​H​i Mike,

I​n ​R​evelation it states that anyone whose name isn​’​t found written in the book of li​f​e is cast into the lake of fire. However,​ what about those whose names have been BLOTTED OUT? ​A​re the​y​ ca​s​t in​to​ the lake of fire with the name that was blotted out, or do they get new names?

Thanks, S____​

Hi S​____​,

Thank you for your question. You asked, “What about those whose names have been blotted out? Are they cast into the lake of fire with the name that was blotted out, or do they get new names?”

The short answer to your question is…yes, they are cast into the lake of fire with the name that was blotted out, because it is those whose names were not found in “the book of life” who are cast into the lake of fire:

Rev 20:12  And [at the white throne judgment, vs 11] 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.

Notice “the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,” plural, because each of us is a book which the Lord wrote of us before we were born, “neither having done any good or evil”:

Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

“The children”, Jacob and Esau, both did evil because that is the experience God has given all men to humble them by it, so there is much evil written in all of our books before we were ever born:

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)

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

It is the evil written in each of our “books” that is being judged here at the great white throne:

The names of all who sin against the Lord will be blotted out of the book of life. A group know in scripture as the “few chosen… firstfruits unto God and the Lamb” who are given a part in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection”, are the only ones whose names are in the book of life. That blessed and holy first resurrection occurs at the beginning of the thousand year reign, and all who are blessed to have part is that “resurrection to life” (Joh 5:28-29), will have “overcome the wicked one” in this present time (1Jo 2:13-14). All who are raised up from the dead after the thousand year reign are cast into the lake of fire/second death, at the time of the great white throne judgment:

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 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.

We know this is so because Paul calls Satan “the god of this world” (Greek: G165, ‘aion’, age) in:

2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world [age] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

It is none less than Christ Himself who reveals to us that “the world”, this age, ends when Satan is dethroned and Christ and His Christ are placed upon the throne of “the kingdoms of this world”:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world [G2889: kosmos, world] are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

When the kingdoms of this ‘kosmos‘, this world, become the kingdoms of the Lord and His Christ, the god of this age is dethroned and a new age begins with “the Lord and His Christ” on the throne. We know this is the right order of events because Christ “will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth” (ITi 2:4), in the lake of fire/second death (Rev 20:14-15). We know this is the Truth because are told that “[Christ] is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world”.

And then He tells us:

Mat 12:32  And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world [G165: aion, age], neither in the world to come. [Greek for ‘world’ here is again G165: ‘aion’, age]

Christ knew that any apostate who lives from this age over into the thousand year reign, ‘age’, would not be forgiven or even given to repent until the great white throne judgment after the thousand year reign.

Paul confirms Christ’s words of Matthew 12:32 with this statement in:

Heb 6:4  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6  If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Heb 6:7  For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
Heb 6:8  But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

They will “neither be forgiven in this age, neither in the age to come”, but they will be made to repent, and they will be forgiven and will have their sins covered by the blood of the Lamb as part of the great multitude which no man can number, who will come up out of great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, via the work of the lake of fire/second death/white throne judgment.

Rev 7:9  After this [after the numbering of the 144,00 “firstfruits unto God and the Lamb”, Rev 7:4 and Rev 14:4] 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.
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: 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.

I hope this helps you to see that being blotted out” has to do with the book of life, before the thousand-year reign of the Lord and His Christ, and not the books which are opened after the rebellion which follows the thousand-year reign.

YbiC, Mike

[I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory] Eph 3:13

Psa 90:6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
Psa 90:7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Psa 90:8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
Psa 90:9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
Psa 90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Psa 90:11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

A very common denominator that the body of Christ is experiencing today is judgment, the ‘One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day’, which is a parable that reveals that process of judgment that is on the house of God today and being used to perfect His love within us (1Pe 4:17, 1Jn 4:17).

2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

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?

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that judgement (1 as 1000 or a 1000 as 1) is revealing the loving hand of our Father upon us who is receiving us, or perfecting us, or reconciling us through this process of judgment as we pray for and receive the kingdom of God day by day in earnest which kingdom is His good pleasure to give us.

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Luk 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

2Co 5:11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
2Co 5:12 For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
2Co 5:13 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.
2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

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

Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

“The word of reconciliation” of 2Co 5:19 and “having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself” of Col 1:20, is accomplished through the sanctification process that God’s people are experiencing in advance of the world (Joh 17:17) and is how we come to no longer know Christ after the flesh, but after the spirit. It is when we are called out of darkness and into His marvellous light that we can bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

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

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.

As we contemplate the ongoing and needful judgment upon Christ’s body, we must remind each other to not be discouraged because of the suffering or the afflictions which we are all filling up which are your glory, as it is the means by which God enables us to cease from sinning as we go unto maturity little by little, glory to glory God willing, learning obedience by the things which we suffer.

Eph 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Deu 7:22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

God’s sovereign hand is intimately involved in every stage of our high calling of pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and the verses we will look at are another witness that points to the wisdom of knowing that this is the day of the Lord for us, and as such we must look to Christ and “consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds”. God’s word admonishes us in our patience to possess our souls even as we’re given to bear each other’s burdens, knowing it is Christ in us who strengthens and enables us to do this.

Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

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

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Psa 90:6 In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down^H4135, and withereth^H3001.

The verses we are looking at this week are, in large part, centered around God’s word in Luk 12:5, Ecc 12:1-14 and 2Pe 3:10-13) which remind us how we are suppose to spend our remaining days in these vessels of clay that are being “cut down^H4135, and withereth”.

The question is “what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness”, “seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved” — all these things being the judgment described in 2Pe 3:10 which is “the day of the Lord” for God’s people. Christ turned to the “daughters of Jerusalem” and said “weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children”, which is another way of admonishing us to “fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church”:

H4135 cut down
mûl mool
A primitive root; to cut short, that is, curtail (specifically the prepuce, that is, to circumcise); by implication to blunt; figuratively to destroy: – circumcise (-ing, selves), cut down (in pieces), destroy, X must needs.
Total KJV Occurrences: 36
circumcised, 24
Gen_17:10, Gen_17:12-14 (3), Gen_17:23-27 (5), Gen_21:4, Gen_34:15, Gen_34:17, Gen_34:22 (2), Gen_34:24, Exo_12:44, Exo_12:48, Jos_5:3 (2), Jos_5:5 (2), Jos_5:7 (2), Jer_9:25
circumcise, 5
Deu_10:16, Deu_30:6, Jos_5:2, Jer_4:4 (2)
destroy, 3
Psa_118:10-12 (3)
cut, 2
Psa_58:7, Psa_90:6
circumcising, 1
Jos_5:8
needs, 1
Gen_17:13

H3001 withereth
yâbêsh yaw-bashe’
A primitive root; to be ashamed, confused or disappointed; also (as failing) to dry up (as water) or wither (as herbage): – be ashamed, clean, be confounded, (make) dry (up), (do) shame (-fully), X utterly, wither (away).

Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth [In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up], while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Ecc 12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened [Mat 24:29], nor the clouds return after the rain [Amo 8:11]:
Ecc 12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few [Mat 22:14, within Mat 24:41], and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
Ecc 12:4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Ecc 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: (Rev 11:9-12, Luk 23:28)
Ecc 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Ecc 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
Ecc 12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
Ecc 12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
Ecc 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads [Act 26:14], and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
Ecc 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Eph 1:11, Isa 45:7).

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Both of these dire statements for the flesh found in (Luk 12:5, 2Pe 3:10) are accompanied right after with the hope filled message that, while we go through this process of judgement of grace and faith, there is witness of our being purchased by the blood of Christ and how valuable we are to God and how certain the work is to be accomplished that God is working in His people right now.

Luk 12:6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
Luk 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Psa 90:7 For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Psa 90:8 Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
Psa 90:9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

It is God’s anger that is consuming our old man, or His righteous indignation. He is burning out of us our iniquities and our secret sins in the light of His countenance, and we turn to these verses in Exodus to witness that the law does not change our hearts, it is only when we our blessed to see “the light of thy countenance” that the heart of man can truly change.

Psa 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Exo 33:21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
Exo 33:22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
Exo 33:23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

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

Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Judgment is on the house of God, and for that reason all of our days which are written in His book are “passed away in thy wrath”, to the end that He who has begun a good work in us will accomplish it through Christ.

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.

Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Psa 90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Psa 90:11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

“The days of our years” are “threescore years and ten” is a parable describing the predestinated life that we live out as the sons of Adam: 70 years or 3X20 plus 10, reminds us that there is a process of judgment that all men are going through. It is not the same judgment that God’s elect are going through that is changing our hearts, however it could be thought of as a negative judgment in that sense, or more of a ‘whatever you sow you will reap’ judgment, which is true for us as well.

Regardless of what happens to us while we live and move and have our being in Christ (3×20+10=70), it is only when we by “reason of strength” which is speaking of the strength of Christ through whom we can endure all things (Php 4:13) that we can avoid being “soon cut off, and we fly away” or ‘die a common death’ because we are not being judged in this life. It is when we are granted to die daily, that we are being circumcised on the eighth day which symbolizes and witnesses that we are putting off the whole flesh in this life through Christ by not denying him but rather denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Him (4X20).

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Act 17:28 for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Lev 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

These verses in Psalms tell us that life is not easy for anyone as we get old and put off the flesh, and the sparks spoken of in Job 5:7 are really the (3 x 20 + 10=70) part of this statement speaking of all flesh (Job 5:7), however the “yet is their strength labour and sorrow” part of verse 11 is speaking directly to God’s people who must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God (Act 14:22).

God willing we are amongst those who are coming to “know the power of thine anger” and are understanding more and more that “even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath” is a good thing, and a necessary experience of evil that the Lord is causing so that we can mature in Him.

Ecc 1:13 And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven: it is a sore travail that God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith.

Eph 4:13 till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the last part of this Psalm 90 where the Psalmist cries out to God to finish the work that He has started, knowing that it will require wisdom and understanding and the ability to apply our hearts unto that wisdom even as He teaches us to number our days which are all written in His book:

Psa 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Psa 90:13 Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
Psa 90:14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Psa 90:15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
Psa 90:16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
Psa 90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Psa 90:1 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
Psa 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

In this Psalm we will be looking at the inspired supplication of “Moses the man of God” who is also called “the servant of the LORD”, who died in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord.

Jer 25:21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,

Deu 34:5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
Deu 34:6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. [no carnal man knows of the mystery that a seed must die and so we have this parable to remind us that the whole unbelieving world is blind (2Co 4:4, Joh 12:24])
Deu 34:7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

We have to experience this type and shadow of 3 (judgment) X 40 (tribulation) of the 120-year life of Moses in order to go into the promised land to which Moses was denied entry because he represents the law, just as John the baptist whose law-filled head, like ours, needs to be severed in order to know God and His son. That will ultimately only happen on the 3rd day when we go unto perfection) (Luk 13:32).

Moses’ death in Moab is a shadow for us that reminds us that the law given by Moses is a law that is in the earth (Moab and Esau relating to the flesh), a carnal law for the lawless, a schoolmaster that is needed in order for the new law of liberty of Christ to be born within us (Jas 1:25). One law transcends the other in glory like the sun outshines the moon (Mat_5:20 , 2Co_3:9-14).

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Unless a seed dies it remains alone, Christ tells us, and all of humanity without the life of Christ in them are none of his, gentiles unto themselves who have not come to see this reality of our need to be grafted into Christ and His Christ and to be judged by the perfect law of liberty in Christ rather than live by the law of the lawless which does not change the heart of man.

Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

This transformation into Christ only starts to happen when we are dragged to Christ (Joh 6:44) and are grafted into the fatness as it is described in Romans 11:17. Christ gives us the ability to no longer be conformed to the pattern of this world but transformed by the renewing of our minds. The perfect will of God is not obtained by being under tutors and governors, which is what we need initially, but rather we become heirs by being grafted into the Vine, and as such we become His inheritance.

Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Gal 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: [not one day of the Lord, not everyday as being esteemed alike as it should be (Rom 14:5), but in bondage under days months times and years (Gal 4:10-11)]
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (being grafted into this inheritance in Christ).

Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Gal 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

2Ti 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
2Ti 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

If we look at chapters 8 and 9 of Romans, it becomes very clear that the seed that dies in the land of Moab (Moses) is symbolic of the law of sin that is in our members, and that it is this law for the lawless that makes the sin in our members more evident provided the holy spirit is convicting us of our need for the life of Christ, whose life gives us the ability to live by the spiritual intent of the law of Moses and to be able to fulfill the “but I say unto you” verses that proceeded forth from Christ’s mouth when he contrasted the law of Moses with the law of Christ in our members.

Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Gal 6:2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Lord willing, we won’t despise the chastening grace which demonstrates His goodness that is making it possible for us to become a new creation that has a singleness of mind in Him, being able to love our enemies and resist not evil, even as we lay up store or treasure in heaven as we go through the fiery process of becoming mature sons of God who bring forth much fruit.

Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

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:

Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Joh 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

We are in Him so that we can be received through this experience of having Christ work out the details in each of our lives, both to will and to do so that we can become a new creation that is accepted of the Father through Christ, a tree bringing forth good fruit or a vessel of honour unto the Lord.

Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

2Ti 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

Our enemies will be of our own household, both within and without (Mat 10:36). We can measure the enemies within our own temple, but we cannot, and must not measure the enemies without, thinking that we can change this world, which is laying up store today against God’s wrath in the day of their judgment that will come in the lake of fire. God willing we are laying these things up in store, even as we are brought into judgment today for those things which we have harboured ourselves in our own hearts and need to have burnt out of us today God willing.

Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Job 36:13 But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them.

1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Mat 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

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.

The world, or the court and the camp, are not being measured today but are under the law of Moses or the law of the gentiles. God is teaching His people how to walk circumspectly with all men as we provide witness of the hope of glory that is within us.

Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Rom 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

1Co 9:20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
1Co 9:21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
1Co 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Col 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Eph 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Eph 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Psa 90:1 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

“The man^G444 Jesus Christ” of 1Timothy 2:5 is the same anthropos man “the man^H376 of God” in this verse one of our study.

Psa 90:1 A prayer^{G4335 by Moses(G) the manG444 G3588 of God.G2316 (ABP+)}

Psa 90:1  A Prayer^H8605 of Moses^H4872 the man^H376 of God^H430… (KJV)

The holy spirit inspired these following verses of comparison in to remind us of the great contrast between Christ and man, not in our flesh, but in regard to the honour which God has placed upon Christ and His Christ for that which He and we must endure and sacrifice to be counted worthy to rule and reign under Christ one day (Isa_53:4 , Joh_1:27 , Mat_11:11 , Mat_19:27 , 2Ti_2:12 , Col_1:24).

Heb 3:3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
Heb 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

Psa 127:1 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

He and we must be accounted worthy through what we endure as these scriptures show:

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Joh 1:27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

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 19:27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Christ is our high priest today who will be and is the author and finisher of our faith today and eventually all of mankind who will be saved (Mat 22:14, 1Co 15:22). Christ has also “been our dwelling place in all generations” inasmuch as everyone who has ever been born has lived and moved and had their being in our Lord (Act 17:28) who is working all things according to the counsel of God’s will including the order in which mankind will be saved (Eph 1:11, 1Co 15:23).

There is also a contrast between the law of Moses versus the law of the spirit of Christ within us, which law, when obeyed in our members, is building up the house of God even as John decreases within us and Christ increases (Joh 3:30), which is what will happen if we’re granted to fill up what is behind of those stripes of Christ, of his afflictions in His body which is the church (Col 1:24), his flesh and bones (Eph 5:30) that must be crucified and be dead to sin and alive in Christ (Luk 7:28, Johm3:3, Luk 17:21, Joh 5:23, 1Pe 2:24, Php 2:9, Gal 2:20, Rom 6:11).

Psa 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

We’re reminded once again of the order of God’s creation in this verse throughout every age “from everlasting to everlasting” and how Christ was the God of the old covenant who was created of our Father and was the beginning of the creation of God that existed “before the mountains were brought forth”. The mountains, the earth and the world which were created by Christ are also symbolic of the nations and everything that proceeded forth from Adam and Eve. We need only consider that Christ was born of a woman and take that verse and couple it with Romans 1:20 to give us another clear witness that the physical birth of Christ reveals that the spiritual birth or creation of our Lord was also a reality.

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exo 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Exo 3:16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction^H1793; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

God turns man to destruction^H1793, or to powder, so that we can be saved. Salvation comes through this process of being crushed and God is the author and finisher of that process through Christ.

Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The word destruction^H1793, and the word contrite^H1793 in Isa 57:15 are the same Hebrew word, and is the only way we can go unto perfection, which is what the falling on the stone and then progressing to the being ground like powder represent in Matthew 21:44. Everyone will be salted with fire (Mar 9:49, Lev 2:13, Col 4:6), and it is the finely ground flour in the meal offering which is required (Lev 2:1-2) and represents this principle of being bruised and broken as the Lord “return[s] ye children of men” via this process of chastening and scourging (Heb 5:8, Heb 12:6).

H1793
– Original: דu1468 כu1468 אpar – Transliteration: Dakka’
– Phonetic: dak-kaw’
– Definition: n m

1. dust adj
2. contrite

– Origin: from H1792
– TWOT entry: 427a,b
– Part(s) of speech:

– Strong’s: From H1792; crushed (literally powder or figuratively contrite): – contrite destruction.

Total KJV Occurrences: 3

• contrite, 2

Psa_34:18; Isa_57:15

• destruction, 1

Psa_90:3

Psa 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Right after we’re told by God “Thou turnest man to destruction^H1793; and sayest, Return, ye children of men”, we are told “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night“, which we know according to this scripture in Peter (2Pe 3:8) is wisdom that we ought to know, to give us comfort and understanding of this process that God has called us unto and how there is mercy that will accompany every step of ‘The Way’ as we are judged of our Lord (Heb 13:5, 1Co 10:13).

Our life is a vapour in God’s sight, and yet it is a vapour over which He has complete control from start to finish (Jas 4:14, Eph 1:11), and that is the comfort we can take from 2Peter 3:8-9 because it is a reminder that God is not slack concerning all these promises as some men count slackness, and that his hand is not shortened neither his ear heavy that he cannot hear us and save us, as it says in Isaiah 59:1.

The Lord inspired Peter to say “beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day“.

This is a parable for us to admonish us that God is wakeful over his word to perform it (Jer 1:12). He neither slumbers nor sleeps, and the one day which represents the day of the Lord for God’s elect is the day that we are judged (1Pe 4:17), which judgment is symbolized by the thousand days, which is ten times ten times ten [3 tens].

We can be assured that God is able to pick up every crumb of experience that has been written in our books and use it to His glory during this time of judgment as we go from glory to glory (2Co 3:18) learning obedience in our Lord by those things which we are called to suffer through in this life (Heb 5:8, 1Jn 4:17). God is longsuffering and able to form this mind of Christ within his people so that the bride will say that she has made herself ready (Rev 19:7). God will do it, and it will happen in the perfect predestinated order that He planned it to happen (Php 2:13).

Why “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” is also a parable to remind us that God is outside of time, and can very easily work the clay to a prophetic conclusion which He can declare from the beginning. Nothing is impossible for God. It is reassuring to know this, that all that we go through was written for a reason by a loving Father who loves us all and tells us that all of these experiences that the body of Christ are going through are all working together for the good for those who are called according to his predestined purposed of saving the few today (Rom 8:28), so that the rest can be saved in the great white throne judgement (Mat 22:14).

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.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the second part of this Psalm which will get into what occurs during this ‘one day’ which is as a thousand and a thousand days which are as one day unto the Lord. We all know as Christ’s body that these days point to judgment, and that it is by God working with us that we can grow in boldness even during this day of judgment that we are so blessed to be a part of together (1Jn 4:17).

Mike,

You said: “That Day is HERE!! It is not in some distant past or future. Jesus isn’t coming back… Yahshua is already HERE!!” Yes, the salvation of God (Yahshua) is inward… the Kingdom of God comes without observation. It is IN your midst… the Christ in you.

I agree it is symbolic. The book of Revelation is signified. It is symbolic in words (metaphor) and signified (the meaning of) in numbers. None of it in the strict sense is literal. There is no literal thousand year (365 days) rule by the elect. Thousand is a signified number. Year is a symbol metaphor. The book of Revelation is the unveiling of the Salvation of God … in his anointing (Jesus Christ) to his elect and the many are called (the rest of humanity).

The elect are the first fruits, the 144 thousand, the bride of Christ, the few are chosen .. etc…144 is a not an arbitrary number that is symbolized. It signifies (the meaning of) the reality. Just as the 4 beasts with 6 wings and the 12 elders number are not arbitrary either. They are signified in 144….4×6=24…24×6=144.. that is not a coincidences or a symbol. To understand what Revelation is signifying in symbols and numbers the Sums of God’s word must be understood.

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding calculate the number of the beast: for it is the number of man; and his number is Six hundred threescore six.

Numbers aren’t symbols (word metaphors) … they signify. 144 thousand is not the “number”quantity of elect. It is THEIR number quality. As I said before 144 thousand is the sum of the Fibonacci sequence Fn12/ Fn13=0.618….

Phi (the Golden ratio) is its ratio (relationship) to 1..(God the Father AND God the Son are BOTH “1”) 1:0.618… its reciprocal 1:1.618….. they are the same ratio to “1”….. it is the ONLY number that is in a perfect ratio to “1” out of ALL the infinite numbers beside 1.

Phi derives its name from the Greek letter which is also a number that is equal to 500. phi=500… Phi=500 500+500=1,000..

That is God signifying his word. EVERYTHING has a very specific PERFECT meaning.144 thousand the first fruits is God signifying making man “mature in a perfect relationship with his creation and it’s ALL signified by the sums.

phi/ Phi is the thousand year reign… it is NOT a literal thousand years or even symbolic (a metaphor).. it is TRUTH being signified with numbers. What is that reigning? It is God making us Priests and Kings in The Kingdom of God. What and where is that Kingdom? In OUR MIDST. We will become Kings and Priests in the Kingdom of God WITHIN US (Christ in you)… not other people. All will be resurrected. The overcomers overcome the mark of the beast… a signified number.. 666.. the number of the beast of man. Fn3/ Fn4=.666(2/3)… even though it is close to phi, it is not 618. The many will and have not overcome 666, but the elect will – first as the first- fruits.

You quoted: 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.

And said: “I think you already agree that these are words we keep inwardly, but I just want to be sure we are never led to believe that they have no outward, or future application. Of course they are both. They apply in every sense and in every tense. If that were not so, then there would be no need for two separate resurrections divided by a “thousand year” reign of God’s elect over “the kingdoms of this world”.”

Yes, OVER the kingdom of this world. The kingdom of this world are BECOME the Kingdom of our Lord.

Yes, the first fruits are the first to “grow” to maturity of Christ in you. They will obtain the first resurrection.. that is the first fruits. Of course there is also what the scriptures don’t say… what exactly the resurrection is. Revelation is a symbolic book of symbols and signifiers. It is NOT literal. It would be false to assume we know what this resurrection life is beyond it being in the spirit.

The many believe it is a resurrected perfect flesh and blood body. Some an illusion of flesh that is a spirit body. Some a combination of both .. and everything else under the sun, but for sure NO one has been resurrected (perfected) EXCEPT Yahshua the firstborn of the dead.

Yes, there is a resurrection and Yahshua was the first resurrected, but what is the resurrection? The scriptures say we are to no longer know Yahshua after the flesh. He said he would not leave the disciples comfortless and will return to indwell them. That sheds a little more light, however the picture is not completely drawn except it has happened to Yahshua and WILL happen to others.

Is the religious world waiting for a fleshly return of Jesus… yes. Yet the scriptures say he has already returned. Are any resurrected from the dead… no… no one had attained 1:1.618 in the flesh EXCEPT Yahshua. That is a matured relationship with the Father. Yahshua returned to the Father to the relationship before he was incarnate.. Fn1= The Father… Fn2= The Son.. Fn1=1… Fn2=1…..1:1.. PERFECT UNION. The Father and Son are “1”.

Christ returned to us in spirit (Christ in you) to make us “1” with the Father also however … we are NOT THE only begotten Son. Only The Only Begotten is in Perfect Union ratio… we will be in perfect ratio of Phi…1:0.618… then 1:1.618… and so on and so on… infinitely… the Phi ratio is an irrational number and is infinite and never reach 618… which signifies we will infinitely be growing closer in relationship to God. It truly is a journey, not a destination.

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.

Yes, the “judgment” is salvation… crucifixion of the flesh of the beast of man’s imperfection… the mark of the beast 666. Salvation is the equation that is Summed in resurrection… no one except Yahshua has been resurrected from the beast flesh of 666 to 618. Of course all of Revelation is symbolic words and signified numbers. If there is no literal Lake of fire there is no literal thousand year even if it’s called a symbol.

Quoting you: “2Ti 2:18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. These words are written by the same apostle who tells us that we are to count ourselves as already risen, because he knew of the is, was, and will be, character of God’s Word.”

Paul was differentiating between what they believed as Jews to the reality of salvation. Yes … is, was, will be are symbols for the equation. The basis Isa 1+1=2… 1/2=.5 …. 1+2=3… 2/3 =.666 … etc… it is how everything grows and is summed. The equation is already summed… it is done… man is experiencing the equation (salvation) in … is, was will be… past, present, future1+1=2… That is what was signified to John and why it was repeated so many times.

You quote: “Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

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.

So Christ has returned and is now ruling over the kingdoms of this world in earnest, within us, and we are to count ourselves as dead and risen with Him in earnest, but not as already having received the redemption of the purchased possession.”

yes. the kingdom of God is within our midst.. he never said it would be fully formed yet. The earnest”down payment” is the process of salvation. This all takes Yahshua (God’s salvation) already BEING here. The Christ in you being formed. Again the false religious connotation is Jesus the man (flesh or spirit) is going to return to earth… the planet … overthrow the earthy rulers … set up a benevolent ruler Kingdom with priest and kings as his ambassadors for a thousand years. That just isn’t true. Christ is being formed in US… the temple of God, and we will be priests and kings ruling over that Kingdom of our heavens.

The Unveiling of Yahsua is full of surprises. Sometimes I felt like I’ve awoke from a long sleep and am only remembering my dreams. The deep things of God are unlimited. Every unveiling is a new experience; that sometimes seems like an old one but with more clarity. I know what I say is not easy to hear. It was not easy to hear for me either. God has made many things clearer to me through your writing.

The bottom line is God has written his word in and on everything. There is nothing left to chance. The scriptures are inspired by God and written in words AND numbers. The two- edged sword. The words are types and shadows (real history that are types and shadows of what is to be), parables and symbolic metaphor the numbers signify. The hidden mystery (not mysticism) is the signifying. There are outward signifiers like the numbers I was talking of. However the deeper things of God is the infinite complex equation that everything (including the scriptures and especially the scriptures) Sum to. The biggest lesson I have learned is nothing is as it seems at first. Numbers were just conventions to confuse me in a class I failed. However The depth of God’s wisdom is so deep we don’t need to seek it (and can’t unless we are drawn).. it will come to us just when we need it and can hear it… God bless you all.

R____

Hi R____,

Thank you for your reply. My purpose in directing your attention to the fact that there are two resurrections which are separated by a symbolic one thousand years, was to point out that while the number 1000 is indeed symbolic of how long God will take to bring all flesh to an end, so death can be “destroyed” and the aions can come to their predestined end, the destruction of death is not possible as long as flesh continues to be produced. It seems from what I am understanding of your teaching here…:

“yes, the kingdom of God is within our midst. He never said it would be fully formed yet. The earnest “down payment” is the process of salvation. This all takes Yahshua (God’s salvation) already BEING here. The Christ in you being formed. Again the false religious connotation is Jesus the man (flesh or spirit) is going to return to earth… the planet … overthrow the earthy rulers … set up a benevolent ruler Kingdom with priest and kings as his ambassadors for a thousand years. That just isn’t true. Christ is being formed in US… the temple of God, and we will be priests and kings ruling over that Kingdom of our heavens.”

… that you did not grasp the significance of having two separate resurrections. So I want you to tell me, how do you account for the resurrection of “Sodom and Samaria”? How can people who died never having a chance to have “Christ in you the hope of glory” be given life if indeed as you say here:

“the false religious connotation is Jesus the man (flesh or spirit) is going to return to earth… the planet … overthrow the earthy rulers … set up a benevolent ruler Kingdom with priests and kings as his ambassadors for a thousand years. That just isn’t true. Christ is being formed in US… the temple of God and we will be priest and Kings ruling over that Kingdom of our heavens.”

The scriptures simply do not agree with you. Yes, Christ is being formed in His elect now, but that does not address this revelation:

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.

This verse does not give us a date so we can know exactly what length of time “a thousand years” signifies, but it does, just like the book of Revelation, give us the order of those events.

That order is:

1) the resurrection of those who are in Christ, “at his coming”. It is not “already past”, but is an event which is future to the time before the “thousand years”.

2) A thousand years, when the kingdoms of this world will be ruled by the overcomers of this age, and

3) a period of time “when the thousand years are finished” in which Satan will be released again and again permitted to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, and cause them to “encompass the camp of the saints” who have been ruling them with a rod of iron for “a thousand years”, followed by

4) fire coming down from God out of heaven and devouring “the nations in the four quarters of the earth, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea”, followed by “a great white throne… judgment”, followed by

5) the destruction of death and the grave in the lake of fire. Contrary to what you are trying to tell us, this is what the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the holy spirit, tells us:

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

The subject of these verses is “the dead in Christ”, and we are told that when “the Lord Himself descends from heaven with a shout, those who are “dead in Christ shall rise first” and that any who happen to still be in the flesh when that happens will be “changed… in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”, and will ascend into the heavens to be with Christ.

1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

These verses certainly include the changes we experience when we are converted and “know no man after the flesh, [ and] henceforth know… [ Christ] no longer after the flesh”. But these words tell us plainly that some of us will still be in bodies of flesh when Christ returns, before the thousand years begins, and they tell us plainly that those who are “dead in Christ” will be raised up from the dead at that time. The fact that we are to no longer “know Christ after the flesh” does not equate to having no future literal return of Christ to receive those overcomers who have died in His faith, to rule with Him a thousand years. Now we go to the second event which we are plainly told follows the resurrection of those who are “dead in Christ” and which follows the change that occurs in those who are in Christ but have not yet died.

Here is what we are told of those people:

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

This is not a reward given while we are “keeping His Words to the end” but afterward, when “Christ Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout… and we which are alive and remain are caught up to meet Him in the air, at the beginning of “a thousand years” of “ruling the nations with a rod of iron. That is the reward which is promised for “overcoming and keeping [ His] works unto the end”. That is not the reward given while keeping His works.

I could go through the period of time that follows that symbolic thousand year reign, when Satan is released to deceive the nations in the four quarters of the earth, I could ask you why Satan is released if Christ is in us and this is all being fulfilled only in us now and will not have a literal consummation, as you indicate. I could repeat that those nations “encompass the camp of the saints” giving God the “occasion” he is seeking to destroy all flesh, and thereby destroy death and the grave. I could ask you how “death and the grave can ever be destroyed, and how God can ever be “all in all” if flesh continues to be produced upon this earth, and that ever- present flesh continues to grow old and die?

It is in light of all of these truths which are plainly stated in Rev 20 that Paul informs us of these words:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end [ harvest of “all in Adam”], when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Christ reigns only “till He [ the Father] has put all things under His [ Christ’s] feet. After that, Christ “subjects Himself to Him [ the Father] who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

So contrary to what you are trying to teach, there is a consummation of the ages, “Then comes the end”, when all men of all ages will be raised up from the dead, given to know Christ and be judged just as we are being judged in this age. The only difference is that they will be “raised a spiritual body” to be judged along with “the devil and His angels”.

Now let’s look again at your words:

… yes, the kingdom of God is within our midst.. he never said it would be fully formed yet. The earnest”down payment” is the process of salvation. This all takes Yahshua (God’s salvation ) already BEING here. The Christ in you being formed. Again the false religious connotation is Jesus the man (flesh or spirit) is going to return to earth… the planet … overthrow the earthy rulers … set up a benevolent ruler Kingdom with priest and kings as his ambassadors for a thousand years. That just isn’t true. Christ is being formed in US… the temple of God, and we will be priests and kings ruling over that Kingdom of our heavens.

Now let’s compare your words to our Lord’s inspired words:

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

If this is not literal carnal nations, then why is a “rod of iron” needed? If as you say, there is no period of time when those who overcome and keep Christ’s works to the end are rewarded with rulership over the nations for learning to rule the nations within themselves in this age, then why are we told that Christ’s reign is only until He has put all enemies under His feet? Your doctrine has no end to death or the grave in sight.

Again why are we told, symbolically, how long will they who “overcome and keep [ Christ’s works unto the end”, be ruling? Is that rule, as you are telling us, already present within us only, and with no end in sight? Or is there an order to both resurrections, and are they, as the scriptures plainly teach, divided by a certain symbolic period of time that symbolizes a period of time, and not something else? Here again is what the scriptures teach:

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. [ Because they had “kept His works unto the end” [Rev 2:27].
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
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.
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 [ the eons of the eons].
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.

So, if all of this is only here and now, and there is no thousand years and no ruling of the elect during that time as the scriptures plainly teach, then why are we given all of this order of the sequence of all of these events which lead to the destruction of death, and the judgment of “the dead small and great”, and of those who never knew Christ in past ages? Your doctrine completely ignores those multitudes. How does your doctrine bring salvation to Sodom, or for that matter to anyone before Christ? Doesn’t the lake of fire, which comes on the scene “when the thousand years are expired” and Satan has been released to deceive the nations, accomplish that goal? Here is why Satan is released:

Jdg 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

The Philistines signify those who are in the promised land without benefit of circumcision. They signify our uncircumcised flesh. They signify “the nations in the four quarters of the earth” who “compass the camp of the saints” who have been ruling them with a rod of iron for a thousand years, and God is seeking an occasion against all flesh, to bring it to its predestined destruction. So we are plainly told that Satan’s release “when the thousand years are expired… was of the Lord”:

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.

This signifies the destruction of all flesh. This is the death of death and the destruction of the grave. Now all that is left is to save all men of all time from death, and the channel for that work is God’s elect who have fire in their mouths:

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.
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

So what is the very next thing we are told:

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.

The destruction of all flesh is signified by the destruction of the sea out of which the beast arises in Rev 13:

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

And what is the very next verse of scripture, after we are told of the function of the lake of fire? It is this verse which informs us of a very interesting fact concerning the “new earth”.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea [ no more flesh].

I hope this helps you to see that there is a Biblical order to when all of these things all happen, and I hope you can see that God’s elect, who “overcome and keep His works to the end” in this age, are the “blessed and holy” channel through which the rest of mankind will be brought to know God and His Son, “when the thousand years” of their reign “is expired”. They will do this as that “lake of fire” which will cleanse and purify the masses of unbelievers who have lived in this age and all the masses of humanity who have ever lived in all the ages before Christ.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously [“He that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end”], and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

God’s elect are His channel for the salvation of all men of all time, but that will happen only “when the thousand years are finished” and we, as that “lake of fire”, are used of God to destroy all flesh, and to thus bring an end to all death and an end to the grave.

I will repeat these verses for your consideration:

1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

You admit that there is a future “first resurrection”:

“Yes, there is a resurrection, and Yahshua was the first resurrected, but what is the resurrection?”

But you deny that there is a second resurrection which is separated from the first resurrection by a thousand years of the rulership of those who have “kept [ Christ’s] works unto the end” as their reward for doing so. In so doing you ignore the need for the salvation of all who lived before Christ came to live His life in us, and you don’t deal with the need for the salvation of all those who do not come to know Christ since His coming in a body of flesh and blood.

Please consider all these scriptures I have taken the time to share with you. If you still think as you have said: “Jesus the man (flesh or spirit) is going to return to earth… the planet … overthrow the earthy rulers … set up a benevolent ruler Kingdom with priest and kings as his ambassadors for a thousand years. That just isn’t true. Christ is being formed in US… the temple of God and we will be priest and Kings ruling over that Kingdom of our heavens”, then we will just have believe that our safety is revealed through God’s word in His multitude of counselors:

Pro 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people [ you and me] fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Pro 15:22 Without counsel purposes [ yours and mine] are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
Pro 24:6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war [ in the heavens of you and me]: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

That phrase “in the multitude of counselors” is in the scriptures three times, and it signifies how we are to judge our doctrines so they do not cause us to longer fall, or be disappointed when we are waging spiritual warfare. You say that I cannot offend you, and I am very pleased to hear that. But you said that immediately after quoting what I had pointed out about what we are given in this life being only “the earnest of the spirit” and not “the redemption of the purchased possession”. Your doctrine is telling us that what we have now is the redemption of the purchased possession, and the things which are promised to those who “keep [ Christ’s] works unto the end” are all here and now because Christ is in us here and now. That is simply not what “until the redemption of the purchased possession” means. I will quote those verses again, for your consideration:

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.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your concerned, but loving brother in Christ,

Mike>

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.

Introduction

Last week we learned that Satan was placed under house arrest for “a thousand years” and was not permitted to deceive the nations during that time. This week we will see that, “when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.”

As always we are reminded that these are not words only for those who will some day be living on this earth “when the thousand years are expired”, but that “this generation will not pass before all these things shall be fulfilled” (Mat 24:34), and that two thousand years ago we were told, “Keep the things written therein, for the time is at hand.”

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.

With all of this in mind, let’s go to Matthew 24, and observe how Christ’s prophecy for “this generation” parallels this portion of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us.

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.
Mat 24:26  Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28  For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29  Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no [ man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

“My words shall not pass away.” It is Christ Himself who tells all His disciples of all time, “this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” It is Christ Himself who tells us “My words will never pass away, and it is Christ Himself who tells us that this includes “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Notice how this all accords with “the supper of the great God in Revelation 19.

Rev 19:17  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
Rev 19:18  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [ men, both] free and bond, both small and great.

Here in Revelation 19 we see an angel inviting the fowls of the heaven to eat the flesh of horses and them that ride on them at the supper of the great God, and here in Mat 24 Christ is telling us that “the eagles will be gathered together wheresoever the carcase is”. “The dream is one” (Gen 41:25).

Since Christ tells us…

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.

… and then He tells us:

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

When we put Matthew 24:34-35 together with Rev 1:3, and 22:6-7 and verses 18-19, what does this tell us concerning this period called “a thousand years”? Here are those verses in Revelation:

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.

Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings [are] faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed [is] he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Rev 22:18  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Our permissive spirit always asks ‘which things written in this book are we to keep’, hoping to somehow avoid “keeping [all] the things written therein”. ‘Surely’, reasons our natural mind, ‘the things written therein (Rev 1:3) and the sayings of the prophecy of this book (Rev 22:6-7), does not include the seven last plagues, or this thousand years of being reigned over by God’s elect, or this thing called the lake of fire. Surely God is not saying that all men live by even these words!’
Well, if that is the case, then all these verses are bald face lies:

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.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

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.

But these words are all true, they have “never passed away”, and the reason “all things present and to come are ours” is because the words of Christ are themselves Christ, who in Truth “is, was and will be… the Word of God”.

That being said, however, the elect do not experience the actual lake of fire, for we are assured:

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.

And…

Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The elect ARE found in the book of life, so they are not cast into the lake of fire. Not that they don’t experience ‘fiery trials’ during their life in the flesh, but the experience called the ‘lake of fire’ is for those whose names were not found in the book of life.

What does all of this tell us about this period called “a thousand years”?

Is “a thousand years” literal?

The first thing we need to establish is the Biblical and spiritual meaning of the number one thousand. One thousand is ten to the third power, 10 x 10 x 10. We have seen in our earlier studies on the spiritual meaning of numbers in scripture that the number 10 is the Biblical symbol for our flesh at its worst and at its very best. God enumerated exactly ten nations in Canaan which He would give to Israel when He brought them out of Egypt. It was Joseph’s ten brothers who sold him into Egypt. There were ten plagues upon Egypt which brought Pharaoh, the Biblical type of our sinful flesh, to let Israel leave Egypt. God gave Israel the ten commandments in the wilderness to govern their actions in bodies of flesh. There were ten rebellions while in the wilderness by Israel against their own savior. One thousand is this number ten, the number of our flesh, to the third power. Ten is our flesh, and three is the number of the process of our judgment. As such, one thousand years is the spiritual symbol for the judgment of our flesh at its very best.

What do we find when God judges our flesh at its zenith? What we discover is that flesh, at its zenith, at its very best, is still corruption and rebellion against a pure, spiritual heavenly Father and His Christ.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

So that is what all these verses concerning God’s sovereignty in “all things, things present and things to come” is telling us. They are declaring to us that God is working in our lives, and what He is telling us is that this “thousand years” is part of that “one event to all men”. What these verses are telling us is that “the time is at hand for us to keep [this] thousand years”. What they are telling us is that the phrase “a thousand years” “signifies” and is used by the holy spirit in this prophecy as a symbol of something “which must shortly be done” in our lives, and which we all will “shortly… keep” and do “for the time is at hand”.

So what exactly is the spiritual significance of this thing called “a thousand years” or in theological jargon, “the millennium”? What takes place during this time when our flesh is being brought to its zenith, just before its destruction.

The first thing we need to realize concerning this symbol is what it is not. It is not a time when God will save this world, rather it is the time that sets up our flesh, and all flesh, for its own destruction. For God to be saving anyone, He has, throughout His Word revealed that being an overcomer requires “the wicked one… the tempter”, to be overcome, as our Lord overcame him.

Mar 1:12  And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
Mar 1:13  And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

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.

It is only through the fiery trials from the Adversary himself, that the Christ is tried. There is no such opportunity during the thousand years because Satan is hedged out of our lives during this time. When we begin to mature, “think it not strange concerning the fiery trials” which we must encounter to overcome the wicked one. He is released upon us at this time, and he will overcome us, before we are resurrected with our Lord and called up to heaven to sit with Him in His Father’s throne.

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:

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

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.
Rev 11:12  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
Rev 11:13  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Only after all this has been done “in the same hour… a great earthquake” takes place within us, and we are then qualified to be “seated with Christ in the heavens”. This earthquake is the time of the destruction of our flesh so we can be “saved by fire” through that very destruction and through that death.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

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.

Here is the account of that destruction of all flesh and the institution of the lake of fire which will be used by God to show mercy to, and to save by fire, all men, excluding those who were chosen to be God’s elect as they have already gone through their fire. Their fire is NOT the lake of fire, but what Peter calls our ‘fiery experience’, the fire being the purification by God’s word.

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.

There is no “lake of fire” for those who are being judged at this time, as their experience is called fiery trials, and it behooves us to follow a ‘pattern of sound words’.

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?

“For the time is come” means “because the time is come that through suffering as a Christian, judgment must begin at the house of God”. There will be no “suffering as a Christian” taking place during the “thousand years”, and there will be no “judgment beginning at the house of God” during the thousand years, because Satan will be imprisoned, under the seal and the chain of the word of God. He will be under house arrest, in the bottomless pit, or abussos, of our flesh. This is true also for the lake of fire as Satan himself is being purified in the lake of fire, so is not doing the work he does now as an adversary in our lives. So none of the necessary principles or ingredients needed to produce or purify overcomers is in place during this time of our lives. It is that time when we “come behind in no gift… [and yet] we are carnal babes in Christ”.

1Co 1:5  That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and [in] all knowledge;
1Co 1:6  Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
1Co 1:7  So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Like Job, before the time of his trials, Satan is hedged out of our lives, and in the abundance of our blessings we have “lost our first love, and we are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing.” This is the time of our thousand years which precedes the fiery trials which destroy our old man and replace him with a new man who is crucified with Christ and raised up in newness of life.

Job 1:1  There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Job 1:2  And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.
Job 1:3  His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
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 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

So this “thousand years” is not a time when either we ourselves, or physical Israel, will rule the nations of this physical earth. At this time in our lives, the scriptures call us “carnal babes in Christ” (1Co 3:1-4), and while we are totally unaware of it, just  like physical Israel, we have by our actions rejected our own Messiah, and in God’s eyes are not even Jews or Israelites.

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Gal 6:15  Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do– submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!
Gal 6:16  All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God— his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (MSG)

Physical Israel will not even “return to  their former estate… until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in”.

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins

When will God “take away the sins of… all Israel”? Paul may seem to contradict himself to the false ministers of Babylon, but he was not in the least bit confused when he plainly states that “the fall of them is the salvation of the Gentiles”.

Rom 11:11  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
Rom 11:12  Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

But does it not say “God forbid”? Yes, it does say “God forbid” that Israel’s stumbling is only for the purpose of falling. Paul goes on to twice explain that “through their fall, salvation is come to the Gentiles” [and] through “the fall of them is the riches of the world”. He makes clear that there are a few of those who are “Jews outwardly” who even now are being saved, and he calls them “the election” of physical Israel. But he makes it super-clear that “the rest were blinded”. So what does this mean for physical Israel?

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

So will the physical nation of Israel be the preeminent nation on earth during the “thousand years” reign of God’s elect? When does “the fullness of the Gentiles come in”? When will “all Israel be saved”? Here is the scriptural answer to these questions for all who are given to receive it.

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.

There it is in very clear language. “When… Sodom… and Samaria” return to our Lord, “then you and your daughters shall return to your former estate” with our Lord. That is when “the fullness of the Gentiles will be come in”, and that is when “all Israel shall be saved”. Again:

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Who then will rule during that thousand year period? Here they are:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye [Gentile Ephesians] being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh [a part of the commonwealth of Israel] by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

What did Christ “receive of His Father”? Remembering the primary inward application of this prophecy, what Christ received from His Father is the same commission you and I have been sent to accomplish. Christ was sent by His Father to save this world, and with us He was given the commandment to lay down His life for us.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
Joh 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold [of physical Israel]: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Christ did not “receive a commandment of His Father” to establish two folds of sheep. He came and laid down His life “to make of twain one new man”. He did not come to make twain of twain with a physical ‘chosen people’ and a different spiritual ‘chosen people’. There is but “one new man… one body”, one gospel… one spirit… and one “chosen… elect”.

Here is another symbol of these elect:

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.

Let us not attempt to make ‘some of God’s word true’ by pitting this verse against Eze 16:55; Rom 2:28-29; Gal 6:15-16; and Eph 2:11-16. It is “the sum of God’s Word which is true”, and that ‘sum’ clearly makes an Israelite or a Jew, a spiritual and an inward matter.

What did Christ “receive of His Father”? He received the commandment to die for the sins of mankind, this entire world.

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.

These “hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel” are the “true Israel of God [who] live by the rule that neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature”. “All the tribes of Israel” are now “he that is a Jew inwardly”, “made one of twain”, and it is these “Jews” and these “Israelites” who are now, and who will be, ruling and reigning with a rod of iron, which we in Christ have endured and which we do endure in these bodies of clay. It is through the unbelief of physical Israel and all the unbelievers in Babylon “that great city where our Lord was crucified, that you and I are granted to be believers:

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

“My suffering for you… filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake”? Does Paul think these words apply only to himself? No, of course not. This is speaking of all those who now rule over their nations within, during the thousand years within, and who will, at the appointed time rule over the outward nations of this world. It will certainly not be the physical nation of Israel which denies its own savior to this very day.

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.

So what is this thing called “a thousand years”?

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.

God will have Satan imprisoned for a symbolic “thousand year”. Why is he now releasing Satan out of the prison He had Him in?

The answer is that God’s plan is not finished by giving His elect the dominion of the kingdoms of this world during this thousand year period of time. Babies are still being born during this time. Death has not yet been destroyed and will not be destroyed as long as new baby ‘Adams’ are being born into existence. In the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians we are told that this rule of our Lord will last “till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

If “of His kingdom there shall be no end” we’re speaking of this thousand-year period, what need would there be to release Satan from his prison to again deceive the nations of this earth after the thousand years are expired?

Luk 1:33  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Is death destroyed during the thousand years, or is that not the very purpose for this thousand years and the release of Satan to deceive?

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.

Here we are told “fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them”. This entire scene is given us in much greater detail in Ezekiel 38, which we will have to look at in our next study. The one thing that is clear, is that the thousand years are nothing more that a time which brought “the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth” (vs 8) into position to be “devoured by fire which comes down from God out of heaven”. In other words, this thousand-year reign, like Samson’s marriage to a Philistine woman, serves only to give God “an occasion against the Philistines” because, like sin and death over the flesh, “the Philistines had dominion over Israel” at that time.

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, [Is there] never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Placing Satan in the abussos of our flesh, under the chain and seal of these the words of our Lord, is all “of the Lord, [because] the Lord sought an occasion against… the nations in the four quarters of the earth… to devour them with fire that come down from God out of heaven”.

Who is this “camp of the saints and the beloved city” if it is not “the Israel of God… the new Jerusalem”, the overcomers. But what Gog and Magog, the inhabitants of the earth after a thousand years of being ruled with a rod of iron, are like the Philistines of Samson’s day. They simply have no way of knowing or understanding that these saints against whom they are encamped, are the same people who are right at home in the everlasting burnings, and the devouring flames of this symbolic ‘lake of fire’.

Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

If they knew who they were going up against, they would not be giving God the occasion He is seeking to destroy all sin and death by bringing an end to all flesh. If they knew who they were encamping against, they would not furnish God the “occasion” He is seeking to bring an end to the birth of babies and bring about the second resurrection of all the dead of all time, to be cast into the lake of fire to be purified, so “that through your mercy they may receive mercy”.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32  For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will go through the 38th chapter of Ezekiel which is the inspiration for much of this chapter of Revelation, and we will also cover these verses of this chapter 20 of Revelation.

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.

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Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [ I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [ his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [ is] the first resurrection.
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.

Introduction

In this study we will again have it reinforced that it is we who are to “keep the things written therein. What we will see again is that just as “the kingdom of God is within you” (Mat 4:4), so too, are all these Words of God “within us, in our mouth and in our heart”.

Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [ even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

According to the Old Testament prophecy from which Paul is quoting, every word of God which proceeds out of His mouth, is not far from us. It is not hidden way up high, in the physical heavens, or way down low in the physical sea, but it is every word, including the words ‘bottomless pit’ “within you, even in your mouth”. Here is the Old Testament passage from which Paul is teaching.

Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:14 But the word [ Christ] is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

These verses in Deu 30, and Paul’s statement in Rom 10:8 are both saying the same thing this revelation of Jesus Christ within us tells us at both the beginning and the end of this book.

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.
Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings [ are] faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

It is phrased “do it” in Deu 30:14, and it is phrased “Keep the things written therein” here in this revelation of Jesus Christ, within us. So these are “the things written therein” which we are to “keep” in today’s study.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Here we are told that “an angel comes down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit”. What is this angel? What and where is heaven? What is this “key to the bottomless pit”, and what is this “chain in his hand” and what is this “seal which shuts him up so that he is not able to deceive the nations “till the thousand years be fulfilled.
We have shown that the angels of this revelation of Jesus Christ within us are the messengers to the seven churches, our fellowservants and those who keep the sayings of this prophecy. We have demonstrated what and where heaven is, and in this study we will see that it is through this “messenger… from heaven”, that angel from heaven being Christ, and His Christ, that we are given the “key of knowledge”, enabling us to understand the message of scripture which concerns this thing called “the bottomless pit”.

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

But we still have to also ask, what is this thing called “a thousand years”, and why in the world does God chain Satan in this “bottomless pit… place a seal on him so that he cannot deceive the nations during that period, just to release Satan on an unsuspecting world at the end of this “thousand year reign of God’s elect?? What good did it do for the elect to rule a thousand years just to have the entire world immediately deceived again “when the thousand years are fulfilled”??? Why does God do this?
We will answer all these questions in our study of this twentieth chapter of Revelation.

Differences between Rev 9:1-2 and Rev 20

In our English King James Version, “the bottomless pit” is the exact same phrase we find in chapter nine:

Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [ G12, abussos, deep, the sea], pit. [ G5421, phrear, well, pit]
Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [ abussos, deep, the sea] pit; [ G5421, phrear – well, pit] and there arose a smoke out of the pit [ phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. [ phrear]

But the fact of the matter is there is no Greek word for ‘pit’ in our verses here in today’s study. The reason is that in today’s study we are concerned only with the fact that Satan dwells within our flesh, the abussos, and what we are discussing is simply “the key of the abussos”, or “the key of the sea”, without the word Greek word ‘phrear’ or ‘pit, which does appear four times in Rev 9:1-3.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [ G12, abussos – deep, sea] and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [ G12, abussos], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

The reason the word ‘pit’ occurs in Rev 9 is that the subject there is not the sea alone, but the depth of the deception proceeding forth out of that “abussos phrear” or ‘deep sea’.

The spiritual significance of “the key…”

This Greek word for ‘key’ appears three times in this revelation of Jesus Christ within us. A key is used to open a door. It is through an open door that we are given the ability to see what is within or what is behind that door.

Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard [ was] as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

This word ‘key’ is mentioned twice in reference to this thing called “the bottomless pit, first in Rev 9:1 and again here in today’s study on Rev 20:1. But this word ‘key’ is first used in chapter two when we are told that the overcomers will be given “the key of David”.

Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

It is with a key that a door is opened and not closed, and it is with a key that a door is closed so no man can open. As we are hopefully beginning to understand, “the dream is one” principle (Gen 41:25 and 32) demonstrates for us that the “key of David” of Rev 3:7, the keys to the kingdom of God of Mat 16…

Mat 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

… and the key to the bottomless pit, are one and all the same one “key” which symbolizes the “key of knowledge” which this key opens up to us. This is the very vital knowledge which will save us from being destroyed.

Luk 11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Having covered this subject of the bottomless pit, back in chapter nine we will simply review what we said in our study on that chapter. Contrary to what many believe, this thing called “the bottomless pit” is not first mentioned in Rev 20, but it is first brought to our attention in Rev 9:1. so let’s review that study.

Where and what is the bottomless pit?

The sixth symbol of the fifth trumpet is the bottomless pit itself. Where and what is this thing called “the bottomless pit?” All of the commentaries think this pit and its smoke is speaking of some great false spiritual leader, and indeed it is. But this great deceiver isn’t even really interested in sitting in a physical temple. What He wants is the real throne of God within the real temple of God. So that is where we will all find him in our own appointed time, sitting on Christ’s throne within each of us, and it is there that this entire revelation is taking place.
Here is Gill’s very typical take on what is this bottomless pit.

“Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit,…. With the key that was given him; he made use of his universal power over all bishops and churches, enacted laws, issued out decrees, made articles of faith, and imposed them on men’s consciences, and obliged all to submit to his hellish principles and practices; and this, as it may be applied to Mahomet, the eastern antichrist, may regard the publishing of his Alcoran, and obliging all his followers to receive it as the infallible word of God:.”

If ever we need to remember that we are to “read, hear and keep the things written therein,” it is as we consider what the scriptures mean by “the bottomless pit.” All the comments and commentaries such as this comment by Gill, serve only to further the function of the smoke that comes from this thing called “the bottomless pit.” The last thing in the world the Adversary wants us to know is the correct location and the Biblical understanding of where this “bottomless pit” is.
We have been taught that this bottomless pit doesn’t even really exist until the beginning of the millennium, when Satan is cast into the bottomless pit and restrained for one thousand years. Here are the verses which are most familiar to most Christians.

20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

But we are not yet in Rev 20. We are in Rev 9 and an angel is given the key to this bottomless pit, and is permitted to “darken the sun and the air by means of the smoke that arises out of the pit.”
If you search for the phrase ‘bottomless pit’, you will find it seven times in the King James Version, and all seven are found only in the book of Revelation. Here are those seven entries: The first is right here in this ninth chapter of Revelation.
1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. [ abussos phrear]
2) Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; [ abussos phrear] and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3) Rev 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, [ abussos] whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon [ Hebrew- Destroyer, Strong’s number 11], but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
4) Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit [ abussos] shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
5) Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit [ abussos], and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
6) Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [ abussos] and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
7) Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit [ abussos], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
What do we see here with these seven verses containing the words ‘bottomless pit’? What we see, when we go to a concordance, is that the Greek word for ‘pit’ appears only four times in only two of these seven verses. Here are the only two verses where this word appears in this “revelation of Jesus Christ,” when it is used in conjunction with the word ‘abussos’.

1) Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless [ Greek, abussos] pit [ Greek, phrear].
2) Rev 9:2 And he opened the bottomless [ abussos] pit [ phrear]; and there arose a smoke out of t he pit [ phrear], as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit [ phrear].

So this Greek word for ‘pit’ is ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421. This word is also found a total of seven times in the New Testament. Of those seven entries, four of them are found right here in verses one and two of Rev 9. They are all emboldened above. It is also translated as as ‘pit’ in Luk 14.

Luk 14:5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit [ Greek, phrear], and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

The remaining two entries are found in

Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well [phrear] is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Joh 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well [phrear], and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

So the only time this Greek word ‘phrear’ or ‘pit’ or ‘well’ is used in this entire book of Revelation is in these two verses of Rev 9. There is no ‘pit’ – the Greek word ‘phrear,’ Strong’s number 5421 – mentioned in any of the other five verses here in this revelation of Jesus Christ, where we find the English phrase “bottomless pit.” The other five times this phrase ‘bottomless pit’ appears in the book of Revelation, it is translated from the single Greek word ‘abussos,’ Strong’s number 12.
But what is so interesting and revealing, is that when we go to our concordance we discover that the Greek word ‘abussos’ (Strong’s number 12, translated “bottomless pit”), appears more than seven times. This word ‘abussos’ actually appears nine times in scripture, and it is those two extra times where the meaning of “the bottomless pit” is made clear. Here is the first of those two very revealing entries.

Luk 8:31 And they [ the demons named legion] besought him [ Christ] that he would not command them to go out into the deep [ Greek- abussos, the sea].

Before we get to the last remaining verse where the word abussos is found in the New Testament, let’s take note of what this verse in Luk 8:31 show us about the world of demons. This verse reveals to us that demons, and all false spirits, much prefer to be enthroned in God’s church rather than to be sent out into the deep sea of all the uncalled masses of mankind. What newsman wants to be stuck with reporting on the lives of the common man, when he could be at the United Nations, reporting on the lives of the leaders of this world. Like all of us, demons want to be where the action is, and in the spirit world the action is where God’s people are either learning Truth, or being deceived. Demons seek rest in dry places, places on ‘the earth;’ which has been pushed up out of the sea. Where demons really prefer to be in God’s very temple and sitting on the very throne of Christ, in the hearts and minds of God’s people:

Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
Luk 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
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.

Demons “walk through dry places” simply because they do not like ‘the deep.’ They very much prefer ‘dry places’ where they can find rest and feel at home, just as Christ ought to feel at home within each of us.
Now let’s look at the only entry for this word abussos which we have not yet considered. It is this entry which will reveal to us where the ‘bottomless pit’ is located.

Rom 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down [ from above]:)
Rom 10:7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep [ abussos]? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
Rom 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Now notice how this Greek word ‘abussos’ or ‘deep’ is translated when we go back to the Old Testament and read the verse from where Rom 10:7 is quoted:

Deu 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Deu 30:14 But the word [ Christ] is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

So where is the abussos? Where and what is this thing referred to as “the bottomless pit?” The ‘abussos’, the bottomless pit, just like ‘heaven’, and just like the Word of God, is not way out beyond the milky way. Neither is it in the depth of the physical oceans and physical seas. The ‘abussos’ is within each of us, “In your mouth, and in your heart.” That is where “the bottomless pit” is located and that is where the smoke originates to “darken the sun and the air,” in this fifth trumpet warning which we are to “read, hear, and keep.
So when we read in Rev 20 that Satan is cast into the ‘abussos’ and is imprisoned with a great chain, he doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere. He is simply restrained under ‘house arrest’ until the time appointed to be released from the ‘abussos’ and be commissioned to go forth and deceive the nations again. According to Deu 30, both the abussos and heaven are “very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart.”

What is the function of this symbolic “thousand years”?

Why does God give the kingdoms of this kosmos over to the rulership of His elect for a symbolic thousand years and then release Satan upon that very kosmos? What good or what purpose is accomplished by this time of ruling the kingdoms of the world and then releasing Satan to deceive the nations again?
The fact is that this exercise of our heavenly Father is expedient in accomplishing His plan and purpose of saving “all in Adam”. But before we see what that plan and purpose is, we need to understand the spiritual significance of the number one thousand.
One thousand is a multiple of the number ten, which our studies of numbers in scripture revealed to be the perfection of the flesh. But as we saw, even at its very pinnacle of perfection flesh is still mere corruption which “cannot inherit the kingdom of God”.

1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

So if the number ten signifies the perfection of the flesh with its ten plagues (Exo 7-11), its ten commandments (Exo 20), and its ten rebellions against God (Num 14:22); what then is the spiritual significance of one thousand? One thousand is just a multiple of ten and is therefore just an amplification of the perfection of our corruptible flesh. One thousand is in fact ten to the third power. Three, of course is the process of judgment, and that is exactly what we will see is the purpose and function of this symbolic one thousand years of the rulership of the fleshly kingdoms of this world at the hands of God’s elect.
It requires the very spirit of Christ and His Father within us to keep reminding us that these very words are “within our mouths and in our hearts” and are addressed to “he that hath and ear” within the seven churches. It requires Christ Himself living within us to remind us that it is we who are told to “read, hear, and keep the things which are written in this prophecy”. The natural man cannot see how “all things are ours” (1Co 3:21-22) but the spirit gives us the “key of knowledge” which reveals to those with “eyes to see” that even this symbolic thousand years is ours, even as the first resurrection is ours.
Here are those who will be in that most blessed event.

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [ I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [ his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
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.

“This is the first resurrection”. What is the first resurrection? It is those who John sees sitting upon thrones. It is those who are given to judge this world and to judge angels in a lake of fire which follows this thousand year reign of God’s elect overcomers, which we will be learning of later in this same chapter.

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?

The first resurrection is the resurrection of those who first died in Christ, who were sometimes literally, and always symbolically, “beheaded for their witness of Jesus and for the word of God”. The first resurrection is those who were granted to judge themselves here and now, thereby becoming those who are the first to be judged while still in these vessels of clay. The first resurrection is the resurrection of those who were first to lose their physical lives in favor of the promise of life in a spiritual body.

Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
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 [ to the “great white throne judgment] with the world.
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?

“Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” They will appear at a later judgment to be “chastened of the Lord” which is the very purpose of function of Biblical ‘judgment’.
“Which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands” does not mean that these overcomers had somehow figured out a way to avoid keeping the things written in this book concerning the worship, image, number and mark of the beast”. We know that is not what this means because we are told we are all “marred in the Potter’s hand… shapen in iniquity, and conceived in sin” and that “all men” will worship this beast, and that he will “overcome and kill the saints”.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

You and I are both “made of clay”. “Both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond” is all inclusive. So what does “had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [ his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands” mean?
Here is what that means:

Rev 15:2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [ and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

If we are granted “the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name” then it can be said that we “had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands”.
If verse four tells us that the overcomers reign with Christ and His father for “a thousand years” and verse 6 tells us the overcomers will be “reigning priests of God for a thousand years”, it is obvious that all others will come up in the great white throne judgment which is destined to follow the “little season” of world wide deception which immediately follows this symbolic millennium.
Next week, if the Lord wills, we will be see what happens when people are ruled with a rod of iron for a thousand years, and then given over to Satan.

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.

Mike,

I have a question for you. Many say that there is great significance in 2 Peter 3:8 when considering that from Adam to Christ was 4000 years and that from Christ to now is a little over 3000 years, or the third day. This seems plausible in that three is the number of the process of spiritual completion. I do know this, that Christ is revealing the truth of sonship to his elect in these days we live. I’m sure you are finding that commentators and bible scholars in the past, and even now, are blind to these things.

Here’s my question. Do you see any validity to the statement that we may be in the third day? While I would not dare to gauge God’s plan for the ages in what I might be experiencing, it does seem to hold some scriptural support. What say you?

Your servant in Christ,
D____

Hi D____,

Thank you for your question.

You say:

Many say that there is great significance in 2 Peter 3:8 when considering that from Adam to Christ was 4000 years and that from Christ to now is a little over 3000 years, or the third day.

I will assume that you meant to type “from Christ to now is a little over 2000 years, or the third day”.

Here is that verse of scripture:

2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Now let’s look at this verse in the context of the verses around it, and let’s ask ourselves if Peter’s point is that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand year”, or is his point that “a thousand years [is] as one day”?

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
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.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

So this statement is made as it relates to “the day of judgment”, which is also called here by Peter, “the day of the Lord”. When is this “day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men… day of the Lord which comes as a thief in the night?”

Act 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all [ye] that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Act 2:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is [but] the third hour of the day.
Act 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Act 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

Peter is relating all the events surrounding the death and resurrection of Christ, and he is claiming that all of “this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel… it shall come to pass in the last days… the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.”

Christ had already told the apostles the same thing. Notice what Christ’s answer was to the question by His disciples, “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”

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.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

So here is Christ saying the same thing Peter says a few weeks later at the day of Pentecost. “After the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Only Peter is telling us that when Christ says, “This generation will not pass, till all these things be fulfilled,” what he meant was “It is near even at the door” meaning beginning at the day of Pentecost and “never passing away” but being fulfilled in the lives of all of God’s elect from that time to this day.

The point being made by both Christ and Peter is that the day of judgment is now on the house of God, and the day of the Lord is now come to those who are being judged.

Now let’s look again at 2 Peter 2:

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
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.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

These words about “the day of judgment… the day of the Lord” are meant to be understood, and Peter used them on the day of Pentecost, as he had just used them in his previous epistle, which, in both cases are understood as referring to events in the lives of believers of every generation. Peter knew fully well what he meant when he said, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Peter knew exactly for whom Christ had died. Peter knew who had denied their own Lord three times immediately after vowing to die with Him. Peter knew that “the day of judgment was already here and being executed upon and bringing about the perdition of such ungodly men. So he tells us all clearly that “the fiery… day of judgment at the time of the end” is right now on the house of God.

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 4:17 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?

Was the day of Pentecost really the beginning of “the end of the world” [Greek: aion, age], for all who comprise “the house of God”? What do the scriptures teach us? Here is “the seventh day” for all who are in Christ.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them [ancient Israel] for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

“The ends of the world ARE come” upon us, and that has been the case since the day of Pentecost.

Now here is the only “seventh day” with which any true Christian should concern himself:

Heb 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
Heb 4:5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Heb 4:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
Heb 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Heb 4:8 For if Jesus [Greek: Joshua, savior] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God [did] from his.
Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

“We which have believed do enter into [His seventh day] rest” simply because Christ is our sabbath, passover, days of unleavened bread, Pentecost, trumpets, day of atonement, tabernacles and last great day, and if Christ is in us and we are in Him, then we need not concern ourselves with “days, month, times or years”.

Gal 4:10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
Gal 4:11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

Should we concern ourselves with dates at all? What does Christ teach us?

Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Yes, the Greek is ‘anxious thought’, just the kind of thoughts that those who are all caught up in dates are filled with.

I hope all these scriptures serve to help you to see that Christ wants us all to consider “the time of the end” to have been here with His elect ever since the beginning of the New Testament church. I hope you can now see and understand that the abomination of desolation, the preaching of the gospel to the whole world… [as well as] the time of the end”, are all within us and have all been being fulfilled within us “upon whom the ends of the world [aions] have come”, ever since the day Christ gave His so- called “Olivet prophecy” in Matthew 24.

Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
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.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

“Let him that reads understand” that “then shall the end come… the abomination of desolation… the great tribulation… the heavenly signs… the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; all these things shall be fulfilled in this generation… [because] my words shall not pass away” but will be applicable in every generation within the heavens, the hearts and minds of God’s few chosen, elect. Read What and Where Is Heaven? in the essential reading section in the upper left corner of the iswasandwillbe.com home page.

Having said all that, the scriptures teach us about what should be our priorities. Let me be quick to add that this time of being “sealed with the holy spirit of promise” will soon enough come to its predestined end, and “the ends of the world,” which have been coming upon God’s chosen few for the past 2000 years, will soon enough be consummated, and a millennial reign will begin. In the meantime, God’s chosen few elect have slowly been adding up, over all the generations since Christ, to the sum of those who will rise up in that blessed and holy first resurrection, to rule and reign with Christ for one thousand years, and then to rule and reign with Him over the end harvest in the symbolic lake of fire.

This is as certain as the rising of the sun, but this is not the emphasis or the kind of “time of the end” emphasized by Christ or any of His apostles. What is emphasized is the fact that “this generation [who reads and understands] shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.”

Do I believe in a seventh day, a third day since Christ? Oh, yes, I certainly do, but as Hebrew 4 makes very clear, that day has been here with us, ever since our true “seventh day”, Christ, has died for our sins.

Heb 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

“The works were finished from the foundation of the world” tells us that not only is a day as a thousand years, with God, but the part that seems so little emphasized is that a thousand years is also said to be “as a day” with God, and “the day of the Lord… and the day of judgment, as well as Christ, our rest, the seventh day”, have been being lived out in the lives of God’s elect for the past 2000 years.

That is the only “seventh day” with which I will concern myself at this time, and thereby I will “take no anxious thought of the morrow…” as my Lord has clearly instructed me.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Mike,
I will interpose a verse from the gospel of Luke with the following:

Mar 12:39  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Mar 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
[Luk 11:30  For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.]
Mar 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Day of the Lord is a thousand years so Jesus was letting that generation know they would be sleeping in the earth a full three thousand years.

Also with Mat 24 you have the was, is and will be aspect in regards to prophecy. Mike, I greatly admire the work you do, but I think one will be hard pressed in explaining the book of Revelation. Too much of it reads as a historical/ future prophecy and also a present unfolding at the same time. Before I forget, in Heb 9:8, do you think the author would have been privy to that insight from the Holy Spirit previous to the fall of Jerusalem?  Sometimes we take things for granted, but ‘manifest’ always means a making known to all, of something that already exists. Clearly Christ went into the Holy of Holies in heaven three days after his death, but at what time was it made manifest, and what exactly does ‘manifest’ mean in this context? The mystery, Christ in you the hope of glory. was written in late Romans and then clearly defined in Ephesians. And in Ephesians we find we sit in the heavenly in Christ Jesus. Just how close does the Father hold his cards to his chest?

Obviously the Jewish people and early church was looking for the 70th week of Daniel and the world or age to come. All this has great bearing in Hebrews on the language used and the impending feelings that the world to come, the new covenant arrival and messianic Kingdom were right around the corner. But it was not to be. I don’t think one can confuse the new covenant with the blood of the everlasting, aionion covenant which consecrates the tabernacle not made with human hands. Any insight, Mike?

Thanks, Mike,
L____

Hi L____,
You say there will be three thousand years between Christ’s resurrection and His return.

Day of the Lord is a thousand years, so Jesus was letting that generation know they would be sleeping in the earth a full three thousand years.

Nowhere in scripture does it state that the day of the Lord is one thousand years. We reign with Him a thousand years, but that is neither the beginning nor the end of “the day of the Lord.” Peter said that the events of Pentecost were the “day of the Lord” spoken of in Joe 2:

Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

Here is the verse to which you refer:

2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The latter part of that verse is just as true as the first part. So we can reverse the order and not change the message at all. A thousand years is as one day and one day with God is as a thousand years. Time is not dragging by with God, neither is it rushed. For example, the holy spirit tells us the devil showed Christ the kingdoms of this world and all of their glory “in a moment.”

Luk 4:5  And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

That is physically impossible, but if one lives outside of time, it is not impossible. If one is “in the spirit” it is not impossible. When we say “My whole life passed before me” in a time of crisis, that is much more than a figure of speech. We also have dreams that span many years, but they take place in mere moments.
A thousand years is as much a symbol as is the word ‘day’ or any other word in scripture. What Peter is saying is that God lives outside of physical time. He is not rushed to do anything, and everything is taking place exactly as he has preordained it to happen. A day with God is not a literal thousand years any more than Christ is a literal lamb or lion. And a thousand years is not a literal day. The word ‘thousand’ is used in scripture as something that is all inclusive of all things physical. Consider this verse:

Psa 50:10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

I think you and I will both agree that God owns the cattle upon 10,000 hills, and it is clear to me that a day with God could just as easily be 10,000 years. “The cattle on a thousand hills” means all things, not a specific number of hills or cows, and “a thousand years” in 2Pe 3:8 means all time is the same to God. Peter is not giving us a specific number of years.

You say:

I greatly admire the work you do, but I think one will be hard pressed in explaining the book of Revelation. Too much of it reads as a historical/ future prophecy and also a present unfolding at the same time.

The book of revelation “reads as a historical/ future prophecy only to those who forget the Biblical definition of ‘prophecy,’ and those who forget the directions given at the beginning and the end of this ‘prophecy.’ Those directions fit perfectly with the definition of prophecy and with Christ’s words to Satan:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

The word of God is spirit (Joh 6:63), and it is “the testimony of Jesus,” and it is “the spirit of prophecy.”

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [ thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: f or the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

‘Prophecy” is defined in scripture, and it is not defined as ‘future events’ except inasmuch as “there is one event to all men” (Ecc 9:2). Here is what all prophecy is and does:

1Co 14:3  But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
1Co 14:4  He that speaketh in an [ unknown] tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.

Where are we ever told that prophecy is anything other than this? Sure God knows and foretells the future, simply because He tells the Truth, and that truth edifies, exhorts and comforts those who pay attention to what it says. This is what is said at the very beginning and at the very end of the book of “the Revelation of Jesus Christ, who Jesus Christ says we are:

Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Here are the instructions we are given at the very beginning of this book. If anything seems otherwise we have simply forgotten our instructions which agree with Christ that we must all “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

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.

“Read, hear and keep the things written therein,” because the time was at hand two thousand years ago, and it is at hand for everyone given eyes that see and ears that hear that we are to keep the things written therein and live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Because the spirit knows the inclination of our flesh to think that earthquakes, heavenly signs, the sea, every man small and great rich and poor free and bond, mountains, kings, cities, harlots, stars, horses, locusts and angels, all sound like they must be outward and historical, we are again reminded at the very end of this prophecy which edifies, exhorts and comforts us, that we must “keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book, because “I come quickly” which is just the same as saying, “the time is at hand.”

Rev 22:6  And he said unto me, These sayings [ are] faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7  Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

What was John to do, and what are we to do with this prophecy? We “keep the saying of the prophecy of this book.” When was John to do so? When are we to do that? Is it to be done 2,000 years hence for John, or two years hence for us? No, absolutely not. It is to be done “shortly… behold I come quickly… to destroy the man of sin with the brightness of His coming” in each of us in every generation since Christ, of those in whom is the kingdom of God.

Mat 24:15  When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, ( whoso readeth, let him understand:) [ That these are words which “edify, exhort, and comfort and never pass away”].
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Any time we forget any of these instructions, we too, will be led to the physical and the outward historical approach which will take our spiritual eyes of the man of sin within, and we will miss the very point of what is the kingdom of God, and we will then miss out on ruling the kingdoms of this world when those in whom is that kingdom of God are given that rod of iron with which to rule the kingdoms of this world. Here is the only “abomination of desolation” with which we need to concern ourselves. “Let him that readeth understand.”

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth same Greek word translated ‘withhold’ in the previous verse]  will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

What had Paul told these Thessalonians “when he was with them?” He told them the same thing about the temple of God and what that temple was, as he told the Corinthians and you and me.

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.

That is where the “man of sin” sits on the throne of God, declaring that he is God.

It is a terrible mistake to try to decide what part of God’s word is physical and what part is spiritual. It all has a physical application which is specifically designed to distract those who are not granted eyes that see and ears that hear… the things of the spirit,” because we are specifically told “the words I speak unto you are spirit,” and that “the holy spirit teaches comparing spiritual with spiritual,” and that the natural minded man cannot see any of this.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

 No man knows the day or the hour of Christ’s coming, and He does and will always come as a thief in the night. Both of those statements are clear.

Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Now notice what you say here:

Sometimes we take things for granted but manifest always means a making known to all, of something that already exists. Clearly Christ went into the Holy of Holies in heaven three days after his death but at what time was it made manifest, and what exactly does manifest mean in this context? The mystery, Christ in you the hope of glory. was written in late Romans and then clearly defined in Ephesians. And in Ephesians we find we sit in the heavenly in Christ Jesus. Just how close does the Father hold his cards into his chest?

The Father holds his cards very close to His chest. He gives us the beginning and the end, or the outcome, but He makes it very clear that He had no intention of taking us into His confidence to the extent of knowing exactly what tomorrow has in store for us:

Jas 4:13  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what [ is] your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
Jas 4:16  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil

All who boast otherwise “are evil” and are to be avoided.
“Christ in you” is made manifest to only very few at this time. He certainly is not being “made known to all” the world at this time. The world is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, just as each of us do until the redemption of the purchased possession (Eph 1:13-15).

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

While Christ is made manifest in our mortal flesh, or “earthen vessels,” the manifestation of the sons of God who have “endured to the end” will be manifested only after the resurrection.

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Peter, Paul and John all used personal pronouns when referring to themselves as God’s elect, as we to ought to be willing to do, but that does not contradict the fact that we still have to “endure to the end” in order to be saved.

1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

John is not speaking of himself as an individual, but as one who “tries the spirits to see whether they are of God.” We are also told that heresies among us serve to ” make manifest those who are approved.”

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Co 11:19  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

I hope this is all of some help to both of us. But I especially hope that it is clear that prophecy, and every word out of the mouth of God, is to be kept and lived and experienced within us. That is where the kingdom of God is to be found, that is where the abomination of desolation takes place, that is where judgment first must begin, and that is where we “keep the things written therein” and live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

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Revelation 5:11-14  Worthy is the Lamb

[Posted August 8, 2009]

Updated April 12, 2024

Rev 5:11  And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Rev 5:12  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Rev 5:13  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Rev 5:14  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Introduction

These four verses conclude the spirit’s description of this heavenly scene and all the events which surround the throne of God in the heavens. In these verses we have a proclamation by all the hosts of heaven, that the Lamb which was slain is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. We are also told that every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them, ‘heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.’ These verses end with the four beasts and the four and twenty elders also falling down and worshiping “Him that lives for ever and ever.”

This incredible proclamation concerns the glory and honor that is given to our heavenly Father and the “Lamb” by every creature which is in heaven and in earth, and it comes right on the heels of the revelation that the Lamb is the only creature in all of God’s creation who was found worthy to open the book in the Father’s right hand and to loose its seals. It is this revelation itself which prompts the proclamation of God’s glory from every creature in heaven and in earth.

That revelation of the function of the Lamb of God in all the Father does involves “every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

So let’s take each of these verses and ask our selves what it is the spirit is telling us? What is in this book we are to “live by?”

The first thing we must understand is what and where is heaven.

Rev 5:11  And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

We will glean nothing from our studies if we allow the doctrines of Babylon and the mind of the natural man to dominate our thoughts. Let’s remember where all of this is taking place.

Rev 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
Rev 4:2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

Chapter 4 describes these heavens and the throne that is set in the heavens. This entire vision is being viewed from that heavenly perspective. It involves the earth, but the earth is also seen from a heavenly perspective. So both “the new heavens and the new earth” are viewed from a heavenly perspective. Where are these heavens? If we do not know and remember where all of this is taking place, we will understand nothing we are reading. If we do not know where heaven is, the seven seals are not yet being loosed for us from the words in this book. If we do not  know what and where heaven is then we will not understand what we are reading and this book will still be tightly “sealed with seven seals”

We have already established in great detail that God “dwells in the heavens.”

Psa 2:4  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.

On what is He “sitting in the heavens?”

Psa 103:19  The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Christ Himself tells us that God’s throne is in the heavens.

Mat 23:22  And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

So when we think of where God dwells and sits upon His throne it should always be very clear.

Psa 115:3  But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

“Our God is in the heavens”, and that is where He dwells.

 Psa 123:1 <A Song of degrees.> Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

The natural Babylonian mind reading this is thinking… “Everyone already knows that God is seated on His throne on planet ‘heaven’ out there somewhere far beyond anything what can be viewed by either  the Hubble or the Webb space telescopes. So what is all of this telling us that we don’t already know concerning the revelation of Jesus Christ, and this incredible throne scene we are now witnessing here in chapters 4 and 5?” Here is what we are being told if we have been given “eyes that see and ears that hear… the things of the spirit.”

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.

It is the “mercy seat” which is covered by the wings of the cherubims, which typifies the throne of God in heaven, and from whence He speaks and from whence He orders His creation.

Exo 25:22  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Notice that God calls His throne ‘a seat of mercy.’ He does not call it ‘the seat of eternal vengeance’ from which He will supposedly relegate the vast majority of His creatures to eternal torment in literal flames of fire.

God’s throne of mercy is within each of us. “Ye are the temple of God and… the spirit of God dwells within you”.

That is the location of “the heaven” of which we are learning in this revelation of Jesus Christ. It is located in the heavens which are the dwelling place of God. “Know ye not that… the spirit of God dwells in you.”

So this whole vision is a vision of what happens within the hearts and minds of the children of God in whom His spirit dwells.

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

We have been told that we are to “keep the things written therein,” meaning the things in this book, sealed with seven seals, in the right hand of God, who is sitting on His throne in the heavens of our hearts and minds. We are about to learn what the opening of those seven seals will reveal to us. The first four seals are called ‘the four horsemen of the apocalypse.’ The last of the seven seals is called “seven trumpets”. The seventh trumpet is called “the seven last plagues. All seven seals hide the revelation of Jesus Christ from the eyes of the natural carnal minded man. One way they do so is by using words which sound like they are speaking of things which could not possibly be within you and me, within the heavens of God’s throne, where He dwells and where He has “prepared His throne” within us.

Is there actually an innumerable heavenly host within us? Yes, there is. Consider these words of our Lord:

Mat 18:10  Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

Christ and His Father, our Heavenly Father, are in heaven with the angels of “these little ones.” This tells us the same thing that Romans 1:20 tells us. It informs us that the invisible things of God are understood by the things that are made.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

One thing for certain which “the things that are made” teach us is that there are ‘heavens’ and virtual universes within us. Modern science has made this Biblical Truth to be “clearly seen.” “The voice of many angels round about the throne… the beasts and the elders: and the number of them [being] ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” are all within the limitless heavens within our hearts and minds.

“The things that are made” demonstrate that there is nothing written in this book that is not capable of taking place within the heavens, where the spirit of God dwells within each of us.

In Christ’s own words, the entire “kingdom of God is within you.”

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

“We shall be glorified together with Him”

Rev 5:12  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Verse 11 tells us that the beasts and the elders and all of the heavenly host are those who proclaim that the Lamb is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Who is sitting there on that throne with the Lamb? Here is who is sitting with Christ in His Father’s throne. Who was chosen in Christ before the world began?

Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Who are those which have followed Christ? Is Christ telling us that only the 12 apostles will be sitting with Him on twelve thrones, and the rest of us will not sit with Him in His kingdom? No, that is not what “ye which have followed me” means, and that is not what ‘twelve thrones’ means. Let’s look at what is some more of the sum of God’s word concerning who is sitting with Christ in His Father’s throne.

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Once again we see that the number twelve simply implies those who form the foundation of the kingdom of God. Once again we see that Christ’s body of overcomers are those who are “seated with Him in the heavens”; seated “with My Father in His throne.” All who are in Christ have been granted to “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Why are the overcomers chosen to rule with Christ and His Father? It is because there is so much to be done to bring all mankind of all time to God in the oncoming ages.

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.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

‘Judgment was given unto them.” Christ will hand the work of judgment over to us just as His Father has handed the work of judgment over to Christ.

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 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

This is not to say that Christ is, at this time, judging this world. He is not, but that is what He will do through His elect, and that is why He came into this world, but it will be “each in his own order.” God’s order is that “judgment must first begin at the house of God.”

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?

So “the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” What happens when God’s judgments are finally “in the earth?” Here is the result of God’s judgments. It has never failed, and it never will fail, simply because the Lord has said so.

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.

God’s elect are being judged first. They are overcoming the pulls of their flesh now and are “learning righteousness,” even in these vessels of clay. It is through Christ within us and living in us that we are “counted worthy” to suffer with Him and to be glorified with Him.

Act 5:41  And they [the apostles] departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Act 5:42  And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5  [Which is] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

2Ti 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

To be with Christ in His throne, we must suffer with Him in the flesh. That is the formula God has devised. However, the sufferings of those who will rule with Christ are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is being bestowed upon the overcomers of whom we are learning that Christ is being revealed in them. This was all planned by the Father “before the world began.”

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint- heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

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;

Rev 5:13  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

It is in this verse we learn that the verb, ‘heard’ in the phrase “hear I…” the blessing and honor and glory and power given to “Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” is in the aorist tense, demonstrating that this blessing is extended to the Lamb, and all those who are seated with Him in His Father’s throne by all who have ever been, both in the heavens and in the earth. Verse 11 makes it clear that all the heavenly host will worship the Lamb and “he that sits upon the throne.” Revelation 3:21 makes it clear that the overcomers ‘sit upon the throne’ with Christ and with His Father.

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

“Every creature in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea” gives us the all-inclusive nature of this great blessing pronounced upon those who are seated with Christ in His throne.

It is these blessings pronounced upon those who are on the throne of God, here in this fifth chapter to which the words, “blessed and holy” in chapter 20 refer in this verse:

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.

The phrase, “under the earth” refers to all men who are under the dominion of the Lord’s own rebellious people. Speaking to His own rebellious apostate people we are told:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

“Such as are in the sea” includes all who are “in the sea” of the carnal-minded fleshly seed of “the first man Adam.”

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

The fact that the phrase ‘I heard’ is in the aorist tense demonstrates the fact that God’s Word never passes away and is applicable to every generation since Christ’s death and resurrection, including the present and the future. God is working all things, and He is working them for good. This 13th verse is a perfect example of how God speaks of those things which are not as though they were.

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

It is those who are in Christ who are the true “seed of Abraham”, and in Christ all the promises are “by us, yes.”

2Co 1:20  For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

Christ “has given us the ministry of reconciliation”, and “all the promises of God, in Christ are yes, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God, by us“, and we are seated “with Him in His throne.” What an incredible honor we have been given!

Rev 5:14  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

The capstone of praise to Christ and His Father comes from the rulers and the judges of all things and heaven and in the earth. It comes from the four beasts and from the four and twenty elders, who along with the 144,000 are the recognized rulers of this earth and all who are yet to be brought to Christ through them.

Rev 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

The holy spirit, through the apostle Paul and through this book of Revelation, shows us that the rulership of the overcomers extends beyond this physical earth.

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?

Eph 3:9  And to make all men [of all time] see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Eph 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Summary

We have seen in verse 11 that the thousands time ten thousands and thousands of thousands in the innumerable heavenly kingdom, as well as the entire kingdom of God which is also called “the kingdom of heaven” is all within us, according the the words of our Lord Himself in Luke 17:20-21. We reviewed just how important to the understanding of the rest of this book, it is that we remember this whole prophecy is taking place in the heavens within us.

We have seen that the glory given Christ in verse 12 is also promised to the overcomers in Revelation 3:21. It is here that Christ promised that those who overcome would be sitting with Him on His throne and would be glorified together with him. The effect of this promise is that we, in Christ, partake of all these praises and the power and the glory which are lavished upon Him as the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world.” We saw that we, too, were chosen “in Him from before the world began.”

Verse 13 makes it clear that we, in Christ, are not only given praise and glory from the heavenly hosts, but also from all who are in the earth, under the earth or in the sea. In other word, the overcomers who are found worthy to sit with Christ in His throne, are given the judgment and the praise of both this world and the angels of the heavens in the lake of fire.

Verse 14 comes to the praise which those who are glorified with Christ then afford to Christ and to His Father. It is the four beasts and the four and twenty elders, who we saw last week are the same as the 144,000 firstfruits of God, who bow down and give all the glory to Christ and to His Father, where it all belongs.

Next week we will begin our study in the sixth chapter. This chapter is where the seals are being opened and we are given the knowledge of what we are to “keep that is written therein.” It is in this chapter that we will see just how important it is that we remember what and where heaven is, and what all is in the heavens and what all is in the kingdom of God. The natural man cannot receive these words concerning the things which John tells us is seen through a door which is opened in the heavens.

Here, Lord willing, are the verses we will cover next week.

Rev 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
Rev 6:2  And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Rev 6:3  And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:4  And there went out another horse [ that was] red: and [ power] was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
Rev 6:5  And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
Rev 6:6  And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [ see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Rev 6:7  And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
Rev 6:8  And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.