Gary Gleans

Then came   one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of   the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you   the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”  And   he carried me away in the Spirit to   a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God,   its radiance   like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.  It had a great, high wall,   with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.  And the wall of the city had twelve   foundations, and   on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.  And the one who spoke with me   had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its g...

And   he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I   am making all things new.”  Also he said, “Write this down, for   these words are trustworthy and true.”    And he said to me,   “It is done!   I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.   To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.    The one who conquers will have this heritage, and   I will be his God and   he will be my son.    But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars,   their portion will be in   the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is   the second death.” Life feels long and the history of the world feels longer.  In relation to one another, the world is longer than life.  In relation to eternity, both will seem like a blip.  Because of our mortality, ...

Then I saw   a new heaven and a new earth, for   the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw   the holy city,   new Jerusalem,   coming down out of heaven from God,   prepared   as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold,   the dwelling place of God is with man. He will   dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and   death shall be no more,   neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” The history of this earth will culminate with the inauguration of a new creation that will put an end to the sufferings experienced in today’s world.  We can only imagine what this new and eternal life will be like, but we have in this and the following passa...

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.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and   books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is   the book of life. And   the dead were judged by what was written in the books,   according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it,   Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them,   according to what they had done.  Then   Death and Hades   were thrown into the lake of fire. This is   the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life,   he was thrown into the lake of fire. This is one of the most sobering and horrific passages in all of Scripture.  These few verses describe the judgment an...

And when the thousand years are ended,   Satan will be released from his prison   and will come out   to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth,   Gog and Magog,   to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.    And   they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded   the camp of the saints and   the beloved city, but   fire came down from heaven and consumed them,   and the devil   who had deceived them was   thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where   the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. It seems strange that after a thousand years of captivity Satan would be released once again.  What is even stranger is that after a thousand years of peace and prosperity on earth there would be such a large multitude to join him in that rebellion.  The only thing that is not strang...

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,   holding in his hand the key to   the bottomless pit and a great chain.    And he seized   the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and   bound him for a thousand years,   and threw him into   the pit, and shut it and   sealed it over him, so that   he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.   Then I saw   thrones, and   seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw   the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those   who 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 for a thousand years.    The rest of the dead did not come to life until th...