A layman's commentary on John chapter 3. Nicodemus and the incredible assertion.

 Previously, in John's gospel, we watched as Jesus chased the sellers out of the court of the Gentiles. I imagine that the word Gentiles is hard for many of you to understand, as you seem to refuse to apply a Jewish understanding to it.

In scripture, you won't find a reference to the court of the Gentiles, but you will find this:

Revelation 11:2 NASB "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.

Nations is the Greek word ethnos and is interchangeable with gentiles.

We also talked about Jesus' genealogy, or bloodline, and how that in Nazareth, where Mary and Joseph both came from, Mary did something no one had ever done before, she stuck to her “story” of how this pregnancy was God's baby; and by the way, we already know His name, Yeshua.

It is easy to be negative and say, " We have nothing in prophetic scriptures that would validate your having God's baby". But they did have an announcement of this very thing.

Isaiah 7:14 NASB "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

How easy it would have been to say, " Okay, Joseph and I gave in to sexual desire," but that did not happen.

Matthew 1:21 TLV “She will give birth to a son; and you shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.”

If Mary told those gossips, who would have gladly stoned her for her sins, that they would refer to this baby as Yeshua, it would have been another reason to stone her.

Look at the predictive words in the Prophet Micah, and think about the fact that when the scribes and chief priests were brought before Herod and questioned concerning this prophesied King of the Jews, a two-year-old child at this point.

Micah 5:2-4 NASB "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." 3) Therefore, He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel. 4) And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth.”

Notice that scribes and chief priests did not deny that scripture spoke of Yeshua, but they would NOT recognize or acknowledge Him. It is interesting that the wise men from another nation, who had followed His star, came to see this child King.

In the world of theatrics, there is a team of people who set the stage for the next scene. We are not given a time frame, and so neither can I tell you how much time has passed between the cleansing of the temple, the confrontations with the scribes and chief priests, and Nicodemus emerging onto the stage. When we watched the Chosen Nicodemus was clearly understood to be a strong presence, but as He comes to Jesus, we find a touch of humility.

John 3:1 NASB “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;”

The NET Bible commentary simply tells us that Nicodemus was "a ruler of the Jews" (denoting a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

Finis Dake's commentary makes this unusual statement: “a)[There was a man] One would be as justified to make this a parable, or any other passage where 'there was a man' is used (Mat_12:10; Mrk_3:1.

While there are numerous scriptural references, Dake ends this paragraph by simply stating, All these passages are plain historical ones.

Within Dake's commentary is a piece of information that I was not aware of,
“b)[Nicodemus, ruler of the Jews] A Jewish Rabbi, member of the Sanhedrin, and one of the three richest men in Jerusalem.

I had no idea of his wealth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Bible informs us that this leader, Nicodemus, was frequently mentioned as “Nicodemon ben Gorion", the brother of Josephus ben Gorion (p), the writer of the Wars and Antiquities of the Jews; and there are some things which make it probable, that he was the same with this Nicodemus; for the Nicodemon the Jews speak so much of, lived in this age; as appears, not only from his being the brother of Josephus, but also from his being contemporary with R. Jochanan ben Zaccai, who lived in this time, and until the destruction of the temple; since these two are said (q) to be together at a feast, made for the circumcision of a child. Moreover, he is represented as very rich, and is said to be one of the three rich men in Jerusalem (r), and who was able to have maintained a city ten years

The verse (John 3:1) testifies that Nicodemus was of the Pharisees.

Did you forget that Paul, who used to be called Saul, was, too, a Pharisee?

Philippians 3:4-5 BSB “though I myself could have such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5) circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;”

“A ruler of the Jews.” Ruler is the Greek word archōn, and according to the Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary, this word means that Nicodemus carried any one of these titles: one invested with power and dignity, chief, ruler, prince, magistrate.

Considering that Nicodemus was this powerful, it is puzzling that he came to Jesus in humility and that he could not understand what Jesus was trying to tell him.

As I sit here pondering my statement above, I am reminded that the scribes and Pharisees, for the most part, wanted Jesus and anyone who followed Him dead. There is no way that Nicodemus would have been unaware of such emotions among his subordinates, and what would have stopped them from killing Nicodemus?

John 3:2 NLT “After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Just moments ago, I posed the question, why did such a powerful man come to Jesus in humility?

As you should see from the New Living Translation, Nicodemus waited until it got dark. The majority of translations casually proclaimed, “The same came to Jesus by night.” To point out that Nicodemus waited demonstrates apprehension and planning.

If you watched The Chosen, a Television series that elaborates on situations, such as the meeting between Nicodemus and Jesus, with details that the Bible does not give us, you would have seen two things: 1.) The disciples, generally, did not know where Jesus was as He would go off by Himself, to pray until He was done. That type of communication leads to scheduling problems. It seemed as if, knowing that Nicodemus wanted to have a talk with Jesus, one of the disciples was fortunate enough to make contact with Jesus, and, therefore, made the arrangements, such as setting up the location, some lovely candles, and a table with two chairs. 2.) Note what Nicodemus said: “ Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Nicodemus declared Jesus a Rabbi.
Pause for a moment because that is an incredible assertion.

What did the thief on the cross say to Jesus?

Luke 23:39-43 NKJV Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." 40) But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41) And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." 42) Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." 43) And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

Nicodemus also professed that Jesus was a “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

If Nicodemus had the briefings about Jesus, then he would have understood that the gossips in Nazareth would have declared that Jesus was a Mumzer; and according to Levitical law, he would have been banned from access to the temple, and Sabbatical schooling. There would have been questions about where and how He was educated. The problem with all this was undone by a portion of Nicodemus' assertion, “Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Jesus was not the son of an undeclared father; He was the Son of God, by declaration of the angel Gabriel.

Luke 1:26-33 NAS95 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27) to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28) And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29) But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30) The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31) "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32) "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33) and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

Joseph, a good man, that statement alone carries more weight than pastors or bible teachers care to communicate, was also informed, in a dream, that this was God's baby.

Matthew 1:18-24 NASB Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19) And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20) But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21) "She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22) Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23) "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." 24) And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,

Is it possible that Joseph could not have understood the concept of a Holy Wind from God?

Let's falsely assume for a moment that this concept of the Holy breath of God is a new thing to Joseph's ears.

First, I must tell you I was told, by multiple speakers over the years, that Hebrew had been banned during the era of Roman rule. Apparently, that was not the case. A website entitled, Why did Jesus primarily speak Aramaic instead of Hebrew? gives us this information:

“Aramaic, a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew, emerged as a lingua franca in the Near East long before the time of Jesus. Its rise to prominence can be traced back to the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. When the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BCE, they brought with them their administrative language, Aramaic. The subsequent Babylonian Exile in the 6th century BCE further entrenched Aramaic in Jewish life, as the Jewish people were taken to Babylon, where Aramaic was widely spoken. Upon returning from exile, the Jews brought Aramaic back to Judea and its surrounding regions. Over time, Aramaic became the common spoken language among the Jewish population, while Hebrew remained the language of religious texts and liturgy.”

In “The Chosen,” there was the logical implication that the Romans, by mandate, only spoke Greek. “The Chosen” even had Jesus speaking to some travelers in Egyptian; when questioned about that, He merely replied that He spent some time in Egypt; we know that is true because the angel warned Joseph to flee Bethlehem and go to Egypt when Jesus was around two years old. Having been told that Hebrew was banned and “printed documents – scrolls were destroyed, you would think that this would clearly have a detrimental impact on education. If anyone should have had problems getting educated, it would have been Jesus, and yet “The Chosen” showed Jesus, on several occasions, in Synagogues, where, in one case, the scroll of Isaiah was read from.

Honestly, I am not sure what to believe.
Secondly, even if these scrolls were not banned, the expense of having a scroll copied would have been such a large expenditure that the only copies would have been kept in the Synagogues. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that impoverished communities, like Nazareth, might have been able to only afford one scroll; since Deuteronomy played a significant role in Jesus' conversations and responses, this could have been the primary option for a large, expensive purchase.

What does any of this have to do with Bible study?

Because our “Bible teachers” incessantly make foolish assertions that imply they all had individual Bibles, which borders on the impossible. If I could imply that the disciples would go and grab their Bibles, it would have been the Old Testament only, and they certainly would not have called it that. The “New Testament” was being written in their daily lives.

Holy is the Greek word hagios, and has meanings (according to Mounce) like this: dedicated. Luk_2:23; hallowed; used of things, τὰ ἅγια, the sanctuary; and of persons, saints, e.g., members of the first Christian communities; pure, righteous, ceremonially or morally; holy.

Spirit is the Greek word pneuma and has meanings (according to the NASEC) along the line of: wind, spirit: — breath (3), Spirit (239), spirit (103), spirits (32), spiritual (1), wind (1), winds (1).

The following information comes from a Website called “Hebrew Name for God – The Holy Spirit. It is sub-titled, The Holy Spirit as revealed in the Brit Chadashah.

Their website can be found here by clicking Hebrew Names for God - Ruach HaKodesh.

Ruach Ha-Kodesh is the Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew version, found when I did a translation comparison, reads, Ruach HaKodesh.

Note: HaKadosh is a substantive that means "The Holy One" (as in Ha-Kadosh baruch hu, "the Holy One, blessed be He").

The accent falls at the end: ha-ka-DOSH.

Ruach HaKadosh (Note the spelling,) would mean "the spirit of the holy one" (as in a saint).

It is NOT used for the Holy Spirit... Ruach HaKo'desh means "the holy Spirit," just like har ha-ko'desh means "the holy mountain," admat ha-ko'desh means "the holy land," ir ha-ko'desh means "the holy city," and so on.

So, the virgin girl, Mary, has now been impregnated by the spirit of the holy one; and it is a term that was familiar to the Jewish community.

If it were not for the uneducated, willing to give the new family, with Joseph playing the role of step-dad, a dreadful time, the revulsion of how Joseph and Mary felt would not be known to us. Jesus intentionally placed Himself into the earth's atmosphere, where some would say He had no hope. And yet, the young Jesus, at an age just before He would be brought into manhood, stood His ground, exercising His apologetic with the scribes and Pharisees in the temple at Jerusalem.

But exclude the courtyard outside the temple _ a laymen's commentary. John 2:18-25

 The last time we spoke, we covered verses in John 2:11-18.

Having cleared the outer courts of money changers and merchants, the Jews then said to Him,

John 2:18 NASB “The Jews then said to Him, 'What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?"

I could picture Jesus popping His hand against His chest, as He countered,

"Destroy this temple," Jesus answered, "and in three days I will build it again!"
John 2:19 CEV

He wasn't stupid; as a craftsman, He knew how long it took to make certain things, such as a 32-gallon granite water storage container, especially if it was lathed, or to construct a temple where many of its stones are considered by many to be megalithic.

(This lathing aspect has been substantiated through Archaeologists, in Israel, as about five years ago, they uncovered a stone lathing shop about a quarter mile outside of Nazareth; it may have been a source of income for Jesus while He was living there.)

Why did they challenge Him about His authority?

Because He had made a scourge, a short, multi-stranded whip, and with that whip He drove the money changers and merchants out of the outer courts of the temple. This is comparable to when He permitted the demons to go into the herd of swine, which immediately ran off a cliff and into the sea of Galilee, where they drowned. His actions negatively affected the local economy, not to mention it humiliated those challenging Him, and they, like the pig farmers, responded with anger and drove Jesus out of their region. It is also rather obvious that the chief priests and scribes had condoned having those vendors there because they were getting their share of the profits.

Jesus, who, by the standards of the gossips in Nazareth, was an illegitimate child. Now it may not have played a role in what transpired that day at the temple, but since I came to this realization, it has not left my thinking.

Deuteronomy 23:2 NASB "No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the LORD.”

The biblical “law” would have prevented Jesus from entering the Temple, a Synagogue, or a Rabbinical school, where most of us assume Jesus got His training in the Law and the Prophets. Oddly, this outer court distinction is rarely explained to us, but it would have allowed Jesus to go where these vendors were. These outer courts are also referred to as the court of the Nations.

For a moment, I referred to the courtyard outside the temple as the courtyard of the Gentiles. I thought I should substantiate this statement, but I could not find a direct quotation. Revelation 11:2 is translated as nations. Several of my concordances define nations as éthnos, and that leads us back to the Gentiles.

Nations, according to Strong's, is the Greek word éthnos, and its meanings include: A multitude, people, race, or belonging and living together.

The Word Study Dictionary states that: "In the Jewish sense, the nations, means the Gentile nations or the Gentiles in general as spoken of all who are not Israelites and implying idolatry and ignorance of the true God, i.e., the heathen, pagan nations."

So, it is safe to say that the outer courts have been given to the Gentiles.

Revelation 11:1-2 BSB Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers there. 2) But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.

Revelation 11:2, which has its context enveloped within the first 42 months of the seven years that most deem to be the great tribulation.

How do I know that this is the time of the “Great Tribulation”?

The answer is embedded in time indicators.

Revelation 11:3-15 BSB “And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4) These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5) If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed. 6) These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish. 7) When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them. 8) Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city—figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where their Lord was also crucified. 9) For three and a half days, all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb. 10) And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them. 11) But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered the two witnesses, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who saw them. 12) And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them. 13) And in that hour, there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand were killed in the quake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14) The second woe has passed. Behold, the third woe is coming shortly. 15) Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”

What do you see beginning in verse three?

When Jesus says, “I will empower my two witnesses,” He is affirming that they are His. He sends these two witnesses directly to Jerusalem, most likely upon the steps of the newly built temple. This understanding is validated by Revelation 11:1-2, and this alone conveys the idea that the temple will be built swiftly after the church is caught up. 1,260 days is equal to 42 months, and that is three-and-one-half years.

The other thing you see jumps out at you when you get to verse five.

“If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed.”

It only stands to reason that, with the outer courts being given to the nations, the attempts upon the lives of these two witnesses would be constant. Those who try to kill them are killed in the same manner. We, the church, will not be here to witness any of this, so our relating or telling someone else about what is to come would be thought of as a deterrent for anyone longing to live outside of God's grace and mercy.

Notice verse 10.

10. “And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send one another gifts.”

If you know anything about Muslims, then you know that even the most bloody of actions against the Jews, no matter if it is young children, are celebrated by giving sweets/gifts to each other. 

Does verse ten surprise you?

When the false prophet comes on the scene he performs signs comparable to what the two witnesses have been doing; such as what we see in Revelation 11:6. “These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.”

Where did the false prophet get the idea that he could do such things?

That implies that the false prophet is paying attention to the things that they do.

When you are giving serious consideration to Biblical study, then you have to understand that ONLY three people groups are being considered: The Jews, the nations, and the church.

The church is the body of Christ and includes anyone from the other two groups who have accepted Jesus as the Messiah who lived, died, and rose again from the dead so that we can live eternally with the Father/God.

The Jews - you should understand that the Jews, along with the Arabs, were descendants of Abraham; however, only the descendants of the promised son, Issac, would be considered the descendants of the promise. Don't get me wrong, we, like as in me, get to be grafted into the vine when we choose to believe.

This leaves the nations. The nations cover a vast and wide territory, effectively all those outside of the church, the bride of Christ. So we are talking about the Gentiles, the Arabs, and all those that fall between the cracks. No one is excluded, especially when we are talking about acceptance into the “family of God.”

Remember when I asserted that Jesus may have popped His hand against His chest when He spoke about raising up this temple in the last days?

Well, John tells us explicitly that He was talking about His own body.

John 2:21 NASB “But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”

John goes on to validate this claim by including so many of the disciples who witnessed Jesus alive after being laid in the tomb.

John 2:22 NASB “So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.”

Since it is obvious that Jesus' time in Jerusalem was nothing short of tumultuous, you might think it is safe to ask, did Jesus have a positive effect on the people?

John 2:23 NASB Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.

Ah, but here is the flaw: people are spectators, much like with a horrific car crash.

John 2:24-25 NASB “But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25) and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”

Entrust is the Greek word pisteuō and can also be translated as trust, believe, or commit.

Jesus, knowing their shallow little hearts, would not commit to these people. They were really there for the snacks. John 2:24 tells us that He knew all men; that includes women.

Know is the Greek word ginōskō, which also means to perceive, understand.

Another example of knowledge comes from Paul's second letter to Timothy. Consider the depth and definition of this paragraph, as Paul explains that it is essential for “young” Timothy to comprehend not only what is to come but also what surrounds us on a daily basis.

Read the passage below. It opens with the term ginōskō and then defines, with multiple terms, what this looks like. 

Then ask yourself: if Timothy or Paul is dealing with people in the church and they are acting like this, what is the problem?

2 Timothy 3:1-9 NASB “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2) For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3) unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4) treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5) holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6) For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7) always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8) Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. 9) But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes's and Jambres's folly was also.”

The problem is, they came for the snacks. Obviously, they put on a good show for a time, but like everything else that this world has to offer, they got bored. Getting bored can happen to anyone, and like physical exercise, sometimes you just have to do it. 

Do what? 

Invest ourselves in the truth of God's word. If you have stumbled upon this, and you are silly enough to say, I don't have God's word to study, well, guess what, I have included portions of scriptures in everything I have posted. If you have internet, then you have access to the Word. Try the Blue Letter Bible (Bible Search and Study Tools - Blue Letter Bible) or Bible.com (John 2 | NASB1995 Bible | YouVersion )

Answers for Rick. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22.

 Another typical morning with the guys.  (This took place several years ago.)

The “leader” of the group (Just for fun, I will refer to him as “Bob ”) finally sits down and says,

“I would like everyone to look at Revelation 22:3.”

He continues to say,

“I am having a problem with this.”

If there were no further explanation on the part of Bob, then all that is left is a man who is refusing the truth of God's word. Without a reasonable explanation, the only person who is wrong in this discussion is Bob. 

How would I know anything about something like this? 

For a time, I was the co-leader of a men's bible study. One of the men, who had already had a verbal and mental collision with church leadership because he was having intimate phone conversations with the wife of a church elder, told me, after I read a scripture passage, "I take umbrage with that." To be honest, I had no idea what that word meant. I returned the following week with a definition and a dislike for someone who could use that word as a challenge to God's word.

Vocabulary.com defines umbrage in this manner. "When someone takes umbrage 

at something, they find it offensive, and it probably makes them angry."

 

So, with no further explanation, we all jumped in.

I will give you the passage from the ASV:

(1) “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. (2) He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; (3) and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.”
(Rev 22:1-3 NKJV)

Let's camp here for a moment.

I would not have put forth such an interruption of the discussion without giving some attention to not only the context of the passage, but also why it was bothering me. (To be honest, I cannot remember if “Bob” was able to elaborate, with reason, what was bothering him about the passage at hand.)

Some might read Revelation 22:3 and rejoice over what finally appears to be a perfect environment where Satan gets locked up for a thousand years, and is unable to torment or drive the nations to sin. 

(As a disappointing side note, I often imagine that the thousand years will fly by only to see Satan released, even if momentarily, to deceive the nations.)

Assuming I was foolish enough to focus on verse three alone, I would be quickly confronted by several unidentified characters. The first of which is “he”, and he happens to be casting “him” (the second character) into the bottomless pit. This action prevents this “him” from deceiving the nations for a thousand years. I suppose I could assume that this kind of action from “him” has been causing destruction and havoc before the thousand years; and, as we see at the end of the paragraph, the deception that this “him” pushes on people re-emerges to deceive the nations once again – for a very short time.

The cast of characters in this verse.

• “he” is Jesus.

  We typically see references to Jesus and God capitalized. Since Revelation reveals Jesus, we can rightly presume “he” here refers to Jesus.

  Revelation 1:1 tells us that the entire book reveals Jesus, the Son of God.

• “him,” as we saw when we began reading Revelation 22:3, is Satan.

  Satan has had many names in Scripture, such as the dragon, the serpent, the beast, and the deceiver, just to name a few.

• And finally, the nations.

  We can understand that the nations have been part of the narrative long before the thousand years and remain present during the thousand years. It is these people who are deceived for a brief time at the end of the thousand years.

One of the greatest sources of trouble for the Christian community is the nations.

Who are we talking about when we speak of the Gentiles or the nations?

• The Gentiles and the nations are, for the most part, synonymous.

• The Jewish community considers anyone outside of Judaism to be a Gentile.

• I suppose, by Jewish standards, we who have been grafted into God's family are all still a subset of the nations; thankfully, that is not the case.

• Any Jewish follower of Christ is now a part of the family of God and an aspect of the bride of Christ.

• The Messianic followers will be caught up when Jesus returns (soon) to collect His bride.

Caught is the Greek word harpazo.

Do a word search and you will NOT find the word rapture in our common bible translations; you may, however, find the Latin word rapio or rapturo; and, depending upon who is doing the talking, you will find that the word rapio or rapturo is transliterated into rapture. For the skeptics, the rapture is therefore an aspect of our scriptural basis for being gathered to Him.

A synonym for harpazo is paralambánō (It is the Strong's Greek number 3880), and it means to receive up. It is also seen as snatched, plucked, seized, and taken.

Let me take this one confusing step further. 

If my thoughts about this passage are wrong, then is it possible that much of what I think about God is wrong also. Openness like this may surprise you, but I have found many of my deeply rooted ideas about God to be wrong, and this realization has changed my perception of God.

I have actually found God to be more merciful than I ever thought possible.

Consider Jonah. Jonah committed suicide in an effort to avoid doing what God asked him to do. (Read the story!) Sorry if the word suicide gives you grief, but there really is no other way to look at the narrative about Jonah.

Choosing to run from God, an impossible task, the small vessel upon which he has purchased passage is about to sink in the Mediterranean Ocean; the wind and the waves were such that they were about to break the boat into pieces, and in that case, everyone would die. The crew takes extraordinary measures to survive, to no avail, and it seems that all will soon be lost. The crew casts lots, much like throwing dice, to see if they can figure out who is to blame, and the dice point to Jonah. Jonah informs the crew that he is the reason for their dire situation and that they should throw him into the deadly ocean. Jonah demands that they throw him into the waves, and then they will be saved. Notice that he did not have the backbone to do it himself. After much argument, the crew did as he said. Jonah disappeared out of sight and under the water. Moments later, the storm goes silent, and the waves eventually cease.

Having been thrown into a raging sea, where is Jonah?

God had prepared a great fish to swallow him whole. This is NOT a fairy tale, and there is a fish in the Mediterranean capable of swallowing a human. But we humans, lacking oxygen, black out after 15 seconds and go brain dead after four minutes; therefore, Jonah is now dead. 

Three days later (that is one whole day and any part of two other days), the fish, at God's command, vomits Jonah on the beach nearest to Nineveh (which happens to be over 300 miles away, inland). That means that God brought Jonah back to life on the shore.

Jonah went ahead and completed his mission. The Ninevites repented, and God relented (for a time).

What was the last thing we heard from Jonah?

“I knew you would be merciful to them.”

God operated outside of Jonah’s mental constructs of judgment and punishment.
Easy now, do not think for a moment that God withdrew his judgment. God merely withheld His judgment, and Nineveh was eventually turned into a pile of rubble and rightfully so, for they were a vile, brutal people, and Jonah knew this.

I recognize that the idea of God shaking your deep-seated religious foundations scares many of you, and you may think it blasphemous to even consider the possibility of shaking your foundation because you think contemplating Scripture from a logical point of view might make you turn away from God, and then what will you turn to?

If your confidence in God is that unstable, then you need to ask yourself what your foundation is built upon.

Is your faith built upon truth? 

(An understanding of truth requires that you spend time in God's word with the purposeful intention of finding out who He is.) Or fiction? (Things you heard, merely accepted, and never determined to research these things – in the scriptures, for yourself.) If that is the case, then let me remind you that Jesus told us that our beliefs and works will be tested in the fire, and the junk will be burned up.

Peter talks about your faith being tested by fire so that, in time, you will be filled with an inexpressible joy. I like that idea, but the question, I suppose, is when?

1Pe 1:6-8 NASB “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, (7) so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (8) and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,”

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about the solid foundation that he laid, in and for them. Some, having come after, tried to lay other foundations. Of course, these others did not tell you they had every intention of corrupting your faith and leading you away from the freedom we find when we put our faith in Christ.

1Co 3:11-15 NASB “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (12) Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, (13) each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. (14) If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. (15) If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Paul describes these faulty foundations as wood, hay, and straw - things that will burn. Isn't that an intriguing thought?

Someday soon, we, as followers of Christ, will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (the Bema seat), where those things that are of no value in the heavenly kingdom will be burned up.

What if you could, in a sense, burn up some of that junk down here, for example: get your thinking hat back on straight, and start giving the people around you reasons to live for the King.

The discussion with Bob was far too brief, with no real answers, as the good Doctor of Humanities showed up.

The questions coming from Bob were effectively two.

• The minor question, based upon his American Standard version: What is the tense when it says, “the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

  I am not a grammarian, so bear with me.

  Since the “trees” (plural) are a future event, then I could assume that it is a future tense reference. However, the actions and results from the usage of the leaves are in the present tense, once we get there.

  Our resident grammarian, an expert on Greek and a person quite knowledgeable about church history, expounded on the tense (it is present tense, by the way).

  I suppose the more logical questions might be:

  • What are the parameters that control our usage of these leaves?

  • And when do we get to use them?

• The major question is: “Why do the nations need healing if we then live in heaven, a perfect, sin free place?”

  I had been looking at end times events (Eschatology) for some time now and thought I had it clear, so I responded immediately with, “because you are not looking at heaven at this point.”

  To be honest, I had not looked at the passages in some time, even though I had opened to them.

  Bob's caustic response was, “Yes! We are, look at the previous verses in chapters 20 and 21.” So I did.

  - Rev 20:3 NASB: "and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time."

  
  

  Why even talk about the actions that Jesus takes – throwing Satan into the abyss, with the specific purpose of NOT allowing him to deceive the nations, unless the nations are an active part of the thousand years?

  
  

  Rev 20:4 NASB:  "Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

  If, as one of the false teachers that I have known, stated, “only Christians enter the millennial reign,” then who are these that are seated upon thrones judging, applying their judgments upon?

  Well, it is certainly NOT Christians, as all the judgment that we deserved was placed upon Jesus, on the cross. That only leaves the nations. It is assumptive to think that the nations are stripped of their free choice, or that they have Christianity imposed upon them; they are, however, required to participate in the feast of booths, but you can submit to that demand without having a change of heart.

  Rev 22:14 NASB:   "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city."

  Obviously, there are those who do have a change of heart; they are called blessed, and they have the right to the tree of life and NOW have entrance into the city of God.

  Rev 22:15 NASB:   Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

  Since verse 14 is speaking of those who, by washing their robes, making them white, gain entrance into the city of God, then the term “outside” is referring to those from among the nations, living outside the city walls.

  While verse 14 makes it distinct that some have a change of heart, verse 15 makes it clear that others do not change; they are known as dogs, sorcerers, immoral persons, murderers, idolaters, and those who love and practice lying. Here then is your definition of the nations, and this is what they continue to do, without Satan driving them, throughout the 1000 years.

I opted to try to sort out this concept of why healing would be needed in heaven, or not.

If I am wrong, and it appeared, lacking solid scriptural backing, that I might have been, then I admit to you that I hate being wrong. (There, I got that out of my system.) The worst part of this, and I think this is what was bothering Bob, is that suddenly things were not what he visualized them to be.

Heaven does not seem to be this la-la land where we dance around aimlessly in fields of clover. Life, for many, seems to just keep going on. This statement, in my mind, applies primarily to the nations.

To be honest, this concept of heaven is throwing me for a loop as well. What is even worse, this is not the first time I have seen something like this, which challenges almost everything I have come to understand (from Sunday School) about heaven.

I thought I had this one figured out. Fortunately, I had to leave early because the good Doctor of Humanities was now heavily involved and had us chasing rabbits down endless trails, and I hate wasting precious time.

The day had moved on into evening when, like a light bulb coming on, it occurred to me that I had read a description of the millennial kingdom that speaks of the city of God coming down from God, composed of the Saints. 

The key here is that upon Satan’s release after the thousand years, he deceives those nations, and they try to do battle with God and the Saints of God. This battle is the Gog and Magog war that ends rather quickly with God destroying them, and then comes the white throne judgment.

I gather you figured out that this is not a three-minute discourse.

If I only focus on the timeline account in Revelation 22, I might miss something here.

Open your Bibles, if you haven't as yet, and look at Revelation 20:1-2. I am giving it to you in segments.

Rev 20:1,2 (NKJV): “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. (2) He (that angel) laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”

This is the beginning of the thousand-year period, which we call the millennial reign.

The man who led the Monday morning men's bible study at the church I grew up in had this to say about whom we would find in the millennial kingdom. (These are some of the things that made him a false teacher.)

He claimed that:

• Only Christians enter the 1000-year reign.

• No Jews would enter the millennial kingdom.

• And no one from the nations would gain entrance.

The only way you can hold these absurd positions is to cease to read what the Bible says, cling tightly to religious traditions and false teachings, and allow the Devil more space in your head and heart than you give to the Holy Spirit.

Allow me to destroy these positions.

First, “Only Christians get to enter the 1000 year reign.”

Here are four verses that speak to the fact that the nations are still alive during the thousand-year reign, all of which I previously elaborated on.

Rev 20:3 NASB: "and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time."

Rev 20:4 NASB: "Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

Rev 22:14 NASB: "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city."

Rev 22:15 NASB: "Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying."

I made the statement that this is not heaven. That is NOT exactly true, because for the followers of Christ, eternity will have begun with the catching away of the Church.

A logical approach as to whether the earth, during the thousand years, is heaven and nothing further needs to happen is wrapped up in the fact that the earth has NOT burned up, which plays an important role in this thought. One of the major methods of purifying the earth is to burn the planet with fire, and that cannot happen until after the final, great white throne judgment. I say this because it is after this judgment that there will be no air-breathers left to concern the heart of God.

The second pathetic point of view is this: “No Jews would enter the millennial kingdom.”

Let's start by pointing out the obvious – the 144,000 Jewish virgins who take on the role of being Jewish evangelists exclusively to the Jews will enter the millennial kingdom, with no restrictions. I wonder why that is? The answers are rather obvious.

Rev 7:3-4 NASB says, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads." (4) And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:"

Continue reading in Revelation 7, and you will find that many, due to the 144,000, will wash their robes and, because they are slaughtered for their testimony, will stand before the throne.

Ezekiel chapter five, twice, speaks of one third surviving the onslaughts of God's wrath. It seems obvious that one-third of Israel will walk alive into the thousand-year reign.

Ezekiel 5:2 NASB: "One third you shall burn in the fire at the center of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. Then you shall take one third and strike it with the sword all around the city, and one third you shall scatter to the wind; and I will unsheathe a sword behind them."

Ask yourself, why would you unsheathe a sword behind those survivors? The answer is because He protects them as they enter the 1000-year reign.

Ezekiel 5:12 expands the parameters of God's destruction.

Ezekiel 5:12-13 NASB: 'One third of you will die by plague or be consumed by famine among you, one third will fall by the sword around you, and one third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. (13) 'Thus My anger will be spent, and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be appeased; then they will know that I, the LORD, have spoken in My zeal when I have spent My wrath upon them."

If you understand basic math, then you know that you can only split something into thirds three times. So events like burning in fire and dying by plague or famine may be overlapping descriptions of death. One-third survives.

Look at the words John dictated in the Revelation.

'But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'
(Rev 3:4-6 NASB)

So Jesus is NOT merely speaking to followers from the church in Sardis; He is talking to anyone who overcomes and confesses His name.

Can you read something like Isaiah 14:1 and still say that NO Jew will enter the millennial kingdom? I would think not.

Isaiah 14:1 NAS95 When the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.

By the way, when does this take place? There is only one time period when strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob, and that is during the 1000 years.

God, and by extension, Jesus, has promised to restore Israel to their land. Some might say, He already did that in 1948 when Israel became a nation. Then why is America, of all people, working so hard to split Jerusalem?

Deuteronomy 30:3-5 NAS95: "Then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. (4) "If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. (5) "The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers."

Look at Isaiah 25.

Isaiah 25:8-9 NASB: "He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken. (9) And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

Where does this transpire?

Only after the seven years of wrath, as they, the Jews, enter the millennial kingdom.

Have you ever said, What is it that possesses those people to do that? The answer is they have a veil over their eyes and therefore refuse to see. Isaiah 25:7 tells us that the veil is lifted off of everyone, and yes, it includes the Jews.

Isaiah 25:7 NASB And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations.

Critics, and there are always critics, will say something like, What mountain. The answer to the challenge is this:

Isaiah 24:23 BSB The moon will be confounded, and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.

And finally, the last neanderthal like statement: “No one from the nations would gain entrance into the millennial kingdom.

Merely consider this aspect once again.

Revelation 22:2 NAS95 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

If you take the time to read the context surrounding this passage, then you would understand that the nations are there, and available to have these leaves applied. But since we have already covered this last aspect in great detail, and even though there are many more passages to back up this understanding, I will refrain from pursuing it any further.

The admonitions to the seven churches, the church age, begin in Revelation chapter one and come to an end with Revelation 4:1. As you can see, Revelation 4:1 declares, “After these things.”

Rev 4:1 NASB “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things."

What are the things? It is the church age, and 4:1 begins spelling out the wrath of God, minus the church, upon those on earth who, up to this point, have rejected God. So, while the church age ends along with the time of grace, the time of wrath begins. The thousand-year reign is still seven years away.

Consider that an uncountable multitude will continue to follow after Jesus during the time of wrath; these will be resurrected, called saints, and will stand before the throne of God.

Rev 7:9-15 NASB “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; (10) and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." (11) And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, (12) saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen." (13) Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?" (14) I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (15) "For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.

I am exhibiting Revelation 7:9-15 because even Jesus himself wants us to see that the great crowd, pointed out to be every tongue and tribe under the heavens, is coming. Though they will now be in the family of God, they are from the nations.

Take note:

(Revelation 20:7-9 NIV) When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--and to gather them for battle. In number, they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

Recap:

• The thousand years have passed

• Satan is released for a time.

  We have no definition of how long this takes.

• Satan deceives the nations, who are many, diverse, and by their own choice, not committed to God. (Get that?)

• These deceived combatants surround the camp of God’s people, the city He loves. Focus with me on this last line for a moment. Within it are some aspects you should consider.

• The nations are coming to do battle with God’s people.

• They (the combatants) completely surround the camp of God’s people, the city he loves.

  The wording that we see in Revelation 20:9 does not effectively change from one translation to the next; it is this notion that the city and God’s people are one in the same.  

What is clear from this is that God really loves us, his people.