REVELATION CHAPTER TWENTY
XXXII. REVELATION CHAPTER TWENTY
Introduction
This is one of the great chapters of the Bible. It presents in summary the tremendous series of events that relate to the millennial reign of Christ on earth. In this future period of one thousand years, many expositors believe that hundreds of Old Testament prophecies will be fulfilled.
Verses 1-3 – The next phase of the prophetic program is introduced by another vision of an angel. The subordinate powers of evil having been destroyed, only Satan remains to be dealt with. As John witnesses the scene, he observes an angel coming down from heaven possessing the key to “the bottomless pit,” that is, “the abyss” (Rev. 9:1). This is the home of demons and unclean spirits. The angel is seen laying hold of Satan and binding him with a great chain after which Satan is cast into the abyss and its door shut. A seal is placed upon Satan himself making it impossible for him to deceive the nations until a thousand years have elapsed, after which, Satan must be loosed for a “little while.”
Verses 4-6 – John in his vision records that he saw thrones. Those sitting on the thrones are probably the saints who will judge the world and judge angels (1 Cor. 6:2-3). There are a number of passages that reference saints who will reign with Christ during the golden age of peace and prosperity (Dan. 7:27; Luke 22:30; Isa. 32:1; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26).
A description is given of the Tribulation saints who were martyred for their refusal to worship the beast and receive his mark. No longer under the altar (Rev. 6:9-11), they are resurrected at this time to reign with Christ for a thousand years. Mention is made of “the first resurrection,” which Jesus called the resurrection of the righteous (Luke 14:14). John calls it the “first resurrection” to distinguish it from “the second death,” which also includes a resurrection, but that is a resurrection to damnation (John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:11-15).
The “first resurrection” is not a single event. It describes the resurrection of the righteous at various times. It includes the resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:20), the resurrection of those who are Christ’s when He raptures the Church (1 Thess. 4:13-18), the resurrection of the Two Witnesses (Rev. 11:11), the resurrection of the Old Testament saints (Dan. 12:2), and the resurrection of Tribulation martyrs (Rev. 20:4).
In other words, the first resurrection includes the resurrection of Christ and of all true believers, though they are raised at different times. It occurs in several stages. A special beatitude is pronounced upon those who take part in the first resurrection. Their special blessing is that they are protected from the “second death.” They are priests of God and Christ, and they reign with Christ for the thousand years. Will they be priests in the Millennial Temple? No! The millennial temple will be Israel’s fourth temple and will be ministered to by Jews, specifically by “the Levites, the sons of Zadok” (Ezek. 44:15). The fact that Christians will function as priests in that age suggests that there is a ministry for them to perform among earth’s inhabitants, perhaps with special reference to evangelism.
Verses 7-10 – The “little while” in which Satan is loosed is after the thousand year reign is completed. The purpose for which Satan is loosed is readily seen as he goes forth to deceive the nations, here symbolically called Gog and Magog, in order to lead a final revolt against the theocracy of God. John uses the terms Gog and Magog to denote all the world powers opposed to God, coming from the four corners of the earth. The release of Satan is viewed in Scripture as the final test that demonstrates the corruption of the human heart.
Apart from some comprehension of the depth of depravity of the human heart (Jer. 17:9; Matt. 15:19), there is no understanding how a multitude “whose number is as the sand of the sea” could revolt against the Lord Jesus Christ, when they have lived under His beneficence all their lives. This section shows something of the deep, complex nature of evil. The fundamental source of rebellion against God does not lie in our environment or with the devil but springs up from deep within a person’s own heart. The return of Satan will demonstrate this in the most dramatic manner once for all.
In this Gog and Magog rebellion, it is demonstrated once again that God is just when He judges sin. The judgment comes in the form of physical death, the pouring out of fire, on all rebels assembled under Satan’s leadership. The swiftness and finality of the divine judgment emphasize the reality of the victory of Christ at the Cross. Following the destruction of the armies of Satan, the devil is cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet are, to be tormented forever. In this manner, God removes all unbelief from the millennial kingdom in anticipation of its merger with the eternal kingdom of God.
Verses 11-15 – In the next phase of the prophetic revelation, John sees One of great majesty sitting on a great white throne. The expression, “from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away,” indicates that this judgment takes place in eternity after the destruction of the present creation. The language here may serve to underline the awesome majesty of the Judge and the judgment. Frequent references in the Bible seem to anticipate this future time when the present heaven and earth will pass away (Matt. 24:35; Luke 16:17; 2 Pet. 3:10-13; Isa. 65:17).
Before the great white throne awaiting their judgment are seen the wicked dead, the unbelievers of all the ages, who are not raised in the first resurrection (Acts 24:15). The phrase “small and great” indicates that those appearing before the throne come from all walks of life and degrees of greatness. Their judgment is made on the basis of the books that are opened, being in two classifications. The Book of Life refers to the roll of those who are saved and have eternal life (Ps. 69:28; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12; 20:15; 21:27; 22:19).
The other books mentioned as plural are the divine records of their works. Here the works evidently are such that salvation is not the issue but rather the degree of punishment, as there is no indication that any righteous are found in this judgment. The absolute justice of God is revealed in this judgment of works. Even for those who have spurned the Lord Jesus Christ, there is differentiation in degrees of wickedness and apparent variation in punishment as suggested by Matthew 11:20-24 and Luke 12:47-48.
While works are never a ground of salvation, they are, nevertheless, considered important before God. Though men are judged according to their works, the Book of Life is introduced as the deciding factor as to where they will spend eternity. The sea, death, Hades – all these places are now forced to give up their dead. “The sea gave up the dead who were in it” (v. 13) – death at sea, with no monument to mark the spot where one’s body lay, was thought of as a terribly desolate fate. In some Jewish circles, resurrection was thought of as possible only for those buried on dry land.
The bodies and souls will be reunited to stand before the awesome throne of God. The lake of fire becomes the final abode of all that is evil. The devil, the beast, the false prophet, and those whose names were not found written in the Book of Life are all cast into the lake of fire.
In 1 Corinthians 15:25-26, we read that Christ “must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” Here, Death and Hades are also cast into the flames, “into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). The lake of fire is described as everlasting fire “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9: 44).
There are four different words used in Scripture that are translated as “hell”:
1. Sheol – used 65 times in the Old Testament, translated “hell” 31 times (Deut. 32:22), “grave”
31 times (Job 7:9), and “pit” 3 times (Num. 16:30). It was regarded as a temporary place of
conscious existence (Isa. 14:9) out of which the righteous anticipated resurrection into the
millennial age (Ps. 17:15).
2. Hades – named for the Greek deity of the underworld. In the New Testament this word is
practically equivalent to Sheol, translated “hell” in every instance but one (1 Cor. 15:55
(KJV), where it is translated “grave”). Generally this word has in view the unsaved dead, who
are in misery, awaiting the resurrection unto judgment at the great white throne.
3. Tartaros – used only in 2 Peter 2:4 in reference to the judgment on the wicked angels. It
seems to have specific reference to the abode of the wicked angels.
4. Gehenna – translated into Greek, the Hebrew “Valley of Hinnom” becomes “gehenna,”
which is used 12 times in the New Testament (Matt. 5:22). In the Valley of Hinnom, parents
sacrificed their children as a burnt offering to the pagan god Molech (2 Kgs. 23:10). Jeremiah
foretold that God would judge this awful abomination of human sacrifice and would cause
such a destruction that “the Valley of Hinnom” would become known as “the Valley of
Slaughter” (Jer. 7:31-32).
For the city of Jerusalem, the Valley of Hinnom was a garbage dump where fires continually
smoldered, and smoke from the burning debris rose day and night. Hinnom or “gehenna” thus
became a graphic symbol of woe and judgment and of the place of eternal punishment called
“hell” (Mark 9:43-44).
Summary
Bible-believing Christians have tended to tone down the awfulness of eternal death, however, a thorough appreciation of eternal punishment will in the end enhance the doctrine of the grace of God and make the love of God as the more wonderful for those who enter into its truth. The only revelation that has been given concerning the eternal state recognizes two destinies only: one of blessedness in the presence of the Lord, the other of eternal punishment.
XXXIII. REVELATION CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Introduction
While the messianic age is the high point of Old Testament prophecy, the Eternal Order is the high point of New Testament prophecy. There is a question among scholars whether chapters 21 and 22 deal with the Eternal State only or whether they alternate between the Millennium and the Eternal State. Since the Millennium and eternity are similar in many ways, it is not surprising if they seem to merge at times in the writings of the apostle John. Whereas most of the information in the first twenty chapters of Revelation can also be found in the Old Testament, the last two chapters of Revelation (Rev. 21:1–22:5) give us all that is known about the Eternal Order, brand new material not revealed to the prophets of the Old Testament. The Millennium itself is only one thousand years long. However, according to the promises of the Davidic Covenant, there was to be an eternal dynasty, an eternal kingdom, and an eternal throne. The eternal existence of the dynasty is assured because it culminates in an eternal person: the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verses 1-2 – Following the judgment of the Great White Throne, depicted in the closing verses of chapter 20, John’s attention is next directed to the new heaven and the new earth. The new heaven and the new earth presented here are evidently not simply the old heaven and the new earth renovated, but a new creation of heaven and earth. God originally created the earth and heaven to be our permanent home. But sin entered the world and transformed the earth into a place of rebellion and alienation. But God has been working in salvation history to effect a total reversal of this evil consequence.
When the new earth is created, the New Jerusalem, in all its splendor, holy and new, will come down from heaven adorned with the beauty of a bride prepared for the marriage ceremony. While the greatest details of the New Jerusalem are to found in the last two chapters of Revelation, it is mentioned in other pages of the New Testament. The New Jerusalem is described as that which is free in Galatians 4:26; as the city that Abraham was seeking in Hebrews 11:8-10; as the eternal abode of all the redeemed in Hebrews 12:22-24, and; as the city of God which comes down out of heaven in Revelation 3:12.
Verses 3-4 – John hears an announcement from heaven that the tabernacle of God is with men and that He will dwell with them. In the Old Testament, God dwelt with His people indirectly, by way of the Tabernacle (Exod. 40:34) and the Temple (1 Kgs. 8:10-11). The prophet Zechariah foresaw the time when God would be directly with His people (Zech. 2:10). John sees that being established with the coming of the New Jerusalem. The presence of God banishes every form of evil, sorrow, suffering, and death (Rev. 7:15-17).
In relation to the eternal destiny of the church saints, it is to be observed that their destiny primarily is related to a Person rather than a place. While the place looms with importance (John 14:3), it is the Person who is emphasized in all the passages dealing with the glorious expectation of the church rather than the place to which they are taken: John 14:3 – “receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also,” and 1 Thessalonians 4:17 – “to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Paradise is not about a place; it’s about a Person: the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verses 5-6 – The One who sits on the throne will make all things new. The work of God is always fresh and new. When He steps into a life, He wholly transforms it. God in his sovereignty affirms that what John has been told is so. Then God says, “It is done.” As Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, so He is the Beginning and the End, the Creator and the object of creation. It is He who gives the water of life (salvation) freely to whoever thirsts for it.
Verses 7-8 – Frequently in Scripture, particular promises are given those who triumph in faith, but here the generous provision is made that they shall inherit “all things” and enjoy a new intimacy with God as between Father and son (Rom. 8:16-17). “He who overcomes . . .” – here are summed up the blessings promised to the victorious overcomers in the seven churches (2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). An overcomer is one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:5) and by faith overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).
In contrast to the abundant blessings on the child of God is the sad inheritance of unbelief outlined in verse 8. Several lists like this that characterize unbelievers are found in the New Testament (Rom. 1:28-32; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Rev. 22:15). Their destiny is to be thrown into the lake, which burns with fire and brimstone, which is “the second death.”
Verses 9-11 – John is now invited by one of the seven angels involved in the bowl judgments to come for a further, more detailed view of the New Jerusalem, which he called the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Carried away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, John again saw Jerusalem descending out of heaven. John was trying to describe what he saw and relate it to what might be familiar to his readers. The overall impression of the city to John was as a gigantic brilliant jewel compared to jasper, clear as crystal, indicates its great beauty. Today, one might describe that city as a beautifully cut diamond, a stone not known as a jewel in the first century.
Verses 12-14 – The city was surrounded by a high wall in which there were twelve gates, graced by twelve angels and bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Three gates faced each direction of the compass. The twelve foundations of the wall bore the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The distinction between Israel and the church is thus maintained. The names of the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles will be remembered for all eternity. The names of the gates could correspond to the names of the gates of the city in the Millennium, as given in Ezekiel 48:30-33.
The anticipation of Hebrews 12:22-24 is specifically that the heavenly Jerusalem will include not only God and an innumerable company of angels but also the general assembly and the church of the firstborn, the saints of the present age and the spirits of just men made perfect, that is, all other saints, whether in the Old Testament, in the Tribulation, or in the Millennium.
Verses 15-17 – Using a reed, a measure about ten feet long, the unit of measure common among the Jews, the angel measures the city and finds that the city is square, its length and breadth being the same, twelve thousand furlongs, or approximately 1,400 miles. The tremendous dimension of the city’s length and breadth is equaled by its height which towers an equal distance into the heavens.
Nothing is said concerning the shape of the city, whether it is a cube, recalling the Holy of Holies in the ancient temple (1 Kgs. 6:20) or in the form of a pyramid as some believe. Whatever its shape, a city of large dimensions would be proper, if it is to be the residence of the saved of all ages including infants who died before reaching the age of accountability.
In addition to measuring the city itself, the angel measures the wall, which is 144 cubits or, assuming that a cubit is 18 inches, a height of 216 feet. Although measured by an angel, a human standard was used. The city taken as a whole is pictured as descending from heaven to the new earth, and the fact that it has foundations and comes from heaven to the earth implies that it rests on the new earth itself. This is also implied in the fact that people go in and out of the gates, which fact is difficult to visualize unless the gates themselves rest upon the earth.
Verses 18-21 – Having given the dimensions of the city, John now endeavors to give a description of a scene, which in most respects transcends earthly experience. The constant mention of transparency indicates that the city is designed to transmit the glory of God in the form of light without hindrance. Attention is now directed to the foundation of the city, which is garnished with all kinds of precious stones. This is a sight of indescribable beauty with the light of the city playing upon the multicolored stones, designed to reflect the glory of God in a spectrum of brilliant color. As for the twelve gates named after the twelve tribes of Israel, each gate will be made of a single huge pearl.
The twelve foundations were adorned with twelve precious stones, reminiscent of those used on the breastplate of the high priest, representing the twelve tribes of Israel (Exod 28:17-20). It is as though the city is one vast place of worship; fulfilling Isaiah’s prophetic words that Jerusalem would be established in righteousness and built of jewels (Isa. 54:11-14).
Verses 22-24 – John, as he searches the city, finds no temple therein. During historic time, a total of four temples will have existed. But in eternity, there will be no temple, neither will there be a need for one, for the saints will be in the immediate presence of the Lord with no need for an earthly mediator or for shadows of things eternal. As promised by God, they will have full access to the most sacred, intimate fellowship with the Lord their God. In a city modeled on the Holy of Holies there is no need of a temple; all is holy and God is everywhere adored.
The source of light in the eternal order will not come from created things like the sun or the moon but will be provided by the Creator of light. The Shekinah glory of the Lamb will be the source of light in the city. That God Himself should be the light of the city is entirely in keeping with many passages in the Old and New Testaments comparing God to light (Isa. 60:19-20) and Jesus Christ Himself being the light of the world (John 8:12). The nations of the earth will walk by means of this light as well as those who served as kings in the old order.
Verses 25-27 – Though there will be twelve pearly gates around the city maintained by twelve angels, these gates will never be closed throughout eternity. The brilliant light of the city will dispel any possible darkness. The glory and the honor of the nations shall be brought into it. Only those can enter whose names are in “the Lamb’s book of life” and who thus belong to Him through redemption. It is interesting that in the six references to the book of life in Revelation (3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27), only this one calls it “the Lamb’s.” Nothing of unrighteousness will ever be allowed to enter into the eternal city. All unrighteousness will now be confined in the lake of fire.
Summary
After the manifold series of visions consisting of conflict, evil, judgment, and doom, John saw this dazzling vision of the new order of things. The prophet Isaiah looked beyond the judgment that was to fall upon his nation to a period of restoration when the former things would no longer be remembered and all things would be made new. Peter looked for the day when the old order would be burned up and replaced by the new (2 Pet. 3:13). Paul looked for this as well, but saw its beginnings in the work of Christ in the church and in the life of the believer (2 Cor. 5:17).
The New Jerusalem is to be inhabited by God, by the church, by the redeemed of Israel, and by the redeemed of all ages, together with the unfallen angels. This will be a perfect environment in contrast to the centuries of human sin. Though the description of the city does not answer all questions concerning the eternal state, the revelation given to John describes a beautiful and glorious future for all who put their trust in the living God.
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