Five Essential Bible Truths – Part 3
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What About Night and Day?

The second issue in this text has to do with no rest – day or night. Look again at the verse. John says that people who worship the beast and receive his mark have no rest day or night.

Here is the point. There will be a group of people who submit to the devil’s demands when he physically appears on Earth. In order to submit, they will have to violate their conscience. If they do not have a conscience, they will violate the will of others. Human rights will not exist. In order to survive, people will submit to the devil. Ignoring their conscience, they will do horrible deeds. Guilt-ridden, they will not have peace day or night remembering the evil deeds they committed against God’s people.

Tormented Day and Night Forever

Last, notice one more problem text in Revelation: “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 20:10)

If you separate this verse from all other Scriptures, you could interpret that people thrown into the lake of fire at the end of the millennium will be tormented day and night forever and ever. If you use this one “proof” text to prove your argument, the concept of an eternally burning hell could be confirmed. However, earnest Bible students know that fundamental doctrines require broad support from many Bible writers. More importantly, there should be harmony from the sum of all the parts. Let the entire Bible speak and then weigh the evidence! The reason so many conflicting beliefs on Bible doctrine exist today is that too few are used to support doctrine.

One definition of denominationalism is a process where a group of people exalt a few texts above all others – sometimes to the exclusion of the weight of evidence. This explains why there are differences between American Baptists, Southern Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Free Will Baptists, Evangelical Lutherans and Missouri Synod Lutherans, Mormons. Please do not misunderstand my point. Religious differences are not necessarily bad. However, the use of too few verses can produce conclusions that are contrary to what the bible actually teaches!

So, if we reconcile all Bible texts on this subject, we find a reasonable solution to John’s statement in Revelation 20:10. John says that the wicked will be tormented day and night, forever and ever, which means they will be tormented as long as they exist.

Apparently, the burning process will be longer for some people than others. In other words, people who have been extremely wicked will suffer compensation commensurate with their deeds. Satan will burn the longest! (Exodus 22:9; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 14:10) The saints will determine the amount of compensation! Jesus told his disciples: “…I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28) “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world…Do you not know that we will judge angels?” (2 Corinthians 6:2,3)

The key to understanding this problem text is the Biblical definition of the word “forever.” It does not necessarily mean throughout endless eternity. Consider how the word forever is used in this text, “Achish trusted David and said to himself, ‘He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever.’” (1 Samuel 27:12) Will David be a servant to King Achish for eternity? No. Achish wanted David to be a servant for as long as he lived. In a similar way, the marriage vow ends at death – “until death do us part” – because forever can only be possible as long as the people of the marriage exist. The torment of justice described in Revelation 20:10 lasts until there is nothing left of the sinner. When sin and sinners are finally destroyed, death and sorrow will be history.

Missing Heaven Will be Hell

This article may not convince you that there is no eternally burning hell. However, the weight of the evidence throughout the Bible must be considered if we are to properly understand what God is going to do. One thing is certain. God is love. Because His love is great and everlasting, I want to spend eternity with Him. His justice is fair and His mercy is full. His qualities combine in wonderful ways that cause a spring of affection involuntarily to rise within me. God’s truths are too wonderful to describe and His peace too deep to explain. Missing Heaven after realizing what it is all about – will be hell.

A Short Study of Revelation’s 20’s 1,000 Years

Students of Bible Prophecy generally ascribe to four basic views regarding the 1,000 years mentioned in Revelation 20. There are also variations within each view. They are: 1) Premillennialism, 2) Postmillennialism, 3) A millennialism, and 4) Panmillialism.

Premillennialism

This popular view teaches that Christ’s kingdom on Earth will be established before the millennium begins. In essence, premillennialism teaches that Jesus will reign for 1,000 years in peace and righteousness from the throne of David in a rebuilt Jerusalem. At the end of the 1,000 years, there will be a final resurrection, judgment and renewal of the heavens and the Earth. Then Christ’s kingdom will be consolidated with the eternal kingdom and He will return the kingdom of Earth back to the Father. Many premillennialist believe that the promises and covenants God gave to ancient Israel in the Old Testament are unconditional; therefore, He will literally fulfill all He initially promised to Israel during the 1,000 years. There is some dispute among premillennialists concerning the identity and role of the saints during the millennium. Some scholars teach that the saints will rule as priests and kings with Christ over the unconverted. Others believe the Jews will be converted to Christianity as a result of the rapture and then will rule over the Gentiles. The net effect in either case is that the saints will rule over the wicked.

Postmillennialism

Postmillennialism is the opposite of Premillennialism. Postmillennialism describes Christ’s Kingdom as established on Earth after the 1,000 years are over. One group of postmillennialists believe that the world will continue as it is, getting more and more Christianized as a result of Christians sharing the gospel on a wider scale (worldwide TV, short-wave radio, Bibles printed in may languages). When the world is completely converted, then a long period of peace and prosperity will exist for the next 1,000 years. At the end of the 1,000 years, Christ will return to Earth, resurrect the dead, perform the final judgment, give the saints eternal life and destroy the wicked. Another group of postmillennialists believe the earth is desolate of mankind during the 1,000 years, Christ establishes His Kingdom on earth.

Amillennialism

Adherents of Amillennialism maintain that the 1,000 years is not a literal period of peace and righteousness. It is believed that the millennium alludes to a present reign of deceased souls with Christ in Heaven, which is followed by Christ’s second coming, a resurrection, final judgment, and Christ’s eternal reign over a perfect Kingdom here on Earth. Just what takes place during the 1,000 years of revelation 20 is a matter of debate among amillennialists. Basically, amillennialism stands in opposition to the first two options: pre- and post-millennialism. The millennium, according to amillennialism, is better understood in an allegorical sense.

Panmillennialism

People who identify themselves as Panmillennialists are not comfortable with the three previous views, but believe over time, the millennium will “pan-out” just as God intends. Obviously, this view is no view.

What is the truth about the 1,000 years of Revelation 20? Do Christians really need to know about the millennium right now? Certainly, the subject of the millennium years invites many questions.

A Completed Picture

It is human to discuss the importance of things we do not understand. An elderly man once said to me, “I have lived 80 years without understanding the millennium. Do you really thing I need to know about it now?” I smiled and responded, “People have lived on Earth for thousands of years without refrigerators. Do we really need them now?”

 The point behind my tongue-in-cheek response is that God has included “timely” information in the Bible; that is, when the right time comes, the information becomes essential to those who want to understand the ways of God. The better we understand God’s actions, the deeper our faith in god can grow! Therefore, I find the subject of the millennium important right now, because the time has come. Information revealed in Revelation 20 will bring the big picture into a sharper focus. In other words, the millennium and its intricate details reveal how God is going to deal with seven groups of people.

Conclusions are Built on Basic Extensions

Every presentation on the millennium is based on suppositions or axioms that expositor believes to be true. For example, the view of Hal Lindsey and Jack Van Impe align with their basic doctrinal beliefs. So do mine. In fact, I have read the conclusions of several expositors on the millennium and have discovered that all of them have one point in common: The millennium serves as a means to a glorious end. Each expositor believes the millennium to be a vehicle through which God terminates the sin problem. Obviously, any expositor’s conclusion is related to what they understand the sin problem to be and this is why there are significant differences on the subject.

My understanding of the millennium aligns with five essential Biblical truths and one of the five is the mortality of man’s soul. In Ezekiel, we find that the soul that sins, dies. (Ezekiel 18:4) As stated earlier, many Christians believe the soul is immortal and goes to Heaven or Hell at the time of death. However, my conclusions, based on Scripture, indicate that this is not the case. In fact, when the subject of death is correctly understood the millennium becomes understandable. In addition, more importantly, Revelation 20 explains how God finally and fairly terminates the sin problem. Thus, the big picture of God’s PLAN to save man is completed with the closing chapters of Revelation. For me, the subject of the millennium reveals a loving and thoughtful God!

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