The Great White Throne Judgment

The Rest of the Dead

and the Great White Throne Judgment

By Timothy C. McKeown 

Revelation 20:5-15

Which would you rather stand before: the “Bema” (based on the Greek word “bema”, duh!) Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ, judged for your works, both good and bad, or the “Great White Throne” Judgment Seat of God, judged according to your works and whether your names are written in the Book of Life? 

While both sound awesome, one judgment is clearly for believers (the first one) and the other is clearly for unbelievers (the title of this study). One determines the works of this life in terms of rewards, the other judgment renders guilt and condemnation for those whose names are not recorded in the Book of Eternal Life.

 

⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection…¹⁰ 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.

The rest of the dead spoken of in verse 5 are those who are not a part of the first resurrection. While the term “second resurrection” is not used, it is inarguably implied with and linked to the term “second death.” What happens to the unbelieving and unsaved souls of those who have died and are not resurrected at the Rapture or at the end of the Tribulation?

They are clearly not brought back to life, meaning that they are dead physically and not resurrected until after the thousand years; spiritually, they are sent to “hell” (Greek: hades or “hades”). This is found in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, found in Luke 16:19-31:

¹⁹ “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. ²⁰ But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, ²¹ desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴ Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ ²⁷Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

Several things can be discerned about the unbelieving dead from this story. 

1) After death comes the judgment on whether a person will be sent to a place of rest or a place of torment. (See also Heb. 10:13) 

2) After death, while the physical body may be buried without any discernible difference between the believers and unbelievers, both go immediately to their eternal destination. 

3) There is an awareness of what goes on both on earth in real time as well as in the other place eternal resting place. 

4) After death, there is no second chance and no ability to move from one abode to the other. 

5) Both believers and unbelievers are recognizable, and also have attributes similar to those when they had physical bodies (fingers, tongue, bosom, etc.)

Hades

Hell (Gr: hades) is spoken of four times in Revelation: “I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Rev. 1:18);  “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” (Rev. 6:8) and then again twice in this chapter, verses 13 and 14.

Jesus also spoke of it in contrast to heaven in Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail over the church. Jesus’ soul went to hell, according to Old Testament prophecy, quoted in Acts 2:27 and 31, and according to Christ’s own prophecy that the dead in the graves would hear the voice of the Son of Man (John 5:28). 

Jesus told the thief on the cross that “today, you will be with Me in paradise,” (Luke 23:43), which was not yet located in the third heaven, seen by Paul (2 Cor. 12:4). This is also affirmed by Jesus when He told Mary Magdalene on Resurrection Sunday that He had not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17). 

Instead, paradise at that time was located in a separate place of hell than where unbelievers were tormented. At the resurrection, Jesus brought with Him the spiritual souls of those who had believed prior to His Resurrection as part of the captivity that was led captive by Christ to heaven (Eph. 4:8).

Gehenna

The ultimate location of hell will be in the “lake of fire” in Revelation or “everlasting fire” in Matt. 25:41, often referred to in the Greek as “gehenna” (geennh), where the whole physical body and soul will be cast after the resurrection (Matt. 5:29-30, 10:28), never to be quenched (Mark 9:43-48).  It was prepared for the devil and the fallen angels (“And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day” Jude 1:6), but those who are not found in the Book of Life will also be cast there (Rev. 20:15). It is where the devil is cast into at the end of the thousand years (Rev. 20:10)

Tartarus

When the angels fell, some of them were cast into the deepest part of hell (“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell (Gr. Tartarus, “to be cast down”) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment” 2 Pet 2:4). Jesus also said that some parts of hell will be more tolerable than others (Matt. 10:15, 11:22, 24).

¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

This “Great white throne” judgment is different from another Judgment spoken of in Scripture. That one is clearly for believers, those whose names are found in the Book of Life. Paul wrote about it in Romans 14:

¹⁰ But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹ For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God." ¹² So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. ¹³ Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way.

This obviously is for believers and the better and more common manuscripts say this is the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, (not judgment seat of God, as read in translations other than King James/New King James). It is again mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:

¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. ¹¹ Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.

This “bema” seat judgment of believers does not determine whether we go to heaven or hell, but rather what kind of rewards we shall receive, as mentioned in 1 Cor. 3:12-15. According to John 5:24, when we receive Christ, we will never come into judgment in relation to our sins, but instead, we have passed from death into life.

“Him who sat on (the throne)” is shown to have a fearsome and terrifying face, and if it were possible, those in heaven and earth would flee away, but “there was not place found for them.” Since believers are already resurrected, we are no longer considered “dead” and will not face that judgment. The sea contains the unbelieving dead, alone with death and hell (Gr. hades). The books apparently record all the works that the dead, small and great, have ever done. But that alone is not what causes the dead to be cast into the lake of fire, but rather the fact that their names were not found written in the Book of Life.

Hebrews 12:23 says those in the church, the believers, are written in heaven: “to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.” That fact should cause us to rejoice more than anything else, according to Luke 10:20: “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

On the following pages are some pictures depicting the Book of Revelation, the prophetic days of Scripture, the judgment of rewards, the scriptural rendering of the “underworld”, the first and second resurrections in detail, and an enlargement of the final judgments for believers and unbelievers.

THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

Revelation 20:1-10

By Timothy C. McKeown 

The Millennium Kingdom will be that time when, for the first time in all of humanity, we see what God really intended for all of humanity. The word millennium means one thousand (mille) years (annum). Those of us who are “premillennial” are those who believe that Christ will come back to earth as promised before the thousand years of Satan being bound. Reading Revelation 20, especially the first word of “then”, it is hard to understand how people could be anything but premillennial! Virtually all of the Old Testament prophecies of the promised reign of God on earth and the blessings of Israel will be fulfilled during this time.

For the purposes of this study, there are just too many references in the Old Testament to do them justice by citing. I would recommend getting The Apocalypse, by Joseph A. Seiss written in the late 1800s or The Book of Revelation, by Clarence Larkin, (1919), and Revelation, by H.A. Ironside (1920) for historical references, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, by John F. Walvoord (1966), Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology, by Dwight J. Pentecost (1976), or Revelation Unveiled, by Tim LaHaye (1999) for in depth studies on Revelation.

¹ Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; ³ 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.

The Son of Man will appear in the sky (Matt. 24:27), the armies of Gog and Magog will be annihilated (Ezek. 38-39), and the bride is ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7). 

But there are some uninvited guests, and one in particular. The anti-Christ and false prophet will be thrown alive into the lake of fire. An angel comes down from heaven and takes Satan and binds him for 1,000 years in the Abyss (bottomless pit), where he and his deceptions are sealed. Christ holds the keys of “Hades and Death” (Rev. 1:18). 

He had given the keys to heaven to the kingdom of heaven to the church, beginning with Peter (Matt. 16:19), but the key to the Abyss had been given to a fallen star, likely Satan, to release demons bound there, but where even the legion of demons did not want to be cast (Luke 8:31). The same place where angels were chained awaiting judgment (2 Pet 2:4, Jude 6) is now where the devil himself is cast.

This explicitly states that Satan can be bound at any time by God, but He chooses to let him roam the earth, roaring, walking, and devouring (1 Pet 5:8). By Christ’s own death, he destroyed the devil’s power of death (Heb. 2:14), and here is the continuation of that destruction. Nowhere else but here in chapter 20 is the thousand year duration of the binding Satan and the reign of Christ mentioned, but for God to say it even once is enough, but here in the space of six verses is it reaffirmed six times. 

This coincides with God’s six days of creation and the seventh day of rest (Yes, I believe in a literal reading of Genesis!). Six thousand years have transpired since creation and now at the dawn of the seventh millennium, Christ is poised to return. Even Peter spoke that to God, a day is a thousand years (2 Pet 3:8) and this was spoken in terms of Christ’s return.

(Know) this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." ⁵ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. ⁸ But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Yes, it is highly logical and quite scientific to believe in God. The scoffers have indeed come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts! G.K. Chesterton, an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, and literary and art critic, said, the following:

“It is absurd for the evolutionist to complain that it is unthinkable for an admittedly unthinkable God to make everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into everything.”

 I hope that when the angel takes hold of Satan, that we, the church, will see that happen! When we see the tragedies which the devil has caused in this world, and even greater ones which have not been seen until the Tribulation, which will be worse than ever the world has seen (Matt. 24:21), I hope the angel has a huge chain, and in humiliation we see him cast into the abyss, along with his lies, death and destruction. 

Why is he bound, rather than destroyed? Because God is not yet through in writing His story, history!

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.

There will be thrones of judgment given not just to those martyred in the Tribulation (verse 4b), but to the entire church (verse 4a, also Matt. 19:28, Luke 22:28-30). But in addition to those saved during the church age and those called “the bride,” are those saved in the Tribulation, who bore witness for Christ and the word of God. The refused to worship the beast and did not receive his mark on the foreheads or hands. Whatever the mark is, it is primarily an identification with the antiChrist. It will be related to buying and selling (Rev. 13:17).

To the right is a picture of what technology is available today, called RFID (radio frequency identification) chips. Wal-Mart is mandating that these be installed on all products and they will eventually replace bar codes. People, including former President Bush official Tommy Thompson, the Health and Human Services Secretary in President Bush's first term and a former Governor of Wisconsin, have already implanted RFID chips in their bodies for identification, but just like debit cards, these bio-chips will eventually be programmed to allow those who have them buy items at stores, without having to pull out a wallet, lose a card, or have the “thank you” cards attached to their key rings. As Christ delays His coming, technology will only advance more rapidly as will the need to prevent identity thefts and ensure the national identities of residents and non-residents.

⁵ But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed 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.

Who are those who are the rest of the dead? Those who are the dead in Christ shall rise first (1 Thess. 4:16), followed by those who are alive at the time of the rapture, (4:17), then those Old Testament saints shall be raised bodily at the end of the Tribulation (Dan. 12:1-2), along with those killed for Christ in the Tribulation (Rev. 20:4). Martha apparently thought that Lazarus who at the time of his “first” death, would be raised at the “last day” with the rest of the Old Testament saints (John 11:24). But all of these are part of the first resurrection which started with Christ. There are two resurrections, of the just and unjust (Acts 24:15). Those justified will never be under the power of the second death but are priests of God  (1 Pet 2:5,9, Rev. 1:6, 5:10) “And (You, Christ, the Lamb of God) have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

⁷ Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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.

After the 1,000 years, Satan will be released to deceive again the nations who have been born during the millennium. John uses the name Gog and Magog from Ezekiel 38-39, but like Sodom, and Babylon, it is a generic term for those who will rise up against Christ. 

During the 1,000-year reign, the people will not be deceived, but those who have not truly trusted Christ, born after the beginning of the millennium, will be numerous. That shows that while we and Christ are reigning, it is not yet the perfect heaven and earth. People will still die. Sin will still be possible. But it will be for those who are not redeemed and those who are not part of the first resurrection.

to be continued...

The Second Coming of Christ To Earth

  

Revelation 19:1-21

By Timothy C. McKeown 

God is a God of Justice and of Vengeance. He says in Scripture that “Vengeance is Mine,” (Deut. 32:35, Rom. 12:19, Heb. 10:30). A good and just judge does not allow crimes to occur without punishment, and God is the ultimate good and just Judge. When God brings judgments on the earth for its sins, especially those against “the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth” (Rev. 18:24), the response from heaven is a four-fold “Alleluia.”

¹ After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! ² For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” ³ Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” ⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”

The rejoicing is on behalf of His salvation (and the glory, honor and power that God has in relation to that), the destruction of Babylon, the worship for God and the omnipotence of God. Alleluia literally means “praise to Yahweh (Jehovah)” and is transliterated here into the Greek and English from the Hebrew. Alleluia is pronounced virtually the same way in every language as it is in Hebrew.

If we as Christians are to be like God, we are not to be tolerant of sin. We can judge things to be absolutely right and absolutely wrong, not based on our feelings or prejudice, but based on what God has revealed as right and wrong. The first and greatest sin that the “mega phone” (loud voice) in heaven rejoices in judgment over is the judgment of the great harlot who corrupted the earth with fornication. As we have seen, this is not sexual immorality, but false worship.

What does that tell us should be our attitude of false religions which are clearly against the Word of God?

⁵ Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” ⁶ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” ⁸ And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” ¹⁰ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The voice from the throne is different than the voice heard in Rev. 18:4 from heaven, as this one is not God’s voice, but rather from one of the angels, elders or creatures around the throne, for he says “Praise our God.” We see that throughout the entire time of the Tribulation, despite the rapture of the church and the arrival of more in heaven during the Tribulation, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb has still not taken place. 

But according to Jewish custom, two-thirds of the marriage had taken place! According to John F. Walvoord, Jewish marriages had three aspects: 

1) A payment of a dowry is made, and the only way to end this future marriage would be through a divorce; 

2) At a later point, the bridegroom and his friends would go to the house of the bride and escort her back to his home (see Matt. 25:1-13); 

3) The bride and groom would go to his home and have guests to the marriage supper, one which would sometimes last for days (see John 2). 

This points directly to the three aspects of Christ and the church: 

1) salvation 

2) the Rapture and 

3) the final consummation of church to Christ at the marriage supper when Christ will partake of the fruit of the vine (Matt 26:29).

The outpouring of worship is in such sharp contrast to chapters 16-18 that John gets confused on who it is that is speaking with him. He falls at the feet of one of the elders, who also has “the testimony of Jesus,” who is a “fellow servant and of your brethren.” The elder immediately refuses worship since he is a human like John. 

However, Jesus frequently received the worship of people (Matt. 8:2, 15:25, 28:9). Later John again falls down to worship, this time an angel, and again he is rebuked (Rev. 22:8-9).

If the bride is the church, and the Lamb is the Son of God, who then are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. This blessed beatitude must be those who are saved, but are not the “church,” in the strictest sense of the word. They are those who perhaps never reached the age of accountability, those saved by faith before Calvary, and those who are saved during the Tribulation, when the church has been taken from the earth, yet people are still saved. John the Baptist is often called the last Old Testament prophet, and yet Jesus calls him lesser than least of those in the kingdom of heaven (the church, Matt. 11:11) and John himself calls himself the friend of the bridegroom and not part of the bride (John 3:29).

Allusions of this can be found in Song of Solomon, the parable of the virgins in Matt. 25 and Psalm 25 below.

¹¹ So the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him… ¹⁵ With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought; they shall enter the King's palace. ¹⁶ Instead of Your fathers shall be your sons, whom You shall make princes in all the earth. ¹⁷ I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever.

Joseph A. Seiss wrote in the late 1800s, “If all the saved were actually the Bride, it would have been enough and more to the point to say, ‘Blessed they that are called to be the wife of the Lamb.’ ” Of course, all the allusions are simply that, allusions and not to be taken grotesquely literally. It simply is to say that when the church is united in heaven with Christ, those who in the Old Testament days looking forward, or others who never got the opportunity to accept Christ, will look with great blessedness to observe this “marriage” in heaven. Angels and other beings will also be blessed at their attendance to this marriage. Peter wrote of this distinction between the Old Testament saints and angels as they looked at the church, “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into” (1 Pet. 1:10-12).

For those who say that prophecy is too difficult to understand or that it should not be studied, we see that Jesus’ testimony, his own story, is both the fulfillment of prophecy and will fulfill prophecy. Isa. 46:10 states that God declares the end from the beginning, and the fulfilled prophecies show us that God is who He says he is. The spirit of prophecy gives us the blessed hope and knowledge that God has been and always will be victorious!

¹¹ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Previously a white horse was named in the “four horsemen of the Apocalypse” (Rev. 6:2). Here the true King of Kings will ride down from heaven. He is the Logos of God, a phrase that John made famous in his gospel. The armies in heaven are clothed in fine linen, white and clean, indicating that we have nothing to fear from Satan any longer. We will ride with Him in the battle, but He will win the victory. His robe is dipped in blood, proclaiming His victory over death. Nations will still stand during the Millennial reign of Christ, but at that time, He shall rule with strength. His many diadem crowns will prove his kingship over all the earth, much greater than the seven crowns of the dragon or the ten crowns of the antiChrist. This King will be named Faithful and True and will have a name no one but He Himself has ever known. A name signifies identity and descriptions of who He is. Even the most learned theologian has never grasped the fullness of who this Son of God and Son of Man is. Nothing will escape the notice of His fiery eyes, nor will anything stand up to the sword of His mouth.

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, ¹⁸ that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.” ¹⁹ And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ 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.

For those who are saved, they are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. For those who are not saved, their dead bodies become the supper of vultures and birds of the air. Whether a person is great or small on earth, free or slave, king or peasant, all will face the same fate without Christ. The battle will be swift but not instantaneous. There is a progression in this battle. While the rest are killed with the sword, the beast and the false prophet are sent directly into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second, spiritual death for those without Christ. Jack Van Impe explains that it is

“The final place of punishment and torment for all those who reject Christ (Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10,14,15). Those consigned there are all whose names are not in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:15), along with worshippers of Antichrist (Revelation 14:9,10), as well as the Antichrist and the False Prophet (Revelation 19:20), the devil (Revelation 20:10; Matthew 24:42), and the devil’s angels (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10). They are all forever separated from God (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The Lake of Fire is described in Scripture as a place where their worm dieth not (Mark 9:44), as a place of outer darkness (Matthew 8:12), as a place of everlasting fire (Matthew 18:8), where the smoke of their torment ascendeth (Revelation 14:11), and where the second death occurs (eternal separation from God) (Revelation 20:14) in fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8).

It is our Christian duty and commission to warn every person to not reject Christ and thus be assigned to the Lake of Fire, reserved for the devil and his demons. Colossians 1:27b-28 says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”

Don't take offense at this...

What do you do with offenses?

Read John 8:1-11; Luke 9:43-62; Matthew 17:24-27; Matthew 18:1-13

     Who among us can say we have never ever been offended? Yet 1 Corinthians 13:5 says love is not easily offended or "provoked" (KJV, NKJV). Other versions say "irritated" or "angered". 

     I hope this doesn’t hurt your feelings, but if you are thin-skinned, it may be a sign that you are not very loving.

     Take a look at today’s readings and see how many times someone was offended by someone else. The scribes and Pharisees were offended by the adulterous woman (John 8:1), likely motivated because they were offended by Jesus. 

     The religious were offended that Jesus did not give money for the temple (Luke 17:27). John was offended by people who were doing things in Jesus’ name but not a part of their "denomination" (Luke 9:49). The Samaritans were offended by Jesus going to Jerusalem (Luke 9:53) and James and John were offended by the Samaritans because were offended (the sons of thunder wanted to call down fire to consume the Samaritans see Luke 9:54…now that’s some pretty thin skin).

     Jesus cast some woes on people who cause offenses (Matthew 18:7) and then starts talking about a foot that offends or a hand that offends or even an eye that offends. And don’t you dare offend or cause a little one to stumble! See Mark 9:42! 

     And you know that “seventy times seven” phrase? Yep, that too came because Peter wanted to know how many times he had to pretend he wasn’t offended (Matthew 18:22).

     Would it surprise you to know that the word “offense” comes from a word that means to set a trap? To cause someone to stumble. 

     The word “scandal” and “scandalize” come from this word because offenses that cause someone to stumble can often result in a scandal. Who likes scandals?

     We do! We do!

     Reporters love scandals because they know they sell newspapers (oops, sorry, I mean they cause a bump on the internet tics). Scandals get viewers to watch the broadcast and click on the video. Regardless of the media, scandals sell because, face it, we love scandals. 

     But you want to know something else about offenses? Come here, close, now I want to whisper to you a secret.

     Shhh. Now come close and listen to me whisper this dirty little secret (are you listening?): 

we like to be offended!

     It’s true. We actually like having our feelings hurt. Now, don’t you drop your jaw like that! 

     Think about it: when someone hurts your feelings, when you get offended, guess what you do. You make a beeline to tell someone else how they hurt you. Why? Because that makes you better than they are or at least think you are better. “How dare they?” you ask yourself, but not just yourself, you ask as many other people as you can to get more sympathy.

     How do I know? Because I too have been offended.  Does it seem that people are always offending you? Do people say you are too sensitive? Are people rude to you and you would never be so rude to someone else the way they were rude to you? How dare they indeed!

      Let me finish by saying absolutely there are true scandals, true offenses, and true stumble-makers. I’ve not only been offended, I’ve done my fair-share of offending, unfairly and unfortunately. But isn’t it true that we excuse our offending but we refuse to excuse those who offend us? 

    Ponder this today, and, no offense, please, but maybe you need to re-read this and pray the prayer below. 

Pray: God, I am so sorry for all the offenses I have done. Please help those whom I have offended forgive me. And seriously, God, please very seriously, help me to forgive those who have offended me. Thank you for loving me, in Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

The Proverbs Thirty-two Man

 Have you heard of the Proverbs 31 woman. It’s a passage in Proverbs 31:10-31 that tells of a super woman who is able to do so many things and begins with "Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies."

How many of you have heard of the Proverbs thirty-two man?

One person commendably shouted out on Sunday during my sermon, "There IS no Proverbs 32!" Which is true.

But there is a Proverbs 30:2. "Surely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man."

There were a few amens when I read that verse on Sunday, and there may even be a few wives who would claim this as a life-verse for their husbands!

If you, as a man or a woman, resemble this verse regarding discerning God's will, perhaps you should pray as I have often prayed to the Lord many times: "Father, I cannot discern Your will, so will You close doors and don’t let me open them. Or, if it be Your will, would You open doors and do not let me close them."

God has answered that in my life so many times. I base that on a couple of verses, primarily Revelation 3:7-8. 7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says, He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name."

We also see it in Isaiah 22:22. "The key of the house of David, I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open."

When God shuts a door that you wanted open or opens a door that you really wanted Him to shut, we must seek not only His will, but also our having a right heart attitude. The Bible says that His ways are not always our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts.

It also reminds us of two absolute rules:
1) There is a God.
2) You are not Him!

Proverbs twice says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death," (see 14:12, 16:25).

In all humility, we must confess Proverbs 30:2 at least in comparison to God's knowledge. Rest in His sovereignty and have the wisdom at least to know the difference between the things we can and cannot change.

If you are in this stage of life when you cannot see God's hand, trust God's heart and pray this prayer to God,

"Father, I will trust you in revealing Your will in my life. I relinquish my desires for Yours, my foolishness for Your wisdom. Comfort me when I do not know what is right, I can always trust that what You do cannot be wrong. In Jesus's Name, Amen."