Bible in one year 3/31/2022 Revelation 20- 22
By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical
precepts & Gospel music, pastoral ministry & Counseling
Chapter 20 The Millennium; Satan bound, Saints resurrected,
sinners judged
1 And I saw an angel
come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain
in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on
the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years,
3 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.
4 And I saw thrones,
and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received
his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the
dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is
he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him
a thousand years.
7 And when the thousand
years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 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.
9 And they went up on
the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that
deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and
the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great
white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book
was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those
things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up
the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were
in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell
were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was
not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Chapter 21 The Eternal state; the descent and description of the New Jerusalem
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was
no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with
them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be
their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these
words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of
the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit
all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving,
and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
9 And there came unto me one of the
seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and
talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's
wife.
10 And he carried me away in the
spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her
light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as
crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high,
and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written
thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the
north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had
twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a
golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare,
and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the
reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it
are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof,
an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that
is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of
it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall
of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first
foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the
fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth,
sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the
tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve
pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was
pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the
sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it,
and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are
saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their
glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be
shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory
and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter
into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or
maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Chapter 22 Delights of the New Jerusalem
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it,
and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve
manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree
were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse:
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall
serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and
his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there;
and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them
light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings
are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to
shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is
he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
8 And I John saw these things, and
heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the
feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do
it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of
them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
10 And he saith unto me, Seal not
the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11 He that is unjust, let him be
unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is
righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy
still.
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and
my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and
the last.
14 Blessed are they that
do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may
enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs,
and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever
loveth and maketh a lie.
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17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth
say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely.
18 For I testify unto every man that
heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these
things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out
of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are
written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things
saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you all. Amen.
The entire revelation of the Bible shows us the love story of a universal couple. That is, the sovereign Lord, who created the universe and all things, the Triune God-the Father, the Son, and the Spirit –who went through the processes of incarnation, human living, crucifixion , resurrection, and ascension, and who ultimately became the life-giving Spirit, is joined in marriage to the created, redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite man composed of spirit, soul, and body who ultimately constitutes the church, the expression of God. In the eternity that is without end, by the divine, eternal, and super excellent and that overflows with blessings and joy.
The
testimony of this book was made by the Lord Jesus for the church. To
comprehends and keep this testimony, we need to be in the churches and for the
churches. Christ is the Root, the source, of David; in His humanity, Christ is
the Offspring, of David. Hence, He is the Lord as the Root of David, and He is
also the son, the shoot, of David as the Offspring of David. (Matt.22:42-45;
Rom.1:3; Jer.23:5). At His coming back
Christ will be the rising sun to His people generally (Mal.4:2)but the morning
star to His watching lovers particularly. The latter will be a reward to the
overcomers (2:28). Christ’s being the Root and Offspring of David is related to
Israel and the kingdom, whereas Christ’s being the bright morning star is
related to the church and the rapture. The morning star appears before the
darkest hour, prior to the dawn. The great tribulation will be this darkest
time, after which the day of the kingdom will dawn. In the kingdom the Lord
will appear publicly to His people as the sun, but before the great tribulation
He will appear privately to His overcomes as the morning star.
Chapter
22 verse 15 indicates that “outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the
fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and
makes a lie.” the dogs, not animals, but people of low character (Phil.3:2),
the sinners who have perished such as unbelieving, vile, the murderers, the
sexually immoral, homosexual, idolaters, those who practice magic arts, and all
liars. Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the
second death.
The
New Jerusalem, the last major item revealed in this book, is not only the
conclusion of the entire Bible but also the ultimate consummation of all the
important items revealed in the Bible. The Triune God, the Triune God’s
economy, Christ’s redemption, God’s salvation, the believers, the church, and
the kingdom are all consummated in the New Jerusalem as the consummating item.
Thus, to say the New Jerusalem is a physical city is not logical; it does not
correspond with this book’s principle of using signs for the revelation of the
mysterious things. According to the entire revelation of the complete Bible,
the New Jerusalem, the conclusion of the complete Bible, is a divine mingling
of the processed Triune God with the redeemed and transformed tripartite man,
a mingling of divinity with humanity,
issuing is a universal, corporate, mysterious person. This is person is:
(1)
The wife of the Lamb (21:9)
(2)The
ultimate consummation of God’s tabernacle and temple, as the eternal mutual
habitation of both God and man (21:3,22).
(3)The
ultimate consummation of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation
throughout the generations (Acts4:11; John2:19;
Matt.16:18;1Cor.3:9-12;1Pet.2:4-5)
(4)The
ultimate consummation of God’s eternal economy and God’s divine accomplishment.
Bibliography,
King James, The Holy Bible,
Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company
Lee, Witness. The
New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.
Ryrie, Charles C. The
Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986
Roberts, Oral. “Holy Bible” (KJV) Tulsa, OK:
Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, Inc, 1981
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