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Isa 31:1-9  The Lord's Fire and His Furnace are in Jerusalem

Isa 31:1  Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
Isa 31:2  Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.
Isa 31:3  Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.
Isa 31:4  For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
Isa 31:5  As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
Isa 31:6  Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
Isa 31:7  For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.
Isa 31:8  Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.
Isa 31:9  And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

In this study, the Lord's people in Zion and in Jerusalem are being presented as His judges who are judging this world. Being judged in this life, in this age, is absolutely the best thing that can happen to any man. This is the fruit of being judged within in this present age:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

If we are being judged now, in this age, we will be given the "better resurrection". We are "risen with Christ" at this time but we have our resurrection at this time only in down-payment, "earnest" form. It is our "fiery trials", which we also endure in these bodies of sinful flesh, which judge us in this age and make us to know "the fellowship of His suffering" in a body of sinful flesh.

Php 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Php 3:10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11  If by any means I might attain unto the ["His"] resurrection of the dead.

Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

There really is a resurrection which is "better" than being "brought forth to the resurrection of judgment" (Joh 5:29). When we are given "the redemption of the purchased possession", "the resurrection to life", we will not come forth to "the resurrection of judgment', but we will instead "know the power of His resurrection ... to life eternal. We can now "know the fellowship of His sufferings", because we, too, are being tempted of the devil while at the same time fighting against our own flesh. When we are given "the redemption of the purchased possession, that will be "the resurrection to life". There are only two resurrections, and all men of all time are in one or the other of those two resurrections. There is no "mixing of the un-mixable" to quote our brother in Kenya:

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Judgment].

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Being planted "in the likeness of His death" insures that we will be brought forth "in the likeness of His resurrection... the resurrection to life". Both of these events in the life of our Lord, His sufferings and His resurrection, took place with a tempter still at large having to be overcome, and His temptations were given Him in a body of corruptible flesh. There is neither flesh nor a tempter in "the resurrection to judgment". It is in this state that we can "know the power of His resurrection... the fellowship of His sufferings [and] be made conformable to His death" by partaking of His daily death to His corruptible flesh and dying daily to our flesh with Him. Only under those circumstances, the same circumstances He knew, will we know "the power of His resurrection". No one who is cast into the lake of fire can know the fellowship of His sufferings, nor be made conformable to His death, simply because Christ died to His old man while in His flesh. Everyone cast into the lake of fire are spirits with no flesh and with no devil to overcome. Those in the lake of fire will be there along with the devil himself who is being purified by that same lake. Everyone whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life come forth to the resurrection of life at the beginning of the millennium. If we are blessed to come forth to the resurrection of life, we are not now, nor will we ever, be coming forth "to the resurrection of judgment" simply because it is not possible to be in both resurrections.

Those who are blessed to be in first resurrection, the resurrection to life, will all have lived by the words, 'fire, wrath, and judgment'. Our fire, wrath and judgment are administered by the Lord Himself while we are in bodies of flesh, striving to "overcome the wicked one". The adversary would have you to believe that because we as the Lord's "special people" and endure all of the same things "in earnest", that therefore there is no difference between our resurrection and the resurrection to judgment. "The only difference is the timing of our judgment." That is what you are being asked to believe. This false doctrine makes the promises to the Lord's "special... elect... overcomers... of none effect".

Rom 4:14  For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son [Greek: uihos] whom he receiveth.

All who are cast into the lake of fire/second death, are "of the law", and have been given no faith in the promises made to the Lord's "special people".

Deu 7:6  For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar [Greek: special] people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

A 'uihos' is a mature son, as opposed to a 'nepios' which is an infant. Both are to be understood in their spiritual sense (Joh 6:63). There are no spiritually mature sons being cast into the lake of fire. Even John the Baptist, of whom Christ spoke so highly, will be cast into the lake of fire to be spiritually matured:

Mat 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

When John, and all the righteous men preceding John, "come forth to the resurrection of judgment" they will be cast into the lake of fire. Those who knew their Lord's will and did things worthy of stripes will receive many stripes. Those who did not know their Lord's will, (John the baptist and the "many prophets and righteous men"] and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.

If we are granted to apply the Lord's words to ourselves in this age, then the Lord Himself is chastening and scourging us and is burning out all the wood, hay and stubble that is still within us. When we are made to do this, it is still called 'judging [ourselves]':

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Those who are hurt of the second death are those who are not the first to "fall into the ground and die". Those who are hurt of the second death did not overcome the wicked one in this life, and therefore they are "condemned with the world" to "be hurt of the second death":

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Those who "overcome the evil one" in this life and in this age are those who are in the first resurrection. They are the first to defeat "him that has the power of death, that is the devil... the wicked one." It is "overcoming the wicked one" in this life and in this age which qualifies those who are in the first resurrection to be in that blessed and holy resurrection (Rev 20:6).

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Through Christ we, too, "destroy him that [has] the power of death" by overcoming him while we are in this age in these bodies of sinful flesh:

1Jn 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

When we are given to "overcome the wicked one" we have "passed from death unto life":

Joh 5:20  For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
Joh 5:21  For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
Joh 5:22  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
Joh 5:23  That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Joh 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

The Father has committed all judgment to the Son, and the Son has committed all judgment to His Christ - to us:

1Co 6:2  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Look at where all these words about judgment and condemnation here in John 5 are found. They are found just before verses 28 and 29 informing us that there are but two resurrections, "the resurrection to life and... the resurrection to judgment":

Joh 5:25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

At this very moment, we been given the ability to "hear the voice of the Son of God", and we have already been given life in down-payment form. We have been given life in earnest only. We have not yet been given "the redemption of the purchased possession":

Eph 1:11  In whom [Christ] also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Now let's go back and continue reading John 5:

Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

It is required of those "who first trusted in Christ" to be the first as that "corn of wheat" to "fall into the ground and die" while still dwelling in a body of sinful flesh and blood. But if we are the first to "die, and after this [to be the first to be] judged"(Heb 9:27) then there will be no "second death... [no] resurrection to judgment" for us, because we "judged [our]selves" in this life, for the specific purpose of not being hurt of "the second death [which is] the resurrection to judgment... to shame and eonian contempt".

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world [to "the second death, the resurrection of judgment"].

There are just two resurrections, and there is no mixing of the two. In John 5, Christ is simply repeating what He had said hundreds of years earlier:

Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life [first resurrection], and some to shame and everlasting contempt [second resurrection].
Dan 12:3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness [in the second death/lake of fire] as the stars for ever and ever.

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life [first resurrection]; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation [Greek: judgment, the second death].

The Lord's fire and His furnace are in Jerusalem. But that 'Jerusalem' is "Jerusalem above". It is those out of whom He Himself burns all of the wood, hay, and stubble in this life, while we are still in bodies of "flesh and bones", still striving to "overcome the wicked one".

Eph 5:28  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30  For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

As "His flesh [and] His bones", nothing is more natural than self defense. Christ Himself even petitioned His Father, "Is there another way?" We, too, must be brought to see that we of ourselves cannot overcome our fleshly passion to preserve these bodies of flesh and bones. When our physical lives are endangered, this is what we all do:

Isa 31:1  Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

Ask yourself whether the Lord is giving anyone who teaches that we must be completely separated from bodies of flesh and bone before we can be overcomers, if that person is being given the faith to "look... unto the holy one of Israel" for the strength to be an overcomer. Ask yourself if that doctrine encourages you that you are able to "do all things through Christ" while still in these clay vessels. Such a doctrine is nothing less than smooth words which facilitate the desires of our flesh to preserve its life at all cost:

Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: ["We cannot overcome in flesh" some claim erroneously.]
Isa 30:11  Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the [prophecies of] Holy One of Israel to cease from before us ["He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death"].

But no false witness and no smooth words have ever yet changed the Truth. Truth is always Truth even when the whole world believes otherwise. Rejecting the Truth does not stop the Lord from judging those falsehoods, and His special people will be the judges of those who say there in nothing special about being in the resurrection to life.

Isa 31:2  Yet he also [the Lord]  is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.
Isa 31:3  Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.

As His elect, we are the first to know the fury of the Lord's wrath as it is poured out upon the doctrines of Babylon within us. He does not call back His words against the doctrines of Babylon within us. "This is the patience and faith of the saints", and being the first to receive the redemption of the purchased possession is what qualifies us to be very special judges of all men of all time:

Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus ["In this age"].

These words are all common to both the "one hundred and forty four thousand... firstfruits unto God and the Lamb" and to the "great multitude which no man can number". The 144,000 firstfruits to God and the Lamb are mentioned twice in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ within us. They are first mentioned in chapter 7 right after the first six seals are opened.

Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15  And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The seven trumpets and the seven plagues tell us of the wrath of God upon the kingdom of our old man. There will be an outward dispensational end-time fulfilling of these words, but our focus should not to be only on the future. Our focus is to be certain that we stay prepared for that day by keeping the Lord's house clean within. Thus that day will not come to us as a thief in the night:

1Th 5:2  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
1Th 5:3  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
1Th 5:4  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7  For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8  But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

How are we able to say that we "are not in darkness... are not of the night, nor of darkness? Here is how that is made possible, and we had nothing to do with it:

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

There it is! We were all "by nature the children of wrath, even as others" first, before it could be said, "God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." It is the very same thing with the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials of the wrath of God upon the kingdom of our old man within us. We are first and preeminent in all things, "as He is... in this world" (1Jo 4:17).

Rev 7:1  And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Rev 7:2  And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Rev 7:3  Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Rev 7:4  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

The earth cannot be hurt by the judgments of the trumpets and vials of the wrath of God, "till the servants of our God... have [been] sealed... in their foreheads." That seal is the experience of this revelation within them first. But, as our Lord's own position with His Father demonstrates, being first has great advantages.

After the seven plagues of the seven angels have been poured out upon the very elect, and have performed their fiery cleansing purpose, then the Lord's elect will be used by God to judge the kingdom of this world, and then after the destruction of the nations in the four quarters of the earth, we, as the Lord's "very elect", will judge angels and the devil himself in the second death, the lake of fire. The first always precedes the second, "for many are called but few are chosen."

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

"Being the firstfruits" is not to be taken lightly nor in any way diminished of the blessings and benefits that come with that preeminence. If we are given to follow Christ wherever He goes, like our Lord, we will be judged in this life, and we will overcome the wicked one in this life, and we will overcome the world in this life.

Joh 16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Php 4:13  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

With Christ within us we, too, "overcome the world... and the wicked one".

1Jn 2:13  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
1Jn 2:14  I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

There is no 'wicked one' to be overcome in the lake of fire. The 'wicked one' is in the second death being purified with the rest of the world. Being "condemned with the world" is the very thing we are admonished to avoid at all cost, including our right eye and right hand:

If we are given to follow Christ wherever He goes we, like our Lord, will "fall into the ground and die" in this life, and in that way we will never come forth to the resurrection of judgment. Instead we will, with Him, come forth to the resurrection of life as rulers with our Lord over the kingdom of this world , and then with Him we will judge the world and angels in the second death/lake of fire.

After being shown this very small group of 144,000 people chosen out of all mankind of all time, symbolizing all of the faithful elect from Christ's resurrection to the "blessed and holy first resurrection", John is then shown another much larger group "which no man can number":

Rev 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Rev 7:11  And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev 7:12  Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. [What a day that will be!]
Rev 7:13  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev 7:15  Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple [which we firstfruits are]: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
Rev 7:16  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
Rev 7:17  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The elders all have crowns of life and are seated on thrones with Christ at His Father's right hand.

Rev 4:4  And round about the throne [G2362: thronos] were four and twenty seats [G2362: thronos]: and upon the seats [G2362: thronos] I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

This "great multitude which no man can number" does not have thrones and crowns as this elder has, who questions John about this great multitude. The "great multitude, which no man can number" is not telling those on their thrones, "You are no different than we are. You, too, must be hurt of the second death, and conversely we also must "in the ages to come ... shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us". They do not say such a thing simply because there are no "ages to come" after the lake of fire/second death.  There is only "God shall be all in all", and the ages will be no more.

Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23  Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

In all of the oncoming ages, all the way up to the "all in all", the Lord will be showing to all of mankind "the exceeding riches of His grace toward us", not toward those in the second death. It is they to whom He is showing how much He loves us "for many are called but few are chosen".  It is through "the church which is His body [that] the fulness of Him that fills all in all" is accomplished and is effectuated.

Those who are saved through the second death, are many. Those who are their "saviors" are few:

Oba 1:21  And saviours shall come up on mount Zion [the faithful elect who will judge this world] to judge the mount of Esau ["the kingdom of the world", Rev 11:15]; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

It is Mount Zion who judges and becomes saviors to the world. The world does not save "Mount Zion". As the Lord fights for mount Zion, so will we be used of the Lord to be saviors of the world:

Isa 31:4  For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
Isa 31:5  As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.

Birds fly in the heavens. This typifies the spirit by which the Lord will defend His "very elect". But the deception is called "strong delusion" for the very reason that it is not an easily detected delusion. It is so subtle that the Lord uses these words to warn us against being deluded and deceived by "the wicked one":

Mat 24:21  For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23  Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before.

What keeps us from being deceived by the wicked one?

Isa 31:6  Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
Isa 31:7  For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

It is the Lord's own people, His own household, who have turned from Him and "have deeply revolted". Idols of silver and gold always typify false doctrines which use the Lord's own words, His own silver and gold, to cover their idols and thereby make the delusion very strong. The delusion is so strong that if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect.

Eze 16:17  Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25  Behold, I have told you before.

The words "If it were possible" tell us it is not possible to deceive the Lord's "very elect". It is the Lord Himself who will fight for us: "...So shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. (Isa 31:4-5):

Isa 31:4  For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.
Isa 31:5  As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.

"The Assyrian", as we learned earlier in these studies in Isaiah, are the same people as the Babylonians and typify the religions and doctrines of this world.

Isa 31:8  Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited.

The religions and false doctrines within us are destroyed, not by a mighty man, and not by an insignificant man. The doctrines of Babylon are destroyed by the Lord and His true doctrines, which are His fiery words of His Truth. The same will happen dispensationally. When the time comes for "the kingdom of this world to become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ" the Lord will simply make clear the resurrection of His saints and put "great fear" into the hearts of all men, and at the same time He will make them to accept us as their saviors just as Egypt was made to fear and then accept Joseph as their savior.

Rev 11:11  And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

Isa 31:9  And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

"He" of this verse is "the Assyrian" who will "fall with the sword" of the Word of God. Assyria is Babylon, the religions and doctrines of this world which are afraid of the Truth of the Word of God. Inwardly and outwardly the Lord does our fighting for us, and our job is to "stand and see the salvation of our Lord", whose fiery words are in His Zion and in His Jerusalem and in His Israel.

Exo 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

In other words, we are His ensign, His fire, and His furnace in His "Jerusalem above" at this time of down-payment only rewards. But through that down-payment, the inheritance of the purchased possession is ours in due time, and we will not be deceived by the Lord's strong delusion, if indeed we are His fire and His furnace and His Jerusalem.

Next week, Lord willing, we will be covering these verses:

The Vile Person Shall No More Be Called Liberal

Isa 32:1  Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
Isa 32:2  And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
Isa 32:3  And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
Isa 32:4  The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
Isa 32:5  The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
Isa 32:6  For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
Isa 32:7  The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
Isa 32:8  But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.