01 - John's Commission

It began with a vision ...

THE FINAL REBELLION

Main Theological Theme - In Revelation, God ends human rebellion and judges Satan permanently; In Ezekiel, God defends His people and sanctifies His name.

Revelation 20:7-8 "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."
- "the thousand years" - a theory that the 1,000 years may pertain to rest
  - Assumption #1 - The land shall have a sabbath rest every 7 years
    - Leviticus 25:2–4 "...When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field... but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land..."
    - Leviticus 26:14-16, 33–35 "14 ‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, 16 then ... 33 And I will scatter you among the nations... Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate... It shall have the rest that it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it."
    - 1406 BC - 586 BC = 490 years; 490 year / 7 years = 70 years
  - Assumption #2 - The 70 years of Jewish exile from the land was punishment and to let the land rest
    - 2 Chronicles 36:20–21 "20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his successors until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah."
      - 586 BC - 70 years = 516 BC
  - Assumption #3 - The Tribulation period is prophetically 1 week
    - Daniel 9:24-27 "24 “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. 25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.
      - 70 "7's" = 70 x 7 = 490 years similar to Parameters #1 & #2.
      - 1 "7" = 7 years for the covenant that is broken by the Anti-Christ.
  - Assumption #4 - God is not constraint by time
    - 2 Peter 3:8 "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."
      - 1,000 years is like 1 day
  - Conclusion = The Tribulation is one "7" or 7 years. The Millennial Reign period may be a period of sabbath rest from the Tribulation Period since there was no rest after the "6th day" or "6th year".
- "four corners of the earth" - global
- "Gog and Magog" - a reference to Ezekiel 38-39, but not the same event. The differences include:
  - Time-frame - Revelation is after the 1,000-year reign of Christ
    - Ezekiel is before the Rapture event
      - Ezekiel 38:8 – “In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war...”
      - Ezekiel 38:16 – “In days to come you will invade my land...”
  - Gog's Identity - Revelation is symbolic of global rebellion—no individual person named; represent all nations, not individuals.
    - Ezekiel is a human leader
      - Ezekiel 38:2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal…”
  - Magog's Identity - Revelation are nations from the “four corners of the earth”—universal in scope
    - Ezekiel is a land or people allied with Gog
      - Ezekiel 38:2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog…”
  - Source of the Attack - Revelation is Satan, released after the Millennium, deceiving the nations
    - Ezekiel is the earthly nations led by Gog
      - Ezekiel 38:6 – “...with all your troops and the many nations with you.”
      - Ezekiel 38:15 – “You will come from your place in the far north—you and many nations with you...”
  - Follow-up Event - Revelation is the Great White Throne Judgment and New Heaven/New Earth
    - Revelation 20:11–21:1
    - Ezekiel is the Temple vision and restored land
      - Ezekiel 40–48

Revelation 20:9 "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."
- Additional differences from Ezekiel reference:
  - Attack Target - Revelation is the City of Jerusalem ("the camp of God's people, the city he loves")
    - Psalm 87:2 "The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob."
    - Psalm 132:13-14 "13 For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling, saying, 14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it."
    - Isaiah 62:1 "For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch."
    - Joel 3:17 "“Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her."
    - Ezekiel is in the country of Israel, living in “peace and safety
      - Ezekiel 38:11 “You will say, ‘I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people…’”
  - Divine Response - Revelation is fire from heaven devours the attackers; Satan is cast into the lake of fire
    - Ezekiel is earthquake, hail, fire, pestilence, confusion; Gog is defeated by God
      - Ezekiel 38:19–22 “19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign Lord. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.”
  - Role of God - Revelation allows Satan’s final test before ending evil permanently
    - Ezekiel brings Gog against Israel to display His holiness and power
      - Ezekiel 38:16 “I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me...”
      - Ezekiel 38:23 “And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known…”
Revelation 20:10 "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."
- Additional differences from Ezekiel reference:
  - Outcome for Enemy - Revelation is his enemies destroyed; Satan judged eternally
    - Ezekiel is Gog defeated; nations humbled; Israel restored
      - Ezekiel 39:4 “You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops...”
      - Ezekiel 39:25–29 "25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.

GREAT WHITE THRONE OF JUDGMENT

Revelation 20:11-15 "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."
- "great white throne" - not the same throne as the judgment [Bēma] seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians, which is reserved toward Believers; this throne is reserved for the wicked.
  - Matthew 13:49 "49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous"
  - Bēma seat - focused on reward of Believers
    - Romans 8:1 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,"
    - Romans 14:10–12 "10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister [Believers]? 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."
    - 1 Corinthians 3:11–15 "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 [Believers] work will be shown for what it is, because the [Judgment] 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."
    - 2 Corinthians 5:10 "For we [Believers] 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."
- "him who was seated on it" - although Jesus and God the Father are one, God delegated judgment to Jesus.
  - Matthew 25:31–32 – "31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep (righteous) from the goats (wicked)."
  - John 5:22 – “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.”
  - John 5:27 – “And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.”
  - Acts 10:42 – "He [Jesus] commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead."
- "earth and heaven fled from his presence"
  - Psalm 114:3–7 "3 The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back; 4 the mountains leaped like rams,
    the hills like lambs. 5 Why was it, sea, that you fled? Why, Jordan, did you turn back? 6 Why, mountains, did you leap like rams, you hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,"
  - Nahum 1:5–6 "5 The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. 6 Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him."
  - Revelation 6:14 "The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place."

Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, c. 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."
- "the dead" - those who were not part of the First Resurrection, the unredeemed
  - Revelation 20:5 "(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. "
- "and books were opened" - these are books of deed recorded; the works, thoughts, actions while a sinner with the blood of Christ as an atonement.
  - Ecclesiastes 12:14 “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
  - Matthew 12:36 "But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken."
  - Romans 2:6 “God ‘will give to each person according to what he has done.’ "
- "the book of life" - known as the Lamb's Book of Life, all who accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah will have the mark of the Holy Spirit and will be written in it.
  - Luke 10:20 “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
  - Philippians 4:3 “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 20:13 "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."
- "the sea" - it seem odd that scripture would only reference the sea and not the earth where many are buried. I believe that the sea is a metaphoric reference to the unredeemed world or the nations.
  - Psalm 65:7 "who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations."
  - Isaiah 17:12-13 "12 Woe to the many nations that rage—they rage like the raging sea! Woe to the peoples who roar—they roar like the roaring of great waters! 13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale."
  - Daniel 7:2-3 "Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea."
  - Revelation 13:1 "The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name."
  - Revelation 17:15 "Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages."
- "death and Hades" see Afterlife Slideshow, see Hades or Sheol
- "according to what they had done" - in the books of deeds

Revelation 20:14 "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death."
- "second death" - see Afterlife Slideshow

Revelation 20:15 "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."
- "thrown into the lake of fire"
  - Matthew 13:40,49 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age... 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous"