Theological Views: The “Plan A” Millennium

The Temporal, Jubilee, Zionistic, Millennium (=Rev 20:1-3, 4-6, 7-10, 11-15+)

This post is an, as succinct as possible, exposition on, what has come to now be, the Biblically/Prophetically, -including also from the SOP, inevitable event of a Temporal “Jubilee” (=EW 286.1), Kingdom of God Testifying (=Matt 24:14) Typological Millennial Era. This Event and Era has been briefly mentioned and expounded upon in prior postings (here and here; {cf. the dramatic depiction here}) and discussion (starting here), but it is now expanded in more detail.

First of all, it is key to see and understand for a proper Biblically contextualizing background that throughout the Great Controversy history upon this planet (i.e. since its Fall) God has endeavored to have several World Order restoring re establishments for this Planet. All in order to give people on this planet their best chance to see and accept His Saving Righteousness ways. Prior to the First Advent of Christ, thus in the OT Era, these restorations attempts were towards the that Messianic Event, and the after the completed Sacrifice by Christ, thus in the NT Era, these Restoration attempts were to prepare people for Christ’s Second Advent Event. However in all of these, by now, as listed below, 7 attempts (which is quite “representational” enough), it has been the failure of those who were supposed to do their part in a covenant made by God with them, thus God’s (professing) People, who failed to do their part, and so God literally had to go back to the “drawing board” and rework/repackage His ‘Greatest Testimony’ prophetic plans, to be “covenantly” given to, and started over with, a new generation, even group, of (professing) people. Here is a brief overview of these events:

Prophetic Repackagings

1 - “OT Pseudopigrapha” (Fall-Flood (2300 BC))

2 - Israel Zionistic (1875-586 BC)

3 - Apocryphal/Messianic (536 BC-31 AD)

4 - Olivet Discourse (31-70 AD)

5 - Church History (95-1844 AD)

6 - SDA I (EGW) (1846-1908 AD -Plan B1)

7 - SDA II (1915-2012 AD -Plan B2)

8 - NJK (1996-???? AD -Plan A)

Now for someone who spuriously/erroneously believes that ‘God “knows” the future’ rather than what the Bible actually teaches that ‘He indeed “foreplans” it’, and that these far looking plans can be frustrated and variously, at least applicationally, altered by the disobedient decisions of men (Jer 18:9-10), and also, conversely, beneficially adjusted to respond to “unexpected” obedient and faithful decisions (Jer 18:7-8; e.g. Jon 3:10ff), it is impossible for them to see and accept these Biblical, also SOP, statements/facts that God could have wrapped up this Greiat Controversy a long time ago. For them, this “wrapping up” can only occur when it will occur. And so such people glossingly have, nor give, and valid/coherent/satisfactory response to the many unfulfilled prophecies, and prophetic statements in the Bible and SOP which speak of various “wrapping up”/Second Coming Events which did not occur when they were claimed to occur. OT prophets copiously made such (literalistic, i.e. in terms of citing then existing, local entities, which now need to be Spiritually interpreted) statements (e.g. Ezek 38-39; Isa 60:6ff; Zech 14:9ff; Dan 11:43). Jesus also did Mark 1:15; Matt 16:28|Mark 9:1|Luke 9:27; Matt 10:23 (discussed here); Matt 24:1-2ff, 29-31ff, 34-35. As did Paul (1 Cor 10:11; 1 Thess 4:15). And so did, as critics love to knee-jerkly harp on, EGW. The simple, Biblical response is that none of these were wrong for these wrapping up Events should occurred when God had stated through these prophets that they could occur.

So, in this proper Biblical understanding light, to briefly recap, and summarily comment on those past 7 events. And it is key to note that with each failing of a prior reestablishment attempt, there comes to necessitate a regrouping and rebuilding period as God seeks to start up a new reestablishment movement with another generation and/or group of people:

Prophetic Repackagings

1 - “OT Pseudopigrapha” (Fall-Flood (2300 BC))

-Rather than flood and ravage the world in the days of Noah, God would have instead wanted to have the antediluvians repent at Noah’s 120-year righteousness (2 Pet 2:5) preaching. As the Jonah and Nineveh episode showed, if they had repented there would have been no need to destroy them, nor, resultingly, damage the Earth. So that attempt by God to reestablish proper world order did not accomplish its intended repentance purpose.

To some extent, the prophecies speaking to this full restoration plan by God are seen in what today is called the OT Pseudepigrapha such as the Book of Enoch, (quoted in Jude 1:14-15) , which is, as later discussed in more detail, actually the equivalent of the later/subsequent:

(2) Promises and Blessings in the Books of Moses (Deut 28:1-14);

(3) OT (Apocalyptic) prophecies, the book of Ezekiel, and the Apocrypha;

(4) pertinent parts in the prophecies of Daniel & Christ’s Olivet Discourse (cf. Matt 24:15);

(5) the book of Revelation, the eschatologically-extended (i.e. ‘a day = a year’), and re-applied portions of Daniel;

(6) EGW’s SOP prophecies (e.g. in Early Writings);

(7) EGW’s SOP prophecies (e.g. Great Controversy);

...all of which indeed are actually prophetic revelations given by God for each of these new repackaging eras. (Hence the Biblicalness of the controversial angelic instruction in regards to the ‘wise studying of the Apocrypha’ given in 16MR 34.3). And as easily seen from each of these set of revelations, and indeed as it can easily be copiously substantiated, most, in fact if not, in some form, all, of the parts of the prior prophetic revelation/books still have an application in subsequent eras, even if it then necesarily is in a Spiritualized and non-literalistic way.

2 - Israel Zionistic (1875-586 BC)

-Starting with the calling of Abraham, God attempted to reach the now atheistically-paganistically-steeped world[1] through a Geo-National Witness from His formed Zionistic Israel Kingdom. (Cf. Deut 4:5-8). But Israel never lived up to that plan, and thus in 723 B.C., lost much of its own constitution in the 10 Northern tribes being assimilated by Assyria, and then the Southern Kingdom Judah being overrun by Babylon by 586 B.C. Were it not but for God’s purposeful mercy (cf. Ezek 36:22-23, 32), they would not have been restored to their land.

3 - Apocryphal/Messianic (536 BC-31 AD)

-Upon the Return from Babylon of Judah, the rebuilding of the Temple and Civil and Political “Restoration” of Jerusalem (=Dan 9:25, discussed here), then a prophetic plan culminating in the an approving punctuation by the Messiah would have occurred during Christ’s First Advent and Ministry, but as the Gospel amply document, such plans, even by Jesus in person, were resolutely opposed by the Jewish People then, (mis-)led by their self-serving religious leadership. Indeed as object-lessonly remonstrated by Jesus, the Triumphal Entry would have been that Messianic capping Event. (Luke 19:35-44|DA 580.2ff). But that new Israel Remnant group stemming back to the Babylonian Captivity Return had long set themselves up to lose the plot, pointedly by them having refused to follow the plans given by God His “son of man” Ezekiel in what was to be the rebuilding blueprint for that restored Judah, its Temple, and then all Israel. (Cf. Ezek 40-48).

4 - Olivet Discourse (31-70 AD)

-Well just upon the sealed failing of (Ethnic) Israel then, Jesus went on to lay the blueprint for what was to culminate in His Second Coming by 70 A.D., -then through a newly called out remnant also including Gentiles. And just by comparing Isa 61:2b with Luke 21:22, which is the prophetic portion which Jesus had deliberately left out in one of His earliest ministry-opening sermons (Luke 4:16-21; see DA 240.4ff), it is seen that Jesus duly turned those favoring Zionistic prophecies (also in Isa 34:8; 63:4) for a triumphant Jewish people, against them. And the Olivet Discourse is the expanded prophetic stipulations for that transpired, failing reality (Matt 23:37-24:2ff).

A new Israel-of-God-advancing movement was however established by Christ to seamlessly takeover where that prior group for God’s Israel had failed, and upon the Nero persecutions of the early 60's A.D., and then the tribulation which befell on Jerusalem, it was most evident to the believers that Christ’s Coming would be very soon, as prophesied....

5 - Church History (95-1844 AD)

....But here is what is key to each of Prophetic Resetting/Repackaging events...in God’ great mercy, He prefers to allow the actual readiness state of His People to trump any fulfilled prophecies, and even fulfilling prophetic culmination scenario. So though Jerusalem and its Temple did fall in 70 A.D., the (supernatural/spiritistic) end did not “immediately” follow those days of tribulation. (E.g. Matt 24:23, 29ff|Mar 13:21, 24ff|Luke 21:24, 25ff). Just by reading in the ecclesiastical letters of Paul, and also the Letters to the Seven (originally literal) Churches in Asia Minor in Rev 2 & 3, it is most manifest that the Christian Church was itself not ready for the end to come. And so, as discussed in greater detail in this post, the possible ca. 70 A.D. end was halted, hence the history-continuation crisis in Rev 5, as the Heavenly Intelligence, yet once again, had to go back to the drawing board, and repackage and produce a newest prophetic scenario, the book of Revelation, which would now have to take into consideration how God planned to direct the coming unfolding of History which now would revolve around His new, Spiritual: “Israel” (Rom 11) and “Zion/Jerusalem” (Gal 4:25-26; Heb 12:22-24) and “(representative) Temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16; 2 Thess 2:4) within the faith and context of the Christian Church.

So now, and keyly through an application of the day-year principle in the various time elements involved in prior, now reapplied prophecies, the present, book-of-Revelation, prophetic scenario would develop over Church History, with an expected culmination around the ending of the 2300-day prophecy of Dan 8:14. But a key thing happened towards the very end of this prophetic scenario which itself would almost certainly spell the failure of this potential 1844 culmination. Upon his accomplished reformations, Martin Luther was confronted with the Sabbath issue which he well knew to be, as discussed within this post, an also non-Biblical tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. Indeed for centuries after the Cross, Christians kept the Sabbath, and then around 70 A.D., started to also keep Sunday in order to avoid being persecuted as Jews. That dualistic tradition settled and continued in the Church, but eventually, starting at the Council of Laodicea in the 360's A.D., the (Western) Catholic Church decided to completely outlaw Sabbath observance. That decree was eventually fully complied with in the areas upon which the Western Church had dominance, but the Eastern Church decided to ignore it and continue to keep both Sabbath and Sunday. But the dominance and power of the Western Church later manage to have binding influence into most of the Eastern Church’s realm, and so their “Sunday only” stance won out in most of the Christian Church. So Luther, being a well educated former Catholic priest, was indeed well aware of all of these Historical and Ecclesiastical details which did show that Sunday Sacredness was merely a tradition in, and of, the Church. But he opted to not also reform that waywardness, and so his followers, and the many other Protestant groups who also saw him as an influential reformation leader, also maintained that tradition. (Yet groups within these Protestants like the Seventh Day Baptists, started in 1617 or 1651, to keep the Sabbath instead of Sunday, and later, through one of its members, influence another group to do so who would become the Seventh-Day Adventist Church). Thus the statement by God in the Reformation Church application Letter to Sardis (Rev 3:1-6), that “its deeds were not completed in the sight of God” (Rev 3:2b) resulting in its Full Reformation cause dying (Rev 3:2a). Yet, manifestly God was still able to (relatively), mercifully place His “seal” upon that Fifth Church Age group (Rev 9:4) as they manifestly did honestly believe that they had done God’s will in such matters. (But not so in these end times (Rev 7:1-3), as the fuller “Sabbatical” evidence is now in.)

So again, while several fulfilled prophecies of this repackagings, such as the time periods ending in 1798 AD, were fulfilled during their allotted time in the Church Age, because of the unreadiness of the Church, including even those who had formed the Second Coming awaiting Millerite Movement, the end was not allowed to occur around 1844. (Cf. EW 249.2). And most indicative of this sudden prophetic halting, which had been also seen in the prior failed scenarios, this potential ca. 1844 one focusing on the Millerite movement, saw a consistent ending of unraveling fulfillments at points within Revelation’ Sixth Historical Series. Namely at/around the prophetic statements of Rev 3:7; 6:13; 9:15; 10:10

Thus, another, as with God’s pattern, “advancing” Remnant movement was then raised up by Him in what would become the SDA Church.

6 - SDA-Remnant (EGW) (1846-1908 AD -Plan B1)

As already elaborated upon in this post, God had plans to effectuate the Second Coming at least 3 times between 1846 and 1908, but due to the failings of the SDA Church, in regards to Finishing its work, then time was prolonged again. (=15MR 292.2-3). And it is key to see and understand that with each of these passing opportunities to wrap things up, as time is prolonged, and thus evil is allowed to spread and become more entrenched, God then has to do the corresponding work to build up a countering response. To recap here in the light of this pivotal implication:

(1) Frankly the pre-Flood generation was the most opportuned in regards to know God’s Truth and practicing righteousness. They still lived in a, relatively, pristine world, as the Flood had not yet done its tremendous damage, so really, and unlike depicted in most Bible movies, people were not living, and trying to scratch out a living, in a rock barren land, but instead in a, relative to now, most beautiful land, with even valuable minerals just laying on the surface of the Earth. (cf. Gen 2:11-12). So it was really in conditions of relative still ease and leisure than men became quite, especially violently, corrupt. So their “Apocalyptic” (cf. Luke 17:26-27) flood judgement which destroyed them all, was really all that God could do in response.

(2) Now the post flood world and generations, which was subject to great ravage and thus scarcity, gave “opportunity” for a new depth of sin, including a “justification” for it, which necessitated God’s corresponding response. To debunkingly answer the establishment of paganistic religions, as people desperately/gropingly mainly sought to find a godlike entity which would watch over them and provide for them, God raised up His Nationalistic and Religious Israel. But Israel failed to provide that overruling Witness/Testimony.

(3) Then for a world and Era that was dominated by a hegemonic ideology where the Great Rulers of past Kingdom thought that one man and His Kingdom, turned empire would provide the solution for the world, God set in motion His long-determined Messianic Rule and Kingdom plans. Unfortunately, ethnic Israel failed to fully usher in this Great Era.

(4) And then, rather than spreading what was the residually still achievable for that initially Temporally planned Kingdom through militaristic warring (cf. John 18:33-37), God instead used the means of the testimony of the preaching of the Gospel Truth, and the Godly living witness of Christians, spreading throughout the inhabited world. (Cf. Rev 6:1-2). Yet that attempt too, when actually and properly done, would not be, as fully expected (Matt 10:34-36; 2 Tim 3:12) without its opposition backlash (Rev 6:3-4).

(5) Then for an Age deceived by the establishment of a Spiritual, Religious Babylon, where the chief, acceptance tenet was that man was permitted to pervertingly shape the word of God to fit their own disposition and preference, God worked through the various groups of people who testified that they preferred to suffer and die rather than go along with this popular stance. (Rev 12:11) Hence was the testimony of the Church in the Wilderness during Church History (Rev 12:6, 13-17).

(6) Now with all of these prior lesson given in these past correctingly responding prophetic movements and waves by God, and yet with now virtually all of God’s Zion banners for Truth merely laying on the ground instead of flying high, God set out, in this prophetic repackaging, to reestablish that especially now needed institutionally physical witness of His Cause and Ways on this Earth. And so was the Remnant Church, then the SDA Church, raised up, along with its “member-per-member” unmatched Gospel (Ecclesiastical) institution establishments. To them, a repackaged Final Events scenario of the Bible was given as set out in greater detail through the SOP in the Great Controversy. Hopefully the presence of those who had formed the Laodicean Church (i.e., SDA Pioneers) would serve as a correcting and calibrating influence upon the group who then increasingly was morphing into Laodicea. But that did not work out to be the case. And so this great opportunity was squandered.

And so, as EGW stated, SDAs would then have to remain in this world much longer than priorly thought/expected due to such insubordination. (LDE 39.1-5)

7 - SDA (1915-1999--2012 AD -Plan B2)

What next followed was actually not a prophetic repackaging, though the prior understandings would come to be much more deeply understood, but it really was, in terms of far-flingly and “long shot” a “Hail Mary” hope to see that SDA-SOP scenario find its fulfillment in now the fully entrenched Laodicea Church. But that has not come to be the case, with the SDA Church having allowed, now Socio-Economic Babylon, to overrun it, by making the idolatrously worshipful SDA Church reverentially subservient to its various dictates. So really the SDA Church is indeed failing its preluding Mark of the Beast testing (~Rev 13:15-17), hence the related reason why it has come out on the losing side of the Shaking. (5T 80.1-81.1) The inherently-covenanted “promise” for the Second Coming ushered in by the Final Warning work of the SDA Church has been rescinded (=Rev 7:1-3). A Church which itself is not heeding, not sealed by, the Third Angel’s Message most logically cannot be rigthly giving it to the world, and indeed the SDA Church is, as provingly most tangibly seen, just not.

And so, along with the scraping of this prophetic plan, so was its fast-tracked, and thus “Plan B”, antitypical Heavenly Millennium Scenario, being “put on the back burner” for, potentially, (i.e. if still necessary), a Post “Plan A” implementation.

8 - NJK (1996--1999-???? AD -Plan A)

So then has had to raised up a new, Work-advancing (15MR 292.2-3) movement, the Fellowship of Zionistic Sabbatarian Christianaires (FZSC), and as seen next, with now a socio-economic phase of Babylon (the USA) to engage and debunking defeat, and not just an Religious one (Roman Catholic Church), this New Movement of God would need to be able to rectifyingly match all what that furthered state of Babylon has been polluting and perverting the world with. Hence the long-in-the-works (i.e., inceptively starting back in 1996) NJK Project.

This Plan A is expounded upon in more detail in the rest of this post, as seen next in how it fulfills the Millennium Prophecies of the Bible, namely (more literalistically) Isaiah 24, and the (more spiritually) in Revelation 20. And its easily self-evident that God, in His incontrovertible Wisdom, always expected that things would “come down to the wire” as He has (1) allowed the Isa 24 passage to easily be fulfillable by either a Plan A or Plan B scenario, and (2) has actually mixed in Plan A and Plan B elements in the Rev 20 scenario. Same things goes for the validly, eschatologically applied Jeremiah 4:19-23-29 passage. This is much like what had come to be involved in Christ’s Olivet Discourse (cf. DA 628.1) as it could have fully been fulfilled by 70 A.D. or also have applications in the ensuing prophetic scenarios, even to the end.

(Exegetical) “Plan A” vs.(Anecdotal) “Plan B”

It is indeed foundationally key to see that the “Plan B” scenario given to SDAs through EGW’s SOP, being an “emergency rescue plan”, does not literalistically nor fully incorporate and/or apply every prophetic element stated in these cited 3 main Millennium passages in the Bible. And, as seen in the various prophetic expositions in this blog, it is thus quite typical that SDAs can at best give an “anecdotal” (i.e., and even quasi-indifferently, merely/rotely, ‘according to what EGW had seen and (as with other SDA pioneers had) interpretingly said’), rather than (objectively) give an exegetical exposition. Thus far I have foremostly seen only Ranko Stefanovic (here), Jon Paulien (here), endeavor to give better (scholarly) exegetical SDA-agreeing prophetic exposition, as well as Peter Gregory (e.g. here on Rev 10). But they all variously patently swerve off into really or literally, completely vacuous, and thus irrelevant, philosophical “filler” claims, (-as irrelevant to the actual interpretations as are even “targeted” interjected advertising during programs) during their interpreting exposition and the whole Spiritual reason is that, as state in 1SM 25.4 they crucially lack the needed personal/Spiritual “experience” in order to make sense of/in these (inherently) Spiritual Revelations from God. Such “experience”, pointedly in righteousness/right-doing is, as stated in Dan 12:3, 10, indeed “key”/pivotal (=Matt 13:10-17; =Isa 6:8-13) to fully making Biblical sense of these encrypted, especially eschatological, revelations, for it is only by endeavoring to do this “advancing” (Dan 12:4b) that such concealed things are unsealed. And this confirmed realization personally takes me back “full circle” to what I decided to do, (evidently now, enjoinedly encouraged by God’s Spirit), that, (as priorly mentioned here in 6th paragraph in “Sealing of 144,000” section), rather than ‘seek to first exegetically figure everything out in the Bible’, and thus “be right”, I instead decided to, -to the extent that I feasibly could, ‘do what it right’ (which is the definition of “righteousness” i.e., =right doing), -which actually came to also include: “terrible, but “duly/justly right”, things” (=CET 228.2; cf. RH, February 4, 1902 par. 18; 18MR 187.4; HR, March 1, 1880 par. 9; =Rev 19:11; cf. SW, September 8, 1903 par. 2-3). And through that (either way), “right-doing” approach, which produced and resulted in literally a wealth of Biblical Spiritual Experience, it has become quite easy to make Biblically cogent sense of such Spiritual and Concealed Prophetic Revelations, including in the SOP.[2]

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Isaiah 24

So with that all backgroundly said, I will here, starting with Isa 24, be expounding mainly the “Plan A” Typological Temporal/Earthly Millennium understanding, which is actually closer to the text than the SOP “Plan B” view, as shown in the SOP (cf. Ed 180.2ff; PK 726.2ff; ) for e.g. EW 289-291; GC 657.1-661.2. But do comparingly see for more “Plan B” ‘glossing, spiritualizing and rationalizing’ of the Millennium in this presentation (and pointedly on Isa 24 & the Millennium in here) by Stephen Bohr.

Isa 24:1 - Behold, the LORD lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants.

the earth - The Hebrew word here can mean either “the land” (i.e. here of Israel (and/or Judah)), or the Earth as a whole, depending on the content/extent to which it is known/understood to apply. But the context/extent here is indeed generally the whole Earth. And, not that the Septuagint (LXX) Greek scholars were translating under inspiration, but they, at the very least, were translating according to common Hebrew/Jewish (Religious) understandings, which probably included how, even the original writers and/or speaking prophets had later explained their revelations, -but they do here use a more specific term which is then available in the Greek Language to speak of the “inhabited world” and not the “planet” (Gr. kosmos) as a whole. So it can be reasonably and keyly, foundationally understood here, as actually later made clear right in this passage, that God has plans to destroy the terra firma world, thus wherever men are actually living, for, as during the Flood, He pointedly has an issue with wicked men, and not the planet itself.

lays waste, devastates, distorts surface - God’s plan is clearly to render the land portions of the Earth empty and inhabitable.

scatters its inhabitants - Now here is a key “Plan A” vs. “Plan B” element. In the (antitypological) “Plan B” application, it is instead shown that ‘all the inhabitants of the Earth are dead’ (EW 289.3-290.1a; GC 657.1-2). But in the Plan A scenario, they are merely scattered about this, moreover wasted Earth. So there are people who are left alive, but they have been dispersed throughout the Earth.

Significantly this all thematically echoes what God had made to occur just after the Flood (Gen 11:1-9) as people, led by Nimrod wanted to gather together in a city, Babel, the, as discussed in here, (significantly enough), precursor of the arch-nemesis of God’s Israel and Jerusalem: “Babylon”, ‘with a tower which would reach to heaven’ (Gen 11:4a), so that ‘they would not be scattered’ (Gen 11:4b), so, really, that they could thus ensure their survivability from God as they continued to collectively engage in societal unrighteousness and an “independence from God”. (Cf. PP 119.1ff; 123.1ff) But as (later) historically (Jer 51:9) and then (derivedly) prophetically (Rev 18:5) seen God will not let such a, (and in Gen 11 merely aspired/endeavored), resolute affront “stand”.

So it evidently is in order to prevent a reformation of unrighteous societies, -and it indeed typically are large cities which are cesspools of unrighteousness and sin, that God performs this Millennial “scattering” act.

General (SOP) “Plan B” Understanding = ‘The Earth is completely destroyed and desolate, and all its (wicked) inhabitant lay their dead, even unburied’ (=Jer 25:33).

Isa 24:2 - And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor.

This statement basically says that the affairs of the Earth will be “overturned”, all in favor of the righteous, -in both Spiritual/Religious (by the way =“Moon” symbol) as well as Practical/Socio-Economic [=“Sun” and (lesser light) “Stars” symbols] affairs. So, as involved in Acts 17:6, Christ’s Truth and Right-doing Gospel will then reign Supreme.

-(righteous) people will be like the priests - Cf. 1 Pet 2:9 =Rev 4:10

-“will be like” vs. “will become” - It may be significant that the text here may also be indicating an egalising outcome, pointedly within the righteous’s own community, where the salves will then not merely become like a master, thus now rule over someone else, -former masters, as their slave, but instead will dually become “servant-masters”. Thus: the people will form a “nation of priest”, instead of merely all now becoming priests who officiate over a non-(and former)-priest people. So only in regards to the wicked will the “(truly) righteous/Godly” and thus naturally formerly oppressed and persecuted by the wicked (2 Tim 3:12), will be the leaders then, but within themselves, this will only be, as modelled by Christ (Phil 2:5-9ff), on a dual “leadership-service” level. (=Isa 4:1-23; cf. here|here =Rev 18)

General (SOP) “Plan B” Understanding = EGW also relates similar “overturnings” occurring at the start of the, interestingly enough ‘land-resting “Jubilee”/Millennium’, such as ‘slaves being freed from the tyranny of their (now confused) masters’ (EW 35.1/286.1 (cf. EW 278.1; GC 608.1); cf. this SOP-clarifying comment)

Isa 24:3 - The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the LORD has spoken this word.

the earth - Again this is (merely) the “inhabited”, even pointedly “build up”, world. So by today, this is virtually all the Earth except for a few areas which are usually not inhabited because they already naturally impede ready/comfortable habitation. I.e., mountains, deserts, remote/isolated islands, etcs)

-the LORD has spoken this word - It is interesting to see that God has long “spoken” this world. I.e. at least since these pre 722 B.C. days of (First/Actual) Isaiah (the son of Amoz). Had Israel remained faithful such actions would long have been effectuated as Israel ascended to it Zionistic end with (presumably) only the whole Promised land of Israel, and including, or solely its capital Jerusalem being preserved on the Earth (cf. Isa 66:24), and thus with, as later addingly specified in the related “apocalyptic” Dan 11 prophecy, (discussed here): ‘the furthering places of habitations for that Israel/Jerusalem Zion being set in the midst of the seas, stemming from that Glorious/Holy Zion/Jerusalem Mountain. (=Dan 11:45a). So it was all due to the wickedness on the Earth then that God had decreed such destruction. Then how much more by today, with wickedness, unrighteousness and unbelief having exponentially increased. In fact, the swath and scope of the planned “necessary” destroying of the built up and inhabited places has thus also vastly increased. So this “terra firma’s” judgement now will indeed be correspondingly much more severe. (Cf. 9T 14.2-3ff)

Isa 24:4 - The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away.

-Evidently this judgement pointedly upon this planet’s terra firma is not merely punitive by God, but as involved in Israel being deported from the Land of Israel/Judah to Babylon for 70 years, accounting for the neglecting violation of its tangibly as well as soci0-economically necessary (Lev 25) Sabbatical cycles (2 Chr 36:20-21 = Lev 26:14, 34-35), it manifestly is for the rejuvenating benefit of this Earth. It is thus no wonder that the SOP actually more in Spiritual depth understood this Era to be a “Jubilee” ‘when the (Earth’s) land should rest’ (EW 35.1; 286.1). Indeed, as foundationally theologically discussed here, God never does anything without a tangibly justifying (thus “Truthful”) reason. So He will not here be making the Earth’s land become desolate and unbothered for (up to) 1000 years for no reason at all, but because this Earth, which generally both has not been allowed to restore itself according to God’s Sabbatical Laws, and also has been variously misused and abused by mainly the irresponsible, selfishness-controlled, Capitalistic strivings of unrighteousness men, does need to “rest” (cf. Rev 11:18b). In fact with God’s Sabbath being for a long time ignored by, even sincere believers, God may hinderedly not have been able to fully, prophetically reveal to men what they should be doing to properly upkeep this planet. So this “Jubilee Millennial Sabbatical resting” period will have become a most tangible necessity. And God will evidently be taking special measures so that no one will prematurely come back to try to live again on this land during this resting period. (Cf. Lev 26:32)

And the pointed foundation Theological reason for this action by God is, as it was presented here, manifestly because God does not want to, thus inherently wastefully, re-expend any extra/added “Divine-Creative Energy” in order to repair the various damages that sin has

done to this Planet. He indeed had created this World to be as self-sustainable as possible. And so, having the Earth be capable of perpetually providing for itself is most important to Him and His most likely still newly ongoing Creating and Life-giving objectives. So the expended energy/matter resources allocatedly granted to this planet will have to, as much as possible, be capable of keeping it going, without any added Divine expenditure. Hence this no-longer postponable intervention to cause the Earth to rest, -and at the same time inflicting due judgement on those who have been ruining/destroying it. (Rev 11:18b). In other words: this planet is all that God will eternally grant to its inhabitants, indeed throughout post-Millennium eternity, and so only absolutely necessary added expenditures will be made, and manifestly merely by being “drawn” from what was sacrificially provided/given over by Jesus at the Cross.

-‘withering’ and “fading” - It is interesting to see these terms being used here as they speak of a slow and steady dying, which thus is indicative of a deterioration in the Earth which no longer is producing thriving life, but instead a gradual dying out.

Isa 24:5 - The earth is also polluted in the places of its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, (naturally) overpassed [limiting] statute(s), cause the breaking of the everlasting covenant.

-polluted = (religiously, morally) profaned by especially violence (Num 35:33) Shedding of innocent blood (i.e., children) (Psa 106:38); the desanctifying abuse of the marriage institution/covenant (Jer 3:1); adultery, sexual immorality & perversion, and evil/wickedness (Jer 3:2, 9). Indicatively enough, all of these are not only actions and conditions which existed at the time of the Flood (e.g., Gen 6:5, 11-13; PP 91.3; 338.1; 81.1 (however see here); 1SP 69.1; 78.2 (explained here)) and also in the Sodom and Gomorrah society which God also “emblematically destroyed.” (e.g., Gen 13:13; Ezek 16:50 2 Pet 2:6; Jude 1:7). Fact is, all of these abominable behaviors are all variously conducive to a culture of death. And, hintingly enough, these are all behaviors which are becoming increasingly the welcomed “mainstream” norm today.[3]

-in the places of its inhabitants - The Hebrew particle preposition here [thacath - Strongs #08478] is basically locative in meaning. So here it actually is specifying where exactly the Earth is polluted/profaned ; -namely “under/beneath/in the places where its inhabitants live”, i.e., “only in its inhabited places.” So this confirms that God will be taking judgment action on, targetedly, the inhabited parts of the terra firma Earth.

-cause the breaking of - It may be news to those in the world that they were inherently in a covenant with God, but so indeed is the case, and that also in regards to due moral living. And in regards to the contributingly related ‘need for the land to also physically/rejuvenatingly rest’: clearly what God had spear-headingly first instructed to Israel in Laws (e.g. Lev 25:1-22ff -and which probably reflected the Instructions that Adam had received through Angels in regards to properly upkeeping the newly created Earth (EW 147.1a (cf. Acts 7:53; Gal 3:19; Acts 7:38; Deut 33:2) )), was also to later be more widely done throughout the Earth. So the, even oblivious, “transgression and violation” of these “laws and statutes”, including moral ones pertaining to life, still had their inevitable and tangible consequences which God will need to check and remedy.

Indeed what is there left to viably live for if death has become the direct or indirect way of things and the land will not even be able to sustain life. In fact this “double whammy” will only accelerate this downward spiral into civilizations self-destruction. So God, for the sake of the righteous (Psa 11), will here have chosen to intervene instead of letting things unravel to their, actually greatly/virutally irreversible, even precipitous, thus inevitable, end.

-the everlasting covenant - It is first of all important to understand here that the “everlasting covenant” is just, i.e., technically: ‘a binding agreement which, if both sides meet and keep their conditions and promises, is to perpetuatingly last as long as time does, thus “everlastingly”. It is also important to understand that the “everlasting covenant” is not only one covenant, but can describe and such covenant which has been given this ‘perpetually eternal’ extent. Thus other “everlasting covenants” were made with David (kingship - 2 Sam 23:5), Abraham/Israel (Gen 17:7, 13, 19; 1 Chr 16:15-19), and the New “Better Promises” Covenant made by Christ about that Abrahamic/Israel covenant (e.g. Heb 8:7-13; Gal 3:23-29; Rom 4:9-15) which also included greater, now worldwide, Messianic-Zionistic promises from God, thus in (Biblical) Christ-ianity. (Cf. Isa 49:5-7; 55:3-5; 61:4-9). God’s promise of Israel’s restoration upon the Fall of Babylon (Jer 50:1-5ff; Ezek 16:60-63; 37:26-28) =Prophetically, i.e. for the neo-Babylon, Rev 17-19.[4]

But the most pertinent “everlasting covenant” to this passage which speaks of destroying the (inhabited) earth for having broken it, is the very first one which God had indeed generally made with all the inhabitants of the Earth. It is the one upon the completion of the Flood Destruction when He then promised: “and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” (see Gen 9:8-17). This is a covenant that is represented by the rainbow, symbolizing, as also discussed here: ‘mercy even in (terrible) righteousness and justice from God’s government/throne’ (see Psa 89:14; 97:2; Ezek 1:28; Rev 4:3; Ed 115.1-3)), which, diabolically ironic/affrontly enough, -indeed effectively, if not inherently, blasphemously tauntingly, (as in: ‘you swore never to destroy people again’), is the very symbol used today by those whose abominable behavior God has already shown, and says, as here, that it is their conduct which will cause the breaking of His everlasting covenant and thus bring about cataclysmic destruction!!

It is thus manifest that, with that this “Noahic” covenant broken, God then is a liberty to do what He had promised never to do again, which is destroy the Earth and all Flesh with a Flood. And, jumping ahead here a little, it is thus that the Earth, upon that Millennial Judgement, can be described, as Apocalyptically was in Jer 4:23, as before God had formed it for inhabitation: ‘“formless and void”, also dark, with the land covered over by waters’ (Gen 1:2). And then combine that with revelations in 2 Pet 3:10, 12 where it is said that fervent heat will also be involved in the destruction of the Earth (cf. Joel 1:15-20), and also that the Heavens will be destroyed by burning, I’ll here jump to the already pondered perceived conclusion that, as relatedly depicted here:

-By the downward spiralling advance of the effectuated Trumpets, and pointedly now “Plagues” on the Earth, to its “woes-starting” (Rev 8:13) Fifth (see explanations in here), with all the (Western) Socio-Economic (Sun), Religious (Moon) and Leadership (Stars) ‘geo-illuminating/guiding lights’ of the Earth having been darkened (Rev 8:12) and even adversially turned (Rev 16:8-9; cf. Luke 21:25a) in the just completed Fourth Series, it would not at all be shocking if conflicting world powers, under this cloud of devilish “darkness”, then most irrationally indeed engage in desperate and wanton Nuclear Exchanges, to the extent that the fallout of a Nuclear Winter comes to most detrimentally exist upon the Earth. Then...added to that, in the face of the ensuing rallyingly/reactionary persisting God-blaspheming rebellion (=Rev 16:11) leading into the defiant, supernaturally-assisted Sixth Era (Rev 9:13-21; 16:12-16), as, also jumping ahead here, the wicked of the Earth will then not only not repent, and will instead now be seeking to assault the righteous people who are then safely/securely living (=Ezek 38:8, 11, 14-16) in their already establish floating NJK Holy Cities in the midst of the Oceans and Seas (=Dan 11:45a) in order to try to takeover these places of viable habitation, with also a pre-emptive defense justification of ‘threatened warfare’ from this Righteous Nation (=Rev 9:15-20), in the face of this assaulting rebellion, God will then intervene here to protect His people by whatever means is appropriate. And this is where I am seeing that the prophesied ‘greatest earthquake in the history of the Earth’ (Rev 16:18) will be made, or allowed, to occur, and that this will also cause the greatest Tsunami Waves in the history of the world (=the ‘sea and the waves “roaring”’ of Luke 21:25b), resulting in the compounding “wiping out” virtually all of the inhabitable places, and also many people, on the Earth, most of which are near the coasts, with the rest of “cities of the nations” having already been levelled by the Greatest of Earthquakes (Rev 16:19b =Ezek 38:19 “Divinely-zealous and wrathful defending, world-terrifying, earthquake”).
In looming fact, in regards to the U.S. itself, if not solely/mainly since it is the (especially, ideological) Headquarters of Present-Day, fully-manifested, (Religio-Socio-Economic) “Babylon” (cf. Rev 17:18; 18:21-24 cf. here), this Earthquaking devastation could easily be done by, or in domino-effect, involve, a “Big One” Event (cf. here) on its (lower) West Coast, as well, on its (upper) East Coast, a much more powerful shifting of the fault which had caused the 2011 Virginia Earthquake Event (a sustained, house-shaking seismic activity which I strongly felt in my home around Montreal, QC, -even then thinking that it was caused by a dump truck having inadvertently slammed down its cargo hold at nearby residential street construction site, and perhaps it actually was such an accident, actually caused by the earthquake, which had indeed made that simultaneous loud, characteristic noise), -which in themselves could actually caused that long-quipped: ‘new, way inland beachfront property’, and would actually have caused the more than likely complete destruction of the leading Cultural (Los Angeles), Political (Washington D.C.) and Social & Economic (New York City) centers of “Babylon” HQ (=Rev 16:19b)!!

Furthermore, to fully effectuate the “Flooding” destruction here through these sudden Tsunami waves, as these waves typically quickly recede back into the oceans, it may be that the Greatest Earthquake here will cause the fountains of the deep to be ruptured (Gen 7:11), and this will be preventing this Flooding to, at least readily, recede...most likely until they are (supernaturally) closed (cf. Gen 8:2). Indeed the “suddenness” of this destruction is the key here of how and why the inhabitants of the Earth, most likely up to now, having been ridiculing and deriding the People of God who, having had been led by God’s granted Spirit of Prophecy (Amos 3:7-8), had long established their “prolonged time” places of refuge in these neo-Noah’s Ark-like, floating NJK Holy Cities. So this sudden Greatest Earthquake, and its ensuing, correspondingly, “Greatest” Tsunami waves, will naturally take all of these wicked people by total surprise, indeed with them not being able to do anything to protect themselves as they could perplexedly/anguishly be seeing through any cavalier Televised newscasts, the approaching, land engulfing, “Greatest” Tsunami Waves. (Luke 21:25b). In fact the word “roaring” in Luke 21:25 can be basically understood as noise/rumors/‘reports’.

And in regards to whatever is viably left, pointedly economically, through which “Babylon” may endeavor to raise itself again (contra Rev 18:21), God will have, indeed “in reserve” (Job 38:22-23), His huge “hailstones” (Rev 16:21 =Ezek 38:22), which, as with any object precipitously entering into this atmosphere, will have become inflamed, and thus will have become, as it was for the plague of Egypt (Exod 9:24), the (antitypically, i.e. naturally (vs. 9/11 II’s artificial, typological, effectuation)) SOP’s “balls of fire” (cf. the depiction of this starting here (=S08E20ff)).

So it is in all of this light that it can be best understood why, in the SOP, those who had been victorious in the Shaking (EW 269ff; LDE 62.1-2), -and had gone on to fittingly represent the Heaven-like (Matt 6:10; 2 Pet 3:13; CET 229.1) Church Triumphant (cf. SW, September 8, 1903 par. 2; which thus typologically fulfills Rev 19:14) =EW 272.3a, will have had the symbol of a rainbow encircling them, while the wicked will not. (GC 635.3), thus showing that God’s faithful people here will not be affected by the Flooding and Earth Shaking destructions. (Cf. Isa 26:20-21). And indeed, ‘living in floating city in the midst of the seas and oceans’ does offer an inherent and naturally undefeatable countermeasure protection against both: any amount flooding and any magnitude of earthquakes, and also against all Tsunamis (see here)!! So this will indeed be God’s most perfect refuge in this “prolonged Era”. (=Isa 60)

Isa 24:6 - Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.

-a curse devours the Earth - Most evidently, this is the “devotion to destruction” “curse” which God had swore in Mal 4:4-6 if His endeavored Elijah Law of God revivals and reformations had not produced its intended results. (Cf. here) And thus will be the enduring “cursed” fate of the Earth, i.e., in it continually greatly suffering from its, above presented, Jubilee-Millennium Era initiating judgements and destructions.

Significantly enough, the prophetic repackagings discussed earlier, come to be strictly parallel to the, as expounded here, several ‘GC Elijah Reforms’ which God has attempted in His Israel once they had been formed. And this is to represent that, and just as it had occurred in the First Repackaging at the Flood (see the debacle started by the failing of the line of Seth (=sons (i.e. faithful) of God (cf. Rev 21:7-9)) in Gen 6:1-4ff|1SP 69.1ff, -elaborated on within here): ‘as the people of God go, so does the rest of the Earth.’ Meaning that, if God’s professed people fail to do God’s restoring and blessing work in the Earth, then He is left with no other choice but to bring about due destruction, upon both these unfaithful professors, and the rest of the wicked world.

-those who live in it are held guilty - Though they may have sinned in ignorance of the explicit requirements of God, the wicked are “inexcusably” (Rom 1:18-32) still deemed to be deservingly guilty. (Cf. Rev 16:5-7; 18:24; cf. Luke 11:49-51|Matt 23:34-36).

-Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned - As per the prophetically perceiving exposition above, this “burning” can initiating be, first typologically, effectuated by the irrationality of human passions (=releasing of (one of) the Four Winds (LDE 239.1-3)), resulting in a massive Nuclear Exchange and “Holocaust” which “burningly” kills much of the Earth’s population (cf. the 9/11 2001-based scenario here)). (Rev 16:10-11). Indeed the “heat burning” in Rev 16:8-9 are caused by God’s representative doings, while those under the Fifth Plague are purely from men’s “dark rationality”, in a mindless World Warring attempt to overturn the thought-to-be merely humanistic: “Militant Muslim Attack and Threats” (Rev 9:1-3ff) reason for these “Plaguing” Calamities.

-few men are left - Comparatively, i.e., vs. 7+ billion inhabitants, whatever the number then is of these who have been left alive and “scattered” (Isa 24:1), will indeed be few, even if it is in the low billions (e.g. 1-2 Billion).

Indeed with most of the world’s Nuclear Arsenal targeted to strike areas of either “counterforce” (=Militaristic) or “countervalue” (population centers) strategic importance, and with the average blast radius of these, mainly mid-sized bombs being around 10 miles, and with currently less than half of the world’s populations actually living in cities, of which there are ca. 4000 which have a population of 100,000+, it would be likely that most of the nuclear bombs in such an all out nuclear exchange, will be expended on, even with man ‘cancelling each other out’ in “counterforce” exchanges, that indeed only (relatively) “merely” ca. 4-5 billion people would lose their lives in such an all out exchange. However the ensuing Nuclear Winter would indeed affect the entire planet. (Hence also the furthering part of the Fifth Plague’s “darkness” (Rev 16:10-11; =the 9T 29.1 development all started by a Four Winds-release equivalency of a storming off “angry horse” (20MR 216.6))).

And only the righteous living in their, even agriculturally, fully independent, self-reliant and artificially sustainable cities will be able to survive both the damaging effects of the cold and lack of sunlight caused by that atmosphere-smoke-blocking Nuclear-instant-burnings fallout until it eventually dissipates. Indeed, by fully reflecting the righteousness character of Christ (Mal 4:2; cf. COL 69.1; DA 20.1-21.3; 641.3; COL 384.2), these Nuclear Calamity surviving (cf. Mal 4:1) thriving ones in these Holy Cities will: ‘(typologically) have no need of the darkened Sun and Moon’ (Isa 60:1-3ff; Rev 21:23; cf. Ezek 37:26-27)

Isa 24:7 - The new wine mourns, The vine decays, All the merry-hearted sigh.

Isa 24:8 - The gaiety of tambourines ceases, The noise of revelers stops, The gaiety of the harp ceases.

Isa 24:9 - They do not drink wine with song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

-These verses (Isa 24:7-9) echo what prophetically is later said will ceasingly occur when, as detailedly discussed here at Rev 18:11-19, 22-23; the Great City Babylon (Rev 17:18) is Judged (Rev 16:19; 14:9-11; 18:19-21). Indeed instead of easely and abundantly living then as before (cf. Matt 24:38; Luke 17:28-29), people will be clawing for a mere subsistence. (See above on Isa 24:2).

Isa 24:10 - The city of chaos is broken down; Every house is shut up so that none may enter.

-city of chaos is broken down - Notice that the city was already one of “chaos” even before it was broken down!!... In that, it, Babylon, was going by an agenda which would end up in confusion and formlessness, and had led other world cities along its self-destructive ends. (Rev 17:1-2, 17; 18:3)

-every house is shut up - This result that every house, even if standing, be (figuratively) closed/shut up, thus will not be habitable, will manifestly be because the area around it will not be conducive to living. So, as seen e.g. in Detroit when its main economy was effectively destroyed by the relocating-exodus of its car manufacturing plants, people will then have to abandon, even their still standing homes, in search of a more viable place to live...The problem is that the rest of the Earth will all be like this....except where the righteous are living in their thriving holy cities (See 9T 29.1). Hence their (typological) attempts to attack them and take their city. (Ezek 38:8ff; =the Satan-influenced war rallyingly gathering of these scattered ones in Rev 20:7-9a (cf. (also typologically) GC 662.3-664.3ff))

Isa 24:11 - There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine; All joy turns to gloom. The gaiety of the earth is banished.

Isa 24:12 - Desolation is left in the city And the gate is battered to ruins.

(Same developments as in Isa 24:7-9 above.)

Isa 24:13 - For thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, As the shaking of an olive tree, As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.

-midst, earth, peoples - Interesting that the focal point of these ‘laments of the “few” survivors’ is, manifestly locatively, in the “midst” of the earth, and among the peoples, thus where there are inhabitants. Indeed probably the only places where there can be found some terra firma to live in are in the centers of world continents, away as much as possible from the Ocean-flooded coasts, as the Tsunami-caused floods persist, and are not likely to ever recede. In fact, they may be gradually be slowly floodingly advancing being “fuelled” by the -earthquake-ruptured fountains of the deep.

Isa 24:14 - They raise their voices, they shout for joy; They cry out from the west (=Sea) concerning the majesty of the LORD.

-There indeed is a place of unperturbed joy and praising God. It is in the “west”, which from the reference point of Israel here, is the Sea. Indeed in those floating NJK Holy Cities; “in the navel of the Earth” (Ezek 38:12) =Rev 15:1-2ff (see here).

The people there are protected by God’s Everlasting Covenant of Peace (Ezek 34:25a; 37:26; Isa 54:10; Mal 2:5; Ed 115.1; cf. EW 285.1|GC 637.1) which Divinely guarantees them to dwell securely and prosperly in their place (=Psa 91:9-10|Ed 181.3a) against both foreign, and any domestic (i.e., criminal) enemy/adversary. (Ezek 34:25-29). So if an enemy would try to attack them with overwhelming force, God would, as done here, supernaturally intervene to protect and defend them. (Is 54:17) And if someone would plot a criminal act amongst them, God would either cause them to be found out and/or act to thwart their action. (Cf. Nah 1:7-9; cf. discussion here).

Relatedly, while the prophetic statement in Hab 2:14 was probably meant figuratively, it is hard to not see the prophetic parallel in God’s Glory being, upon this sudden, utter, flooding judgement, then widely recognize throughout the Earth!!

Isa 24:15 - Therefore glorify the LORD in the region of light, The name of the LORD, the God of Israel, In the islands of the sea.

-glorify the LORD - Those (=Rev 14:12) who had been heeding God starting from the First Angel’s message (Rev 14:6-7), and then pivotally have triumphed over Babylon (Rev 14:8), will have had the proper foundation to keep doing that right through the Third Angel’s Sabbatical Sealing Message (Rev 14:9-11)!

-the region of light - This specification was later veiledly presented in the SOP, in 9T 28-29 “Map(s) of the World” prophesy (presented in here), where those who are Christ’s ‘world lights of good (saving&healing) works’ (Matt 5:13-18; COL 416.2; cf. DA 825.4 -expounded here) then are the leaders in, what is this “Jubilee Millennial Era” world!! (=Ezek 34:17-24ff)

-name of the LORD - Indeed, as discussed in here about the (Spiritually deeper) Third Commandment (Exod 20:7), these truly loving and benevolent people are the ones who ‘glorifyingly truly reflect the character of Love of God’ (1 John 3:16-18; 4:7-8; cf. 1 John 3:10), thus providing the needed ending (formal Kingdom) testimony (Rev 12:11, see here) to the nations (cf. Rev 21:23-27) to wrap up (Matt 24:14; COL 415.5-418.4ff) the “GC Conflict of the Ages” (PP 33.1 & GC 678.3)!!

-in the islands of the sea - Here is the most explicit (non-prophetically cryptic) indication that the righteous ones of God then will, -and that sufficiently before the Great Time of Trouble (Jer 30:7ff; cf. EW 269.1ff, EW 272.1ff), be living in the midst of the seas (=Dan 11:45a here & Rev 15:1-2ff here). In the literalistic OT Zion context when this prophecy was made, and intended to be fulfilled by, there would be many islands in the sea, even arguably the not yet discovered continent of the Americas, which would have fulfilled this refuge for God’s people. Along with then not a need to flood all of the world, as, as seen earlier, it would only be “where people lived” then which would need to be floodingly destroyed. But today, given both (a) the widespread of inhabitants in virtually all of the (non-naturally-hostile) terra firma of the world, and (b) the fact that any remaining uninhabited islands are not adequate for such a refuging and massive relocation, then, as discussed here, it now has to be artificial (=floating) islands which need to be built, as planned by the NJK, to provided this long postponed prophetic (cf. Isa 49) fulfillment.

Isa 24:16 - From the ends of the earth we hear songs, "Glory to the Righteous One," But I say, "Wasting to me! Wasting to me! Woe for me! The treacherous deal treacherously, And the treacherous deal very treacherously."

-From the ends of the earth - By now the (surviving) people in the world have “seen the light” (cf. Isa 49:6; 60:3)

-Glory to - Cf. Rev 11:13b post “earthquake” confessing, a prophetic template then applying more widely than merely the SDA Church, (cf. here) but now to the rest of the congealed, contra-Elijah, “H/Ar-Mageddon” (which, as explained in here at Rev 16:16 also involves ‘the mountain of the Valley of Megiddo (=Mt. Carmel)’)-congregated (Rev 13:13-14ff) “Synagogue of Satan” (Rev 16:12-16).

-the Righteous One - =Rev 19:11's “Righteous One”, =the Little Lamb one who they had been warring against (Rev 17:13-14), pointedly because, as also per their “Two Witnesses” mission (Rev 11:10b), this warringly marshalling, and enthroned & reigning, One, also being “like unto a Son of Man” (Rev 14:14ff) had been, as discussed in here at Rev 19:21: ‘(were it but for Divine assistance) virtually singlehandedly, “wrathfully” “tormentingly” endeavoring to make the “(wickedness) ripe grapes of the earth” to produce their inevitable “blood wine” (Rev 14:17-20; 19:15b = Isa 63:1-6).

-Wasting and Woe... -Interesting to see the still despondent reaction by the prophet here. (=EW 270.4-271.2 & 272.1-2). This is manifestly because he is facing the reality that ‘people are just hell-boundly, selfishly bent on unfairness, injustice, deceitfulness and treachery. (=Mic 7:1-7ff; explained in here at Rev 19:15) So days of great suffering by the bearer of this message are indeed still ahead, despite its promised overturningly victorious outcome. (Relatedly see Isa 51:12-16 & Isa 33; and cf. the pertinent Luke 18:6-8, discussed in here at Rev 19:14).

-It is quite telling how the apocalyptic revelations of God repeatedly variously present, (as was Jesus when arrested and going to the Cross), only ‘one person’ at first carrying out God’s full purposes and being victorious (e.g., Isa 63:5; Ezek 9:8 (also applicable for GC 656.2), and only then, upon the ensuing evidence of approval by, and victory from, God (cf. Rev 3:9) to others “faithless and clueless, “natural” (i.e., (really) unSpiritual 1 Cor 2:6-16) (band-wagonly) ones” join. (As also e.g. in here = Rev 11:13b)....

Isa 24:17 - Terror and pit and snare upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.

-When nothing else will, (unlike those in Zion Isa 33:5-6; cf. here on Isa 11:1-3a), voluntarily induce people to have an initiating “fear of the Lord” (e.g. Job 28:28; Ps 111:10; Pro 1:7; 9:10; 15:33; Mic 6:9), the such ‘terrifying’ measures are ‘confrontingly’ used by God. (E.g. Exod 20:18-20; See Isaiah 33). These “measures” are explained on in the next statement:

Isa 24:18 - Then it will be that he who flees the noise/report of disaster will fall into the pit, And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare; For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.

-disaster–>pit–>snare - This “noise/report of disaster” sequiturly corresponds to the first cited “terror” of Isa 24:17. The “pit” represents a place where no escape is possible. And the “snare” is of course ‘a conceal trap’ (e.g., Jos 23:13; Job 18:9; Psa 140:) which unsuspectedly (e.g., Pro 7:23) both lures and grippingly entraps. Indicatively enough, when a similar Divine Judgement strategy and modus operandi was mentioned against Moab in Jer 48:43-44 no “flooding waters” nor an “earthquake” were then mentioned/used as here, thus showing that what is going to use here is indeed a special tailoring for that globally affecting/reaching judgement.

So, eschatologically-applying things here: those who will be rushing to dry/center/higher land to escape the “noise/report” of the approaching, correspondingly “greatest” Tsunamis waves (=Luke 21:25b), will, nonetheless still be the caught in the unescapable “pit” of being enclosed by, probably still approaching/growing flood waters. And so they will then, being still perplexed and anguished at what is coming due to this ongoing flooding (Luke 21:26), see that their inevitable destroyed end is still to come. And so, as prolepsiscally discussed above in Isa 24:5, it will then be that they will rally and equip themselves as they best could to go and assault those prepared Holy Ones of God who live securely and thrivingly in their long built floating Holy Cities, -(having rebuilt the Heaven-like (e.g. here =Matt 6:10; DA 20.1-21.3; COL 326.3) “righteous (Sabbatical) foundations” (=Isa 58:6-7, 8-11) upon which to walk in and [then literally] dwell upon for themselves, and afterwards for the rest of the destroyed world (Isa 58:12)), and even at a paranoidly perceived threat of further destructive warring intended against them, but this will all have been a “snare” from God (Ezek 38:3-4ff) to further destroy these still rebelliously wicked one (=Ezek 38:18-23), and that, all through the blindness of their own cherished unrighteousness (cf. Eccl 9:12), having indeed “rained” (Ezek 38:22) His reserved (Job 38:22-23) an initiating First Trumpet (Rev 8:7)-heightened, book-ending Seventh Plague (fiery-)hailstorm (Rev 16:20) “snare”(Psa 11:6) upon these who had ‘destroyed all’ (Psa 11:1-2) of the ‘righteous’ righteousness foundational/supporting/setting pillars’ (Psa 11:3, 7).

windows above are opened - Most tellingly indicative that a clear allusion to flooding destruction (=Gen 7:11b) is stated here as one of the main implements for God’s judgement here. This confirms the above observations that God indeed intends to flood the Earth to a great, almost complete, extent, indeed comparable to Noah’s Flood judgement. But as seen above, the specific flooding means, particularly in order to maintain “ensnaring suddenness”, will be different, now evidently being through Great Tsunami Waves (Luke 21:25b), (followed by persisting flooding (Luke 21:26)), as, being now applicable, if merely heaven-born water flooding was used, people today would be able, through advanced manufacturing knowledge, capabilities and technologies, be able to relatively quickly build various vessels, and even their own floating cities, to survive the clearly coming flooding destruction, and thus, as intended through the Tower of Babel, cause their wickedness to survive this judgement from God. So now, instead on (at least merely/solely/primarily) using rain falling from the “opened windows above”, in order to now maintain this “sudden impact and destruction” God will then be using a Tsunami wave...caused by the ‘earth foundations shaking’ event mentioned next.

Importantly enough, the ensuing “persisting flooding” also, precludingly/preventingly serve to keep people from reestablishing themselves upon the terra firma Earth, thus ensuringly permitting the (submerged) Earth to rest and replenish/rejuvenate itself. As theologically chiefly stated for this post, God, who is a God of Truth (Num 23:19; Tit 1:2; Heb 6:18), indeed does not do anything without a tangibly necessary reason and purpose!!

-foundations of the earth shake - Furthermore, repeat great earthquakes may be made in order to keep producing Tsunamis as addedly necessary. Such a ‘great earth-shaking measure here, as next made self-explanatorily most clear in Isa 24:19-20, is indeed the way that God has always planned to overturned the idolatrously unrighteous people who are ruining life and the earth (=Psalm 82)

....Therefore, in the light of all of this: Amos 3:5-8ff; (cf. Jer 4:19-22ff)...

Isa 24:19 - The earth is broken asunder, The earth is split through, The earth is shaken violently.

-Much like, as discussed here, the Noah Flood judgement caused great and enduring damage and affectation to this planet, evidently this necessary destruction will likewise not be without its enduring consequences...

Isa 24:20 - The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.

-Indeed great aftershocks may be the “enduring consequence” of this 7th Plague Great Earthquake action, -itself fully necessary/justified due to the quantity and widespreadedness of the wicked inhabitants which needed to be thus judged, and so, with the earth continuing to reel and totter, having “fallen never to rise” to the end of this, nonetheless still permitted Jubilee Millennial Era, the righteous’ idea of floating cities may be to only, or at least best, approach to living on the planet then....until the antitypical full restoration and recreation of Rev 21:1. In fact, the already discussed Holy Cities and artificial lightings of the righteous are the typological fulfillments of Rev 21:1 (=Isa 51:16), leading the way for their (also/primarily, present-age applicable) world dominion over nations in Rev 21:23-27.

Isa 24:21 - So it will happen in that day, That the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high, And the kings of the earth on earth.

-punish the host of heaven - this statement here is of course ‘reserved fallen angels’ (2 Pet 2:4; Jude 1:6)....who, as stated in the next verse will actually be “punished” only after many days (including these transpired days of their preceding imprisonment).

Isa 24:22 - They will be gathered together Like prisoners in the dungeon, And will be confined in prison; And due to/from many days, they will be punished.

-gathered together...prisoners...dungeon - Interesting that both the fallen angels and the kings (=leaders) of the Earth/World of Isa 24:21, both share the same “imprisoning” fate...How can that actually be??!! Well both those who had (politically, religiously, socially, economically and/or ideologically) had variously mislead the world will then not find a willing ear to hear their prior, world deluding and corrupting Babylonian sophistries (Rev 18:23). And so, even if they survive these cataclysm (Zech 14:16a), no one will be willing to follow these (at the very least) “name|character-fallen” ones (Rev 11:13; cf. Jer 25:34-38), as these prior followers, (as well as repenting former ‘misleaders’), will now instead be, most(ly) respectfully (Zech 14:16ff), even fearfully (cf. Zech 14:17-19; Rev 19:15; Isa 60:12) and/or expectantly (Isa 42:4; 51:4-8; 60:9-11; Isa 2:2-4ff|Mic 4:1-3ff), looking towards the “righteousness” light emanating from God’s Temporal Zion Kingdom (e.g., Isa 49:1, 6; 60:1-4aff; 66:19; Rev 21:24-27). Likewise, Satan and his evil angels will be “imprisoned” by these same circumstances of candidly not having anyone willing to listen to their lies and ways of unrighteousness. (=Rev 20:1-3a (cf. {GC 657.2-659.1ff).

As with the past (alternated)-Historical application, discussed in here at Rev 9:1ff, this ‘Satan-binding angel’ in Rev 20:1 (indirectly) effectuates this through the destructions which come upon the Earth all inceptively due to his own influenced, and Divinely-permitted, -indeed even, as complimentarily necessarily, guided/aided, Fifth Trumpet’s abyssal “first woe” releasing (Rev 9:1-6ff), which is, as fully discussed there, namely is: through the empowering and permitting of Militant Islam to effectuate Divine-Judgements/Punishment upon the, foundationally, blasphemously, Christianity-apostasied Babylonian “West/First World” (I.e. the 9/11/2001, and then the duly prophesied “Second Woe” 9/11 II judgements; [The “Third Woe” is this Isa 24 Seventh Plague ‘Greatest Earthquake-Flooding Tsunami-Severe Hailstorm’ destructive sequence. (Rev 16:17-20)]). Thus, as discussed in here at Rev 19:17ff that angel is the same as the one for the, likewise indirect, (9/11 II) actions of Rev 19:17-21 (=Ezek 39:17-20's ‘commandingly-speaking “son of man”’).

Ironically enough, this all (directly), full-circlingly, involves Satan having “ensnaredly” set himself up for his own imprisonment here by God letting him “blood-thirstily”, drunkenly/naturally, destructively act. (=Isa 49:26).

-due to/from many days... - These transpired “many days” are evidently the final evidence which openly shows why all these human and demonic misleaders will be punished. In other words, the righteousness which will reign throughout the Earth during this Temporal Jubilee Millennium, and which will only be ended by the permitted release of Satan who will be resuming his lies, and deceive again, (thus typologically “resurrected”) leaders and wicked people, and their nations, to follow after him (Rev 20:3b, 7-8; GC 663.1-664.3ff; see related comments here), will demonstrate to all that he and his unrighteousness followers do deserve to be forever terminated!! And thus, as stated in GC 658.1, then will transpire what is endingly depicted in Lev 16:5-10 with the Azazel scapegoat during the Day of Atonement Service as the sins of the world which had been bore by Christ are now rightly place upon the one who is ultimately actually responsible for them, Satan!

Isa 24:23 - Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders.

-In an antitypical fulfillment this will indeed literally occur, as stated in Rev 21:23; 22:5; surely exceeding what had been priorly, typologically, “artificially”done in God’s restored Zion (Isa 30:26). Also in the presently effective typological “Plan A” fulfillment, this, through symbols as the “moon” and “sun” represents, respectively: God having acted to “humiliate” His priorly launched and established religious economy order, which by then had religiously devolved into Babylonian, Synagogue of Satan (Rev 2:9; 3:9-10) apostasy, and likewise the ever more exposing and punishing “shaming” of the world’s socio-economic order, which then most prominently and pervasively is the sly-Satan-deluding, Protestants-championed, unrighteous (Fuller MOB) system of Capitalism. These will then have been supercedingly replaced by God's own Socialistically Economical and Missionally Ministering Little Lamb’s “Zionistic”-Kingdom Establishments.

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Jeremiah 4:19-23-29

Jer 4:19-22 - It is important to take into consideration, even if merely succinctly and summarily here, this immediate/leading up context for the ensuing prophetic vision in Jer 4:23-29.

And though this prophecy was initially given in regards to the literal “land” (same word translated as “earth”) of Judah (cf. Amos 3:2), as with Ezek 9 (=GC 656.2), such judgements of God are justly, duly typically, reapplied unto later deserving generations and realms, to the extent that it then becomes applicable. (=1 Pet 4:17; Jer 25:27-29=Rev 18; Jer 25:30-32ff=Rev 14:17-20). And there are indeed many themes and elements in this passage which are shown, As from Isa 24 discussed above, will be again occurring when God then judges the entire world.

Jer 4:19 - It is interesting that the emotional and psychological state of the informed prophet Jeremiah closely resembles the “conundrum” and plight of the also Divinely-in-tune-ones who will be victorious in the Shaking (EW 269-273). Like Jeremiah, they have, starting by their Biblical understanding of the message in God’s Eschatological 7 Trumpets (=LDE 238.1), are aware that God has sounded an overturning “alarm of war” upon the Earth (=Jer 4:20) which is loomingly soon to be effectuated (=Rev 8:7ff) and as parallely heightened by the 7 Plagues (Rev 16:1ff = LDE 238.2-3).

Jer 4:20 - Quite telling that even the dwelling place of the prophet is also affected, and pointedly as he, not able to keep silent (Jer 20:7-9), is ‘proclaiming’ these coming disastrous warring judgments due to the (precursoredly Spiritually) completely devastated land. And, inclusively so (cf. Jer 10:14-21), by his “inner curtains” also being removed, the prophet’s inner circle and privacy is also being violated, clearly in lawless attempts to try to impeach/discredit him (Jer 18:18; 20:10; 4bSG 108.2; 112.3; cf. LDE 121.2-4), causing him great, though in Divine-Justice’s faith, coped with (Jer 20:11-13; 18:19-23) anguish (Jer 20:14-18; -manifestly taking an almost verbatim license from Job (Job 3:1-15ff)); -indeed all just like the people in the Shaking (e.g. EW 270.4; 272.1; who, like Job (also, unexpectantly, even the ‘inclusively forsaken’ Jesus on the Cross), will then also be most indicative, purposeful “pawns” (GC 48.2 & EW 272.2) in the final battle in God’s GC Campaign. =Isa 53-54).

Jer 4:21 - The prophet is growing impatient of the destructions which he has heard from God being delayed some more, pointedly as this directly affects him during that time with the wicked deeming this as justification of their lawless opposition.

Jer 4:22 - Interesting that especially in saying: “they know Me not”: either the prophet himself, or God, fully identify with each other. And this is most natural as the prophet is striaghtly relating God’s own words, and so any violence done to Him is bindingly regarded by God as being done to Himself. (Cf. Matt 23:29-36)

As preludingly stated in e.g., Isa 28:5-13ff; 29:9-13ff; Hos 4:6ff the people here have become “stupid children” (=1SM 110.1) because of, respectively, Stunted Spirituality, Worldly Drunkeness, and Willful Ignorance.

Jer 4:23 - I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light.

-formless and void - As it was seen from the Isa 24 details, the earth is indeed in the same pre-Creation (Gen 1:2), and also during Flood judgement (Gen 7:17-24) state.

-heavens have no light - Again (i.e. see at Isa 24:5 above) this may (typologically) have been caused by a Nuclear Winter fallout which occurred during the Fifth Plagues as human passions had been unrestrained, and blocks the atmosphere (see Rev 16:10), taking much time to dissipate. But as stated earlier at Isa 24:5, 6, the righteous in their completed Holy Cities still will be capable of living and thriving during this time.

Interestingly enough, in an antitypical fulfillment where Christ’s glorious Second Coming literally occurs before the Millennium, since this appearing of Him will also be involving a Greatest Earthquake (Rev 16:18; cf. Heb 12:26-27), and meteoricly ignited, 100-lbs hailstone “balls of fire” (Rev 16:20); and manifestly also Christ’s own supplied fire (2 Thess 1:7) there then will also be much conflagrations and burnings of Earthly cities. And as emblematically seen by the great cloud of smoke which lingered from days upon the World Trade Center sites and Lower Manhattan upon the instant collapse of these fully stocked and partially inflamed towers, then it is easy to see that building which had been catastrophically struck, and inflamed by, balls of fire (e.g. 9T 28.1; Ev 29.1; 11MR 361.1) and/or collapsed by that Greatest Earthquake, and/or (probably for whatever lower/other structure has not been struck) also lit afire by Christ’s Glorious appearing with His angels (Matt 16:27a = Heb 12:29), -and not to mentioned the likely many Greatest Earthquake-disturbed, and thus exploding and erupting volcanoes throughout the world, that this also can, and probably will cause an atmospheric blockage which prevents the light from the natural Sun, Moon and Stars from reaching the Earth. And, if Peter had had a direct prophetic vision for his “day of the Lord” statements in 2 Pet 3:10-13, what he (perhaps rudimentarily) relates there as (1) ‘the heavens passing away with a rushing loud roar’, and (2) ‘them being destroyed (really here released/“discharged”) by burning’ can be from: (1) the loud sounds during the long duration of buildings and structures, many simultaneously exploding and collapsing all over the world, (and also exploding and erupting volcanoes), and then (2) the ash, debris, fire smoke cloud of these explosions and destructions having almost instantly arisen into the atmosphere to thus cause the heaven, for a prolonged while from then, to no longer be become “loosened”, in that it has thus been functionally prevented/‘released’ from having its prior function.

Also even with Rev 20:11 using a “fled away” language for the heavens and also the earth, just as the planet will still physically be there, so then will also be the heavens/atmosphere. It is just that they then will no longer be functional or useful, and thus will have to be recreatingly repaired.

So either in an artificial, typological fulfillment (=Nuclear Holocaust’s Winter Fallout) or in a Supernatural, antitypical one (=Christ’s Glorious Appearing), the end result will easily be the Earth’s atmosphere will become blocked from just all those instant burnings.

Jer 4:24 - I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro.

-This is manifestly the ongoing effects from that Rev 16:18 “Greatest Earthquake”, and probably its ongoing aftershocks.

Jer 4:25 - I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

-there was no man - Objectively contrastingly enough, as seen above, the Isa 24:6b revelation on this time mentions that “only a few men were left”. But here “no man” is left. Using this discrepancy, along with the earlier observation at Isa 24:5 of the subsequent Seventh Plague Tsunami timely caused by that Greatest Earthquake, accompanied by, now natural “ball of fire” hailstones, that Jeremiah, who unlike (first) Isaiah, spoke to an immediate context when only on tribe/part of Israel (Judah) was then left standing, had a more advanced revelation of the Millennium Judgement, which showed a fuller extent of judgement (and would correspond to the EGW’s SOP “Plan B” scenario), when then the destructions would have had a total destruction effect. So the entire world would have been flooded by the “Greatest Tsunamis” and thus no one, on the Earth’s terra firma, would then be alive.

This all corrobates the prophetic observation that even the prolonged time Temporal Millennium will, object lessonly, again end up in prophetic history repeating itself as: formerly “converted” people rebelling against the Rev 19:15's rule of God, even attempting to overthrow His reestablished “Judaicly-leading” NJK realm (=Rev 20:7-9a), and thus further and final destructions will have to be made (Rev 20:9b-10).

And as this Supernatural (=“Plan B”) rescuing will have required further destructions, these may now necessitate that the Earth be fully evacuated, including by the NJK living righteous. And thus would be literalistically fulfilled this also provided prophetic scenario.

-all the birds of the heavens had fled - On one hand, going by the Biblical account that birds after the flood returned to the sole solid place on the Earth, the ark (Gen 8:6-12), this would then corroborate the fact that there then will be a (Tsunami-caused) flood throughout the Earth. So all the birds would have “fled from” the Earth’s prior (natural) terra firma places, being only capable of finding a resting place in the Ark of Noah-like, globally-dispersed floating Holy Cities of the NJK.

Jer 4:26 - I looked, and behold, the fruitful land [lit. Carmel] was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the LORD, before His fierce anger.

-the fruitful land... - Interesting that “Carmel” is the pointed focus and representative location here. It of course was in there that Elijah had his signal victory. It was also the indicative start in Amos’s eventually also the House of Israel-Shaking (Amos 9:8-10; =Ezek 9's Judah) prophetic message (see Amos 1:2ff). So it therefore appears that this pointed location is used to prophetically symbolize that the Rev 16:16 “H/Ar-Mageddon” victory obtained by the endtime Elijah of God (Rev 15:1-2) over the Beast power (Rev 13:13ff), will indeed, by then, have come to be greatly reversed, with nations rebelling and thus incurring this total destruction from God. (Cf. Zech 14:17; Isa 60:12)

-before His fierce anger - Thus it would be the attempted resurrection of “Babylon” by rebelling one which would have brought about this, in this objectively proving light that nothing else can be done for these ‘Israel-joining’ (Isa 14:1ff) wicked, utter fierce anger (cf. Rev 14:9-11; 16:l9).

Jer 4:27 - For thus says the LORD, "The whole and shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

-not execute a complete destruction - prophetically, in the Plan A scenario: only the (faithful) NJK floating Holy Cities will be left undestructed (see 9T 29.1), and/or with a Plan B emergency rescue scenario effectuated, this is then merely speaking of the fact that God will not be physically obliterating this entire planet, but will instead later recreate on it. (Rev 21:1)

Jer 4:28 - "For this the earth shall mourn And the heavens above be dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it."

-earth shall mourn - The inanimate earth will, figuratively, be (biologically) mourning both from the lost of subduingly caretaking human life (Gen 1:28a), as well as the benefiting functional/fruitful/lively, vegetation as well as animal creation, -all caused by the (extreme) sinning of men. (Rev 8:19-22)

-not change my mind - In the light of the, above-discussed at Isa 24:5, earth-ruining breaking of the everlasting Noahic Covenant, God will be fully justified in not changing His mind for those necessary utter judgement consequences (cf. Jer 18:9-10, 11)...

-nor turn from it - ...and one He has begun this long-postponed judgement, God resolves that He will not have pity and, unlike in 1 Chr 21:15, “turn from” fully effectuating it.

Jer 4:29 - At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees; They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is forsaken, And no man dwells in them.

-It is interesting how this statement involve literalistic imagery which are later used of how God’s prophetic Triumphant conquering Gospel (Rev 6:1-2) and/or (Rev 6:14-17; cf. Mar 290.2-4ff) Deliverance (Rev 19:11-14ff) forces.

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Revelation 20

First of all here, for this Third Major Millennium Revelation in the Bible, as it is one given in the New Covenant Era, it is not surprising that it symbolically blends pertinent OT prophetic elements (i.e. from the above Isa 24 & Jer 4:23-29 revelations), but also contains new elements which now involve the New Covenant applied “Second Coming” of the Messiah (spoken of in the OT in Psa 110). So it is also not surprising that, as stated earlier, we indeed find in this passage a similar ‘events blending’ as used by Christ in the Matt 24 prophesying. (Cf. DA 628.1) as this scenario jointly involved two ways (i.e. a Plan A and/or Plan B) way in which it would be fulfilled, all depending on the actual decisions and actions of men. (=Jer 18:1-10).

Revelation 20 Parallelling Segments - In this presentation and this one on the Millennium, Stephen Bohr endeavored to do something which I personally then first became fully aware as a disputable issue against SDA understandings, and that is: ‘How is that the Rev 20, which presumably is a straight forward, i.e. sequentially linear, account of the Millennium, actually mentions Millennium ending scenarios, especially the effectuation of Hell’s Lake of Fire (Rev 20:9b-10 & Rev 20:14-15 cf. Rev 19:20) more than once. Bohr has tried, in those presentations (see at 13:12-18:53ff & 06:06-08:20ff respectively) to claim that: ‘this was because God wanted to present different main things which will be going on during the Millennium, i.e., different perspective and vantage points focusing on: (1) the fate of Satan and Earth (Rev 20:1-3); (2) the Work of the Redeemed (Rev 20:4-6); (3) the Judgement and Destiny of Wicked (Rev 20:7-10); (4) Life in the Holy City (Rev 20:11-21:1-8).’ But, providentially [ala. Isa 54:17], ‘furthered, full, righteousness experience in a true fear (contra here) of God/Christ (e.g. Matt 25:45; DA 825.4; LDE 218.3-219.3; cf. e.g. Job 28:28; Pro 8:13) does correspondingly provide a better/best wisdom and understanding, particularly for these encrypted prophecies.’ (Dan 12:3-4, 10; 1SM 25.4):

And so the actual, “full”, answer to this issue is that, as seen in the provided pertinent Rev 19-21 segment of the Revelation Charting below, (See [recommendedly in another browser tab/window] the full (updated) Revelation charting, -and addedly see also the one (for the Point Zero Series) in here): as per the understanding seen in detail from this present post that ‘there was an expected Plan A (Temporal) and/or Plan B (Heavenly) Scenario for Revelation’s Millennium’, a “Plan A” Temporal Scenario, -indeed seamlessly, but prophetically resettingly transpiring in a prolonged time era, would then come to replay, in a final ultimate demonstration, this GC sequence, -starting with an overall accomplished scenario where the Devil has been checked and neutralized. (Rev 20:1-3ff)

And this Temporal Millennium is for the purpose of objectively, candidly demonstrating that people who had not believed and been converted by faith, but merely by fear and by sight (John 20:29), i.e. by the ‘fearful sight’ of the Cataclysmic Second Woe (Rev 11:13-14) Events which had begun this Temporal Millennium Era, and manifestly thus cannot, at least fully, be granted the recreating power of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit as given to those who had exercised pure faith (e.g. 2 Thess 2:13b; 1 Pet 1:2; Acts 5:32), but indeed would, at best, need to be “shepherded with a rod of iron” (Rev 19:15) would have sown seed (especially in surviving world nations), for an eventual full rebellion against God’s ways, especially once the “fear” element, and its residual presence, has later fully, evenly literally, (i.e., in regards to the Nuclear/Burnings Atmosphere Blocking Cloud) “dissipated”. -(And this is why, also contrary to Bohr limited “wisdom and understanding”, why Rev 21:1, (cf. Rev 21:2-8), mentions the “New Heaven and New Earth” before the descent (typologically = ‘a completed/full Earthly established’) of the Heavenly New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2), and thus why Rev 20:9 mentions it as being on Earth before the destruction of the wicked to end the Millennium; (in other, typological, words, it manifestly is when the atmosphere will have been cleaned up, either naturally over time or by technological measure accomplished by the NJK, that the gradually no longer fearful nations will then confidently, and no longer fearfully, resume their rebelling ways)),

So, as seen in detail in the Chart Segment below, and pointedly in the fuller chartings referenced above (and the Dan 11 expounding also has its similar chartings), Rev 20's Temporal Jubilee Millennium thus, thematically and technically, correspondingly has similar segments and sequencing as for the other main parallelling Sections, including the Series of 7's, in Revelation. These parallels will be explained as they come up later in the verse by Temporal Millennium expounding of Rev 20.

Rev 19-21 Charting Sections

Church Triumphant is in Heaven and also on Earth - Relatedly, it is important that EGW (who was mainly aware of the “Plan B” Scenario) only knew to consider the “Church Triumphant” as the “Church in Heaven” (19MR 383.2a; LDE 61.2-3), i.e. comprised of the angels already there (SW, September 8, 1903 par. 3), and then also, of the redeemed (9MR 154.2; LDE 62.1-2; 19MR 383.2b; PCP 23.4; TM 21.2; PC 141.4; 1888 930.2) representatively doing work of Earth. Unlike that EGW understanding, -(which some quotes (e.g. 1SAT 340.2; TM 47.1; 16MR 297.4) do actually show that EGW was actually also defensively fighting a manifest smug belief that: ‘the (SDA) Church on Earth (much like the Western Church in general today), had arrived, and thus could “rest on its laurels” and “put things in cruise control”), it has always been seen in this blog, indeed (officially) starting with a (2006 released) “TC 2” message, introducingly announcing the NJK Project (cf. here), that, based on Matt 6:10, if the Church on Earth had the Character of Heaven, then will the Church Militant have, “full armoredly” (=Eph 6:10-17), become, after the Shaking (EW 270.4-271.2), (just like) the Church Triumphant. (CET 229.1; 2MR 312.1; CE 76.3) Passages like Rev 14:1-5; 15:1-2ff confirm this “temporally achievable” possibility, with, as discussed in here, those passages easily being Revelation Section Introductions (as held by the SDA DARCOM), or, (as now being [“Plan B”-staunchly] claimed by e.g. Stephen Bohr): the actual post-Second Coming Sequence Conclusions. (I.e. thus, actually, the ending parts of Rev 13 and 14 respectively). But the Biblical understanding here that Rev 20 was also given in an applicable Prophetic Section sequence format, and from that laying out, that it directly parallels the themes of the ‘Church in Heaven’, -the EGW-called “Church Triumphant”, mentioned in Rev 21, then there is the Biblical corroboration that the Church Triumphant can indeed also be found on Earth, as it will, under the “Plan A” Scenario, in the incontrovertible, Temporal Full-Righteousness Testifying Kingdom Work (Matt 24:14) that the redeemed on Earth will be similarly doing, just as it will be done in Heaven. (2 Pet 3:13)!!

Fittingly enough, i.e., for the Temporal and Typological understanding here, stemming from the similar understandings for Rev 19:11-15 in this post, with as applied there from the Biblical substantiation here about Christian Martyrs of the past ages already being resurrected and in Heaven, and that it is these who are typologically involved in the Rev 19:14 “heaven”-descending marshalling, that then would more literalistically fulfill the Heaven-located “Church Triumphant” implication!! And, theologically, it indeed is applicable that, a Church on Earth today which actually, -i.e., in deed verus mere grandstanding professions, or at best clumsy, token pittances, does not have the same fully faith-full, self-sacrificing, character as these martyrs, then they surely are not (like) the “Church Triumphant”!!

Repetitive Climaxes - And also by way of overarching introduction here, succinctly stated, the actual reason why the “climax” of hell lake of fire’s judgement is repeatedly mentioned after most of these Rev 20 segments, namely, and significantly so, only quasi-identically after the 3rd (Rev 20:7-10) and 4th (Rev 20:11-15) segments, -which indeed is not similar to the non-climaxed sequencing of the other Sections of Revelation, yet except for also their 3rd (=“A2”) & 4th,(=“B2”) Segments in that full charting, is because, -and pointedly for Rev 20, from the understanding here about the purpose of Hell Fire’s “torment” which is, as the term involves, try to get someone to confess the truth, it is seen that each successive group, -and they actually are distinct: -i.e., having started with the leaders of the Mark of the Beast Camp, (and that applicably either right at, or, sometime after, the “Second Coming” (Rev 19:17-21), -thus the Sun-standing-in-Angel in Rev 19:17 then causes, or at least contributes to the effect of, that above discussed global darkness (Jer 4:28)), then the later “revived” Gog and Magog mob, along with their leader the Devil (Rev 20:7-10), with them pointedly being the ones who burn for days (Rev 20:10), as they had had the greatest light due to the prior Millennial witness which they had known of and experienced; and lastly, all of the wicked dead (Rev 20:12-15), will each be successively subjected to that “torment”, however it will be manifested in a typological wave of fulfillments. And just having to conformingly (i.e., through Rod of iron (Rev 2:26-27; 19:15 = Psa 2; including Satan “torturously” seeing his prior world-leading, almost God-like, “morning star” privilege and authority now being conferred by Jesus to, staturely “lesser”, redeemed humans (Rev 2:27-28), indeed will be torture enough for, respectively/successively, these MOB unrighteous, rebels+Satan, and the (Rom 1:18-32) wicked.

So the Plan A Scenario does provide the answer here, which is that successive effectuations of “tormenting” will be done with each completed work of these GC Sequence parallelling Segments. And in fact, just looking at the prior segments in the 3rd/“A2” Row in that full charting, which are precedentially parallel to the Rev 20:7-9 development, and, again, where, solely, ‘prolonged hell fire tormenting’ is actually explicitly stated (Rev 20:10), it is seen that “hell-ish tormenting” is explicitly cited or implicitly involved with each of them.

(And it is here significantly explained about the Roman Numbering headings (I-VII) for each of the Columns = “Sections” in that chart, that, starting with the middle Section of the Chart, the numbering becomes split (i.e. starting with IV//3.5 and this is because it reflects the now transpired development that, due to the insubordination of God’s people, even unravelling Final Events have been halted and postponed. And so this Section which should have straightly unravelled as the IV, is instead curtailed to a 3.5. This has then come to make it supposed to be VII Section (=7^th 1000 Years Period) of Rev 19:1-20:15 become, typologically, it VI, and a now applicable, (“Plan A”) protracted Temporal/Earthly Millennium be its VII in the GC’s 7000's year Period. And still, with this Jubilee Earthly Millennium not being an element in the Plan B Scenario, hence its “--” Numbering Heading ‘blank’, the events in Rev 21:1-22:5 become the “resetting/restarting” VIII for both Scenario, and is indeed where both “Plan A & B” come back to meet again.)

These are specifically:

COL I (Rev 3:14-22) = The reproving and discipline (Heb 12:3-11) of the True Witness to the Laodicean Church, all in order to get them to ‘duly return their peaceful/peaceable (also world peace producing) fruit of righteousness’, is surely, (indeed quite evidently), most “tormenting” to them (i.e., to the point where they are taking lawless measures to try to self-conformingly alter, or outrightly silence it....).

COL II (Rev 6:14-17; 7:1-8, 9-17) = The fact that the 144,000 and their Great Multitude Converts will resultingly not be suffering from the ‘scorching heat of the sun’ (Rev 7:16-17), is implicit mention that the wicked themselves actually are suffering this (=Rev 16:8-9)

COL III (Rev 10 & 11) = The Two Witnesses had been “tormenting” those who dwell on the Earth, leading to the revelled martyrdom murdering of these faithful ones. (Rev 11:10)

COL 3.5 (Rev 14:1-5; 14:6-12) = The Final, Third, and Sealing, Angel’s, Message given to the world spoken of coming torment (Rev 14:9-11), which surely enrages the Mark of the Beast (MOB) Camp. Indeed just pointing out to them that they are Full-Gospel-fundamentally wrong (Rev 14:6-7), and on the wrong side, (Rev 14:8) renders them incensed, how much more will this denunciation (=Rev 18:1-5ff) that “they and their Babylonian entity, will burn in Hell’!!. Indeed leading them to take “lawless, super-human, counter-measures” (e.g., EW 272.1; GC 607.1 )

COL IV (Rev 16:15, 16) = The reason why the Mark of the Beast Camp themselves initiate this H/Ar-Mageddon assembly for confrontation (=Rev 17:14; 19:19) is clearly because they, once and for all, want to end their “tormenting” by the Seal of God “Little Lamb” camp which is key;y ideologically opposing and exposing them. But God’s Elijah will again be victorious here.

COL V (Rev 18:1-8, 9-20) = Starting from now (i.e. COL V-VII), upon the MOB-camp lost H/Ar-Mageddon showdown, just as duly done by Elijah (1 Kgs 18:40 = Rev 19:19-21), God’s priorly warned of “tormenting” are begun to, as stated earlier, successively executed upon the manifestations of the unrighteousness camp, starting with, here, the Rev 17 Babylonian Temporal “Beast” Power (=Rev 19:20a).

COL VI (Rev 19:19-21) = Then the physically tormenting judgement which was starting in Rev 18, is now heightened to include this entire, living and rebelliously marshalled MOB Camp. This signal victory is what ushers in the Temporal Millennial Era.

COL VII (Rev 20:7-10) = And then, later in the Millennium, the revived MOB, Ezek 38-39 Gog and Magog, camp is, justly most severely (cf. GC 673.1), “tormentingly” dealt with.

COL VIII (Rev 21:22-27) = Cappingly enough, this sequentially horizontally subsequent segment to Rev 20:7-10 actually reveals the inherently “tormenting” effect of the New Jerusalem upon the rest of the nations. It just does not accept their unrighteousness, and they evidently are marginalized and detrimentally suffering from being so excluded (Isa 60:12). So, potentially, for any possible Temporal remainder of Millennium, the nations of the Earth, probably having learned the lesson from what happened to Gog and Magog, will now either conform or die out!!

So in summary in this section, the segments in Rev 20, may in themselves not necessarily be “repetitive”, (as involved in EGW’s conflated “Plan B” Scenario), but, (as per the Bible’s protracted “Plan A” Scenario), actually like other parallel sections in Revelation, sequential in themselves. And thus, the Millennium segment in Rev 21:22-27 may indeed be applicable to a priorly completed post-Temporal Typological Millennium Era, having been replaced by the New Earth’s Reign when then the people from the nations who would have, unlike the Gog and Magog rebels, themselves not rebelled, but had allowed the NJK’s testimony to fully convert them (cf. Matt 25:31-46), will now be willfully be with the post-Millennium redeemed.

(As stated here, the book of Revelation is highly complex in its arrangement, and thus necessitates a fullest experience in righteousness in order to be able to make perfect sense of it.)

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Rev 20:1-3 - Heaven’s Plan: Devil to be Bound

Prolusion:

For this initiating sequence for the Plan A Millennium’s First Segment, this, and just like the other, in this case, Introductorily-Victorious Segments in Revelation’s other Sections, this sets out the Heavenly Intelligence main plan that will come to affect the remaining segments in the Section. And, as already alluded to earlier, these Segments, though surfacely seeming to be full self-contained, in that it seems that they each reach to their own climaxing end, they are, particularly in the Plan A Scenario, actually linearly sequential, as it will stated in Conclusion following the textual/exegetical expounding of these Rev 20:1-3 verses under discussion here.

Rev 20:1 - Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

-heavenly angel and key of abyss - It is sort of ironic that this description is almost verbatim of the Fifth Trumpet’s activity (Rev 9:1-2), and which starts off by producing the same “darkness” effect which is seen in the parallel Fifth Plague (Rev 16:10). As discussed here, first, the Fifth Trumpet in History is when God allowed/used Militant Muslims to effectuate great judgements on the Roman Catholic Church, and which ended up protecting the then burgeoning Protestant Movement. Then, as also discussed within there, the Fifth Trumpet came to have another, now eschatological fulfillment related to the 9/11 Attacks, -but which themselves were a fulfillment of the First Trumpet (Rev 8:7), but, recapping what was expounded upon there, the full effect of these Divinely-permitted Judgements on America, has, like the Historical fulfillment, come in the way it went on to lead the U.S. to engage in financially, moralely, politically and militarily costly and most protracted, effectively and outrightly, distracting and diversionary “wars on terror”, in mainly Afghanistan and Iraq, which really have done nothing else than (1) keep the US from focusing on even major, now nuclear, threats mainly “Western-hostile” countries in their so-called “Axis of Evil”, and (2) just stir up a hornet’s nest of radicalized/Militant Muslims, and even pushing them further underground in response to, well publicized (due to the “freedom god” of Babylon being affected), hyper-counterterrorism surveillance measures.

And so, the corresponding Fifth Plague to this Eschatological Fifth Trumpet development is to, as depicted here, be related to these various faultlines all stemming from the 9/11 Attacks. And all this was summarily said here in the context of Rev 20:1, because it is such a chain of judgement events which will seal the launch of the Temporal Jubilee Millennium Event as God will be using them to overturn and destroy Babylon (=Rev 18:6-24, and even through mindless Nuclear Warfare), the seat of the Mark of the Beast (MOB) Camp (Rev 16:10), and quarantine its geo-ideology, and thus in turn, “circumstantially” bind the Devil who had been leading this MOB movement.

So, for the Plan A scenario, such tangible, physical, temporal measures had to be effectuated to deal with the reality of a leading Spurious Christian Babylon power (namely the Imperial, Protestant America, along with the rest of the closely following West (=Rev 13:11-18)) which has been religiously as well as socio-economically corrupting the world. (=Rev 17:2, 8; 18:23b).

Rev 20:2 - And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

-It is most telling the all of the major names/titles/functions of the Devil are cited here, evidently to signify that “the Devil and all of his ways will be totally neutralized then.” In other words:

-the dragon represents, as relatedly symbologically unpacked here, the most geo-potent form of power that he can wield upon the Earth. As hypothesized there, it harkens back to his initial attempts to try to commandeer the great and most powerful Leviathan Sea Monster, which manifestly resulted in God rendering it extinct. But since then, God has instead turned such “beastly” terrestrial terrorizing attention to existing great powers of the Earth, and that mainly to oppose anything which threatens his long warred for (Rev 12:7-9) cause of unrighteousness, particularly since the dawn of the Christian Era, and thus, as detailed in here, has namely made use of: the Roman Empire (Rev 12:3-4), then the Holy Roman Empire (of the Apostasied Catholic Church) (Rev 12:13-17; 13:1-10); and now, first, socio-economically through the United States of America (Rev 13:11ff); and then, as a last gasp endeavor against God’s Cause of Righteousness (Rev 17:14), salvagingly through a revived, and liberalized US-enjoining Roman Catholic-led coalition (Rev 16:12-16; 17:10-13).

-the “serpent of old” aspect represents, as relatedly discussed here about ‘the tail”, Satan’s primary and main weapon for his cause of unrighteousness (Rev 12:4, 9; Gen 3:5): murderously intent lying (John 8:44). Symbolically enough, this is a natural special covert tactics for the Fifth Trumpet’s Army (Rev 9:10), and then, more mindfully/tactifully (as in “head games”), the Sixth Trumpet’s Army (Rev 9:19) who will then be respectively engaged in battling the most advanced and successful forms of destructively lying powers of the Devil, but, pointedly for the Sixth Army, this will be done in a tactic that God has not held against His People (cf. e.g., 1 Sam 16:1-5; 1 Sam 21:12-15; Gen 12:11-13ff, 17-20; Gen 20:1-7ff, 11-13ff; cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23) for self-defensively using against such lawless and murderous opposition (e.g. Rev 12:14-15; cf. Matt 23:29-33). Again, from such examples, if the Law of God permits one to kill someone else to protect life, then isn’t it of much lesser consequence to try to successfully ward them off by merely not telling the truth!! (cf. Matt 10:16) And this permitted “tactic” mainly involves various not letting their lawless adversaries know of the actual consequences that they will reap if they heed whatever they have deemed best to share with them. Fact is, these adversaries are inevitably doomed if they do, and doomed if they don’t. I.e. either their cherished unrighteousness will perish, or they will reap the consequences of this unrighteousness. And it is in such a way that the Lamb-following soldiers in this Sixth Army (Rev 17:14 = Rev 19:11-14ff) have not guile in their mouth (Rev 9:19a = Rev 14:1-5).

-the devil and Satan of course are self-evident references to that fallen angel “the devil and Satan”, who, as discussed in here, did indeed duly get his name changed by God since his fall. (I.e., he is probably not called as such amongst his fellow rebelling angels), but, given the significance of names and naming in the Bible, it is tellingly significance to point out here that the word/name “devil” (Greek diabolos) means a “slanderer” and “false accuser” (1 Tim 3:11; 2 Tim3:3; Tit 2:3 =“malicious gossip”; Rev 2:10; Jude 1:9), and “Satan” means “Adversary”. So the main tactics and actions of the “devil/Satan” are indeed represent here, and these are also detrimental and nuisance things, -which are pointedly wielded against God’s Righteous people (1 Pet 5:8; Rev 12:9; cf. Matt 26:59-61) and anyone who strives to live righteously (cf. Acts 13:10; 2 Tim 3:12), that God will also be neutralizing here in order to give the Temporal Millennium its best, object lesson demonstrating chance to do its work.

-for a thousand years - This is actually the intended during of this period of peace from the Devil....but as later seen, clamoring circumstances may (likely) curtail that period.

Rev 20:3 - and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, in order that he would not deceive the nations any longer, so that the thousand years may be completed. After these things he must be released for a short time.

the abyss - It is commonly, linguistically (i.e. compared with the LXX), surfacely claimed (See GC 658.3) that this technical terming is to refer to the “formless and void”, =chaotic, state of the Earth, pointedly as it was the case on Earth before God started to create (Gen 1:2), but the term “abyss” actually pointedly refers to the ‘deep waters of the seas’, which still existed even after God had created. (E.g. Gen 7:11, 8:2; cf. Isa 51:10; 63:13). So the “abyss” has a more technically and exegetically fuller meaning here, -as is the typical case in Eschatological/“Plan A” interpretations. And this is that it pointedly refers to the: “hazardously deep/buried, and thus virtually forgotten, “recesses” of the sea, which are to have no effect upon those dwelling on the earth.’ Then, applying the fuller symbolism from here, that the “seas” themselves specifically represent ‘the political groupings of people in the earth’, (and by contrast “rivers” represent the religious groupings), it is joiningly seen that the “deeps of the seas” symbolically represent ‘the most hazardous parts of populace political grouping’. In other words, ‘hazardous politically polarizing, State things’ which do exist, but have been buried deep [cf. Rom 10:7~Acts 2:31-32] in order to keep them out of reach and/or consciousness/remembrance, due to their inherent consequential detriment (cf. Mic 7:19; Rev 18:21; Luke 8:31).

Confirmingly applying this furthered symbolism here, in Rev 9:1-12 the fact that Islam and the Islamic States which they came to populously form, had been fundamentally given a a Militant mandate to be used as necessary, suddenly was allowed to (=Rev 9:1, 2, 11) come to the surface against the abusing and trespassing Western/Holy Roman Empire then, a warring which is still in effect today, though it has downshifted amongst Islamic State to a less, at least explicitly/overtly, “state-borne” Militancy, yet a (Religious) Islamic Militancy nonetheless (hence the still applicable “appearance” of horses in Rev 9:7ff). So then, in the Eschatological Fulfillment of the Fifth Trumpet, it is not surprising that such ‘buried hazardous State things’ suddenly, destructively/detrimentally come back to the geo-political surface, such as indeed, State wars, actually explicitly, infamously, called “Crusades”, stemming from Islamic Militancy attacks; and then Nuclear-level attacks and/or responding warfare, which indeed is a State’s ‘mother of, both, all terrors and warfare’.

Then, in Rev 11:7, in its Historical Fulfillment, the beast which came up out of the abyss, was atheism borne from the “Political Revolution” of the French People, and which became an enduring part of their State. In that era, that was a most bold and shocking development, for, unlike the post-modernism and secularism which now reigns Supreme, back then, everyone, was a “Theistic believer”, and in “Western” Countries, (Roman Catholic) Christian Believers. Indeed the prior non-Christian Paganism of Rome had to some surface extent been put down and supplanted by the pervasive Roman Catholic Religion, but here, now through humanistic idolatry, a form of paganism had literally come back to the surface from the buried deeps where it had been relegate, and that at a politically influential level.

For the Rev 17:8 prophetic specification, the political rising of a previously buried State hazard is again in play, but then through any and/or all of the following populously-clamored for possibilities. Namely: this will either be in (1) the papacy regaining its prior power and sway (Rev 13:3, 14); (2) the United States being empowered to reconstitute the State-borne religious oppression and persecution of Medieval Times (Rev 13:11-18), and/or (3) liberalism and post-modernism completely taking the reins in countries to the point where their secularistic/liberal/humanistic, =“spiritualistic” agenda will be fully implemented. (Rev 11:7-8) As detailedly presented in here, the compromising combination of all of these three powers is actually the expected fulfillment (=Rev 16:12-16) all in order to war against God’s True Cause in what then will fully constitute the Mark of the Beast Camp. (Rev 17:14; 19:19-21).

Now, ironically enough, the permitted “abyssal” developments of Satan, indeed with him gladly taking the bait from God starting in Rev 9:1, is actually what will spell his Millennium imprisonment, for it will not turn out as he expects, as it will, as wisely envisioned by indeed “God the Almighty” (Rev 16:14), merely result in those resolutely obstinate in carrying out their, then clearly known, Mark of the Beast Rebellion meeting their self-deserved consequences (Rev 19:19-20), pointedly through their Second Woe (=Rev 11:14), and the rest of the people being voluntarily and/or conformingly subdued, especially by the tangible evidence verifying the Word of God (Rev 11:13; 19:15, 21). And it is thus that Satan will completely lose his prior sway over, and thus will be the circumstances for his Millennial Imprisonment!!

-shut it and seal it - This ensuring action is of course from the authority and power of God, and thus shows that if/when the Devil will again have an allowed sway in the Earth, it will indeed be by the permission of God. Interestingly enough this is like God having allowed Satan and his cause to have warned of access Adam and Eve in Eden through the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:9, 17).

-in order that...not deceive nations - Really, through much more than merely a ‘chain of binding circumstances’, by also imprisoning the devil in the shut and sealed abyss, where he can indeed be out of sight/influence and thus forgotten, God has “ensuringly” done all of this because the Devil would otherwise surely find a novel way of lying to these “Babylonianly-sobered up/from” nations (=Isa 14:16-18) in order to deceive them. So God has taken concrete actions to prevent this for taking place....including, later eradicating any residual springing up of Satan’s cause (=Isa 14:21-22) Which then means that whatever develops during this Millennial Era will be the most Free Will, i.e. completely uninfluenced by Satan, decisions of men, which will thus show that, and why, Satan must indeed be destroyed.

so that 1000 years may be completed... - The “uncertain” Greek subjunctive form is used here to speak of the 1000 years completion, involving, as later confirmed in Rev 20:7, that the period of 1000 intended years is actual not definite, but will freely last as long as it is permitted.

-must be released a short time - It manifestly will be here that if/when men again freely will have begum to choose to live unrighteously, then God will then “GC-necessarily” “release” the Devil on them, all to, actually, precipitate them in their dooming, demonstrating, course (=2 Thess 2:7-12; most likely through an attempted reconstitution of the priorly defeated and “abyssally-buried” (Rev 18:21; cf. Isa 14:15-23) Babylon; cf. here), and thus duly wrap things up as quickly as possible.

Rev 20:1-3 - Heaven’s Plan: Devil to be Bound

Conclusion:

In terms of sequential contribution, this binding and imprisoning action upon Satan is lastingly, but initially, keyly done at the very beginning of the Millennial Era, again pivotally stemming from the abyssally-effectuated, variously contributing, “completely-Babylon-darkening”, developments (cf. Ezek 28:18b-19) under the Fifth Prophetic Series. This then opens the way for what next/sequentially transpires in the following segments of Rev 20. So though it may see, to comprehensively covers what will happen to the Devil during the duration of the Millennium, this is really only up to the time of his later release. Then, in the subsequent segments is Satan’s actions (Rev 20:7-8) and fate (Rev 20:9-10) further detailed. So this first segment is really sequentially/chronologically pertinent in the flow of developments of this Millennium.

Complimentarily enough, just as God had “compelled” Satan to remain in the midst of the warring elements of the abyssal Flood where he “feared for his own existence” (PP 99.3a), a similar psychological, existential tormenting will be imposed by God on Satan in his Millennial abyss confinement (cf. GC 660.1-2) as he then, in seeing how well people are living without his deluding influence, will then, probably for the first time, though unrepentantly so (cf. PP 99.3b; =Rev 16:11; 9:20-21), consider the factual reality of the utter futilely of his prescribed rebellious course, and thus to the whole worthwhileness of his “Satan” (=Adversary” stance against God and His Government, particularly as now the clock on the ending of his own existence has been officially set in motion here with the start of this millennium.

Tellingly enough, with the charted parallel segments from the next parallel Section VII containing Rev 21:1-22:5 actually supercedingly presenting God’s objectives and ideals in contrast to what takes place in Rev 20, in the precursor Temporal Millennium, it is seen in the First Segment (i.e., Rev 21:1-10a), which is the one which corresponds to this first one here (Rev 20:1-3), God there will be taking responsibility for redoing the Earth. SO there is still an even greater ideal that will be reached compared to this present status quo for the Temporal Millennium of a Earth which is still damaged from the prior conflict (cf. Isa 66:24 = Rev 19:19-21), eventhough now the Devil has been bound, and the righteous rule over it. And key to this will be the, perhaps complete removal of large bodies of waters known as seas (=oceans) (Rev 21:1b), (i.e., there will still be the smaller (lakes? and) rivers; i.e., the river of life (Rev 22:1-2ff = Ezek 47:1-12; (contra. during the prior, age-seamlessly-continuing, Temporal Millennium (Zech 14:8))).

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Rev 20:4-6 - Kingdom's Work: Judging & Reigning Ministry

Prolusion:

Much like the other Prophetic Section Segments of Revelation that this segment here parallels, Rev 20:4-6 delineates the Millennial Historical ministry/work of the Righteous. This is where the promises given to ‘those who will overcome’ in the Seven Churches, that is, actually those both during their Spiritual applications, pointedly Eschatologically (e.g. the Second Church (Smyrna) = the Persecuted Church of today; the Fifth (Sardis) = Reformation Advancing Movements; the Seventh (Laodicea) = (Fully) the SDA Church), as well as, as seen later, those from Historical Eras, begin to be fulfilled. Hopefully this will not be another prophetically resetted Era which will, like the GC, have any subsequent, different developments other than God’s initial intent which is what is prophetically alluded to in remonstrance made to the First Church at Rev 2:5 which would be in maintaining the perfected, Law-fulfilling, love (e.g. Matt 22:34-40; John 13:34-35; 15:12-17; Rom 13:8-10; 1 John 3:11, 18; 23) that they had manifested (Rev 19:7-9; 16:15; 6:9) as they continue to, and now more elaboratedly so, minister (cf. Rev 2:1=Rev 1:16=Rev 19:15) among God’s Millennial salt/lights (Matt 5:14-16; Isa 60:1-3ff; 9T 28.3-4; COL 415.5-421.2), as actually the perfect Sixth “Philadelphia” (=“brotherly love”) Church (Rev 3:7-13)). In this Church’s Work is to never be hindered or ended the “victorious conquering” of the First History Seal (Rev 6:1-2), which had already been launched prior to the beginning of the Millennium (Rev 19:11ff), indeed now, particularly with the deluding Devil having been bound (Rev 20:1-3), there is not to be any “Second Series” downturn as heightly seen in persecutive oppositions (Rev 6:3-4; 2:8-10a), nor “Third Series” compromising apostasies (Rev 2:12-17; 6:5-6), and thus no “Fourth Series” full blown corruption and Spiritual Darkening/Deadness (Rev 2:18-25; 6:7-8). And so none of the Warring Resolutions and Destruction Judgements of the Trumpets (Rev 8-11) and Plagues (Rev 16), respectively, will now have to come into play to remedy such a downturned situation in God’s Israel, -a “situation” which is then “Babylonianly” spread (Rev 17:2; 18:3, 23b) throughout the world.

And I would here Biblically, qualifyingly say from Jer 18:1-10, that: “at least this is the plan”, meaning that if men, out of their still exercisable Free Will, would choose to go astray, then God would let things again unravel as during Church, but purposefully so, i.e. according to the Seven Series prophetic template...but there actually is the alternative plan that if things should unravel, as later seen, thus (prematurely) “ending” this Millennial era, God would then step in to put an immediate, definitive and utter end to the rebellion.

And so the climaxing, multi-form, Babylonian GC opposition and 2 Beasts Developments which had precedentially occurred, and by then fully transpired (=Rev 12 & 13; 17:3b-18) and expired (Rev 19:11-18), will now not be allowed to reconstitute, or really: execute, itself.

Rev 20:4 - Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and (sentencing) judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and whoever had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned for Christ for a thousand years.

By means of introduction to what is said in this verse, it is actually the specifically pregnant statement in verse, which was discussed here, which made necessary the entire exposition of this post about the Millennium. I’ll be here straightly expounding on what was already observed there from/about this statement, so it needs to be first read through.

-they sat...judgment given to them - The key question which immediate struck me here is who is this unspecified plural “they/them”??! Linearly, antecedently speaking, it cannot (characteristically or syntactically) be the (evil and singular) Devil in Rev 20:1-3, (or the binding angel), nor can it be the ones killed by the ‘mouth-sword’ and eaten by birds in Rev 19:21. Nor the oppositional ones condemned and ‘thrown alive into the lake of fire’ in Rev 19:19-20 (=Rev 18:6-8ff = Dan 7:11 in an Eschatological re-application). The only (characteristically and syntactically) potential, nearest antecedent, are the ones who had ridden in on white horses, namely the one explicitly called Faithful and True (Rev 19:11) (and who had wielded the mouth-sword in Rev 19:21 (=Rev 18:9-10ff = Dan 7:12)), and his following armies (Rev 19:14). After all, that leading one at least is said to have a name and mandate which involves “reigning” (Rev 19:12, 15-16) and that is also what is involved later in this verse; and really inherently/effectively so, as, as many examples show, the chief function of a Biblical/Israelite King was to be “Chief Judge” over his realm.

-(sentencing) judgement - This specific judgement aspect is from the technically specific Greek term krima which, as explained here, refers to the condemnation/sentencing part of judgement. So this judgement is not to determine innocence or guilt, but to mete and delve out the punishment of those who are already been judicially found guilty, thus, as also explained in there, in their “pre-Advent|Millennium Judgement”.

-I saw the souls - That is, the “psyches”, which, as later seen in this verse, is one part, -pointedly the non-bodily, but spirit-ual (=character), part, of “life” (cf. Matt 10:28; 26:38; Luke 1:46; 2:35; Acts 14:2; etc), though it essentially, generally constitutes the living state (e.g. Luke 17:33; 21:19; Acts 7:14; 20:24; 27:37; etc) as in, ‘a brain dead body is unresuscitably dead’). This refers back to those in Rev 6:11 who had been told to wait, until, evidently this time when their required number (200,000,000 Rev 9:16) would have been completed by those who had made, even a living, sacrifice by standing up to the joint-Beast powers, (which included the same first Beast), who wanted then dead (Rev 13:15ff), and did kill many of them (Rev 14:13).

So though the “psyche”/character (a.k.a. “soul”) may be emphasized here, as in Rev 6:9, this is manifestly merely because it is honing in on the paramount (cf. 1 Cor 13:3) worthy “characters”, and thus entire (bodily) living (cf. Rom 7:21-25 here; 1 Cor 9:27), which these martyrs had “testified”.

And, as discussed as a feasible, even likely, alternatively applicable possibility, in here, the “psyche” of these martyrs is pointedly key as it, i.e., its “spirit”, can be complimentarily transferred in Latter Rain Outpouring, upon worthy ones on Earth all in order to properly and fully finish God’s work.

-beheaded ones and non-beast worshippers/MOB takers - this here specifies two distinct groups which form this ‘Millennial sentencing and reigning’ group. So the group of righteous ones who did not have the experience of these two groups is not a part of them..but, as later seen, having a lesser reward for either their preferred “safe Christian life”, which actually is permissible as sincerely opting to defend their life can be acceptable, but the self-sacrificing ones have their special, corresponding martyr’s reward. So, as later seen, the ones not in this group, including believers, still have their case pending.

the testimony of Jesus - If John had actually meant “their” testimony, then he would have used that possessive pronoun, but he instead uses the definite article “the”, which not only makes this something specific, but, as per Greek grammar, something already known and mentioned. It thus grammatically is the same “Testimony of Jesus” of Rev 19:10, which indeed the faithful, persecuted Remnant ones will have (Rev 12:17). So it is, as clearly defined in Rev 19:10, the “Spirit of Prophecy”, (e.g. with EGW) and moreover is indeed something which God’s prophets have (Rev 22:8). And, from Matt 23:29-35, it is not at surprising that God’s prophets, and those who heed these prophetic revelations, are persecuted (cf. Matt 5:11-12), especially by those who are still stuck in the darkness of their, if any, at best, unimproved, inherently passing, “light” (John 1:5; 3:19-21; e.g. 2 Cor 3:7-18|EW 286.1; Isa 60).

-the word of God - This of course is Scripture (e.g. Matt 15:6; Luke 8:11; 11:28; John 10:35; Acts 6:2), as expounded on (e.g., Luke 5:1; 8:21), and commissioned by (e.g., Matt 28:20; Acts 6:7; 8:14; 13:5, 7), Jesus Christ (John 1:1).

-whoever....not worshipped beast, taken his mark... - this here pointedly (openly) refers to “whoever” are the ones who are victorious in the GC’s final conflict of Rev 13:11-18 = Rev 16:12-16.

-they lived and... - This term [#2198 Gr. zao (=“live”)] more “platonically” refers to ‘merely living’ and not to actually being “resurrected from the dead” (= #326 Gr. ana+zao (lit. ‘from below-(back to)-living’): Luke 15:24; Rom 7:9); cf. (#2227 Gr. zoo+poiemo = ‘make life/alive’ John 5:21; 6:63; Rom 4:17; Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 15:22, 36, 45; 2 Cor 3:6; Gal 3:21; 1 Per 3:18). So, in regards to merely zao (=live/living):

-It speaks of ‘the one who was dead and now plainly “lives”’;

- the beast of Rev 13:1-10 had received a “mortal wound”, but, oddly enough, did not actually die from it, but “lived” through it (Rom 13:14);

-and later in Rev 20:5 ‘the rest of the dead did not live until the 1000 years were completed’

So this is not actually pointedly referring to the act of resurrection, but “perfunctorily” to the fact that ‘these lived’ during that 1000 years. So, as Biblically and SOP soundly supported here, these martyrs of all the ages had actually already been ‘made alive’ before this, and now, joined by the living Beast-victorious ones who, merely continued living into this Millennium.

...reigned for Christ - To, as succinctly as possible, cite the underlying syntactical reasons why “for Christ” is deemed a more accurate translation that “with Christ”, the Greek term “meta” (‘in association with’) is used instead of “sum” which indicates the also possibility of: ‘in “addition” to’) -see 1 Cor 4:8; 2 Tim 2:12. (And the term “sum” may not necessarily be fully equivalent to the term “syn” as commonly assumed by exegetes, with “syn” referring to more synergetic work.

In other words, and in this context of “reigning”:

-meta reigning - refers pointedly to dependent sub-administrations

-sum reigning - refers to contributing administrations where the end result is a “sum” of these parts

-syn reigning - would refer to parallel administration as e.g., in the collective, single decisions by Supreme Court Justices.

So, pointedly in regards to the Rev 3:21 “shared-throne promise” discussed here, it actually refers to both sum and meta reigning, which indeed can work together, as it speaks of the same type of authority which Christ has under God, i.e. as delegated by God the Father (cf. John 5:22). It is just that in the specified meta reigning context of Rev 20's (temporal) Millennium, Jesus does not necessarily have to be physically present with these who reign. He can just be heading them from heaven while they themselves, as Adam was initially meant to do, reign on this Earth (see Rev 5:10). Thus they technically “reign for Christ”.

-for a thousand years - Again this is just a intended time, and not necessarily the exact time which will transpired.

OT Basis/Type & Meaning: With the “psyches” here being indeed linked to the “souls” of Rev 6:9-11 which are ‘underneath the altar, having been slain for the Word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained’, as accurately stated in this presentation [03:31-08:17ff] by Daniel Mesa, the symbology of the blood underneath the altar is based on the OT Sanctuary sacrificing of the Sin Offering in Lev 4. (See Lev 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34). However unpacking that OT type even more (cf. Isa 55:10-11), and with the further understandings that can be arrived at from the related/derived symbolism in Revelation (namely Rev 6:9-11; 8:3-6; 9:13-21; 20:4), reveals the reassuring, wise prophetic plan of God.

First of all, as seen through all of Lev 4's instructions, the Sin Offerings there were for (sincerely) “unintentional” sins (Lev 4:1-2), thus sins where the author of them did not know at the time that they had done something wrong, but only later became aware of this, and therefore had to do this sacrifice.* This mandatory/binding sacrificing showed that no sin, even if unintentional/unawares, was not without a tangible affectation and consequence.

* As opposed to ‘knowing/aware sins’ which required “Guilt Offerings” (Lev 5-7). Unintentional sins born from unfaithful behavior were considered guilt offerings. (Lev 5:14-19); cf. Rom 14:23)).

There were different sacrifices depending on who had committed these unintentional sins, -whether it was: the anointed priest (Lev 4:3ff); the whole congregation (Lev 4:13ff); a leader of the people (Lev 4:22ff); any common person (Lev 4:27ff); but they all involved the same procedure which succinctly was [e.g. Lev 4:3-12]:

1. (Lev 4:3-4a) -bring the appropriate sacrificial offering to the doorway of the Sanctuary;

2. (Lev 4:4b) -(heavily) pressing their hands upon it, thus transferring their sin(s) onto it;

3. (Lev 4:4c) -slay the sacrifice by letting out its blood, collecting it in a container;

4. (Lev 4:5-6) -some of that blood is carried into the Sanctuary and sprinkle it 7 times onto the

Most Holy Place’s Veil;

5. (Lev 4:7a) -some of the blood was then put on the (4) horns of the [Golden] Altar of Incense which is just before the MHP;

6. (Lev 4:7b) -then all of the sacrifice’s blood was pour out at the base of the Altar of Burnt Offering in the Courtyard;

7. (Lev 4:8-10) -then, just as for the Peace|Reconciliation Offering (Lev 3) (from the herd; =of an Ox (Lev 4:10 = Lev 3:1)), all of the (main) bodily fat was removed from the slain animal and burnt of the Altar of Burning Offering for a soothing aroma. (cf. Lev 3:5)

8. (Lev 4:11-12) -then the rest of the limbs, head, body/carcass of the animal was to be brought outside of the camp and burned in a clean place where the fat ashes of burnt offerings are to be poured out

With the OT Sacrificial system being the Gospel in types and symbols, the meaning of these rituals is readily and clearly understood by how it was antitypologically fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ (Cf. esp. DA 685-697; 741-757):

1. (John 1:28; Matt 26:26-28; Luke 23:34) -Jesus was the all-in-all, and perfect, Sacrifice for all, including then, the sins of people, whether specifically priest, leader or commoner of whom many/most, -though not all (John 9:41; Matt 23:29-36), were “faithfully” acting, but out of ignorance. (cf. e.g. Acts 2:36-40; 6:7).

It is important to see how Jesus, upon whom the whole Sanctuary Service and its Temple revolved (e.g. John 2:17-21) came to His Temple (cf. Mal 3:1ff), but He was never allowed to do His work of (Perfect-ed) Righteousness Fulfilling (Matt 5:20; Mal 3:2-4; Matt 21:12-17; Matt 23).

2. (Luke 22:41-43) -Long before suffering on the Cross, Jesus suffered tremendous mental anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane as the (“mostly unintentional”) sins of the people were being impose, and exacted, upon Him instead.

3. (Luke 22:44) -Also long before His physical ordeal on the Cross, and with Crucifixion actually being executed in such a blood-minimal way so that the person would not actually bleed to death, but would for a long while torturously suffer, and the suffocate, to death, Jesus began to shed some of His atoning blood from His anguishing ordeal in Gethsemane.

4. (Matt 26:38-44) -In His Intense Prayer session in the Garden, Jesus pleaded 3 distinct before the Throne of God for another way to save mankind be opted for instead. One can speculate that, if as Elijah (1 Kgs 18:41-45; Matt 17:10-12), he had intercedingly pressed this petition 7 times instead, He would have succeeded in, but since, unlike in Elijah’s experience (1 Kgs 18:39-40), most of the leaders and people in Jesus time had failed or resolutely refused to heed to power of God (e.g. Matt 12:24-32 & John 11:45-53 = Luke 16:27-31), then there indeed was “no other way” to avert the due judgement upon the people unless Jesus took it upon Himself (=Mal 4:1-6). So, understanding that just guiltiness (cf. Matt 11:20-24; 23:34-36), that may be why Jesus ended His petitions at 3 times, instead of the perfect representation of 7 times which may have resulted in an alternative reconciliating procedure -(e.g. sparing the Jews themselves of their guilt, but have the Gentiles later be responsible for causing the atoning death of the Messiah).

5. (Luke 22:17-20) -though Christ’s ministry was cut short, He was still able to institute and inaugurate a new way of reconciliation with God, the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34|Heb 8:7-13), which now would be done, not by physical sacrifices and offerings, but through a genuinely mindful/contrite repentance and reconciliation, all offered up to God in prayers for forgiveness and praise (cf. Heb 13:15) which were mixed in with the graces from Christ’s sacrifice (see Rev 8:3-4). This all was represented by the all-accessible, -despite being inside the Holy Temple itself (=Heb 4:14-16), Altar of Incense being inaugurate as the replacement of the Altar of Burnt Offering outside in the Temple’s Courtyard.

6. (Col 1:20; 2 Cor 5:18; Eph 2:16; Rom 5:1) -then, though long after having suffered the greater mental anguish (DA 753.1), the fullness (cf. 1 John 5-5-8) of the reconciliating Sacrifice of Christ, bringing fallen mankind again at peace with God was executed on the Cross, -which was symbolized in the OT by an Altar, which in turn is a focal representation of the “Temple Ministry”, when He then shed His blood (John 19:33-34) as He gave up His entire life (Luke 23:46) for “unintentionally” guilty man.

But, as in the imagery of the rest of the sacrifice’s blood being both stainingly and wastefully poured out in the dirt at the base of the altar of Burnt Offering, as if it had no (further) use or importance to this whole reconciliation process, the blood of all of the righteous followers of God throughout the ages which had been poured out by unrighteous and lawless people (see Matt 23:34*), likewise had this inherent cry for justice and vengeance before a Just and Righteous God for such a “waste” of their (interrupted and unfulfilled) lives. (=Rev 6:10). And so it also was for Christ’s own life and blood, which would indeed be held against those who rejected such a generous opportunity for forgiveness and reconciliation and continued in unbelief and rejection. (Matt 23:35-36; 27:24-25; Heb 10:26-31).

* And it is interesting to see that Abel blood was shed because of His acceptable Altar sacrifice, possibly right at the Altar while Abel was resolutely going to continue being faithful to God’s Will and offer blood sacrifices, and Zecheriah, son of (actually) Jehoiada (2 Chr 24:20-21) was murdered ‘between the Temple and the Altar of Burnt Offering’ (Matt 23:35), so these two book-ending deaths were most representative of this martyrdom death symbol.

So eventhough that poured out blood may seem to be the most insignificant part of this whole atoning process, it actually is the part which carries the greatest consequences in the eyes of God as He will actually exact justice and vengeance for its every spilt drop. (Cf. Isa 53:12) Indeed the body itself is of lesser consequence to God than the blood - which is one’s life (Gen 9:4-6; Lev 17:11, 14; Duet 12:23)- which is representative of one’s psyche/soul. (cf. Matt 10:28)

7. (Isa 53:5, 11b) -it is interesting that all bodily fat comes from what had been taking in as food and has been transformed by the ingesting body into this fat which also serves as a calorific energy storage. So the careful extraction of all of the main fat of the animals, -(which pointedly is the fat which collects itself as excess calories in the main body of the animal), in order to be burned up as the Peace|Reconciliation Offering, was to serve as the representation of this: ‘post-forgiveness setting aright of matters between two parties which were at odds’ additional step. This can tangibly be seen through Christ in the fact that a mere confession of a belief in Christ, with actually doing what He has said should be done, will not result in the sinner being actually reconciliated with God and spared the penalty of his sins. (Matt 7:21-23); indeed much like it because necessary for Christ to be offered up as a bodily sacrifice according to the Word of God. (Matt 16:21; 26:24a; John 12:32-34a).

So this burning up on the Altar of fat which had come from ingested food was representative of the Word & Will of Jesus being embodied fully carried out in the life of the believer. (Cf. Luke 6:46-49; John 4:32; 6:63; 12:44-50; 14:24). And the achieved perfected ‘faith & works’ here (Jam 2:14-26) all makes them acceptable before God (Heb 13:16; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:10)

8. (Heb 13:10-13) -though Jesus suffered, and was buried as a common criminal and reject outside of the city of Jerusalem, as His Sacrifice had had sanctifying application to the Religious Economy of Israel, this is manifestly the reason why part of this sacrificing was carried out in really the focal point of God’s Israel, at that Temple complex and its Altar of Burnt Offering. Yet the rest of the sacrifice, which was its non-fat parts was taken outside the camp and burned up there. That dichotomized sacrificing symbolized that while part of Christ’s Sacrifice had explicit Theological pertinence and application, another part of it had tangibly Civil implication, i.e. for this Holy/Capital City, and thus Nation, of Israel (=Matt 23:37-39ff). So that is manifestly why Paul could see a link between that residual sacrificial burning outside of the camp, and the Welfare and Future of God’s Holy City/Jerusalem (Heb 13:14; Rev 19:7-9; 20:4, 9; 21:9-11ff). See more in this post on Rev 11.

Martyr’s Application: So, in summary of how this typology also goes on to apply to later followers of Christ, who like Him would give up their life in martyrdom, they do did indeed live out a righteous life, through Christ grace, which sought to fully carry out the will of God, and as a result (2 Tim 3:12) did endure much physical and mental sufferings culminating in their premature deaths (Rev 12:11). But the consistent and crescendoing message of Revelation is that God has been steadily working all along to achieve their perfect and grandest vindication, for/in this Jubilee Millennial Era! (=e.g. Rev 2:10-11, 13, 17; 3:12; 6:11; 8:5-6; 9:13-15; 19:7-9; 20:4ff)

Rev 20:5 - The rest of the dead did not live until the thousand years may be completed. This is the first resurrection.

-did not live - This involves the same platonic term which is used in Rev 20:4, and so also merely states that those who remained dead did not then live.

-may be - that is ‘until the 1000 year may be fully completed’, i.e. up to 1000 years.

-first resurrection - any dead which have come back to life have thus been “resurrected”, and with that resurrection applying much earlier to martyrs, their gradual raising up over the ages, manifestly shortly after their death, comes to here constitute that first resurrection, again which does not have to be in a single event. In the Plan B scenario, all of the non-martyred dead are raised in a single event at the literal, pre-Millennium, Second Coming, but in the “Plan A” scenario, only the martyrs had been raised, and over time, prior to the start of the Millennium.

Rev 20:6 - Blessed and holy is the one having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, as they exceptionally will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign for Him for a thousand years.

-blessed - this thematically recalls the beatitudes promises (Matt 5:3-12)

-holy - It should go without saying that the redeemed are “holy”, but, as seen later, there manifestly is a pointed reason why this is emphasized.

-first resurrection - Again this is not necessarily a single event, with martyrs having already been resurrected. The textual option is inclusively made available here for also a resurrection of the non-martyred dead to be inserted here for the “Plan B” Scenario, but in the Plan A Scenario only the martyrs will have had been raised.

-second death...no authority - As it will be seen and fleshed out later, (non-martyred) “believers” will also be raised during the Second Resurrection, so they inherently will be under a pending authority of the Second Death, if they then fail the White Throne’s indictments-reviewing/confirming (Gr. krino -Rev 20:12-13) Judgement.

And it should be also added here that in the Temporal “Plan A” Millennium people will not then yet have Eternal Life. So they will still die, but only after a full, healthy and happy life, including one in which they ‘preserve a non-Babylonian, childlike humility, purity, honesty and right-doing righteousness throughout’ (=Matt 18:1-10 (Rev 18:21ff); cf. Isa 66:20).

-as they exceptionally...- Further detailing will likely concretized the observed thesis here, it seems that there is a key/striking difference in the Greek between the coordinating conjunctions for “but” as de vs. allas (which is the one used here) . “de” seems to be used to present a completely opposite idea, while “allas” presents a differing exception. In fact, allas seems to be derived from to term “allos” which indicates ‘a distinct entity, but of similar/relatable kind’ (hence “an alloy” from compatible, but varying metals). All this to point out that it is evidently being pointed out here that the reason why the martyrs and beast-victorious ones are part of the first resurrection, is because, they are indeed “blessed and holy”, but manifestly also because they are to serve as priests. And as seen from the OT, not all of God’s people are automatically qualified to be priests. Then, it was only the Levites who had uniquely repented from the Golden Calf incident (Exod 32:26) who thus served in Israel’s priesthood. Similarly, it is startling to see in EGW’s revelation, -though SDAs have, as typical, neutrally not said anything on such a seemingly contradictory statement, that: “only the 144,000 [=Rev 7:5-8; 14:1-5; 15:1-2]can serve in God’s Temple” (EW 18.2b), (moreover with the notion that there is a (physical) temple in a post-Second Coming Heaven (EW 18.2-19.1a), i.e., seemingly contra Rev 22:22, also not spoken up about by SDAs. (-though it does have Biblical support from Rev 7:15)).

So the reason here why only the two groups of Rev 20:4 are resurrected in this first resurrection, is because they have most closely followed Christ, walking in His same steps of self-sacrificing devotion and faithfulness. They therefore “exceptionally” can serve as priest for that Temple, -which will be one that will exist only during the Temporal, up to 1000 years, Millennium Era. More will later be said about the evidently subsequent and distinct Rev 21:22-27 Era.

-...will be priests - Again this “priesthood” theme, which inherently requires a temple to officiate in, is a running&interlinked, tangibly applied, theme in Revelation for a special group of the redeemed, the 144,000+Great Multitude (Rev 5:10 - Rev 7:14-15 - Rev 14:1-5).

-will reign for Him - same explanation as for the similar statement in Rev 20:4b.

Rev 20:4-6 - Kingdom's Work: Judging & Reigning Ministry

Conclusion:

So, this time around, the righteous ones of God (=Rev 19:7-9), His “readied bride” indeed (=Rev 21:9-11ff), will, -with the MOB camp having been put down by their protracted Sixth Era Typological Advent (Rev 19:11-21), and then the Devil having been bound upon this defeat of his Earthly human representatives and the strikingly lasting outcome (Rev 20:1-3), not now have to be contending against any adversaries...and so now they instead can be fully engaging in doing much need Church Triumphant Work on Earth (=Rev 21:10b-21)..Well, that is, as long as possible, which is actually better for potential rebel ones, for as seen next in Rev 20:7-10, when they will have acted to try to overturn the New Jerusalem’s Kingdom Era, it will straightforwardly signal their utter end.

__________________________

Rev 20:7-10 - Finalizing Demonstration: Revived Opposition

Prolusion:

This, i.e. at the “A2” Row of prophetic developments that things not merely: patently go

wrong, but they actually doubly go wrong. The initial “going wrong” part had to do with a sudden halting of even God’s, up to then resolutely accomplishing work of Revival & Reformation (=Revelation’s Fifth & Sixth Series). So we see at this point that:

(Section) I - The Philadelphia Church ceases to be so and morphs into Laodicea;

II - Fulfilling Final Events during the Sixth Seal are suddenly stalled (at Rev 6:13)

III - God’s “Sixth Army” (=Ezek 37:1-14) never gets mustered, formed and organized (Dan 11:25), -falling into ranks (EW 270.4), to God’s intent or extent (Rev 9:16ff), in order to speedily conclude the GC Fight. (=CET 228.1-3). So instead that work (=Rev 19:11ff) is (initially -cf. EW 271.1-2), spearheadedly carried on by one “Faithful and True” (Rev 19:11a) soldier. (=Isa 63:1-6 = Rev 14:17-20).

3.5 - Resultingly, GC Final Event are suspended quasi-midway in Rev 13 (at Rev 13:11)....

IV-VI - ...Which comes to implicate that, even then more Spiritually fulfilling developments in Sections IV-VI, are then not fully, concretely manifested.

VII - And, typologically speaking of ‘things going wrong:”, in the above expounded on, parallel Section (Rev 20:4-6) which takes place in the Temporal Millennium, this is indeed where things begin to go wrong leading into the, most likely premature, ending of the granted 1000 year period.

And thus this becomes a patent fulcrum in prophetic unravellings for God then still doubles down into trying to find a surmounting solution, typically then through a salvaged “Remnant of the Remnant” movement as seen throughout the A2 Row Segment events.

Thus, in those precedential Section Segments of that pivotal Row:

I - With Laodicea having proven to be a repugnant, recalcitrant toxic hindrance to God’s work of righteousness, God sets out to work with “any-one” who will have ‘zealously, and not “jealously”, repented’ (Rev 3:14-22);

II - The Sabbatical Sealing has again been halted, but God’s great work is set to, even more gloriously go on (15MR 292.2-3), including producing the Great Multitude (Rev 7:9ff).

III - Likewise, the seemingly roundly rejected and defeated Two Witnesses movement still ends up triumphing over the world, and bringing many people into ‘fearing, and giving glory to, the God’. (Rev 11:13; 14:7 = Rev 15:4 = Rev 19:8)

3.5 - The 144,000, having at least been “evangelized”, now begin to follow into their still required mandate (+here Rev 14:1-5ff; cf. here on EW 78-81)...

IV-VI - ...which will tangibly defeat the last gasp, “Eighth Head” (Rev 17:1) rally of Babylon, then in its correspondingly super-human|natural, but Law-lessly so (cf. GC 607.1|GC 616.3), “H/Ar-Mageddon” (=Rev 13:13-18; 16:12-16) rebel-ution.

VII - And thus, it is no (organizational) prophetic coincidence at all, that it is in this Segments Context that Rev 20:7-10 takes place, as next detailed in the exposition of these verses.

Rev 20:7 - And whenever the thousand years may have been ended, Satan will be released from his prison,

-Whenever...may have been ended... - Again this speaks to the uncertain actual duration of intended/planned 1000 years. It manifestly is not to last beyond 1000 years, but can, and most likely will be, cut short through people having effectively clamored for the rule of Satan by their preceding (mid-Sixth Era corresponding) rebellion against the NJK’s Temporal Millennial rule, thus, as like Eve’s then Adam’s decision with the Fruit of the Knowledge of Evil, the warranting of the, nonetheless, Divinely fairly, anticipated and thus intended (Rev 20:3b) releasing of Satan.

Rev 20:8 - and will come out with the purpose to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the sea/seashore.

-with the purpose to deceive - telling that the already wayward nations, are actually not yet “deceived”, i.e., by Satan himself, and to the extent that he would like. Indeed it would be one thing then for these nations, and perhaps even apostasied NJK Holy Cities, to variously secede from their prior union with the NJK, but it is another thing for them, -being then probably inherently weaker as they had been living on whatever terra firma space was not flooded by the Seventh Plague’s “Greatest Tsunami”, thus them having had to deal with such “handicaps”(cf. GC 662.1b), to think that they can successfully assault the NJK and its (faithful) Holy Cities. As with the “Plan B” Scenario (GC 663.1-664.3), it will indeed take a “deluding deception” from Satan to convince these people, -then living up to 1000 years after the last time they had directly experienced evil, to engage in that Mission Impossible.

In fact, -and I surprisingly have not heard this detailed mentioned by (Plan B preaching) SDAs, the SOP actually states that ‘Satan will then not be appearing as, nor acknowledging himself to be, Satan (with many then probably, now Biblically awarely, highly suspecting this), but as a man like these others, but a mighty world leader and general, even working miracles, who thus inspires them to carry out these longshot plans’ (GC 663.1ff). Telling how this mirrors what Satan had priorly endeavored to do prior to the Millennium (see LDE 162.1-168.3), which the SOP however also states c/would be done merely through the influence of ‘highly respected other men in the world professing godliness.’ (1T 341.1; cf EW 88.2|263.1)

-four corners of the earth - Clearly this will be a, at least widespreadly, worldwide campaign and resulting movement.

(the) Gog and Magog - Thus “the (i.e., ‘already known’) ” arch-nemesis militaristic movement of “Gog and Magog” (Ezek 38-39) will here again be revived, tellingly enough, coming upon the chronological heels of God Himself having raised back up His Full Israel Army (Ezek 37).

-for the war - Satan manages to, just like he had done to start his GC cause, convince the people that the NJK is an imminent existential threat to them because, (as probably already being seen in normative “embargoing” measures against these rebelling nations), that the only intent of that “iron rod” ruling NJK (Rev 19:15) is to ‘conform or die out’ (probably quoting Bible passages like Isa 60:12; Zech 14:17; Psa 2). And with then probably only the NJK having great militaristic capabilities (e.g., its K.O.A.B. system), stemming back to its prior militaristic matching of, since totally defeated, pre-Millennium world Superpowers (=Rev 18:6-24). And with the rest of these nations having voluntarily agreed to scrap all of their insane atomic weaponry, surely upon the long felt consequences of the Fifth Plague Nuclear Holocaust, ‘using such resources instead to constructively develop/rebuild up, the Earth (=Mic 4:3), for these “alarming” plans of Satan to ever begin to be realized against this lone world ~~Super-~~ Hyper-Power, the NJK, it will indeed here also require a period of time for these rebelling nations to rebuild the militaristic capabilities. (Cf. EW 293.2a|GC 664.2b).

This, “the”, war is, relatively antitypical, indeed almost a carbon copy of the H/Ar-Mageddon War (Rev 16:12-16; 17:12-14) which had been similar attempted leading into the, -through the roundly and totally victorious outcome in favor of the righteous (Rev 19:19-21), ushering in of this Temporal Millennium. (And fittingly enough for/from that NJK-challenging and usurping Babylon/H/Ar-Mageddon Camp, as delineated in those above prophetic passages: as discussed in here on the “Eighth Head-Mountain-King(dom)” Movement, they too will have had their sincere, but fundamentally (allowed to be) counterfeiting, religio-political, temporal millennium plans and endeavor (cf. GC 588.2-589.1)). And, in the deception flip side, it is people with unChristlike/unrighteous characters who are similarly successfully duped by the Devil (e.g. here (p.2 ff) = here = EW 263-266-269) to think that all/any, especially non-commercial/not-for-profit, even righteous (Rev 19:8; Matt 25:45; LDE 218.3-219.3), humanitarian endeavors/ministry, especially when indeed comprehensive and exhaustive are in themselves evil and/or inevitably portending of evil (cf. here & here). These duped ones are likewise meriting of a “W.O.E” (Isa 5:20; Rev 11:13-14).

-number is like sand of sea-shore - It is surface/straightforward to see and understand from this phrase that this figuratively depicting the vastness of that assembled throng from the “four corners of the earth”, but is applicable to also see:

-first Spiritually, that this Israel of God Army/Nation (Ezek 37) opposing Gog and Magog (Ezek 38-39) movement is, through such shot for ‘sands numbers’ and outreach, probably trying to either match, or overtake, the realized promise of Abraham (Heb 11:12);

-then also Prophetically, is equivalent to what Satan had tried to, and now even more so, “desperately” when he first began to be confronted with his terminal defeat (Rev 12:12ff). So this movement here is his overall Second, but last shot at trying to, at best, inflict wanton, and really merely anguishing harm to God’s Cause. (Rev 12:17-13:1) -(as God had specially, and now would just straightly resurrect, and one dying from such persecutive/murderous actions);

-and then Literalistically... which is pertinent collectively set out next in its expounded upon context of Rev 20:9

Rev 20:9 - And they came up on the “broad plain” of the earth and surrounded the “camp” of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

Just prior to continuing doing that “Literalistic, collective setting out” application, some key exegetical aspects of the text are duly, first set out.

-“broad plain” - this word, though it is the one used in the NASB translation, is set in quotations, because, though this is the simple way of expressing it here, it still does not fully reveal what it involved in that term.

First of all, it is the Greek word “platos” (#4114), (from which we get the English Geological term plateau; -more on that pertinent relation later. As seen from the uses of that word in the Bible, also in the LXX, it has the basic technically meaning of “width” (e.g. Gen 6:15; Exod 25:10; Zech 2:6|Rev 21:16; also “thickness” Ezek 40:5)). And what is key here is that this is a measurement dimension which is most determinative of the containment capacity (=“breadth”) of something. (Isa 8:8).[5] And most significantly, that term is used to speak of the gathering plaza/city square of (Israel’s) cities, which was adjacently located just outside a city’s gates. (Neh 8:1; Dan 9:25). This was were important public matters were proclaimed and judicially settled, and given that main function, which pivotally revolved around a nation’s government and Laws. And this may be why it is figuratively used to speak of ‘the tablets of the heart’ (Pro 7:3 (Pro 22:20)) where for Israel, God’s Law was to be written (e.g. Jer 31:33|Heb 10:16; Psa 37:31; 40:8; Isa 51:7).

But of course, it is the non-figurative, and geographically locative, application of ‘a city’s gathering plaza and public square which is indeed most indicative here. So that “broad plain” would be a location immediately just beyond the city’s wall and gates...And this understanding is corroborating compounded by the also quite loaded meaning in the next term: “camp”.

“camp” of the saints - since it is ensuingly said “and the beloved city of the saints”, it would seem to be uselessly redundant to also cite, -and since that “broad plain”, is, as shown above, to be ‘the immediate area surrounding a/the city just beyond its walls and gates’, “the camp of the saints”. But that is because this “camp” (#3925b) is indeed also a technically very specific and thus “loaded” term.

First of all, the NT itself clearly and consistently shows that this word, (Greek parembole) is actually is a militaristically technical term, referring to “military baracks” (Acts 21:34, 37; 22:24; 23:10, 16, 32; cf. Heb 11:34's “armies”, and the link to the region just beyond a cities walls and gate is seen in its usage in Heb 13:11-13, and then in the fact that it is derived from paremballo (#3925a =‘to throw beside’) which is another technical term used to speak of the laying of a siege on a city (Luke 19:43) which was surroundingly done just outside its wall/gates.

So these two terms clearly are speaking specifically of the militaristic aspects of a city, and as this is the are which these rebels aim to occupy, it not only signals an advance of war, but also a strategic military tactic and assault right up to the defenses of the targeted city. Thus this sieging tactic is really an attempt to neutralize that city, not even allowing it the opportunity to send out its military men to fight, but hemming everyone inside the city, which is a tactic used to try to get a known to be inferior, or also, much more powerful city/army to simply surrender without (being properly capable of) fighting back.

And now in terms of interpretively applicable elements, which receive input contribution from (not necessarily in pointed order): (1) Spiritual transpirings (1 Cor 2:6-16); (2) (added/furthering) Spirit of Prophecy Revelations (i.e. EGW, and also here); (3) Biblical details; and (4) the Creator’s Nature (see here):

First, Spiritually, it is firstly most interesting to see that paremballo (#3925a), and thus also parebole (#3925b) is, as it pronouncedly sound, actually related to the Greek word for “parable” (parabole #3850b) as this Greek word is derived from the Greek term para+ballo (#3846) which likewise means: ‘to throw beside’. Involving that “parables”, like theatrical (i.e., movie) depictions today, were capable of bringing a complex point home and aid it better/memorable grasping, they also allowed for the veiling of an, otherwise, i.e. if plainly expressed, offending matter (cf. Matt 21:45). (Which indeed recalls of how various directors over the years have used (especially fictional) theatrical depictions to, in many cases paradigmly successfully, make controversial societal (e.g. Roots (1977|1979) [videos]), even political and/or militaristic (e.g. The Day After (1983) [video] (ABC News Discussion), points (hence the multi-“pointed” Point Zero Series). And that is indeed one reason why, as He Himself explained, Jesus spoke in parables (Matt 13:10-17), but most intriguingly enough, with Jesus there quoting and mimicking the similar Divine tactic used in Isa 6:8-13, which ended up in destructive consequences, it is seen just how this “parabolic throwing beside’ was actually a strategic military tactic!! Indeed the “throwing beside” implication, like the throwing up of siege works outside of a city’s wall, may initially seem to be inconsequential and futile, even discardingly ignorable, but, in their inherent, “entrenching” and “lasting” function and capability, they end up having their inculcatingly destructive intent/effect.

Interestingly enough, in God’s Spirit of Prophecy, it is said in GC 662.3, adding detail to the Bible (Zech 14:4), that the New Jerusalem will be placed in a plain, called “a valley of the mountains” (Zech 14:5a), which had come from Jesus transforming the mount of Olives by coming down upon it and his feet (then) touching the ground.

Add to this SOP “light”, the now more readily understood, pertinent Biblical information that it was on that Mount of Olives that the glory of God had moved to when God set out to judge His wayward Jerusalem (Ezek 11:23), and then later moved back from there into a repaired and rebuilt, thus New, Jerusalem (Ezek 43:1-5ff), and that for the benefit of the entire Earth (Ezek 47:1-13ff; cf. Zech 14:8). This prophetic tri-stage development of Jerusalem’s Judgement-Restoration-Blessing is also involved in the apocalyptic vision of Zechariah which involves the Mount of Olives “mountain valley” = “plateau”. (Zech 14:1-3, 4-7, 8-11ff). Indeed by using this technically defining “mountain valley” term, it appears that the plain that is to be formed from the Mount of Olives is to actually be a broad plateau, rather than a sea-ground level plain. Thus this incorporates the advantage of building a city on top of a mountain, which here has been made to have sufficient flat, broad space.

And relatedly, it deliberately was on the Mount of Olives that Jesus, in Matt 24, spoke the coming scope of the latest, repackaged, prophetic developments, all mainly revolving around the fate of Jerusalem (Matt 23:37-38), thus quite significantly, there laying the Spiritual groundwork for the establishment of the New Jerusalem.

And then, Godly-Naturalistically, the Greek term platos is etymologically related to term for plateau specifically because it likewise involves a “broad plain”, though then understood to be a high/elevated plain, which, -like the main militaristic of the “sea-ground level” “broad plain” = “military campgrounds” of a city, thus provides a natural defense for a city, by it being able to provide an elevation advantage over an attackinging enemy. In fact then, in such a most favorable opportunity for strategically establishing a city upon a broad plateau (“mountain valley”), the walls of the city would best be built right up at the edge of the plateau instead of a little inland, so that any attacking enemy will literally not have a proper footing against the city. And towards that ends, and also to also protect against the effects of a siege, a city’s farmland, which typically is beyond its city walls can be enclosed within that plateau wall, especially as then, this much larger, but elevated, wall will be easier to defend, than a similar sprawling-size, “sea-ground level walling.

And moreover, plateaus are typically mainly formed from quasi-explosive geological “building up” process such as the upwelling of volcanic magma or the gradual “eroding down” processes by waters and glaciers.

For me that natural detailing immediately recalls the main depiction in my comprehensive and widely-scoped 19th vision, which is the Four Faces Vision, which, as I have seen more and more since receiving it in Nov. 2000, has generally, but indeed comprehensively, set out God’s prolonged time, post-apostasied Jerusalem, prophetic plans as done in Ezek 1; 8-11; 43; 47. That primarily main depiction was a threatening volcano, seemingly placed in the distance upon the sea, which did not erupt, instead merely belching out an ash cloud.

Then add to these understandings and revelation, the Biblical information in Dan 11:45 discussed here that: the habitation tents of the Northern King’s Royal Palace would be set up in the midst of the seas, all due to the glorious Holy Mountain. That mountain is understood to be Rev 14:1-5's Mount Zion; -(where the 144,000 are (finally, religiously) convened), and not the Mount of Olives, and this may all technically be because the Mount of Olives setting up is being reserved for a terra firma establishment of the New Jerusalem, which is still to be subsequent to the sea-realized “Zionistic” one. Still each realization, -the apocalyptic first (=during the temporal Millennium), being in the seas, and then the second being on the land (=Rev 10:2) both contribute to the Dan 2:35b, 44 “mountain filling up the earth” revelation -discussed here; with, as it was discussed in here, even the NJK’s built up Holy Cities being allowed, and physically capable, of surviving through the literal Second Coming, with then only the land parts of the Earth destroyed. The first/sea realization will have been indirectly done by Mount Zion, and the second/land realization will have been directly done by the spreading out of the Mount of Olives.

And then, when, as Rev 21:1b indicates, the large bodies of waters of “seas/oceans” no longer being found, then these HCs will simple be harmlessly “beached”, stably setting down on land on their structurally capably-supportive, actually already flat- bottomed, floating units.

...And so then, with these exegetical specifications and understandings brought out, the Literalistically implication of these “seashore sands” is interpretively seen in the fact that: in the tangibly necessary scenario that these armies of rebels will be endeavoring to assault and overrun NJK Holy Cities, for they also actually do not really want to destroy these places, but rather to capture them for themselves, -especially given their crippled embargoed state; and probably with these nations Historically recalling the, Seventh Plague’s, “great hailstorm” capping defense of the pre-Millennium War (Rev 16:21), and with the NJK still having such Weapons of Targeted Massive Destruction in their arsenal, that any effort by them to either build Nuclear Weapons would be met with immediate, preemptive defeat and also any usage of Nuclear Weapons, lobed upon Holy Cities, would just self-defeat their HC seizing plans, they may instead resort to in person swarming the NJK HC’s at sea, through perhaps a built up vast flotilla of, modern-(difficultly-sinkable, even submersible)-lifeboat-like merely armored watercrafts, which would take them right up against the Sea/Air-port coast of HC’s (see in main map here [note: shows/works best in (certain) Internet Explorer browsers] alt. page/image of map) where they then will try to overtake these HCs, merely by their sheer, NJK-population matching, or perhaps, surpassing, “numbers”, thus amphibious-personally-armed-infantry style. Thus they would be counting on hand-to-hand urban gunfighting in the HC’s where they thus expect to kill off the populations of these HCs, and overtake them. Moreover such an ‘armored-flotilla-infantry’ approach would almost guarantee them of being much more than less immune from the NJK’s KOAB missiles system, for even if it was lobed upon them, it would be landing in the Sea/Ocean waters, and so, would have the same, even Earth-quaking, effect as they would if they were to be lobed upon the terra firma habitations of these nations, and mind you, the destruction of these rebel land cities and countries may have already been militaristically done by the NJK KOAB system, which would really only require ca. 15 minutes, and thus both the necessity and viability of these nations having concentrated there militaristic efforts on developing this armada flotilla of lifeboat like vessels which can survive quite hostile conditions at sea. ... All this to couch the visual that, this most promising swarming attack plan used by these rebel nations upon HCs, and surrounding them, will indeed visually come to make them “solidly” seem like the sands of (artificial) beaches around each HC!!...And moreover, in order to try to defeat the most efficient, and thus most likely to be used, defensive measure by the NJK, which is to make these waters and airspace (i.e. in regards to incoming paratrooper planes), around the HCs to be unfordable, then the rebels will have to build their vessels out of materials which can resist either fire, electricity or corrosive chemicals, thus certainly not made out of metals, but instead, like the HC’s own Floating Units, out of reinforced plastic composites, or even performant glass, thus made mostly out of “sand”!! In fact, it will be expected that the NJK will not resort to such means for a defensive measure as it would then place their own HC Structural Floating Units, and thus their survivability in jeopardy. But in this war, as in any other during this GC, Satan has long known that he is, indeed at best, merely Kamikasely|Suicidally fighting, trying to bring down as many of God’s people as possible, all the while hoping to get them to lose their faith. So in this case, to be viable, such NJK Defensive measures will need to be capable of containing that super heated water, including down to a depth that any submersed entry attempt by these vessel would not be able to overcome the tremendous crushing pressures at such levels. So it will literally have to build, through the usage of electricity, (which has come to functionally replace fire in our day), a fully contained, Apocalyptic “Lake of Fire”, in which these rebels, if they would then choose to press on, as they deludedly, suicidally, surely will, will surely meet their end, and additionally with anti-aircraft systems shooting down any airborne assault attempts. (=“brimstones”). In terms of manageable/defensible feasibility, such a containable “Lake of Fire” would have to be built right up to the gates of these Holy Cities, within the water space just inside its Sea/Air-ports, thus in the harbors section of HCs, (also see in main map here), (appropriately enough, already) called HC Lakes & HC Seas.

So through all of these tangibly realistic necessities in the Plan A Millennium Era, will virtually all of the, albeit pactly conflated (i.e. versus the Bibles own sequential flow), Spiritual/Super-Natural elements given for the Emergency, “Plan B” scenario (i.e. EW 294.1|GC 671.2-673.3) still have a, =“its”, applicable fulfillment (cf. 1SM 55.5), but duly according to the Bible’s own more protracted and detailed, sequential Millennium Revelation!!

-Adding to the applicable parallels here, an HC actually had set up those surrounding Sea/Air-ports as an extra measure, and mainly to (safely enough) contain its Military’s KOAB system. The Habitable portions of an HC, including its below-surface-level agricultural, greenhoused-“farmland”, are all located within its city proper. So these attacking rebels strategically setting themselves up, as really entrapingly allowed, within the HC Sea/Air-ports, thus, most threateningly in it HC Lakes harbors, will thus fulfill an assembling right within the surrounding military installations of an HC, and right around its city proper.

-fire devoured them - It is odd that the word for “eat up” (e.g. Matt 13:4 23:14; cf. John 2:17) is used here with the effects of this fire, rather than “burn up”, and this may all technically be because this is a “lake of fire” which will more readily, and more protractedly so, as in eating, melt (=chew) down, then swallow, and then completely digest, its moltened victims, rather than “smoke them”, (as when the stopped, pre-Millennium, Mark of the Beast camp was priorly “tormented” for a while (Rev 14:10-11) producing a smoke (=Rev 9:2; 16:10) which itself lingered for a long time, even, object-lessonly/remindingly, into the Millennium). But this may also be a deliberate lingusitic linking to (1) the similar plaguing authority and effectuations of the Two Witnesses (Rev 11:5), and (2) thematically, a substitute of the indirect means that had been used to purifyingly rid the world of the, then later, i.e. post the tormentings of Rev 14:9-11, finally put down (i.e. no longer merely torment) the non-leadership members in the Mark of the Beast Camp, in Rev 19:20-21. Indicating here that this time, the NJK cause will be taking upon itself to defensively effect this eradicating destruction upon this revived, neo-MOB-wannabee, camp.

Rev 20:10 - And the devil who is deceiving them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, wherever the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

-the devil thrown into lake of fire.... - Interesting to see that it is only now that the devil actually is dealt his long determined fate. Priorly the beast and false prophets, and other following world leaders, had been already given this fate. (Rev 19:19-21; -see the further exposition of those verses on that “lake of fire” in that post), but the Devil was then merely only imprisoned in the abyss as this Temporal Millennium developed (Rev 20:1-3). But no longer so now...

wherever - as it was stated in this post at Rev 11:8 about the use of the Greek Word hopou (#3699) simply translated as “where” in the NASB, it actually involves a figurative sense meaning “wherever it is/comes to be”. This is from the fact that it is composed of the Greek words hos (#3739) =“who/which/that” and pous (#4225) “somewhere/about”, thus colloquially meaning “which [typically] is somewhere/about...”. So it is used to refer to typical: proverbial (e.g. Matt 6:19-21; 13:5; Mark 9:44, 46, 48; Rev 17:15); figurative (e.g Rev 11:8) approximated/guestimated (e.g. Mark 2:4; including from the writer’s knowledge Matt 26:57; Mark 5:40); just generalized/unknown (e.g., Matt 8:19; 24:28; 25:24, 26; 26:13) and even no longer applicable (e.g. Matt 28:9) places. The Greek “where” word for a definitive/known/literalistic place is hou (#3757) (e.g. Matt 2:9; 28:16; Luke 4:16-17; Acts 7:29). And though there are more occurrences in the NT of the figurative hopou (78X) than hou (24X), the wider Biblical corpus provided by the LXX, overwhelming shows, as normatively expected, that the literal “where” is used much more frequently than the metaphorical “wherever”: i.e. 3757X vs.108X.

Now, what is key from this linguistic specification is that, it oddly seem to be suggesting that the location of that Lake of Fire, which in Rev 20:7-10 is clearly indicated to form adjacently just outside of the Saints’ Holy Cit(ies) (=Luke 19:16-19), but now, when that place of torment is mentioned in relation to the place where the beast and the false prophet had priorly been similarly tormentingly judged (Rev 19:20-21), -and again, this can be, under the Seventh Plague, in similar (artificial) i.e. NJK KOAB, pre-emptive, “severe” “fiery hailstone” = “balls of fire” way in which the political and military leaders amongst the “Greatest Tsunami” sufferers had been punctuatingly “seized/arrested” (Rev 19:19ff) for trying to escape their fate by attacking the righteous then (=Rev 16:17-20), this ‘uncertain’/guestimated “wherever” term is now used. This is not because the location of the Lake of Fire is actually unknown, for in both of its of its formation/occurrences thus far it was in tangibly literal and known places, though the Seventh Plague’s Rev 19:19-21 occurrence was much more dispersedly inflicted, being a preemptive strike, than the present one which had allowed the opposing forces to confirmingly gather just around the NJK Holy Cities, -and the reason manifestly, pragmatically is that the pre-Millennium opposing group will involve world powers and superpowers which still have great, remotely inflictable, also Nuclear weaponry in their arsenal, (hence the need to pre-emptively strike them wherever they stand), whereas this post-Millennium start gathering will be of people who then have no built up military capabilities at all, but it manifestly also is because the prior place(s) of torment of the leaders of the MOB camp, will long no longer be still occurring, though the effect of their judgement and “tormenting”, which beneficially had, -as involved in actual tormenting/torturous (i.e. versus sadistic) measures during the length of the proclamation of the Third Angel’s message (Rev 14:9-11) and its Loud Cry (Rev 18:10), caused them to ‘reveal (Rev 14:17-20; Isa 63:1-6) or confess the Truth about the error and futilelity of their Babylonian ways’, -a confession and lesson which indeed is key in setting up a, at least peaceful for all, Millennial Era, where it may only then take the “force” of the wielded word of God (Rev 19:15; Heb 4:12), rather than actual warring measures from God’s camp, to subdue (Rev 19:21a, and eventually cause them to either literally, or figuratively fully expose (Rev 19:21b), these remaining non-righteous ones. So the places of tormenting of the MOB camp will by then long have done its work and been removed. In fact, with the beast and the false prophet, which is, from Rev 17, historically: the Roman Catholic Church and its (Protestant Daughter) the United States, and then, Eschatologically the United States and its Papacy-headed Liberal/Emergent Church “prophet”, together constitutes “Babylon”, as that entity is, after it has been dealt that tormenting, fiery ordeal in the Seven Last Plagues, summarily depicted in Rev 18:5b-20, said and shown to, after, as discussed in here at Rev 19:20, a “tormenting (moral/religious) imprisonment”, be, “with/through violence”, hurled, forever, into towards the “abyss” of the sea (Rev 18:21ff), and probably while it is still being consumed by flames (Rev 18:8-10), this then may, “proverbial/figuratively” be why the actual location of that similar judged and put down Babylonian entity is then not exactly known/recalled.

So with the actual “Plan A” outcome of the Rev 20:7-10 opposition being put down in a contained “Lake of Fire” which causes them and their flotilla to be engulfed and eventually sunk to the bottom of the Seas, then this is evidently the figurative linkage to the unknown place where Babylon had priorly been relegated.

-day and night - interestingly enough, this detail was not mention in the prior Rev 14:9-11 effectuation, which culminatingly takes place during the Seven Last Plagues, ending in the Rev 19:19-21 delving. This may be that, unlike the present Rev 20:9b-10 effectuation, which is much more highhanded than the prior one, including by having had the Historical precedence of the Seven Last Plagues delving, this effectuation will not be granting any respite. Indeed, even in the pouring out of the Plagues on Egypt, there were periods of respite granted. And in the outpouring of the Seven Last Plagues, when it is actually twice said: “It is done”, for the SOP reveals that is done to close probation, to begin the outpouring of the Seven Last Plague (LDE 244.1) with imagery and language which corroboratingly show that it is related to what takes place in Rev 15:8ff, yet the Bible, (again evidently due to its mainly “Plan A” delineating, mentions this explicit closing of probation to launch the Seventh Plague (Rev 16:17), (but then again, as later discussed, later at Rev 21:6), there manifestly will be, in the “Plan A” scenario (i.e. vs. the EGW-SOP’s compacted and conflated “Plan B” Scenario (e.g. LDE 238.2)), also granted period of respite during this outpouring, though people then will not actually be able to “religiously” be forgiven and switch sides (Rev 15:8), but indeed like most of the Egyptians before, they will have to suffer through the outpouring of the Plagues and hope they survive. But, interestingly enough, it was only except for the plague of the ‘greatest, fiery, very heavy, hail’ (Exod 9:18-32ff), moreover their 7th Plague, that the Egyptians could be spared as those who, in faith, heeded the explicitly clear, granted warning and avoiding instruction (Exod 9:19-21) were able to protect themselves against the great economic devastation which it caused.

Therefore, it seems that a similar chance to (economically) escape will be granted up to the Seventh Last Plague in the Pre-Millennial judgement. But no so now in/for that highhanded reprisal.

-“forever and ever” -Literally this phrase reads as “into the ages of the ages”. Compared to the same expression in the preceding Rev 14:11 occurrence which merely reads as “into ages of ages”, i.e. without the Greek articles, which are used to refer to a known precedent, and moreover was pointing to the resulting “smoke”. Thus (1) it is the ‘consumed result’ of that torment which prolongingly endures, and (2) as it is the prior Rev 14:11 “forever and ever” which, grammatically, is being referred to for the one in Rev 20:10, then this may be an indication that: the tormenting for the bold rebellion now will last as long as the consummation smoke of the prior judgement had lingered/lasted. Meaning that, the prior MOB camp during the Seven Last Plagues may have been mercifully/justly, i.e. merely deservedly, quickly consumed, and only their “smoke” object-lessonly lingered on. (And it must be interjectedly, pertinently pointed out here in passing that, the parable, depicted here, of Luke 19:11-27 (=Matt 25:14-30), with its ‘starkly striking’, almost offbeat, ending at, (actually firstly(!) Matt 25:30 = Rev 16:10-11 = Fifth Plague); then Luke 19:27 = Rev 14:10; 16:19-20; 19:19-21 = Seventh Plague)[6] But for this boldly reviving MOB rebels, their fitting “torment” will be, and even if they are made to remain alive even after having permanently sunk into the abyssal depths of the seas, to be able to keep pondering their wayward course and its consequence, (which may include persisting, water-immune, heat, and it must be added that, having had built water tight vessels, they could tormentingly be made to survive for a long while, in those sunken capsule, even a great, high pressure depths, hence their ‘mentally anguishing tormenting’), -for however long as had lingered, which may be symbolically defined by, as long they had priorly not rebelled, even if merely during their own lifetime. Thus if they had been conforming/faithful for either e.g. 540 years into this Millennium, or the first 54 years of their life, then they will be made to relive each moment of either those peaceful generation or their prior peaceful lifespan to realize and confess that they indeed had no valid reason to have rebelled against anything which had been peacefully and righteously transpiring during that time. And for pragmatic reason, joining the two potential possibilities here, the prior Millennium generations span may be acceleratedly condensed to the equivalent of their own faithful life time span, So e.g, those 540 generational years will be replayed at a fast-forwarding speed of 10X to justly be contained within that personal lifetime of 54 years. So a person in that rebellious camp with a shorter lifetime will actually be suffering less time than an older person, though both will experience the same intensity, but for different lengths of times...Which is indeed key as seen in the fact that, e.g., getting tasered at 25,000 volts of electricity (~fire) is much less severe if it lasts only 5.4 seconds, compared to 54 seconds!

And again, to restate what had been pointed out before, the fact that the devil is specifically only in this judgement mentioned to undergo it, along with others, is evidence that it will indeed be, as the special qualifying expressions indicate, the severest of the, actually, “Plan A”-sequentially, 3 (i.e. at (1) Rev 14:10-11|Rev 16:17-21|Rev 19:19-20; (2) Rev 20:9b-10; Rev 20:14-15) distinct effectuations of the “Lake of Fire” judgement, -with actually, then next discussed effectuation being expressed as the least severe of them all.

Relatedly, it was said in the General Introduction to the Rev 20 section, in response to a Spiritually shallow, spuriously “correcting”, claim of Stephen Bohr, which does not even reconcile the Bible’s account with EGW’s conflated “Plan B” revelation, that: by this point, it may have become the case that the NJK had finally, technologically managed to reverse the lingered catastrophes which befell the (rest of, i.e., non NJK portions) of the Earth during the MOB conflict with its outpouring/unravelling of the Seven Last Plagues (e.g., as discussed in here at Rev 19:21 about Rev 14:20), and as it is typical with people who are sickly unrighteous, give then any spare time and they will use it to plot and do evil. Well it is dovetailingly manifest that this managed damages-reversal by the NJK, or even merely the hopeful inceptive start of it, which then makes the task of providing a livelihood by many of the rest of the world nations is what “affords them” the needed expendable resources to now try to mount a rebellion against the NJK, and thus ends up in this Rev 20:7-10 debacle.

Rev 20:7-10 - Finalizing Demonstration: Revived Opposition

Conclusion:

Succinctly said here, as it will be expounded upon later in a section for the Rev 21 discussion, it is most fitting the Section segment which parallely, ensuingly corresponds to the Rev 20:7-10 segments is Rev 21:22-27, for then, with a Final Rebellion here in Rev 20:7-10 having been preceedingly put down, what was in part previously generally viewed as the Temporal Millennium depiction in rev 21:22-27, is actually/really, the sequentially remaining and final Era/State of the temporal Millennium. In other words it represents what life on Earth will then be after this Rev 20:7-10 Final Rebellion has been put down, and then, upon the White Throne judgement next occurring in Rev 20:11-15, which is Christ’s judgement in Matt 25:31-46, it is then that “Millennium”, -which actually then is no longer in effect, having already technically been, most likely prematurely, ended by this Rev 20:7-10 development, and thus should now instead be called the “Restored New Earth Era”, will have begun, and with many not fully, religiously, saved, but still righteous, people (=Matt 25:34-40 = Rom 2:12-16), will then live, and will be growing up to do all righteousness.

In fact, it is my mused observation, as made here that God has left it within the technological feasibility of man to be capable to mechanically turn water into an atmosphere, as He has super-naturally done when organizing this planet for habitation. Indeed, the rainwater ‘collected’ to flood this Earth may have been borrowed from other terrestrial planets in this galaxy, and eventual man will be able to technologically even return them there, and thus producing the result of this planet ‘no longer having (enough extra water for) seas’ (Rev 21:1b). And the damaged and uneven landscape of this planet may then ultimately be supernaturally restored by the, as discussed above, ‘broad mountain valley’ that Jesus will be creating when He flattens the Mount of Olives, and it is also thus that this planet will then fully have its “New Heavens and New Earth” (Rev 21:1a)!!

__________________________

Rev 20:11-15 - Final Determination: White Throne Judgement

Prolusion:

Okay now, as said in conclusion just above, in the “Plan A” Jubilee Sequence, the Millennium is indeed all over by this point because of the revived Gog and Magog Rebellion which had transpired just before in Rev 20:7-10. So finally, all of the really impenitent and unrighteous people from the nations which were being quasi-forcefully “shepherded” (Rev 19:15) have been candidly teased out and adjudged. And so there now only are true, righteous and faithful people left. Some people from those subjugated nations may have wanted to side with the rebelling ones, but in at least effective faith, thought the better of it, and now, upon having witnessed the sound destruction of the rebels, are now convinced that they are indeed on the better/right side.

So now that all these evidences and demonstrations are in this GC, including this most emblematic one effectuated by this Temporal Millennium which revealed that people would still choose to do wrong even with great evidence of the Divine, it is now time to fully wrap things up.

Harmonizingly enough, this finalizing segment (Rev 20:11-15) of the Rev 20 Section lines up with other “finalizing” effectuations in the “B2” Row. And the most interesting part of the precedents is that, they have thus far, at best only been partially fulfilled thus far, but now, now that allotted GC time has been ended, this is where/when these precedents find their fullest meaning and application. These fullest fulfillments from preceding Section Segments will be briefly pointed out here, and later it will be inclusively seen how, and that they do play their fullest fulfillment parts here in the unfolding of Rev 20:11-15 and its White Throne Judgement

(Section) I - (Rev 3:21-22) - As seen in this post, and as discussed here, the “shared, (=equivalencing), throne of God promise” given to the overcomer(s) of, pointedly, the Laodicean Church Age, (which firstly (1 Pet 4:17; Ezek 9:6) was the SDA Church, and then, as many other Christians have come to candidly perceive, see this sermon by Francis Chan, applies to particularly all Western professed Believers today), and it is now that this promise has its fullest application as these overcomer(s) will now, (as also veiledly revealed in that SOP revelation (4T 384-387), fully share in the work, duties and authority of this “White Throne” Judgement Session, manifestly, like the 12 Apostles of Christ (Matt 19:28|Luke 22:30), in regards to judging their Israel/Church Age peers....but really to an actually more authoritatively-granted extent. (Hint: John 5:22+Rev 3:21)

II - (Rev 8:1) - The Seventh Seal had been representing, as discussed within here, more than once frustrated, thus “half” judgements by God, including halted Second Comings, all due to the unreadiness of God’s professed people, particularly in regards to them have fully reflected the Character of “the Lamb” (=Rev 6:16-17 = DA 825.4). But now, as revealed in EGW’s Plan B Scenario (EW 15.2), -(and indeed it is now that the Plan A and Plan B Scenarios tracely begin to, prophetic delineations/sequence and contents wise, rejoin/realign themselves, but most fully so only upon the completion of the White Throne Judgement; starting in Rev 21:1ff, where they both are then again identical, VIII, Sections), the Second Coming is carried through, and so God’s People are finally taken to be with Him. The 7-Sealed History of this world, and pointedly, reappliedly, the last Eschatological Wave of Prophetic (=Planned) Developments have now finally been fully “unrolled”, and so now that rolled out scrolled is closed, =”rolled back up”, and the Second Coming occurs (=Rev 6:14; EW 15.2). My observation here is that the (actually) saved of all the ages are now raised, and they, together with the living saints, are then are taken to Heaven (=EW 16.1-2) for the remainder of the time that have been left in the curtailed 1000 years. And while in Heaven they are then variously instructed in person as to what pertains to the most optimal life on the Earth and also briefed about coming White Throne Judgement issues and decisions...but then return to Earth, along with the Heavenly Holy City (EW 17.3), and are thus present for the “execution” of this ‘(Righteous-ness) White Throne Judgement’ (=Jude 1:14-15 = Zech 14:5).

III - (Rev 11:15-18) - The elements in the Seventh Trumpets also then have their fullest fufillments. While many they were applicably fulfilled in the Jubilee Millennium effectuations, only now, in the Post-Millennium Era, do they have their fullest realization. And so: ‘Christ will now reign forever over all of the kingdoms of this world’ (Rev 11:15), with finally this permitted by God protracted Great Controversy having finally been ended (Rev 11:17), pointedly upon the final quashing of the revived Gog and Magog rebellion (Rev 11:18a = Rev 20:9-10). And so now it indeed is time to confirm the prior laid indictments (Gr. krino) of all of the dead, from all of the ages, here addedly including the Millennial dead (Rev 11:18b), as all of the GC evidence is now in. And that is indeed what the Great White Throne Session is all about.

3.5-VI- (Rev 14:17-20:10) - With the “Plan A” Temporal Millennium having been carried out, and thus done its works, which, starting in its typological Second Coming lead up, was to protractively put down the conclaves of various neo-oppositions (i.e. Baalish, Egyptian, Sodomite, Abyssal, Babylonian; Gog & Magog, etc) to God’s Cause of Righteousness. So then, all prophetic plans beyond Rev 14:16 have already been fully fulfilled and now are rendered moot. And so the “GC wrapping up” prophecies given in the “Second Half” of Revelation (=Rev 14:17-20:10) do now not need to fulfillingly, (and thus explanatorily), revisited.

And so now, again with the Second Coming effectuated (Rev 14:14-16 = EW 15.2-16.2ff), it is indeed time for the Great White Throne Judgement Session to be carried out.

Rev 20:11 - Then I saw a great white throne and (the) one sitting upon it, -away from whose face earth and heaven fled away. And no place was found for them.

-white throne - It is intriguing to see here that the color “white” is uniquely tacked on here to the mention of a throne, but succinctly said here, this is evidently because it is representing “righteousness” , which is right-doing and righteous acts (Rev 19:7-9). So this represents that this Throne, and thus this judgement, has as its subject-matter jurisdiction these “righteousness” things. (=Acts 17:31). And “righteousness” is actually a higher state of being which is superior to, and goes beyond, one which is curtailingly limited merely to expressed/stipulated/explicit Laws. (Cf. Rom 2:12-16). And so, as the throne of God is founded on both Justice and Righteousness (Psa 89:14; 97:2), with evidently “Justice”, -which is controlled by explicit Law involving the color “blue”, and thus the color of the Father’s own, or the half of this, throne (see Exod 24:10, 12, 32:15-16; Ezek 1:26; Num 15:32-36, 37-41; expounded on in this presentation [39:40-45:38]) PDF by David Asscherick; (cf. here. -However, the replacement 10C tablets were manifestly carved out of different, earthly stone, and also this time by Moses himself before he ascended to heaven to have God inscribe His Commandments on them. (Exod 34:1-4).) a solely “white” throne would therefore involve that (only) “righteousness” will be the standard. And this is why such judgement has been given over by the Father to Jesus (John 5:22). Indeed, in an also applicable way, (as seen in Earthly Justice), if the Law is sincerely|honestly ‘ignorantly not known’, then Justice can/will not be (justly) applied. (But, as seen today in some major societal causes, righteousness/“right doing” then can (inadvertently) also become “perverted”) =Hab 1:4; cf.; Rom 6:15-20; 7:7-14ff. But as God’s “righteousness” is actually also inherently “informed by His “Natural Laws” (=Rom 1:18-32) and so the present day’s “live and let die” standards, also reigning Supreme amongst God’s professed people (e.g. here|here), will not be acceptable as an “excuse” in this “Righteousness judgement” (Rom 2:1-11).

So the “White” Throne Judgement is clearly under the jurisdiction of Christ, and applying the various Bible and SOP points cited and referenced in here, it is unequivocally evident that it is the Judgement Session which Jesus clearly spelled out in Matt 25:31-46. Indeed there, it will be Righteousness which will be the deciding factor, particularly in regards to ‘sins of omission in regards to the poor and needy of the world.’ (See LDE 218.3-219.3; cf. DA 825.4)

An Emerald Appearance Throne - Complimentarily, as the “source” of this ‘Healing Righteousness/Right-Doing’ is indeed the Character and Work of Jesus Christ, and His Sourcing has been compared to the light of the Sun (Mal 4:2), -(which basically burns yellow but manifest itself in bright white light perhaps because it is passing through the “blueness” of the “lighting”particles of this planet’s sky/atmosphere for, as shown/illustrated here, when blue and yellow lights are (“additively”) mixed, white light is emitted), it is naturally sequitur that when also the Law/Justice Sapphire-Blueness of God the Father’s own (part) of this throne is substantively (“subtractively” = ‘from white’) mixed with the (Pure) Golden-Yellow-sourced Righteousness/Mercy/Healing (=Love&Faith (2T 36.2)) provided by Jesus Christ, then a Greenish color can also be tangibly produced, which probably is more of an Emerald hue, -with emerald indeed involving a Yellow-Blue spectrum, and thus is manifestly why the Throne in Rev 4:3 “appears” in that color. (Also meaning that the “light of Righteousness” then is not the preeminent standard, but rather the actually lower standard of mere stipulated law, which indeed is actually on what basis God’s “Previous Covenant” Israels were preeminently judged as that pre-unrolling scroll session was executed (cf. COL 293.3-294.2), first with Jews (70 A.D.), then with SDAs (1999). Indeed ‘righteousness/right-doing principles were actually stipulated in their Law/Writings (=Bible and SOP)’).
So either in the Lighting “White” appearance (used for Judgement), or that tangible Emerald one (used for Ruling), this Throne of God still appropriately and pertinently, perfectly involves the Sapphire-Blue hue of/from the Father.

-the one sitting upon it - John here is straightforwardly saying that: ‘he saw both the throne and also the one who is sitting on the throne. Now here is “begged” a most fundamental and pivotal question and issue which not only has significance here, but for the entire book/prophecies of Revelation. And this question/issue can be succinctly summarized as: “Why isn’t Jesus clearly identifying/revealing/naming Himself here, and in several other similar instances in Revelation. In other words, it is clear and understandable that the prophecies of Revelation have, like all other, especially apocalyptic, prophecies in the Bible, been “encrypted” (=“signified” (Rev 1:1)); and it is even understandable why the specific nominal identity of the Messiah, though long “functionally, definitely known” (Mat 1:21), was also hidden and encrypted in OT Messianic prophecies (Dan 9:24-27; Isa 53, Psa 110, etc), as it could indeed have easily be given in advance (as e.g. in 1 Kgs 13:2, -though, as discussed here, that statement was probably ‘textually, editorially supplied after the transpired fact’), so that people would clearly know who was the Messiah, but now, in Revelation, which is moreover after the First Advent of the Messiah, Jesus, and pointedly now speaks of His Second Advent, which He Himself had already said He would be doing, and that, by explicit naming and/or identifying in the Gospel (John 14:1-3; cf. Matt 24:4, 23, 42; Acts 1:11), -though many of these instances are (also) merely cryptically qualified with a titular “Son/Son of Man” (e.g., Matt 16:27; Matt 24:27, 30, 36-37, 39, 44); but I cannot see any reason why, not once in the prophecies portions of Revelation, Jesus never identifies Himself by name (e.g., as He “resumes” doing in Rev 22:16), but instead merely through relatively generic titles and symbols. Moreover, it would actually be behooving for those greatly hated and persecuted early Christians to have such prophetic writings of their clearly state that ‘the one who will be (e.g.) “wrathfully” (Rev 6:16-17); “avengingly” (Rev 14:10-11) and “warringly” (Rev 19:11ff) coming back to deliver them is (from the ruling pagan Romans’ perspective) that: ‘mythical, long dead Jew named Jesus who these Christian foolishly believe was raised again’, than actually someone being “codedly” (cf. 2 Thess 2:1-7ff) referred to, even incited/instructed here, who thus can (again) “Messianically” raise himself from amongst them and lead them in such revolting activities; -{as similarly seen/done recently by, e.g. David Koresh (1993)}. (And, as discussed here, even the ‘I am coming quickly statements’ in Rev 22:7 is said by one of the plague angel of Rev 17:1ff, and manifestly is the same “signifying&testifying” angel (Rev 1:1-2) who “testified these things for the Churches” (Rev 22:16), and thus is actually the one who (and logically not John) actually re-makes such a statement in all of Rev 22:20, and thus perhaps, continuingly also in Rev 22:21!!)

Now it is also clear from Dan 12:3-4, 10 that the pointed reason why God has encrypts prophecies is so that ‘the unrighteous will not understand, but, damningly, go on to do wickedly’. And from that it is seen that the simple fact that OT Messianic prophecies did not cite Jesus Christ by name is so that the unrighteous then, in Israel itself, likewise will not know and understand this truth, and, as it did occur in history, will keep on their unrighteous course and doom themselves (cf. Matt 13:10-17|Isa 6:8-13). And it can be seen that giving the name of the Messiah in the OT would not prove to be worthwhile anyways, for as Jesus pointed out the Jews, it would be the one who would be doing the works of the Messiah which would be providing the most genuine proof that He is the Messiah (John 10:30-38). And mind you, that if Jesus had then come Triumphantly, as certain, OT prophecies stated about the Messiah, people would more readily and widely have accepted Him. But He instead necessarily/justly was only able to fulfill certain parts of the Messiah’s mandate, focusing on His sins forgiving and undoing work. But the Triumphal work of the Messiah were all postponed, indeed for His Second Advent.

So, by straightforward, logical and Biblical correlation, it can likewise be deduced about the book of Revelation, which pointedly speaks to ‘the Christian Church(es)” (Rev 22:16 = Rev 1:11) that: since the identity of the Messiah is there also hidden/encrypted/veiled, and thus pointedly in relation to Christians, (indeed just like it was done with the Messiah in regards to Jews in the OT), then this is clearly also because Jesus now also does not want something, in now in regards to His Second Advent, to be known by the unrighteous in the Christian Church. So thus, these things are hidden from their awareness, and so their doom is thus sealed. And do keep in mind, this veiling is not in regards to e.g. the identity of the anti-Christ, but instead, as it focuses on the identifying of Jesus Himself, and mainly in regards to the Second Advent, then it indeed is something about recognizing Jesus Christ in His Advent, along with His various other key actions during this prophetic unrolling.

And most emblematic of this “tactic” is the veiling done in Rev 19:11-16. Most Christians would no-brainly say that this is a speaking of Jesus and His Second Coming...Well then, why all of the veiling here??! Indeed the text seems to be a most straightforward relating, but when you delve into the many symbolism and allusions applied here, as done in this post, then it becomes self-evident that something has been hidden beneath this “obvious” surface. Perfect case in point: His ‘written but unknown by all name’ (in Rev 19:12) which later is evidently revealed as “King of Kings and Lord of Lord” (=Rev 17:14), but anyone, especially believers, who knew that ‘Jesus and the Father were one’ (John 10:30, 38b; 14:8/-11; 17:21) could know this of Christ (e.g., Dan 2:21; 1 Tim 6:15). So how can this straightforwardly have merely a surface understanding. Moreover, by being linked to the “thigh”, this naming is associated with Jacob’s covenantally-blessing change of name to “Israel”, thus from “(scheming) Supplanter” to “(Victorious) Prince with God” (Gen 32:27-28). Therefore it is related to those who are Victorious in both the Shaking (EW 272.1) and then the Great Time of Trouble (GC 615.1-622.3).

So it evidently here is Christ’s attempt to veil something about His Second Coming, and with this name veiling coming after He had already clearly said that it is He Himself who will be doing the Second Coming, then also something in regards to ‘who will be involved then’: Thus, jointly: a veiling has been done here in regards to ‘an involved aspect of Christ’s Second Coming’, -which is clearly not in regards to, as with the prior Triumphal aspects of the Messiah, its Gloriousness; and also, ‘who will be the one involved in this veiled aspect.’ And, studying out of these prophecies have indeed shown that these two things are consistently involved throughout the book of Revelation....And, confirmingly enough, this development had announcedly been warned of in Rev 16:15, -in contrast to those who will join the MOB Camp and fight with them in the H/Ar-Mageddon War, and with the “signified” message of this warining to be found in alluded to passages such as: Rev 3:1-6; 2 Cor 5:1-3; Matt 25:1-13; 1 Thess 5:2-10; 2 Pet 3:10-13.

And so, all this to explicitly say and observe, as long perceived, and thus pertinently presented in this blog (see e.g. this post, and this one), that, due again to the spuriously false unrighteousness reigning Supreme amongst God’s People, the Gloriously Planned Second Coming of Christ had had to be halted (see Rev 7:1-3|15MR 292.2-3), but He will then will be allowing a veiled, thus Spiritual and Typological Aspect of it to unfold, and that, through a symbols-fulfilling representative.

Therefore it is seen that this ‘symbolized representative’ is involved in/as:

-the “Little Lamb” = (Rev 5:6; 7:17; 14:1, 10; 17:14; 19:7) + 21 other time in Revelation)

-the “one like unto a son of man” (cf. here) = (Rev 1:13; 14:14)

-(as cited above, and discussed in here) the white horse rider = (Rev 19:11-16)

And so, here in Rev 20:11, it is similar evident that “the one sitting on this throne” who is mysteriously also not specifically named, though it would seem to obviously be Jesus Christ, is in fulfillable, typologicial, fact, not...but, for this wave of “veiled Second Coming” fulfillments, instead is (also) the, as it expectedly turned out, ‘lone one (=Ezek 9:8) who was Victorious in the Shaking of Laodicea, and thus, alone, has received Christ’s Throne-Sharing promise’ (Rev 3:21)!! And relatedly, it must be said that in other places in Revelation where it is obvious that God the Father is the one who is seated on a throne, with an, initially-unenthroned, “Little Lamb” also involved in such contexts, but it also is not then explicitly said (e.g. Rev 4:2-3ff, 10-11; 6:16; 7:10-11, 17), it is because then, an applicable fulfillment is that “God” there is Jesus Christ Himself, and the Little Lamb is that Victorious Laodicean representative. But in order to veil that crucial development that Jesus will be represented by someone else in the typological fulfillment of Revelation’s prophecies, His own identity as ‘the One seated on God the Father’s Throne’, has been veiled.

-away from whose face... - This involves what naturally, detrimentally likewise happens when, as with God, the face (i.e. the readily identifying and recognizing part of the body) is forsakingly turned or hidden. (e.g. 2 Chr 6:42; 30:9; Psa 27:9; Deut 31:17-18; 32:20; Job 13:24; Psa 51:9; Mic 3:4; cf. Isa 53:3; Rev 6:16)., Then in the light of this ‘abandoning, forsaking and disdain’ from someone who can provide a complete different alternative, things do indeed go wrong, and in this case it is something which happens to both the heaven and the earth.

...heaven and earth had fled - This alludes the “shaking of the Heavens and the Earth” (=Heb 12:26-27) which is done, which has prophetic application in shaking religious and temporal powers (EW 41.1-2), which, as already discussed is seen in what transpired as the GC was wrapped up, pointedly in the Final Conflict against Babylon, culminating in the unravelling of the Seven Last Plagues which severely damaged both the Earth and also the Heavens (i.e. Rev 16:10). Again, as interpretedly applied before, this is expected to be done by: a “Second Woe” 9/11 II-initiating (First Trumpet|Plague) Nuclear Holocaust and Winter (Fifth Trumpet|Plague) and then “Greatest Earthquake+ Greatest Tsunami” (Seventh Trumpet|Plague), and the other Trumpet|Plague damages in between. The initiating 9/11 II Event, as discussed in here from Rev 19:16-18ff is one which is under the wrathful direction of the Angel-commanded Heavenly Intelligence (i.e., as for Egypt’s Judgement, ‘a band of Destroying Angels’ (Psa 78:49) and probably each of the Seven Plague Angels command their own special/dedicated unit of Destroying Angel[7]).

Not surprisingly, this power to wreak indiscriminate havoc on the Earth, just as God had to do when He likewise judged the Earth, then with the Flood...now, most damagingly with allowed Nuclear Holocaust (for (also) “Heavens”) and a Great Earthquake+Tsunami Waves (for “Earth”), is indeed also found in, and exhibited from/through/by God’s representative, as chiefly seen in the granted power to the Two Witnesses, who indeed can strike the earth with ‘any of the (Seven Last Plagues) as often as they may avengingly (=Rev 11:5) wish’, including “turning water (people -Rev 17:15) into blood” (Rev 11:6). In fact, by the Second Plague/Wound (Rev 16:3), these “bleeding waters” are, now in “seas” groupings (=world nations), then further transformed by now being “coagulated” =‘as the blood of a dead man’, thus producing much greater damage by, now, (as correspondingly depicted for the “Second” season here), literally causing the world to ‘stop moving, or at least sluggishly move, about’, i.e. in the Geo-Political realm!

So these judgement actions by this ‘lone Victorious Laodicean one’ which has caused the first heaven and earth to flee (=pass away) Rev 21:1, are in relation to the planetary consequences of the Final Conflicts, consequences which had endured into the Temporal Millennium, and which manifestly will only be fully repaired by Supernatural, Creative intervention. In fact, the likewise great planetary damage which was priorly done by Noah’s Flood itself also need to be Supernaturally repaired.

And, sequentially seen here, this is done before a Heavenly New Jerusalem is brought down (Rev 21:1-2ff), which is actually only after this Great White Throne Session (Rev 20:11-15) has been carried out (contra. GC 662.1-3). So then this is why in this sequential understanding of the “Plan A” scenario, there is, (unlike the (Plan B” (i.e. GC 663.1ff) not now a Holy City assaulting as this has already taken place in Rev 20:7-10. In fact, the Devil, who had been mentioned in the First (Rev 20:1-3) and Third (Rev 20:7-10) Segments, is now not mentioned in this Fourth one. And that may be because He is still being tormented in a still burning Lake of Fire for the Rev 20:7-10 Segment, then still present on this not-yet-renewed planet, with then only him and his angels still left alive in that Lake.

Rev 20:12 - And I saw the dead, the great and the small, having been standing (established) before the throne, and books were opened; and another (similar) book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were indicted from the things which have been written in the books, according to their deeds.

-the dead, great and small - This is the second resurrection and this group is, generally stated, the dead of all time. That is because the qualifiers in relation to this state of death: “the great and the small” logically cannot then be referring to either great or small physical stature, nor great and small sinners, but rather to: ‘those who had been dead fro a great time and the other who had been dead for a small while.’

Then more specifically, it can be said, from an exegetical comparison with Rev 20:4, that this group is made up of: the non-martyred righteous dead (i.e. who had not qualified to be resurrected by the ending of the (protracted) first resurrection), and also all of the unsaved/unrighteous dead.

But first of all, necessarily comparing this statement with what is next said in Rev 20:13 when then it redundantly, apparently is that the dead are actually raised, one has to wonder how can the dead here “stand” before this White Throne for “judgement”, but then would only have been resurrected in the next verse. The answer is found when (1) it is understood that this White Throne judgement is indeed the same Judgement which Jesus described in Matt 25:31-46; and (2) as discussed here, just how God actually effectuates this judgement. These points will be included in the ensuing commentings but right here it is best to state from the conclusion of these points that the unsaved/unrighteous dead are not actually included in this group. Moreover, they are the secondarily dealt with “goats” group in Matt 25:41-46.

-having been standing (established) - It was intriguing for me to see here that a perfect participle was being used here. This is because the “perfect” part emphasizes ‘an action begun and completed in the past, with an enduring result, and the participle part indicating sort of a possessed function. So this is actually referring to “standers” who had priorly started to do this and this was now still in effect. And that was odd in the light of a just appeared throne. The normative thing to see and thus say here would be that John saw the throne, then he saw all the dead raised, and then these raised dead then “began” standing before that throne, but that is not at all the case. Furthermore, the Greek word for standing here, is, as explained here, a first lexical form for the perfect tense here, declenched from the Greek istemi which denotes ‘being (figuratively) established’ versus the second lexical form istano which denotes ‘the actual physical form of standing’. So this “establishment standing” by these non-martyred dead is thus both, one which they had started to do before and now it was still going on, and then that it was more in regards to their state of being proverbially set up there, rather than merely the physical posturing of their standing.

These dual notions for the perfect participle of this word are likewise seen in its other instances in the NT in Matt 20:3, 6, Acts 5:23; Rev 7:1; 15.2, again, with the emphasis being on the state of being established there, and not merely on a posture, and also, the fact that it was an action which had been started and done in the past, and with an enduring, present effect. I.e., the guards in Act 5:23 and the Four Winds Angels in Rev 7:1 had been given, and had been doing, their guard from sometime in the past; likewise the idle workers im Matt 20:3, 6 had been set up there since at least that morning, and similarly the 144,000 in Rev 15:2 had been figuratively “set up” on that sea of glass from a prior past time, and now were still there as John now first encounters them, for, as also discussed earlier, it is sometime after that completed establishment of the 144,000, whether organizationally and/or accomplishedly, in completed floating cities of the NJK, that the Plagues-Avenging judgments (Rev 15:7ff) unravel.

-before the throne - This is not necessarily a physical “before” as this phrase can also be less concretely understood as “in the sight of throne”.

Now add to all this the fact that God had begun to judge all of the dead of all time, starting with the 1844 pre-Advent judgement as it was fulfilled by the historical, but limited effectuation of Rev 11:18b, and that none of these dead people had actually made a physical appearance before God Throne, as similar involved with, as discussed in here, the Christian’s “appearance” aspect of this judgement as stated in 2 Cor 5:10, then it is thus seen how these dead, indeed while still dead, had already long made this “non-personal/alive: appearance before this Judgement Seat of Christ. And so now, the resuming continuation of that priorly started “indicting judgement” (cf. 2 Tim 4:1; -hence the form of the perfect participle) is now still being done here. Indeed as this White Throne segment is actually the confirming of prior indictments (Gr. krino) based on the deeds recorded in the books (Rev 20:12-13), it is telling to see that EGW’s “Plan B” revelation about this in GC 666.2ff likewise does not involve trialing deliberations, but rather just, as soon as the books are opened, just an immediate switch to a “panoramic” presentation of GC history focusing on the Sacrifice of Christ, as what Jesus “Self-Sacrificially” did, including for the physical/temporal well-being of others, will be the determining standard for this session (=Matt 25:31-46; RH, January 7, 1902 par. 11).

And from the similar revelation given in 4T 384-387, it is seen that, as discussed in here, Laodicea-failing SDAs, -surely to their harrowing shock, also undergo this Post-Millennium, Second Resurrection, Matt 25:31-46, White Throne, (prior)-indictments-confirming judgement. And, pertinently, from that SOP revelation, it also is puzzlingly seen that SDAs themselves were, completely contrary to what they actually all would actually know, totally clueless as to who it was that was doing this judgement, which is fittingly enough actually called “the execution of God’s Judgement”, and with even EGW not being shown who this was until near the end of the vision when then: “the mantle fell from the Person on the throne, revealing the terrible glory of the Son of God.” (4T 387.1). Thus, as with here in Rev 20:11-15, and the rest of Revelation, the supposed to be clear identification as Jesus is also withheld and veiled in the related SOP vision. Thus, indeed just as the now, post-Cross Sacrifice, purely human, Jesus will have to borrowingly be enshrouded in “the Father’s Glory” to Himself (i.e. in addition to His angels) contribute to a Glorious appearing (Matt 16:27a; Mark 8:38), as whatever “glory of His own” (=Luke 9:26, Matt 25:31) that He does have is actually in the “many diadems” (Rev 19:12), “7 crowns in one” (16MR 34.2|Mar 291.4|EW 53.1) crown that the Father has given to Him (Heb 2:7, 9 = Psa 8:4-6 = Rev 6:2 = the ‘given “Glory” to “one like a Son of Man” in Dan 7:13-14a (=Luke 19:11-12ff; cf. (Psa 110:1ff); Pro 16:31; (Pro 17:6); Rev 14:14), which He, or literally “the Son of Man, indeed does manifest in the White Throne judgement (Matt 25:31), -with moreover that “glorious judgement throne” (Matt 25:31), having likewise also been bestowed by the Father (John 5:22); then, likewise, Jesus Himself would have given this ‘veilingly enshrouded one’ on that SDA-Judging (4T 384-387), and also, typologically, in Rev 20:11-15's, Matt 25:31 White Throne, both the throne, and also a, as discussed in here, 7-in-1 royal crown (=Rev 3:9, 11), in order to have this authority to do this judging. And this is all the natural symbols/emblems, authority/powers and position which comes from Jesus having equally shared His Throne with that Laodicea-Victorious One. (Rev 3:21).

-book of life opened - As priorly pointed out here, the fact that the book of life is also opened here, does indeed show that these are potentially savable people, and this indictments-verifying judgement finally determines this. And to pertinently here apply, -upon due inceptive (re-)calibration from a Freudio-Pharisaical self-white-swashing attempt, an illustration made by Stephen Bohr here[01:27:57-01:28:40] on EGW’s statement on ‘“imputed” (=credited) vs. “imparted” (=applied) righteousness’ in FLB 116.2: in Matt 25:31-46, Jesus Christ made it clear, as quite sensical/logical, that He will much rather trust a person who actually knows how to drive but does not have a driver’s license, instead of the converse! (=Matt 22:12ff; Rom 2:14). Indeed the cast out guest who had merely accepted a broadcasted and general invitation (Matt 22:9-10) in that parable did not have the “imparted robe” (=righteous acts) and so when the king later came in to look over/review those who had accepted his invitation (Matt 22:11), that guest which had not conformed himself could not be given an “imputed right” (i.e. of being a guest worthy of the king’s fellowship (cf. Matt 22:8)) to remain in that wedding feast. So, (contrary to what ensuingly, vacously claims here[36:53] during ASI 2014), imparted righteousness can, and does come before imputed righteousness, pointedly for “secondary people” such as that guest, who had not been raised and instructed into the explicitly law of righteousness (=Rom 2:10-16), but merely by having complied with the ‘righteousness requirement of the King and His Person/Character/Law’, even merely positively responding to His indeed most generous invitation, had put themselves in a position to later be “imputedly” fully validated and accepted by Him...if they had continued to fully comply with his conditions for maintaining that right. So, as James also emphasized (cf. Jam 2:25; LDE 218.3-219.3), the Bible also teaches that, pointedly with non-“Israelites”, they need to be, -whether knowingly or not, doing the works of imparted (i.e. Christlike) righteousness that they see should be done if they are going to later be justly/fairly, fully redeemed through imputed righteousness. (...Because Jesus will not be obtusely damning people to Hell just because His Israels did not priorly allow His Testifying Work to be done through them towards the rest of the Truth/Biblically ignorant world. So people doing the works of righteousness will not be doomed if they never (first) heard that they had to have faith in Christ in order to “first” have imputed righteousness. People without a knowledge of God’s Law can indeed innately be “(truthfully) lovingly” fulfilling the (“naturally”-evident) Law (Matt 22:34-40; Rom 1:18; 1 Cor 13:6)). In fact/Indeed a/the True Inspecting Instructor won’t ever be giving “license rights” to someone who actually does not know how to drive, -having failed His “Final {Driving} Test”. Thus: Faith without Works = Imputed/Credited Righteousness which has never been imparted/applied, and thus, like an issued, but uncashed, check, has never been effectuated, -never having actually been (remedially) deposited into the indebted sinner’s (=negative balance) account. (Jam 2:21-24). ...For a person is actually “saved” when they act/do all that they are aware that a True Follower of Christ would/should do (John 15:10-14; e.g Matt 25:35-40)!

The rest of this verse seems pretty straightforward. So in summary here, this part of the White Throne judgement, is a first part, reviewing judgment of prior indictment which involved both professed believers, as well as people who had done righteous things, and thus both had their names written in the book of life. But as they had not actually made either a martyrdom sacrifice, nor, for those living through the Final Conflict against Babylon, had not been victorious over that power, then their fate had literally been left in the balance here, to be finally resolved at this resuming session of their actually priorly started Pre-Advent Investigation when those indictment had first been laid.

So it is to those who pass this judgement, having their indictments (mercifully) dropped, that the one on that Judgement Throne sets them on the right as sheep. (Matt 25:33a). Then it may be that they are immediately also told to enter into the Earth-resting Heavenly New Jerusalem (Matt 25:34ff; cf. Rev 21:27). And then the failing ones, the goats, may then be immediately sent into the Lake of Fire (Matt 25:41; cf. Rev 20:15). Indeed these failing goats already set on the left all seem to know that Jesus is their Lord. (Matt 25:44, cf. Matt 7:21-23). And that “Lake of Fire” was actually one that “had been prepared” (perfect passive participle) for the Devil and his angels, so, as these will be burning the longest in this fire, it may be that they are then still burning somewhere on Earth in the “Lake of Fire” that had been kindled back at the time when the Millennium had been ended in Rev 20:7-10. So these failing ones are here merely sent to that already kindled, and still burning Lake of Fire, with then only, their “father (John 8:44) and leader (EW 56.1)”, the Devil and his angels left in there.

Rev 20:13 - And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were indicted, every one of them according to their deeds.

-sea, death, Hades give up their dead - And so, from what has been said above, it would only be now that the rest of the dead, including those who had died in the Millennium, including in the prior Lake of Fire of Rev 19:19-21 & Rev 20:7-10, and though they had then justly tormentingly suffered, they by now had probably all died what was actually just their first death,

-indicted according to deeds - Then these were ‘confirmingly indicted’ according to their deeds. It is interesting to me that no books are actually mentioned here. Indeed the decision-making may be that obvious, and thus simple, as this group had clearly done ‘inexcusable wrong deeds done in the body’ (Rom 1:18-32; 8:13; 2 Cor 5:10). Thus, unlike the ones before, these would have had not done anything at all which would have commended their names to the book of life. In fact, their names are manifestly only written in the book of death. (EW 52.2a) So they are straightly, summarily indicted and condemned based on those sole “evil deeds”, and thus reflecting the revelation of EGW in GC 666.2ff which, as stated above, involves a summary judgement.

Rev 20:14 - Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

-death and Hades - This of course is reflective of the victory over death and the grave (cf. 1 Cor 15:54-57).

-second death, lake of fire - As stated above in Rev 20:13, even those who had suffered in the prior 2 Lake of Fire effectuations in their first death, here only have their second death, even though it is again in a lake of fire, though this now will justly be much much shorter during. And with them have had enough, and the greatest light, unlike ‘the rest of the dead’, but still rebelled, they are fittingly deserving of Two Lakes of Fire!

Rev 20:15 - And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

if anyone’s name... - From either part of this Judgement; and just as in Matt 25:46's “eternal punishment”. There indeed is not another needed one after, specifically, this White Throne’s one.

Rev 20:11-15 - Final Determination: White Throne Judgement

Conclusion:

So, again, do notice in this “Plan A“ Scenario, there was not the “Plan B’s” rebelling and assault of the Holy City...and that is because (1) it had fulfilling (cf. Rev 3:12 here = EW 15.1) been done back in Rev 20:7-10, against the typologically representing New Jerusalem, and (2) the Heavenly New Jerusalem had not yet descended. In fact, unlike the compacted and conflated “Plan B” Scenario given to EGW, in the related Matt 25:31ff, the one doing that Judgment is only said to be accompanied by angels, and not with also, the saints/redeemed. So that White Throne may have alone been set up on the Earth to do this judgement session. Which again dovetails with a still burning Lake of Fire on Earth back from Rev 20:7-10. But now it will be ended, And then will, as discussed next in Rev 21:1-2, the Earth be supernaturally made new, and the Heavenly New Jerusalem then be descended.

And here, it is parallely quite fitting that the segment which corresponds to the White Throne Judgement Session of Rev 20:11-15, where, as presented above, Jesus had shared, even given over, that Judging to His Victorious Laodicean representative and monarchial associate, is the similarly themed Segment of Rev 22:1-5 where the joint throne of, (the actually also dually applicable): “God and the Lamb” are discussed.

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New Heaven and New Earth Era

Rev 21:1-10a; 10b-21; 22-27; 22:1-5

A commenting on the above-referenced, Section VII Segments was going to be done here, (and may eventually be later), but really, as the Millennium is by then fully over, things expressed dealing with the New Jerusalem and the New Earth there are more than less straightforward, and so this commenting will be forego here. In fact, much has already been said in regards to these passages as they contribute to the understanding of the Jubilee Millennium in Rev 20. See in, especially the “Conclusion” Sections above, and also a little in the “Prolusion” Sections.

In fact the New Jerusalem and New Earth portions of Rev 21 help to provide a template, ideal and objective for the typologically effectuate NJK which lasts into the Millennium.

Rev 21:1-3 But it will be briefly re-emphasized, that according to the “Plan A” Scenario, it is only then, in Rev 21:1, that the Earth and its Heaven, which had been priorly damaged, are now Supernaturally restored. And then does the Heavenly Jerusalem come down. This manifestly had needed to be prepared by Christ Himself as God Himself will be reside in there (Rev 21:3, 22, 22:1, 5).

Nonetheless, as stated before, the floating Holy Cities built by the righteous during the Millennium may actually be preserved through this recreation...or, preferredly not....Either way the “New Jerusalem” Kingdom that God had begun to establish starting back in the Final Conflict days against Babylon and through that Temporal Millennium will itself, i.e. ideologically, indeed not have been destroyed, nor given over to another (i.e. pagans) (Dan 2:35, 44) but here will be continued, even if in different physical establishments upon, and into to now match, this more easily liveable, renewed Earth.

Rev 21:22-27 - It had been priorly thought and expressed prior to the more indepth studying out done here in this present post, that these verse pointedly spoke about the Temporal Millennium Era Kingdom and Earthly rule, particularly because of the seemingly precarious elements still being cited therein (in Rev 21:27) and the manifestly still need testimony of Rev 21:24. But now it is understood that this refers to a post-Millennium establishment, and the still striking statements in Rev 21:24-27 are understood to be in the light that, this Earth will, like God’s Israel still be variously organized into sub-regions, thus it will have what are commonly known as (representing) “kings” and “nation” (=provinces). So these will be paying homage to God in this Capital city.

And also, as many of the saved will not yet have fully developed Christ-like character, though not (deliberately) sinfully so, and with many of the having just heard of the Gospel message during their White Throne judgement, then the statement in Rev 21:27 reflects that they will then still be “growing up” (cf. Mal 4:2 ~Rev 21:23). In fact, prior to this “temple-less” era, God had permitted the “Great Multitude” (Rev 7:9-17) to be guided by a temple ministry during the Temporal Millennium Era. (Rev 7:15).

Interestingly enough by citing “unclean things”, “abominations” and “lying”, only the most obvious of sins are summarily warned against. Meaning some then may learningly still make various mistakes, but they will know to avoid these obvious wrongs. And this all reflects the weighty significance of the Judgement Decisions of the Heavenly Intelligence!

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Recapping Summary

So as a succinct recapping summary on these Bible (and SOP) “Plan A” Jubilee Temporal Millennium prophecies:

Prophetic Repackagings

-Due to the failures of His People, always in regards to Full Righteousness (right-doing), God has had to halt, reset and repackage His plans to bring about this Full Righteousness on Earth resulting in the above present 8th, -(though it was supposed to be the outwork of the 7th), attempt/plan which is to usher in the Plan A Millennium.

Isaiah 24

-Isaiah was shown a vision of the Millennium from the perspective of how the transgressing and rebellious world has resulted in the Noah “rainbow” Promise/Covenant to be annulled, and so another destruction of most of this world’s terra firma by flooding waters, through sudden, “Greatest Earthquake”- caused “Greatest Tsunami Waves” (Luke 21:25) is in order. Only the prophetic, tangibly-applicable, plans given to the NJK (Amos 3:6-8) will be able to live through this, along with the other world, Nuclear Holocaust-Winter damages, -into most of the Millennium Era which will continue to have to deal with this judgement cataclysm

Jeremiah 4:19-23-29

-Jeremiah was also give this vision of the destruction, and also flooding result, of the Earth, but also applicably, through the perspective of how an unfaithful Judah/Jerusalem of God (=the SDA Church) is, indeed, the “epicenter” of/for this damage befalling upon the Earth. That is why God has had to set up a “New Jerusalem” cause for righteousness to survive, and recover from, this world-reaching judgement.

Revelation 20:1-3, 4-6, 7-10, 11-15

-Under the compacted and conflated, emergency rescue “Plan B”of the Millennium given to EGW, if the SDA had held up their side of that promise/covenant, these 4 Prophetic Segments in Revelation are understood to be layeringly repetitive of each other. But for the replacing, necessarily protracted, and also ‘new everlasting covenant’ “Plan A” Temporal Millennium, which is started back in the Rev 19:11-19-21 typological Final Conflict events, these 4 Segments are, most strikingly, and as perfectly congruent and logical as in the straightforward Biblical text, linearly sequential of each other, and that in all of their ordered details which moreover come to unpack various many great/greater|furthered Theological understandings.

Rev 21:1-10a; 10b-21; 22-27; 22:1-5

-With the Temporal Millennium of Rev 20 fully accomplished, Rev 21:1-22:5 comes to present an also linearly sequential view of now life on a Restored Earth and Heavens. Nonetheless, the 4 Segments in this Prophetic Section provide a paralleling light, ideal and objective for the Temporal Millennium.

Conclusion

So as stated in the inceptively related 15MR 292.2-3 revelation (=Rev 7:1-3ff), though God’s GC Wrapping up plans have been halted and postponed, their “repackaged” continuation will be even more glorious as they then seek to accomplish God’s great work, then in an expanded unrighteousness-dealing context which necessitates its corresponding, Spiritually and tangibly, greater greatness and glory!!

Notes
[1] While having rightly been almost explicitly deemed ‘the worst (supposedly) Bible movie ever made’ (see in here; cf. here), the 2014 “Noah” movie did get one thing Biblically accurate, and that is that the wicked antediluvians, (as mainly seen there through the Noah nemesis and leader of the opposition character “Tubal-cain” (Gen 4:22)) actually most likely did have a fully informed knowledge of God. (e.g., at 46:08-46:22; 01:10:12-01:11:10). I They knew that He had created the world, and as the SOP states (PP 95.3-96.1; cf. here with its Note (#3)), actually argued against Noah that God, ‘being so loving’, would not actually destroy everyone, thus, ironically enough, dismissing Noah’s claim and preaching as “unGodly” and, as also spuriously neo-claimed today, against “God’s Character”.

But, opposed to that “knowledge of God” context with the antedilluvians, by the time of the calling of Abraham, people had by then, and despite the testimony of the Flood, turned to outright paganism and idol worship. (Cf. PP 119.1a). In fact, it can be thetically argued/defended that people “moronically” used the Flood event as the basis for their idol worship, making “gods” out of nature and such powers (e.g. sun, moon) and forces of it (wind, rain), even animals, instead of worshipping the Creator (cf. Rom 1:18-25ff): ‘suppressing that Truth by unrighteousness’ (Rom 1:18). So they thought that by appealing to the seemingly ‘god-in-itself’ nature, ironically enough, manifestly because them still having a “God would not punish” view of God, thus not thinking that God Himself has caused the Flood, (which is also completely different than those living just after the Flood Gen 11:4), but nature itself had self-acted, and that against them, then, by seeking to please and appease “Nature”, by worshipping it (instead of God), then they could prevent it from again so destructively acting out against them. So they were really trying to find a way to justify their unrighteous ways.

Similarly enough, -and most pertinent to this post’s theme of: ‘failing movements and new restoration attempts’, in another, of the potentially many, form of idolatry and spiritualism, the (now) “Synagogue of Satan” SDA Church today thinks that if it is most obedient, faithful and loyal to the Capitalism and its inherent unrighteous, even evil, policies and ways, it thus can ensure its prosperity and survival, instead of trusting in and fully obeying God.

[2] In fact I actually can also perceivingly see that Jesus went by such a “right doing” approach (Acts 10:38; e.g. Matt 4:23), even conversely “duly/justly” (e.g. John 2:13-17ff) and it was thus that the Scriptures meanings increasingly unfolded before Him.

And relatedly, previously I had merely understood, and would simply say, that Bible prophecies were encrypted so that wicked men would not understand them (Dan12:10), and thus neither be able to order, even, while steeped in their wickedness, redress their lives according to them, but also not be able to rebelliously knowingly/awarely work to oppose or hinder them. But I’ll also add here, that, as manifestly also involved with Heaven necessarily using a “golden card” ID system for securing reasons, given how many Bible prophecies are actually “multi-encrypted”, which on one hand is so that they not fully righteous amongst even believers would not fully figure them out until they are fully converted, it manifestly also is so that Satan himself would, as much/long as possible remain totally clueless about what God’s prophetic plan really or fully are. Which is why the SOP often mentions that ‘Satan had to take some time to “study” Biblical prophecies’ (e.g., PK 686.1|DA 115.1). And yet, and not even involving overwhelming supernatural means, God has still be able to advance His prophetic plans, to their has indeed been many Satan-caused/successful “former righteous falling aways” along the way with people falling for his countering snares (e.g. EW 266-269).

[3] It is quite telling that in Western/First World/“Civilized”/“Christian” countries where such selfish behaviors have indeed now become the norm, as related here [27:49-35:03]; the birth rate has become less than what is necessary for population growth. And in countries which still have a moral compass (e.g., Muslim countries), not only is the birth rate much more than healthy, but because the “self-dying” western countries cannot grow on their own, and thus must resort to immigration, people are logically projecting a seamless takeover of these Western Countries by, e.g. Muslims. And of course, in democracies, if the population base is great enough, then their values can most legally be represented in government and in law...

[4] And contrary to the Futurist-Dispensationalist unbiblical claim, this promise was not, as clearly taught in the NT (e.g., Rom 11), limited to what God could do with Ethnic Jews, but upon anyone, both Jews and Gentile, who will be part of God’s New (NT) “everlasting” Israel Covenant.

[5] Interestingly enough the “connecting socket” of Jacob was described with this term (Gen 32:25), but this is probably because ‘the widest part of the thigh’, and thus is perhaps actually the hamstring region instead of the hip socket, moreover as it was actually “stiffened” (Hebrew) | “hanged” (LXX), was surfacely being pinpointed here. Indeed it is more realistic for meat eaters to, sacrificially, commemoratively, not eat the (lit.) “sinew of the vein (tendon/muscle?) which is upon widest part of the thigh” of animals, which does sound like a hamstring tendon. (Gen 32:32)

[6] And it also must be pointed out here that the three sequentially related parables of Matt 25 (depicted, but also briefly discussed midway in, here), manifestly have their paramount application upon:

(1) Matt 25:1-13 - the Shaking of the Laodicean Church.

(2) Matt 25:14-30 - the pre-Millennial, works/deeds evaluating Judgements of the wider world, now joined together in the Mark of the Beast Camp (cf. Rev 22:11-15).

(3) Matt 25:31-46 - as explained later, the entire population of all the ages.

[7] And there is an important, related and pertinent point here in regards to God using Destroying Angels. As it is expounded in this post, I Theologically-Biblically see that God has placed an “ownership, God-particle in every particle matter in the universe as this matter all comes from the converted Divine Glory/Energy which God the Son, heeding the Father’s Wisdom (Pro 8:22-31) gave over for the Creation of everything. And it is through such present elements that God|Christ, through supplied movements-sustaining energy, voice-activatingly organized all of this matter at the initial creation (Gen 1:1-2) then later organization (Gen 1:3ff) of this planet. So then it would seem that to do the reverse of Creation, i.e., destruction, God then would merely need to likewise, voice-activatingly speak these God-particles and have then become undone. E.g. to cause a building or bridge to collapse, God would then merely need to give the instruction to the God-particle in the atoms in those building materials and supply the sustaining energy for them to disintegrate. But there are key hazards and problems with such an approach.

First of all, as discussed here, about the Spiritually and prophetically manifest (concealed) Divine-Assistance which was also “supplied” in the 9/11/2001 Attacks, pointedly in the destruction of the WTC towers, any Super-natural intervention in a destruction is sure to inherently be noticeable...indeed it was in order to accomplish something which otherwise would not naturally occur that such Supernatural assistance was supplied. So then a building or bridge suddenly and on its own disintegrating would readily be deemed an “Act of God”. But God does not actually want to do such beyond-faith acts, pointedly, out of mercy, as those being thus judged then, are then left without any excuse and thus doomed, and even later cannot have any chance to repent.* So, to avoid this hazard, God makes use of Destroying Angels.

* Which reminds me, many may snicker at me claiming that there will be a 9/11 II, and then providing the depictive details of this development, with some then basely saying: ‘if/when we see that, then we’ll believe and change our ways’, but, like Egypt which was always told in advance that a plague was coming, and they, especially in the directly responsible leadership did not change their mind, nor could not even if they wanted to, such “heads up” are not given for “wait and see” purposes, but to doom the aware ones who will have ‘waited to see’. So, as seen in Rev 11:13-14 in relation to the, also SOP-prophesied, “Second Woe” 9/11 II Event, it is only the non-leadership, i.e. those in the general populace who were not aware ahead of time, who will see their repentance then be honored! Moreover, corresponding to the typological Second Coming “Plan A” Scenario involved here, this fore-stipulating (=Rev 16:14b) corresponds towards the: immediate-pre-Second Coming, “Special Resurrection” (from their devoted sins and trespasses (Eph 2:1-3) and dead works (Heb 6:1)) (cf. GC 637.1 vs. 644.2; cf. 615.1) of these COL 293.3-294.2|EW 270.2 leading compromisingly corrupting (Rev 2:12-15) Losers (John 9:41; Rev 2:16; 19:15, 21; cf. DS, March 14, 1846 par. 2)!!

Then there is also the issue of God Himself having to expend personal energy to Himself do such destruction. God instead wants to expend His energy solely to create and not to destroy, nor incur such “costs” in order to deal with the destructive effects/results of sin. (And that is pointedly why, as detailed here, Jesus also had accepted (back in the EW 149-153 Counsel of Peace) to give over the Divine nature-energy which He had, at the Cross.). So then it then is much more “energy-efficient” for God to make use of Destroying Angels, which themselves then expend the self-sustainedly, renewable energy that they have, and obtain, to effectuate such acts of judgements. So they thus use their strength/power and energy to move things about as necessary for/in a destruction.

Also, the use of Destroying Angels versus God Himself moving things about, provides God the chance to do much more precise and controlled destructions. E.g., the Flood Destruction was manifestly mostly actuated by God Himself...and do see how destructive it was. So, as an example, God can make “naturally” make a high rise building collapse in judgement, through activating and energizing air particles and thus causing a strong winds, but that would surely result in much “collateral damage”. Only a supernatural act of protection would make only the lone intended building suffer damage...but that would just give things away then. So then, as with the WTC Tower on 9/11, God “hand” is tangibly, targetedly applied through His Destroying Angels.

So do expect the typological Seven Last Plague Events to be both natural-seeing, including human-passion precipitated, by being covertly assisted, as necessary, by Destroying Angels, whereas the literally fulfilled 7 Last Plagues would have involved God’s directly affecting involvement. Thus the Seven Plague Angels are ambivalently said to be involved in the outpouring of these plagues, having been given, by one of the 4 Living Creatures, vial “full of the wrath of God”(Rev 15:7) as this could either merely involve the “wrath instructions” which they have to executed in a mediatedly effected judgement, or this could involve God Himself having supplied the Nature-energizing content.

Theological Views

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The “Plan A” Millennium

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