Revelation 20 - Part 2

After the millennium, Satan is released from prison. In his last ditch effort he gathers all the armies of the earth to attack Jerusalem (the holy city). The Bible says fire comes down from heaven and destroys Satan's army. The devil is cast alive into the lake of fire. His global reign of terror on earth is over, forever (Revelation 20:7-10). He is where the Beast and false prophet are.

After this comes the Great White Throne Judgement. All people from the beginning of time up til that time will be resurrected to face Jesus Christ to be judged for everything they have ever done or thought. The writer believes this judgment is reserved for the unbeliever only. Why do I believe this? Because according to 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 believers will face a judgment called the Bema seat. A Bema is a raised platform like you see in today's Olympic games which was invented by the Greeks when athletes receive rewards. The Bema may occur after the rapture of the Church - when the saints of God are caught away to heaven. We are judged based on our faithfulness to the Lord and rewarded accordingly. Where we have not been faithful, we suffer loss, not of salvation, but of reward. 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Wqc4vGgrOCg

So the Great White Throne Judgment is reserved for the wicked. They will understand why they are heaeded to the lake of fire where the devil, his angels, the beast and the false prophet are.

Jesus will say to those who died in their sins, "Depart from Me you cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). In Matthew 7:22 Jesus declares to those who believe they have done His will but were imposters, "I NEVER knew you! Depart from Me you who practice lawnesses!" Revelation 20:15 tells us whoever name is not written in the Lamb's book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The Bible describes the casting into the lake of fire as the second death (Revelation 20:6, 14).

The reality of the second death

Anyone that rejects Jesus Christ in their lifetime and dies in their sins is guaranteed this tragic second death. Several of you may have never heard the phrase before. I will explain what it is and how to avoid it.

In this life we have three scenarios that will occur to all humanity.

1. Some people die once
2. Some people die twice
3. Some people will never die

Realities two and three are not common knowledge so I will need to explain them detail.

Those that die once are saved. They will only die physically but not spiritually. In other words, they are in Christ so when they die, the spirit immediately goes to heaven. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Those that die twice are those who rejected Jesus' offer of salvation and the forgiveness of sins through repentance when hearing the gospel preached to them. They love their sin too much to recoginize their need for a Savior. These are the type of people that want heaven, but do not want to give their lives over to Jesus to get it. Without Jesus the Bible says that person does not have life (John 3:36), but the wrath of God abides on them. So, instead of God's mercy and grace at the cross, they will receive the Lord's justice. No Jesus, no heaven.

Those that never die are those who will be caught up in the rapture according 1 Corinthians 15:51-58 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The Bible says they will be changed instantly, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. What is this change? They will be translated from mortal to immortality - meaing God will make them immortal, no longer subject to death. They will be able speak to death and say, "I defeated you death! My Lord has taken away your sting!"

If you want Biblical accounts of people that never died, read Genesis 5:24 where God takes Enoch to heaven after living 365 years. The other account is with the prophet Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11. God takes him alive into heaven by a chariot and horses of fire. Elisha, Elijah's successor was an eyewitness to this rapture.

  

Summing things up

This future seems unreal but it is not. All of us admittedly wonder what the future holds. The Bible gives us all the answers. Knowing what God has declared before it happens shows His love for mankind. He is warning us all to obey His commands and follow Jesus Christ so that we can return with Him in glory to the earth when He comes, defeats His enemies and takes His rightful place as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revealation 19:11-21).       

Please feel free to comment and ask questions.               

Dead and Dying

 The writer realizes this is a bizarre, strange and morbid title. How can one be dead before they die? This title only makes sense if one has a Biblical worldview. You see when we are born, we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1; Col 2:13). We are born spiritually dead. Why? Because we are born into this world separated from God. What did John the Baptist say in John 3:36, “He that has the Son has life. He that does not have the Son does not have life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” 

Jesus said. “I Am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). Jesus also said to Martha, “I Am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die (John 11:25-26). So here is the reality. If your life belongs to Jesus you have eternal life. If you die, you will live forever as an immortal being. If you do not belong to the Lord, you are dead spiritually because the Holy Spirit does not dwell on the inside of you. You are disconnected from God. If a person dies having never repented of their sins, they will experience what the Bible calls the second death (Revelation 20:14). This second death will cast a soul into an everlasting hell. There is no hope for a person who dies in their sins. They will die twice - physically and spiritually.

Here is an insight that most people do not realize: If you’re in Christ you will most likely die once and guaranteed to be born twice. I say most likely because most of us will die psychically unless we are alive when the rapture takes place. But as a general rule, we will die once. The believer is born of flesh and is born again of the Spirit (John 3). But once we are resurrected from death, we will live forever. But with the wicked that is not the case. The unredeemed will live once and die twice. Let that sink in.

Here’s the life death sequence for every soul that will ever live:

For the believer: born→born again→may taste physical death=eternal life

For the unbeliever: born→death→second death=eternal damnation

Both scenarios are guaranteed.

“Have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” -Galatians 4:16

Will Death Ever Die?

 

The reason I ask the question is because I want to answer it from a Biblical perspective. Although it may sound like double talk to some, it is not. I will try my best to explain why. Death for most of the world is a horrifying reality. But not discussing it or trying to dismiss it out of one’s mind will not delay its wrath. Death for most is a journey into the unknown, a great void, an abyss, a black hole of sorts. In death we are dealing with the afterlife. Will things be better in this afterlife? Will you see your loved ones in heaven? Where or who does death take us to – God and Jesus or the devil and demons? Who determines where one goes when they die? Is it the Lord or man? Does it matter? Have we been lied to?

We all know what death is; it’s simply the termination of life. At the time I am writing this, life and death are concurrent. This is what is happening on 6/30/2024 at 1:16 pm PST:

 

Go to https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ to get real time statistics.

For most, the Bible presents painful inconvenient truths to our hearts and minds. The natural reaction is for us to recoil from God’s word. Why? Because it tells us what we need to hear verses what we want to hear.

In Isaiah 30:10 we read these words, who say to the seers, see not, and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits (or lies). These people are like those in Romans 1 who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (vs 18).

No one should be content with a comfortable lie to make them feel better. That is a trick of the enemy of our souls – Satan.  An inconvenient truth is better. Why? Because it sets off alarm bells to move us to action. It is knowing any truth that we can be made free. That doesn’t mean the truth is going to be pleasant, but it can point us in the right direction to a solution. With impending death, the only way we can triumph over it is to go to the one who has conquered it – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How did He do it? Let’s look at several verses of scripture.

John 10: 17-18 – Therefore my Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes My from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again. This command I have received from My Father.

·         Because Jesus has the power over life and death, trusting in Him is the ONLY way one can obtain life everlasting.

John 11:25 – I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live whoever believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?

·         Jesus asked Martha this question after her brother Lazarus died

Acts 2:27 – For you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will allow your Holy One to see corruption.

·         Peter borrowed this language from Psalm 16:10, making reference to Jesus Christ rising from the dead

Romans 4:24b-25 – In Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised up for our justification.

Matthew 16:21 - From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Matthew 17:22-23a - As they were gathering in Galilee Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered in the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.

Luke 18:31-33 - And taking the twelve, He said to them, see we are going to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.

1 Peter 1:3 -5 -  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (italics mine for emphasis) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Revelation 1:17b-18 – Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hell of death.

 We live because Jesus lives. The preceding verses show us how to conquer death and receive everlasting life. Only then will one be able to echo the words of the apostle Paul, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

Moses declared to the children of Israel that the Lord has set before them life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

The more one internalizes these truths, the more confidence one will gain in God and His word. We must meditate, feed on the scriptures so that it’s not just data in our minds, but realities we happily confess and share with all.  The scriptures HAVE to become part of our spiritual DNA.

So, to answer the title question, yes death has been conquered for the child of through Christ. The Devil has no more dominion over us. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by his death He might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

When the rapture[1] takes place the Bible tells us those of who are alive will be changed – meaning that our bodies will be translated from mortal to immortality. We will no longer be subject to death anymore. We have reached eternity. Death is literally defeated. 1 Corinthians 15:55 says, “Oh death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting. Its as if the apostle Paul is personifying death and mockingly asking the question of death’s inept power.

Finally in Revelation 20:14 we read, “Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” So, yes. There is a time in history when death will die. But only those who are in Christ Jesus will have victory over it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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[1] The rapture is the catching away of the Church into heaven before the seven-year tribulation

Not all Christians are pre-tribulationists, but this writer is