Israel at the End - Concluding Remarks

 

This is a conclusion to my 12 day study on Israel in the end times.

Let the reader understand before continuing, that the following is some of my conclusions on this matter, based on limited scholarly knowledge and training. Many who are more learned will have different conclusions…more detailed information. I recommend the reader do the research. I hope I have at least “wetted your appetite” to take a deeper dive into the Bible and search out the matter for yourself. This was my aim and my purpose. (Proverbs 25:2)

Revelation 20:1-10

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 

2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 

3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. {ref. Matthew 19:28} Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 

5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 

6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison… 

I have always wondered: “Why does the Lord allow this? Why did he not just destroy Satan in the previous chapter?”

First of all we must realize that The Lord must thoroughly, once and for all, judge evil - because he is Good; 

A tree cannot survive without its root; so the Lord must judge evil - not only to its fruit {that which can be seen} but to its tap root {that which feeds the tree and yet remains hidden} - because he is perfect in love and justice - the two MUST go together: one cannot be without the other: 

However, even under the tyranny of the anti-Christ and false prophet, it seemed that the real root of evil still remained hidden. Here in Revelation 20:7-10 the Lord will thoroughly expose evil to its very origins - and bring down the full force of His judgment…until evil is no more…and there is therefore no more judgement. 

vs.8 and (Satan) will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.

9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city…

What could possibly be more evil - more audacious - than to blatantly attack the Holy City that is ruled and presided over by the LORD God Himself…and has been for an entire millennia? Who apart from Satan himself would partake in such open and defiant rebellion? - Such pride? Apparently, from what we read here, there are multitudes. Such is the seductive power and the pull of this great serpent of evil. It is one thing to sin without knowledge; it is another to willfully sin with knowledge of YHWH and His Son Jesus Christ. {see Genesis 3:6}

And here, is where the cup of the Lord’s Judgement will finally reach the top; here,  both the root and the fruit of sin…both the foundation and the pinnacle of evil…its beginning and its end, will be exposed at the same time…to do its utmost - so the Lord can thoroughly, once and for all , judge evil to its utmost. And this He will swiftly do.

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!                                                             You said in your heart,                                                     ‘I will ascend to heaven;                                           above the stars of God I will set my throne on high;                                           I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;                                                                         I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; {Compare Matthew 26:39}                                               I will make myself like the Most High.’ {ref.Genesis 3:4-6} But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

Read Isaiah Ch. 14

In Isaiah 14:13-14 we see the origins of sin: (pride and self worship) and the open, unveiled choice that was given to those attending angels: 

to humble themselves and continue to worship the Lord God, 

or yield to the temptation of Satan - to “be like God”, 

And, just like the angels of that hour, almost at the closing chapter of time, humanity must now also choose: 

To worship God - or “be like him”

right or wrong - 

good or evil - 

Life or death.

Tragically, we read that, with unveiled faces, being fully aware of the existence…the presence of the Lord God, they will still choose death…and so the cup of God’s wrath will be fully expended. (ref. John 9:41)

vs.9 continued

…but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

But this final judgment of all evil, to its root, once and for all, will be only for a moment: in the scale of eternity, it will be a twinkling of an eye. Because His Mercy endures forever: Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13)

For his anger is but for a moment,  and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. 

(Psalm 30:5)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. 

Revelation 21:1-4

Here is “the wife of the Lamb” (vs.9) - the New Jerusalem, where the wall of hostility is no more..(Ephesians 2:14-18)

Where the two have become one new man… Where Isaac and Ishmael are reconciled…

Where 

“Among those who know me I mention Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon (Iraq); behold, Philistia (Palestine & Gaza) and Tyre, with Cush (Ethiopia & other “distant peoples”) —

“This one was born there,” they say They have all become citizens of Jerusalem!

Regarding Jerusalem it will be said, “Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.” And the Most High will personally bless this city.

When the Lord registers the nations, he will say, “They have all become citizens of Jerusalem.” 

Psalm 87:4-6 

Give thanks to the Lord 

His mercy endures forever