The second coming of Christ was the central focus of the early followers of Christ. It was more than anything else their daily bread. The message of the visible, literal soon-coming Christ at the beginning of the 1800s was a restoration of primitive Christianity. It met strong opposition from those who looked for a thousand-year time of peace before the coming of Christ. A variant on that theme is the focus on an immanent Messianic kingdom to rule the earth. Others spiritualized the second coming, thinking that Christ would come invisibly in the human heart. Both of these theories were and still are destructive of true faith, but in recent decades another heresy destroys the faith of many: the heresy of a secret rapture to remove the church from a world heading for disaster.

One might ask why it should make any difference. If we are faithful to God, we can rest assured that the future is in His hands, what must be will be, and we need not worry about it. While that is most certainly true, the fact is that false theories about the future destroy faithfulness to God and put the soul in danger of eternal destruction. Those who believe in a coming Messianic kingdom on earth lay themselves open to human or satanic imposters claiming to be divinely appointed. The pop mentality today has created the atmosphere to make that possible. Those who believe in the secret rapture are accepting a Jesuit-inspired doctrine that was hatched for the specific purpose of deflecting criticism from the abuses of Rome. It is the doorway to accepting Papal rule again today. Those who believe in a spiritual return of Christ open themselves to spiritualism, communication with demons clothed in garments of light, but bringing with them the spirit of lawlessness, sensuality, degradation, and eventually loss of eternal life.

The Bible clearly shows the truth in regard to these issues. The simple, Bible doctrine can keep the believer safe from contamination of the beliefs of itching ears that lull to sleep with dreams of earthly peace, false hopes of security, and mind-destroying spiritualization.

The Time of the Second Coming

(Mat 24:36)  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Mat 24:37)  But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

We can be certain that any prediction that says the time of Christ's second coming is false. Jesus' word is clear in the Gospel. Some have set the year, and been disappointed. The word ”hour” here refers to the time, not a specific moment, and thus excludes the setting of a year or even a century. The warning is to be ready, because we do not know the time. There are people who predict the second coming on one basis or another in the next few years, but all of these predictions will lead to disappointment. Either they will pass and nothing happen, or Jesus will return before the date predicted and those who believe the prediction will be caught unprepared.

The Character of the Second Coming

(Mat 24:27)  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

The coming of Christ will not be a secret thing, nor will it be merely a spiritual thing. It will be visible and cataclysmic. It will mean the end of this world. It will be such an enormous event that everyone on earth will see it and be stopped in their tracks. They will finish all activities at that moment, and either be killed by the brightness of his coming, or changed and taken up to meet him in the air.

(1Co 15:51)  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (1Co 15:52)  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The time is situated at the last trump, that is, at the second coming of Christ. It will happen suddenly. The saved dead will be resurrected to immortality, and we who are alive will be changed.

(1Th 4:17)  Then we which are alive 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.

The change that takes place in the living saved enables them to be caught to to meet the Lord in the air. The change entails giving immortality to them also, since they will ”ever be with the Lord.” But the change wrought on the living wicked is that they will be killed by the brightness of his coming.

(2Th 2:8)  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

In sum, the character of the second coming is cataclysmic, visible and audible to all on earth, it ends life as we know it, there is a resurrection to immortality, a change in the living saved to give them immortality, and the wicked are killed by the brightness.

The Timing of the Millennium

We cannot know the time of the second coming, except that it follows certain prophecies, nearly all of which have already been fulfilled. But the timing of the Millennium is absolutely precise. That we do know to the day and the hour. Anyone who times the Millennium otherwise has not taken the context into consideration. The Millennium is uniquely described in Revelation 20. It takes place immediately after the events of Revelation 19, which describes the second coming of Christ.

The events surrounding the Millennium are described in detail in Revelation 20.

The Beginning of the Millennium: The First Resurrection

(Rev 20:1)  And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. (Rev 20:2)  And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, (Rev 20:3)  And cast him into the bottomless pit, 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.

The Millennium  begins immediately after the second coming. Several things happen at the beginning of it. An angel comes down from heaven, that is, to the earth. The angel confines Satan to the ”bottomless pit”. The bottomless pit is on the earth, because that is where the angel has come. The word abyssos in Greek, which is used here, is the same which the LXX Greek translation of Genesis 1:2 uses for ”the deep”. That is, Satan remains on earth in the chaotic state to which it has been reduced, the same state in which it existed at the beginning of creation.

(Rev 20:4)  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, 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; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev 20:5)  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Rev 20:6)  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

The concept of a temporal millennium of peace and righteousness on the earth is based on a false understanding of this text. We have already seen that the Millennium begins at the second coming of Christ, and that at that time all people cease to exist on the earth. The righteous are caught up in the air ever to be with the Lord, and the wicked are destroyed by the brightness of his coming. The righteous live and reign with Christ in heaven during the Millennium, not on the desolate earth. The righteous dead have been raised up to heaven as well. The wicked dead do not live again until the end of the Millennium.

The End of the Millennium: The Second Resurrection

(Rev 20:7)  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,(Rev 20:8)  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.

At the end of the thousand years or Millennium, Satan is loosed. His imprisonment prevented him from deceiving the nations simply because the nations were dead. At the second resurrection, the resurrection of the wicked for final sentencing and punishment, Satan is loosed, that is, he again has a field of employment in deceiving the newly resurrected wicked. He deceives them to gather against God's government in battle. 

(Rev 20:9)  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. (Rev 20:10)  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.

The punishment upon the wicked does not fall in judgement. It falls in self-defence, or rather the divine action to defend the righteous. The righteous do not need to defend themselves. Satan does not lead a unified force. His forces are always divided within, filled with hate and rage for one another. That is why the beast (the Papacy) and the false prophet (the Islamic establishment) are made up of warring factions within and animosity between the two. But these both join their founder and leader in the lake of fire, because they joined in the common sin of attacking the city of God.

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown correctly translate ”for ever and ever” as ”to the ages of the ages”. This expression, at least in the King James translation, seems to support the belief in the eternal torment of the wicked. But there are Scriptural reasons to consider that the existence of the wicked and wickedness will come to an end, and not continue eternally. The use of the terms in English as in Isaiah 34:9,10 show clearly that this Greek expression, which is also reflected in the LXX Greek of the Hebrew Scriptures, often refers to a limited time and not to eternity. While the end of Satan and sinners will be eternal, their conscious torment will be limited to the time of their existence. Even if that were the case, this text would be insufficient to give evidence to the belief in an immortal human soul. It is always best to interpret the Bible to be consistent. 

The Second Death

The rest of Revelation 20 gives details surrounding the second death, which is only cryptically and ambiguously described earlier.

(Rev 20:11)  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (Rev 20:12)  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: 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. (Rev 20:13)  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Rev 20:14)  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Rev 20:15)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The dead mentioned here, who stand before the throne, are the wicked dead who are resurrected for sentencing. They are judged by the record of their deeds and condemned, if they are not found written in the book of life. Eternal life is for those only whose names are written in the book of life. The others are cast into the lake of fire and come to an eternal end. Death and hell are not vehicles of eternal torment. They too come to an end at this time. They are cast into the lake of fire. They participate in the second death, from which there is no resurrection, extinguished from existence.

If we follow the text of Revelation 20 carefully from beginning to end, there is no need to err. It sets out the matters clearly and chronologically. If we understand how the Bible describes the bottomless pit or abyssos, the literal, visible second coming, the expressions of time and ages, and distinguishes between the two resurrections and two deaths, everything about the Millennium becomes clear. If we cloud our minds with secret raptures, spiritual second comings, and immortal souls, the clear word of God can tell us very little.

The purpose of the text is to inform us of the justice of God in granting eternal life to those written in the book of life, and in giving eternal anihilation to the others. But we should not be distracted by details and quibbling from the truly central issue before us: how to get out names written in the book of life.

How to Get one's Name in the Book of Life and Keep it There

The one truly essential thing to know about the second coming and the Millennium is how to get one's name written in the book of life. While the book of life is a central issue in the book of Revelation, it is mentioned only once elsewhere, in Paul's epistle to the Philippians 4:3. But Paul does not tell us there how to be included in that illustrous document.

The Book of Revelation has many secrets that come in sevens. There are seven candlesticks, seven stars, seven churches, seven spirits before the throne, seven seals, seven plagues, seven blessings, and seven mentions of the book of life.

We know from these passages seven conditions for being in the book of life.

1. Overcomers.

(Rev 3:5)  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; 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.

2. Those who do not worship the beast.

(Rev 13:8)  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

3. Those who marvel at the beast.

(Rev 17:8)  The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

4. Those who are taken to heaven with Jesus at his second coming.

(Rev 20:12)  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: 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.

5. Those who are not cast in the lake of fire.

(Rev 20:15)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

6. Those who do not defile, work abomination, or make lies.

(Rev 21:27)  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

7. Those who do not take away from the words of the Book of Revelation.

(Rev 22:19)  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

From these texts we see that we must be overcomers, we must not worship or marvel after the beast, we must not defile, work abomination, make lies, or take away from the words of the Book of Revelation. These are all essential to be written in the book of life, and they are seven things needed to be ready for the second coming. They are in order of what we must do as well.

1. Overcoming

The first thing is to overcome. In fact, it is impossible to fulfil any of the other conditions without first overcoming. The best place to find out what is meant by a word in the Book of Revelation is to look elsewhere in the Book of Revelation. We find the answer in the key chapter of Revelation for our day, chapter 17. (Rev 17:14)  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Here we see that we ourselves cannot overcome. The Lamb overcomes for us. He does the entire work of salvation. But there are three points that relate to us. First, we have to be called by him. Secondly, we have to be chosen by him. Finally, after that we must be faithful to him. Once our calling and election are sure, there remains only faithfulness to him. But this is not a heavy yoke, for the love of Christ constrains us.

2. Not to Worship the Beast

The second thing is not to worship the beast. The beast is the Papacy, and worshipping the Papacy is accepting its authority and doctrines. It is accepting the Pope in the place of Christ. The Pope claims to be the vicar of Christ, that is the antichrist, the one who takes the place of Christ on earth. The worship the beast is to belong to the Roman Catholic Church and accept its authority and participate in its false doctrines and pagan practices.

3. Not to Wonder After the Beast

The third thing is not to wonder after the beast. One does not have to be a practicing Catholic to have one's name blotted from the book of life. One can simply wonder after the beast. That is what Protestantism does. While it may have separated from Rome as an institution, it wonders after the beast by retaining the pagan doctrine of the Trinity and Sunday worship. When an individual receives light on this serious matter, fails to repent, and fails to come out of these false denominations, then she runs the risk of having her name blotted from the book of life.

4. Avoiding Defilement

1. Unclean Meat

The fourth thing is not to be a defiler. All who are not overcomes in Christ are defilers. There are basically seven types of defiling described in the Bible. The first way to defile that the Bible mentions is defiling oneself by eating unclean things. (Lev 11:44)  For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Lev 22:8)  That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD.

2. Poor Sanitation and Unhealthful Living Conditions

The second defilement that we must avoid is hygienic as well, the defilement of poor sanitation and unhealthful living conditions. We must be as clean and healthy as possible. While this may seem strange as a point of faith, in practice it is not strange at all. The most visible and obvious characteristic of paganism is lack of sanitation, as thousands of missionaries can attest to. (Lev 15:31)  Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

3. Sexual Uncleanness

The third form of defilement is sexual uncleanness, especially adultery, bestiality, incest,  and vile homosexual acts, sins that are becoming more and more common as the day draws nearer. (Lev 18:20)  Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her. (Lev 18:23)  Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. (Lev 18:24)  Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: (Lev 18:28)  That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. (Lev 18:30)  Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God. (Eze 33:26)  Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land?

4. Sacrifice to Idols

The fourth form of defilement is human sacrifice to idols. While this may seem extreme, it is in fact practiced in many ways, among them the death sentence as carried out by governments not authorized by God to do so. The populace believes that such deaths help to preserve law and order, and this is the same mentality of ancient heathens, who thought that human sacrifice helped to maintain social order and fertility. But the living sacrifice to idols by living a life consecrated to the pleasures of the world is rampant today as every day. In the mass, the ”bloodless” sacrifices is made in the presence of idols, blasphemy is pronounced at the tinkling of a bell, and the people fall down and worship a piece of white bread. (Lev 20:3)  And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. (Jer 32:34)  But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.(Eze 20:7)  Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (Eze 20:18)  But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols. (Eze 22:3)  Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. (Eze 37:23)  Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

5. Communicable Diseases

Interestingly, quarantining of communicable diseases is mentioned as a factor of defilement. While quarantines are generally in effect, the great sin of biological warfare in on the increase, and certainly qualifies as the defilement the Bible warns against. Populaces who support their governments' use of biological weapons or even the development of such, are defilers and cannot be written in the book of life. (Num 5:2)  Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: (Num 5:3)  Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.

6. Alcoholic Drinks

The book of Daniel speaks of the defilement that comes not only from eating unclean meat, but from drinking wine. The non-medicinal use of alcohol is defiling, and prevents one's name appearing in the book of life. (Dan 1:8)  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

7 Evil Speaking

At the time of Jesus, many traditions not found in the Bible were commanded by the leaders. Among these was the ritual washing of hands before eating, along with reciting a blessing. Jesus was criticized for not following this non-Biblical practice, and accused of eating with defiled hands. He took the opportunity to teach the lesson that the evil words that people speak defile them. (Mat 15:18)  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. (Mat 15:20)  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. (Mar 7:15)  There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. (Mar 7:18)  And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; (Mar 7:23)  All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

The apostle Paul also summarizes the laws in regard to defilement. He gives the reason behind these laws, that the human body is the temple of God and thus must be kept holy. (1Co 3:17)  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1Ti 1:10)  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. Jude affirms the necessity of maintaining sexual purity. The principle is mentioned in Jude as well. (Jud 1:8)  Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

So there are seven kinds of defilement mentioned in the Bible: unclean meat, unhygienic living, sexual uncleanness, idolatry, contageous diseases, alcoholic drink, and evil speaking. Any of these can keep our names out of the book of life. 

5. Working Abomination

The fifth thing is not to work abomination. (Deu 27:15)  Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen. (2Ki 23:24)  Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.

Abominations in the Bible relate to the making of idols and worshipping them. This is associated with sexual immorality and with fraternizing with familiar spirits. The proliferation of false faith in the word today is associated with growing sexual immorality and rampant interest in the occult, spirits, and mediums. These abominations can blot one's name from the book of life.

6. Making Lies

The sixth thing is not to make lies. From the very beginning, loss of dominion was the result of deceit. The serpent said to the woman, ”Thou shalt not surely die.” This first lie is the basis of all lies that followed. It is the basis of false religion in the world today. The human temptation to deceive is the foundational factor in the lost human condition. The love of truth is absolutely essential for being found in the book of life. One must first love truth before he can understand and accept the message of the Bible.

7. Integrity of the Book of Revelation

The seventh thing is not to subtract any words from the Book of Revelation. This condition seems to be strange. But it has a historical reason. The early followers of Christ had only the Hebrew Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament. In fact, even that was not clearly defined as a canon before the end of the first century at the Jewish council of Jamnia. That is why the New Testament writings quote some sources, such as the Book of Enoch, as authoritative, even though it is not found in our Bibles today. The worship service of the early followers of Christ had the same format as the service in the Jewish synagogues of the time. We get a glimpse of the fact that the apostles assumed even Gentile believes would hear the reading of the Books of Moses in the ”synagogue” on the Sabbath day. (Act 15:21)  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

The word ”synagogue” today refers to a Jewish place of worship, but in Bible times it was a Greek word for a general place of gathering, not for Jews necessarily, and not necessarily for worship. The word literally means ”place of gathering” in Greek. In those days and for many centuries, most people could not read, and did not have access to books even if they could. All books were handwritten. So the people had to gather in ”synagogues” to hear the reading. Today most of us can read, and most of us can obtain a Bible to read, although some of us have to depend on going to the home of someone who has a Bible and can read it aloud. Nearly everyone was in the latter position a mere couple of centuries ago.

The Book of Revelation was written to be read in congregation. We see a description of the congregational or liturgical reading of the Book of Revelation at the beginning of the book: (Rev 1:3)  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

The purpose of the Book of Revelation is to prepare people for the things that are ”at hand”. It is to be read in addition to the Old Testament. The major form of congregational worship was the reading of these Scriptures. We can see, by comparing the Book of Revelation with the mass, that they have the same structure, and that the Book of Revelation is the ”mass” of the early church. Both are structured around the quotation of Isaiah 6:3 ”Holy, holy, holy,...”. Both are presented as a coming before the throne of God, where hymns and prayers are sung. Both culminate in the supper of the Lamb.

Already at the time of writing, there were competing liturgies, or the temptation to change the liturgy of the Book of Revelation. If there had not been, there would not have been a need for the warning: (Rev 22:18)  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (Rev 22:19)  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Fallen Christianity has done exactly that. Proof can be seen in two more facts. The congregational reading of the Book of Revelation is actually forbidden in Othodox tradition. It has been replaced by the ”improved” liturgies of Sts John Chrysostom and Basil. The Roman mass is even further from the original. This last point in regard to being written in the book of life forbids participation in those fallen churches that have replaced the Book of Revelation with the mass.

Given that we do not live in a situation where it is necessary to come together to hear the word read, since we can each one take the book and read it for ourselves, it may well be that we do not need to engage in the liturgical reading of the Book of Revelation every Sabbath day. But we must reject the mass and have a faith that is focused and founded on the Book of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation is the only portion of Scripture that defines, point by point, the content of the everlasting Gospel. (Rev 14:6)  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, (Rev 14:7)  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

The Book of Revelation is the only portion of Scripture that bears witness to the fact that the ten commandments remain the eternal law of God written on tables of stone and found in the great original ark of God in the heavenly sanctuary. (Rev 11:19)  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

The Book of Revelation is the only portion of Scripture that specifically defines the saints as those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. (Rev 14:12). The faith of Jesus at this point in history is to look to him who is making atonement and blotting out sin in the heavenly sanctuary at this moment, and who is shortly to come on the clouds of glory.

In Summary

The coming of Jesus will be a literal, visible, audible, cataclysmic event that will stop the world in its tracks. The dead in Christ will be resurrected and join the living saints who will be changed into immortality in a moment and caught up to meet Christ in the air. The wicked will be killed by the brightness of his coming. While Satan is bound to a desolate earth, the saints will live and reign with Christ in heaven for a thousand years.

At the end of the thousand years the city of God will descend from heaven to the earth, the wicked will be raised to receive their sentencing and punishment in the lake of fire. Sin, death, hell, and Satan will come to an end in the lake of fire. Those written in the book of life will be protected in the city through that awful time, and live in glory throughout the coming ages.

Those written in the book of life are those who are overcomers in Christ, who do not worship the beast (the Papacy), who do not wonder after the beast, who do not defile, work abomination, make lies, and who adhere to the Book of Revelation as it is written.