The purpose of this study was to address the following statements made by one of our forum members, which we believe contradict the teachings of the scriptures:

“Following the Lord’s Second Advent the earth is to be destroyed, empty, darkened, silent, and devoid of all life (except for Satan and his demons).”

Likewise his statement that:  “All those verses like in Isaiah 24, Jeremiah 4, etc. which describe a desolate, empty, uninhabited Earth refer to the destruction that happens in “the day of the Lord” when He comes “as a thief in the night” according to Peter, when the heavens and earth pass away and burn up, leaving behind nothing but a bunch of ashes on a desolate rock for a thousand years.”

“When Jesus comes back, ain’t nothing on this planet going to have a pulse until after the 1,000 years.

“Jeremiah also says “the slain of the Lord in that day shall be from one end of the Earth even to the other end” (Jer 25:33)…They’re not going to be lamented or gathered or buried…because nobody is going to be here.”

So what did we learn from this study?

We believe we have proved conclusively from the scriptures that there would indeed be life on the earth in the “Day of the Lord” when he would come “as a thief in the night”, and that this “day” would not just encompass the “Day of Vengeance” (Isa. 61:2; 63:1-4), i.e. the great time of trouble and its aftermath, but that it would likewise encompass the entire thousand years of the millennial age from its very beginnings at the end of the first 6000 years from the creation of Adam to its final work in the restoration of all things.

The beginning of this thousand year period marked the end the age and the harvest (Matt 13:39) the time for the separation of the wheat (true Christians) and the tares (false or nominal Christians), and of course this work could not begin until the “Chief reaper” or “Lord of the Harvest” (Matt 9:38) was present to oversee the work, and so it was that our Lord made his invisible return or Parousia (presence) at the appointed time (1874 A.D.), at the end of the first 6000 years and the beginning of the seventh one thousand year day, “the day appointed” (Acts 17:31).

As the harvest of the first advent (the Jewish age harvest) did not begin until Christ came, so the harvest of the Second Advent (the Gospel harvest) begins with Christ’s personal presence.

The next major event to take place was the resurrection of the sleeping saints this followed subsequently by the gathering and translation of the rest of the Lord’s “jewels” as each individual makes their calling and election sure, and is found faithful until death (Rev 2:10).

What other things are to take place during this “Day of the Lord” (the thousand years)?

There are things which have already taken place and or are in the process of taking place and there are those things which have yet to have taken place.

One of the things which is in the process of taking place is the judgement of the nominal systems, the great whore, Babylon the Great, which includes both Mother (Catholicism) and daughters (Protestantism). NOTE: it is the systems which are judged at this time NOT the people, the individuals who inhabit these systems.

The verdict has already been rendered, “Behold, your house is left to you desolate” (Matt 23:38), “Babylon the great IS fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!” (Rev 18:2)

The word fallen is the past participle of fall or falling, it implies that which is dated, or past tense.

Note that the word “fallen” is repeated twice in the text, this in itself may be symbolic of the fact that this is but a partial fall, a fall from favor, but not yet to total ruin. Totality (or completeness) is usually expressed by a three-fold expression such as is found in Rev 4:8 and 8:13.

“Babylon was (or had been, at one time) a golden cup in the Lord’s hand (a repository of divine truth)…” (Jer 51:7), but now she is cast out from being his mouthpiece, because of her “lukewarm” condition (Rev 3:15, 16) having become totally corrupted through the doctrines and teachings of men she has become, “a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every fowl spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird”.

“A DWELLING PLACE OF DEMONS”

Not only of the literal demons, but also as is symbolically expressed in their influence over the teachings of men, which have corrupted “the faith once delivered to the Saints”. This faith once delivered has been distorted (leavened) out of all semblance of its original simplicity; the hope set before us in the Gospel has been changed to another hope all together entirely, unlike the original; the spirit of the Lord, love, has been perverted to a selfish love for the creeds of men and of human organizations and institutions, all because foolish men gave heed to these “deceiving spirits” and their false doctrines (1 Tim 4:1)

“A PRISON FOR EVERY FOWL (UN-CLEAN) SPIRIT”

“We encountered “unclean spirits” in Rev 16:13. They were teachings — demon-inspired teachings [as was expressed by the Apostle in 1 Tim 4:1].

Why are unclean spirits imprisoned in Babylon?

Apparently the teachings of Babylon have become so irrational, so out-of-touch with reality (for example their foolish ideas concerning the eternal torment of the wicked, the immortality of the soul, the rapture, the antichrist and the supposed seven year tribulation etc. etc.) that no other place is willing to house them! Therefore the spirits (teachings) are confined to (imprisoned in) Babylon, a sort of Tartarus-like condition (i.e. without the ability to function elsewhere) as no one but the blind who follow the blind would be willing to except them.”

“A CAGE FOR EVERY UNCLEAN AND HATED BIRD”

“Again, Babylon is a prison because these birds cannot find anywhere else to function.

They are held (captive, imprisoned) in Babylon because it alone satisfied their needs. Unclean birds represent selfish profiteers (opportunist, who profit from the branches [shade, protection] a.k.a. false ministers, authors and so-called Christian writers peddling their wares) – they are just like buzzards, which constantly search for “easy meals, food already killed for them (dead or nominal Christians). Thus Babylon provides ready “customers” for those “Christians (?)” who build their business schemes on their fellow parishioners. The birds are described as “hateful.” Their attitude is hatred, the very opposite of the true Christian.

Jer 5:23-29 provides an additional understanding for this verse. “Wicked Men” (Verse 26) are the trapped and caged birds. These poor nominal Christians (blind guides) have been made into birds of prey, skeptics who selfishly feed on each other on whatever will get them through life comfortably and profitably.” (Excerpts taken from the New Albany Notes on Revelation, Edited)

We will continue with this in our next post.