DETAILS
There
is a massive confusion about the First Resurrection, the Second
Resurrection, the End of These Times, the 1,000 Year Reign
(7) and The End.
Let us see what the Holy Scriptures tells us about that:
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their
armies gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse,
and with his army. 20 And the beast was
taken, and with him the
false prophet, who wrought
signs before him, wherewith he seduced them who received the character
of the beast, and who adored his image. These two were
cast alive into the pool of fire,
burning with brimstone. [Revelations 19]
Now - let us not get confused. The above alluded beast IS NOT
satan. satan makes his "grand entrance" into the bottomless pit
in the following verses....
1
And I saw an angel
coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a
great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold
on the dragon the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3
And he cast him into
the bottomless pit, and shut
him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should no
more seduce the nations, till the thousand years be finished. [Revelations 20]
Eventually, about 1,000 years later, satan will be released from
the bottomless pit, thus, once
again, only two remain in the bottomless pit: The beast and the
false prophet.
7 And when the thousand years shall be
finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth,
and seduce the nations..... [Revelations
20]
But satan's new found freedom comes to an abrupt end since he will be
permanently returned back
to the bottomless pit soon:
9 And there came down fire from God out of
heaven, and devoured them; and the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the
beast 10 And the false
prophet shall be tormented day
and night for ever and ever. [Revelations
20]
When satan is
returned
to the bottomless pit, which we expect to be around the year 2832
AD,
that
will be permanent and what we know as Creation is about to
disappear
since the Final Judgment is about to take place:
11
And I saw a great white throne, and one
sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for
them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small,
standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and
another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were
judged by those things which were written in the books, according to
their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in
it, and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them; and they
were judged every one according to their works. 14 And hell and death were cast into
the pool of fire. This is the second death. 15
And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life, was cast into
the pool of fire.. [Revelations
20]
As you will see - what we read above is about the second resurrection: "
13 And the sea gave up the dead that were
in it, and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them; and
they were judged every one according to their works."
From this group, those whose name
was not written in the book
of life went to the pool of fire joining the beast, the false prophet
and satan.
When we speak of a second resurrection that implies that there must be
a first resurrection..... and indeed there is. In Revelations 20 we
find who are those who will participate
in the first resurrection
and
when it will take place in the Time Frame of reference.
4 And I saw seats; and they sat upon them;
and judgment was given unto them; and the souls of
them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of
God, and who had not adored the beast nor his image, nor received his
character on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead lived not, till the thousand
years were finished. This is the first resurrection. [Revelations
20]
and
6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection. In these the second
death hath no power; but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ; and shall
reign with him a thousand years. [Revelations
20]
It is clear that this (first) group will not even have to go through
the Final Judgment. Now, let us try to determine who compose the first
group and when all of this begins.
The first group to be resurrected and reign with Christ for 1,000 years
is composed of:
(a)
"...the souls of them that were
beheaded for the testimony of Jesus..." : The early martyrs of
the Faith.
(b)
"... beheaded for.... ...the
word of God,..." : Those
who died over the centuries during the Evangelization period.
(c) "...and (those) who had not adored the beast
nor his image, nor received his character on their foreheads, or in
their hands...": Those of us who will die thorough this End of
Times period
as we fight the forces of the beast and false prophet or upheld our faith - not selling
out to Mammon - from the period which encompasses (a) though (c) regardless of financial, social
and/or comfort consequences.
See how clear it all is?
Now the confirmation as to: When?
It looks like it will happen when:
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone, as it
were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: With such
violence as this shall Babylon, that great city, be thrown down, and
shall be found no more at all. [Revelations
18]
That is - at the end of "Babylon"....
1.....Come, I will show thee the condemnation of the great harlot,
who sitteth upon many waters, 2 With whom the kings of the earth have
committed fornication; and they who inhabit the earth, have been made
drunk with the wine of her whoredom. 3
And he took me away in spirit into the desert. And I saw a woman
sitting upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy,
having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was clothed round about
with purple and scarlet, and gilt with gold, and precious stones and
pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abomination and
filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written: A
mystery; Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications, and the
abominations of the earth. [Revelations
17]
But what does "Babylon" represents?
"Babylon" represents the world that made Mammon its god and adored it
and not the true and living God. Babylon: This group is composed by
most of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities.
Details of this appear in Revelations 19 which presents the Second
Coming of Christ very well.
The
saints glorify God for his judgments on the great harlot. Christ's
victory over the beast and the kings of the earth.
Events which are immediately
and coherently followed by:
1
And I saw an angel coming down from
heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his
hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon the old
serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand
years. [Revelations 20]
CONCLUSION
Do notice when the much talked about Armageddon takes place
16 And he
shall gather them together into a place, which in Hebrew is called
Armageddon. 17
And the seventh angel poured out his vial upon the air, and there came
a great voice out of the temple from the throne, saying: It is done. 18
And there were lightning, and voices, and thunders, and there was a
great earthquake, such an one as never had been since men were upon the
earth, such an earthquake, so great. 19
And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the
Gentiles fell. And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to
give her the cup of the wine of the indignation of his wrath. 20
And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21
And great hail, like a talent, came down from heaven upon men: and men
blasphemed God for the plague of the hail: because it was exceeding
great. [Revelations 16]
Armageddon takes place
before
the 1,000 Year Reign starts.
Now - the much talked about
Gog
and
Magog relate to the brief
period
after the
Thousand Year Reign...
7 And when the thousand years
shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall
go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of
the earth, Gog, and Magog, and shall gather them together to battle,
the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. [Revelations
20]
....but Gog and Magog are not individual entities. It seems that
"Gog" means a people, a nation, and "Magog" means the land of "Gog".
(8)
That is - in one final push satan will seduce many nations (Gogs) in
many lands (Magogs).
