Revelation 20:13

 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.  And they were condemned, each one according to his works.

·        The earth will then be resurrected from its present state, even as our natural bodies will have been changed dramatically from their former state (1 Cor. 15:35-49). (CS)

·        The earth will be renovated not annihilated. Scripture declares that the earth continues forever (Ps. 37:29; 78:69; 104:5; 105:10-11; 125:1-2; 1 Chr. 23:25; 28:8; Isa. 60:21; Ezek. 37:25; Joel 3:20). The earth is only “new” in the sense of being “re-newed” and resurrected from its present state. The phrase “passed away” (Rev. 21:1) is the same Greek words as in 2 Cor. 5:17, where we, having been saved, are “new creatures” all old things “passing away”. However, although old things have “passed away” we are not different people in substance. We are merely changed not annihilated or done away with utterly.  (CS)

 

Psalm 6:5  For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?

 

Psalm 76:8  You caused judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared and was still.

Revelation 20:12

 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.  And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.  And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

·        None are so mean but they have some talents to account for, and none so great as to avoid the jurisdiction of this court; not only those that are found alive at the coming of Christ, but all who have died before (MH)

·        Books opened – the book of God’s omniscience, and the book of the sinner’s conscience (MH)

·        Another book – the book of the scriptures, the statute book of heaven, the rule of life (MH)

Psalm 62:12  Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; for You render to each one according to his work.

Jeremiah 17:10  I, the LORD, search the heart, I rest the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

Revelation 20:11

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.  And there was found no place for them.

·        There is absolutely no hiding from this throne. No one can escape the judgment that it represents.  (DG)

·        At the judgment seat of Christ, what we have done will be judged. Our motives for what we have done will be judged. Paul presents essentially the same idea in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, where he speaks of a coming assessment of each one’s work before the Lord. In that passage, he makes it clear that what we have done, and our motive for doing it, will be tested by fire, and the purifying fire of God will burn up everything that was not of Him. We won’t be punished for what was not done rightly unto the Lord, it will simply be burned up, and it will be as if we never did those things. We will simply be rewarded for what remains. Sadly, some will get to heaven thinking they have done great things for God, and will find out at the judgment seat of Christ that they really did nothing.  (DG)

Daniel 2:35 ….the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found…..

Psalm 9:7    But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment

 

Revelation 20:10

 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.  And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

·        The presence of the beast and the false prophet in the lake of fire after a thousand years argues against annihilationism. In eternal punishment, a thousand years is just the beginning. It never ends. Commentator John Trapp thought this eternal aspect of hell so terrible that he called it “another hell in the midst of hell.”   (DG)

·        Forever and ever: Is this really eternal punishment? Yes it is; the words mean exactly what they appear to mean. “There would be no way possible in the Greek language to state more emphatically the everlasting punishment of the lost than here in mentioning both day and night and the expression ‘forever and ever,’ literally ‘to the ages of ages.’” (Walvoord)

Psalm 11:6  Upon the wicked He will rain coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.

Obadiah 1:3  All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.

Revelation 20:9

 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.  And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

·        We don’t know if the saints referred to here are glorified saints who reign with Jesus, or earth-inhabitants who come to faith in Jesus during the Millennium. Either way, the strategy of this vast Satanic army is clear: to destroy God’s people, and the “headquarters” or “capital city” of His administration, Jerusalem (the beloved city).  (DG)

·        We shouldn’t even call this a final battle, because there is no battle. The fight is over before it begins. At this point, God finally deals with the devil and his followers forever.  (DG)

Isaiah 8:8  He will pass through Judah, he will overflow and pass over, he will reach up to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings will fill the breath of Your land, O Immanuel.

Ezekiel 38:9  You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.

Revelation 20:7-8

 Now when the thousand years have expired, satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

·        No sooner is satan released than he falls to his old work of deceiving the nations, and so stirring them up to make war with the saints and servants of God (MH)

·        The Millennium is important because it will reveal the depths of man’s rebellious nature in a perfect environment. Some people seem to believe that man is basically good, and deep down he really wants God’s righteous rule. Many believe that man is really innocent, and corrupted only by a bad environment. The Millennium will answer these questions before the great judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).  (DG)

Ezekiel 38:2  Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him.

Psalm 90:4 For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.

Revelation 20:6

 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.  Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

·        In John 5:28-29, Jesus described two resurrections: Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth - those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.  (DG)

·        The two events are separated by this 1,000 year period, because the rest of the dead are not given their resurrection bodies until the thousand years were finished. (DG)

Exodus 19:6  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

Isaiah 61:6  But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God.  You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast.