K-20. THE BOOK OF REVELATION CHAPTER 20.
Rev. 20:1. "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand."
Rev. 20:10. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
Now there is a lot of information in this chapter 20 of the book of Revelation and it is this very chapter that the Holy Spirit used to OPEN my eyes to the TRUTH that the RAPTURE of the CHURCH would without fail take place AT the SECOND coming of Jesus just like he was trying to show me in Matthew chapter 24, but I kept coming back to MAN'S teaching of the FALSE PRE-tribulation rapture, which I sincerely believed at that time to be the truth of God's word. For those of you who may still be clinging to this false teaching of a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church in order to ESCAPE the time of GREAT tribulation I strongly IMPLORE you to take a CLOSER look at the WHOLE word of God and read all the studies that I have written with the leading of the Holy Spirit concerning the time that the rapture of the church will take place. Here is a list of these studies which you can read when you finish this verse by verse study in the book of Revelation.
"THE WRATH OF GOD VERSES THE GREAT TRIBULATION" "THE RAPTURE---ONE TAKEN AND ONE LEFT" "THE RAPTURE---MO MAN KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR" "THE GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD" "THE TWO WITNESSES WHO ARE THEY?" "THE IMMINENT RETURN OF JESUS" "250 REASONS FOR A PRE_TRIBULATION RAPTURE" "ISLAM IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST" "HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE GREAT TRIBULATIONS"
But for now let us continue this verse by verse study of the book of Revelation by taking a look at the first three verses of Revelation chapter 20.
Rev. 20:1. "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a GREAT CHAIN in his hand."
First of all we see an angel with a GREAT chain which we conclude that he BINDS Satan with this GREAT chain. Then we see this angel CAST Satan who has been BOUND presumably with this GREAT chain into this BOTTOMLESS PIT. And then and top of all of this Satan is SHUT UP in this bottomless pit. and on top of all of that a SEAL in put upon Satan to make absolutely sure that he would REMAIN BOUND for these 1000 years so that he could in NO way escape in order to TEMPT and DECEIVE the nations UNTIL this 1000 year were finished. Then we read that Satan MUST be let loose for a short time or a little season AFTER this 1000 years is finished. I want you to notice that Satan does NOT escape, NOR is Satan simply let loose, but rather the word of God says that Satan MUST be looses for a little season. And then we see that once Satan is set free an the end of the 1000 year that he goes about to DECEIVE the nations once again to make WAR with God's people. Now if you do NOT ask WHY Satan MUST be loosed, then you are missing one of the biggest clues or pieces of the puzzle that teaches us WHY God allows evil to exist all these years. I explain the reason WHY in the study called "UNDERSTANDING WHY?", which I believe will help all who read it to help answer questions of WHY does God ALLOW evil. Why did not God just destroy Satan when he first rebelled? Why dis God create man a little LOWER than the angels only to later raise them up to rule OVER the angels? You will want to read this study, because it ties the WHOLE word of God together, but for now let us continue with the next few verses.
Rev. 20:4. "And I saw thrones, and THEY sat upon them, and JUDGMENT was given unto THEM: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had NOT worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and THEY lived and REIGNED (on these THRONES that John saw) WITH Christ a thousand years."
So here we see these dead SAINTS who have be BEHEADED during this time of GREAT tribulation, because they REFUSED to worship the false god Allah, they refused to worship the image of ISLAM, they refuse to wear the arm badge of head badge that says, in the name of Allah. And because of their FAITHFULNESS of NOT denying their Lord and savior Jesus Christ the SON of Almighty God they LIVED and REIGNED WITH Jesus for a 1000 years.
Rev. 20:5. "But the REST of the dead lived NOT again UNTIL the thousand years were FINISHED. This is the FIRST resurrection."
Now the King James Version somethings says things a little backward than we talk today. Obviously the FIRST resurrection in the resurrection the takes place AT the SECOND coming of Jesus which we have been talking about for the last three chapters. Please notice that these SAINTS are the CHURCH who went through the time of GREAT tribulation, because this is WHEN the BEAST, his IMAGE, and his MARK will take place. Also notice that these who went THROUGH this time of GREAT tribulation were RESURRECTED in order to LIVE and REIGN with Jesus for these 1000 years. Please pay close attention that this is called the FIRST resurrection and that there will NOT be another resurrection UNTIL the END of the 1000 year reign of Jesus and his SAINTS, who went THROUGH the time of GREAT TRIBULATION, but did NOT take the MARK of the BEAST. Also notice that the word of TRUTH says the REST of the dead, which emphatically states that there will be TWO and ONLY TWO resurrections that will take place. The FIRST resurrection which takes place AFTER the time of GREAT tribulation and the resurrection at the END of the 1000 years where the REST of the dead are raised. This PROVES with out a doubt that it is IMPOSSIBLE for there to be a PRE-tribulation rapture of the church in order to ESCAPE the time of great tribulation, BECAUSE the is a RESURRECTION at the time of the RAPTURE and the FIRST resurrection does NOT take place until AFTER the time of GREAT tribulation because those who are beheaded or killed during the great tribulation are raised form the dead to LIVE and reign with Jesus for a 1000 years. Remember that the ONLY other resurrection to take place is AFTER the 1000 year are finished. I explain all of this in more detail in the study "THE TIME OF GREAT TRIBULATION" for those of you who may be a little confused having heard this for the first time.
Rev. 20:6. "BLESSED and holy is he that has part in the FIRST resurrection: on 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."
In other words, the DEAD in CHRIST shall rise FIRST and receive their reward of ETERNAL LIFE and from that time on they shall be ETERNALLY SAVED and NO man can pluck them out of the Fathers hand. Please read the study "IS ONCE SAVE ALWAYS SAVED BIBLICAL?". But for now let us continue with the next three verses.
Rev. 20:7. "And WHEN the thousand years are EXPIRED (or finished or completed, or have come to an END), Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,"
Here we see that WHEN the 1000 years have been COMPLETE or have come to an END, THEN and ONLY then will Satan be loosed from the bottomless pit, which remember in verse 3 we learned that he MUST be turn loose. Now to ME, this verse PLAINLY teaches that this is a LITERAL 1000 years and NOT some indefinite period of time as some FALSELY teach, because we clearly see a definite END or EXPIRATION of this 1000 years.
Rev. 20:8. "And shall go out to DECEIVE the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea."
So then, this is no small army that Satan is gathering together. To ME, this clearly shows us just HOW MUCH INFLUENCE that Satan has to DECEIVE. You have to keep in mind that these very same nations of people have live in peace WITHOUT WAR for 1000 years. Now when I say these same people I do not mean that the people have a LIFESPAN of 1000 years, but rather each GENERATION of people live in peace all totaling 1000 years. The book of Isaiah teaches us that each person would live out their FULL life of 100 years and die. To me it looks as if Satan will go and deceive some if not many from EVERY nation of the world, and TWO names are mention, GOG and MAGOG. These two words when used together in the same verse of scripture are found in only two places in the Bible, here in Revelation 20:8 and in Ezekiel chapter 38, which says,
"And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2. Son of man, set your face against Gog, the LAND of Magog, the CHIEF PRINCE of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3. And say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the CHIEF PRINCE of Meshech and Tubal: 4. And I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: 5. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 6. Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with you. 7. Be you prepared, and prepare for yourself, you, and all your company that are assembled unto you, and be you a guard unto them."
Now to ME, it seems that GOG may very well be Satan the CHIEF PRINCE, who is behind the people in the LAND of MAGOG that gather together with these other nations that are listed, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, and Togarmah. Also I clearly see that there are TWO battles or WARS that are being fought in this chapter 28 of the book of Ezekiel. Verses 1 through 8 are referring to the battle of ARMAGEDDON. Then notice in the verse to follow that AFTER MANY DAYS, which to ME speaks of the 1000 year reign of Jesus there is ANOTHER battle fought by these SAME nations that fought in the first battle of Armageddon that was fought BEFORE the many days of 1000 years.
8. AFTER MANY DAYS (speaking of the 1000 years) YOU (speaking of GOG the CHIEF PRINCE or Satan) shalt be visited: in the latter years you shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them (to ME, this clearly is speaking of a land and a time that is WITHOUT WAR, which is the 1000 year reign of Jesus). 9. You shall ascend and come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all you bands, and many people with you. 10. Thus says the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into you mind, and you shall think an evil thought: 11. And you shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, (again speaking of a time of peace and no war, which to ME, is speaking of the 1000 year reign of Jesus) 12. To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn your hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land. 13.Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto you, Are you come to take a spoil? Have you gathered your company to take a prey? To carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? 14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwell safely, shall you not know it? 15. And you shall come from your place out of the north parts, you, and many people with you, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 16. And you shall come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring you against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes. 17. Thus says the Lord GOD; Are you he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring you against them?
Could this be referring to one of the very first prophesies that is found in Genesis 3:14,15?
"And the LORD God said unto the SERPENT (the DRAGON that Old SERPENT called the Devil and Satan or Lucifer the fallen angel), BECAUSE you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life: 15. And I will put enmity between YOU and the WOMAN (who will one day bring forth the nation of Israel), and between your seed and her seed; IT (speaking of the CHRIST the ANOINTING of Almighty God) shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
Now the enmity is speaking of Jesus the CHRIST or the anointed on of Almighty God who redeemed mankind back to God for WHOSOEVER of mankind that BELIEVE upon the name of the SON of God. And the HIS HEEL is speaking of Jesus and all who BELIEVE and follow his word. Let us continue with the rest of Ezekiel chapter 38 and keep in mind that Satan is the god of this world and the great DECEIVER who is God's ENEMY.
"18. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19. For in my jealousy and in the FIRE of my WRATH (which we will see shortly in the remaining verses of Revelation chapter 20) have I spoken, Surely in that day (keeping in mind that one day is as a 1000 years and 1000 years is as one day. or BOTH BEFORE and AFTER the 1000 years) there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, says the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. 22. And I will plead against him (GOG in the land of MAGOG) with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an over flowing RAIN (and FIRE came down from heaven and DEVOURED them all), and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD."
Let us continue with Revelation 20 verse 9.
Rev. 20:9. "And they (speaking of all these nations that are being DECEIVED and led by Satan the chief prince of the air) went upon the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the SAINTS about, and the beloved city (speaking of God's people): and FIRE came down from God out of heaven, and DEVOURED them."
Let us continue with the next verse in Revelation chapter 20.
Rev. 20:10. "And the DEVIL that DECEIVED them (all the nations) was cast into the LAKE of FIRE and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet ARE, and shall be TORMENTED day and night for ever and ever."
Now there are some that take this verse and teach a doctrine known by many Christians as ETERNAL HELL FIRE where it is taught that the wicked are ETERNALLY TORTURE in this everlasting FIRE of HELL that is never quenched. But if you look CLOSELY at this verse there is MORE than just ONE way to INTERPRET it. You see the MAIN subject is the DEVIL or Satan being cast into the LAKE of ETERNAL FIRE where HE, that Old SERPENT called the DEVIL and SATAN shall be TORMENTED day and night for ever and ever. Yes it is true that the beast and the false prophet were cast into this very same lake of fire 1000 years earlier, but it is NOT CLEARLY stated that these MEN who were DECEIVED by SATAN are ALSO be ETERNALLY TORMENTED in this lake of eternal fire. It is true the the FIRE itself is ETERNAL and that the punishment of being cast into the fire is eternal in that there is NO changing of God's mind on his judgment. In other words, once a person is cast into the lake of fire and DEVOURED or destroyed, then there is NO more resurrection of the dead. For you will see in the following verses that even HELL and DEATH itself are cast into the lake of fire to be DESTROYED meaning that from this point forward there will be NO more DEATH. Let us continue with verse 11 of chapter 20 of the book of Revelation.
Rev. 20:11. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it (speaking of Almighty God the Father), from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them."
Speaking of the heavens and the earth melting with fervent heat spoken of in 2 Peter 3:7-13, which says,
"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto FIRE against the DAY of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8. BUT, beloved, be NOT ignorant of this ONE thing, that ONE DAY is with the Lord as a THOUSAND YEARS, and a thousand years as ONE DAY . 9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10. But the DAY of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; IN the which (or at which time) the heavens shall PASS AWAY with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth ALSO and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11. Seeing then that all these things shall be DISSOLVED, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the DAY of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for NEW heavens and a NEW earth, wherein dwells righteousness."
So then, at the END of the 1000 year reign when ALMIGHTY God HIMSELF shall come down out of heaven to finish his WRATH the heavens PASS AWAY with a great noise and the elements shall MELT with fervent heat and the earth itself shall be burn up. But we know that according to God's promises that Almighty God will create a NEW heavens and a NEW earth where we shall dwell righteously before him for all eternity. Let us continue with the next verse.
Rev. 20:12. "And I saw the DEAD, small and great, STAND before God (which is speaking of the SECOND and only other resurrection at the END of the 1000 years where the REST of the dead are brought back to LIFE to be JUDGED. Now keep in mind that DURING the 1000 year reign of Jesus many multitudes of people DIED, because the lifespan of a person was 100 years. And also keep in mind that among these many multitude of people who die during this 1000 years were many RIGHTEOUS people who were FAITHFUL to God during their life time that they lived during this 1000 year reign of Jesus. In other words, in this SECOND resurrection where the REST of the dead are brought back to life to be JUDGED there will be BOTH the RIGHTEOUS and the WICKED who will be raised from the dead to STAND before this WHITE THRONE judgment seat of Almighty God himself); and the books were opened: and ANOTHER book was opened, which IS the book of life: and the dead (BOTH the RIGHTEOUS and the WICKED) were JUDGED out of those things which were written in the BOOKS (plural), ACCORDING to their WORKS. (now we who took part in the FIRST resurrection have ALREADY been judged and we have already received our reward of ETERNAL LIFE and the SECOND DEATH has NO power over US. Therefore this white throne judgment has nothing to do with us the CHURCH who were found FAITHFUL at the second coming of Jesus)."
Let us continue with the next verse where we see the REST of the dead being raised from the dead to be JUDGED according to their WORKS. Now the WICKED here are referring to the WICKED for Adam all the way through this final battle of the wicked fighting against God at the END of this thousand year reign of Jesus. You see, in the FIRST resurrection it is ONLY the dead who are found to be FAITHFUL IN Christ Jesus who shall be given ETERNAL LIFE to live and reign with Jesus for 1000 year and then be given the right to enter the ages to come which has not entered into the minds of them that LOVE God the things that God has PREPARE for them. Let us continue with the next verse.
Rev. 20:13. "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death AND hell delivered up the dead which were in THEM: and they (BOTH the RIGHTEOUS and the WICKED who are raised form the dead at this time) were judged every man ACCORDING to their WORKS."
Again you will want to WATCH and be READY to take part in the FIRST resurrection, because it is NOT certain that you will be given the opportunity to go into the 1000 year reign of Jesus. God looks upon your HEART and he KNOWS what it in it so be NOT DECEIVED by the LIES of Satan thinking you will have a SECOND chance if you repent at his coming. Get SIN out of your life NOW and be READY for the SECOND coming of Jesus. Please see the study "HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE GREAT TRIBULATION" but for now let us continue this verse by verse study of the book of Revelation.
Rev. 20:14. "And DEATH and HELL were CAST INTO the LAKE of FIRE. THIS (speaking of the LAKE of FIRE) IS the SECOND DEATH."
Here we clearly see that BOTH death AND hell are cast into the lake of FIRE, which we see IS the SECOND DEATH. Now we know that DEATH is the last ENEMY of God to be DESTROYED and since HELL is cast into this eternal lake of fire as well then to ME, I see HELL being DESTROYED as well. So to ME there can be NO eternal HELL FIRE as some falsely teach. Yes there is and ETERNAL LAKE of FIRE, but HELL itself is cast into it to be DESTROYED just like DEATH is DESTROYED.
Rev. 20:15. "And whosoever was NOT found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Again I MYSELF see that whosoever is cast into the LAKE of FIRE which IS the SECOND DEATH are DESTROYED just like DEATH is DESTROYED. Jesus says in Matthew 7:13,14 that broad is the way that leads to DESTRUCTION and it is only the narrow way that leads to eternal life.
"Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to DESTRUCTION, and many there be which go in there at: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto LIFE, and few there be that find it."
So strive to be found faithful so that you will take part in the rapture of the church to receive ETERNAL LIFE so that the SECOND DEATH has NO power over YOU. To ME, it seems that WHY would we need to be GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE if we were ALREADY eternal beings. In other words, ONLY the RIGHTEOUS will be GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE, therefore to ME all the WICKED will be DESTROYED in the lake of fire and only the SMOKE of their torment will ascend forever and ever. Psalm 145:20 says that God will PRESERVE or give eternal life to those who LOVE him, but shall DESTROY all the wicked.
"The LORD PRESERVES all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he DESTROY."
The word of TRUTH teaches us is 1 Corinthians 15:26 that the last ENEMY to be DESTROYED is DEATH.
"The last enemy that shall be DESTROYED is DEATH."
We also know that the wages of sin is DEATH and the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE. So then a person either reaps ETERNAL LIFE or the reap DEATH. And to ME, if they reap DEATH and DEATH if eventually DESTROYED that there will be NO MORE DEATH, which would then mean that there will never again be a SEPARATION from God because DEATH which is a separation form God is DESTROYED in the lake of fire. Again I have not written a study on the man made doctrine of eternal hell fire of eternal TORTURE of the wicked in flames of fire, but as I said before it is on this list. This brings us to the end of Revelation Chapter 20. So let us now read chapter 21 and see what if has to say.
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