Overview of the End-Times
Part 2
Dr. John Hoole
Last week, I said I believe one of the most significant single truths in all the Bible – both in the O.T. and the N.T., is the certainty of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
In the apostle Paul’s two letters to the Thessalonians, he mentions something about the second coming in every chapter.
In chapter four, he speaks of Christ in Heaven, … and we on earth…
1 Thess. 4:16-17 tells us….the Lord will descend …… from heaven…
And when He does, 3 things will accompany that descent.
He will descend with a shout,
…with the voice of the archangel
…and with the trump of God.
Then Paul turns towards the earth, and said…
…the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.
Then He gives a very comforting promise.
...and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
This event, where we rise to meet Christ in the air, is called the Rapture.
Once all believers have met Christ in the air, we all go to heaven with Him. We go to the place He has been preparing for us. That is what Christ told us in John 14:3.
While we are in Heaven, two major events occur while we are there with Christ.
1. The Judgment Seat of Christ.
This event is mentioned in multiple places. One is in Romans 14.
Romans 14:10 NKJV
10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
First of all, this verse as well as the others that address this event, show us that only believers are at this judgment.
Remember what we read last week in Revelation 20:4-6 how the ungodly dead are not resurrected for more than 1,000.
The Judgment Seat of Christ is not an event where all the bad you have ever done is revealed. It’s not that kind of judgment.
This is sometimes referred to as the BEMA judgment because that is the Greek word translated “judgment seat.” It takes that name from the elevated platform where the judges sat at the original Grecian Olympic games. The winners of each event would parade before this BEMA, and receive a laurel wreath, signifying their victory.
That is the kind of judgment which will occur with only believers. They will be rewarded for their faithfulness.
Another event taking place in heaven during the 7+ years we are there.
2. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
This event is also mentioned in several places, with the greatest information about it mentioned in Revelation 19. This harks back to Jewish tradition, both in the Old and New Testaments. It is a wedding feast.
This is no small event. This could go on for days, according to Jewish customs. In heaven, I believe this wedding feast will be of such magnitude, that it might go on for months or years.
WHOSE MARRIAGE SUPPER IS IT? It is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. WHO IS THE LAMB? It is Jesus Christ.In John 1:29, we find John the Baptist speaking about Jesus, saying behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.The other party in this marriage is the church. The church is the Bride. Jesus Christ is the Groom.
Before leaving this event, let’s read one place where it is mentioned.
Revelation 19:6-9 NKJV
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God."
So, we have covered two major events in heaven during this time.
In this same chapter, immediately following the record of this glorious event, we are told that Christ comes back to the earth, putting an end to the Tribulation.
As we read last week from Revelation 20, Christ returns after the Tribulation. But when Christ come, He is not alone. All the saints that were caught up to meet Christ in the air, at the Rapture will accompany Him back to earth. They are the Bride of Christ.
Jude 14 NKJV
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
And we read in Revelation 19:
Revelation 19:14 NKJV
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
At the time of Christ’s return, the Battle of Armageddon will be at its height here on the earth.
Revelation 16:16 NKJV
16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Four things are mentioned that Christ will do upon arrival on earth. Three take place inn fairly short order. The fourth takes a little time to complete.
The first three things that happen quickly are:
1. He destroys the armies of the Antichrist.
Returning again to the sequence of events portrayed in Revelation 19.
Revelation 19:19 NKJV
19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
The beast is the Antichrist. When the antichrist sees Christ in the clouds, his attention is turned. He will immediately make war against Jesus.
Revelation 19:21 NKJV, tells us the action Christ takes.
21 And the rest [that’s all the armies of the Antichrist] were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
The first thing that happens upon Christ’s arrival to earth, is the destruction of the armies of the Antichrist.
The second thing Christ does on arrival on earth:
2. The Antichrist and his right-hand man, the False Prophet, are cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 19:20 NKJV
20 Then the beast (that’s the Antichrist) was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
The Antichrist and the False Prophet will be cast alive into the Lake of Fire.
With point #2, we have completed Revelation, chapter 19, and now, with point #3, we begin chapter 20.
3. Satan is put in chains and cast into the bottomless pit
Revelation 20:1-3 NKJV
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
An angel, having a chain, binds Satan and throws him into the bottomless pit.
The fourth thing that takes place after Christ returns to earth is the setting up of His (Christ’s) kingdom here on earth for 1,000 years. We find that in the next verse.
Revelation 20:4 NKJV
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Let me give you some characteristics of the Millennial reign of Christ.
1. Justice & Equity (Isaiah 11:4, Jer. 23:5)
2. The saints will reign with him (Rev. 20:4) Reign over mortals.
3. Peace
4. Long life
5. Restoration of Creation
Now, notice Revelation 20:7 NIV
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
Satan is angry and knows his time is short.
Revelation 20:8 NIV
8 and [Satan] will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth – Gog and Magog – to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
We will address this in greater detail later, but let me give two observations from this series of events. Satan’s release will reveal two things.
1. It reveals that Satan never changes.
He continues his evil deception. He goes all over the earth to convince people to make war against Christ.
2. It reveals man still has a sinful nature.
Because people are sinful by nature, people will be easy targets for Satan’s enticements. And, even though people have lived under ideal conditions of Christ’s kingdom, human hearts do not change. The Scripture is correct when it describes the human heart is “desperately wicked.” This is speaking only of mortals alive at this time. The battle doesn’t last long. Fire comes out of heaven and zaps them.
In the next verse – verse 10 –Satan is now cast into the Lake of Fire? Remember what we read in Revelation 19:20. It tells us that the Antichrist (Beast) and the False Prophet were cast alive into the Lake of Fire. The third person is Satan himself.
Revelation 20:10 NAS
10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also;
The verse we just read says “where the beast and the false prophet are,” indicating they are still alive. They were cast alive into the Lake of Fire (19:20) and they are still alive after 1,000 years.
The last phrase of the verse we just read says, “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
WHAT TAKES PLACE NEXT?
The Great White Throne judgment.
Revelation 20:11-13 NAS
11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
This is when the unsaved dead from Adam until the end of the Millennium are raised, and their tormented souls are reunited with their bodies. Only the ungodly are judged here.
Revelation 20:15 NAS
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This takes us to Revelation 21.
Revelation 21:1 NIV
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
There are a number of other Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testaments, that address the changes mentioned here.
I won’t say much about the new heaven and new earth at this time, but it will be addressed in a later lesson.
The next thing is that John gets a vision of the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:2 NKJV
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heav-en from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Beginning with verse 3, we are given many details and descriptions of the New Jerusalem.
• It is 12,000 furlongs square (that’s approximately 1,500 miles square.) (21:16)
• It has 12 gates (21:12)
• It has a wall (21:14)
• It has 12 foundations, each being a precious stone (21:19)
• No temple is there (21:22)
• No night (vs 23)
• No sun or moon (vs. 25)
• Rivers flow out from the throne (22:1)
• It contains the tree of life (22:2)
• Streets of pure gold (21:21)
This is the place where we will live forever. This is what Jesus has been preparing for his bride and those that followed God. We will not be sitting on clouds strumming our harps. This will be a place of great activity. It will be “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8).
I can hardly wait.