by Beth Moore
A faint sound was heard in the distance. Difficult at first to distinguish, finally it neared until the sound of rhythmic hoofbeats became evident. Only the Groom was standing, but each saint sat tall and strained to see. Gabriel led the most magnificent beast ever created to His rider. His coat was white with a luster like pearls. His mane was strands of gold. His eyes were like wine. His muscles ridged under his coat, displaying his impeccable condition. The Groom stared at him with approval, then smiled with familiarity as His hand stroked his mighty neck. Two cherubim brought forth a wooden chest laden with gold and brilliant jewels. Saints covered their eyes from the blinding light as they lifted the lid. The dazzling radiance was veiled as they brought forth a crimson robe from within and placed it upon the Groom's shoulders. Gold tassels were tied around His neck, and the seraph spread forth His train. The words were embroidered in deep purple, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." His foot went in the stirrup, and the Faithful and True mounted His horse. The beast dipped his head as if to bow then lifted it with an inexpressible assumption of responsibility. The Groom gently tugged the reigns to the right and the animal turned with exemplary obedience. No one moved. No one spoke. No one took their eyes off the Rider on the white horse. They stood ready, backs to their audience, waiting.
Suddenly, a sound erupted like rolling thunder. The earth rumbled beneath their feet. Every saint could feel the echo in his heart of the pounding like a thousand timpani. The Groom released their gaze as the walls of the banquet hall gave way with a stunning thud. And encircling them were horses no man could count, winged and ready for flight. The four creatures-one with a face like a lion, one with a face like an ox, one with a face of a man, and one with the face like a flying eagle-flew over the heads of the saints and sang the anthem, "All rise!" Each saint, dressed in white linen, rose from his chair and mounted his horse. The attentions of every saint were quickened by the Groom. His back still turned. His horse made ready. Suddenly, a vapor seeped from the ground and covered the hooves of the horse of Faithful and True. As the vapor rose to His thighs, the fog became a cloud enveloping the Rider inch by inch. Brilliance overtook Him, and He became as radiant as the sun. So great was His glory, the cloud rose to His shoulders and covered His head to shield the eyes of the saints.
The familiar surroundings of heaven were suddenly transformed, and the sky appeared under His feet. A deafening sound emitted from the middle of heaven like the slow rending of a heavy veil. The sky beneath their feet rolled by like a scroll, and the inhabitants of heaven were suspended in the earth's atmosphere. The planet was their destiny. The Groom was their cue. The cloudy pillar that enveloped Him would plot their course. With swiftness the cloud descended toward the Earth. The horses behind Him kept perfect cadence. The Earth grew larger as they made their final approach, and oceans could be distinguished from the nations. The Earth turned until Jerusalem faced upward. The cloudy pillar circled widely to the right for the Rider's eastward arrival.
The sun interrupted the night as it rose upon the city of Zion and awakened every inhabitant in the land. The rays that poured through their windows were unlike those of any other morning. All who saw it sensed the imposing arrival of the supernatural. The wicked inhabitants of Jerusalem's houses, those who had forced the people of God from their homes, shielded their eyes as they filled the city streets. All of Israel was awakened, and the valleys were filled with people gazing upward as much as their vision would permit to something awesomely beyond terrestrial. Emaciated humans filtered one by one from every cave and crevice-those who had not taken the mark of the beast. Their eyes tried to adjust to such sudden and abnormal gusts of light after hiding in the darkness for so long. Every eye looked upon the amazing cloudy pillar as it made its approach just east of the city of Zion. The cloud stopped midair.
Suddenly the divine veil begin to roll upward inch by inch, exposing first only the hooves of the great white horse then the feet of the Rider. They looked like burning brass in the stirrups. His crimson robe was exposed little by little until it seemed to blanket the sky. His name ascended above all names. The cloud lifted above His shoulder and the knowledge of God was unveiled in the face of Jesus Christ. His eyes burned like fire into every heart. Those who had taken the mark of the beast ran for their lives, shoving the people of God out of the way, as they took cover in the caves. The people of God's covenant and those who had come to their aid remained in the light entranced by the glorious sight. Moaning filled the air. The Rider on the white horse dismounted His beast and His feet touched down on the Mount of Olives. And the earth quaked with indescribable force. And all who were hiding lost their cover.
The large brown eyes of one small boy remained fixed upon the sight. The whiteness of his teeth contrasted with the filth covering his face as he broke into an inexperienced smile. He reached over and took his mother's bony hands from her face and held them gently. With the innocence only one sight could possibly restore, he spoke: "Look, Mom, no more crying. Surely that is our God. We trusted in Him and He saved us." Even so, Lord Jesus come quickly.
Chapter 49
THE DEVIL'S DOOM
The devil, who deceived them, was thrown in the lake of burning sulphur,
where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be
tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)
Few words characterize the end of times more than intense. As we established earlier, all things-both good and evil-will intensify like the crescendo of a shofar (ram's-horn trumpet) hailing the King of kings and a government with no end. We cannot comprehend the ways God will work out "everything in conformity with the purpose of his will" (Eph. 1:11), but we can trust an all-wise sovereign and supreme God who can do no wrong. One of the Scriptures on my personal set of index cards right now is Daniel 4:37. I insert my name rather than Nebuchadnezzar's when I read it aloud over my own life. Why don't you read this Scripture aloud and insert your own name?
Now I,______________________ praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble. (Dan. 4:37)
I want to look at these related Scriptures in four parts.
Part 1: Revelation 19:11-21 gives an awesome picture of Christ at the head of His army as He comes to do battle with the beast and his followers. The result becomes the "great supper of God" (v. 17). While I look forward with more anticipation than you can imagine to the wedding supper of the Lamb, believe me, you want nothing to do with the great supper. Christ slaughters his enemies, and an angel of God summons the birds of the air to a banquet. The fowls of the air form the guest list for this feast, and all those who reject Christ form the menu.
To the astonishment of all that is reasonable, masses of people will still gather with the beast to make war against the Rider on the horse and His army. After unprecedented signs and wonders and mercies of God ranging from tender to severe, many will refuse to repent. They will exercise the foolish audacity to stand as a foe against the blazing Son of God. Why? One reason probably exceeds all others when people reject God in the face of overwhelming evidence in His favor: unwillingness to bow to authority.
Based on glorious Scriptures like Revelation 7:9, I believe great numbers of people will turn to Christ and be saved in the last days. Revelation 19 and 20 also tell us that many will perish in their arrogant refusal to turn to Truth. I can't help but focus on the reference to the "kings of the earth." The Word intimates that some of those who refuse to bow will be the reputed power brokers of the earth. Their lust for dominance will literally be the death of them. How foolish! In their refusal to bow to a righteous God, they will bow instead to the prince of hell.
Satan's scheme is as old as his first appearance in the garden. He tries to convince humans that they can be their own bosses, their own gods. It's a sham. We were created to worship and bow down. (Perhaps that's the very reason God created our leg
s with knees.) We were fashioned to serve under a greater rule. Man has no sovereign authority. We cannot be our own bosses no matter how we deny our purpose. Yes, God ordains human government and places people in high positions-but always under His divine dominion. Nebuchadnezzar could teach us the life principle in Daniel 4:37 like few others. He learned the hard way that those who take credit for the kingdoms of the earth pay a hefty price.
Revelation 19:15, 21 make it clear exactly how Christ will strike down His foes-with the sword of His mouth. I believe a sword symbolizes Christ's tongue because He will strike down His foes by the words of His mouth. His is the same mouth that spoke the universe into existence and whirled the earth into orbit. Unlike me Christ doesn't have to use His hands to speak or to strike His foe. He speaks, and His will is accomplished.
How fitting that God assigned John the Revelator the privilege of announcing Christ's returning title as stated in Revelation 19:13: "He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God." No other inspired writer was given the insight into the Logos. The same Word made flesh to dwell among us will also return with the shout of victory as His foes fall at His feet. Every knee will bow ... one way or the other.
Now look with me to the next portion of the text.
Part 2: In Revelation 20:1-6 John saw an angel come down from heaven, holding two things. The angel had the key to the abyss and a great chain. "He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years" (v. 2).
What irony that references to a "great chain" and being "set free" are right here in passages prophesying the devil's future. Scripture tells us that Satan will be bound for a thousand years before he is thrown into the lake of burning sulfur (Rev. 20:10). Scholars are very divided over the meaning of the time reference. I have no trouble picturing an actual thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. At the same time, I also recognize 2 Peter 3:8 that says a thousand years is as a day to the Lord. This verse discourages us from dogmatism about dating the thousand years.
I see one fact as undeniable in Revelation 20:2. No matter the time frame, Satan will be bound. I couldn't be happier that the means is a great chain. How appropriate! Some may wonder why God will bother chaining him for a time rather than simply casting him immediately into the lake of fire. Beloved, as far as I'm concerned, the last days will be high time for Satan to be bound in chains! Perhaps for all of us who have cried, "How long, 0 Sovereign Lord, until You avenge our bondage?" I can't wait for him to know how chains feel. In fact, I hope the "great chain" is made from all the ones that have fallen off our ankles!
I want Satan to experience the same sense of powerlessness with which he deceived many of us, seeing others who are free yet not knowing for the life of us how to become one of them. Praise God for truth that sets us free! Satan tried his hardest to keep me bound and to destroy my life, my family, my testimony, and my ministry, but God defeated him by the power of His outstretched arm. The future will show Satan not only defeated but his wickedness toward us avenged. I suspect you feel the same way.
A serious set of chains will avenge the wrongs Satan dealt us quite sufficiently. What will the world be like while Satan is in chains? Based on my own personal study of last things, I tend to think the period of Satan's bondage in the abyss coincides with the kingdom of Christ on earth, a kingdom characterized by peace, righteousness, and security. Keep in mind, however, that faithful students of God's Word see a variety of ways to understand the passage. God will accomplish His will in His own way regardless of opinion. When all is done, we will probably all stand with our mouths open in wonder.
Revelation 20:3 offers what may be the ultimate irony. After a season of bondage, Satan will be "set free" by God for "a short time." May I say somewhat tongue in cheek that this example could suggest that God can set anyone free! Of course, this "freedom" will not be liberty from sin and rebellion but freedom to rise up once again in rebellion against God. Our next passage tells us what will happen.
Part 3: Revelation 20:7-10 tells us the devil will again gather forces to fight against God. He and his army will surround "the camp of God's people, the city he loves." But fire will come down from heaven and devour them (v. 9). I suppose we need not worry whether Satan will learn his lesson while chained in the abyss. He is the embodiment of evil. He will return to his old tricks the moment he is released, exceedingly empowered by ever-increasing rage.
John 8:44 provides one of Scripture's most succinct synopses of Satan. Jesus said he "was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
When Satan is released upon the masses once more, he will come speaking his native language. His is so effectively deceptive that, if undefended, he can delude the brightest human and then use that person to lie to others. Make no mistake about it: deceived people deceive people. If you have ever dealt with a deeply deceived and deceiving person, you know that the only defense is prayer. Rationalizing is useless. Only the wonderworking power of God Himself can break the cycle of deception.
At the end of time, Satan will know he only has one last shot at us. You can see from Scripture that he will obviously shoot his best shot. In the final rebellion, masses of people will choose to stand in defiance against the holy Son of God. Mind you, by this time Christ will be fully revealed. We can only imagine what schemes of deception the evil one will use to convince them that he can promise them more than God their Maker. My guess is that they will be deluded into thinking that they are choosing their own lusts and greeds rather than an eternity of holiness in the presence of God. They will know the truth, yet they will choose a lie. Thinking they are choosing themselves, they will choose the devil.
Unlike the boastful and crude philosophies of modern man, hell will not be one big party. Hell will be eternal bondage to torment. I cannot bear the thought of it and want no one to go there. Let's take a look at the last segment of Scripture in our lesson.
Part 4: Revelation 20:11-15 tells us of the "great white throne judgment." Based on my understanding of Scripture and the final judgments, only the lost will stand at the great white throne. This seat of judgment seems to differ from the one described in both 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. Those who know Christ will stand before the judgment seat of Christ where those who have served Him lovingly and obediently will receive rewards. The judgment seat for the saved will not be a place of condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
Our passages in Revelation describe a very different scene. As you can see, the great white throne appears to be a seat upon which only condemnation takes place. Every person who has refused God will stand before Him on this dreadful day. Though the earth and sky will try to flee from His awesome presence, those who have refused God will have no place to run.
Revelation 20:13 states how each person who stands before the great white throne will be judged: "Each person was judged according to what he had done." One similarity will exist between our judgments. Reward will be given according to the deeds of those saved by the blood of the Lamb. Likewise, punishment will be given according to the deeds of those who refused Jesus' work on their behalf.
I am convinced Revelation 20:13 suggests differing levels of punishment according to the depths and lengths of the evil accomplished by each person. Why would I have ever thought otherwise? Is our God not just? Does He not look upon the individual hearts and deeds of every responsible man and woman? The lake of fire will be a place of torment for every inhabitant, but I believe Scripture clearly teaches that punishment will vary according to each person's deeds. The Righteous Judge knows every thought and rightly discerns every motive of our hearts. As we learned in Romans 2:2, His judgments are based on truth.
God began His magnificent creation of humankind with one man. Though the plains of planet Earth now bulge with six billion people, God still breathes life into each
being, one at a time. We were fashioned for God and designed to seek Him. He created a universe and an order with the divine purpose of bearing constant witness to His existence. Heaven unceasingly declares His glory, and all who truly seek Him find Him.
Not one person's absence from heaven will go unnoticed by God. Not one will get past God haphazardly. Not one will accidentally get swept away in a sea of nameless souls. God is not careless. He intimately knows every soul that will refuse to know Him. Because He created us for fellowship, God's judgments cannot be rendered with cold, sterile detachment. For God so loved the world that He sent His Son to seek and to save the lost. Though none can refuse to be seen, many will incomprehensibly refuse to be "found."
The passionate plea of Ezekiel 33:11 rises in volume as the day draws nearer: "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?"
Chapter 50
THE NEW JERUSALEM
I saw the Holy City the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)
Throughout our overview of Revelation we have preoccupied ourselves with what John saw. As our next segment unfolds, I'd like us to recapture who was appointed to behold such sights. I have grown to love John through this study. I enjoy imagining him as nothing more than a teenager when Christ bade him follow. Did the others pick on him unmercifully yet favor him? These men shared deep interpersonal relationships. They worked together, traveled together, ate together, slept under the stars together. They saw wonders and horrors together. They grieved and hoped together. I'm not sure many of us could boast the kinds of relationships these men shared.