Those Outside The Gates Of New Jerusalem..
Revelation 20
The Thousand Years
20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
So the Beast is locked into the PIT 1,000 Years..
Here we also see the Martyrs who refused the mark of the beast. They RULE with Christ 1,000 Years..
We also wee that the “Rest of the dead” liven NOT AGAIN for 1,000 years..
It’s clear Christ’s Millennium occurs during the 1,000 years when Satan is locked in the Abyss. And those dead who did NOT take part in the first resurrection will NOT reign with Christ..
Take Note- Rev 13:6- It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,
During the time of the Mark Of The Beast- ALL MEN are “FORCED” to take the Mark or Die… This leaves No Righteous people left. The only ones who are on the Earth at this point are the ones who have been marked..
The Judgment of Satan
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
After the 1,000 years Locked in the pit, Satan ascends from the pit.. He will gather troops for Armageddon and his troops will be in number of the sand on the seashore…
Ask yourself this- If the only men left are those with the Mark, where do all these other people come from?
Answer- Rev 6:13.. and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
These stars from heaven that fall to Earth are people returning for the Judgments of GOD against the Wicked..
You may be asking- where does the bible teach this??
Answer- Matthew 12 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
YES- Along with the people who took the Mark, Other WICKED people will be present during God’s Trumpet Judgements.
The Judgment of the Dead
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
This passage above is the last resurrection. We know they did NOT rise until after 1,000 years have passed.. (Rev 20:5). We also know Satan has been locked up 1,000 years.. This is when “The Lake Of Fire” is at hand.. Satan is thrown into this same Lake Of Fire as the people who are judged during this judgment. So by the time this happens, Satan has already been released from the Pit (Abyss).. And needless to say, this event happens at least 1,000 years AFTER Satan was locked into the pit.
We will notice in the First Resurrection, there is no Lake Of Fire yet.. In that resurrection the bride and the martyrs were the only people who were given robes. All the other dead remained in their graves. Once the First Resurrection occurs, there will be at least 1,000 years until the final judgment.. It is during this time that Christ’s Millennium Reign happens. Satan is locked in the pit and Christ is in charge with the saints from the first resurrection.
Now lets link this last judgement..
Matthew 25:31-46
The Final Judgment- Sheep and Goat Judgement
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[a] you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
We see that in the Sheep and Goat Judgment, some are given life, while others go in to the Lake Of Fire. Since The Lake Of Fire is not present till the final judgment, this event is indeed the FINAL JUDGMENT. And this takes place 1,000 years AFTER Satan is locked in to the pit.. As we proved above..
Ok so now we concluded that there are 2 resurrections. The first for the righteous only- and the second resurrection will be for the Sheep and the Goats.
Now Lets see where each group goes..
We know the First Fruits and the Martyrs go to New Jerusalem. This happens at the First Resurrection.. See below:
Rev 20- 4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They[a] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
Reviewing Rev 20 again, we already know the First Resurrection souls Reign with Christ in New Jerusalem. Now we need to find out where the souls from the second resurrection go.
Rev 21:22
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Ok so now we see besides New Jerusalem, there are also “NATIONS” that live outside New Jerusalem.
Rev 21:6-8
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Here we see that people who practice SIN are going to the Lake Of Fire.. Take NOTE that this group includes “Unbelievers”…
Rev 22:14
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Now in this grouping, we see again sinners, BUT Take Notice, The word “Unbelievers” does NOT appear in this group. This group we find sinners that are “OUTSIDE” New Jerusalem. BUT There are No “Unbelievers” Outside New Jerusalem.. This is the group that becomes the “NATIONS” Outside New Jerusalem. And we can clearly see Sinners ARE ALLOWED to inherit Eternal Life, BUT Unbelievers will NOT be included in the “Nations”. Faith and Belief is a REQUIREMENT.
So how does all this tie in? Allow me to summarize..
Once you accept Jesus’ real teachings and live by them- all your SIN is forgiven and your robe is WHITE.. We have a choice now to either keep our robes white through repentance and refraining from SIN, OR we can keep our faith and continue to sin and Get our robes dirty..
If your robe is WHITE, You will be allowed in New Jerusalem.. If your robe is dirty, you will be placed in the Nations OUTSIDE New Jerusalem. BUT Both Groups will get Eternal Life..
In the situation of the Martyrs, they will have an opportunity to wash their robes white with the blood of their own sacrifice, Just as Jesus did and as the Mosaic Law States.
The First Resurrection is ONLY FOR people with White Robes.. Everyone with Dirty Robes will be judged at the Final Resurrection in the Dividing Of The Sheep and Goats. The “Sheep” will go into the nations, and the GOATS into the Lake Of Fire.
No One from the First Resurrection will end up in the nations, and No One from the Final Resurrection will end up in New Jerusalem.
Using this format, it becomes clear why there are so many contradictions in beliefs regarding the LAW, Sinning, Works Vs Faith, etc.. Each parable is describing a portion of this system and only applies to the portion it is meant for. This is called “Rightly Dividing The Word”..
This document could go on and on for extreme lengths pointing out all the proofs from Jesus’ words to Paul’s writings, and tie it all in to the Old Testament. Basically, it can be summed up by saying “Inheriting the Kingdom of GOD” is NOT The Same as “Salvation”. Salvation and receiving Eternal Life is a FREE GIFT that comes from Faith Alone.. BUT Inheriting The Kingdom Of God (New Jerusalem) comes from Faith that leads to Good Works “Producing Good Fruit”.