THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS IS IN ALL MEN 

Chapter 53

WE HAVE ENTERED INTO THE PROPHECY OF THE LAST DAYS

06-03-07

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(Dan 12:1-3)  And at that time shall Michael [“one of the chief princes” Dan 10:13] stand up, the great prince [head person] which standeth [up] for the children of thy people [why?]: and there shall be a time of trouble [the Great Tribulation], such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered [rescued; spec. to bring forth young: preserved, saved], every one that shall be found written in the book [(singular) of life: Rev 20:12, “before the foundation of the world” Eph 1:4]. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and [not mentioning the intervening thousand year interval of time] some [the remaining balance] to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine [to gleam; fig. to enlighten: admonish, teach, give warning] as the brightness [brilliancy] of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness [win lost souls to Christ] as the stars [(in the sense of blazing)] for ever and ever.

1.       trouble = Heb: tightness (i.e. fig. trouble); trans. a female rival:--adversary, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation, trouble /// narrow; a tight place; (trans.) an opponent (as crowding):--adversary, afflicted (-tion), anguish, close, distress, enemy, flint, foe.

2.       Commentary: Why will the angel Michael “stand up” for the children of God’s people? The Living Bible paraphrase has verse 12:1 as “At that time Michael, the mighty angelic prince who stands guard over your nation, will stand up [and fight for you in heaven against satanic forces]….” The New King James Version Bible has it “…who stands watch over the sons of your people.” Has Michael been previously sitting down on the job – so to speak? No, the very good news and preface of this end-time and last chapter in the book of Daniel is that Michael continues to meet the needs of God’s children and now stands up (exerts himself more than before), from the onset of the “time of trouble, such as never was,” to wonderfully intensify the density of the “hedge” [Heb: to entwine, i.e. shut in (for formation, protection and restraint): fence] (Job 1:10) of God’s protective covering over His chosen people.  

3.       The Nelson Study Bible: “and some to shame and everlasting contempt” It is not unusual for prophecy in the Old Testament to present events separated by a considerable span of time as if they occurred in immediate relationship to each other (see an example in Isa 61:1,2).

4.       King James Bible Commentary: Physical resurrection is spoken of here in the general sense, as in John 5:28,29. Yet it specifies two separate resurrections by the unusual repetition of the word “some.” Further revelation has more specifically shown that the resurrection of the just to “everlasting life” will occur immediately after the Great Tribulation of Daniel 12:1 (see Rev. 20:4,6). But the unjust dead will not be raised until one thousand years later, according to Revelation 20:5a. They will then be judged at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15). May no one who reads these warnings fail to repent and receive Christ as personal Saviour… “now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2).

a.       (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; [not mentioning the thousand year interlude of time] and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

b.       (Rev 20:1-3) [Introduction and partial summation] And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit 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 [this implies the complete cessation of Satan’s overt influence during this thousand year period of time, but not the cessation of the Satanic influence of the covert root of bitterness still existent in all men], And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive [overtly influence] the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season [in order to deceive those in whom the root of bitterness still dominates, and they consequently still desire to rebel against God’s rule and authority].

c.       (Rev 20:4-6)  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them [the overcomers: “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:5], and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded [for the last several years, thousands of Christians have been beheaded in the Sudan and elsewhere in the world by Muslims] for the witness of Jesus [Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-14: these are the Great Tribulation saints], 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 [Rev 13:16,17]; and they lived and reigned [as kings] with Christ a thousand years [the Millennium]. But the rest of the dead [all the unsaved dead] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection [in contrast to the resurrection of the wicked at the end of the Millennium]. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power [the evil participants of the “second death” shall be resurrected in the second resurrection and then die again a second time – the second death], but they [of the first resurrection] shall be priests [“kings and priests” Rev 1:6; 5:10] of God and of Christ, and shall reign [as kings] with him a thousand years.

d.       (Rev 20:7-10) [After the thousand year Millennium interlude passes] 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 [this will be the last rebellion against God in the history of this world], Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle [these deceived nations (billions of people) will choose to reject the visible Lordship of Christ and choose instead to follow Satan and his lies]: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth [width] 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 are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

e.       (Rev 20:11-15) And I saw a great white throne [the Great White Throne Judgment encompasses the evil lost (unsaved) of all ages], and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them [“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; 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.” (2 Pet 3:10). “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.” (Rev 21:1)]. And I saw the [unsaved] dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books [of works] were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the [unsaved] dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books [of works], according to their works. And the sea gave up the [unsaved] dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the [unsaved] dead which were in them [this entirely is the second resurrection]: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death [i.e. being cast into the lake of fire]. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

5.       The Full Life Study Bible: “the lake of fire.” The bible portrays a terrible picture of the destiny of the lost. (1) It speaks of “tribulation and anguish” (Rom 2:9), “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 22:13; 25:30), “everlasting destruction” (2 Thess 1:9), and a “furnace of fire” (Mat 13:42,50). It speaks of “chains of darkness” (2 Pet 2:4), “everlasting punishment” (Mat 25:46), a “hell” and a “fire that shall never be quenched” (Mark 9:43), a “lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Rev 19:20), and “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night” (Rev 14:11). Indeed, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31); “It had been good for that man if he had not been born” (Mat 26:24).

Amen

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