11/24/12

Grown-ups, problems and Jesus


I like the last sentence the best!  Its about being grown up!  When you were a baby, everything was about you.  You cried to let people know something was wrong and unfortunately, some people just never got over it!  But, there is another way to live; one that puts life in proper perspective...

Philippians, Chapter 2
  1 If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,  2 make my joy full, by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;  3 doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;  4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.

  5 Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,  7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.  8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.  9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;  10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,  11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Christians are to be like Christ, who was humble enough to take human form and offer himself as a sacrifice for things OTHERS DID!!! The scripture above says it far more elegantly than the picture, but there similarities to both. Think of others as more important than yourself and do good regardless of personal cost.  In a world devoted to selfishness, this message echoes across the ages and is intended to change lives.  Think about it, you will be better for adopting this lifestyle. 

Bible Reading, Nov. 24


Nov. 24
Jeremiah 46-49

Jer 46:1 The word of Yahweh which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
Jer 46:2 Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah.
Jer 46:3 Prepare you the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
Jer 46:4 Harness the horses, and get up, you horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, put on the coats of mail.
Jer 46:5 Why have I seen it? they are dismayed and are turned backward; and their mighty ones are beaten down, and have fled apace, and don't look back: terror is on every side, says Yahweh.
Jer 46:6 Don't let the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; in the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen.
Jer 46:7 Who is this who rises up like the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?
Jer 46:8 Egypt rises up like the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers: and he says, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy cities and its inhabitants.
Jer 46:9 Go up, you horses; and rage, you chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, who handle the shield; and the Ludim, who handle and bend the bow.
Jer 46:10 For that day is a day of the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall drink its fill of their blood; for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
Jer 46:11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain do you use many medicines; there is no healing for you.
Jer 46:12 The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; for the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty, they are fallen both of them together.
Jer 46:13 The word that Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon should come and strike the land of Egypt.
Jer 46:14 Declare you in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes: say you, Stand forth, and prepare you; for the sword has devoured around you.
Jer 46:15 Why are your strong ones swept away? they didn't stand, because Yahweh did drive them.
Jer 46:16 He made many to stumble, yes, they fell one on another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our birth, from the oppressing sword.
Jer 46:17 They cried there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he has let the appointed time pass by.
Jer 46:18 As I live, says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
Jer 46:19 You daughter who dwell in Egypt, furnish yourself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.
Jer 46:20 Egypt is a very beautiful heifer; but destruction out of the north is come, it is come.
Jer 46:21 Also her hired men in the midst of her are like calves of the stall; for they also are turned back, they are fled away together, they didn't stand: for the day of their calamity is come on them, the time of their visitation.
Jer 46:22 The sound of it shall go like the serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as wood cutters.
Jer 46:23 They shall cut down her forest, says Yahweh, though it can't be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.
Jer 46:24 The daughter of Egypt shall be disappointed; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north.
Jer 46:25 Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with her gods, and her kings; even Pharaoh, and those who trust in him:
Jer 46:26 and I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants; and afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, says Yahweh.
Jer 46:27 But don't be afraid you, Jacob my servant, neither be dismayed, Israel: for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
Jer 46:28 Don't be afraid you, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh; for I am with you: for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you; but I will not make a full end of you, but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.
 

Jer 47:1 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before that Pharaoh struck Gaza.
Jer 47:2 Thus says Yahweh: Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land and all that is therein, the city and those who dwell therein; and the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail.
Jer 47:3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong ones, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers don't look back to their children for feebleness of hands;
Jer 47:4 because of the day that comes to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains: for Yahweh will destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the isle of Caphtor.
Jer 47:5 Baldness is come on Gaza; Ashkelon is brought to nothing, the remnant of their valley: how long will you cut yourself?
Jer 47:6 You sword of Yahweh, how long will it be before you be quiet? put up yourself into your scabbard; rest, and be still.
Jer 47:7 How can you be quiet, seeing Yahweh has given you a command? Against Ashkelon, and against the seashore, there has he appointed it.
 

Jer 48:1 Of Moab. Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Woe to Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is disappointed, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and broken down.
Jer 48:2 The praise of Moab is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her: Come, and let us cut her off from being a nation. You also, Madmen, shall be brought to silence: the sword shall pursue you.
Jer 48:3 The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction!
Jer 48:4 Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
Jer 48:5 For by the ascent of Luhith with continual weeping shall they go up; for at the descent of Horonaim they have heard the distress of the cry of destruction.
Jer 48:6 Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
Jer 48:7 For, because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures, you also shall be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
Jer 48:8 The destroyer shall come on every city, and no city shall escape; the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed; as Yahweh has spoken.
Jer 48:9 Give wings to Moab, that she may fly and get her away: and her cities shall become a desolation, without any to dwell therein.
Jer 48:10 Cursed be he who does the work of Yahweh negligently; and cursed be he who keeps back his sword from blood.
Jer 48:11 Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.
Jer 48:12 Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will send to him those who pour off, and they shall pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles in pieces.
Jer 48:13 Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
Jer 48:14 How say you, We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war?
Jer 48:15 Moab is laid waste, and they are gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.
Jer 48:16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hurries fast.
Jer 48:17 All you who are around him, bemoan him, and all you who know his name; say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod!
Jer 48:18 You daughter who dwells in Dibon, come down from your glory, and sit in thirst; for the destroyer of Moab is come up against you, he has destroyed your strongholds.
Jer 48:19 Inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and watch: ask him who flees, and her who escapes; say, What has been done?
Jer 48:20 Moab is disappointed; for it is broken down: wail and cry; tell you it by the Arnon, that Moab is laid waste.
Jer 48:21 Judgment is come on the plain country, on Holon, and on Jahzah, and on Mephaath,
Jer 48:22 and on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth Diblathaim,
Jer 48:23 and on Kiriathaim, and on Beth Gamul, and on Beth Meon,
Jer 48:24 and on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, and on all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.
Jer 48:25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says Yahweh.
Jer 48:26 Make you him drunken; for he magnified himself against Yahweh: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
Jer 48:27 For wasn't Israel a derision to you? was he found among thieves? for as often as you speak of him, you wag the head.
Jer 48:28 You inhabitants of Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock; and be like the dove that makes her nest over the mouth of the abyss.
Jer 48:29 We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; his loftiness, and his pride, and his arrogance, and the haughtiness of his heart.
Jer 48:30 I know his wrath, says Yahweh, that it is nothing; his boastings have worked nothing.
Jer 48:31 Therefore will I wail for Moab; yes, I will cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir Heres shall they mourn.
Jer 48:32 With more than the weeping of Jazer will I weep for you, vine of Sibmah: your branches passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer: on your summer fruits and on your vintage the destroyer is fallen.
Jer 48:33 Gladness and joy is taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to cease from the wine presses: none shall tread with shouting; the shouting shall be no shouting.
Jer 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim, to Eglath Shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim also shall become desolate.
Jer 48:35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, says Yahweh, him who offers in the high place, and him who burns incense to his gods.
Jer 48:36 Therefore my heart sounds for Moab like pipes, and my heart sounds like pipes for the men of Kir Heres: therefore the abundance that he has gotten is perished.
Jer 48:37 For every head is bald, and every beard clipped: on all the hands are cuttings, and on the waist sackcloth.
Jer 48:38 On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation every where; for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which none delights, says Yahweh.
Jer 48:39 How is it broken down! how do they wail! how has Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab become a derision and a terror to all who are around him.
Jer 48:40 For thus says Yahweh: Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread out his wings against Moab.
Jer 48:41 Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and the heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
Jer 48:42 Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he has magnified himself against Yahweh.
Jer 48:43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are on you, inhabitant of Moab, says Yahweh.
Jer 48:44 He who flees from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he who gets up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring on him, even on Moab, the year of their visitation, says Yahweh.
Jer 48:45 Those who fled stand without strength under the shadow of Heshbon; for a fire is gone forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and has devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
Jer 48:46 Woe to you, O Moab! the people of Chemosh is undone; for your sons are taken away captive, and your daughters into captivity.
Jer 48:47 Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, says Yahweh. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
 

Jer 49:1 Of the children of Ammon. Thus says Yahweh: Has Israel no sons? has he no heir? why then does Malcam possess Gad, and his people well in its cities?
Jer 49:2 Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess those who did possess him, says Yahweh.
Jer 49:3 Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste; cry, you daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth: lament, and run back and forth among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.
Jer 49:4 Why glory you in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? who trusted in her treasures, saying, Who shall come to me?
Jer 49:5 Behold, I will bring a fear on you, says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, from all who are around you; and you shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather together the fugitives.
Jer 49:6 But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon, says Yahweh.
Jer 49:7 Of Edom. Thus says Yahweh of Armies: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
Jer 49:8 Flee you, turn back, dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him, the time that I shall visit him.
Jer 49:9 If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, wouldn't they destroy until they had enough?
Jer 49:10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.
Jer 49:11 Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me.
Jer 49:12 For thus says Yahweh: Behold, they to whom it didn't pertain to drink of the cup shall certainly drink; and are you he who shall altogether go unpunished? you shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink.
Jer 49:13 For I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.
Jer 49:14 I have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
Jer 49:15 For, behold, I have made you small among the nations, and despised among men.
Jer 49:16 As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill: though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there, says Yahweh.
Jer 49:17 Edom shall become an astonishment: everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its plagues.
Jer 49:18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it, says Yahweh, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
Jer 49:19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd who will stand before me?
Jer 49:20 Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.
Jer 49:21 The earth trembles at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise which is heard in the Red Sea.
Jer 49:22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
Jer 49:23 Of Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil news, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it can't be quiet.
Jer 49:24 Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.
Jer 49:25 How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?
Jer 49:26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, says Yahweh of Armies.
Jer 49:27 I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben Hadad.
Jer 49:28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck. Thus says Yahweh: Arise you, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east.
Jer 49:29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry to them, Terror on every side!
Jer 49:30 Flee you, wander far off, dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Hazor, says Yahweh; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, and has conceived a purpose against you.
Jer 49:31 Arise, go up to a nation that is at ease, that dwells without care, says Yahweh; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone.
Jer 49:32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their livestock a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners of their hair cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says Yahweh.
Jer 49:33 Hazor shall be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.
Jer 49:34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
Jer 49:35 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
Jer 49:36 On Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
Jer 49:37 I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life; and I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger, says Yahweh; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them;
Jer 49:38 and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there king and princes, says Yahweh.
Jer 49:39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam, says Yahweh.


Nov. 24
Hebrews 10

Heb 10:1 For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.
Heb 10:2 Or else wouldn't they have ceased to be offered, because the worshippers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins?
Heb 10:3 But in those sacrifices there is yearly reminder of sins.
Heb 10:4 For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:5 Therefore when he comes into the world, he says, "Sacrifice and offering you didn't desire, but you prepared a body for me;
Heb 10:6 You had no pleasure in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin.
Heb 10:7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.' "
Heb 10:8 Previously saying, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you didn't desire, neither had pleasure in them" (those which are offered according to the law),
Heb 10:9 then he has said, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He takes away the first, that he may establish the second,
Heb 10:10 by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:11 Every priest indeed stands day by day serving and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins,
Heb 10:12 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;
Heb 10:13 from that time waiting until his enemies are made the footstool of his feet.
Heb 10:14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Heb 10:15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
Heb 10:16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them: 'After those days,' says the Lord, 'I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write them on their mind;' " then he says,
Heb 10:17 "I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more."
Heb 10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Heb 10:21 and having a great priest over the house of God,
Heb 10:22 let's draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water,
Heb 10:23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.
Heb 10:24 Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works,
Heb 10:25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching.
Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins,
Heb 10:27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries.
Heb 10:28 A man who disregards Moses' law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses.
Heb 10:29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will he be judged worthy of, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
Heb 10:30 For we know him who said, "Vengeance belongs to me," says the Lord, "I will repay." Again, "The Lord will judge his people."
Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Heb 10:32 But remember the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings;
Heb 10:33 partly, being exposed to both reproaches and oppressions; and partly, becoming partakers with those who were treated so.
Heb 10:34 For you both had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an enduring one in the heavens.
Heb 10:35 Therefore don't throw away your boldness, which has a great reward.
Heb 10:36 For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
Heb 10:37 "In a very little while, he who comes will come, and will not wait.
Heb 10:38 But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."
Heb 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.

Revelation, Chapter 20, Mark Copeland

                        "THE BOOK OF REVELATION"

                             Chapter Twenty

OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER

1) To consider the binding, future release and ultimate defeat of Satan

2) To examine the "thousand year reign" described in this chapter, and
   those who will reign with Christ during this time

3) To note the criteria of the final judgment, and the importance of
   the Book of Life

SUMMARY

Previous chapters have illustrated the defeat of agents used by Satan
to persecute God's people.  One by one we have seen the fall of
Babylon, the beast, the false prophet, and the armies they had
gathered.  What about Satan, the dragon who gave authority to the beast
in his efforts to wage war against the saints (12:17-13:7)?  And what
of those killed by the agents of Satan?

This chapter reveals the binding of Satan for "a 1000 years".  It most
likely depicts a long period of time in which Satan is no longer able
to deceive the nations as he did during the time of the Roman empire
(cf. 13:14; 20:3).  It began following the end of Roman persecution and
would continue for some time in the future.  During this period, John
see souls reigning with Christ, who were beheaded for their
faithfulness to Jesus and the word of God.  No mention is made of
reigning on the earth, so my conclusion is that they reign with Christ
in heaven during this period (cf. 2:26-27; 3:21).  This "first
resurrection" may be a special blessing for the martyrs of Christ
during the intermediate state (between death and the bodily
resurrection at the end of time), while 7:9-17 may describe the
intermediate state for the average Christian.  Truly those who had been
beheaded for the witness of Christ are "blessed and holy" (1-6)!

After the "1000 years" are over, Satan is released for a short time
where he once again seeks to "deceive the nations" to persecute the
people of God (cf. 13:14; 20:3,8,10).  The mention of "Gog and Magog"
is likely an apocalyptic reference to forces of evil at Satan's
disposal during this time, not any particular nation or nations.  But
the final attempt of Satan is quickly thwarted by the Lord, and the
devil is cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet
were (cf. 19:20).  If any section of Revelation pertains to the time
just prior to the Lord's final coming, I believe it is this one.  The
description is brief, for the book was written for the benefit of
Christians in Asia Minor about things to shortly come to pass (cf.
1:1-4; 22:6,10).  These Christians would not experience this last
attempt of Satan.  But to assure them (and us!) that Satan would
ultimately be defeated, we have the description found in these few
verses (7-10).

The chapter closes with a description of the final judgment.  Before
the great white throne and Him who sat on it, all the dead are judged.
Books are opened, including the Book of Life, and judgment is based 
upon their works.  None escape the judgment, for the sea, Death, and 
Hades give up all the dead that are in them.  Death and Hades are cast
into the lake and fire, described as the "second death".  The same end
is given to those whose names were not written in the Book of Life
(11-15).

OUTLINE

I. THE THOUSAND YEAR REIGN (1-6)

   A. SATAN BOUND FOR 1000 YEARS (1-3)
      1. John sees an angel come down from heaven
         a. Having the key to the bottomless pit
         b. With a great chain in his hand
      2. The angel binds Satan for a thousand years
         a. Casting him into the bottomless pit, shutting him up and
            setting a seal on him
         b. So that he should deceive the nations no more for a
            thousand years
      -- But afterward he will be released for a little while

   B. SAINTS REIGN WITH CHRIST FOR 1000 YEARS (4-6)
      1. John sees souls upon thrones, to whom judgment was committed
         a. Who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and the
            word of God
         b. Who had not worshiped the beast or his image
         c. Who had not received his mark on their foreheads or on 
            their hands
      2. These souls lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years
         a. The rest of the dead not live again until the thousand 
            years were finished
         b. This is the first resurrection
            1) Blessed and holy are those who have a part in the first
               resurrection
            2) Over such the second death has no power
            3) They shall be priests of God and of Christ
            4) They shall reign with Christ a thousand years

II. SATAN'S FINAL ATTEMPT AND DEFEAT (7-10)

   A. HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON (7-8)
      1. After the thousand years were completed
      2. He will go out to deceive the nations
         a. Those in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog
         b. To gather them to battle

   B. HIS FINAL ATTEMPT AND DEFEAT (9)
      1. To have the nations surround the camp of the saints and the
         beloved city
      2. But fire from God out of heaven devoured those Satan had 
         deceived

   C. HIS ETERNAL TORMENT (10)
      1. The devil who deceived the nations was cast into the lake of
         fire and brimstone
      2. The same place where the beast and the false prophet are
      3. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever

III. THE FINAL JUDGMENT (11-15)

   A. THE ONE ON THE GREAT WHITE THRONE (11)
      1. John sees a great white throne and Him who sat on it
      2. Before Whose face the earth and heaven fled away so no place
         was found for them

   B. THE JUDGMENT OF THE DEAD (12-13)
      1. John sees the dead, small and great, standing before God
      2. Books were opened, including the Book of Life
         a. The dead were judged according to their works
         b. The dead were judged by the things written in the books
      3. All the dead were judged, each according to his works
         a. For the sea gave the dead who were in it
         b. For Dead and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them

   C. THE LAKE OF FIRE (14-15)
      1. Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire (which is the
         second death)
      2. Anyone not found written in the Book of Life were cast into
         the lake of fire

REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER

1) What are the main points of this chapter?
   - The thousand year reign (1-6)
   - Satan's final attempt and defeat (7-10)
   - The final judgment (11-15)

2) What did John see coming down from heaven? (1)
   - An angel, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain
     in his hand

3) What did the angel do to Satan? (2-3)
   - Laid hold of him and bound him for a thousand years
   - Cast him into the bottomless pit and set a seal upon him

4) Why did the angel do this to Satan? (3)
   - So that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand
     years were completed

5) What souls did John see sitting on thrones? (4)
   - Those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the
     word of God
   - Who had not worshiped the beast or his image
   - Who had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands

6) How long did they live?  With whom did they reign? (4)
   - A thousand years
   - Christ

7) What is this reigning with Christ called?  Why are those who have a
   part considered blessed and holy? (5-6)
   - The first resurrection
   - Over such the second death has no power, and they shall be priests
     of God and Christ and reign with Him a thousand years

8) What happens when the thousand years have expired? (7)
   - Satan will be released

9) What will he do? (8-9)
   - Deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth to gather
     them for battle
   - To surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city

10) What will happen before they succeed? (9)
   - Fire from God out of heaven will devour them

11) What will happen to the devil? (10)
   - He will be cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false
     prophet are
   - They will be tormented day and night forever and every

12) What does John see next?  What about the earth and the heaven? (11)
   - A great white throne and Him who sat on it
   - They fled away; no place was found for them

13) Who does John see standing before the throne? What was opened (12)
   - The dead, both small and great
   - Books, including the Book of Life

14) How were the dead judged? (12)
   - According to their works
   - By the things which were written in the books

15) Who had given up the dead? (13)
   - The sea, Death and Hades

16) What is the lake of fire called?  Who was cast into it? (14-15)
   - The second death
   - Death and Hades, and anyone not found written in the Book of Life