seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 20:1 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.
4 I 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 about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] 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 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 are those who share 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.
a. Revelation 20:4 Or God; I also saw those who
this is from the easy English site.... yet again....
The angel threw Satan into the hole and locked the door. The angel made certain that nobody could open it. Satan had to remain there during the 1000 years. He will not be able to affect the nations during that time.
At the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be free for a short period.
Many people died because they would not worship the beast. They had refused to give honour to the image of the beast. They had not received the mark of the beast. They had obeyed the Lord Jesus. They believed and they spoke the word of God. God made these people alive again. They sat on thrones.
These who rule in the 1000 years, God has made alive. Nobody else will live again until the end of the 1000 years. Then God will raise all of them from death and they will live. Then, he will be the judge of all people.
God has been kind to those whom he raises at the start of the 1000 years. They will not suffer the second death. The second death means the lake of fire. They are safe and they will live with the Lord always. God will be the judge of the rest of the people after the 1000 years. Only those who have trusted the Lord to save them from their sins will be safe. They will always live with the Lord. But many people have not trusted the Lord. And they will suffer in the lake of fire. In other words, they will die the second death.
These whom God raises for the 1000 years will be his priests. They will know and serve God and the Lord Jesus here on the earth. They will rule as kings with Christ.
I didn't learn this lesson until I was well into my 50's. Until then I thought going to Heaven was a quick supersonic trip to a line that would take me to judgement.... and then I would review my life with God.... then Jesus would say "She Believed Dad".... and then God would not be so angry with me.... and then I would get the power to fly and I would start my new life.....
But a woman at a church right there in Maryland.... taught this lesson. And I took it in like a dry sponge in a puddle of warm water.
When we die.... we rest. That is.... if we have professed our faith... Believed...... and if we don't fall in line and take the mark of the beast because it will fatten our bank accounts.
OK... the earth has to go through a lot before we get to the 1,000 years. There have been several earthquakes..... there have been horrible meteor storms and fire storms. The sun doesn't warm the earth anymore.... it burns it up. The air is stale..... there are no trees or grass to cleanse it. The water is not fit to drink.... wormwood has poisoned it. Animals are hungry and now they are attacking humans. There are people who have not taken the mark.... but somehow they have survived.
These are the people who have not made a decision.... for or against..... these are the humans who don't have a mark on their forehead or the arm.... never got around to worshiping the beast.... but never made it to a decision about Christ either.... and somehow they made it through all the earthquakes and meteor storms... and they didn't starve to death.... and they weren't eaten by animals. They saw Jesus and His 144,000 Messianic Virgins all mounted on white horses..... dressed in white.... while Jesus sat on that pure white horse wearing a blood soaked garment. They hid.
These people will be alive for the next 1,000 years.... and then they will be judged.... based on what they do when Satan is released at the end of the 1,000 years.... they'll have to choose then..... for a thousand years... there will be no temptation... and then.... with the wisdom of 1,000 temptation free years... they will be given a choice.
Meanwhile.... those who were beheaded or murdered because of their faith in Jesus.... they will be the kings.... they will help Jesus reign for a thousand years. At the end of that 1,000 years.... they won't have to die and then go to judgement. They already did their "decision making"..... and they chose Christ.... they gave up their lives rather than letting Satan get them. They can skip the judgement line.
It's been about 2,000 years since Jesus left. After He returns.... anyone who has survived all the natural disasters that are coming..... who hasn't taken the mark but have never made a decision to accept Jesus... will have 1,000 years of peace to think about it. They will witness the birds feasting on those who took the mark and fought with Jesus and His troops. But then there will be 1,000 years of no one whispering stupid ideas in our head. So anything wicked we do will be on us....
A thousand years.... to Believe....
