We all have a simple choice as to where we are going to spend eternity — you know, life after death. It’s either Heaven or Hell. One of the two — there’s no in-between — no Purgatory. Jesus assured His Born-again believers…

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

John 14:1-3 NLT

That’s what we have in the Book of Revelation chapters 19 and 20. We’re nearing the end! The last few chapters have been rough. God’s shown us that he will not stand for ANY sin whatsoever! Our great hope as believers is that we know that even though Satan rules the earth right now, he will lose the final battle with Jesus and Jesus wins in the end and we win with Jesus.

Revelation 19 – Victory in Heaven!

 After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting,

“Praise the Lord!
    Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.
His judgments are true and just.
    He has punished the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
    He has avenged the murder of his servants.”

And again their voices rang out:

“Praise the Lord!
    The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!”

Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Praise the Lord!”

And from the throne came a voice that said,

“Praise our God,
    all his servants,
all who fear him,
    from the least to the greatest.”

Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:

“Praise the Lord!
    For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us be glad and rejoice,
    and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,
    and his bride has prepared herself.

She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
    For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers and sisters who testify about their faith in Jesus. Worship only God. For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.”

Revelation 19:1-10 NLT

The Wedding Feast of the Lamb

I previously did a podcast on the Wedding Feast of the Lamb as one of the Benefits of the Salvation of Jesus Christ — who doesn’t love a good wedding party!…

Enter Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords — the Rider on the White Horse

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.

Revelation 19:11-21 NLT

The judgement of the prostitute or harlot is severe. The unholy trinity — Satan, the destroyer of everything, and his henchmen, the Antichrist and the False Prophet are thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur (aka, hell).

The Thousand Years

There’s a question among Bible scholars if the 1000 year reign of Jesus on earth is literal or not. Peter wrote…

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

2 Peter 3:8 NLT

So, is this the millennial rule of Jesus when Satan and his demons are bound up and won’t bother us or just one day of peace? I guess we’ll find out eventually. (I’ve added a video at the bottom of this blog that may clarify all this.)

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.

Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

Revelation 20:1-6 NLT

The Defeat of Satan and the Battle of Armageddon

When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.

Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:7-10 NLT

Now, you can read more about this in the Books of Daniel and Ezekiel, but I’m not going to get into details here on the Battle of Armageddon. That’s mostly because what I consider the most important part of these two chapters is coming next…

God Sees EVERYTHING!

Like He hasn’t warned us…

And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

Romans 2:16 NLT

For he [God] has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man [Jesus] he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.

Acts 17:31 NLT

For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT

The Final White Throne Judgment

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11-15 NLT

Everyone will be judged!

Unbelievers will be judged BY Christ and punished — you can’t avoid the lake of fire! Believers will be judged THROUGH Christ and saved by grace (not by works). But we, believers WILL be rewarded for our good works. We are saved by grace so that we can do good works.

That lake of fire is not Purgatory! You can’t pray or sacrament your way out of it. It’s for eternity.

It’s Your Choice!

Saints can’t save you, the Virgin Mary can’t save you. Only Jesus can.

If you want the assurance of salvation and a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven and that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, this is what you have to do…

Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.

Pray this prayer humbly and wholeheartedly…

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Please forgive me. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and my life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. I will follow you for the rest of my life. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Are you ready?

Jesus said over and over…

“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”

Revelation‬ ‭3:22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Soli Deo Gloria — to God Alone be the Glory!

Here’s a video from Alpha and Omega Productions that gives more details…