“When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.
Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.””
The Bible records God saying that He gets no pleasure from the destruction of the wicked. It also says in Lamentations 3:33 that,
“… he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.’”
What this is revealing to us is that ultimately God will bring evil to a transparent end by…
PAINFULLY EXECUTING FINAL JUDGMENT.
As a father, I can tell you from experience that it’s painful for parents to have to hear their kids cry or see any physical harm come to them, but especially if they have to physically discipline them. I remember when I was a little kid in New York and my mother told my father about how she caught me eating a blow-pop, which I stole from a corner store. It was the first and last time I’ve ever stolen from a store, because the pained, heartbroken expression on my father’s face left a deep impression on my mind. He rarely ever had to physically discipline my brother and I. He preferred to speak to us to correct us. Yet I can remember one time My brother and I did something really bad to our next door neighbor’s kid in retaliation for something bad they did to us. So my father walked slowly down the hallway into our room, quietly closed the door, spoke with a soft voice about what we did and why he was about to apply physical discipline. You see, no parent likes doing this. And God as our Divine Parent is no different. The saying that parents like to say, “This hurts me more than it’s going hurt you” is also true for God. It pains Him at an infinite level that we will never understand. Therefore, how much more should it pain Him to have to execute final judgment on the lost?
This scene of the final judgment, in Revelation 20:7-15, is actually repeated twice. First in verses 7-10 and again in verses 11-15. This is a common Hebrew prophetic pattern found throughout Scripture, especially in the prophetic books like Daniel and Revelation. It’s a teaching tool that follows a looping sequence of repeat and enlarge. The writer will tell you a story or describe a scene to you and then repeat it all over again with greater detail. And this is exactly what is happening here. So when you put these two scenes together, in chronological order, here is what happens in the final judgment…
Satan and his demons will be released from their prison of the desolate earth. Then suddenly the wicked are resurrected from the dead, as numberless as the sand on the seashore. This is the second resurrection of damnation. Satan will then go out to deceives the nations again, gathering them into a mighty army to attack the New Jerusalem that has descended to the earth. In doing so, he’ll clearly reveal that he and all the wicked gathered with him, have not changed in hatred and enmity toward God, even after a 1000 years. However, their futile attack is brought to a screeching halt as Christ rises above the city and sits upon a great white throne. He then judges the wicked according to their deeds from the same books that the righteous evaluated during the 1000 years. The wicked will then experience the indescribable mental anguish that comes from being fully conscious of all their cumulative and final rejection of Divine love. Then upon their fully acknowledging the justice of God’s judgement, He then begins the painful process of executing it. Fire will come down from the presence of God and consume the wicked. This same fire is repeatedly portrayed in the unfolding Story of Scripture, when God makes special glorious appearances and is described in the Song of Solomon as the vehement flame of His love. Thus all evil shall be consumed in the unveiled presence of God’s holy love. Therefore, the Devil shall be thrown into the lake of fire. Death and the grave are thrown into the lake of fire. Yes, one day Death will die! And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life. Their annihilation takes place on earth and the fire that consumes them shall give way to a new earth.
However, it’s important to bear in mind that the torment of the wicked in the flames aren’t forever, but temporary, while the results of the judgment are forever. This use of “forever” is Hebrew poetry that is often used in Scripture when prophetically describing God’s judgment on the wicked. The classic example of this is God describing the fire of Sodom and Gomorah’s punishment as lasting forever. Yet, we know that if you go down to the Dead Sea were these two cities were located, they are not presently burning. God doesn’t torture people in the fires of hell forever. That would make Him worse than the Devil! They will be no more, like they never existed. Yet this is not to be confused with God’s love for us and His Kingdom reign of love, which in Scripture is repeatedly declared to be literally forever and ever!
God will hold accountable the evils we’re seeing and experiencing in our world today. His love demands justice. Yet it will be painful for Him to do, because He never wanted it to happen, especially to His children on planet earth. For Him, it will be a strange act. Yet for heaven and earth to be made safe from sin, suffering and evil forever, He must remove the cancer of evil from the universe. This is another reason why it will not last forever, because He cannot have sin, suffering and evil immortalized in the universe forever. The truth is, only love is eternally sustainable.
My friends, you can know for sure that there is coming a day of final reckoning!
Racism is coming to an end! Injustice is coming to an end! Cruelty, rape, corrupt government, the harming of children is coming to an end! And a new beginning will emerge. A new earth, which is our permanent home, will once again be fully restored to being under God’s reign of love forever! God will bring evil to a transparent end by arresting Satan, inviting the righteous to reign and judge, and then painfully executing final judgment.
No one need experience hell. Jesus experienced it for us on the cross. There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus! Justification (being made right with God) was accomplished for us by Jesus Messiah and we now experience this reality by faith in Him. This is how you know for sure that your name is in the Book of Life! Live by the Spirit. Follow Jesus.