|
We believe in the personal return of Christ, in the
air, for His church, to be followed by a seven-year
period of tribulation. Christ will then return
physically to the earth, defeat Israel's enemies, and
establish a one thousand-year reign over an earthly
kingdom, as promised to Israel. At the end of the
thousand years, God will permanently assign Satan to the
lake of fire, judge the unsaved, and establish the
eternal state.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But we do not want
you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are
asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who
have no hope. 14 For if
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God
will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in
Jesus. 15 For this we say
to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive
and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not
precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of
God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then
we who are alive and remain will be caught up together
with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and
so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore
comfort one another with these words.
Revelation 19:11-22:21
11 And I saw heaven
opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it
is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He
judges and wages war. 12 His
eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many
diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one
knows except Himself. 13 He
is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is
called The Word of God. 14 And
the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From
His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may
strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a
rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce
wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And
on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING
OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
17 Then I saw an
angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud
voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven,
“Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18 so
that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of
commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of
horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all
men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”
19 And I saw the
beast and the kings of the earth and their armies
assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse
and against His army.
20 And the beast was
seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the
signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who
had received the mark of the beast and those who
worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into
the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And
the rest were killed with the sword which came from the
mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds
were filled with their flesh.
20:1 Then I saw an
angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the
abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And
he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is
the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
3 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.
4 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. 5 The
rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand
years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed
and holy is the one who has a part in the first
resurrection; over these the second death has no power,
but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will
reign with Him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand
years are completed, Satan will be released from his
prison, 8 and will come
out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners
of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for
the war; the number of them is like the sand of the
seashore. 9 And they came
up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the
camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came
down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And
the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of
fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false
prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and
night forever and ever.
11 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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Then
death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This
is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And
if anyone's name was not found written in the book of
life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
21:1 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.
2 And I saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And
I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold,
the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell
among them, and they shall be His people, and God
Himself will be among them, 4 and
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there
will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any
mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have
passed away.”
5 And He who sits on
the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and
true.” 6 Then He said
to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end. I will give to the one who
thirsts from the spring of the water of life without
cost. 7 “He who
overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his
God and he will be My son. 8 “But
for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and
murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and
idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.”
9 Then one of the
seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven
last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come
here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10 And he carried me
away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and
showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, 11 having
the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly
stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12 It
had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the
gates twelve angels; and names were written on them,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of
Israel. 13 There were
three gates on the east and three gates on the north and
three gates on the south and three gates on the west. 14 And
the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and
on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of
the Lamb.
15 The one who spoke
with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city,
and its gates and its wall. 16 The
city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great
as the width; and he measured the city with the rod,
fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height
are equal. 17 And he
measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human
measurements, which are also angelic measurements.18 The
material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure
gold, like clear glass. 19 The
foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with
every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone
was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony;
the fourth, emerald; 20 the
fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh,
chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the
tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth,
amethyst. 21 And the
twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates
was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure
gold, like transparent glass.
22 I saw no temple in
it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its
temple. 23 And the city
has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is
the Lamb. 24 The nations
will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will
bring their glory into it. 25 In
the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates
will never be closed; 26 and
they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations
into it; 27 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.
22:1 Then he showed me
a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming
from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 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. 3 There
will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and
of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will
serve Him; 4 they will
see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And
there will no longer be any night; and they will not
have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the
sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they
will reign forever and ever.
6 And he said to me,
“These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord,
the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel
to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon
take place.
7 “And behold, I am
coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the
prophecy of this book.”
8 I, John, am the one
who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and
saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who
showed me these things. 9 But
he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant
of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those
who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he *said to
me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this
book, for the time is near. 11 “Let
the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who
is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is
righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who
is holy, still keep himself holy.”
12 “Behold, I am
coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to
every man according to what he has done. 13 “I
am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the
beginning and the end.”
14 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. 15 Outside are the
dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the
murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and
practices lying.
16 “I, Jesus, have
sent My angel to testify to you these things for the
churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the
bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the
bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say,
“Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the
one who wishes take the water of life without
cost.
18 I testify to
everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this
book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the
plagues which are written in this book; 19 and
if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of
life and from the holy city, which are written in this
book.
20 He who testifies
to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the
Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
|
