FBCD_FaithEssentials_June_FlipBook

Faith Essentials

piece so much that he was willing to sacrifice his right hand for it. It meant as much to him as life itself. It turned out to be a very simple little object—a small, leather case enclosing a slip of paper on which was written one word: God . He believed that wearing this charm protected him from evil. When it was given back to him, he was so thrilled that tears streamed down his face. Falling to the ground, he kissed the feet of the man who returned it. The Second Coming will be so much more than a slip of paper with “God” inscribed on it. God in the flesh, the Son of God, will make a personal and permanent appearance. The second heavenly condition established by His coming is the binding of Satan. Although the Antichrist and false prophet have been thrown into a lake of fire by this time, Satan remains alive and active. But then, God arranges his imprisonment. As mentioned in a previous chapter, an angel “Threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed” (Revelation 20:3). Two phrases from this verse deserve special attention. First, pay heed to “the nations,” which introduces an intriguing but confusing dilemma. Although there are those that feel that only believers will be alive at this stage in history, I believe this designation refers to lost that are still alive after Christ’s return. The fact that Jesus achieves victory over His enemies doesn’t mean He has destroyed them all, at least not at this point. After all, if only believers remain to populate the earth, who are “the deceived”? Some think those deluded are offspring of believers born between the Second Coming and Satan’s ultimate demise. I believe this cannot be the case, since this violates what Jesus taught about procreation and the resurrected body (Luke 20:35,36). The lost, however, will continue to multiply because they do not possess glorified bodies.

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