from Rachel: Time Gives Way to Eternity

Please read Revelation 20:1-6 and answer the following questions:

Where will Satan be during the thousand-year reign of Christ? “the Abyss”

Many people of God will be martyred during the terrible time of tribulation. List everything this segment of Scripture tells you about them.
“They had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus (20:4),
they had had not worshiped the Beast nor received his mark (20:4),
they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years (20:4),
they are blessed and holy, the second death has no power over them, and they are priests of God and Christ and will reign with Him for 1,000 years (20:6)”

Quick question: When all is said and done, do you think those who give up their lives for the sake of Christ will be sorry they paid such a price? “No” Why or why not?
“Maybe they’d rather it hadn’t come to the point of conflict in the first place, but each probably had a moment when they were offered the option of denying Christ and worshiping the beast and I’m sure they didn’t regret that decision.”

What does 1 John 4:16-18 tell us about our judgment?
“We will have confidence and no fear of it because God‘s perfect love drives out fear.”

In a few moments, we will read the segment, reflecting the final judgment of unbelievers. First, let’s read the assignment, describing Satan‘s final act, and his subsequent judgment: Revelation 20:7-10. Is anything recorded in this segment to surprise you? If so, what?

“Not really a surprise, but I always marvel that in only a thousand years, with Jesus present and ruling, after all the visible wrath of the Tribulation, and with all the people descended from believers (who may even all still be alive) in the face of all that countless chords rally behind Satan in a rebellion (where did their ancestors go wrong?)”

✭ Christ will not force them to believe any more than he has forced us to believe. Christ will rule over all nations with an iron scepter (see Revelation 19:15), so none will openly rebel… [Satan] will be bound and yet numbers will still be too proud to give Jesus their hearts.

What does this say to you about man? “It confirms original sin rather than an innate tendency to do the right thing and be a good person.”

Verse 12 records a very important piece of information. Complete this sentence: ‘the dead were judged “according to what they had done” as recorded in the books.’

If the interpretation of degrees of reward in heaven end of punishment in the hell is accurate, does it make sense to you? Share your point of view. “It makes me cry, but I guess so. Since the punishments are forever, not for rehabilitation, it seems a bit excessive, but it still makes sense.”

To the extent that our last scene was horrible, our next scene is wonderful. I can hardly wait for you to read 1 Corinthians 15:24-26 to see what happens next. List every event described: “The end will come, Jesus will hand the kingdom over to His Father, He will have destroyed all dominion, authority, and power, He has to reign until all His enemies are under His feet, the final one being death.”

According to 1 Corinthians 15:26, what is Christ’s ultimate enemy? “death”

Fill in a blank of your own: No more “empty husks that ‘just look like they’re sleeping’; no, they don’t, they look dead.”

Please bask in the words of Revelation 21:1-6. These verses describe the final event on the kingdom calendar. The clock will tick its final talk, and God will usher in the eternal state. According to these verses, what things no longer exist in the new heaven and new earth? “the sea, death, mourning, crying, and pain”

God is about to wrap it up and put a bow on it for us. Look carefully at the profound words in verse 6. What is done? After all we’ve studied regarding the timeline of God’s kingdom calendar, what do you think God means? “The earth is restored to perfection with sin and death finally, permanently removed.”

Revelation 22:4 leaves us with man’s most priceless picture hanging right there on the last page of God’s scripture calendar. Ah, man at his best. You just have to read it for yourself and record it here. “They will see His face and His name will be on their foreheads.”

Dearest Rachel –

Well.

Now I have to look for another of your study guides at this point, and right after reading your thoughts on the time when we will be together worshipping and praising God for all that He has brought us through and to. Add to that is the thought that we’re considering the New Jerusalem shortly after visiting the old one, and wondering what the former might be like. That’s going to be a high bar to match.

It’s funny, too, because we’ve started a new sermon series at church about the hard questions of life, starting with that of “what comes after,” which Daniel and I missed while over in Israel. Not that we don’t already know the answer, including which option we’re taking (not by any merit of our own, you understand; we’re no more able to earn our way into heaven by being ‘good’ than we are to be able to jump across Lake Michigan. I may be able to jump farther than some, while others’ leap might well outstrip mine, but in the end, we’ll all still be in sight of Navy Pier, completely unable to even see Benton Harbor in the distance), but there are always plenty of folks to whom this is a total mystery that needs to be shown to them.

As for the eternal ‘punishment’ that “makes [you] cry.” especially since (assuming the details within the parable of the rich man and Lazarus carries literal weight behind it – but those are the turns of phrases Jesus chose to use, so He must have had a reason to describe hell as He did) you know certain people who are with the rich man (as well as some who, as far as we know – and maybe you know for certain on your side of the veil), well… you know I don’t see it as a punishment as such, but rather a case of giving those that want no part of God exactly what they want. That’s probably of no comfort to you – which is weird, because being able to see into the abyss seems to fly in the face of the claim that there would be no sadness in heaven – because those who reject Him don’t seem to grasp what that entails until it’s too late.

That aside, the perfecting of creation is certainly something to look forward to. I suppose on your side, things are already perfect, but over here, not so much. So I guess it’s more for us over here to look forward to.

As it is, all I can do for today is wish you a happy 58th month of eternal bliss, assuming time is kept track of where you are. And if you could cast your eyes down here, and keep an eye on me, I’d appreciate it.