Zao is life
Well-Known Member
How sure are you? Compare the scriptures again - as well as the others I'm asking you to compare below:
"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18)
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; 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." (Revelation 20:12)
IMPORTANT VERSES:
"And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11:19)
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (Revelation 20:11).
1. The judgment of the dead involves the throne of God.
2. Revelation 11:18 talks about the judgment of the dead.
3. Revelation 11:19 - "the ark of the testament/covenant" - in the earthly pattern of the temple, it contained the 10 commandments/tablets of stone - which are a testimony against transgressors of the law.
That ark - with those 10 commandments/tablets of stone inside it - was covered with a lid - the mercy seat - which had to be sprinkled with the blood of (the) atonement in order for God's wrath not to break out - not only upon the priest who took the blood into the holy of holies to sprinkle it on the mercy seat - but also upon the entire unjustified congregation, i.e all the people whose sins were not covered by the blood of atonement (Hebrews 9:11-12; Hebrews 13:11-12).
"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." (Revelation 20:13).
Their works will betray/discover their sin (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10), and the sins of "whosoever was not found written in the book of life" will not be covered by the blood of Christ's atonement.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:15).
- and there is only one day like the above:
"Although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, having provided proof to everyone by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31).
One day. Not different days. Not 70 A.D + another day. One day. In the past God has delivered individual nations and empires into the hand of other nations, to be destroyed by those other nations. Each time was a judgment of God. Not the judgment of God - but Revelation 11:18 and 20:12 are both talking about the judgment of the dead:
"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18)
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; 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." (Revelation 20:12).
So if Revelation 19:7-9 & 14 & 19 is all talking about the bride of Christ and the marriage supper of the Lamb (which is a feast, the food of which is the carcasses of the beast and his armies), then what immediately follows is the judgment of the dead and the bride descending from God out of heaven to live on the new earth
- notice that Revelation 21:5 says that it is "he that sat upon the throne" who said, "Behold, I make all things new." That throne is the one mentioned at the time of the judgment of the dead, who had just been judged. In Revelation 21:6 Jesus says,
"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."
It's the same thing said by "the voice that came out out of the temple of heaven, from the throne" when the 7th bowl of wrath was poured out:
"And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done" (Revelation 16:17).
The next time after the above that Jesus Himself is recorded as speaking again (after the above at the time of the 7th bowl of wrath), is in Revelation 21:6 when He says, "It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." - and again it is "He that sat upon the throne" who is speaking.
Note: It's obvious that the bride of Christ will only come down from heaven to live on the new earth
(a) after the bride of Christ has been resurrected from the dead and have met the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18); and
(b) after the bride of Christ has returned with Christ to destroy the beast and his armies; and
(c) after the judgment of the dead.
- but it's also obvious that the judgment of the dead will take place immediately after the destruction of the beast:
"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18)
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; 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." (Revelation 20:12).
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The Premillennialist assumption has always been that the great white throne judgment can only take place after the thousand years because of the place in the Revelation it appears - but we need to bear in mind that the Revelation is not chronological, and the chapter divisions were only inserted in circa 1227 AD, and the verse division even later, in 1555.
To Amils, this is "proof" of Amillennialism - but they don't place the authority of scripture above their own limited understanding - because Amills have to (and indeed always do) deny or ignore many other passages of scripture that clearly speak to the contrary, or change the meaning of what those passages and verses are plainly saying - to the point of ridiculousness.
I do believe that the thousand years is literal, and follows the destruction of the beast - but that means that the thousand years is the first thousand years of the ages of the ages - and Revelation 20:1-10 is parenthetic - while Revelation 20:11 - Revelation 22:19 corresponds with all the things that speak of the return of Christ and the judgment of the dead, and the new heavens and earth that follow immediately afterward:
"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20).
Jesus said, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13).
* Continued in next post
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