Lesson Four

Chapter 11:13

Judgment and Repentance

a) After the witnesses ascend into heaven, another terrible earthquake occurs. This is the second of three big earthquakes mentioned in Revelation (6:12; 11:13; and 16:18). All three are referring to the final earthquake at the eschaton. Here a tenth of the city is destroyed and in 16:19 the great city split into three parts in. Note: the great city is the amalgamation of Jerusalem and Rome into one unholy capital city of the Antichrist.

b) After these events of 11:11-13, the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. This is true repentance because of two aspects of the survivors’ responses: 1) fear and 2) giving glory to the God of heaven. This is what the angel in 14:6-7 call on the earth-dwellers to do. And in 15:4 shows this action as signifying salvation (cf. 16:9).

c) With this repentance, there will be a great harvest of souls after the rapture, coming out of the tribulation (Rev 7:9-14; Isaiah 26:9; Rev 14:6). But also read 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12.

d) Only believers to be alive as terrestrial humans at the beginning of the Millennium (Revelation 19:17-21). This is because some have lived through the Tribulation Period, and some have come back with the Lord at His second coming. It will be a time of peace unparalleled in history (Isaiah 2:4; Joel 3:10; Micah 4:3). The believers who live through the Tribulation will be mortal. They will live and repopulate the earth during the Millennial Kingdom.

e) Yet, at the end of the Millennial Reign, Satan is loosed and is able to deceive a vast multitude to follow him in one final rebellion against the Lord of glory and His saints! It seems that the further humanity gets from the end of the Tribulation and the start of the Millennium, the more they will "take for granted" how good they have it, and some may even harbor doubts about the goodness of God. Even though the number who rebel with Satan are said to be "as the sand of the sea" (Revelation 20:7), they may still be a minority compared to the number who do not rebel.

f) God is trying to tell us something about His nature as displayed during the Millennium. His grace and goodness will be on display continually. But at the end of the 1000 years, He will have zero tolerance for rebellion. When it happens, He will show no mercy and offer no "second chances.” At that time He will be quick to judge, and the final rebellion of Satan and sinful man will be over in a flash of fire. After this, the final judgment of the dead takes place (the Great White Throne Judgment, Revelation 20:11-15). Eternity can thus begin with every aspect of sin gone for all time.

g) In Matthew 25:31-45, Jesus teaches on the parable of the sheep and goats. Jesus begins the parable by saying it concerns His return in glory to set up His kingdom (Matthew 25:31). Therefore, the setting of this event is at the beginning of the millennium, after the tribulation. All those on earth at that time will be brought before the Lord, and He will separate them “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left” (verses 32–33). The sheep are those who were saved during the tribulation; the goats are the unsaved who survived the tribulation.