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Judicial authority exercised in peace, and conferred on the saints: living and reigning with Christ a thousand years; the first and the second death; the fate of the saints and of their enemies
We now come, evil power having been set aside, to the exercise
of judicial authority in peace; and this is conferred on the
saints. The prophet does not merely see the thrones as set in
Daniel 7, but sitters on them too. Besides all to whom judgment is
given in general, two special classes are mentioned, because they
might seem to be too late, or to have lost their part: those
beheaded (after the assembly was gone, for it is the
Revelation-period we have to do with) for the witness of Jesus,
and those who had not worshipped the beast (compare Rev. 6:9-11;
Rev. 13:15). These, as well as previously departed saints, had
their part in living and reigning with Christ a thousand
years. But those who were not Christ's, the rest of the dead, did
not live again till the thousand years were over.* These were
finally delivered from the second death. The first death they had
undergone, the natural wages of sin, but in faithfulness; in the
second death, the final judgment against sin, they would have no
part. It could have no power over them. On the contrary, they had
special relationship with God and Christ, they were priests of God
and of Christ, and would reign with Him a thousand years. They
also are priests and kings. Note how God and Christ are here
united in one thought, as continually in the writings of
John. Thus the beast and the false prophet are in the lake of
fire, their armies slain, and Satan bound in the abyss, and the
risen saints are priests of God and Christ, reigning with Christ a
thousand years. The details and effects, mark, are not given
here. The object is to give the place of the saints, and
especially of the sufferers, during the time of this book. The
rest come in as a general fact, there were sitters on thrones of
judgment; but the faithful of the prophecy are specially
mentioned. Satan let loose again; man's last and needed trial; God's judgment from heaven; Satan's ended; the exercise of God's wrath closedWhen the thousand years are finished, Satan is let loose again. He comes up on the earth, but he never gets up to heaven again. But the nations are tested by his temptation. Not even having seen Christ and enjoyed the fruits of His glory — no mere means can secure the heart of man, if it is to be depended upon; and men fall, in number as the sand of the sea, into Satan's hands as soon as tempted; enjoying blessing, where unfaithfulness would have been present loss (perhaps cutting off) and there was nothing to tempt them, but unfaithful as soon as they are tempted, as soon as the heart is tried. It was the last and needed trial of man; needed because they could not have finally enjoyed God with natural hearts, and the natural heart had not been tested where present blessing was on the side of owning a present, visible, glorious Christ. The deceived multitude, not limited now to a third of the earth or a special prophetic district but taking in the breadth of the earth, went up against the camp of the saints, and surrounded it and the beloved city, Jerusalem. It is remarkable here, there is no special presence of Christ amongst them. They are left apparently to be surrounded by their enemies. The Lord has allowed all this testing separation of personal faithfulness. Had He appeared, of course these hostile crowds could not have come up, nor would the thorough trial of the heart have proved the faithfulness of the saints, who would not follow the seductions of Satan. They are pressed upon and surrounded by the enemy, but faithful. Once this separation and full testing had been accomplished, God's judgme nt fell on them from heaven, and destroyed them. The devil was then cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet were already, where they are tormented for ever and ever. This closed the exercise of wrath, of the destruction of hostile power — a wondrous scene — that God should have enemies in this world! Now judicial power, as such, seated in its own right, comes in. It may be remarked, that the exercise of this on the quick, forms no part of the contents of this book. The hostile power of the beast was destroyed by Him who judges and makes war, the heavenly saints having been taken to glory. The crowds of apostates at the end of the thousand years are destroyed by fire from heaven. But the judgment of Matthew 25 is not found here, unless there be a possible connection with the judgment of Revelation 20:4. The judgment of the dead before the great white throne; God's dealing with souls; the book of life; the lake of fire the second death
There now comes the judgment of the dead. There is no coming
here. A great white throne is set; judgment is carried on
according to the purity of God's nature. It was no dealing with
the earth, or the power of evil, but with souls. Heaven and earth
— all mere scenes of judgment — disappear. The secrets of men's
hearts are judged by Him who knows them all. Heaven and earth flee
away before the face of Him that sat on the throne, and the dead,
small and great, stand before the throne. Judgment was according
to works, as it was written in the books of record. Still another
element was brought into view. Sovereign grace alone had saved
according to the purpose of God.* There was a book of
life. Whosoever was not written there was cast into the lake of
fire. But it was the finally closing and separating scene for the
whole race of men and this world. And though they were judged
every man according to his works, yet sovereign grace only had
delivered any; and whoever was not found in grace's book was cast
into the lake of fire. The sea gave up the dead in it; death and
hades, the dead in them. And death and hades were put an end to
for ever by the divine judgment. The heaven and earth passed away,
but they were to be revived; but death and hades never. There was
for them only divine destruction and judgment. They are looked at
as the power of Satan. He has the power of death and the gates of
hades; and hence these are for ever destroyed judicially. They
will never have power again. They are personified; but of course
there is no question of tormenting them or of punishment: when the
devil himself is cast in, there is. But death was not then
destroyed; for the wicked dead had not been raised for
judgment. Now they had; and the last enemy is destroyed. The force
of the image, I doubt not, is that all the dead now judged (the
whole contents of hades, in whom the power of death had been) were
cast into the lake of fire, so that death and hades, which had no
existence but in their state, were entirely and judicially ended
by their being cast in. The saints had long before passed out of
them; but they subsisted in the wicked. Now these were,
consequent on the judgment of the white throne, cast into the lake
of fire — the second death. The limit and measure of escape was
the book of life. |
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