13. Eternity

The Millennium is a period of blessing on the whole earth, Satan and his angels are removed from power. In this period, Humanity experiences what Adam and Eve lost.  The Messiah, Jesus Christ, reigns as King of the Earth from Jerusalem.

 The earth is no longer man’s adversary.   Lions and lambs play with the child, and there is no fear. Lions eat straw like and ox and the earth is filled with the peace of God’s presence. War is thing of the past, and the population of the earth balloons during this period.  The knowledge of God is everywhere during this period. 

During the millennium, with Satan removed, the population born has never experienced testing.  For this reason, Satan released, at the end of the Millennium tests those born during the Millennium. He will tempt the nations to rebel against God’s rule, to reject the paradise on the earth.  Despite receiving a thousand years of blessing, a large portion of the earth rebels against Christ, as Satan promps them, they gather against Jerusalem, coming from the ends of the earth.

Those who choose to rebel and gather against Jerusalem, fail the test, and are judged with those in Hell, who before the Great White Throne. 

 

The Close of the Millennium

Those born in the Millennium tested

This rebellion against Christ allows the true nature of hearts to be realized. During the Millennium, there is no rebellion; God alone knows the hearts of the inhabitants.  Satan allows the faithless too choose their side.  Therefore, their judgment will be according to their works, like the rest of those judged.

 

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.

Revelation 20:7-9

 

Those who gather against Jerusalem are consumed by fire out of Heaven.  Gog and Magog[1] are specific nations pointed out in this rebellion. These are the descendents of those involved in the attack against Jerusalem, in Ezekiel 38 and 39, but the event and time are different, more then one thousand years after Ezekiel’s fulfillment.

 

Satan Thrown in the Lake of Fire

 

Following this final rebellion, Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire, where the Antichrist (The Beast) and the False prophet were cast a thousand years earlier (Revelation 19:20). Satan’s judgment is immediate; he is the third occupant of the Lake of Fire, soon to be followed by the rest of those who will stand before the Great White Throne judgment.

 

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.

Revelation 20:10

 

The Great White Throne Judgment

 

This is the final judgment of eternity, separating those who will dwell with Christ, from those who will inhabit the Lake of Fire.  The material universe melts away in the presence of Christ, sitting on His throne.

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.

Revelation 20:11

 

A. Christ on the Throne

The identity of the person on the throne is Jesus Christ, the king of the Universe.  Scripture is clear, the judge of humanity is Jesus Christ, and all judgment is committed to Him.

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

 

At the Great White Throne judgment, Philippians 2:9-11 will be fulfilled.  Every individual born, whose names not written in the book of life, will bow before the throne of Christ at this point.  The judgment of man has been committed to Christ.

22 "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

23 "that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

John 5:22-23

 

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."

Romans 14:10-11

B. The Earth and Heavens melt away

At the Great White Throne, the glory of Christ is manifest in the universe.  The physical universe and earth literally melt away at His presence on the throne.  

4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

Isaiah 34:4

 

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.

11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

2 Peter 3:10-12

 

            The Word of God, Jesus Christ brought the universe and matter into existence at creation, the universe melts away at his presence. He will roll up the universe as a scroll, to make way for the coming New Heavens and New Earth.

10 And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

11 They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;

12 Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail."

Hebrews 1:10-12

 

C. The dead are judged

 

Following the evaporation of the universe, the dead in Hades (Hell) are resurrected to stand before the throne of Christ.  This is the resurrection of the damned, those resurrected here are given bodies for eternity to endure the Lake of Fire.   Before, they are sent to the Lake of Fire, in their resurrected bodies they will understand the reason why they are judged.

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.

Revelation 20:12-15

 

The books are recording the works of those in Hell, including the recent rebels of the Millennium, who listened to Satan and died in the rebellion.  They are resurrected to stand for their works.  Anyone not found in the “Book of Life” is cast into the Lake of Fire.  There they will join the antichrist, false prophet, Satan and his angels for the rest of eternity. The Lake of Fire is eternal, the Second Death, there are no second chances, no hope of redemption. Those in Hades, will be cast into the Lake of Fire following the Great White Throne judgment, where their case is presented before the Judge of the universe, Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Those in the Lake of Fire, are tormented day and night, with no rest. 

11 "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

Revelation 14:11

Eternity

Those in the Millennium, who rejected Satan[2], will enter eternity with the Old and New Testament saints.  God will remake the universe, new heavens and a new earth, along with a new capital city, the New Jerusalem.

 

The New Heavens and Earth

 

At the Great White Throne judgment, the Heavens and earth were dissolved at  Jesus Christ’s presence. At the beginning, of our eternal state, Jesus makes a New Heavens and a New Earth. Following John’s eyewitness account, of the second death, John sees a new heaven and earth.

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

Revelation 21:8

In eternity, what will people do? Just as God created a universe beyond our understanding, the New Heavens and Earth will be beyond anything we can comprehend. We will have the rest of eternity to enjoy God’s creation of the New heavens and New Earth.

 

New Jerusalem

 

In addition, to the New Heavens and New Earth, there is New Jerusalem, home of those who will spend eternity with Christ.  The saints dwell with God for eternity in the heavenly city. 

2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

Revelation 21:2-4

The New Jerusalem, described as the tabernacle of God is in the shaped of a cube.  The tabernacle and Temple in the Old Testament, specifically the Holy of Holies, was described as the dwelling place of God. God’s glory would appear to Israel, inside the Temple between the cherubs on the mercy seat.  This picture in the Old Testament finds fulfillment in Revelation 21, where the actual tabernacle of God descends from Heaven, and will be where the saints will dwell for the rest of eternity.

The Tabernacle in the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of this coming tabernacle. The New Jerusalem has no Temple, because God Himself is dwelling inside the city. God will have a personal relationship with those who live in the city.  God’s restored relationship is demonstrated by God personally wiping away the tears of those who in New Jerusalem.  The city called the bride, because those who dwell in it are the saints, the bride of Christ.  We are the stones in God’s holy Temple, finding fulfillment as we enter New Jerusalem, the eternal dwelling of the saints.

5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I Peter 2:5

One of the seven angels, who held the one of the bowls of wrath, approached John to give him a tour of the Heavenly Jerusalem.   John’s tour of the future city, is our tour, a tour for all believers, who will one day live in the city.

John describes the city in the form of a cube with 12 walls and 12 gates with 12 angels at the entrance of each gate.

 

12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

Revelation 21:12-15

 

A. The 12 gates

The city described by John has 12 gates, with the twelve names of the 12 tribes. By each gate, is the name of one of 12 tribes along 12 angels, one by each gate. The walls are 144 cubits thick (216 feet thick) and the gates are 12 pearls, one pearl for each gate.  Since pearls are spheres, the gates should be 216 feet high and long. Four of the walls has three gates, three on the East, West, North and South, 12 gates with three on a side, therefore there would be a gate every 454 miles.

B. The 12 walls

 

There are 12 walls in the city, and the city is laid out as a square, the city is 12,000 furlongs sqare,(1 furlong is 600 feet) making the city 1363 long, wide and high.

 Speculating about this city, if there was one floor per mile, there would 1363 floors, with each floor having 1.8 million square miles of space, the total space would be 2.5 billion square miles.  If there were 20 billion souls in the city, each person would have about 10 acres of space with one mile of vertical space above, not including room for parks and streets.  Again, the division of space in this city is merely speculation based on the numbers given by John.

 

C. The 12 foundations

Another part of the description of the city is the foundation stones that make up the 12 walls that enclose the city.  The foundation stones are nearly identical to the stones worn by the High-Priest as he would minister before the Lord. The priest would wear a breast plate with 12 stones precious stones, each matched with a name of the tribe of Israel.

 

19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

Revelation 21:19-20

 

16 "It shall be doubled into a square: a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width.

17 "And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row;

18 "the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;

19 "the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

20 "and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold settings.

21 "And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes.

Exodus 28:16-21

Like the city, there were 12 stones on the Ephod of the High Priest, he would wear it as he ministered by before the God, representing the children of Israel to God.

 

C. No Temple

 

Inside the city there is no temple, the city itself is the Temple, because God Himself dwells inside the city. The Temple on Mt. Moriah, was a type of the antitype which was the New Jerusalem.

22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.

24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.

25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

26 And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Revelation 21:22-27

D. Inside the City

John given a glimpse in the city, shares with those who are in the Lamb’s book of Life where they will one day be. John records what he sees,

1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.

4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1-5

 

In the city, the saints will see the face of God, and a river will proceed from the throne of God and the Lamb.  Humanity will for the rest of eternity will have a relationship with God, for the rest of eternity we will grow in our knowledge of God as we experience is blessings and goodness.