The Day of God

Last Great Day 2019

(Sermon Notes) by Warren Zehrung 10/21/19

The world takes little or no notice of the differentiation between the Kingdom of God—ruled by Jesus Christ during the Millennium—and the Kingdom of God in the New Heavens and New Earth. That confusion arises first of all, because the world cares little about the Plan of God, and secondly, because sometimes prophetic writings are dual in nature – applying equally to both the coming of Jesus Christ, and the time of the New Heavens and New Earth one-thousand years later—The Day of God.

There is a heresy sweeping through the Church of God. It states that God the Father was the “God of the Old Testament,” who directed and brought about all the events we read of. It is a most important distinction if we are to understand the Plan of God correctly. It is true that we are the Church of God the Father, but He has relegated His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Head of the Church. The truth is that Jesus was the “God of the Old Testament,” who as Creator, guided everyone and everything:

Isaiah 45:11-12  Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons and concerning the work of my hand’s command ye me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host, have I commanded. 

Colossians 1:16-18  For by [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him, all things consist.  And He is the head of the body, the Church:

God’s word states unequivocally that it was Jesus Christ Himself who led Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness:

1Corinthians 10:1-4 I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

To make absolutely positive that there would be no mistake who the “God of the Old Testament” was, Jesus stated for all men of all time to hear:

John 5:37  The Father Himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape.

Today, more than any other Feast Day, shows WHEN God the Father will rule His spiritual Family! The Bible reveals that God the Father created all things by and through Jesus Christ, as can be seen in these following verses. Jesus Christ is the Word:

John 1:1-3, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God [the Father].  All things were made by Him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 

John 1:10  He [Jesus Christ] was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. 

Ephesians 3:9  To make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hidden in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 

Jesus is definitely God, and in the New Testament He is also the “Son of God.” As the “God of the Old Testament,” He inspired the prophets of the Old Testament through His Holy Spirit.

2Peter 1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 

The English translators of the Bible, not understanding the Plan of God nor the Nature of God, had a difficult time expressing the words of Paul to the Hebrews as he explained how Jesus, God of the Old Testament, became the Son of God the Father

Hebrews 1:1-2  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto our patriarchs by the prophets, Has in these last days spoken unto as the Son, appointed heir of all things, by whom the worlds were made. 

Hebrews 2:10  For it became Him [Jesus Christ], for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 

After the seven-thousand-year has been fulfilled, Paul explains the timing of this Day of God – pictured by this Last Great Day – the Eighth Day of the Feast of God:

1Corinthians 15:24  Then comes the end, when He [Jesus Christ] shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 

1Corinthians 15:25  For He [Jesus Christ] must reign, till He [Jesus Christ] hath put all enemies under His feet. 

1Corinthians 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 

1Corinthians 15:27  For He [Jesus Christ] has put all things under His feet. But when He says all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He [God the Father] is excepted, which did put all things under Him. 

1Corinthians 15:28  And when all things shall be subdued unto Him [God the Father], then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him [God the Father] that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. 

Jesus will turn-over everything to His Father.

A Google search is not of much help in distinguishing the “Day of the Lord” from the “Day of God.”

Definition of “Day of the Lord” in the New Testament: It is the triumphant day of Christ’s return to earth in glory.

THE DAY OF GOD

Peter names this final obliteration of the universe, the “Day of God” to distinguish it from the preceding “Day of the Lord.”

The Day of God is decidedly different from the Day of the Lord in which Jesus will have purged the earth and established His Father’s Kingdom on earth for a thousand years. The Day of God is the Day of God the Father. The Day of God is the fulfillment of the Feast of the Last Great Day when the Millennium will have come to an end and Jesus will have delivered up the Kingdom to His Father. Satan and his agents will have been vanquished forever. Even that great enemy Death that entered the world because of sin will have been destroyed. When Jesus’ work of redemption and salvation has been completed, holiness will abound. Jesus will then relinquish all of His authority and rule to His Sovereign Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

We find the very nature of Jesus Christ revealed: Though equal with God, Jesus makes Himself not only the lowest of the low but subject to the Highest (John 5:18; 1Samuel 25:41; John 13:14; Ephesians 5:21).

Peter wrote of The Day of God:

2Peter 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of The Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

The Church brethren will be immortal Saints – and have no need of this physical realm. There will be no need for air, gravity, sunlight, or food for nourishment:

2Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporary; but the things which are not seen are eternal. We can see the stars! The New Heaven and the New Earth describe the eternal Kingdom of God. It is difficult to put into words what this final and permanent existence in God’s Plan will be like. It will be an age without end—extending into eternity itself. Only those things which are spiritual will be received into the New Heavens and a New Earth. Nothing mortal or physical will be sustained after the final judgment – not a temple, an organization, a building, a corporation, a basilica nor government of man. Only God’s spirit and character, which have been cultivated, developed, and fixed within believing and practicing Christians, will endure forever and ever.

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a Great White Throne and Him who was seated on it. From, His presence; earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them (Job 9:6). Jesus spoke of the hour and day when everyone who has ever lived will be called and given their opportunity for eternal salvation through the words of Christ. Jesus said:

John 5:25, 28-29 Truly, truly, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live… Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

In the Great White Throne Judgment period, God will raise up to physical life all who have ever lived and who were never called by God (John 6:44, 65). After having had ample opportunity to follow the lead of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14; Joel 2:28-29; Isaiah 65:20), Jesus Christ will judge them (Ezekiel 37:1-14). In Isaiah, God speaks of the day when every grave will have been opened and death and the grave have delivered up their dead (Revelation 20:13).

Isaiah 28:18, 21-22 Your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with the grave shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it… He shall be angry as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act. Now, therefore, be ye, not mockers, lest your bands, be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts, a complete destruction, even determined upon the whole earth.

Jesus made it absolutely clear that no man has heard the Father’s voice at any time, nor seen His shape (John 5:37; 1 John 4:12). No one has ever been remotely able to come anywhere near the immortal Father (1 Timothy 6:16). God the Father remains undefiled—always.

Until the Day of God, God the Father remains unapproachable, pending the time when all things will have been purified by fire and the New Heavens and the New Earth have been established. Then, when all sin, iniquity, death, and the grave have been totally purged, and all godless authority and power have been vanquished, the Father’s residence will be opened:

Revelation 21:3 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.

This is the last phase of the Plan of God as it is revealed to us—and yet we are not to speak of God’s Plan having a conclusion, as it has no end. Finally, the perfect atonement of mankind will have been accomplished – there will be perfect reconciliation – and there will be no obstructions between the Saints and God the Father. Having put on eternal life, the Saints will be glorious in every way.

Revelation 22:1-4 He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God [the Father] and of the Lamb… and His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads.

All mortal life on earth will have ceased when the heavens being on fire are dissolved, and the elements melted with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:12; Isaiah 51:6).

At the completion of the final Judgment of the Great White Throne, billions upon billions of righteous believers will have qualified to enter the God Family! The estimated number of stars increases constantly but is thought to be in the range of a billion trillion (Galatians 3:29). They will become resurrected Saints, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire.

Last Great Day

At the end of the Millennium, mankind will come to the concluding phase of what God has in store for mortal men. The Last Great Day will be the culmination of the seven-thousand years allocated for the living to learn that the, Most High God rules in the kingdom of men (Daniel 4:17; Ezekiel 16:60-62).

John 7:37-39 On the Last Day, that Great Day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of His heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

How clear! God’s Holy Spirit issues forth from Jesus Christ! Each and every Feast of the LORD has a unique prophetic meaning depicting an important step in the Plan of God.

The Feast of the Last Great Day pictures the great harvest of lives and the great judgment of all who have ever lived. But, what of those people who have not been called by God, and who have not had an opportunity for salvation? At the end of the Millennium, there will be a resurrection back to physical life for all who have ever lived. Their opportunity for salvation will come when God’s Spirit is poured out on them.

Joel 2:28 It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.

In the same way that the Church of God brethren look forward to the Millennial rule of Christ, the Spirit-led citizens of the Millennium will look forward to the Last Great Day and The Day of God. It will be a wonderful day when they are able to meet all their ancestors, all the way back to Adam and Eve—raised back to life. They will introduce their progenitors, from previous ages to the glorious accomplishments of a Godly culture and society. The extraordinary peace and prosperity of a world without crime and war will be awe-inspiring to the newly resurrected people. Those raised to physical life will receive God’s Holy Spirit – and for the first time be able to give God the glory (Joel 2:28-29; Ezekiel 37:14). God says, not only will it be better than before, it will be like coming home:

Ezekiel 36:10-11 I will greatly increase the population of all the House of Israel in its entirety, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the ruined cities shall be rebuilt… I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and you shall know that I am the LORD.

The resurrection to physical life will take place in an orderly manner – with food, clothing, and housing for all. For those raised back to their former physical lives, the Last Great Day will not constitute a “second chance” for salvation. For the first time, they will have the opportunity to be called, chosen and faithful to God’s perfect way (John 6:44, 65; Revelation 17:14).

All those not called by God at this present time will be resurrected during the Last Great Day epoch at the end of the Millennium to have their first opportunity for salvation. There is only one category of people who lived, died and have yet had no opportunity for salvation. They are those who will be raised to physical life at the Last Great Day, and included in the Great White Throne Judgment (Ezekiel 37; Revelation 20:5). Those Saints who are caught up to be with Christ without ever dying will not see their loved ones again for a thousand years – at the resurrection of the Last Great Day.

Revelation 20:5 The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

All Shall Come Forth from Their Graves A major phase in God’s Plan is that of the great resurrection to physical life for the judgment of the Great White Throne.

Revelation 20:11-12 I saw a Great White Throne… and the dead, small and great, stand before God…and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust (Acts 24:15). The Saints of God are resurrected first – in order to be able to serve as co-Saviors with Jesus throughout the Millennium. But what of those who were never converted? When is their resurrection? Will the vast multitudes of mankind who never knew Jesus or the Plan of God be called by the Father to participate in eternal life? Jesus tells us that all of mankind that has ever lived will be in a resurrection:

John 5:25 Truly, truly, I say unto you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

All who have ever lived, except for the resurrected Saints, will stand in the Great White Throne Judgment. They will hear their verdict, for good or for bad—and be assigned to their ultimate reward, whether to Eternal Life or to the Second Death. Jesus said:

John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

There will be multiple billions and billions of men and women from ages past brought back to physical life. They will see the earth in all its glory as a result of the ruling Kingdom of God. The great majority will then repent and have faith in Christ. God will perform this quickening to physical life in a decent and ordered way. Many will not realize at first that they have been dead for centuries—or longer. There will not be an unmanageable screaming mass of humanity wandering about aimlessly. There will be homes, food, and clothes for everyone.

More importantly, there will be teachers—messengers of the Gospel—to teach them how to live Godly lives, for the first time. And they will. Long, and full lives, and for the first time—understanding the Plan of God, and being able to live it because of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit—just like the first out-pouring on the Day of Pentecost three thousand years before. All will have sufficient time to grow in grace and knowledge to spiritual maturity. Only those with adamant hearts of stone will reject God perfect way and remain sinners:

Isaiah 65:20-21 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days: anyone a hundred years old will be considered young, but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

In the Millennium, God will guide man to attain his maximum potential – physically first, and then spiritually. In the Millennium every child will have ample opportunity to develop his talents and attain his maximum aptitude and capability (3 John 1:2).

Ignorance will be eradicated. After six thousand years of sin and corruption man’s intellect has become degraded. Genius and intellectual brilliance will be the norm – as it was when God created Adam and Eve. Nearly all humanity will be alive at the same time, those from the pre-flood world, those from Old and New Testament times, and those of the Millennium—all vibrantly alive and converted—enjoying the fruit of the Kingdom of God on earth. These are they to whom Jesus referred when He said:

John 11:25-26 Jesus said, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

Only a few of the resurrected Saints will have enjoyed the privilege of instantaneously being transformed and changed into spiritual beings:

1Corinthians 15:51-54 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

With God’s enabling Spirit, Adam could have conquered Satan for himself, his wife, his children, and all mankind – but he did not do it. Adam chose poorly, but Adam was not deceived (1 Timothy 2:14).

He obeyed the demonic spirit in Eden becoming ensnared – not only for himself – but for all humanity that would be born of him. In rejecting God, Adam became the servant of sin and death. Paul said it well:

Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?

Adam had not received God’s Holy Spirit – though he could have taken of the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:16). Had Adam overcome Satan, the Millennium would have begun then and there in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve would have lived-out the entire one thousand years without dying – but, instead, they died without salvation. Sin had plunged them into death (Genesis 2:17)!

At the end of the Millennium, the Last Great Day, and Great White Throne Judgment, the immense multitude of converted humanity will not have to die. They will be like the Saints of the first resurrection— there will be no need to die anymore—death is swallowed up—they will be raised to incorruptible eternal life. Death is swallowed up in victory (1Corinthians 15:51-54).

A primary task throughout the one-thousand years will be to restore the entire earth to its original Garden of Eden state in preparation for the great resurrection of all who have ever lived. God calls that resurrection, The Great White Throne Judgment. At the end of the millennium, there will be a much larger harvest—the resurrection of those from the Great White Throne Judgment period (Revelation 20:11).

The Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel tells the story of the resurrection at the Last Great Day.

Great White Throne Judgment

Acts 17:31  Because He [God the Father] has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man [Jesus Christ] whom He hath ordained; whereof He has given assurance unto all men, in that He [Jesus Christ] has raised Him [Jesus Christ] from the dead. 

1Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

The Book of Revelation depicts this event following the Last Great Day resurrection as the Great White Throne Judgment, picturing a time when all people who have ever lived will be judged by God. Those who have not had an opportunity for salvation will finally be given the occasion to learn God’s way of life for the first time. They will receive the same calling that the Church brethren have received (John 6:44, 65).

Then, and only then will they be judged according to God’s law and their conduct after receiving God’s Holy Spirit. Only those who were called by God previous to this time will have been Judged. The Church of God Saints will have been judged at their resurrection – held responsible at that time for their faith and the conduct of their lives.

1Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?

Those of the Millennium and those of the Last Great Day resurrection will be judged by Jesus Christ in the Great White Throne Judgment.

Revelation 20:11-12 I saw a Great White Throne and He who was sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, … [raised back to life] …small and great, standing before God; and the books were opened [The books of the Bible, and each person’s record], 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.

God keeps a record on every one of us, and we will give an account of ourselves (Romans 14:10-12).

Hebrews 9:27 As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.

Revelation 20:13-15 The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and the grave delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

1Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The Great White Throne Judgment is described by Jesus:

Matthew 25:31-34, 41 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: And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats: And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 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… Then shall Son of man say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Paul spoke of the change that will come to the physical body that rots in a grave:

1Corinthians 15:53-54 This corruptible [body] must put on incorruption, and this mortal [body] must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

The lake of fire is specially established for the final ousting of Satan and his demons. Satan will be removed forever, as well as all those unrepentant individuals who are incorrigibly evil.

Revelation 20:10 The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were cast, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Satan and his demons are to be burned up in the Lake of Fire prepared for them, as Jesus states in Matthew 25:41. According to God’s law, death is what they have earned for their sins. There will be no devil or demons when the New Heaven and New Earth are established. Satan and his fellow demon spirits will be totally annihilated.

Matthew 25:41 Then shall [Jesus the King] say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

From the very beginning, God has known just how many individual human beings He would create. He has not gone into His Plan haphazardly. Each and every person created by God has his own personal identity – and that person is important to God – important enough for God to shed His love on that person. We have shown that the identity of each individual is called by God, “the spirit in man,” and it defines who each person is. It is the non-tangible part of the mind that defines each individual’s personal identity. Everyone has a unique identity that distinguishes him from all the rest of mankind because when each human baby is conceived a unique identity is formed with that new life. An individual comes into existence. In seven-thousand years, God will have created a lot of people. He has brought billions and billions of individuals into existence.

Where the word of God proclaims that “all will come forth,” and, all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and every knee shall bow to the Lord, and every tongue shall confess to God, and all shall give an account of himself to God—that is the all of which God speaks (John 5:29; Romans 14:10-12). That is why it is called the Great White Throne Judgment.

John 7:37 On the Last and Great Day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. [Jesus said that He was the source of God’s Holy Spirit for us.]

In Jesus’ public ministry, the events that took place on each Holy Day depict the meaning of the Feast Day in God’s Plan. The next morning, still on the Last Great Day, Jesus was teaching… and the accusers of a woman, being convicted by their own conscience, left her and went out one by one, first the oldest, to the youngest. Jesus said to her, “I do not condemn you: go, and sin no more.

John 8:12 Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John explained that Jesus still had a half-year of His public ministry remaining:

John 8:20 These words spoke Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on Him; for His hour was not yet come.

The Meaning of the Last Great Day

John 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment, I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

John 10:10-11 Jesus said, …I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Speaking of all mankind – all who have ever lived, Jesus said:

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. [These things taught Jesus on the Last Great Day.]

Two Judgments

There are two judgments spoken of in the Scriptures: One to the glory of eternal life in the Family of God, and the other to the condemnation of shame and everlasting contempt of eternal death. Men are not judged for good or bad without having received God’s Holy Spirit. Peter tells us that judgment is now on the house of God, meaning those Church brethren who are led by God’s Holy Spirit.

The true Church brethren are not necessarily the same as members of corporate organization Churches of God (1 Peter 4:17). Jude tells us that angels and men will stand in the final judgment of the Last Great Day’s Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11). The judgment by Jesus Christ will include the condemnation of Satan, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the whoremongers, the sorcerers, the idolaters, all liars, death and the grave (Revelation 20:14; 21:8).

Jude 1:6 The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the Great Day.

Matthew 25:41  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: 

Amazingly, the saints and apostles will also sit in judgment of angels and mankind with Jesus:

Matthew 19:28 Jesus said unto the [apostles], Truly I say unto you, That you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the [Great White] Throne of His glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

1Corinthians 6:2-3 Do you not know that the Saints shall judge the world? …Do you not know that we shall judge angels?

It is clear that Jesus will delegate areas of judgment to His Saints. He makes the Saints co-rulers with Him on His very throne so that they may judge the world. The resurrected Saints will have experienced and overcome every situation and sector of society and culture throughout the ages—qualifying them (Hebrews 4:15) to judge with Christ.

Revelation 3:21 To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne.

Daniel 12:1-3 At that time shall [the archangel] Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble [the Tribulation], such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book [Lamb’s book of life]. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever.

Those people who will awake to shame and everlasting contempt will have rejected God and His way during their time of judgment. They will have rejected God’s word – the Bible. Jesus said:

John 12:48 He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall condemn him on the last day.

Psalm 112:10 The wicked shall see it, and be appalled; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. Jesus will have the last word:

Luke 13:27-28 He shall say …depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

Their last glimmer of consciousness for the workers of iniquity will be the terrible realization of what they have eternally missed out on God’s Kingdom in all its glorious ramifications.

Book of Life

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened [that’s at least three books], 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.

These are the categories of those books mentioned here: The Books of the Bible (Galatians 3:10); The Book of Life of the Lamb; and our own Personal Journal which is the book containing the record of our works or deeds.

There is a book in heaven for each and every one of us, with our name on the cover, and it contains everything about us. Our own book contains our extensive life’s record as to what each of us has done/not done on earth, in our lifetime.

Romans 2:6-7 God will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:

After 1,000 years of the Millennium, this earth and everything in it will be a thing of sublime beauty. Jesus Christ the Great Judge will begin wrapping up this final stage for all mankind.

Mission Accomplished

The Great White Throne judgment is finished – the Supreme Court of heaven is adjourned. Jesus has brought the Plan of God to fruition. It is complete and ready to be delivered to God the Father. It was a 7,000-year Plan on earth – and now it is complete. Jesus Christ will have taken this earth and its people from the depths of darkness – into His glorious light wherein dwells the New Heavens and the New Earth (Revelation 21:1). It was a long process, but finally, it is accomplished:

New Heaven and New Earth

The Last Great Day The 7,000-year Plan of God for man on earth is coming to fruition as Revelation Chapter 20 comes to a close and Chapter 21 begins. The resurrections of the Last Great Day will have resolved every issue concerning mankind. Christ’s work of Salvation and Redemption for everyone whose name is found written in the Book of Life will be complete (Revelation 20:15). The world and the angels will have been judged. There is one most important final step that will be fulfilled. At that point we will await the utterance, “It is done” (Revelation 21:6). When God gave mankind His Holy Days, He gave a framework of how His Plan for man would be worked out over the course of history.

Each of God’s Holy Days in Leviticus 23 has an actual fulfillment at a specific time. The Last Great Day, which is the seventh and final annual Holy Day, is observed immediately following the Feast of Tabernacles. The fulfillment of the Last Great Day will pave the way for the New Heavens and New Earth (John 7:37). In Leviticus the Last Great Day is referred to as the “eighth day,” and is specifically mentioned in the list of the Feasts of the LORD:

Leviticus 23:36, 39 …On the eighth day shall be an Holy Convocation unto you… On the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. (Numbers 29:35)

Why did Jesus observe the eighth day—just as He celebrated all of the annual Feasts of the LORD? Please do not be fooled by silly arguments like, “He had to keep the Jewish holy days because He was a Jew.”

Jesus kept the Feasts of the LORD (Leviticus 23:2) because God’s Feasts are extremely important to know and understand because they precisely reveal how God’s Plan for mankind is being worked out. The apostle John wrote that Jesus was faithful to comply with the requirements of this Holy Convocation of the Lord—the Last Great Day:

John 7:37 In the Last day, that Great Day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me.

The Last Great Day – the fulfillment of the final Feast of the Lord – will usher in the grand transition between the old physical world and the spiritual New Heavens and New Earth. When the work of Salvation and Redemption is accomplished at the close of the Millennium, and the resurrection of just men is concluded, there will be no more need of the old heavens and earth—which will be totally forgotten forevermore.

Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create New Heavens and a New Earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Isaiah uses a noteworthy reverse literary construction as viewed looking back in time order from after the completion of God’s Plan. In Isaiah 65, Isaiah begins with the New Heavens and a New Earth (verse 17) and works his way backward in time past the Great White Throne Judgment period (verse 20) to the beginning of the Millennium when the nature of the animals is pacified (verse 25) where we find the wolf and the lamb motif.

Isaiah 66:22 As the New Heavens and the New Earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your children and your name remain before me.

In the same way that the Book of Isaiah ends with the theme of the New Heavens and the New Earth, the Bible ends with the same subject – the New Heavens and the New Earth in Revelation 21 and 22

Everything that God created for this physical realm is only temporary—and it will have served its purpose. John speaks of this moment when Jesus Christ and the Saints will have gotten the absolute victory over the entire old world (1John 5:5; John 16:33). The embryonic phase of the Plan of God for mankind will be complete when man’s creation into the very character and image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) comes to the full with parturition and glorious birth into the very Family of God (John 3:6-7).

We are presented with a window to see beyond the allotted 7,000-years into the future eternity that lies ahead—the New Heaven and New Earth. John relates to us what he saw:

Revelation 21:1-2 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. And I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.

The New Heaven and the New Earth will see New Jerusalem descending from heaven. God the Father and Jesus Christ will be the Temple therein (Revelation 21:22). Old Jerusalem with its throne will be no more. The river of Living Water will flow out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1). The throne of God will reside in the New Heaven and the New Earth (Revelation 22:3). As a point of clarification for our friends who have been taught that their loved ones—who have been “good”—have gone to heaven. Do not be concerned when you hear that the old heavens being on fire shall be dissolved (2 Peter 3:12). The Bible makes no case for your soul going to heaven for all eternity when you die. Jesus refutes the misconception – though most will not believe His word. He says:

John 3:12-13 …You do not believe; how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? No man has ascended up to heaven, Except He [Jesus] that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Paul, speaking of the unsearchable riches of Christ brings to light the process whereby Jesus was the hands-on Creator at Genesis, while, truly it is God the Father who is Creator of the everlasting New Heavens and New Earth (Ephesians 3:8-9; Hebrews 1:2; John 1:3). The Book of Revelation originates and proceeds from God the Father (Revelation 1:1):

Revelation 21:5 He who sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

In the vision, John was shown the spiritual New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 21:1). At that point, in time, the earth, the oceans and the stars as we know them shall no longer exist! Peter describes how they will perish:

2Peter 3:12 As you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of The Day of God, wherein The heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

This earth upon which we live today will be totally gone, erased and forgotten! God will usher in the spiritual New Heavens and New Earth superseding the prior physical heavens and earth. Christ Shall Deliver Up the Kingdom to God the Father.

Day of God

After the completion of the 1,000-year physical rest, the Day of God will inaugurate the everlasting spiritual rest of the Saints. God will dwell in both Zion and in the Saints of God – because they are one and the same!

Psalm 132:13-14 The LORD has chosen; He has desired it for His habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

God was not exhausted and tired after six days of work. Yes, He rested on the seventh day and ceased His work, but that was in order shine light on the Sabbath Day – making it Holy, and pointing in a prophetic way to the Millennium to come—the foretelling of a greater rest in His Plan for mankind. Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it Holy.

Peter’s Clarification and Distinction Peter speaks of two great fires that will consume this earth. There are two clearly defined occurrences described in the Bible which reveal that the entire earth will be enmeshed in fiery conflagrations. The two are easily confused with one another, but Peter distinguishes between the two. The world takes no notice of the differentiation between the Kingdom of God—ruled by Jesus Christ during the Millennium—and the Kingdom of God in the New Heavens and New Earth. That confusion arises first of all because the world cares little about the Plan of God, and secondly, because sometimes prophetic writings are dual in nature – applying equally to both the coming of Jesus Christ and the time of the New Heavens and New Earth – one-thousand years later. The first inferno will take place at the beginning of the Day of the Lord at Jesus’ second coming.

The second fire will sweep the earth 1,000 years later at the conclusion of the Great White Throne Judgment.

2Peter 3:10 The Day of the Lord will come …in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Peter shows that a second blazing firestorm will engulf the earth for the arrival of the Day of God—ushering in the New Heaven and the New Earth.

2Peter 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of The Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Peter does not repeat, “the elements shall melt with fervent heat,” for emphasis. Those two phrases are clearly set apart by when they will occur – the first, at the Day of the Lord, and the second, one-thousand years later at The Day of God and the New Heavens and New Earth. This revelation to Peter is so stark and dire that Peter is compelled to declare that these all-consuming devastations will not eradicate God’s Covenant promise—despite the earth being melted by fervent heat. What was God’s promise? It was the promise Jesus Christ made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and all the prophets. It is the promise of countless children to Abraham, as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore (Genesis 13:16; Genesis 15:5).

Eternal life is a part of that promise! Knowing that the Plan of God will definitely go on, Peter seems to wonder how God will work it all out, and he says in faith:

2Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for New Heavens and a New Earth, wherein dwells righteousness. The earth in its present configuration will last only long enough for righteous men and women of the of the Great White Throne Judgment to become resurrected Saints—then comes the end when the earth will no longer exist—and God the Father will create the New Heavens and a New Earth (Isaiah 65:17):

Revelation 20:11 I saw a Great White Throne, and Him [Jesus Christ] that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Think of our beautiful planet in orbit – the blue earth against the background of space! It seems like such a loss to us that the earth will have fled away as a great lake of fire – to exist no more. What is next in the Plan of God

The Eighth Day

Revelation 21:1 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.

It is much more than a coincidence that right here in this narrative, Peter inserts the principle that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years! Peter is making the point – for those who have the eyes to see – that there will be one-thousand years between 2Peter 3:10 and 2Peter 3:12.

2Peter 3:7-9 The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord does not delay concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Heavens is plural in this verse – meaning both where the birds fly and the stars shine. In addition to those two physicals heavens, there is God’s throne in heaven (Revelation 4:2). The thing that is “New” in this concept is that everything physical, of which man is aware, will be replaced with God’s timeless and dimensionless spiritual realm of which the last two chapters of the Bible speak. The physical creation that ended on the sixth day was very good (Genesis 1:31).

The completion of the work of Jesus Christ will bring righteousness to God’s spiritual creation. At the end of the seventh day God will see everything that He has made, and, behold, it will be very, very good. The Day of the Lord will arrive at the Second Coming of Christ. The earth will be purged of all evil works (1John 3:8), but it will not cease to exist then – but will be renewed like the Garden of Eden (Isaiah 51:3).

Peter interjects the concept of one-thousand years into his discourse. He does so because there are one-thousand years of Christ’s rule on earth between the Day of the Lord, and The Day of God when all who have ever lived will have had the occasion to come to repentance. At the conclusion of the 1,000-year Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment, the New Heavens and a New Earth will come. Once the dead are judged, every man according to their works, there is no more need of the old earth.

The Second Fire to Envelop the Earth

We have been looking at the Day of the Lord that begins in the Tribulation. On the other hand, the Day of God will take place a thousand years later, not surprisingly, after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment, and just prior to the New Heavens and the New Earth. We saw:

2Peter 3:10 The Day of the Lord will come …in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Peter distinguishes between the Day of the Lord in 2Peter 3:10, and The Day of God in 2Peter 3:12 with the phrase, “being on fire shall be dissolved.” Peter had to differentiate between the two fires. Peter here describes the 2nd fire:

2Peter 3:12 Looking [anticipating] for and hasting [looking earnestly] unto the coming of the Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved [destroyed, loosed and broken], and the elements shall melt [liquefy] with fervent heat.

The second inferno will take place at the beginning of The Day of God at the very end of the Millennium—ushering in the New Heaven and the New Earth. Peter speaks of, a second fiery destruction – the 2nd fire, but this time it will be much greater—the elements shall melt with fervent heat—the total annihilation of everything physical and mortal—so great that the old heavens and earth will disappear entirely and no longer exist. Peter gives us one of the few views that we have of the transitional time between the Great White Throne Judgment and the New Heavens and a New Earth. Peter tells us that the heavens and the elements will burn up, dissolve, and melt away.

The majestic mountain ranges, the immense plains, and the cities of every nation will depart. Peter names this final obliteration of the universe, “The Day of God” to distinguish it from the preceding “Day of the Lord.” Paul speaks of the 2nd fire that occurs at the Final Judgment of the Great White Throne when the spiritually dead will be judged with everlasting destruction in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12-15):

2Thessalonians 1:7-10 …When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; When He shall come to be glorified in His Saints and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day

It will be The Day of God which paves the way for the New Heavens and a New Earth. We will note that the fire and fervent heat that follows after the 1,000-year-long Millennium and Great White Throne Judgment are much hotter and more extensive than the fire that accompanies the Day of the Lord.

Peter gives Christians the action step for salvation by appealing to their sense of a glorious eternity—beyond the day when the earth will have melted away:

2Peter 3:11-13 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what sort of persons ought you to be in all holy conduct and Godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the Day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for New Heavens and a New Earth, wherein dwells righteousness.

Then comes the end. The time will have come when Christ shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father (1Corinthians 15:24). There must need be a conveyance of all things back to God the Father. On earth, the Plan for mankind began in a veritable paradise, and it will end in God’s paradise in the New Heavens and the New Earth (2Corinthians 12:4). The Father created all things by and through Jesus Christ until such time that all who are sanctified will be perfected (Hebrews 10:14). Jesus will continue to be subject to His Father’s will, and the resurrected Saints will serve God, and He that sits on the throne shall dwell among them (Revelation 7:15).

John the Baptist had explained that there would be only two courses of action that men might take: A person can either become a Spirit being, or be plunged into the eternal fire that consumes everything at The Day of God. Speaking of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist said of Jesus:

Matthew 3:11-12 … He shall baptize you with [either] Holy Spirit, or with fire. Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat [Saints] into the garner, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Luke 3:17).

God’s eternal judgment is a key doctrine of Christ (Hebrews 6:1-2).

Revelation 20:14-15 Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

The Scriptures do not tell us a great deal about the transition from a physical earth to the spiritual New Heaven and New Earth in the eternal Kingdom of God. We need to answer the question of what takes place between the conclusion of the Great White Throne Judgment and the establishment of the New Heaven and New Earth. Satan will have deceived the nations:

Jude 1:6 The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

At the end of the thousand years, Satan and the demons’ fate is to be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10). This is when all the earth is burned up. From before the face of Jesus Christ, the earth and the heaven have fled away; and there was found no place for them (Revelation 20:11).

Revelation 20:7-8 When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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.

This will be the most massive cleansing ever:

Revelation 20:9-10 [Gog and Magog] went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city [Jerusalem]: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were cast, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever

Isaiah 4:4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. The creation of this earth that we call home was never meant to last all throughout eternity. As we saw before, Paul explains that even the physical universe that we see about us was also not to last forever:

Romans 8:20-21 For the creation [the entire universe] was made subject to transientness, not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope [of the resurrection to eternal life], because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Children of God.

The creation will finally be delivered from the bondage of corruption at The Day of God, the time when the New Heavens and New Earth are established. Prior to that time, everything must be totally purged and purified in preparation for the transfer from the authority and rule of Jesus Christ to God the Father. The handover from Jesus to God the Father cannot take place until after the memory of all sin and corruption is extinguished forever:

Isaiah 65:17 Behold, I create New Heavens and a New Earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Not only sin, but even the memory of our sins will be eradicated. Nothing irreverent, whether it be caused by wrongdoing, sin or iniquity, can ever come into God’s perfect Holy Presence. God set forth His high standard by placing an impenetrable barrier between Himself and the profane (Leviticus 10:10).

Speaking of the Holy City, New Jerusalem: God knows the end from before the beginning. God Planned the end before the beginning. Actually the “end” of all this creation we see about us will be the beginning of an endless eternity. Peter spoke of the coming day when the earth as we know it would burn up— dissolve:

2Peter 3:7 The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

Peter rhetorically asks the question, “What is in store for this earth?” He talks about an overview of the earth’s existence beginning with God dividing the seas from the dry land and the heavens (Genesis 1:6-10). Peter points out that as permanent and secure as that scenario must have seemed – God caused it to perish in Noah’s flood. Peter was laying the groundwork to say that earth’s destruction is going to happen repeatedly. First, the earth was destroyed in Satan’s rebellion and was then restored for Adam and Eve. Secondly, Peter shows that the earth was destroyed at the time of Noah’s flood.

2Peter 3:5-6 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

Peter goes on to refer to the aftermath of the flood and how through the sons of Noah – Shem, Ham, and Japheth, humanity thrived in a revived environment that persists to this day—even the same heavens and earth that we see today.

When The Day of God finally arrives:

Revelation 21:3 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.