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Psalms
119:40-49 Behold, I
long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your righteousness. Let Your mercies come
also to me, O LORD— Your salvation according to Your word. So shall I have an
answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word. And take not the
word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances. So
shall I keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. And I will walk at
liberty, For I seek Your precepts. I will speak of Your testimonies also before
kings, And will not be ashamed. And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love. My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love,
And I will meditate on Your statutes. Remember the word to Your servant, Upon
which You have caused me to hope.
Father God, we thank you for all your love. Bless and
guide us down the path of life. Lead us Holy Spirit at every crossroads so that
we will please Jesus in all that we do. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Revelation 20:1-6 NKJV
Last
week’s lesson mentioned the Beast and the False Prophet being thrown into the
Lake of Fire. Here is a picture that depicts that scene of the future.
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Beast
and False Prophet Into Lake of Fire
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Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
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This Chapter starts out
with Satan being bound and locked away, so the Battle of Armageddon ends with Satan
being removed from this earth. Is this removal forever? Yes and no so let’s get
started and see what scripture says.
1 Then I
saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and
a great chain in his hand.
Then
I saw an angel coming down from heaven; It is very obvious that angels play a very important part
in the Kingdom of God. Just from this study of Revelation we have been
introduced to many tasks angels do and the power they have.
Having
the key to the bottomless pit; This
angel has the key to the bottomless pit, the same key that was mentioned in Chapter 9:1. This angel is the keeper of this
key, but his instructions come from God in what to do with it. In 9:1 the angel
was instructed to give the key to Satan. This angel no doubt is an angel of a
higher rank and of greater power to have the key to the bottomless pit, but we
aren’t told who this angel is. The Bible only names four angels those being
Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer, and Apollyon. Could it be Michael or Gabriel?
And
a great chain in his hand; This
chain is to be taken literal, but it is a special chain, one that will bind and
hold Satan. We know those of the spiritual world have bodies/form, therefore
the infinite power of God Almighty can hold these beings. After all He created
them and knows what it takes to bind them up and lock them away.
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The
Angel With the Great Chain
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Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
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2 He laid
hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
He
laid hold; This verse
may give us a little clue as to who this angel is based on Chapter 12. We
studied that Michael threw Satan to earth in the spiritual battle that took
place in the heavens. It very well could be Michael that will bind up Satan and
cast him in the bottomless pit, but not for certain.
Of
the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the
Devil and Satan; Satan
is described here in four different ways which portrays his character. A dragon
= great power; a serpent = very cunning; the Devil = an accuser; Satan = the
adversary.
And
bound him for a thousand years; Some
people think Satan is in Hell, but actually he is not. Scripture verses verify
the fact that he roams the earth and heavens in times past and present. Look up
these verses and see for yourself. Job
1:7; Ephesians. 2:2;
Job 1:6. Satan will at some point in time be locked up for a
thousand years and then release for a short time.
3 and he
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so
that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were
finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
And
he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him; Another term for the bottomless pit is
the abyss. This abyss is in the center of the earth. Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The
“prison” which Peter spoke about (I Peter 3:19), where Jesus preached immediately
before His Resurrection, and Jude briefly mentioned also (Jude
verse 6), is probably
the “abyss” where Satan will be placed. There is a seal set on the doors so no
one can go in or out for a thousand years.
So
that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were
finished; During this
1,000 year reign of Jesus, there will be no tempting or deception by Satan or
any of his followers.
But
after these things he must be released for a little while; John doesn't say why God releases
Satan for a little while, but it is part of God's plan for judging the world.
Perhaps it is to expose those who rebel against God in their hearts and confirm
those who are truly faithful to God. Whatever the reason, Satan's release
results in the final destruction of all evil mankind Revelation 20:12-15.
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Dragon
Chained
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Art used; by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
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4 And I saw
thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not
worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived
and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
And
I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them; John doesn’t tell us how many thrones,
but we know from previous lessons there are 24 thrones. Who is seated on them,
we don’t know for sure. Some say it is 12 individuals from the OT and 12 from
the NT. I would venture to say the apostles will occupy 12 of the seats because
Jesus told his apostles they would judge the twelve tribes and that God’s
saints would judge the world. How this actually happens we don’t know, but the
apostles and saints will be involved somehow with the end time judgment when
Jesus is seated on the throne ruling and reigning. Matthew 19:28 So Jesus
said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the
regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have
followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel. 1 Corinthians 6:2 Do you not
know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by
you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Then
I saw the souls of those who
had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had
not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on
their hands; Those
that gave their lives during the Tribulation for God and Jesus, will be right
there along with all the other Saints that have lived from the beginning of
time. If you had to live through the Tribulation, would your faith be strong
enough not to deny Jesus, even if it meant death by guillotine?
And
they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. All Born Again Christians with
glorified bodies will live and be part of Jesus ruler ship during the
Millennium.
5 But the
rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
This verse would be better
understood if it were termed this way. Those that are unbelievers from the
beginning of time and those that followed the Antichrist are dead and in the
grave and will not be resurrected until the end of the 1,000 years. Then they
will be resurrected, given an indestructible body, judged, and then cast into
the Lake of Fire. This will be their first resurrection. John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this;
for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection
of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
6 Blessed
and holy is he who has part in
the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall
be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Blessed
and holy is he who has part in
the first resurrection;
This phrase is referring to Born Again Saints and the resurrection of life,
eternal life with Jesus our Saviour.
Over
such the second death has no power; The
second death referred to here is a spiritual death the unsaved will experience meaning
eternal life in the Lake of Fire. A person can be born twice (human &
spiritual birth) and die once (human death), or born once (human birth) and die
twice (human & spiritual death). A Born Again Saint of God will only
experience a human death because they place their faith in Jesus Christ and
what He did on the Cross for them. It is their spiritual birth that will get
them to Heaven, thus never having a spiritual death. It is our choice while
here on earth to accept Jesus as our Saviour by admitting we are sinners by
nature, asking for forgiveness, vowing to turn from a sinful lifestyle, and ask
Jesus to come into our life and help us to lead a righteous life. John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, "Most
assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him
a thousand years; Anyone that has a second birth, meaning a spiritual birth
will live and reign with Jesus Christ during the thousand years.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created
through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill Wiesbrock https://www.facebook.com/bill.wiesbrock?ref=tn_tnmn
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am sorry for my
sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful lifestyle.) of all my
sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all of my sins. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” (John 3:16,17;
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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