Continued from previous post..
…in
Christ all will be made alive. But each
in his own order: Christ the first
fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end…. 1 Cor. 15: 22-24 (emphasis supplied)
Once
the saved have left the earth, the final battle between good and evil, Satan
and Jesus, begins.
Jesus as Warrior
And
I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head
are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except
Himself.
He is clothed with a robe
dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that
with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of
iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the
Almighty. And on His robe and on His
thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the
earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse
and against His army. Rev. 19:11-16,
19
The
armies assembled in the plain of Megiddo were planning to wage war against one
another, but as their world is falling apart and they see the armies of God
descending upon them, former enemies unite and turn as one against our God.
These
(the kings of the earth) will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb
will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those
who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful. Rev. 17:14
Jesus
and his army will prevail.
Then
another angel…swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the
vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of
God. And the wine press was trodden… Rev. 14:18, 19
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. And the rest were killed with
the sword that came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse… Rev. 19:20, 21
But
the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away
with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth
and its works will be burned up. 2
Pet. 3:10
The
beast, the false prophet, and all those bearing the mark of the beast will be
destroyed. The earth will be burned and
left as scorched nothingness.
Then
I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a
great chain in his hand. And he laid
hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound
him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and
sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until
the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a
short time. Rev. 20:1-3
It is possible that Satan is chained
up and thrown into a literal pit for a thousand years. It is also possible that he and his minions
are limited to wandering the destroyed and deserted earth for the one thousand
years. Either way it is a torment for
this evil angel who has been ceaselessly active for thousands of years to have
absolutely nothing to do but remember the past and plan hopelessly for the
future.
The question you must
ask yourself is this: Will you see Jesus
as your Savior and be thrilled to see his return, or will you see Jesus as a
Warrior and be filled with fear? The
choice is yours. Free will has been
given to all of us to exercise in choosing which side we will be on when the
end comes.
