"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."
Rev. 20:1-3
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea."
Rev. 20:7-8
Rev. 20:1-3
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea."
Rev. 20:7-8
I have heard people ask time and time again, why in the world would God, at the beginning of Jesus' thousand-year reign, have satan locked up? Why not just flat out destroy him? And, even if He didn't destroy him, why would God let satan out of the pit? Why would God allow satan to form an army to fight against God? And why, after a thousand years of peace and plenty, would the number of people joining this satanic army be like "the sand of the sea" in number?
I believe it could be so as to put to death the false doctrine of free will.
During the reign of Jesus as King and Lord of earth, there will be people alive that will need the salvation offered by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Sin will still be earning the wage of death. Life will be like a paradise under the rule of Christ, but man is still man.
Today, there are people that claim that THEY choose Jesus, THEY make the decision to believe, THEY are the controlling force in their lives. Delusion, but still, it isn't something that stops God from calling the person to believe in Jesus. It merely takes away a portion of the glory that should be going to God Almighty. But, those that God will have, God will have. Those that will be the people of Jesus will belong to Jesus. Free will is nothing more than a confused form of self-idolatry. Praise God, that He is able to do His good will, in spite of us and our beliefs!
So, at the end of the thousand-year reign, satan is going to go out into a world unlike that which he left behind when he was imprisoned. The new world is one where Jesus is seen as Lord and King, where the presense of God is not a dream, but is a known, daily fact. Disease, famine, war, fear....all reduced to levels so low, that a person that dies at the age of one-hundred years old is considered but a babe. In summary, everything that can be done by God to give proof of Jesus and His Lordship is evident on a daily basis.
So, there is absolutely no way that any man with a free will and at least one functioning brain cell could possibly turn away from Jesus. Right?
Yet, turn away they do--in droves.
That's because, no matter what takes place in life, the truth is that:
I believe it could be so as to put to death the false doctrine of free will.
During the reign of Jesus as King and Lord of earth, there will be people alive that will need the salvation offered by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Sin will still be earning the wage of death. Life will be like a paradise under the rule of Christ, but man is still man.
Today, there are people that claim that THEY choose Jesus, THEY make the decision to believe, THEY are the controlling force in their lives. Delusion, but still, it isn't something that stops God from calling the person to believe in Jesus. It merely takes away a portion of the glory that should be going to God Almighty. But, those that God will have, God will have. Those that will be the people of Jesus will belong to Jesus. Free will is nothing more than a confused form of self-idolatry. Praise God, that He is able to do His good will, in spite of us and our beliefs!
So, at the end of the thousand-year reign, satan is going to go out into a world unlike that which he left behind when he was imprisoned. The new world is one where Jesus is seen as Lord and King, where the presense of God is not a dream, but is a known, daily fact. Disease, famine, war, fear....all reduced to levels so low, that a person that dies at the age of one-hundred years old is considered but a babe. In summary, everything that can be done by God to give proof of Jesus and His Lordship is evident on a daily basis.
So, there is absolutely no way that any man with a free will and at least one functioning brain cell could possibly turn away from Jesus. Right?
Yet, turn away they do--in droves.
That's because, no matter what takes place in life, the truth is that:
"Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
Rom. 8:7
Rom. 8:7
Man will still be man, until God changes man. Therefore, man will never willingly follow God, nor will man ever accept the Lordship of Jesus, unless faith is given by the grace of God to the individual man. Then, that faith can lead to belief in Jesus, which is the beginning of rebirth of the spirit, and the start of eternal life.
So, with Jesus sitting on the throne of earth, God's presence filling the lands, the Holy Spirit covering the world like the winds, every possible blessing provided to mankind...
...man still rebels. And this final rebellion will bring about death--both physical (during the upcoming fight) and of the soul (when the unsaved are tossed into the lake of fire.) Of course, there is no spiritual death, for the spirit was dead since Adam, having never been reborn through the work of Jesus.
So, with Jesus sitting on the throne of earth, God's presence filling the lands, the Holy Spirit covering the world like the winds, every possible blessing provided to mankind...
...man still rebels. And this final rebellion will bring about death--both physical (during the upcoming fight) and of the soul (when the unsaved are tossed into the lake of fire.) Of course, there is no spiritual death, for the spirit was dead since Adam, having never been reborn through the work of Jesus.
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Rev. 20:15
Rev. 20:15
Pray that God Almighty and the Lord Jesus Christ would be your King, Lord and Savior, forgiving you of all your transgressions and giving you rebirth into the family of God forever. Do not ignore the calling of God the Holy Spirit. For as sure as Jesus is the Alpha (the beginning), He is also the Omega (the end.)
Grace and Peace....
Grace and Peace....
