Lesson 169 - Senior
Memory Verse
"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" (Revelation 21:4).
Notes
"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.
"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.
"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.
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:11-15).
The Wicked Dead Resurrected
After the battle of God and Magog at the close of the Millennium there will be a resurrection of "the rest of the dead" (Revelation 20:5). At that time the dead, small and great, buried in the graves -" some for thousands of years -" shall come forth. Though they may have mouldered away, and the dust -" the physical -" returned unto the dust from which it came, yet God has promised that these bodies shall be gathered together from wherever they may be, on land or sea. And though these bodies might have been cremated and their ashes taken as high as twelve, fifteen, or twenty thousand feet in the air and scattered on the mountainsides, the Almighty God will gather every flake of those ashes and bring them together again into a body. Then that person will stand on his feet before the Judge who sits upon the Great White Throne, to give an account of his deeds.
God said that every evil work -" every one "- shall be brought into judgment with every secret thing. Those things which have been concealed within the breast, those secrets that have never been divulged to the closest friend, some day will be blazed to the world. That which is done in secret shall be sounded on the housetop. God knows; God sees; God remembers; God records; and every one who has not had his sins forgiven in this present life will face them at the Great White Throne.
"I saw the dead, small and great," One may think that he is so small and insignificant a creature in this old world that nobody will ever be concerned about what he has said or what his conduct before the world has been; but the dead, small as well as great, will stand on that great day and give an account to the Judge of all the earth. The men who have been so great that no one dared point a finger at them will in that day se the books opened; the sins that they have committed, the things that they thought they were getting away with, will all be written there. Every man will be judged according to his works.
The Book of Life
"And another book was opened, which is the book of life.... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Jesus told His disciples: "Rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). The disciples' names are written there. Our names are written there when we are redeemed. If we walk in the light and are full overcomers, our names will be kept there; but if we sin, our names will be taken out of the Book of Life. God told Moses: "Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exodus 32:33). Jesus promised the overcomer that his name would not be blotted out of the Book of Life ([REV:3:5]). We se from these verses of Scripture that it is possible to have our names written in the Book of Life and it is possible to have them taken out of the Book of Life. It is possible to receive salvation and it is possible to lose it.
No Soul Sleeping
At the Rapture, those who have died in Christ are brought forth from the grave "- their physical bodies are resurrected and their souls from Heaven are united with their resurrected bodies. When a child of God dies his soul goes immediately to Heaven. Jesus told the thief on the cross: "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). When a sinner dies his soul goes immediately to hell. He is conscious; he can see; he can feel; and he can hear. The rich man died and went to hell and was there while his five brothers were still alive upon this earth ([LUK:16:19-31]). At the final judgment " the Great White Throne -" the wicked dead are resurrected, their bodies from the grave, and their souls from hell. "And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them."
The Lake of Fire
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." The wicked who are raised at the Great White Throne Judgment are the last of the dead. There shall be no more deaths. Death itself shall be cast into the lake of fire. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Corinthians 15:26). Hell, or Hades, which will be the abode of the souls of sinners up to the time of the Judgment will be emptied of all that are therein, and hell, itself, shall be cast into the lake of fire.
All those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be cast, soul and body, into the lake of fire. Jesus told us, "Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). The devil, the beast, and the false prophet, will all be cast into the lake of fire, "and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). There is no end to the lake of fire; it is the final place of the damned. "This is the second death." 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" (Revelation 21:8).
Removal of the Present Heaven and Earth
The enemies of Christ will be conquered and cast into the lake of fire. John tells us about the new Heaven and new earth:
"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" (Revelation 21:1).
That earth on which we now stand, that seems so big and solid under our feet, is going to pass away. The heavens also which now exist will be no more. Peter tells us:
"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 . . . 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 . . . the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat" (II Peter 3:7, 10, 12). The new Heaven and the new earth that John saw were not a renovated earth and a rebuilt Heaven, but a new Heaven and a new earth. "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment" (Isaiah 51:6). Jesus said: "Heaven and earth shall pass away" (Matthew 24:35). "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (II Peter 3:13).
At the Great White Throne Judgment, "the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them" (Revelation 20:11). Creation, which has been defiled by sin, will not be able to stand before the Judge of all the earth. When all enemies are put under the feet of Christ, the defiled elements themselves shall vanish away like smoke. God is going to create a new Heaven and a new earth untainted by the presence of Satan or any of his followers. "He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new."
"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
"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.
"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" (Revelation 21:2-4).
No Tears
The New Heaven and the new earth will surpass anything which man is capable of describing. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (I Corinthians 2:9). John helps us to understand the New Jerusalem by showing us the things that are not there. "For the former things are passed away." We are given to know that those troublesome things so common in our present earth will be no more. Pain, tears, sorrow, crying, and even death will forever be abolished. There will be no tombstones or cemeteries in that New Jerusalem. There will be no monuments erected in memory of those gone on before, for all the redeemed will be there in person, and the memory of the wicked will be blotted out. "And there shall be no more curse" (Revelation 22:3). Today the effects of the curse are visible all about us. Disease and blight are seen and felt the world around; but God has promised, "There shall be no more curse."
"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" (Revelation 21:10).
Father's House
John also wrote: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven." From these verses it would seem that the New Jerusalem descends from above and is united with the new earth. We understand that the New Jerusalem is the Father's house in which are many mansions and is the place that Christ has prepared for His Bride. It is that Holy City where the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb live with those full overcomers whom Christ has taken as His Bride.
"And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
"And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
"And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there" (Revelation 21:22-25).
The new Earth
There will be no further need of the sun or moon, for the glory of God will light this New Jerusalem and shine forth to give light unto all the earth. Time will no longer be marked by day and night, for there will be no night in the New Jerusalem. Not only will the powers of darkness be dispelled, but darkness itself will be done away with. "The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it." All things work in harmony, for these are the "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (II Peter 3:13).
"Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
"And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates."
"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl" (Revelation 21:11, 12, 21).
Transparent Beauty
Imagine, if you can, the beauty of that City with its massive walls of crystal-clear jasper. The jasper of this present earth is opaque, but it seems that the entire New Jerusalem is clear and transparent; the gold of it is like unto transparent glass, and the jasper is clear as crystal. It is a pure, holy City. If you are ever a citizen of that City you are first going to be like that pure gold -" gold tried in the fire. And that refining takes place right here. There are no purgatorial fires burning for any of us where we will be purged from our iniquities or our sins or our faults, after death. There is a remedy that is already produced and now available. That is the Blood of Jesus Christ. If you are under the Blood and stay there, you will have a welcome when you reach that City. If people would only get a vision of that Holy City: no sin there, no liars there, no troubles there, no quarrels there, no disappointments there!
"And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the red, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
"And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measures of a man, that is, of the angel" (Revelation 21:16, 17). Size
The City is a perfect cube, twelve thousand furlongs wide -" approximately fifteen hundred miles -" fifteen hundred miles long, and fifteen hundred miles high. If the New Jerusalem were set down in the eastern part of the United States it would cover thirty-six of the forty-eight states. This City stretches upward far beyond mortal comprehension. Skyscrapers! Think of those walls of crystal jasper! It is quite likely that they reach to the height of the City -" fifteen hundred miles upwards. We are told that the walls measure one hundred and forty-four cubits -" more than two hundred feet. No doubt this is the thickness of those walls. Imagine, if you can, those gates of pearl. It is within reason to expect them to be proportionately a hundred miles wide and several hundred miles high. The City has twelve foundations, each gar-nished with different precious stone. In each foundation there is written the name of one of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. Think of the honour that God has bestowed upon those humble mortals who followed Jesus during His ministry on earth and who proclaimed the Gospel after His ascension! There will also be rewards for those who arse faithful in serving Christ today. It is our privilege to be among the number who will reign with Him for ever and ever.