Revealing the Revelation
Chapter 20 – “Judgment Day”
April 11, 2010
Revelation 20
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20
Last week we took a look at the first part of this Scripture. Since it was Resurrection Sunday we focused mainly on the resurrection part of this Scripture. Christ will return. The dead will rise to meet the Lord in the air. We have God’s promise on that. Paul wrote to the young Thessalonian church:
“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Death is such a terrible thing to the unbeliever. It’s the end. The world fears death. It holds a great dread for them – as it should. But for the Christian it promises so much. We have a hope – we have an expectation that we will be with the Lord for ever. The bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Those of us who love Jesus will simply walk into God’s presence in heaven when we die. Death is only a doorway into the heavenly realm.
And those who die in the Lord will return with Christ at the last trumpet to set up His earthly kingdom for the thousand years. Those of us who are left alive on earth at that time will rise into the air to meet the Lord. He is not going to take us up to heaven. We are simply meeting the Lord. The Greek word used here to meet the Lord in the air is the same one used when the Prodigal son’s father ran out to meet him and then returned with him to their home. It is the same one used to describe how Jesus turned around on the road to Emmaus to have dinner with Cleopas and his wife. “Jesus acted as if he were going farther” Luke 24:28 says, but stopped, turned around and went back to their house.
It is the same kind of meeting in the air at the first resurrection. We will rise to meet the Lord in the air, be changed in a split second, and then return with Him to earth to set up the kingdom.
Remember last week we talked about the time sequence of the first resurrection. The beast and the false prophet are thrown in the lake of fire. Those who took the mark of the beast are all killed and wait in Hades for the second resurrection which is after the thousand year reign of Christ. Satan is locked up in the bottomless pit. Then the ‘last’ trumpet will sound. Listen to what Paul says:
51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
The last trumpet will sound, and as Jesus appears in the sky with all those who have died in the Lord – we will rise up to meet them and our bodies will be changed in an instant. We will receive our ‘glorified’ bodies – and we will return to set up the earthly kingdom. When will it happen? It happens at the ‘last trumpet. And if it is the last trumpet – there will be no more after it.
The dead in Christ shall be resurrected. This is the ‘first resurrection’ and is clearly after the Great Tribulation and just before the ‘Thousand Year Reign’. So if the Bible says this is the ‘first’ resurrection – then we must believe there are no other resurrections or raptures before this. The first resurrection is at the last trumpet call. I think the Bible is pretty clear about that. It is also pretty clear that we will rule and reign with Christ on earth for those thousand years. We will be His judges, priests, and governors during this time.
The Bible gives us a little bit of a glimpse into what that thousand years will be like.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11:6-9
“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. 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.”
Revelation 21:3-4
The thousand year reign of Christ is going to be fantastic – but it still isn’t heaven. That comes later. But these thousand years seem to be the way God intended the earth to be when it was created. When God created Eden, and Adam and Eve, it was a virtual paradise. Man was created to regenerate and live forever. After the fall, man lived about a thousand years. I think the earth is going to return to that beautiful state. But who is going to be repopulating the earth? There are a lot of ideas out there. God did not reveal enough information to us about this to be dogmatic about it. Some think it may be those who came through the tribulation and didn’t take the mark of the beast. Others have other ideas. I thought, at one time, it may be us. That we would be changed spiritually into what we were intended – like Adam and Eve were – but, like them, we could have children. But Jesus said that at the resurrection we will be like the angels. We will be spiritual beings, not marrying (Matt 22:30) so that blew that theory. God didn’t give us enough information on this subject to be too adamant about it.
He did reveal some things that we can be sure of, though. One is that Satan will be released from the pit for a short time. His stay will be brief. He will deceive many and they will surround the holy city to destroy it. Finally God will have had enough. Fire will come down from heaven and destroy them. The devil will be cast into the Lake of Fire where the Beast and the false prophet are. Those who were deceived will rise with the other rebellious ones at the ‘second’ resurrection to come before the Great White Throne judgment seat of God. Then, they too will be cast into the lake of fire. Let’s take a look at that Scripture.
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15
Everyone, great or small, will have to stand before the throne of God and be judged according to the things they have done. Jesus was the only one who could tell us anything about that event – and He did. He said,
36 But I tell you that people will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37
“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” Luke 8:17
"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Matthew 13:40-43
Jesus revealed a couple of things about the judgment. 1) Nobody is getting away with anything. Everything thing we do; everything we say will be examined and judged. 2) Everything that causes sin; all who do evil will be thrown into the fire. 3) the righteous will one day shine like the sun in the Kingdom.
The Great Judgment Day ought not to frighten the Christian. Our sin is blotted out. Our sin is washed away. Our sin is deleted when we repent of it. The judgment day for the Christian will be a day of rejoicing. We will shine like stars in the universe. We will shine like the sun. As you stand before God and all the witnesses of the ages – every good deed you ever did will be revealed. Every prayer you whispered for someone will be made known. Every kind thought you thought and every word of praise you have uttered will be made known. You will shine in your new godly, incorruptible nature. And Jesus will says to you, “Well, done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!” What a day that will be!
Jesus revealed some things only He could reveal. He spoke of the judgment. He spoke of heaven. He also spoke of hell. There is a lake of fire. It is eternal. If anyone name was not written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Some people don’t like to think there is such a place – or that it is eternal – but Jesus made it pretty clear.
"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Matthew 22:13
“He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matt 24:51
“And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where " 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.' “ Mark 9:47-48
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matt 25:41
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matt 25:45-46
"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt 13:40-42
Bound, absolute darkness, cut with knives, covered with worms, eternal fire, blazing furnace, eternal punishment, eternal torment – Jesus used everything we dread to describe hell. The message is that we don’t want to go there. The bible is clear that there is such a place – and it is eternal.
Every person will have to stand before the judgment seat of God and his eternal destiny will be heaven or hell. The choice is ours. As for me and my house – I choose the Lord!
This chapter ends with an interesting statement. It says,
“All whose names were not found written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire.” Rev 20:15
I think when a person is born his name is written in the “Book of Life”. There is another record book with our name on it and each thing we do or say is recorded. We will be judged from that book. But there is another book – the Book of Life – that has each Child of God’s name in it. Your name was written in it when you were born. When you reached the age of accountability and you knew right from wrong, and you willfully and knowingly sinned. Your name was blotted out of that book.
33 The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book” Ex 32:33
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.” Psalm 69:28
When we sin we are separated from God and our name is blotted out of the book of life. That is why we need a Savior. That is why Jesus died for us. He paid the penalty for our sin. When we confess our sin and receive Him as our Savior, our names are recorded in the Book of Life.
"At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.” Daniel 12:1
“Those who are victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out their names from the book of life, but will acknowledge their names before my Father and his angels.” Rev 3:5
Jesus has given us the victory. What is the victory? John says it is faith. He also tells us we have the assurance that we will be saved. John wrote:
13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13
11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12
Do you have Jesus in your heart? Is Jesus your Savior and Lord? If so, you have nothing to fear from either the coming tribulation or the coming judgment. You can look forward to some exciting times – but you can be assured that you will be safe in the shelter of God’s hands. There is nothing coming that you and God can’t handle. And as for eternal life – what a blessed hope we look forward to! We will talk more about that next week when we take a look into heaven.
This morning I want to conclude with an invitation to you to join the Kingdom of Light. If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Savior – or you have neglected your relationship with Him – now is a good time to ask Him in. Now is a good time to make Him your King and Lord. You simply pray a prayer like this:
Dear Jesus,
I want to be your follower. I want to be a part of Your kingdom. Please forgive me for my sin and rebellion. Blot my sins out and write my name in Your Book of Life. Fill me with Your Spirit. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to you.
