February 2020 – Praying Pint

8.t. But only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

If there is a sad conclusion to John’s description of the city, it is to note that it will be denied to some. Chapter 21 lists the kinds of people who will not enter the city, and verse 27 summarizes by saying “only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” will enter the city of God. It will be too late to try to enter for the first invitation to enter into the family of God was rejected. The first invitation for redemption, salvation, forgiveness, and eternity with God was rejected in place for self-satisfying and passions for what the world has to offer. The fact that God was able to soften our heart to hear this invitation should humble our hearts and awaken our soul to deny self and serve Him with our eyes focused on Jesus Christ all the days we have this side of eternity.

8.s. “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Revelation 21:9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

1 Timothy 3:15 But if I should be delayed [I have written] so that you will know how people ought to act in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Hebrews. 3:6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household, whose household we are if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.

1 Peter 2:4-5 Coming to Him, a living stone – rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God – you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Interpretation of Revelation 21 has scholars commenting from both sides who say this is figurative and or that it is literal. The Bible does tell us about the establishment of the new heaven and earth and new Jerusalem and we see it follows the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the millennium. Wether or not this is to be take figurative or literal one key point for certain is about those who will live here and those who will not. The bride of Jesus Christ, the church, those who have acknowledged their sin, sought forgiveness, repented, turned away, and believed and completely served, trusted, followed, and obeyed Jesus Christ for their redemption and salvation. There is no place here for those who are lukewarm, complacent, and neglectful. Nor is a place for those who have rejected the offer of salvation, repentance, and redemption. How many will stand at the Great White Throne Judgment with expectation of eternity in heaven only to here, “depart from Me for I never knew you”. They will come to this judgment with thoughts of being good enough and done enough on their own to deserve entry. They have not yielded to Jesus Christ. Oh, they may have said things from their lips but the indwelling desire deep within their hearts and minds to have the Spirit live within them to guide, direct, and lead them in humble service for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ is not present nor was it. Me, myself, and I have a way of not wanting to fully yield to Jesus Christ. Yielding means we will put to death our self-centered and self-reliant ways and thoughts. We need to daily surrender authority of our lives to Jesus Christ and keep our heart, mind, and soul, focused on Him, for He is truly worthy of all honor, power, and glory.

8.r. “I warn you, as I warned you before”

Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Romans 1:29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

While John’s list is similar to those of Paul, it’s important to note that John begins with “cowards” and “unbelievers.” This appears to be an indirect appeal to all professing believers facing times of testing. John makes no distinction between those who deny Jesus under persecution and those who openly embrace pagan vices. Jurgen Roloff again writes, “In an effort to challenge the reliance of the addressees on their safe possession of salvation, John again makes it clear that, because of the magnitude of the promise received, the danger is all the more serious of being disobedient and faithless to Jesus. Whoever succumbs to it does not belong to those who stand in the Look of Life and is therefore fundamentally like God’s enemies, who stand in his judgment” (p. 238). This is not to suggest that the elect will fall away; rather it seems to be an affirmation that those who merely profess Christianity may expect to be exposed under the withering heat of persecution so that their true nature as unbelievers is made clear.

Phillips, Rob. The Searcher’s Guide to the Apocalypse:

8.q. “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 21:5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Today, He is with us in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have His promise never to leave us or forsake us. We are assured He is preparing a place for us in heaven and that He is coming one day in power and great glory to fulfill all things. No, He has not abandoned us. Not by a long shot. But when the day arrives in which He brings the New Jerusalem down from heaven to earth, and He makes His home on the restored earth, we are to experience an intimacy with God not known since the days of Adam and Eve.

Yes, we still live in a sinful and fallen world, but the position of Christ at the Father’s right hand and the presence of the Holy Spirit as our guarantee of future resurrection and glorification provide the confidence we need to wait eagerly for Jesus’ return. Everything God touches He makes new.

Phillips, Rob. The Searcher’s Guide to the Apocalypse:

8.p. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Isaiah 65:17-19    “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.  But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.  I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.

2 Peter 3:13     But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

John 14:23    Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Ezekiel 37:27    My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

We hear people speak of heaven as the final resting place of those who die. This is true for those who believe, (rely on, cling to, and trust in) repent, (acknowledge and turn away from their sinful nature) and by faith live with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength committed to obey, follow, and humbly serve to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all they think, do, and say. What is not going to ring true is the thoughts of many who live shallow lives, giving no more than a passing thought, if that, about what it means to humbly serve, honor, follow, trust, and obey Jesus Christ each moment of every day. Their hearts and minds, have been seduced by lies of this world into believing they are good enough and as such have done what is required to “deserve” eternal life in the “New Heaven and New Earth”. They do not see that they have all but taken the “Mark of the Beast” in how they live, think, and follow the ways of this world. They have adopted it into their make-believe “Christian” lives as what they believe it means is to be a “Christian”. There is no difference in their heart. There is no desire and seeking to hear the whispers of God speak into and lead them through each day. They may know of Him but they certainly do not know Him as savior, redeemer, and forgiver of their sins in a personal and heart and soul-deep way. The New Heaven and New Earth are not prepared for these. The New Heaven and New Earth are prepared for those who believe and anticipate it’s coming with expectant and rejoicing heart, mind, and soul. It is prepared for those who long for the return of Jesus Christ with a humble, grateful, and thankful heart and an end to sin in both their heart and the world.

8.o. A great white throne

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out,

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

John 3:18-19 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The great white throne in Revelation 20 is unique among the thrones of God in scripture. It stands alone. It bears no context. It offers no hope, grace, or mercy. It calls no one to repentance. It prompts no one to sing. It fulfills no covenant promises. It surrounds itself with no rainbows, flaming torches, seas of glass, or heavenly creatures. It is perhaps the most solemn image of God’s throne in the Bible for it depicts the time and place where Christ – the Creator, Redeemer, and Judge – meets face to face with the wicked who must now give an account of their lives. It is the last stop on the road to hell. The earth’s wicked stand in final judgment before God. They are about to be cast into hell for their sins. The redeemed already have been glorified. Therefore, God is putting an end to sin – and with it, an end to the consequences of sin in the created order. This has been His plan since eternity past and He has communicated it to us throughout human history. Jesus promises His followers that He is returning to heaven to prepare a place for them, and He assures them He will return to take them there (John 14:2). Even God has a place, enthroned in the new heavens and earth, where believers see Him face to face and enjoy everlasting fellowship with Him. But the stain of sin on the created order has no place in Christ’s kingdom, for He promises to completely purge it. Unbelievers of all time summoned to final judgment. They are “dead” in three ways. First, they are spiritually dead, separated from God by their unbelief. Second, they are physically dead, having died and now having been physically resurrected to stand in judgment. Third, they are everlastingly and irreversibly dead; once their judgment is complete, they are cast into the lake of fire where they experience unending separation from their Creator and are shackled with the reality that God has given them what they desire: the freedom to live independently of Him for eternity. Death is the great equalizer. The great and the small now stand before God without an adequate defense. They are guilty and they know it. Yes, Christ’s death is sufficient for all, but His blood is applied only to those who willingly receive its effects and believe. Those who have trampled on His blood in this life enter eternity with His blood on their hands.

Phillips, Rob. The Searcher’s Guide to the Apocalypse:

8.n.And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations

Revelation 20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Why is Satan imprisoned for a time and then released? Why not cast him into hell before the 1,000 years? Joseph A. Seiss writes, “God uses even the wickedest of beings, and overrules the worst depravity, to his own good and gracious ends. He allows Satan liberty, and denies him liberty, and gives him liberty again, not because the Devil or the Devil’s malice is necessary to him, but to show his power to bring good out of evil, to make even the worst of creatures praise him, and to turn their very wickedness to the furtherance of the purposes they would fain defeat” Phillips, Rob. The Searcher’s Guide to the Apocalypse: A Verse-by-Verse Quest to Understand the Book of Revelation .

Perhaps Satan’s release serves as final proof that the heart of man is desperately wicked and can be changed only by God’s grace. Imagine the tragedy of this revolt: People who have been living in a perfect environment, under the perfect government of God’s Son, finally show their true colors and rebel against the King. Their obedience during the 1,000 years is false humility and feigned submission, not true faith in the Messiah. “This rebellion proves that a rule of perfect law cannot change the human heart; sinners would rather follow Satan,” writes Warren Wiersbe

Many commentators say that Satan is loosed so that those who grow up during the millennium, under the perfect and righteous reign of Christ, have the chance to choose between good and evil, between God and Satan. Satan is loosed and immediately plays the tempter’s role. Though bound in prison for a thousand years, he is as vile and as subtle, as merciless and as ruthless, as diabolical and as evil, as he was in the beginning. He has not changed. And, sadly, mankind has not changed either.

But who are these followers of Satan? Premillennialists like J.F. Walvoord and R.B. Zuck say they are survivors of the tribulation. They enter the millennium in their natural bodies, bear children and repopulate the earth (Isa. 65:18–25). Under ideal circumstances in which every person knows about Jesus Christ (cf. Jer. 31:33–34), many will outwardly profess faith in Christ without actually placing faith in Him for salvation. The shallowness of their professions becomes apparent when Satan is released. The multitudes that follow Satan are evidently those who have never been born again in the millennial kingdom

8.m. Key to the bottomless pit

Revelation 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

The accuser and slanderer, the one who deceives and leads people and nations on destructive God-denying, Jesus rejecting, self-centered, self-worthy, and self-satisfying paths straight to hell is bound and cast into a pit reserved for Satan and his followers. There is no battle or prolonged fight where the victor is determined by will power and skill to overcome their opponent. No there is Almighty and All-Powerful Jesus Christ who defeated death and holds the key to the bottomless pit, who by the word of His mouth sends an angel with the key to bind Satan and cast him in. Satan has no power but what is allowed by God and at His word alone can be taken away in the blink of an eye.

So it is, Jesus is returning personally, visibly, and physically one day to set things right; He will raise the dead and judge them in righteousness; He will separate His own from those who have hung their stars on the prince of darkness; He will redeem our sinful and fallen world from the effects of the fall, resulting in new heavens and a new earth; and we will delight in His personal presence forever and ever. All believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of our lives. This judgment does not determine our eternal destiny, for that is fixed on this side of death with the believer’s decision to trust in Christ. (Phillips, Rob)

There is a time fast approaching when the end times will come upon the earth. It is important to know this prophetic ending but not near as important as knowing, surrendering, relying on upon, trusting in, following, believing in, and obeying Jesus Christ while you still have breath this side of eternity. If you die without repenting of sin, trusting in and complete trust and humble service to Jesus Christ – Hell awaits you with deceitful, lying, open arms, welcoming you to eternal destruction.

Now is the time of salvation. Now is the time of redemption. Now is the time to repent and turn away from self-centered, self-satisfying, and self-reliant lies and deception of Satan. Jesus awaits you, just as you are with wide open arms to welcome you into life with Him now and for eternity forever and ever.

8.l. Signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast

Revelation 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Now, as the birds hover en masse over the battlefield at the angel’s beckoning, John sees the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army (v. 19). Their resistance to Christ belies their delusional belief that they have an opportunity to win – and worse, their apparent conviction that they are in the right. What compels sinful men and women to entertain the notion that they can defeat the Almighty or change the course of human history? Joseph A. Seiss comments: We may wonder how rational men could be carried with one impulse into an attempt so daring and so absurd; but when people put the truth from them, and submit themselves to the Devil’s lead, what is there of delusion and absurdity into which they are not liable to be carried? How many among us comfort and assure themselves in their selfishness and sins with the belief that either there is no God, or that he is too good and merciful to fulfill his threatenings upon transgressors? To this there needs to be added only one step more, to defy his judgments, and with that goes pledge of battle and declaration of war with his Omnipotence.

The Psalmist writes, “Why do the nations rebel and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and His Anointed One.” What is the Lord’s response to this human madness? “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath” (Ps. 2:1-2, 4-5). Seiss once again remarks, “What failure of love, what exhaustion of grace, what emptying of the sea of his infinite mercies, what decay and withdrawal of all kindly interest and affection must have occurred that there should be this laugh!”. And yet for the beast and his armies, this is no laughing matter. In self-delusional futility; in the most vile hatred of a creature toward his Creator; in utter abandonment of all decency, the beast charges straight into the blade of the Jesus Christ’s sword.

J.F. Walvoord and R.B. Zuck comment: “The same inspired Word of God which so wonderfully describes the grace of God and the salvation which is available to all who believe is equally plain about the judgment of all who reject the grace of God. The tendency of liberal interpreters of the Bible to emphasize passages dealing with the love of God and to ignore passages dealing with His righteous judgment is completely unjustified. The passages on judgment are just as inspired and accurate as those which develop the doctrines of grace and salvation. The Bible is clear that judgment awaits the wicked, and the second coming of Christ is the occasion for a worldwide judgment unparalleled in Scripture since the time of Noah’s flood”

Phillips, Rob. The Searcher’s Guide to the Apocalypse: A Verse-by-Verse Quest to Understand the Book of Revelation . Unknown. Kindle Edition.

8.k. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty

Revelation 19:11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Faithful and true, the Word of God, and King of kings and Lord of lords, all describe Jesus Christ at His return to earth. Heaven opens and Christ is seen bringing armies of heaven. The battle that is about to take place will cast judgment on nations, (all of those who rejected God). They will experience the fury of the wrath of God. We know and experience God’s grace, mercy, and love. It is hard for us to understand the fury of His wrath. We can read stories of some of His judgments on nations and individuals but nothing like this has happened before. Wars, famine, disease, earthquakes, hail stones, fire, drought, etc….. all lead up to the fury of God’s wrath but are in no way to be considered other than judgments on man and nations with witnesses present and proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ. Now these witnesses are gone. All that remains are those who reject and deny and blaspheme God. They did not repent and will now see His fury. All the times they have rejected Christ will flash before their eyes and in a moment they will realize He is Lord of lords and King of kings. They have all said in their heart that they will not acknowledge Him or bow to Him and will suffer eternity in hell because of this. In the end they will kneel and bow before Him. The sad thing is that all of these people have intentionally chosen to reject Him. They have chosen confusion, unrest, fear, hate, and war in hopes it will satisfy their soul some way. They have rejected peace, love, grace, mercy, joy, happiness, and rest in Jesus Christ in exchange for what the world has to offer. They chose to believe a lie and will suffer eternity for the choice they have made in this life, this side of eternity. There is still time to repent and come to Jesus Christ. There is still time to repent and be forgiven. There is still time today. Do not wait until it is too late.