Everyone who loves and practices lying. Revelation 22:15.

 In the last post, I focused on Revelation 22:14 and people outside the Holy City who could not enter through any of its gates during the millennial reign because their robes were NOT washed. We have to make the assumption, and it is a good one, that this washing is an allegory to the blood of Jesus Christ and NOT some disgusting Satanic practice, to a demon that is working very hard to dominate the world.

It is through the acceptance that Christ's blood has been shed for us so we can be cleansed and sanctified for service in His temple. Two good examples of washing in the blood were given in the Revelation (I have pulled both from the KJV.)

In the first passage notice that the verse is filled with descriptions of our King:

Revelation 1:5  “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,”

• Jesus Christ – Christ meaning the Messiah;

• He is the first begotten from the dead – there is no doubt about it, and others are rapidly following, and, therefore, also begotten from the dead; (The KJV used begotten instead of born. Jesus had been born through His surrogate mother, Mary, but this verse references death. Jesus had to be reborn and brought back to life as God's Son.

• He is the prince of the kings of the earth – to be a prince is to be the Son of the King, and yet it uses the earth as a reference. If you think you are a prince on earth, it would only be because you have His life in you;

• The verse acknowledges that He loves us, which is why we gain the right to be washed in that blood spilled on the cross that day. 

• And finally, that it is Jesus that washes us from our sins in His blood.

  He had no sin, so, as an old church song says, He paid a debt He did not owe because He loved us and paid it with His own blood.

I hate to admit that I don't know all the answers, but here is an exciting thought. When it says He washes us from our sins, is His forgiveness an all-encompassing thing, like a flood? 

(I have contended that the forgiveness of sin happened at the cross; therefore, no one is to be judged for sin; they will be judged for what they did with Christ. Those following Christ will be caught up in the church's rapture, and this discussion becomes a non-issue. Assuming that many will reject Christ, they would then have cast their allegiance for Satan and, therefore, follow him to the hell awaiting him and his followers.) 

The alternative thought is that our robes are washed when we come humbly to Him and admit that we are sinners. If you have ever been around people in recovery, who are far enough in their recovery to speak with you openly, you will find that those who have gained the most from recovery have done so because they were humble and recognized their need for help. Unfortunately, not everyone comes humbly; some are forced by the courts, in denial, or unwilling to take the walls down.

Talking about this with my wife, she mentioned the thief on the cross. That man yelled back at the other man who was being disrespectful, “We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” ⁱ I will add that the thief on the cross, in a sense, came to Jesus.

My other example of being washed in the blood comes from Revelation 7:14.

Please pay particular attention to the terminology used, especially since I opened this discussion about forgiveness.

Revelation 7:14  “... These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

“...These are they which came out of great tribulation,” as though they walked through it unscathed, Hardly, as they were killed because of their testimony. In the previous post, I touched on the idea that separating the soul from the body may play a role in our being changed. You should see some keywords and phrases in this quote from Paul.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.”
(1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NASB)

Mystery, this is the Greek word mustērion, and its meanings include Something hidden or not fully manifest; a thing not obvious to the understanding;  or a secret – much like the Masons' practice.

The mystery implies that most will never know what is being discussed, and God never wanted that. He has always been open and straightforward in His dealings. Yes, there have been things that were not beneficial or necessary for humanity to know at the time, and we see comments to that effect when we read Daniel or when Jesus responded to the jealous disciples by saying, what is that to you? Until Jesus rose from the dead, this whole redemption thing was a mystery to Satan. Scripture implies that he might have thwarted God's plan if he knew. (That possibility seems so outlandish to me, as. God's plan was airtight and perfectly designed to redeem humanity).

When you read the Apostle Paul's writings (His letters to the churches in Ephesus, Galatia, Corinth, Thessaloniki, and Rome), he tells you, repeatedly, that the mysteries are for you to know and that they have been made known. (Read Ephesians 1:9; 3:3, 3:5; 3:10.)

How then, are we to understand?

Paul, like John, wrote to Jewish believers. Those words now apply to you, but you must grasp a Jewish perception of God and the world. When Paul, in 1 Cor 15:52, says, “at the last trumpet,” this is exceptionally Jewish and Holy and leans heavily to Rosh Hashanah. When John talks about death, you must ask yourself, whose image were we made in? The answer is God's, and Jesus told us that God is a Spirit and nobody has seen Him, but you have seen me. By the way, the Father and I are one, so yes, you have seen the Father.

In studying Revelation, we have been reading one of the most mysterious books of the Bible (next to Daniel's prophecies), and the God of the universe has been so excited to see someone else with the desire and heart to unlock this mystery in their spirit. Praise God.

Sleep is the Greek word koimaō. This word means to put to sleep. Figuratively, it means death.

I think of Adam when God put him to sleep to extract the rib from which He made Eve. If God made him die, then God brought him back to life.

Did you know that to the Jew, the soul remains in the body for three days?

This concept of death played a huge role in why Jesus did not go to Lazarus' grave until the fourth day; this is why Jesus spoke of Jonah as a symbol of His death and why He stayed in the tomb for three days. So again, God was putting their beliefs back in their faces and proving that NOTHING could hold Him down.

What about this idea of being changed? How do you change something that is built into the body? 

Maybe the primary method is to kill it and make it new; this may be what happens to us during our rapture. I noted it above, but I need you to see what Paul said again.

“For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.”
(1 Corinthians 15:53-54 NASB)

What is imperishable? Having already died in Christ, we would no longer be subject to death, sin, and the draw from fear associated with those things. Paul says, “this mortal, (having moved to the imperishable – physical death,) must put on immortality.” I only recently started using the term immortal. I hesitated to use it because it is associated with comic book characters. We are NOT talking about fictional characters, but something that God has planned for ages; the result is that we would be, as He is, immortal. 

Can you kill an immortal? 

No, unless you have some comic superpower, and NO ONE has that. Our best examples come from Adam, Eve, and Satan. Adam and Eve lost their physical immortality when they ate the fruit. Satan lost his position, not his immortality when he tried to overthrow God. Satan is immortal and cannot be killed; therefore, his punishment will be an eternal, fiery exclusion from God's presence. Hell was created for Satan and the angels that followed him. Now, we have the choice to follow him as well. Not a wise decision.

With all this to think about, why do you think Paul would say, “death is swallowed up in victory,” unless death played a role in our transition?

The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury gives this definition of death.

“Those who believe that death is the utter extinction of being, a concept utterly incompatible with the use of the word throughout the Bible, must logically deny the possibility of future existence by means of resurrection. If man is all mortal and death returns the whole man "to dust as it was," then man is extinct—there is "dust" but no man. Before man was formed it was all dust, and after he returns to it, it is all dust again—all dust, no man. Hence, under this view, a resurrection of man is impossible. All is dust "as it was" before man existed, and there can no man exist again except by means of creation.”

While scriptures do not directly say that we are created again, Paul alludes to it in 1 Corinthians 15.

He supposes that we have solved the great mystery of what becomes with these who have NOT washed their robes. Since we know that God wants all humanity to be saved, we must assume that He wants them in the Holy City as well; but there is this very peculiar statement.

Revelation 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 have sat under “Bible teachers” that told us that only Christians make it into the millennial kingdom. Revelation 22:15 makes it very clear that this is NOT true.

The Greek word for dogs is kúōn; The Word Study Dictionary defines dogs in this manner.

“ In the East, dogs were not usually pets and were without masters, wandering at large in the streets and fields and feeding upon whatever they could find (1Ki_14:11; 1Ki_16:4; 1Ki_21:19; Psa_59:6, Psa_59:14). They were looked upon as unclean, and to call one a "dog" was a stronger expression of contempt than even today (1Sa_17:43; 2Ki_8:13). The Jews called the Gentiles "dogs." It is used metaphorically for an impudent, shameless person in Php_3:2 where it is spoken of Judaizing teachers (cf. Isa_56:11).”

In talking about the Holy City, Revelation 21:27 conveys that only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of Life. The implications of this are that God has allowed many from among the nations, whose names are not in the Lamb's book of Life, into the millennial reign.

As you see above, dogs are a very derogatory comment. Sorcerers are the Greek word pharmakos. The noun form is pharmakeía. Aside from sorcerers, the term also means the preparation and giving of medicine. Think that through for a few seconds. What is the deadliest “vaccine” going around the globe currently? If you guessed the C19 vaccine, you would be correct. So what are these people doing living in the millennial reign? I don't know, but I do know I serve a merciful God.

Also, living outside the Holy City and quite possibly unwilling to change are immoral persons. Immoral is the Greek word pornos. Honestly, for most of us, this word needs little definition. The Greek word pornos means a (male) prostitute, fornicator, or whore-monger.

We also find murderers, idolaters, and everyone that loves and practices lying. Murderers? Why not? We have everything else. 

Idolaters are those who continue, in the face of the almighty, continue to worship other gods. And everyone that loves and practices lying. Unfortunately, several of this group live in my home.

The resounding message that I hear in my head is that there will be peace. We are told that the martyred saints will be seated on thrones and help to keep the peace. However, seeing as the seven years of wrath initiated with the two witnesses from God that come down out of heaven and spew fire upon anyone who tries to harm them, why stop that process? There are so many possibilities, and it is easy to see how quickly any form of violence will be quelled.

As usual, I realized it was worse than I imagined. The reality is that I will be immortal, and none of this will matter to me. I might become a mix between Ray Comfort and the apologist Seth Gruber. Do you think there will be forced sex changes there? Not a chance. How about abortions? Unheard of. For the most part, we will sit on our plots of land, grow a few crops, and worship the God we have come to love.

iLuke 23:41 NLT

This will be the last look at and critique of Pete Garcia's post, How it all ends.

Post three of three.

The original merely had eight bulleted points with no explanations. Here, I continue as I look at point number five.  

5. (The) "Sheep and Goat" judgment (Matt 25:31-46).

   If you had asked me about the sheep and goat judgment, this is where I would have initially directed you. It is, the same scenario as the great white throne judgment of Revelation twenty, verses 11-15, however, Matthew shows us, Jesus, while Revelation 20 seems to show the judge as God. Keep this in mind as you read the Revelation, it is a Revelation of Jesus Christ. There are very precise reasons I feel comfortable saying that are the same, and we may touch on some of them here.

   In Matthew 25 we see this.

   "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.” (Matthew 25:31 NASB)

   It is the Son of Man sitting on His glorious throne. You should know at this point in time, that all judgment has been placed into Jesus' hands.

   "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;” (Matthew 25:32 NASB)

   Here in Matthew, all nations are gathered before Him.

   Can you make an assessment as to whether those gathered are alive or dead?

   We are not given that information.

   Can you define dead, in God's eyes?

   Death is only a separation from God.

   Notice that it is Jesus that creates the groups and places the people in their appropriate group

   “and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
   (Matthew 25:33-34 NASB)

   The King, that's Jesus, makes the announcement to the group on the right – the sheep, Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Before the foundation of the world, doesn't that imply that their names were written in that book this entire time?

If that is the case why wouldn't they have been called up in snatching away of the church?

I don't know the answer to that, but this is speaking to me of the religious judgments that I have been inappropriately taught to make.

Perhaps those being shown God's mercy, are having the same questions because Jesus seems to respond with an explanation.

'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;” (Matthew 25:35 NASB)

Wow, giving someone something to eat or drink doesn't really seem like much. But in God's eyes it is acting in the nature and character of the Son. His nature and character is LOVE, in case you did not know. This exchange of questions and answers goes on for four more verses.

"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
(Matthew 25:40 NASB)

“...To the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”

Have you ever given that any thought? He, Jesus, is projecting, and appropriately so, His persona upon these.

If we could end it here that would be enough for me, but NO, He has to go on.

"Then He will also say to those on His left (the goats,) 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”
(Matthew 25:41 NASB)

Verse 40 applies to these people as well, only in the opposite. “To the extent that you did (NOT do) it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did (NOT do) it to Me.”

6. Millennial Reign of Christ on earth (Isa 2:2-4, 9:6-7, 11:1-10, 65:22-25, Rev 20:1-10) righteous (outside of the Church) resurrected, unrighteous of all time not resurrected until the end.

   First, the millennial is the 1000 year reign of Christ over the earth. It is also the time when Satan gets thrown into the Lake of Fire for a thousand years, where he cannot bother any of us in the outside world. Wow, if that is the case, then how do you explain what we see in Revelation 21 where it is talking about the New Jerusalem.

   “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.”
   (Revelation 21:27 NASB)

   It would seem that God has allowed for free will, and based on their actions, I would say they have chosen not to follow after Jesus.

   “Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.” (Isaiah 2:2-4 NASB)

   Interesting how many usages the phrase “last days” refers to. It can imply Jesus' return for His church, the seven-years of God's wrath, known to many as the great tribulation, and the millennial reign of Jesus. Here, in Isaiah, it is speaking of the thousand-year period.

   The mountain of the house of the Lord will be established. There are scriptures that speak of Satan being tossed from heaven, stripped of power, and all power being given to the Son. With statements like this, you would think that we, the followers of Christ, would walk about in power and victory; but we don't, do we. The millennial reign is when this actually happens.

   “That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” Sadly, you have had this opportunity to learn His ways and walk in His paths all along.

   During the 1000 years, He (we assume that this is God, but no, all judgment has been given to the Son, Jesus,) will judge between the nations, and (He,) will render decisions for many people.

   And, as a result of this judgment, they (the nations,) will hammer their swords will be turned into plow-blades, and their spears into vine-knives.

   The BBE Bible puts the end in this manner.

   “No longer will the nations be turning their swords against one another, and the knowledge of war will be gone for ever.”

   Finally, peace.

   Can you imagine how many people live in a constant state of fear?

   What a relief a life like this would be.

   It is a wonderful thought, and it will end with a final judgment.

7. Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:11-15)

   This is the same judgment that you saw when we talked about the sheep and goat judgment. Yes, there seem to be differences, such as here in Revelation 20 it talks how He (we assume it's God here,) calls the nations before Him. While in Matthew's account, He (in this case it is the shepherd – which we understand to be Jesus,) calls the dead before Him.

   Since our spirits live on forever, is anybody truly dead?

   Death is nothing less than your permanent separation from God, and hence, that is why there is a hell.

   "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15 NASB)

8. The eternal order (Rev 21-22:5)

   I have no idea what Mr. Garcia is talking about and I will tell you that I have never heard this preached in church. Let's see what the passages say and see if we can make any sense out of it.

   “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.” (Revelation 21:1 NASB)

   “A new heaven and a new earth.” I was recently told by someone that they wanted to talk about these very chapters. I have read them on several occasions, and I thought they made sense. Immediately one of the questions I was asked popped into my mind, and it had to do with the earth burning up. In trying to find an answer for this person, I did an extensive search. This is about all I could find.

   2 Peter 3:4-7 NASB "and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." (5) For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, (6) through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. (7) But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."

   I, and a few others, will tell you, that the Revelation is a Jewish book immersed in the Old Testament, and prophecy to the Jew is based in repetition. I find nothing in scripture that shows me the earth being consumed by fire, except for 2 Peter 3. Should I then reject any allusions to the old earth burning up and being replaced? I don't think so, if for no other reason than to purge the earth of it's pollution; and I can see pollution on two levels – Satan's and that made by humans.

   If Mr. Garcia is trying to make a point, perhaps the point lies in the chronological order of things. Albert Barnes, who published his commentaries around 1847, tells us that John assigned no time frame to what these two chapters convey. So I am not sure a chronological order is going to work.

   If, like the Apostle, Peter tells us, that it is all reserved for fire, then how does God manage to show mercy to those living throughout the millennial years?

   My question is anchored in the scriptural understanding that non-believers enter the millennial reign; and since these people will continue to live with a freedom of choice, among their own people, outside of the New Jerusalem, then births will continue and each individual will have to be shown God's mercy, hopefully leading them to Jesus Christ. You cannot merely burn them up and we see an ample opportunity for them.

   In Revelation 21:2 we see the Holy City, 1500 miles square, coming down. For this to land on a level pad, there has to have been a tremendous shaking, and we see that as we read the scriptures. I have always pictured Holy City being in place throughout the millennial reign. A piece of evidence for this comes from this statement, which Mr. Garcia did not point you to.

   "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. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying." (Revelation 22:14-15 NASB)

   If we do not see the Holy City until after the sheep and goat judgment, where the goats are thrown into the lake of fire (to be burned eternally,) then how is it that there people like this walking around outside the city of God?

   Another question arises. How could a just God allow these people to enter the millennial kingdom and continue with such horrid desires? Perhaps the answer lies in His mercy.

   We have one more clue in that Satan will be released after the 1000 years and he deceives the nations; they, in turn, driven by his passion to kill God and take His power, attack the Holy City. God stops that nonsense by, you got it, burning them up. Satan is then cast permanently into the Lake of Fire, while all these new deaths get to join the others at the great white throne judgment. This is the same judgment as what we see in Matthew 25 where the “goats” are cast into the fire. In either case, among those books used to judge is the Book of Life. The mere thought that God is scouring the books to see if there is a shadow of a reason to give those before Him life, should keep you awake at night.

   So, if the Holy City was sitting on earth when God burns the heavens and the earth, would it also be consumed in the fire?

   I suspect that God can do anything and maintain what is His. Revelation 21:4 tells us that there will no more death, sorrow, nor crying, for the former things have passed away.

   Ah, but when does that happen?

   Does it happen, for the church, at the catching away – the rapture?

   Beyond the rapture the martyred saints, murdered during the time of wrath, should no longer have to deal with death, sorrow, or crying, and yet we see them crying out, how long Lord until the rest can come home, almost as though they are still aware of grief. So I am not sure this thought process works to define the order of heaven.

   Perhaps this has more to do with the beginning of the millennial reign because it seems that immediately after Jesus shows up peace will take over. I have struggled to comprehend this peace all my life, as I have had to deal with bullies, just as many of you.

Look, the “Order of Heaven” is irrelevant as God will do what He intends, and His intent is to give us back the world and the relationship Adam had with the Father before the fall. No more Satan, therefore, no more prodding to sin. For the believers, we will be immortals, impervious to pain, death, and aging. And one other thing that I long to understand, is the companionship of such a powerful God.