And when the thousand years have come to an end, Satan will be freed from his prison, and he will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, whose number is like the sand of the sea, to gather them together for battle. And they marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints, the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and consumed them. Rev. 20:7-9.
Ragged ruins jut like broken teeth from the fractured earth. Splintered remnants of uprooted trees, long since petrified, protrude from between blackened boulders. Sterile and still, the whole earth is a vast, cratered graveyard. Not a green thing trembles in the hot wind. Not a breathing thing stirs. Until, incredibly, living bodies begin to materialize out of the craters and the ruins. Bodies almost without number, varied beyond description. They range from strapping giants, seemingly in the prime of life, to hollow-eyed beings ravaged by age and disease.
Is this the opening scene of the last sci-fi thriller? No, it is the scene implied by the sweeping story of Revelation 20. The 1,000 years have finally finished. It is time for the second resurrection--the resurrection of the damned at the end of the millennium. Why has God summoned these lost souls from sleep? Why not just let them remain in oblivion, since they refused to change? God does this to bring closure to the conflict between good and evil. He does it for the sake of the universe.
The wicked from the nations rise from the grave just the way they died, with the same kinds of thought, feelings, and passions. One last time they face the temptations of Satan. Again they fall for his deceptions. Doing what comes naturally, they attack the saints, who have returned to earth in the beloved city, the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2).
Many find themselves wondering about a divine justice that saves some while allowing others to be lost. To human eyes, many of the saved will seem defective, and many of the lost will come across as righteous. Some wonder how God could judge between humans that appear so much alike.
But the events at the end of the millennium demonstrate that little acts of "harmless" selfishness have transformed the characters of the lost. Their minds and hearts have become quietly twisted to the point that nothing will turn them away from sin. Faced with a clear and public choice between repentance and destructive action, they once more choose the latter. In the process they verify God's judgment. The lines have been rightly drawn, and no doubts remain. History can now come to its sudden and final end. Sin, suffering, and death will disappear forever.
Lord, I see that little things have big consequences. Help me be faithful in the little things today.
Ragged ruins jut like broken teeth from the fractured earth. Splintered remnants of uprooted trees, long since petrified, protrude from between blackened boulders. Sterile and still, the whole earth is a vast, cratered graveyard. Not a green thing trembles in the hot wind. Not a breathing thing stirs. Until, incredibly, living bodies begin to materialize out of the craters and the ruins. Bodies almost without number, varied beyond description. They range from strapping giants, seemingly in the prime of life, to hollow-eyed beings ravaged by age and disease.
Is this the opening scene of the last sci-fi thriller? No, it is the scene implied by the sweeping story of Revelation 20. The 1,000 years have finally finished. It is time for the second resurrection--the resurrection of the damned at the end of the millennium. Why has God summoned these lost souls from sleep? Why not just let them remain in oblivion, since they refused to change? God does this to bring closure to the conflict between good and evil. He does it for the sake of the universe.
The wicked from the nations rise from the grave just the way they died, with the same kinds of thought, feelings, and passions. One last time they face the temptations of Satan. Again they fall for his deceptions. Doing what comes naturally, they attack the saints, who have returned to earth in the beloved city, the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2).
Many find themselves wondering about a divine justice that saves some while allowing others to be lost. To human eyes, many of the saved will seem defective, and many of the lost will come across as righteous. Some wonder how God could judge between humans that appear so much alike.
But the events at the end of the millennium demonstrate that little acts of "harmless" selfishness have transformed the characters of the lost. Their minds and hearts have become quietly twisted to the point that nothing will turn them away from sin. Faced with a clear and public choice between repentance and destructive action, they once more choose the latter. In the process they verify God's judgment. The lines have been rightly drawn, and no doubts remain. History can now come to its sudden and final end. Sin, suffering, and death will disappear forever.
Lord, I see that little things have big consequences. Help me be faithful in the little things today.
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