Life Discovery Series

Revelation's Millennial Reign

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Jim Reinking

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Series Code: LDS

Program Code: LDS000006


00:34 We certainly learned in recent nights
00:36 that we are living in the final days
00:38 of world's history.
00:39 I think that is clear,
00:40 I know that's clear from the word of God
00:42 that Jesus is soon to return to this planet of ours
00:45 with all the angelic host of heaven with Him.
00:49 And as we have discovered His coming
00:52 some people to call it the rapture
00:53 His coming will be an open event
00:56 in which the earth will come to a cataclysmic end.
01:00 But remember for God's people it's our time of escape.
01:06 And as difficult as those times may be we again remind ourselves
01:10 of the promise that Jesus Himself gave us,
01:14 that He will be with us always even to the end.
01:19 And He is going to get us through.
01:22 It is a given for those who love the Lord.
01:25 We're gonna discover tonight
01:27 that the coming of Jesus marks the beginning
01:29 of the millennial period of time.
01:32 And because it does
01:33 just because the subject is such a beautiful one
01:36 let's do a quick review
01:38 of some of the things we discovered last night
01:40 beginning with Revelation 1:7
01:43 where it says, "Behold, He is coming with the clouds,
01:46 and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him."
01:50 Evidently there is gonna be a special resurrection
01:52 for those who crucified our Lord.
01:55 And it says, "And all the tribes of the earth
01:57 will mourn over Him."
01:58 Speaking about those who will be left behind
02:01 when Jesus comes for His people.
02:04 And then you will remember
02:05 we were into 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18,
02:08 I just love this passage of scripture, it's so powerful.
02:12 It just really puts it all together
02:13 where it says, "For the Lord Himself
02:15 will descend from heaven with a shout,
02:18 with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God,
02:22 and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
02:25 And then we who are alive
02:27 and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds
02:30 to meet the Lord in the air,
02:32 and thus we shall always be with the Lord."
02:37 I'll just think how wonderful that day is gonna be
02:40 when those who have died in faith
02:43 are going to be resurrected.
02:47 The dead are going to live again.
02:51 And my friend, Jesus makes it all possible
02:58 because of what Jesus has done for us.
03:00 And then I remind you of the promise
03:02 that Jesus Himself gave about His return in John 14
03:06 and looking at verse 2 and 3,
03:08 where it says, "In My Father's house
03:10 are many dwelling places,
03:12 if it were not so, I would have told you
03:14 for I go to prepare a place for you."
03:17 As I mentioned last night there is a place
03:19 for every one of us in heaven.
03:21 Jesus is preparing it for us.
03:24 We have something to look forward to with anticipation.
03:27 And then He said, "If I go and prepare a place for you,
03:30 I will come again and receive you to Myself,
03:34 that where I am, there you may be also."
03:38 So, clearly when Jesus comes back for us,
03:43 where is it that He takes us to?
03:48 He takes us to heaven,
03:50 because its there that He is been preparing places for us.
03:54 And so that's important we will see
03:57 as we go further into our study tonight
03:59 as it relates to the millennium.
04:01 And then we talked about some of the powerful things
04:03 that we're taking a place on the earth
04:05 that the coming of the Son of God.
04:08 Where it says in Revelation 16 and beginning with Verse 18
04:11 "And there were flashes of lightning
04:13 and sounds and peals of thunder
04:16 and there was a great earthquake,
04:17 such as there had not been
04:18 since man came to be upon the earth,
04:21 so great an earthquake"
04:23 it says, I mean this is just hard to fathom
04:26 when you think about this universal earthquake
04:28 that's going to be taking place at the coming of Jesus.
04:33 It's gonna be massive, its--
04:35 you know, the old earth as I said last night
04:37 its gonna be shaking to and fro at the powerful presence
04:41 of the return of the Son of Man.
04:44 And then verse 20 says "And every island fled away,
04:47 and the mountains were not found."
04:49 The very crust of the earth is gonna be broken up
04:52 at the presence of Jesus when He comes.
04:56 This massive earthquake
04:58 that will take place at His coming
05:01 and so His coming marks the end of the world, it's the end.
05:06 And then we also-- you will remember Matthew 24:37
05:10 where Jesus said, He said, "But as the days of Noah were,
05:15 so shall also the coming of the son of man be."
05:18 And we could notice some of the parallels
05:20 between what happened in those day,
05:22 wickedness, evil, violence was increasing
05:26 greatly upon the earth and God stepped in and He--
05:32 you know, God said, I'm not gonna let this go on,
05:34 I'm gonna stop it right here, okay.
05:37 In other words, God sets limits
05:39 to how far evil is going to go, right.
05:44 He set limits and praise the Lord He set limits
05:46 because without that if evil really had free reign,
05:51 we really would have
05:52 even greater problems than we have.
05:54 And we see the parallels in our own day.
05:58 And violence and all of these horrible things
06:00 that are happening
06:02 and we will remember that Noah preached his message
06:04 for a 120 years urging people to repent
06:08 and to get in the ark
06:09 and to avert the coming destruction.
06:12 They by in large just laughed at him,
06:15 rain, end of the world.
06:18 And we know what happened to those who were left behind,
06:21 they were destroyed weren't they, in those floods?
06:24 Again God did everything He could
06:27 to persuade them to get in the ark.
06:31 In the same way He is seeking
06:32 to persuade everyone He possibly can
06:35 that through faith in Jesus Christ
06:37 they need to be ready for the coming of Jesus.
06:41 The 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8
06:44 it says, "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
06:46 with His mighty angels in flaming fire,
06:49 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God
06:52 and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus."
06:58 My friend, I just assure you
07:00 God just takes no pleasure in this,
07:02 but they have left Him with no alternative.
07:06 But somehow this idea that, you know,
07:08 after the coming of Jesus
07:09 there is got to be another chance
07:11 for all of this folks that are going to be lost.
07:14 But take a look at 2 Corinthians 6:2
07:17 where it says, behold
07:18 "Behold, now is the acceptable time,
07:20 behold, now is 'the day of salvation.'"
07:24 Not some future point,
07:26 it's now that we must make our decision for Jesus.
07:30 My friends, it's gonna be too late
07:32 if we wait until the end comes.
07:35 And then you know we have this idea
07:37 when we see these things happening
07:38 then we're gonna get serious about,
07:40 it will be too late, it will be too late.
07:43 And it also robs the final message
07:46 that God gives to the world,
07:48 they robs it of its urgency.
07:52 Well, you know, you'll have another chance,
07:55 but, my friend, that again is not what we find in the Bible
07:59 Jesus predicted,
08:03 He said, "In this gospel the kingdom shall be preached
08:06 in the whole world for witness to all the nations,
08:09 and then the end shall come."
08:13 And so when it comes
08:14 right down to the final days of world's history
08:17 the gospel will do its work worldwide
08:21 fired by the power of the Holy Spirit.
08:24 It will go to every nation, it will go to all peoples
08:30 and its then, its then that decisions will be made
08:34 for eternity one way or the other.
08:38 Take your Bibles and turn with me
08:39 to Revelation 19 the New Testament page 199,
08:44 Revelation 19 and beginning with verse 11.
08:47 Remember I said earlier that the coming of Jesus
08:50 marks the beginning of the millennium
08:52 and so let me nail that one down.
08:55 Revelation 19 and beginning with verse 11.
08:59 We have a description of the coming of Jesus
09:02 in the typical prophetic symbolic language
09:06 of the Book of Revelation.
09:08 And we are gonna discover that in the next chapter
09:11 we're going to be in it quite a bit tonight
09:14 the next chapter is the chapter on the millennium.
09:16 So contextually we're looking at
09:18 what happens just before the millennium.
09:21 So there it is
09:25 John said, "And I saw heaven opened,
09:27 and behold a white horse,
09:28 and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True,
09:32 in righteousness He judges and wages war."
09:36 By the way, again where do that war that conflict began?
09:40 It begin in heaven, we know that from Revelation 12:7-9.
09:44 And the conflict of warfare continues where?
09:48 Here upon this planet, doesn't it?
09:50 We're in the middle of it.
09:52 It is a warfare and a conflict
09:54 over the control of every heart of us.
09:58 And the question again being who will we decide for?
10:02 And so there is this conflict it is spiritual,
10:06 but it's a very real conflict.
10:08 Notice the description of him verse 12,
10:10 "His eyes are a flame of fire,
10:12 and on His head are many diadems,
10:15 and He has a name written on Him
10:17 which no one knows except Himself.
10:20 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood."
10:23 Again this is a prophetic language.
10:24 "And His name is called The Word of God.
10:27 And the armies which are in heaven,
10:29 clothed in fine linen, white and clean
10:31 were following Him on white horses."
10:34 And so, here in the Book of Revelation
10:36 the coming of Jesus,
10:37 He has described His coming as a concurring king
10:41 with His vast angelic holds this army
10:46 that attends Him on his way.
10:48 And if you read through the following verses
10:51 through the end of the chapter
10:52 again you'll see judgments
10:54 that will be falling upon the earth.
10:56 And those who are left behind it's the end, it's the end.
11:02 The word millennium itself is not in the Bible,
11:05 it really comes from two Latin terms
11:09 that have been put together
11:10 that is the word Latin term "Mille" which means a thousand
11:15 and the word "Annium" which means years.
11:18 Our word annual comes from this Latin term.
11:22 So, when we talk about the millennium
11:23 it just a way of describing
11:26 the thousand year period of time.
11:29 So as we are just about ready to move
11:32 right into the millennium
11:35 what have we discovered happens at the beginning
11:38 of the thousand year period of time.
11:40 Well, this we know because we know
11:42 the coming of Jesus marks the beginning of the millennium.
11:45 First of all we know just as Jesus had promise
11:48 that His people all are swept away to heaven, right.
11:52 They go away to heaven.
11:54 They are not here upon the earth
11:56 during the thousand year period of time.
11:58 And for those who left behind
12:00 the wicked and believe me when we put together
12:03 the mark of the beast
12:04 and how that place out in the end time
12:06 a lot of this will make a lot more sense.
12:09 Why again those who are left behind are slain
12:13 as it says in Paul's writings to the Thessalonians,
12:16 are slain by the brightness of His coming.
12:19 And so with that massive earthquake
12:23 God's people swept away,
12:25 the earth is in a desolated state.
12:29 Let's move on to Revelation Chapter 20.
12:33 You are there aren't you?
12:34 Because we're gonna pick it up.
12:37 In Revelation 20 and beginning with verse--
12:41 we want to look at verses 1 through 3, verses 1 through 3
12:47 where it says that "I saw an angel
12:49 coming down from heaven,
12:51 holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
12:56 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old,
12:59 who is the devil and Satan,
13:01 and bound him for a thousand years.
13:04 And he threw him into the abyss,
13:06 and shut it and sealed it over him,
13:09 so that he would not deceive the nations any longer,
13:12 until the thousand years were completed
13:14 and after these things he must be released for a short time."
13:18 So the first thing we note
13:19 of in regards to the thousand years
13:21 Satan is thrown into the abyss
13:24 he is bound for 1000 years
13:26 and then remember it says
13:28 he will be release for a short time.
13:30 We will pick that up before we are done.
13:32 What is the abyss?
13:34 You know, some how conjecture
13:38 that may be some black hole out there in the universe,
13:41 but its just conjecture
13:42 because there is nothing in the Bible
13:44 that would indicate that.
13:46 My friend, the abyss is this earth in its desolated state
13:52 and Satan is bound here to this, this-- to the planet.
13:57 It's interesting as we look at Jeremiah 4
14:00 and begin with verse 23 on the screen.
14:03 We find that Jeremiah envision sees looks upon the earth in--
14:09 during the millennium period of time
14:11 and this desolation that has taken place upon the earth.
14:15 And He is doing something quite interesting
14:17 that Jesus Himself did in Matthew 24.
14:21 That is Jeremiah was predicting the judgments
14:24 and the desolations that were gonna take place in Jerusalem
14:27 because of the rebelliousness centuries of God's people.
14:33 And then prophetically he uses that imagery
14:38 to describe the final desolations
14:41 that will take place upon the earth.
14:43 He makes a universal application to the end times.
14:47 And so this is what he records, "I looked on the earth,
14:51 and behold, it was formless and void,
14:55 and to the heavens, and they had no light.
14:58 I looked on the mountains," Jeremiah said.
15:01 He is looking at the earth, he is looking at the mountains
15:04 and what did he find?
15:06 Well, "He looked on the mountain,
15:08 and behold, they were quaking,
15:10 and all the hills moved to and fro."
15:13 Does that connect with anything
15:14 that we've studied in regards to the coming of Jesus?
15:17 Absolutely.
15:19 Revelation 16 that massive universal earthquake
15:24 that will engulf the earth at the coming of Jesus.
15:27 That's what he is seeing
15:28 as he is looking down in time envision.
15:31 And he goes on to say,
15:32 "And I looked, and behold, there was no man,
15:34 and all the birds of the heavens had fled."
15:37 The earth was in a depopulated state.
15:40 And, my friend, it has to be
15:41 this period of time that he is looking at
15:43 because it could be no other,
15:46 because we know that God's people are not here
15:49 again Jesus has taken them to heaven to those places
15:52 He has prepared for them.
15:54 And we know the wicked are not here
15:57 because as in the days of Noah they are destroyed.
16:02 So the earth is in the depopulated state.
16:05 And he said, "And I looked,
16:07 and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness,
16:09 and all its cities were pulled down
16:13 before the Lord, before His fierce anger."
16:16 And so the cities of the nations fall.
16:19 Revelation 16 also speaks of this.
16:22 But how about this matter it says before His fierce anger.
16:27 How do we deal with that when we talk--
16:30 when we've been talking about a loving God?
16:33 How do we deal the God who is described here--
16:37 all of this destruction happening
16:38 because of His fierce anger?
16:41 Well, my friend, there really is
16:43 and again we touched on it before
16:44 but I'm gonna come back to it
16:46 because people have been so troubled over this matter
16:48 that God is angry.
16:50 But remember I said the other night
16:51 somebody better be angry about all that the horrible things
16:54 that are happening upon this planet.
16:58 And He is as I indicated God is not just somewhere out
17:04 there in the universe and just kind of marking time
17:07 and just, you know, God is just really wrapped up
17:12 really wrapped up and deeply involved
17:16 with what's happening on this planet,
17:18 the horrible things that are happening
17:20 which means He is wrapped up deeply
17:24 involved with what's happening in your life and my life
17:28 as we're dealing with the horrible things
17:31 that sin has brought to this planet.
17:34 And He is angry
17:35 about what has happened to His children.
17:38 He has got this plan,
17:39 He is gonna save us those who will.
17:43 And in the end He is going to destroy it.
17:47 Sin is a cancer that in the end must be eradicated
17:54 and it's in love, right.
17:57 It's a loving God that brings it to an end, a loving God.
18:00 But I wanted you to notice at the first part of this verse
18:03 it talked about it was looking on the earth
18:06 and it was without form and void.
18:08 That reminds us of another passage
18:10 if we think about it back in Genesis 1:2
18:16 where it speaks of the earth being without form and void.
18:21 This is before the six days of creation.
18:24 You know, some creation scientist have again up,
18:28 you know, they've theories
18:30 that, you know, there was something,
18:32 there was something here when God came to this planet.
18:35 It was in a chaotic state.
18:37 Again the description is that it was without
18:40 form and it was void.
18:43 And they've conjectured
18:46 that may be God in some past ages
18:49 came to this solar system and put the planets into place
18:55 and then in time came back to this planet
18:59 and created life on it.
19:01 So He put the skeleton, the solar system in to place
19:04 in the past and came back to it.
19:06 But whatever the case may be
19:07 the earth was without form and without void
19:11 the same term use over Genesis Chapter 4.
19:14 It's interesting that in the Greek translation
19:16 of the Old Testament
19:19 when they translated this term
19:21 that the earth was without form and void
19:23 in Genesis the word they used
19:25 in the Greek is the word "Abussos."
19:29 That's where our word,
19:31 our English word Abyss comes from,
19:34 it's derived from the Greek.
19:38 And speaking of a place that is chaotic, broken down,
19:43 it's without form and void.
19:45 And they did the same thing when they came to Jeremiah 4,
19:49 when they came to that term
19:50 without form and void the word is Abussos.
19:55 And it's the same word
19:56 that we find here in Revelation 20
19:59 in regards to Satan being bound to the abyss.
20:04 It is this earth in its desolated place.
20:07 And Romans 10 bears this out Romans 10:7
20:10 where the question is asked
20:12 "Who will descend into the abyss?"
20:14 Descending is not going out and up,
20:17 up and out, descending.
20:20 "Who will descent into the abyss?
20:22 That is to bring Christ up from the dead."
20:27 So what is the abyss?
20:32 It's the grave.
20:34 It's the place the abode of death.
20:38 And, my friend, that is what the earth has become.
20:42 We also would ask the question in what sense,
20:44 in what sense is Satan bound to this earth?
20:48 And again I'll remind in the Book of Revelation
20:50 we have prophetic-- we have prophetic terms,
20:53 we have quoted symbolisms and one of the great dangers
20:58 in trying to interpret the Book of Revelation
21:00 are those who want to take a littlest approach
21:05 to the interpretation of the Book of Revelation.
21:08 For instance they would say
21:10 that those chains are actually caves.
21:14 But, my friend, really when you look at the book
21:16 it is coded, it is symbolic,
21:21 it is not to be understood literally.
21:24 I mean, consider how he is been carried out his freedom
21:27 upon this planet with certain parameters
21:29 that God had put into place.
21:31 I mean, he has been tracking us for the moment
21:33 we are born into life to the moment that we leave it.
21:36 He is been hounding us
21:38 with the determination to take us down.
21:41 Again remember he hates us
21:43 because we are the supreme objects of God's love.
21:46 And he knows that when he brings misery
21:48 and when he brings suffering
21:50 and if he could take us down the road of rebellion
21:54 that he can bring pain to the heart of the God.
21:58 I mean he is just down right mean.
22:02 And so that's how he is been,
22:03 you know, what he is being doing upon this earth.
22:05 But you see at the coming of Jesus
22:07 suddenly things change fundamentally.
22:10 Suddenly the people of God are swept away.
22:12 He can't bother them, he cannot trouble them any longer,
22:16 he can tempt them and the wicked they are died.
22:23 And so as it's been said he is bound by circumstances
22:28 and he is bound to this earth in his tessellated state.
22:33 Do you see something of the justice of God
22:35 that Satan and his wicked angels
22:37 are bound to this earth for thousand years
22:40 with all of this destruction?
22:41 And, my friend, it's all because of their rebellion.
22:44 This once was a paradise.
22:46 This is what sin had brought it to.
22:51 It led to destruction.
22:53 And yes for a thousand years
22:55 he will be wandering over the surface
22:57 of this planet this abyss.
23:00 But remember it says "He will be released for a short season."
23:06 I take you next as we move on Revelation 20
23:10 and we're gonna look at verse 4.
23:13 In verse 4 we're going to discover
23:15 what God's people are doing
23:17 during the millennial period of time,
23:19 during the thousand years.
23:20 And this is what we find Revelation 20
23:22 and beginning with verse 4,
23:24 John says "Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them,
23:28 and judgment was given to them."
23:30 Now, we want to identify who it is
23:32 that they that is sitting upon these thrones
23:35 to whom judgment was given to them.
23:38 It goes on to identify them actually,
23:40 he said, "And I saw the souls of those
23:42 who had been beheaded
23:43 because of their testimony of Jesus
23:46 and because of the Word of God.
23:48 And those who are not worshiped the beast or his image
23:51 and have now receive the mark
23:52 on their foreheads or on their hand.
23:55 And they came to life."
23:58 Obviously this is talking about God's people, right?
24:01 They came to life,
24:03 that's speaking of the resurrection
24:06 and furthermore it says,
24:07 "And they reigned" they reigned
24:09 "with Christ for a thousand years."
24:13 So, God's people are resurrected and they reign
24:17 and my friend, it identifies
24:19 who it is that's sitting on the thrones.
24:23 Judging this is the millennial judgment
24:27 that we're talking about.
24:28 First Corinthians 6, the New Testament page 132, 132.
24:34 First Corinthians 6 and we are gonna be looking
24:37 at verses 2 and 3.
24:39 Now Paul is writing to church
24:42 that is having a lot of problems,
24:45 lot of difficulties.
24:46 Gross immorality was going on and tolerated in the fellowship.
24:51 They were at each others throats,
24:54 they were in conflict with one another,
24:56 they were actually suing each other
24:58 in the secular courts of the day.
25:00 And so Paul is trying to bring peace
25:03 to the church in Corinth.
25:05 And notice what his appeal is
25:08 about those who were suing their brothers,
25:10 their sisters in the secular courts.
25:13 First Corinthians 6: 2 he says
25:16 "Do you not know
25:17 that the saints will judge the world?"
25:21 Did you know that Bible teaches
25:23 that saints will judge the world?
25:25 Absolutely.
25:27 And he says, further
25:28 "if the world is to be judged by you,
25:29 are you not competent
25:30 to constitute the smallest law courts?"
25:33 Can't you settle these issues among yourselves as Christians?
25:37 If you're gonna be judging the world,
25:39 why would we be judging the world?
25:42 Well, my friend, there is some real good reasons
25:45 why we're involved in this phases of judgment.
25:47 We're gonna discover
25:48 there are three phases of judgment in the end time.
25:50 We're gonna be looking at two of them tonight.
25:55 And so we're taking you
25:57 to the millennial phase of judgment.
26:01 And it involves God's people judging the world.
26:04 You see even in our judicial system
26:07 we have this concept that an individual ought
26:11 to be judged by their peers don't we?
26:15 That's why we have a jury system,
26:17 the idea that we ought to be judged by our peers.
26:20 And, my friend, God has this view
26:22 in His Judicial system
26:24 as it plays out in the end time
26:27 that the world ought to be judged by their peers
26:31 that will be us if we are there by God's grace.
26:36 And you see there are some real reasons
26:39 beyond just the fairness and the justice of God
26:41 that we are involved in this judgment,
26:43 because, you know, somewhere,
26:44 you know, I tried to describe last night
26:46 how wonderful its gonna be
26:47 when Jesus comes to find ourselves,
26:50 you know, being drawn off the earth,
26:52 being drawn into the presence of Jesus
26:55 and all of those angels that are singing
26:57 these wonderful glorious songs
26:59 it's just gonna be such a thrill,
27:01 but I know somewhere in the process
27:04 I'm gonna begin to look around among the redeemed.
27:08 I'm gonna be looking for those that I loved
27:10 and knew best upon this earth.
27:12 I'm gonna be looking for family members,
27:14 I'm gonna be looking for my wife,
27:17 gonna be looking for my two sons,
27:19 David and Kevin, gonna be looking for friends.
27:23 I'm gonna be looking for those
27:24 I've had the privilege of bringing to Jesus Christ.
27:27 And I tell you when we find
27:29 and I think all of us will have an interest to know
27:32 are they to make it, are they're there,
27:35 were they true to Jesus till the end?
27:39 And I tell you when we find some of those
27:40 that we have loved best on this earth
27:42 and we find that they are there,
27:43 you know, we are going
27:44 to wrap our arms around each other
27:47 and together we are going to shout, halleluiah.
27:51 I tell you our joy in being in heaven
27:54 is increased by the fact
27:56 there will be some of those that we've loved here
27:58 that are there with us.
28:01 But you know we all have a choice
28:04 and undoubtedly we're gonna find some
28:06 that we've loved here in this earth who are not there.
28:10 And there is going to be some sadness.
28:12 It's interesting it's not until the end of the thousand years
28:15 that it says that God wipes away our tears.
28:18 I think there will yet be some grief
28:21 for those that we thought would be there
28:23 but we're not there.
28:24 And so there, you know, God doesn't want us
28:26 to go through eternity with these questions,
28:28 but mom I thought she would be there, she--
28:31 I thought she was a committed Christian.
28:34 What happened to my daughter or my son
28:37 or what happened to mom, what happen to mom and dad?
28:42 You know, I thought they would be there.
28:45 And so the judgment God allows us to see
28:50 what was happening in a way
28:52 that we could not see with the natural eye.
28:55 We will be able to see what was happening
28:57 into the hearts and their minds.
28:59 We will be able to see were they harden their hearts,
29:01 were they turned away,
29:04 because again God doesn't want us to go through eternity
29:07 with these nine questions
29:09 what happened and then when its all said and done,
29:14 when the judgment is finished in the words of Revelation 16:7
29:19 "All of God's people will declare,
29:21 'O Lord God, Almighty, true
29:23 and righteous are Thy judgments.'"
29:29 But do you know there is somebody else
29:30 that were going to be judging during this period of time
29:33 if you still there in 1 Corinthians 6
29:35 it is found in verse 3
29:37 where Paul says "Do you not know that we will judge angels."
29:43 What angels will we be involved in judging?
29:48 Oh, my friend, those evil angels,
29:50 those angels of darkness, those angels of sin
29:55 and rebellion and evil
29:58 that have brought this whole tragedy to this planet.
30:02 And, my friend, do you see any justice in God
30:04 that we ought to be involved in judging the evil angels?
30:10 Absolutely, don't you think so?
30:13 So we are involved in the judgment in judging them,
30:17 is what the Bible indicates.
30:19 So let's take another review,
30:22 let's do another review at this point
30:24 and what we've discovered about
30:25 what happens during the millennium period of time
30:28 and these things are been cleared
30:29 from the Word of God haven't they?
30:30 Number one, we know God's people have been taken to heaven
30:34 just again as Jesus has promised.
30:37 We know just as we have studied
30:38 the saints are involved in judgment
30:41 during the millennial period of time.
30:45 And what else did we discover?
30:47 The earth, the earth is desolated
30:49 it's become an abyss.
30:51 The ungodly, all of them are dead
30:54 except for the wicked angels.
30:56 And Satan is bound to the earth.
30:59 Those are the five things that we know
31:02 with certainty take place
31:05 during the millennium period of time.
31:08 Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 4:4
31:11 "Man shall not live on bread alone,
31:13 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
31:19 And my friend, that is certainly
31:20 inclusive of the Book of Revelation.
31:22 It is not exclusive of the Book of Revelation is it?
31:26 And so that which is reviled God wants us to understand.
31:31 He wants us to understand these end time events
31:34 that how things are going to play out.
31:37 He wants us to understand that He has a plan
31:40 and He wants us to understand
31:42 that everything is going to be set right,
31:45 it's going to be all right at the end.
31:48 It is.
31:50 And so He wants us to have an understanding of that.
31:54 So let's move on to what happens at the end of the millennium.
31:56 Now we look at Revelation 21:2 to begin with
32:01 and where it says, "And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
32:05 coming down out of heaven from God,
32:06 made ready as a bride adorned for her husband."
32:10 And you may remember that every night
32:12 we talked about this passage
32:13 the New Jerusalem is a capital city of the universe,
32:17 it is the city of God.
32:19 And so at the end of the 1,000 years
32:21 here comes the New Jerusalem coming down from God
32:25 out of heaven to this planet.
32:28 God is not done with this earth
32:31 is what we find as we study the scriptures.
32:34 In fact Jesus in the Beatitudes
32:36 made this statement
32:38 "Blesses are the meek for they shall inherit," what?
32:43 "They shall inherit the earth."
32:45 And, my friend, it's not talking about the ungodly,
32:48 they are noted for their neatness,
32:50 this is taking about God's people
32:52 and the promise is we will inherit the earth.
32:55 God created this planet for the human race to inhabit.
33:00 And, my friend, at the end of the millennium God
33:02 will return impart to His original plan.
33:05 We will come back with Him as we will see
33:09 to this planet and we will inhabit it.
33:12 It's gonna change a lot before that happens.
33:15 And we're gonna put that piece together as we continue on.
33:19 But we will inhabit and we will spend.
33:22 the years of eternity on the earth
33:25 Heaven is only for 1,000 years.
33:32 It's only for 1,000 years is what the Bible indicates.
33:36 And then let me take you on to John 5.
33:39 There's another piece we want to add to this
33:41 as we talk about what happens at the end of the millennium.
33:44 The New Testament page 75 John 5 and looking at verses 28 and 29.
33:50 Jesus makes a fascinating statement here
33:53 He doesn't give us a lot of details
33:56 and He doesn't put it all into any kind of sequence,
34:00 He just makes a statement about what's gonna happen.
34:04 So find your place there in John 5
34:06 and we're looking at verses 28 and 29 where Jesus said,
34:10 "Do not marvel at this,
34:11 for an hour is coming
34:14 which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice."
34:19 Notice the phrase "all will hear His voice."
34:24 Okay, and verse 29 says,
34:27 "And will come forth."
34:28 All we hear His voice and all will come forth
34:31 and what do we call that in a word
34:33 when they come forth? The resurrection.
34:37 Yes, it's the resurrection. But all.
34:42 And He goes on to say
34:43 "Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life."
34:46 Who would that be talking about?
34:48 Oh, my friend, that's not talking about the ungodly
34:50 they are noted for their good deeds, are they?
34:54 This has to be talking about God's people
34:57 and resurrection of life.
34:58 And then He goes on to say Jesus says
34:59 "Those who committed the evil deeds."
35:02 Now we know that has to be the ungodly
35:05 to a resurrection of judgment
35:07 or for the purpose of judgment.
35:10 Yes, even the wicked are going to be resurrected
35:14 is what the Bible indicates.
35:17 Which means which resurrection
35:23 will we come up in?
35:26 That is a relevant question, isn't it?
35:28 I'll come back to that,
35:29 but I want to tie this into Revelation 20.
35:33 So we go back to the New Testament page 199
35:35 and beginning with verse 4.
35:37 Jesus makes a simple statement here.
35:40 He doesn't get into a lot of detail,
35:42 He doesn't tells when the resurrection of life is,
35:45 but comparing scripture with scripture
35:47 we know the resurrection of God's people
35:49 takes place at the coming of Jesus 1 Thessalonians 4:16
35:53 among other texts that we could quote.
35:55 When He talks about the resurrection the wicked,
35:57 again He doesn't tell us
35:58 when we have to look at other scriptures
36:01 that will give us insights
36:03 to when the wicked will be resurrected.
36:07 And again we find that Revelation 20:4-6.
36:11 By the way in Acts 24:15 the Bible says
36:16 "There shall certainly be
36:18 a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked."
36:24 So, we're seeing a number of passages of scripture
36:27 that speak of the resurrection both the of God's people
36:30 and of the wicked.
36:33 And in the context of the millennium
36:36 we find it here verses 4 through 6,
36:38 I know we read verse 4,
36:40 but we have to follow the flow
36:42 of what John is describing here
36:45 so let me reread verse 4
36:47 so we can that.
36:49 John said, "Then I saw thrones,
36:51 and they sat upon them,
36:52 and judgment was given unto them
36:53 and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
36:56 because of their testimony of Jesus
36:58 and because of the Word of God,
37:01 and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image,
37:03 and had not received the mark on their forehead
37:06 and on their hand and they came to life
37:09 and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."
37:11 Currently its God's people,
37:12 it's a resurrection on the life for life
37:16 and that resurrection begins
37:18 at the beginning of the 1,000 years.
37:21 That's clear, isn't it?
37:23 That's clear.
37:25 Then he goes on in verse 5
37:27 it's as if he is answering the unspoken question
37:31 but what happens to the rest of the dead?
37:34 It's really a parenthetical thought
37:35 because his focus is really
37:37 on the resurrection of God's people through this passage.
37:40 But he does answer that question verse 5
37:42 "The rest of the dead."
37:44 And who would the rest of the dead be?
37:46 Wicked.
37:47 It would be the wicked, it would be the ungodly,
37:49 "The rest of the dead did not come to life
37:51 until the thousand years were completed"
37:56 is what the Bible indicates.
37:58 And so there is a 1,000 year period of time
38:02 that separates the two resurrections.
38:05 And by the way and I agree
38:07 when it comes to the translation here
38:10 of Revelation 20:5 they actually put parenthesis around it
38:16 to show that it's a parenthetical thought.
38:19 "The rest of the dead did not come to life
38:21 until the 1,000 years were ended."
38:23 And that parenthetical thought.
38:25 And it's a good translation of that particular verse.
38:28 And then John continues
38:30 with his discussion of the first resurrection.
38:33 So let's read that, got a part of verse 5
38:36 "This is the first resurrection.
38:37 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection
38:41 over these the second death has no power,
38:44 but they will be priests of God and of Christ,
38:47 and will reign with him for a thousand years."
38:52 Okay, so we have a 1,000 year period of time
38:57 that separates the two resurrections.
39:01 Again God's people are resurrected
39:03 at the beginning of the 1,000 years
39:05 at the coming of Jesus
39:07 and the wicked are resurrected at the end of the 1,000 years.
39:12 And why are they resurrected?
39:14 Remember what Jesus said,
39:17 for judgment the resurrection of judgment.
39:21 Again in our judicial system
39:22 we have this idea
39:26 that judgment should precede sentencing,
39:32 right.
39:34 And so it is with God
39:35 and so they're going to have their day in court
39:40 is really what we see indicated here.
39:42 But remember I shared with you
39:43 in the early part of Revelation 20
39:45 that Satan would be lose for a short time
39:48 as the wicked are resurrected in the end.
39:51 It is at that point that Satan is lose among them.
39:54 We're gonna read that verse in just a moment.
39:57 But I want to come back to the idea,
39:59 the question being in which of the two resurrections
40:03 are we going to come up in?
40:06 Wouldn't it be horrible to be resurrected?
40:11 And to look around
40:14 and find all of the evil inhabitants of this earth,
40:20 that they're, I mean to see Stalin and Hitler
40:22 and some of the--
40:23 I mean, you know, some of these mass killers
40:26 and to have the authorization
40:30 who came up in the wrong resurrection.
40:34 That would be pretty terrible, wouldn't it?
40:36 But again our decision that we make now
40:40 and determine by the grace of Jesus now
40:43 will determine where we will be there then.
40:46 And, my friend, by faith in Jesus
40:48 we really we need not worry ourselves about our fate
40:53 because it has been determined
40:55 through the blood of Jesus Christ.
40:57 Look at Revelation 20:7
40:58 as we talk about the fact that Satan will be lose,
41:01 he will be lose for a short time,
41:03 it says, "When the 1,000 years are completed,
41:05 Satan will be released from his prison."
41:09 The wicked are resurrected
41:11 and you read the next few verses,
41:13 he goes out and he organizes them into this vast army.
41:19 Remember the holy city
41:21 God and his people have come back down to this planet
41:25 and Satan is determined
41:27 they're gonna go up against the city,
41:29 they're gonna seek to take it.
41:31 It shows that he is a rebel down to the very end,
41:34 he is unrepentant and the wicked with him.
41:39 And, my friend, it's hopeless they cannot possibly prevail.
41:45 That as I've said earlier that is the insanity of sin
41:51 that they think that they could go up
41:52 against the all powerful God.
41:56 It's absolute insanity.
41:59 And then the judgment takes place
42:01 as we look at verses 11 through 13.
42:03 Let's look at it.
42:04 "Then I saw a great white throne
42:06 and Him who sat upon it,
42:09 from whose presence earth and heaven fled away,
42:11 and no place was found for them.
42:13 And I saw the dead, the great and the small,
42:16 standing before the throne."
42:18 That indicates judgment or resurrection for judgment.
42:23 "And I saw the dead, great and small,
42:25 stand before throne." Again resurrection.
42:28 "And the books were opened and another book was opened,
42:31 which is the book of life and the dead were judged
42:34 when the things which were written in the books,
42:36 according to their deeds."
42:39 Now again John is seeking to communicate to us
42:42 in language that we can understand.
42:44 Let me tell you
42:45 these are much more sophisticated records
42:48 that you and I can begin to comprehend.
42:50 And so they are brought up
42:52 and they are standing before the throne,
42:54 this is the judgment that we usually think of,
42:57 it is the final judgment, the final judgment.
43:03 Verse 13 adds "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it."
43:06 That's resurrection. "And death and Hades."
43:10 That word Hades means the grave.
43:13 "Death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them."
43:16 That is resurrection.
43:18 "And they were judged every one of them
43:19 according to their deeds."
43:23 By the way that question came in on a card last night.
43:26 Why is the judgment, why are we does the Bible say
43:29 we're judged by our deeds?
43:32 And I'd like to answer that because clearly our deeds reveal
43:37 who possesses the heart.
43:41 And, my friend, if Jesus possesses our hearts
43:44 the testimony of our lives will be that Jesus is there.
43:50 Jesus is in control
43:53 but for the wicked their deeds bare witness to the fact
43:56 that they have given themselves over to evil.
44:00 That's what it reveals.
44:03 And then we move on into verses 14 and 15
44:06 where it says, it says "Then death and Hades."
44:10 That is the grave.
44:11 "Were thrown into the lake of fire.
44:14 This is the second death, the lake of fire.
44:16 And if anyone's name was not found
44:18 written in the book of life,
44:19 he was thrown into the lake of fire."
44:24 And, my friend, this second death is eternal.
44:28 There is no resurrection for the second death.
44:31 It is the final end of it.
44:35 And, my friend, again we see embedded in God's word
44:38 and particularly in the Book of Revelation here,
44:41 the plan that God has put into place
44:44 how He is going to bring this about,
44:47 how He is gonna bring it to an end?
44:50 And so sin and sinners and rebellion
44:56 will be destroyed in the lake of fire.
44:59 And then the very next verse Revelation 21:1
45:02 it says, "Then I saw a new heaven
45:06 and a new earth for the first heaven
45:08 and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea."
45:13 Did you pick that up?
45:15 What happened to the first heaven
45:16 and the first earth?
45:18 And by the way which heaven is He talking about?
45:22 Remember our opening night
45:23 I mentioned the Bible speaks of three heavens.
45:25 Let me go back through that again.
45:27 Usually when we think of heaven
45:29 we are thinking about the place where God is
45:31 and where God's people will be taken, right?
45:33 That is heaven.
45:36 But the Bible also speaks of the heavens
45:39 as in the story of universe that be in the heavens.
45:44 And the third heaven is the firmament
45:49 that is the earth and its atmosphere.
45:53 That's also spoken of as the heavens.
45:55 Which of the three do you think this is talking about
45:58 when it says
46:01 there is a new heaven and a new earth?
46:06 Is this planet with its atmosphere, right?
46:11 And do we need the atmosphere to be restored?
46:15 Was one of the big issues that we are dealing with today?
46:18 We are talking about green house of facts and all the rest of it,
46:22 you know, we're worried about
46:23 what was happening to our atmosphere.
46:25 But, my friend, God is going to make it
46:28 over a new is what the Bible tells us.
46:31 But also pick up the fact that it says the first heaven
46:36 and the first earth, what happened to it?
46:40 This earth? It passed away.
46:46 So God makes a complete new beginning.
46:49 The old earth passes away and God creates
46:53 a new heaven and a new earth.
46:58 And by the way there are no great oceans
47:01 on this new earth as there is on this planet.
47:04 You know, three fifths of the land mass
47:07 upon this planet are under the great oceans.
47:10 That's not gonna be in the earth
47:14 that God is going to create.
47:18 And, my friend, that means
47:19 there is going to be plenty of room
47:22 for all of God's people.
47:24 You know, historically
47:26 my imagination at least has been fired
47:29 by the great explorers of the past,
47:31 you know, Marco Polo as he made his way over to China
47:36 and Columbus as he discovered the new world
47:40 and, you know, we're going to have
47:42 the privilege of exploring
47:44 and discovering the wonders and the beauty
47:48 that God has created in the new earth.
47:53 And we are going to inhabit this place
47:56 and it's gonna be absolutely beautiful,
47:58 its paradise restored.
48:00 It truly is paradise restored.
48:02 He makes a new heaven
48:04 and a new earth is what the Bible indicates.
48:07 And then let's read verses 2 and 3 again.
48:09 "And I saw the holy city,
48:10 New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
48:13 made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
48:17 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,
48:20 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men,
48:23 and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people,
48:28 and God Himself will be among them.'"
48:31 So not only does
48:32 the New Jerusalem come down from heaven
48:34 God Himself comes down from heaven
48:39 and will spend the ages of eternity with His people.
48:44 It is heaven on earth.
48:46 Now don't ask me what happens to heaven,
48:48 I mean, may be there will be some kind of museum
48:51 there, you know, this was once the place
48:54 where God ruled the universe.
48:58 This is the way it once was.
49:02 But, my friend, it is not the way
49:03 that it'll be from this point forward,
49:06 because this will become in essence
49:09 the center of the universe,
49:10 because God Himself is here
49:13 and we will know Him face to face.
49:15 My friend, that is going to the joy
49:17 and the glory of the new earth.
49:20 It's not just that's its paradise,
49:23 it's not just that the curse of sin
49:25 has been eliminated and praise the Lord for that.
49:29 Did you see the one that we have come to love
49:32 and adore is the one that will spend eternity with us
49:37 and we will know Him.
49:39 And, my friend, let me tell you
49:40 it is like we really haven't,
49:42 really discovered what life is really like
49:45 until we are in the presence of a living God.
49:50 The life giver, the sustainer of life,
49:54 the one that is loved us with an everlasting love.
49:58 And there is gonna be joy
50:00 overwhelming for all of God's people.
50:04 What a beautiful, wonderful feature
50:06 that God has prepared for His people.
50:08 I want to move on into verse 4.
50:11 It says "And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes
50:15 and there will be no longer be any death,
50:18 there will no longer be any mourning,
50:20 or crying, or pain,
50:23 the first things have passed away."
50:26 God makes a final end of it
50:29 as He starts a new with His people.
50:33 My friend, can you imagine that kind of an existence?
50:36 No more grief, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more dying,
50:42 all of that is going to be behind us
50:47 and we'll spend eternity again in this beautiful place
50:50 that God has prepared for those that love Him.
50:52 Let's take a quick review
50:53 of what happens at the end of the millennium.
50:55 Number one, we note
50:56 that the New Jerusalem descends to earth from heaven.
51:01 That's the first thing we'll take note.
51:02 The ungodly are resurrected.
51:05 They go up against the New Jerusalem
51:06 they seek to attack the New Jerusalem
51:08 that's coming down from God out of heaven.
51:10 They go up against the encampment of the saints
51:13 is the way its termed there.
51:15 Final judgment takes place
51:18 as we saw in the later part of Revelation Chapter 20.
51:21 And then what else, what else happens?
51:23 Well, evil and rebellion are destroyed.
51:29 Can you say an amen to that?
51:30 Amen. It's done.
51:32 It's over.
51:34 Evil and rebellion are destroyed and the earth is recreated.
51:38 Really that is not quiet awkward to use
51:41 that word recreated for a new heaven
51:44 and new earth has created.
51:46 I got to tell you the story.
51:48 It was the end of the Korean War.
51:50 End of the Korean War
51:52 and so our forces were began into disengage
51:55 and they were making their way back to United States.
52:01 A force of some 3,500 soldiers
52:03 with 50 of their officers packed all of their gear
52:07 and flew to the West Coast, they were heading home.
52:12 And the officers for some on no reason
52:14 were not able to continue by plane
52:16 to the North East part of our country
52:19 where they came from
52:21 and but they were put on trains.
52:24 You know, how trains,
52:25 you know, that was one of the main
52:28 ways of transportation back then, you know.
52:31 Air travel was not all that common as it is today.
52:35 So here they are 50 of them
52:37 on this train making their way back to the North East.
52:40 A pastor by the name of Pastor Paddick
52:43 happened to be on that train
52:44 and sat down right next to one those officers.
52:47 He thought this was going to be a wonderful opportunity
52:50 to get a first hand report of what happened over in Korea.
52:54 And so he was playing this officer
52:57 with question after question
52:59 about what happened in Korea,
53:01 but the officer just didn't wasn't engaged with him
53:04 just his mind seemed to be somewhere else
53:07 and finally the pastor gave up
53:10 and just begin to ask him,
53:11 you know, where are you headed?
53:12 He said, I'm headed home.
53:14 And he said, tell me about your home.
53:16 Tell me where you came from.
53:17 And so at that he became very animated.
53:21 He said, you know,
53:22 one of the things he said to him,
53:23 I was proud to serve to my country,
53:25 but now I'm ready to go home.
53:28 And you see he was looking forward,
53:31 he was looking forward to that reunion with his family.
53:35 And, my friend, so it is going to be with God's people
53:38 when it's done and over with.
53:40 We're not going to be looking back
53:43 we are looking forward
53:46 to that which God has prepared for those that loved Him.
53:51 And so I end with these words
53:53 as recorded here, verses 5 through 7,
53:55 "And He who sits on the throne
53:56 said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'
53:59 And He said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true.'
54:03 And then He said to me, 'It is done.
54:05 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
54:08 I will give to the one who thirsts
54:11 from the spring of the water of life without cost.
54:14 He who overcomes will inherit these things,
54:17 and I will be his God and he will be My son.'"
54:24 My friend, it will be over.
54:27 And again we have the privilege of being there.
54:31 Let's pray.
54:32 Father in heaven, how grateful we are
54:34 to be again to be reminded through Your word
54:40 of what you have planned out for those that love You.
54:45 And to know that we have the privilege
54:47 of being a part of this wonderful future
54:50 that You speak of here in Your word.
54:52 How grateful we are that Jesus was willing to pay
54:56 the price at Calvary to save us from our sins,
54:59 to bring us forgiveness and cleansing,
55:02 so that we can be a part of all of that
55:06 which you have planned.
55:08 And, Lord, I just pray for each one of us,
55:10 that the struggles of life that we find ourselves in
55:14 I pray that by faith You will take us
55:17 step by step until that glorious day
55:21 when You come to take us home,
55:23 hasten that day is my prayer in Jesus name, amen.


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Revised 2014-12-17