He viewed it as very good.
The fruit of the trees of the
garden.
No, Man was expected to rule and
manage the entire earth, even the seas.
Session 17 After the Tribulation
Now that we have studied the prophecies between the bookends of the Rapture and
the Day of the Lord, we will turn to what happens after the Tribulation. This is the
time of history where Jesus shows the world what he had originally intended for his
creation. We will also
investigate our final destination
as Christians.
We should review what God
first desired for humanity. Please read Genesis 1:31.
1. How did God view his creation after he first created it?
Now, please read Genesis
2:8-9,15-17.
2. What was the food that
God expected people to
eat?
Now also read Genesis 1:26 for some more context of what God’s original goals were
for Humanity.
3. Was man expected to do
nothing but enjoy this
amazing garden and
world? Explain.
Verse 2:16 jumps out to us. We
see that God told them they were free to eat from any tree in the garden. Mankind had
free will from the beginning. Notice he said any tree. So, they had the ability or
freedom/free will to eat from any tree, even the tree He told them not to. He also
explained the consequences of disobedience.
We all know the story of how mankind fell into sin. The world with pleasing and
beautiful fruit trees baring healthy food was suddenly shattered into a million pieces.
They were banned from the amazing garden they were supposed to work in and take
care of. It was intended for
mankind to steward creation but
the enemy stole this birthright by
deceiving them into sinning. At that precise moment the enemy gained the title of
“prince of this world” in Jesus’ own words. (See John 14:30).
Genesis 1:31 NIV
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there
was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis 2:8-9,15-17 NIV
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and
there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds
of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye
and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
…
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden
to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the
man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you
must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for
when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
John 14:30 NIV
30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is
coming. He has no hold over me,
Genesis 1:26 NIV
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image,
in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the
sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the
wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move
along the ground.”
Jesus, Faithful and True, The Word of
God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Satan will be locked up for
1,000 years in the Abyss a
prison designed for fallen
angels.
There was another tree in the garden besides the “tree of the knowledge of good and
evil”. There was also the “tree of life” (Genesis 2:9). Remember this because we will
see this tree somewhere else in scripture.
Now we fast forward from Genesis
2 to the victory of our Lord at the
end of the Tribulation. We will
now see how the remainder of
human history plays out. Please
read Revelation 19:11-16 NIV.
4. Who arrives to end the evil
of the Tribulation?
I have ridden a horse before. Not a
white one and never as part of an
army. Some day I will and I will
witness an amazing victory. Read
verses 17-19 to see that victory.
It is obvious that this is an amazing
scene. Jesus with a word will kill
the armies of the Antichrist (Beast).
Shortly after that the Antichrist and
the False Prophet are thrown alive
into a burning lake of sulfur. With
this there will be final victory over
the two most evil men of history.
Satan will be punished in a
different way for 1,000 years. This
can be seen in Revelation 20:1-3.
5. At this point what will
happen to Satan as a
punishment?
Revelation 19:11-16 NIV
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was
a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.
With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are
like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He
has a name written on him that no one knows but he
himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and
his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven
were following him, riding on white horses and dressed
in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his
mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the
nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He
treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God
Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this
name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 19:17-21 NIV
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in
a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come,
gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that
you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty,
of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people,
free and slave, great and small.” 19 Then I saw the beast
and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered
together to wage war against the rider on the horse and
his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the
false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf.
With these signs he had deluded those who had received
the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two
of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning
sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming
out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the
birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Revelation 20:1-3 NIV
20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key
to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the
dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound
him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and
locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the
nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he
must be set free for a short time.
We will come back to Satan’s fate in a little bit. Meanwhile on earth Jesus begins a
reign that has been prophesied for
thousands of years. His millennial
reign. Psalm 2:7-9 shows God’s
decree concerning his son. His son
Jesus will inherit the nations and the
whole earth. He will also rule with a
rod of iron the people of earth after the Tribulation. His millennial reign will show the
entire world the way the world should have been run. God will “fix” much of the
problems that sin has done to the universe. It will be close to what the garden of Eden
was like but not exactly. There will be people that will have survived the Tribulation.
Those who did not take the mark of the beast and those Jewish believers that were
protected by God in the middle of the Tribulation. Having earthly bodies, they will be
able to marry and have children. Those children that sin during this time period will
receive swift justice from the One
with the Iron Scepter
116
. What will
this world kingdom of God be like?
There is a multitude of scriptures
that describe this future reign of
Christ. It will be wonderful and
amazing. The Resources box will
list some of these for your research.
This list is hardly comprehensive.
In fact, there are numerous passages
that if you research them clearly
reference the future reign of Jesus
on earth
117
. The doctrine of the
Millennium is explored heavily by
John F Walvoord in the online book The Doctrine of the Millennium at
https://walvoord.com/book/export/html/333.
Our Lord Jesus will rule and
reign the earth for 1,000 years
with those that were followers of
his. Jesus specifically mentions
the meek as those that will inherit
the earth. That seems to be
linking to the millennial reign as
well.
Psalm 2:7-9 NIV
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You
are my son; today I have become your father. 8 Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of
the earth your possession. 9 You will break them with a
rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
Resources
Psalm 72:11
Isaiah 9:7
Matthew 6:8-13 – (your kingdom come, your will be
done..)
Isaiah 35:5-6
Isaiah 65:20
Isaiah 19:23-25
Isaiah 2:4
Micah 4:4
Isaiah 42:4
Jeremiah 23:3-6
Daniel 2:44
Revelation 20:4 NIV
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had
been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of
those who had been beheaded because of their testimony
about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had
not worshiped the beast or its image and had not
received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They
came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Matthew 5:5 NIV
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
They are deceived by
Satan to rebel.
They will be capable of sinning even after seeing Jesus
himself rule and reign for 1,000 years.
Eternal punishment in the
lake of burning sulfur.
No oceans like on our current earth. More landmass.
What we see after the 1,000
years of Christ’s reign is
interesting. Please read
Revelation 20:7-10.
6. What happens to
some of the children
of those that
survived the
Tribulation?
7. What does this say
about humanity?
8. What is Satan’s final punishment?
After the closing of the
1,000-year reign of Jesus and
final sentencing of Satan the
final judgment of all of
humanity will be completed.
This is known as the Great
White Throne Judgment. Those
not found written in the book of
life will be sentenced to the lake
of fire which is a horrible eternal
punishment.
While the millennial reign of
Christ on earth will be
magnificent what follows will
shine even brighter. God will recreate both heaven and earth. Please read Revelation
21:1-5. This will be a perfect reset of all that has been created. Heaven will be the
final home of those that love God.
9. What is special about the new earth?
Revelation 20:7-10 NIV
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be
released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the
nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and
Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they
are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across
the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of
God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down
from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who
deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning
sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been
thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever
and ever.
Revelation 20:11-15 NIV
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was
seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his
presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw
the dead, great and small, standing before the throne,
and books were opened. Another book was opened,
which is the book of life. The dead were judged
according to what they had done as recorded in the
books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and
death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and
each person was judged according to what they had
done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the
lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book
of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
It will come down out of
heaven from God
himself.
The Tree of Life
10. Where does the new
Jerusalem come
from?
As the new heaven and earth
come into existence we see
and amazing thing happen.
Finally, after thousands of
years God accomplishes his
goal with mankind. Please
read Revelation 22:1-5.
11. Did you notice what
was once in the
garden of Eden now is transplanted to the new Jerusalem?
Yes, there in the Holy City
once again a glorious garden
will exist. The food he had
planned from the beginning
will be there. Mankind will
no longer be banned from
visiting. The curse of sin will
be lifted and God and man
will be able to be together for
all of eternity. There will be
no more death and no more
night.
Wrap up
I hope you have enjoyed our sessions together. Perhaps you have learned something
new along the way. Maybe you come away from this study wanting to be a watch man
or watch woman prepared to tell others of what will come. I certainly trust that you
will now be prepared for and aware of what is happening in our world that points to
the soon Rapture of the church.
Revelation 21:1-5 NIV
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and
there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the
new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people,
and he will dwell with them. They will be his people,
and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be
no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old
order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated
on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then
he said, “Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 22:1-5 NIV
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,
as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and
of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the
city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life,
bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every
month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of
the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The
throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and
his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and
his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no
more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the
light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.
And they will reign for ever and ever.
