THE FINAL JUDGMENT

Having just moved from Revelation 19 in the previous study, we now advance to the next chapter of the book of Revelation (chapter 20) and the final judgment. We are told six times that the reign of Christ will be a thousand years …

“And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand 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 thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 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. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 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. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison” (Revelation 20:2-7).

Though not explicitly stated, it seems that the Apostle John is implying that the reign of Christ will be established after six-thousand years of human history, and that its duration will be for a thousand years. And thought not explicitly taught in the Old Testament, Moses implied this principle in his account of the six days of Creation. He wrote that God rested on the seventh day, a time that sages of old equated with the seventh millennium, and called the “day of the LORD.”

Nine Old Testament prophets used this term, “day of the LORD” in referring to the great Sabbath rest or seventh millennium: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah and Malachi. However, it does seem strange that though the ancient Jewish sages of old commented about history’s duration for six-thousand years, when referring to the seventh day, they were vague about its duration.

Through implied narrative based on certain biblical statements and prophetic structure, the Great Millennial one-thousand-year Kingdom rest under the rule of Christ and the saints will be everlasting. The Revelation 20 statement of a thousand-years-reign of the rule of Christ and the saints is only dilineated for the fact that Satan is loosed for a short season to make war one last time at the end of it, but he is then defeated, and then Heaven descends to Earth and eternity officially begins. Thus, the statement that the great Kingdom rest of a thousand years as per Revelation 20 will continue on after the thousand years has ended. This is why the prophets were rather vague about a direct statement of the continuation of this rest after the thousand years has ended.

Human history is God’s masterpiece. Physical creation was completed at the end of the sixth day, but the spiritual development of mankind will continue until this world ends at the close of the sixth millennium. On the seventh day of the first week of Creation, on the Sabbath, Adam surveyed God’s completed work as he beheld it in its completion. Similarly, when the panorama view of human history is completed, the seventh millennium will be ushered in as the day of everlasting rest. At that time, all of Adam’s descendants will look back and admire God’s completed masterpiece. The seventh millennium will simply usher in an everlasting rest, or “Sabbath.” It will be extended to include eternity. Another point to be seen here is that this seventh day of rest, or one-thousand year millennial reign of Christ, is also dilineated by the fact that mankind and the earth will see that last appointed one-thousand-year millennial day with human beings still in their fleshly bodies before eternity sets in. That last and seventh dispensation has to be given for “humankind” to rule and to complete the appointed 7th dispensation before eternity officially begins. If eternity began immediately after the Tribulation, then that would violate the declared divinely appointed structure of dispensational time. When eternity arrives after the one-thousand year reign of Utopia under Christ, no more will human beings be in corruptible human flesh. ALL who enter eternity after the New Jerusalem paradise descends to Earth when the millennium is through will have made their decision for Christ and now have their glorified bodies – something that, by then, the current body of believers will have already had when we were raptured into Heaven a thousand years prior, along with the saints of old. Then, and only then, will time as we think of it and know it today, officially end and eternity begin.

This current dispensation of the Age of Grace, or the “Church Age” (or shall we say the “end of the current world order”), will end at the close of the sixth millennium. It is here that we shall be obliged to mention Irenaeus, a second-century Christian theologian, student of Polycarp who, in turn, was a student of the Apostle John (the Apostle who gave us the book of Revelation), wrote about the history of the world coming to an end after six-thousand years …

“For in so many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded … and God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works he made … this is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come … in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end after six-thousand years” (Irenaeus, volume 1, page 577).

Though he accounted for six-thousand years, saying that creation will come to an end after six-thousand years, he neglected to mention the duration of the seventh millennium. John is the only one to clearly state that the earthly reign of Christ will last for a thousand years.

There are several passages in the Old Testament that seem to obscure the duration of the seventh millennium. First, Moses wrote that Jehovah reigns forever …

“The LORD shall reign for ever and ever” (Exodus 15:18).

God told Solomon that the throne of David will last forever …

“And King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever” (1 Kings 2:45).

David also wrote that the earth will last forever …

“Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever” (Psalm 104:5).

Solomon concurred, saying …

“One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but the earth abides for ever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).

The prophet Isaiah wrote that the Messiah will reign forever …

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:7).

The prophet Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the kingdom of the Messiah will stand forever …

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).

In chapter 7, Daniel repeated the concept …

“But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever” (Daniel 7:18).

We can see here from Daniel that the saints in the body of Christ will continue the one-thousand-year dispensational millennial kingdom reign on into eternity. Furthermore, earlier in the book of Revelation, John wrote about Christ reigning forever …

“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” (Revelation 11:15).

Will Christ reign forever, or for a thousand years? This seeming contradiction in the scripture is actually no contradiction at all. John explains that though Heaven’s kingdom will only last on the earth for a thousand years, Christ will prevail over Lucifer and continue to reign forever in the New Jerusalem …

“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” (Revelation 22:5).

So John confirms the earlier points made concerning the two dilineations of the 1,000 year millennial kingdom extending into eternity. The one-thousand-year kingdom is only dileneated from eternity from the fact that human beings will still be in corruptible, mortal flesh although tempered a bit and the fact that Satan is loosed and allowed to tempt humanity one final time. Once that is over, eternity is instituted and the reign of Christ and the saints continues.

While on this subject, we should note that the above scriptures insist that Earth shall last forever (Psalm 104:5 and Ecclesiastes 1:4). But in Revelation 21, John tells us that the first earth will pass away …

“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” (Revelation 21:1).

This has led theologians to suggest that God will merely renovate the presently existing earth. This is the only way the two passages can be resolved. Indeed, the new planet is still called “Earth.” Therefore, it cannot be an entirely different creation. We shall see more about that when we get to chapter 21.

The Millennial Reign

The millennial reign of Christ will be unlike any previous religious regime in history. For example, today’s Muslim nations are ruled by despotic and cruel men who stone women for showing their faces in public; cut off the hands of burglars; and repress their people in the name of Allah. Though they may be religious, they are despised for the oppressors they are. Islamic terrorists delight in killing themselves and other innocent people in the name of Allah.

India is another example of religious oppression. Historically, the Hindu and Buddhist religions have kept their people in poverty and ignorance. There are various levels of society, called “castes,” from which no one is allowed to advance or better himself.

Another example can be seen in Europe’s Dark Ages, when the Roman Church launched the inquisitions against Protestants and burned people at the stake for anything perceived as heresy. We cannot deny that wars have been fought in the name of religion.

The Reign of the Immortals

So what will make the Kingdom of Christ different? The answer is that nations will not be ruled by demonic entities or angels through their governmental proxies as is the case today (see here and here), but it will be ruled by saintly members of every family tree. Mankind will be able to visit with the righteous of every generation throughout history. Imagine watching a program on T.V. (if such a thing is going to exist) wherein Adam and Eve describe the events of the first thousand years, or where Noah is describing and revisiting the details of the Flood. Who would not want to listen to them? A respect for the world’s rulers will be automatically engendered. They will be able to clear up any questions concerning world history. Plus, they can explain what Heaven is like, describing the dimensional shift from this existence to the heavenly plane where they have been living since departing this life. And of course, we who are in the body of Christ who were raptured will be included in this new ruling structure of Earth’s Utopia as we will no longer be in our mortal fleshly bodies.

It is my opinion that we immortals will be able to stop any mischief before it is implemented. There will be little need for punishment of crimes committed, since crimes will not be allowed to advance beyond the planning stage. Also, with no demons or evil influences around to tempt mankind (who will be in fleshly bodies – born from those who received Christ during the Tribulation period and were allowed to enter the Millennial Kingdom at the Second Coming of Christ back to Earth), most, if not all, infractions of the law will be inadvertent. Therefore, a minimum of harsh punishment will be needed.

The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). The Gospel will be taught to every generation. However, no one will be forced to accept Christ. God is not a cosmic rapist. He gives human beings free will and lets each and every individual decide for him or herself whether or not they will accept the substitutionary death of Christ upon the cross as the payment for man’s lost condition. The free will of man will be respected. So, by the end of the seventh millennium of the one-thousand-year reign of Christ, there will be a huge number of people who, though moral and upright in the eyes of their communities, will remain unsaved.

At the end of the seventh millennium, after a thousand years of absolute peace and harmony, God will allow rebellion to return to Earth through the release of Lucifer from his prison …

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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. 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” (Revelation 20:7-9).

If Lucifer a.k.a. Satan had been cast into the Lake of Fire instead of the Bottomless Pit – if he is not allowed to return to the earth at the conclusion of the one-thousand year Kingdom Age – then, there could be no final rebellion. Perhaps billions of people would be living on Earth whose hearts are hardened against the Savior, with no way to vent their rebellion. God cannot or will not punish them if they have broken no laws as a result of their lost human nature, or lost spiritual unsaved condition. They must be given the chance to make their final decision against Christ. For a thousand years, they have had no opportunity to rebel against the established order or rebel against the established mores of the kingdom (otherwise known as sin). Yet, they have not embraced the grace of the Gospel after all of this splendid time of peace.

Man in his natural state must be given the opportunity to sin, otherwise, there can be no condemnation. This is most assuredly why Lucifer, the devil, is loosed at the end of the Messianic Kingdom. He will be allowed to deceive the nations so that God can bring lost mankind to his final judgment. Satan’s deception will not include those whose hearts have been drawn to the Savior. He cannot deceive the saints, but among the deceived are literally billions of people – numbered as “the sand of the sea.”

The number cannot be calculated, but the world’s current population projections could run off the charts. There will be so many people that John does not even begin to fathom it. Currently in 2021, there are approximately 7.9 billion people on the earth according to the latest figures from the United Nations.

The US Census Bureau made a lower estimate, for which the 7 billion mark was only reached on March 12, 2012. If half of those over 7 billion people are killed during the Tribulation Period, then Heaven’s kingdom will begin with 3.5 billion subjects. It is possible that most or all of those will be under twenty years of age.

During the Tribulation Period, it is likely that older people will be held responsible for their bad decisions and dispatched from this world. Such was the case with Israel after forty years in the wilderness. All over twenty years of age died in the wilderness because of their unbelief. They were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. That may occur again during the Tribulation Period as well. The latest measurable rate of population doubling is forty years. Earth’s population doubled from three billion in 1960 to six billion in 2000. However, perhaps because of the youthfulness of those entering the kingdom, it might take longer at first. The previous historical doubling times are reported as follows …

In 1650, there were 500 million people on Earth. But, in 1850, there were one billion people. It took 200 years to double the population. The next doubling time took only 80 years. In 1930, the population had grown to two billion people. By 1960, there were three billion. From 1960 to 2000, a period of only 40 years, Earth’s population grew from three billion to six billion.

Perhaps we should simply pick a number. How about 200 years for the youth of the Kingdom Age to grow up, get married and double the population from three billion to six billion. Bear in mind that, with the reign of Christ, people will live longer, perhaps even for the duration of the kingdom. But for the sake of caution, let us say that the next doubling time will be 80 years, then 40 years. For the sake of continuity, because people should be around 20 years of age before producing offspring, let us level off the doubling time at 40 years for the duration of the kingdom. This is by no means accurate, but the following list should give us some idea about the potential for population growth during the seventh millennium:

• A.D. 2200 – earth’s population recovers with over 7 billion people again.
• 2280 – 12 billion – an 80-year doubling
• 2320 – 24 billion – a 40-year doubling
• 2360 – 48 billion
• 2400 – 100 billion (rounded off)
• 2440 – 200 billion
• 2480 – 400 billion
• 2520 – 800 billion
• 2560 – 1 trillion
• 2600 – 3 trillion, 200 billion
• 2640 – 6 trillion, 400 billion
• 2680 – 12 trillion, 800 billion
• 2720 – 25 trillion, 600 billion
• 2760 – 51 trillion, 200 billion
• 2800 – 100 trillion, (rounded off)
• 2840 – 200 trillion
• 2880 – 400 trillion
• 2920 – 800 trillion and growing

As you can see, in the latter years, the potential for population growth is astronomical so as to be impossible. The production of food supplies has been limited by some estimates at 7 billion people. An earlier estimate suggested that our planet could feed as many as 157 billion people. Surely, these figures were pulled out of someone’s proverbial hat. But, if the upper limit is 157 billion, how could the earth sustain any more than that? The population projections listed above are completely unworkable. Nevertheless, whatever the number, John refers to them as a number comparable to the sand of the sea.

Even at some lower number, we cannot even begin to comprehend where everybody would live, or how people would travel. I cannot imagine the traffic congestion that would be possible within another century. I only know that when the thousand years are expired, Lucifer will be loosed to foment another rebellion among the nations.

How will Satan be able to operate on the earth while Jesus is reigning from Jerusalem? How will the devil be able to deceive the nations while Heaven’s immortals are still in control? Will we all leave after a thousand years, turning governmental control back to the mortals?

Will Christ tell the world that he has given them a demonstration on how to keep the peace and that it is time for mankind to rule themselves? Will all of us immortals pack up and leave? The scripture tells us that this occurs “after” the time has “expired.” Will Christ, therefore, dissolve the kingdom in favor of a transition period before the descent of the New Jerusalem to Earth?

We are simply left with unanswered questions. We do not have a clue as to how the devil will be able to assume control of so many billions, or how he will be able to produce the armaments necessary to mount a military rebellion. We only know that he will. But even more bizarre is the name John uses for this historic conflict. He calls it “Gog and Magog.”

The Battle of Gog and Magog

Why should John use the term “Gog and Magog” if he did not intend to equate it to Ezekiel’s prophesied battle to occur after the rapture? Some scholars see the mention of Gog/Magog in Ezekiel 38 & 39 and then again in Revelation 20 as being evidence that what we commonly think of as an immediate post-rapture Russian war is actually referring to a war that occurs in Revelation 20 after the millennial reign of Christ, thus totally discounting the idea that we are seeing an immediate post rapture war involving Russia in Ezekiel 38 & 39. However, in my opinion, this view lacks other existing narrative components that would put these two Gog/Magog mentions as two separate wars that will occur, thus putting both an immediate post rapture war and a war at the close of the millennium in view. There are reasons to suggest that this Gog/Magog war is not the same war as the one in Ezekiel 38.

Is the “Gog/Magog” term metaphoric? Or does it simply describe the geographical location of the rebellion? Most scholars pinpoint Ezekiel’s Gog and Magog as the Sycthians of Northern Turkey and those who live around the Caspian Sea and beyond the Caucausus Mountains. The inhabitants of Meshech (Moscow) and Tubal (Tubolsk) are specifically mentioned in Ezekiel 38. Most agree that Russia will be the main combatant in Ezekiel’s battle of Gog and Magog. Could the progeny of those same people also be dupes of the devil after a thousand years of Heaven’s kingdom, thus giving us reason to believe that this is not the same war as the one in Ezekiel 38?

For example, Ezekiel describes birds feasting upon the slain combatants of this war. Yet, John mentions the birds at the battle of Armageddon, a thousand years before his account of the Gog/Magog invasion. Following Ezekiel’s description of the war, we are given a glorious view of the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus Christ …

“Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory (Ezekiel 43:1-2).

“And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places” (verses 6-7).

Does this coming of Messiah take place after Ezekiel’s battle of Gog and Magog? John has his battle of Gog and Magog taking place a thousand years after the coming of Christ. The first choice among theologians is that these are two battles ( a thousand years apart) from the same general area of the world, and therefore both are named Gog and Magog.

Though this may be the prevailing view (and the one to which I aspire), we should take note of the possibility that John may have been laying out a timeline for Ezekiel’s Gog and Magog invasion. In Ezekiel 37, before Gog’s invasion, we are told that the divided kingdom of Israel will be brought back from the nations, reborn and reunited (which occurred in 1948); and that David will become their king …

“And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all” (Ezekiel 37:21-22).

“And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.

“And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore” (verses 24-28).

If Ezekiel was referring to the millennial kingdom, and most scholars agree that he was, then the battle of Gog and Magog, given in the next chapter, could occur at the end of the seventh millennium. Most believe that David, the promised king (verses 24-25)), is actually a prophetic view of the Messiah, who is the offspring of David. If so, then these verses land us in the messianic kingdom – before the Battle of Gog and Magog.

Ezekiel’s vision in chapters 40-48 is a separate vision in which Christ comes to set up the kingdom age – that same kingdom noted in the concluding verses of chapter 37, thus leaving room for the possibility that chapter 38 could occur at the end of the seventh millennium. Revelation 20:9 tells us that the enemy will encircle the saints, only to be destroyed by fire from Heaven, corresponding to the context of Ezekiel 38:11 and 22 …

“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” (Revelation 20:9).

Ezekiel describes a similar scene. The enemy invades the land of “unwalled villages,” which some scholars suggest are the suburbs of the walled city of Jerusalem. And as is the case in both accounts, God rains fire upon the invading army …

“And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates …” (Ezekiel 38:11).

“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone” (verse 22).

The Greek word for “camp” in Revelation 20:9 is παρεμβολὴν (parembolay) and refers to an “encampment” (i.e. the barracks of an army). The Hebrew term for “unwalled villages” in Ezekiel 38:11 is פְּרָז֔וֹת (parezoht) and refers to a “rural population.” Both terms (Greek and Hebrew) begin with “pare.” The Greek term παρά means “from beside,” “in the vicinity of,” or “in the sight of,” and appears to come from the same Hebrew root פַר par, meaning “breaking forth” (or spreading out) and פַרְבָּר parbar, a “suburb of Jerusalem.”

Both the location and destruction appear to be similar in each passage. Ezekiel calls them a “great company,” a “mighty army,” and that they come up as a “cloud to cover the land.” John depicts their numbers as “the sand of the sea.” However, if the two accounts are about the same battle, we should note that Satan is not mentioned in Ezekiel’s account. And John’s account leaves out the seven months for burying the dead; seven years for burning the weapons; the dismay of the merchants of Tarshish, Sheba and Dedan; and a listing of the axis nations of Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer and Togarmah. However, with John’s reference to Gog and Magog, he could easily be including all of these statistics without having to repeat them.

The size of John’s final battle of Gog and Magog may actually dwarf the size of the armies in the battle of Armageddon. The increased population on the earth after a thousand years will cause the size of the armies to be beyond our comprehension. Ezekiel tells us that God will send a fire, there will be a great shaking in Israel, mountains will be thrown down and every wall will fall …

“For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone” (Ezekiel 38:19-22).

The outcome of the battle will be quick and decisive. A fire will come out of Heaven and devour them. The devil will be cast into the Lake of Fire to join the beast and false prophet …

“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. 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” (Revelation 20:9-10).

Dispensation’s End: Man’s Failure

God has determined seven dispensations for the history of man and all of them end with man’s rebellion. The dispensation of Innocence ended with Adam and Eve’s fall and their expulsion from Eden. The dispensation of Conscience ended with a corrupted humanity and the judgment of Noah’s Flood. The dispensation of Human Government ended with the Tower of Babel and God’s confusion of man’s language. The dispensation of Promise ended with the judgment of Egyptian bondage. The dispensation of Law ended with the rejection and crucifixion of the Savior, Jesus Christ. The dispensation of Grace (the current Church Age) will end with the judgment of the Antichrist’s kingdom and the devastation of Armageddon. And Heaven’s Kingdom Age will end with the final rebellion of the human race and the terrifying Great White Throne Judgment.

These dispensations show the holiness, love, grace and mercy of God, while demonstrating the wickedness of the human heart. In every case, mankind fails the test.

But man is not the only one who is judged. God punishes Lucifer a.k.a. the devil as well. Over a century ago, Dr. Joseph Seiss offered the opinion that the reason the Lord will release Satan from the Bottomless Pit will be to see if he has learned his lesson by that time and will be ready to reform …

“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” (Apocalypse, page 477).

After punishing Lucifer/Satan at the close of each dispensation, could God have extended the opportunity for forgiveness? In the judgment at the end of the dispensation of Innocence, the serpent was made to crawl without legs and eat dust. At the close of the dispensation of Conscience, the “sons of God” (i.e. fallen angels) were bound in Tartarus.

In the judgment at the close of the dispensation of Human Government, God caused Satan’s monument (i.e. Tower of Babel) to remain unfinished. At the close of the dispensation of Promise, God revealed the utter helplessness of the gods of Egypt. Each plague was a judgment against one of Egypt’s gods. We are not given each specific judgment against the devil at the close of the dispensation of Human Government and Promise, but at the close of the dispensation of Law, just before his betrayal and crucifixion, Jesus said that Satan was being judged …

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:7-11).

At the close of the dispensation of Grace, the beast and false prophet will be cast into the Lake of Fire, and the devil will be bound in the Bottomless Pit.

At the close of the dispensation of the one-thousand year Kingdom reign of Christ, the devil will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

It seems that God had the opportunity to exterminate the devil at the close of any of the earlier dispensations. So, why didn’t he? Is the view of Dr. Joseph Seiss correct? Is it possible that, with the end of each dispensation, God punished Satan for his continuing rebellion? Is it possible that in each case, Satan was punished, then given the opportunity to repent, yet did not? Is he offered the chance to reform seven times, after which God finally throws the devil into the Lake of Fire? Such a possibility could serve to demonstrate God’s long-suffering with even the worst of the unsaved wicked. However, a different and more likely school of thought in regards to angels who rebelled with Lucifer and Lucifer himself, is that provision was never made for the possibility of repentance and redemption for fallen angels. The opportunity of repentance is strictly and exclusively given to mankind, not angels. Christ did not die for them, only for humankind. Thus, it is likely that Satan and the fallen angels who rebelled with him, never was, nor ever will be, granted any opportunity for repentance.

The Great White Throne

John attends the judgment of the Great White Throne. Since he typifies New Testament Christianity in chapter 4, then we must assume that we will be there to witness this final judgment as well.

There are two resurrections in chapter 20: the first speaks of the resurrection of the saints; but the second refers only to the unsaved wicked, which are those who have rejected Christ. The concept of a general resurrection does not conform to the view in Revelation 20. As this chapter indicates, the saints are raised at various times, but the unsaved wicked (Christ rejectors) are bound in the torments of Hades until they are raised at the end of seven-thousand years of human history for their final judgment. There are no saints judged here, only the unsaved Christ rejectors …

“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. 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. 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. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).

In chapter 4, we were introduced to the grandeur of God’s throne. is it the same one depicted as the final judgment? In Revelation 4, we saw a rainbow of emerald. There is none around the Great White Throne. In Revelation 4, we saw 24 sub thrones. There are none around the Great White Throne. In Revelation 4, we saw a scroll in the Father’s hand, but it was taken by the Lion/Lamb of Judah. Ah Ha! Here it is. We see it at the Great White Throne.It must still be in the hand of the Lion/Lamb.

In Revelation 4, we saw lightnings, thunders and voices that indicated the threat of judgment to come, but around the Great White Throne, there are no further threats, just the reality that judgment has arrived. The whiteness of this throne speaks of pure justice, without anything to dim or color its judgment. In Revelation 4, we saw seven burning lamps, representing the Holy Spirit, but here, both the Father and Holy Spirit are conspicuously absent. In Revelation 4, we saw a glassy sea, depicting the calmness and serenity of the saints – a heavenly refuge, but here, there is no refuge. The awesomeness of the Great White Throne is such that “the earth and heaven fled away” (verse 11). In Revelation 4, we heard the song of the redeemed, but here, there is no song.

The Judge

John does not tell us who sits upon the Great White Throne. However, it has to be Jesus, since this book is called “THE Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1). Furthermore, in Revelation’s companion book, the Gospel of John, we learn that the Judge will be the “Son,” not the “Father” …

“For the Father judgeth no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22).

There is no description of his form, or his name given. In Revelation 4, the One who sits upon its throne had the appearance of Jasper and a sardine stone, a reddish, crystalline brilliancy, but here, there is no defining description. This mysterious Judge is not named, perhaps for the same reasons that Jesus hid his identity in every other place in the book of Revelation where he was involved in some negative activity. The “another angel” seen earlier in the book, must be the same one here described as “him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away” (verse 11). It is evident that the One sitting upon the Great White Throne is none other than Jesus, Himself.

The Books

At this point in the timeline narrative, we are introduced to two books; the book of “Life” and the book of “Death.” Here, the book of Life and, for lack of a better definition, the book (or books) of “death” are used at the Great White Throne Judgment …

“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” (Revelation 20:12).

It appears that more than one book is used for the disclosure of man’s wicked deeds. Perhaps several volumes are needed because of the sheer weight of evidence. Or perhaps a separate book is used for each dispensation. Of these things, we can only speculate. Nevertheless, more than one book is used for the judgment of the wicked unsaved. John uses the plural βιβλία (scrolls), translated in the KJV as “books.”

It is evident that there are different levels of punishment for each individual among the unsaved, Christ rejecting sea of humanity. Some were more wicked than others and, therefore, receive a greater punishment. Eventually, all are cast into the Lake of Fire. Whatever punishment is worse, we are not told. But we are aware that Jesus scolded the Pharisees, saying that their punishment would be worse than others …

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation (Matthew 23:14).

In the final analysis, punishment in the afterlife for the lost souls of humanity is based upon the fact that their names are not written in the Book of Life. They spurned every opportunity for foregiveness and refused the wooing of the Holy Spirit. Unbelief is the only sin that condemns the soul to the Lake of Fire. Not suicide, not murder, not rape, not any other sin that anyone could bring to mind. These other evil works are simply outgrowths of their unbelief. They are the Christ rejecters. God may not make or force a person to receive Christ, but he will not tolerate their rejection either.

The Hebrew Letter Resh

Here, it is important to briefly review a biblical phenomenon as has been outlined in previous postings. For centuries, it has been taught that the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet contain 22 messages of deep spiritual meaning. These letters bear an uncanny correspondence to the 22 chapters of Revelation, with each letter bearing a meaning or theme that corresponds to each of the meanings or themes to its respective chapter of Revelation in sequential order. To reiterate the importance of the Hebrew language to the Biblical novice or new Christian, the Hebrew language is the original language of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. This twentieth chapter of Revelation follows the meaning of its corresponding letter of the Hebrew alphabet -ר resh. In the previous chapter, it was noted that the ק koph stands between the צ tzaddi and the resh.

The צ tzaddi stands for the righteous and appears on the right-hand side of the ק koph, while ר resh represents the unsaved, Christ rejectors a.k.a. the wicked and appears on the left. The צ tzaddi refers to the righteous (those who have received Christ). The ר resh stands for the wicked (those who have rejected Christ). The ק koph between them reminds us of the day when the great Judge of the universe will return with the verdict. He will place the righteous (צ) on his right and the wicked (ר) on his left …

“And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:33-34).

“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” (verse 41).

As a word, resh is spelled רֵישׁ. It can also be spelled as רֵשְעַ֤, interpreted as “a wicked person.” If spelled as רֵאשׁ rosh, it stands for the “Head,” in which case, I would think it refers to Satan as the head of all the unsaved wicked. 

Some have said that ק koph has its back to ר resh while facing צ tzaddi, meaning that God turns his back on the unsaved wicked while looking upon the righteous with approval. Others say that the ק koph has an opening in its back side, next to ר resh, in order to allow the unsaved wicked an opportunity to repent and have easy access to God’s forgiveness. At the Great White Throne, however, all offers to repent are ended. The final judgment is rendered. All of the unsaved wicked are forever judged.

The Wicked Dead

In the first resurrection, the righteous dead hear a heavenly trumpet and the voice of our Redeemer. But in this second resurrection, there is no trumpet sounded. These people are not worthy of the trumpet. They are the unsaved wicked of all ages. We are told …

“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” (verse 13).

Note that the unsaved wicked are collected in verse “13,” a number that stands for “rebellion, apostasy, defection, corruption, disintegration, revolution or some kindred idea. It is the number of ill omen and is a fitting verse in which to list the collection of the unsaved wicked dead from the “sea … death and hell.” 

These are the unsaved wicked “dead” who are resurrected for the purpose of uniting body and soul for their final judgment in the Lake of Fire. Here, the soul is reunited with the body, perhaps both in an immortal state, otherwise, the fire of the Lake would quickly envelope and evaporate the flesh. However, it is believed that the flesh of the unsaved wicked will retain whatever disease or malady, whatever craving or temptation it endured prior to death.

The wicked Cain is there to face the murder of Abel. Pharaoh is judged for killing the Jewish newborn boys and for his enslavement of Jacob’s progeny.

Every wickedness will have its day before the court of Justice. Every crime, every evil thought, every lie, every theft, etc., will haunt its perpetrator. Every unsaved Christ rejector will know his or her sin. Each one will be painfully aware of his or her crime. No extenuating circumstances will be admissible in that day. All are doomed.

In addition to the “books,” another book is opened, which is the Book of Life. It too must be consulted because there may be some morally good people among the wicked, whose only major transgression is that their names were never recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Perhaps their lives have been pure and honest. Yet, they never felt the need to receive the message of the Gospel. They have never believed on, thus personally received, Christ for the salvation of their souls. Where will they stand on the day of the final judgment? A search for their name will be made in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but they will not be found. Sadly, they are condemned with the rest. It will take the hand of God to wipe away the tears from our eyes.

Although their lives may have been morally pure according to the standards of the civilized world at large, the Bible reveals to us that the fallen nature of man cannot be changed through righteous and moral living. Man is born into this world with a fallen nature. The sins that we human beings commit is only a symptom of the much bigger problem. Our spirits, the part of us that will live on in eternity, is in a state of death. In order for us to escape damnation in the afterlife, our spirits must be brought back to life through regeneration. This is what Jesus meant when telling us that we must be “born again.” It means that when one personally places their faith in, and receives Christ as his or her savior, the spirit of God literally and instantly inhabits the body of said person and instantly regenerates the person’s spirit from its state of death back to life. Romans 6:11 puts it this way…

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

Romans 6:11 confirms and reinforces what Christ said about having to be “born again” to see and enter into the Kingdom of God. Salvation is not dependent upon whether or not we are successful at turning from our sinful life. It’s recognizing that we are hopelessly unable to save ourselves because of the fallen nature that we all have given to us from the birth of Adam. If you turn to Christ for forgiveness and receive him personally as your savior, there is no more that we can possibly add to that. Turning from your sinful life is what God desires of course. We will still suffer the consequences in many instances both in this life and in the life to come in Heaven at the judgment seat of Christ where rewards will be won or lost. But the issue of our salvation and going to Heaven is not at stake at this judgment. Once we receive Christ, the Bible does not warn us to “turn from our sinful life” or else face eternal damnation. It is true that we should not indulge in deliberately sinful behavior for the reason I just mentioned of course, but the issue of salvation is not in question if one doesn’t. That is not the gospel message that Christ and the Apostles have presented in the biblical text. The message that Jesus presented is that one must be “born again” to enter Heaven.

The Lake of Fire

The Lake of Fire awaits the rest of the wicked. A thousand years before, the beast and false prophet were thrown into it. After the final battle, Satan was thrown into it. Now, the unsaved wicked of humanity, the followers of Lucifer a.k.a. Satan, the Christ rejecters will be cast into it …

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15).

The Lord further explains this “second death” and its occupants in the next chapter …

“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” (Revelation 21:8).

Some Bible scholars say that the fire will consume the unsaved wicked in a matter of minutes or even seconds and that they will then cease to exist – thus the language of the passage when it declares that this will be the “second death.” The biblical evidence for this view is indeed a very powerful one that should be heavily considered. Others who disagree with this instant annihilation in the Lake of Fire view and endorse a forever torment of the unsaved soul, which is the prevailing view in Christianity, cite the passage of verse 21 of Revelation 20 …

“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.” (Revelation 20:10).

However, there is ample reason to believe that the beast and false prophet will not be human, although they may take on human form. Those who assume that because the beast and the false prophet will be tormented “day and night forever and ever,” all unsaved humans will be tormented endlessly also. But what is true of the part is not necessarily true of the whole. The reason that Satan and demons will/might be tormented endlessly could involve more than one factor – one of which is that they are ontologically different beings than humans and are not said to be made in God’s image as humans are. 

When the view of annihilationism is held, this is not to say that when unsaved human beings die without Christ, they are immediately annihilated and cease to exist. The annihilationist view holds that, after death, conscious torment will be endured UNTIL after the Great White Throne Judgment where they will finally be annihilated and destroyed in the Lake of Fire where the beast and false prophet were thrown. Human beings will be destroyed i.e. cease to exist and not have any awareness at all, whereas the beast and false prophet (being un-human) will be tormented day and night forever with full consciousness and awareness. 

Yet another example of the eventual annihilation of the unsaved wicked view is Jesus’ own words in John 3:16 and his use of the word “perish” …

“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:15-16).

If the eternal unending conscious torment of the unsaved wicked were the correct view, it seems that Jesus here would have used a different word other than “perish.” Perish means exactly what the word is implying – no longer existing. In other words, “death” – as in the “second death,” the death of the soul and spirit as seen in Revelation 21:8. The first death being of the body in the current and present age.

Whether the eternal torment view is correct or the torment and eventual annihilation/destruction view of unsaved human beings is correct, the prognosis for the unsaved is mightily and horribly bleak indeed. Whichever of these views is the correct one, it does not change the fundamental message of the Gospel of Jesus – and that message is warning the lost that without Christ, inconceivable and horrible misery lies just ahead for the unsaved Christ rejecter.

For more on this subject matter, I very highly recommend some extraordinarily researched material from various authors whose links can be found in the “Recommended Reading and Viewing” section at the end of this posting.

For a thousand years prior to the Great White Throne Judgment, the beast and false prophet have been continually tormented, described here as “day and night.” Furthermore, they will continue to be tormented “for ever and ever.”

The biblical text cannot be any more plain. The unsaved will face the horrible reality of over a thousand years of conscious torment in the afterlife until the Great White Throne Judgment occurs, wherein they will then be cast into the Lake of Fire and finally and forever cease to exist – the “second death” of Revelation 20:21, the chapter which will be expounded upon in the next posting in this Revelation series. Jesus explained this punishment of the unsaved wicked in his Olivet Discourse …

“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” (Matthew 25:41).

Just as the ר resh stands to the left of ק koph, the Lord will consign the unsaved wicked on his left hand to the same “everlasting fire” that he has prepared for the Devil and his fallen angels until after the terrifying and extremely somber Great White Throne Judgment event, where they will then be cast into the Lake of Fire and finally be annihilated and destroyed i.e. cease to exist and have no conscious awareness. Again, although not the prevailing view of the nature of suffering in the afterlife in regards to its length of time for the unsaved person, it is something that should be seriously considered as the correct interpretation. Regarding that subject, let’s scour a thought or two before moving on.

Some may point to Jesus’ terrifying words in Mark 9:44 as proof that the annihilationist view is incorrect and that an eternal torment view is meant by Jesus regarding the unsaved wicked …

“And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-48).

Edward Fudge, the pre-eminent defender of annihilationism, interprets Jesus to mean that the worms and fire are not quenched until the wicked are totally annihilated.

“Worms and fire indicate complete destruction, for the maggot in this picture does not die but continues to feed so long as there is anything to eat. The fire, which is not ‘quenched’ or extinguished, burns until nothing is left of what it is burning” (Two Views of Hell, p. 32).

In other words, Fudge thinks Jesus was emphasizing the unstoppable nature of the process of annihilation. When Jesus said the “worm will not die,” that means it will not die before finishing the job of devouring the wicked dead. That is also Chris Date’s view, writing on this passage for rethinkinghell.com:

“Their worm, it is promised, will not die in that context, will not be prevented by death from consuming its host. This is an assurance that the abhorrent process of decay will continue unabated until the corpse is completely consumed; the worm is promised no life beyond that.”

Edward Fudge, the pre-eminent defender of annihilationism, interprets Jesus to mean that the worms and fire are not quenched until the wicked are totally annihilated.

“Worms and fire indicate complete destruction, for the maggot in this picture does not die but continues to feed so long as there is anything to eat. The fire, which is not ‘quenched’ or extinguished, burns until nothing is left of what it is burning” (Two Views of Hell, p. 32).

In other words, Fudge thinks Jesus was emphasizing the unstoppable nature of the process of annihilation. When Jesus said the “worm will not die,” it is taken to mean that it will not die before finishing the job of devouring the wicked dead. That is also Chris Date’s view, writing on this passage for rethinkinghell.com:

“Their worm, it is promised, will not die in that context, will not be prevented by death from consuming its host. This is an assurance that the abhorrent process of decay will continue unabated until the corpse is completely consumed; the worm is promised no life beyond that.”

The worms will die, and the fire go out, only after the wicked are annihilated, not before. On a certain level, I can almost see that interpretation being forced and unlikely, but on a certain other level, this could appear to be what Jesus meant. The annihilationist view would certainly align with Revelation 20:8 and its declarative words of the “second death.”

It is easy for the annihilationist to argue that what usually happens in this world is that maggots and fire eventually finish their work, and when they do, they either die or are extinguished. When there is no more meat, there is no more maggots. Likewise, when there is no more wood, there is no more fire. Once the fuel is gone, so are the things feeding on it. But those who oppose that view could argue that this is what happens in this world. But not in Gehenna. Gehenna is different. The laws that apply here do not apply there.

In Gehenna, the worm will not die and the fire will not go out. Why not? Because there is always something for the worm to eat and always something for the fire to burn. In other words, Jesus may be saying that the punishment never ends. The wicked dead are never consumed. They continue to exist, continually devoured and burned, suffering eternal conscious torment. But yet again, we have Revelation 20:8 and its “second death” that proponents of the eternal conscious torment view have to contend with. Not an easy task when trying to reconcile scripture.

The prospects of such a terrifying judgment after death should give anyone pause for contemplation. We, as saved Christians who have received Christ and are Heaven-bound, are given the task from Jesus to tell this story around the world to every generation, so that no one can say that he or she did not know. This is an awesome responsibility for us. It is the oft spoken of great commission that Jesus commanded of us just before he ascended to Heaven in Matthew 28 …

“The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted. Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:16-20).

Let us be faithful to our calling. Those who are cast into the Lake of Fire are the brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, fathers and mothers of someone. We must reach out with the message of eternal life and plead with everyone we can to repent of their unbelief and receive Christ before it is too late. 

Reader, if you do not presently know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, then the responsibility is laid on you. You cannot delay. You have no promise of a tomorrow.

THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN AND YOU: WHAT YOU MUST DO TO ENTER HEAVEN

In order to accept the offer of God’s grace and his salvation, you must take the crucial three steps of

1. Agreeing –

A belief and agreeing with God in all that he says in his word, the Bible, about the fact that you are separated from God, as every man and woman on the face of the earth are before accepting his salvation.  The Bible reveals that all are separated from him in a spiritual state of death, or said another way that the Bible reveals it, in a state of sin, that will result in damnation in the afterlife.  Agreeing with God in your heart that you are in need of his salvation.  The Bible reveals that God looks upon the heart of a man or woman, and thus, responds accordingly to the person who comes to him for salvation in recognition of his inability to save himself.  The Bible makes these facts very clear – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).  The Bible describes these three kinds of death:  

• physical death (the state experienced when life leaves our bodies).

• spiritual death (spiritual separation from God caused by our state of spiritual death inherited from the first man Adam – the state of sin that results in our daily outward acts of sin, whether deliberate or not, whether omissive or not; and finally …

• the second death (the fixed state entered into by the individual who dies physically while he or she is dead spiritually). This state is entered into after the death of the body which results in punishment in the afterlife until the event of the Great White Throne Judgment occurs wherein the damned are resurrected from Hades, or Hell, and are judged according to their works and finally destroyed and cease to exist after being cast into the Lake of Fire. Revelation 14 refers to this tragic end of the unsaved as the “Second Death” (verse 14). It is this state of suffering entered into after physical death and then final destruction at the Great White Throne Judgment in particular which is the horrible result of receiving the wages of sin (unforgiven due to unbelief and rejection of Christ). The Lord Jesus Christ frequently described such a death as being irrevocable in a destiny which he called Hell.  He described Hell as a literal place of judgment (Matthew 13:42); a place of everlasting fire (Matthew 18:8); a place of torment (Luke 16:24,28); a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:50); a place of remorse (Mark 9:44-48); of bitter memory (Luke 16:25), and a place originally prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).  In fact, Jesus more often warned about Hell than he spoke about Heaven.

It is not God’s will or desire that any person should be consigned to perish in Hell (2 Peter 3:9), but rather that all should come to repentance of unbelief toward him and believe on him for the salvation of the individual’s soul.  But God’s justice requires that the “soul who sins” (remains in it’s state of death or state of sin) is the one who will die a second time after a long period of torment (Ezekiel 18:4).  So, agree with God, admitting that you are unable to save yourself and in a state of sin under God’s just condemnation for that sin and that you are in need of his salvation.

2. Believing – Then, believe that God does not want you to perish eternally in the torment of Hell because of your sin.  Believe that God loves you so much that he provided a way whereby he could still be a just, holy and righteous God, and yet pardon you.  Believe that God did not just overlook sin, but that he sent his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to provide salvation by personally paying the penalty for sin.  Believe that Jesus Christ, whose life, death, burial and resurrection is the best-attested fact of antiquity, did come to earth to live, die, rise again and ascend to Heaven in order to provide justification and salvation for all who trust him.  Believe that he, and he alone, can save you because he has fully satisfied the just demands of God.  Believe that you can’t become righteous in God’s sight by your own effort.  Believe that he wants to save you and that he will save you.  The Bible provides a solid basis for such belief …

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). 

“But God demonstrates his love toward us in this:  while we were yet sinners,  Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). 

God presented him (Jesus Christ) as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.  He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies the man or woman who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26). 

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;  And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures … ” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). 

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). 

“Jesus answered, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out [drive away]” (John 6:37).

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

3. Calling – It is not enough to agree with God, admit your need, and believe that Christ can and will save you.  You must act upon those facts. God’s requirement is that you repent of your unbelief toward him and actively call upon him for the salvation of your soul based on the fact that you cannot save yourself because of your sins. It is unbelief in particular that damns the soul to its horrible fate …

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

You must be willing to completely turn from your own efforts to save yourself or from any other hope.  You must come to Christ, calling upon him for salvation and counting on the fact that he will do what he has promised.  This means simply taking the gift of pardon and eternal life which he offers.  Merely believing about Jesus Christ without coming to him makes as much sense and is as effective as believing that a medication can successfully treat a fatal disease, but failing to take it.  Yet again, the Bible emphatically and authoritatively provides the basis for such statements.

The word translated “believe” here means to “rest one’s entire weight and trust on the object or person in which the belief is placed.”  It requires action in keeping with the intellectual assent of that belief.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

” … but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The logical question you may be asking at this point is:  “how do I come to Christ and call upon him?”  The answer is that “calling upon the Lord” is just another term for praying, or talking to God.  To talk to God is not a complicated process, dependent upon some special rituals.  God has invited people to approach him through his Son in simple, straightforward terms.  In fact, Jesus approved of the dishonest, despised tax collector who simply prayed, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.”  While the exact words of your prayer to God are not of vital importance (since God sees and knows the attitude of your heart), the following is the kind of prayer that you could pray in calling upon God for salvation …

“Dear Lord Jesus:  I realize that I need you.  I admit that I have sinned and that I deserve your just, eternal punishment for that sin.  But I am sorry for my sin and I am turning to you and asking for forgiveness.  I believe that you died and rose again to pay sin’s penalty on my behalf.  I come to you and open my heart to you.  I ask you to come into my life, forgive me for all of my sin and make me your child.  I invite you to take control of my life and to cause me to be the kind of person you would have me to be.  I thank you for doing this because you have promised that whosoever calls upon you, as I am doing now, shall be saved.  I pray this in the name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.”

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, I urge you to sincerely and genuinely express it to God as your prayer.  The Bible makes clear that when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in our heart, God forgives our sins and counts us righteous, and that when we openly confess with our mouth what we have done in our heart,  God gives us assurance of that salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:3-7).

Recommended Reading and Viewing:

Conditionalism Vs. Eternal Torment Vs. Universal Reconciliation

Ask a conditionalist (annihilationist)… Edward Fudge responds

The Roots of Opposition to Conditionalism

Hell: Eternal Torment or Complete Annihilation?

Believe What the Jewish Apostles Taught, Not What the Greek Philosophers Taught

The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent

 

The next article in this Revelation series can be read in the link below.
ALL THINGS NEW

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