Even in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, there will be those who will think evil thoughts and plot against the good people of the land. Since there will be no war for 1000
years, there will be no safeguards against invaders. To these evil-thinkers, the peaceful inhabitants of the land
will appear to be sitting ducks. In order to expose these rebellious ones, God will allow Satan one last period of freedom (Revelation 20:7-8, Ezekiel 38:10-12).
Satan’s agenda never changes, and once again his focus will be on Jerusalem (Revelation 20:9).
There will be no excuse for the people of Christ’s Kingdom to be deceived or taken by surprise. Just as the present end-time defection from the true faith is revealed
in the scriptures for us who are living today, the final rebellion at the end of the 1000 years is clearly spelled out in the word of God as a warning for the inhabitants of Christ’s kingdom. Those people will have the same access to the Written Word of God as we do.
They will have even more of an advantage than we do, because the Word of the Lord will flow uncorrupted and
continuously from Jerusalem for 1000 years. Just as the scriptures predict, the World will literally be filled with the knowledge of God (Matthew 24:35, Isaiah 2:3,11:9, Psalm 12:6-7, 100:5).
In that age as well as this, and previous ones, there will be those who understand Bible prophecy, believe it, and proclaim it. But all teaching in Christ’s kingdom will
flow through authorized channels—from Jerusalem. There will be no itinerant ministries, prophets or preachers in the Kingdom of Christ (Amos 3:7, John 16:13, 1
Timothy 2:4, Zechariah 13:2-3).
Satan will not be released in order tocausemen to think
evil thoughts, although, no doubt, he will immediately busy himself with giving them a steady stream of new ideas (in addition to those they have already conceived
on their own). Satan will be released in order toexpose
them and to spread the treachery as far as it will go. In the final rebellion, just as is happening in the Church today, the Lord will allow anyone and everyone who is inclined to defect to do so. Satan will deceive them (just like he did the angels who fell) into believing they can actually take over the reins of Christ’s government (Ezekiel 38:10-12, Isaiah 65:20, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Hebrews 12:27, Revelation 20:7-8).
Satan’s efforts to deceive the nations will be a hugely successful operation (Isaiah 24:5).
Satan cannot tempt or deceive us with anything that does not appeal to us. The people that cooperate with Satan’s plans during that time cannot plead ignorance or blame
their sin on the devil any more than Eve could—or anymore than we can (Genesis 3:13).
If we were not capable, with the help of the Holy Spirit, of understanding the truth and standing against the wiles of the devil, God would not expect it of us. But the fact is we are and He does.
Those who are rebellious against Christ, at the end of the 1000 years, will be ensnared in the same way Satan ensnares people today—by their own lusts. The people who reject the lordship of Christ and follow Satan in the final rebellion will be without excuse just as those are today who reject, or defect from, the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus (James 1:14 [12-16], 2 Corinthians 11:3, 2 Timothy 4:3).
The nation that will spearhead the invasion against Jerusalem will be called Gog (Ezekiel 38:2,14[1-23], Revelation 20:8).
The final rebellion is described in the following passages:
• Isaiah 24:5 • Ezekiel 38:1-23 • Revelation 20:19
The length of this rebellion from start to finish is not given in scripture, but we do know that, in the end, Gog’s rebellion will not be successful.
The final battle, in the final rebellion, will be characterized by the following:
• The Lord will cause Gog’s armies to turn their
swords against one another (just as he did to the armies surrounding Jerusalem at Armageddon), and they will begin destroying themselves.
• God will strike them with some sort of highly
contagious disease.
• And finally, he will rain fire and brimstone out of
Heaven to finish them off (Revelation 20:9, Ezekiel 38:21- 22).
Pandemic
So many of the earth’s inhabitants will participate in this treachery that the entire earth will become infected with it and become defiled. Because of this, the inhabitants of the earth will be burned up (Isaiah 24:6[5-6]).
Notice that verse 6 says there will be fewmen left.
We know, because of this, that some people will miraculously survive this final, fiery, judgment. The Bible doesn’t say how, but we know that God is well able to deliver those he accounts worthy to escape his wrath. Whether they will be caught out and changed
(like the raptured saints before The Great Tribulation) or whether they will be kept safe in the midst of the fire (like the 3 Hebrew children in Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace) we do not know. But we do know they will somehow survive, and they, along with the Children of the Resurrection, will continue to inhabit the earth (Psalm 37:9, 115:16, Isaiah 24:6, 45:18, Daniel 3:16-17, Matthew 5:5).
After this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire. The Bible says all who are thrown into the lake of fire will be tormented day and night forever (Revelation 20:10).
The Lord now has only one thing more to do before creating a new heavens and a new earth that can be inhabited peacefully forever.
The wicked dead must be raised and judged…at the
Chapter Review
:• Will anyone rebel against Christ’s leadership in
his kingdom (Ezekiel 38:10-12,16, Jeremiah 17:9)?
• Where will the Word of the Lord flow from in
Christ’s Kingdom (Isaiah 2:3)?
• Will there be itinerant ministries, prophets or
preachers in the Kingdom of Christ (Amos 3:7, John 16:13, 1 Timothy 2:4, Zechariah 13:2-3)?
• How successful will Satan be in his efforts to
deceive the nations (Isaiah 24:5)?
• Can Satan tempt or deceive us with anything that
does not appeal to us (Genesis 3:13, James 1:14 [12-16], 2 Corinthians 11:3, 2 Timothy 4:3)?
• What will the nation be called that will
spearhead the final rebellion against Christ’s government (Ezekiel 38:2,14[1-23], Revelation 20:8)?
Are you reading your Bible daily, always picking up today where you left off yesterday? If not, the book of John is a good place to start. A King James Bible with no chapter headings or footnotes is recommended .