Revelation Chapter 22

Rev. 22:1,2.

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Here the angel continues to show John the wonderful things of the city of God. These two verses talk about a river of life coming from the throne of God and the Lamb, located in the middle of a street in the New Jerusalem. On each side of the river, in the middle of the golden boulevard, is the tree of life.

What does this tree of life bring to your mind? It takes you back to the garden of Eden. If you remember, after the Fall God had to place guardian angels at the entrance to the garden to prevent Adam from eating of the tree of life and living forever, yes, the substance of this tree would have kept Adam alive forever, even in his fallen state! This tree is made available to the inhabitants of the new earth that will enable them to live in divine health, without sickness or disease. The tree bares twelve kinds of fruit and yields its fruit every month. Isaiah 66:23 says, that all flesh shall come up "from one new moon to another" to worship before the Lord of hosts. The Septuagint says from "month to month." The people of the new earth come to the holy city from month to month to partake of the fruit of the tree of life. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations, this does not mean that there will be sickness or diseased people in the new earth, for the curse will have been lifted. The leaves of the tree are for the preservation of the natural life of coming generations. The tree and river will be a distinct divine provision for the pleasures of life for all peoples. The residents of the New Jerusalem will enjoy the fruit of the tree, as was promised to the overcomer (2:7; 22:14). The fruit will be a source of enjoyment for the nations. The leaves will be a provision from God for preservation of natural life and eternal health.

Rev. 22:3,4,5.

3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.

4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

This fulfillment of the promise to the overcomer (3:12) is the conclusion of John's vision of the New Heaven, the New Earth, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the Eternal Kingdom.

The language proves that God the Father is referred to, as well as the Son. The marks of the curse, sin, sickness, death, decay, weeds and pain in childbirth will no more be seen on earth. Every breeze will be balmy and life giving, every scene beauty, and every sound pleasant.

Verse 4 will be a fulfillment of the promise in Matt. 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." God's servants, the glorified saints, will reign with God and Christ forever and ever in the eternity future over peoples who will serve Him from a willing heart. What a glory it will be to see Him face to face!

In v.5 we again have the declaration that there is no need of any light source for the Lord God Himself gives the light. And how long will they [saints] reign? Not only for the 1000 year Millennium, but forever and ever. Who will they reign over? The creation of God who are as Adam was before the Fall.

Rev. 22:6,7.

6 Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true." And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.

7 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

One of the angels says to John that these words are faithful and true. What words? The words of the whole book that he has just written, because they [the words of this book] are faithful and true, meaning that the things herein recorded will definitely, without a doubt come to pass. Now notice that the Lord God did not only send His angel to John (his servant) but to His servants, who of course, are the believers who hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ.

"Shortly come to pass," either refers to the swiftness with which the things prophesied will take place when they do occur as in Chapter 1:1, without any reference to their nearness or remoteness. Or, if it means before long, it is in reference to the method of computation of Him with whom a thousand years are as one day, and does not mean near at hand as we compute nearness.

"Behold I am coming quickly," He is coming suddenly, swiftly, in the twinkling of an eye. No one will know the day or the hour of the Lord's imminent return; once His return becomes imminent after the midpoint of the seventieth week.

"Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." You will be blessed if you obey and heed the admonitions, warnings and commands of this book of Revelation instead of your church doctrines, creeds, constitutions and man made rules and regulations.

Rev. 22:8,9.

8 Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.

9 Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God."

John is so awed by this revelation that he falls down to worship the messenger. The angel says here that he is a fellow servant of John, as he had been the fellow servant of his brethren the prophets. The term "fellow servant" implies that they were all on a common footing as servants of the great God; therefore he was not a proper object for John to worship. Angles and men are all a part of God's creation and belong to the same class in the service of God.

Rev. 22:10,11.

10 And he said to me, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

11 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still."

This book is not to be sealed up because it was to be put to immediate use to warn people of all ages of things that were to come. "The time is at hand," the time to get this message out is now. With the passing of history a better understanding of this book has been realized.

The punishment of sin is sin and the reward of holiness is holiness. The idea is that time is so short there is hardly any room for change, but the warning here is, change while there is still time, for what you are now you will be in eternity.

Rev. 22:12-17.

12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."

14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

When Jesus comes He is coming quickly and He is bringing His reward with Him. Listen Christian friend; you will be rewarded according to the work you have done. If you have done your work out of a love for Jesus you will have been obedient to the Word and your reward will be great. But if you are working just to look good in the pastors eyes, or if you are involved in areas of leadership as a status symbol so people will look up to you and make you seem important you will not be rewarded for that type of involvement.

If you want to be positively rewarded when Jesus comes then develop and maintain your relationship with God. Be obedient to His Word, and then get involved in the work that He wants you to do.

In V.13, Christ proclaims His co-equality with God.

If we want to be blessed and have the right to the tree of life then our allegiance and our obedience are not to be to some denomination's man made creed, but to the commandments of Jesus Christ as v.14 so plainly tells us.

Verse 15, is again a warning for people now. Listen the whole of the New Earth will be the Kingdom of God and all of the one's talked about in this verse are outside of His kingdom in the lake of fire unable to be a part of His kingdom. It is interesting to note that the last sin condemned in the bible is lying. It also was the sin of lying that brought the fall of the human race. These solemn words should be a warning for all in the churches that make light of lying and deceit.

In V.16, we see that these things are to be told in the churches, which not only includes the seven churches of revelation but the churches throughout the world. The reason being that no matter what generation enters the seventieth week, they will have been warned and prepared themselves for what is to come and will be able to come through it victorious overcomers.

Verse 17, gives a worldwide invitation to all who are thirsty, come and take of the water of life freely. The Lord's love for mankind would not be satisfied in merely preparing the blessings of eternal life, opening the way to them, and announcing that all may come who would; but He sends out an earnest invitation to come. None of those who are lost will ever have occasion to complain that the provisions made for their salvation were not enough. "Come!" has been the cry of God Himself, from the lips of the prophets from the lips of the apostles and from the lips of preachers down through the centuries. Accept Him now while there is still time. This is an evangelistic appeal to those who are presently living in the kingdom of darkness to enter the kingdom of light.

Rev. 22:18&19.

18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;

19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

These verses give a very severe warning to everyone who can hear. If you take it upon yourself to add to the things that are in this book of Revelation, God will add to them the plagues that are written in the book. If you take away from the words of this prophecy your name will be taken out of the Book of Life. Listen one way to take away from this book is to suppress some part of it. Do not be guilty of this my friend.

Rev. 22:20&21.

20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

The word of God is given to instruct us in reference to the plan of salvation. The second coming of Christ is to be the climax and consummation of that great plan. It is most appropriate, therefore, that the book should close with the solemn announcement, "Surely I come quickly." Is our relationship with God such that we can join in with fervent hearts in the response of the apostle, "Even so come Lord Jesus."

Closing Comments

Now that we have come to the end of this study, I know that there are people who will say that I have come against the pre-trib view as an argument to strengthen the pre-wrath view. This is not true. The pre-wrath view, I believe, stands by itself because it is based on scripture. I have studied the pre-trib view and have come to the conclusion that there is no scriptural support for it, therefore it is correct to expose the deception that this view presents.

As I have endeavored to show the truth of the pre-wrath I have exposed some of the errors of the pre-trib view, by doing that, I know I will be wrongly accused of coming against some denomination or people. What I am coming against is a doctrine that cannot be supported by scripture. I do not believe that views regarding the end times should be grounds for division or separation. But, when denominations, because of a man made constitution, makes dogma out of a doctrine and disallows people who have a different belief than what the constitution says, full rights and privileges as a member, they force separation and division. This causes a great disservice and a negative witness to the body of Christ and to the world.

What I have been hearing over the pulpit by pre-tribbers is a condemnation of the pre-wrath view, designed to instill fear into the people so as to discourage them from reading anything or listing to anybody giving a biblical discourse as to the validity of the pre-wrath view from a scriptural viewpoint. Some of the things that I have heard said are: if you believe something other than pre-trib, you are a part of the group that says "The Lord delayeth His coming"; you have an evil heart; you are a false teacher; you are deceived by doctrines of demons and 2 Thess. 2:11,12 applies to you.

I approached a pastor that said some of these things over the pulpit and asked him if he knew what the pre-wrath view was. From his answer, I knew that he did not understand what he was talking about. You see I have no problem with anyone preaching pre-trib and imminence if that is what they believe, and if they would give scriptures as to why they believe it. I do have a problem with a preacher coming against another viewpoint without having first looked at that viewpoint from a biblical perspective to see if, or where it is wrong. If after studying a viewpoint and have scripturally concluded that it is wrong, then show people scripturally where it is wrong, then you are being true to the word of God. The sad part about it is that when he was condemning what was against his belief, he gave no scriptural support for what he believed. In fact he point blank refused to discuss scriptures with me and refused to give me scriptural support as to his belief.

When I come against the pre-trib view, I show scripturally why it is not correct. If you still want to hold to that view, then that is your choice. But I feel impacted upon to present the truth, because to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Truth is never given to scare, but to prepare.

I have shared my heart, not to change your mind and get you to believe what I believe, but to show you the truth, so the Holy Spirit can convince you of its validity.

At the very beginning of the book in Rev. 1:3, we have a blessing pronounced, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Then at the end of the book we again have a blessing for those who heed the words of this prophecy. Evidently God thought so important that we heed the things in the book of revelation, that He repeated this beatitude; it appears once at the beginning of the book and once at the end: "And behold I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book (Rev. 22:7). One of the reasons we will be blessed if we heed the prophecy is that we will be prepared to be overcomers, thus, inheriting the promises to overcomers.

Satan would like to either, convince us that we cannot understand the book of Revelation, or lead us to believe that our interpretation of it is correct, both of which will prevent us from examining its message. God, realizing this, promised blessings to those who read it, understand it, and obey the things found in the prophecy.

When truth is found, it always stands in judgment of us, we never stand in judgment of it!

Because of the seriousness of the issues presented in this study, every reader must carefully draw his own conclusions based on the scriptures--checking the positions expressed in the study by scripture, not by the views of a denomination, church handbooks, pastors or scholars. All of these are fallible, whereas God's word is infallible and inerrant in the most absolute sense. Therefore the only test of truth is God's word. I cannot, and remain true to God's Word, amend my views for the sake of outward harmony or personal acceptance. I love every brother and sister in Christ, but my allegiance is to God's Word, because when He comes I want Him to find faith in me instead of in some denominational religion.

I consider every true believer, no mater what your views on the tribulation are, to be my brother and sister in Christ, no matter what our differences may be.

My prayer is that when Jesus comes He will find us being obedient and true to His word and His word only.

EVEN SO COME LORD JESUS!

Revelation Chapter 21

In chapter 20, we saw the beginning of the Millennium. We saw that Satan was bound, we saw the sheep and Goats Judgment, we saw the satanic rebellion crushed, and we saw the Great White Throne Judgment. Revelation does not go into any detail as to what is happening throughout the thousand-year reign. It just says that the saints reign with Christ for a thousand years.

Now as we come to Chapter 21, the thousand years have expired, Satan has been let loose from the bottomless pit, he has gotten people numbered as the sands of the sea from the millennial reign, to side with him in the final great stand against God. In very short order God comes out the victor in this final conflict and casts Satan, Death, Hell and all whose names were not found in the Book of Life into the lake of fire. Then and only then are all things made new. What we have before us beginning in chapter 21, is the final and eternal kingdom of God in the eternal new heaven and the eternal new earth. Remember that the only humans on earth at this time are the ones who are 100% in submission to God, all rebellion has been dealt with and cast into the lake of fire. It is not possible for the new heavens and the new earth to happen at the beginning of the Millennium because of 2 Peter 3:7, which says, "But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition [destruction] of ungodly men. This judgment takes place at the end of the thousand years, after the second resurrection, at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15), because it is not until then that all ungodly people are judged and the earth burned with fire.

Rev. 21:1, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

Here we have the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, which are among the most beautiful promises in God's Word. More than twenty-five hundred years ago the Lord proclaimed through the prophet Isaiah that there would be a new heaven and a new earth (Isa. 65:17,18). Also Peter tells of the "new heaven and the new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet. 3:13). The big question regarding this verse is, is this new creation of the heaven and the earth something that has never existed before, or is it a reconstruction of the remaining creation?

The general conception is that the present heaven and earth will be completely annihilated, or cease to exist, and that the new heaven and new earth will take their places, but this may not be the case. 2 Peter 3:10-13 does not say that the present heaven and earth will be annihilated. The fire does not cause them to go out of existence. Fire changes something from one state to another, and Peter is showing that there will simply be a renovation of the earth by fire, the earth will not be totally obliterated any more than it was with the destruction of the world by the flood. The word in the Greek that is translated "pass away" is PARERCHOMAI and means "to go by or away from, in the sense of from one condition to another." It is never used to indicate a ceasing of existence. There are numerous examples of this word used in scripture, but not one of them is used with reference to the passing out of existence, therefore 2 Peter 3:10 clearly means passing from one condition to another, as does Heb. 1:12; 12:27-28. The Greek term translated "new" is KAINOS and it means "to be renewed or new." It carries the idea of freshness and character, and does not mean new in existence. It does not refer to something that has never existed before, but rather the renewing of something that already exists. If it were new in existence the Greek word NEOS would have been used.

The verse referred to in 2 Peter speaks of the elements melting with fervent heat. The Greek word for "element" is STOICHEION, meaning "something orderly in arrangement, element principal or rudiment." It has to do with foundation principles regarding the questions that are involved and in Gal. 4:3,9; Col. 2:8,20; 2 Peter 2:10,12, the word embraces the principles of sin and the present world system. It embodies sinful nature, disease, corruption and all that the curse has brought upon us that must be destroyed.

Why will the Lord create a new heaven and a new earth? Because after the Fall the prince and power of the air was Satan, and the earth was under a curse; this renovation or reconstruction will bring the heavens and the earth back into an interrelationship with one another that was enjoyed by Adam and Eve before the Fall. In other words, the heavens and the earth were so corrupted by the Fall, and so devastated by the Day of the Lord, they will be remade and perfected by Christ into a splendid new and uncorrupted form. This, then, will be the time that Peter called "the period of restoration of all things, about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times" (Acts 3:21). The restoration of all things is referring to restoring all things as they were before the Fall. There is nothing else that God would restore all things to, other than the perfect creation that He made in the beginning before the Fall. Whatever it was like prior to the Fall is what it is going to be like in eternity future, man in human form living in perfect harmony with his Creator, to live forever without dying as Adam was created to do. This old earth will be made new and loosed from the old curse with its corresponding influences and effects.

Now the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor. 15:26). If all people on earth at that time have glorified bodies that are not subject to death then what would be the purpose of destroying death. It cannot affect anybody in glorified bodies anyway. But, the humans that came through the 1000-year reign in their bodies will need death to be destroyed in order for them to live and not die as Adam was created not to die.

There are other passages that refer to "the new heavens and the new earth" (Isa. 65:17-19), read. There will be a new people who will rejoice forever in a world without end! Jerusalem is to be a place of rejoicing and her people will be full of joy. Jerusalem will be an eternal possession here on the new earth. So she will continue to exist throughout eternity as stated in 2 Chron. 33:4; Jer. 17:25; and Ezek. 43:7. In the eternal city of Jerusalem there will be rejoicing for God and His people.

Israel is assured that they will be an eternal earthly people in Isa. 66:22-24. There is a promise that Israel's seed and name will remain forever. By the same token, there will be new moons and sabbaths, and the worship of "all flesh" before God forever. Man was created by God to be an eternal being and once sin and death is done away with man will be as God created him.

There will be no more sea. The question asked from this statement is, is there no sea in the new earth? It does not follow from this text that there will be none; for John is speaking of the present heavens, earth and sea. It may be translated this way: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and the sea is no more or also passed away; that is, the old sea no longer appeared, any more than the old heaven and the old earth. Yet there may be a new sea as there is a new earth. Now it may be that the sea will cover a lot less of the earth's surface than the three-quarters it now covers. The sea on the new earth may occupy a different position and be differently distributed, from the old sea.

This earth as we know it, with the curse that it is under and the worldly system that is dominant in the hearts and minds of people, will not last forever. After God's great judgment where all ungodly men are destroyed, He will create a new eternal earth. How He does this, I don't know, why does He do this, I believe it is to restore the earth to the way He designed it in the beginning, where there will be no curse, thus, no sin, sickness, rebellion, disease and death. It will be a place where there is complete harmony between God's creation, [including man in human form] and God Himself.

Rev. 21:2, Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

In this scene, something beyond our comprehension will happen. The New Jerusalem, in brilliant beauty beyond anything we can imagine, will descend from heaven. And within this holy city the Old and New testament saints--those taken to heaven together, and rewarded together at the bema seat--will now descend together adorned in resplendent garments as Christ's own bride--married to the very Son of God, to the lamb who shed His precious blood to make us pure and holy, to the One who suffered and died to redeem us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God.

This is the city that Abraham looked for. "For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Heb. 11:10).

Rev. 21:3-8.

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

This voice from heaven reveals that "the tabernacle of God is with men." The word "with" in the Greek is META, and it means "to be amid, or among" as in (Matt. 26:58; Mark 1:13) or "in company with" as in (Matt. 9:15; 2 Thess. 1:7; Rev. 14:13). The word "men" in the Greek is ANTROPOS, and it means "a human being." This is undoubtedly referring to the natural man on earth because the glorified individuals will not be subject to death or sorrow, which is done away with at this time. God is coming down to a earthly people who have lived through the Millennium without rebelling against the kingdom as those did who rebelled at the end of the Millennium under the leadership of Satan. Nowhere in scripture is it even suggested that these human beings will received glorified bodies. These people will not become a glorified people, but they will remain in a natural state. However, they will be imperishable as God intended man to be when He created him. God's eternal purpose was not changed because of the fall of man, and once again the human race will live as originally intended. God will dwell among men, that is, in the mists of them forever.

In fulfillment of the prophecy given in Isaiah 25:8, a most marvelous and glorious thing occurs, there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, pain, or tempter because the former things are passed away. All these things are removed; the curse and sin are taken away from the human race to be no more. The end result of sin is death. The devil has caused both death and destruction, but the natural man in the eternal kingdom of God on earth will experience the fulfillment of Ex. 32:13; Psa. 25:13; 37:11,22,29,34; 69:36; 82:8; Isa. 60:21; Matt.5:5; 25:34. Conditions will be conducive only to perfection and for good in the new earth, and the race will be perpetuated without the difficulties caused by the devil.

Then the voice from the throne declares, "Behold, I make all things new." The word for "new" here is the same as in verse one, and indicates that things will be renewed. The promise is also given that those who thirst can drink of the fountain of life freely. Those humans on earth at that time will desire to drink of this life giving water, but verses 7&8 are written for the encouragement to believers who live in this life, lest any should become discouraged in their battle to overcome. Those who overcome will inherit all things pertaining to the new earth and God's eternal kingdom. Then the warning to those who do not overcome, those who refuse to follow Christ, those who are evil will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, and this is the second death. This is a warning to people today, who continue to chose the lifestyle of v.8, they will not be a part of God's eternal kingdom, but instead, after the judgment at the Great White Throne they will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death and they will be eternally separated from God.

God has created all things; and man, His highest creation, was to have dominion over all the works of His hands (Psa. 8). It figures then that man's full possessive rights would give access to this portion of God's creation in the future restoration. As natural people continue to propagate, there will be no problem with space in the new creation of God.

Rev. 21:9-11.

9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

One of the seven angels of v.9 is beckoning John to come see the bride. In v.10 we see that he was shown the heavenly Jerusalem. At first it might seem a bit confusing that the bride is equated to a city, the heavenly Jerusalem. Most, if not all of us have been taught that the church is the bride of Christ. Examining the bride of Christ to determine who she is what we will endeavor to do now.

The traditional view is that the saints of the Old and New testaments is the bride of Christ. Since the bible clearly says that the New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ, in order to hold this position we would have to equate Christians to the New Jerusalem. Some people have difficulty equating a city to a people.

On the other hand it is not as difficult as it might seem. For example, when the bible says that Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked, is it talking about the stones and the timbers that composed the buildings, houses and walls of these cities? Not at all, those inanimate objects are amoral, neither good nor bad. When it says that Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked, even though literally it is talking about two cities, in reality it is talking about the inhabitants of those cities.

Similarly, when Christ lamented over Jerusalem and said that He would have enjoyed gathering together her children as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings, was He addressing the material that composed the walls and the buildings of Jerusalem? Was He crying over those stones and timbers? No. Obviously He was crying out to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; He wanted to comfort and nurture the precious people, but they were unwilling to receive Him as Lord and Savior. Here again, even though Christ was addressing the city of Jerusalem, He was really referring to the inhabitants.

Following this line of reasoning, if the New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ, and if the glorified saints are the inhabitants of that city, this portion of scripture could legitimately be referring to believers--the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem--as the bride of Christ.

The glory of God in v.11, is not merely a divine and celestial brightness, but the glorious presence of God Himself, the Shekinah abiding in her. The splendor that surrounds the presence of God, the "light" full of radiance vanquishes the need for the sun and moon in the city. Her light refers to the effect of the divine glory shinning in her.

Rev. 21:11-21.

11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Here we have a description of the city. The full meaning of this description is beyond the understanding of my finite mind. But let's see what truths we can learn from John's description of the city.

The wall is "great and high," with three gates on each of the four sides. Ezekiel's description of an eternal earthly city of Jerusalem, which is to be built at the beginning of the Millennium (Ezek. 48:30-35), shows a similarity between the two Jerusalems; but they are really two different cities, both of which are material and eternal. The size of the city in Ezekiel is much smaller than the city John describes here. It will be somewhat of a miniature of the heavenly city. During the Millennium the glorified saints ruling with Christ will be in seats of authority throughout the earth and these seats will not be removed after the New Jerusalem comes down to earth. The saints will abide in the New Jerusalem, but their thrones will be in different parts of the earth from which they will rule under the authority of Christ the supreme ruler. Christ will occupy an earthly throne during the Millennium but when the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven He will occupy the heavenly throne in company with God the Father.

The names of the twelve tribes of Israel will be inscribed on the gates and the names of the twelve apostles will be inscribed on the foundations. This indicates that both Old and New Testament saints are included in all of these great and glorious promises.

The angel used a "golden reed" to measure the city, the gates and the walls. The city is foursquare. The length, width and height are equal, all being twelve thousand furlongs, or fifteen hundred miles. The wall of the city is 144 cubits or about 216 feet high. The building materials are listed here and every stone is precious, perfect, priceless, and beautiful. The streets of the city are of transparent gold. Whatever else this means, it surely means that it is a perfect city inhabited by the only perfect God and His perfect people, the glorified saints of all ages past.

Rev. 21:22, But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

No temple in it. The temple was the place where God dwelt, but this city is all temple. The inhabitants need no special place to worship because the personal presence of God and the Lamb will, in a very real sense, be a sanctuary for them. The inhabitants will dwell in the divine presence and behold His glory. This truly is a city where all its inhabitants worship God.

Rev. 21:23, The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

The light of the city will be greater than the sun, moon, and stars. The brilliance of the glory of God and the Lamb will be such that no other illumination is needed in the city. Although this city will have no need of the sun or moon, they will continue to shine for the sake of other parts of the earth. This dazzling light from the glory of God is beyond our descriptive ability.

Rev. 21:24,25,26.

24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

This verse tells us that there will be nations in the new earth, who will walk in the light of the New Jerusalem, as they bring there glory and honor into it. The earth will have natural men living in various nations throughout the earth, subject to the eternal kingdom ruled by God and the saints forever. They will carry on natural activities such as planting, harvesting, building, multiplying, and developing. In their activities, men will pass by the New Jerusalem, and in and out of its gates. Leaders (glorified saints) from various places in the earth will come and give glory and honor to God in the holy city.

In this city where there is no night, the gates of the city will never be closed, representatives of the nations of the world (glorified saints) will be welcomed at all times.

Rev. 21:27, But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

This is a warning to people in the here and now. If you do not have your name written in the Book of Life, you will not be present at this time to enjoy the blessedness of eternity with God. You will have already been dealt with at the judgment and banished from the presence of God forever. Anybody who has not yet accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of your lives I implore you to do so now so you will be able to partake of this blessing that God has for His people.

Revelation Chapter 20

This chapter begins to deal with the millennial reign of Christ. For the believer the scriptures include some of the most wonderful promises during the millennium.

The Millennium will begin seventy days after the blowing of the seventh trumpet, seventy-five days after the close of the seventieth week of Daniel. When Satan's rule over the earth is taken from him, God will then "set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [of Satan], but it will itself endure forever" (Dan. 2:44). Note that when Christ sets up His kingdom there will never be an end to it. Why then is it referred to as the thousand-year reign of Christ? Because once a thousand years has past, Satan is let loose for a season to try and deceive the people that have been born during the first thousand years of Christ's rule. This is done so that Satan can be judged and cast into the lake of fire and will never influence people again. But this kingdom that is set up will never come to an end. Don't forget that because I want to share something with you in a little while that maybe you have never heard before.

We are told in Jer. 30:9, that the Lord will raise up David to rule over Israel. Similarly Ezk. 37:24, tells us that David will be king over Israel.

The governing chain of command is seen in a passage in Ezekiel, where the Lord declares, "Then will I set over them [Israel] one shepherd, my servant David and he will feed them; he will feed them Himself and be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken" (Ezk. 34:23,24).Thus David will rule solely over Israel, whereas Christ will rule supremely over all the earth (including Israel) from His throne in the temple which Christ shares with the Father in the center of the great and expansive holy area on the summit of Mt. Zion.

The other nations of the world will serve and glorify God, they will also serve His chosen nation Israel, rather then afflict them as they had for thousands of years (see Isa. 49:22,23).

Where will these nations come from? There will be a remnant of the Gentile nations that will survive the wrath of God and who "will come trembling out of their fortresses; to the Lord our God they will come in dread, and they will be afraid before Thee" (Micah 7:17) at the sheep and goats Judgment of Christ on the first day of the Millennium, on His holy mountain. Those who survive Christ's judgment of the nations (Matt. 25:31) will become citizens of the non-Jewish nations that go into the millennial kingdom on earth that will be ruled by Christ.

Rev. 20:1-3.

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

We see an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and with a great chain in his hand as he comes to lay hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil. Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years, not able to be active on the earth during the Millennium. While sin will still exists in individuals, it is no longer possible for it to be a power forming a fellowship, and thus making a kingdom of sin and Satan. After the thousand years he will be loosed for a little season.

Notice that it says that he will deceive the nations no more, teaching without any doubt that there will be nations (human people) on earth during the reign of Christ.

So the first event at the beginning of the Millennium is the binding of Satan. We know that the purpose and plan of Christ the Redeemer in part was to reverse the consequences of the Fall--when mankind and all the rest of creation were corrupted because of Adam's sin. That corruption allowed Satan to have limited but powerful authority over the earth.

In reversing those consequences, Christ will restore all things as they were before the Fall. Before the Fall, was there any death? No. Death came as a result of the Fall. Adam, therefore was created to live forever without dying. Keep this truth in your spirit for when we get to the close of the thousand years when death is done away with.

Although Satan's forces under Antichrist will have been totally destroyed at Armageddon, Satan will have to be neutralized for a thousand years because God's plan is not to send him eternally into the lake of fire until the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:10). So Satan is bound immediately after the millennium begins--that is the first event of the first day.

Rev. 20:4,5,6.

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

The second event on the first day of the millennium is that the judging of the Sheep and Goats were given to the ones that sit on the thrones, this judgment is not the White Throne Judgment that occurs at the end of the millennium.

Read Matt. 25:31-40 to see how Jesus describes the Sheep and Goats judgment in the Olivet Discourse.

From this passage many things are evident. First, the Lord makes clear that He will personally oversee the judgment from His throne, which is in the temple in the center of the holy area on top of elevated Mount Zion. Second, "all the angels [will be] with him" (v.31)--which seems to indicate that the angels (who have been His reapers during the day of the Lord) will again be a part of this final judgment. Third, "all nations [peoples] will be gathered before" Christ to undergo judgment (v.32). It is important to note that the Greek word used here for "nations" is ETHNOS, which can be translated as "nations," "heathen," or simply "peoples"; it was used by the Jews to refer to any non-Jewish people. The Sheep and Goats Judgment, therefore, refers to all those non-Jewish people who may survive the day of the Lord, rather than to "nations" in the modern sense of independent political entities. However, no Jews will be judged at this Sheep and Goats Judgment. As already seen, every Jew that survives the seventieth week has already entered into a relationship with their Messiah and King, Jesus Christ, three days after the close of the seventieth week.

What is this judgment based upon? I believe primarily this judgment will be based upon their individual treatment of Israel--that is the treatment "of these brothers of Mine (V.40). In other words the way in which the "nations treat the Jews will be considered the same as their treatment of Christ Himself (vv.40,45; Gen. 12:2,3).

As would be expected, the witnesses at this trial will be the survivors of Israel themselves--the very people that the world has so long ridiculed and persecuted (see, Isa. 54:17). These witnesses will not be a part of Christ's judgment of the nations, but rather, after "all the nations have gathered together" and Christ permits "them [to] present their witnesses that they may be justified," God then declares that "you [Israel] are my witnesses" (Isa. 43:9,10). Those who have done Israel harm in any way will be condemned. "Then He [Christ] will...say to those on His left [the goats], 'depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels'" (v.41).

It is important to note that some who believe they have no claim to salvation will be saved. Thus some astonished "sheep" whom the Lord calls "righteous" will say to Him with great wonder, "Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me'" (vv.37-40). Similarly, those Gentiles who refuse to worship the beast or take his mark, who will not directly have opposed or harmed the Jews but nonetheless will have stood by indifferently, permitting others to persecute them, will be ranked with the "goats." These will have had many opportunities to help the Jews, but will not have done so. To them the Lord will say, "'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me,' And these will go away into eternal punishment" (Matt. 25:45,46).

If you don't know Christ as your personal Savior and you die in your sins, you will not have a part in the first resurrection, (resurrection unto life). You will be a part of the second resurrection, a part of the rest of the dead that will not be resurrected for another thousand years, (resurrection unto judgment). At that judgment you will be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death (v.14),you will be eternally separated from God. I urge you to accept Christ as your Savior now, before it is to late.

The question is, are the souls that John sees here the fifth seal martyrs? I would say yes. Notice that the phrase " I saw " is in italics, meaning that these words are not in the original Greek documents that this verse was translated from. Literally the verse reads: And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands, they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Now, can it be said that the sentence "This is the first resurrection" means that this resurrection happens at this time, on the first day of the Millennium? I think not. If it did happen at this time we have a problem, being that when Christ comes, the dead in Christ will rise. These fifth seal Martyrs were killed before the rapture of the Church because they were killed during the great tribulation. Therefore they are a part of the group that are dead in Christ therefore, they will be resurrected at the rapture of the Church. The Bible says that the dead in Christ will rise first; they are dead in Christ; they will rise when He comes.

There is nothing in verses 4, 5, or 6 to indicate that "This first resurrection happened at this precise time. In chapter 6, John sees the souls under the altar, here they are not under the altar but about to live and reign with Christ a thousand years. Verses 1-3 of Rev. 20 talks about Satan being bound for a thousand years and then released for a little while. In verse 7 the same thought is talked about again. In verses 4, 5, and 6we have a complete different subject being talked about. What John sees, are the ones who died for the sake of the gospel, who came through the great tribulation about to rule and reign with Christ. Notice that v.5 does not say that the rest of the dead did not live again until exactly a thousand years later, but that they did not live until the thousand years were finished. What John sees is the first resurrection, the one that took place when God cut the great tribulation short for the elect's sake when He came to rapture His Church. He is reflecting back on their being in the great tribulation, and being killed during that time because they refused to worship the beast or his image and for refusing to take his mark in their foreheads or their hands. Then he sees them ready to reign with Christ for a thousand years.

The fifth seal martyrs were told to wait for a little while until the rest of their brethren were killed as they were. John sees them here with their waiting over after being resurrected at the rapture, about to rule and reign with Christ.

We know for a fact that when John talks about what these martyrs went through; their being killed for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God; not having worshiped the beast; not having worshipped the image of the beast; not receiving his mark in their hands or their foreheads, did not happen at this precise time (the first day of the Millennium). When was it they did not do these things? During the great tribulation! John is also talking about them being resurrected at the first resurrection; the resurrection that takes place when God cuts the great tribulation short for the elect's sake and comes to rapture his elect. Yes the fifth seal martyrs, will be a part of that great multitude that suddenly appears in heaven which prompted the question, from where did they come? The answer was, these are they which came out of the great tribulation.

Verse 6 then talks about he who has part in the first resurrection (all who have died in Christ Jesus prior to the great tribulation), the same resurrection as in v.5, over which the second death has no power and they also will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Yes the fifth seal martyrs, are resurrected when Jesus comes along with the rest of the dead, because all the dead in Christ will rise at that time.

The book of Revelation does not go into what takes place during the Millennium. In these first six verses of this chapter it tells us three things that take place on the first day concluding with the fact that the ones who are a part of the first resurrection will rule and reign with Him for a thousand years. Then it omits what takes place during the thousand years and jumps to after the thousand years have expired.

Rev. 20:7-10.

7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison

8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are

Here we are at the end of the thousand years and Satan is released from his prison and will attempt to deceive the nations. The Greek word for deceive here is PLANAO, and it means "to cause to wander or to go astray." During the Millennium, millions of humans on earth will have had that period of time to accept Christ as Savior and truly submit to God. Having retained their fallen nature they will still be able to be influenced by Satan when he is loosed. The expression "Gog and Magog" refers to Gentiles who will side with Satan at this time, those who have a Spirit of rebellion against God and righteousness. Satan, who still is deceived to the point that he believes he can still defeat God, will be allowed to deceive those in whom is the spirit of rebellion which according to verse 8, number as the sands of the sea. This will be the last rebellion ever against God.

These will go up and surround the saints and the beloved city, and fire comes down from God and devoured them. Now notice, at this time, every person on earth that had a rebellious spirit against God is deceived by Satan and is gathered to war against God. This is not a war fought by men against men, this will be probably be the shortest battle that was ever fought. God destroys them with fire from heaven. Satan is then cast into the lake of fire, and his sentence is for eternity. He will never be able to deceive people any more as he did Adam in the garden.

This is why Satan is let loose at the end of the thousand years, to weed out any and all people who has rebellion in their heart toward God. Now God could have gotten rid of these people without Satan by just killing them. But being a loving and just God, He allows them to make their own choice as to whom they will follow, therefore, no one can accuse Him of being unjust.

Now, every bit of rebellion against God is gone. Everybody on earth is in total obedience and subjection to God and does not desire for it to be any other way. People now are as Adam was prior to the Fall, depending totally on God for their existence, without the possibility of anyone or anything being able to tempt them to sin because, now there is no tempter and there will never be one for all of eternity.

Adam was created to live forever, God did not create him to die, death, the last enemy will be destroyed (v.13). Christ came to restore all things as they were, that means that everything will be restored as it was before the Fall. Human beings who have lived through the Millennium and sided with Christ, will live forever in their human bodies as Adam would have done had he had not sinned and brought death into the world.

Let me ask you a question. Do you think that when all is said and done that Satan will have more of God's crowning of His creation (people) in the region of the lost with him than God has in His kingdom?

If I were to create a thousand people and you were my enemy and able to infiltrate into this group and entice 800 of the 1,000 to turn against me and follow you, who would be the victor in this case. You would be because you not only have the most people with you, you have most of the people with you and you didn't even create any of them. I created them; they were mine, now most of them are yours, you are clearly the victor.

Do you think that God is going to have less of His creation on His side than His enemy, Satan will have on his side? You may say, "well brother, the bible says so, oh yes, look right here in Matt. 7:13,14, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way which leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Yes this is true, but these verses are referring to the time of Adam until the time that Satan is destroyed. It is not referring to the time after the destruction of Satan when death is destroyed.

Now, if, as we have been led to believe, at the end of the Millennium all the humans that remain are given a resurrected body (which is not taught anywhere in scripture) who would end up having the most people, God or Satan? Remember that according to Matt. 13, most people travel the broad road, and at the end of the Millennium when Satan is let loose, he deceives a people as numbered the sands of the sea to side with him (Rev. 20:8). It would have to be Satan, that would make him the victor because he ends up with most of the loot. No, a thousand times no, the number of people that Satan takes with him will only be a speck in a million-gallon drum as to the number of people God will have on his side. Because those who make it through the Millennium will live for eternity as humans in the new earth, which is by the way created at the end of the Millennium and will never be destroyed. We will see this as we go through the last two chapters.

And by the way, Daniel says that the kingdom that God sets up will be a kingdom without end (Dan. 2:44). If the resurrected saints are going to rule as kings and priests in this kingdom forever, whom are they going to reign over if all the earthly bodies of the Millennium people are going to be changed into a resurrected body? If everybody has a resurrected body then everybody is as Christ is, not needing anybody to rule over them.

Rev. 20:11-15.

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Here we have the Great White Throne Judgment. This judgment is where the unsaved of all ages will be judged and condemned because of their lack of faith in God. This is the judgment of all ungodly people including the ones that are dead, for they will be brought back to life for this judgment.

At this time the secrets of men--their idle words, their works, thoughts, and all their actions--will be judged. Before man is condemned and punished, he stands trial and understands clearly the reason for his judgment. There will be no excuse offered against or criticism of the sentence. His conscience will divulge his sins, the law will be clear and the Gospel will be a significant basis for the judgment. The book of Life is opened and they can see for themselves that God is a righteous judge in passing their sentence, for their names are not written in the book of Life. Death and hell are cast into the lake of fire, and also those whose names were not written in the book of Life were cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.