Sequence of Events in Scripture
This article serves to tie together the scriptures which answer the oft asked question as to how the elect will possibly be handed over control of this world at the end of the age.
Prophetic Sequence of Events Outline:
- Christ returns – Millennium begins
- The Elect (living and dead) rise as immortal bodies in the twinkling of an eye;no new overcomers during the millennium. (1Co 15:48-55; 1Th 4:15-17; 1Jn 3:2;3:6)
- Satan is imprisoned in bottomless pit / house- arrest; a seeming utopian age (in people s minds), but sin is still in the world. (Rev 20:1-4)
- Mankind ruled by God s elect with a rod of iron; no rebellion is tolerated (lawlessness not tolerated) (Rev 20:4-6)
- Satan is loosed – Millennium ends
- Worldwide Satanic deception; no faithful remnant (Rev 20:7 – 9)
- Post millennial rebellion, under the influence of the Adversary; (Rev 20:8)
- Lake of Fire (fire from heaven/”great white throne judgment”)– the destruction of all flesh, death and hell; the immortal elect do not go through the fire – they already went through the fire during the aion. (1Co 3:12-15; Rev 20:10-21)
- All redeemed and are now immortal bodies; all living with God all in all (1Co 15:28)
Prophetic Sequence of Events
Scriptures and commentary taken from IWWB:
1 God’s Purpose For The Millenium Within and Without
2 Are People Being Saved During the Millennium? Posted Mar 2, 2004 [ Updated to fit TOA Module October 7,2010]
3 When Does The Lake of Fire Begin?’x’ in italics is extraneous commentary or summary by author Mike Vinson
| Event | Scripture | Commentary | Supporting Scripture/ Commentary | Supporting Commentary and Scripture |
| 1. Christ Returns Millenium beginsAt Christ’s return the elect (living and dead) rise as immortal bodies(spirit) to meet Him.
dead (in Christ) elect and those alive elect rise to meet Christ in the air |
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery;We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? |
When Christ returns we [ elect and those dead in Christ] will be like him born of spirit (not flesh) in the twinkling of an eye; capable of being visible; manifesting in a physical body. xWe spiritually pass from death unto life if we are in Christ:
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 2.. 1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. All of this is “in earnest” or down payment form only at this time, but it is nevertheless an accomplished fact which is lacking only ‘birthpains,’ a resurrection from a physical grave or an instantaneous change into a spiritual body. Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory,who first trusted in Christ. “The redemption of the purchased possession” is the resurrection from the dead which all mankind will experience in his appointed time. 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. “As in Adam… so in Christ.” There was no ‘freedom of choice’ for any of us when we came to be “in Adam.” I cannot remember being asked if I chose to be “in Adam.” Being “in Adam” is thrust upon us all by virtue of our physical birth. And while God will “prepare our hearts” to receive Christ, He will do so through what He calls His “dragging” us to Himself. Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [ Greek – drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day. [ read After The Counsel of His Own Will]. 1Ch 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: Psa 10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:2 So when we do call out to God to have mercy upon us, we do so because we have been “prepared” by God to do so. We do not do so because of some unscriptural thing called “free will.” Who then is responsible for those hearts who refuse to be humbled? Who causes all of mankind to rebel against the rulership of God in his elect at this time and against the rulership of God’s elect at the consummation of the millennium? What do the scriptures teach? Jer 12:3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried [ and “prepared… drug”] mine heart toward thee: pull them [ also] out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them [ also] for the day of slaughter.2 |
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [ Gk.- precede] them which are asleep.1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them[ them which are asleep.] in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. |
It is a common Christian misconception to think that because Christ had to show His nail- scarred body to his doubting disciples that this story equates to the “we shall be like Him.” [ raised in the flesh but we will be raised in spirit.]1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Christ is not in a body of flesh and blood. Rather He is now“born of the spirit.” He was flesh and blood when he came to earth born of a woman, then he died on the cross and rose the 3rd day and was and is now born of spirit.[ we will be like him in this way spirit!] |
| 1a & 1c. Elect Reign with Christ during the millenniumRulership during the millennium is only for the overcomers *(Rev chap 2-3) | Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.This is the first resurrection. Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. |
Ruling and reigning with Christ during the millennium is a ‘prize’ reserved only for those in the first resurrectionThe rest of the dead(everyone not chosen/ elect) remain asleep / dead during the millennium/ thousand years – until the millennium is finished/ ends
Who is “the camp of the saints… and the beloved city?” Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. These are obviously the rulers of this millenial reign; |
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.This is the first resurrection.As follows
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain [ at Christs return] shall be caught up together with them [ them which are asleep.4:15] in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. |
Those who die during the millennium are not in the 1st resurrection. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished, does not exclude those who die during the millennium.In other words, Those [ called and unbelievers alive/ dead when Christ Returns] and those that die during the millennium are the rest of the dead that live not again until the thousand years are finished they are not the elect (1st resurrection) because the elect meet the Lord in the air(instantly born of the spirit; flesh gone) at his return: 1Th 4:17 |
| 1a &1c. Rulership during the millennium is only for the overcomers *(Rev chap 2-3)overcomers are they that overcame the wicked one during the ages, before the millineum.
Rev 17 & 18
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*Rev 2-3 To the Church in EphesusRev 2:1 To the angel[ a] of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. Rev 2:2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. Rev 2:3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Rev 2:4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Rev 2:5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. Rev 2:6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Rev 2:7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. To the Church in Smyrna Rev 2:8 To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. To the Church in Pergamum Rev 2:12 To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double- edged sword. To the Church in Thyatira Rev 2:18 To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. To the Church in Sardis 3 To the angel[ c] of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[ d] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. To the Church in Philadelphia 7 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. To the Church in Laodicea 14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God s creation. |
1) The ‘overcoming’ mentioned in these two chapters has to do with more than just the flesh. As a matter of fact, Paul tells us that while we certainly appear to be wrestling against the flesh, in realityWe wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12)
In other words, God is using Satan as an instrument of adversity. Hence the name Adversary. Contrary to orthodox Christian doctrine, Satan was no more righteous in the beginning than Adam. Both were created to perform just as they did. Adam was “corruptible flesh,” and “naked” from the Creator’s hand. Contrary to orthodox Christian doctrine, Satan was no more righteous in the beginning than Adam. Both were created to perform just as they did. Adam was “corruptible flesh,” and “naked” from the Creator’s hand. Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 2) Jesus Christ says Satan, the Adversary, “was a murderer from the beginning.” So Satan was created to be an adversary to “wrestle … against flesh and blood” so those who are destined to become ‘overcomers’ could“overcome the wicked one.” 3) Without an adversary there can be no overcomer (1Jn 2:13-14; Rev 20:2). What becomes of this connection during the millennium? If ‘overcomers’ are those who “overcome the wicked one,” and “overcome him [‘the Accuser,’ ‘the Devil,’ ‘the Great Dragon’] by the blood of the Lamb,” then the millennium will not produce “overcomers” because Satan will be ‘in prison’ during this time. |
1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men,because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren[ Satan] is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. Rev 12:11 And they overcame him, by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. |
No new overcomers during this period‘overcomers’ are those who “overcome the wicked one,” and “overcome him [‘the Accuser,’ ‘the Devil,’ ‘the Great Dragon’] by the blood of the Lamb,” then the millennium will not produce “overcomers” because Satan will be ‘in prison’ during this time.1
the thousand years of being ruled with a rod of iron were never intended to be a time for converting the hearts of mankind. Converted hearts have all endured being “carnal… babes in Christ” who were at one time ruled with a rod of iron but are no longer under the schoolmaster and his ‘rod of iron.’ Converted hearts are “prepared” by God Himself to receive his law into their hearts: 1Ch 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:2 |
| 1b. Satan is in prison during this time; a seeming utopian age; sin still in the worldBut the ‘bottomless pit’ is nothing more than ‘house arrest’ for Satan
Elect Rule with a rod of iron |
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more,till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. |
the whole world during this time will be like Job before his trials; the whole world will have “a hedge about it.”Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
This is a perfect description of the garden of Eden before the tempter was sent to tempt Eve. Had Eve not known God? Well, yes, Eve knew God just as well as any newborn baby knows its mother. Maybe she even knew God as a toddler knows that his parents will provide for him. But to begin with, neither Adam nor Eve knew God as a loving Father who would tell his chosen children: Heb 12:5 … My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: No normal loving parent “chastens and scourges” an infant or even a toddler. “Chastening” is reserved for children who are maturing. Neither of our original parents yet knew anything of the “chastening [ grace] of the Lord.”” Grace did much more abound” means that God’s “chastening and scourging,” will outlast our stubborn sinning! So what will become of those who live through the Millenium? What is the fruit of such a utopian age? It is the same as the fruit of our original unproven and untried parents: |
Isa 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem:thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry;when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. [No trying of your faith here] Isa 30:20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: Isa 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This [is] the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. [Not exactly ‘trying times.’]The trying and the testing and the proving which are essential for the preparation of ‘kings and priests’ will be completely non- existent. |
This is not to say that the flesh has to have Satan to be sinful. Nothing is further from the truth. But in the absence of the ‘Tempter,’ those who live during the millennium will do so under the influence of those who will be ‘ruling and reigning with Christ 1000 years.’Neither the ‘millennium’ nor the ‘lake of fire’ will produce what the scriptures refer to as “overcomers.” The reason for this truth is that an “overcomer” overcomes “the wicked one.” And “the wicked one” will be “in prison” during the millennium, and he will be purified during “the lake of fire.”Consequently neither of these periods will produce “overcomers.”But the ‘bottomless pit’ is nothing more than ‘house arrest’ for Satan. The ‘bottomless pit’ is taken from the same Greek word translated “the deep.”
Luk 8:31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [Greek – abussos]. Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [Greek – abussos] and a great chain in his hand. |
| 2. Millenium will end and Satan will beloosed
2b. post millenial rebellion – and all flesh will be brought to an end in the Lake of Fire
Summary: – worldwide Satanic deception –post millenial rebellion, under the influence of the Adversary; no faithful remnant followed by the –destruction of all flesh, death and hell (grave) in lake of fire |
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired,Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.1 |
When the thousand years are expired, and when Satan’s “little season” of deception is expired, then fire comes down from God out of heaven and destroys all flesh, setting the stage to bring the aions to their consummation. 2This worldwide Satanic deception followed by the destruction of all flesh, could never be accomplished as long as a tempter was free to roam the earth to try and prove a remnant. To bring all flesh to an end requires that there be no faithful remnant because: That be far from thee… to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee (Gen 18:25). This deception will be complete and it will be total worldwide deception. As with Sodom, so will it be with this post- millenial generation. There will not be even a Noah or a Lot to rescue.1
–post millenial rebellion, under the influence of the Adersary1 At this juncture in world history the entire population of the earth will be in this very “uncircumcised” and very “Philistine” condition.1 destruction of all flesh Such a thought is the single most repugnant thought possible to the flesh. The very concept of ‘no more flesh’ causes the flesh to recoil in fear and denial. But God has not left us to guess about this truth. |
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.11Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved;yet so as by fire.3
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These [the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city] are obviously the rulers of this millenial reign; those bearing the brunt of this Satanic rebellion. Have you never wondered why God put Satan ‘in prison’ at the beginning of the millennium, instead of sending him straight to the lake of fire burning with brimstone? Now you know why. God could not put Satan in the lake of fire because the lake of fire purifies, and the beginning of the millennium is not yet the time for Satan’s purification. God still has one more work for His ever willing adversary before the Adversary himself is to also be cleansed in God’s purifying lake of fire.1flesh and blood are temporal and will one day cease to exist2
Why, oh why, must Satan “be loosed a little season?” If, as the entire orthodox Christian world believes and teaches, the millennium is a time when the resurrected saints of God will be used of God to save this world, why then must Satan “be loosed a little season?” The answer is that the thousand years of being ruled with a rod of iron were never intended to be a time for converting the hearts of mankind. Converted hearts have all endured being “carnal… babes in Christ” who were at one time ruled with a rod of iron but are no longer under the schoolmaster and his ‘rod of iron.’ Converted hearts are “prepared” by God Himself to receive his law into their hearts: 1Ch 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:2
In conclusion, this is all very depressing to those who are still attached to the flesh. But the wonderful truth is still the same for those who can receive it now, and eventually for all men: Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.1
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| 2c. Lake of Fire“fire from heaven” followed by the “great white throne judgment” and the destruction of death and hell in the lake of fire. (Rev 20-10 212
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At the conclusion of the millennium the Lord is “seeking an occasion against” all flesh. The ever willing Adversary, having been held in prison for 1000 years for this very purpose, will now be released to provide the Lord that “occasion.” The ‘Philistines’ in the scriptures are typical of those who are ‘in the land,’ but who have never even ‘come out of Egypt.’ They haven’t had a ‘wilderness’ experience and they see absolutely no need to bother with that messy and embarrassing thing called ‘circumcision.’The story of Samson typifies the condition of the population of the entire earth at the post millenial rebellion,under the influence of the Adversary. At this juncture in world history the entire population of the earth will be in this very “uncircumcised,” very “Philistine” condition.
It is at this very moment when they [ go] up on the breadth of the earth, and compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devoures them (Rev 20:9). It is in his death that Samson finally achieves his goal of delivering Israel. During the millennium all nations become ‘God’s People,’ ‘God’s Israel’. subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. The third scripture defining the ‘lake of fire’ is: Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
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Isa 19:24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Isa 19:25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritanceCol 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
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It can only be “through death” that death will be abolished. It will only be THROUGH DEATH that the aions will be consumed and True life will finally come to all men through the vehicle of the “lake of fire.” The “lake of fire” is not what we have been taught in orthodox Christendom. The “lake of fire” is defined by three scriptures. The first is Isa 33:14-15:Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; This plain, straight forward verse of scripture flies in the face of all the false teachings of all of orthodox Christianity. The second scripture which, with this scripture here in Isaiah, defines why the lake of fire is called a ‘lake’ and not a ‘sea’ is: Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Rom 8:20 For the creature [all men of all time] was made |
In conclusion, this is all very depressing to those who are still attached to the flesh. But the wonderful truth is still the same for those who can receive it now, and eventually for all men:Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; |
| Conclusion of the Millenium2
At the end of the millennium God is “seeking an occasion” to bring death to an end. The only way to stop death is to bring to an end that which causes corruption and death:2
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What the scriptures teach us about that period is that not one single physical human being survives the “fire from heaven” which is to consume all mankind after the millennium. Here is what will happen at the conclusion of the millennium:Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
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The phrase “the number of whom is as the sand of the sea” is found several times in scripture and when it is used in reference to “Abraham’s seed”, it is often used in reference to all of mankind. When God told Abraham that his offspring would be as the sand of the sea and as the stars of heaven for number, He certainly was not referring to Abraham’s physical offspring which are comparatively few in number when compared to other nations. Despite all the claims of the false doctrine of British- Israelism to the contrary, Abraham’s physical descendants are not God’s chosen people whose seed are to become “as the sand of the sea shore for number.” | Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;Deu 7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
Christ will lose no one. All mankind will ultimately be “in Christ.” As such they will all eventually be “Abraham’s seed.” 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours onl y, but also for the sins of the whole world. |
‘Abraham’s seed becoming as the sand which is upon the sea shore’ is also a spiritual statement which means all who are in Adam will eventually be redeemed through Christ:1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
This is what Satan will do “for a short season… when the thousand years are expired.” Those who “encamp against the saints” will be convinced that they are “holy, every one of them.”It will be the ultimate and climactic deception. It will induce the destruction of all flesh for all time.“But God means it for good.” Gen 50:20 But as for you [Satan himself], ye thought evil against me; [God Himself] but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive [all mankind through the great white throne judgment… lake of fire]. |
| Post- Millenium; After the Millenium, the whole world deceived
Rev 20 – 21: Devil, flesh, beast and false prophet cast into lake of fire and tormented day and night forever and ever (aion; the age)10 White Throne Judgement11 Earth and heaven fled away12 Dead Rise13 Christ Ruling: Death and Hell cast into the Lake of fire; Second Death14 Process: Everyone not in the book Cast into the lake of fire15 New Heaven and New Earth21:1 Holy city, New Jerusalem, The Tabernacle comes down from god our of heaven the bride2
No More Tears4
All things new5 Redeemed inherit all things Fountain of water of life freely given6 All are Redeemed7 Second Death; we experience through them like they experienced through us Seven Last Plagues
Holy City, Jerusalem
God All in All 1Co 15:28
The secret things belong to God; the things that have been revealed belong to us and our children.
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Rev 20
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Rev 21
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 22 Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. |
13 So here we are, the sea of mankind gives up all the dead in it. That sea is all in Adam. Death and hades or the grave give up all in them. Death and the grave have received all in Adam. In other words, both statements are saying the same thing, all men are resurrected to judgment in the lake of fire. What is their composition in resurrection?1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body;it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And now to answer your question directly, What is their spiritual condition when they are cast into this fire? What is the spiritual condition of all who are in this fire? Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,prepared for the devil and his angels: Like Satan himself, all resurrected bodies are spiritual bodies. But all the bodies cast into the lake of fire are resurrected bodies with, as yet, no more than terrestrial glory. There will be every conceiveable degree of sinner to be cast into this lake of fire. Everything from innocent, untried, aborted babies to mass murderers like Mao Tse Tung. But still they are all spiritual ‘dust.’ As such they are food for the serpent, and they are all cast into the fire “prepared for the devil and his angels.”2
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life[ all flesh] was cast into the lake of fire. – the only ones whose names are written in the book of life, who will have no part in the lake of fire, are those who have already lived through their own time of millennial blessings followed by their own”fiery trials,” their own “judgment on the house of God.” 1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?2 It is only “through death” that we are presented holy and unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight.” Flesh and blood cannot fill that bill. Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;2
To the natural man, Christ was simply contradicting Himself. How do you find your life? Well, “you lose it.” Only if you lose it can you find it.Life comes only through death. And that is why God’s elect must die here and now before they can be judged here and now:2 Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Death must precede judgment. And yet we are told in no uncertain terms that judgment is now on the house of God: 1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? For God’s elect today is judgment day. “Where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?” They will appear at the great white throne judgment; they will appear in the lake of fire. It is there that death is destroyed. As little as many want to admit it, salvation is a process. See our letter What are the Seven Steps Toward Salvation? which is posted in our letters section of the web page. Samson’s relationship with God parallels that of the people of the millennium. In spite of all that the Spirit of God accomplished through Samson, Samson was an extremely carnal man right up to and through his dying moments. Those who live in a time when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Isa 11:9), like Samson, will take that relationship with God for granted. Though the carnal mind will be suppressed for 1000 years, when confronted with the Tempter it will fall victim just as Samson fell for the temptation of Delilah. It is THROUGH THIS PROCESS that salvation will come to all mankind just as it was THROUGH the death of Samson that deliverance was wrought in Israel. In this process we are told this interesting and very revealing story: Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. The Lord sought an occasion against the Philistine just as He will “seek occasion against” all flesh following the Millenial reign. Very few of God’s people are willing to face one of the most obvious truths in the scriptures: To “destroy death” (1Co 15:26), God must destroy the source of death. The leading cause of death is not heart attacks, automobile accidents or cancer.The leading cause of death, the very source of death, is birth into flesh (Mat 8:22; Rom 7:24).
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At the conclusion of the millennium the Lord is “seeking an occasion against” all flesh. The ever willing Adversary, having been held in prison for 1000 years for this very purpose, will now be released to provide the Lord that “occasion.” The ‘Philistines’ in the scriptures are typical of those who are ‘in the land,’ but who have never even ‘come out of Egypt.’ They haven’t had a ‘wilderness’ experience and they see absolutely no need to bother with that messy and embarrassing thing called ‘circumcision.’
The story of Samson typifies the condition of the population of the entire earth at the post millenial rebellion,under the influence of the Adversary. At this juncture in world history the entire population of the earth will be in this very “uncircumcised,” very “Philistine” condition. It is at this very moment when they [ go] up on the breadth of the earth, and compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devoures them (Rev 20:9). It is in his death that Samson finally achieves his goal of delivering Israel. During the millennium all nations become ‘God’s People,’ ‘God’s Israel’. Isa 19:24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; It can only be “through death” that death will be abolished. It will only be THROUGH DEATH that the aions will be consumed and True life will finally come to all men through the vehicle of the “lake of fire.” The “lake of fire” is not what we have been taught in orthodox Christendom. The “lake of fire” is defined by three scriptures. The first is Isa 33:14-15: Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? This plain, straight forward verse of scripture flies in the face of all the false teachings of all of orthodox Christianity. The second scripture which, with this scripture here in Isaiah, defines why the lake of fire is called a ‘lake’ and not a ‘sea’ is: Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. The third scripture defining the ‘lake of fire’ is: Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: The Lake of fire is the single greatest act of grace in the history of mankind. For more on this subject see ” The ‘Fire’ of The Lake of Fire” in the article ” After The Counsel of His Own Will.”
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1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. |
| The Flesh’s Reaction | In conclusion, this is all very depressing to those who are still attached to the flesh. But the wonderful truth is still the same for those who can receive it now, and eventually for all men:Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
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But Babylon cannot think spiritually. So instead of dethroning the beast within and “possessing the gate of his enemy”within, ‘the gate of his enemies’ becomes the Suez and Panama canals or some other such outward and physical application. But such is not the case. ‘Possessing the gate of his enemies’ is a spiritual statement involving the fact that “sin [“death the last enemy”] shall not have dom inion over you” (Rom. 6:14),So both Adam and Satan will be destroyed in the destruction of death. Those who are willing to give up a life in corruptible flesh are no longer fearful of death:2
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Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.Look at the teaching of Christ on this subject:
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. Luk 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.2
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Contrary to everything taught in the churches of Babylon, the thousand year period Is, Was and Will Be designed not to save the world, but to give God the “occasion He is seeking” to bring the aions to their conclusion. To achieve this outcome the millennium is designed to produce people who have never experienced the struggle of having to resist “the evil one.” What is so significant about that fact? Take a look at these verses relating to Satan’s function in the lives of God’s elect at this time:Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [ that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. |
| Universal Salvation vs Eternal Torment | Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life , and may enter in through the gates into the city. Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters,and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
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” When the thousand years are expired“None of these things can happen until “the thousand years are expired.” God’s elect are ruling during the thousand years. They will not tolerate any insubordinate “dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters,and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” There is no ‘lake of fire’ until after “the thousand years are expired” and the “little season” which follows Satan’s release from the so- called “bottomless pit” (Read What and Where Is The Bottomless Pit?). It is only the doctrines of Babylon with which we will struggle until the day we die, that would have us to think that the lake of fire exists during the millennium.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. The nineteenth chapter of Revelation mentions the marriage supper of the Lamb. This chapter also mentions the fact that the beast and the false prophet are “cast alive into the lake of fire. Having not so much as a clue as to what and who are the “beast and the false prophet,” having not so much as a clue that all of the words of the prophecy of this book are to be kept by each of God’s elect down through the generations of mankind; thinking instead that this is a book concerned only with the last generation of men who are on this earth before Christ returns to establish His “kingdom of this world,” we all, while believing the false doctrines of Babylon read Rev 19 and believe that the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire at the beginning of the millennium. Here are the verses used by men to teach us this false doctrine:
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Rev 19:15 And out of his [ Christ’s] mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. |
Forgetting and ignoring and being blinded to the third verse of the first chapter and the sixth and seventh verses of the 22nd chapter of Revelation, Babylon tells us that this is all done right at the beginning of the millennium. But what are we told in Rev 1:3 and 22:6-7? Pay very close attention and do not forget these verses. You will tend to forget these verses for the rest of your life. Do not let that happen:
Rev 1:3 Blessed [ is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
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| 144,000 | Neither are they ever called “overcomers,” and they do not receive the promises of rulership given to the overcomers in the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation. Here is what is promised to “He that overcometh.” These promises are not for the masses of mankind who will be ruled over by the “overcomers” in the “lake of fire.” Here are but some of the promises given to God’s elect, His “firstfruits.”Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. |
It certainly is true that that “great multitude which no man could number” will indeed as all flesh “come up through great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb,” but they will not do so until the one hundred and forty and four thousand have been ruling this unconverted earth for a symbolic one thousand years. | The “overcomers” given the promises listed above are the same as the symbolic “one hundred forty and four thousand.” Look at this promise given to “the overcomers… in the seven churches:”Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
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Here now is what we are told of those who are this “New Jerusalem,” this “bride, the Lamb’s wife:”Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Only Christ’s bride, the New Jerusalem, avoids this “second death” and “reigns with Him a thousand years.” |
| Second death | Not one person who is alive at the end of the millennial reign can avoid the “fire that comes down from God out of heaven.”1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. |
Mike,
Thank you for your article ” Rightly Dividing The Word Of God…” I appreciate your offer to answer questions. Can you tell me whether the following outline of the future is correct, and correct it if it is wrong?
- At Christ’s return the dead in Christ and then the elect rise as immortal bodies to meet Him.
- These reign with Christ for the Millennium. Some humans will live during this time and on conversion will become immortal without dying. The unconverted die.
- What happens next? The Great White Throne Judgment? Then what happens?
Thanks for your help,
D_____
Hi D_____,
Thank you for reading ” Rightly Dividing” and for your question.
I reared my children on the principal that if they were mature enough to ask a question then they were probably mature enough to receive the answer. With that in mind, I am going to answer your question as I see it answered in the word of God. I will speak where it speaks, and I will be silent where it is silent.
You are right about the first part of your outline:
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery;We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
It is a common Christian misconception to think that because Christ had to show His nail- scarred body to his doubting disciples that this story equates to the “we shall be like Him.”
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
Nothing is further from the Truth. Christ is not in a body of flesh and blood. Rather He is now “born of the spirit.”
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Christ is Spirit, not flesh. He appeared to be flesh with holes in His body for the sake of His doubting disciples.
Getting back to our sequence of events, we can go to 1Th 4 and get the exact same scenario as that given in 1Co 15. It is simply reiterated:
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [Gk.- precede] them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
As far as time sequence is concerned, the scriptures seem to be very clear about the first part of your outline. That is not the case as far as the second part of your outline is concerned.
For example you state in the number 2 part of your outline: “Some humans will live during this [millennial] time and on conversion will become immortal without dying.” I can think of no scripture that makes this assertion. To the contrary, ruling and reigning with Christ during the millennium is a ‘prize’ reserved only for those in the first resurrection:
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
This passage says, Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection … THEY shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Those who die during the millennium are not in the 1st resurrection. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished, does not exclude those who die during the millennium.
Rulership during the millennium is only for the “overcomers” (Rev chapters 2-3). The ‘overcoming’ mentioned in these two chapters has to do with more than just the flesh.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 21
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Rev 22
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
As a matter of fact, Paul tells us that while we certainly appear to be wrestling against the flesh, in reality we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12).
In other words, God is using Satan as an instrument of adversity. Hence the name Adversary. Contrary to orthodox Christian doctrine, Satan was no more righteous in the beginning than Adam. Both were created to perform just as they did. Adam was “corruptible flesh,” and “naked” from the Creator’s hand.
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
In spite of all orthodox teaching to the contrary, the same is true of the Adversary.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Joh 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Joh 8:47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Believe whom you choose. Jesus Christ says Satan, the Adversary, “was a murderer from the beginning.” So Satan was created to be an adversary to “wrestle … against flesh and blood” so those who are destined to become ‘overcomers’ could “overcome the wicked one.”
1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men,because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
So the ‘overcomers’ ‘overcome the wicked one:’
Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren[ Satan] is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him, by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
Rev 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
The reason I have quoted all these scriptures is to show the scriptural connection between the ‘Adversary,’ ‘the Wicked One,’ and the ‘overcomer.’
Without an adversary there can be no overcomer.
What becomes of this connection during the millennium? If ‘overcomers’ are those who “overcome the wicked one,” and “overcome him [‘the Accuser,’ ‘the Devil,’ ‘the Great Dragon’] by the blood of the Lamb,” then the millennium will not produce “overcomers” because Satan will be ‘in prison’ during this time.
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more,till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
In other words, the whole world during this time will be like Job before his trials; the whole world will have “a hedge about it.”
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
This is a perfect description of the garden of Eden before the tempter was sent to tempt Eve. Had Eve not known God? Well, yes, Eve knew God just as well as any newborn baby knows its mother. Maybe she even knew God as a toddler knows that his parents will provide for him. But to begin with, neither Adam nor Eve knew God as a loving Father who would tell his chosen children:
Heb 12:5 … My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
No normal loving parent “chastens and scourges” an infant or even a toddler. “Chastening” is reserved for children who are maturing. Neither of our original parents yet knew anything of the “chastening [ grace] of the Lord.”
This is not to say that the flesh has to have Satan to be sinful. Nothing is further from the truth. But in the absence of the ‘Tempter,’ those who live during the millennium will do so under the influence of those who will be ‘ruling and reigning with Christ 1000 years.’ Neither the ‘millennium’ nor the ‘lake of fire’ will produce what the scriptures refer to as “overcomers.” The reason for this truth is that an “overcomer” overcomes “the wicked one.” And “the wicked one” will be “in prison” during the millennium, and he will be purified during “the lake of fire.” Consequently neither of these periods will produce “overcomers.”
Isa 30:19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem:thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry;when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. [No trying of your faith here]
Isa 30:20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
Isa 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This [is] the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. [Not exactly ‘trying times.’]
The trying and the testing and the proving which are essential for the preparation of ‘kings and priests’ will be completely non- existent.
Luk 23:43 And Jesus said to him, Verily to you am I saying today, with me shall you be in paradise. (CV)
The thief on the cross is often used by those who do not see the need for the chastening function of grace, to prove that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross excludes the need for us to also ‘lay down our lives’ with Him. What these people fail to realize is that this thief, though indeed as guilty as we all are, was nevertheless repentant and on the cross with our Lord. Grace does not exclude the cross. Our cross IS CHASTENING, SCOURGING GRACE. The thief will one day have to experience this same chastening grace.
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me,let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
“Grace did much more abound” means that God’s “chastening and scourging,” will outlast our stubborn sinning! So what will become of those who live through the Millenium? What is the fruit of such a utopian age? It is the same as the fruit of our original unproven and untried parents:
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
What have we been told in these three verses? By themselves it would be hard to say for sure. But with the verses that immediately follow, it becomes clear that what we have just been told is that all flesh has just been brought to an end.
Such a thought is the single most repugnant thought possible to the flesh. The very concept of ‘no more flesh’ causes the flesh to recoil in fear and denial. But God has not left us to guess about this truth. This worldwide Satanic deception followed by the destruction of all flesh, could never be accomplished as long as a tempter was free to roam the earth to try and prove a remnant. To bring all flesh to an end requires that there be no faithful remnant because: That be far from thee … to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee (Gen 18:25). This deception will be complete and it will be total worldwide deception. As with Sodom, so will it be with this post- millenial generation. There will not be even a Noah or a Lot to rescue.
Who is “the camp of the saints… and the beloved city?”
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
These are obviously the rulers of this millenial reign; those bearing the brunt of this Satanic rebellion. Have you never wondered why God put Satan ‘in prison’ at the beginning of the millennium, instead of sending him straight to the lake of fire burning with brimstone? Now you know why. God could not put Satan in the lake of fire because the lake of fire purifies, and the beginning of the millennium is not yet the time for Satan’s purification. God still has one more work for His ever willing adversary before the Adversary himself is to also be cleansed in God’s purifying lake of fire.
So who do the scriptures reveal these rulers to be, who are called ‘the camp of the saints and the beloved city?’ According to the scriptures they are none other than the “blessed and holy,” “few … chosen” of the first resurrection, who have been promised…:
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end,to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron
Why are they called ‘the beloved city?’:
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
How has God revealed that this end will be accomplished? The answer to this question is revealed in type in the story of Samson. An angel appeared to Samson’s mother and told her that she would conceive a son who would “begin to deliver Israel.”
Jdg 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
As little as many want to admit it, salvation is a process. See our letter What are the Seven Steps Toward Salvation? which is posted in our letters section of the web page.
Samson’s relationship with God parallels that of the people of the millennium. In spite of all that the Spirit of God accomplished through Samson, Samson was an extremely carnal man right up to and through his dying moments. Those who live in a time when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea (Isa 11:9), like Samson, will take that relationship with God for granted. Though the carnal mind will be suppressed for 1000 years, when confronted with the Tempter it will fall victim just as Samson fell for the temptation of Delilah. It is THROUGH THIS PROCESS that salvation will come to all mankind just as it was THROUGH the death of Samson that deliverance was wrought in Israel. In this process we are told this interesting and very revealing story:
Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he[ the Lord] sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
The Lord sought an occasion against the Philistine just as He will “seek occasion against” all flesh following the Millenial reign. Very few of God’s people are willing to face one of the most obvious truths in the scriptures: To “destroy death” (1Co 15:26), God must destroy the source of death. The leading cause of death is not heart attacks, automobile accidents or cancer. The leading cause of death, the very source of death, is birth into flesh.
At the conclusion of the millennium the Lord is “seeking an occasion against” all flesh. The ever willing Adversary, having been held in prison for 1000 years for this very purpose, will now be released to provide the Lord that “occasion.” The ‘Philistines’ in the scriptures are typical of those who are ‘in the land,’ but who have never even ‘come out of Egypt.’ They haven’t had a ‘wilderness’ experience and they see absolutely no need to bother with that messy and embarrassing thing called ‘circumcision.’
The story of Samson typifies the condition of the population of the entire earth at the post millenial rebellion, under the influence of the Adversary. At this juncture in world history the entire population of the earth will be in this very “uncircumcised,” very “Philistine” condition.
It is at this very moment when they [ go] up on the breadth of the earth, and compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devoures them (Rev 20:9).
It is in his death that Samson finally achieves his goal of delivering Israel. During the millennium all nations become ‘God’s People,’ ‘God’s Israel’.
Isa 19:24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:
Isa 19:25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance
Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
It can only be “through death” that death will be abolished. It will only be THROUGH DEATH that the aions will be consumed and True life will finally come to all men through the vehicle of the “lake of fire.” The “lake of fire” is not what we have been taught in orthodox Christendom. The “lake of fire” is defined by three scriptures. The first is Isa 33:14-15:
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
This plain, straight forward verse of scripture flies in the face of all the false teachings of all of orthodox Christianity. The second scripture which, with this scripture here in Isaiah, defines why the lake of fire is called a ‘lake’ and not a ‘sea’ is:
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creature [all men of all time] was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only they [all men of all time], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. [For what purpose?]
The third scripture defining the ‘lake of fire’ is:
Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed,that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
The Lake of fire is the single greatest act of grace in the history of mankind. For more on this subject see ” The ‘Fire’ of The Lake of Fire” in the article ” After The Counsel of His Own Will.”
In conclusion, this is all very depressing to those who are still attached to the flesh. But the wonderful truth is still the same for those who can receive it now, and eventually for all men:
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
God’s Purpose For The Millenium Within and Without
Dear Mike,
Thanks for the great site and knowledge you impart on us and your sheer dedication on explaining the Scriptures to us. May God be with you and bless you always.
My question:
I’ve been reading your Prophetic Sequence of Events posted in March 2, 2004 and seem to understand all but the last part. I will paraphrase my understanding (without Scripture of course):
1. Suppose that as we all live now, Christ returns. Then all who died in Christ will be resurrected first, and following that event, those who are still alive and are chosen will then meet Christ in the ‘air’ to rule with Him for a thousand years (the Millennium)
I deduce from the above that there will be those who are alive but will not meet Christ to rule with Him because they were not chosen or they are newborn babies or haven’t heard of Christ yet.
I deduce also that those who are dead will not be resurrected at this stage purely because they did not ‘die in Christ while they were in the flesh’, or died as babies of two years old or simply did not hear or know of Christ in their lifetimes. So they continue in their state of death until after the Millennium.
2. In the meantime (that is during the Millennium) people continue to populate the earth and die the natural death as usual, except that these people are not overcomers as Satan is now bound for a thousand years. No sin and evil on earth at this stage as Christ with His saints now rule. There is an hedge over all that live. These are the people who will experience true peace on earth This I understand.
3. Now lets suppose we reach the end of the Millennium age:
3.1 Are all those that are dead, who are not in the first resurrection, now resurrected to be judged in the Lake of Fire?
3.2 As they are raised are they also immortal beings and/ or incorruptible? Or are they still mortal and corrupt like the first Adam.
3.3 Those who lived at the end of the Millennium age, do they continue to live with the resurrected from previous age?. But then what is their Spiritual status (are they also immortal and/ or incorruptible)? Or does everyone who lives at the end of the Millennium simply die the natural death in order to be resurrected with everyone to be judged?.
Thank you Sir, I will greatly appreciate your response to the above questions in particular the Spiritual condition of the people who are to be judged at the ‘White Throne Judgment’. I will then have follow up questions after your response.
Regards,
T____
Hi T____,
Your summation of the sequence of events as revealed in God’s Word is right on up to what transpires immediately after the millennium. I say that because of how you pose your question. You ask:
“Those who lived at the end of the Millennium age, do they continue to live with the resurrected from the previous age?. But then what is their Spiritual status (are they also immortal and/ or incorruptible)? Or does everyone who lives at the end of the Millennium simply die the natural death in order to be resurrected with everyone to be judged?.”
What you seem to be having trouble with is the same thing we all have trouble with; coming to grips with the fact that flesh and blood are temporal and will one day cease to exist. When the thousand years are expired, and when Satan’s “little season” of deception is expired, then fire comes down from God out of heaven and destroys all flesh, setting the stage to bring the aions to their consummation.
What the scriptures teach us about that period is that not one single physical human being survives the “fire from heaven” which is to consume all mankind after the millennium. Here is what will happen at the conclusion of the millennium:
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired,Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle:the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
The phrase “the number of whom is as the sand of the sea” is found several times in scripture, and when it is used in reference to “Abraham’s seed”, it is often used in reference to all of mankind. When God told Abraham that his offspring would be as the sand of the sea and as the stars of heaven for number, He certainly was not referring to Abraham’s physical offspring which are comparatively few in number when compared to other nations. Despite all the claims of the false doctrine of British- Israelism to the contrary, Abraham’s physical descendants are not God’s chosen people whose seed are to become “as the sand of the sea shore for number.”
Gen 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
Deu 7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
Christ will lose no one. All mankind will ultimately be “in Christ.” As such they will all eventually be “Abraham’s seed.”
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Let me take this opportunity to tell you that eschatology is a very distant second to the primary purpose for all prophecy. The primary purpose for all prophecy is to “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.” All prophecy is to “shortly be done” within the lives of God’s elect:
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
This is how the unveiling of Christ is introduced to us. This is also how it concludes:
Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly:blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
This reminder that this is a prophecy which is to be “kept” and “done shortly” is followed by this stern warning:
Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
There is no part of this book which is not intended to be “kept [ and] shortly done” in the lives of all of God’s elect:
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Contrary to the Philistines who fill up the deep wells of Abraham’s seed, knowing this is not an admonition to sin, any more than God’s telling Israel that it was not in their heart to keep His Word is an encouragement to sin.What this knowledge does accomplish is that it reveals to us what we are and what we will see we have been through as we “turn to see the voice that speaks with us.”
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
What “the voice that speaks with us”shows to us is what we have already experienced. We are constantly saying ‘So that is what that was all about!’ as we come to understand why we had to experience that which we could not understand while we were enduring its purging flames.
But Babylon cannot think spiritually. So instead of dethroning the beast within and “possessing the gate of his enemy”within, ‘the gate of his enemies’ becomes the Suez and Panama canals or some other such outward and physical application. But such is not the case. ‘Possessing the gate of his enemies’ is a spiritual statement involving the fact that “sin [“death the last enemy”] shall not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14), and ‘Abraham’s seed becoming as the sand which is upon the sea shore’ is also a spiritual statement which means all who are in Adam will eventually be redeemed through Christ:
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
“Possessing the gate of our enemies” is scriptural language for dominating our enemies. From a scriptural point of view, our number one enemy is the sin within each of us. Who is it that no longer has dominion over us when we are “in Christ”? I repeat:
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
We spiritually pass from death unto life if we are in Christ:
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
All of this is “in earnest” or down payment form only at this time, but it is nevertheless an accomplished fact which is lacking only ‘birthpains’, a resurrection from a physical grave or an instantaneous change into a spiritual body.
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory,who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed,ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
“The redemption of the purchased possession” is the resurrection from the dead which all mankind will experience in his appointed time.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
“As in Adam… so in Christ.” There was no ‘freedom of choice’ for any of us when we came to be “in Adam.” I cannot remember being asked if I chose to be “in Adam.” Being “in Adam” is thrust upon us all by virtue of our physical birth. And while God will “prepare our hearts” to receive Christ, He will do so through what He calls His “dragging” us to Himself.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [ Greek – drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day. [ read After The Counsel of His Own Will].
1Ch 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
Psa 10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
So when we do call out to God to have mercy upon us, we do so because we have been “prepared” by God to do so. We do not do so because of some unscriptural thing called “free will.” Who then is responsible for those hearts who refuse to be humbled? Who causes all of mankind to rebel against the rulership of God in his elect at this time and against the rulership of God’s elect at the consummation of the millennium? What do the scriptures teach?
Jer 12:3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried [ and “prepared… drug”] mine heart toward thee: pull them [ also] out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them [ also] for the day of slaughter.
‘When the thousand years are expired, Satan will be loosed from his prison and will deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth.’ The true purpose for the millennium is to “prepare” all mankind, all flesh for “the day of slaughter.” God will “loose Satan from his prison” simply for this purpose. Satan has been restrained for that entire period in what the King James calls “the bottomless pit.”
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [ Greek – abussos- Strong’s number 12] and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [ Greek – abussos], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
But the ‘bottomless pit’ is nothing more than ‘house arrest’ for Satan. The ‘bottomless pit’ is taken from the same Greek word translated “the deep.”
Luk 8:31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep [ Greek – abussos].
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [ Greek – abussos] and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [Greek – abussos]and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (If you have not yet done so be sure to read What and Where Is The Bottomless Pit? Also read What and Where Is Heaven?)
Why, oh why, must Satan “be loosed a little season?” If, as the entire orthodox Christian world believes and teaches, the millennium is a time when the resurrected saints of God will be used of God to save this world, why then must Satan “be loosed a little season?”
The answer is that the thousand years of being ruled with a rod of iron were never intended to be a time for converting the hearts of mankind. Converted hearts have all endured being “carnal… babes in Christ” who were at one time ruled with a rod of iron but are no longer under the schoolmaster and his ‘rod of iron.’ Converted hearts are “prepared” by God Himself to receive his law into their hearts:
1C h 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
When Israel was in the wilderness, Israel was “under the schoolmaster,” and God ruled Israel with a rod of iron. The man who picked up sticks on the sabbath was stoned to death. Miriam was stricken with leprosy for usurping Moses’ position. Thousands died for committing fornication at Mount Sinai and at Baalpeor. Korah and 250 elders of Israel were swallowed up by the earth and slain in the camp. God sent “fiery serpents among the people who were “discouraged because of the way.” Ten times Israel rebelled against the Cloud that led them and ten times their rebellions were crushed with ‘a rod of iron.’ So too, will all the earth be ruled during the millennium.
But ask yourself; did those forty years of having a visible presence of God in their midst, as the whole world will experience during the millennium; of being ruled with severe chastening during that time, change any hearts? No, it did not. Not one of the people who came up out of Egypt “of 20 years old and up” entered into the promised land, except for Caleb and Joshua. That is the purpose for the millennium. Mankind will at that time live their entire lives having Satan hedged out of their lives, and like Moses and Aaron and all of that generation, they must “lose their life before they can find it.” The whole world lives for one thousand years as Job lived his life at the first. Satan will be hedged out of the lives of everyone who lives at that time. God is preparing a whole world full of self- righteous Jobs and Korahs. All who know the voice of the True Shepherd have been there and done that, and look behind themselves to see that voice and the unveiling of Christ within themselves:
Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? [ Not to be confused with converted]
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
God had hedged about Job and blessed Job for one purpose. That one purpose can be seen only by those who are given eyes to see. Why had God hedged and blessed Job physically? Why will God hedge and bless mankind physically for one thousand years? Was it because Job was a converted man? Is that why God had hedged Satan out of Job’s life? That is exactly what the ministers of Babylon teach to this day. But is there any truth to teaching that a converted Christian will not be sorely tried by Satan? Is it true that obedience to God guarantees one a life of prosperity and an abundance of physical blessings in this age? Absolutely not! The True teaching of God’s Word is that it is through the trials of Job, trials that follow physical blessings, that spiritual blessings are accrued. The time Job spent having Satan hedged out of his life before his trials, typifies the outward millennium. Satan, as far as Job was concerned, was in prison and unable to trouble or try Job. What was Job’s spiritual condition under these circumstances? Job had done a lot of good for others during his life. Job felt pretty good about himself:
Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect [ Hebrew – good] and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
That is what Satan will have for dinner when he is released from his prison after the thousand years are expired. He will have a world full of people who are as “good” and as carnal as Job. A world full of people who think of themselves just as Job thought of himself: “A good and upright man who feared God and eschewed evil.”
Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Job 27:7 Let mine enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous.
Job 29:7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!
Job 29:8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.
Job 29:9 The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
Job 29:10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
Job 29:11 When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
Job 29:13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
Job 29:16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
Job 29:17 And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
And what does God say to this self- righteous attitude of Job?
Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said,
Job 40:2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Job 40:6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
The book of Job tells us what God is doing and how He is doing it. In type God was judging Job. God brought Job to see himself for the self- righteous, God- condemning person Job was: “wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?… he that reproveth God, let him answer it.” As far as Job was concerned, God had no right to treat him as He did. Job knew it was God. Job never did what today’s minister do and blame it all on Satan. Job blamed God and yet maintained his own righteousness:
Job 13:15 Though he [ God]slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
And what did Job say when he finally saw himself for the self- righteous pile of stinking rags he truly was?
Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
Job 40:4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee?I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
Job 40:5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
But the old Job first had to be tried and die before the new Job could, in type and in shadow, be born a new man.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his [ physical] life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal [ ruling in the millennium and in the lake of fire].
And so it is with all mankind in the millennium. Mankind must come to see itself as the rebellion that flesh is. But the physical blessings of millennial life, the fact that Satan has been bound and in prison one thousand years, will be used by Satan as proof of mankind’s own righteousness when he is let out of his prison for a “short season.”
When Satan is released from his prison and he goes forth to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, he will convince the whole world that they “are righteous, every one of them” just as Korah had convinced all of the 250 elders of Israel and all the congregation of Israel. And he will convince everyone alive at that time that “the camp of the saints” has “lifted itself up above the people.”
Num 16:1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men:
Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly,famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them,Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD [ is] among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
This sounds very much like Job’s description of himself in Job 29:7-17 quoted above.
This is what Satan will do “for a short season… when the thousand years are expired.” Those who “encamp against the saints” will be convinced that they are “holy, every one of them.” It will be the ultimate and climactic deception. It will induce the destruction of all flesh for all time.“But God means it for good.”
Gen 50:20 But as for you [ Satan himself], ye thought evil against me; [ God Himself] but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive [ all mankind through the great white throne judgment… lake of fire].
Satan will be giving God the “occasion” which God is “seeking” against all flesh in order to destroy all flesh, in order to bring the aions to their consummation.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive [ through a lake of fire experience].
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end [ Greek – consummation], when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. [ In the lake of fire]
1Co 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him,that God may be all in all. [ the goal of the universe]
It will all be of God. But like Samson and his parents, no one alive at that time will know that God is “seeking an occasion” against all flesh to end death and to end the rule of the flesh:
Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, [ Is there] never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
In following Satan after the millennium, the entire human race will be “reproving and condemning God.”
“Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?… he that reproveth God, let him answer it.”
How will God respond to this insubordination to the rulership of His elect?
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
At this point there will be no physical humans left on this earth. How can we know this is true? The very next verse tells us that the great dragon, the beast, and the false prophet are all cast into the lake of fire to be tormented:
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. [ the aions of the aions]
Then the very next verse reveals “the great white throne judgment and explains what is this torment and who receives this torment:
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. [If there is no earth, there is no flesh. If there is no heaven then God is “all in all”]
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [ the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea [“Sea” – the masses of mankind not yet called of God. Rev. 17:1, 15, 18]gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [Greek – hades – the grave – where the ‘sea’ is at this time] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.[ this is how “the last enemy… death ” is destroyed]
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Now how do these scriptures tell us that all flesh is destroyed at this point? Look at what we are told here:
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
All who are not in the book of life are in this “great white throne judgment.” That is all who are in “the sea” of humanity. This is all mankind. Even death is cast into the lake of fire.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Heb 11, Luk 12 and many other scriptures talk of “a better resurrection” and “few stripes” in judgment.
Nevertheless the only ones whose names are written in the book of life, who will have no part in the lake of fire, are those who have already lived through their own time of millennial blessings followed by their own”fiery trials,” their own “judgment on the house of God.”
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
All of this “fire from heaven” followed by the “great white throne judgment” and the destruction of death and hell in the lake of fire, is shown to us immediately after we are told:
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
At the end of the millennium God is “seeking an occasion” to bring death to an end. The only way to stop death is to bring to an end that which causes corruption and death:
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
In this same 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians we are told that the last enemy to be destroyed is death:
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign,till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
It is “in Adam [ that] all die.” Destroy all in Adam and you have destroyed death.
The flesh recoils at the teaching of Christ that life can be found only through death:
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death,to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
It is only “through death” that we are presented holy and unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight.” Flesh and blood cannot fill that bill.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
So both Adam and Satan will be destroyed in the destruction of death. Those who are willing to give up a life in corruptible flesh are no longer fearful of death:
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Look at the teaching of Christ on this subject:
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
Luk 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
This is the doctrine of Christ in every one of the four gospels. But this simply does not compute to the natural man:
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
To the natural man, Christ was simply contradicting Himself. How do you find your life? Well, “you lose it.” Only if you lose it can you find it. Life comes only through death. And that is why God’s elect must die here and now before they can be judged here and now:
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Death must precede judgment. And yet we are told in no uncertain terms that judgment is now on the house of God:
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
For God’s elect today is judgment day. “Where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?” They will appear at the great white throne judgment; they will appear in the lake of fire. It is there that death is destroyed.
The fact that we are told that Satan deceives the nations in the ” four quarters of the earth” tells those with eyes to see and ears to hear, that Satan deceives the entire earth at that time. Read The Spiritual Significance of The Number Four. Contrary to everything taught in the churches of Babylon, the thousand year period Is, Was and Will Be designed not to save the world, but to give God the “occasion He is seeking” to bring the aions to their conclusion. To achieve this outcome the millennium is designed to produce people who have never experienced the struggle of having to resist “the evil one.” What is so significant about that fact? Take a look at these verses relating to Satan’s function in the lives of God’s elect at this time:
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [ that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
What is so significant about the fact the overcomers must all “overcome the wicked one” is that there is no “wicked one” to overcome during the millennium. Satan is restrained in a prison called the ‘bottomless pit’ for that entire period. The consequence of Satan’s imprisonment is that the conditions which are required to produce the trials and tests needed to produce those who “overcome the wicked one” are simply not in place. There is no “wicked one” to be overcome. All that the millennium is capable of producing is a generation of humans who are “ruled with a rod of iron.” As you pointed out, the residents of planet earth during the millennium will live lives which will simulate Israel’s experience during their forty years in the wilderness. The entire nation of Israel, in spite of all of her rebellions against those God had placed as Her visible leaders; in spite of the fact that a visible “cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night” was with them every day for forty years; in spite of the fact that Israel was hedged about to the extent that Satan could do nothing to destroy or try Israel in the way he was instructed to try and test Adam and Eve or Job or any of God’s elect, Israel still rebelled against their God. All the while considering themselves as righteous as Job. While we touched on this above, let’s look more closely at how the entire nation of Israel was seduced to “compass the camp of the saints” – While being led to believe –
that “all the congregation are holy, every one of them.”
Num 16:3 And they [ Korah and 250 elders of Israel] gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron [“the camp of the saints” – Rev. 20:9], and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?
This was all done while Israel was still being led by the daily visible “cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.” All of Israel’s rebellions while in the wilderness were committed in spite of all of the daily blessing of manna and the daily miracle of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night:
Deu 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
Deu 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know;that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Deu 8:4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
Israel was fed and clothed and led with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night every day for forty years “to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”
God was not finding out for the first time “whether thou wouldest keep His commandments.” It was Israel, it is us, who are being shown what we are and that we will not, of ourselves,“keep His commandments.”
Exo 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exo 13:22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Exo 40:36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:
Exo 40:37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
Exo 40:38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel,throughout all their journeys.
“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:” That is just the Old Testament way of making this New Testament statement:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
You ask:
“Those who lived at the end of the Millennium age, do they continue to live with the resurrected from previous age?. But then what is their Spiritual status (are they also immortal and/ or incorruptible)? Or does everyone who lives at the end of the Millennium simply die the natural death in order to be resurrected with everyone to be judged?.”
“Do those who live at the end of the millennium continue to live with the resurrected from the previous age?’
Answer: No there are no physical survivors of the millennial “fire from heaven.” All flesh is destroyed in that fire in order to destroy death and bring the aions to their preordained consummation. In order to destroy physical death, physical life must be destroyed. So long as physical human babies are being born into bodies of corruptible flesh and blood, death will never be destroyed.
“What is their spiritual status? Are they also immortal and/ or incorruptible?”
Answer: In 1Co 15 Paul rhetorically asks this same question:
1Co 15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
The next several verses answer this question in a rather brusque manner telling us that there are differing resurrected bodies just as there are different types of flesh and Paul explains again that life comes only through death:
1Co 15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened [ Greek – given life],except it die:
1Co 15:37 And that which thou sowest,thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
1Co 15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
1Co 15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
Resurrected bodies vary as much as flesh varies. In the next few verses Paul goes on to explain that there is also a vast ranges in degrees of spiritual glory in the bodies with which we are to be resurrected:
1Co 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
1Co 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory
“Bodies terrestrial” is not a reference to a body of flesh and blood. It is referring to “the glory of the terrestrial, and the “glory of the terrestrial” is contrasted with the glory of “the glory of the celestial” and with all of the varying degrees of glory of the sun and the moon and the stars, “for one star differeth from another star in glory.” But Satan was given terrestrial dust to eat:
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Satan and the false prophet and the beast are all “cast alive into the lake of fire.”
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
So here we are, the sea of mankind gives up all the dead in it. That sea is all in Adam. Death and hades or the grave give up all in them. Death and the grave have received all in Adam. In other words, both statements are saying the same thing, all men are resurrected to judgment in the lake of fire. What is their composition in resurrection?
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body;it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And now to answer your question directly, What is their spiritual condition when they are cast into this fire? What is the spiritual condition of all who are in this fire?
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,prepared for the devil and his angels:
Like Satan himself, all resurrected bodies are spiritual bodies. But all the bodies cast into the lake of fire are resurrected bodies with, as yet, no more than terrestrial glory. There will be every conceiveable degree of sinner to be cast into this lake of fire. Everything from innocent, untried, aborted babies to mass murderers like Mao Tse Tung. But still they are all spiritual ‘dust.’ As such they are food for the serpent, and they are all cast into the fire “prepared for the devil and his angels.”
It is the certain outcome of the lake of fire that makes these words true for all flesh:
1Co 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead.It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1Co 15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory:it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
I hope this helps you to see more of who are Christ and His Father and what is their purpose for the millennium and the lake of fire. But more than any thing else I am hopeful that you now understand that all prophecy from Gen 1:1 to Rev 22:21, is to be “kept [ and] done shortly” in the lives of all who have been given eyes to see and ears to hear what the spirit says to the churches.” What the spirit says is this:
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written,Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
God bless you as you come to know God through Christ. God bless you as you learn that you must “live by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” It is only those who see that the wheat and the tares are both within, that the tares are burned in the time of judgment within, and that all of this is experienced while yet in this vessel of clay, have ears to hear and who will be raised with the glory of the sun:
Mat 13:38 The field is the world [within]; the good seed are the children of the kingdom [within]; but the tares are the children of the wicked one [within];
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil [within]; the harvest is the end of the world [within]; and the reapers are the angels [within].
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world [within].
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend [within], and them which do iniquity [within];
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire [within]: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth [within].
Mat 13:43 Then [if you are given eyes to see that it is all within] shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
When Does The Lake of Fire Begin?
Hi Mike,
Hope you’re well. Can you please explain your understanding of the scriptures (Rev 22:14-15)? Are these two verses referring to the millennial reign of Christ while the rest of mankind are corrected in the lake of fire which is the second death, or is it something else? The reason I ask is that some people use these verses to disprove universal salvation and therefore also to bolster their doctrine of eternal torment in the fires of hell. They also use the scripture that goes on about people being tormented day and night and the smoke from it ascending up forever, can’t remember where that is in Revelation off the top of my head but I know you will know what I’m talking about.
Your opinion is always valid on helping me come to a decision with what the Holy Spirit is already saying to me.
By the way, your video teachings on your site are a real blessing; it’s a lot easier to listen sometimes than read, especially if you’re dyslexic like my brother- in- law and my wife are. God bless you greatly.
J____,
Hi J____,
You ask:
“Can you please explain your understanding of the scriptures (Rev 22:14-15)? Are these two verses referring to the millennial reign of Christ while the rest of mankind are corrected in the lake of fire which is the second death, or is it something else? The reason I ask is that some people use these verses to disprove universal salvation and therefore also to bolster their doctrine of eternal torment in the fires of hell. They also use the scripture that goes on about people being tormented day and night and the smoke from it ascending up forever.”
Let’s just look at the verses to which you refer:
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life , and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters,and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
What have these verses told us? They tell us only that “they that keep His commandments enter in through the gates into the city.” What is “the city?
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out:and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [ I will write upon him] my new name.
And then these verses tell us that “outside of the city are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers and murderers, and idolaters, who are one and all liars.” There is no time line revealed in these verses at all. These verses most certainly do not say that ‘during the thousand years this is all taking place.’ Any careful reader of God’s Word will notice that none of this can take place until the dead are raised to be judged. And when does that take place?
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [ is] as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [ are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [ the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire
“ When the thousand years are expired” only then can the verses about which you ask come into play. This chapter, chapter 20, does contain a time- line. None of these things can happen until “the thousand years are expired.” God’s elect are ruling during the thousand years. They will not tolerate any insubordinate “dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters,and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” There is no ‘lake of fire’ until after “the thousand years are expired” and the “little season” which follows Satan’s release from the so- called “bottomless pit” (Read What and Where Is The Bottomless Pit?). It is only the doctrines of Babylon with which we will struggle till the day we die, that would have us to think that the lake of fire exists during the millennium.
Here is how Babylon seduces us to this false conclusion. The nineteenth chapter of Revelation mentions the marriage supper of the Lamb. This chapter also mentions the fact that the beast and the false prophet are “cast alive into the lake of fire. Having not so much as a clue as to what and who are the “beast and the false prophet,” having not so much as a clue that all of the words of the prophecy of this book are to be kept by each of God’s elect down through the generations of mankind; thinking instead that this is a book concerned only with the last generation of men who are on this earth before Christ returns to establish His “kingdom of this world,” we all, while believing the false doctrines of Babylon read Rev 19 and believe that the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire at the beginning of the millennium. Here are the verses used by men to teach us this false doctrine:
Rev 19:15 And out of his [Christ’s] mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Rev 19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Forgetting and ignoring and being blinded to the third verse of the first chapter and the sixth and seventh verses of the 22nd chapter of Revelation, Babylon tells us that this is all done right at the beginning of the millennium. But what are we told in Rev 1:3 and 22:6-7? Pay very close attention and do not forget these verses. You will tend to forget these verses for the rest of your life. Do not let that happen:
Rev 1:3 Blessed [ is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Not one single minister of orthodox Christianity is aware that this verse exists. If you were to point it out to them, they would ask; ‘How, pray tell, can you “keep those things which are written therein?” Yet nevertheless this very same statement is reiterated at the very end of the book of this prophecy.”
Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
“These saying are faithful and true, and God has sent His angel to show His servants things which must shortly be done… I come quickly.” Does any of that sound like this is a book intended only for those at the end of this age? I think not. Now look at the words of the next verse: “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”
So here we are again at the very end of this book being reminded and warned that we need to “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book because these are all things that must shortly be done.” Again, does that sound like the holy spirit was speaking only of something which would only affect the lives of the people who happened to be standing on this earth at the time of Christ’s return? Or is this a book which “Is, Was and Will Be” applicable to every generation of mankind from the time of Christ’s resurrection to the time of the end of mankind’s rule on this earth? Could it be that this is a book which is intended for “He that has an ear” down through the generations? Yes, indeed, this is a book that must be kept by God’s elect in every generation of mankind from the days when John penned this book on the isle of Patmos, till the last soul comes forth of the lake of fire a cleansed and purified soul. These are not ordinary words, these are the words of Christ, and what do we know of Christ’s words:
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away,but my words shall not pass away.
We are also told this about Christ’s Words:
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [ them], because they are spiritually discerned
“The holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual things with spiritual. but the natural man receives not the things of the spirit because they are foolishness unto him. He cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned.”
What this means is that the Bible is to this day a parable to the world. “The natural man” is the man who has not been given “eyes to see or ears to hear.” For example, when God speaks in His Word and says ‘Lion…’ He is not talking of a literal lion.
Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold,the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
A lamb is not a literal lamb.
Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
… and a city is not a literal city.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
… a woman is not a woman:
Gal 4:23 But he [ who was] of the bond woman was born after the flesh; but he of the free woman[ was] by promise.
Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory:for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Christ is the lamb, He is the lion, He is the city and He is the New Covenant. If He is in us and we are in Him, then we, too, are all of these things.
Pro 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous[ God’s elect] are bold as a lion.
Joh 21:16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him,Feed my sheep[ God’s elect].
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city,new Jerusalem [ God’s elect], coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you [ with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin [ God’s elect] to Christ.
This “city” is those who are called “overcomers'” in the second and third chapters of Revelation. The “overcomers are those “blessed and holy… few” who are to be in the first resurrection. Nowhere are those who are not “overcomers” ever called “The New Jerusalem.” That “great multitude which no man could number…” who “come up through great tribulation and washed their robes white in the blood of the lamb” are not part of the one hundred and forty four thousand, are not called“ first fruits.” So while the primary thrust of the book of Revelation is the ‘Is’ part of the words of Christ, there is still a ‘Will Be’ side of “the Christ.”
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men,being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Neither are they ever called “overcomers,” and they do not receive the promises of rulership given to the overcomers in the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation. Here is what is promised to “He that overcometh.” These promises are not for the masses of mankind who will be ruled over by the “overcomers” in the “lake of fire.” Here are but some of the promises given to God’s elect, His “firstfruits.”
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Part of that “hidden manna” is the ability to see and understand Rev 1:3 and Rev 22:6-7.
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Rev 2:28 And I will give him the morning star.
Rev 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Rev 3:6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out:and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [ I will write upon him] my new name.
Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Read The Spiritual Significance of The Color Blue for an explanation of the significance of being a “pillar in the temple of my God.”
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
It certainly is true that that “great multitude which no man could number” will indeed as all flesh “come up through great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb,” but they will not do so until the one hundred and forty and four thousand have been ruling this unconverted earth for a symbolic one thousand years. The “overcomers” given the promises listed above are the same as the symbolic “one hundred forty and four thousand.” Read the paper on iswasandwillbe. com entitled Who Are The One Hundred and Forty- four Thousand to see, in depth, what is the difference between the one hundred forty four thousand and the great innumerable multitude.
Look at this promise given to “the overcomers… in the seven churches:”
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Now look at what is said of those who make up the heavenly Jerusalem:
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither,I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Now we have already been told that God’s elect have been “espoused as a chaste virgin to Christ:”
2Co 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin[ God’s elect] to Christ.
We have also been told that “Jerusalem above is the mother of us all:”
Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
So Jerusalem above is both a “chaste virgin… espoused to Christ… the bride, the Lamb’s wife, as well as “the mother of us all.” But notice how this “the bride the Lamb’s wife is contrasted with all the rest of mankind:
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Now you have been reading iswasandwillbe. com long enough to know that God is in the process of saving all men. But you also know that Christ is and will be using this “bride” of His as His channel through which to accomplish this goal of bringing all who are in Adam to God:
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end [ the last group of those in Adam], when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
“Every man in his own order” means that those who are in that “blessed and holy first resurrection” will be in that first order. The only ones who are not “hurt of the second death” are those who are in that “blessed and holy first resurrection.
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. [ Read What and Where Is The Bottomless Pit? to understand why Satan and the lake of fire are not even a factor to be considered during the millennium].
Here now is what we are told of those who are this “New Jerusalem,” this “bride, the Lamb’s wife:”
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Only Christ’s bride, the New Jerusalem, avoids this “second death” and “reigns with Him a thousand years.”
All others are either alive and ruled over by “the bride the Lamb’s wife” during the millennial reign or they are “asleep” in death until they are resurrected “when the thousand years are completed.” Not one person who is alive at the end of the millennial reign can avoid the “fire that comes down from God out of heaven.” It is this “fire that comes down from God out of heaven” which brings an end to death by bringing an end to birth and an end to all flesh. Read The Prophetic Sequence of Events for much more on this subject
Look at this verse of scripture:
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
It does not take a genius to understand that so long as children are still being conceived in corruptible, sinful, dying flesh, there is no way to “destroy death.” In order to “destroy death” the birth of physical “in Adam” babies must come to an end. Here is how that is accomplished:
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. [Just a part of the “great multitude which no man could number” of Rev. 7].
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city:and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
This is speaking of the last generation of Adam in the flesh. The great multitude which no man could number in the seventh chapter is speaking of this group:
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
“The number of whom is as the sand of the sea” of verse 8 are the very last physical, fleshly nations of the earth who are used of God to bring all flesh to its end. Satan’s placement in the lake of fire and the judging of all “the dead small and great, standing before God… [ at the] great white throne” is the institution of “the second death.” It is not a second dying of physical death. It is rather, the second group of humanity, the vast majority of mankind, who must yet die first before they can be judged:
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Now, here again we are given a time- line of events. That time- line declares that judgment must follow; never precede, death. But aren’t all of these resurrected bodies? Yes, indeed they are. How then can death precede their judgment?
Once again we are back to “as man teaches.”
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
“The holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual with spiritual,” while men teach comparing physical with spiritual. The natural man cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned.
The ‘death’ spoken of in Heb 9:27 is the death spoken of in this verse of scripture:
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
This is the death of the carnal mind even while we are yet in this “vessel of clay.” The death of the carnal mind is the birth within us of the mind of Christ. It was this understanding of what is death, that allowed the apostle Paul and the other apostles to be able to write “comparing spiritual with spiritual” in a way which to this very day contains “the hidden wisdom of God.” Physical death in no way, as Satan himself demonstrates, destroys a mind which is not subject to the laws of God:”
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
“Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you.” And this is true even as we are yet in the body of this death, this flesh. Conversely death is not defined as the loss a physical body. Death, when we “compare spiritual with spiritual” is “to be carnally minded.” What this means is that Satan and all mankind, excepting those who were in the first resurrection, are spiritually dead even in their spiriual bodies. Satan and all of his messengers are still “enmity against God… not subject to the law of God.” And how are they ever to overcome this spiritually dead condition? Just as with us today, Satan and all mankind must die to their dead spiritual condition, in order to find life. Here is where some of those “my words shall never pass away” words will again come into play at the great white throne judgment:
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall find it.
It is by dying to their carnal rebellious minds with which they are resurrected as spirits, that all mankind will through the symbolic fire which is the word of God, be judged and at long last be brought back to God.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him:the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
It is the fact that God’s elect were faithful to “the word that I have spoken” that qualify them to “judge the world” during the thousand years, and “judge angels” in the lake of fire, great white throne judgment.
In summary, by being in Christ, by having his mind, by having his words, Christ’s elect are the heavenly Jerusalem, they are the fire of the lake of fire and they are gates of the city and the pillars of the temple, through which all men will come to Christ. Just as Christ is the only way to his Father, Christ’s elect are His channel for bring all men to Him.. The “dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” are those who are cast into the purging fires of God’s elect who will be used of God to redeem all mankind. These are “the nations and kings of the earth who bring their glory into the city” as they receive their needed stripes and come forth of this symbolic lake of fire cleansed, purified and purged of all the wood, hay and stubble that needs the fire of Christ’s Words.
Rev 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Rev 21:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Rev 21:26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
“The nations… and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into the city… whatsoever works abomination or makes a lie… in no wise enters into the city” until all this has been burned out by the fire of the Words of Christ. Here are few verses of scripture in support of these statements:
God’s elect are the fire of the lake of fire:
Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
God’s elect are the the city, the gates of the city and the pillars of the tabernacle:
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
No one can come to Christ except they come “through” Christ’s elect acknowledging that they are indeed His elect:
Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me
Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee
God’s elect receive faith through the unbelief of their brothers, and their brothers will receive mercy through God’s elect:
Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
God’s elect fill Christ, just as He fills His Father:
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saint
Eph 1:19 And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us- ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand in the heavenly [places],
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22 And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [ to be] the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
“The church, which is His body, [is] the fulness of Him [Christ] that filleth all in all.” That is an incredible calling of which no man is worthy. There is no room for pride in any of these promises. There is rather a crying need for the faith to claim and acknowledge the humbling honor of such a calling. For most men these promises are not even visible. Most men are looking for a physical city with phyical streets of physical gold, on which they can walk with their physical bodies of eternal flesh. That idea all amounts to total blindness to the things of the spirit.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
There is no lake of fire until “the thousand years are expired.” Only then will “the lake of fire which is the second death” be brought into play at the second death… white throne judgment… which is the lake of fire.” Any attempt to force the words of the nineteenth chapter to say otherwise is an attempt to make God’s Word contradict itself. There can be no lake of fire without a second resurrection for that second group of mankind who are not part of that “blessed and holy first resurrection.”
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
What Events Will Usher in the Millennium?
It has often been asked by those to whom God is revealing Himself just how will God usher in the millennium – what means will He use to change over the physical worldly governments to a government ruled by the changed/ first- resurrected elect under Christ? While exact details are sketchy, we have several examples in scripture of God causing a major change in the government of a country or kingdom from the existing rule to rulership by His chosen ones to effect a change for His purpose. Let’s look at a few of those examples to see how this future change may occur.
The first and possibly the most famous example to come to mind would be that of Joseph, favored son of his father, but hated by his brothers and ultimately sold as a slave by them jointly. His journey from slave, falsely accused, to be further degraded being imprisoned as a criminal is well documented in Genesis chapters 39 to 40. It is the stuff of which movies and stories have been made. It was by means of a dream which Pharaoh had experiencd, and which his magicians could not fathom, that God caused Joseph to be raised from prison to second in command of the most powerful country in the world at that time in the space of a single day.
Gen 41:41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
Gen 41:42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;
Gen 41:43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
The second such example given to us is that of Esther and Mordecai during the reign of Ahasuerus who ruled a vast kingdom (Est 1:1). After Esther is selected as queen, the plot against the Jews is uncovered by Esther’s cousin, Mordecai (Est 2:7). God uses the two of them to turn the favor of the king toward them and block the planned extermination of their entire race (Est 3:6).
In less than a day, Haman, who planned the destruction of the Jews, went from being second only to Ahasuerus in power to being hung on the very gallows he had ordered constructed on which to hang Mordecai. Furthermore, on that selfsame day, Haman’s power and authority were transferred to Mordecai (Est 7:10 and 8:1).
Est 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
Another example of how God accomplishes His will in giving power to His people is recounted in the book of Daniel. Daniel and his friends were among those taken captive into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, and they were selected to enter the king’s household to teach because of their intelligence and wisdom (Dan 1:4).
Once again, a dream is used by God to create the conditions of a turnover of power to a few select chosen ones of God. By inspiration from God, Daniel revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar not only the meaning of his dream, but its very nature, as the king was troubled by his dream, but he could not remember what it was (Dan 2:1-5).
Dan 2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
Dan 2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
Dan 2:48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
However God chooses to bring in the millennium, we can rest assured it can happen very quickly.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Other related posts
- The Spiritual Meaning of Biblical Locations - Part 5 (March 7, 2015)
- The Millennium And Using Toa (November 3, 2010)
- Tartaroo And The Bottomless Pit (October 27, 2008)
- Sequence of Events in Scripture (June 10, 2012)
- Rev 9:9-12 Part 6 of The Fifth Trumpet (August 18, 2024)
- Rev 9:1-2 Part 1-The Fifth Trumpet (August 2, 2024)
- Rev 9-1-2 Part 2 Of The Fifth Trumpet (August 4, 2024)
- Rev 17:7-11 The Mystery of the Woman and of the Beast, Part 1 (June 2, 2025)
- Rev 11:7-14, Part 1 - The Beast Overcomes And Kills The 2 Witnesses (November 3, 2024)
- "Hell and Death" is a Key To The Kingdom (November 2, 2015)