It is interesting to begin with some comparison. The length of Jesus' reign on earth will be a thousand years - called the Millennium. Compared to the Antichrist, who will reign just seven years, Jesus will reign a whopping one thousand years, or more than one hundred and forty years of blessing for each year of Tribulation. That is the grace of God!
Revelation 19 revealed the capture of the Antichrist. Revelation 20 reveals the capture of Satan. It also goes on to discuss the future destiny of unbelievers. Later, in Revelation 21 and 22, that will be contrasted with the future destiny of believers.
The imprisonment of Satan (Rev. 20:1 - 3)
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while" (Rev. 20:1 - 3).
An unnamed, but seemingly ordinary angel will come from heaven to earth. He will have the key to the bottomless pit that will be taken from Satan when the Devil is cast out of heaven in Rev. 12:7 - 9. The angel will also have a great chain in his hand.
Obviously, since God is omnipotent, he could seize Satan anytime he wants. But the Bible says Satan's arrest will come at the end of the Great Tribulation period. God will not jump the gun and violate His own Word. When the Great Tribulation period is over, He will send one ordinary angel to seize and bind Satan for a thousand years.
The angel will cast Satan, bound and chained, into the bottomless pit. This will keep Satan from deceiving the nations during the Millennium. The earth is once again populated with people. They neither commit any sin nor are afflicted with any sickness of disease, as they are not tempted by Satan or under his influence. They flourish and fill the face of the whole earth.
Therefore these people who have lived in a world free from the influence of Satan need to to decide for themselves whether they will truly love God. To test them, Satan will be released from the bottomless pit for a little while. This testing is no worse than that has already been experienced by many God's saints.
Multitudes will be born during the Millennium. During this time, the offspring from the Tribulation saints and Jews will not know what temptation is. There will be no real test of their faith.
The Thrones of Judgment (Rev. 20:4)
"And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4).
John next saw thrones that gave judgment ot the people before they entered the millennial kingdom. Why should it be "thrones" instead of "a throne"? Because Jesus does not give judgment alone; His Bride, the Church, will sit with Him and judge for a thousand years.
How will those thrones give judgment? As we have already seen, the people who were sealed by the Antichrist were all killed, but those who were not sealed by him, and the remaining Jew, will enter the millennial kingdom. Out of those God will separate the sheep from the goats. The standard by which the two are separated is how they treated Jesus Christ (read Matt. 25:31 - 43).
The sheep on the right side of Jesus were the people who, though they did not believe in Him, nonetheless treated Christians well by taking care of their needs. The goats, however, were punished, for they did not accept Christians in the Name of Christ.
The First Resurrection (Rev. 20:5, 6)
"But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:5, 6, emphasis added).
The first resurrection is called the resurrection of life or the resurrection of believer. The second resurrection is called the resurrection of damnation or the resurrection of unbelievers. Rev. 20:5 reveals that there will be a thousand years between the two. Jesus clarified in John 5:28, 29.
At the first resurrection, those who died during the Great Tribulation rise first. Those who partake in this resurrection are blessed, for they will not enter the second death. The first death is the death of the body, and the second is the death of the soul, which means that one is forsaken by God and dies forever.
Those who participate in the first resurrection, however, are received by God and will reign with Christ for one thousand years. How blessed those people will be!
The rest of the dead do not come to life until the thousand years are ended. All the unbelievers since the beginning of the world will remain in hell; they will not enter the millennial kingdom. After Jesus' reign of one thousand years has ended, those unbelievers will come to life again and be judged. Then they will be cast forever into the lake of fire.
Therefore the resurrection of sinners (unbelievers) becomes a resurrection to judgment and destruction. But the resurrection of thse who have participated in the first resurrection is a rising to eternal life.
Satan comes out of his prison (Rev. 20:7 - 10)
"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four conrners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Rev. 20:7 - 10).
With Satan bound during the Millennium, people will be shielded from temptation and sin. Sickness and disease will not exist, and people will live to be hundreds of years old. A population explosion will occur. However, God is no respecter of persons. Those born during the Millennium will have to be tested just like everyone else. When the Millennium is over, the abyss will be opened one more time, and Satan will be released to resume his old ways.
When Satan is released he will pick up where he left off. he will go out once again to deceive the nations. Realizing this is his last chance, he gathers his people to oppose God. "Gog and Mogog"refer to the people who oppose God. At the Battle of Gog and Mogog Satan will repeat what he tried at the Battle of Armageddon. He will try one final time to become greater than God by gathering a great horde of people from all over the world, including those from Gog and Mogog.
Jesus will reign from Jerusalem, the beloved city - the City of God, during His millennial reign. Satan's army will march across the earth and surround the city, but just as God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He will again consume Satan's army with fire from heaven.
Satan will not be allowed to lure people into destruction any longer. His deceptive career will be brought to an end when he is captured and thrown into the Lake of Fire where the Antichrist and False Prophet already reside. They will not be destroyed, but will suffer unending torment.
On the other hand, those who followed Jesus in the millenial kingdom will enter the eternal new heaven and the new earth.
The Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11 - 15)
The lost will appear before the Judgment Seat (Rev. 20:11, 12)
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And thre was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books" (Rev. 20:11, 12, emphasis added).
At first glance, earth and heaven seem to have fled away (disappeared). But Solomon said, "One gerneration passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever" (Eccl. 14).
It is not that the earth has gone forever, but that our Lord is going to transform it according to what Peter said:
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with great noise, ant the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10).
Thus, there was found no place for the heaven and earth, the a throne of judgment is set at a certain place within the universe. This is the Great White Throne, and when the judgment finally begins, all the dead (unbelivers or the lost) rise and stand before it. They will come from all walks of life: small and great, poor and rich, laborers and managers or directors, peasants and kings etc. They will all stand before the court's judgment bar to be sentenced. several books will be opened - each one is a "book of works" or a "book of deeds." these books will conatain the thoughts, words, and deeds of each individual, and by these things they will be judged.
Another book will be opened - the Book of Life. When people are born, their names are written in this book. If they never get saved, they will die in a lost condition and their names will be removed. Some will deny Jesus so strongly while they are alive that that their names will be removed (e.g. those who take the mark). Some will add to or take away from the Scriptures, and their names will too be removed. If they get saved, their names will be left in the Book of Life when they die. It will also be added to the Lamb's Book of Life at the time they get saved. Ultimately, the list of names in both books will be identical.
Why is the Book of Life needed to judge the dead? Because God is righteous, and after He points out every unrighteous behavior of sinners, He opens the Book of Life and shows them that their names are not recorded. Everyone whose name is not recorded in the Book of Life falls into the lake of fire without being able to say anything for vindication.
Here is the main difference between the Book of Life and the Lamb's Book of Life:
The Book of Life - A list of all who were born once (every person who ever live), minus the names of those who were removed for sinning against God, denying Jesus, or adding to or taking away from the Scriptures.
The Lamb's Book of Life - A list of all who were born twice (every person who truly accepts Jesus as their Savior).
All will appear before the Judgment Seat (Rev. 20:13 - 15)
"The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:13 - 15, emphasis added).
Everyone will stand before the judgment seat, even those from the bottom of the sea. No one will escape the judgment of God because He will raise them all from the dead. He will even raise them from Hades, the temporary abode of the souls and spirits of the wicked. All will be judged as individuals according to their deeds.
The Bible teaches that man is destined to die once, and then he will face Judgment (Heb. 9:27). But believers and unbelievers will be raised separately and judged separately. Believers will go before the Judgment Seat of Christ where their works, will be judged. The purpose of this is not salvation. This is a judgment of works for the purpose of receiving rewards or crowns. Unbelievers will go before the Great White Throne where their works will be judged also. The purpose of this is not salvation, but degrees of punishment.
This will be end of physical death. This is good news for believers but terrible news for unbeliever. They will want to die physically when they are raised from the dead, and cast into hell, but that will no longer be possible. They will have new bodies that cannot be destroyed in the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is a place of no hope. Jesus said concerning it, "Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48).
The second death means - The soul is permanently separated from God and tormented forever.
When the sentence is rendered, one's eternal destiny will not be determined by their deeds, but by what is written in the Book of Life. God will make a careful search of the heavenly list.
The names of those who did not accept Jesus before they died will have been blotted out of the Book of Life. Their names will not be found, and they will join Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet in the Lake of Fire forever.
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