I Didn't Always Believe.

 All of us die. Adam and Eve were given the opportunity to never die, to be immortal. As the first of mankind they were given a lot of responsibility. When the tempter, Satan deceived them by saying the words, 'Ye shall not surely die.' He lied. Did Adam and Eve jump up and down in joy upon sinning and not being struck instantly dead? No. They didn't have time to celebrate their escape of instant death, they were too busy trying to comprehend their life without God. They were instantly stripped of His glorious covering of light and realizing a life without their protector. They wanted to know evil, and they were instantly feeling its affects. Fear. They'd never known fear, they'd never known wrong doing. The awfulness of what they'd done was apparent to them and their regret, their sorrow was very real. No, they didn't have time to celebrate living when living was filled with terror, shame, and regret. The life they were still being allowed to live wasn't going to be the life filled with the glory of God, it was going to be a life of horror and hardship. They'd done wrong. They made the wrong choice and they knew it. It's almost safe to imagine they were never truly happy again having known a perfect love and lost it by their own doing. They also knew that they were going to die, and dying wasn't going to be an easy thing. They were going to live through their bodies degrading over time, it was going to be a very slow dying, ultimately they breathed no more, their heart beats stopped and their corruptible bodies began to know corruption, rapid corruption. The first death they knew was the death of beloved animals they'd named. Those animals were suddenly lifeless, their skins stripped from their bodies, and those skins given to Adam and Eve to wear in place of the glorious light of God's covering. They saw death. Those animals that were killed didn't get up and start living again without their skins. Those animals lay there decaying. This they knew would eventually be their own end. They were going to be gone. Before that, they had to experience the death of their son, Abel. Murdered by his own brother. The very first son born to mankind was a murderer. Seeing the lifeless body of their son, Abel, Adam and Eve did not celebrate his transition to another life, they knew that wasn't what was happening. They knew their son's life was completely and utterly over. This was the death that Satan lied about telling them they would not die. The tragedy was beyond anything they'd known, death. The end. God did NOT tell them if they sinned they would struggle for a while then die only to be given a glorious life after death. No. Death was an end. Their hope was in the future, in a Savior who would destroy Satan and along with Satan all the evil in existence. We all die. Our lives truly come to an end. All that makes us who we are is reserved in death's sleep. And what we are will not be awakened from death's sleep individually but all at once when our Savior returns and calls us to Him in His miraculous way.  This is BIBLICAL, this is TRUTH. If we believe Satan's lie that we won't die- we do not accept the truth that we do. And by death I mean death, not death and instant new life- that is a lie. Some people console themselves and others with the lie that they are going to a better place as soon as they die, in effect they are telling others and themselves that they aren't really dead, just moving on to another plane of existence. Lies. Delusions. Deception. And none of that is of God, none. How many millions of people are going to be lost to eternal life because they cherish lies and refuse truth?  Don't pat yourself on the back right now and say that I'm the deluded one and I'll understand in time, I'm just a little confused, no harm no foul. The truth is, if I'm believing lies, I'm not following God's truth, and if I'm not following God's truth then I will not be God's. I have to seek truth and nothing else. I have had to give up MANY of my cherished beliefs in the face of truth, I wasn't raised with the things I believe now. I was shown truth in the word of God, the Holy Spirit opened my heart to truth and I was given a choice to either believe the truth, or believe lies. I praise God, I am eternally grateful to my Lord and Savior, for truth!

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A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Unjust (continued)

By J.H. Waggoner

DISTINCTION OF "BLOOD-LIFE" A FALLACY

Both Mr. Storrs and Mr. Curry make a point and lay much stress on the supposed distinction between the "blood-life" and "spirit-life;" their position being that the blood-life is forfeited to the law, and that the law, as a matter of justice, holds it forever; that the life that is laid down in death is not taken up again in the resurrection, but another or spirit-life is conferred in its stead. The fallacy of this has already been shown in that it makes the justified pay the same forfeit as the condemned, which is unjust. To further show its erroneousness, I will compare their statements with those of the Scriptures. 

Said Mr. Curry:

"How was it with Christ? He laid down his blood-life, made an atonement, but he never took it up again. That was the purchase, the forfeit." Debate with Grant, p. 91. 

And Mr. Storrs says: "It was the price paid; his blood-life is laid down forever, and is never taken again." Life from the Dead, p. 92. 

But the words of the Saviour stand directly opposed to these assumptions. He says: "I lay down my life that I might take it again. . . I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." John 10:17, 18. This expression-"take it again"-shows that no such distinction obtains in the Scriptures. If he laid down one life and never took it again, but took another in its stead, as they assert, then this language of the Saviour is most unhappily chosen. And as the Saviour's statement is as plain and explicit as theirs, and directly contradicts theirs, I must conclude that their view was never drawn from the Bible, but was gotten up to meet the necessity of their theory.

THEIR THEORY OF THE TWO RESURRECTIONS

The fact that there are two "orders" of the resurrection, or two resurrections in point of time, seems to stand out so prominently in the Scriptures that they are constrained to admit it; but they will not admit that the last, or second, is of "the unjust;" of them "that have done evil;" of the "rest" in distinction from the "blessed and holy." But admitting the fact of a second resurrection, they have had to contradict themselves and deny their own  invulnerable principles to maintain their denial that this resurrection is of the wicked. See the following statements. 

Says Mr. Storrs:

"Apart from Christ, when a man dies, he dies in his sins, and has lost his life never to find it again." Life from the Dead, p. 33.

"Thus the resurrection of the dead to life belongs to Christ and his body, the church-all true believers, under whatever dispensation they may have lived; and from this revival into life all others, it seems to us, are absolutely excluded." Id., p. 35.

"Life from the dead is a peculiarity of the gospel-a gospel benefit-and believers only live again." Id., p. 27.

But in commenting on Rev. 20:5, he says:

"If the text were a genuine one, it would be easy to show that it may not embrace the unholy at all. It might refer to the living again of the virtuous heathen, who had never heard of Christ, and therefore had not suffered for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God; hence, were not embraced in the 'first resurrection,' but are to have life afterwards; for surely, 'in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness'-according to the light he has-'is accepted with him,' and will have life through Jesus, though he had never heard of him." Id., pp. 70, 71. 

Dropping the paradoxical idea of the heathen who fear God and work righteousness! we notice that, according to Eld. Storrs, (1) A resurrection is a peculiarity of the gospel, and of course is inadmissible outside the gospel. (2) It belongs to the church-to believers in Christ, only, and all others are absolutely excluded. But (3), The second resurrection "may embrace" a class who were not believers in Christ, who never heard of him. Peter's testimony in Acts 10, clearly proves that the faithfully obedient in all nations-Jews and Gentiles-are accepted with God; but Cornelius had the gospel message sent to him to teach him what he ought to do. To refer to these facts and circumstances to prove the salvation of those who have no faith, is a manifest perversion of the Scriptures. That any one of Mr. Storrs' ability and power of discrimination should put forth sentiments so unscriptural and self-contradictory, is strong evidence of the weakness of the theory he advocates. And Mr. Curry, who seemed to closely follow Mr. Storrs, is equally unfortunate in his expressions on this subject. He laid down the following as an "unanswerable principle:"

"There is no future life without justification, and justification comes by faith alone." Debate, p. 106. 

And again he said:

"That is the true, Christian, orthodox, Protestant doctrine-justification by faith; and I contend that there is no other justification in the Bible, and without justification there can be no future life." Id., p. 77.

After thus emphatically confining a future life to those who are justified by faith in Christ, he says: 

"May it not be that he will save a great many righteous heathen, though they are not saved at his coming? That there will be a second resurrection of the righteous? Is it not possible? It has no difficulty with me. And I believe the resurrection will be one of the virtuous heathen, but not of the wicked dead. And so I preach it." Id., p. 75.

But of the heathen he says, in another place:

"The gospel does not address itself to the heathen. They come under a law peculiar to themselves." Id., p. 89.

Here again we notice that, (1) There is no justification in the Bible, except by faith. (2) There is no future life without justification. But (3), There is a future life to those who have no faith. And it is no relief from the contradiction to say the gospel does not address itself to them; for then I inquire, Where does he get his knowledge of a resurrection unto life outside the gospel? His declaration admits that it is not "in the Bible." Then by what authority does he "preach it?" It is certainly no recommendation to the non-resurrection theory that its advocates have to invent "another gospel" to accommodate it!

I read that "all the world" stand condemned-"guilty before God;" and that God "now commandeth all men everywhere to repent;" and that "without faith it is impossible to please God." Jesus also said, "No man cometh to the Father but by me." But in the above quotations there is a system of salvation taught which ignores these truths; and, this being the case, it is comparatively a small matter that they have contradicted their much-cherished "principles" to sustain it. The same facts which led them to make the above statements, we have also discovered in the Scriptures. We see that the conclusion is unavoidable that there is more than one "order," or class, in the resurrection. But we never thought necessary to refer a righteous resurrection, or resurrection to eternal life, to "them that know not God," nor to devise a justification or system of salvation not taught in the Bible. We find a more easy, because a more scriptural, solution in referring it to the "resurrection of the unjust"-of "them that have done evil." We learn that all now die in Adam without regard to character; but they are on probation, the result of which is life or death. And as they do not now die in view of that probation, as is proved by the fact that they die without any regard to the character formed under that probation, they must be raised to die "the second death," which is the only death to which their probation relates. This only meets the demands of justice. And this is the teaching of the Bible.

Resurrected Wicked.

 Resurrection of the UNJUST. (You'll want to read this lengthy article if you are a serious student of the Bible. If you are not a serious student of the Bible, and prefer to be given milk fit only for babies, and not meat for adults, then you won't like the following. Only the serious Bible students are willing to study, searching scripture for truth, contemplating all they are learning, praying, seeking spiritual guidance from the Holy Spirit Himself. Only the serious Bible students want truth as if it were a hidden treasure! Seeking it, finding it, holding fast to all the knowledge God desires to give to them. Those who aren't serious about their eternal life, will not seek God's truths as treasures, but will ignore the weighty matters of the Word, preferring simple things, preferring to be spoon fed with as little chewing as possible. If you're a serious Bible Student, pray right now, pray that God only allows you to know His truth, that God will give you the wisdom you need. God help us all!)

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A Vindication of the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Unjust (Excerpt 1)

By J.H. Waggoner

"And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."- Acts 24:15.

The following pages contain a clear, concise, and able argument in vindication of the doctrine of the resurrection of the wicked. It is proper to state that an earnest effort is being made by a considerable portion of the first-day Adventists to promulgate the doctrine that the wicked dead are never to be resurrected. No thoughtful reader of the Bible will pronounce this question one of small consequence. It involves the interpretation of a very large part of the Bible.

The doctrine of the judgment, and of final retribution, of which the Scriptures say so much, is entirely changed in character according as we decide that the wicked shall or shall not be resurrected. 

We can hardly imagine what special good would grow out of the doctrine could its truthfulness be established. For the doctrine that the wicked shall be resurrected that they may each receive such measure of indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, as their crimes severally deserve, satisfies our sense of justice. And the doctrine that this torment, or anguish, shall result in death, relieves the subject of all sense of disproportion between the crime and the punishment that burdens the doctrine of endless torment. But this theory of the non-resurrection of the wicked leaves our sense of justice on the part of God toward impenitent men entirely unsatisfied, and is no measure called for as our only escape from the unreasonable doctrine of endless torment.

But, if this doctrine be false, it is certainly a very serious error. To teach wicked men that they shall never be called forth from their graves to receive the second death, will prove to such persons an awful mistake should the Son of God actually call them forth to final retribution. The fact, therefore, that the doctrine of the non-resurrection of the wicked is

being extensively and zealously promulgated at the present time, makes it a matter of great importance that this subject should be fairly and thoroughly canvassed. We commend the following work as an able vindication of the doctrine of the resurrection of the unjust.

THE RESURRECTION OF THE UNJUST

Will the wicked dead be raised? This question is exciting considerable interest in certain localities; and some are embracing the view that the wicked will not have a resurrection. The opinions of the parties for and against this view may be briefly stated, as follows:

I. For: 

1) The wages of sin being death, when the wicked die, the full penalty of the law is inflicted upon them; and it would not be just for God to raise them up to execute the same penalty upon them a second time. 

(2) Life is promised only through Christ, and obtained only by faith; and therefore those who reject Christ will not have life given to them in a resurrection. 

(3) The Scriptures say they shall not see light; shall not see life; shall not rise; etc.

The first two points embrace the principles on which they profess to base their faith. The third embraces the facts or Scripture declarations supposed to sustain the principles.

II. Against:

(1) All mankind die on account of Adam's transgression, and not on account of their personal sins.

(2) Justice demands a resurrection of the wicked, in order to the infliction of the penalty of their personal sins.

(3) The Scriptures declare that there will be a resurrection of the unjust; of them that have done evil; all shall be made alive; they shall die the second death.

Eld. George Storrs, of New York, who has in a manner led off in the nonresurrection  theory, being the only one who has published any considerable work on the subject, commences his argument with an effort to establish a "principle." To this no one would object; indeed, it is the best of all methods of reasoning to first establish the principles of a doctrine. But in reasoning upon the Bible, we must be careful that our principles are in harmony with its plain teachings; for it is frequently the case that men announce as "principles" the mere expression of their own ideas. So Prof. Finney, of Ohio, in his discussion with Charles Fitch, laid down principles to prove the millennium, by which he endeavored to make that doctrine a necessity to vindicate the benevolence of God; but in so doing he contradicted some of the plainest declarations of the Bible. So Calvinists or fatalists found their "principles" on their own limited ideas of God's foreknowledge and decrees, and thereby set aside the abundance of Scripture testimony which shows the freedom of the human will in choosing or rejecting eternal life. I think Mr. Storrs has erred in precisely the same manner, allowing him to be the expositor of his own principle. To understand his exposition, we must read his principle. It is as follows: "Gifts may exceed the promise; but punishment cannot justly exceed the threatening. Thus, a prince may give to a worthy subject ten thousand dollars as a gratuity; but a just prince cannot, and will not, inflict a punishment more severe than the clearly expressed penalty, or inflict a thousand stripes gratuitously. So God may give a revival into life, and make that life eternal to a faithful servant, even though he had never clearly informed him that he would do so; but he could not, in punishing, justly exceed some known penalty, or penalty clearly indicated."

With this I find no fault; but unfortunately he has not reasoned in harmony with it, but has assumed a penalty never indicated in the Scriptures; and his conclusions are drawn, not from any just principle, but from his own assumption in regard to the penalty. In his argument he says: "The wages of sin, then, is not suffering, but death. It is not dying, but death. It is not the pain of dying, but to have life extinguished-to be dead: that only is

death. . . . No pangs, no struggles, nor agonies, connected with dying, are death, or any part of death." In this I think Mr. Storrs has departed widely from Bible truth; and in his effort

to prove what God must or ought to do, in order to be just, he has directly contradicted what God says he will do. And if it shall appear that his exposition is thus defective, the conclusion drawn therefrom may well be called in question. Let us consider it: 1. Our ideas of the penalty of the law must always stand corrected by the exposition and practice of the divine Lawgiver. His first announcement of the penalty was this: "Thou shalt surely die." But Mr. Storrs says it is not dying, but "to be dead." If so, it should read, Thou shalt surely be dead. The soul that sinneth, it shall be dead. The wages of sin is to be dead. But such terms are never used in the Scriptures. The phrase, shalt die, clearly points to the process

whereby he should become dead. I am aware that this statement of Mr. Storrs' is often reiterated in controversies on the subject of life and death; but it is erroneous nevertheless. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die"-not shall be dead. Now if Mr. Storrs could devise some means whereby the sinner can be dead without undergoing the process of dying, then with more show of reason might he endeavor to disconnect the "pangs, struggles, and agonies, connected with dying," from the penalty. But the divine expressions include the process of dying- shalt die-and his assertion contradicts both reason and Scripture. I do not deny that the penalty reaches to the state of being dead; for there is no such thing as death, unless that consummation be reached. But I do deny that it excludes the act of dying, with its pangs and agonies. Both are included in the penalty.

2. If "to be dead" were alone the penalty, and the pangs, etc, of death, were "not the penalty or any part of it," then all the "pangs, struggles, and agonies, connected with" the infliction of the penalty, death, are so much over and above the penalty, and of course, according to Mr. Storrs' showing, so much of manifest injustice on the part of the Being who inflicts the penalty! And it would therefore be necessary for God to insure an easy, peaceful death, to the sinner, in order that he might be dead, in accordance with justice, that is, without having added to the "penalty clearly indicated," "pangs, struggles, or agonies," which are no part of the penalty, and cannot, therefore, be justly inflicted! But against this I say,

3. God has not only threatened death to the evil-doer, but he has also threatened "tribulation and anguish," torment with fire and brimstone, plagues, with grievous sores and pains. And all the illustrations given in the Scriptures, of the justice and wrath of God against sin, include such ideas as these. Now these are the desert of sin, and part of its penalty, or they are not. If they are, then Mr. Storrs' exposition of principles is without foundation in truth. But if they are not, as Mr. Storrs asserts, then, according to his theory, these threats can never be fulfilled without God thereby proving himself unjust!

Such is the tendency of Mr. Storrs' position on which he bases his nonresurrection theory. As said before, we may well call in question any argument based on such premises, or conclusion drawn from them. In regard to principles, the question first to be settled in this controversy is this: Do mankind now die because of their own sins, or because of the sin of their representative head, Adam? There are, I think, weighty reasons to be offered on both branches of this question; that is, that they do not die on account of their own sins, and that they do die on account of Adam's transgression. And this conclusion is deducible from the principles of just reasoning, from the statements of the Scriptures, and from the admissions of those opposing. "In Adam all die," are the words of inspiration. This certainly does not admit of any exceptions. All men stood in Adam, their representative. So says Mr. Curry, a

leading advocate of that faith; "Every one having this Adamic nature, dies. In Adam: every one who has that Adamic condition must necessarily die by virtue of that condition." Debate with Grant, p. 24.

 But all classes and ages have that Adamic condition; hence, all classes and ages "die by virtue of that condition;" and this, of course, without any regard to their character. Mr. Storrs denies that 1 Cor. 15:22, has any reference to "all men;" yet he does not deny the fact that all men do actually die in Adam, but states it in the following words: "And though it is

a truth that all men die by a connection with the first Adam, yet that is not the truth the apostle now proceeds to state." Life from the Dead, p. 48. And again, the same is admitted on page 49, as follows: "It is by connection with Adam, as descendants from him, that death came to those whose personal sins are forgiven." In these statements, both Mr. Curry and Mr. Storrs admit that mankind do not now die on account of their personal sins. For if

the present prevailing death is the penalty of personal sin, by what principle of justice do they suffer that penalty after their personal sins are forgiven? Do they really believe that God executes the penalty of sins after they are forgiven? If so, in what consists their forgiveness? And here, against this non-resurrection theory, I bring this charge, that it entirely ignores the gospel doctrine of the remission of sins, and contradicts every statement of the Scriptures in regard to forgiveness. In this it stands in direct opposition to the gospel system. In some States, the death penalty stands against murder; but do they ever hang a man after he is pardoned? The words, or offer, of pardon in such a case would be senseless, cruel mockery. According to the theory we call in question, the righteous, or justified, suffer the same penalty that the wicked suffer. Do they first receive the pardon, or forgiveness, of their sins, and then suffer, to the full extent, their penalty? Is this the manner in which justice is administered in the divine government? That this is no misapprehension of the non-resurrection dogma, no unjust conclusion drawn from the premises of an opponent, will appear by a quotation from Mr. Curry, "Debate with Grant," page 101: "The life that now is, is under the law, goes down under the law; the law holds it. There is no way to escape the penalty." And therefore, if this penalty is the penalty of personal sins, as he elsewhere avers, there is no way to escape from the penalty of personal sins; and therefore, again, there is no such thing as forgiveness. And so it is in direct antagonism to the gospel. But, it may he objected, the penitent believer does not remain dead; he is

resuscitated, and eternal life is given to him. But that does not meet the case; that result comes under another head. The question now before us is this: Is there any forgiveness in the gospel? Mr. Curry said, "There is no way to escape from the penalty;" which is equivalent to declaring that there is no way to obtain forgiveness. For I assert, without any fear of contradiction, that the forgiveness of sin and the execution of its penalty cannot exist together. Whatever may be granted by way of gift after the penalty is executed, cannot interfere with the statements here made; for such gift is not mercy, not forgiveness-it is benevolence. "The soul that sinneth it shall die;" the soul that is forgiven its sin shall also die. And it does also die, and very often under far more agonizing circumstances than the other. How can the Scriptures be reconciled, and the justice of God's government be vindicated, if the same death is threatened to the sinner that the justified saints are daily suffering? The full penalty of the law is executed upon both alike. There is no forgiveness to any. Conceding that faith will procure a revivifying after the penalty is inflicted, it yet remains that faith and repentance will not avert the infliction of the penalty. Such is the tendency and unavoidable result of this doctrine of the non-resurrection of the unjust.

In justice to Eld. Rufus Wendell, of Salem, Mass., editor of the Bible Repository, I ought to say, that when, by request, I presented this objection to a company in the "Life Tent," on the Springfield Camp Ground, he promptly repudiated the view held by Elders Storrs and Curry on this point. In so doing he made the proper distinction between benevolence and mercy. I hope all of that party will soon do themselves the justice to renounce a theory so utterly subversive of the essential characteristics of the gospel of Christ.

The points of the argument on the reason of the present death may be stated as follows:

1. Present or "first death" is not the penalty of personal transgression to infants, as they have no personal sin to die for; they die "in Adam," or by virtue of their relation to him.

2. Present or "first death" is not the penalty of personal sins to the justified, their transgressions having been forgiven, and, of course, are not punishable. Therefore this death is to them also solely the result of their relation to Adam.

3. All the wicked sustain the same relation to Adam that do infants and saints; they are subject to the same "Adamic condition." This is conceded. And therefore they die "by virtue of that relation," as do infants and saints, and not on account of their personal sins.

They who deny this third point, or maintain the contrary, are justly held to prove that the wicked do not sustain that same relation to Adam, and are not subject to its consequences, as are infants and saints. This we do not think they will undertake. But they must see that a failure on their part here involves their whole system.

4. Present or "first death" cannot be both the penalty of personal sins, and the result of our relation to Adam; for we are offered the remission of personal sins through repentance and faith in Christ, but never the remission of that Adamic condition-no degree of repentance and faith will change that relation, or avert its consequences. This, all will and must admit. But the punishment of personal sins may be averted, according to the plain declarations and promises of the gospel. What may be predicated of one cannot be predicated of the other; therefore one death cannot stand for both. Any effort on their part to avoid our conclusion on this point, must involve them in the following contradiction: That which is visited upon all men by reason of a certain relation, is visited upon one class solely by reason of that relation, and upon another class not by virtue of that relation at all, but for an entirely different reason! Mr. Curry, as well as Mr. Storrs, professed to place his first and chief reliance on "principles." The following is one laid down by him: "God cannot be just and restore to man his animal or blood life, as that life is forfeited to the law." Debate, p. 91.

The same idea is held out by Mr. Storrs. But they must certainly have singular ideas of justice, as announced in such a "principle;" for they have every one of the justified paying the same forfeit that the condemned have to pay! Now "justification" and "condemnation" are terms expressing different relations to law; and I assert that where there is no condemnation there can be no forfeit required according to justice. This must be granted-it is self-evident. Therefore those who advocate this non-resurrection theory, must admit that this forfeit is not because of personal sins, or, otherwise, maintain that a person is both justified and condemned at the same time, which is an evident absurdity. I do not see how the "Judge of all the earth" can be honored by the announcement of such a "principle," subversive as it is of the plainest principles of justice. For let it be remembered, that God is just in justifying the believer (Rom. 3:26), but not according to their position. There can be no justice in the infliction of penalties without discrimination; visiting the same judgment upon the condemned and the justified; upon those accountable and guilty; and upon those unaccountable and those whose sins have been pardoned. But if all die-old and young, just and unjust-on account of their relation to Adam, and all personal sins are referred to that day when "God shall bring every work into judgment," then all is clear, and God's justice is vindicated. And if, as I think is clearly the truth, the present or "first death" is the result of our relation to Adam, and not the penalty of personal sins, then it follows that the penalty of personal sins will never be inflicted if there shall be no revival or resurrection of the wicked, who have exposed themselves to divine justice by their actions. And so justice points unmistakably to a "resurrection of damnation," and to a "second death," to such as have neither sought for immortality, nor died for their own personal sins. So far as a dispute on "principles" is concerned, I claim precedence for those advanced in favor of the resurrection of the wicked. And the admissions of opponents that all now die by reason of their relation to Adam are, virtually, admissions that the justice of God remains to be vindicated in regard to their personal sins. (TO BE CONTINUED)

Resurrected.

 What does the word resurrection mean to you personally? What image does it provoke when you hear the word resurrection? Most Christians will answer the thought of Jesus comes to mind and His resurrection. I'm not surprised, it is the most important resurrection ever. Without belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, there is no hope for mankind at all whatsoever. All you can be assured of is a life filled with a mixture of misery and joy, and not always in equal measure, and an ending of nothing whatsoever.

Jesus was resurrected from the dead, brought to life after being crucified. A resurrection from the dead.  With Jesus' resurrection came the hope for the resurrection of mankind. Jesus rising from the dead was miraculous, why? Because people were not resurrected! Being resurrected from the dead was NOT something that was automatic upon death. 

IF being resurrected from the dead was commonly believed then Jesus being resurrected would have been no surprise. That's logic, so take a moment to let it sink in. The resurrection was so incredible because it was not something that happens to dead people.

I know you're sitting there thinking that Jesus would have just had his spirit separate from his body like everyone else upon death, if he weren't resurrected. So let's discuss that for a moment. 

WHY did Jesus need a body if His spirit was going to separate from His body upon death and just live on? He was still going to be alive with all His faculties so why did He need a body? Wouldn't have appearing to people without His body, but in a recognizable form that was His have been enough? 

For that matter, why was Enoch taken bodily to heaven without seeing death? Didn't he need to die to let his spirit body escape to do all the spirit things a body can't do? 

There is so much that is illogical when you come right down to it when you believe we live on right after we die. Being resurrected holds no allure when you are already living. 

God created us with all the amazing things that make us who we are. You say you need a body to taste things, what if you didn't? You truly don't know what a spirit body is capable of. We do know angels who are spirits could take the form of a man and eat food. God is spirit, and as such He is capable of things so much greater than any we can dream of. If tasting things is only possible with a body, if pleasure is only with a body, then why do so many believe dead loved ones can experience happiness, that's a form of pleasure? Do you see what's happening? Truly, see? We get any ability for pleasure from God, and we cherish that ability now, and no one ever thinks they lose that ability when they supposedly die and go to heaven in spirit, they treat that as a joyous release from all pain. 

When the dead are resurrected, and we are told they are, what a glorious day for those dead who have died with Christ as their Savior and salvation their hope. We are RESURRECTED, not separated from our bodies with an intelligent spirit us just living on in heaven with access to everything on earth below. That is ridiculous on so many levels. Jesus is PREPARING a place for us, all of us.  David, Abraham, Jacob none of those who belonged to God are in heaven right now! None of them! How do I know this? The BIBLE tells me so!  READ IT! ALL OF IT!

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Heb 11:2  For by it the elders obtained a good report. 

Heb 11:3  Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 

Heb 11:4  By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. 

Heb 11:5  By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 

Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 

Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 

Heb 11:11  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. 

Heb 11:12  Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 

Heb 11:13  THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES, BUT HAVING SEEN THEM AFAR OFF, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 

Heb 11:14  For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 

Heb 11:15  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 

Heb 11:16  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 

Heb 11:17  By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 

Heb 11:18  Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 

Heb 11:19  Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. 

Heb 11:20  By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 

Heb 11:21  By faith Jacob, when he was a DYING, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 

Heb 11:22  By faith Joseph, when he DIED, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. 

Heb 11:23  By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. 

Heb 11:24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 

Heb 11:25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 

Heb 11:26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 

Heb 11:27  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 

Heb 11:28  Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 

Heb 11:29  By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 

Heb 11:30  By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 

Heb 11:31  By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. 

Heb 11:32  And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 

Heb 11:33  Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 

Heb 11:34  Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 

Heb 11:35  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 

Heb 11:36  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 

Heb 11:37  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 

Heb 11:38  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 

Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, RECEIVED NOT THE PROMISE: 

Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us,  THAT THEY WITHOUT US SHOULD NOT BE MADE PERFECT.

Act 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 

Act 2:30  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 

Act 2:31  He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 

Act 2:32  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 

Act 2:33  Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 

Act 2:34  FOR DAVID IS NOT ASCENDED INTO THE HEAVEN but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand

1Co 15:12  Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 

1Co 15:13  But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 

1Co 15:14  And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 

1Co 15:15  Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 

1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 

1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 

1Co 15:18  Then they also which ARE FALLEN ASLEEP in Christ are perished. 

1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 

1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 

1Co 15:23  But EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER: Christ the firstfruits; AFTERWARDS THEY THAT ARE CHRIST'S AT HIS COMING. 

1Co 15:24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 

1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 

1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 

1Co 15:27  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 

1Co 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which ALL that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 

Rev 20:6  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. 

FIRST resurrection-  there are not a multitude of resurrections… First, second…. No more, no less. 

More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Always Existed.

 Man can only work with created things. Think about that. Man can manipulate any created matter, break it down, build it up, alter it in numerous ways, and destroy it. Scientists are all the time taking created matter and studying it down to its smallest form. Scientists make it a lifelong career of trying to discover new things. New cures, new forms, new things all from things already created. When man does succeed in creating new things, it's from manipulating old things into the new. Yes, mankind loves to believe that their science is everything, that spiritual matters have little to nothing at all to do with scientific things. So many scientists embrace atheism so they may believe that created things, created themselves. They want to imagine the origin of things - such as a big bang, the colliding of…. WAIT… a colliding of things created, things in existence already in order to collide. The explosion, the big bang, had to have created matter to make the explosion, the big bang. Nothing, absolutely nothing, CANNOT create something- that's an impossibility. While that is an impossibility, it is one that scientists refuse to believe. A big bang… of what? Nothing banging against nothing? Nothing exploding with nothing? You introduce elements that come together to explode you introduce created elements. Such a vicious circle for those who lack faith in the CREATOR of those elements. 

Personally, by the GRACE of my Creator, my Father in Heaven, my God, I have been blessed with comprehending that something cannot come from nothing, that something had to come from someone- my CREATOR, THE CREATOR, the Great I AM. The from EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING. 

You say my logic is faulty because who created the Creator? I say my faith comprehends the CREATOR is the all of all. 

My body, and the body of another created my two children. If my body had not had an essence from another body it could not have created my two children. The mysteries of pregnancy have been taken down to their smallest forms and in doing so mankind has been able to extract the essence of male and females and join them even outside of the bodies of those who created the essence. They've picked at the essence itself and isolated microscopic particles of that essence and have manipulated that too in order to change what might have been if left without manipulation. And still, they needed created things to do all that, down to the tiniest of forms. They say they are playing god, that they have the abilities of gods in their work. Not all say this of course, but there are those who do. There are those whose ego is so huge they take credit for things they have no business taking credit for. We all need to humble ourselves before our CREATOR and entrust to Him our very thoughts, anything we call our brilliant thoughts, our ideas that lead to brilliant discoveries come from our CREATOR. 

If you want to delve into the evil that exists, which perverts the beauty of God, you can do so. Read the following excerpt, the last in a series of excerpts I've posted lately. 

May God bless us with truth, only truth, give us the wisdom we need, the faith we need, all we need through our SAVIOR, Jesus Christ our LORD, now and forever!!!!!!!

Amen. 

*******

(Excerpt) 

REDEMPTION OF THE EARTH

But all the fruit of sin would not be destroyed if the earth were not redeemed from the curse. 

Peter says that as the earth once perished with water, so it will once again be changed by fire. After saying that the heavens and earth which are now, are reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men, and that the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the works that are in the earth shall be burned up, he continues: "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13.

Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5. In Ps. 37:11 the same statement is made with an important addition: "But the  meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." And this proves that they do not inherit the earth in its present state, for Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation." John 16:33.

Were the curse never removed from the earth, the works of the devil would not all be destroyed.

Paul says that the saints now have the seal of the Spirit, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. Eph. 1:14. Both man and his dominion were brought under the curse of sin. Jesus died to redeem them both; the inheritance has been purchased, as well as man, and, as man, waits to be redeemed. But this cannot be while there is a sinner, or a remnant of sin, in it. 

For six thousand years the earth has been polluted by Satan and his works, sin and sinners. But all these will be burned up; then the earth will be once more pure as it was when it first came from the hands of its Maker. The lake of fire which destroys the wicked is the same that burns up the last remains of sin and the curse, and purifies the earth. 

In Revelation 20 this lake of fire is introduced: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

The next chapter continues the scene: "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." 

Then will Adam be restored to his own Paradise, in his own dominion, given to him at the beginning. He lost them by sin; the second Adam restored them by His obedience and sacrifice. Then all the saints possess the earth, their long-lost home. Then, and not till then, will they appreciate the full force of the Saviour's words, "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." This time will surely come. 

We have so long lived amid sin and rebellion, have so long been accustomed to vice and wickedness, have so long been shut away from heaven and God, that we cannot realize that it will ever be otherwise. 

Now, upon this earth, unrighteousness is popular, and "he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey." Isa. 59:15. Here the righteous are vastly in the minority; but it is only here. When we remember the "innumerable company of angels," who are yet loyal to their God, we see that the righteous are really in the majority.

For a short time the devil has succeeded in defiling a small part, a very small part, of God's creation. God has permitted him for a time to go on with impunity, till he has fully developed the awful consequences of sin and rebellion against the all-wise Creator. He will serve as an example to all the intelligent creatures of God, that they may see the utter folly of disobeying the Almighty. 

God will soon wipe out the blot which Satan has made on His universe, by the utter destruction of Satan and all his works. Then will be fulfilled what God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. God "shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things." Acts 3:20, 21. 

As righteous men and loyal angels behold the punishment of wicked men and devils, they can sing, "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." Rev. 15:3. 

When we look upon the awful condition of the world, we are sometimes tempted to question the wisdom of God in permitting such a state of things to continue so long. But we must remember that God is from everlasting to everlasting, the eternal One. Our world has existed but about six thousand years. Here is a man sixty years of age. It seems but a short time since he was a little boy; yet he has lived a one-hundredth part of the time that the world has stood. One hundred such men in succession would reach from the foundation of the world to the present time. Then how brief a period is the world's history! At the longest it is but a moment compared with eternity.

Think of the eternity that is past. Imagine the eternity to come. Remember that God's purposes reach from eternity to eternity. 

Then why should it be thought a thing incredible by us that God should permit the devil to continue in his rebellion so short a time, till he has fully developed his character and the consequences of sin? Again, this earth, as compared with all the worlds of God, is no more than a grain of sand in comparison with the whole universe. The sun alone is as large as thirteen hundred thousand worlds like ours. At the rate of thirty miles a day, it would take a man over two hundred and forty years to travel around it. The planet Jupiter is four hundred and ninety millions of miles distant from the sun. Its diameter is eighty-nine thousand miles, it being fourteen hundred times larger than the earth. The nearest fixed star is so far distant that it would require a ball moving at the rate of five hundred miles an hour, over four million five hundred thousand years, or seven hundred and fifty times the period which has elapsed since the foundation of the world, to reach it from this earth; many of these stars are thousands of times larger than our earth, and, probably, are all inhabited.

"Some astronomers have computed that there are not less than seventy-five million suns in the universe. The fixed stars are all suns, having, like our sun, numerous planets revolving around them. The solar system, or that to which we belong, has over thirty planets, primary and secondary, belonging to it. The circular field, or space which it occupies, is, in diameter, three billion six hundred million of miles, and that which it controls is much greater. The sun which is nearest neighbor to ours is called Sirius, distant from our sun about eight hundred and fifty-two millions of miles. Now if all the fixed stars are as distant from each other as Sirius is from our sun, or if our solar system be the average magnitude of those of all the seventy-five millions of suns, what imagination can grasp the immensity of creation? Who can survey a plantation containing seventy-five million of circular fields, each three billion six hundred million of miles in diameter? Such, however, is one of the plantations of Him who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, meted out heaven with a span, comprehended the dust in a measure, and 

weighed out the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance,-He who, sitting upon the orbit of the earth, stretches out heaven as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. Nations to Him are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance."-Christian Almanac. 

When we view the subject in this light, considering the infinitely small portion of creation which this earth really occupies, and the brief period of its history in sin, and remember that Satan's work has been confined to this small sphere, and that even this will soon be restored to its original condition, and that the devil will be punished for his crimes, all is reasonable, plain, and consistent. It is only when we take a narrow, contracted view of the matter that we are led to question the wisdom of God's dealings with this world. 

Happy day! May it soon dawn! Then will be realized the glorious scene described in Rev. 5:13: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." 

Dear reader, when the present unhappy state of our world has passed away, when sin and wickedness are no more, when devils and wicked men have been destroyed for their crimes, when the earth shall bloom as the garden of Eden, "when the times of restitution of all things" come, may it be our happy lot to have a part in this joyful song of praise to God and the Lamb. Amen

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - Ended) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Satan Destroyed

 (Excerpt)  THE DESTRUCTION OF SATAN

Will Satan be destroyed? This question may seem strange to some, for we are aware that there are some who regard the eternity of Satan as well settled in their minds as the eternity of God. In the popular opinion the devil and his angel will never cease to exist, but live to all eternity in hell, blaspheming God and tormenting the lost. 

But is this reasonable? Is it scriptural? For God to perpetuate the existence of the devil and all the wicked, would not benefit them; they are lost beyond recovery, and their punishment is not reformatory. Could a God of love and mercy take delight in such a scene of woe and suffering? Is it necessary to keep such an example eternally in view of the saints and angels to keep them in subjection? Shall such a foul blot eternally remain to mar the beauty and happiness of God's fair universe? 

No; such a thought is as abhorrent to reason as it is opposed to the Bible. Truth and righteousness are alone enduring and eternal. Sin and sinners are both abnormal developments, at war with the Creator and Governor, and, in the very nature of things, must come to an end. God once had a clean universe, and he will have it again. 

The Bible teaches that both wicked men and demons will be destroyed, and cease to pollute God's kingdom and government. Speaking of the humiliation of Christ, Heb. 2:14 says; "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood. He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."

Then, as surely as He died, so surely will He destroy the devil, for the object of His death will be accomplished. We have seen that the covering cherub of Ezekiel 28 is the devil. God says of him; "I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." 

Here we see that Satan is to be brought to ashes upon the earth, and that he will then cease to exist, for he "never shall be any more." He is the king of rebels. For him God will prepare the lake of fire. All who follow his ways will with him be cast into it. To the wicked the Lord will say, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. 25:41. 

Upon the same subject the prophet says: "For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." Isa. 30:33. 

The devil will be blotted out of existence, and all his works with him. Wicked men are the works of the devil. See Matt. 13:38, 39. "The tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil." Will they be destroyed? Let John answer; "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8. 

Not only will the devil himself be destroyed, but those also who have followed his ways. Says David, "All the wicked will He destroy." Ps. 145:20.

The Lord says by His prophet: "Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the

proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Mal. 4:1. 

Jesus said to His disciples, "I am the vine, ye are the branches." John 15:5. The followers of Christ are branches of the Heavenly Vine, because they bear heavenly fruit by strength drawn from Him.

In Rev. 14:18 an angel cries to the reaper on the white cloud, "Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe." 

As Christ is the Heavenly Vine, of which the Father is the Husbandman, so Satan is the vine of the earth; his followers bear fruit that is "earthly, sensual, devilish." They are confederated in clusters of all kinds; but they do not gather with Christ. Root and branch will be destroyed together. Said Jesus, "Every plant, which my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13. Not a vestige of them shall be left to mar the creation of God. In harmony with this, the book of Revelation speaks of a time when "every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. 

The word of the Lord says; "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner." Prov. 11:31. 

When the earth is made new, the righteous will have it for an everlasting possession. But they will have a reign of a thousand years in the city of God in heaven. The wicked have their recompense in the earth, for it is here and here only that they suffer their punishment. In this sense they are recompensed in the earth "much more" than the righteous. Peter says; "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:7. This present earth is reserved unto fire; for "the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Verse 10. This shows that not yet the devil and the wicked are suffering in the fire unto which they are appointed. Jesus says that their departure into fire is after He comes in His glory. Matt. 25:31-41. 

Peter says that this earth will melt with fervent heat in the day of perdition of ungodly men. And so the book of Revelation. When Satan gathers the hosts of the wicked about the camp of the saints and the beloved city, fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. This is after the thousand years, after the resurrection of the wicked dead. This is the fire that melts the earth, and burns up everything that pertains to sin and the curse. This is the fire of gehenna, for the melted earth will be the lake of fire in which Satan and his angels, and all his followers, will be destroyed; when all that do wickedly shall be burned up and left neither root nor branch. Here the controversy between righteousness and iniquity is ended.

Now what has Satan gained by his rebellion?-Nothing but the miserable satisfaction of having done evil for a season. He has lost all the joys of heaven, the pleasure there is in doing right, and the consciousness of being pure and innocent, and the happiness of being the friend of God. But above all he has lost eternal life. Had he remained obedient to God, he would have lived to all eternity without pain, or sickness, or the fear of death. But now he has to die-to sink into the darkness of everlasting oblivion. Oh, what an awful thought it must be to Satan, who once occupied such an exalted position in heaven! Can we suppose that the devil has been happy for the last six thousand years, in the woe and misery that he has produced in the world?-No; it is impossible. And what shall be said of those of Adam's race who have been his willing dupes and followers? They have been warned, they have been entreated, by the terrors of death, by the joys of eternal life, by the preciousness of the blood of Jesus shed for them, to turn and live; but against all they have turned away to ruin. Now they appreciate the question of the Saviour: "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul" (or life)? When this is lost, all is lost. To them is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Jude 13

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

State of the Dead

Do you have questions about the state of the dead, or are you sure on your position, so sure you would risk your eternal life upon your belief? Before you answer a quick yes, tell me one thing… can you back your beliefs by irrefutable Biblical fact? Or are your beliefs simply the beliefs of your religion, the beliefs of your father and mother, beliefs inherited. Have you taken your beliefs and had them reinforced by Biblical truth? Not just a verse here and there, but several verses. Not just a parable twisted to mimic a desired reality, a cherished tradition. But a deep dive into proper translations, into the semantics of it all. Not taking the easy way out by believing what you are told. You might not know Hebrew, or Greek, you may not be familiar with the many translations of the Bible, but this shouldn't stop you from being able and willing to learn from others who know- who have made this kind of studying their life's work. Not just a single Biblical scholar but use several. Go to the many Bible commentaries, dictionaries, histories. You have the resources at your fingertips. Most importantly, if you should chose to undergo this sort of study- one that may impact your eternal life, PRAY! Pray that truth and truth only is revealed to you! Pray that any misconceptions no matter how deep rooted are done away with. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide, your only guide. If you want a superficial walk with Christ, that's what you'll have. If you want truth then go beneath the surface - be willing to take something you believe and hold it up to the scrutiny of the word of God!

May the Lord Jesus Christ guide you in all ways, in all things, giving you forgiveness, salvation, eternal life in Him! 

(The following excerpt isn't the beginning of a study on the state of the dead…it's a continuing study on Angels- if you truly desire to study the state of the dead go here… )

https://sites.google.com/site/whostosaywereright2/Home/immortality-of-the-soul-is-it-a-scriptural-doctrine

(Excerpt)

THE JUDGMENT OF THE WICKED

We have seen that the righteous dead are raised from the grave, and the righteous living changed, and all taken to heaven, when Jesus comes. The wicked are slain upon the earth at that time. In Rev. 19:1-10 the saints are seen in heaven, just delivered, singing songs of praise, and partaking of the marriage supper of the Lamb. Verses 11-21 relate the destruction of the nations. The first three verses of chapter 20 say that an angel comes down from heaven, binds Satan, and casts him into the abyss, there to remain one thousand years. Having thus disposed of the wicked and of the devil for a thousand years, John again turns his attention to the saints, and reveals their occupation during this thousand years: 

"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 worshiped 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. But the rest of the dead lived

not again until the thousand years were finished." 

Then there are two resurrections, and they are one thousand years apart. Verse 6 says they are blessed and holy that have part in the first resurrection, and of course they who have part in the second resurrection are the wicked. They are dead and in their graves during the thousand years, but they will live again when the thousand years are finished. Thus we see that the first resurrection, that of the righteous, takes place at the beginning of the thousand years, and the second, that of the wicked, at the end of that time. Rev. 20:1-6.

Of the righteous John says that judgment was given unto them, and that they reigned with Christ a thousand years. What judgment is to be given to them?-It is the judgment of the wicked, an examination of their cases, for the saints are to judge the wicked, and also the fallen angels. Says Paul: "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" 1 Cor. 6:2, 3. This testimony is very plain and direct, and proves that the judgment of which he speaks is not a judgment in this life. Again he says: "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts." 1 Cor. 4:5.

When the Lord comes, all secrets will be laid open, and the saints will unite in judging the world; for then they will be perfected and will know as they are now known. 1 Cor. 13:9-12. Daniel speaks to the same effect. He says: "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7:21, 22. By all this we see that the saints are in heaven during the thousand years, judging the wicked who have not had a resurrection. All the deeds of the wicked are written in books; these books are opened before God, and they are judged by what is found written in the books. Rev. 20:12. During the thousand years the saints will have access to these records, from which they can see and know what is the just desert of each one of the lost. They will unite with Christ in the judgment and condemnation of the wicked. At the end of this time, Christ and all

the saints will come down to the earth. Jesus will stand upon the Mount of Olives, from which he ascended, and the mountain will part asunder and become a great plain. Zech. 14:4, 5. The holy city comes down and rests upon this plain. The wicked, being raised, are gathered by Satan around the city. Seeing what he has lost, and seeing those over whom he has often triumphed enjoying that glory with the Son of God, rage inflames his heart, and he leads his deceived ones up to the city in battle array. Vain effort! Then the judgment written will be executed upon Satan and all his hosts. Says Jude: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that

are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Verses 14, 15.

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Satan Bound.

 Do you want to know what happens to Satan when Jesus Christ returns? This Bible study reveals that truth right there in God's Holy Word!

Did the ancient realm of Babylon really exist? Yes. 

Did the Medo-Persian rule really exist? Yes.

Did Alexander the Great conquer Medo-Persia for Greece? Yes.

Did the Roman Empire conquer Greece? Yes.

Did the Roman Empire dissolve into ten main realms? Yes.

Did you know the Bible predicted ALL the above? 

Did you know that there will never be another empire like the Roman Empire upon the earth? 

The Bible accurately predicted all that ancient history- but it didn't stop there. We are told that Jesus will return and destroy all the evil upon earth.  

Did you know that if all that was predicted above came to pass that there is NOTHING that can stop the rest from taking place? It's true.

If you want to know what happens to Satan upon Jesus' return, read on… study God's word! Look up the Bible verses, study like you've never studied before, search as if you're searching for a hidden treasure!  Yes, it's a long study, but the treasures of truth that are revealed are eternally priceless. God be with you opening your heart and eyes to all His truth, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior now and forever! AMEN!!!!!!!

(Excerpt) SATAN BOUND

In connection with the first resurrection, John had a view of the triumph of Jesus over the enemy who shut up man in the prison of death. The resurrection of the just takes place at the coming of Christ, as the apostle says: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. 

John's vision of these events is described as follows:-

"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. 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 worshiped 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. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Rev. 20:1-5.

To understand the full meaning of this text we must examine the subject of the sanctuary-one of the most important and instructive subjects presented in the Bible. The meaning of the word "sanctuary," as given by the best authorities, is "a holy or sanctified place, a dwelling-place of the Most High." (Cruden.) The Lord commanded Moses, saying, "And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Ex. 25:8. But the sanctuary built by Moses, and used so long by the children of Israel for the offering of sacrifices and the service of the priests, was only a type of the real sanctuary in heaven, where Christ, our great High Priest, now officiates, Heb. 8:1-6; 9:1-24.

In the typical sanctuary service every day in the year the people brought their offerings to the tabernacle and confessed their sins over them. The sacrifices were then slain, and the blood, representing the life of the victims over which the sins were confessed, was taken into the sanctuary. Thus the sins of those who made their confessions were conveyed from themselves into the sanctuary during the entire year. Heb. 9:1-7; Lev. 1:3; 4:1-7. At the end of the year the high priest presented two goats before the door of the sanctuary, and cast lots upon them. One lot was for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat. Lev. 16:1-8. The one upon which the Lord's lot fell was then slain, and his blood was taken into the sanctuary, and by it the sins taken there by the high priest (for he acted in behalf of the people) were atoned for. Verses 9-19. Then these sins were taken out of the sanctuary and placed upon the head of the scapegoat, and he bore them away to a land not inhabited. Verses 20-22. All this was typical of Christ's ministration in the true sanctuary above. Heb. 8:1-5. Therefore, Christ will minister in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary till the day of atonement or judgment. During this time the sins of God's people are conveyed, by faith in the blood of Jesus, into the heavenly sanctuary. At the day of atonement, the blood of the Lamb of God will be offered to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary from these sins.

According to the pattern, when the heavenly sanctuary is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God, the sins of the righteous will be conveyed by the High Priest (Christ) and placed upon the head of the scapegoat, who will then be sent into a land not inhabited. Now we inquire, Who is this scapegoat? The following testimonies afford satisfactory information on the subject:-  

"The Scapegoat.-The next event of that day, after the sanctuary was cleansed, was the putting of all the iniquities and transgressions of the children of Israel upon the scapegoat, and sending him away into a land not inhabited, or of separation. It is supposed by almost everyone that this goat typified Christ in some of his offices, and that the type was fulfilled at the first advent. From this opinion I must differ, because: 1. That goat was not sent away till after the high priest had made an end of cleansing the sanctuary. Lev. 16:20, 21. Hence that event cannot meet its antitype till after the end of the 2300 days (1844). 2. It was sent away from Israel into the wilderness, a land not inhabited. If our blessed

Saviour is its antitype, He also must be sent away,-not His body alone, but soul and body (for the goat was sent away alive)-from, not to, nor into, His people, neither into heaven, for that is not a wilderness, nor a land not inhabited. 3. It received and retained all the iniquities of Israel; but when Christ appears the second time, He will be without sin. 4. The goat received the iniquities from the hand of the priest, and he sent it away. As Christ is the Priest, the goat must be something else besides Himself, which He can send away. 5. This was one of the two goats chosen for that day, of which one was the Lord's, and was offered for a sin offering; but the other was not called the Lord's, neither offered as a sacrifice. Its only office was to receive the iniquities from the priest, after he had cleansed

the sanctuary from them, and bear them into a land not inhabited, leaving the sanctuary, priest, and people behind, and free from their iniquities. Lev. 16:7-10, 22. 6. The Hebrew name of the scapegoat, as will be seen from the margin of verse 8, is Azazel. . . . The Syriac has Azail, the angel (strong one), who revolted. 7. At the appearing of Christ, as taught in Revelation 20, Satan is to be bound and cast into the bottomless pit, which

act and place are significantly symbolized by the ancient high priest's sending the scapegoat into a separate and uninhabited wilderness. Thus we have the Scripture, the definition in two ancient languages, both spoken at the same time, and the oldest opinions of the Christians, in favor of regarding the scapegoat as the type of Satan."-Crozier.

On this subject Dr. Charles Beecher, "Redeemer and Redeemed," p. 66, says: "Two goats were to be presented before the Lord by the high priest. They must be exactly alike in value, size, age, color,-they must be counterparts. Placing these goats before him, the high priest put both his hands into an urn containing two golden lots, and drew them out, one in each hand. On the one was engraved 'La-Yehovah' (for Jehovah); on the other, 'La-Azazel' (for Azazel). "The goat on which the lot La-Yehovah fell was slain. After its blood had been sprinkled in the holy of holies, the high priest laid his hands on the head of the second goat, confessed the sins of the congregation, and gave him to a fit man to lead away and let go in the wilderness, the man thus employed being obliged to wash his clothes and person before returning to the congregation." With regard to what this scapegoat represents, he says that "one opinion is that Azazel is a proper name of Satan. In support of this the following points are urged: The use of the preposition implies it. The same preposition is used on both lots, La-Yehovah, La-Azazel; and if the one indicates a

person, it seems natural that the other should, especially considering the act of casting lots. If one is for Jehovah, the other would seem for some other person or being, not one for Jehovah, and the other for the goat itself. What goes to confirm this is that the most ancient paraphrases and translations treat Azazel as a proper name. The Chaldee paraphrase and the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan would certainly have translated it if it was not a proper name; but they do not. The Septuagint, or oldest Greek version, renders it by άποποµπαιος [Apopompaios], a word applied by the Greeks to a malign deity, sometimes appeased by sacrifices. Another confirmation is found in the book of Enoch,

where the name Azalzel, evidently a corruption of Azazel, is given to one of the fallen angels, thus plainly showing what was the prevalent understanding of the Jews at that day. Still another evidence is found in the Arabic, where Azazel is employed as the name of the evil spirit. In addition to these, we have the evidence of the Jewish work Zahar, and of the Cabalistic and Rabinical writers. They tell us that the following proverb was current among the Jews: 'On the day of atonement, a gift to Sammael.' Hence Moses Gerundinensis feels called to say that it is not a sacrifice, but only done because commanded by God.

"Another step in the evidence is when we find the same opinion passing from the Jewish to the early Christian church. Origen was the most learned of the fathers, and on such a point as this, the meaning of a Hebrew word, his testimony is reliable. Says Origen: 'He who is called in the Septuagint, [Greek] (Apopompaios), and in the Hebrew, Azazel, is no other than the devil.'

Lastly, a circumstance is mentioned of the Emperor Julian, the apostate, that confirms the argument. He brought as an objection against the Bible that Moses commanded a sacrifice to the evil spirit-an objection he never could have thought of if Azazel had not been generally regarded as a proper name. "In view, then, of the difficulties attending any other meaning, and the accumulated evidence in favor of this, Hengstenberg affirms with great

confidence that Azazel cannot be anything else but another name for Satan."-Id., pp. 67, 68.

In conclusion on this point, Dr. Beecher says: "Would it not be strange if, in all the symbols of the sacrificial system, there was not a single intimation of the serpent's existence? And where should we expect to see his baleful shadow, if not here on this great day of atonement?"-Id., p. 73. 

In addition to these decisive testimonies, we offer the following from German commentators. Dr. A. Sulzberger, in Christliche Claubenslehre, pp. 101, 102, says:-

"The next time Satan appears no longer in the dark, disguised as a beast, but as a spiritual, personal being, in the desert, known under the name of Asasel (Lev. 16:8), to whom, on the day of atonement, one of the two goats, laden with the sins of the people, is sent, in order to bring these sins to the father of all sin, and to inform him that the atonement for the people has been made, and that he, as accuser of the people, has consequently no claim on those whose sins have been expiated.

"That under Asasel a spiritual personality, and this the head of the evil spirits, is meant, becomes evident from the fact that of the two goats which are first brought before Jehovah, one is offered to Jehovah, and the other, laden with sin, is sent to Asasel into the wilderness, the abode of demons. From the relation into which Asasel is brought here to Jehovah, it becomes evident that on both sides stand personal beings; opposite to the personal Jehovah can only stand the personal Satan. With this view side Hengstenberg, Kurtz, Gesenius in his 'Thesaurus,' Delitzsch, Keil, etc." 

To this he adds the following note:-

[Word printed in Hebrew script] from the root [another word printed in Hebrew script] to remove, and expressing a higher degree of the same, signifies, according to the definitions of many Rabbins, Rosenm¸ller, Hengstenberg ('The Books of Moses,' p. 166), Gesenius ('Thesaurus'), Ewald ('Antiquities,' p. 402), Vaihinger (Herzog's Real Encyclopedia, I, p. 634), 'the one completely removed.' According to Baumgarten, 'the apostate.' According to the LXX, [Greek], averruncus, a demon, who is driven far away."

August D‰schsel, "Commentary in Loco," says:

"The word [printed in Hebrew script] (La-Asasel), which occurs in the whole Bible only in this chapter, Leviticus 16, and here only four times, is differently explained by different interpreters." "Most interpreters, however, and this justly, appeal to the fact that to the first

lot-'for the Lord'-only such a second could correspond, upon which, likewise, the name of a personal being, or a proper name, comes. Now they take Asasel in this sense, 'The one wholly removed, the one completely separated,' and understand herewith the devil, the originator of sin, the head of the fallen angels, who is called, in the book of Job, Satan, and by the Rabbins, Sammael." 

Also A. Kinzler, "Biblische Alterth¸mer," p. 215, says:-

"The most singular fact in all the ceremonies of the day of atonement is the proceeding with the second, the living goat, which is driven, laden with the sins of the people, into the desert, for Asasel. The latter word occurs in the whole Bible only in this chapter, Leviticus 16, and signifies neither the solitary wilderness, nor the respective goat itself (Luther, 'the free goat'), nor 'for entire removal;' the words, 'a lot for Jehovah and one for Asasel,' demand, without question, that Asasel is to be considered as a personal being, who is placed in contrast with Jehovah. One can think in this only of the ruler in the realms of the demons, of Satan."

Thus we see that it is susceptible of very clear proof that Satan is the great antitype of the scapegoat. Indeed, we can come to no other conclusion. How fitting, how just it is that Satan, the great author of sin, should receive back upon his own head the sins and transgressions into which he has led God's people!  In the type they brought the scapegoat "alive before the Lord," and the high priest confessed "over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat." So it will be in the antitype. Satan will be arraigned, and Christ, his

conqueror, will place upon him the sins and iniquities which he has caused the Lord's people to commit, and send him away into a "land not inhabited." This is that to which reference is made in the text quoted at the beginning of this section. Rev. 20:1-5. That old serpent, Satan, is bound a thousand years, and shut up in the bottomless pit, the abyss.

We can plainly see in this the antitype of the scapegoat. But he was sent into the wilderness, a land not inhabited. Then it is an important point for us to determine what this bottomless pit is, into which Satan is to be cast. If, on examination, we find it to be a "wilderness," or a desolate place, this will confirm the truthfulness of our position, that Satan is the antitype of the scapegoat. Rev. 20:3 says that Satan was cast into the bottomless pit. Rev. 9:1-3 locates the bottomless pit on the earth: "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven [where to?] unto the earth; and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit."

What is the meaning of the term "bottomless pit"? The idea commonly attached to it is that of an eternally-burning hell. But this is not the Bible meaning of this term. Its primary

signification is, a dark place, a waste, a wilderness, an uninhabited region. The original word, abussos, which, in Rev. 20:1-3, is rendered bottomless pit, is in other places rendered deep. Thus Gen. 1:1, 2: "In the beginning God created the  heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness  was upon the face of the deep," or the bottomless pit. The word is literally the abyss, as given by the American Bible Union. Thus, Rev. 20:1-3: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the abyss." This, compared with Gen. 1:2, "Darkness was upon the face of the deep," the abyss, or bottomless pit, locates this place very definitely. It is the face of this earth in its dark, void, chaotic state.

Then if, in the future, Satan is to be cast into the deep, or abyss, this earth must be reduced back to its original chaotic state, so that it shall be without form and void, and darkness upon the face of the deep. Will this ever be? Listen to Jeremiah, who had a vision of the future condition of the earth (chap. 4:19-28): "I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled; suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?" He then

Gives the result of this sound of the trumpet, alarm of war, and destruction upon destruction: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light." Compare this with Gen. 1:2: "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Then the time is coming when this earth will be reduced back to its original condition. But  he continues: "I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate."

The prophets plainly declare that all the earth will be desolate of its inhabitants and turned into a wilderness, so to remain for a period of a thousand years. Remember that it was a place similar to this into which the scapegoat was turned; i. e., a wilderness, a land not inhabited. This is the place where Satan, the great antitypical scapegoat, is to be bound a thousand years. Rev. 20:1-5 places the commencement of this period at the time of the resurrection of the blessed and holy, which is shown by 1 Thess. 4:16 to be at the second advent of our Lord. The battle of the great day, by which all the enemies of the Lord are

slain (Revelation. 16; Jeremiah 25), takes place at that time. So that is the time of the binding of the dragon and the desolation of the earth. And as this battle takes place in "the day of the Lord," and as the utter and final overthrow of the wicked at the end of the thousand years of Revelation 20, also takes place in the day of the Lord, according to 2 Peter 3:7-10, it follows that the thousand years are in that period covered by this phrase, "The day of the Lord." Of course in that day the desolation occurs. Thus Isaiah says: "Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty." "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Chap. 13:6, 9. "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof [Idumea] shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever." Chap. 34:8-10.

The expressions "forever and ever" and "from generation to generation" show that the earth will be desolate for no short period of time. As we have seen, this desolation of the earth takes place at the beginning of the day of the Lord,-the commencement of the thousand years. This is also the time when Jesus makes His second advent, for He is the one who destroys the nations. Ps. 2:7-9. In Revelation 19 His advent is described, together with the destruction of the nations and the desolation of the earth: "And I saw heaven

opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written,  that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. . . . Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and  gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with

which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Verses 11-21. This leaves the world desolate of its inhabitants. The prophet continues: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [abyss] 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." Rev. 20:1-3. Thus we see that just as soon as the earth is made a wilderness, Satan is cast into this desolate region to remain a thousand years. But where are God's people at this time? They are caught up to meet the Lord, and are taken to heaven, where they reign with Christ during the thousand years. Paul says: "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. Jesus directly states that the saints will go to heaven. (Compare John 7:32-34; 13:33-36.) Then He tells them when and how

they shall go there: "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I

would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3. This shows that the saints will be taken to heaven when the Lord comes. In Rev. 19:1-10 John sees the saints in heaven, after their deliverance, praising God: "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God." At His second coming Jesus takes His people to heaven, to that  place which He has prepared for them. The wicked, as we have seen, are all slain upon the earth.

Thus Revelation 19 presents us with these two grand facts: (1) The deliverance of the saints and their triumphant entry into heaven. Verses 1-10. (2)  The destruction of the wicked upon the earth. Verses 11-21. Thus the earth is left entirely desolate, without an inhabitant. The next verses describe the binding of Satan, and his being cast into the earth. Rev. 20:1-3. A query may arise as to how Satan is bound. Evidently in this manner: The saints are all in heaven beyond his reach. The wicked are all dead and in the earth; and

hence they are out of his reach. Thus the devil is bound, having nothing to do but to roam up and down this desolate earth and meditate upon his sad condition. And it would also seem that he is confined to this earth, and not allowed to go to other worlds. That the wicked are not raised till the end of the thousand years is directly stated in Rev. 20:4-7: "They [the saints] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." It was through the devices of the devil that the human family was led into sin, and brought under the dominion of death. Since that time he has ruled in the kingdoms of this world. He has stirred up men to war and carnage, till at last, at the beginning of the thousand years, the whole earth is desolated of its inhabitants. It is now one vast heap of ruins, of crumbling palaces, smoking villages, and forsaken cities. On every hand, in every clime, is written, in characters of blood, Ruin, Destruction, and Desolation. Thorns and brambles grow in the streets of once populous cities; wild beasts and satyrs roam through

forsaken temples, and the doleful wind moans through their silent chambers. Ghastly skeletons of the dead lie strewn over all the earth. The clouds above are black, and the earth beneath sends up fire and smoke, according to the words of Isa. 34:8-10. 

When this is fulfilled, in what awful state the earth will be! Fire and brimstone on the face of the earth, and clouds and thick darkness above it! This is to be the home, this the kingdom, of the devil and his angels for one thousand years! How changed the scene from the years of his triumph! He tempted, persecuted, and martyred the righteous without any mercy. But now his power is broken. The strong man armed has been bound by a stronger than he, and his house has been spoiled of its goods. Luke 11:21, 22. Christ, the mighty

Conqueror, has bound the strong enemy, opened the grave, and brought forth the saints. They are now out of Satan's power, and he is bound before them. What a scene! The devil in chains before the God against whom he rebelled, before Christ, whom he despised, before the angels, whom he insulted, and before the saints, whom he persecuted and murdered. Behold him, majestic and terrible, even though fallen, as he stands and views

the scene of ruin, of desolation, and of terror, the work of his own hands. As he looks upon the dark visages around him, the faces of his companions in woe; as he beholds their features, like his own, haggard and worn; as he glances at the awful scenery around him, his thoughts wander back to Eden, to heaven, to the beautiful city of God. He remembers that he was once there, that he was a glorious and holy angel, the companion of Christ, the friend of God. He was then happy, because he was obedient. Heaven was his home. He was surrounded by beauty, innocence, and loveliness. But he rebelled against God, and behold the result! Could he repent, could he be forgiven, oh, how quickly he would embrace the opportunity! But no; he sinned against too much light and knowledge and grace ever to be forgiven. He has so deeply stamped rebellion into his very being that heaven must not again be imperiled by his influence. He caused the Son of God to be put to death, and all the universe now holds him in abhorrence, and justifies his condemnation. He must suffer the consequences of his sins; for a long, dreary thousand years he must wander up and down this dark, desolate earth, without employment, except with his own thoughts, to meditate upon his sad condition. Lack of employment, the absence of hope, the certainty of his final doom, and the wrath of God resting upon him-all these must

render him indescribably miserable. This is the harvest of evil-doing. He has fought God, but now the blows have rebounded upon his own head; he has persecuted the righteous, but now they are beyond his reach and triumphing over his downfall; he has ruined their beautiful home, and now it is his prison. Thus he has fulfilled the proverb: "Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit; but the upright shall have good things in possession." Prov. 28:10. He must remain a thousand years in his own pit and suffer for his own evil deeds and for the sins of the righteous, which he instigated, and which have been justly laid upon him by Jesus the Son of God, our merciful High Priest. 

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)