What happens after the Tribulation?

What happens during the Tribulation.

Following the seven years under the rule of the world by the Antichrist, The Messiah, Jesus Christ came down from heaven and has taken over the rule of the world, the Antichrist and the False Prophet have been sent to the lake of fire and brimstone and Satan has been locked up in the bottomless pit for a period.
Revelation 20:1-3. (KJV)

"1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. "

The True Believers, Jew and Gentile, who had left the earth at the Rapture which was prior to the Tribulation, had come with the Messiah back to earth. As part of one of the prophecies given to Daniel we find that at this time any people who had believed in Jesus as the Messiah during the tribulation period and had been killed by the Antichrist during the Tribulation period will also be raised.
Daniel 12:1-3 (KJV)

"1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. "

"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. "

Additional prophecies are given in the Old Testament, for example:-
Ezekiel 20:33-38 (KJV)

"33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:
34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. "

Zechariah 13:8-9 (KJV)

"8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. "

The Millennium

With Jesus Christ in control of the world we will enter a wonderful period of one thousand years, Satan will be locked in the bottomless pit so unable to touch the people. There will be no poverty, no need of prisons, hospitals, armies, gambling, sexual houses. People will have a life of youthful abilities. Nature will also be affected, deserts will bloom and animals, like sheep, will live with the wolves with no risk.
The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glorious Lord. There will be however some people who have survived the Tribulation period, we must assume that they had not submitted too or worshipped the Antichrist. They will be able to be part of the Millennium Time and they will enjoy the circumstances and situation. We are not told if they will have changed bodies but in time they will have children and these will then populate the world and then they will have their own children during the following thousand years. This fact is important for later.

Isaiah 2:2-4 (KJV)

"2 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.
3 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.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. "

Those who came down to the earth with the Messiah will have work to do to restore the badly damaged earth.

Revelation 5:9-10. (KJV)

"9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. "

Why do we have the Millennium period?

Please note that this period is not the heaven that God has planned for the future, that will come at the end of this period. This is a time to demonstrate what a life can be under the love and care of Jesus but the sinful nature of Mankind is still present.

It is a time to reward the people of God for their faithful service during their time on earth.

Revelation 20:5,6. (KJV)

"5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 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. "

Matthew 16:27. (KJV)

"27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. "

Matthew 25:34. (KJV)

"34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: "

Revelation 22:12. (KJV)

"12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. "

The Lords prayer, "earth will be as heaven."

Matthew 6:9-10. (KJV)

"9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. "

The sinful mankind

Those who survived the Tribulation will have children who will still have the sinful nature of mankind. At the end of the thousand years ruled by Jesus Christ Satan will be released from the bottomless pit, and he will then cause a rebellion against God using the sinful nature of these children, proving the fact that mankind is sinful and cannot worship and accept God in love.

"1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. "

"7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 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.
9 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.
10 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. "

Note that the Antichrist, called the Beast, and the False Prophet are still in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone punishment after 1000 years, it is for ever.

What will happen after the Satan attempt ?

The True Believers will not be present at this judgement because this is not to judge whether the people are lost or saved, the saved have already been collected at the Rapture, these people at this judgement have already rejected Christ during their earthly life, their name will not be in the Book of Life, they are now to be judged according to their works while alive on the earth, ultimately they will be placed in the Lake of fire but it does seem that they may receive varying decrees of punishment according to their life.
Revelation 20:11-15. (KJV)

"11 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.
12 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.
13 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.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. "

Preparing for the future.

Many of us have to make long journeys and when we do we may spend many days preparing, checking if finances are available, accommodation is available and booked, transport available, obtained the correct ticket, passport valid. Made sure that our home and the facilities are all setup for your absence, so many tasks, yet very few of us think of a journey we will all have to make, sometime in the future, a one-way trip that will last for eternity.

Our life on earth is only for a short time - but eternity is for ever!!

James 4:14. (KJV)

"14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. "

1 Peter 1:24. (KJV)

"24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: "

Matthew 7:13-14. (KJV)

"13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. "

The majority of humanity has chosen the "wrong gate" and are on their way to the wrong destination, away from God. But the True Believer will only appear before the judgement seat of Christ, it is not a place of condemnation, it is a place to judge and reward those who have served the Lord faithfully.

"10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. "

"6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. "

The statistics for death are "one out of one dies." unless you are a true Believer, then death is just "a change of address."
John 14:1-3. (KJV)

"1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. "

Hebrews 9:27-28. (KJV)

"27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. "

Revelation 20:11-15. (KJV)

"11 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.
12 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.
13 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.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. "

The New Heaven and New Earth.

After all the above events have been completed then we are now approaching the final stages of the plan of God, He is going to create a New Heaven and a New earth for His people.

2 Peter 3:7. (KJV)

"7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. "

2 Peter 3:10. (KJV)

"10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. "

What and how God will do these actions is not revealed in the scriptures, we can only guess and speculate. God created the present universe so to recreate is no problem for Him.

Why does God need to create a New heaven and earth? Genesis 1 tells us that the creation was "good" but sin has spoilt it. God wants to create perfect university free of the sin of angels and mankind.

This earth must be physical. because we will be like Jesus was after the resurrection, it requires a physical home for our perfect bodies.

Revelation 21:3-5. (KJV)

"3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. "

Scripture tells us that there will be two major change on this new earth, one, there will be no sea Rev 21:1., but Jerusalem will have a life giving river flowing from it.
Revelation 21:1. (KJV)

"1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. "

Secondly there will be no sun or moon.
Revelation 21:23. (KJV)

"23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. "

Isaiah 60:19. (KJV)

"19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."

There will be a New Jerusalem coming down from Heaven.

"1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. "

This city which came down from heaven is an unbelievable city in size. It is being constructed by Jesus in heaven right now and will then be relocated to the earth after the re-creation of the heaven and earth.

This city is unbelievable large, the scriptures give us the dimensions and appearance in Revelation 21:9-27. (KJV).

"9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. "

The city is cube-shaped, with the same width and height and length of 1500 miles. Taking a normal height of each floor in an office, this city will have over 600,000 floors. In addition the walls are about 200 feet thick and covered with precious jewels, precious stones and gold.
It will have twelve gates, three on each side, named after the tribes of Israel. The gates will never be shut as there is now no danger.

We are not told how the people will live in this structure but it will have room for all who have worshipped the True God down the ages.

There is no temple as God and Jesus are there with all their glory and from His throne is a river of pure water of life.
Revelation 22:1-7. (KJV)

"1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. "

And they will live, play and worship God forever.
Jesus has gone to prepare this place for all who have been forgiven through His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, whose names are in the BOOK OF LIFE.

Will you be there?