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If you find the truth, will you believe it?

If any man desires to do God's will, he will have the needed illumination to recognize, and can tell for himself whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from myself and on my own accord.  John 7:17 

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Chapter 20

Revelation Chapter 20

At the end of Revelation chapter nineteen, King Yahushua returned to earth and slew the armies that came “against Him” and “the fowls were filled with their flesh” (Rev. 19:19, 21).  Earth's inhabitants were either taken to

heaven or destroyed "with the spirit of His mouth, and . . . with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thess. 2:8). 

The beast and the false prophet we were told, were thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20). 

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven [to this earth], having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season" (Rev. 20:1-3).

This scene was foreshadowed in the sanctuary service on the Day of Atonement. When the sins of the people were removed from the sanctuary on the Day of Atonement by the High Priest, they were placed on the head of the scapegoat, which was led into the wilderness to perish. "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness" (Lev. 16:21-22, emphasis added). Satan is the scapegoat who eventually will have all the sins of the redeemed placed upon him and will suffer their final punishment.

After Yahushua has slain all the wicked by the brightness of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8) and has taken the redeemed to heaven, Satan is confined to this earth which has been turned into a "wilderness" and "a land not inhabited" as described in Jeremiah 4:23-27. "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of Yahuwah, and by His fierce anger. For thus hath Yahuwah said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end" (emphasis added). Someday He will make it all new!

In the sanctuary service, when the "kid of the goats" was slain for the sins of the individual, the blood was taken into the holy place and "pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar" (Lev. 4:28-30). Thus in type showing the sins of the sinner being transferred into the sanctuary until the Day of Atonement when they were to be removed and placed on the scapegoat (Lev. 16). "Thy way, O Elohim, is in the sanctuary" (Ps. 77:13). Elohim's plan of salvation was shown in the services of the Sanctuary.

Satan is bound in the "bottomless pit" (the desolate earth) for a thousand years, and when that time is up, he will "be loosed for a little season" (Rev. 20:3) before he is destroyed forever.

In Luke 8:31, when Yahushua was about to cast out the demons from the men possessed by them, "they besought Him [Yahushua] that He would not command them to go out into the deep" (emphasis added). The Greek word abussos is translated as "the deep," and in Revelation 20:3, that same Greek word is translated as the "bottomless pit" and could read, "And cast him into ‘the deep'" instead of the "bottomless pit," where the demons (fallen angels) are at the present time.

In the book of Job, we are told, "And Yahuwah said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? And Satan answered Yahuwah, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it" (Job 1:7). Satan is on this earth even though we cannot see him. Whether he is in another dimension or Elohim has placed a veil between the fallen angels and us, we are not told. The demons (fallen angels) Yahushua confronted did not want to go back into that, shall we say, dimension because then they would not be able to bother humanity from there.

We read in Revelation 9:1-11 that Satan is given the key of the bottomless pit, and he and his confederate angels will be released from there when the fifth angel blows the trumpet during the latter part of when the New World Order is in power.

In Revelation 20:3, we read that Satan and his cohorts are cast back "into the bottomless pit" and will remain there for one thousand years. They will have no one on earth to tempt and annoy during this time because the wicked were slain, and the righteous were taken to heaven. He will have one thousand years to do nothing but contemplate what he has done for the past six thousand years and what his fate will be when Yahushua returns at the end of the thousand years. It is in this sense Satan is cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years because he will not be able to practice his art of deception and his hellish schemes upon humanity during that time and will be confined to this earth. The first chapter of Job tells us Satan is on this earth, so the bottomless pit pertains to planet Earth also, except he cannot be seen by us.

From my experiences with hallucinogens, Satan and his fallen angels are all around us, but they cannot be seen by us, as are all of Elohim's loyal angels whom He has commissioned to protect us from Satan and his fallen angels.

Satan is confined to this earth, as it is described in Jeremiah 4:23-27, for the one thousand years mentioned here in Revelation chapter twenty.

Meanwhile, in heaven during the same one thousand years, "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Yahushua, and for the word of Elohim, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Messiah a thousand years [while in heaven]. But the rest of the dead [the lost] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years [while in heaven and before they return to this earth]" (Rev. 20:4-6, emphasis added).

The "souls that were beheaded" during the time of the end are singled out in these verses, but they are not the only ones to be given "thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given them." They are singled out because of what they will be going through at the end of time, and these words are recorded for their encouragement to go through what they will be enduring "for the witness of Yahushua."

"And Yahushua said unto them [His disciples], Verily I say unto you, That you which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19:28).

All those who have had a part in "the first resurrection," along with those who have been translated without seeing death (1 Thess. 4:17), will be taking part in this judgment.

Some may question what judgment these individuals will be taking part in since the wicked have already been judged before Yahushua returned to the earth. We read in Revelation 16:5, "And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Yahuwah, which art, and was, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus" (emphasis added).

Many Scriptural passages, including Psalm 7:8, Psalm 9:8, and Psalm 75:7, indicate that Yahuwah is the Judge.  What "judgment was given them" who are sitting on the thrones? Earthly trials include two phases of judgment. The first phase is to decide the defendant's guilt or innocence during what we call the "trial." The second phase of judgment is the portion in which Elohim's redeemed will have a part. "Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world . . . Know you not that we shall judge angels [the fallen angels]?" (1 Cor. 6:2-3). The second phase of a trial determines the length or degree of punishment and what we call the “pre-sentencing investigation” of the trial. This is the part the redeemed have a role in before the sentences are executed on the wicked.

In Revelation 20:12, we read, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before Elohim; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (emphasis added). The portion of this verse, which is italicized, deals with the righteous and not the wicked.

In the kingdom of Elohim, the punishment will fit the crime. Some will suffer longer than others before they are turned to ashes, but none will be tortured for eternity in an everlasting hellfire. The word "hell" found in the Scriptures should have been translated as the "grave." The prejudices of the translators came through in what words were used. The length of the time of punishment to be meted out for each lost individual is what will be determined by the redeemed and will be determined "out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Rev. 20:12). As in all trials, the innocent parties are looking for closure; so it will be with the final eradication of sin, sinners and Satan and his fallen angels. Will people like Adolph Hitler suffer longer than someone who has not committed murder? Yes.

I used to think Elohim kept track of my misdeeds (sins) in a little black book and had a club with which He would smack me every once in a while to get my attention. I now think that book is a large book or many books that contain all the deeds of all those who will eventually be punished for them. This is not done in a sinister and evil manner for Yahuwah is a God of justice and mercy, and those who are to be punished will not be unduly punished. The punishment will fit their crime: "eye for eye and tooth for tooth" (Lev. 24:20). It will be a fair and open determination and not done in an arbitrary manner. I have found no evidence of there being a club in Elohim's hand.

The confessed and forsaken sins of the redeemed will be blotted out of the books of record, for Yahushua has already paid the price [punishment] for them. "Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19, emphasis added). "Have mercy upon me, O Elohim, according to Thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." "Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities" (Ps. 51:1, 9, emphasis added).

There are conditions to be met for those sins to be blotted out. We must confess and forsake our sins and be converted [become dependent upon Elohim] and allow His Spirit to dwell within us, transforming our characters and making us like Himself. "He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13). While He is now blotting out (cleansing) the sin in our lives, He will blot out our sins contained in the books of record. "I [Elohim speaking], even I, am He that blots out thy transgressions for Mine Own sake, and will not remember thy sins" (Isa. 43:25, emphasis added).  Throughout eternity He will never remind us of our sins! "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto Yahuwah, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon him" (Isa. 55:7, emphasis added). 

The plan of redemption includes the provision for having our sins blotted out of the books of record. Yahushua took upon Himself the punishment owed for those sins in Gethsemane and on Calvary when He became the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice, for those sins which are to be blotted out. Propitiation means Yahushua paid the price for us to be reconciled with Elohim and to become at one (at-one-ment) with Him again. "And He [Yahushua] is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2, emphasis added).

His sacrifice was sufficient so every sin ever committed by every human being who has ever lived on this earth could be blotted out. Though most will not have taken advantage of His offer of salvation and in the end, will have their lives blotted out of existence. The provision made was all-sufficient. All of our confessed and forsaken sins (Prov. 28:13) will be blotted out, but those sins not confessed and forsaken will face the guilty one in the judgment.

It does not matter how great or small the sin is; it can be forgiven because the price has already been paid for the penalty of that sin. We are invited to "confess our sins, [for] He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9, emphasis added).

Many of the followers of Messiah do not understand the cleansing "from all unrighteousness" because they have been given such a perverted misunderstanding of the Gospel. If you were to hire a plumber to fix your clogged sink and a leaky faucet, you would wonder why he only unclogged your drain and did not fix your leaky faucet before leaving.

Elohim wants to fix our inherited, fallen human nature, and He has made ample provision to do so if we will let Him. He not only wants to forgive our sins, but He also wants to stop us from sinning. "Thou shalt call His name Yahushua [Yah (Elohim) saves]: for He [Yahuwah] shall save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21, emphasis added). He saves us; we do not keep ourselves from sinning.

He will not force Himself upon us. He leaves it to us as to whether we will invite Him to do so or not! Many want to be forgiven of their sins but do not want to stop sinning! If the truth be told, many like their sins. Only Yahuwah can put enmity between us and our sins. He can and will put enmity or a distaste for sinning if we will let Him by asking Him to "subdue our iniquities" (Mic. 7:19). What we once loved we can end up hating if we will permit Elohim to do what He needs to do in our lives. And what we once hated, we can love. My testimony contained in the Prologue of this book testifies to what Elohim can do for us if we allow Him. He can put a distaste for sinning within us if we permit Him. It is that "enmity" (feeling of hatred towards sin) spoken of in Genesis 3:15 that Elohim puts into us to turn us away from sin.

Even though all will not be saved, the sacrifice made was sufficient for all. Elohim would have all saved, but not all want to be "cleansed" from their sins. Many wish only to be saved from the results of sin and not from the cause of sin. The cause of sin is that we have an inherited, fallen human nature that must be cleansed from us (1 John 1:9). "Who [Elohim] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one Elohim, and one mediator between Elohim and man, the man Messiah Yahushua; Who gave Himself a ransom for all" (1 Tim. 2:4-6).

It is a mystery why not all will accept Elohim's offer of salvation, an offer too good to be refused! But the pride of man prevents him from admitting (confessing) his faults (sins) and his need for cleansing. "Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Yahuwah thy Elohim . . . And you have not obeyed My voice, saith Yahuwah" (Jer. 3:13). It was pride that prevented Lucifer from admitting he was wrong or he too would have been forgiven, but because of pride, he refused. 

Satan and the angels that were cast out of heaven with him had more than ample opportunity to change their minds before they were cast out.  Elohim left no means undone in trying to convince them to return to their allegiance to Him.

The subjects of the first resurrection and the second death are brought up in this chapter. Yahushua spoke of two resurrections: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28-29).

If you have a part in the first resurrection, you have nothing to fear concerning the second death. In the first resurrection, the righteous who have been raised back to life will have been changed from corruption to incorruption, will have had immortality conferred upon them (1 Cor. 15:53-54), and will have been brought to heaven for the one thousand years.

Satan, during that same time, is confined to the earth, which is in a state of chaos due to earthquakes, seventy-pound hailstones, sinking mountains, and vanishing islands.

The concept of there being two deaths may be new to most people, but it is brought out in Revelation chapter twenty. There being two resurrections may also be new to many people. Unless you are part of “the great multitude” that are alive at the return of Yahushua and never experience death, the death we will experience when our life is over is what the Bible talks about as the first death we experience due to Adam's sin in the beginning. "For as in Adam all die" (1 Cor. 15:22). It is a part of our inheritance we have received from Adam's failure. For those who have been resurrected at the second coming of Messiah, "the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (1 Cor. 15:26). Death has no more hold of them, and they will not experience the second death for they will have been given immortality, which Elohim will not take back when once it is given.

"For the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). The death referred to in this verse is not the death we have in Adam. Wages are something that is owed to us personally; something we deserve and have earned! Typically, people are anxious for payday to arrive, but in this case, they may not want to receive those wages. They will have earned and deserve the second death! This second death is an eternal death when life is extinguished forever. "The soul that sins, it shall die [eternally]. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son" (Eze. 18:20). Each will suffer the second death as the result of their sins and not for someone else's sins.

"Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5). Yahushua reconciled Elohim and man by taking on the punishment rightly due to those who have sinned. It was not the physical suffering Yahushua went through at Calvary that caused His death. He died of a broken heart because of the separation between His Father and Himself due to the guilt of sin. "For He [Elohim] hath made Him [Yahushua] to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of Elohim in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). "Yahuwah hath laid on Him [Yahushua] the iniquities of us all" (Isa. 53:6).

I do not think we can fully understand what this means. The most significant exchange that was ever made was Yahushua taking our punishment, which we deserved, and we receiving Elohim's righteousness, which we did not deserve. It is sin that separates us from Elohim.

Elohim's plan for the salvation of humanity will be the subject of much contemplation throughout the eons of eternity!

How do we know that Yahushua died from a broken heart and not from His physical pain and suffering? Death by crucifixion could take several days before the victim succumbed to death by suffocation, yet Yahushua was dead in just six hours! When the news reached Pilate that Yahushua was dead, he could hardly believe it. "And Pilate marveled if He were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked whether He had been any while dead" (Mark 15:44).

In John 19:31-35, we read, "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation [‘preparation (day) for the Passover' (John 19:14); not the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath], that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) [The annual feast days were referred to as High Sabbaths.] besought Pilate that their legs might be broken [This hastened the death of the victim causing suffocation.], and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with Him. But when they came to Yahushua, and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he [John] that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knows that he saith is true, that you might believe" (emphasis added).

The sacrificial offerings were to be without blemish. "Blind, broken, or maimed . . . you shall not offer these unto Yahuwah, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto Yahuwah" (Lev. 22:22, emphasis added). The offerings which pointed to Yahushua's sacrifice were not to be "broken or maimed" just as Yahushua was not to be "broken or maimed."  Yahushua drank the entire cup of Elohim’s wrath!

Very significant is the record that states there were two distinct streams that flowed from the wound. "There came out blood and water." This only happens in the case of a broken heart! The mental anguish that Yahushua went through was so great that the physical suffering might have been barely felt. For anyone who has suffered from guilt, you can relate in a minimal way to the mental anguish Yahushua incurred. He took upon Himself the guilt of "all" humanity. Guilt, like physical pain, is for our benefit. Guilt keeps us from doing further injury to ourselves, but psychologists will tell you guilt is nothing to concern yourself with, and they give you all sorts of remedies or means for dealing with it. Too much guilt can crush our lives. But the only sure cure for guilt is confession to the One Who has been offended. Confession to a man will not be sufficient to remove the guilt.

In addition to suffering from the guilt brought on by sin, Yahushua suffered because of the rejection He experienced throughout those last hours of His life. For those of us that can remember back to our youth and experienced rejection from a girlfriend or boyfriend, we said, "our heart was broken." It hurt being rejected.

At Calvary, Yahushua was being rejected and reproached by those whom He came to save. "He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not" (Isa. 53:4, emphasis added). "Reproach hath broken My heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none" (Ps. 69:20, emphasis added). Indeed, He died of a broken heart!

Yahushua also endured the loss of His Father's presence as He hung upon the cross. He cried out, "My Elohim, My Elohim, why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34, emphasis added). When we take a really long hard look at what took place at the cross, we will only then begin to appreciate all that was done for our salvation.

We also have this account recorded by Luke: "And when Yahushua had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit" (Luke 23:46). Yahushua relied on His faith in Elohim He previously had before the cross, much like we have to do when Satan envelops us with clouds of doubt! Yahushua did not give into His feelings, and neither must we!  

In Revelation 14:12, we are told those who will be killed instead of accepting the mark of the beast will have "the faith of Yahushua." That faith comes from knowing Elohim so intimately that nothing Satan throws at us can cause us to doubt.  We are to “walk by faith, not by sight” or by feelings (2 Cor. 5:7).

Some individuals are devoid of suffering from guilt and can kill someone and not feel a bit of remorse. They are referred to as psychopaths. Satan is seeking to desensitize humanity, and the more we behold the evil in the world, the less it seems to affect us. When man was first created, humanity’s conscience was very tender and sensitive, but through six thousand years of sinning, our consciences have become hardened and desensitized. 

We now have a heart of “stone,” and we need a “heart of flesh.”  “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Eze. 36:26-27, emphasis added). 

"But they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him for a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6).

When the thousand years are finished, what happens?  "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan is loosed out of his prison, and he shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of them is as the sand of the sea" (Rev. 20:7-8, emphasis added). This is what Satan does during that "little season" mentioned in Revelation 20:3. He deceives "the nations" of those who have been resurrected at the second resurrection into believing the city, the New Jerusalem, can be taken for the number of the wicked is exceedingly great for "the number of whom is as the sand of the sea."

After a thousand years, Satan is no longer confined to his prison (alone with his angels on this earth) and is free to go out and deceive "the nations" because the wicked will have been brought back to life. "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Rev. 20:5, emphasis added), and Satan once again works his hellish arts to deceive the lost.

The New Jerusalem comes down to the earth before the lost are brought back to life, and the scene pictured in Zechariah 14:4 takes place. "And His [Yahushua's] feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." A place will be leveled and purified where the New Jerusalem will be located throughout eternity. John saw the "holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from Elohim out of heaven" (Rev. 21:2). The vision Zechariah saw was what prepares and purifies a place for the city to land on when it comes down from heaven.

Continuing with the scenario found in Revelation chapter twenty, "And they [the lost and Satan and his two hundred million angels (Rev. 9:16)] went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed [surrounded] the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city" (Rev. 20:9, emphasis added), which we see comes down from heaven in Revelation 21:2. Satan deceives the wicked into believing the city of Elohim can be taken and convinces the wicked to attack it, but "fire came down from Elohim out of heaven and devoured them" (Rev. 20:9, emphasis added).

In Revelation 14:20, we are told the "blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." The blood of the lost was approximately five feet in depth to the horses' bridles and extended for a distance of two hundred miles around the city, and the city is said to be three hundred seventy-five miles on each side which gives us some concept of the vast multitude of the lost who will be slain! The fire devoured them, and when the fire goes out, only their ashes remain [Mal. 4:1-3, Eze. 28:18]; it did not burn the wicked forever.

This is the battle that so many have heard about: Gog and Magog. We find it taking place after the one thousand years of the righteous being in heaven, and it is between Satan and his followers and Yahuwah. The false prophets of our time have been saying this battle is to take place between the Muslim nations and Israel, but we see a very different scenario given in the Scriptures.

When the one thousand years have ended, the city of Elohim is brought down to this earth, and then the wicked are resurrected. Satan deceives the lost into believing they can capture the city, and they march against it. At that time, fire comes down from Elohim and devours them. This is what is referred to as "the lake of fire" and is ignited when the fire comes down from Elohim out of heaven.

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10).  Have “the beast and the false prophet” been burning in that lake of fire for the previous one thousand years while the dragon (Satan) has been confined to the bottomless pit? We know from what we read in the last chapter “the beast and the false prophet” were cast into the “lake of fire” when Yahushua returned to the earth.   How do they burn in the “lake of fire” for a thousand years which is not ignited until after the one thousand years? 

In Revelation 16:13-14 we are told, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of Elohim Almighty" (emphasis added).  I have to admit, I am a little bit confused as to the scenario seen in Revelation chapters nineteen and twenty pertaining to the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.  As it is written, I just do not understand.  Maybe someday it will be made clear to me. 

The "lake of fire" is where the lost, Satan, the beast, the false prophet, the dragon, and the fallen angels, and the trash that has been accumulating on the earth are burnt up and will not be ignited until after the one thousand years have ended. What it accomplishes is "forever and ever" but does not burn forever. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 tells us that the wicked "shall be punished with everlasting destruction,” not with everlasting punishing.

Satan's disguises are destroyed.  He is "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone" ignited when the "fire came down from Elohim out of heaven." At that time, it will be said to Satan by those whom he has deceived just before he is destroyed:  "They that see thee [Satan] shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake the kingdoms: that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" (Isa. 14:16-17). The wicked, before they are destroyed, will realize Satan has deceived them, and he will receive their scorn. The ministers and the religious leaders will also receive the scorn of those who have been led astray by them. All the earthly elements, along with Satan and his followers, will be burnt up, for Elohim is about to give planet Earth "an extreme makeover." This will be the "extreme makeover planet Earth edition."

"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [the grave] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell [the grave] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:13-15, emphasis added).  

No matter where the lost have been placed when they died, whether in the sea or the grave, which, as we have discovered, was incorrectly translated as hell, the lost will be called back to life to receive the punishment for their lives of rebellion and sin. Their length of punishment will be from what was determined by the redeemed based on what was recorded in the books. Even those who have been cremated will be brought back to life; there is no escaping.

We look forward to eternity when peace will reign, but during the battle of Gog and Magog (Rev. 20:8), when the lost are being destroyed in the "lake of fire," the redeemed from earth will be watching from the walls of the New Jerusalem. I doubt if there will be a dry eye in that vast multitude watching from the walls of Jerusalem because outside those walls being consumed in the "lake of fire" will be fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, uncles, aunts and cousins, nephews and nieces, friends and acquaintances of the redeemed knowing they will never see them again. "And Elohim shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there will be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying" (Rev. 21:4). Elohim, Who has placed within us our feelings and emotions, will understand what we are going through, for I believe He too will be more deeply touched than any of His creatures will be, over what will be taking place!

"Another book was opened, which is the book of life," "and whosoever was not found in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:12, 15). Yahushua told His disciples when they became excited about the power they had over "serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy" that "notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:19-20, emphasis added).

Our names need to be written in that "book of life." They can be written there only if we have confessed that Yahushua is the Savior of humanity and we have allowed Him to become our Savior, Who saves "us" personally from our sins and cannot save us should we continue to sin. "And thou shalt call His name Yahushua [Yah saves]: for He [Yahuwah] shall save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21, emphasis added). He will keep us from sinning because we have put our trust in Him to do for us what He has promised to do, and now it is His glory "to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24, emphasis added).

Yahushua, when he healed a man who was a paralytic and forgave a lady caught in adultery, told them, "Go, and sin no more." He was not telling them to do something that was impossible for them to do. "I can do all things through Messiah which strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13, emphasis added).

Even though our names may have been written in the "book of life," they can be blotted out. "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous" (Ps. 69:28). "And Yahuwah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book" (Ex. 32:33). This is in contrast to the false teaching of "once saved; always saved."

If, after having confessed Yahushua as your Savior and Master and had your name written in the book of life, you turn your back on Him, Elohim is left with no other alternative but to blot out your name. We often hear about something called Elohim's unconditional love, which is never supported by Scripture, but we never hear about the justice of Elohim. Yahushua is to be our Savior and our Master, and we are to be His servants. He will not force His will on any of us; the decisions you make daily will decide the outcome. One of the most horrific lies that Satan has perpetrated is "once saved; always saved" and will result in the loss of untold numbers. You are once saved, always saved, as long as you stay submitted to Elohim and walk in all His ways through the indwelling power of Elohim's Spirit in one's life. Once married, always married as long as you stay committed and faithful to one another, you will remain married.

"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Mark 13:13, emphasis added).  And what if you should sin?  “My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Yahushua Messiah the righteous” (1 John 2:1, emphasis added).  And “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, emphasis added).  We are assured that all “confessed and forsaken sins” will be forgiven (Prov. 28:13).  John did not believe we would continue to sin but told us that IF we did sin, we had “an advocate with the Father, Yahushua Messiah the righteous.”  “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26-27).

There is one more matter to consider. "And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour" (Rev. 8:1, emphasis added). This is done very early on during the one thousand years of being in heaven. When Yahushua removes the last seal, the seventh seal, from the book that was sealed with seven seals (Rev. 5:1), then this book can be opened, and we will see what is in it. It is not the "book of life," but it will be identical in content. What does it contain?

This book was written before the Father and the Son created the Universe and has been sealed since that time, but now it can be opened. And when it is opened, there is dead silence for "about the space of half an hour" in heaven! Why?

Psalm 139:15-16 sheds light on this book. "My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book [the book sealed with seven seals] all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them" (emphasis added). That book, which was written and then sealed before the creation of the Universe, contains every detail of the lives of every redeemed individual from planet Earth and will match what is written in the "book of life." Selah! Truly that is cause for pause and reflection.

Elohim did not predestine your life to be what it is, but He did know you before you ever existed. "Elect, according to the foreknowledge of the Father" (1 Pet. 1:2, emphasis added). Elohim knows the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10) to the very minutest detail of us all, and yet He never interferes with our free will He made a part of us when He created us. Are there any words that can adequately extoll our Elohim?

And yet we can ask ourselves the question as did the Psalmist: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him"? (Ps. 8:4). Someday Elohim will answer that question! Go, Tell the World of Their Danger!

Does Elohim get excited? You bet He does! We read in Zephaniah 3:17, "Yahuwah thy Elohim in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing" (emphasis added). 

                                             ___________________  

       1. How long will the saved stay in heaven before returning to the earth?

       2. How long will Satan be confined to the bottomless pit?

       3. How long will the wicked who are slain at the second coming of Yahushua be dead                   before they are resurrected along with all the wicked of the earth?

       4. How does Elohim destroy the wicked?

       5. When does the battle of Gog and Magog take place?

DD