The Judgement of Mankind

After the defeat of the global army, the Antichrist and the False Prophet will be cast into the Lake of Fire.  Satan will be imprisoned for a thousand years, and Christ will set up his earthly kingdom.  Those who have followed him and obeyed his laws will hold the positions of authority in this earthly kingdom, as described in Revelation 20:4.  “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” 

This is the period Isaiah 2:2-4 describes.  “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”  Joel 3:9-13 and Micah 4:1-4 also describe this period. 

Isaiah 11:4-9 gives some other details about this thousand year period.  “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

I Thessalonians 4:16-17 describes the resurrection of the believers.  “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”  they are the ones mentioned in the first reaping in Revelation 14:14-16.  “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.  And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.”

This resurrection is only for those who believe in Christ, as Revelation 20:5-6 explains.  “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”   For a thousand years, they will live on this earth, with no disease, no crime, no wars, and no reason for fear.  For those who have believed, this will be a time of rejoicing, and they will never have to worry about being judged unworthy.   

Those who have survived the Tribulation and the global war will have experienced what it is like to have God in control of life and escape all the problems of our present life.  At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released for a short time, to give those survivors an opportunity to choose whether they would prefer God or Satan as their ruler, as Revelation 20:7-10 describes.  “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

People naturally tend to prefer evil over good, and even a thousand years of perfect peace will not change their natural tendencies.  Clearly, there will be a deliberate choice to follow Satan.  As Hebrews 6:4-6 tells us, there will be no reason for God to give them any more chances.  “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”  

The only thing God can do is judge and punish those who have rejected his laws and principles.  Revelation 20:11-15 describes that Judgement.  “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

God has a record of everything a person has ever done, down to the smallest detail.  Jesus said they will be judged on the very words they said, in Matthew 12:36-37.  “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”  No matter how good or how bad they may have been, if their names are not written in the book of Life, they will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever.  Philippians 4:1-3 makes it very clear those who serve God have their names written in the book of life.  “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.  I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.  And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.” 

John 14:6 tells us, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  There is no other way into heaven but through faith in Jesus Christ.  Matthew 7:21-23 warns, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”  Without faith in Christ, their good works will not save them.