JOHN FORESAW a day in the distant future when God would make all things new.

He heard a voice from the throne of God saying, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

This week, we summarize the final two chapters of Revelation and John’s vision of the world that is to come. The new Jerusalem, a massive city about 1,380 miles on a side (roughly the distance from New York City to Dallas), descends from heaven and puts an end to the need for sun and moon, for God Himself will be its light.

And with our 300th episode, we wind down the six-year run of Unraveling Revelation. There is certainly more to explore in Bible prophecy, but due to recent health challenges we need to cut back on our work commitments and allow ourselves more time to rest.

We invite you to follow our weekly program The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries, where we will continue to dig deeply into the Word of God. The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries is available at YouTube.com/@TheBiblesGreatestMysteries, the Gilbert House Ministries channels for Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, or our free mobile app (available at GilbertHouse.org/app).

AFTER BEING imprisoned for a thousand years, Satan returns and leads “the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle”. Is this Armageddon or a second war altogether?

We believe the millennial reign is a literal thousand year period that follows Armageddon, and so the conflict described in Revelation 20:7–10 is a second war. How is it possible if, as we’ve said in an earlier episode, Gog is the Old Testament concept of Antichrist, and the Beast was thrown in the lake of fire before the thousand years (Rev. 19:20)?

Excellent question. To be honest, we don’t know. It’s possible “Gog” is a title rather than one specific entity. It may also be that because Gog is a spirit being and not a man, the normal rules of life and death don’t apply. However, we must admit that amillennialists, who don’t believe in a literal thousand-year period of Satan’s confinement, would say that the answer is simple: Revelation 20 and Ezekiel 38–39 describe the same war.

We disagree, mainly because we find it impossible to believe the world wold be in its present state while Satan is bound and Jesus reigns on Earth.

We also discuss the fate of the dead at the Great White Throne Judgment. There appears to be something different about the dead who come from the sea and those given up by Death and Hades. The sea is a biblical symbol of the abyss and primordial chaos (i.e., Leviathan). In Job 26:5–6 we read, “The [Rephaim] tremble under the waters and their inhabitants. Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.” The parallel verses suggest a link between the Rephaim (spirits of the Nephilim destroyed in the Flood) and the sea (the abyss/chaos), and Sheol (place of the dead) and Abaddon (which Derek argued in The Second Coming of Saturn was the Hebrew concept of Tartarus).

Note that Job 26:5 in the Septuagint is rendered, “Are not giants brought forth from beneath the water and its neighbors?”

In short, we believe Revelation 20:13–14 is not just a description of human dead, but the final judgment of the Nephilim.

MATTHEW 24:29–30 is often used to support a post-tribulation rapture. Is that really what Jesus meant?

The verses read: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:29–30, ESV)

Alan DiDio, author of the compelling new book They Lied to You About the Rapture, tells us that, taken in context, that verse refers to the Jewish people and that the rapture of the church is a separate event.

He also explains the significance of the number 7 in Revelation and the timeline of the events described in the book. We also discuss replacement theology, the belief that the church has replaced Israel in end times prophecy, and why it isn’t biblical.

We conclude that God probably end times prophecy somewhat difficult to understand because the fallen realm studies it, too!

NOTHING STARTS Christians arguing faster than asking about the timing of the Rapture.

Alan DiDio, author of the compelling new book They Lied to You About the Rapture, explains that while he (and we) believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture, we are often just as guilty of spreading misconceptions about this event as those with other views.

Alan explains how we know the doctrine of the pre-trib rapture did not begin with John Darby—mainly because there are numerous writings from Christian theologians prior to Darby, going back to Irenaeus of Lyon in the 2nd century AD, who expressed this view.

For a special offer on They Lied to You About the Rapture, visit the SkyWatch TV store: https://bit.ly/swtv-didio

Revelation 20 tells us Satan will be bound for a thousand years. We think this is a future event, but some prophecy scholars think we’re in the thousand-year period now, while others believe it’s just symbolic.

We discuss the millennial reign, the binding of Satan, and the differing views of the thousand years of Satan’s captivity.

THE BIBLE describes three feasts around the time of the final battle of the age.

Two of these feasts are gruesome. The first takes place at the end of Revelation 17 when the Beast and the ten kings who serve him—supernatural entities, not human political leaders—turn on the great prostitute, Mystery Babylon, “and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.” (Rev. 17:16)

The next takes place as believers rejoice in heaven at the fall of Babylon. This is the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6–10).

Finally, there is “the great supper of God,” a sacrificial feast for the “birds that fly directly overhead” (i.e., vultures and carrion birds) to “eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” (Rev. 19:17–18). For centuries, Bible commentators have noted the parallels between this feast and the one at the end of the war of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 39:17–18). It’s not a coincidence; John described the same event as Ezekiel. In other words, the war of Gog and Magog ends at Armageddon.

What’s more, Jews of the Second Temple period understood that “the mighty” in Ezekiel 39:18 and 20 were “the Travelers” of verse 11—that is, the Rephaim, spirits of the giants (Nephilim) who died in the Flood.

This shouldn’t surprise you. After all, this battle is the culmination of a long, supernatural war that began in the Garden of Eden.

THE GOSPEL is encoded into the very letters used to write the first verse of the Bible.

Carl Gallups, author of the forthcoming book Golgotha’s Groaning, shows us why we can’t separate the New Testament from the Old because God’s covenant with us is built into the alphabet used by the prophets.

THE GOSPEL is encoded into the very letters used to write the first verse of the Bible.

Carl Gallups, author of the forthcoming book Golgotha’s Groaning, shows us why we can’t separate the New Testament from the Old because God’s covenant with us is built into the alphabet used by the prophets.

ISRAEL PLAYED an essential role in God’s plan to redeem humanity through the Messiah, Jesus. That role is not yet complete.

Messianic believer Larry Stamm (LarryStamm.org), author of Jewish Roots of Christianity, explains how replacement theology—the belief that Christians have replaced Israel in end times prophecies—falls into Satan’s trap of making God out to be a liar.

THERE ARE great gulfs between the Judaism of today and the way it was practiced in the time of Jesus. And this has affected how Jews and Christians interact.

Larry Stamm (LarryStamm.org), author of Jewish Roots of Christianity, joins us to share his personal testimony as a Jewish believer in Yeshua, explain why it’s become difficult for Christians and Jews to discuss the faith, and tell us how a better understanding of the roots of our faith will help us to share the good news with our Jewish brothers and sisters.