1. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give him to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Rev.2:7)
2. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. (Rev.2:11)
3. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give to him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows except he who receives it. (Rev.2:17)
4. And he who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, to him I will give power over the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a potter they will be broken to pieces, even as I received from My Father. And I will give him the Morning Star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev.2:26-29).
5. The one who overcomes, that one will be clothed in white clothing. And I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev.3:5-6).
6. "Him who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will go out no more. And I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, New Jerusalem, which comes down out of Heaven from My God, and My new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Rev.3:12-13).
As we can see from the above and from the message to the seventh church below, each time He spoke directly to His seven churches at the beginning of His Revelation to the churches, Jesus closed with a promise TO THOSE WHO OVERCOME.
After the seventh and last time, He is not recorded as talking directly to His churches again until He interjects John's vision of the 6th bowl of wrath to say:
Revelation 16:15:
"Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is the one who watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
The last time He spoke directly to His churches He said:
(THEME: keeping our garments lest we walk naked):
Revelation 3:
And unto the angel of the Assembly of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the head of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel you to buy from Me gold tried in the fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be clothed, and so that the shame of your nakedness does not appear.
And anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me.
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame and have sat down with My Father in His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev.3:14-22).
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The Revelation of Jesus Christ has a great deal to say about the rise of a beast from the abyss who will war against the saints in the days preceding Christ's judgment of the same beast and his false prophet, saying things like:
Revelation 20:4-6 is sandwiched in-between the following:
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Revelation 20:1-3 & 7-10
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the abyss, 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.
And 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. 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. 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."
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It's what is also known as a "Markan sandwich". The parenthetic verses in a "Markan sandwich" often include information unrelated to the main subject of the passage (in this case, the binding of Satan for a thousand years) in order to shed light on the subject, or to assist us in coming to a better understanding and a correct interpretation.
(Many of the books of the Bible - especially prophetic books such as Isaiah - contain "Markan sandwiches" for this reason and purpose. It's a typical style of writing in the prophetic books).
In the case of Revelation chapter 20, the parenthetic verses (Revelation 20:4-6) do not exist in isolation from the rest of the Revelation: The verses are linked to Revelation 13:7-8 & 15-18; Revelation 14:9-13; and Revelation 11:7-12.
What is stated in Revelation 20:4-6 is therefore key to dating the commencement of the thousand years, because the fact that those spoken about in Revelation 20:4 & 6 were beheaded because they "had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands" places the date of the commencement of the thousand years in a time that will follow the ascending of the beast from the abyss at the close of this age, and after the return of Christ. The only reasonable reading of the text does this.
- According to the text of Revelation chapter 20, following Satan's deception of the nations at the close of a thousand years, death itself and hades will be cast into the lake of fire (the second death). At that point all whose names are not found written in the Lamb's book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire (the second death).
- There will be no second sacrifice for sins made, and there will be no second resurrection from the second death.
- First death: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22).
- Second death: "Death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second eath." (Revelation 20:14).
Hades only exists because of its population, and the text states that John sees death and hades delivering up THE DEAD [nekros] in them - not the living [zao], but the dead [nekros] - and THE DEAD [nekros] standing before God for judgment,
and John sees all this at the close of the first thousand years following the commencement (Revelation 11:15) of Christ reigning to the Ages of the ages over the kingdoms of this world (Revelation 11:15),
and when this happens John also sees death and hades itself being cast into the lake of fire, which is the SECOND death,
together with all those whose names were not found written in the Lamb's book of life [zoe]
- which causes a need to consider what the apostle Paul had written many years earlier:
- The Resurrection of the body (of those who died in Christ) will occur when Christ returns:
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam ALL die, even so in Christ shall ALL be made alive. But every man in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).
"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: Then we which are alive [zao] 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."
"Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:22-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
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