Lesson 465 - Senior
Memory Verse
"The ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isaiah 35:10).
Cross References
I The Millennium
1. Satan is bound for 1,000 years, [REV:20:1-3].
2. Thrones and authority are given to the saints, [REV:20:4]; [PS:149:6-9]; [DAN:7:22]; [MAT:19:28]; [LUK:19:17]; [1CO:6:2]; [REV:1:6]; [REV:2:26-27]; [REV:3:21]; [REV:5:10].
3. The Tribulation saints who were martyred are resurrected to live and reign with Christ, [REV:20:4-5]; [REV:6:9-11].
4. The glorious state of those qualified for the First Resurrection is vouchsafed, [REV:20:6]; [1CO:15:22-23]; [PHL:3:10-11]; [1TS:4:16]; [HEB:11:35].
II The Final Judgment
1. Satan is released and deceives the nations into war; he is defeated and cast into the lake of fire, [REV:20:7-10].
2. A great White Throne and an indescribable Judge appear, [REV:20:11].
3. The rest of the dead are brought to judgment, [REV:20:12-13]; [HEB:9:27]; [2PE:2:9]; [2PE:3:7].
4. Everyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life is cast into the lake of fire, [REV:20:14-15]; [REV:21:8]; [ISA:5:14]; [MAK:9:44]; [2PE:2:3].
Notes
The Devil Subdued
In a previous lesson we studied about the defeat of the armies that came against the Lord Jesus and His saints. We found that the beast and the false prophet were taken captive and cast into the lake of fire. The evil power behind the beast and the false prophet was Satan himself. Thus our lesson today opens with the judgment that deals with this evil one who has, as the prince of the power of the air, held sway over unregenerate man ever since the Fall in the Garden of Eden.
There is a greater power than satanic power, and times without number the designs of the devil have been brought to naught by the saving grace of Jesus Christ when souls have come to Calvary by faith. Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth", and Satan no longer rules in the heart that has been purified by the Blood of Jesus.
By the power of the Almighty One, an angel descends from Heaven and completely conquers Satan, casting him into the bottomless pit. This is a different place from the lake of fire into which the beast and false prophet were cast. No doubt this is because the devil is to be loosed after one thousand years, and nowhere in the Bible do we find that anyone ever came forth from the lake of fire. We read in the 9th chapter of the Revelation that the bottomless pit was opened to allow the release of locusts which were given power as scorpions to torture mankind for five months. Now the tables are turned, and the devil himself is securely imprisoned in this horrible place for one thousand years.
The Millennial Reign
A tremendous change takes place upon the earth during this time. The saints rule as kings and priests, serving under the King of kings and Lord of lords. In the message to the Church of Thyatira Jesus said, "He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron," [REV:2:26-27]). The curse that was placed upon the earth by the sin of our fore-parents will be lifted, the desert shall blossom as the rose, the ravenous beasts shall no longer harm one another or the human family, the blight of sickness will be lifted, and righteousness shall reign from shore to shore.
The resurrection is divided into two categories -- one is known as the First Resurrection and the other as the second or the final resurrection. The Lord Jesus said there is to be a resurrection of life and there is to be a resurrection of damnation [JHN:5:29]).
The First Resurrection
The First Resurrection is actually a resurrection which takes place in several different stages, and is likened to the ingathering of the harvest. Christ was the first to come forth from the grave in a glorified body, and is referred to by Paul as the firstfruits [1CO:15:23]).
The main body of the harvest is no doubt depicted in the 4th and 5th chapters of Revelation where John saw a door opened in Heaven and beheld a great company who sang of being redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. This answers to the Apostle Paul's description of the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the Rapture of the living saints, given in [1TS:4:16-17]: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
And now here in the study of the 20th chapter of the Book of Revelation we see still another group -- the final group of the First Resurrection. This is the group that was beheaded for the witness of Christ and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast nor his image, neither had received his mark in their foreheads nor in their hands. This particular group is first mentioned in [REV:6:9-11]. These missed the Rapture of the saints, no doubt because they were not among the full overcomers who had put on the whole armour of God. They missed being in the glorious Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and instead were forced to endure the awful tribulation up to the point of their death.
Satan's Final Overthrow
In verse 3 of our text, we see that Satan must be loosed a little time after his thousand years of imprisonment. Mankind upon the earth, including those born during the Millennial period, are still free moral agents and will be given a chance to make their choice whether to serve the Lord or have Satan for their master. By what means Satan is able to deceive so many we are not told; but under him they come forth in number "as the sand of the sea," enter into the Holy Land and compass about the beloved City. This proves that the unregenerate heart of man is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Unless the heart is made pure by the Blood of Jesus, even though conditions on earth are a veritable paradise for the period of 1000 years, this will not suffice to satisfy the sinner.
The motive evidently was to wrest the reins of government from the Lord and His saints but it ended as a march into the jaws of death, for no rebellion against that King could possibly be successful. One brief sentence tells the story: "Fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." Satan is taken and this time is not put into the bottomless pit but is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.
When the Saviour was on earth, He discoursed with His disciples about an "everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" [MAT:25:41]). This is it, and thus ends the earthly reign of Satan.
The Great White Throne Judgment
Immediately after the final overthrow of Satan and his armies the scene before the Apostle changes, and he beholds a great White Throne occupied by One from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away! Another Throne was beheld by John, which he described in Revelation chapter 4, answering to the time of the Rapture of the saints. That Throne had a rainbow over it to indicate fulfilment of covenant promises; to this nothing is ascribed but greatness and whiteness indicative of power and pure justice. In connection with the first Throne there was singing and the giving of mighty praises to God and the Lamb, for it was the commencement of an administration, which was to bring rewards to the saints. But here there is not a song, nor a voice of gladness; for it is the administration of justice, which consigns the unsaved to their final doom. In the first instance, the One who sits upon the Throne had a particular appearance -- a radiance like to a jasper and a sardine stone; here there is the awful presence of Almightiness so dreadful that the very earth and heavens fled away. This awful scene renders absolutely no hope for those on whom the judgment now falls.
The Resurrection to Damnation
A resurrection occurred here, a going forth of eternal power into the sea, into the grave, into hell; and all the unholy dead suddenly stand in the presence of the Throne. The great and the small, the rulers and the subjects, the learned and the ignorant -- all are there. We read of no white robes, no palms, no crowns, nothing but sinners before the majesty of the Almighty One awaiting their eternal doom. Myriads of human beings have lived and died upon this earth, but the lives they lived, the deeds they wrought, the thoughts and tempers they indulged, still stand written in the books of Almighty God. Is it any wonder that this great number will be entirely speechless when they stand before God?
The Book of Life
Another book appears which is the Book of Life, the roll book of those washed in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ. This must needs be opened, too, for many there be whose lives are fair and honest, who live and die in the persuasion that they have fulfilled all the requirements of virtue, but who have never felt the need of atonement by the propitiation of a crucified Saviour. Many there are whose worst fault will be the sin of neglect: not that they have been great sinners or committed some hideous act, but that they have neglected so great salvation. If the name of anyone is not on that sacred roll, no matter how virtuously and honestly he may have lived, there is no help for him.
The decree of judgment is rendered; the sentence is passed and executed immediately. Whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. This is termed the "second death." From the word "death" some may think that this means extinction of existence, or annihilation. But the beast and the false prophet were in that death for more than a thousand years, and at the end of that time they are still very much alive. In verse 10 we read, "Where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." [MAK:9:47];[MAK:9:48] refer to the wicked being "cast into hell fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Conclusion
Now in view of all these awful facts what can be said of those who knowingly and deliberately go on in the ways, which have no outcome but this second death? Jesus said, "How can ye escape the damnation of hell?" [MAT:23:33]). What about those who have sold their soul for riches, for pleasure, for the material things of this life? The prophet spoke: "Hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it" [ISA:5:14]).
Oh, the indescribable anguish of every lost soul as he leaves the great White Throne Judgment to be cast into the lake of fire forever and ever! The anguish can only become more acute as each one realises there was a way of escape provided through Jesus Christ and His Atonement; but each one looks back to relive the time or times when he rejected proffered mercy, and now mercy is forever past. To the unsaved reader, the Word of God proclaims: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Questions
1. What will happen to Satan in the end time?
2. Describe the different phases of the First Resurrection.
3. Upon whom does the second death have no power?
4. Explain how it is possible for Satan to secure such a large following upon his release from the bottomless pit.
5. Describe the scene at the great White Throne Judgment.
6. What part did the Book of Life have in this judgment?
7. What was the outcome of this judgment?