Antichrist and the End Times
AET-073 and 74:
Rev. 19 and 20
The Wedding Supper of the Lamb
and the Millennium
Revelation 19
• REVELATION 19
• 1After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a
great multitude in heaven shouting: "Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2for true and just are his judgments. He has
condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the
earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the
blood of his servants." 3And again they shouted:
"Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever
and ever. "
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Revelation 19
• 4The twenty-four elders and the four living
creatures fell down and worshiped God, who
was seated on the throne. And they cried:
"Amen, Hallelujah!"
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Revelation 19
• 19:1–4 John hears the sound of a heavenly
multitude offering praise to the divine King, who is
seated on his throne.
• The chorus includes "Twenty-four elders," who
symbolize [?], and "Four living creatures," which
symbolize the whole of creation.1 Together they
shout "Hallelujah," the Hebrew term for "Praise the
Lord!"
• Once again, the text highlights the justness of
God’s sentence against [Babylon].
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Revelation 19
• "Babylon" falls not due to some irrational divine
whim, but because she has "Corrupted the earth"
with the "Adultery" of idolatry.
• Furthermore, she has murdered the saints of God.2
At the final judgment, God has rightly and justly
"Avenged on her the blood of his servants."3
• The smoke of Babylon’s destruction "Goes up for
ever and ever," signifying that [Her] final
condemnation is unending and irreversible.4
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Revelation 19
• The [24 Elders?] and the whole of creation voice
their approval of what God has done by shouting
"Amen," a Hebrew term meaning "So be it!" or
"Truly!”
• WHO ARE THE 24 ELDERS?
• Many theories have been put forth:
• The Church
• Ruling Angels
• Jews
• A Whole Bunch of Weirdness Theories
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Revelation 19
• From bnaiavraham.net
• Who are the “twenty-four elders” in Revelation 4
[and 19]?
• Revelation is written in a style that is both vague,
yet evocative. This is typical of the language of
apocalyptic prophecy, where the use of allusions,
motifs, symbols, and metaphors is extensive. I
believe Rev. 4:4 is a sampling of this.
• Since there is nothing in the book of Revelation
itself that defines the 24 Elders for us, we need to
look elsewhere in the Scriptures for a definition.
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Revelation 19
• In the Tanakh [Old Testament], the book of Exodus
(19:5,6) we are told that Yahweh’s fundamental
design for Israel itself was to be “a kingdom of
priest” and “a holy nation.”
• A priest (Hebrew: “Cohen”) is one who stands up
for another and mediates in his cause.
• Additionally, Israel was to be a “holy nation”…a
nation reconciled through, brought near to, and
kept in fellowship with G-d through the sprinkling of
blood.
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Revelation 19
• While it is true that Yahweh established a separate
priesthood in Israel, the nation itself was to be a
priestly kingdom.
• This then, would make the priesthood only
representative of the people.
• Yahweh’s underlying ideals for Israel itself were
reconciliation and mediation through blood.
• The priests were the representatives of these
ideals.
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Revelation 19
• Everything connected with the priesthood was
intended to be symbolic and typical: the office, its
functions, the attire, the outward support,
etc.(Hebrews 8:3-5).
• The superintendent over the priests was the High
Priest.
• He was the chief official in charge of mediation and
reconciliation.
• The officiating attire of the High Priest is quite
interesting:
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Revelation 19
• His coat was woven of one piece (like that of
Yahshua’s cf. John 19:23), he wore a golden girdle
around his chest (cf. Rev. 1:13), the garment was
white and made of linen (made from byssus a
white shining cotton from Egypt) and reached to
his feet, he wore a breastplate which was foursquare and contained 12 jewels bearing the names
of the 12 tribes of Israel (suggestive of
Rev.21:16,12-14), and much more.
• The common priest also wore a shining white
garment (byssus).
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Revelation 19
• In order to become a priest one had to pass
several tests. The two most important tests were:
genealogy, and freedom from physical defects. If
all the tests were passed, the candidates would
then be given white garments and their names
would be inscribed in the archives (cf. Rev. 3:5).
• Under David and Solomon, the priesthood was
arranged into twenty-four divisions and continued
as such right up until the Babylonian Captivity (1
Chron. 24).
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Revelation 19
• When the capitivity was over, only four of the
original twenty-four divisions returned to Eretz
Yisrael (the land of Israel): the divisions of Jedaiah,
Immer, Pashur, and Harim (Ezra 2:36-39).
• That of Jedaiah is mentioned first because it was
the High Priest’s family - of the house of Jeshua
(“Yeshua”): cf Ezra 3:2. (Interesting. No?)
• To restore the original arrangement each of these
four families were directed to cast lots for those
who had not returned with them - so as to form,
once again, 24 divisions.
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Revelation 19
• These newly formed divisions would then bear the
ancient names.
• This is witnessed to in the New Covenant:
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer, did not
actually belong to the family of Abijah (which did
not return from Babylon) but to the division of
Abijah: which had been formed out of another
family and ministered in the ancient name of Abijah
(1 Chron. 24:10; Luke 1:5,8).
• Each division would come on duty for a week at a
time (from Sabbath to Sabbath).
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Revelation 19
• On Feast Days any priest could come up and join
in on the ministry of the Sanctuary.
• However, at the Feast of Tabernacles, all twentyfour divisions had to be present and officiate
(Selah).
• What a sight that must have been!
• Oh, I almost forgot something.
• Each of these 24 divisions had a division head to
represent them…an elder.
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Revelation 19
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lets put it together:
The Priesthood was arranged into 24 Divisions
Each Division had a Division Head: an Elder
The Elder represented the Division
The Division was a part of the total Priesthood
The Priesthood was representative of the Nation
The Nation was to be “a kingdom of priests” and a
“holy nation”
• A Nation redeemed by, brought near to, and kept
in fellowship with G-d through the “sprinkling of
blood”
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Revelation 19
• The priests wore shining white garments when
officiating
• In Revelation 4 [and 19] we see 24 elders, with 24
crowns, on 24 thrones, dressed in white
• They worship and give praise to G-d: priestly
functions
• They are representative of the priestly kingdom of
Israel in Heaven.
• This is the BEST explanation I have heard.
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Revelation 19
• Verses 1 and 2 find a close connection between
God’s "Salvation" and his "Judgments."
• Salvation "belongs" to God only because he
carries out the final judgment.
• We have seen that, in reality, redemption and
condemnation are two sides of the same event.
• The kingdom of God cannot come until the Lord
first destroys the kingdom of Satan.
• The Lord cannot consummate his own beneficent
kingship without eliminating all opposing kingships.
He cannot establish the good without destroying
evil.
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Revelation 19
• Announcement of the Wedding Supper of the
Lamb (19:5–10)
• In Revelation 14:1–22:6, John offers a
kaleidoscope of images depicting the final
judgment and the consummation of God’s
kingdom—two facets of a single event.
• The early images (14:1–19:4) focus primarily on
the condemnation of God’s enemies with an
occasional look forward to the salvation of his
servants.
• However, beginning in 19:5, the prophet shifts his
emphasis.
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Revelation 19
• From this point forward, the majority of images will
concern the salvation of God’s servants with only
an occasional look back at the destruction of his
enemies.
• Chapter 19, verses 5–10, includes an
announcement of the wedding supper of the Lamb.
• Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
"Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear
him, both small and great!"
• 6Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude,
like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals
of thunder, shouting:
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Revelation 19
• "Hallelujah!
• For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7Let us rejoice
and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of
the Lamb has come, and his bride has made
herself ready. 8Fine linen, bright and clean, was
given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the
righteous acts of the saints.) 9Then the angel said
to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to
the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ " And he added,
"These are the true words of God."
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Revelation 19
• 19:5–9 (1) The Wedding of the Lamb. With one
voice all God’s servants shout: "Hallelujah! (a
Hebrew term meaning ‘Praise the Lord!’) For our
Lord God Almighty reigns!"
• They thus announce the consummation of God’s
kingdom rule—the extension of his sovereign reign
over the whole universe.6
• In verses 7–9 the Lord’s servants use a different
image to proclaim the same truth: "The wedding of
the Lamb has come! " Blessed are those who are
invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!"
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Revelation 19
• The "Lamb" refers to Jesus Christ, whose
sacrificial death on the cross destroys the
kingdom of Satan and establishes the
kingdom of God.
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Revelation 19
• Victory celebrations are usually held after a battle,
but so sure is God of His control over His creation,
that He invites all the redeemed (His slaves; i.e.,
those who have subjected themselves to His
authority) to attend a celebration before His final
battle with the forces of evil.
• Heaven’s joyous response makes it clear that they
have no doubt about the outcome as they know
God is all powerful—the only question is the timing;
and excitement erupts as they learn that the time
has now come.
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Revelation 19
• The addressees of this summons to praise and
adoration are all who reverence God (v.5), an
emphasis which includes not only Old Testament
saints but also angels (for whom Christ did not
die—see v.10 which makes a distinction between
the angel speaking and the saints).
• God’s triumph over evil is absolutely certain. He
does not question it, and neither do those who
have placed their faith in Him, yet the unregenerate
will hold to their futile hope of victory over God until
the very end, as we shall see.
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Revelation 19
• The fact that there will be ‘small and great’ in
Heaven (v.5) indicates that status will
already have been awarded by this stage; so
the ‘bema’ (Judgment Seat of Christ) of II
Corinthians 5 occurs after the rapture, and is
complete by the end of the tribulation (i.e., it
takes place during the tribulation).
• Moreover, the awarding of the fine linen
garments confirms this, as they represent
the righteous deeds of the saints (v.8).
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Revelation 19
• The sound of many waters combined with thunder
(v.6) echoes 14:2, where it, too, has a heavenly
context, and where it, too, indicates a swelling,
deafening, accolade of praise for the persons of
God and His Lamb.
• This is the moment for which all creation has been
waiting (see Rom 8:18–25 for a biblical explanation
of this waiting); at last the long wait is over, Christ
will be revealed in all His divine glory, and all
creation will be restored to its perfect primordial
state.
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Revelation 19
• No wonder there is this swelling, deafening
roar of praise!
• As the singers of this song do not include
those redeemed by Christ, for the Church
(the wife) is addressed by the song (v.7),
they must be the angelic host.
• This growing cacophony of sound by the
heavenly throng of angels addresses God as
‘our God’ and they will thus state their
allegiance to God and denounce Satan.
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Revelation 19
• The marriage of the Lamb (v.7) is the union
between Christ and His bride (the Church), but in
order to understand this event we need first to
consider the Jewish marriage custom.
• Jewish marriage started with betrothal, as, even
though the couple were not living together, a
betrothal could only be terminated by formal
divorce (Matt 1:18–19).
• Normally a betrothal lasted about a year, then the
marriage was taken to its next and final stage.
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Revelation 19
• This stage commenced when ‘the friend of
the bridegroom’ was sent to the bride’s
home to escort her from her parents to the
bridegroom.
• He then presented her to the groom at the
wedding feast, a celebration that frequently
lasted for several days.
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Revelation 19
• II Corinthians 11:2 uses this simile of a wedding
and talks of believers being betrothed to Christ;
Eph 5:25–33 promises a great mystery, the
permanent union between Christ and the Church;
and Revelation 19–20 present the final stage of
this wedding, the wedding feast of the Lamb which
starts in Heaven and continues on earth, enduring
for the period of the millennium.
• It is fitting that the marriage should first be
celebrated in Heaven; but it is also appropriate that
earth be included in the festivities, as God is God
of the universe, not only the God of Heaven.
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Revelation 19
• This earthly celebration will demonstrate that God
has forced Satan to release his grip on earth; God
will clearly be the victor and Satan, the
vanquished.
• The heavenly start to these festivities follows the
same pattern as the various revelations concerning
the judgments, for each new section of Revelation
always opens with a clear reminder that anything
which happens on earth (the material realm) is but
the working out of a heavenly (the spiritual realm)
decision.
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Revelation 19
• In this way, God repeatedly reminds us that
spiritual values are more important than material
values, and, indeed, that material values are only
intended to serve spiritual values.
• The bride will be clothed in bright, clean, white
garments, which contrast with the purple and
scarlet garments of the harlot of chapters 17–18.
• This clothing represents the saints’ righteous
deeds (v.8).
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Revelation 19
• Verse 9 speaks of invited guests at this wedding
besides the Father, the Groom, and His bride.
• Verse 10 provides a clue as to who at least some
of these invited guests are: they will be angels who
have not rebelled against God (still servants, v.10),
who recognize Jesus Christ and worship God.
• Some commentators reason that Old Testament
saints cannot correctly be classified as the Church,
so suggest that they are another group of guests at
this wedding of the Church to Christ.
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Revelation 19
• However, [others believe] that the bride of
Christ will be all those He redeemed, and
that includes Old Testament saints whose
sins are forgiven through His shed blood.
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Revelation 19
• The significance of this wedding is that the bride
and Bridegroom will have become one flesh, never
to be separated in all the eons of eternity.
• What a glorious promise—we believers will have
the incomprehensible privilege of being eternally
united to Christ; what pure joy that will be, what a
perfect peace and relationship await us.
• In that relationship we will be forever righteous, for
being one flesh with Him, the source of all
righteousness, will absolutely assure this.
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Revelation 19
• The angel in v.10 was careful to ascribe the
glory of prophecy to Jesus; he, too, was
quick to assume the stance of a fellow-slave.
• Thus the angel made it crystal clear to John
that the prophecy he was revealing was not
his own act, but was made in the power of
Jesus’ spirit.
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Revelation 19
• The Returning Christ and His Host (19:11–
16)
• This paragraph describes the triumphant
return of Jesus Christ to the earth
accompanied by His armies (v.14), but all
the attention is focused on His magnificence,
for only one verse describes His armies.
• So let us first dispense with this last point
and then turn our concentration, with John,
to our Lord.
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Revelation 19
• The armies (v.14) are described in the same terms
as the bride of the Lamb (v.7), so clearly are the
same; this episode thus marks the moving of the
marriage feast from Heaven to earth.
• We believers, then, will accompany Jesus Christ
when He returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom;
this verse promises us we will be there, with Him.
• We will follow behind His charger on chargers of
our own, and will witness His victory over evil.
• This is the pageant to end all earthly pageants, and
we will be participants!
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Revelation 19
• Matthew 24:30 also describes Christ’s return
and tells us that He will appear in the sky
and all the people on earth will see Him.
• This could suggest that His coming will be
relatively gradual in order to allow all the
people on earth to see Him.
• So His arriving could take over twenty-four
hours, and the earth’s rotation would be the
mechanics for granting all the earth’s
inhabitants a glimpse of their Judge.
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Revelation 19
• Maybe a scene from Star Wars could
illustrate the event which, with His armies
following, would look like an extra-terrestrial
invasion.
• The war against mankind will be righteous
(v.11) because for seven years the human
race will have persisted in its rebellion
against God despite the plethora of divine
signs and judgments.
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Revelation 19
• Jesus will do two distinct things to the nations of
the world: He will judge them with God’s wrath, and
those who survive will be shepherded by the strong
laws of God.
• Notice how Jesus will be proudly arrayed in His
garment which is covered in blood; this will be the
basis of divine judgment—that the world has
spurned His blood.
• Jesus wears it proudly; we will be dressed in our
white garments—He will be arrayed in His bloody
one.
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Revelation 19
• The host that will accompany Jesus is proof
positive of the effectiveness of His blood.
• There is profound logic in the bride accompanying
Christ, for the execution of humanity is punishment
of the persecutors (or their descendants) for their
persecution of the bride.
• This, too, explains why the Church is not involved
in the battle of Armageddon, for we are being
vindicated by our Lord, the Bridegroom, and are
merely present to witness that vindication.
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Revelation 19
• Now, let us turn our attention to the
revelation of our Lord.
• Consider the descriptions given of Christ;
they tabulate thus:
– i)
– ii)
– iii)
– iv)
– v)
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He is riding a white horse.
He is called, ‘Faithful and True.’
He is righteous in judgment and war.
He has eyes like flaming fire.
He has many royal crowns on His head.
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Revelation 19
• vi) He has a unique name known only to
Himself.
• vii) His clothes are dipped in blood
(epitomizing His death and the salvation He
procured).
• Viii) His name is, ‘The Word of God.’
• ix) He is accompanied by a vast army (which
follows Him in love, thus attesting to His
sterling qualities).
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Revelation 19
• x) He has a sharp sword flicking from His
mouth.
• xi) He will conquer all the nations of the
world.
• xii) He will execute the wrath of God.
• Xiii) He is proclaimed, ‘King of Kings and
Lord of Lords.’
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Revelation 19
• Let us consider some of these details.
• A white horse was the traditional victor’s
mount; so Jesus leaves Heaven for battle
already proclaimed the victor!
• His confidence is not premature because He
is the ‘logos’ the unique name which only
Jesus Christ fully understands, for His name
is ‘The Word of God.’
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Revelation 19
• ‘Word’ in Greek is ‘logos’ and means the essence
of the word, not just its utterance; now, the
essence of the Word of God, which has such
power that all creation exists purely because of its
mystique, is unknowable by man, and, as v.12
explains, is only fully known by Jesus Christ
Himself.
• The mystique of this Word is again demonstrated
in point x), for by an action of Jesus’ mouth the
armies of the world will be slain.
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Revelation 19
• They exist only because He spoke the word that
brought them into existence; consequently, He can
make them cease to exist by speaking another
word.
• In the face of such power it is the ultimate futility to
resist Him, yet Satan and the Beast will urge
humanity on to mass suicide (16:14).
• The name Jesus has, ‘King of Kings and Lord of
Lords,’ is powerful enough to replace the sword a
king normally wears on his thigh.
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Revelation 19
• The titles by which Jesus is described in this
passage present Him as:
• (i) Savior,
• (ii) Warrior,
• (iii) Judge, and
• (iv) Divine King.
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Revelation 19
• Christ Destroys the Armies of the World
(19:17–21)
• This is the Bible’s last description of the
Battle of Armageddon, and it is remarkably
anticlimactic.
• There is no great pitched battle, no struggle
against insurmountable odds, no feats of
heroism until mortals have lost all hope.
• This is man fighting God, and God wins with
consummate ease. It has to be so.
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Revelation 19
• The carnage is total, but only on one side—the
other side is unsoiled by the battle, its white
garments as sterile as when the army set out from
Heaven, following Jesus Christ on their white
chargers!
• Again we find a heavenly pronouncement (vv.17–
18) preceding the earthly events (vv.19–21).
• The invitation extended to birds of carrion is not to
the wedding feast of the Lamb, but to clean up the
mess on earth after Christ has slain all
unregenerate men.
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Revelation 19
• The sense of a glut of human flesh everywhere
pervades this paragraph.
• Notice, the outcome is so certain that the birds are
summoned before the massacre.
• This judgment will fall without respect on the high
and the lowly, on the strong and the weak, indeed,
on all men as well as animals in their service.
• The Greek text of v.18 does not confine this
carnage to adult males, but encompasses the
entire human race.
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Revelation 19
• Horses are included in the carnage, so all
military equipment (which seems to me to be
what the horses symbolize) will be
destroyed; it will not be needed in the
millennium (‘they shall beat their swords into
plowshares’ [Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3]; the United
Nations, with brazen effrontery, has claimed
this text for themselves, but this blissful
scenario will only materialize when Jesus
Christ returns to reign!).
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Revelation 19
• Only the Beast and his false prophet will not die
this death (vv.20–21), but only so that they can be
cast, living, into the second death, Hell.
• Note the sequence of events in the Beast’s defeat:
first, in full sight of his assembled armies, he and
his lieutenant, the false prophet, will be seized; he
will be humiliated in front of the entire assembled
human race and then thrown, not into the abyss
from whence he came (17:8), but directly into Hell
(v.20).
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Revelation 19
• These two will have the deserved notoriety
of being the first souls to reach Hell, for
Satan and the rest of the doomed will arrive
one thousand years later (20:14–15).
• Jesus Christ will thus demonstrate His
complete superiority over the Beast by
arresting him in the presence of his armies,
armies which, in the presence of Jesus
Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will
be helpless to aid him.
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Revelation 19
• The war against the Lamb will be singularly onesided, for Jesus Christ will not even put His army
into battle, but will single-handedly, with the sword
which flicks out of His mount, slay the combined
military might of the entire human race.
• Again, all glory must go to Him!
• Revelation gives us no more detail, but Zech 14:12
describes what the sword in Jesus Christ’s mouth
will do to rebellious mankind: their flesh will rot
while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in
their sockets, their tongues will rot in their mouths.
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Revelation 19
• The sword flicking from Jesus’ mouth is none other
than the divine power He exercised in creation
(when He said, “Let there be!” and there was) in
reverse.
• He will merely speak all unregenerate human
beings out of existence.
• In horror they will watch their own flesh begin to rot
on their very bones and fall to earth; then their
eyes will rot in their sockets; and finally their
tongues will rot in their mouths and they will fall
silent, until they admit Jesus as Lord in the final
judgment—but that confession will come too late to
do them any good.
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Revelation 19
• That is the one-sided battle of Armageddon;
it will not, as is popularly held, be a pitched
battle to end all battles.
• It will be the most one-sided affair ever, and
yet the carnage will be incomprehensiblemultiple billions of rotting corpses strewn on
the very earth from which Jesus Christ
spoke them into existence (Col 1:16).
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• CONCLUSION
• This one-sided battle, with all the casualties on the
one side and none on the other, is called the Battle
of Armageddon (16:16).
• This record describes the event from the
perspective of unregenerate mankind, but another,
Zech 12:10–14, describes the impact on
regenerate mankind on earth, particularly Jews, for
only then will they understand the full horror of the
rejection of Jesus Christ at His first advent;
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• This will be a time of deep bitterness over the
failure to recognize Him when His only mission
was to offer salvation, a time of recognition
belatedly bestowed in the face of irrebuttable
evidence of His irresistible power.
• Believers before the tribulation accepted Christ on
the basis of His offer of salvation without a display
of His strength, so their position is different;
nevertheless, we do well to remind ourselves of an
affront so deep that only the efficacious death of
Jesus Christ could provide the basis for a
relationship with God.
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• The earth will now have been purged of sin; only
regenerate (saved) humans will be alive; and it will
be ready to embark, for the third time, on the
course which God had intended for it.
• The period commencing with Adam ended in the
disaster of the flood because of almost universal
sinfulness in the human race; the period which
Noah commenced after the flood has been in
steady decline since Babel, and this Battle of
Armageddon marks God’s judgment on that sin.
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• After Armageddon the earth will be purged
again and it will be time for the third era, an
era which will have the purpose of proving
that this world can be a perfect place,
provided it accepts God’s rule.
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Revelation 20
• THE AGE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
• Revelation 20:1–15
• The Age of Righteousness (millennium) is a period
of one thousand years during which Jesus Christ
will personally rule the earth, fulfilling all the as yet
unfulfilled prophecies about the Messiah.
• But what is the purpose of this coming age?
• Let us review, in broad outline, some of the divine
acts that bear on this material (physical) creation of
which we humans are part.
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• When God created the earth and man, He created
them perfect, but shortly thereafter Satan
introduced sin by inducing Eve to sin.
• Consequently, the world has never run in accord
with God’s plan.
• Satan has thus successfully posed the question of
whether or not God erred in His material creation.
• This is a serious question, for, if God erred, He is
fallible, and if He is fallible, He clearly is not an
infallible God.
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• The millennium is a period without Satan (20:3),
and by simply removing Satan from the scene,
God will demonstrate that the earth He created
was indeed perfect, was capable of running as He
planned, and that any blame for imperfection lies
squarely at Satan’s door.
• This is why the Restrainer will be removed for the
tribulation period (II Thess 2:7); Satan will have
had unfettered control of the earth for seven years,
and his administration will of itself have brought the
world to the brink of ruin.
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• There is yet another aspect to the millennium; it will
be a period of imposed righteousness, the Age of
Righteousness, for Christ will rule with a rod of iron
(19:15).
• This means the world will be run completely in
accord with God’s will, which is why Satan will be
removed from the scene for a thousand years
(20:2–3).
• The millennium will be a period in which God will
prove to humanity (and to spiritual creation) that all
souls are utterly dependent on Him, and must rely
on His grace for salvation and a stable living
environment.
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• He will demonstrate convincingly that man cannot
make his own future independently of God, and in
the process eternally lay to rest the oft used
excuse, “The devil made me do it,” for in this
period man will prove that he is capable of sinning
without the devil’s presence.
• This, it seems, is why it is necessary for God to
release Satan at the end of the millennium (20:3),
for the human race will then demonstrate beyond a
shadow of a doubt that even one thousand years
of divinely supervised training in righteousness is
not adequate protection from man’s own sin
nature.
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• Revelation makes the sad disclosure that a large
number will immediately resort to Satan on his
release from the abyss (20:7–9).
• When God created Adam and Eve, He blessed
them saying, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth
(Gen 1:28).
• Now, a statement like this carries with it the
unavoidable inference that when the task of filling
the earth is complete God will intervene in history.
• It can be argued arithmetically that the earth was
full when God brought the flood.
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• This same blessing was conferred on Noah
and his sons (Gen 9:1,7), and now scientists
tell us that this earth will soon be unable to
support its ever burgeoning human
population.
• The Bible tells us this time God will intervene
with the tribulation, will decimate humanity,
and then leave the purged human race to
propagate and, presumably, once again fill
the earth.
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• But this time it will be done under Christ’s rule, and
will thus demonstrate the perfection which God
originally ordered.
• Incidentally, the ‘seed’ population necessary to fill
the earth in one thousand years is very small
indeed.
• If the population were to double every forty years
(a population increase of 1.75% p.a.52), then only
175 couples at the beginning of the millennium
would multiply to twelve billion by its end.
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• However, Zech 13:8 establishes that one-third of
the Israeli population will survive the tribulation and
thus indicates that the Israeli remnant will be five
million (based on today’s population figures).
• To this ‘seed’ must be added the Gentile remnant,
and if we assume that there will be three Gentiles
to every Jew, then the minimal human remnant
seems to be 20 million.
• (This assumes that the Beast’s purge of Gentile
believers will be much more effective than his
purge of Jewish believers—12:14 confirms that
Jewish believers will have special divine
protection.)
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• Twenty million will grow to 12 billion in one
thousand years at a population growth rate
of 64% (at which rate the population will
double every 108 years).
• However, as the earth will be climatically
different and restored to its primordial
perfection, it may well be that it will
comfortably support more than 12 billion
people in millennial conditions, thus allowing
a higher growth factor than 64%.
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• The millennium will thus demonstrate
several truths which will all contribute
unarguable proof of God’s perfection and
unquestionable superiority over Satan and
the human race, as well as the need for all
creation to be completely subjected to Him
for its own eternal good.
• The millennium will demonstrate that God is
the sole source of permanent good.
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• Satan Imprisoned for the Millennium (20:1–3)
• The first glorious news which God gives us about
the millennium is that Satan will be removed from
the earthly scene!
• Marvelously, the world will at last be able to run
without the chaos that Satan sows.
• This section is the converse of 9:1–3, for in that
section a fallen angel released demons from the
abyss, but here an angel from Heaven confines
Satan (presumably with the host he uses to
deceive the world) in the abyss and locks it.
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• We can assume that all demons will be
confined with Satan because the purpose for
his imprisonment is stated as being to
ensure that the world is not deceived further;
consequently, it seems logical to reason that
the demons who work his mischief will also
be removed from circulation.
• So ‘Satan’ here indicates ‘Satan and his
host.’
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• There is a distinction between the key used
previously and the one described in this paragraph,
for the former is the key to the ‘shaft’ of the abyss,
whereas this is the key to the abyss itself.
• So Satan will only be given the key to a ‘side door,’
whereas God controls the key to the ‘main door.’
• Satan, then, will be responsible for unleashing
demonic forces on the earth, so must bear the
blame for the rampage of evil on the earth, while
God gets the praise for the triumph of good on the
earth.
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• Satan will use the side door, the shaft, to extract
the spirit of the Beast (17:8), and will thus promote
the false idea that he has power over the abyss;
but in this act of sending an angel to confine Satan
to the abyss, God will demonstrate that He, not
Satan, is really in control and still has the key to
the abyss.
• The Greek text describes the chain as draped over
the angel’s hand (it is too big to be contained in his
hand!); so this imprisonment will be thorough and
secure—there will be no possibility of escape!
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• Notice how carefully Satan is defined in v.2—his
name, his symbol in Revelation, his spiritual
description, and his entrance onto the stage of
human history are all given as a positive and
exclusive definition—there can be no doubt about
whom God is speaking.
• The description ‘serpent of old’ takes us back to
Genesis 3, probably with the purpose of reminding
us of the bondage in which sin has always held the
human race from before there were three human
beings on the earth, for there is a strong motif of
bondage in this passage.
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• ‘Satan’ means ‘adversary’ in Hebrew, so the
deceiver and adversary of mankind will be clearly
and positively removed from the earthly scene for
the millennium, thus leaving the earth to run
without his interference for the entire millennium.
• God specifically states the purpose of this future
removal of Satan, ‘so that he should not deceive
the nations any longer.’
• So the nations of the earth will have nobody but
themselves to blame if they are deceived about the
sovereignty of God the Father and His Son, Jesus
Christ.
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• Note, too, that God explains, thousands of years in
advance, that Satan will be released at the close of
the millennium for a short period; so Satan is
forever robbed of any valid claim that his escape
from the abyss demonstrates a strength
comparable to that of God.
• The clear inference of v.3 is that it is necessary for
Satan to be released after the millennium to again
try to deceive the nations.
• Verses 8–9 indicate he will be partially successful,
so there must be a purpose in this.
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• It seems to me that the purpose is to
demonstrate that man will again want to
assert his independence as soon as he is
tempted to do so.
• Apparently man needs to be taught, by
practical demonstration, that he is utterly
unable to rely on his own strength to avoid
rebelling against God.
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• The Millennial Reign (20:4–6)
• John describes three groups of resurrected
believers (the ‘came to life’) in v.4.
• First, the thrones represent believers of the pretribulation era (as the twenty-four elders sat on
their thrones before the tribulation began—4:4);
second, the souls of those who will be martyred in
the first half of the tribulation; and third, those who
will refuse to worship the Beast in the second half
of the tribulation.
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• This is in harmony with the fact that the antecedent
for ‘they’ in v.4 can only be found in 19:14; these
redeemed people therefore are the saints who will
return with Jesus.
• So all the [Jewish] saints will come to life and rule
with Jesus Christ for the millennium; they will be
immortal (v.6), and will function as Christ’s priests
during the millennium.
• The judging of v.4 is a similar function to that of a
‘judge’ in Israelite history before her kings were
instituted; i.e., a judge like Samuel.
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• This office is that of a ruler, not simply a
magistrate; so the priest and ruler of v.6 are quite
compatible with v.4.
• Priests in Israel were more than just temple
officials, for they were responsible for the cities of
refuge, health regulation, involved in the trials of
civil cases, etc.
• So we know that Old Testament priests were not
only religious leaders, but also civil servants.
• This seems to be the case here too.
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• This paragraph makes it plain that Jesus Christ will
have an immortal and sanctified civil service on
earth.
• Now, that will be a perfect administration, for there
will be corruption, and no propensity for error!
• Office in this civil service will be a wonderful
privilege, for it is better equated with the courtiers
of a magnificent monarchy than with the humble
estate of many a modern government’s civil
service.
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• Now, that will be a perfect administration, for
there will be corruption, and no propensity
for error!
• Office in this civil service will be a wonderful
privilege, for it is better equated with the
courtiers of a magnificent monarchy than
with the humble estate of many a modern
government’s civil service.
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• Verse 5 makes it plain that only the righteous can
look forward to this privileged state.
• We saw this administration return with Jesus Christ
in 19:14; so Revelation presents the reader with a
picture of the King and His court, together, reigning
over the earth.
• The nature of Christ’s rule will be religious, for we
resurrected or raptured saints are spoken of as
priests, not as soldiers or civil officers.
• The marvelous aspect of this rule is that Christ will
impose righteousness through religious means, not
through force.
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• So the schooling in righteousness which will
take place will be the sweet exercise of
worship and spiritual instruction.
• Verse 8 makes it plain that there will be
ordinary human beings on the earth at the
same time, and they will obviously be the
King’s subjects over whom the resurrected
saints will rule.
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• Conditions on earth will have been restored to
something similar to their primordial perfection, for
passages like Isa 11:5–10, 35:1–10, 65:17–25
describe the wonder of that coming period of
millennial peace.
• Read these passages, for they portray an age in
which sickness and death will be unusual, an age
in which now carnivorous animals will eat
vegetation, a period in which all creation will live in
harmony, praising and glorifying God.
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• Revelation emphasizes the role of the
[Tribulation] believer in the millennium—it is
one of the highest privilege.
• As the ones who did not receive the mark (of
the Beast) will be resurrected, they will be
those who died because they refused the
mark (13:16–17).
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• The Final Human Rebellion (20:7–10)
• This section’s purpose is to reveal man’s final
rebellion after his millennial schooling in
righteousness—that is, to expose man’s inherent
sin nature.
• After the millennium God will release Satan from
the abyss and a large part of the human race, who
will have been protected from the influence of evil
for one thousand years, will be deceived by him
and set out to conquer Jesus Christ and His earthly
capital.
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• It seems that, once again, humanity will try to set
up its own independent government (independent
of God’s control, that is), just as they attempted at
Babel.
• This rebellion will expose the unrighteous
members of humanity; they will be judged with fire
and destroyed.
• The peoples of the earth are described as being as
numerous as the sand of the sea; so we learn that
the earth will again be fully populated by the end of
the millennium.
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• The purpose of this amazing development is to
demonstrate to every soul that an individual can
only find perfect peace and security in God.
• God must have one hundred percent of His
creation’s trust; otherwise, creation will fracture
and self-destruct.
• Creation, like the Church, must have perfect unity
with the Godhead to endure.
• Man, in this rebellion, will again demonstrate his
insatiable fascination with independence (and
independence was the initial sin), for even a onethousand-year-enforced immunization from sin will
not cure him from his love of sin.
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• As soon as Satan is released, man will sin
again; he will prove that the saw, ‘the devil
made me do it’ is just an excuse.
• Man sins simply because he wants to sin.
• Ezekiel 38–39 also discuss Gog and Magog
(v.8); Ezek 38:15 identifies Gog as the man
who leads Magog, a nation descended from
Japeth (Gen 10:2), located in the extreme
north (from Palestine)...
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• Ezekiel 38:16, 23 explain that the purpose of
this rebellion will be to sanctify God before
the nations of the world; yet, whereas Rev
20:8 dates its rebellion at the end of the
millennium, Ezekiel 38–39 prophesies a
similar one at the beginning of the tribulation.
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• So history will already have established the validity
of biblical prophecy about Magog when Magog will
repeat its earlier error under Satan’s delusion.
• The first invasion is in a time of peace ‘after’ Israel
has been regathered (38:8), so cannot be pretribulational, but must be tribulational; however,
v.7,ff. speak of a destruction similar to that which
presages Christ’s return.
• Satan will not be judged before this time, for he will
be thrown directly into Hell at this stage where he
and the Beast and false prophet are tortured
eternally.
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• Note well that the death of the unregenerate
is not extinction; it is separation from God.
• (The verb ‘tormented’ is third person plural,
so is not confined to Satan alone but
includes the Beast and the pseudo-prophet
as well.)
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• The Great White Throne Judgment (20:11–15)
• This section confirms the fact that all men have to
face God as Judge.
• This section opens by depicting the end of
everything temporal, which obviously marks the
end of the temporal era, for, as God comes on the
scene, everything temporal vanishes, both earth
and heaven.
• This is meant literally, for 21:1 reasserts this
prophecy, which is also found in Isa 65:17; 66:22,
and repeated elsewhere in the New Testament
(e.g., II Pet 3:7,10).
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• This presents the stark reality of man’s existence,
because in the end he will find there is only God
and himself and nothing else—there will be no
distractions; in the final scene there is nothing
besides man and God.
• It seems to me that another truth is also depicted,
which is that things temporal are not worthy of God
the Father, for the temporal creation vanishes the
instant it comes into His presence in readiness for
His coming new eternal creation.
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• This may be a further reason why God the
Son was the one who created the present
(temporal) universe and heavens, so that the
eternal primacy of God the Father can be
demonstrated.
• Scripture only reveals one spiritual judgment
of the unjust; it will take place after the
millennium, after this final rebellion is
physically judged from Heaven (v.9).
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• Then God’s throne will be set up and all
unrighteous people, their souls reunited with their
newly resurrected bodies (v.5), will stand before
God and be judged (Jesus Christ will conduct the
actual judgment [John 5:27–30], but in the Father’s
presence).
• There will be two bases for the judgment of the
unrighteous.
• The primary basis of their judgment will be whether
or not their name is in the book of life (v.12), the
book that determines eternal destiny; i.e., the
unjust are doomed because they have not believed
in Christ as Savior and God.
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• Their primary fate will be decided on one simple
question: whether they have believed in God (in
our present age, this means placed their faith in
Jesus Christ as their Savior).
• Their secondary fate, their degree of eternal
punishment, will then be determined on the nature
of their [works](v.12), a judgment based on the
degree of their spiritual enlightenment (Luke
10:12–14 with Luke 11:29–32).
• Their deeds will determine the degree of
punishment to which they will be eternally
subjected.
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• So if someone were able to live a life of pure
good works, it seems that person would be
on the fringe of the fire, though doomed to
eternal separation from God and the bliss of
His presence.
• Every man will thus see God at least once in
his life, for every human being will either see
his Creator and Savior in Heaven eternally,
or see his Creator and Judge once, prior to
being cast into Hell.
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• The only two exceptions are the Beast and his
false prophet (Rev 19:20; 20:10).
• It seems to me that the worst eternal punishment
will be to see the glory, beauty, love, and holiness
of the Father, and them be eternally banished from
His magnificent presence.
• Note v.14, for it says death and Hades will be cast
into the lake of fire (Hell).
• Hades, described in Luke 16:23–31, is a fearsome
place.
• Hell, however, must be worse, for it will swallow up
Hades.
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• The fact that death will be thrown into Hell means
that death will be abolished—this impacts with
equal force on the saved and the unsaved, though
the latter will be in the place of eternal dying.
• The souls of unregenerate men are presently
confined in Hades and will be until the final
resurrection, which will take place after the
millennium.
• Then their souls and resurrected bodies will be
reunited and judged, and the physical and spiritual
union of soul and body in which their sins were
committed will be consigned to Hell.
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• Hell will be bleakly lonely, for II Pet 2:4 talks of
‘pits’ of darkness for angels awaiting judgment; the
plural suggests an individual pit for each angel,
and thus the ultimate, eternal loneliness.
• It seems this loneliness will be part of the torment
of Hell. Fellow-believer, this is the assured destiny
of all those you know who have not placed their
faith in Christ as Savior.
• He does not want any to go there (II Pet 3:9); He
died to save them—you have the responsibility of
seeing that they hear this message.
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• The earth fleeing away from the presence of God
(v.11) is the destruction of the material universe
described in 21:1 and II Pet 3:10–13.
• This is God’s wrath at this final display of sin, the
rebellion of Gog and Magog (v.10).
• God thus removes every remembrance of sin to
justify His holiness; there is no place for anything
tainted by sin, for every place is in God’s presence.
• Thus the destruction.
• That the present earth and universe have to be
destroyed is indicated by the entropy everywhere
evident; a fact which cannot exist eternally.
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• CONCLUSION
• The passages we have covered in this study reveal
how God will bring evil to an end, how He will
banish it from His Kingdom and eternally confine it
in a prison which Revelation calls the Lake of Fire
and which we call Hell in English.
• This is not new revelation, for Isa 66:22–24
recorded the place that Hell will play in eternity
some eight centuries before Revelation was
written.
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• These passages record the clear and permanent
triumph which God will have over evil and Satan.
• God is claiming, and promising, that He will, in His
own perfect timing, demonstrate His
unquestionable superiority over Satan, and also
demonstrate the utter impossibility of anything that
is in any way opposed to Him to be eternal.
• Everything that is not of God is temporal;
everything that is of God is eternal. That is the
message of Revelation 20.
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• Revelation 21 goes on to explain that God
will create new heavens and a new earth
after this judgment; so we are given a clue
as to the purpose of this present creation, for
the fact that new heavens and a new earth
are needed suggests that the old order will
have served its purpose and will thus have
become redundant.
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• Now, that circumstance will only come to pass
when evil has been finally judged and God’s
sovereignty is unquestioned.
• This observation supports the reasoning that earth
was created in order to demonstrate who is the
final authority.
• Man, consequently, is left to determine under
whose authority he will place himself—God’s or
Satan’s.
• The deception which Satan peddles is that man
does not need to make such a decision but can
remain independent.
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• Revelation has claimed time and time again
that this is a deception and that there are
only two choices: God or Satan.
• Do not be deluded, my dear reader, for
independence was the very beginning of
Satan’s fall.
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•
•
•
•
• MILLENNIAL CONDITIONS
The following summary of some of the
startling transformations which Scripture
reveals will take place in the millennium may
prove useful to you:
1. Jerusalem will be the chief of mountains
Isa 2:2
2. All nations will worship in Jerusalem Isa
2:2; 11:10; 35:10
3. Jerusalem will rule the world Isa 2:3–4
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• 4. There will be no war Isa 2:4
• 5. Only righteousness will prevail on earth
Isa 11:4
• 6. Carnivores will be herbivorous Isa 11:6–
7; 65:25
• 7. Man will be in authority over animals
Isa 11:6, 8
• 8. Snakes will be non-venomous Isa 11:8
• 9. The earth will be verdant Isa 35:1–2, 6
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• 10. Sickness will be healed Isa 35:5–6
• 11. There will be exceptional longevity Isa
65:20–23
• 12. Ezekiel 40-48 describes the land of
Israel in the millennium with a beautiful and
magnificent temple.
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• Some details of the mechanics for the millennium
generate some confusion, so it may be of some
help to summarize…:
• 1. Regarding the series of coming resurrections
revealed in Scripture:
• a) The first resurrection is that of Jesus Christ (I
Cor 15:23).
• b) The next resurrection is that of the saints at
Jesus’ coming (I Cor 15:23; I Thess 4:16).
• c) Next, the resurrection of the two witnesses and
their subsequent rapture to Heaven (apparently
halfway through the tribulation—Rev 11:11).
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• d) Immediately after Armageddon, the
resurrection of all tribulation saints (Rev
6:11; 20:5–6).
• e) Simultaneously (though this could
coincide with b) the resurrection of Old
Testament saints (Dan 2:3,13).
• f) The above resurrections all form part of
the ‘first (or primary) resurrection’ which is of
the pre-millennial righteous.
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• g) At the end of the temporal era, the resurrection
of all the remainder, i.e., the millennial righteous,
and the unrighteous from all dispensations.
• 2. Regarding the people of the earth during the
millennium:
• a) All people who enter the millennium will be
saved, and will be the source of the millennial
human population (Church Age believers will be on
earth with Christ, but will not beget children [Luke
20:34–36]).
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• b) All infants born during the millennium will
be born in sin, as is true now. So all the
‘new’ population will have to accept Jesus
Christ as Savior in an act of faith.
• c) Revelation 20:8 makes it plain that a vast
host will not accept Jesus Christ as Savior,
for it is they who will form the rebellious
element and will align themselves with Satan
when he is released from Abyss.
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• 3. Regarding judgment: please note that the same
author who wrote Revelation was also inspired to
pen John 3:18 which states plainly and
categorically that those who believe in Jesus Christ
are not judged.
• In God’s grace and love, we who love His Son will
never stand before Him as judge. True, He will
assess our works for Him and reward us
accordingly—but this is positive judgment only—
there is no negative aspect to it at all!
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• Nor can there be, for all our sins are forgiven
in Christ; hallelujah!!
• For unregenerate man, however, things will
be different, for each one will be judged for
all the events, in every detail, of the lives
they have led.
• This judgment does not determine entry into
Hell or Heaven, but only the degree of
eternal punishment in Hell.
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• 4. Regarding the saints from the Church Age (i.e.,
we believers):
• a) We will return with Jesus Christ when He sets
up the millennium (Rev 19:8,14) and will reign with
Him (Rev 20:4).
• This means that we will be His administration for
the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, so you can think
of us as elevated, glorious, immortal courtiers (not
civil servants) whose function is to serve the King
(not the people).
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• b) We will be in our new eternal, glorified,
immortal bodies (I Cor 15:38–44), a new order of
God’s creation, this time higher than the angelic
order (I Cor 6:3), an order of which Jesus is
presently the sole example.
• This order will be a new spiritual/physical order of
beings ready to enter God’s coming eternal
Kingdom, the New Earth and the new heavens,
and will be the mystery form spoken of in Rom
8:19–23, the highest order of God’s new creation,
as befits those He calls His sons.
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• c) Our millennial function will be to ensure that His
regal wishes are fulfilled on earth, which will be
that all people live righteously. Scripture says the
Messiah will rule with a rod of iron (Rev 19:15; Ps
2:9); so the millennium will be an age of enforced
righteousness, and our Lord’s administration (we
saints who return with Him) will presumably be His
instrument for ensuring righteous living by the
human race.
– Mills, M. (1997, c1987). Revelations : An exegetical study of
the Revelation to John (Re 17:1). Dallas: 3E Ministries.
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Next Week
• We will conclude the AET Series with Revelation
21 and 22 and a short review,
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