Chapter 16 – Revelation’s Perspective

After the 6:1 Ratio a New Heaven and Earth

The conclusion of Chapters 15-20 end with the saints in Heaven during the 1,000-year millennial period, God invites the saints to audit the books, the recordings of the angels, designated by God to provide an accurate accounting of each person’s life. This indeed is a most interesting development, for who would question God’s assessment concerning who should be saved and who would be among the lost.

It might appear obvious that this consideration is what brought heaven to the place of rebellion once before. Lucifer, the light bearer, one of the covering Cherub’s was not invited onto the throne itself, entering into perhaps confidential conversations and future plans with the Father. Christ being one with the Father was of course included in any consultations and further development of God’s creation, which especially included our Earth. We could never discover the depth of the “mystery of iniquity”, but certainly one element of discontent by Lucifer was his exclusion from that inner circle.

Now back in heaven with the faithful God is not only allowing but requesting a review of His own decisions. This very action is a testimony of His amazing wisdom, love, and character. There may be individuals there that demonstrated on earth their disdain for God and His plan, even perhaps those who were despicable in their treatment of others. There may be some there that history testifies of their brutality to large groups of people, even nations. Perhaps there are even personal friends that you knew, relatives, children, co-workers, that displayed questionable behavior and moved in a direction contrary to God’s teachings, and yet grace has bought them all, at some point they made the barter; self-centeredness and wickedness, traded for Christ perfect righteousness.

Then there is the other side of the coin, those that we considered bright lights who do not appear to be there. All of this observation will create a question concerning God’s judgment, and He knows the importance of answering these concerns. He is playing the role He has always played, Merciful, Compassionate, loving and still offering us the opportunity to reason with Him, answering our questions. He has established this opportunity in the blueprint, even before the circumstance arises.

This millennial period in case you hadn’t noticed is the 1 in a 6:1 ratio. We are informed that one day with God is as a thousand years (2 Pe. 3:8). This one, “God-day” or one-thousand years is the contrasted ratio of human probationary time, allotted for the sin problem to run its course, six-thousand years of human probation – than the one thousand years of audit during the millennium. After this cycle of time has run its course, the saints return to this earth with God and the New Jerusalem (Rev.21:2).

This probationary period has been illustrated in other ways as well, as if God did not want us to miss it. During what I would call the Adamic dispensation, the period of time allotted to the antediluvians, what could only be called a super-race of people, super-size, super intelligent, displaying incredible longevity (average age before the flood 912 years). Noah was of that generation and lived 350 years after the flood, with 1,650 ticking off the scroll of history before. The Adamic dispensation covered the first 2 “God days”, or two-thousand years of world history.

During this dispensation of time the lives of His children came into review, God did not like what He saw, and confronted His children during a specified period of time (120 years), they must make a choice for or against Him. As you know this is the story recorded in Genesis 6-8 with Noah and the Ark. This period of time would be significant; God did not simply pull an arbitrary period of time from His hat. One-hundred and twenty years was allotted to Noah for the project, the building of the recue ship if needed and all the subsequent supplies for such an adventure.

This one-hundred and twenty years would become another 6:1 ratio. God would eventually establish with His children in the Jewish dispensation a period of time called a Jubilee cycle. This is a fifty-year cycle of time, the 50th year is the one following the culmination of seven Shemitah cycles (seven-year periods). The jubilee year was similar to the Shemitah year, one when the land was at rest, when assets were returned to their original owners etc. The seventh Shemitah year followed by the Jubilee year meant two consecutive years when the
land was to rest. The Jubilee was particularly an illustration of the millennial period (I,000 years) when the whole earth itself would be at rest.

One hundred twenty of these jubilee cycles would bring us to this millennial period. This one hundred and twenty years of extra probation provided to Noah and his generation was a representation of the entire probational period for humanity, (120 jubilees X 50-year cycle = 6,000 years) contrast this with the millennial period of one thousand years: 1,000 years divided by a jubilee cycle of 50 equals 20 cycles. 120 cycles divided by 20 cycles equals a 6:1 ratio of time. (the millennial period is the 1 in the 6:1 ratio).

There is also another representation using the 120 number that may be just coincidental. When you calculate the number of generations through each dispensation, you come to 120 generations that will have lived on the planet during its probation. Due to the great age of those that lived during the Adamic dispensation, only 10 generations occurred (Adam to Noah was ten generations). The patriarch Abram received the Covenant mantle from Noah, being nearly 60 when Noah died, 350 years after the flood. Abram was the beginning of the Jewish dispensation, which began around 1967 B.C. and ended as many may know in 34 AD; this is the second 2,000-year period. In this dispensation of time we cover the generations from Abraham to Christ. This calculates to another 41 generations as described in Matthew chapter one, (Matt. 1:17).

This leaves 69 generations to bring us to the 120 and must be accomplished in the last dispensation. The Christian dispensation covers also 2,000 years and it is in this one that we must rely on the average age of each generation. This has been estimated at about 29 years of age which brings us really close to the exact number of 120 total. (just a thought).

After the millennial period the book of Revelation records (chapters 21-22) the descent of the Holy City coming down from heaven. God is relocating His throne to this earth, incorporated into the city Jesus promised to construct for the saints, (John 14:1-3). Whereas chapter 20 focuses on the fate of the people, both the redeemed and the lost, chapters 21-22 emphasize some of the physical characteristics of where the saints will spend eternity.

This is the final 6:1 framing aspect of the book of Revelation; the main focus of chapters 15-20 deal with the falling of the plagues, close of probation, and second coming, the millennial period in reality becomes the conclusion of the close of probation, it is only after God allows the auditing of the books that every case is fixed for eternity. Notice the final pronouncement that the sin problem is over is made in chapter 21:6, “It is done”, this occurs after the wicked receive their sentence and are destroyed, sin has been purged from God’s perfect creation. Six chapters dealing with the last results of sin; than God’s faithful, living in the city prepared for them for eternity.

The first part of what we call chapter 22 is an extension of chapter 21 and concludes with this statement, then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”, (Rev. 22:6). The remainder of this chapter takes us right back to the beginning of the book, a literary procedure of tying all of the content together for a specified period of time. Verse 10 uses a phrase found in chapter one, “for the time is at hand”, the key Greek words make it clear that the book was written for the time just before probation would close, the next verse (11),
is that very declaration, he that is unjust let him be unjust still…etc. If this was going to be in the mid or late eighteen hundred’s, then all revealed in the book of Revelation would have had to have been fulfilled, but because this did not occur, those fulfillments became applications pointing towards the ultimate fulfillment.