We who trust the Lord as their Saviour need have no fear of the future as God loves and protects His own family, whatever happens in the future. So what does the future hold for a believer and one who has rejected God?
God has from the beginning had a plan for His creation, Humanity. We need to examine the last acts of the plans of God for His creation to understand the future life of a True Believer.
You may consider that the present world is very poor but in the future the world will be subjected to the wrath of God, the Great Tribulation. During this period the world will be exposed to terrible conditions under the control of God, finally it will end in the Battle of Armageddon, when the world, led by the Antichrist, was planning to wipe out the Jewish nation but will be attacked by many other nations. It is then that Jesus Christ will come with His heavenly army to reclaim and restore order on the earth as planned by God.
Revelation 19:11ff.
"11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
The power of Christ will destroy the evil armies of the world, the Antichrist, the False Prophet and those who received the mark and worshiped the Beast, Revelation 19:20, will be immediately placed in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, Revelation 20:10. And Satan will be locked in the bottomless pit for a thousand years. Revelation 20:1-3.
We are not told what happens to the other demonic angels, we can only assume that they were put in the Lake of Fire, which God had previously prepared for them, see Matthew 25:41.
"19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. "
Revelation 20:1-3.
"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. "
One single angel can chain and control Satan!!!!
That is the future for the world and the True believer, so what does the Bible teach about the True Believers life until that event. |
Our Status
The scriptures tell us that God created the angels and mankind in perfection, but also gave them and us a free will. This meant that we both could choose whether to obey and worship God or reject Him. Unfortunately some of the angels and later mankind chose to turn to disobedience of God. Satan now leads the disobedient angels and does his best to make men and women continue to reject God.
Disobedience of God results in punishment for the sin, both angels and humans will one day be judged and punished for their disobedience. Yet because of the wonderful love of God for His creation Man, He has provided, as a gift, forgiveness through the death of His Son on the cross. The only action needed by each person is to accept that they have disobeyed God and ask for forgiveness. The alternative will be to stand before God in His judgement in the future.
The angels, who disobeyed God, do not have access to forgiveness of any sort, only total punishment some day in the future in the lake of fire.
Romans 8:1
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. "
Mark 10:28-31; Luke 18:28-30.
"28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first."
John 1:10-12.
"10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: " |
We belong to Jesus and God the Father.
John 17:9-12.
"9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. " |
How The True Believer should live and deal with any problems.
Colossians 3:4.
"4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor un circumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity(love), which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be you thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
Philippians 2:15,16
"15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."
John 16:33.
"33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
1 Peter 5:6-9.
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world."
2 Peter 1:2-4.
"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
1 John 2:15-17.
"15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
1 John 2:16,17.
"16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
1 John 4:4.
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
1 John 2:15.
"15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
John 15:18,19
"18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." |
The Believer and his "Works."
Scripture has much on the Believer and their works, an outstanding passage is in 2 Corinthians 5:9,10.
"9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
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.
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Note the emphasis upon work or labour and "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ," for judgement on what we did while on earth as a believer.
However, we are also told in Ephesians 2:8,9.
"8 by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
God has made a covenant of grace depending upon faith of a person without works. However, if we continue with verse 10 we find:-
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Salvation is very obviously all by the Grace of God and His covenant through the death of His Son Jesus Christ. Salvation is by an act of faith in the death of Christ, not of works by us.
However, there is another part of the covenant of salvation, not involving the forgiveness of our sins, but the kind of life we live for Him following our salvation.
The death of Christ makes us right with God through grace, but we are saved to serve Christ on earth, works!!!
So what is this Judgement Seat of Christ for?
John 5:24.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. "
Punishment for sin is now past for the believer through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, so God has already made His judgement on Christ for our sins, all covered, so there is a second judgement for the Believer on their conduct since salvation, but not condemnation.
Romans 8:1,2.
"1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
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The return of Christ.
Jesus will descend from Heaven accompanied by those who had died in the Lord in the passed, those who were raptured before the Tribulation, and those who had refused the mark of the Beast and died in the tribulation. In addition both Matthew and Paul tell us that the angels of heaven will also come with Christ at his return. |
In the Old Testament prophet, Zechariah, we find a clear prediction of what will happen when Christ touches the earth, Zechariah 14:1-7.
"1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
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We now know that Christ will return to the Mount of Olives and have a fantastic effect on the geography of the area.
Jesus himself told of the future events in Matthew 24:29-31.
"29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." |
Following the return of Jesus Christ, the world, which must be in a terrible state following the seven years of God’s wrath on those who rejected Him, will come under
the full control of Jesus the Christ and a 1000 year period,the Millennium will be created, of never before known, peace on earth.
Those who were true Believers and those who had not worshiped the beast, his image, or received his mark during the tribulation period are now living and reigning with Christ for the next thousand years.
Revelations 20:4,5.
"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.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. "
Read Luke 16:19-31, who has ever lived will be judged in some way.
This court does not determine guilt or to condemn, because every person involved will be a True Believing Christian, the grace of God through Jesus covers all of their sins. This court is to judge how these people served the Lord while on earth and to determine their rewards. |
The Millennium, 1000 years rule.
The earth will be in a terrible physical state following the seven years of rule by Satan and the punishment by God.
We are told that this period is mentioned six times in this chapter, we call it the "Millennium period," as the Latin equivalent for 1000 years is "millennium." It is the time when Jesus Christ will reign on this earth, righteousness will flourish, there will be peace everywhere and the productivity of the earth will be great.
This is the time that all those who were martyred during the Tribulation will be resurrected, and also the Old Testament saints will also join the resurrected, Daniel 12:1,2; Isaiah 26:19..
The first resurrection is now complete. Every believer who has ever lived will have been raised from the dead.
The rest of the dead will be brought back to life for their judgment after the thousand years.
We have to look at various prophecies for this time in the Old Testament to appreciate what the establishment of the Millenium, the 1000 year rule by Jesus, will produce upon the earth.
Isaiah 2:2-4.
"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."
Isaiah 11:1-9.
"1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
4 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.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
6 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.
7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.
9 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."
Daniel 7:13,14.
"13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. "
Zechariah 14:4-11.
"4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s wine presses.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited." |
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A New Heaven and a New Earth.
We now reach the final stage of the plan of God for His creation, a New Heaven and a New Earth:
2 Peter 3:7-13.
"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."
"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.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
Hebrews 1:10-12.
"10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. "
Revelation 21:1-4
"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.
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. "
Isaiah 65:17-25.
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17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD."
Isaiah 66:22,23.
"22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. "
None of us can conceive what the future will be like for those who have taken Jesus as their Saviour, why don’t you? |
The New Jerusalem.
Following the final events of the human history we enter eternity in a New Heaven and a New Earth, what this actually means we are only given a small glimpse. We know how wonderful the Garden of Eden was for Adam and Eve, until they disobey God, now God is restoring the situation, somehow God will purge heaven and earth of sin and death and provide a new, cleansed heaven and earth for eternity, also there will be no curse on nature.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. Revelation 21:5.
In the book of Revelation we are given a small glimpse of this city, the capital city of the eternal kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:2,3.
"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. "
The dimensions of the City.
Revelation 21:15-17
"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. "
In modern terms, New Jerusalem will be 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high. The top is above the stratosphere which starts about 1,000 miles up, it is bigger than India!!!
And this city is only part of the earth.
Will you be living in that Holy city and the perfect new earth for eternity?
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