Contents
Chapter One: Good God—Who is He really?
Chapter Two: Words Have Meaning—Grammar Matters
Chapter Three: Behold, I make All Things New
Chapter Four: Eternal Mortal Life
Chapter Five: Second Death Mercy
Chapter Four:
Eternal Mortal Life
Now that you have a fresh view of the plans God has for His people, we need to really understand who His people actually are.
The title of this chapter speaks to a notion that is not really discussed elsewhere. I’ve looked and haven’t found it. I mean, other than in my own works, like Sheep To Nations, which covers it more deeply than this book will. My previous book, The Hope That Is In Me also discusses it, though not as deeply.
In Sheep To Nations, my doctrine on two kinds of humanity after the glorification of the saints is explored. In it, we read of the separation of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46. We see that the saints have already been glorified and are united with Christ in His glory.
Knowing that the saints are glorified at the time of the separation of the two groups of apocalypse survivors, we see that they are divided according to their behavior.
Here, I’ll discuss the part about the sheep. I’ll talk about the goats in the next chapter.
The First Judgment
Matthew 25:31-33 — 31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
Right away, you might have noticed that we are not looking at the final judgment from Chapter Three. This is an earlier judgment from 1,000 years before that.
This judgment is at the beginning of the Millennium whereas the final judgment is right after the Millennium ends. This judgment decides who gets to stay on this earth for that thousand years, while the final judgment decides who gets to go to the New Earth.
Matthew 25:34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
40 And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
Try to see that there are two groups being discussed here: “whatever you did for … these brothers of mine.” And remember, the King has subjects (the “you” here) and family (the “brothers” here). Those are two separate groups of people. This is highly important going forward. Family is made of adopted saints (sons of God; Brothers of Jesus). The subjects are the others who are allowed to remain, who are decent enough through works (like religion). Saints are by faith, while sheep/nations are by works.
Some of the ones in this judgment will still be alive on into the new creation. How do they live that long? Easy. Let’s jump over to Ezekiel and see a detail in his treatment of the Millennium that many seem to skip past.
The Water and Tree of Life
The Water of Life is a natural element with supernatural effects on life. Whether in the Millennial Temple or the New Jerusalem, this water comes from under the throne of Christ. It is what sustains lifeforms of all kinds wherever it flows or is consumed.
In the book of Ezekiel we read about it coming out of the temple complex and flowing down to the Dead Sea. As you read the account, see how it begins as a trickle then magnifies as it grows to a river that is over the head.
Ezekiel 47:1-12 — Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.
Next he brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and there I saw the water trickling out from the south side.
As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through ankle-deep water. Then he measured off a thousand cubits and led me through knee-deep water. Again he measured a thousand cubits and led me through waist-deep water.
Once again he measured off a thousand cubits, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough for swimming—a river that could not be crossed on foot.
“Son of man, do you see this?” he asked. Then he led me back to the bank of the river.
When I arrived, I saw a great number of trees along both banks of the river. And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Dead Sea, the water there becomes fresh. Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything will flourish.
Fishermen will stand by the shore; from En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread their nets to catch fish of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.
But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.
“Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for healing.”
That’s the millennial River of Life. See how it grows as it goes? It just gets deeper and deeper as it goes.
Did you notice how it brings life wherever it flows? It turns salt water to fresh, bringing life to the previously salty Dead Sea. On the far end of the Dead Sea from where it enters, the marshes remain brackish—to give salt.
And notice how the trees are described. Every month they fruit afresh. And their leaves are used for healing. This is just like the Tree of Life seen in the New Jerusalem. The holy city has the River of Life too.
Now compare that river and those trees with what is in New Jerusalem. Here’s John’s testimony about that:
Revelation 22:1-2 — Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healingof the nations.
The parallels are there: river emerging from the throne; trees along the river bearing fruit each month with leaves used for healing.
Why the healing? I mean, if everyone in heaven is a saint, as many teach, why would a perfect, sinless, indestructible saint need healing? Answer: the saints do not need it. The trees and water are not for them. The elements of life are for the nations—those mortals who need them for continued life regeneration indefinitely. They are the sheep from the judgments who are allowed to live in His kingdom forever. This chapter is about them.
Eternal Mortal Life?
Isn’t this term an oxymoron? Whoever heard of mortals living forever? “That makes no sense!” you might cry. If this is you, hold that thought. There is a simple explanation. And yeah, it’s an oxymoron. Fun, huh?
(In the next chapter, we’ll look at what the second death really is.)
It isn’t that the people own their lives like the saints do. They do not. You see, Paul tells us that the saints inherit eternal life upon glorification. These people do not. In fact, when we read the Bible, we need to keep these distinctions in mind and be careful how we read. Here is Paul on the saints:
Titus 3:4-7 — When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.
These who inherit their lives are not the sheep of Matthew 25. Those sheep were judged—while saints are not—according to things they had done, which these clearly are not. These are given grace based on their faith. Here, Paul only mentions mercy, but many other times he says it is by faith that we are saved. Not so, for the sheep.
When someone inherits something, it is theirs to have and keep. They own it. This is why I say that they inherit their lives forever. No one can or will ever take it.
But that is not said about the sheep who become the nations in the New Earth. They get to inherit the kingdom, not their lives. They inherit citizenship. That is a very different thing. In Matthew 25:34 above we read this: “inherit the kingdom prepared for you”. That was told to the sheep. Sheep inherit citizenship; saints inherit life.
Now, are the sheep of Matthew 25 the same as the ones in the Final Judgment? Not the very same people, no. But there is no difference between them. No doubt, those descendants of the sheep who were judged did not get judged with the sheep because that judgment was before their birth. So then, they are some of the ones who are judged in the Final Judgment a thousand years later. They must be judged, because some of their cousins took part in the final rebellion. And if some of their generation were rebellious, then all of that generation must be judged. I highly doubt that a sheep who was judged at the beginning of the Millennium would participate in that rebellion. Possible? Sure. Likely? Not so much.
And who else is judged in the final judgment? The text tells us in Revelation 20. It shows who are raised from the dead to face judgment.
Revelation 20:11-13 — Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne.
And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.
Where are people who are in “death”? The spirit realm. Are they in hell, necessarily? No. The Greek for Hades is used for all people who are dead. Not just those in hell. Hades does not mean hell only. It can mean hell but not necessarily. It could be used for those in the spirit realm who did not go to hell but were not saved saints either.
If this is confusing, it is only because the word has been misused for so long.
Also, who can say with certainty that those who do go to hell are not judged to be allowed to live on the New Earth? Is there a clear passage that explicitly disallows repentance in hell? After over a thousand years of solitary confinement — thinking of nothing but your mistakes and poor behavior or judgment — is it impossible for you to have repented? Why or why not?
Is the Final Judgment a kangaroo court where the outcome is predetermined? Is that justice? And how many times did Jesus run home the idea that when a person repents they are to be forgiven? Many times. This is why I have a hope that those in hell will have an opportunity to show repentance to Jesus and confess He is Lord. If not, off to the Lake of Fire. Bend the knee and confess with the tongue—or else.
The Lamb’s Book of Life is an interesting thing. It says that their names must be in the book, but it says nothing of why their names are or are not found in it (other than due to their deeds recorded in other books—perhaps). So why would we presume anything about it? Why do we assume that those in hell go straight to the Lake of Fire? I don’t see that as being a very righteous thing to occur. I’d think that an actual hearing would be in order. A chance for them to confess sin and confess that Christ is Lord over them. I mean, if it doesn’t work out, the Lake of Fire will still be available to them. It isn’t going anywhere (other than into the new creation).
And aren’t the saints pardoned of many of the very same sins and given the nature of Christ, based on their repentance and confession of faith? Fairness is a hallmark of God’s judgments.
This is why I have hope that some in hell will be pardoned and allowed access into the New Earth. Every tongue will confess Christ as Lord. If not, it’s rebellion.
This line of thinking leads me to think that many are in the spirit realm who are neither in the presence of Christ, nor in hell. They are like the sheep, who neither had faith nor horrible behavior. So they are likely there and likely in this Final Judgment.
In the next chapter, I will discuss those who do go to the Lake of Fire. But I will tell you that I hope for them too (some of them, anyway).
Conclusion
This chapter has shown that there are people in the Millennium and the New Earth who are not saints, saved by faith, and they are not in the place of torment either. They are the ones whom Isaiah wrote of in his 65th chapter. They are the sheep who are in the nations of God’s kingdom.
After all, the saints are ruling over someone, aren’t they? Yes. And they aren’t taking turns ruling over each other (with an iron rod—Rev. 2:27). Someone has to rebel at the end of the Millennium. And someone has to sin enough in Isaiah 65 to go to punishment.
Do you see how this is working out? Can you see the coherence of it? It all fits together without any systemic Band-Aids of seminary theology trying to patch bad ideas. These things may not all be explicit in the scriptures, but they are not against the scriptures either. And they do solve huge problems with the mainstream’s ideology and end times theology. In the next, final chapter, the really big one is going to be examined. The one that is pure dogma in the Church’s books. And which goes against the Bible’s clear teaching of Who God really is. I mean, how can we see Jesus talking forgiveness, repentance, and love through the whole Bible then see a complete turnaround at the end. To me, that’s a really bad kind of whiplash.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve quietly wondered about it for a while now. And though it isn’t exactly made clear in plain words, it can be picked from the words that are there. I hope you’ll join me in learning about the possibility of God’s Second Death Mercy.
Questions and Reflection
Questions
- How do mortals live-on indefinitely (forever) ?
- Where do the mortals live: in the city or out?
- When do the first mortals get judged?
- How are mortals judged, by faith or deeds?
- Whom do the saints rule over?
Answers
- By drinking and eating the elements of life.
- Outside the city, but they go in regularly to worship and receive the elements of life.
- At the beginning of the Millennium. The separation of the sheep and goats.
- According to their behavior/deeds toward the saints (and possibly others).
- The nations.
