The Aftermath of Armageddon

Imprisoned for a Thousand Years

Once the War of Magog and the Battle of Armageddon is over, the answer to Lucifer's challenge will have been predominantly, but not yet wholly, resolved. HaShem will have vindicated His Name, and the Novus Ordo Seclorum will have been utterly disgraced and obliterated. Through Mashiach ben David, God will have defeated the Nefilim's minions. He will eradicate them from our planet. Then, the thousand-year kingdom of God will begin.

20:1 I saw an angel coming out of the heavens, with the abyss's key and a great chain in his hand. He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be released for a short time.

As you recall, at the mid-point of the Tribulation Period, the rebellious spirits will all be expelled from the presence of HaShem and exiled to the Earth. Here is one of those areas where scholars debate how literally to take Yochanan. What is certain from the text is that the earth will be the central courtroom in this intergalactic trial.

At roughly this same point, the Rex Mundi will have been assassinated after committing "the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel Prophet" in the newly rebuilt Jerusalem Temple (i.e., while standing in the Holy place) - Matthew 24:15. We hope his temple will be built near the Dung Gate or somewhere other than on Mount Moriah where the real Third Temple will arise. The texts are not clear on this point.

Following this spiritual expulsion and desecration, the Nephilim will utterly plunder the earth during the final three and a half years. They know the prophecies and will sense that their time is almost up.

The Nephilim will then possess the dead body of Rex Mundi and reanimate or raise it to seeming life. During the second three and a half years of his reign, Rex Mundi will directly rule the planet while sharing his physical body with the Nephilim Elite and his DNA with his subjects. Through their demonic technologies, they will seek to replace homo sapiens' life with a counterfeit by altering human DNA with that of the Rex Mundi, as we discussed.

Once Mashiach and his armies defeat the Novus Ordo Seclorum in the Battle of Har Meggido (Armageddon), Rex Mundi and the False Prophet will be arrested by Mashiach and "imprisoned" for one thousand years.

The Thousand Year Kingdom of Mashiach and His God

We mortals tend to have a very limited view of eternity. A thousand years sounds like an unbelievably long time based on the shortness of our present physical lives, but understand that we are, like our Divine Parent, actually eternal beings: We are sons and daughters of the Most High! Created in the image of our infinite Creator, and hence, as Psalm 82 reminds us so wondrously, we share in God's nature and are also, therefore, divine beings ourselves, gods who will "inherit the nations" (Psalm 82:8). To those whose consciousness, if not their experience, can grasp the truth of this, a thousand years is not so long:

II Peter 3:8,9 But don't forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

At the beginning of our present age, about 5770 years ago, something traumatic happened that shortened all lifespans tremendously. According to the Torah, Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years (Genesis 5:5). Methuselah was nine hundred sixty-nine years old when he died. Even the righteous Father Noah lived to be nine hundred and fifty years old. After the global flood, however, longevity declined rapidly. Abraham's father, Terah, only lived two hundred and five years (Gen. 11:32), and his daughter-in-law Sarah only lived a hundred and twenty-seven years (Gen. 23:1). Today, of course, most people don't live to see even their eightieth birthday. No wonder such calculations seem like an inconceivably long time to us! Since Adam and Chava chose to go it alone, no one in the Bible is recorded as living a thousand years. That will change, however!

As we'll discuss shortly, the thousand-year limitation will be removed once Mashiach takes his throne. There is no reason why everyone who survives the coming Seven-Year Tribulation Period should not also live through the entire Thousand-Year millennial period and beyond! And that thousand years is only the beginning! Once it ends, homo sapiens humanity will be like Adam and Chava before the Rebellion. We will continue to live as they would have. The survivors will then enter into tangible eternity without ever having to taste death personally! I say "tangible eternity" because the truth is we are all eternal beings already; we are already the daughters and sons of the Most High and hence immortal. But most people lack this understanding of their true nature. Yochanan's rabbi attempted to reveal this truth to his followers.

John 11:25, 26 Yeshua told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Howso? They all died. At least their bodies did. According to the context, Yeshua believed he was teaching the truth of the Torah and that his talmidim, or students who followed his teachings, would come to understand the Truth of God and themselves through the Torah as he taught it. He claimed nothing on his own but pointed them to HaShem:

John 17:15-19 I pray not that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word [i.e., Torah] is truth. As You have sent me into the world, I have also sent them into it. For their sakes, I sanctify myself, and I know you will sanctify them through the truth.

John 5:30: I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."

Rebbe Nachman made a similar promise to his talmidim. He chose as his resting place the old Jewish cemetery of Uman, Ukraine, where the martyrs of the 1768 Uman Massacre were buried. Before his death, Rebbe Nachman urged his followers to come to his grave or kever to pray. He also made a promise that no other Tzaddik in Jewish history had ever made. Taking as his witnesses Rabbi Aaron, Rav of the town of Breslov, and Reb Naftali, his second closest disciple after Reb Nosson, Rebbe Nachman said:

"Bear witness to my words. When my days are over, and I leave this world, I will still intercede for anyone who comes to my grave, says these Ten Psalms [i.e., the Tikkun haKlali], and gives a penny to charity. No matter how great his sins are, I will do everything in my power and span the length and breadth of creation to save and cleanse him."

Of course, only HaShem forgives sins and justifies the penitent, but the tzadikim are loved by HaShem due to their teshuvah, and they are permitted to testify on behalf of those who observe their teachings.

As we read above in Revelation 19:10: Worship God, for the testimony of Yeshua is the Spirit of Prophecy. Although not recognized as a prophet by the Rabbinate, Yeshua spoke of the final generation of the age and sought to prepare his future talmidim for what we are, even now, beginning to face. Hence, he said: "Whoever lives and believes in me will never die." Survive these seven years, and you will never die! But even if you are honored to die as a martyr, he gave this assurance: "He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies." Doubtless, Yochanan considered such promises by his rabbi as he wrote. This teaching is found among Yeshua's talmidim; for instance, Paul said in Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Wrap your head around this saying! It will be imperative for all who intend to Stand. I pray you will, no matter the cost. Servants of HaShem live and dwell within the anointing of HaShem, translated through the Greek as "christ."

20:4 I saw thrones, and they who sat on them. The power to judge was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Yeshua and for the word of God, and such as didn't worship the beast nor his image and didn't receive the mark on their forehead and their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The Seventh Trumpet will sound as discussed above, and the anointed Mashiach will be inaugurated as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Note that Yochanan does not say they will reign with Yeshua, even though Christians usually assume this is the meaning. Yochanan says they will do this and that through the anointing ("christ"). This anointing ("christ" spirit) will be poured out liberally on God's people during this period as the Torah begins to be written into their consciousness.

And again, "...those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Yeshua and the word of God," causes us to pause and ask: What was Yeshua's testimony for which they died, and what was this word of God? The text doesn't say they died because they believed in Yeshua as Messiah, God, etc., but because they stood with his testimony, which was the Torah and the Prophets, the Word of God. Yeshua taught the Torah as a rabbi from his reformed perspective. Whether we accept his reforms or not is different from the question here. They died due to their emunah in his testimony and the Torah it revealed.

Paul wrote:

I Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last shofar blast. The shofar will sound, the dead will rise incorruptibly, and we will be changed. 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 15:54 But when this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen:

"Death is swallowed up in victory."
15:55 "Death, where is your sting?
Sheol, where is your victory?"

We will not all sleep: The word sleep here is koimao and means to cause to sleep or to put to sleep. Most Bible students believe this means that some people will still be alive when this event happens while others will not. However, there is something more to this Greek word here. The verse can read:

"We will not all be put to sleep" or be killed.

This is important because there is a diversity of views regarding the resurrection timeline that needs to be understood. Rabbinic Jewish writings affirm there will be a resurrection of the dead in the Olam Haba. Here is one of the differences between the Pharisees (Rabbis) and the Sadducees, who did not believe in any gilgul (any resurrections). To take Paul's words here as referring to a blanket resurrection would contradict what John is describing.

Paul is not speaking of the resurrection of the general population throughout history here but of those living in the final generation in which the Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24) ends with the vomiting out of "the Laodicean Church." Paul teaches here that not all of the Great Multitude Yochanan describes in his book will perish or be "put to sleep" during the seven years; some will survive. So, rather than contradicting John, Paul entirely agrees with him.

Among Mashiach's first acts in office will be the resurrection of those martyred 144,000 Jews and members of the Tribulation Great Multitude who did not survive the War. These martyrs will join those who survived and kneel before the Throne (symbolically or literally) to receive their rewards and subsequent assignments.

Likewise, we know from Scripture that Mashiach will order all Jews to come to Jerusalem at this point:

Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, says Adonai, that I will raise a righteous Branch to David, and he shall reign as king, deal wisely, and execute justice and righteousness in the land.
23:6 In his days, Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. He will be known as "Adonai Our Righteousness."
23:7 Therefore behold, the days come, says Adonai, that they shall no more say, As Adonai lives who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 23:8 but, As Adonai lives who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries where I had driven them. They shall dwell in their own land.

And again:

Isaiah 43:5 Don't be afraid; for I am with you.

I will bring your seed from the east,

and gather you from the west.
43:6 I will tell the North, 'Give them up!'

and tell the South, 'Don't hold them back!

Bring my sons from far,

and my daughters from the ends of the earth."
43:7 Everyone who is called by my name,

and whom I have created for my glory,

whom I have formed,

yes, whom I have made.'"

Like all political leaders, Mashiach ben David will form his cabinet and delegate his officers for the smooth administration of his government. Mashiach will appoint judges from among the faithful and grant them authority to carry out his directions.

The exact make-up of these various posts only time will tell; however, we do know that Jews will be placed in preeminent positions. For example:

Isaiah 11:10 It will happen in that day [i.e., the day when Mashiach takes his throne] that the nations will seek the root of Jesse [i.e., Mashiach], who stands as a banner of the peoples. His resting place [i.e., Jerusalem] will be glorious.
11:11 It will happen on that day that the Lord will set his hand again for the second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people from Assyria, Egypt [i.e., he will call all the Jews to Jerusalem even as HaShem called them home from Babylon using Cyrus the Great as we previously discussed]
11:12 He will set up a banner for the nations [i.e., for the non-Jews], and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth...

Of the nations and these returned Jews, we read:

Zechariah 8:20 Thus says Adonai of Armies: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; 8:21 and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Adonai, and to seek Adonai of Armies. I will go also.'
8:22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek Adonai of Armies in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of Adonai."
8:23 Thus says Adonai of Armies: "In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"

The First Resurrection

Now note the following carefully:

20:5 The rest of the dead didn't live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

I clarified Paul's timeline above to harmonize this prophecy.

According to Yochanan:

• Some people will survive the Seven-Year War, but most will not. The people who survive the War will walk into the Kingdom of the Olam Haba as eyewitnesses.


• Most people alive in the final generation, those who side with HaShem and those who do not, will not physically survive the coming seven-year war.
• Those who do not survive the Seven Years but stand with HaShem and His people will now be resurrected, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
• The rest of the dead, those with emunah and those without, will not participate in the first resurrection. They will not be resurrected for another thousand years.

Beyond this, Yochanan is silent about the state of the departed, so I will also resist the urge to discuss this here. We always focus on the living because only they can make teshuvah and return to God.

20:6 Blessed and holy are those who participate in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them. They will serve as priests of God and His anointing and reign with him for one thousand years.

Following Armageddon, the planet will be a disaster area. Those who survive the war and participate in the first resurrection will be responsible for the cleanup. The final generation of the Times of the Gentiles, perhaps our generation, have destroyed the Earth like none before it. We have introduced nuclear waste, manufactured chemicals, pesticides, and contaminants of all kinds, including the mRNA abominations, and we will be required to clean up our mess before the rest of the dead return. Assuming we are the generation the prophets are referencing, as many of us believe.

Under Mashiach's leadership, it will be our task to re-establish the Garden of Eden and create a world order fit for the children of the Most High. Mashiach and those he appoints will commission and oversee this global work. By the end of the thousand years, Planet Earth will be a holy and righteous place of natural beauty and splendor.

After the Thousand Years: The Second War of Magog

20:7 And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison.

The Earth will have known peace for one thousand years. Just imagine. When this period begins, you can live for a thousand years plus your present age. You will know God and why He placed you here. You will understand your past and come to terms with its various hardships and joys. In those days, the Scripture promises that we won't need to join others to find God because we will all know Him!

For one thousand years, Mashiach ben David will direct the course of human events with knowledge, wisdom, honor, worship, and thanksgiving to HaShem, the One God of us all.

But remember the challenge of the Nephilim and HaShem's offer of evidence and human free will. God, the Creator, gave humanity the privilege of deciding its own fate. Throughout human history and the final seven years, God will have proven that the Secular Humanist Nephilim ideology is not the way to go. Had Mashiach ben David not intervened when he did (will), the earth would have been destroyed by its human inhabitants!

Millions of children will be born in the final thousand years. What we are now experiencing will be subjects taught in the history books of the Olam Haba.

One final challenge remains to be answered.

Now it will be.

Decisively.

Gog and Magog

Gog and the Land of Magog

20:8 and he will come out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

This verse is usually translated as "Gog and Magog," which is a perfectly solid translation, but there is a tad more to be noted by an equally valid alternative reading. Strong's tells us that the word and here is kai, a "conjunction, a primary particle having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force." This conjunction can be correctly translated as and, also, even, indeed, or but.

Therefore: "Gog, even Magog" is an equally correct translation that fits well with what the Torah tells us about Magog.

Likewise, "to gather them together": them here is autos (ow-tos), from the particle au [perhaps akin to the base of (Strong's # 109) through the idea of a baffling wind] (backward) and correctly translates as himself, herself, themselves or itself.

Therefore, either "Gog and Magog" or "Gog, even Magog" works here as that source will gather them (i.e. the diverse forces) together to wage the final human war.

After the thousand years are over, the "accuser" or "adversary" will again be released onto the Earth and deceive the people of Magog and others. Unlike during the reign of Rex Mundi, all who join this rebellion will do so willingly and with a complete understanding of their actions. The title given to Lucifer here ("Satan" in most English translations), in Greek, is Satanas, meaning the adversary: one who opposes another in purpose or action. Satanas will unite Gog, even Magog to the north, to lead a vast army, as numerous as the sand of the sea, against Israel, Mashiach, and his global theocracy.

The identity of Satanas is obvious: it's Lucifer, the Nefilim Prince, Nimrod.

The word Gog means "mountain," and Magog means "overtopping or covering," indicating geographically the "north" that is "above" what is to its south. The word "mountain" is often used in scripture to refer to authority and might, as the following verses make clear. By the covering or authority and might of Magog to the north of Israel, this future army will unite against its common enemy. Therefore, the land of Magog will be the headquarters or rally point of the mighty force coming down (from the north) against Jerusalem, the seat of Mashiach and his righteous administration. As we will see below, the wording of this passage also shows that the people of Magog, members of the Russian Federation, will be joined by others in this final rebellion and attack on Israel and world Jewry.

As stated before, when studying the prophecies, allowing the Bible to interpret itself is always preferable. There has been much speculation and confusion about the identity of Gog and Magog that the Bible, when considered before human ideas, clears up.

While the text says that Lucifer will be released from his imprisonment, the same is not said about the Rex Mundi. Indeed, 20:10 below says that Rex Mundi and his False Prophet remain imprisoned for the thousand years.

Concerning the identity of Magog, we read the following:

Genesis 10:1 Now, this is the history of the generations of the sons of Noah and Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
10:2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras....

As discussed previously, the sons of Jacob (Israel) became the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. In 1948, the Southern Kingdom of Judah (and Benjamin) adopted the name of the United Kingdom of Israel, as the prophets foretold, rather than taking the name Judah.

The same is the case here.

Noah's grandson (through his 2nd son Japheth) Magog settled "north of Israel" in the mountainous region between Cappadocia and Media as shown on the map above.

That region to the north of the Holy Land is the land of Magog, Russia. The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel gives us much information on this final War of Gog and Magog. In time, our "Thus Say The Prophets" series will look into Ezekiel in greater depth B'H.

Following is an excerpt from Ezekiel's famous prophecy about this coming war:

Ezekiel 38:1 The word of Adonai came to me, saying, 38:2 Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 38:3 and say, Thus says the Lord Adonai: Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: 38:4 and I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you forth, with all your army, horses and equestrians, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords;

Rosh, Meshech and Tubal

Rosh: These were the early Russian people, one of the three Scythian tribes over whom Magog was the prince. They invaded the land of Judah in the days of Josiah. As the Greek historian Herodotus states, "For twenty-eight years, the Scythians ruled over Asia, and things were turned upside down by their violence and contempt."

Meshech: These people also lived to the north of Eretz Israel (I Chronicles 1:5; Ezekiel 27:13; 38:2,3). The Moschi inhabited the Moschian Mountains between the Black and Caspian Seas. During the reign of the Babylonians and Medo-Persians, large numbers of Moschi crossed the Caucasus mountains and spread out across the northern steppes, where they mingled with the Scythians and came to be known as the Muscovs. The Moskva River, the Russian nation, and its ancient capital of Moscow still bear the ancient name.

Tubal: A tribe/nation mentioned by Isaiah (66:19), along with Javan, and by Ezekiel (27:13), along with Meshech. They were traders with Tyre. This nation was probably the Tiberini mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus as a people of the Asiatic highland west of the Upper Euphrates, the southern range of the Caucasus, on the east of the Black Sea (referenced source).

The River Euphrates, as we have discussed, is one of the God-decreed boundaries of Eretz Israel, so the identity of Gog and Magog is established thanks to this breakdown by Prophet Ezekiel.

As we discussed previously, the Rex Mundi or Antichrist will be a single, specific person; however, from all appearances, "Gog" may not be an individual despot but rather refers to a confederation of leaders arising from the Russian Federation southward to the northern border of Greater Israel as shown in the following map:

Eretz Israel and the Land of Magog

To put this into perspective, Moscow to Jerusalem is only 1660.4 U.S. miles (2672.1 KM), 1441.9 nautical miles, or a mere 3 hours 27 minutes by plane. Considering that Israel will extend to the Turkish border through the work of Mashiach be Yosef, and Moscow is well within Russia, the distance for an invasion will be a matter of a few hundred miles.

During the thousand-year reign, from the area north of Eretz Israel and beyond it, Antisemitism will continue to rear its ugly head from time to time. This anti-Jewish movement will spread throughout the region, attracting not only ethnic Russians (Ezekiel 38:1-4) but others as well as Ezekiel reveals:

Ezekiel 38:5 Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 38:6 Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many peoples with you. 38:7 Be prepared, yes, prepare yourself, you, and all your companies assembled with you, and be a guard to them.

Iran and Egypt: Sunni and Shia Islam.

Persia: This is Iran, headquarters of Shia Islam.

Cush: Cush was a son of Ham and father of Nimrod -- the Mighty Hunter in opposition to HaShem -- (Genesis 10:8; I Chronicles 1:10). The land of Cush is named for him. While the exact location of Cush is debated, the Tanach generally places it to the south of Eretz Israel near the southern borders of Egypt (Nahum 3:9) and as synonymous with Ethiopia (the KJV often even translates it as such -- Psalms 68:31; Isaiah 18:1; Jeremiah 46:9, etc.). Therefore, the reference is to al Ikwan, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, called the Kings of the South elsewhere.

Gomer: The eldest son of Japheth and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah (Genesis 10:2,3). His descendants were the principal family branches of South-eastern Europe, the ancestors of the Celtae and the Cimmerii. In early times, these people settled to the north of the Black Sea among the people of Magog and gave their name to the Crimea, the ancient Chersonesus Taurica. Their influence is still found in the names Cimmerian Bosphorus, Cimmerian Isthmus, etc. In the seventh century B.C.E., Gomer's descendants were driven out of their original seat by the Scythians and overran western Asia Minor but were later expelled from there. They reappeared in the times of the Romans as the Cimbri of the north and west of Europe. They later crossed to the British Isles, where their descendants (including my family) still exist among the Gaels and Cymry of Wales. Thus, the whole Celtic race may be regarded as descended from Gomer.

These are the principal groups that will rise and stand against Mashiach once the thousand years have ended in what may termed the Second War of Magog.

The rebellion against the Theocratic kingdom will explode, beginning with the people of Russia and all lands north of Israel, sweeping across to Iran (Persians) and on around Eretz Israel to the south through Egypt, Ethiopia, and at least North Africa, as well as among the people of Western Europe possibly to the British Isles. Again, the people and countries of the Americas are not mentioned. We cannot know with whom they will side in this coming and final war against Israel and Israel's God.

Prophet Ezekiel continues:

38:8 After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, on the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought forth out of the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them.

Notice how the prophet stresses that these things will occur in the later years. He may not grasp the timeline exactly. However, he knows what he receives from HaShem will happen at "the End of Days."

These later days follow Mashiach's establishment of the Kingdom of HaShem. This final rebellion will take place after full knowledge has been granted to humanity. These people will know they are fighting against God!

Through the battle of Armageddon, Eretz Israel will have been "brought back from the sword" and liberated by Mashiach. Jews who were dispersed among the nations will be "gathered out of many peoples," and "they shall dwell securely" all of them in Eretz Israel. THEN, this war will happen.

The Invasion of Eretz Israel

Prophet Ezekiel is describing the same events as Yochanan, only in much more detail:

38:9 You shall ascend, come like a storm, be like a cloud to cover the land, you, all your hordes, and many peoples with you.
38:10 Thus says the Lord Adonai: It shall happen in that day, that things shall come into your mind, and you shall devise an evil device: 38:11 and you shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates; 38:12 to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people gathered out of the nations, who have gotten livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the earth.

Biblically, Mount Moriah is the geographic center when the earth is viewed as a plain rather than a globe. Hordes of people, Russians, Arabs, Africans, Europeans, and others, will choose, of their own free will, to rebel against Mashiach and his global government! This rebellion will be completely unjustifiable. The Jews will be living in "unwalled cities," confirming that they are just rulers and at peace with all people. But greed, hatred, and antisemitism will again ignite this unconscionable rebellion.

Throughout the thousand years, generations of children and grandchildren will have been born. Thousands, if not millions, of survivors of the Great Tribulation will still be alive. None will side with the Rebellion, but many of their offspring will. The rebellion will occur among those born within the Kingdom Age. We know this because the prophet says, "The second death has no power over them. They will serve as priests of God and His anointing and reign with him for one thousand years" (Revelation 20:6).

Ezekiel continues:

38:13 Sheba, Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, shall tell you, Have you come to take the spoil? Have you assembled your company to take the prey? To take away silver, gold, livestock, and goods and take great spoil?
38:14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and tell Gog, Thus says the Lord Adonai: In that day when my people Israel dwells securely, shall you not know it? 38:15 You shall come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you, and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army; 38:16 and you shall come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in you, Gog, before their eyes.

If you study the various peoples and places Ezekiel describes, you will find that he paints a complete and compelling picture. For brevity, I will not go into all of these details here, but I encourage you to read Ezekiel's prophecies and study his vision in greater detail.

38:17 Thus says the Lord Adonai: Are you he of whom I spoke in old time by my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them?
38:18 It shall happen in that day when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord Adonai, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. 38:19 For in my jealousy and the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 38:20 so that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the animals of the field, and all creeping things which creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth, shall shake at my presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 38:21 I will call for a sword against him to all my mountains, says the Lord Adonai: every man's sword shall be against his brother. 38:22 With pestilence and blood will I enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him, his hordes, and the many peoples with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and sulfur.
38:23 I will magnify myself, sanctify myself, and make myself known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am Adonai.

God will cause everything the Great Multitude and their descendants have created to be smashed into dust! The world's most advanced civilization thus far will be obliterated as though it had never existed. Imagine this: For a thousand years, humanity will have worked and lived in creating the grandest, most advanced civilization in human history. But it will all be destroyed in the Second War of Gog and Magog! No longer will humanity be able to blame Adam for his rebellion! Their rebellion will be far worse and much more deliberate than his! BUT as Daniel notes, the righteous will do what is good and right.

We now continue with Yochanan's narration of his vision:

20:9 They went up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the holy ones and the beloved city. Fire came down out of the heavens from God and devoured them.

This final rebellion will be centered on the attacks against Jerusalem but will be global in scope. Similar to the rebellion of Adam and Eve (and possibly Adama and Lilith), with one critical exception: Millions of people this time will side with HaShem! Depending on their location, the faithful will assemble in Jerusalem and elsewhere. Their cries will ascend to the Throne of HaShem with one voice, and He will hear and respond.

No Mashiach will arise this time to lead human armies in battle! This time, HaShem Himself will defend His people and decisively end the final rebellion of human history.

20:10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Lucifer's accusation will have been met and trumped! Perhaps not all, but untold millions, will, with complete understanding, choose HaShem! Never again will wickedness be allowed to contaminate the Earth. Never again will Lucifer be allowed to deceive the people of the Planet.

The Great White Throne Judgment and the Second Resurrection

20:11 I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. There was no place left for them.

Mashiach ben David, empowered by HaShem, will now hold court: a series of trials worldwide. All who have rebelled against HaShem in the War of Gog and Magog will be found guilty. But this will be like no other trial in human history:

20:12 I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book opened, which is the book of life. Out of the things written in these books, the dead were judged according to their works.

Note that the text says the dead stood before the throne (singular) and that "they (plural) opened books." Now comes the understanding of those verses that say, "Arise, O God, judge the earth: for you will inherit all nations" (Psalm 82:8).

The Judges

Recall that when HaShem first established Israel, they had no king over them. Due to their desire to have a king like other nations, HaShem allowed this. HaShem's Will, however, is that the human race obeys Him as Sovereign based on His Laws.

Following the World Flood HaShem gave the Seven Noahide laws to humanity. Later, He revealed the Torah and its 613 mitzvot (commandments) for the Jews. He decreed that His Laws would be adjudicated (applied) by Samuel and the judges who would come after him. However, the people complained. They wanted a king to rule them, so HaShem allowed this and gave them Saul. Of this, we read:

I Samuel 8:1 It happened, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 8:2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beersheba.
8:3 His sons didn't walk in his ways but turned aside after lucre, took bribes, and perverted justice. 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah; 8:5 and they said to him, "Behold, you are old, and your sons don't walk in your ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."
8:6 But Samuel was displeased when they said, "Give us a king to judge us."

So Samuel prayed to Adonai and:

8:7 Adonai said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.
8:8 According to all the works that they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, they have forsaken me and served other gods, and so do they also to you.
8:9 Therefore, listen to their voice: however, you shall protest solemnly to them and show them the way of the king who shall reign over them."

Following the Thousand Year Kingdom, the Will of HaShem will be fully implemented on Earth as it is in Heaven. HaShem will be the undisputed Ruler of the earth and Heavens as Sovereign Majesty. His laws will be enforced through righteous judges as He originally intended. The judges will be chosen by God from those who survived the Seven Years and remain alive.

They will have witnessed and experienced the most advanced pre-Tribulation society in human history and the post-war civilization that bettered it. They will have experienced the result of greed-based civilization, the Tribulation Period, and life during the thousand years in harmony with the Will of HaShem. Based on their experiences, they will know the Truth and their judgments will be righteous.

HaShem created humans with free will, and that liberty will always be honored. The judges will serve as a balance to ensure the planet's future is in harmony with the Will of HaShem.

Now Yochanan describes how they will sit in judgment based on the authority of HaShem under the rule of His anointed Mashiach.

While the scriptures do not specifically say the Second Resurrection occurs at this or any other particular point, it seems obvious from the context. The next chapter will confirm this as John beholds the creation of the new Heavens and Earth. All those who have righteous lives according to their knowledge will then live under the rule of Mashiach ben David at this point.

20:13 The sea gave up the dead in it. Death and Sheol gave up the dead who were in them. The dead were judged, each according to his works. 20:14 Death and Sheol were thrown into the lake of fire. Here is the second death: the lake of fire. 20:15 If anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

Here ends Chapter 20.

REJECT THE MARK OF THE BEAST NO MATTER WHAT!

Here ends Chapter 20.

Continue with Chapter Twenty One

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* John of AllFaith © November 14, 2009 (last update: January 29, 2024)

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