A. Unbelievers who have died are very much awake and alert.  They’re in a place we call Hades or Hell, a temporary place of torment where they await their final judgment at the end of the millennium.  Rev. 20:13-14 says that at the Great White Throne judgment death and Hades will give up the dead that are in them and then they’ll be thrown into the lake of fire along with everyone whose names are not found in the book of life.

A. The support for building another Temple on the current Temple Mount is historical not Biblical.  That’s where the first and second temples were built.  Ezekiel 48 is the only place in the Bible that specifies where the next Temple will be, and that’s several miles north of the current Temple mount.  Part of the problem is that Christian scholars have thrown another Temple into the mix which they call the Tribulation Temple and which is supposed to be built between what Jews call the 2nd and 3rd Temples.  They see this Temple being built on the current Temple Mount, either where the Dome of the Rock stands or just north of it.  Their thinking is that this temple will be built at the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week, desecrated by the anti-Christ, and later destroyed making way for a 4th one, the one described in Ezekiel.  Since the Bible specifically mentions only 3 Temples, I don’t support the Tribulation Temple hypothesis.  For more detail on my opinion read The Coming Temple

A. The Bible tells us the armies of Heaven and the Church are both with Jesus when He returns.  But Zech. 14:4 mentions only Jesus actually setting foot on the ground .  The others are seen in the air.  And later, the same is true of the New Jerusalem.  It’s described coming down out of Heaven, but never landing (Rev. 21:2).   It’s a good thing, too.  At about 1/6th the size of Earth it’s too big to put anywhere, except in a low Earth orbit.  The Church will dwell in the New Jerusalem, not on Earth (Rev. 21:27).

A. A careful reading of Rev. 20 shows that Verses 7-15 are a parenthetical insert  that John used to carry the dispositions of Satan and the unbelievers to their final conclusion while he was on the subject.  Then in Rev. 21 he returned to the beginning of the Millennium to describe the New Jerusalem, home of the Church.  There are several clues in the text that support this view.  First, Rev. 20:7 begins, “when the thousand years are over” indicating that John has skipped to the end of the  Millennium.  Second, Rev. 21:1 is a direct quote from Isaiah 65:17 where the context is clearly Israel’s Kingdom Age, aka the Millennium, and third the first 5 verses of Rev.22 are a summary of Ezekiel 47, which is also about the Kingdom Age in Israel. And then there’s the mention of the trees growing a different fruit each month in Rev. 22: 2.  This reference to time is also in Ezekiel 47:12 and confirms that John was not talking about eternity, which by definition is the absence of time.

In my opinion the view that Rev. 21-22 are about our eternal state after the Millennium, though popular, is incorrect.

Also, The Bible says that both the Lord and His Church will abide in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22-27) and both the Lord and His Church will reign on Earth. (Zech 14:9, Rev. 5:10).  How this will happen in not explained, but that it will happen is clear.

A. Although I’m convinced the Bible says we’ll all know each other personally after the Rapture, I haven’t found anything that defines our various relationships in greater detail.  An advantage you have is that the Rapture will likely happen before your children reach the age of accountability.  Tragically, some mothers have to face the possibility that one or more of their children may be left behind.  But one thing is certain.  When we get there we’ll have no regrets about any incomplete or unfulfilled dreams from this world.  Otherwise it wouldn’t be heaven.

A. Isaiah 65:17 says, “Behold I will create new heavens and a new Earth, the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” In Rev. 21:1 John used this verse to open his description of the New Jerusalem at the beginning of the Millennium. In Rev. 21:4 he said that for its residents (the Church) there would be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away.

To me these two statements mean that by the time the Millennium begins any unpleasant memories from our old life on Earth will be erased so that nothing can inhibit the unrestrained joy we’ll experience in our new one.  Whether or not this happens at the time of death for those whose lives end during the Church Age is not disclosed.

A. As we first saw in the days after the resurrection, the resurrected Lord is not bound by space or time limitations. The Bible says that both the Lord and His Church will abide in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22-27) and both the Lord and His Church will reign on Earth. (Zech 14:9, Rev. 5:10) How this will happen is not explained, but that it will happen is clear.

A. Yes, I’m afraid it does means that on Earth there will be sin in the Millennium.  That’s why there will be daily offerings for sin in the Temple right from the beginning (Ezekiel 46:13).  In the most personal sense, it’s not Satan that causes natural man to sin, it’s natural man’s sin nature.  I believe that one purpose of the Millennium is to demonstrate that there are no circumstances under which natural man can live a life pleasing to God.  All Satan does at the end of the Millennium is to organize and lead the rebellion against God that will have been building in the hearts of men all along.

A. From Old Testament times the promise to Israel has been that one day the Kingdom would be restored and God would return to live with them in the Promised Land. This promise is fulfilled in the Millennium. (Ezekiel 43:1-7).  Daniel 12:1-2 speaks about the resurrection of Old Testament saints at the end of the Great Tribulation.

A. The only thing we know for sure is that we’ll all be glad to just be there.  And nobody will feel bad about what they have or don’t have, or think they’re not as good as someone else.  These are all earthly emotions that will go away when we are transformed in the rapture. Rev. 4:10 says that those who have crowns will lay them at the feet of the Lord, acknowledging that it’s because of Him that they received them.