REVELATION 19:20 | FROM ARMAGEDDON TO ETERNITY

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

The beast also known as the Antichrist and the false prophet are throne into the lake of fire.

This is an important distinction.

The eternal place of torment for the enemies of Christ will be a very real lake of fire.

Sometime soon thereafter, we find the next event that will take place.

Revelation 20:1–3 KJV 1900

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 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.

Satan is bound and cast into the bottomless pit.

Now this wont be the last time we hear from Satan unfortunately, but for the next 1000 he is removed from off of the scene.

And then we have God dealing with those that survived the tribulation period.

Matthew addressed this group of people in his Gospel.

In Matthew 24:36-39

Matthew 24:36–39 KJV 1900

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

This is an important part of understanding Bible prophecy.

Jesus says when He comes back at the second coming it will be like the days of Noah.

If you can go back with me in your mind to the story of Noah and the ark, who was it that was taken off the earth in Noah’s story?

The unrighteous.

You was it that was left behind?

Noah and his family because they were righteous.

Hebrews 11:7 KJV 1900

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Those who were taken away were condemned… those who were left, were saved.

With that background in mind, now we continue with this passage in Matthew.

ILLUSTRATION: The two… one left and one taken away.

Matthew 24:40–42 KJV 1900

Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

EXPLANATION: While the messages that use this passage as a great illustration of the coming rapture, that isn’t the context of the passage.

The one who is taken, is the one who is removed from the earth at the end of the tribulation period, while the other left is the one that endured until the end.

That’s what Matthew was referring to in Matthew 24:13

Matthew 24:13 KJV 1900

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

It’s not about working to keep your salvation, it’s about the saved living until the end of the tribulation period.

ILLUSTRATION: Then Matthew gives an illustration of 10 virgins.

These are the Jewish survivors who have reached the end of the tribulation period.

In Matthew 25, Jesus says that 5 of them were wise and 5 were foolish.

5 were prepared for when the bridegroom came and 5 were not.

Matthew 25:8–12 KJV 1900

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

EXPLANATION: There will be many Jews that turn to Christ during the tribulation period and survive through the end.

And there will be many Jews that do not turn to Christ and survive until the end.

And after Christ returns they will recognize the error of their way and will seek to turn to Christ.

But as God’s word says in v.12

Matthew 25:12 KJV 1900

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

What a sad thought that there will be multitudes of God’s chosen people that still wont turn to Him until the end… and then it will be too late.

EXPLANATION: Then as we turn to the end of Matthew 25 we find another illustration that he gives of the separation of the sheep and goats.

Matthew 25:31–33 KJV 1900

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

This is a different group of people as the Bible says it is gathered of “all nations”

These are the Gentiles that survived through the end of the tribulation period.

He says from this group of people he will separate them by who is a sheep and who is a goat.

Matthew 25:34 KJV 1900

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Then God invites those sheep who followed Him to come unto Him.

He then gives an illustration of who these people are in v.35-40

Matthew 25:35–40 KJV 1900

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

As the Gospel is preached throughout the whole world by the Jewish evangelists, and by their converts, and as persecution arises, they will be spreading throughout the whole world with the Gospel.

What Matthew is making clear is that there will be those Gentiles who hear and receive their message and then provide safety to them so they can continue on their preaching.

However, the goats that have not followed Christ will have a different response to these Jewish evangelists.

Matthew 25:41–46 KJV 1900

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

They were given the same opportunity with the same message but they chose to reject the Gospel.

And now at the end of time there are no more second chances.

These unbelieving Gentiles, whom the Bible calls goats, are cast into hell for the next 1000 years.

EXPLANATION: With this final separation, it is now time for Christ to set up his kingdom on earth for his 1000 year reign.

It would seem at the conclusion of those final 45 days, the millennial kingdom will be set up, and Christ will be on His throne.

Finally Christ’s prayer will be answered from Matthew 6:10

Matthew 6:10 KJV 1900

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

II. THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

EXPLANATION: For the next 1000 years, Christ will reign as the King of all the earth.

And all the saved who have died before the rapture and those saved and perished during the tribulation will reign alongside Christ.

Revelation 20:4 KJV 1900

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.

Revelation 20:6 KJV 1900

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.

Revelation 5:10 KJV 1900

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

According to the word of God, we believers will reign with Christ!

What will we be doing?

1 Corinthians 6:2 KJV 1900

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?

It is hard to fully grasp what all these responsibilities will look like, but according to the Scriptures we will be in our glorified bodies serving Christ by helping judge those that remain in the world.

EXPLANATION: All those who are saved and endure until the end and see the second coming of Christ, will remain on the earth.

This includes the saved Jews and Gentiles.

And from what we can gather from the scriptures, it would seem that they will continue in much the same way that we do today.

They will continue to work.

Isaiah 65:21–22 KJV 1900

And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; And they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; They shall not plant, and another eat: For as the days of a tree are the days of my people, And mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They will continue to procreate and populate the earth

Isaiah 65:23 KJV 1900

They shall not labour in vain, Nor bring forth for trouble; For they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them.

In fact, there will still be the opportunity to sin on the earth during this time.

Those that are born will still have a sin nature and still have to turn to Christ for salvation the same way we do today.

“By grace through faith.”

The aging of the body, while different, will still take place.

Isaiah 65:20 KJV 1900

There shall be no more thence an infant of days, Nor an old man that hath not filled his days: For the child shall die an hundred years old; But the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

It could be similar to how it was prior to the flood.

There will be many similarities to how we live today!

But there will be a few key differences:

Everyone at the start of the Millennial reign will be saved.

This is the third time the earth has begun this way.

The First was Adam and Eve

The Second was Noah and his family.

There will be no war, only peace.

Isaiah 2:2–4 KJV 1900

And it shall come to pass in the last days, That the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; And he will teach us of his ways, And we will walk in his paths: For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, And shall rebuke many people: And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.

Micah 4:3 reiterates this reality

Micah 4:3 KJV 1900

And he shall judge among many people, And rebuke strong nations afar off; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruninghooks: Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more.

They will turn their weapons into tools for benefit and profitability.

They will also have no war between any nation.

Isaiah 11:6–10 KJV 1900

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, And the leopard shall lie down with the kid; And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; Their young ones shall lie down together: And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, Which shall stand for an ensign of the people; To it shall the Gentiles seek: And his rest shall be glorious.

Even the animals will be at peace with each other, and the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth!

Truly, as God’s Word says, “his rest shall be glorious.”

There will be no devil or demons on the earth

Satan is bound in the bottomless pit and his demons are cast into hell.

This will limit the opportunity of sin dramatically during this time.

And the most important difference… Christ will reign on the earth.

Revelation 20:6 KJV 1900

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 as Christ reigns on the earth, as we saw in Isaiah, people will come into His presence to learn from Him.

Isaiah 2:3 KJV 1900

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; And he will teach us of his ways, And we will walk in his paths: For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

For 1000 years, peace will reign and sin will be restrained because Christ is on the throne.

EXPLANATION: Now we don’t know why… the Bible doesn’t tell us.

Scholars have speculated, but it’s a pointless venture because there is no way to know for certain.

But at the end of that 1000 years, Satan will be loosed for a “little season” according to Revelation 20:3

Revelation 20:7–8 KJV 1900

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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.

Ezekiel 38-39 delves further into this conflict.

Gog is the individual while Magog is the geographical and possibly political entity he represents.

As Satan partners with this second “antichrist” type to wage one final stance against God, he assembles from the earth an army so innumerable that they Bible says it is “as the sand of the sea.”

This is stunning to imagine, that while Christ is reigning on earth, retraining sin, and peace is prominent, Satan the great deceiver will still be able to amass so great a following.

This final rebellion will be met with swift destruction

Revelation 20:9–10 KJV 1900

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. 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.

Zechariah described this final battle in graphic detail

Zechariah 14:12 KJV 1900

And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people That have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, And their eyes shall consume away in their holes, And their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

The death toll will be so incredibly high that Ezekiel 39:12

Ezekiel 39:12 KJV 1900

And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.

Finally, the devil will find his eternal place of torment in the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet are.

Never again will he or sin tempt another person

Never again will he or sin have any power to destroy

Never again will he or sin exist in the word of God.

Finally, he is finished!

EXPLANATION: The final event at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, will be the Great White Throne Judgment.

Revelation 20:11–15 KJV 1900

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. 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. 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. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Friend, those at the Great White Throne Judgment are those who never accepted Christ.

They are your teachers

They are your family members

They are your brothers or sisters

They are your coworkers

They are your friends

They will stand alone before God and will be judged by their works… because that is what they thought would get them to heaven.

And they will all fall short as their works are measured against books that are opened.

What books are the measured against?… the Word of God!

God is a just God… He wouldn’t measure someone against a standard that He hasn’t provided to us!

And based upon their works that they did to obtain eternal life, they will be condemned.

Matthew 7:22–23 KJV 1900

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Every person at that Great White Throne Judgment will arrive already condemned.

They will escape the torment of hell for only a moment to be cast for an eternity into a lake of fire.

WE’VE SEEN THE FINAL 45 DAYS, THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM

III. THE REST OF ETERNITY

EXPLANATION: As you turn the page into Revelation 21, we find that we finally reach the beginning of eternity.

Revelation 21:1–2 KJV 1900

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

The old earth and heaven are no more.

2 Peter 3:12 KJV 1900

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?

A new heaven and new earth descend.

And the greatest part about eternity will be v.3

Revelation 21:3 KJV 1900

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

God will be with us for all of eternity.

It is finally at this moment that we find that sweet verse Revelation 21:4

Revelation 21:4 KJV 1900

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

All pain and sorrow will forever be wiped away!

Every tear and heartache caused by sin will be over.

It will finally be everlasting peace in the presence of God.

EXPLANATION: Well, as we finish up, let’s answer one final question, What will heaven be like?

1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV 1900

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Let’s just say, heaven will be beyond what you or I can imagine.

But to the best of our ability, let’s see what the Bible says about it.

There will be 12 gates, each with a name of the 12 tribes of Isreal written on them (21:12-13)

There will be 12 foundations, each with a name of the 12 apostles (21:14)

Ephesians 2:19–20 KJV 1900

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

The city is a cube in it’s shape (21:15-16)

John found it to be “twelve thousand furlongs.

The word “furlong” was a Greek unit of measure.

A single furlong was estimated to be somewhere roughly between 582 feet and 600 feet.

The city is said to be 12,000 furlongs each directions.

That that translates the length, width, and height to be somewhere between 1,350 to 1,500 miles each direction.

There is a wall that runs around the border of the city according to (21:17)

The height of the wall is said to be 144 cubits or roughly 216 feet tall and was a solid wall of Jasper.

The city John saw was made of pure gold… but not yellow gold like we think. (21:18)

The gold was so perfectly pure that it was clear like glass.

The walls of the city are described in (21:19-21a)

The Jasper walls containing these precious stones within it.

The 12 gates of the city are a single giant pearl each.

Then he saw a street of pure gold that was transparent like glass (21:21b)

It’s possible there were multiple streets of pure gold, but John only mentions one that he saw.

And according to 21:21-27, the God Head will be with us in heaven and they will light all of heaven for all of eternity.

There will be no night, and their will be no sin (21:27, 22:3)

There will be a crystal river that flows out of the throne of God (22:1)

On either side of the river it will be lined with the tree of life (22:2)

And now, all those who have followed Christ and remain here for the rest of eternity have access to that tree of life.

The story of the Bible has come full circle!

Do you remember the trees that were in the garden of Eden?

The Tree of the knowledge of good and evil

The tree of life

They chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

So God locked them out of the garden so they couldn’t eat the tree of life because He didn’t want them to stay in their sin.

Revelation 22:14 KJV 1900

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

And I’ll have a home there.

John 14:1–3 KJV 1900

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

CONCLUSION

Friend, we have so much to look forward to!

Eternity is going to be incredible!

I can’t wait until God wipes away all tears!

Until there is no more sin or sorrow!

But friend, one of the great dangers of messages on Bible prophecy is we can become so consumed with looking ahead, that we forget about where we are now.

Oh, I hope you are looking forward to heaven!

But God hasn’t taken you there yet.

He hasn’t raptured His church yet!

And if He hasn’t taken you there yet, it’s because He still has a purpose for you here!

You see God tells us in 2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9 KJV 1900

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.

He isn’t willing that any should perish!

But I wonder if you are?

Are you willing to let some parish because it’s inconvenient?

Are you willing to let some perish because talking to them is uncomfortable?

Are you willing to let some perish because you just don’t take the return of Christ seriously?

I hope that in light of what we have seen over these past 4 weeks that you’ll ask God to give you the mind of Christ, that you wouldn’t be “willing that any should perish” and you would strive to see “all come to repentance.”

Jesus is coming back!

ARE YOU READY?

Related Media

Related Sermons

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.