Two judgments, two endings . . .

Opinions vary widely in the many attempts to decipher the meaning of the book of Revelation. Since volumes have been written on these differences, all I want to say is that this final book in the New Testament seems to be a mixture of literal and symbolic word and images that describes the past, present, and future, and reading it can be exciting and horrifying.

For those of us who believe in Jesus, some parts are plain. One is that Satan will have his day, but will also meet his demise. The other is that there are two ‘resurrections’ and two judgments.

The first resurrection is when those who follow Jesus are brought to life and will live forever. Satan will test these and the rest of humanity, but God’s people will witness his downfall:

“Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:4–10)

This is scary stuff, particularly for those who do not know God. Some who believe in Him say this describes in metaphorical language what has already happened. Whatever the exact meaning, clearly Satan loses, and those who believe will (and right now) enjoy eternal life. Christians cannot die twice!

This is not so for the rest of humanity. As Jesus said, all will be raised . . .

“Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28–29)

Revelation describes the resurrection of those who remain. They will stand before God and be judged according to the book of life and what they have done. The rest of the Bible indicates that “what they have done” is about what they have done with Jesus. Without going into a long explanation, those who do not have faith in God and Christ in their lives cannot please God. Everything done is without Him — and without Him, nothing we do is righteous, even what seems ‘good’ in our eyes is as “filthy rags” in His eyes. This judgment by the book of life does not have a happy ending:

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11–15)

Oh my. I’ve heard said that the fear of hell has brought people to Christ for salvation. Satan does not want the truth to be known so he devises the rumor that hell does not exist and that ‘a loving God would not send people to eternal destruction’ — a lie which sidetracks many. It is not God doing the sending, but the choice to refuse God, and to refuse the grace of God by rejecting His loving mercy does it. We are the bad guys, not God.

The solution and the way out of that condemnation is simple: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1–4)

^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, faith in You is a gracious gift. Because of You, the book of Revelation does not put fear in my heart, except fear for those who miss out because they decide either, “I’ll do it myself” or “I don’t need that.” Oh Lord, speak to those who need to hear Your voice, to know Your love for them, and to know that the end of life here is not the end. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." (John 5:25)