Revelation 20:7-15 The End of the Millenium

Revelation 20:7-10 This entire scenario can only occur because God allows it to demonstrate to humanity the inherent weakness of the human way of life when it is not lived in close communion with Him.  The comparison to the sand on the seashore suggests that an enormous number of people are deceived, perhaps because they have lived in a thousand years of peace, free of temptation, and do not understand that it is only the spiritual framework of the sovereign reign of Jesus that was the basis of these conditions. They think they can get a better deal. Why was the devil let out of prison? What possible hope is there that he would have been reformed in jail? This time he gets capital punishment, or at least an eternity of unending torture.

Revelation 20:11-15 The presence of God at the end of the millennium, with His authority emphasized by the symbolism of the great white throne, ought to instill in us a healthy fear of authority. The flight of heaven and earth indicates that these creations of God fear Him.

          The book of life has been mentioned previously in Scripture. (Psalm 69:28; Philippians 4:3; Rev. 3:5, 13:8, 17:8) The criterion for being recorded in this book seems to be taken for granted. Everyone is judged for their deeds, except those who were raised in the first resurrection. But this passage does not say that the outcome of the great white throne judgment depends on the deeds. Those whose names are not in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, joining the devil, the wildbeast, and the false prophet. Those whose names are in the book of life are judged for their deeds as well as by whatever else is written in the books, but this does not send them to the lake of fire.  Perhaps these deeds include the righteous works of the saints mentioned in Rev. 14:13, and the purpose of the judgment is to establish and validate the rightness of their actions. Things done under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to God are recognized by the court.

          There is another perspective on this tableau, seen by Daniel in a vision and recorded in Daniel 7:9-14. Daniel 7:12 records that the books were opened. Daniel 7:14 reports that when the Son of Man is presented before the Ancient of Days, He is given an everlasting dominion and a kingdom which will never be destroyed. That is the scene we now view in the context of the unveiling of Jesus Christ.

          The casting of death and hades into the lake of fire indicates their total destruction. Death and Hades, it turns out, was a place of detention until trial. If there is a distinction between death and Hades, it seems to be only one of cultural history, Hades being the Greek name for the place of the dead. The point is that in eternity, there is no annihilation and no rest. The alternatives to be decided between at trial are being in the presence of God, or being in the lake of fire. When we bury people now, they are only resting until that trial, unless they are believers in Christ, in which case, being absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord, now, not awaiting the final trial. (2 Corinthians 5:8)

          What is the lake of fire? As noted before, it is characterized by volcanic brimstone odors, sulfur dioxide in the natural world. Perhaps this symbolizes that the sinful deeds that are a stench to God are also nauseating to those in this place; those confined there now see the reality of their evil actions and are unable to receive forgiveness and cleansing from them. Instead, they burn in remorse or regret like an unending fire, which does not consume them. It is interesting that in three separate instances Matthew records that Jesus talked about unbelievers being cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30) Perhaps it is a dark fire that burns. In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man is described as being in a place of torment begging for a sip of water. (Luke 16:19-31) In that parable Jesus did not say anything about waiting for the final judgment for the rich man to be in torment, as it was contemporaneous with life of the rich man's brothers who still had the opportunity to repent. At the final judgment, it will be too late to repent.

          Judgment and sentencing of the rebellious angels is not discussed in this passage. Perhaps that is because it is not a warning to us, and it is too late for them to repent. There is no hint that they are allowed to continue to corrupt God's creation or otherwise act freely.