The second question:
I'm confused please help.
If all the people other than the righteous are dead, the righteous are in heaven with Christ in the New Jerusalem, whom or what are they judging or reigning over during the 1000 yrs. ???
You say the righteous judges the wicked
But I thought that you said that the wicked are dead. How can they judge people who are dead and already deemed wicked by God ???
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie." Revelation 22:13-15
How can there be an outside with wicked people, if they are dead or creation has been made new with no wickedness ???
"As we will see, when we look at what happens to the wicked, Satan is let loose from his prison and he then goes out to deceive all those who were raised up at the end of the thousand years. And Satan convinces them to attack the beloved city of Jerusalem, where the righteous are located. But as they surround the city, fire comes down from God and devours them."
So does this mean that the wicked have a chance to escape the second death, if they are not deceived ??
You are right. The righteous are taken up to heaven by Christ and all the wicked are killed by the brightness of His coming at the second coming of Jesus. So, who are the righteous reigning over and who are they judging in the period of time following the second coming? Especially when we consider that God has already deemed these people as being wicked.
First, let's look at some Bible texts to help clear up what the Bible teaches before we answer the question.
Yes, the wicked are dead during this time of the 1000 years. But after the 1000 years, they will be risen again:
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.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:4-6.
In verse 4 we see the righteous sit on thrones and judgment is given to them and they lived with Christ for a 1000 years. In verse 5, it says plainly, "This is the first resurrection."
In verse 6 we see that he that is blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. This is the righteous who are raised in the first resurrection, and they will be with God for a thousand years. The second death will never have power over them. In other words, the righteous will never be totally destroyed or perish.
But in verse 5, we read that all the others, the wicked, will not live again until the 1000 years are finished. That means they will be resurrected up in the second resurrection that must happen 1000 years, after the first resurrection occurs. And it also means that the wicked will also experience the second death. So the wicked are raised up in the second resurrection so that they can experience the second death.
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.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:13-15
It is confirmed in Revelation 20:13-15 that the wicked will be raised up again, following the 1000 years and they will at this time be judged and thrown into the like of fire which is the second death. If this is a second death, that means they will eventually die in this fire.
So let's answer the question:
If all the people other than the righteous are dead, the righteous are in heaven with Christ in the New Jerusalem, whom or what are they judging during the 1000 yrs.??? How can they judge people who are dead and already deemed wicked by God ???
Yes it is true that God knows who is righteous and who is wicked. He knew without a doubt what each person is. But remember, it says in Revelation 20:4 that "judgment was given unto them:" It looks like the righteous will determine the amount of suffering that is metered out when the wicked are placed in the lake of fire. Because, just as soon as the 1000 years are finished and the righteous are finished with their judgement, then the wicked are raised to life, only to be destroyed by the fire. So there is a special judgment that occurs to the wicked following the 1000 years. That is why they are raised to life again, to receive their final judgement, the second death.
So, except for the righteous people who live through the second coming of Jesus, all people will be raised to life in either the first or the second resurrection. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the the second death hath no power. Revelation 20:6 (First part)"
Now the next question:
"As we will see, when we look at what happens to the wicked, Satan is let loose from his prison and he then goes out to deceive all those who were raised up at the end of the thousand years. And Satan convinces them to attack the beloved city of Jerusalem, where the righteous are located. But as they surround the city, fire comes down from God and devours them."
So does this mean that the wicked have a chance to escape the second death, if they are not deceived ???
The wicked were indeed dead for the 1000 years, but at the end of this period of time, they will be raised in the second resurrection so that they can receive their final judgement. They are all outside the city, the New Jerusalem.
No, the wicked do not have a second chance to live. In the Bible, it plainly states that everyone who is raised in the second resurrection will experience the second death.
The wicked have already rejected God and God brought them up in the second resurrection. The righteous have already judged these people and there is no second chance. The Bible says nothing about a second chance, only that all who are raised in the second resurrection, and all that are outside the city are thrown into the lake of fire.
They have already rejected God and they have no real love for God. They might know that all is lost. So, when they are tempted by Satan, one last time, to try to attack God; They might reason that there really is no alternative.
But another possibility is that Satan will not identify himself as Satan. He might claim to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully taken from him. Satan might even tell the wicked that it was he who raised them to life so that they could be victorious in their attack against the city.
At this point the wicked are Satan's captives. they have already rejected Christ and they no longer have a conscience. The Holy Spirit is no longer working on their soul and there is no good angel telling them to do what is right. They only have Satan and all the evil angels telling them in their mind that they can do it.
Look at these texts:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Revelation 2:11.
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.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:4-6.
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.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:13-15
"He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Revelation 21:7-8.
There is no second chance. These are the wicked who are cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. Even now, they choose to attack God! They have become enemies against God just as Satan is an enemy of God There is nothing in common with God on the outside of the city!
The temptation was not to choose Satan versus God at this point. They have already decided that. Their temptation is to attack God and His city of saints versus realizing that their cause is just hopeless.
Now the next question:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. Revelation 22:13-15""
How can there be an outside with wicked people, if they are dead or creation has been made new with no wickedness ???
The wicked dead, which we know from the previous question, are resurrected after the 1000 years. So they are no longer dead. They are alive but they are outside the city. Only the righteous had the right to "enter through the gates into the city."
If we look at Revelation 22, we see that the first five verses is a continuation of the discussion of the New Jerusalem and the river of life. This is a description of the new world!
But starting with verse 6, we have a recap of warnings. Jesus starts repeating the important warnings that we need to hear.
7 Behold, I am coming quickly! . . .
11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still . . . he who is holy, let him be holy still
12 And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me . . .
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments. . . .
15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and . . .
So we can see that these are general statements of warning. The wicked will not always be outside the walls of the city. As we saw before, the wicked outside the city are destroyed and they experience the second death.
It is only after all sin is destroyed that the whole earth is made new.
Now the other half of the question:
If all the people other than the righteous are dead, the righteous are in heaven with Christ in the New Jerusalem, whom or what are they reigning over during the 1000 yrs. ???
Let's not forget that God not only reigns over the earth but over all of creation. He is God over the whole Universe. So we have the angels in heaven and we have all the people from all the other worlds that are in the Universe.
In the book of Job, we have a good clue that there are other worlds that God reigns over. Not only are we told in the book of Job, what actually happens to Job, but we also get to understand what is happening behind the scenes.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." Job 1:6-7 NKJV
As we can see in this text, the sons of God come to present themselves before the LORD. Are we to believe that people from the earth were able to go to heaven and stand before God in person? No, this does not make sense.
Could God have gone to the earth and had the kings of the earth present themselves to Him? No, this does not make sense either.
It must be that this meeting is in heaven because there is no record of God ever having regular meetings with people on the earth. But there is no human participation in this meeting.
We are probably looking at a meeting of extraterrestrials. Each member at the meeting is a representative of their own world. When God asks Satan, "Where do you come from?" Satan mentions the Earth. He comes from Earth! He says: "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." What was God really asking?
Is Satan claiming ownership? Yes, it looks like he is claiming ownership. We know that Satan has rebelled against God and now he comes back saying that he rules the earth. As we will see, the whole point of this part of the story is that Satan was not invited to the meeting.
In the meeting, Satan seems to conclude that he either owns or he rules our world. He is actually claiming rulership of the Earth in that meeting! That is why he went to the meeting. He sees himself as the leader of the whole planet Earth. This meeting most likely is a meeting of the leaders of the Universe with God; So Satan felt he had a right to be there.
If we read further into the story, we will see more evidence of this claimed rulership by Satan:
Then the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?
So Satan answered the LORD and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?
Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!
And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person. So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:8-12.
At this point it really gets interesting. God answers Satan at his own level. We know that God has already thrown Satan out before. Why didn't He throw him out again? God definitely has the power to do so, But instead, God just questioned Satan verbally and challenged his stated position on ruling the Earth.
So God answers Satan's statement of walking over the face of the Earth, with: "Have you considered my servant Job. . ."? So God begins questioning Satan's claim by pointing his attention to Job, whom Satan is not able to control. What God is doing, is to show that Satan really does not control the world. So, Satan has no right to be there or to represent the Earth.
I can imagine that Satan here begins to squirm as he essentially says: Well of course Job likes you. You give him everything he wants, why wouldn't he obey You? So God tells him: OK, I'll let you try. We'll see who really is in control, but you can't touch his body to make him sick.
If you read the book of Job, you will see that Job does not know a thing about this discussion. He is clearly having a hard time with the reality of his bad fortune. In addition he is forced to consider, from an earthly point of view, why all sorts of bad things are happening to him. Satan seems to be controlling all Job's personal friends as well.
To find out more about these extraterrestrial meetings and of Job, check out this link: Satan is Waging a Legal Battle in an Intergalactic War against God.
The point that I am making with this story is that there are indeed other inhabited worlds in the universe. And God rules over all of them. So when the righteous reign with Christ, they are reigning over the whole universe with Jesus.
I'm confused please help.
If all the people other than the righteous are dead, the righteous are in heaven with Christ in the New Jerusalem, whom or what are they judging or reigning over during the 1000 yrs. ???
You say the righteous judges the wicked
But I thought that you said that the wicked are dead. How can they judge people who are dead and already deemed wicked by God ???
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie." Revelation 22:13-15
How can there be an outside with wicked people, if they are dead or creation has been made new with no wickedness ???
"As we will see, when we look at what happens to the wicked, Satan is let loose from his prison and he then goes out to deceive all those who were raised up at the end of the thousand years. And Satan convinces them to attack the beloved city of Jerusalem, where the righteous are located. But as they surround the city, fire comes down from God and devours them."
So does this mean that the wicked have a chance to escape the second death, if they are not deceived ??
You are right. The righteous are taken up to heaven by Christ and all the wicked are killed by the brightness of His coming at the second coming of Jesus. So, who are the righteous reigning over and who are they judging in the period of time following the second coming? Especially when we consider that God has already deemed these people as being wicked.
First, let's look at some Bible texts to help clear up what the Bible teaches before we answer the question.
Yes, the wicked are dead during this time of the 1000 years. But after the 1000 years, they will be risen again:
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.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:4-6.
In verse 4 we see the righteous sit on thrones and judgment is given to them and they lived with Christ for a 1000 years. In verse 5, it says plainly, "This is the first resurrection."
In verse 6 we see that he that is blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. This is the righteous who are raised in the first resurrection, and they will be with God for a thousand years. The second death will never have power over them. In other words, the righteous will never be totally destroyed or perish.
But in verse 5, we read that all the others, the wicked, will not live again until the 1000 years are finished. That means they will be resurrected up in the second resurrection that must happen 1000 years, after the first resurrection occurs. And it also means that the wicked will also experience the second death. So the wicked are raised up in the second resurrection so that they can experience the second death.
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.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:13-15
It is confirmed in Revelation 20:13-15 that the wicked will be raised up again, following the 1000 years and they will at this time be judged and thrown into the like of fire which is the second death. If this is a second death, that means they will eventually die in this fire.
So let's answer the question:
If all the people other than the righteous are dead, the righteous are in heaven with Christ in the New Jerusalem, whom or what are they judging during the 1000 yrs.??? How can they judge people who are dead and already deemed wicked by God ???
Yes it is true that God knows who is righteous and who is wicked. He knew without a doubt what each person is. But remember, it says in Revelation 20:4 that "judgment was given unto them:" It looks like the righteous will determine the amount of suffering that is metered out when the wicked are placed in the lake of fire. Because, just as soon as the 1000 years are finished and the righteous are finished with their judgement, then the wicked are raised to life, only to be destroyed by the fire. So there is a special judgment that occurs to the wicked following the 1000 years. That is why they are raised to life again, to receive their final judgement, the second death.
So, except for the righteous people who live through the second coming of Jesus, all people will be raised to life in either the first or the second resurrection. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the the second death hath no power. Revelation 20:6 (First part)"
Now the next question:
"As we will see, when we look at what happens to the wicked, Satan is let loose from his prison and he then goes out to deceive all those who were raised up at the end of the thousand years. And Satan convinces them to attack the beloved city of Jerusalem, where the righteous are located. But as they surround the city, fire comes down from God and devours them."
So does this mean that the wicked have a chance to escape the second death, if they are not deceived ???
The wicked were indeed dead for the 1000 years, but at the end of this period of time, they will be raised in the second resurrection so that they can receive their final judgement. They are all outside the city, the New Jerusalem.
No, the wicked do not have a second chance to live. In the Bible, it plainly states that everyone who is raised in the second resurrection will experience the second death.
The wicked have already rejected God and God brought them up in the second resurrection. The righteous have already judged these people and there is no second chance. The Bible says nothing about a second chance, only that all who are raised in the second resurrection, and all that are outside the city are thrown into the lake of fire.
They have already rejected God and they have no real love for God. They might know that all is lost. So, when they are tempted by Satan, one last time, to try to attack God; They might reason that there really is no alternative.
But another possibility is that Satan will not identify himself as Satan. He might claim to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully taken from him. Satan might even tell the wicked that it was he who raised them to life so that they could be victorious in their attack against the city.
At this point the wicked are Satan's captives. they have already rejected Christ and they no longer have a conscience. The Holy Spirit is no longer working on their soul and there is no good angel telling them to do what is right. They only have Satan and all the evil angels telling them in their mind that they can do it.
Look at these texts:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Revelation 2:11.
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.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:4-6.
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.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:13-15
"He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Revelation 21:7-8.
There is no second chance. These are the wicked who are cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. Even now, they choose to attack God! They have become enemies against God just as Satan is an enemy of God There is nothing in common with God on the outside of the city!
The temptation was not to choose Satan versus God at this point. They have already decided that. Their temptation is to attack God and His city of saints versus realizing that their cause is just hopeless.
Now the next question:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. Revelation 22:13-15""
How can there be an outside with wicked people, if they are dead or creation has been made new with no wickedness ???
The wicked dead, which we know from the previous question, are resurrected after the 1000 years. So they are no longer dead. They are alive but they are outside the city. Only the righteous had the right to "enter through the gates into the city."
If we look at Revelation 22, we see that the first five verses is a continuation of the discussion of the New Jerusalem and the river of life. This is a description of the new world!
But starting with verse 6, we have a recap of warnings. Jesus starts repeating the important warnings that we need to hear.
7 Behold, I am coming quickly! . . .
11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still . . . he who is holy, let him be holy still
12 And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me . . .
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments. . . .
15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and . . .
So we can see that these are general statements of warning. The wicked will not always be outside the walls of the city. As we saw before, the wicked outside the city are destroyed and they experience the second death.
It is only after all sin is destroyed that the whole earth is made new.
Now the other half of the question:
If all the people other than the righteous are dead, the righteous are in heaven with Christ in the New Jerusalem, whom or what are they reigning over during the 1000 yrs. ???
Let's not forget that God not only reigns over the earth but over all of creation. He is God over the whole Universe. So we have the angels in heaven and we have all the people from all the other worlds that are in the Universe.
In the book of Job, we have a good clue that there are other worlds that God reigns over. Not only are we told in the book of Job, what actually happens to Job, but we also get to understand what is happening behind the scenes.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." Job 1:6-7 NKJV
As we can see in this text, the sons of God come to present themselves before the LORD. Are we to believe that people from the earth were able to go to heaven and stand before God in person? No, this does not make sense.
Could God have gone to the earth and had the kings of the earth present themselves to Him? No, this does not make sense either.
It must be that this meeting is in heaven because there is no record of God ever having regular meetings with people on the earth. But there is no human participation in this meeting.
We are probably looking at a meeting of extraterrestrials. Each member at the meeting is a representative of their own world. When God asks Satan, "Where do you come from?" Satan mentions the Earth. He comes from Earth! He says: "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." What was God really asking?
Is Satan claiming ownership? Yes, it looks like he is claiming ownership. We know that Satan has rebelled against God and now he comes back saying that he rules the earth. As we will see, the whole point of this part of the story is that Satan was not invited to the meeting.
In the meeting, Satan seems to conclude that he either owns or he rules our world. He is actually claiming rulership of the Earth in that meeting! That is why he went to the meeting. He sees himself as the leader of the whole planet Earth. This meeting most likely is a meeting of the leaders of the Universe with God; So Satan felt he had a right to be there.
If we read further into the story, we will see more evidence of this claimed rulership by Satan:
Then the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?
So Satan answered the LORD and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?
Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!
And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person. So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:8-12.
At this point it really gets interesting. God answers Satan at his own level. We know that God has already thrown Satan out before. Why didn't He throw him out again? God definitely has the power to do so, But instead, God just questioned Satan verbally and challenged his stated position on ruling the Earth.
So God answers Satan's statement of walking over the face of the Earth, with: "Have you considered my servant Job. . ."? So God begins questioning Satan's claim by pointing his attention to Job, whom Satan is not able to control. What God is doing, is to show that Satan really does not control the world. So, Satan has no right to be there or to represent the Earth.
I can imagine that Satan here begins to squirm as he essentially says: Well of course Job likes you. You give him everything he wants, why wouldn't he obey You? So God tells him: OK, I'll let you try. We'll see who really is in control, but you can't touch his body to make him sick.
If you read the book of Job, you will see that Job does not know a thing about this discussion. He is clearly having a hard time with the reality of his bad fortune. In addition he is forced to consider, from an earthly point of view, why all sorts of bad things are happening to him. Satan seems to be controlling all Job's personal friends as well.
To find out more about these extraterrestrial meetings and of Job, check out this link: Satan is Waging a Legal Battle in an Intergalactic War against God.
The point that I am making with this story is that there are indeed other inhabited worlds in the universe. And God rules over all of them. So when the righteous reign with Christ, they are reigning over the whole universe with Jesus.
