REVELATION 20: THE FINAL JUDGMENT

Revelation 20:1

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

“The bottomless pit”

The original word translated as “bottomless pit” signifies an abyss. The word is used to show any place of darkness or desolation, and represents the world in chaos or confusion. The term “bottomless pit” is used in this way throughout the book of Revelation. This word in chapter 20 is the same as the word deep in the Greek translation of Genesis 1:2. There the “deep” refers to the earth before God began to create it, in its Eden beauty.

The term is used here in Revelation 20 as a description of the chaotic, partially destroyed state of the planet after the seven last plagues, including the great hailstones and the worldwide earthquake that take place just before the coming of Christ. Satan, the fallen angel, is a messenger of death and destruction, and the source of the chaos of this planet. He is the supposed king of this earth, but now he is bound in the bottomless pit, in a world destroyed, with its inhabitants dead.

Revelation 20:2

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.

“Bound him a thousand years”

For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. (Romans 7:2)

Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. (1 Corinthians 7:27)

In this instance, being bound means to be fastened or tied by a chain of circumstances. Satan is fastened with chains symbolically to the earth, or to circumstances that leave him unable to tempt and harass. In order for Satan to work he must have subjects he can entice and deceive. Without these he can do nothing. During the thousand years of his confinement to this earth, all the righteous saved are in heaven, while all the wicked are dead. Therefore, his influence is curtailed as he is left to hopeless contemplation of all the evil he has wrought over the course of his rebellion. The devil is consigned to the earth, which as a bottomless pit has become a vast graveyard and scene of desolation.

The sincere idea that, for a thousand years, Christ will rule on this earth with His people in peace and harmony and that Satan will be bound in a literal pit, unable to tempt and destroy, cannot be supported by the events described in Revelation 19 and 20.

According to Scripture, when Christ comes, the wicked are destroyed and the righteous of all ages are caught up with Him in the clouds to spend a thousand years in heaven, while Satan and his demons are bound to this world in its chaotic, destroyed state. At the end of the thousand years, the wicked are raised in the second resurrection to stand in the great white throne judgment, to receive their final reward of eternal death in the lake of fire, “which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). Then God will re-create this world in Eden beauty, and this earth will become the eternal home of the redeemed. New Jerusalem, the capital, is where Christ and the Father will have their eternal throne.

Revelation 20:3

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

“And he laid hold on the dragon … and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up”

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess 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, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. (Leviticus 16:8, 21–22)

The scapegoat, which was taken into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement, is a type of Satan. The name of this scapegoat was Azazel, of which we read further.

On the word “Azazel” the Jewish Encyclopedia makes the following remarks: “Azazel—the name of a supernatural being mentioned in connection with the ritual of the Day of Atonement. After Satan, for whom he was in some degree a preparation, Azazel enjoys the distinction of being the most extra human character in sacred literature. …”

Far from involving the recognition of Azazel as a deity, the sending of the goat was … a symbolic expression of the idea that the people’s sins and their evil consequences were to be sent back to the spirit of desolation and ruin, the source of all impurity.1

What was depicted on the Day of Atonement is seen in reality with Satan, the personification of Azazel the scapegoat, now bound in the wilderness of this desolated earth.

Revelation 9 reveals that Satan was given the key or dominion of the bottomless pit. In that context, “bottomless pit” represents this earth in its confused state, brought about by the rejection of God by its inhabitants.

Now, however, an angel from heaven has that key of dominion or control, a representation that God has taken back His rightful authority over this earth. But before God restores all things (see Revelation 21 and 22), Satan is bound to this earth, unable to spread his rebellion elsewhere, while the saints are in heaven.

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols [harps]: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house [the grave]. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. (Isaiah 14:11–13, 15, 17–20)

The condition of the bottomless pit (the earth) at this time

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 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; yet will I not make a full end. (Jeremiah 4:23–27)

And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. (Jeremiah 25:33)

Revelation 20:4

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

“Judgment was given unto them”

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; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Daniel 7:21–22)

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 Corinthians 6:2–3)

Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom authority to act as judges and to pass sentence was entrusted. (Revelation 20:4 AMP)

God is totally honest and transparent. Before He forever destroys the wicked, He opens the books to the review of the saints. Each one will know why friends, relatives, church members, and others have been left out of the book of life. The saints will see and know that God is totally just and fair. All questions will be answered, and the saints, themselves sinners saved by grace, will confirm that God’s justice is right, His punishment fair. It is in this sense that “judgment was given” to the saints.

“I saw the souls of them that were beheaded”

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:15–17)

John sees those who on earth were marked for death because of their fidelity to God now living and reigning with Christ. Their condition is in great contrast to that of those who received the mark of the beast and had temporal life and peace, but who are now dead, slain at Christ’s coming and awaiting the second resurrection and the execution of the judgment.

Revelation 20:5

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

The remainder of the dead were not restored to life again until the thousand years were completed. (Revelation 20:5 AMP)

“The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished”

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. (John 5:29)

And [I Paul] have hope toward God, which they themselves [mine accusers] also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. (Acts 24:15)

The rest of the dead are those who were slain at the coming of Christ and the unsaved of ages past. The unsaved shall rest in the grave until the thousand years are finished. Then they will be resurrected to hear their sentence before the great white throne, to be judged and cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death, which shall consume them until they are no more.

“This is the first resurrection”

I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. (Hosea 13:14)

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 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Corinthians 15:51–54)

The first resurrection is the resurrection of all the righteous of the ages, who are caught up into the clouds to spend a thousand years in heaven. Between the first and second resurrections there is a space of one thousand years. During this period the saints who are raised up at Christ’s coming are in heaven, while the lost are dead and in their graves. The first resurrection is to eternal life; the second resurrection is to eternal death.

Revelation 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.

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection”

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, [first resurrection] and some to shame and everlasting contempt [second resurrection]. (Daniel 12:2)

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:35–36)

“The second death hath no power”

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:22–23)

Destruction in the lake of fire (which for the lost is called the second death), was intended for the devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41), but will now include all who have followed them into sin and rebellion. To those who have accepted Jesus as their Substitute and Savior from sin, making Him Lord and King, and who have been transformed by His redeeming love, the second death has no power. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“Shall be priests of God and of Christ”

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:6)

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Every believer is to be a priest consecrated to God, to share the gospel and to offer spiritual sacrifices. “Therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15). Because of the redeeming love of God and Christ, we shall be spokesmen or exhibits through all eternity of God’s wonderful grace and love. “That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

The believers as priests during the millennium, and indeed into eternity, will continue as spokesmen and representatives of God’s love and mercy. Having been partakers of that mercy, they are invited to go over the books of record to see the fate of the lost, that they might know the fairness and justice of God.

Revelation 20:7–8

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Satan’s release from prison is made possible by the resurrection of the wicked. Satan consequently again takes up his work of deception for a season. Satan was cast out of heaven with the rebellious angels, and failed in his attempt to lead all men to serve him in rebellion against God. Further, he saw his forces of evil men destroyed at the second coming of Christ, while he and his angels have been bound upon a desolated planet for a thousand years. Yet despite his repeated failure to usurp the place of God, he now, for the fourth time, musters his subjects together for warfare against God and Christ.

Gog and Magog represent the lost of all ages, who are enemies of God and His truth. Satan will seek to gather the host of the lost in his final attempt to take the kingdom of God by force. However, they will be stopped in their delusive madness and arraigned before the judgment bar of God to hear the doom of eternal loss that they have chosen.

Revelation 20:9

And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

“Fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them”

And they swarmed up over the broad plain of the earth and encircled the fortress (camp) of God’s people (the saints) and the beloved city; but fire descended from heaven and consumed them. (Revelation 20:9 AMP)

They spread out over earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people and the city that he loves. But fire came down from heaven and destroyed them. (Revelation 20:9 TEV)

And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them [Nadab and Abihu], and they died before the Lord. (Leviticus 10:2)

What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. (Nahum 1:9–10)

Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 104:35)

The fire that proceeds from heaven comes after the great white throne judgment described in verses 11 to 14. As the wicked surround the city, they are stopped in their advance and are arraigned before the judgment throne of God. As noted in our references above, the flames of hellfire devour the wicked. They are not eternally tormented, they are forever destroyed, soul and body. (See also the verses and commentary under Revelation 14:11.)

Revelation 20:10

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

“The devil … was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone”

For, 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 [the devil] nor branch [his followers.] But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 4:1–3)

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 traffick; therefore will I 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. (Ezekiel 28:17–19; see also verses 12 to 16.)

“And shall be tormented”

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. (Mark 5:7–8. Demons desired to be separated from Christ and asked to go into the swine lest they be tormented by His presence.)

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:5, 10. Jesus bore the guilt and torment of sin in our behalf that we might be set free and pardoned.)

Much of the torment experienced by the devil, his angels, and the wicked is brought by the guilt and condemnation of sin as they are arraigned before a holy God. The guilt of sin that crushed out the life of Christ so that we might be made free will now come back on each individual as he or she experiences the full weight of his or her own guilt, no longer restrained by God’s mercy. The unsaved will experience the shame, guilt, and utter darkness that Jesus experienced on the cross when He became sin for man and was separated from the light and love of His Father. The presence of God becomes to the wicked an unabated torture. Satan and his host will bear the additional guilt and shame of having led others into sin and rebellion for millennia.

“For ever and ever”

Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. (Jude 7)

For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. (Lamentations 4:6)

But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. (Jeremiah 17:27)

And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: and he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. (2 Kings 25:8–9)

Sodom and Gomorrah suffered the vengeance of eternal fire. While the fire and destruction was thorough, leaving none alive, it soon consumed everything and went out.

Jerusalem, because of apostasy and sin, was to suffer destruction by fire, a fire that could not be quenched, meaning that Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonians would be complete and that there would be no staying it until the unquenchable fire did its work. Thus it will be for Satan, his angels, and the lost. They will burn, be it a literal fire or the burning torment of  unimaginable guilt and shame because of sin. The devil and his angles and the lost, will suffer intense mental and physical anguish that will eventually consume them and they shall be no more.

Note a few of the verses that shows how the term forever can mean a time of limited duration. Isaiah 34:10–12, judgment against Edom; Deuteronomy 15:12–17; 1 Samuel 1:21–23; Psalm 110:4, speaks of Christ, however when the door of mercy closes, Christ’ work as High Priest ends.

The Judgment Scene

As is typical in the book of Revelation, a broad sweep of events is described followed by more details. The broad sweep of events and the subsequent details must be taken together to get the correct picture. The wicked and Satan, having surrounded the city of God, are stopped in their rebellious designs and are arraigned before the judgment throne of God. The fire that comes down and consumes them is the lake of fire, coming as the sentence of doom, after the judgment.

Those who are cast into the lake of fire are those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. Thus there is no opportunity here for repentance, for when Jesus was willing to plead and intercede for these sinners, they neglected the day of salvation. Now there is none to plead their cause, for every case has already been decided. This judgment is simply the execution of the sentence, a sentence that is righteous and true, and which has been confirmed by the saints during the one thousand years when “judgment was given unto them” (Revelation 20:4).

Revelation 20:11

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Before the punishment of verses 9 and 10, Satan and his host of wicked men and angels stand arraigned before the great Judge of the universe.

“The earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them”

Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. (Psalm 102:25–26)

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. (Isaiah 51:6)

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. (Mark 13:31)

The context of Revelation 20 indicates that the wicked are arraigned before the throne of God outside New Jerusalem, which has settled on this earth. Whatever change in the heaven and earth takes place due to the presence of God is temporary. For as soon as the wicked are destroyed, God will wipe away all tears and begin re-creating this world before the wondering multitude of the saved. Revelation 21 gives a description of the new heavens and new earth that God will create.

Heaven and earth fleeing away indicates the complete and absolute power of God and the temporary nature of created things. The glory and power of God totally eclipses that of heaven and earth. Commencing with the lake of fire and the utter and total destruction of all the evidence of sin and sinners, God makes all things new. It is in this sense that “the earth and the heaven fled away” (Revelation 20:11). “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” (Revelation 21:1).

Revelation 20:12

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

I [also] saw the dead, great and small; they stood before the throne, and the books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life. And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done [their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors] in accordance with what was recorded in the books. (Revelation 20:12 AMP)

“I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God”

Having therefore obtained help of God, I [Paul] continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come. (Acts 26:22)

The small and great are there [in the grave]; and the servant is free from his master. (Job 3:19)

And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees. (2 Kings 25:26)

“Small and great” are synonyms for poor, those of low social standing and importance in man’s society and rich, the great ones of society, the leaders and the led. At the great white throne judgment, man’s social standing and wealth and importance or lack thereof count for nothing in the sight of the Lord. For every man “shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5). “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

“Stand before God”

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (Romans 14:10)

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: and these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:32, 41, 46)

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. (James 2:12)

What we have done to others, our works, and every act of life shall be judged by the law and word of God. While Christ still ministered in the heavenly sanctuary, the saved confessed and forsook their sins which were forgiven and were made right through the blood of the Lamb.

Their sins went beforehand into judgment, and pardon was granted them. The wicked had not been acquitted, for they refused the pardon and grace offered to them by Christ and were judged worthy of death, a sentence confirmed by the saints during the thousand years. Now the verdict is meted out to the wicked—eternal death. Before the sentence is executed, all will acknowledge God as just as they see their own responsibility for their lost condition.

The whole wicked world will stand arraigned at the bar of God on the charge of high treason against the government of heaven. They have none to plead their cause; they are without excuse; the sentence of eternal death is pronounced against them.

I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance]. Only in the Lord shall one say, I have righteousness (salvation and victory) and strength [to achieve]. To Him shall all come who were incensed against Him, and they shall be ashamed. (Isaiah 45:23–24 AMP)

For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God [acknowledge Him to His honor and to His praise]. (Romans 14:10–11 AMP)

“And the books were opened”

For a description of the books, see notes on Revelation 5:5.

Revelation 20:13–14

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

“This is the second death”

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. (Psalm 37:10, 20)

But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been stored up (reserved) for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly people. … Then the heavens will vanish (pass away) with thunderous crash, and the [material] elements [of the universe] will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:7, 10 AMP)

The fires of destruction will end in a clean planet and universe, as sin and sinners will be no more. There is no unending punishing of the wicked to mar eternity. They shall be punished according to the degree of their guilt and be put out of existence eternally. Then God will create a new world, a world of beauty and love and harmony.

God wishes to begin that work of re-creation in your heart now, my friend. Will you let Him? The pleasures of sin are only for a season, and this chapter clearly reveals the result of all rebellion. It is a clear choice: the delusive pleasures of sin and human religion now and eternal death later, or having the true joy of salvation and the love of God now and eternal life at the resurrection. Revelation 20 and onward clearly reveal the outcome of our choices. I pray you will choose eternal life.

Revelation 20:15

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

There are many guest lists in this world we will never be on. Most of us will not visit the leaders of this world. We will not be guests in the gatherings of the world’s great and famous. But there is one guest book from which we dare not be excluded, and that is the Lamb’s book of life.

How can we be assured of being found there? Simply give heed to the invitation. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. (Psalm 37:11)


Endnotes

1.  F. C. Gilbert, Messiah in His Sanctuary (Review & Herald Publishing Association, 1937) p. 63.
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