A Temptation of the Devil
This paper is a rewrite of a prior study that exposes the lies on which a false doctrine, previously taught to many, is based. This study focuses on what the reign with Jesus Christ is not, exposing the lies and false doctrines that carnal minds have created, which go beyond what is written. A newer study focused on what our reign with Christ is here: The 1,000-Year Reign With Jesus Christ
The term Millennium Reign is not found in the Scriptures. The false doctrine holds that Jesus Christ returns outwardly to the physical earth and rules and reigns with His Elect for a symbolic 1,000-year period before the end of the physical world. This doctrine is a lie that takes our focus away from the trouble of today and our striving to obey the Commandments. The doctrine is an invention of the carnal mind and relates back to the lie that the elect receive greater rewards and lesser punishments from the Lord. If we are chosen to be saved in this age, we are given to see through the twisting of the Scriptures by those who perform great wonders yet know not the Gospel.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Within secular Christianity, there are many versions of the one-thousand-year [1,000] doctrine, called “the Millennium,” that have generally been classified into three main groups: premillennialists, postmillennialists, or amillennialists. The pre and post refer to whether the group believes this outward literal event occurs before or after an outward “great tribulation”. Of course, even this great tribulation is an inward event, applicable to every man in their appointed time, signifying the coming of Christ a second time to them for salvation.
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The words of Scripture are all Spirit, profiting not the flesh, and the truth of any matter is only found following sound principles to those the Lord has given the ability. If one has received the Promise after first receiving the baptism of John and then waiting on the Lord to come with their baptism of fire, they are ruling with Christ now in this age. Jesus Christ is come and dawns a new day, as the day star or morning star, the Living Christ, the Commandments have arisen in our hearts.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
The coming of Christ marks the start of Christ’s reign, when sin no longer rules. It takes the third day to bring an end to sin and death that dwell in our members. Our third day [a thousand years], the day in which we are being perfected by many tribulations and manifest trials that test our obedience to the Commandments is come. We now judge within ourselves and within the household of God, in whom the Lord has set us with His little flock. We are being raised from our spiritual graves into newness of life in the Spirit.
Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The firstfruits, Christ and His Christ, are raised first, now, in this generation, and the rest of the dead are, all of humanity, are raised in the age to come, that is, the consummation of the Lord’s work. There is both an inward and an outward application. Blessed and made holy are those who are saved from sin and death now and made partakers of the first resurrection.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Outwardly, the rest of the dead, being the rest of humanity, are raised to newness of life and given the Spirit of Christ in the age to come. Those not saved in this age are saved in the next, and that by the same method and process of enduring judgment and many tribulations brought on by the Commandments that take root in their hearts and minds. It is by receiving the gift of the faith of Jesus Christ, that is the Promise and the Spirit of Christ, that all humanity is saved in their appointed time.
Act 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
As the elect of God, before we depart these clay vessels we occupy, never dying, being translated into spirit, Satan and all that defiles us is going to be destroyed in the fire of the Living Commandments that fall from our heaven [mind], which completes the work of God and remakes us into the image of the Son.
Luk 6:40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
It is done, says the Alpha and Omega. We are the sons of God, we have been perfected in our third day. We are entering into Heavenly Jerusalem as we progress in overcoming our sin.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect
The Scriptures are speaking of what is going on in the Kingdom of God within us and every man in their time. Those things are always shortly to come to pass when one is given to understand. Today is the day of salvation; it is not out there in the future. Christ is come to us for salvation.
Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
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.
When Christ comes for salvation, He rules and reigns with His people, which expands to all mankind in their appointed time. Christ is the Word, the Living Commandments that now dwell in our hearts and minds. Christ’s rulership is never said to be outward but always in His Kingdom. And where is that kingdom?
Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Our Lord, who changes not, has no plan in ruling the carnal world outwardly through His people. He is in the process of destroying that world, one man at a time, as He chooses them for salvation.
Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
Let’s read the key verses and the only passage in the Bible from which the false doctrine is erroneously extrapolated.
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.
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.
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.
These spiritual words are consistent with the sum of the Scriptures, which speak to the process by which all men are saved in their appointed time. Death and the father of death, Satan, our carnal mind, is always being destroyed by fire falling from our heaven. Just as Christ spoke in parables, speaking about the end of the age, here John was given to write in signified words that are also in a parable.
The only purpose given for the outward millennium reign in our former teaching forum was so the Lord could destroy all physical flesh of men so that no more flesh babies could be born, and so death could be destroyed. Like all forms of deception, the error here is subtle yet significant. While death is the last enemy to be destroyed, this outward thinking about death misses the mark entirely. The death that the Lord is reigning over until He destroys it is the carnal mind, which is naturally an enemy of God.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
It is no big deal, requiring no process, nor a 1,000-year outward reign for the Lord to speak physical flesh out of existence. The Lord spoke flesh into existence, and He speaks it out of existence in the appointed time. Yet we are not told specifically how the physical world ends; it is not written, and we are commanded not even to think above what is written, much less to concoct entire doctrines about what the Scriptures do not declare.
1Co 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
The Lord is not found in what He does not reveal to His children. The Lord reveals to us what we need to know in order that we may obey His Commandments, that is, His purpose.
Deu 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
The lake of fire is the Commandments; it is the Living Word of God, the Promise that is Jesus Christ, who comes to dwell in our hearts and minds when we are given the Holy Spirit. It is our great white throne judgment that completes God’s plan of saving every man. We are given our robes of righteousness by coming through the great tribulation that the Commandments bring to remake us.
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
This is the fire that torments, silences, and destroys all the lies [the false prophet] and our innate beast [the beast] that lives in all flesh. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, and that begins by destroying the father of death, who is the devil, Satan, and is represented by our carnal mind that is by nature always at enmity with the Commandments.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
The end of death is the end of the carnal mind and the end of Satan. That is the Second Death that only happens in the Lake of Fire, which many deny as having any application to God’s Elect. Unwinding these errors and removing the leaven helps refocus our attention on overcoming and on the rest of the dead within us coming alive to Christ.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead [dead to death and the carnal mind, which is the Second Death] is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Reigning with Christ is also judging with Christ, and this is within ourselves and the house of God. The Commandments we now see and believe through faith reveal our sins and bring the fiery grace, which makes us righteous and holy. The resurrection to damnation [our judgment] is very much needed and precedes the Lord’s coming for salvation.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die [be found dead in sin, see ourselves as chief of sinners], but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time [in our day of the Lord in the Lake of Fire] without sin unto salvation.
These events in Revelation 20 are signified by words that describe the transition from abiding in the resurrection of damnation, knowing the truth, yet lightly esteeming the Commandments, to the fire that brings overcoming and defines salvation from sin. A new heaven and earth are being made, and our prayers are being answered.
Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
No Scripture is of its own private interpretation, and that is how Revelation 20 must also be interpreted. It is only in two or three witnesses that every truth and doctrine is established. The Millennium Reign doctrine was taught without any confirming witnesses and is now shown to be another facet of the bigger lie that the elect are given greater rewards and lesser punishment for our sin. The Lord never mentions an outward rule for the disciples on earth throughout His walk with them in the Gospels. Likewise, none of the Apostles makes any mention of this supposed gigantic event in any of their writings.
Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.
Christ is Lord of heaven and the earth, and He reigns in both places when He comes for salvation. But those places are within you, and that is where the Lord is working right now to establish His dominion by way of the Commandments that abide and work righteousness from within.
Act 7:49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool …
Isa 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
A close inspection of the signified words of Rev 20 shows that it nowhere says our reign with Christ is taking place on the outward or physical earth. All those words in Revelation are signified words meaning what they mean, not what they literally say. It is only by transcribing them by the letter and not the Spirit that such a doctrine is twisted into existence.
Rulership is over our own bodies and emotions, in the kingdom of God that is within us.
Rom 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Christ comes to make us into kings, reigning over our earth, which is to have dominion over sin and to minister the Gospel to those still spiritually dead, not having heard or believed the one true Gospel.
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth [have dominion over sin, be dead to death]
Nowhere are we promised ruling over other men in any way, shape, or form. In fact, we have the exact opposite witness, a witness that tells us those in Christ are doing no such thing in ruling and lording over any man. It is the Commandments, the Living Christ, that rule over men.
Mat 20:25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
Mat 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
We minister the Gospel, feeding the sheep the Lord brings us the Commandments, the living bread of life.
1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
1Pe 5:3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples [ministers] to the flock.
It is the spirit of Satan who lies to us and tempts us and appeals to our flesh to be made chief among the people and be given the promise to rule over men and the entire world. It is a key temptation that only the true ones of Christ resist and overcome.
Luk 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luk 4:6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Luk 4:7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
Luk 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Those seeking to rule others in the gatherings of men [Jerusalem in type] have made a covenant with the devil, who has been given the power of death by the Lord. Thankfully, our covenant with death, that is, our carnal mind, Satan, is disannulled in the appointed time. But it first deceives all of us until the Lord has mercy.
Isa 28:14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
Isa 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Some point to the story of Joseph and his brothers to say the elect will rule over men. Yet an important truth is omitted to arrive at such a conclusion.
Gen 37:5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
Gen 37:6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Gen 37:7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
Notice it was the sheaves [of grain], not the brothers, that bowed down to Joseph’s sheave of grain. This story in no way speaks of the elect ruling over men; it shows the Word of God, the Living Commandments, which is the grain we gather, ruling over the carnal words that the world, our eleven brothers walking after the flesh, gather. The obeisance was to the grain, which is symbolic of the Commandments. Joseph’s brothers, like our carnal brothers [the rest of mankind and the world within us], hate us for standing on truth and falsely accuse us of exalting ourselves and claiming dominion over them for preaching the Gospel of the Commandments.
Gen 37:8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
The carnal mind, every man’s flesh, does not want to bow to Christ, who is the Word. Flesh does not want to be reigned over.
Luk 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
The bowing down of men is always to be to the Commandments, that is the Living Word and never to the messenger who brings the Word.
Rev 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Joseph had a second dream about the sun, moon, and stars bowing down. That dream, like the first, was about our carnal thoughts or beliefs symbolized by the sun, moon, and stars in our heavens, bowing down to the Truth. When our day of the Lord starts, and our conversion begins, the lights that guide us all bow to Christ, who is the Truth.
The rulership of Christ is always about Truth [The Commandments, the Wisdom of God] ruling over the lies and carnal reasoning, and not the physical rulership of any man over another. Our old man [Esau] hates Christ in us, and the world also hates us for standing on truth and rejecting their way of thinking. To be spiritually nourished, all bow and come to Joseph [Christ] for the bread of life that brings and sustains eternal life.
Gen 41:55 And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for [spiritual] bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph [a type for Christ]; what he saith to you, do.
Those yet carnal parts within us, the rest of the dead within us, all come to bow down to the new man, Christ in us. Did Christ in the gospels teach of an outward rule and reigning over men before the end comes by His church? No, He did not. His coming to every man is within; it is in the kingdom of God.
Mat 24:14 And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all [inward] nations; and then shall the end come [inwardly in the hearts/minds of every man in their time]
The Commandments are the riches of God that perform the greater works when put to work in the Kingdom. If we need motivation to strive to obey the Gospel [be faithful], we find some in the parable of the Talents. We are all three of these men, as we mature, given talents who first squander them in sloth and then, by the grace of God, begin to work in the kingdom within us and multiply those talents as we gain dominion over our sins. Entering into the joy of the Lord is pressing further into the Living Commandments of the Father, that is, the joy of the Lord, and thereby gaining complete dominion over our sins. This is the rulership, the reigning, the Lord is working in His Elect in this age and in all men in due time. We prove faithful, He gives us more.
Mat 25:21 His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
When we are given His talents, His Truths, we are learning to put them to use so we can receive even more and hasten the rulership and dominion over our earth, meaning being holy in all of our behavior.
Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Ruling over “many things” are the things that defile and the creeping things in our earth that are contrary to faith. Our bodies are the temple of God, His very House in which Christ dwells as the Promise. It is in our house where the new man, Christ in us, is being established as the Ruler. His inward revealing, the second coming without sin, is when every man is judged and eventually given to rule and reign over their promised land.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Mat 24:47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
The ruling and reigning of Christ coincide with the ruling and reigning of chastening, scourging grace within us. They are one and the same event. Here is Paul speaking of these 1,000 symbolic years (one day), another way. The Commandments is Jesus Christ, the root of Jesse who rises in His Kingdom and rules from within.
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 15:12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
The latter portions of the original study have been condensed into a much-abbreviated version. The primary purpose in the remaining pages is to point to the numerous inconsistencies of the false doctrine with other Scriptures. May the Lord have mercy upon those He has chosen and remove all doubt, and let the reader discern between the truth and the lies.
“Fire From Heaven Destroys All Flesh”
We look within and not without, seeing what the Lord is doing and where He is focused. The Lord had mercy on us and opened our spiritual eyes to see the carnal lust we so easily ran after, being deceived by false doctrines about the end times, including the 1,000-year reign on the physical earth. We learn spiritual truths by our first erring in truth, being seduced by false Christs who bring false doctrine to tell our flesh what it likes to hear.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Flesh desires to profit and be blessed for our walk with Christ. Yet we are learning more every day that this is not the Lord’s plan. His kingdom is not of this world, and His truths, the Living Commandments that come to save us, do not profit our flesh or the pride of man. Removing the false doctrine of an outward Millennium Reign removes a giant plank from our spiritual eyes. Our discipleship for Christ comes not with greater rewards other than being the first group, a kind of firstfruits unto the Lord. Our flesh is readily attracted to the idea of an outward world that bows down before us and has us being exalted over the entire human race. This verse has never been brighter as it plainly tells us that our flesh and carnal lusts profit us nothing by the Words of Jesus Christ that are the Commandments.
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
We are losing our old life, the life in the flesh, to enter into a new spiritual life in Christ. We work and toil because we love God as the Holy Spirit, the Living Commandments are shed abroad in our hearts. Our reasonable service is to lay down our lives, being unprofitable servants, being saved, and showing the same mercy to all whom the Lord puts before us.
Luk 17:10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
Our blessings are spiritual, benefiting the new man being saved, and the fruits of that are evident in salvation from sin and bearing the fruits of the Spirit. Drinking the wine of the New Testament is both a blessing and an event that destroys our flesh as we partake of His death inwardly, as we become living sacrifices for one another.
1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
All first follow Christ for the carnal benefits, being fed of the fishes and loaves, pursuing and being filled with knowledge, but not having His faith, the Living Commandments that are the Gospel of Promise abiding in us. All of us, being carnal, first pursue Christ for the gains that profit our old man.
Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Learning that there are no carnal benefits, and the elect in this age do not lord over any man today or in the physical world or tomorrow, causes some to depart and walk no more with the Lord. Many are offended by hearing the truth that their flesh is not being blessed, and there is no carnal profit to our walking with Christ and following Him to death. These truths quickly winnow the flock, separating the true disciples of Christ from the false, as only a few endure to the end. It is a hard saying, offending all carnal to know there is no profit in this walk for flesh.
Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
Joh 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
The Scriptures distinguish between the outward world, or earth, also known as the Kosmos, and the inner earth, the Promised Land, which is the earth we, as Christ, are set to rule over. When the Scriptures speak about the outward, physical earth, the Greek word Kosmos (G2889) is most used, which is often translated as “world”.
G2889, κόσμος, kosmos
Total KJV Occurrences: 188
It is the outward world [G2889 – kosmos] that Satan promises us we are given to rule over if only we will bow and serve him,
Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world [G2889 Kosmos], and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things [the world, the Kosmos] will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
We are not of the world but are merely passing through it as pilgrims and sojourners. Seeking to gain the whole world [Kosmos] is the work of the carnal mind and is a huge deception we have mercifully been delivered from.
Luk 9:25 For what is a man advantaged [profited], if he gain [rule over] the whole world [G2889 – outward “kosmos”], and lose himself, or be cast away?
Desiring the world and to rule over it is loving the world, which is following Satan and his temptations.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world [Kosmos], the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world [Kosmos].
The elect do judge the world or the Kosmos, but this is refers to all of mankind when in the age to come. It is for this very purpose that we are being saved now and made into the Lord’s army and instruments by which all men are saved in time to come.
1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
The word G1093 or “GE”, on the other hand, represents “the earth” and is also spoken of as “the land”, representing the promised land that is given to spiritual Israel.
G1093, γῆ, gē
Total KJV Occurrences: 243
earth, 188
land, 33
ground, 18
Having dominion over “our earth” is inheriting the “promised land”, it means salvation, the Living Christ is come to us. This is the three-day process by which the Lord draws us to Himself and saves us from our sins.
Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth [G1093]
The Lord comes to save men by destroying their first earth, not the outer world of kosmos, but their carnal existence with fire.
Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth [G1093]; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Our Lord’s appearing in our hearts and minds … IN HEAVEN …, brings the spiritual fire that destroys and consumes our carnal mind. That is what the signified words for fire consistently represent in the Bible, and it changes not when we get to Revelation 20. Fire is the Spirit of God; it is His Word, specifically, THE COMMANDMENTS, which is, was, and will be burning up all things that defile us in the day we are given to hear those words.
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Eze 22:31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.
The profit to our new man is the death and destruction of our beast and false prophet in the lake of fire, the Living Commandments that is Christ, in which we now dwell after we receive the Promise.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Fire being poured out on the earth in Rev 20:9 is spiritual speak for judgment being poured out upon our carnal existence that is the earth. Our salvation comes by way of the destruction of the first Temple [the land, the earth] and that by fire, the Living Commandments that dwell in our heaven.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy [with spiritual fire] for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Spiritual fire from our heaven remakes a new earth wherein dwells righteousness, which is our obedience to Christ. The new earth is the result of our reigning with Christ in Spirit for one day, which is the same as 1,000 signified years, which ushers in our day of the Lord, bringing the spiritual fire and heat that destroys death [the carnal mind] in us and remakes a new heaven [mind] and a new earth [walk/deeds]. Peter spoke of the same remaking process by the fire that is the Commandments. It is a new you, not a new outward world.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth [the promised land, our earth, not the Kosmos], wherein dwelleth righteousness.
The Lord is not a liar nor a hypocrite. He strongly rebuked the disciples when they wanted to call literal fire to consume the adversaries.
Luk 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
Luk 9:55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Luk 9:56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them …
Literal fire “killing” [also smiting] all of humanity would make the Lord’s covenant with Noah to all mankind a false promise. The Lord spoke to Noah and said He would never again smite all living on the physical earth.
Gen 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more everything living, as I have done.
It is from such an exalted place that men concoct all kinds of abominations, including burning God’s creation with literal fire.
Jer 32:35 And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
Any doctrine that makes God a liar and contradicts His example is coming from the evil one who roams our earth seeking whom he may devour. The Lord burning His creation with literal fire has never come into His heart.
Jer 7:30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
Jer 7:31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
Any teaching that takes Revelation 20 literally is a false doctrine, as it turns our Lord into a monster doing the very abominable acts He forbids. Literal fireballs killing all mankind on the physical earth [Kosmos] is a strong rebuke to the false teaching of an outward Millennium Reign. This false doctrine is just a repackaging of the Babylonian false doctrine of eternal hellfire that the more blessed elect get to avoid.
Walking by faith means accepting that we don’t know all the details about the end of the world or how humanity will cease to exist. Our focus needs to be returned to things of the Spirit within the Kingdom of God. The new man is reigning over our earth [the promised land], and as a result, we gain dominion over sin as our carnality is being destroyed by fire.
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth [G1093 GE, not the kosmos]
Our time to reign over the earth is now, as we die with Him to death, which is the Second Death. To do so, we suffer the destruction of our old way of life and thinking.
2Ti 2:11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Lord willing, spiritual fire, the Commandments is falling from our heaven right now. This fire is also the light that guides us on the right path. This fire is destroying the old man, the first man Adam, the flesh in all of us. The fire makes way for the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, to emerge.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
This fire from heaven is putting to death our carnal mind and devouring the spirit of Satan within that is roaming our earth. The result of this fire falling is a remaking of a new heaven and a new earth, and the consuming up of the spiritual sea that is our flesh.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea [the carnal mind, flesh, the deep where Leviathan, who is Satan, dwells]
We are not told specifically how the outward physical earth, the Kosmos, comes to an end. That was never the intent or subject of Revelation 20.
“The Destruction of Satan”
Satan is not a single being that can only be in one place at one time, as many of us have been taught and may believe to this day. Satan represents collectively all the evil spirits created by the Lord, who is the Father of all spirits. Satan is an instrument the Lord created and controls and directs in bringing salvation to all men. All was created for God’s good purposes and is used by Him to bring salvation in the appointed time.
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Job 2:6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
Living out our lake of fire experience, the spiritual event that is God’s judgment, is for the destruction of the devil and his millions of messengers [angels], which are the carnal thoughts and lies of men and all the world. The very purpose of the lake of fire is for the destruction of the adversarial spirit and the lies [carnal thoughts] contrary to faith.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels [messengers, thoughts and reasonings]
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
The spirit of Satan is the spirit of the world and is integral to the Lord’s plans in creating all men and then remaking those same men [pieces of clay] by way of destruction. An adversary and tempter was needed to try the faith of the saints and teach us obedience through an experience of evil.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
The heaven and the earth that begin the Bible at the Lord’s creation in Genesis 1:1 is within all men. That is where Satan is operating in the kingdom of God within every man. The parable of the sower shows us Satan at work within our hearts and minds, deceiving and being a liar to our minds from the very beginning.
Mar 4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
Satan is “in there”, in your heaven [mind] and earth [heart/walk], and he is put there purposefully by the Lord to be used for our good and be an adversary and tempter, through which the Lord brings salvation and destroys our flesh and carnal mindedness.
Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
The good fight of faith requires God’s people to do battle against Satan and all offspring of the father of all lies. The battle rages in heaven first and subsequently on our earth, as the sum of the word tells us. It is all used for good, showing us our sin and bringing the fire that consumes it.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heaven
Rev 12:17 And the dragon [Satan] was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Until the Lord’s work is finished in us, Satan always remains roaming our earth seeking whom he may devour, which is why we need to stay on guard always.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
All demons [lying spirits] are considered to be Satan. You can see that in the story of Christ being accused of being under the power of Beelzebub when casting out devils.
Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
Mat 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan [evil spirit casting out an evil spirit], he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
Satan is the prince of the power of the air and the god of the world or Kosmos. The spirit of Satan is destroyed in every man, only in the lake of fire in the appointed time. Getting this spirit and enmity against God removed is the last milestone of our salvation. The destruction of death, and the father of it from our heavens and earth, is the last enemy of the Lord, as we saw from 1 Corinthians 15.
The one holding the power of death in us must be destroyed, and that is what the Lord is doing when spiritual fire falls from heaven onto our earth, bringing truth and righteousness that burns up the adversary.
Rev 20:9 And they [Satan and his army] went up on the breadth of the earth [G1093], 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 end of Satan in our members is the end of sin and death in our members. No more devil equals no more sin. It is the consummation of why Christ comes to us.
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
As we cited earlier in the study, after Satan is no more, the Lord says “It is done.” The work of God is complete when Satan, the father of death, is no more. It is then that we see the Holy city of Jerusalem descending down out of our heaven as we have been remade into the sons of the Living
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
The defeat of Satan within every man is essential for death to be destroyed in every man.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Satan lives in all flesh, which is the sea in spirit and known as the deep. The sea is going to be no more; there is no more playground for Satan.
Isa 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Psa 104:26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
Satan being cast into the lake of fire, where our beast and false prophet already have been cast, takes away death and the torment and inner struggles we have endured our whole life.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead [Satan, Leviathan operate in the deep] 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.
The events of Revelation 20 are not to be avoided but instead are hastened unto. All things are being made new by the Lord’s fire. The end of our carnal way of life is the second death which is the other side of the same coin that is being resurrected into new life.
The Is, Was and Is to Come Coming
The whole Millennium Reign lie has even deeper roots and tentacles that continue to be weeded out and burned up in the fire as the Lord leads us to a greater understanding. Jesus is not coming to reign on the outward earth, yet our correction of that false doctrine is even larger. He is not coming back to the outward physical earth whatsoever. We see Christ’s, the Living Commandments, return to us in the same way He departed from the physical world. He appears from heaven in those in which He dwells as the Promise. Christ is resurrected in each of His saints.
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Christ is made known, revealed in our heavens, when we break bread with His Christ. This is our studying, preaching, and obeying the Gospel that is the Commandments. The parable of the walk to Emmaus reveals this truth.
Luk 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Luk 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Luk 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
Luk 24:34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Luk 24:35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
Those given the gift of faith and eyes to see, having an earnest deposit of the same Spirit, know He has already come back to them and that Christ continues coming in every generation as men are judged and translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Christ is the firstborn from the dead in every man in their time of judgment in the lake of fire. He is come in the flesh of His Body by way of the Promise. The elect of God who are Christ, the little flock redeemed from among men continues to grow as the Lord adds to the church and brings in the Gentiles in every age.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Act 2:47 … the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
This error of men has led to all kinds of twisting and perverting the simplicity of the Gospel into different rewards, two events, and experiences. We as God’s elect who have received the mercy of the Lord are merely the first workers in the Lord’s vineyard. We have no greater rewards or lesser punishments than what the Lord gives to every man. We worship God, and to Him goes all the honor and the glory.
Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Our only boast is that we know the Lord in Spirit and in Truth, all because of His mercy and none of ourselves. Desiring to be used of God in spreading the Gospel, a bishop or a deacon is a good work we can pursue. This begins by walking circumspectly in the Gospel of the Living Commandments.
1Ti 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
1Ti 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1Ti 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
We trust the Lord to open the spiritual eyes and ears of those in whom He is making Himself known in this age.
Draw near to Christ, the Gospel, the Living Commandments, and He draws near to us. Receive ye the Gospel.