrix would reveal the timing of each event presented in Daniel, as well as Revelation.

Great White Throne Judgment

At the end of the seventh millennium, the holy city, New Jerusalem, will descend from Heaven with all the saints inside. (Revelation 21:2) After the city comes to rest, the wicked will be resurrected from their graves. (Revelation 20:5) The wicked, from the time of Cain to the last person who was killed at the Second Coming, will number in the tens of billions. Keep in mind that 99% of the wicked did not see the Second Coming because they were sound asleep. On that sober day, two great classes of people will gaze at each other. The saints, already a thousand years old but free of the aging process, will see the miserable and degenerate condition of the wicked. The wicked will rise from their graves just as they went to their graves. They will be astonished as they study the gleaming walls of the New Jerusalem. The wicked will see family members, friends and individuals who they regarded as poor, weak, unsophisticated and uneducated. Generals, kings, presidents, scholars, wealthy tycoons, religious leaders and greedy employers will be found standing outside the city. (Matthew 7:14; 19:24)

Jesus will resurrect the wicked for three reasons:

1. First, He will confront them will the results of His judgment bar. Jesus will have a face-to-face meeting with each of His created beings. He wanted every wicked person to know that He personally investigated every record and He wants every wicked person to know why that person was not granted eternal life. To put His investigation and decision beyond controversy, Jesus will open the books of deeds and present the evidence to each person, showing the wicked person the record of his life. Each wicked person will be forced to face the unvarnished truth. “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14) “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for all the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10) Jesus will conclude this segment of the Great White Throne judgment by saying that He could not save anyone who committed the unpardonable sin, and the sound of His gavel will declare a finished work.  The wicked were denied eternal life because they rejected the authority of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 12:31,32) After reviewing the evidence and hearing Jesus’ decision, the wicked will kneel out of fear and confess with a heart like Esau, “In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength…” (Isaiah 45:24) Remember, Esau regretted that he sold his birthright for a dish of food, but his heart remained unchanged. (Hebrews 12:17)

2. The second reason Jesus resurrects the wicked is so they can provide restitution. During the millennium, the saints were required to go over the records of the wicked and determine the amount of restitution each wicked person must pay. “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!” (1 Corinthians 6:2,3) “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God…” (Revelation 20:4) This will shock some people, but the golden rule is iron clad. It cannot be violated. “As you did unto others, the same will be done unto you – with additional penalties.” Jesus said, “For the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:2) The doctrine of judicial equilibrium is a marvelous study. It teaches that whenever we do wrong, God requires that we make every effort to restore the damage and make it right. If we refuse to make it right, God will see to it that restitution is extracted at the appointed time, even if we are unwilling. This is why Paul wrote, “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.” (Romans 12:19) During the millennium, the victims of crimes will determine the amount of restitution that will be extracted from their wicked assailants, and the currency of restitution will be paid in full through suffering in a lake of burning sulfur. The wicked will burn and suffer according to the decisions made by their victims. God’s law demands it. Contrary to what most Christians believe today, God does not forgive sin. He is willing to transfer the guilt away from the sinner, but in God’s economy, sin always requires atonement. Only after restitution has been totally paid will the wicked be allowed to perish. Many wicked people have committed horrible crimes and gone to their grave thinking they got away with murder. Can you imagine their surprise when they learn they have been awakened from the sleep of death to provide restitution for their deeds by suffering? Do not forget, the saints will also pass judgment on Lucifer and each demon. The culpability of Lucifer and his demons will be completely exposed and the saints will judge them during the millennium. In the end, justice will be served to achieve the perfect equilibrium that God’s wrath requires.

3. Of course, the third reason for the resurrection of the wicked is the breaking of the seventh seal. This will be the only moment in the history of the universe when everyone who had life is alive. Billions of people and angels will be present. The wicked will be positioned outside the city with Lucifer and his angels, and the saints will be positioned inside the city with the angels of God. At this point, Jesus has something to say to everyone (literally everyone who has ever lived). When Jesus breaks the seventh seal, He will show angels and humans alike that He is eternal God, a member of the eternal Trinity, possessing every attribute of God. As such, He is responsible for the creation of everyone present and that He was not willing that anyone should perish. He will explain that He was willing to die for angel or human before He created them. The love of Jesus for His creation will be revealed to every being that draws breath. This touching revelation takes half an hour. Perhaps the presentation will be presented with clips of events that actually happened, like a giant movie, using the sky as a giant screen. Everyone will understand the magnitude of Christ’s love. Everyone will know that He is God. Everyone will see the Creation, the Fall, the Redemption and the Restoration. Everyone will see that Jesus truly loved His children and that he was willing to die – from the beginning – for everyone that sinned without defiance.

After the seventh seal is broken and the half-hour presentation come to an end, Jesus will then show, what the Father knew from the beginning. The books of record and the Book of Life will be found to be identical. The choices of angels and humans alike were recorded as they happened, and even though the Father foreknew the rise and the price of sin, He authorized the creation of life anyway. (Hebrews 1:2) After the Book of Life has been opened, seven eternal truths will be confirmed before the assembled host:

1. God has perfect foreknowledge. He does not use His foreknowledge to manipulate the choices and affections of His children. God treats and respects His children on the basis of infinite love.

2. God is love. Even though He foreknew the rise of sin and the price of redemption, He created children and gave them the freedom anyway.

3. God grants the power of choice to His children. They are free to love Him and serve Him or they are free to hate Him and rebel against Him. God does not control or manipulate the choices of His children.

4. God’s ways are not righteous because He arbitrarily declares Himself righteous. God’s way are righteous because He has proven to be righteous during the presence of sin and rebellion. The Book of Life will prove that God uses His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence to insure that eternal rule of the law throughout His expanding universe. He does not use these incredible powers to secure His position on the throne.

5. God is unbelievably humble and unselfish. As God, Jesus was willing to forfeit His eternal existence so the offspring of Adam and Eve might have the possibility of recovering all that was lost through sin.

6. God’s government is based on principles of righteousness and justice. Because God is subject to His own unchangeable laws, Jesus agreed to die as a perfect substitute in man’s place so that everyone who believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

7. Now that the knowledge of good and evil has become universal, people redeemed from the penalty of sin will forever use their influence to prevent sin from occurring again.

When the universe comprehends these demonstrated truths, the saints will fall on their faces before Jesus saying, Jesus is Great! Jesus is just too good too great to describe. Single-handedly, He exonerated the government of God and redeemed sinners from their sins!  What a God! The angels of God will rejoice at this revelation of Jesus as they see the contents of the Book of Life. Everyone present knows that the Father’s character has been revealed through Jesus. The saint and the angels will fall on their faces before Jesus praising Him for His goodness and generosity to them. Saints and angels of God will again declare that Jesus is worthy! The Godhead can be trusted. The Godhead is worthy of nonnegotiable faith.

As saints and angels of God rejoice over the contents of the Book of Life, Lucifer, his demons and the wicked multitude are moved to anger. There is no one to blame for their position outside the city, but themselves. There is nothing they can do so save themselves from the suffering that is about to be extracted from their flesh. As they gaze on the glorious holy city and the rejoicing saints, they feel darkness, loneliness, despair, and strangely, their hatred for God rises. Lucifer seizes the moment, he marshals the mighty host to make war against Jesus, inspiring them to take the city by force: “They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 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.” (Revelation 20:9,10) This torment, which occurs day and night forever and ever, reflects the demands of restitution. The wicked will suffer in full until their debt is paid in full.  “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.” (Revelation 21:8)

The book of Revelation indicates that Jesus will create a new Heaven and a new Earth. (Revelation 21:5) After doing this, Jesus will do something even greater! “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26) Jesus will once again hand over His exceeding great authority to the Father so that He might live among His creation as one of us. What does this action say about the character of God? I can think of nothing other than this: God is love.

Summary of the Seven Seals

Even though this study was broken into eight segments, this has been a very long study. I hope you have found this information helpful. The next time you read through this study, it will make more sense because you will know the end from the beginning. The story of the seven seals is huge and I am grateful for the opportunity to share the results of my investigation with you. The first apocalyptic prophecy in Revelation is dedicated to the seven seals because there is no grander topic than the revealing of all that Jesus is. He is worthy to receive worship, praise, honor, strength, glory, wisdom and power.  Even in our wildest dreams, we could not have invented a God with the attributes of Jesus! He is more than we can possibly understand.

In summary, the Father wrote the Book of Life before life was created. He prerecorded the history of angels and humans. He then sealed the book with seven seals so that no  one could view the contents of the book until the appropriate time. In 1798, Jesus was found worthy to receive the book and began breaking the seals. As each seal is broken, a new revelation about Jesus occurs:

Seal 1: The salvation of Jesus

Seal 2: The teaching of Jesus

Seal 3: The judgment bar of Jesus

Seal 4: The authority of Jesus

Seal 5: The faith of Jesus

Seal 6: The glory of Jesus

Seal 7: The deity of Jesus

As we look at the prophetic matrix, the fourth seal is the next seal to be broken. This seal marks the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The stage is set and the hour is almost here for earth’s final curtain. For six thousand years, Earth has been a theater of conflict between good and evil. The drama of sin is almost over. We are very close to the Second Coming. The next revelation of Jesus will be awful and awesome at the same time. The declaration of His sovereignty will soon occur.

At the end of the seventh millennium, the drama of sin will come to a close when the seventh seal is broken and the contents of the Book of Life are exposed. Because the Book of Life will be found to be identical with the books of record, the Father will eternally silence the charge that He used His foreknowledge to manipulate the choices of His children and the outcome of events. The universe will see that even though God knows everything and has all power, He can be explicitly trusted to respect the power of choice that He grants to each of His children. Every question about His integrity, character and government will be resolved when the seventh seal is broken because an open Book of Life will say everything that needs to be said.

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