Title: Final Gathering, Attack, and Collapse (Rev. 19-20)
Topic: Second Coming
Summary: Final Gathering, Attack, and Collapse (Rev. 19-20)
Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.
References:
Revelation 19; 20:1-14; 6:9
Hebrews 9:27
Exodus 15:6, 8-10
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Ezekiel 38:8-13, 20-23; 39:1, 4-7, 17-29
034 - Final Gathering, Attack, and Collapse (Rev. 19-20)
Door Jonathan S. Rose
Spirit and Life Bible Study broadcast from 3/30/2011. The complete series is available at: www.spiritandlifebiblestudy.com
Revelation 20:1-14
1
And I saw an angel come 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, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
7
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11
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.
12
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.
13
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.
14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Apocalypse Revealed #865
865. 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was not found any place for them. This symbolizes a universal judgment executed by the Lord on all the former heavens that were occupied by people possessing a civil and moral goodness, but no spiritual goodness, thus who gave the appearance of being Christians outwardly, but who inwardly were devils. These heavens with their lands were totally dispersed so that no part of them was seen anymore.
Before we explain these literal images one by one, we must first say something about the universal judgment that is the subject here. From the time the Lord was in the world, when He executed a last judgment Himself in person, people who possessed a civil and moral goodness were permitted to tarry longer than others in the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and hell, even though they were without any spiritual goodness, so that they appeared outwardly to be Christians, but inwardly were devils. And at last it was granted them to create permanent dwellings for themselves in that world, and through an abuse of correspondences and illusory appearances to form for themselves pseudo-heavens, which they also did till there was a great abundance of them. But when they multiplied those pseudo-heavens to such a degree as to cut off the spiritual light and warmth between the higher heavens and people on earth, then the Lord executed the Last Judgment and dispersed those illusory heavens. This He did by removing the outward appearances by which they feigned themselves Christians and revealing their inner selves, in which they were devils. The inhabitants were then seen to be what they were really, and those who were seen to be devils were cast into hell, each in accordance with the evils of his life. This took place in the year 1757. But regarding this universal judgment, more may be seen in a short work, The Last Judgment (London, 1758), and in A Continuation Concerning the Last Judgment and the Spiritual World (Amsterdam, 1763).
[2] Now for the exposition: The great white throne and Him who sat on it symbolizes the universal judgment executed by the Lord. The throne symbolizes heaven and also judgment (no. 229). He who sat on the throne means the Lord (no. 808 at the end). The throne appeared white because judgment is executed on the basis of Divine truths, and the color white is predicated of truths (nos. 167, 379). And the throne appeared great because judgment is also executed in accordance with Divine goodness, and greatness is predicated of goodness (nos. 656, 663). "From whose face the earth and heaven fled away" means, symbolically, that the heavens they created for themselves, referred to just above, were dispersed along with their lands. For there are lands in the spiritual world just as in the natural world, as may be seen in nos. 260, 331. But like everything else there, the lands too have a spiritual origin. And no place being found for them means, symbolically, that their heavens along with their lands were so completely dispersed that no part of them was seen anymore.
It can be seen from this that John's seeing a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was not found any place for them, symbolizes a universal judgment executed by the Lord on all the former heavens that were occupied by people possessing a civil and moral goodness, but no spiritual goodness, thus who gave the appearance of being Christians outwardly, but who inwardly were devils; and that these heavens with their lands were so totally dispersed that no part of them was seen anymore.
