Study Guide

Kingdom of Heaven

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Summary Scripture:

Revelation 20:4

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

The Resurrection and the Church.... Now we come to how all of this is relative to the church. First of all, there are three (3) resurrections that truly concern us. If we go back to a previous passage, we see the first two (2), resurrections.

1 Corinthians 15:21-23

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

1. The Resurrection of Christ from the dead Christ and those of the Promise rise from the dead.

2. The Resurrection of all who are Christ’s, (the Church), when He returns

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Revelation 20:2-6

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

3. The Resurrection of the Wicked Dead

Revelation 20:12-15

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The remnant of Israel shall be saved

Isaiah 10:20-23

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.

Zephaniah 3:14-15

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

The Apostles shall judge the twelve tribes

Luke 22:29-30

29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;

30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Sons shall judge the world

1 Corinthians 6:2-3

2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Revelation 20:4

The Lord Shall Judge the Nations.

At the return of the Lord to set up the Millennial Kingdom on the earth, He shall gather before Him all the nations that are alive at that time. He will judge them according to the criteria set by the Father.

Matthew 25:31-46

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Isaiah gives a more detailed account as to what will happen to the goat nations.

Isaiah 24:21-23

21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

As a bonus for us, he also reveals that it is at that time that he will deal with the principalities and powers that once dwelled in heavenly places. When the judgment is set:

1. The Lord will judge the nations of the earth that remain alive when He returns. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. (Is.24:6)

2. The 12 apostles will sit on twelve thrones to judge the 12 tribes of Israel

3. We, (the Church) will judge the world and the fallen angels.

In Conclusion:.... This is the sum of the matter. The earth was given to man as an everlasting possession. The Tree of Life was placed in the garden to ensure that man could live forever. The leaves and the fruit were good for healing the body. Man could have multiplied and filled the earth with righteous obedience to God. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was placed in the garden to test man. He failed, and Satan released the power of sin, (death), into the creation. Nations multiplied all over the face of the earth. They went their own way and worshipped whatever they pleased. This, God long suffered, waiting for the appointed time that He would commit all judgement to Jesus Christ; who came to redeem the souls of man and restore the entire creation in peace. At the end of the millennial reign, Satan will be loosed and deceive some nations again. They will come up to lay siege to Jerusalem the city of our Lord; but this time the Father will rain fire from heaven to destroy them.

Revelation 20:7-10

7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Then comes the resurrection of the wicked dead. Death and Hell will give up its dead; and all will be cast into the lake of fire. Then the Father creates a new heaven and a new earth, in which there are no oceans to separate the nations.

Revelation 21:1, 3-4

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. ...

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 22:1-2

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Zephaniah 3:9

9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

Finally the earth is a paradise again for mankind. It is been made better than before. Man is back to speaking one language. This was all prophesied by the prophets of old. However, the eternal purpose of the Father was never revealed until the dispensation of Grace and Truth. He had a plan that went beyond restoring the earth. He purposed to set up another kingdom to rule the earth; the Kingdom of Heaven. All who are in Christ are the Sons of God and a part of the Royal family. They are Divine and in no need of any healing leaves. They are the judges of the world and the angelic host. They are not judged in the judgment; for they are judged in this life. Those who walk in the spirit will not be in danger of the judgement. They are with Jesus in his throne. They are eternal. They are the Mystery that was hidden in the Father. They are the citizens of New Jerusalem.

Revelation 3:9

9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

The Sons of God are the only creatures other than the Father, in the new world that will be worshipped by men; for he has said in the days of old, “ye are gods.” And now, let us go out and find the Sons. Preach that eternal gospel that will allow them to hear the familiar voice of the Chief Shepherd. Let them know that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Bid them to come and take their seat in that heavenly place.

Revelation 3:12-13

12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.