Hello everyone,
We now come to the most controversial part of Revelation chapter 20, the final vision. Those who believe the entire chapter presents a single timeline, a single chronological vision, conclude that what is described in verses 11 to 15 refers to the second resurrection, which they believe happens only after Satan, his demons, and all his followers are destroyed forever.
That interpretation means the only basis for judgment is what people did during their former lives, lives marked by ignorance of God. In this scenario, they get no opportunity to know God or to repent. For them, Yehovah is a cruel judge who resurrects them only to explain why they don’t deserve the chance to know him and repent due to their ignorance, a chance they never had in their first life. In other words, this view denies these people, not a second chance at life, but a first chance. There is no love, nor mercy in this understanding, just unfeeling condemnation.
Let us now read this third vision in its entirety.
“Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds. (Revelation 20:11-15)
Contextually, there is no way this resurrection could occur after the thousand years have ended. At the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ, our Lord will have destroyed all enemies, including the last enemy, death.
That means there will be no more dead. As Jesus said in John 5:29, all those in the graves will have heard his voice and come out, some to a resurrection of life, and others to a resurrection of judgment. Let’s read it again so there is no doubt:
“For a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and will come forth—they who have done what is right to the resurrection of Life, and they whose actions have been evil to the resurrection of judgement.” (John 5:28, 29 Weymouth New Testament)
Not some, but all who are in the graves will hear his voice. That aligns with what is revealed in Revelation 20:13:
“The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead…”
All of this places the fulfillment of this third vision squarely within the thousand years of Christ’s rule. Just to refresh our memories:
“Next, the end, when he hands over the Kingdom to his God and Father, when he has brought to nothing all government and all authority and power. For he must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. And the last enemy, death, is to be brought to nothing.” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26)
At the end of the thousand years of Christ’s rule, after destroying all authority that opposes God, he also destroys the last enemy, death. Only then can God be all things to everyone.
We’re not just talking about resurrecting people. We’re talking about restoring them to life. Billions will return, but they’ll still be dead, right?
Paul describes this kind of death.
Let’s reason through this together. We’ll read again from Paul’s words, this time in the opening verses of Ephesians chapter 2:
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:1, 2)
So, the only way that death—the last enemy—can be done away with is if all the dead are resurrected and given the opportunity to repent. If they do not, they will die permanently, the second death. But if they do repent, they will be made alive, just as Adam and Eve were alive before they sinned.
So, when it says that the dead will be judged, what is the basis for that judgment? Their deeds. But deeds committed when? When they were dead. And when are they dead? They’ve always been dead, because they were born in sin. Even when they come back in the second resurrection, they are still considered dead.
So, are they judged only on what they did before their resurrection? Or are they judged on their deeds while still dead, which would include their actions after being resurrected?
Would a loving God judge people only on the basis of sins committed in ignorance?
Not according to Paul. To Timothy, he wrote:
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.” (1 Timothy 1:12, 13 NLT)
He says, “God had mercy on him because he acted in ignorance and unbelief.”
This is the God who does not change. Is his mercy only for those who happened to be alive when Jesus came, people like Paul?
Paul continues:
“Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:14-16 NLT)
Paul was used as a prime example of God’s great patience and mercy, even for the worst of sinners.
Again, was that example meant only for people alive at that time? Of for us today? Or does it go beyond our time?
Let’s reason through this together, because Paul has more to say on the subject of judgment and mercy. We’re going back to Ephesians:
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:1, 2)
Who is the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now at work in the sons of disobedience? That’s Satan, right? But he won’t be around when the Kingdom is in power. Let’s continue.
All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
And there you have it. Those who make up the children of God, those who will rule with Christ, were once dead in their trespasses. But they were saved by grace, a free gift from God, given out of his love and mercy.
But why? So that when these ones are seated in the heavenly realms in Christ, they can display the surpassing riches of God’s grace in the coming ages. They are seated with Christ during the thousand years. That is when they will display the surpassing riches of God’s grace. On whom will they display these riches. On those coming out of the graves and tombs in answer to the call of our Lord.
Paul is talking about the thousand years during which he expected to be ruling with Christ in the Kingdom.
What happens under that kingdom rule? The old earth, this world full of disobedience to God, and the old heavens—the powers and authorities including Satan ruling over the earth—will both pass away. They will be replaced by a new earth and new heavens.
Now what does Revelation 20:11 say?
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.” (Revelation 20:11 NIV)
The earth and the heavens fled from the presence of the one seated on the throne.
None of this fits with the belief that the second resurrection occurs after the thousand years are over. By then the new heavens and new earth will be firmly established.
Religious people who claim to be disciples of Christ, yet teach that the billions who died in ignorance and unbelief, never having the chance Paul had, are simply out of luck and will rise only to be condemned by God, do not realize that this belief, like the doctrine of eternal torment in Hell, is a blasphemy against God. They paint our Father as cruel and unjust, unloving and without mercy. Why? Is it elitism?
When I was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was taught elitism, not directly, but subtly. I was taught that those who didn’t respond to our message would die eternally at Armageddon. We’d go from door to door with our two magazines, The Watchtower and Awake!, and if someone rejected us or slammed the door in our face, well, too bad for them. They were going to die, but not us. We were saved.
Now I see things differently. My hope, like Paul’s, is that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous, so that those who died in ignorance of God’s love and mercy can have a real chance to know him, love him, and benefit from obedience to our loving Father in heaven.
Before we close, let’s take a moment to envision what the Kingdom of God might be like. Granted, we’re speculating, but we’ll stay within the lines of the truth God has already revealed. Like Paul said:
“Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.” (1 Corinthians 13:12 GOD’S WORD® Translation)
I believe there will be survivors of Armageddon, because Revelation 16:14, 16 describes it as a war with the kings of the earth. The purpose of this war is not genocide, but regime change—specifically, the replacement of human governments with the rule of Christ’s Kingdom. And to be a king, you must have subjects.
We’ll get into the details of Armageddon in a future video, but for now, imagine billions of people surviving that war and having undeniable evidence that Christ is King.
They will still be dead in their sins, but now they will have a choice: submit to God and live or refuse and continue to age and die. What will the world look like by the end of the first hundred years? All who refused will have died the second death. The rest will be alive, having been granted life by God’s grace and mercy.
Then the second resurrection can begin. Once again, the dead will be given the opportunity to accept God’s mercy or refuse it. And if they do refuse, they simply continue to age as we do now and eventually die off.
By the end of the thousand years, everyone will have passed from death to life. Death will be no more. But as we saw in our last video, the life they receive will be the same kind of life Adam had, a life with the prospect of eternity but still untested.
They will all be children of God, just as Adam was, and as his descendants would have been had he remained faithful. These humans will now be children of God through the last Adam, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45). He will be their eternal Father, just as Isaiah 9:6 foretells.
But they will receive eternal life only if they resist Satan’s temptations when he is released after the thousand years have ended.
There is still much to discuss—Babylon the Great, Armageddon, Gog and Magog, the meaning of being tormented forever in the lake of fire, and what it means for Christ to come as a thief in the night.
Stay tuned, and please continue to support our work. Thank you.