Jesus Christ in the book of Exodus
This is 3rd in the series of Jesus Christ in the Book of Exodus. I cover the:
In Revelation 21 and 22, we see SEVEN NEW THINGS.
1st. The New Heaven
2nd. The New Earth
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
John gives us a threefold description of the citizens of the city.
They are God's people (vv. 1-5). The first heaven and earth were prepared for the first man and woman and their descendants. God had readied everything for them when He placed them in the Garden. Unfortunately, our first parents sinned, ushering death and decay into God's beautiful world. Creation is in bondage and travail (Rom 8:18-23), and even the heavens "are not clean in His sight" (Job 15:15).
God has promised His people a new heaven and earth (Isa 65:17; 66:22). The old creation must make way for the new creation if God is to be glorified. Jesus called this event "the regeneration" of the earth (Matt 19:28), and Peter explained it as a cleansing and renewing by fire (2 Peter 3:10-13). Bible students are not agreed as to whether the old elements will be renewed or whether the old will be destroyed and a whole new creation ushered in. The fact that the Greek word translated new means "new in character" (Rev 21:1,5) may lend credence to the former explanation.
"No more sea" does not mean "no more water." It simply indicates that the new earth will have a different arrangement as far as water is concerned. Three fourths of our globe consists of water, but this won't be the case in the eternal state. In John's day, the sea meant danger, storms, and separation (John himself was on an island at the time!); so perhaps John was giving us more than a geography lesson.
3rd. The New City
Even despite Scripture's description, it is difficult to imagine what the eternal city will be like. John characterizes it as a holy city (see Rev 21:27), a prepared city (see John 14:1-6), and a Beautiful city, as beautiful as a bride on her wedding day. He amplifies these characteristics in Rev 21-22.
But the most important thing about the city is that God dwells there with His people. The Bible gives an interesting record of the dwelling places of God. First, God walked with man in the Garden of Eden. Then He dwelt with Israel in the tabernacle and later the temple. When Israel sinned, God had to depart from those dwellings. Later, Jesus Christ came to earth and "tabernacled" among us (John 1:14). Today, God does not live in man-made temples (Acts 7:48-50), but in the bodies of His people (1 Cor 6:19-20) and in the church (Eph 2:21-22).
In both the tabernacle and the temple, the veil stood between men and God. That veil was torn in two when Jesus died, thus opening a "new and living way" for God's people (Heb 10:19 ff). Even though God dwells in believers today by His Spirit, we still have not begun to understand God or fellowship with Him as we would Like; but one day, we shall dwell in God's presence and enjoy Him forever.
The eternal city is so wonderful that the blest way John found to describe it was by contrast - - "no more." The believers who first read this inspired book must have rejoiced to know that, in heaven, there would be no more pain, tears, sorrow, or death; for many of their number had been tortured and slain. In every age, the hope of heaven has encouraged God's people in times of suffering.
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary)
A minute description of the city representing the happy abode of the redeemed, Rev 21:9-26. This description embraces many particulars:
(1) Its general appearance, Rev 21:11,18,21. It is bright and splendid-like a precious jasper-stone, clear as crystal, and composed of pure gold.
(2) Its walls, Rev 21:12,18. The walls are represented as "great and high," and as composed of "jasper."
(3) Its gates, Rev 21:12-13,21. The gates are twelve in number, three on each side; and are each composed of a single pearl.
(4) Its foundations, Rev 21:14,18-20. There are twelve foundations, corresponding to the number of the apostles of the Lamb. They are all composed of precious stones-jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst.
(5) Its size; Rev 21:15-17. It is square-the length being as great as the breadth, and its height the same. The extent of each dimension is twelve thousand furlongs-a length on each side and in height of three hundred and seventy-five miles. It would seem, however, that though the "city" was of that height, the "wall" was only a hundred and forty-four cubits, or about two hundred and sixteen feet high. The idea seems to be that the city-the dwellings within it-towered high above the wall that was thrown around it for protection. This is not uncommon in cities that are surrounded by walls.
4th. The New Nations
Rev 21:24 And the NATIONS OF THEM WHICH ARE SAVED (the saved nations) 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.
(6) Its light, Rev 21:23-24; 22:5. It has no need of the sun, or of the moon, or of a lamp (Rev 22:5) to lighten it; and yet there is no night there (Rev 22:5), for the glory of God gives light to it.
(7) It is a city without a temple, Rev 21:22. There is no one place in it that is especially sacred, or where the worship of God will be exclusively celebrated. It will be all a temple, and the worship of God will be celebrated in all parts of it.
(8) It is always open, Rev 21:25. There will be no need of closing it as walled cities on earth are closed to keep enemies out, and it will not be shut to prevent those who dwell there from going out and coming in when they please. The inhabitants will not be prisoners, nor will they be in danger, or be alarmed by the prospect of an attack from an enemy.
(9) Its inhabitants will all be pure and holy, Rev 21:27. There will in no wise enter there anything that defiles, or that works abomination, or that is false. They only shall dwell there whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
5th The New River
6th The New Tree 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.
Rev 22:2 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.
Its enclosures and environs, Rev 22:1-2. A stream of water, pure as crystal, proceeds from the throne of God and the Lamb. That stream flows through the city, and on its banks is the tree of life constantly bearing fruit-fruit to be partaken of freely. It is Paradise regained-a holy and beautiful abode, of which the garden of Eden was only an imperfect emblem, where there is no prohibition, as there was there, of anything that grows, and where there is no danger of falling into sin.
It is a place free, consequently, from the curse that was pronounced on man when he forfeited the blessings of the first Eden, and when he was driven out from the happy abodes where God had placed him.
It is a place where the righteous shall reign forever, Rev 22:5. Death shall never enter there, and the presence and glory of God shall fill all with peace and joy.
7th The New Throne
Rev 22:3 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:
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Such is an outline of the figurative and glowing description of the future blessedness of the redeemed; the eternal abode of those who shall be saved. It is poetic and emblematical; but it is elevating, and constitutes a beautiful and appropriate close, not only of this single book, but of the whole sacred volume-for to this the saints are everywhere directed to look forward; this is the glorious termination of all the struggles and conflicts of the church; this is the result of the work of redemption in repairing the evils of the fall, and in bringing man to more than the bliss which he lost in Eden. The mind rests with delight on this glorious prospect; the Bible closes, as a revelation from heaven should, in a manner that calms down every anxious feeling; that fills the soul with peace, and that leads the child of God to look forward with bright anticipations, and to say, as John did, "Come, Lord Jesus," Rev 22:20.
(from Barnes' Notes)
Rev 22:16-17
16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
A Warning – Rev 22:
18 For* I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add* to him the plagues that are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away* his part from the Book* of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Thus
ends a comprehensive sequence of end-time events culminating in
judgment for all those who did accept Christ as Saviour and the Son
of God, and Satan being cast into the Lake of Fire.
It did not
cover, Chapters 21 and 22, which deals with the new
Heaven and Earth, the new Jerusalem and the River
of Life. (7 New Things)
(I penned this before "Covid 19" manifested itself in this world. How things have changed since)
Even as we reflect on what has been compiled above, current world events of turmoil in the Middle East, Asia Minor, Northern Africa, and countries to the North of Israel, all point to the probable onset of the End-Times. The emerging role of Turkey and IS/ DAESH is concerning. Many innocent men, women and children are killed daily, Christians being singled out and churches burnt.
Pessimists argue, that in the past during the World Wars, many predicted or prophesied that it was the End times but that never happened. Part of the problem is that men of God tend to predict dates and time which only God knows.
We have to know scripture to apply the signs and season to known when Christ is returning. As I have mentioned earlier the formation of the Jewish nation in 1948 after years of exile, and the 1967 war when Jerusalem was in Jewish hands for the first time in 2,553 years was the start of the countdown. Other signs and events taking place today like Ebola and other incurable diseases; Global Warming; Sunni's killing Shiites; lawlessness; gay marriages; nation rising against nation; love of many going cold; etc. indicate that the time is ripe or at least the signs are there for the Antichrist and False Prophet to emerge. These two will establish as prophesied a Peace Treaty in the troubled Middle East and the horrifying start to the Great Tribulation three and a half years later.
Probably a word of caution for Christians who miss the 'catching-up' or Rapture NOT to ever accept the Mark of the Beast no matter what. They then have hope to receive salvation rather than eternal damnation.
Whether the believers in Christ would be spared the events of the Great Tribulation, by being raptured before or in the middle or after the Tribulation (Pre, Mid or Post), we proclaim that His Grace is sufficient for you and me to herald the Millennial reign of Christ Jesus. Be Blessed
The
Testimony of Jesus:
Rev
22:12-13 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is
with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First
and the Last."
“Even so, come Lord Jesus”
Rev 22:20
To God be all the Glory
This
is it; and this is the time when he for whom it is prepared first
feels those terrific flames.
Thus
ends the last rebellion ever seen upon this planet-the last sin, and
the last deaths, that ever occur in this dwelling-place of man.
(from
The Apocalypse: Exposition of the Book of Revelation)
Here is what the scriptures say about this final Doom:
Rev
20:11-15, The Great White Throne Judgment
11
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who 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, standing before God, and books were
opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And
the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which
were written in the books.
13
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades
delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each
one according to his works.
14
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death.
15 And
anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake
of fire.
Revelation
20:11
"And
I saw a great white throne, (emblem
of purity and justice), and
him that sat on it,...
The
Son of God Christ Jesus, to whom 'the Father hath committed all
judgment. 'God in Christ, i.e., the Father represented by the Son,
before whose judgment-seat we must all stand. The Son's mediatorial
reign is to prepare the kingdom for the Father's acceptance, which
having done, He shall give it up to the Father, 'that God real
be all in all,' coming into direct communion with His creatures,
without a Mediator's
intervention, for the first time since the fall.
Christ's
Prophetical mediation was prominent in His earthly
ministry; His Priestly is
prominent now in heaven between His first and second advents;
His Kingly shall
be so during the millennium and at the general judgment- JFB
The
earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide
(NLT).
Even
the brightness of his countenance dissolved the universe, and
annihilated the laws by which it was governed. This is a very
majestic figure, and finely expressed. The glorious majesty of God
filling all things, and being all in all - Adam Clarke
Rev
20:12
I
saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And
the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were
judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. NLT
Books are opened. heaven keeps record of all the deeds of people, and of all the thoughts and feelings under which they act. Myriads of human beings have lived and died of whom the world knows nothing; but the lives they lived, the deeds they did, the thoughts and tempers they indulged, still stand written where the memory of them cannot perish. Not a human being has ever breathed earth's atmosphere whose career is not traced at full length in the books of eternity. Yes, O man! O woman! whoever you may be, your biography is written. An unerring hand has recorded every item, with every secret thing. There is not an ill thought, a mean act, a scene of wrong in all your history, a dirty transaction, a filthiness of speech, or a base feeling that ever found entertainment in your heart, but is there described in bold hand, by its true name, and set down to your account, to be then brought forth for final settlement, if not clean blotted out through faith in Christ's blood before this present life of yours is ended. And if no other books are to be thought of, the book of your own conscience, and the book of God's remembrance, will then and there attest your every misdeed and ill-desert. Think, ye that fear not God, and make nothing of trampling his laws, how your case will stand when those books are opened!
(from The Apocalypse: Exposition of the Book of Revelation)
Rev 20:12
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.”
(Comment from The Apocalypse: Exposition of the Book of Revelation)
Two
Books opened: but there
is "another book, which is that of the life"- the roll-book
of the regenerate in Christ Jesus-the
register of the washed and sanctified through faith in his redeeming
blood.
This must needs be opened too, for many there be whose lives are fair and honest, who spend their days in conscientious purity, who live and die in the persuasion that they have fulfilled all the requirements of virtue, but who have never experienced the regenerating power of the new creation, who have never felt the need of atonement by the propitiation of a crucified Saviour, and who have disdained to build on the merit and righteousness of the one only Mediator as the sole hope of diseased and guilty humanity. Exalted as they may have been in their own goodness and morality, they have not believed on the only begotten Son of God, and therefore have not life, and so are not written in the Book of Life. The records of their own deeds is therefore not enough for the determination of their proper place and standing. People may appear well in these, and still not be prepared to pass the final inquisition. There is another and still mightier question in the case, and that is whether they have come to a regenerate and spiritual life through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore the book of life must be opened too, and its testimony brought into the decision. If the name of anyone is not on that roll, no matter how virtuously and honestly he may have lived, there is no help for him, for only "he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36).
On this same verse Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown reaffirms it this way:
Revelation 20:12
“Besides the general book of all, there is a special book for believers, in which their names are written, not for their works, but for Christ's work for, and in, them: 'the Lamb's book of life' Electing grace has singled them out from the mass.
Rev
20:13-15
13
The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead.
And all were judged according to their deeds.
14
Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake
of fire is the second death.
15
And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book
of Life was thrown into the
lake of fire.
Death
is not an extinction of all existence. The first death is a killing
of the body, a mutilation of the being, but not an extinction of it.
If death is the equivalent of annihilation, then these resurrected
ones are condemned and punished for the crimes and defects of some
other beings than themselves, and are not the people who did what is
written in these books. The first death is a terrible mutilation and
degradation, especially to a wicked man; though not a blotting out of
his being and identity. "The Second Death" must needs be
still more terrible and disastrous, for it is a more inward fret; but
not therefore a reduction to absolute nothingness. Angels are
regarded in all theology as immortal by inherent constitution; yet
wicked angels are under the horrors of this Second Death. The
children of the better resurrection are "as the angels of God,' "so these partakers of the "resurrection of damnation"
are as the Devil and his angels. If "the lake of fire" is
not annihilation to one, so neither is it to the other. But it is
Death, and it is torment; and there is every reason to believe that
it is eternal. It is "to the ages of the ages." Confirmed
depravity cannot be cured where no means of grace are; neither can
those cease to sin whose whole nature has been turned to sin. And if
there can be no end of the sinning, how can there be an end of the
suffering? Remorse cannot die out of a spirit ever conscious of its
self-imposed damnation! Therefore, "their worm dieth' not, and
the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44,48).
And
Death and Hades, here viewed as if they were personal beings, share
the same fate. They, of course, cease to be. There is nothing more of
temporal death or of the place of departed spirits after this. They
are not personal beings, hence, their casting into "the lake of
fire" is the end of them; but, conceived of as persons, they are
consigned to exactly the same
eternal punishment with the other wicked. They are the products of
sin, and they share the doom of what produced them. And thus, in an
ever-burning Hell, from which there is no more deliverance, all the
enemies of God and his Christ find themselves at last.
And
now, in the presence of these awful verities, what shall I say to
those who know it all, yet go deliberately on in ways which can have
no outcome but this Second Death? I look at them, and think; and the
terribleness of their hallucination paralysis my utterance. I would
fain arouse them to their better senses; but when I speak my
intense words seem but ashes in my mouth in comparison with the
alarm for which their situation calls.
Following
the great white throne judgment "death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire".
The lake of fire is the second death, the final destination of the
wicked. The doctrine of eternal punishment has always been a problem
to Christians who enjoy the grace of God and salvation in Christ. The
Bible is clear, however, that the punishment of the wicked is
eternal. This is confirmed in verse 10, where the beast and the false
prophet are still in the lake
of fire after the thousand years of Christ's millennial reign. Though
the wicked dead will receive resurrection bodies, they will be quite
unlike the resurrection bodies of the saints. The former people will
continue to be sinful but will be indestructible and will exist
forever in the lake of fire.
Though
many have attempted to find some scriptural way to avoid the doctrine
of eternal punishment, as far as biblical revelation is concerned
there are only two destinies for human souls; one is to be with the
Lord and the other is to be forever separated from God in the lake of
fire.
This solemn fact is motivation for carrying the gospel to
the ends of the earth whatever the cost, and doing everything
possible to inform and challenge people to receive Christ before it
is too late.
And
why? Because Jesus said in John 14:6-7:
6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
7
"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and
from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
and,
John 3:16-18
"16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life.
17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but
that the world through Him might be saved."
A New heaven and New earth
All Things Made New
Genesis 20
Human history begins in a Garden and ends in a City that is Like a garden paradise. In the Apostle John's day, Rome was the admired city, yet God compared it to a harlot "That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). The eternal city of God is compared to a beautiful bride (Rev 21:9), because it is the eternal home for God's beloved people.
God's statements recorded in Rev 21:5-6 aptly summarize these final two chapters: "Behold, I make all things new... It is done!" What began in Genesis is brought to completion in Revelation, as the following summary shows:
Genesis |
Revelation |
Heavens and earth created, 1:1 |
New heavens and earth, 21:1 |
Sun created, 1:16 |
No need of the sun, 21:23 |
The night established, 1:5 |
No night there, 22:5 |
The seas created, 1:10 |
No more seas, 21:1 |
The curse announced, 3:14-17 |
No more curse, 22:3 |
Death enters history, 3:19 |
No more death, 21:4 |
Man driven from the tree, 3:24 |
Man restored to paradise, 22:14 |
Sorrow and pain begin, 3:17 |
No more tears or pain, 21:4 |
All Glory to God Almighty who was, who is, and is to come.
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In Part 1 was an Introduction to the subject.
In Part 2 we go through eight references to Christ in the first book of the Bible, Genesis.
"In the beginning God (Elohim) created.... " and in the New Testament it states, Hebrews 1:2, "whom He hath appointed heir of all things, :by whom also He made the worlds"
Here Jesus Christ is referred to as Angel of God or Angel of Jehovah.
The word "God", where Jesus is inferred, in Hebrew is "Elohim" which is in the plural, implying the Triune God. “Then God (Elohim) said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;” Gen 1:26
Be blessed.
RT
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https://youtu.be/0eT7U0RKDi0
5th
Doom : Post-
Millennium
Doom of Gog and Magog
Rev
20:7-9
7...., Satan
will be let out of his prison.
8
He will go out to deceive the nations of the world and gather them
together, with Gog and Magog, for battle-a mighty host, numberless as
sand along the shore.
9
They will go up across the broad plain of the earth and surround
God's people and the beloved city of Jerusalem on every side. But
fire from God in heaven will flash down on the attacking armies and
consume them. TLB
Why let him loose?
“The
Devil is let loose. He who lets him loose is, of course, the same who
bound him, and sealed him in the prison of the Abyss. God uses even
the wickedest of beings, and overrules the worst depravity, to his
own good and gracious ends. He allows Satan liberty, and denies him
liberty, and gives him liberty again, not because the Devil or the
Devil's malice is necessary to him, but to show his power to bring
good out of evil, to make even the worst of creatures praise him, and
to turn their very wickedness to the furtherance of the purposes they
would fain defeat.
It
seems like a great pity, after the world has rested for a thousand
years, that this arch-enemy of its peace should again be let loose
upon it. But there seems to be some sort of necessity for it.
The statement to John was, that "he must be loosed a little time" (Rev 10:3). Some interest of righteousness and moral government renders it proper that he should be allowed this last limited freedom. If for nothing else, it is not unimportant that he should have this opportunity to prove how little an imprisonment of a thousand years had served to change him, or reform his malignity. Even the Devil is granted a final trial to make a better record to himself, if so minded. But neither judgment nor mercy has the least effect. He is, and remains to the last, the same depraved and wicked being, and employs even the little time of freedom before he is cast into perdition in tempting, seducing, and deceiving the happy and peaceful world.
Perhaps, too,
it was necessary for the millennial nations to be taught that, even
after having been so far redeemed as to live a thousand years of holy
obedience, they still are unable to stand without the special help
and grace of Almighty God. At
any rate, this brief period of Satan's last freedom proves, that he
is still Satan, and that man is still man, after a thousand years of
bonds and imprisonment for the one, and a thousand years' experience
of next thing to Paradise for the other; the Devil being just as
eager to tempt and deceive, and man liable to be tempted and
deceived.
Nor
can it be of small account to the after ages, or for the generations
to whom it is foretold, that the full demonstration of these facts
should be made before things are finally settled into the eternal
state. Hence, Satan is let loose for a little time.”
(from
The Apocalypse: Exposition of the Book of Revelation)
Revelation
20:7-10
To
recap:
Just who Gog and
Magog are we may not be able to tell (but
many scholars have identified it to be modern day Russia). A
thousand years of uninterrupted peace and prosperity are likely to
make great changes in the distribution and locations of peoples. But
the allusion to the" corners of the earth" as the regions
whence these rebels come, sufficiently indicates that they are among
the hinder most of peoples and the least advanced and cultured among
the millennial nations.
It has taken more than one thousand years to
develop the civilization which marks the better portions of the
present population of the globe; and a thousand years, even of
millennial tutelage, would not avail to
bring up the darker and more degraded sections to a very exalted
height. And among these ruder peoples Satan finds the pliant
materials for a new and last revolt. Jerome and Theodoret identify
Gog and Magog with "the Scythian nations, fierce and
innumerable, who live beyond the Caucasus and the lake Maeotis, and
near the Caspian Sea, and spread out even onward to India." The
Koran does the same, and represents them as barbarians of the North,
who are somehow restrained until the last period of the world, when
they are to swarm forth toward the South in some great predatory
irruption, only to be hurled into Gehenna fire.
It
is doubtful whether we can get beyond this by any ethnic or
geographic inquiries in the present state of human knowledge. It is
also questionable whether this post-millennial Gog and Magog are the
same described by Ezekiel (Ezek 37:1-14). They may be the same, or
the one may be the type of the other; but in either case the
reference is to peoples lying outside of the more civilized world,
among whom the old Devil influence lingers longest, and hence, the
most susceptible to these new instigation. At least Satan succeeds in
rendering them dissatisfied with the holy rule of God's glorified
saints, and induces them to believe that that they can successfully
throw it off and crush it out, as the deluded kings under the
antichrist were persuaded a thousand years before. How he does this
we are not told; but under him they come forth in swarming myriads,
enter the same holy land, and compass about the citadel of the saints
and the beloved city, in the vain hope of wresting the dominion from
its immortal possessors.
(from
The Apocalypse: Exposition of the Book of Revelation)
Rev
20:8-9
Gog
and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the
sand of the sea.
9
They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of
the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of
heaven and devoured them”
A
terrible disaster ensues. A madder thing than Gog and Magog's attempt
was never undertaken upon earth. It is simply a march into
the jaws of death, for no rebellion against the kings who then hold
the reins of government can be tolerated. The insane war is quickly
terminated. One brief sentence tells the fearful story:
"There came down fire out of the
heaven and devoured them." When
Israel was encamped in the wilderness, a guard of Levites was set
about the tabernacle, and the command to them was: "The
stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death" (Num 1:51.) So
a guard of immortal king-priests keep the ways to the throne and
temple of Yahweh in that day, and the presumptuous dupes of Satan's
last deception who dare to approach with hostile intent, are
instantly hurled to a fiery destruction. Not a man of them
escapes.
(from
The Apocalypse: Exposition of the Book of Revelation)
4th Doom THE ANTI-CHRISTIAN NATIONS
Rev.
19:21.
"And the remnant were slain with the SWORD of Him
that sat upon the Horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and
all the fowls were filled with their flesh."
So
great will be the destruction of human life in the Battle of
Armageddon, that God will prepare for it in advance less the stench
of the unburied dead should breed pestilence.
"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(Buzzards,
Vultures, Eagles, etc.), Come and
gather yourselves together unto the SUPPER OF THE GREAT
GOD,
"that ye may eat the
flesh of Kings . . . Captains . . Mighty Men, and the flesh of horses
and of them that sit on them (common soldiers), and the flesh of all
men, both free and bond, both small and great." Rev. 19 :
17, 18.
This "Feast" is also described in the Old Testament.
THE INTERVAL BETWEEN THE "FOURTH" AND "FIFTH" DOOMS.
1. SATAN IS BOUND FOR A THOUSAND YEARS
Rev. 20: 1-3.
"And I saw an Angel come down from Heaven, having the Key of the 'BOTTOMLESS PIT' and a GREAT CHAIN in his hand. And he laid hold on the DRAGON, that OLD SERPENT, which is the DEVIL, and SATAN, and bound him a 1000 YEARS, 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 1000 YEARS should be fulfilled: and after that he shall be loosed a little season."
Here Satan is called by four different names—"Dragon," "Serpent," "Devil," and "Satan." From these and from the fact that he can be bound, we see that he is a "PERSON," because you cannot bind an "influence" or a "principle of evil."
While Satan is the "Prince of the Powers of the Air" (Eph. 2: 2), and the "God of this Age" (2. Cor. 4:4), and the "Ruler of the Powers of Darkness" (Eph. 6: 11-12), and whose position is so exalted that even Michael the Archangel dare not insult him (Jude 9), and while he has great power and influence, yet he is not omnipotent, for ONE Angel, and he is not called a strong angel, is able to seize and bind him. This Angel, who has the "Key" of the "BOTTOMLESS PIT," is the same "STAR Angel" that is seen by John when the "Fifth Trumpet" sounded (Rev. 9: 1-2), who seems to be the custodian of the "Key" of the "Bottomless Pit."
The Underworld
Final Hell
Revelation
20:1-3
Peter
tells us that "God spared not
the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus,
and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto
judgment" (2 Peter 2:4).
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Our
translators also call Tartarus "Hell," as if Tartarus,
Hades, the Abyss, and the final lake of fire were
all one and the same thing. The truth is, that they are each distinct
and separate, though all departments of the underworld.
The
burning lake (Lake of Fire) is the only true Apolei (Gk),
perdition, destruction, second death, or the final Hell.
It
too has its own proper name. It is called "Tophet" in
the Old Testament (Isa 30:33; Jer 7:31-32). In the New it is twelve
times called "Gehenna," which,
in the Greek, is the same as Tophet in Hebrew,
from
denoting a place of horrible burning on earth, it came to be used to
denote the place of final punishment. Our translators have uniformly
translated Gehenna by the word "Hell." But
Gehenna is altogether a different Hell from Sheol, Hades, the Abyss,
or Tartarus.
Thus
the Saviour says, that whosoever indulges malignant and devilish
spite toward his brother "shall
be in danger of Gehenna fire"(Matt 5:22);
that it is much better to sacrifice a
right eye or a right hand in this world than that "the
whole body should be cast into Gehenna" (Matt 5:29-30); that
we are not to fear them which kill the body, but rather to fear
him "who
is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" (Matt
10:28); and that
"it
is better to enter into life with one eye, than having two eyes to be
cast into Gehenna fire" (Matt 18:9).
This
Tophet or Gehenna, as will be seen at once, is something different
from Hades, Tartarus, or the Abyss. It is manifestly the same which
John here calls "the
lake of fire which burneth with brimstone," and
into which the
Beast, the False Prophet, Satan, Death, Hades, and whosoever is not
found written in the book of life, are finally cast, and swallowed up
forever; that is, it is the ultimate Hell of full punishment. (from
The Apocalypse: Exposition of the Book
of Revelation)
Lake of Fire
Into
this final Hell no one has yet ever entered.
It
is "prepared for the Devil and his angels;" but
none of them is there now.
The
first persons that ever go into this place are the Beast and the
False Prophet, at the time of the battle of the great day of God
Almighty (Rev 19:20).
The
next to get into it is Satan himself, more than a thousand years
afterward (Rev 20:10), where the Beast and the False Prophet are
represented as still alive and suffering at the time when he is cast
in with them.
And
then follows the casting of all the wicked, along with Death and
Hades. (Rev 20:14-15).
(from
The Apocalypse: Exposition of the Book of Revelation)
Hell
is real brothers and sisters. I feel so sorry for all those misguided
and disillusioned people, be they suicide bombers, terrorists,
corrupt politicians who have amassed millions at the expense of the
poor and needy in this world, etc.
Satan's purpose is to
turn people against God and confuse them on the 'truth' just like he
did in the beginning with Eve. The bible states that the thief
(referring to the Devil) "does not come except to steal, and to
kill, and to destroy."
Let's look at his modus
operandi:
Gen 3:1
1
And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not
eat of every tree of the garden'?"
3
...God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest
you die.'"
4
Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely
die."
Millions
today feel that they "will not surely die"!
However
the white throne judgment is real, hell is real, and they need to get
right with God soon before its too late.
2. The 1st Resurrection
Rev
20:4-5
4
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had
not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark
on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with
Christ for a thousand years.
5
But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the first resurrection.
The
Tribulation martyrs will be raised from the dead and given glorious
thrones and rewards. The church will share in this reign, as
symbolized by the twenty-four elders. Some Bible students believe
that the Old Testament saints will also be a part of this "first
resurrection".
The
phrase "general resurrection" is not found in the Bible. On
the contrary, the Bible teaches two resurrections: the first is of
the saved and leads to blessing, the second is of all the lost and
leads to judgment (note especially John 5:28-29; Dan 12:2). These
two resurrections will be separated by 1,000 years.
Rev
20:6 describes the special blessings of those who share in the first
resurrection. These resurrected believers will share Christ's
glorious life, reigning as kings and priests with Him, and never
experience the "second death," the lake of fire (hell, Rev
20:14).
Rev 20:6
describes the special blessings of those who share in the first
resurrection. These resurrected believers will share Christ's
glorious life, reigning as kings and priests with Him, and never
experience the "second death," the lake of fire (hell , Rev
20:14).
3. The Millennial reign of Christ
NB: We are still between the 4th and the 5th Doom; which is yet to come.
Rev 20:4
And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
During the Millennium, the inhabitants of the earth will include not only glorified saints, but also citizens of the nations who bow in submission to Jesus Christ (see Matt 25:31-40; also 8:11). Because of the earth's perfect conditions, people will live long lives (Isa 65:17-25, especially v. 20). They will marry and have children who will outwardly conform to our Lord's righteous rule. But not all of them will be truly born again as the Millennium progresses; and this explains why Satan will be able to gather a great army of rebels at the close of the Kingdom Age (Rev 20:8).
For many centuries, man has dreamed of a "golden age," a "utopia" in which the human race will be free from war, sickness, and even death. Men have tried to achieve this goal on their own and have failed. It is only when Jesus Christ reigns on David's throne that the kingdom will come and the earth be delivered from the oppression of Satan and sin.
Jesus Christ in the book of Exodus This is 3rd in the series of Jesus Christ in the Book of Exodus. I cover the: Burning Bush episode, The...
