The World and the Word

              The Advents and Judgments of Christ

Revelation 20:1-3 relates that God will send an angel to chain the Devil in the bottomless pit for most of the millennial reign of Christ. Satan will not be allowed to exert any evil influence over the nations until near the end of Christ's millennial reign. Yet, despite God's restraint on the Devil, some of the nations will again turn to evil near the end of Christ's millennial reign. In Revelation 20:7-9, Satan will be released from his prison to "deceive the nations" in order to form an army to try to defeat Christ in battle and retake the world for himself. But Satan would not be able "to deceive the nations" unless they had begun to turn back to evil. This fact proves that Lucifer had to have been influenced to rebel against God by devils that somehow got into Heaven from the bottomless pit. Ezekiel 28:15. Evil was "found" in Lucifer. He did not generate it himself. A "mystery of iniquity" exists that God must discover in order to completely purge it from all of His creations so that He can recreate a new Heaven and earth "wherein dwelleth righteousness." II Thessalonians 2:7; II Peter 3:13. The fact that God will use His fiery wrath against evil to thoroughly destroy the Devil and his evil army in this final battle proves that God will have discovered how evil demons get into His creations. God will solve the mystery of iniquity. Revelation 20:9-10.

II Timothy 4:1 prophesies that Christ "shall judge the quick and the dead." This verse clearly states that this judgment will happen at a particular time and place. In no other judgment of Christ in the Bible (KJB) does He judge the quick and the dead at the same time. This can only be the Great White Throne Judgment because when Christ comes at the beginning of His millennial reign He will give that judgment to His Tribulation saints. Revelation 20:4. I Timothy 6:13 also prophesies that God "quickeneth all things." This can only be a prophecy that God will raise back to life all living humans confined to the regions of the dead for Him to recreate to live on His new earth. Revelation 20:5; Revelation 21:1-5. This verse cannot mean that God only gives temporary life to humans because Ecclesiastes 3:14 teaches that whatever God creates lasts forever. Psalm 111:7-8. If living humans were ever to go into the lake of fire, that would amount to a subtraction from God's infinite creative powers. That cannot happen according to Ecclesiastes 3:14. Luke 20:38. In addition, I Timothy 4:10 clearly teaches that God "is the Savior of all men." This verse has to mean exactly that which it states because, in light of Ecclesiastes 3:14, God can never lose anything He has ever created. God's statement in Revelation 21:5, "Behold, I make all things new," can only mean that God will absolutely recreate everything that He created in the first place, including all living humans. Romans 8:18-25. The phrase in I Timothy 4:10 that states "specially of those that believe" means that those who believe while still alive in the flesh will receive God's special salvation which is by His grace.