Rev 9:20-21-Part 4-The Sixth Trumpet

[Study Aired Sept 1, 2024]

We are continuing to seek to know the scriptural significance of all the symbols used to inform us of our judgment, and the judgment of all men in the sixth trumpet.

Rev 9:20  And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 9:21  Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

The rest of the men

8) “The rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues” tells us that God’s wrath is on all our self-righteous, ungodliness, and His Wrath is an ongoing yet incomplete process in which we are “dying daily” and being “crucified with Christ” daily. If we do not believe on Christ and do the things He says then we are not ‘dying daily’ and ‘His wrath abides on us’:

Joh 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.  [I am “killed by these plagues… daily”]

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Php 3:12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but [this] one thing [I do], forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, [dying daily and being crucified with Christ daily]
Php 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Yet repented not of the works of their hands

9) “Yet repented not of the works of their hands” signifies the same ongoing judgment which is upon the self-righteous “worship of devils” and “idols of the heart” with which we struggle for so very long. All of this is leading up to the revelation and the judgment of self- righteous Babylon within us in chapters 17 and 18. It is we who are admonished to “read, hear, and keep the things written therein”:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

We read and we actually understand those words and yet we struggle every day to apply the Lord’s words of admonition to ourselves instead of all those sinners somewhere ‘out there’

Jeremiah admonishes us:

Jer 2:30  In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. [Our own words condemn us “like a destroying lion”]

Luk 19:22  And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:

Paul admonishes us:

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.

Col 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6  For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: [All men, Eph 2:2, are by nature “the children of disobedience”].
Col 3:7  In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

We all ‘lose or first love’ (Rev 2:4) and “return to [our] own vomit [and our] wallowing in the mire”.

Idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood

10) “Idols of gold, silver, brass, stone and wood” are these very same false convictions with which we struggle, ranging from the false doctrine of salvation through self-righteous good works to “turning grace into lasciviousness”. These are all false doctrines called “idols of the heart.”

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity [self-righteousness, Eze 33:13] before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?
Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

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,
Eze 16:18  And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
Eze 16:19  My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, [wherewith] I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and [thus] it was, saith the Lord GOD.

“The stumbling block of our iniquity” is our own self-righteousness, the most insidious of sins. Ezekiel defines this phrase for us in:

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity [Believing his righteousness was “his own righteousnesses”] that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

When we fail to believe these following verses, at that moment we become self-righteous:

Job 23:14  For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw [G1670, ‘helkuo’, drag] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth [How much clearer can the Lord be?], nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Eph 1:11  In whom 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:

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Which neither see, nor hear, nor walk

11) “Which neither see, nor hear, nor walk” is the perfect spiritual description of these self-righteous idols of the heart which have taken away our spiritual sight, our spiritual ears, and therefore our ability to walk in Christ’s  steps and live as Christ lived.

Job 12:25  They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like [a] drunken [man].

Isa 59:12  For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions [are] with us; and [as for] our iniquities, we know them;
Isa 59:13  In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Isa 59:14  And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.
Isa 59:15  Yea, truth faileth; and he [that] departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw [it], and it displeased him that [there was] no judgment.

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16  But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And [some] of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth

Neither repented they of their murders

12) “Neither repented they of their murders” signifies both the hatred which is in our hearts for our fellow man, as well as the blasphemous doctrine of a “Christian soldier” being a physical soldier physically fighting for his country.

2Co 10:3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

1Jn 3:15  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication,

13) Refusing to repent of “…their sorceries, [and] their fornication” signifies the tenacity of the false doctrines of “another Jesus” which cling to us even as we are being judged “in one day… the day of the Lord… the day of His wrath”, and as we are struggling to be free of them, and of the influences of “another Jesus”.

Isa 47:9  But these two [things] shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, [and] for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

2Co 11:4  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him].

Rev 2:14  But I have a few things against thee (Pergamos), because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

Rev 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee (Thyatira), because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

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 18:8  Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [is] the Lord God who judgeth her.

Rev 18:23  And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

14) The gold and silver implements of the temple signify the doctrines and thoughts of our Lord:

Rev 9:20  And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 9:21  Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

“Nor of their thefts” tells us that we have stolen God’s Words and doctrines of gold and silver, and we have twisted them and have perverted them and have used them in that way to cover the idols of our hearts and the doctrines of “another Jesus” signified by all those “idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood”.

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,

Joe 3:5  Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

These are not physical idols in either Ezekiel, or Joel, or Revelation. These are self-righteous idols of our hearts, made by twisting God’s gold and God’s silver, which signify His Words and His doctrines. These are self-righteous “idols of the heart… images of men” which we have “made to ourselves”, and we commit whoredoms and fornication against our Lord by believing in and living by those self-righteous “idols of the heart.”

Our ‘idols of our hearts’ are always accompanied by “the stumbling block of [our self-righteous] iniquity”:

Eze 14:1  Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Eze 14:2  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 14:3  Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

‘Iniquity’ is defined as “trusting to our own righteousness”:

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

That is exactly what every harlot does. Spiritual ‘harlots’ do not perceive themselves as harlots at all. This is what a spiritual harlot always does:

Pro 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

A spiritual harlot cannot see that she is spiritually malnourished and naked. Instead, this is how she perceives herself:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

What this “adulterous woman” is eating is “[her] own bread” while she is dressed in [her] own apparel”, and she really believes that “I have done no wickedness” and she “has need of nothing”, while the spiritual truth is that “thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”.

The whole world is groaning and travailing with us as we are being judged. But there are far more of those men who continue in their self-righteous, rebellious ways and do not repent who will be judged at a later resurrection, the resurrection of the great white throne judgment:

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 [G2920, ‘krisis’, judgment].

Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Summary

Here is what we have just seen in the demonstration of the spirit (the Word, Joh 6:63) and of power [the Word, 1Co 2:4).

Mat 22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching [was] not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in [words of the] demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of [the words of] God.

God’s words are His power. It is our fidelity to His words which empowers us to overcome the adversary and all His lies.

Ecc 8:4  Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

All these symbols signify what the Lord is doing with His power:

1) An army signifies ongoing spiritual warfare within us all.

2) Men on the horses signify the incredible power and influence of the testimony and doctrines of this vast army which is within us.

3) The number two, as in “two hundred thousand, thousand” tells us  that  that there are myriads of false witnesses to all those false doctrines.

4) The breastplates of fire and of jacinth, and brimstone on the horsemen tell us that we will be judged by the words of our own mouths and by the very doctrines we have been teaching to others.

5) The death of “the third part of men” tells us that we are dealing with the process of judgment upon “the inhabiters of the earth,” upon the house of God first (1Pe 4:17).

6) The fact that the power of these horses is in their mouths, which are “as the mouth of a lion,” instead of coming out of the mouth of the men on the horses, tells us that the horse and his rider are both one and the same beast speaking all the same lying doctrines of demons.

7) “Their power is in their mouth and in their tails” tells us that these are the false doctrines of false prophets with which doctrines we all have been hurt, and from which we are being delivered by the process of judgment which is at this very moment taking place in “the house of God.”

Isa 9:15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

8) “The rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues” tells us that God’s wrath is on all ungodliness, and this is an ongoing, yet incomplete process in which we are “dying daily,” and being “crucified with Christ” daily.

9) “Yet repented not of the works of their hands” signifies the same ongoing judgment which is upon the “worship of devils” and “idols of the heart” with which we struggle so very long.

10) “Idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood” are these very same false convictions with which we struggle, ranging from the false doctrine of salvation through good works, to “turning grace into lasciviousness.”

11) “Which neither see, nor hear, nor walk” is the perfect spiritual description of these ‘idols of the heart’ which have taken away our spiritual sight, our spiritual ears, and therefore our ability to walk in Christ’s footsteps and live as Christ lived.

12) “Neither repented they of their murders” signifies the false doctrine of a “Christian soldier” being blessed to be a physical soldier physically fighting for God and country, as well as failing to understand that hatred of one’s fellow man is spiritually the same as murder (1Jn 3:15).

13) “Nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication” both signify the tenacity of the false doctrines of “another Jesus,” which cling to us, even as we struggle to be free of them, and of him.

14) “Nor of their thefts” tells us that we have stolen God’s Words and have twisted them, and have perverted them, and have used them in that way to cover the idols of our hearts, and the doctrines of “another Jesus.”

Next week, Lord willing, we will consider what is the little book in the hand of Christ, and why it is that we are not given the message contained in the voices of the seven thunders.

Rev 10:1  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
Rev 10:2  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth,
Rev 10:3  And cried with a loud voice, as [when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Rev 10:4  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
Rev 10:5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

Hi Mike,

The verse of John 5:29 fills me with fear….Surely we have all done evil… Is not the heart of man evil continually? Hoping you can elucidate on this for me.

M____

Hi again, M____,

It is so good to hear from you!

The days ordained for all of us are written in God’s book before we are ever born, so it behooves us to be patient with one another. In so doing we are accepting what God Himself is doing in our lives and the lives of all men.

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. (ASV)

You ask:

The verse of John 5:29 fills me with fear….Surely we have all done evil… Is not the heart of man evil continually? Hoping you can elucidate on this for me.

I certainly can add some light to the meaning of John 5:29. Here is that verse:

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.

As you put it, “Surely we have all done evil… Is not the heart of man evil continually?” Yes, it is in the heart of man to do “evil continually”.

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

We have studies on the site concerning both the book of Revelation and Job. Both of these books deal with the destruction of the “old man” within us all.

John 5:29, while it is a terrible translation of the Greek, it is simply dealing with the fact that there are two resurrections, the first resurrection for those who are being judged now in this life and the later resurrection for all others.

That verse 5 of Genesis 6 deals with the exact same subject. Before the flood of Noah, mankind was just as they are today. Every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually, and so God destroyed mankind with a flood, which flood is a type of God’s Word.

Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Those who died in that flood have never been judged and will be given their judgment ‘…in their own order’ (1Co 15:23). That is what John 5:29 is dealing with. It is merely telling us that there are two resurrections, for two separate groups at two separte times

The ark of Noah is a type of Christ, and in Him we come through the death of the flood, which is a type of the death of our old man upon the cross, and we come through that flood and become a new man in a new world, which is a type of our lives with Christ living within us, and our old man ‘dying daily’.

1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pe 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; [the people Noah preached to before the flood, as stated in this next verse]
1Pe 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
1Pe 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Christ has come to save all who are in Adam, and that is exactly what He will do. This is made clear in unequivocal terms.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Even the Jews who rejected and crucified our Lord, ‘in their own order’ (1Co 15:23) will be saved from sin and death.

Eze 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

The word ‘might’ is not to be understood as a mere possibility. The fact is that word is not in the Greek at all. The words “…might be saved” are all translated from the one Greek word ‘sozo’.

Here is Strong’s Concordance’s entry for that Greek word:

G4982
σώζω
sōzō
sode’-zo
From a primary word σῶς sōs̄ (contraction for the obsolete σάος saos, “safe”); to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively): – heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

So Christ came to save the world, and that is exactly what He is in the process of doing. I feel sure you have seen all these verses but I will repeat them as a reminder:

Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

So there it is. It is just as you pointed out, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”, and we are told that there is but “one event to the righteous and the wicked… all things come alike to all, as is the good, so is the sinner, for there is no difference”.

That “one event” which causes there to be “no difference” is the Biblical doctrine that all men must first die to our old man and then be resurrected from the dead and we must then, all be judged.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Notice that death must precede judgment. It is this death of our old man which strikes fear into the heart of the flesh of our “old man”. It is our reluctance to relinquish these bodies of flesh which fills us all with fear.

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;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

None of us wants to see our flesh destroyed and replaced by a new man. Even Abraham pleaded with God not to reject his flesh:

Gen 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
Gen 17:16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Gen 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

So “the resurrection of damnation” is just the second resurrection, in which all who do not accept Christ while in these vessels of clay, will be given life with the very same false doctrines and rebellious spirits with which they died being intact in their hearts in that resurrection.

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.

After all if “all things come alike to all… [and] there is one event to the righteous and the wicked… as is the good so is the sinner… for there is no difference”, how then can Christ make the statement that “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 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“?

If there is a resurrection to life and a resurrection to damnation, how then can there be a “one event to the righteous and the wicked”?

The answer to that question lies in understanding that the word ‘damnation’ is a bad translation of the Greek word, ‘krisis‘, and in understanding that those who are resurrected to life are judged in this life.

So if ‘damnation’ is a bad translation of the Greek word, ‘krisis‘ what is the proper translation? Just showing how it is normally translated will answer that question. Here it is as I have cut and pasted from my e-sword:

G2920
κρίσις
krisis
Total KJV Occurrences: 48
judgment, 39
Mat_5:21-22 (2), Mat_10:15, Mat_11:22, Mat_11:24, Mat_12:18, Mat_12:20, Mat_12:36, Mat_12:41-42 (2), Mat_23:23, Mar_6:11, Luk_10:14, Luk_11:31-32 (2), Luk_11:42, Joh_5:22, Joh_5:27, Joh_5:30, Joh_7:24, Joh_8:16, Joh_12:31, Joh_16:8, Joh_16:11, Act_8:33, 2Th_1:5, 1Ti_5:24, Heb_10:27 (2), Jam_2:13 (2), 2Pe_2:4, 2Pe_2:9, 2Pe_3:7, 1Jo_4:17, Jud_1:6, Jud_1:15, Rev_14:7, Rev_18:10
damnation, 3
Mat_23:33, Joh_5:29 (2)
accusation, 2
2Pe_2:11, Jud_1:9
condemnation, 2
Joh_3:19, Joh_5:24
judgments, 2
Rev_16:7, Rev_19:2

So ‘krisis‘ appears in the New Testament 48 times, and of those 48 it is translated ‘judgment’ 39 times. Only three times is it translated ‘damnation’, and in those instances it would better be translated as ‘judgment’.

It appears that of the three instances which I have emboldened above one is a mistake, and ‘krisis‘ is translated as ‘damnation’ only twice. Once is here in the verse which you say “…fills me with fear”, Joh 5:29. It appears in that verse only once, instead of the two times as indicated above. The other entry is in Matthew 23.

Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation [Greek: krisis – judgment] of hell? [Gehenna, a type of the lake of fire]

Clearly a much better translation of this verse would be “…how can you escape the judgment of Gehenna?” Or ‘How can you escape the judgment of the great white throne and the lake of fire?’

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting [Greek: aiōnios – age] fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Where and when are “the devil and his angels” cast into that ‘age lasting fire’? Here is the answer to that question:

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 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.
Rev 20:11 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.
Rev 20:12 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.
Rev 20:13 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.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

What is the purpose of this “lake of fire”? The answer is that “the dead were judged out of the things written in the books, according to their works.”

There it is, the purpose for the lake of fire and the great white throne is the judgment of all who have ever died. They will be judged “out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

When were those books written? This is the part that is very little understood, even though it is declared to be true from Genesis to Revelation. Here is when those books with all of the works of all men were written:

Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

So there it is. God has determined what is our every action for every day of our lives before we are ever born. How long before we are born did God ‘write our days in His book?’ Here is what we are told:

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

So when did this fire that is in this ‘lake of fire’ do its work in those who are being saved in this age? Here is the answer to that question:

1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

“If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss [the loss of the “old man”]: but he himself [“the new man”] shall be save; yet so as by fire”. Here is this same statement in the book of 1 Peter:

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

There it is, the fire that saves us is our judgment. What is it that saves us? We are “saved… so as by fire”. What is that ‘fire’? Here is what that fire is where ever you see that word as it relates to our judgment or the judgment of any man at any time in scripture. This is the ‘fire’ of scripture wherever it appears in the Old or the New Testament:

Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

So it is our “old man” who is the “wood, hay, and stubble” which is burned up and destroyed by “My words in your mouth… the brightness of His coming”.

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

So will all men be saved or will they not? Here are the scriptures which declare that all men will be saved:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

For those who inevitably argue that the word ‘will’ here in 2Pe 3:9 and 1Ti 2:4, is nothing more than a wistful wish God entertains, we have these instructive words concerning whether God’s will is nothing more than wistful thinking:

2Ch 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

“I will do all my pleasure”!!! What God wants, God gets. What does God want?

1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Does that mean just those who choose to believe in Christ, or does that mean the whole world? God cannot make it any clearer:

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

So every curse mentioned in scripture is pronounced upon the “natural… old man” who is first within us all. All the blessings are pronounced upon the new man who comes afterward:

1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

So how is it possible to say that some men will be raised to life and others will be raised to damnation? It is possible to say that because the word ‘damnation’ should read ‘judgment’, and it is possible because those who are being judged now, at this time in fiery trials of this life, as “the house of God”, will be raised first, at the beginning of the thousand years and will not be in a resurrection to judgment in the lake of fire at the end of the thousand years.

It is then true that “they that have done good, [will be raised] unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation”.

I will end this email with the last verse of 1Peter 4 which we quoted above:

1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Your soul is in very good, capable, and loving hands. Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world (1Jh 2:2).

So John 5:29 should no longer cause you any anxiety. The word ‘damnation’ is not damnation at all but is ‘judgment’. Just coming to realize that one Truth should give you confidence that when God’s judgments are in the earth, men will be chastened and will learn righteousness. This especially includes the great white throne judgment.

This is what God’s ‘judgment’ always produces, and this is what our own ‘spirits should be seeking early’:

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.

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 later judgment]

I hope this serves as “the comfort of the scriptures” for you.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Your brother in Christ,

Mike