The Thousand Years
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. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 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.
4 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. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 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 Defeat of Satan
7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 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. 9 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, 10 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.
Judgment Before the Great White Throne
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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (ESV)
15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This verse is layed straight out. It is plain and simple, If you are not in the book of life, then you are thrown into the lake of fire! Wow, that seems frightening! I am so blessed to be a child of the Lord, and know that through him I have eternal life! And this verse is a huge motivation and encouragement to go out and evangelize! We shouldn’t want to see people, and our family and friends go to hell! It is up to us Christians to share the gospel and to plant the seed!
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
WOW! Do we serve a powerful Creator or what? Not only does God sit on the great white throne of justice, but He is so beyond his creation that both Earth and sky flee (as if in utter fear of His power). This day will one day come, and when Earth and sky flee, us as humans will still be forced to face God and give an account. As Christians, we shouldn’t fear this day as we know our lives are secure in Christ, but at the same time it should give us a serious perspective on how we should be devoting us for Christ so when we stand in front of our LORD, it will not be like the “dead” and those who did not obey God (v. 12, 15).
15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Wow, this verse pretty much ties everything together. If your name is not found in the book of life, you are thrown into the lake of fire… yikes! God is trying to make a point of how serious we need to be when thinking about hell. It really is the ultimately worst place to end up, and we shouldn’t want anyone to face that eternity! Like said before, this should really motivate us to evangelize to EVERYONE, because we were put on this earth with a purpose; to honor God- And a gigantic part of that is saving people (spiritually). I know that every time I read a verse like this, it gets me more and more pumped, now I need to go and share it with others!!
4I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
These people will have such a testimony, they are those who have given their life to Christ during the tribulation and have also lost their lives because of it! They were beheaded for their testimony and refusing to worship the beast or recieve his mark… We need to be sold out like this! These people are such a great example to remind us to always be ready to stand up for Christ, even if we lose our earthly lives for it!
9They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
I just had to comment on this verse…. I seriously started laughing as I read it because its like something out of a movie! Satan goes and gathers his armies from around the world, rallying his troops and marches across the earth to surround God’s City, or Jerusalem. And before they even can attack, this fire from heaven comes down and destroys them… i mean, it doesn’t get any more awesome than that!!! Our God is sooooo powerful, we should fear Him so much more than anything else this world can do to us.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
Great comment, Matt! One day, everyone will be judged for EVERY single wicked deed they have done, and will be punished accordingly. But for us, who have repented and put our faith in Christ, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). This is a fact that we all know, but too often it only gets a memorized line or two in our prayers, if it even gets that much. Our hearts should be overflowing with gratitude for the sacrifice Christ made for us, and we need to be motivated to go and be His witnesses wherever we are.
10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Everytime there is a description of Hell it is hard for me to really wrap my mind around. To think of the words forever and ever is just so hard for me to even fathom. But I do understand that torment day and night for that amount of time is somewhere where I do not want to be, the idea of being there should scare us. When I think about fearing God, I think about the fact that He has the power to send me to this scary place!! This idea definately motivates me to stay far away from sin and closer to Him.
WOW! great comments everyone! this chapter is sooo intense. here Satan is vanquished and Jesus is king wooohooo!!!! though Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, which is a great thing, there are still people who are going to hell. yes it is awesome that we will be i heaven forever worshipping the Lord, but it also means our friends and everyone who has not repented and put their faith in Christ is going to hell, which has the description of a lake of fire, and tormenting day and night, and weeping and gnashing of teeth. we should be earnestly evangelizeing, telling people that Jesus Christ is the only way into heaven. there are so many people that think they are going to heaven, but really they are going to burn in hell forever, and as Christians we should care for those people and tell them the gospel, becasue thats what Christ commanded
This is a really tight chapter. It is cool that satan is thrown into the sulfur lake and Jesus is King. But even though this is so cool there are still people out there that are going towards the path of destruction and we need to tell the truth. So are we going to just sit here and let them go to eternity in Hell or are we going to tell them the truth…..
What a great chapter. Like Bre said, it is hard for me to wrap my mind around forever, but I know that I don’t want to be in torment in the lake of fire forever, and I definitely don’t want my friends or family there! This is a motivation to evangelize and I know people wouldn’t want to be thrown into the lake of fire fofever.
15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Definitely motivation to evangelize! Come join with fellow True Northers in sharing the gospel tonight after church.
When we share the Gospel it is essential that we talk about the BAD NEWS before we talk about the GOOD NEWS. As this verse says, anyone who does not know Christ and does not have their name written in the book of life, will face the second death, the lake of fire. When people hear that they are sinners and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) and deserve God’s everlasting punishment (Romans 6:23, 2Thessalonians 1:8-9) they are much more likely to realize their need for a Saviour. Conversely, they are less likely to think, “that is nice for you, but I believe ____” or “I don’t need God, I am doing fine without him”. When we share the truth of the Bible (and don’t shy away from talking about sin and judgement) we avoid weakening the Gospel message of its’ power.
15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
WOW!! This verse really just layes everything on the table. God is judging everyone for all the sins that they have comitted and after He is done judging them He checks His book of life and sees if that person is in it. And if you’re not in He just says to you, away from me I never knew you and He will through you into the Lake of Fire and Hell. This verse and this chapter should be read by everyone in the world. If you’re not a Christian and you read this verse, it would be pretty scary knowing what is going to happen to you if you dont accept Christ before you die or before He comes and destroys the world.
12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
Nice comment Matt. It’s so good to know that we don’t have to fear punishment because we are saved in Christ. But at the same time, we need to be actively striving to glorify Him, being found a faithful servant rather than a wicked one. We don’t want to be living like everyone else when God comes to judge them. And as we live for Him, we need to be constantly urging others to do so with us, so that they don’t have to experience punishment either.
Brooke great comment!! I totally agree
10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
This verse is so scary to think of. Imagine all your friends or family that you have that are nonchristians in this position……they have to be tormented for eternity! I think this verse is an encouragement for me to go out and evangelize, fearing the Lord!
Brooke great comment!! I totally agree
10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
This verse is so scary to think of. Imagine all your friends or family that you have that are nonchristians in this position……they have to be tormented for eternity! I think this verse is an encouragement for me to go out and evangelize, fearing the Lord!
10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Finally, after thousands of years of deceiving the nations and rebelling against God, Satan meets his eternal doom. It is a just punishment for a fallen angel who could have lived in heaven with God forever, but instead was consumed by pride and became the great deceiver. While I am definitely not sad to read about Satan’s eternal torment, I am grieved, like many of you, by the fact that Satan will not be in hell alone, but with people we know and love who refuse to repent. Let’s be sure that we are sharing the gospel with those we love. It may be uncomfortable and ignite anger in our friends and family when we share the gospel now, but think of how devasted they will be when they get to hell and realize that we never shared the truth with them.
Evangelisim Night tonight…6:45 at the True North stage!
15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Really powerful verse and i’m glad i am a CHRISTIAN because it’s not a interest of mine to be thrown into a lake of fire.
12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
I wanted to go off on what BreNona said about doing our best to stay away from sin.. One day, I know I want to hear “well done good and faithful servant”, and i ask myself what i’ve been doing lately to deserve such a comment.. I certainly can be doing a whole heck-of-alot better!! We need to fear the Lord soooo much, that we are afraid of our own thoughts, knowing that many are sinful!! The Lord hates sin, and we should be sprinting from it!! Terrific comments everyone, they are very encouraging!! :D
12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
Thinking the same thing Mike, every person one day day will judged for their sin and what they have done, in the sight of the Lord. Since we have repented and put our faith in Christ that we will be forgiven and not have to face hell, because Christ died for our sin and He showed us love and He sacrificed Himself. It’s scary because the parable of how the gates of heaven are small, but the gate to hell is wide, but not many people know who Christ is, and that we have to tell them who He is through evangelism, we got to double it up, just like Bobby’s sermon tonight, because Jesus Christ the Lord wants everyone to be saved, that is why we have today is because the Lord wants people to repent and get right with Him, before they will have to face His wrath.
15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire
This is why we evangelize.
15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire
Zack, your comment was short and sweet, strait to the point that this is the main reason why we should evangelize. Not only to save people that we know or love from eternal punishment of the soul and body but also it is commanded by God to”..go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creations.” Mark 16:15
I hope that everyone able to go evangelizing tonight had a great and impactful time and next saturday it will be even better! :)
Yes, this is why we do evangelism! And I like how vsunshine tied it to evangelism night. The fact that judgment is coming changes the way that we live today! After this great white throne judgment everyone will either be living in the New Jerusalem or hell forever. This is a sobering future reality that should stir up to present action. Let’s encourage people to fear our Lord Jesus Christ, because according to verse 11 even earth and sky will flee from his presence. If we have not been saved through repentance and faith in Christ then there will be no safe place for us.
15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
How terrible would it be for those who’s name is not in the book of life. We as christians must tell and beg our friends to repent and faith in Christ.
15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Wow. this chapter is totally epic! this totally relates to teen ministers today!! this should spur us on even more to tell others
Once again, it’s good that we are on the winning side.
15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into
the lake of fire.
How terrible would that be? Just like pastor Bobby told us today, we need to preach the gospel to those on the road to this destruction. That is a fate that we don’t want to happen to anyone, and we need to take our evangelism seriously
6Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
This chapter makes it very clear that there is life after death. Everyone IS going somewhere; either to the lake of fire or to reign with the Lord forever! There is no middle ground here. Our hearts should be BREAKING for the lost. Pastor Bobby’s message tonight regarding preaching and teaching is vital to this cause. People must hear the TRUTH of God’s word, not some watered down feel good Hallmark card message. Reality is that Hell does exist, and it is not God’s intention for any of us to go there. That’s why we must pray to God daily for opportunities to share His truth with the people that he has placed in our lives. THAT is our mission field, THAT is our purpose…
15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This is definitely a verse that I have to show at one of the campus lunches this year. I will explain to them that you have to repent of your sins and put your full trust and faith in Jesus Christ, and then I will show them what will happen if they don’t do this by reading them this verse. It is good to make it clear to people that if they don’t follow God, then they are a follower of Satan. You can’t say I don’t believe in God, but I am definitely not a follower of Satan! If your not a disciple of Christ, then you follow Satan’s ways and your going to perish in the lake of fire!