Revelation - Part 2 - Lecture 12

Index to Revelation Lectures
Kay Arthur

Click Here for other "Futuristic" Resources on Revelation
Click here for Kay Arthur's Older Lecture Series on Daniel

WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON?
YOU CAN'T HAVE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Part 2
Revelation Pt 2, Lecture
by Kay Arthur

Where are you going to spend eternity? There are only 2 destinations.

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated [it] by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, [even] to all that he saw.

Rev 1:11 saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send [it] to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."

Rev 1:19 "Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall take place after these things.

All these events lead up to one AWESOME CLIMAX, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen.

Even though those who pierced Him were Jews, we see they will remain a nation all through this book.

Rev 4-19 record the events Preceding His Return and Rev 20-22 record the events Following His Return.

So Revelation gives us the whole picture from the time of the church to creation of the new heaven and new earth.

REVIEW: There are two kingdoms, two powers (Click Lecture 11 for further discussion of these "two's"). You can't have the best of both. There are two women.

Today we will discuss....TWO DESTINATIONS and ANOTHER WOMAN

ONE DESTINATION:
THE LAKE OF FIRE

(1) THE LAKE OF FIRES IS A PLACE OF TORMENT, DAY AND NIGHT FOREVER

Rev 14:9 And another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast (who rules the whole world for 3.5 years having received authority from the dragon) and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 "And the smoke of their torment goes up FOREVER AND EVER ; and they have NO REST DAY AND NIGHT , those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

Although this verse does not directly use the phrase "Lake of fire", it is clear from comparison with other passages that John is referring to that destination. There is a teaching (Ed comment: even in some evangelical circles) on HELL which says that after a period of time, the individual in this location will experience annihilation. This teaching however is not in the Word of God but origins in the heart of men who won't receive the truth. For unbelievers, there is no escaping this torment, and no escaping that it is forever.

Revelation 19 occurs following the Return of Christ...

Rev 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received THE MARK OF THE BEAST and those who WORSHIPED his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.

Who is going there? Those who received the mark. The beast and the false prophet.

Rev 16:13 (DURING THE 6th BOWL, JUST BEFORE THE 7th BOWL IS POURED OUT ON THE EARTH, JUST BEFORE BABYLON IS DESTROYED & CHRIST RETURNS TO EARTH AFTER THE 7th BOWL) And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

The FALSE PROPHET appears to be the Second BEAST in Rev 13:10-14.

Rev 20:10 (THIS EVENT OCCURS 1000 YEARS AFTER THE BEAST AND FALSE PROPHET ARE THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE) And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

So those DESTINED FOR
THE LAKE OF FIRE ARE:

Those men and women who have the mark of the beast, the beast, the false prophet and the dragon (devil). The last 3 are the first to be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Remember that God did not make the Lake of Fire for man because He is not willing that any should perish. In the gospel of Matthew Jesus teaches on the original purpose of eternal fire recording....

Matt 25:41 (The context of these verses is the Judgment of the Nations after Christ returns to earth and defeats the beast) "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into THE ETERNAL FIRE which has been PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS;

Matt 25:46 "And these will go away into ETERNAL punishment, but the righteous into ETERNAL life."

Note that the Greek word for ''eternal'' is aion and used to modify both eternal life and eternal punishment. So if eternal punishment ceases (annihilation) then eternal life would also have to cease.

In summary, we see two destinations and you can choose your destination.

(2) THE LAKE OF FIRE IS THE SECOND DEATH

At the Great White Throne, books opened and the dead are being judged

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire . This is the second death , the lake of fire

Eph 2:1: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Eph 2:1, 2 teaches that all (after Adam sinned cf Ro 5:12) were born into death because every man is a sinner and each have walked after their own way.

THE FIRST DEATH when you were physically born, you were born spiritually dead.

THE SECOND DEATH If you never receive Christ as Savior, your body dies and corrupts while your soul goes to Hades (hell).

Luke 16:19 "Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. 20 And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.' 25 But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed , in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' 27 And he said, 'Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father's house--28 for I have five brothers-- that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' 29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 "But he said, 'No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' 31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.'"

Luke 16:19-31 describes a poor man named Lazarus and a rich man, both of whom die and go to a place called Hades,. Lazarus went to the "cool side" of Hades, which Jesus refers to as Abraham's bosom (before the Cross everyone who died went to either the "hot" or the "cool" side of Hades) where he is comforted. The rich man is on the "hot" side of Hades, crying out to Father Abraham to send Lazarus to him with just a dip of water on his finger so that his tongue might be cooled because he is in flames and torment. Abraham answers he cannot do this because "there is a great chasm fixed" . The rich man is still in Hades today and will remain there until the time of the Great White Throne judgment. At that time he will be brought out of Hades to stand before God at the Great White Throne (Rev 20:11-15) and be judged according to his deeds. The rich man could have received eternal life but he rejected the free gift of salvation that was even offered in "Moses and the prophets" (the Old Testament). At that time the rich man will be cast into the lake of fire , which is the Second Death and which is also the destiny of SATAN, the one who deceived him! If you have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and been transformed into a new creation in Christ, then you are deceived.

Scripture describes those who will be present in the Lake of Fire as..."the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part [will be] in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death " (Rev 21:8) because as Peter says "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name (other than Jesus Christ) under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

Today is the day for the blinders to come off if they have not done so before.

THE OTHER DESTINATION:
A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer [any] sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them."

Those who go to hell stay there with their father.
Those who go to heaven stand their with their Father.
TWO DESTINATIONS, TWO FATHERS

God the Father and the father of lies, the devil, who came to steal, kill and destroy (not annihilate) forever and ever. God wants to to be your Father. Who will you believe?

Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them." 4 and He (THE FATHER!) shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be [any] death; there shall no longer be [any] mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. "

Are you tied of crying? There is coming a day when you shall no longer cry again if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And these will no longer have fear of death. HAVE YOU HAD A LOUSY LIFE, PAIN-RIDDEN, GUILT-RIDDEN LIFE? It will all pass away in HEAVEN--it's all over then.

Rev 21:5 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making ALL THINGS NEW " And He said, "Write, for these words are FAITHFUL and TRUE." 6 And He said to me, "It is done . I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 "He who OVERCOMES shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

OVERCOMERS are described in Rev 2-3 (Click here for summary chart). Not everyone sitting in church is going to heaven. Not everyone who has professed Jesus Christ is going to heaven, but only those who have Christ IN them, those that have been TRANSFORMED. HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE THEM?

1Jn 5:4 "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith. 5 And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

So the OVERCOMERS are people of FAITH, those who believe God, who have been born of God.

John goes on to issue a warning...

Rev 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part [will be] in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is THE SECOND DEATH."

So there are TWO DESTINATIONS: WHERE ARE YOU HEADED? You need to make sure today because you don't know what happens tomorrow. There is no such thing as reincarnation for "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" (Heb 9:27). Every person is eternal and will end up in one of two destinations.

THE WOMAN
BABYLON

Remember that in Rev 16:17 John records that "the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done." So we know that at the 7th bowl Babylon is falling. Rev 17-18 describes Babylon in great detail. And then in Rev 19 John records that...

Rev 19:1 After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God 2 BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot (Babylon) who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER." 3 And a second time they said, "Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER." 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"

Rev 19:5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great." (Bond-servants of God come from every strata of life but very few rich, very few noble, mostly the base, the foolish things...Jesus comes to those and those that are saved come mostly from this latter group) 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Within the great harlot are all the other religions of the world. These other religions cause one to commit spiritual adultery or to ''fornicate'' with those religions instead of marrying the Lord Jesus Christ. The great harlot corrupts the world with her immorality and she will let you worship and live any way you want. She will deceive you by telling you that any way that you think is fine. She will take you into the eternal fire for the smoke of Babylon goes up forever and ever. Babylon will also put to death those who live for Christ.

THE THIRD WOMAN:
THE BRIDE OF CHRIST

Rev 19:7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His BRIDE has made herself ready."8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Those that are going to live in the destination of the new heaven and earth commit RIGHTEOUS ACTS--they do things that are RIGHT, and what is RIGHT is what God says is RIGHT, not what we think is right.

ANOTHER GROUP
AT THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB
"those who are invited"

Rev 19:9 And he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" And he said to me, "These are true words of God." (Editorial comment: Here John describes invited guests which marks them as a group distinct from the church, since a bride would hardly be invited to her own wedding and most scholars interpret these guests as Old Testament believers)

The BRIDE of Christ has a special place throughout eternity--the individual believers compose the temple of the living God, the Lamb's wife.

Rev 21:9: "And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper."

How should believers respond to this incredible truth? This truth ought to cause us to fall prostrate, flat on our face...the awesome privilege of being the Bride of Jesus Christ. And when you get off of your face, then clothe yourself with the living garment of righteous acts and don't degrade yourself by living in sin. Instead live righteously. Live as the bride of the Lamb, continually walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called. There are others (the Old Testament believers) who are coming to the marriage supper but they are not the bride and not the groom and yet they too will step into eternity in God's presence.

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

Who are the armies ? They are the "Third Woman, the Bride of Christ". This is us beloved! Do you want to be there? The invitation is still open. The door has not been shut. You can still hear the Spirit saying "Come and drink of the water of life freely. Come now, Jew and Gentile." That is what the church is all about...Jew and Gentile in one body. But if Jews do not listen and respond to the invitation, then a great tribulation awaits them. All the nation of Israel will go through this tribulation, but only one-third of the Jews will survive and be present at the marriage supper of the Lamb (see Zechariah 13:7-9 below).

Zechariah 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the LORD of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. 8 "And it will come about in all the land," Declares the LORD, "That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. 9 "And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'

Rev 1:19 The Outline of the Revelation:

"the things which you have seen,
and
the things which are
and
the things which shall take place
after these things."

Rev 2:1-3:22 The message to the 7 churches in Asia Minor

Rev 4:1 After these things...

Rev 5:2, 4, 9, 12 Lamb worthy to take the sealed scroll, the "title deed to the earth" (Click for discussion of "the title deed")

Rev 6:1, 2, 3, 4, 5-6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 The 7 sealed scroll is opened by the Lamb, seal by seal (6 seals in Rev 6)

Rev 8:1, 2-12, 13 Out of the 7th seal come 7 trumpets

Rev 11:7 After the 6th trumpet is blown, two witnesses are put to death (having witnessed for 3.5yr Rev 11:3) by the beast

Rev 13:1ff After this the beast is given authority for an additional 3.5 yr period Rev 13:5

Rev 12 The Woman, Israel, persecuted by the dragon for 1260 days or 3.5 years Rev 12:6 (Satan who has been cast out of heaven Rev 12:4 and only has 3.5 years Rev 12:13-14) flees into wilderness during the3.5 yr period that the beast is ruling the world

The sounding of the 7th Trumpet (Rev 11:15 Rev16:1ff) signals the arrival of the 7 bowls

Rev 16:17, 18, 19 At the 7th bowl, Babylon is destroyed, followed by the return of Christ to earth bringing the BRIDE with Him (Rev19:11-21). Somewhere prior to this time the BRIDE got to heaven.

Rev16:16 Battle of Armageddon (more accurately the name of the place the armies initially gather).

Rev19:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17-21 Christ defeats the beast & false prophet who are cast into the lake of fire.

In Rev 20:1, 2, 3 Satan is bound for 1000 yrs in a bottomless pit

During this same time those who died for the testimony of Christ are raised to rule and reign with Him for 1000 years. At the end of the 1000 yrs, Satan is loosed, goes out to deceive the nations, but is quickly defeated by fire from heaven.

Rev 20:10 Satan is cast into the lake of fire to join the beast and false prophet who have been there for 1000 years.

Rev 20:11, 12, 13, 14 The Great White Throne judgment occurs at the end of the 1000 years, at a time when the old earth and heaven have disappeared ("earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them.")

Rev 21:1ff A New Heaven & a new Earth are created.

Rev 22:1ff The Lamb, the Holy City, no need for sun, tree of life, nations eat of it (Yes, the nations are different than the bride.)

"Behold, I am coming quickly
and
My reward is with Me,
To render to every man
According to what he has done."
Rev 22:12

Rev 22:18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. 20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

If you teach anything other than 2 destinations...if you teach reincarnation...if you teach that all men can be saved regardless of what they believe... you can know that YOU HAVE ADDED TO THE WORD OF THIS BOOK and to you have been added the plagues in this book and you will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.

Or if take away from the words of this book and you say you don't believe that God would send anyone to the lake of fire, because a loving God would not allow that to happen. If you believe that then you have just taken away from the words of this book and God will judge you and you will spend eternity in the lake of fire.

Over and over God says WRITE FOR THESE WORDS ARE FAITHFUL AND TRUE. You many say "I don't like what I see about God." But remember that God is righteous and just in all His ways. If you go to hell, if you end up in the Lake of Fire, precious one, it is because He is righteous and you would not acknowledge that He is God and that Jesus, the Lamb of God is the only way to be saved.

Think of what you are going to miss. Read Rev 21 and Rev 22.
And as you read hear His invitation.
Hear the Spirit and the bride saying

"Come!"
Are you thirsty?
"Come and drink of the water of life freely."
(Rev 22:19)
You may say "But you don't know my story. I'm not worthy. I can't pay for this water of life."
You come without cost. He is not calling you because you are worthy.
He is calling you because you are a sinner.
He has the means, the only means to save you from the lake of fire.

O Beloved, where are you headed?
You make better make sure because wherever you are headed is for all eternity.
There is no escaping.
Romans 2:6, 7, 8 says it is eternal life or eternal death according to your deeds.

Deeds don't save you, but just show whose you are--God's or the devil's.
The devil will lead you into sin and destruction.

God leads you into
holiness,
righteousness
and
eternal life.
Hallelujah! Amen!