MARANATHA! COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS!
Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
At last Satan is cast into hell where he will not be able to tempt anyone to sin, or torment anyone else again. Now in hell, he will not even be able to torment those in hell. We see in Isaiah 14:9-15 where it goes into more detail of Satan’s being cast into hell. Where some people cast Satan as master of hell, he will be just another tormented being that their rebellion and refusal to repent brought eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. Satan will not be home at last. His home was in heaven with the Lord as we see in Ezekiel 28:11-19. When God created him he was the model of perfection. He was an anointed cherub and walked among the fiery stones. He was blameless until he turned on God wanting to be God himself.
But before Satan is cast into hell, an angel seizes him and bounds him into the Abyss for 1,000 years.
During this time Jesus and his resurrected church will rule the earth, and things will return to being like it was in the Garden of Eden. In Isaiah 11 we evidence of it by the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard with the goat, the calf and the lion and a little child will lead them. They will neither harm nor destroy on the Lord’s holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. Jesus will be as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan will be released from the Abyss and he will deceive the world once again into trying to kill Jesus. At that time Jesus will consume all that has come against him, and he will destroy the sky and earth. Then he will bring all people that has ever lived before him at the Great White Throne Judgment. I Peter 4:17 tells us that the church is the first to be judged. Christians will not be judged regarding their sins, because they have trusted in the grace of Jesus’ atonement. He has cleansed them of their sins, and will never bring them up again. They will be rewarded for their obedience and the good they have done for others. They will be with Jesus for ever more. These are the people whose name were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Next to be judged will everyone else whose names were in the books. For anyone that has never heard or correctly understood about Jesus atonement, I believe that Jesus in his justice will do as he did following his resurrection.
I Peter 4:6 tells us that he went to the abode of the dead to preach the good news to those that had died a physical death before Calvary’s cross, so they could live regarding their spirit. They will still have their free will and can freely choose for themselves if they want Jesus’ forgiveness and eternal life with him. Sad to say as we see with Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31, after death the attitudes towards God do not change even in light of eternity in hell. Satan is an example of this as he knows how wonderful heaven is, and yet he would sooner go to hell than repent of his sins and seek God’s forgiveness through Jesus. Everyone that doesn’t choose Jesus will be cast into hell for all eternity with Satan and all the other fallen angels. Following the Great White Throne Judgment, God will create a new sky and earth. Here God will reign and rule for all eternity with the righteous. Christians and holy angels will worship and exalt the Lord for ever. This ends the revelation as it was given to John.
In conclusion John reminds us that the return of Jesus is coming soon. We need to be ready and to worship God. Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, while we dread the thought of the terrible sadness and sorrow of the time of tribulation, we rejoice and can’t hardly wait for your return to earth. You are a wonderful God and Savior! We love you Jesus!
