Thursday, October 8, 2020

And God's great kingdom shall come to Earth

 Read Revelation 20.

Armageddon will not be the end.  There is much more ahead. 

1. Satan temporarily Contained. (vv.1-3)
When Jesus returns He will put down the rebellion and deal with the chief instigators (19:19-21).  Satan will then be "bound", "shut", and "sealed" for a time until his final judgment takes place.  Jesus will establish His earthly rule and reign, sitting on "the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32).  How long will Satan be restricted and how long will the earthly kingdom last?  Six times in the first seven verses the time is stated to be 1,000 years.  There is no hint anywhere in the Bible that this is a grammatical hyperbole or that this is a comparative statement such as 2 Peter 3:8.

2. God's kingdom on Earth. (v.4a)
A number of thrones will be set up for those who will judge matters during this 1,000 years of earthly reign.  Who will these judges be?
-Believers in Jesus-"Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" (1 Corinthians 6:2 
-12 Apostles-"...that you may...sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Luke 22:30)
-Jesus-"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne."

All believers in Jesus "will be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him for a thousand years." (v.6)

3. The first Resurrection. (vv.5-6)
These events complete the stages of what is called the first resurrection.
-Jesus was the first to be resurrected, guaranteeing the rest. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
-The dead who belong to Christ will be raised at the "catching away" according to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.
-Tribulation believers will be last (Revelation 20:4b).

4. The final War. (vv.7-10)
At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan will be released again.  He knows he is a defeated foe.  He knows he cannot win, so he will try to take as many people with him as possible to eternal punishment.  The global rebellion will come from a group called Magog whose leader is Gog.  As in the battle of Armageddon, the fight will be over quickly.  Satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire to be tormented forever and ever.

5. The final Judgment. (vv.11-15)
It is clear that believers in Jesus have already been judged for their works and rewarded previously.  This judgment is for all those who throughout earth's history have never repented and turned to God.  The first death is physical.  Being thrown into the Lake of Fire for the purpose of eternal torment is called the second death.

Jesus said that people need a second birth.  In order to "see the kingdom of God" we need to be born spiritually into God's family.  Physical birth gives us temporal life.  The second birth gives us eternal life.

 

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