Revelation Chapter 20

Revelation 20:1

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.

I think we often think of angels as extremely powerful beings and, with the exception of a few, having the same amount of power. Because of their immense power we don’t really consider the fact that they would need to draw power or help from God for certain tasks. We have seen them in scripture demolish the region where Sodom and Gomorrah were found. When they mated with women of the earth they created the giants of old. And now here we see one coming down prepared to seize Satan and bind him up. What an incredible task. I mean there are limitations to what angels are able to accomplish on their own. The angel Gabriel said he was detained 21 days by the prince of Persia until one of the chief princes, Michael, came to help him. So we therefore think Michael to be one of, if not the mightiest angels in God’s arsenal but scripture states that even he has limits. “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you.’” Apparently even Michael cannot decide to do and say anything he pleases to one of God’s creatures of whom he has no dominion over without the Lord’s help. That being said, I don’t know if angels feel any type of anxiety but if they could this would be a moment for such a feeling. This angel is about to do something it has likely never seen before, restrain the devil, Satan. God be with him.

Ref: Genesis 19; Daniel 10; Jude

Revelation 20:2

And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment...” Oh what a wrong view we have of what the end times will entail. It’s at this point that I ask myself, if Jesus is on earth beginning His reign, why doesn’t He just deal eternally with Satan and his angels? Why the thousand year hiatus rather than being done with him completely? One thing is made certain at this point though, and that is the confirmation of Satan’s work from almost the beginning. He is referred to as dragon, ancient serpent, the devil and Satan. Ancient serpent puts his existence into antiquity and also in the early stages of the book of Genesis. He was in the garden with man, asking the very same question we love to ask today, “did God really say..?” Did He really say not to eat of the tree? Did God really say, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Did He say, “the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth”, or “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man? From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man”? Did He really say to Abraham, “for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever”, or ““Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land...and they will be afflicted for four hundred years” or again “And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring?” Did God really “meet him (Moses) and sought to put him to death” or tell him “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring. ’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there?’” Did Jesus really say, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away?” Surely He didn’t say “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” or ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

This twisting serpent is now being seized with chains for a thousand years so it will be interesting to see how humans react when we are no longer able to blame him for the twisting of scriptures and left to only our own hearts and the teachings of Jesus alone while He reigns upon the earth....

Ref: 2 Peter 2:4; Genesis 2:16-17, 4:7, 8:21, 9:5, 13:15, 15:13, 21:13; Exodus 4:24; Deut 34:4; Matt 5:29, 6:15, 7:21

Revelation 20:3

and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

That he might not deceive the nations any longer… What if our enemy was no longer a threat? Do we think things would be any different? If Satan were bound up today, what would tomorrow bring? We’d like to think it would be an automatic utopia on the earth but I don’t believe that would be the case, mainly because we would still be here. When we read these verses in Revelation it’s easy to assume that the days following this and for 1000 years afterward that things would be excellent but would that be true? Satan is locked up, our King is reigning on the earth, and all is well in the world. Not so much. For 1000 years people will be taught and ruled over by God, either directly or indirectly but all will not be well, for our hearts never cease to be desperately wicked. Even today the word declares that all scripture is profitable for training in righteousness but that doesn’t make us righteous anymore than Jesus being on the earth will. On the earth this will be a period of time where we must obey the very words of Jesus without excuse. The devil is no longer here to blame all our problems on but he will be returning in a short time and it seems that the inhabitants of the earth will be ripe for the taking...more on that later.

Revelation 20:4

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Thus far we have seen a fourth of the earth possibly slaughtered during the fourth seal and then later a third of mankind killed at the sixth trumpet. We’ve seen the killing of those who want to harm the two witnesses being killed by fire and the image of the beast able to cause those who wouldn’t worship to be slain. Then we saw possibly the most frightening of these scenes, Jesus treading the winepress, literally stomping people to death. Who could be left upon the earth? As it seems, quite a few people possibly. The nagging question seems to be, who exactly are those He calls grapes that are gathered up and thrown into the winepress: the simple answer is the sons of the evil one as spelled out in Jesus’ parable of weeds. So it seems that the devil and his children are all destroyed and all that remain are the sons of the kingdom as scripture puts it. Along with the sons of the kingdom there is a group we have seen before. They were formerly below the altar in heaven and later wearing white robes; those who had been beheaded and had not worshiped the beast or received the mark. That’s it. If you or I die right now we get to wait in death until the second resurrection along with everyone else who has died before us. It appears that if the tribulation comes and we die by any other means than beheading, we get to wait until the second resurrection. These are the rules for our part in the initial reign according to scripture.

Revelation 20:5

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.

“Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out — those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment.”

-Jesus-

Out of all the passages in the Revelation of Jesus this was probably one of the most troubling and eye opening passages in this book. It is such a simple verse that explains so much theology and also is contrary to what most Christians believe and are taught. Once I understood what this verse was saying, many different scriptures began to make more sense than they ever had. God has a time and place for every one of His plans and when we try to force ourselves into a place in scripture where we do not belong that is when we have to begin to twist scripture, making it say what was clearly not intended. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years are ended. This simple sentence caused me to ask, who are those then in the first resurrection, and the answer came in the previous verse. Those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and who had not worshipped the beast and so on. EVERYONE else does not rise until after the thousand years. Everyone outside of this group is subject to death and is kept there until the second resurrection. No “rapture” people are here because no such event takes place. Everyone who died before the tribulation will not be here. How much simpler could He have made His word to us...everyone else has to wait. If you want a sure fire way to be reigning with Christ for the initial 1000 years then you have to wait until the beast comes and then get your head cut off while being faithful. If not that, then you are subject to the second death (more on that later). We have been given and have believed a lie that we will enter into the kingdom of heaven upon our death and this is simply not true. We wait, and wait, and wait until the end, the last day for the second resurrection to come. Have mercy on us, Lord.

Ref: John 5:28‭-‬29

Revelation 20:6

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

“I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, AND THOSE WHO HEAR WILL LIVE.”

-Jesus-

Heading back to Jesus talking to the church of Smyrna, He referenced Himself as the one who died and came to life; which is interesting since He later references the second death. His instruction to them was that some of them were going to be tested for 10 days by Satan, but they need to be faithful to the point of death and will receive a crown and not be hurt by the second death. So we fast forward to this verse and we see that Jesus has raised them who were beheaded in the tribulation to life. It appears they get a victor’s crown because they reign with Him for 1000 years. In addition to that He referenced them as having tribulation and poverty (though they are rich). Buckle up Christian. God holds for us a 3 ½ year period where we are not able to buy or sell unless we receive the mark of the beast or the number of his name. There is no best life now existance for the Christian during the tribulation, but it does seem poverty will be set before us. Make no mistake though; Jesus says those in this time are rich. That is one heck of a trade, poverty and trouble in exchange for the second death having no power over those. Can you think of a more terrific gift? Everyone else has to wait for judgement and I’m betting that extra 1000 years will not just fly by for those waiting, but will drag on and on, wondering about that second death. At the second resurrection it describes books being opened and everyone judged by what was written in the books. Now I tend to believe this group will not be a part of that but even if they are, how much easier will that be, knowing that you’re safe from the second death no matter what. This is salvation at its finest.

Ref: Revelation 2:8-10, John 5:25

Revelation 20:7

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison

For 1,000 years, Jesus reigns on the earth. He reigns over His people and people are reigning with Him. But it appears that His people are not the only ones on the earth during this time. There are other kingdoms and peoples on the earth at least at some point during this time. What is not exactly clear is who or where these people are from. What is clear is that the only people at this point who is eternally safe are those who were resurrected because the second death has no power over them. So there are others on the earth that have not died as of yet. In addition to that it is entirely possible that people are following the Lord’s command: being fruitful and multiplying. This is the portion of scripture that really points out the extent of our wicked hearts. The beast(s) have been thrown into the lake of fire and Satan has been locked up, leaving Jesus at the wheel. One would naturally think that since good has triumphed and the vessels of evil are no more or locked up; that everything would be good. No, humans are still on the earth and our hearts are still desperately evil. Though Jesus is the only choice for 1,000 years, when Satan is released we see something extraordinary. Given another choice, many on the earth turn from Jesus. We will see that play out in the next few lessons.

Revelation 20:8

and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.

Jesus has been ruling on earth for 1000 years so it seems logical that the entire earth would accept Him and His teachings but as we saw when He first appeared this is simply not so. It’s easy to look upon those in the pages of the gospel and judge them for not seeing Jesus for who He is but the truth of the matter is that none of us would naturally choose Him. This is why it is important that God chose us. For 1000 years Satan was not to blamed for anything on the earth so it would seem as though things were all good but naturally the human heart is desperately wicked and when there is another ruler who is released upon the earth, people reject Jesus’ righteous decree and follow after Satan. But Satan is not the story here. In Ezekiel 38-39 there lies a prophecy of this very time. “Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste.” Jesus has been in Israel reigning and in the latter years (as in 1000), they are mustered, many people who’s number is like the sand of the sea and will rally against the land of Israel, which had formerly been a waste; for it had been given to the gentiles to trample for 42 months. “On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages.’” So we asked a question earlier, why would Satan just not be defeated forever rather than locking Him up for 1000 years? Scripture has to be fulfilled. On that day, when Satan is released, he goes out to deceive the nations by putting a thought into their mind. That thought, “I will go up against the land of unwalled villages.” They will descend upon Israel because it appears to be vulnerable but the Lord of hosts is with them and Israel could not be in better hands.

Revelation 20:9

And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,

“This is what the Lord God says: On that day when My people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know this and come from your place in the remotest parts of the north — you and many peoples with you, who are all riding horses — a mighty horde, a huge army? You will advance against My people Israel like a cloud covering the land. It will happen in the last days, Gog, that I will bring you against My land so that the nations may know Me, when I show Myself holy through you in their sight.” It’s at this point I ask myself, how much more can you show the people of the earth? We have almost gone through the entirety of Revelation, who exactly is claiming not to know God at this point with all that we have seen? Nevertheless, Satan is revealed yet again with Gog and Magog to come against the camp dwelling securely at Zion. They have been dwelling securely under the careful eye and protection of King David and his King, Jesus. Again we see a paradox of sorts where Satan is sent to deceive and gather troops for battle and then in another place God says, “In the latter days I will bring you against my land.” He does this so that the nations may see and know that He is Lord of all, “when I show Myself holy through you in their sight.”

“And every man’s sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and brimstone on him, as well as his troops and the many peoples who are with him. I will display My greatness and holiness, and will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.” This is how He is making Himself known, “My wrath will flare up. I swear in My zeal and fiery rage.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God and yet this is where He has lead them in order that He might be made known eternally.

Ref: Ezekiel 38-39

Revelation 20:10

and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

-Jesus-

We don’t give it a lot of thought but the lake of fire was prepared for this moment. I think the reason we don’t often make this distinction because in the next verse we begin the process of judgement so it seems that the devil doesn’t spend a lot of time there before he has company, which is most likely not the case. I’d also venture to say that at this point there seems to be only 3 inhabitants of the lake of fire, those being the beast, the false prophet and Satan. In our last couple of lessons we looked at the passages dealing with Gog and Magog from Ezekiel and something interesting happens there that affects this timeline if indeed they are speaking of the same incident. After the destruction by fire it is said, “For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord God. They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it.” God has the house of Israel, who were formerly dry bones now come to life, to go out and bury all the dead in a single area. This process takes at least seven months so that the land will be cleansed. That is a lot of dead bodies if it takes seven months to bury them all. So the question now remains, if in the next little bit God makes a new heaven and a new earth why the need to bury these bodies if they are almost about to be resurrected into judgement. It’s because apparently a passage of time occurs before judgement comes. “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years.” The weapons used in this war were so plentiful that they can be used for fire for seven years. So we know there is at least a seven year period after Satan is destroyed before the earth and heaven flee from the presence of God Almighty and there is no reason to believe that period is only seven years long. So once again, the preferred method of eternal life is being beheaded for the testimony of Jesus. In this way you get to spend the optimal amount of time with our Lord and Savior.

Revelation 20:11

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

“I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze!”

-Jesus-

The Father; the Alpha and Omega has finally appeared. This is the moment the entire world has been dreading from the beginning. How awesome is this appearance from the almighty, where the earth and the sky flees from Him. Everything is about to be brought into judgement before the One sitting on the great white throne. If the earth and the sky (which we believe to be inanimate so to speak) are fleeing from His presence I would argue it is not going to go well for those of us who are living thinking beings. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” In the opening chapters of Revelation Jesus was speaking to the churches and said of one that He had found their works unfinished in the sight of His God. When we couple this with Solomon’s teachings, those works are simply keeping His commandments, which we are absolutely terrible at. Paul taught in 2 Timothy about us enduring hardship as a good soldier of Christ and then went on to compare that to an athlete that is crowned only if he competes according to the rules. Those rules, the ones Solomon says are the whole duty of man, are to obey God. This is what is referred to as the great white throne judgement, when all of creation answers for the obedience and disobedience toward the Creator; and it is now here. Have mercy, O God.

Ref: Ecc 12:13-14

Revelation 20:12

I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

“Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come out — those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment.”

-Jesus-

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” The most appropriate response to this situation I believe is: Lord, have mercy. Everyone who has died is now seen before the judgement seat of God. There are books that are opened, and then another book is opened. The dead are judged according to their works that are written in the first books that were opened. As we learned in the last lesson, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” And again, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” All are judged by their works. You, me, Jonah, the people of Nineveh, the queen of the South, Solomon, and everyone in between, before and after are all seen being judged by what was written in the books. This appears to be everyone that has ever died since the beginning of mankind with the exception of those who were beheaded and were a part of the first resurrection, since their works followed them. I say this because these people in the second resurrection are seen dead and it was made known that the second death has no power over those of the first resurrection. It is not until this other book, the book of life, is opened that we learn about who else exactly gets to bypass the second death. I can't think of another instance in history that is more frightening and important than this. To be judged by everything we have done, hidden and otherwise, all the while waiting on this other book to be opened to see if your name had ever been written in it; and if it had to see if it remains there. We know from chp 13 that the names written in the book have been there since the creation of the earth. These are the elect of God; those whom He has chosen and were ransomed by Jesus. I mentioned waiting to see if the name remained there only because Jesus had mentioned earlier the possibility of being blotted out of the most important second book. The names remaining are not only those that are the ones found chosen, but rather the called-chosen-and faithful followers; those who persevered to the end. As it is written, “Yet she (Eve) will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”

Ref: 2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 25:31-34; Ecc 12:13-14; Luke 11:29-36; 1 Timothy 2:15

Revelation 20:13

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

What happens to us when we die? If we die in the sea we remain in the sea. It appears that if we die elsewhere then it is determined where we will call home for the foreseeable future, Death or Hades. These two places are seen in Jesus’ telling of the story of Lazarus and the rich man, where Lazarus saw Death and was in Abraham’s bosom and the rich man was found in the place of torture, Hades. I argued back during our look at the 4 horseman that it appears Christians can find themselves in either place when they die and that, according to Jesus, the prerequisite for which one we found ourselves in was whether or not we received good things or not on this side of the grave. Now there may certainly be more to it than that but I also see nothing in scripture that says a Christian, whose name is written in the Book of Life cannot find themselves in Hades. Nevertheless at this point all of those arguments no longer matter for all the dead, from righteous Abel to the last dead who died before this moment, are given up. This agrees with what is written: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment”, and again, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” In the very first setting God laid it out clearly that upon death we return to the earth. It appears it was never intended for us to exist any length of time in heaven but rather to wait on the earth (for it was created originally as our home) until called into judgement. And what exactly does this judgement entail?...everyone being judged by what they had done. “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” Just like Jesus told us again in Matthew 25 that He separates all the resurrected by whether they had served the poor and those in jail and so on into either eternal life or eternal punishment by what they had done.

Ref: Hebrews 9:27 Genesis 3:19; Matthew 12:36

Revelation 20:14

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

“But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You? ’ “Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’”

-Jesus-

If we let it, this verse clears up so much confusion we may have about death, hell and eternal punishment. First it is obviously talking about 3 entirely different places: Death, Hades and the lake of fire. We can understand death fairly easily as simply the place we go when we die, even though most Christians don’t agree with this because we tend to take all the best promises and places in scripture and place ourselves in them wrongly. Mostly we believe when we die we go to heaven, but that is not our resting place and this scripture agrees with that. Where we mainly get confused is believing that Hades is the final resting place of the evil but scripture says no such thing. Like death, hades is a secondary place where people go when they die. It is a place of torment as well but not the final place. Another misconception I believe we wrongly hold is that all those who go to Hades are evil and their final fate is sealed. The past couple of verses has at the least hinted that this may not be the case. I say that because they have not been judged yet at the time of going to either Death or Hades so how can we be so sure of their final destination? In the account of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man says something strange about the place where he found himself. He asked Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers “so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” He was not asking to send a warning that they may believe and be saved from the lake of fire but from Hades where he was. Since Jesus is the one telling this account I believe this has powerful implications to us and any other dead; that there very well may be forgiveness of the eternal sort found after physical death. Why else would the rich man be warning them about that place of torment, which is temporary, rather that getting their life right altogether and avoiding Hades AND the lake of fire? It may very well be that in the end, the rich man finds his name written in the book of life. Now I’m not at all advocating waiting until the next life to accept Jesus as your savior but it may be presumptuous of us to believe that those who have died are already pre-judged and on their way to being eternally punished.

Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. This second death is the one skipped by those who truly did find themselves under the altar in heaven, having been beheaded during the tribulation. Another scary thought is that at this point, they may be the only ones who have been truly saved from this second death at this point. For everyone else it appears that some may be just as shocked to escape this second death as those who will make the lake their home will be shocked of their destination. It seems the rich man was fully stunned about living his best life now and then woke up to torment. In the end it may be that either group may find themselves in the second death or saved, each one according to the election of God and the work of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 20:15

And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

“I will erase whoever has sinned against Me from My book.”

-The Lord-

There is much speculation to the how and when names are written in this book and if they can be erased from the book of life. First, the when. In chapter 13 the beast was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world. This means that whomever will be saved in all of creation, were known to be saved by God, before they were born. “And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” God’s purpose of election trumps all, and it is entirely up to Him who gets to be written in this book regardless of the acts of good or evil one might perform in their lives. Those acts are judged in the other books discussed earlier. God therefore has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy and hardens whom He wants to harden. So if I am to be saved eternally God foreknew it and wrote my name in the Lamb’s book of life.

But now to the controversy. Can a name be blotted out of this book? Modern Christianity mostly agrees that the answer is no. Scripture cited for this include being sealed by the Spirit (as if that has to be eternally), and that nothing can separate us from the love of God. There are a few hiccups in this theory though. First is that there are several places in scripture where a person has, and is in fact filled with the Holy Spirit, only for the Spirit to leave them. One of the most prominent people this occurs in is King Saul who was filled with the Spirit and later is rejected by God. In Hebrews it talks about how impossible it is for a person who has shared in the Holy Spirit and who has fallen away to be brought back into repentance. Another argument for the blotting issue is that why would God choose them, writing their name in the book if He surely knows they would be erased? In Matthew 8 Jesus says, “Truly, I tell you...many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And in another place He said, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.” The final and most compelling reason is this: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” Obviously Jesus feels negatively about loose words, seeing that He is the Word; to the point where we will have to give an account for empty words. Why then would He decide to use words that mean nothing? Earlier in Revelation He said, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.” If a blotting of names CANNOT occur why mention it? This would seem to be a empty word if it has no possibility of happening, especially having been given a condition of conquering. If He really didn’t mean that then there are those who don’t conquer that will be left in the book despite scripture clearly describes those conquerors as having endured and persevered through the reign of the beast without having worshiped him or bowing down to him. These acts are the only ones in Revelation which disqualified people eternally from entering the kingdom and was almost a prerequisite for those whose names were not written in the book of life. These people who are not to be found in the book, whether they were never written or having been blotted out will too be thrown into the lake of fire.

Ref: Romans 9:10-13