The Millennium

By your Holy Spirit, move tonight as we're gathered here. Speak to us, Lord. Teach us, Lord, by your Holy Spirit. That which you'd have us to learn and you'd want us to live out in our lives as we look to you and trust you to work it out in our lives, Lord. We thank you for your grace, your mercy, your sovereignty, Lord. Your loving kindness, Lord. Lord, we want to ask that you'd bless the children's church, the youth group, the nursery,

all that's going on here at the fellowship. Be glorified tonight in Jesus' name.

I have the strength to praise you.

That I am nothing. Oh, thank you for saving us, Lord Jesus. Thank you for dying on that cross. Thank you for your unfailing love.

So that he is mighty, he will save, he will rejoice in joy with you with singing. Thank you, Lord Jesus. We praise you. Through this dark.

Lord, just bless now our time in your word. In Jesus' name. In the name of Pastor Ryan, the power of your Holy Spirit to bring it forth. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Glad you could be here tonight. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 20.

That means somebody found their place in their Bible. All right, Revelation chapter 20. I wish mine would make that noise too when I found the right. Oh, I came up with the verse. There it is. I mean, we were all about to leave.

All right, so tonight. Tonight, we talk about the millennium. Actually, that's the title of this evening's message is the millennium. The millennial kingdom. When last we were together in Revelation 19, Jesus returned to earth. And when he returned to earth, he defeated all of his enemies. And he defeated them with one thing and one thing only. And that was the word of his mouth.

He came riding in on that white horse. And of course, behind him was a lot of other riders on white horses. All clothed in fine linen, which we know are the church. We came in on that white horse. We came in on that white horse. We came back with, we come back with Jesus. And he's the one that wins the battle. We just simply ride along behind and clap our hands for the great work that he does.

But after he comes to earth, he will establish a kingdom. And so, as we pick up in chapter 20, verse 1, this is what it says. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon. The serpent of old, who is the devil, and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he threw him into the abyss, and he shut it and sealed it over him,

so that he would not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed. After these things, he must be released for a short time. Now, the first thing that we see in this millennial reign is we see that Satan is bound. We see that an angel comes. He comes down from heaven. Now, there's no reason for us to believe that this isn't anything other than just an angel.

An angel comes down from heaven. And the angel that comes down from heaven has two things with him. He, first of all, has a key to the abyss, which, if you remember, there was another demon that had a key to the abyss, and he allowed all of the locusts to come forth. Well, this angel that has a key to the abyss is going to do something very different. But he has a second thing in his hand.

He has a chain. So this angel lays hold of... Of the dragon. Now, if you remember earlier in our study of Revelation, we described this dragon. And we said that this dragon did one main thing. He deceived the nations of the earth. And we're going to see what he's not allowed to do in just a moment. But it says he lays hold of the dragon. And then we're given a couple of different titles, three different titles for the dragon.

It's kind of interesting how this dragon is described. First of all, the serpent of old, interestingly enough, because the first time we're introduced to Satan in the Bible is there in the book of Genesis. Where he shows up to Eve in the form of a serpent. He is the devil. And then, of course, he is Satan. The great enemy of the saints. The great enemy of God.

And this angel with the key and the great chain in his hand lays hold of Satan. And notice what it says he does with him. And he threw him into the abyss. And he shut it. And he sealed it over him. Can I just tell you all that this is going to be a great day of celebration for every saint that has ever lived? As much as we will celebrate Jesus coming back. And that will be the greatest celebration that takes place.

Second to it will be the celebration of the fact that Satan will be sealed up, shut up, and chained up for a thousand years. One of the commentators that I read said something interesting. He said, I wonder what kind of chain it would take to bind Satan. And I thought that that was kind of an interesting question. And he talked about that. And he talked about that.

And he talked about that. And he talked about that. And he talked about that. And he talked about that. In fact, it seems like with Satan being a powerful entity, and he is a powerful entity, we need to understand that. How could there be a chain that would hold him? Well, knowing that Satan is a created being, we can also know that Jesus can create a chain that will hold him.

Oftentimes, we give Satan a lot more credit than he deserves. We should be well aware of his tactics. And we should be well aware of his power. We should be well aware of the fact that we should be sober and vigilant. Knowing that we should be sober and vigilant. Knowing that our adversary, the devil, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

But we must always remember that Satan is not the antithesis or the very opposite of God. He was created by God. Therefore, he is not opposite in power and strength. He is subservient in power and strength. And greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. And so this angel lays hold of the dragon. And he shuts him up. And he seals him up. And he locks him.

And he locks him up. Notice what it says. So that he would not deceive the nations any longer. Until the thousand years were completed. Now, we're going to talk about this thousand years in just a minute. Because you talk about a controversial subject in the Bible. The millennium or the thousand years is a little bit of a controversial subject. But we'll discuss that in just a minute.

He binds them up for a thousand years until the thousand years are completed. But then notice what happens next. It says, After these things, he must be released for a short time. He'll go into more detail about what this being released for a short time will mean a little bit later in the chapter when we see Satan ultimately destroyed or Satan ultimately judged.

But for a time, for this thousand years, Satan will be bound. He will not be allowed to deceive the nations. He will not be allowed to delude the nations. There will be a time that is coming after Jesus returns where there will be this marvelous thousand-year reign. And I want to spend a few minutes talking about the thousand years. Because there's a lot of questions that surround this millennial reign.

You see, there's two main ways of looking at this. Some believe that this millennial, this thousand-year reign is literal. I think most of us are probably in this camp. I definitely am in this camp. That this is a literal thousand years. There's nothing about the language that's used here that would indicate to us that, that this thousand years is symbolic.

And we believe that this thousand years will take place after the tribulation. There are some that teach that this thousand-year reign is spiritual in nature. There's a group of people called all millennialists. And they believe that this is spiritualized. That Satan has already been bound. And we're living in the millennial kingdom right now. This is what I want to say is, if this is the millennium, I want my money back, right?

Because it's not what the brochure said that it was going to be. Right? And to, to make the leap into this, I believe you have to throw out so much scripture to leap into all millennialism that it becomes almost laughable to believe that this is true. But there's so many different theories out there. Actually, I, I, sidebar, I, I heard one the other day. Do you know that there is a guy that believes, and I'm sure he's not the only one.

I just watched an Instagram video about him. This guy believes that Jesus actually returned when Israel became a nation. Listen, if Jesus returned, he's going to destroy all of his enemies. He hasn't destroyed all of his enemies yet. We're not living in the millennial reign yet. We haven't seen an antichrist yet. So it's impossible for Jesus to have returned.

I think Paul wrote a letter about something very similar to this. It's called second Thessalonians. When he said, I think you've heard that you missed the second coming of Christ. I'm here to tell you that didn't happen. And it can't happen until the son of perdition shows up. And he can't show up until that. Which restrains is removed, which is the church.

So there's a lot of different ideas about this. So number one, is it literal? Yes. I believe this is a literal 1000 year reign that will take place after Jesus returns. The second question, and we'll get into the people that will be there in just a minute. But the second question is who will be in this millennial reign? Well, you and I will be there. But if as believers in Jesus Christ, we will be there as we see in just a moment with responsibilities.

In order to, to judge along with Jesus, we will rule and reign with Jesus, judging those that will be in this millennial reign. But we won't, we're not the only ones that will be there. There will be those who survived the tribulation is hard to believe as that is. There will be those that survived the tribulation. And at the end of the tribulation period, when Jesus returns, there will be what's called the judgment of the nations.

We read about it in Matthew chapter 24. We talked about this in our study of Matthew. And those nations that showed kindness to the nation of Israel will be allowed into the millennial reign. Now, the judgment of the nations in Matthew 24 is not, doesn't have anything to do with salvation. It has to do with whether or not you are worthy to go into the millennial kingdom.

Those people that are allowed into the millennial kingdom will then live in non glorified bodies and still be able to reproduce for that thousand years and repopulate the earth. During the millennial reign. During that thousand years, those will be the people that live during that millennial reign. And the third question is this, what will it be like? Well, I would encourage you to spend a great deal of time.

If you want to know about what the millennial reign will look like, you should start reading books of the Bible like Isaiah. Isaiah spent a great deal of time talking about the millennial reign. Jeremiah spent a little bit of time talking about the millennial reign. Zachariah spent some time. Daniel spent some time talking about it. But let me summarize some of the things that it says about the millennial reign in those, in those sections of scripture.

Number one, Israel will, will be the superpower. Israel will be the center of everything and everybody will find themselves funneling to Israel. Number two, and this is the best part. Jesus will reign supreme. We were told in the last chapter that when he comes, he will defeat his enemies with the word of his mouth. And that he will. He will rule with a rod of iron.

It will be during that thousand year reign that we see Jesus rule and reign supreme. And listen, he won't have a jacked up government. We won't wonder if the vote count was, was jacked with when Jesus is ruling and reigning because he will be the ultimate authority. Number three, during the millennium, there will be no more war. As a matter of fact, we're told that they will beat their swords into plowshares.

And there will be no more war. During this millennial reign, we will find that in the millennial reign, there will be a change in the way that nature is. First of all, it has to do with the animals. We're told that the fear of man that animals have that caused them sometimes to attack will no longer be there. It says that the lion will lay down with the lamb.

The child will play with the, in the adder's nest, which I just get, which that's like a type of snake. I just can't imagine that happening. Right? Like. Like that's really going to have to change for me to be able to do that only in the millennial reign. But not only that, we're told that during this millennial reign, crops will be produced so much so that the harvesters will not be able to keep up.

The next thing that we see is that during this millennial reign, it will be a time of purity and devotion to God. Also during this millennial reign, the temple will be rebuilt. By the way, this is at the end of Ezekiel that it says this. The temple will be rebuilt and the priesthood will be restored in service in the temple. The sacrifices will be restored, not as a way to be made right in God's eyes, but as a memorial to what Jesus has already accomplished.

We're told about those things at the end of the book of Ezekiel. And then the last thing that we, that I want to tell you about the millennium is that during that millennial reign, saints will be given responsibility in our resurrected bodies. It will be one of the greatest times of peace that you can ever imagine because God will be on the throne. Now, let's take a look at what it says here.

So that's the millennium. I believe it's a literal thousand years. There's some that don't. I suppose we can still be friends. I'm just kidding. We can still be friends. But I wholeheartedly disagree with him on that. And here's the problem. Okay, sorry. I'm going to go off on a tangent here for one quick second. Here's the problem with all millennialism and not believing so much of the book of Revelation.

Revelation is literal. It all comes back to what do you do with the nation of Israel? If you believe that the church has replaced the nation of Israel, which is most of reformed theology, the idea behind it is called replacement theology. If you believe that all of the promises of the Old Testament that God has given to the nation of Israel now belong to the church, then you have to spiritualize this because all of this has to do with the nation of Israel.

The nation of Israel is who God deals with in the book of Revelation. So if you don't believe that the nation of Israel are still God's chosen people, then you probably are going to fall into the line of being reformed or an all millennialist in your theology. Here's the problem with thinking that. I want to take you to the book of Romans where it says, Has God forsaken the nation of Israel?

May it never be. I am a member. Not me, Paul. I am a member of the nation of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not forgotten his people. And the moment that, listen, the moment that God forgets the nation of Israel and his promises that he's made to them is the moment that we can start questioning God and his promises to us. And if coming back together with the nation of Israel has taught us anything, it's that God always keeps his promises.

And so we now move into verse four. Then I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one. Blessed and holy is the one. Blessed and holy is the one. who has a part in the first resurrection over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. The next

thing that we see is that there's these thrones and it says those that sat on them. Let me just read it. Make sure I don't screw this up. Judgment was given to them. So here's a question for you. Who are, who are them, right? Who are the people that he's talking about? Well, I believe he's talking about saints. Those of us that are the members of the church. Remember we are the ones

that came back with him. Therefore the them there is the church. We will sit on thrones judging with him because we were a part of the first resurrection, but not just us. There's another group that's sitting on the throne, sitting on thrones. It says, and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus. And because of the word of God and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not

received his mark on their forehead or their right hand. And they came to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Those are the tribulation saints. Those are the ones that came to Jesus during the tribulation after the rapture, when they realized, oh shoot, I missed it. I'm going to put my faith in Jesus. There's still hope for me, but they find that they are killed

for their faith during this tribulational period because of the beast, because they would not take his mark on their right hand. And so they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Right hand or on their forehead. And so these tribulation saints that were martyred for their faith, they too are ruling and reigning with Christ because they also, as it says at the end of verse five, are a part of the first resurrection. And then he mentions one other group. The rest of

the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. That speaks of those who have died in their sins that will not be a part of the first resurrection. They will instead be a part of. The judgment. Because blessed are those who have been a part of the first resurrection. Now, I hope you're asking yourself a question right now. Actually, I hope you're asking yourself a lot of questions right

now, but I hope the one that you're asking, I can answer for you. What's the first resurrection? Anybody have that question? Right. Okay, good. Bingo. All right. So the first resurrection actually began with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because if you remember in scripture, we're told that when Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, he became the, the first fruits of the resurrection. Because when Jesus was resurrected, he was not simply

resuscitated. Resuscitated would mean that he came back to life in the exact same body. Resurrected means brought back to life in a new body. And if you want to know what our resurrection bodies will be like, go to the end of the gospel accounts and look and see what Jesus was like when he was resurrected. He was the, first fruits of the resurrection. The next group that is resurrected are those who were caught up

in the air because brothers and sisters, when the last trumpet sounds, then those who have died in Christ will be caught up and we who are alive will be caught up and meet them together in the air. That's the next part of this resurrection. And then of course, the last part of the first resurrection are not only the witnesses that were put to death that we read about in the book of Revelation. Remember they came and they, witnessed and they were put to death and they were raised again three days later. And then they

went walking into heaven. Remember that? Remember that scene that we talked about? And then the resurrection saint or the tribulation saints that were killed for their faith. That's all a part of the first resurrection. And so you and I, if we're believers in Jesus Christ, when we go in that rapture, we will receive those resurrected bodies. We'll be a part of that first resurrection, which

is what we're going to do. We're going to be a part of that first resurrection, which is what we're going to do. We're going to be a part of that first resurrection, which is why he says blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. So that's the millennial kingdom. Now, the next thing that we see is the destruction of

Satan. Notice what it says in verse seven, when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog to gather them together for war. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they come up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil

who deceived them will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are and was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophets are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever. So now we fast forward all the way to the end of a thousand years. Sidebar, I can't even fathom a thousand years. Can you fathom a thousand years?

I can't fathom the next 20 years, let alone a thousand of them, right? Because our mindset can't think that way. You know who probably could have fathomed a thousand years? All the time. I can't fathom a thousand years. I can't fathom a thousand years. All the saints from the book of Genesis, right? All those people from the book of Genesis, they could fathom that. And so I want you to think about the fact that that's kind of what

things are going to be like during that millennial reign. Things will be perfect. People will live that long. And so after the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison. Oh, you can just imagine it, right? Just a chain, just a junkyard dog on his chain, right? Just ready to be set free. This is the picture I had in my mind. I don't know if this is anything about what

it's going to be like. I don't know if this is anything about what it's going to be like, you ever watched a hockey game? I don't watch an incredible amount of hockey because I don't understand what's going on. And it's a whole lot of action without a whole lot of result. But sometimes I watch hockey games, especially in the winter Olympics. And you know when a dude

like gets all angry and jacks somebody else. And so they put him in it. You know what I'm talking about? They put him in the penalty box. And the whole time he's in the penalty box, he's like, right? Like you watch him just, and finally they like, you can go in and he just like leaps over the penalty box. He's like, oh yeah, because he's ready to go, right?

That's kind of how Satan's going to be at this point in time, right? He's been chained up all of this time, just in the penalty box. And then he's set free. And what does he do? The same thing he always does. You notice he's not that original? What does he go out to do? And he will come out to deceive the nations. Brothers and sisters, I cannot overemphasize the point that the devil

is a deceiver. That's why it's so important that you know the truth because the enemy is out to deceive us. And when you've got that little inkling inside of you, when the Holy Spirit on the inside of you is going, something's just not right about that, then you need to follow it to the end until you determine what the truth really is. You need to dig deep until you can determine what the truth really is, because the enemy wants to deceive us. And so he's set free to go out and deceive the nations,

the four corners of the earth. Now, again, that does not mean that the earth is flat. That is a Hebrew idiom to talk about all of the extent of the earth. Just throwing that out there for no apparent reason. He says, we'll come out to deceive the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for war. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore. Now, there's a few things that need

to be addressed here. First of all, we need to understand that while a couple of words are, that are really similar to something we've heard before, probably in Ezekiel 38 and 39, those terms Gog and Magog, this is not the Ezekiel 38, 39 war. I believe that takes place at the end of the tribulation. This is something completely different. The words Gog and Magog are used there

because that is an ancient term for the enemies of Israel. And so he goes out and he calls all of the enemies of Israel together, and he gathers an army from the four corners of the earth. The number of them is like the sand of the seashore. Now, you should ask yourself another question. How does he get an army? How does he get an army that big? I thought everything was perfect, right? Satan's been bound. Jesus is ruling.

You would think there would be no one who would rebel against God at this point in time. Interestingly enough, a couple of different commentators that I read, both Amir Sirfati and David Hawking, both believe that the entire reason that the millennial reign takes place is to prove that the reason we sin is not because of God. It's because of Satan. But it's because of what's in our heart. That the reason we rebel against God

is not because the devil made me do it. It's because of what's in our heart. Because Jesus, perfection, will rule for a thousand years. Satan will be bound for a thousand years. And while there will be purity and devotion, there will be some whose hearts have never really changed. And once Satan comes out to deceive, they will follow him. Now, I want you to know something, because I remember the first time I learned about this, I thought,

oh crap, can I screw it up again? Right? Because I know me, and I know my tendency to be deceived, and I know my tendency to sin, and I know my tendency to blow it. And I remember thinking, oh no. I got this right the first time. I'm not going to get it right the second time. I don't have that kind of luck. I'm not that good. I'm not that good at doing those things.

But listen, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you've already made your decision by this point in time. You're in a glorified body that cannot be tempted by the devil. Right? So who are the ones that are deceived? Well, remember we said that there will be those that survive the tribulation, and they will be brought into the millennial kingdom. Not that they've been brought into salvation, but they have been brought into

that kingdom. They will continue to populate the earth. Therefore, by the time the thousand years is up, the earth will be populated again. Therefore, there will be people who have not truly made a commitment to Jesus Christ, a commitment to the guy ruling and reigning, and they will be deceived by the enemy. And it will be the last ditch effort of mankind to rebel against God. Notice what it says.

He gathers them together for war, and the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. Notice where they come to, and they come up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. They come to the nation of Israel. They come to Jerusalem, where Jesus has established his headquarters. And they're seeking to destroy the rule of God.

And right when it seems like everything is falling apart, notice what it says. And fire came down from heaven and devoured them. Like it wasn't even a battle. Like there's not even a story about the battle here. Jesus didn't even have to talk this time. He didn't have to use the words of his mouth. Fire just came out of heaven and devoured them. You know what this reminds me of? Reminds me of that scene in the book of Exodus.

No, excuse me. It was the book of Numbers when the children of Israel were in the wilderness and there was a rebellion against them. And do you remember what happened? Fire came down out of heaven and consumed them. Because right now in this scene, the exact same thing is going on. There is a rebellion against God and God will send fire down from heaven and consume them.

Drat, foiled again, right? So notice what happens. Verse 10. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. If you remember at the end of chapter 19, that's where the beast and the false prophet were thrown into, right? They were thrown into the lake of fire.

The eternal damnation where they are tormented day and night forever and ever. Well, they just got a new roommate because Satan joins them. Unfortunately, what will happen after this is the great white throne judgment where a lot of other people will join them as well. And so that's what we see next as we see the throne of judgment. Notice what it says. And then I saw a great white throne.

And him who sat upon it. From whose presence earth and heaven fled away. And no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small standing before the throne. And the books were opened. And another book was open, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.

And death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. And so after this defeat of this last rebellion against God, he says, I saw a great white throne.

It's kind of interesting. David Guzik pointed out in his commentary this. He used the three words, the great white throne. He says, it was great because it was great in status. It was white because of the purity of the one who sat on it. And it was a throne speaking of the sovereignty of the king. Notice that we don't get the name of the one who sat on it. It just says, and he who sat on it.

So who sat upon the throne? Listen, brothers and sisters, we know from other places in scripture who judgment has been committed to. We were told. If I remember correctly, it's in John chapter five, verse 22. All judgment has been committed to the son. Jesus will sit on this great white throne. And as he sits down on this great white throne, notice what it says.

Him who sat upon it from whose presence the earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them. Here's the thing about this great white throne. And it's something that we all have to pay attention to. And this is usually where the laughter stops. No one. Escapes it. People live their entire life trying to run from God. And they think to themselves, I finally escaped.

But you don't ever escape it. There is no getting away from the judgment of God. You can claim all you want to. That no one can judge you. But the fact of the matter is, on that last day, Jesus will judge and he will do so righteously. And we're told that he who sat on the throne, or excuse me, we see in verse 12, he says, I saw the dead, the great and the small standing before the throne and books were opened.

Interestingly enough, jump down from here. It says, verse 13, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. Everyone who has passed from this life. Will stand before this great white throne judgment. Except for one group of people. Those whose names are written in the book of life.

Because there's two different types of books that are opened up here. Did you notice that? One type of book, it says, is a book full of the deeds of humanity. Another book is the book of life. Jump down to verse 15 and we see that those who were not found written in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire. And yet, what do we find? We find that they are also judged.

They are judged according to their deeds. So which is it? Your name's not in the book of life and so you're thrown into the lake of fire? Or you're judged according to your deeds? Can I propose to you? Yes. It's both. Now, I'm not the only person that says this. I don't want you to be like, I think that's a crazy idea Ryan has. Every commentator has said the same thing.

I believe that there are degrees of punishment within hell. Listen, none of it's going to be awesome. It's all eternal torment. But if we're judged according to our deeds, and when I say we, I mean people who have not put their faith in Jesus Christ. Then my goodness. Some folks have a lot to answer for. Some folks will face a degree of hell.

That's why Jesus said anyone who stumbles one of these little ones of mine. It would be better for him if he were to hang a millstone around his neck and drown himself into a bottomless sea. The reason why is because they will be judged. According to their deeds. And so he says. All of the sea death and Hades, all of them gave up the dead and they will all stand before the throne of God.

Do you know what I think will be the worst thing about standing before the throne of God? Do you know what I think will be the strongest amount of regret that everyone has? I had a chance. I had an opportunity. And I refused. Because listen. God is a just God. God is a merciful God. And it's his desire that none should perish, perish, but that all should come to everlasting life.

That means that everybody at some point in time has a chance. The problem is too many people tell God no. Too many people say no to salvation. And they walk over the crucified body of Jesus into a life of eternal damnation. Because notice what it says. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This, verse 14, is the second death. The lake of fire.

And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. That's what happens at that great white throne. Now listen, there is another throne that you and I as believers in Jesus Christ will see. There will be another throne of judgment. It's called the Bema Sea Judgment. Which is where you and I as believers in Jesus Christ.

Will be judged for the deeds done in the body. As to the motivation behind the good works that we do. Those that were done in faith. Will be like precious jewels. Those that were done in our flesh. Will be like wood, hay, and stubble that will be burned up. But as believers in Jesus Christ, we won't see that great white throne. And so, we've got a few minutes left here.

So I want to close up with three things. Three takeaways that I think that we can pull out of chapter 20. It's interesting. I was listening to. More of that book that I was telling you about by David Jeremiah. Which again, I want to highly recommend that to you. It's really good. Because at the end of every chapter of the book. The book is called, Where Do We Go From Here?

And he really goes through. Even some of the stuff that I talked about tonight. I got out of his book. But at the end of every chapter, he gives a takeaway. He goes, so where do we go from here? And I actually stole one of my points from him. Where do we go from here? This is our takeaway. Number one. Greater is he that's in you. Than he that's in the world.

Greater is he that's in you. Than he that's in the world. Listen. We need to have a healthy awareness. Of the fact that we face a very real enemy. I get really nervous when people start saying. I just rebuked the devil. Really because Michael the Archangel didn't. He said, God rebuke you. So if you're out there rebuking the devil. And doing all that kind of stuff.

I'd really be careful. Because while the devil is no match for God. You're no match for him. Okay. So understand that we have a real powerful enemy that we face. Which is why Peter again said. Be sober and be vigilant. Because your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion. Seeking whom he may devour. But notice he doesn't say be freaked out and scared.

Because greater is he that's in you. Than he that's in the world. And while we face a very real very powerful enemy. We serve a very real very powerful God. Who is more powerful than Satan could ever hope to be. And I think that as believers in Jesus Christ. When we're seeing these things go on in the world right now. When we're seeing the evil in the world right now.

I think it is our tendency to think that God is not more powerful. Than the evil that goes on in the world. We may not verbalize it. But sometimes we feel it. And that's why we feel the fear. Oftentimes that we feel with the things that we see going on in the world. That's why when we see the enemy at work in the world. We can find ourselves fearful. Because we forgot what the end of the book said.

We forgot that there's going to come a time. Where he'll be bound. There will come a point in time. When he will be cast into the lake of fire. Listen. Forever. Forever. And we'll never have to deal with him again. Brothers and sisters. Rest in the power of a great God. Who is greater than the enemy that we face. Number two. Let hope purify you. Listen brothers and sisters.

We have hope. The millennial kingdom represents hope. Chapter 21. Which I did not get into. Because there's no way my brain could handle that. Chapter 21 is hope. Because that gets into the new heavens and the new earth. And that hope should purify us. Listen. If you're here tonight. And you've never put your face down. And you've never put your faith in Jesus Christ.

I need you to know something. You're going to face the great white throne. This is reality for you. And it's time that you got yourself serious with Jesus. It's time that you really gave your heart to Jesus. If you're watching online tonight. And you've never put your faith in Jesus Christ. You need to know. This is reality for you. And you're going to look at a great white throne.

And you're going to be in the same place. You're going to go. Oh my gosh. The bald guy knew what he was talking about.

Only then it'll be too late. Listen. While it's called today. You should accept Jesus Christ. While it's called today. You should take every opportunity you can. To put your faith. In the God who loves you enough to save you. That's the first aspect of letting hope purify you. But brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. We know that one day. We will be like him.

As John tells us in his first epistle that he wrote to us. We know that one day we will be like him. Because we will see him as he is. One day when we are a part of that first resurrection. And we go home to be with Jesus. And we receive those resurrected bodies. We'll go home to be with him. And we'll see him as he truly is. And those who have this hope in him.

As John says. Should purify themselves. Brothers and sisters. If we're going to be living in eternity with Jesus. Let's start practicing it now. If we're going to be living in eternity with Jesus. If we're going to be ruling and reigning with him. Then let's start acting like it now. One of my favorite quotes from Chuck Smith was. I want to be in heaven 30 minutes.

Before I even realize that I'm there. Because I'm so close to Jesus. Let this hope purify you. You're going to spend eternity with Jesus. Not Netflix. You're going to spend eternity with Jesus. Not your phone. You're going to spend eternity with Jesus. Not your hobby. You're going to spend eternity with Jesus. Not your favorite show that you're streaming right now.

Maybe spend some time with him. Let that hope purify you. And then number four. And I stole this one from David Jeremiah. Remember the mission. Remember the mission. Remember what Jesus told his disciples. He was just about to ascend into heaven. And as he was just getting ready to ascend into heaven. They sort of put the dunce caps back on again. Because they really still thought he was going to establish his kingdom at that point in time.

They're like, hey Jesus. Remember that one time. Like the kingdom. Are you going to do that now? When are you going to establish the kingdom here on earth? And he said, it's not for you to know. The times and the seasons that the father set into motion. You go and be witnesses of the kingdom. You go and be witnesses of the kingdom. You go and be witnesses of the kingdom.

You go and be witnesses of me. In Jerusalem. And in Judea. And in Samaria. And in the uttermost parts of the earth. And brothers and sisters. We need to remember the mission. Because remember. There's a lot of people that we know. That that's a reality for. The revelation chapter 20. Those last five verses. That's the life that they're going to live. That's the judgment that they're going to face.

Charles Spurgeon. The great prince of preachers. Always said. Oh, to allow my young evangelist. To be dangled over the fires of hell. For just five minutes. It would make them all the greater. Enemies of hell. And brothers and sisters. If we don't allow our hearts to be broken. With the knowledge of what's going to happen to people. Then we're going to forget the mission.

But when we remember the mission. It gives us a broken heart for people. Because as I pointed out. Over and over and over again. The world. They're not our enemy. The people in the world that are giving in to sin. They're not our enemy. Target. Target's always been my enemy. I hate Target.

Waiting for Hobby Lobby to do the same thing. In which case I will rejoice to that. But these people are not my enemy. They're the people that I need to give the truth of the gospel to. Listen. And I'll point this out Sunday morning as well. But tomorrow is June 1st. And we all know what June is, right? It's Sanctity of Life Month. Because that's when Roe v. Wade got overturned.

No, the world says that June is Pride Month. And listen. We need to understand something. Because it's the charge I've been given for a few years now. And it's the one I'm going to continue to give. Our challenge for the month of June. Is to pray every day for the LGBTQ community. Because that is a lost group of people. And listen. Jesus loves them. And he died for them.

He created them in his image. They just don't know it. They've just been lied to. They've been deceived by the enemy. And my challenge for our church. And hopefully for any church. Is that we would pray for that community. To come to know the truth of Jesus Christ. Because listen. They're not our enemy. They are human beings. Created in the image of God. Fallen because of sin.

And they need the love of Jesus. And so. Remember the mission. Because the mission. Is to take. This little light of mine. And go out and shine it in the world. Amen. Father thank you. Thank you for your word. Thank you that you're coming again. Thank you that you're going to establish a kingdom. Thank you that you are going to defeat the enemy. And thank you that you are greater than anything that we face.

Because greater are you that's in us. Than he that's in the world. And Lord may we rest in that truth. May we rest in the victory that we have through you. And may we live in that victory today. Father we thank you. And we praise you for who you are. We praise you for being the God of all salvation. And Lord we praise you for being the all powerful God. The creator of the heavens and the earth.

Who decided you loved us so much. That you just couldn't stand to see us go to hell. So you came down and you died for us. And you declared your love for us. With three nails and a spear. So that we could take that love. And share it with the people around us. Father we praise you for who you are. And ask for your continued work in our hearts. In Jesus name.

Amen. Be blessed.