Chapter 12 The Restitution of All Things The New Heaven and Earth At the end of the millennial kingdom Satan is confined forever to the lake of fire. The great white throne judgment for all the unsaved dead occurs. They are judged out of God's books which have recorded their every thought, motive and deed. All are cast into the lake of fire for no one is found righteous based on their works. This is the end of all judgments and the eternal state or eternal kingdom of God begins. Revelation 21 v l-8 reads, Verse l 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. Verse 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. Verse 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. Verse 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. Verse 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. Verse 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Verse 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God and he shall be my son. Verse 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. The eternal state has recovered all that Adam and Eve forfeited. All the work of Satan has been undone. God's word and sovereignty has been vindicated. God's justice, love and mercy has been demonstrated. God who can declare history in advance and bring it to pass is glorified. Isaiah 46 v 10 reads, "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." The Appointed Time Do you know that God the Father has already fixed the day of the rapture? The appointed time is approaching and God will not delay. The tribulation has been set for exactly 7 years or 2,520 days. The millennial kingdom has been set for a thousand years. God does not have a problem fulfilling his promises within a specified time frame. However, Satan has a problem with time frames. He has promoted through the deception of evolution an infinite amount of time. Yet the real evidence given in earlier chapters refutes this. Ancient Jewish rabbis understood that the world would last 6,000 years and the Messiah would give a sabbath rest of 1,000 years to mankind. Early church writers such as Justin Martyr (100-167 A.D.) and Iranaeus (130-200 A.D.) understood the same. Six days of creation and one day of rest for God. 2 Peter 3 v 8 speaks in this way, "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Acts 3 v 20,21 reads, Verse 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Verse 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Acts 17 v 30-31 reads, Verse 30, And the times of this ignorance God (the Father) winked (overlooked) at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Verse 31, Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man (Jesus) whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.   The Prophetic Puzzle Comes Together I do not know if the rapture will occur prior or shortly after the year 2,000. But the conditions of our generation fit perfectly. It may be that God will allow the year 2,000 to come so that all the scoffers can voice their derision at God's prophetic plan. What I do know is that I can see the day approaching as recorded in Hebrews 10 v 25. I do not think it is a coincidence that as we approach 6,000 years of human history all the prophetic signs are dovetailing in our generation. No other generation has seen the rebirth of Israel. No other generation has had the technology to fulfill the mark of the beast spoken of in Revelation 13 v 16-18, so that no man may buy or sell. No other generation has seen the apostasy of the professing Christian church to the extent we have. No other generation has had the weapons capability to wipe out all life on earth. No other generation has had the satellite technology for the whole world to view the two witnesses in Revelation 11 v 3-12. No other generation has seen the population growth so that the kings of the East can assemble a 200 million man army as in Revelation 9 v 14-16, and Revelation 16 v 12. No other generation has seen the explosion of knowledge. The previous millennium had no such foundation of fulfilled prophecy. The rebirth of Israel as the fig tree sets the stage for one generation to witness the fulfillment of all these things. 1 Thessalonians 5 v 3 describes the conditions of the last generation as like a woman giving birth. There will be no delay in God's set time but a rapid acceleration to the rapture, the tribulation and the millennial kingdom. The rapidity of world changing events is mute testimony. On the Horizon As the stage is being set for the 7 year tribulation, the anticipation of the rapture is a tremendous comforting hope. As events accelerate towards the 7 year Middle East peace treaty, the closer the rapture comes to being realized. It also encourages us not to compromise but to follow Christ more diligently. It encourages us to yield to God those areas of our life that are inconsistent with Christ. We should keep our eye on certain developments as we seek to walk with Christ daily. God does not want us to sell all our possessions and go sit on a mountain top. In Luke 19 v 13, Jesus said to "Occupy till I come". It means to fulfill your calling whether it be a teacher, office worker, laborer or whatever. It means to remain in those occupations but keep an eye on the prophetic developments. It means to avoid the strictly horizontal outlook which the world system promotes totally oblivious to God's plan for this world. We should watch the development of the Middle East peace process. We should watch for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem which is necessary during the tribulation. We should watch the political development of the European Union into the Revived Roman Empire. We should watch the developments in Russia and her former satellites. We should watch for Roman Catholicism to continue her ecumenical proposals for a world church. We should watch for false teachers and examine their doctrine and behavior by the words and character of Christ. All these "actors" are rapidly moving into place for the final curtain call. The Wide and Narrow Road Matthew 7 v 13-14 reads, Verse 13 Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Verse 14 Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Everybody starts on the wide road of life which has many smoothly paved lanes and many signs and attractions. As you drive your life along you can choose various lanes. There's a number of religious lanes (Hinduism, Buddhism, Muslim, Catholicism etc.) all with signs saying you are on the road to heaven. There's the proud and intellectual lane which says "I'm not as bad or simple as those others are." There's the party lane where life is eat, drink and be merry. There's the I'll do the best I can lane and hopefully my good deeds will outweigh my bad. Satan, the god of this world has a trip for everyone. Satan says they all lead to heaven. However once in a while as you are blindly speeding along there is an U-turn which says repent and go the other way. It leads to a narrow one lane road full of potholes, trials and tribulation but the end thereof leads to eternal life. You can't enter this lane except through a narrow gate. To go through this gate you leave everything behind and go through empty-handed. You cannot bring any baggage. Your self-righteousness, your favorite sins, your self-will, your pride, your riches, your intellectualism, your favorite idols etc. must be renounced and forsaken. The gate is too narrow to pass with these bags in hand. Jesus is the gate and says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14 v 6). What road are you on?   What About You If you have not been reconciled to God I urge you to do so. God can only save sinners not people who are evolving into godhood through self-improvement courses. He cannot save people who are wise in their own eyes. He cannot save people who are full of pride and self-confidence. He does save those who are humble and contrite (Isaiah 57 v 15). He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (l Peter 5 v 5). Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost (Matthew 18 v 11). No sin is so vile nor stain so deep that the blood of Christ cannot cleanse it. No manner of life is beyond his forgiveness and pardon. He died for the sin's of the most vile sinner to the most self-righteous person. Each of us equally needs the forgiveness, pardon and new life Christ brings. Have you repented, surrendered your will to the Lord Jesus and entered on the narrow road?