Sunday, November 24, 2019

Sunday School Class at Lake Marburg Baptist Church this morning


Revelation, Chapter 20
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. 2  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 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 worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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. 9  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 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.
Having already determined that the bottomless pit is the center or heart of the earth and Hell, we see here that Satan is bound for a thousand years. We also see that the martyred saints of the beast and the false prophet will rule with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 6:9 ¶  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?11  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

This resurrection of the martyred saints is the first resurrection. Here is information on what the conditions of the Millennial reign of Christ will be like. What follows is a general prophecy about the end of time, including the Millennium. Remember that prophecies in the Old Testament are incomplete, based on incomplete knowledge given to the writers, but giving a general sense with timeframes a little off with this is cleared up in the New Testament. I think it is only possible to sort out the Old Testament prophecies by using the New Testament fulfillment as a sort of key or map legend to them.
Isaiah 65:17 ¶  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 20  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. 21  And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22  They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23  They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 24  And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
66:1 ¶  Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 3  He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. 4  I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
    5 ¶  Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. 6  A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies. 7  Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 8  Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9  Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. 10  Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: 11  That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12  For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. 13  As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14  And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
15 ¶  For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16  For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. 17  They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD. 18  For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 19  And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. 20  And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. 21  And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. 22  For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 24  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Zechariah 8:20  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 21  And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. 22  Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. 23  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
There are other verses that have to do with the Millennium and you can tell, because they have no application to the time in which they are written such as some of the verses in the passage from Isaiah I just showed. There are also incomplete, general, and summary statements in the New Testament that give little detail but make statements clearly about the Millennium.
2Timothy 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
At the end of the thousand years Satan is released temporarily, but long enough to gather together a great army of those who had been ruled by the iron rod of Christ during the millennium. Again, start reading in Ezekiel 38 about the war with Gog and Magog. Remember.
Revelation 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
Revelation 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Revelation 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
They will chafe at Christ’s rule and rebel. Obviously, there are a great many people alive in the Millennium who are not saved. The point is that at the end of the Great Tribulation not every unsaved person is killed and not every government or nation is eliminated but that for a thousand years they are all under Christ’s authority until Satan is allowed to stir them up again and they are destroyed.
Psalm 2:1 ¶  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6  Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
    7 ¶  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
    10 ¶  Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Those who died in the Lord up to the beginning of the Millennium are the first resurrection. The second resurrection is of a substantially different nature, the description of which comes next.
    20:11 ¶  And I saw a great white throne, and him that 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, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 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 were judged every man according to their works. 14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The Great White Throne judgment is at the end of the Millennium after Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire where the Beast and the False prophet were thrown a thousand years earlier.
Notice that this judgment is in space. Earth and heaven recede away or flee. They are not there.
Proverbs 20:8  A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
We know that the taint of sin corrupted the universe.
Job 25:5  Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
Isaiah 24:23  Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Isaiah 60:19  The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20  Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
These dead are not judged by Christ’s righteousness, but by their own, their own works.
James 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Their names have been removed out of the Book of Life because they rejected Christ.
Exodus 32:32  Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin — ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.33  And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Philippians 4:3  And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
Revelation 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Revelation 17:8  The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Revelation 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Note that death and hell are cast into the Lake of Fire. Hell is not the Lake of Fire as some fundamentalists claim. Also notice the reference to the sea.
Chapter 21
21:1 ¶  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Isaiah 65:17 ¶  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
Isaiah 66:22  For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
2Peter 3:12  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 dwelleth righteousness.
In the new heaven and new earth there will be no more sea. It is not certain if that means the world’s oceans as it would by the first mention of sea in Genesis or by its linkage with heaven and earth here if it refers to the space between the earth and the third heaven now, which will not be in between God and man as we see with the New Jerusalem coming to earth. The question here, as elsewhere in Revelation, is the word sea a metaphor for something else?
Remember, the church is the bride of Christ so there is something linking the church with the city of the new Jerusalem.
2Corinthians 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
God will be with His people for eternity and there will be no more death, sorry, crying, or pain. All things will be made new by the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of all things.
Revelation 1:8  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
I will discuss water of life in the next chapter where it is mentioned twice as literal.
Who he is that overcometh and shall inherit all things has been defined previously.
1John 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Also, in verse 7 remember who we become when we receive Christ.
John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
There is a list of people whose character keeps them from the New Jerusalem. These are things worth examining in your own spirit as they are all impediments, even in the Age of Grace where the Holy Spirit has sealed us, to growing in grace with Christ.
    21:9 ¶  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
If the church is the bride of Christ and the new Jerusalem is the bride of Christ then it only follows, as per the next chapter it is safe to believe that the church is the servants who serve him in 22:3. It is reasonable to believe that our eternity will be praising and serving God, just being with Him physically present, a glorious event that makes even the most intense experience pale by comparison.
21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
This city, coming down from space, which may already be on  its way, is physically visible so this is not simply a spiritual event.
21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
So far, this is pretty obvious although one would presume that Paul was included in the twelve and not Judas, of course.
21:15  And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16  And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
The city is a cube with measurements of about 1500 miles on all sides. Note that it’s sides are not just 1500 miles but its height is 1500 miles so that consists of space inside of this cube is 1500x1500x1500 miles. This is over 3 billion cubic miles of space available within this cube. That seems like plenty of room for anything you can imagine. This is God the Father’s house.
John 14:2  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Our modern understanding of a mansion is a large manor house. An older definition is a luxury apartment in a manor house. It is clear in the New Jerusalem there is room for anything you can imagine.
 21:17  And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
The city has a wall and I don’t know how that works out with a cube so that may be an argument against the cube or either way you see it the wall may be evident. It is around 225 feet high depending on the length of a cubit, as there are small variations in the measurement. Here is further evidence of what an angel looks like as it is likened to a man. There are no angels with wings in the Bible and the phrase, “angelic creatures,” does not exist either except in the imagination of some. I defined angel from the Bible, early on.
18  And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
The wall is jasper. In antiquity jasper was usually considered to be green and likened to an emerald while today it includes a stone of red, yellow, and brown as well. Other mentions of jasper in Revelation are;
Revelation 4:3  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
Revelation 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Revelation 21:19  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
Pure and clear are synonyms in this verse giving us the meaning of both. See again that this is done later.
Revelation 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
The city is pure gold, without imperfection. Here are other references to pure gold.
2Chronicles 3:4  And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
2Chronicles 9:17  Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
A glass that you can see through is also without imperfections.
 21:19  And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20  The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
Precious stones like these cover the priest’s breastplate of judgment in Exodus 28 and in Satan/Lucifer’s clothing in Ezekiel 28.
Exodus 28:17  And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
Eze kiel 28:13  Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
Be careful, if studying what these individual stones might represent in reading back modern definitions of them into the Bible, which would have defined them by ancient definitions as I explained regarding jasper. Think of them as precious stones like rubies and emeralds and remember that quibbling over definitions today and reading them back into the Bible like reading Linnaeus’ taxonomic classifications of creatures back into the Bible, which are modern definitions, will lead to a dead end. The great fish or whale, because of its large size, was a specially prepared creature and in the Bible whale does not refer to a marine mammal of the order, Cetacea, but to a large sea creature.  Read Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40; and Genesis 1:21. Keep that in mind when you try to read back modern definitions into the Bible. God couldn’t care less about your labeling and definitions created for your own benefit.
This also brings to mind some of the problems with modern science. Such designations and classifications are merely social constructions designed to place things in categories in our own minds and do not have a necessary reality in the physical universe. In the same regard philosophers of science have noted that for some experimental scientists who deal in real, tangible evidence that some things that cannot be seen with the naked eye like photons and electrons might not even exist but are, “fictions, logical constructions, or parts of an intellectual instrument for reasoning about the world.”(20)
My point is when you are reading the words mammal or reptile, do not read them back into the Bible, written before they came into use for science. Also, do not read the modern definitions of a precious stone and presume that the Bible must conform to what we have decided to use as a label or classification after the Bible was penned and translated.
(20) Ian Hacking, Representing and Intervening: Introductory Topics in the Philosophy of Natural Sciences (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983), 27.

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