And they went up on the breadth of the earth...
"And they went up..."--this is referring back to the release of Satan and his
fallen angels from the fires of hell. (If Satan came against the people of the earth in a
rage before his confinement in hell because he knew his time was short before that
confinement, think about his fury and desperation after tasting a thousand years of
torment!)
...and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city... We lack sufficient data to really compute this. Will the "camp of
the saints" be a collection of Jews or does this term apply to Gentile believers? We
do know that "the beloved city" is Jerusalem which is synonymous with Israel.
Also, note the tense-- "compassed" --i.e., the past tense. It is as though this
is a brief summation of what will have been taking place.
...and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. At the time of the flood, every thing that had breath was destroyed except
those chosen by God; but this time, all that have life and all that they lived on will be
destroyed by fire!
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever
and ever.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are... In the
21st set of our study, we saw where the beast and the false prophet were cast into the
lake of fire. Now, it's time for the one who inspired and empowered them in their evil to
be cast into the same place. Finally, all of creation will be rid of the liar, the
murderer, the scourge on all of created life. Although his suffering for all of eternity
will not undo the horror he had part in inflicting on one molested, murdered child; at
least we will have the satisfaction of knowing that he has received some form of
recompense and that he can never do such again!!!
...and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. After time is brought to an end, there will be no more day and night as
we now know it for those in the lake of fire. Consequently, this terminology must be
symbolic. It could be indicating that the torment he had already experienced during the
thousand year confinement — when there was day and night on the earth above —
will be resumed; or perhaps it is suggesting that just as he tormented mankind day and
night with no relief, so shall his torment be.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw a great white throne... AT
LAST--The end of sin! But sadly, this will be the day of judgment for the sinner who had
no place for God or no thought for his neighbor in his life. This will be the time of the
"second resurrection" and the "Great White Throne Judgment" of the
lost of all the ages.
and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them. This language emphasizes
that the purpose for the heavens and the earth is finished. And now, the creation that
appeared at the sound of His voice will flee from the countenance of His face — their
place never to be again.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God... And now, the "second resurrection" — now, the fulfilling of
such Scriptures as: "...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment (Heb. 9:27)"; and "For it is written, [As] I live, saith
the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every
one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Rom. 14:11-12)"; and again, "But
I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the day of judgment. (Mt. 12:36) "
...and the books were opened... Apparently, these are
the books wherein all the acts and words of every soul who died in his sins will be
recorded: i.e., it will contain a list of all the things they have done of which they will
have to give an account.
...and another book was opened, which is the book of life... This book will contain the names of every soul who feared God and put
their trust in Him, from Adam to the last person born of his seed. Note that it doesn't
say anything about "works" in this book. Here at the "second
resurrection" this book will be opened only to show the scoffers and those who loved
a lie and loved to do evil, that their names were not written therein.
Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not;
and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on
the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
...and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works. All who did not appropriate by faith
the substitutionary death of Christ Jesus on the cross will now have to pay in full the
debt for those sins themselves — that debt being eternal separation from God and from
all who have life, as well as the sharing of eternal torment designed for Lucifer (and his
fallen angels), the father of all that is unholy.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up
the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it... This
will be the time that the "sea" (i.e., those who lived through the Kingdom Age
without a covenant with God) will give up those that were dead (in trespasses and
sin [Cf. Eph. 2:1]) to the judgment that awaits them.
...and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them... The dead of all the ages in hell will be released from their confine for
this occasion.
...and they were judged every man according to their works. Some teach this to mean that there will be different degrees of
punishment, depending on how gross and vicious the sins; but just the idea of spending
eternity in the lake of fire in a body / form that is salted (preserved) by its flames
sounds bad enough for me.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
After the ungodly have had their day in court, the angels will
then throw them into the lake of fire alongside the devil and his fallen angels.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake
of fire.
And lest any should misunderstand, the Spirit had John to write
these words. To escape the devils' destiny, one must have his name written in the Lamb's
Book of Life. In our age, this is done for all who have exercised a living faith in the
death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus and have been born again by the Holy
Spirit — and this is true for Gentile and Jew alike. Just what requirements the
people will have to meet during the Kingdom Age is yet to be revealed.
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