Understanding the Book of Revelation, Part 7

Well, brethren, two Sabbaths ago, we talked about the fascinating Great Fall of the Babylonian mystery religious system that has deceived the whole world for literally thousands of years. We know that that system is still alive and well here in the United States and around the world. We also spoke of the extremely powerful economic and military system of the end-time beast power that will turn against and actually destroy the great harlot of revelation 17. Now we're going to continue with another pop quiz. Again, there's not a whole lot of pop left, but we're going to go ahead and pop another quiz at you. Question number one. Again, you can just answer these in your mind. You can write them down if you want. Think about them later. First question. It is said that the great harlot sits on many waters. What does the word waters represent? It is said the great harlot sits on many waters. What does the word waters represent? That's right. It represents nations, peoples, tongues. It means the great harlot was to rule over many diverse peoples, to have a great influence over many diverse peoples, to affect and to deceive many diverse peoples. Question number two. Who committed fornication with the great harlot? Who committed fornication with the great harlot, according to Revelation 17? It was the kings of the earth who committed fornication with the great harlot, the kings of the earth. This system has been dominated by many powerful people throughout history. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with the great harlot.

Question number three. Who were made drunk with the wine of the great harlot's fornication? Who were made drunk with the wine of the great harlot's fornication?

Obviously, this fornication is basically talking about idolatry. It's talking about a mixing of false religion with the truth to one degree or another, but it is false deceptive religion. It is idolatry with the various kings of the earth. But who were made drunk with the wine of the great harlot's fornication? It says the inhabitants of the earth, basically everyone, Satan has deceived the whole world. All people have been made drunk with the wine of the great harlot's fornication. Question number four. What did John first see when the angel took him to the wilderness to show him the judgment of the great harlot?

What did John first see when the angel took him to the wilderness to show him the judgment of the great harlot? Do you remember what he saw? Well, John saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. So the beast had seven heads and ten horns, and the woman was sitting on this scarlet beast. This is what John first saw.

Question number five. Describe how the woman of Revelation 17 was arrayed and adorned. How was she arrayed and adorned? What was the description of the woman of Revelation 17? Also, what did she have in her hand? Well, she was arrayed in purple and scarlet. She was adorned with gold and precious jewels and pearls, so she looked good, in a sense. But she had in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. Again, these are figurative words to describe this system. She had in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.

This is how God looks at her, this religious system, this false system that Satan heads.

She had in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. Question number six, what was written on the great harlot's forehead?

Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and of the abominations of the earth. That was written on her forehead. Of course, in your Bible, it's all in caps, in full caps. Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and of the abominations of the earth.

I might mention that one of the emperors, Claudius, who was basically considered almost an embezel. He was not very intelligent. He had a lot of problems. Well, he had a wife that was very unfaithful to him. And as soon as he would go to sleep at night, she would go off to the public brothels. And she wore on her forehead a frontlet. In fact, all the prostitutes in the public brothels wore on their foreheads a frontlet giving their names. She had a different name that she used as a prostitute. But the emperor, Claudius' wife's real name was Messalina. She reportedly would go down every night and would engage in prostitution with basically anyone who would come along. And the description is such that I would not read it to you. There was a description of her and her behavior, and it's just appalling. But this was one of the emperor's wives. So the Roman Empire, one of the emperor's wives, Messalina, was involved in this kind of prostitution.

Again, just adding credence to the Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church, and this system that has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. There's lots in history that you can read. If you want to go back and read the history of the Roman Empire and also the Roman Catholic Church, and there's a lot out there to be read that will help you comprehend, to some degree, some of the language of the book of Revelation and why it is written the way it is, especially chapters 17 and 18. All right, let's go on to question number 7. What was the woman of Revelation 17 drunk with? What was the woman of Revelation 17 drunk with? It says she was drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus. Drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus. This woman was a false religious system that persecuted the true Christians and has throughout history, so she was drunk with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus Christ.

Question number 8. What reaction did John have upon first seeing the great harlot? What was his first reaction? He marveled with great amazement. I'm sure he was marveling this entire time, all that he was exposed to and all that was revealed to him. He marveled with great amazement, seeing a great harlot on a beast with seven heads and ten horns. It would be undoubtedly alarming and shocking. Question number 9. Where did this beast of Revelation 17 come from and where is it ultimately going? Where did it come from and where is it ultimately going? Well, it came from the bottomless pit. Remember? It came from the bottomless pit.

Satan basically brought it from the bottomless pit and it is going to perdition and destruction. It is going to destruction.

Question number 10. Who will marvel at the beast of Revelation 17? Who is going to marvel at the beast of Revelation 17? I think this word marvel also means, in other words, it is more of a not just marveling, shocking like John was first shocked when he first looked at it, but looked saw it, but someone that would look at it with reverence or with respect or with allegiance. So who will marvel at the beast of Revelation 17? All those who dwell on the earth and who do not have their names written in the Book of Life. All who dwell on the earth who do not have their names written in the Book of Life. So those whose names that are written in the Book of Life, they will not marvel in the same way. They may be shocked at what they see, but they're not going to marvel in the same way as those who do not have their names written in the Book of Life.

Question number 11. What do the seven heads represent? The seven heads of this beast? What do the seven heads represent?

They represent seven mountains or governments upon which the harlot sits. Remember, there will be a union of church and state. So they represent seven mountains or governments upon which the harlot sits.

And the seven heads also represent seven kings. Seven kings as well as seven mountains or governments could be successive governments. Question number 12. What do the ten horns represent? What do the ten horns of this beast power represent?

They represent ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. The kings will be united and of one mind. Remember, they will give their power and authority to the beast. The kings will be united. They'll be of one mind. They'll give their power and authority to the beast.

Question number 13. Upon whom will the ten kings or beast power make war?

I'm talking about ultimately. They will make war with a number of different entities such as the children of Israel. Also, the king of the south as well. But I'm talking about the ultimate. Ultimately, upon whom will the ten kings or beast power make war? They will make war against the lamb and those who are with the lamb at his return.

Question number 14. Who will be with the lamb when the beast makes war with Christ? Who is going to be with the lamb?

Actually, I'll give you a hint. I'm talking about... It actually uses three descriptions regarding those who will be with the lamb. And the first one is called. Those who are called, chosen, and faithful. Those who are called, chosen, and faithful. So the true saints of God, those who have God's Spirit dwelling in them at the return of Christ, they will be with the lamb when the beast makes war with Christ. Question number 15. What will the ten horns or kings do to the great harlot? And why will they do it? Okay, what are they going to do to the harlot?

The ten horns or ten kings, what will they do to the harlot? And why will they do it? Well, they will hate the harlot. They will make her desolate and naked. Now, for a while, they will have a union with this harlot, but eventually they will turn against her. They will hate her, they will make her desolate and naked. They will eat her flesh, burn her with fire, because God has put it in their hearts to fulfill His purpose. That's why they're going to turn against this great harlot. Even though they have a great deal in common, because of God's purpose, they will turn against her with one mind, and they will give their kingdom to the beast until God's words are fulfilled. They'll rise up against the great harlot.

They will, again, be unified with the beast's power against the harlot. Question number 16. Who is the woman of Revelation 17? Who is the woman of Revelation 17?

Well, she is revealed as the great city that reigns over the kings of the earth, anciently Babylon, and then also Rome. The woman of Revelation 17 is the great city that reigns over the kings of the earth, headquartered basically in Babylon and in Rome.

She's also obviously the false church, the woman of Revelation 17. But Babylonian mystery religion and the Roman Empire and all that were intertwined.

Question number 17. Oh, I'm actually giving you some bonus questions, aren't I? Usually, we only have 14, but I am giving you some extra ones. You guys have been really a good audience. Number 17. Why are we told to come out of Babylon? Why are we told to come out of Babylon?

Lest we share in her sins and we receive of her plagues.

We're told to come out of Babylon for our own good, so that God will have mercy on us so we will not share in her sins and receive of her plagues.

Number 19. Why will the merchants of the earth weep over Babylon when she falls? Why will the merchants of the earth weep over Babylon when she falls?

Well, because it's economic. No one will buy their merchandise any longer. So, why will the merchants of the earth weep over Babylon when she falls? Because no one will buy their merchandise any longer. And, of course, they're going down with her ultimately as well.

Last question. Number 19. How long did it take for Babylon's great riches to come to nothing and for her to become desolate, according to the scriptures and Revelation? How long did it take for Babylon's great riches to come to nothing and for her to become desolate? The scripture says it took an hour, one hour, a very short time. She will fall very quickly and in a very profound way. So, today we had 19 questions. Hopefully you did quite well. I know it's difficult to keep everything in mind, but hopefully having these questions will help you remember more in the future. Today we are going to continue to address the book of Revelation and its message for us today. We're going to talk about how we can better understand the book of Revelation. This is part number 7, part 7 of understanding the book of Revelation. So, we will begin in chapter 19. We're almost through this. We're getting very close now.

Chapter 19. After these things, these things that we talked about in the questions that I ask you, after these things, I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. Now, this is what we've all been waiting for. We've been going through the book of Revelation, waiting for this very moment when Christ is going to return and put down the forces of evil. Verse 2. For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot, who corrupted the earth with her fornication. And believe me, this is something that's happened for thousands of years. This great harlot has had a tremendous impact. What we see today in the world is a result. Many things that we see today, the religious systems that we see, the holidays that we see, the big holiday that's coming up very soon that we're already hearing a lot about, and people staying up all night long just to get a bargain. It's part of the season. It's part of this economic whole mess that's all intertwined together.

I know there were people out. As I said, I went to see Kewanah Thursday night. I went by a target, and there were all these people that were camped out along the target. This was like 8 o'clock at night, Thursday night. They were already lining up so that they could get that one great deal at the stroke of midnight or whenever they were opening up the store. I don't know exactly when they were opening the store. Just the economic systems that we have and the religious systems and the holidays. These things are a result, to a large degree, of this Babylon-ish mystery system, this religious system and economic system. When Wall Street falls, it's going to fall with a great thunderous fall. When all the other markets around the world fall, it's going to be a frightening time to be around.

So again, we're looking forward to this time that we're reading about now, the return of Christ and the putting down of all this evil. Again, verse 2, for true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, with her idolatry, with her spiritual idolatry, and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her. Again, they said, hallelujah, her smoke rises up forever and ever.

This is a great fall, and the smoke of this fall is going to rise forever and ever in a sense. It will be remembered for a long, long time. Verse 4, and the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who sat on the throne, saying, Amen, and hallelujah. Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. God is now going to reign supreme. He always has, but now He's going to shake the earth this one final time, after having shaken it many times through the plagues and the bold judgments and so forth. Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready. Now, let's go back to Ephesians chapter 5 and just tie this in momentarily or briefly. Ephesians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul talks about God's church.

In verse 23, he says, For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands and everything. Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. The bride of Christ is to become holy and without blemish. We are to become a glorious church. We are to be putting sin out of our lives. We must not become weary in well-doing, although it's very easy for that to happen. We've got to fight against that tendency, and we've got to realize that God does have a church. He is perfecting that church, and it's composed of those who are saints, those who are called, chosen, and faithful. They will become the bride of Christ, and they will become a church without spot or wrinkle.

Again, it doesn't mean that individually we will all become perfect physically, but it means that we will have a heart to obey God and to serve Him. God does look on the heart. He does look for an obedient heart and a repentant heart. So we must continue to work on ourselves. We must continue to put sin out of our lives, that we might be pleasing to God, that we might become a part of the body of Christ, or the bride of Christ, that we might be a true part of the body of Christ, and also the bride of Christ. So let us be glad and rejoice. Let's give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come. His wife has made herself ready. So it does show that there are things that we need to be doing as the church of God and as the people of God. We should be repenting of our sins on a daily basis and striving to become more like God, to have the love of Jesus Christ, and to be obedient servants, faithful and obedient, called, chosen, and faithful. Verse 8, And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen. Now at the return of Christ, the bride will be arrayed in fine linen. Those who rise to meet Christ in the air will be arrayed in fine linen. They will be clean and bright. They will now be perfect. They will be spirit beings who have been changed from corruptible flesh to incorruptible spirit.

Clean and bright for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. We are called to righteousness. We are called to put sin out of our lives, and in a few months we'll be keeping the days of unleavened bread, which picture putting sin out of our lives. And this should be a prod that we have on ourselves to go into these spring holy days as pure and as clean as possible with God's help putting sin out of our lives and drawing closer to Jesus Christ. Christ is our Passover, and he died for us, and we willingly accept Christ's sacrifice for us. We know it's by the shed blood of Christ that our sins are forgiven and that we may be made clean and light. So blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb in verse 9. And he said to me, these are the true sayings of God. God is in the process of selecting His bride. We talked about that on the Feast of Trumpets, how that we are now in the waiting period. We have been betrothed to Christ. We are awaiting Christ's return when we will be married to Christ.

God has selected us and chosen us. God is the one who does the calling, and He has chosen His bride. And we are in the process of becoming ready through our faithfulness and by humbling ourselves and striving to obey God and always realizing that we fall short and being grateful and thankful to God for His mercy and His forgiveness.

So this time of thanksgiving, one of the greatest things that we should be grateful for is the mercy of God and the sacrifice of Christ, and that our sins are forgiven in Christ Jesus, and that God continually grants us repentance when we sin, if we admit that we sinned and we admitted that that we have been wrong, that we have broken God's laws and that we have a desire to obey His laws, God will forgive us those sins.

So we should be continually grateful for that and thankful. Verse 10, And I fell at His feet to worship Him, to worship this angel. And He said to me, See that you do not do that. I am your fellow servant and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. We are to worship only God and to serve Him only.

We don't serve angels. Obviously, we serve one another in a sense, but not in the way that we serve God. Our faithfulness and allegiance, our worship, goes only to God and to Jesus Christ. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ that we've been going through. This is the testimony of Jesus Christ. These things are the true sayings of Jesus Christ.

These things are going to come to pass. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Christ is prophesied to us in this book, and we are taking it to heart. Verse 11, Now I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse.

And he who sat on him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness he judges and makes war. Now, obviously, this is a reference to Jesus Christ. Only Christ is called faithful and true. And he will make war in righteousness. He will judge the world in righteousness. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. Because Christ rules all nations. Christ rules all peoples. All people will come to bow before Jesus Christ. No one can be saved unless they bow before Jesus Christ. There is no name given under heaven, whereby we can be saved except that of Jesus Christ, and all people will bow before Christ.

So his eyes were like a flame of fire on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. Now we know that Jesus Christ laid his life down for us, that his blood was shed for us.

We also know that at his return, he is going to put down all rebellion. He is going to rule with a rod of iron. So is this blood his own blood, or is this the blood of those that will refuse to serve him? I don't know that we can know for sure. Some people, some commentaries I read speculated that it was the blood of those that would be dying at his return, but I don't know whether that's true or not. I could see it go either way. Christ was willing to shed his blood and to die for us.

At the same time, he is a God of equity and justice, and those who refuse to repent of their sins are going to pay the price. Life is in the blood, and those who will not willingly humble themselves will die before God. His name is called the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus Christ was the one who became flesh. He is revealed as the Word of God, and this Bible is the written Word of God.

Christ is the living Word of God, and we are to live by every word of God. Verse 14, And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. So these armies in heaven are clothed in fine linen. It sounds like the saints that will be with Christ at His return, the bride of Christ, could well be armies of angels as well, those good angels, those faithful angels. There will be armies in heaven, they will be clothed in fine linen, white and clean, pure, and they will follow Him on white horses. Now, it will be exciting to see these white horses.

Those of you who love horses, I'm sure you'll be quite impressed with the white horses that we will ride when Christ returns to the earth. Now, out of His mouth goes a sharp sword. Out of Christ's mouth goes a sharp sword that with it He should strike the nations, and He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.

Many people don't have this picture of Jesus Christ as one who is willing to rule with a rod of iron. They have a different picture in their mind. That is a false picture. Christ will rule with a rod of iron. Now, He's also going to rule in love and inequity, and these terms can go together.

God the Father is a powerful, all-powerful God, and yet He is a loving God, a merciful and faithful God. It says, "...he Christ himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." Now, God is a very patient God, and that's why we see things as we do on the earth today. God is very patient. He's patiently awaiting the fulfillment of His plan.

There is a time coming when He will pour His wrath upon the earth because of the sins of mankind and because of the refusal of mankind to repent of their sins. But now, He's very patient. He's waiting for people to repent. He's testing and proving His people. Judgment has begun at the house of God. Judgment has begun upon us as God's people now.

And it is important that we do get our priorities straight. And as I've mentioned before, now is the time to be prepared because when the Great Tribulation hits, it's a bit too late. It's a bit too late when the Great Tribulation hits. You know, we need to be prepared for the Great Tribulation. We need to be very close to God and pleasing in His sight so that we may escape the things that are coming upon this earth. Remember Luke 21, verse 36, we're to pray and to pray that God would count us worthy to escape these things that are coming upon the earth. Verse 16, And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name that is written, King of kings and Lord of lords. King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ is the King of kings. Those who are changed in the Spirit and His return will be kings along with Him. We've already read that in the book of Revelation.

He is the Lord of lords. We will be kings and priests or lords with Christ. Verse 17, And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, this banquet, this great supper of God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men. Not a pretty picture. It's a bunch of vultures who will come and eat the flesh of kings and captains and mighty men. It's just showing that those who are considered mighty today and powerful and people look up to them and they're wealthy and they wield great political power and so forth, there will come a time when the birds of the air will eat the flesh of these great people, so considered by most of the earth. And of those who sit on them in the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great. And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him, who set on the horse and against his army. So this is the final cataclysmic battle at the very end. And then the beast was captured, then the beast was captured. And with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence. Remember, we've got the beast and the false prophet, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. So the human leaders of the beast power and of the religious system, the false prophet, they're going to be cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of him, who sat on the horse. So the beast and the false prophet, they're going to be killed, they're going to be burnt up in the lake of fire. The rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of him, of Christ, who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. And that's the end of chapter 19. Let's go on into chapter 20. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon. So this is one of the archangels, one of the great angels that God has sent. He doesn't say exactly who. But he laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He laid hold of the dragon, and he bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomless pit, and he shut him up, and he set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were finished. So it's talking about, during the millennial reign of Christ on this earth, Satan the devil is going to be put away in the bottomless pit. He's going to be shut up. He's not going to be able to influence and to deceive the world at that time.

But after these things, after the thousand years is over, he must be released for a little while. It doesn't say exactly how long. It says, a little while.

Verse 4, And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus, and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. So this is obviously talking about the first resurrection. People in the first resurrection will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. These are people who had been beheaded, who had lost their heads because they were faithful to God, and they did not worship the beast. They did not worship the image of the beast. They did not receive his mark on their foreheads or in their hands. So they were counted worthy. Now, they were martyred. Some were taken to a place of safety and were protected from all of this, but others were martyred. Either way, if they were faithful, they will be in the first resurrection. If they're alive that Christ returned, then they will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. If they've already died, then they will actually rise even before that twinkling of an eye. If that, they'll rise just before that. They'll come out of their graves. They'll meet Christ in the air. They'll come back and rule with Christ. Verse 5, but the rest of the dead did not live again. So it's talking about those who were not resurrected in the first resurrection. The rest of the dead, they did not live again until the thousand years were finished. Now, notice it says, this is the first resurrection. This is not in a good place here. It's actually referring back to the end of verse 4. This is the first resurrection. Those who will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years are clearly the ones that will be in the first resurrection. But the rest of the dead will not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the second resurrection, then. Verse 6, As blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power. So anyone who is resurrected in the first resurrection will not die the second death. They have been sealed. They are sealed for eternity. They will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years and they will go on into eternity with Christ and with the Father. There will be no second death for them. However, those who come up in the second resurrection, some will be faithful and will be changed to spirit, while others, it appears, will face a second death. The second death may have some power over some who come up in the second resurrection. But certainly will have no power over those in the first resurrection.

So let's read verse 6 again in its entirety. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ and they shall reign with him a thousand years. Again, we're talking about those in the first resurrection. There is no second death that will have power over them. They will reign with Christ. Verse 7, Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison, from the bottomless pit, and he will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. So this is after the thousand year period. There will be those who will live on into the thousand years, who will not die. They will live on into the thousand years. They will be subjects in God's kingdom. Christ will rule with a rod of iron.

They will be taught the ways of God. All people will come to know the ways of God.

But apparently, there will be quite a number who will be deceived by Satan the devil, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth, and they surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, Jerusalem. They surrounded the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were cast. Remember, they were cast in there a thousand years ago. The beast and the false prophet were cast in there a thousand years prior.

But the devil will also be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. So the devil and his demons, spirit beings, will be cast into this lake of fire. And again, this is not just a physical lake of fire that we're talking about here, but one that will continually torment Satan and his demons. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Verse 11, Now I saw a great white throne, a great white throne, so this is after the thousand-year period, after Satan the devil is cast into the lake of fire. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. So the books that were opened were God's word. It was the Bible that was opened, and the book of life was opened, and the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. We're all going to be judged by what's written here in God's holy word. This is the word of God. We will be judged by God's word.

And the dead will be judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. So this is talking about a second resurrection when people's dead... I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. So these people who were dead for at least a thousand years, and many of them for several thousand, will be resurrected. They will stand before God. The books will be opened. The Bible will be opened. If they did not understand the Bible, which they didn't, or at least they didn't commit to the Bible, they didn't make a commitment, they are going to come to know what the Bible teaches and what the plan of salvation and who God is. They're going to have an opportunity to either accept or reject the ways of God. They will be judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead. Now those who are repentant and will change and will repent of all their sins and be willing to obey God and serve Him, they will be granted eternal life. That those who will not repent and will continue in their hard-heartedness, they're going to die. The second death. Verse 13, the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. So I guess Osama bin Laden was thrown into the sea, right? The sea's going to... well, that's what they say. That's the story. Not everyone believes everything they read or hear about, but regardless, those who have died wherever their remains ended up, they will be resurrected again, and they will all be judged, each one according to his works, whether they have a repentant heart and mind or whether they cling to their own stubbornness and refusal to obey God. Verse 14, then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

So those, again, who refuse to repent will be cast into the lake of fire, and they will die again. They will be resurrected to physical life, and they will die again. A second death. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Okay, now we go into chapter 21. Now, do we have time to continue? That's the question. It's 11.26. I've gone probably over 50 minutes already. I think now would probably be a good time to stop. That way we can have another quiz. I can go through these last two chapters and maybe end up with a final quiz. So you have to be prepared next time for two quizzes. One at the beginning, one at the end. Because I think chapter 21 and 22 will go pretty quickly, but I can't rush it all together now. Plus, this will give you more time to fellowship. And most people don't mind that. They don't mind when a minister stops after 50 minutes and doesn't continue to wax un-elic-u-n-ly for too long. So I look forward to finishing this up very soon. Next time we'll wrap up the book of Revelation. So I hope it's been helpful to you. And I look forward to seeing you in two weeks for the conclusion of the book of Revelation. Oh, by the way, I might add that Mario Seaglay is going to make a visit. He and his wife, Kati, are coming at the end of December. As you know, their daughter Debbie Orsack is going to have a baby probably sometime in December. And he's planning on coming here and speaking to us on December 31st. So just letting you know. I'm sure you'll look forward to that. So with that, I'll ask Mr. Hopper to lead us in another hint.