Rev. 20:11-15 likewise fasts forward to the end of the last Day to summarize what happens to all the rest of the people left on the earth. You may have heard this final event in God’s prophetic plan of redemption called the great white throne judgment.
       Verse 11 makes it sound as if the earth and heavenlies above it disappear, and no place was found for them. But this will be explained in the next chapter and post. It has to do with Jesus, the Son of Man, turning over the earthly kingdom to God. The Creator then makes the earth and the heavens new again, restoring them back to their original design. Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden brought sin into God’s created world—a world He had declared good. That sin then brought decay, destruction, and death into this world.
       Thankfully, Scripture reminds us that “The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam [Jesus Christ] became a life-giving spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). Just as death came through one man (Adam), resurrection shall come through one Man, Jesus Christ. This is why the only criterion for judgment is whether or not a person has accepted Jesus, the One who makes reconciliation with God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit possible.
            To understand the rest of the summary concerning the end, we need to understand the elementary or first principles of resurrection and judgment (Heb. 6:1-2). It is interesting that we hear sermons about repentance, grace, faith, baptisms, and healing. But how often have you heard a series on the resurrection of the dead or of eternal judgment?
            It is likewise interesting that all but the last two principles listed in the passage have been restored to the Church throughout its history. So as God’s prophetic plan of redemption winds down, it is time that we understand these two terms.
         First, we need to distinguish between being raised from the dead as Lazarus was, back to a mortal body, only to die again, and Jesus being raised from the dead, having received an immortal body that shall never die again. The latter is resurrection, which is also called “being born from the dead.” Jesus defined it in Rev. 1:18. “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”
           End-Time Lesson: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live (John 5:24-25). It is a reality now because Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven and shall come again and take us back with Him to reign over the earth from Heaven.
            When Jesus says that believers “shall not come into judgment,” He means they won’t be condemned. All people will be judged based on whether or not they have received salvation through Christ. Those who believed in Jesus before His second coming at the rapture, were immediately judged as being “in Christ.” They then appear before the bema seat, the throne of Jesus, to receive their ruling rewards as described in the parable of the talents.
          When Jesus says “the hour is coming, and now is,” He is referring to the last Days, the latter part of God’s prophetic great week, which corresponds to the New Covenant. Jesus explained that there are two types of resurrection. Each type is based on what we have chosen—the same two choices seen in the Garden of Eden.  That is, life in Jesus as the Savior of the world or the knowledge of good and evil, apart from God. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior receive the resurrection of life. Those who have not, receive the resurrection of condemnation (Jn. 5:29). John 3:17 reminds us that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it but to save it. Our choices determine our fate. “By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mt. 12:37).   

       So far we know the fate of two aspects of the counterfeit one-world order. The Antichrist and the False Prophet have been banished to the Lake of Fire, the place of eternal damnation. Rev. 20:7-10 fast forwards to the end of the final 1,000-year Day to tell us the fate of the third aspect—the Dragon—the power behind the Beast.
     “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 corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (Rev. 7-8). Despite having spent the majority of the last Day in the Pit, Satan apparently thinks he can have a rematch. Talk about egotistical pride!
         He even goes back to Magog (Turkey), the land where he hand-selected the Antichrist. He probably figures this is the best place to gather new recruits. Surprisingly, after everything the world saw during the first 3½ years of Christ’s reign and the wrath of that Day, Satan is able to raise up another army. Not only that, he commands the army to once again go up against the beloved city—Jerusalem, the centerpiece of God’s kingdom on the earth.
        This repeat performance ends almost instantly in a repeat defeat. But this one is even more spectacular and instant. A fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours the rebellious army. This time God doesn’t even require the birds of prey to devour the remains. They are incinerated on the spot.
       Not surprisingly, the master of deceit, Satan, is thrown into the lake of fire, meeting the same fiery damnation as his two beastly buddies. Can you imagine being tormented day and night forever and ever? Certainly, his fate matches the severity of his destructions as the god of this earth during this present age (2 Cor. 4:4)!
       End-Time Lesson: Why would God allow such a thing? It is because He is both loving and just. This may be hard to swallow at first, especially when we know it is God’s will for every person to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4).
         But when we see it in the context of the wrath of that Day and God’s vengeance against evil experienced through the trumpet/bowl judgments, it really becomes one last merciful chance to repent. It is one last chance to prove each person’s alliance. There’s no turning back after this; there’s no chance to change one’s mind after this cataclysmic event. The fact that Satan can lead one last rebellion confirms the hard-heartedness of the people.
         This rebellion also removes the last stumbling place in God’s end-time highway. It confirms that despite what we may have been told, Christ and His Body are not on the earth during the millennial reign. Think about this for a moment. Do we really think that after all that has been seen on the earth that Satan can still manage to deceive some of the nations to rise up against Jerusalem again if Christ and His Church are on the earth in our glorified form?
       Even born-again, committed believers like the Apostle John, cannot stand in the power of that kind of presence (Rev. 1:17). We fall over as if dead, what is commonly called being slain in the Spirit. His power is that great even with holy saints. No unholy person could bear it, especially given the innumerable  numbers of the glorified multitude.
       This is why we cannot be on the earth. The people still on the earth have to be given a choice, just as in the Garden of Eden. Salvation is a faith action. Every person must believe before they see. Otherwise, it is not faith (Heb. 11:1). We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”  (Jn. 20:29). 

      In the preceding blog series, we saw how God’s appointed times (chronos) always have corresponding signs (kairos). Each time period in His prophetic plan is unique. Each time period has a specific purpose.
      The majority of Revelation features the last Day, particularly the first 3½ years of the 1,000-year Day known as the wrath of that Day, which is so crucial to understanding of the end-times. As the firstfruits harvest at the start of that Day, the completed Church shall stand before Christ’s Bema Seat and receive our crowns and rewards. Each believer shall receive their ruling assignment as seen in the Parable of the Talents. We shall direct and assist the saints on the earth as needed, overseeing the well-being and spiritual growth of those on the earth.
        When the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty ends, any new believers are at most only 3½ years old in the faith. As Christ’s disciples, they continue the great commission, along with the revived Jews, to take the Gospel into all the world and make disciples.        Yet these new disciples are not fully perfected because they have not overcome death through resurrection. They will still have to deal with their flesh and renew their minds according to God’s Word (Rom. 12:1-2).           
      End-Time Lesson: There are three factors that distinguish this part of the last Day. First, we know that the first ruling from the heavenly court shall send the archangel Michael and his heavenly army to war in the heavenlies (Rev. 12:7-9). As a result, Satan and his evil forces shall be ejected out of their sphere of influence and cast down to the earth. This is why Rev. 12:12 warns, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea!” Why? Because the devil and his evil forces have come to the earth, having great wrath, because Satan knows his time is short.
        When the Antichrist and his forces are defeated, Rev. 20:3 tells us that Satan shall be cast into the Pit temporarily. Rev. 18:2 tells us that every foul and unclean spirit is imprisoned in some way, stuck in a cage so that they cannot move about freely.
       Second, because of the latter rain outpouring and our heavenly intercession and guidance, the relatively new saints on the earth will likely grow quickly in their knowledge of the Lord and His ways.  Third, with a godly and just government in place, the gospel message can go forth unhindered.
       What will not change is that mankind will still have a will and that those born during this time will have a fallen nature. The apostle John described it this way: “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world” (1 John 2:16).  Mankind will still have to decide whom they shall follow and worship. As always, this decision must be by faith. Which is another reason why Jesus is not ruling on the earth with His Body, all of whom are in their glorified state. We reign together with Him from Heaven, the place of ALL AUTHORITY.

       Mat. 8:5-13 records Jesus healing the Roman Centuri0n’s paralyzed servant. When Jesus says He will come and heal the man, the Centurion says that isn’t necessary. He explains, “only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (vs. 8-9).
         No wonder Jesus marveled at the Gentile’s faith. “Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’ And his servant was healed that same hour” (v. 13).
          The Centurian understood how authority works. He realized that he alone didn’t have the power to order his soldiers. His authority came from the power he served—Rome. The level of authority that a person or group of people have is based on their relationship with a higher recognized authority.
           As believers, we serve the Most High God, God Almighty, even as Jesus served God during His earthly ministry. The level of authority wielded is dependent upon one’s position. As the firstfruits harvest dedicated to God, we are “in Christ” and seated with Him in the 3rd Heaven, as the ruling heavenly court (Phil. 2:9-11).
        End-Time Lesson: As the result of the rapture, we are the heavenly centurions, under God’s authority. The angels are our servants (Heb. 1:14) and the Jewish saints on the earth are the soldiers under our authority during the 1,000-year reign over the earth. As God’s earthly servants, the Jewish saints only have delegated authority on the earth (as with Adam).
          As His Body, we are before the throne of God, the place of ALL authority both in heaven and on earth, making the heavenly declarations based on God’s Word. Our servants (the angels) and our soldiers (Jewish saints on the earth) carry these out.
          This centurion authority brings down a huge high place in God’s end-time highway. The two most popular, man-made views of the end-times say that we must come back down to earth to rule during Christ’s millennial reign. Hopefully by now you can see why this doesn’t make any sense, given the authority of the Most High God.
            One reason why some may insist on these erroneous views is in Rev. 5:10 which says we reign on the earth. Forgive me, but I have to give another brief grammar lesson so that we can see clearly what God’s Word says. The word used in the Greek for “on” is epi. It is a preposition, which means it shows position. Like our English prepositions, that one word covers quite a few possible positions: over, on, upon, and on behalf of, just to name a few. It is used figuratively of things, affairs, and people whom one is set over and power is exercised.
            The only way to know which of our English words is the correct translation is the context of the passage. The context in Rev. 5 is the review of Jesus’ ascension. Because He has overcome death, Jesus is worthy to take the scroll of inheritance over the earth. Our Lord has given us His authority to continue His ministry on the earth. So here it is appropriate to say we (believers) extend His rule on the earth.
            Once the Church is raptured, however, the context changes. So when Rev. 2:26 uses the same Greek word (epi) in one of the promises to the Church, it is translated as “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations”  Why over instead of on? Because we remain in Heaven during the last Day. We rule over the earth, giving our delegated authority to the Jewish saints who are on the earth.
            Scripture says we do not come back down to earth until the end of the 7th Day. And even then, we do not come back to this fallen earth. We come back to the new earth that God makes with the new heavens. This is when the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is celebrated because all has been made new, it is the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21).  

      To get the full picture of Christ’s reign over the earth, we have to go back to Rev. 12. It confirms that the Male Child, the completed Church that is Christ’s Body, is caught up to Heaven (raptured). Just as the Church has overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the Jews who have finally recognized Jesus as God’s Anointed One (the Messiah), likewise overcome through His finished work. They escape through the mountain pass that resulted when Jesus returned and stood on Mt. Zion.  Rev. 12:17 confirms why the war continues. “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring [the Jews who survived the initial invasion], who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
        The situation was foreshadowed in the story of the prophet Elijah and his protégé, Elisha. When Elijah's earthly ministry was complete, he was taken to Heaven in a whirlwind and a chariot. But just before he was caught up, Elisha asked to have a double portion of Elijah’s mantle/ministry (2 Kings 2). Elijah consented, but only if his protégé saw him being taken up. So it is no wonder that when the Jews finally accept Jesus as the Messiah after having seen Him coming again at the rapture, they believe.
        They not only believe, they take over the Church’s earthly ministry of preaching the Gospel to all the nations.  They do so through the latter rain outpouring and equipping of the Holy Spirit, and through the delegated authority of the heavenly court reigning from above as joint-heirs with Christ.
        This is when God fulfills His promise that David’s kingdom would be restored through Christ. Israel becomes God’s light on the earth, providing a just government over the world. Unlike our time now, justice will be quick. Many Old Testament prophesies concerning the Day of the Lord confirm this. Remember, too, that the Jewish saints have taken over the earthly mantle to preach the  Gospel.        
         Zech. 14:16-17 is one such example. “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.  And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain.”
         Ezek. 39:21-24 summarizes the result of this momentous 7th Day. “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.”
     Ezek. 39:25-29 summarizes the victory Israel has in Jesus. “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”

      With Satan incarcerated, John records the next thing he sees in Chapter 20. “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them” (v. 4a). That is, the thrones that were put in place at the rapture as prophesied in Dan. 7:9.
      But that’s not all he sees here. This time he sees the martyrs. 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.” Since these people were not raptured at the start of the last Day, they had to come to Christ as a result of witnessing the rapture. So they are baby Christians who have finally accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Yet they stood strong in their new-found faith in the face of death.
    They are rewarded accordingly, for they receive an early resurrection, empowering them to reign with Christ and His Body for the rest of the thousand years (v. 4). In a sense, they are grandfathered into the heavenly court, and are blessed to be part of the firstfruits resurrection after the fact. They, too, become part of the holy priesthood (v. 6).
         Any others who die naturally during the millennial reign follow the same pattern as our current time. If they die in Christ, they go to heaven as the dead in Christ do now. But they do not have glorified, immortal bodies yet. They simply have some sort of covering or tent over their spirit that is recognizable  (2 Cor. 5:1). Those who have not yet accepted Jesus when they die will go to Hell as unbelievers do now.
         End-Time Lesson: The rest of Christ’s millennial (1,000-year) reign over the earth confirms both the long-suffering mercy of God and His goodness. It is the closest thing to experiencing a righteous government this fallen world will see. It was foreshadowed in the Old Testament during the time of the Judges. God anointed certain men and women to be His earthly representatives. These judges were set over the people to not only teach the people God’s ways, but to also judge their disputes and keep the peace. 
            So the state of the earth is that Satan and his evil forces are incarcerated. Christ and His Church are  ruling over the earth from Heaven. Yet sin still exists on the earth because mankind still has a fallen spirit. They still have to deal with their pride of life and fallen ways. Just laws are in place, yet people can still choose not to follow them. They can still choose to be their own god, deciding what is right and wrong in their own sight.  

       We’ve seen how Christ’s millennial reign begins with treading, for He must reign until every enemy is underfoot. Scripture tells us that the last enemy that Christ puts underfoot is Death, at the end of the Day of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:26). What we have seen in Rev. 14 and 19 is Christ putting the first enemy underfoot at the start of the Day of the Lord.
       This particular “harvest” comes at the end of the 3½ years that are called the Wrath of that Day. It is God’s vengeance against evil (Is. 34:8). In Daniel’s time, it was pictured as the Stone that crushes the feet of the statue depicting the times of the Gentiles. In short, it is what ends the war for Jerusalem started by the Antichrist’s coalition of armies. John calls this treading the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:14). He calls this harvesting the Supper of the Great God (Rev. 19:17).
       Given the power of God’s Authority and Voice over the earth, the Victor is obvious. The slaughter is so great that the King of kings calls in the winged calvary to clean up the mess—that is, birds of prey. The beast (Antichrist) is captured, along with his cohort, the False Prophet. They are cast alive into the Lake of Fire (perdition, eternal damnation). They are the first humans to be sent there. They have been judged and sentenced in one fell swoop. In short, the Antichrist’s notorious prophetic career lasts only 3½ years!
       What we see in Revelation is the view of the war for Jerusalem from heaven’s perspective. As with any war, though, the devastation on the earth is appalling. If you want to read more about it, check out Ezekiel 38 and 39 for more details. For our purposes, Rev. 19:21 sums up the result. “And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.”
       You may be wondering what happened to the third “person” of the counterfeit trinity, the Dragon himself, aka: Satan. His fate is recorded in Rev. 20:1-3. An angel descends from heaven holding a great chain and a key. The key opens a compartment in Hell/Hades called the bottomless pit. The angel takes hold of Satan and casts him into the pit, shuts the entrance, locks the door, and seals it. For the time being, that is.
      The Devil’s incarceration implies that he cannot work his deceptions on the nations for the time being. That is, right up near the end of Christ’s 1,000-year reign over the earth. The last statement concerning Satan’s sentencing may surprise you. “But after these things he must be released for a little while.” Stay tuned.
           End-Time Lesson: What is so peculiar about this chapter is just how different it is from what most people think of that final battle. As such, it straightens God’s end-time highway, it raises up the valleys and brings down the mountains, straightens the crooked places, and makes the rough places smooth.
      (1) The war doesn’t happen the moment Jesus comes again. It happens at the end of the wrath of that Day, at the end of the 3 ½ -war. 
       (2) It doesn’t happen at a city or location called Armageddon. It is the war for Jerusalem as the governing city, but it impacts all of Israel.
       (3) Although Israel is fighting as she has in all the wars throughout her history, the true battle is a spiritual one, for the Word cuts down the spiritual forces and the power behind the mortal enemy from above.  
       (4) The only element that is correct is that this “great supper” marks the defeat of the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the coalition of armies that come against Israel.
       (5) The bottom line is this: Revelation 19 doesn’t depict Christ’s coming, it depicts His treading!