The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is now doing a study of the last days which we define as the days that started with the beginning of Jesus' ministry until his return.
Review
Revelation 20:1-3 NIV [1] And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. [2] He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. [3] He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
The purpose of the 1,000-year reign millennium) is to fulfill various promises God made to the world. Some of these promises, called covenants, were given specifically to Israel. Others were given to Jesus, the nations of the world, and creation. Jesus’ 1,000-year reign will be a time of promises kept. The covenants that will be executed during the 1000-year r
The Palestinian Covenant, also called the Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:1-10). The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7)
God’s covenant with David was that his line would never die out and that David’s heir would sit on the throne of Israel forever. Biblical scholars agree that Jesus is the fulfillment of this covenant. They expected Him to be a military/political leader that would liberate them from the Romans and make Israel a great nation again.
Jesus came into Jerusalem not to assert his sovereign rights to the throne of David’s political kingdom, but to declare his kingship in the hearts of those who would trust and follow him. But they didn’t understand the nature of Jesus’ work at the time was for the New Covenant, not the Davidic Covenant. The 1,000-year reign will be the beginning of Jesus’ reign over Israel and the entire earth.
The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
Jeremiah 31:31-34 NLT [31] “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. [32] This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. [33] “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. [34] And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
This covenant does not mean that every Jew will be saved (“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the Lord). But it does mean that Israel as a nation will worship their Messiah. The Old Testament prophets who spoke of this covenant, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Ezekiel, all wrote that it will be fulfilled in the future. From the time of the prophets, Israel has yet to be an independent nation that worshiped its Messiah but according to what we read in Romans a couple of weeks ago they will as a nation and this will happen in the 1,000-year reign of Christ.
Those are the covenants God made with Israel that are to be fulfilled in Jesus’ 1,000-year reign, but the Bible lists other promises that will be fulfilled, too. God promised Jesus He will make His enemies a footstool, and that Jesus’ followers will worship Him freely.
Psalms 110:1-7 NLT [1] The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.” [2] The Lord will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem; you will rule over your enemies. [3] When you go to war, your people will serve you willingly. You are arrayed in holy garments, and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew. [4] The Lord has taken an oath and will not break his vow: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” [5] The Lord stands at your right hand to protect you. He will strike down many kings when his anger erupts. [6] He will punish the nations and fill their lands with corpses; he will shatter heads over the whole earth. [7] But he himself will be refreshed from brooks along the way. He will be victorious.
God promised the nations of the world that they would live in peace with Jesus as their ruler.
Daniel 7:11-14 NLT [11] I continued to watch because I could hear the little horn’s boastful speech. I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body was destroyed by fire. [12] The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer. [13] As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. [14] He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
And He promised creation that the curse would be lifted, animals and the earth would be restored to peace and prosperity on the earth would be lifted, and people would be freed from disease. These, too, will be fulfilled during the 1,000-year reign.
Romans 8:18-23 NLT [18] Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. [19] For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. [20] Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, [21] the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. [22] For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. [23] And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
The main purpose of Jesus’ 1,000-year reign is to fulfill the prophecies given to Israel and the promises made to Jesus, the nations, and the whole earth. God’s covenants were voluntary and one-sided. He promised He would bless Israel and restore the world in specific ways, and He will.
The millennium will really be paradise on earth. During the millennial reign of Christ will be universal justice and righteousness. No more corrupt lawyers and judges. No more frivolous lawsuits. No more corrupt rulings by judges with agendas.
After the Millennium
At the end of the millennium, Satan will be released, and one final battle will occur, which will rapidly be won by Christ.
Revelation 20: 7-10 NIV [7] When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison [8] and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. [9] They 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. [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.
Satan is then permanently consigned to the lake of fire.
At this point there will be a second resurrection.
Revelation 20:11-13 NIV [11] Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. [12] And 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. [13] The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.
Remember all the believers, the church will be resurrected in the Rapture.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV [13] Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. [14] For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. [15] According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. [18] Therefore encourage one another with these words.
So believers only die once physically. Scripture tells us that those who believe in Jesus will have eternal life so that must mean that there is a life that goes on that is not physical but spiritual.
John 3:16 NIV [16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 11:17-26 NIV [17] On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. [18] Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, [19] and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. [21] “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” [23] Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” [24] Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; [26] and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
That's for the believers but what about unbelievers?
Unbelievers will be resurrected too and they will be judged at what is referred to as the great white throne judgment.
Revelation 20:11-13 NIV [11] Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. [12] And 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. [13] The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.
They will be judged based on their works, they will be assigned to the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:14-15 NIV [14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. [15] Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
John 3:16-21 NIV [16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. [19] This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. [20] Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. [21] But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
What is this book of life?
Revelation 3:5 NIV [5] The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
Philippians 4:3 NIV [3] Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Revelation 13:8 NIV [8] All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
Revelation 21:22-27 NIV [22] I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. [23] The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. [24] The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. [25] On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. [26] The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. [27] Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Once your name is written in the Book of Life, it is never erased
Revelation 3:5 NIV [5] The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
Romans 8:38-39 NIV [38] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [39] neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 10:28-30 NIV [28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. [30] I and the Father are one.”
Everyone who rejected God’s offer of forgiveness through Christ will be present at the Great White Throne Judgment—the rich and famous, as well as the poor and unknown.
No matter who they were on this earth, no matter how many albums they sold or how many movies they made or how many billions of dollars they were worth, everyone who did not put their faith in Jesus Christ will be there.
Once a person reaches the Great White Throne Judgment, there is no turning back. It could be compared to being arrested, charged and put in jail for a crime of which you are guilty. After a period of time, you will make an appearance before the judge for sentencing. This is what this judgment will be like for unbelievers. There is no getting out of it. The sentence will be handed down.
On what basis will a person be judged? The issue at the Great White Throne of Judgment will not be how good you are, nor will it be how bad you are. The big question at this judgment will be, “What have you done with Jesus Christ?” That is what God will want to know from you.
The fact is, a person could live the worst life imaginable and then repent and come to faith in Jesus Christ on his or her deathbed. Amazingly, because of the grace ofGod, that person would go to heaven. Then again, a person could live a relatively good and moral life, but if he or she did not repent and trust in Christ, that person would go to hell.
We might wonder what the purpose of the Great White Throne of Judgment would be if unbelievers have already been condemned. Why even put them through this? The purpose of this judgment will be to clearly demonstrate, to anyone who would want to know,
the reason why they are condemned.
Some may think this doesn’t seem fair. But who are we to determine what is or is not fair? Throughout Scripture, we see that God is good.. God is the One who determines what right and wrong are. He determines what is fair and what is not, not you or me.
Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV [22] Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. [23] They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
The Bible does teach that Christians will be judged in what is called the Judgment Seat of Christ (see chapter 3). The Judgment Seat of Christ will take place in heaven and has to do with rewards.
Romans 14:10-12 NIV [10] You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. [11] It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ” [12] So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
The judgment seat of Christ is different from the Great White Throne Judgment.
The judgment seat of Christ does not determine our salvation; that matter was settled by Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf and our faith in Him
1 John 2:1-2 NIV [1] My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. [2] He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 3:16 NIV [16] For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
All our sins are forgiven, and there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.
John 5:24 NIV [24] “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
So, believers are secure in Christ, but they still must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. It will be a time of examination and a time of reward. Jesus will inspect our works. What did we do with the resources God gave us? How faithful were we? Were we yielded to the Spirit, seeking to honor Christ and further His work in the world? If so, we will have reward
2 Corinthians 5:6-10 NIV [6] Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. [7] For we live by faith, not by sight. [8] We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. [9] So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Did we neglect our opportunities to serve the Lord? If so, we will suffer loss of reward.
Matthew 10:40-42 NIV [40] “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. [41] Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. [42] And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
In the Greek, a single word is used for “judgment seat” in 2 Corinthians 5:10—the word is bema. A bema was a raised platform on which judges sat to view athletic games. Their job was to make sure contestants followed the rules and to present awards to the victors (see 1 Corinthians 9:24–27). The bema was never a place to reprimand the athletes or to punish them in any way. It was a place of testing and reward. In the same way, the bema of Christ will not be a place of condemnation or censure.
Paul likens our Christian service to erecting a building:
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 NIV [10] By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. [11] For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. [12] If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, [13] their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. [14] If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. [15] If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
Note, in the above passage, that our works subsequent to Christ’s salvation are of two different types—good and bad. The “fire” of God’s scrutiny will reveal the quality of our works. “‘Gold, silver, precious stones’ are of intrinsic value, whereas ‘wood, hay, stubble’ are a natural growth” Rewards are distributed to those whose works withstand the test. Those whose works have a natural source will “suffer loss.” Their works will be burned up, but they themselves “will be saved.” The judgment seat of Christ, then, does not confer or rescind salvation.
The judgment seat of Christ is also not a time to punish sin. Jesus took our punishment once and for all. The judgment seat of Christ is a time when we will be called on to report, to render an accounting of what we did for Jesus. It will be a serious and necessary time of reckoning, but, as God’s redeemed, we will never be condemned with the wicked.
