Bible Study Seattle

“Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead.  So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh.”  Isaiah 37:36-37

No doubt this is a picture of what will happen in the future.  It is probably more representative of the disaster at the end of the 1,000 years than the beginning.  In the beginning of the 1,000 years right before the Day of Atonement, we see:

“Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.  For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.  Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.  In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.  You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!”  Zechariah 14:1-5

Here we see women ravished and other horrible atrocities of war.  But in the Sennacherib example, the army never gets to even touch the Israelites.  Like this:

“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.  And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.  And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone,”  Revelation 20:7-10

One of the great things about God is that he doesn’t leave us in the dark.  He gives us many hints in the scriptures about what he’s doing and what’s coming.  But you have to pay careful attention.  God values a searcher of truth;

“Keep asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”  Matthew 7:7-8

Regarding the end of the world:

“However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”  Luke 18:8

Clearly, there is still much faith in our day.  This is powerful evidence that Jesus will not appear now.  No, conditions will have to get much worse, comparable to Sodom and Gomorrah when he appears.  Just as then, he will have to intervene to save the elect (Mostly living around Jerusalem at that time.)

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.” Malachi 4:5

The days from Tishri 1 to 10 are called the days of awe or terrible days.  Tishri 10 is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Elijah will be resurrected before the great and terrible day of the Lord which is The Yom Kippur.  The battle that rages up to that day will be terrible.  It is just before the grand Jubilee starts.  Those days will be terrible.  Parts of the world will have descended into immorality comparable to Sodom and Gomorrah.  At that point God will rescue the righteous and burn the wicked as he did with Lot.  And then, “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”  Malachi 4:6

“Now the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.  When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth, and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by.  Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree; and I will bring a piece of bread, that you may refresh yourselves; after that you may go on, since you have visited your servant.” And they said, “So do, as you have said.”  So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.”  Abraham also ran to the herd, and took a tender and choice calf and gave it to the servant, and he hurried to prepare it.  He took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree as they ate.  Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.”  He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.”  Genesis 18:1-10
“Then the men rose up from there, and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?” Genesis 18:16-18

Are the birth of Isaac and destruction of Sodom linked? Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when Isaac was born. They were both past child bearing years. How old will the heavenly church be when she has children? That the church (and resurrected people) will have children is hinted at:

“Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child; Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed; For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.” Isaiah 54:1

After the destruction of Sodom (Armageddon), children will be born. These will likely be earthly children born to those who survive Armageddon. The church will have had children before Armageddon, but more children will be born after, and there will be lots of laughing in those days because of the abundant joy (Isaac means He laughs).

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
“No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does not live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
“They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
“They will not build and another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.
“They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.
It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.” Isaiah 65:17-25

“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.” Revelation 20:10

“This is the second death, the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14

“A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” Revelation 14:9-11

What is going on here? If a person is thrown into a burning lake, they cannot live forever. Surely God does not mean that we will become like Moses’ burning bush that though on fire, wasn’t burned up.
There are at least two problems with most translations. First, the word translated torment is basanisthesontai, which literally is the stone used to test for gold purity. The other definitions involving torment or torture are connotations that God doesn’t have much use for. Certainly, a wicked person could be tormented living amongst holy people. But we get the idea that God likes to torture people. Satan has done a brilliant job of making people think God has Satan’s characteristics. Testing is what God is after.
The second problem is with the word aeon. Most translations use eternal which gives the idea of infinite time. But the idea here is a long but defined period. The Bible is clear that evil will ultimately be totally stamped out. This is illustrated in Deuteronomy 13-24 where the phrase “you must purge the evil from among you” shows up nine times.

A better translation for the end of Revelation 20:10 is “and they will be tested for age after age.”

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:1-4

What harm would have come if Jesus turned the stones to bread? What’s wrong with satisfying hunger after a forty day fast? Nothing, but Jesus answered the question. Evidently Jesus was relying completely on the Spirit of God to tell him what to do. Breaking that would have harmed his relationship with his Father.

Likewise, someone may say, “I don’t see the harm if two men want to marry and be faithful.” Which is like the question above. It seems that no harm is done. But at the very
Least, Marrying would harm their relationship with their Father. Ultimately we will all Individually give account to God, and there is no favoritism. What is not generally understood is that we get up to two lives to reform. Many people do not see the errors of their own way, both Christians and nonChristians alike. It is easy to see problems in other people, sometimes less so of ourselves. Everyone sins. In fact, the whole of creation is subject to decay. This is why Paul says, “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:19-21

Who will rescue us from our impossible situation? “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” Romans 7:24-25

Footnotes:

“ ‘Now these are to you the unclean among the swarming things which swarm on the earth: the mole, and the mouse, and the great lizard in its kinds, and the gecko, and the crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand reptile, and the chameleon.  These are to you the unclean among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead becomes unclean until evening. Also anything on which one of them may fall when they are dead becomes unclean, including any wooden article, or clothing, or a skin, or a sack—any article of which use is made—it shall be put in the water and be unclean until evening, then it becomes clean.  As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel.”  Leviticus 11:29-33

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘No one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother, also for his virgin sister, who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may defile himself.  He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.”  Leviticus 21:1-4

“ ‘The priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been consecrated to wear the garments, shall not uncover his head nor tear his clothes; nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother;  nor shall he go out of the sanctuary nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I am the Lord.”  Leviticus 21:10-12

Why was God so concerned about touching dead people?  Because when Christ’s work is complete, the temple (and heaven and earth) will be totally pure.  These Levitical rules are meant to foreshadow this.  Notice that the most extreme regulations were for the high priest.  He was not allowed to even touch mother or father nor leave the sanctuary.  This also prefigures the future.  Jesus is our high priest.

“The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.”  Revelation 3:12

Now, some may argue that Jesus did touch dead people:

“While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”  Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.  Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.  She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”  Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.  When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.  After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.  News of this spread through all that region.”  Matthew 9:18-26

Jesus may have touched the dead girl, or she may have been revived and then Jesus touched her.  For one thing, Jesus was not an Aaronic priest, so he did not violate Levitical laws.  (He was a Melchizedek priest).  But also, he was doing this before heaven and earth have been fully purified.  In fact, when that is accomplished, it will be impossible to touch a dead body:

“For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.  The last enemy that will be abolished is death.  For He [Jesus] has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He [God the Father] is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.”  1 Corinthians 15:25-27

“Amen! the blessing, and the glory, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the honour, and the power, and the strength, [are] to our God — to the ages of the ages! Amen!'”  Revelation 7:12

Many translations translate the greek aeon as eternity, but we don’t think that’s accurate.  Eons or aeons is more accurate.  Jesus puts this in context:

“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”  Matthew 12:32

What is this future age?  The Millennial or Jubilee Sabbath.  But apparently there are ages even past those.  We have virtually no information other than the saints reigning in those times:

“But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’”  Daniel 7:18

“‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’” Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.”. Zechariah 4:7-9

Jeconiah and his son Zedekiah were the last kings of Judah. Jeconiah’ strand son Zerubbabel was apparently next in line, but he was never king since Judah was a vassal of Babylon then. Zerubbabel was made governor. But what if the above passage is a prophecy? The temple was rebuilt after the captivity, and perhaps shouts went out when the capstone was placed. But will this happen again in the resurrection? What mountain became a plain in Zerubbabel’s day? I can’t think of any. But in the future:
“A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
“Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5

When the Messiah appears, the area around Jerusalem will become a plain. Will Zerubbabel be one of the leaders then? Will he have completed the temple prior to this? Will he have anything to do with the refinishing of the surface of the great pyramid and its topstone? Time will tell.