 Couple of things and then we'll move into our study. You've already opened your Bible to Revelation 20 We'll be looking at verses 1 through 10 this morning as we continue our series here in the book of Revelation I would invite you to be part of the of the if you're young a young adult You know, we do have a young adult study on Monday nights on Tuesday John does a men's study at 630 and and a breakfast on Wednesday We're going through the the book of Job and a very appropriate book for the times that we're living in right and so I'd appreciate and love to have you with us if you came on on a Wednesday night and We've been mentioning Israel we have over 200 with interest to go if you've never been to Israel I would really encourage you it really does cause your Bible to come to life And there's quite a number of people who are apparently desiring to go and I'd love to have you with us We're gonna be with other churches. We're gonna bring and go along with with Brennan from In some church, I don't even know the name of it. It's out there somewhere in Orange County. It doesn't really count It's in Orange County now Brennan Bieler will be with us and and friend of my name David my estus who's from Los Luna's and in New Mexico and You know a couple of other Dear friends Holland Davidson and we'll have a great time And so anyway, if you if you're wanting to go we'd love you to go with us And and one of the sites that we discovered actually John discovered it. I think I shared this the other day John discovered it naturally it would be John who did it's a taco shop Jerusalem called tacos Luis and Yeah, yeah Anyway, we we we went there while we were in in Israel last time and I mentioned it to some some of the people you should have seen the brown cloud That descended on tacos Luis. It was wonderful. We had a good time and But you know, we just love Israel. I'd love to have you guys go with us if you can and That would be a blessing. No, we're in Revelation 20 1 through 10 Let me begin before I even began Let me begin by sharing with you that in the last several chapters because What we're looking at is what is called meat the Bible speaks concerning milk Which is it's another way of saying it's something that that new believers Partake in because the milk of the word is what gives you strength But there's also what is called meat the meat of the word and and what we're looking at is called the meat of the Word now sometimes people may not Have had experience in scripture very long and and some of this may seem kind of like over your head Please if it does don't don't get don't get upset about that or anything like that This is not an easy portion of scripture for us to read to study and to really grasp So I I have with that intent I have I have been making my notes more thorough so that I can give to you more things that maybe right now You it may be like what? This I know this is kind of boring in this and that but I'll tell you what oh if you get that as your foundation a Lot of your life in terms of just how you see the things of the future It's going to help to straighten those things out and give you a clearer view and so what we're looking at is the coming kingdom now the kingdom we're looking at is called the millennia millennial kingdom thousand year reign of Christ and Again, I'm not going to give you a full teaching I can only touch on a few of the things that relate to that because in effect what we're looking at is actually the one of the things that will occur called the incarceration of Satan and So you will see that what's going to happen to that that evil one You'll see that in this passage and so kind of laying the foundation It's going to take a while for me to lay a foundation and then we'll roll on into some things that are Applicable and no so with that said let's begin reading together in revelation chapter 20 And I'll begin reading at verse 1 and read to verse 3 and Then we'll move into our study with my introduction which takes a while and then we'll look at these verses Revelation chapter 20 beginning at verse 1 reading to verse 3 John writes Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven Having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand He laid hold of the dragon that serpent of old who is the devil and Satan and bound him for a thousand years and he cast him into the bottomless pit and Shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more Till the thousand years were finished, but after these things he must be released for a little while We're gonna be looking at Aspects of what has been called the Millennial Kingdom a kingdom where Jesus Christ rules and reigns on earth for a thousand years And it's going to be a time of peace love and joy As I was singing about that. I remembered that when I was in my teens. There was a song that was released I still enjoy hearing it even to this day. It was written by someone named Brian Wilson and He was in a group that some of you might remember called the Beach Boys And you look at them now you wonder how could you call those old fossils boys? But they were the Beach Boys and they had a Song many songs, but this one song that stands out in my memory is wouldn't it be nice and in that song They say wouldn't it be nice if we were older? Then we wouldn't have to wait so long and wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong songs like that Became popular because most of us want to have a better world to live in Most would like to live in a world that's filled with love and joy a world that is filled with peace and and happiness a World where people enjoy good health a long life where they enjoy security a restored environment We'd like to live in a world where even the animals get along and This is the kind of place that is promised in Scripture as God's future earthly kingdom It's a place where the curse on planet earth is removed Forever when you read your Bibles, and you go into the very first book of the Bible the book of Genesis in chapter 3 We see that Adam and Eve partook of forbidden fruit And after they did that that God had placed a curse on the earth in Genesis 3 verses 17 through 19 It reads then to Adam he said Because you have heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you saying you shall not eat of it Cursed is the ground for your sake in toil You shall eat of it all the days of your life both thorns and thistles that shall bring forth to you And you shall eat the herb of the field in the sweat of your face You shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it You were taken for dust you are and to dust you shall return So notice how he had said that notice he said you have heeded the voice of your wife And that's why I don't listen to mine, but anyway See this future earthly kingdom will be a place of peace even in the the kingdom The animal kingdom if you will in the book of Isaiah chapter 11 verse 6 It says in that day the wolf and the lamb will live together the leopard and the goat Will be at peace calves and yearlings will be safe among lions and a little child will lead them all Obviously such a thought seems to be ridiculous because it sounds to many that this describes an imaginary world It does seem beyond reason, but this is actually the world that has been promised to us It describes a future millennial kingdom a kingdom that exists after Jesus Christ returns and begins to rule It culminates what has been called by the theologians redemptive history It's the hope of all believers throughout all the ages in Romans chapter 8 verses 20 through 22 the Apostle Paul said it like this He said for the creation was subjected to frustration Not by its own choice But by the will of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and Brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth Right up to the present time The whole creation groans You see the millennial reign of Jesus is something that is found in the Bible found in the old as well as the New Testament It's a promise that is found many times throughout the Bible Someone said concerning the millennial reign they said the millennial reign will be a period of time in which Jesus Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years as The sovereign ruler in fulfillment of many old and New Testament prophecies During his reign Satan will be bound in sealed in the bottomless pit So that he will have no influence in the earth to deceive mankind Jesus's rule will span the entire world He will be king of kings and lord of lords of the whole world He will also sit on the throne of his father David ruling over Israel So when you read your Bible in the book of Isaiah chapter 2 verses 2 through 4 it says in the last days The mountain of the Lord's temple will be established and the highest Of the mount on the highest of the mountains It will be exalted above the hills and all nations will stream to it Many peoples will come and say come let us go to the mountain of the Lord to the temple of the God of Jacob He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths The law will go out of Zion The word of the Lord from Jerusalem He will judge between the nations will settle disputes for all for many peoples They will beat their swords into plowshares their spears into pruning hooks Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore in Jeremiah 23 5 and 6 Jeremiah said the days are coming Declars the Lord when I will raise up for David a righteous branch a king who will reign wisely and Do what is just and right in the land in his days Judah will be saved Israel will live in safety This is the name by which he will be called the Lord our righteous Savior and then again another prophet Zechariah Said in chapter 14 verse 9 the Lord will be king over the whole earth on that day There will be one Lord and his name the only name so when we think of God's reign today We need to understand that as he rules today in our day. He uses what are called political and religious means Political obviously represents his rule through human government And that's one of the ways the reasons why we pray for those in government like it says in 1st Timothy 2 verse 2 We're to pray for kings and all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and reverence That's why we pray for those in political position But his rule is also religious and when his rule is declared to be religious That simply means that he ministers through the body of Christ the church You see we have a message a message of the kingdom and and God has entrusted us the message of the kingdom To take to people and to proclaim it Paul himself spoke of this in acts 20 verse 25 when he said Indeed now I know that you all Among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God will see my face no more I've gone amongst you preaching the kingdom of God You see as people come to faith in Christ God's rule is established in their hearts And as God's kingdom has lived out in his kingdom the world begins to be transformed People are saved they become salt they become light in a sin corrupt in dark world Paul and Philippians 2 14 and 15 said do everything without complaining and arguing So that no one can criticize you Live clean innocent lives as children of God Shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people So God's kingdom is to be lived out in his children And we take this message of the kingdom so that the world can be transformed through saving knowledge of jesus christ Well in the millennium his rule occurs through christ and he unites the political with the religious Now another bit of information to lay a foundation for you some bible commentators teach That the use of one thousand is simply uh symbolic. They're saying it's not a literal thousand years It's just a symbolic number to let us know that it's going to rule. It's going to be for some time But one commentator responding to that statement pointed out that that john gave precise numbers and and he has We've seen this as we've gone throughout the book Remember in chapters two and three he spoke of seven churches In chapter seven he spoke of 144 000 jewish evangelists He spoke of three angels connected with what is called the three last woes in chapter eight in chapter nine He spoke of an army of 200 million He spoke of three judgments the ceil trumpet and bold judgments each containing seven judgments in revelation 16 He saw three unclean spirits. He spoke of seven angels. So there's no reason to think that jesus would not literally reign for a thousand years remember Gabriel the angel had spoken to mary concerning the birth of jesus It's recorded in luke chapter one verses 31 through 33 He said you will conceive and give birth to a son You will name him jesus He will be very great will be called the son of the most high The lord god will give him the throne of his ancestor david And he will reign over israel forever his kingdom will never end Well, it's been said if if mary conceived a baby by the holy spirit gave birth to a son Named him jesus who is the son of the most high Why would jesus not also literally rule over israel upon his ancestor david's throne? And so this is something that we look at as being a literal thousand year Reign of jesus christ and what we get in the verses before us is a snapshot of the reign of christ What we'll see actually pertains to what will happen to satan Now as we're about to enter into our study, we're going to pick up our study after jesus has returned He's already wiped out his opposition. We saw that in chapter 19 He returned with his armies the armies of heaven and we saw how the armies Consist of angels and saints alike We see that anti christ the false prophet have been captured They've been cast alive into the lake of fire And when they are captured and cast into the lake of fire that leaves the world's armies without leaders And so the anti christ and his false prophet are the first to enter into final judgment And that gives us insight into the permanence of judgment You see these two still appear in the lake of fire after the thousand year reign of christ They're not annihilated. There are those who say oh, they're just going to cease to exist. They're going to be annihilated. No, they're not annihilated They continue suffering under judgment There are people who say that that that people who are unsaved when they die. They simply cease to exist It's called annihilationism They teach that after the final judgment all unsave you and beings all fallen angels and satan himself Will be totally destroyed or their consciousness will be extinguished rather than for them to suffer everlasting torment in hell So they teach in annihilationism. That's not what the scripture teaches The scripture teaches that people will not cease to exist But continue on in a conscious state for eternity in math through 25 Jesus said in verse 41 He will say to those on his left Depart from me. You are a curse into the eternal fire Prepared for the devil and his angels He went on in verse 46 to say these will go away into everlasting punishment But the righteous into eternal life when you look at the words in verse 46 of matthew 25 The word that is translated everlasting and the word that is translated eternal everlasting punishment eternal life They're the same greek word so the length of judgment is forever And eternal life obviously continues forever And so this is what is going to take place As we look at this jesus has returned the battle of armageddon has ended the tribulation is complete Now we're going to see satan bound. We're going to see jesus's thousand year reign We're going to see the final rebellion next week. We'll conclude with the great white throne judgment There's your introduction. Let's get into our study beginning at verse 1 I saw an angel coming down from heaven having a key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand So chapter 20 opens with an another vision of an angel This is the 13th time since chapter 7 that angels have been referred to in this manner The question is who is this angel? And once again, let me briefly say there are those who believe this could possibly be michael the archangel Because we already saw him revealed as as satan's adversary In chapter 12 And we know that michael has had dealings with satan in the past because in the book of jude verse 9 It reads even the archangel michael when he was disputing with the devil About the body of moses did not himself dare to condemn him for slander But said the lord rebuke you so michael is associated in combat with the devil And so some say this very well may be michael, but we don't know But this is a key notice It says he has a key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand He has a key to the bottomless pit. He has enormous authority as the picture He's been sent to earth to take satan to bind him in this abyss for a thousand years Now the word abyss is a greek word abuso And the the abuso is the abode of demons and all manner of unclean spirits It's a temporary place of incarceration for the most evil demons It's not the final place of punishment because the final place of punishment is the lake of fire And we've already seen that some of these demons have been released during the tribulation Again in revelation in chapter 9 verses 1 and 2 It's that the fifth angel sounded his trumpet I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth The star was given the key to the shaft of the abyss When he opened the abyss smoke rose from it like the smoke from my gigantic furnace And the sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the abyss So some demons had already been released during the tribulation But now he's bound as it says here in verse 1 and he's placed into this bottomless pit And it says that there was a great chain in his hand And so this gives us the sense that he is going to be rendered inactive This angel has the authority to open the abyss, but he also has the authority of Shutting satan inside When it speaks of a great chain that shows us a picture Not only of the authority of the angel, but the authority or the power that satan wields because he has deceived the world Now when you read your bible in first john 5 verse 19 It says we know that we are of god and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked wind Satan's sway his influence is not just in certain regions But the bible says that his sway is throughout the world That satan's sway Is his influence is is worldwide And so it gives to us a picture Of of of who he is I want you to notice in verse 2 how it says he laid hold of the dragon that serpent of old who is the devil and satan These are names and images of god's greatest adversary Jesus when speaking of him in john 12 verse 31 spoke of him as the prince of the world Notice how he's spoken Spoken of he is the dragon the serpent the devil satan When it says that he's called the dragon That describes his ferocity his cruelty When it speaks of him being the serpent It's a reminder of the temptation of eve in the garden When he's spoken of as the devil the word devil in the greek language is the word diabolos And diabolos uh speaks of the one who slanders He's also called satan The name satan is the word satan us and that means the accuser The adversary the one who resists And so this dragon this ferocious tempting slandering Accuser is being spoken of now since the middle of the tribulation Satan has been extremely active. We saw that in in chapter 12 verses 7 through 9 It says there that there was war in heaven and michael and his angels fought against the dragon And the dragon and his angels fought back But he was not strong enough and they lost their place in heaven The great dragon was hurled down that ancient serpent called the devil or satan Who leads the whole world astray He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him In verse 12 of the same chapter Rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short But now he's inoperable Notice in it says in verse 3 that he cast him into The bottomless pit the abuso and shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should Deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished after these things. He must be released for a little while So the angel lays hold of satan He casts him into the abyss He locks him in He sets the seal on him Renders him inactive and binds him for a thousand years, but later he'll be loose. We'll see that in just a moment But here satan is under confinement. He's jailed in the pit. He's inoperative, but that's temporary He's going to be loosed at the end of the thousand years Well, what's going to happen when he's freed? Because it makes it very clear that at one time he is he is going to be freed after these things He must be released. He'll be freed for a little while. What is what is it going to be freed to do? Well While he's in the pit He no longer has the ability to deceive the nations This is the one who had deceived the nations This is the one who has been talking to the nations whispering in their ear if you will forever And to deceive the nations is what he does That's a tactic of the enemy. I want to talk to you about that for a moment In john chapter 8 verse 44 Jesus was speaking to his his adversaries his opposers And he said this to them. He said you are of your father the devil And the desire of your father you want to do He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth Because there is no truth in him when he speaks a lie He speaks from his own resources for he's a liar and the father of it He is the deceiver satan is the one who has been deceiving mankind And one of his greatest if not the greatest deception that he has Is this that he has deceived people to believe that they don't need god to be good He has deceived people to believe they don't need jesus christ to be saved There's a lot of people who say that there's many religions on the face of the earth and i've said this before And some of you have heard me say it there aren't many religions on the face of the earth You said don't wait a minute. They're all books. They're all studies. You know, I've taken comparative religion What are you talking about? There are there are many many many religious beliefs and faiths on the earth There may be some major faiths, but there's multitude of faiths and and so the argument is no there are many faiths And christianity is just one but you understand from you need to understand from a christian perspective There's only two There's god's truth, which is the true faith and then there's every other thing that's a lie There's only one truth and that's jesus christ Jesus said i'm the way the truth in the life no man comes to the father but by me He didn't say i'm one of the ways or i'm part of the ways or i'm i'm the way for those in israel or the western world No, he said i am the way and nobody comes to the father but by me And that's the message that the apostles preach for there is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved That's what the scripture teaches. That's called christianity And so many people argue and say oh no, there are many faiths no There's god's faith, which is truth and there's a lie And the enemy has used deception from the beginning That's why jesus said you are if your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do He was a murderer from the beginning And does not stand in the truth because there's no truth in him when he speaks the lie He speaks from his own resources. What is the greatest deception that you don't need god to be good that you don't need jesus christ Remember when the the serpent all the way back again in genesis was speaking to to eve and and was bringing deception And it said uh, are you can you eat everything in in the garden? No, no god has said there's just one One tree we're not supposed to even touch. She added to the word of god Lest we less we should die And then satan responded in genesis three four and five and he said to her you will not surely die God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened You'll be like god knowing good and evil from the beginning From the beginning called god's word into question He's the deceiver And as the first liar It is he who fashions deception to keep humanity spiritually blind paul spoke of that in second corinthians four three and four When he said even if our gospel is veiled it is veiled to those who are perishing The god of this age is blinded the minds of unbelievers So that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of christ who's the image of god the spiritual blindness Recauses people to to yield to their own nature which rejects the things of god by nature And so paul says he keeps them spiritually in bondage because he keeps them spiritually blind Obviously, he's still Busy now. Look at your world. Look at the world that we live in And you'll see that he's very busy now. He's not bound yet The bible says in first peter chapter five verse eight be self controlled and alert Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking for someone to devour He's busy doing that to this day seeking someone to devour as a roaring lion does We've been going through the book of job on wednesday nights and in the book of job We see the first two chapters where the angels assemble and satan is present amongst them And god speaks to to satan. Where have you been? What have you been up to? What god does is he's actually calling him to give an account of what he's been doing And he says well i've been going to and fro And the reading of that in the original language gives us the inference that he's saying i've been up to no good I've been going back and forth looking and that's why god says have you considered my servant job Have you weighed him in your balance? Have you sought a weakness in him? Have you found something about him that you can use Against him. Have you have you considered my servant job? Have you judged him? Have you looked at him closely? Are you looking for his weaknesses? Have you? Yeah, of course Satan's response is you put a hedge around him. I can't touch him and that's that's the basis of the whole book as they is this is Job's a righteous man and satan's looking to do evil and and god says do your best on this man He's a righteous man. He fears me. He hates evil Do your best and you see that in the beginning he touches all of his material goods He even steals the life of his children And in the second chapter he touches his body and brings illness to him skin for a skin All that a man has he will give for his skin if you allow me to touch him He will curse you to your faith and face and then we see the The way that that works out through the book of jove as we've been going through it chapter by chapter Looking at the arguments and looking at the insights that we can glean for such a wonderful book But what were you doing? I have been going to and fro throughout the earth I am looking for someone to devour. Have you seen job? now remember When the apostle peter was speaking to the lord jesus christ And and they were having conversation at one time and and jesus had made the statement that that that the apostle was going to deny him And all of that and and that was something that was very difficult for the apostle to To actually grasp hold of I wouldn't deny you. I I um, I would give up my life for you Jesus, how could you possibly believe something like that? How could you say something? I know Peter satan has desired to obtain you that he may sift you even as wheat is sifted No, he has asked permission to and has gained permission to sift you to take you and to put you through a trial But I've prayed for you And after you've been converted strengthen your brethren No, peter You're about to go through something Satan has looked at you and has asked for you That's what he does He has his minions. He has his his military forces They go off throughout the world And there are there we don't know the numbers But there's no doubt but that there are billions of them And someone says do I have my own personal demon? Why would you want one? Am I being watched? Well, it depends. Are you a follower of jesus christ? Yes, okay Then you have been you're being watched. Oh, that sounds paranoid. I'm I he's saying I should be paranoid No, you should be watchful and awake because the enemy is scrutinizing you He's looking for your weaknesses and and by the way, he's been doing this since very beginning And he pretty much knows what you're going to fall for he's already learned that That's why paul would speak and tell us that he is not ignorant of the devices of the devil the stratagems of the enemy Why because it's spiritual warfare that a lot of people don't even realize they're in And the enemy has watched you and he's assigned enemies. No doubt who are undercover if you will the secret agents for him and and they say well This one here has bad temper or this one here has a problem with sex So this one here likes their the alcoholic beverages and they see you they see your weaknesses and they report and then There there are the opportunities That are given to you just to keep you in bondage and then you come to faith in christ And then when you come to jesus they still note that those were weaknesses and and and you who haven't had a date in a long time And have a problem with women because you like to sleep with them and you're not married All of a sudden some girl calls you up after you get saved you went forward at an invitation God just changed my life and then all of a sudden you know here comes You know Some girl from your past who calls you up and says hey, you know you want a party you want to come over And you go. Oh my god. I haven't heard from her in a long time What am I supposed to do is if you don't know what you're supposed to do, you know Run away. She's a jezebel. You know watch out No, but that happens doesn't it That does somebody you know what i'm saying You know what happens you got saved and the first thing they That happens a day later as you want to join You want to drink you the same life they come back sometimes they knock on your door They wake you up. Hey, man. Come on And she just I gave my heart to christ just a day It happens all the time why because the enemy knows your weaknesses. He's been watching you And he's observed you he doesn't i'm not important enough for him to watch me But he's got a lieutenant or a sergeant or somebody that's assigned to me And I know rosales his weaknesses And then yes, they they are presented and yes, there are opportunities and all of that But he's he's going to be put away for a while. He's he's not going to be able to do this anymore He's not going to be able to be prowling for that thousand years Now at this time God has destroyed all human opposition Many of the followers of antichrist who survived and they will well You know, they survived the tribulation. They'll die in armageddon and those who have survived and gone through The judgment of the sheep and goats Are going to still be alive The antichrist and false prophet have been cast into the lake of fire And now the leader of all rebellion against god is dealt with satan is bound and and being bound will dramatically change the spiritual atmosphere of the world He's going to be bound for a thousand years then release Up until this time He has constantly foam-ended rebellion He's inspired man to reject god. He's blinded minds. He's inspired evil and he's trapped unbelievers But now he's incarcerated. He's no longer going to and fro throughout the earth He's not going to be loose in order to influence the evil evil in the world And so as this is taking place we pick up at verse four where it says I saw thrones And they that sat on them and judgment was committed to them Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to jesus And for the word of god Who had not worshiped the beast or his image had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands And they lived and reigned with christ for a thousand years So you see in verse four these thrones they symbolize They symbolize authority Royal authority as well as what is called judicial authority And they are the glorified saints in the old testament book of daniel 7 verse 27 It says the sovereignty the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven Will be given to the people of the saints of the highest one His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom and all the dominions will serve and obey him So these judges represent glorified saints that includes the apostles That includes new testament believers That includes the tribulation saints In matthew 19 27 and 28 jesus uh peter was speaking to jesus He said we've left everything to follow you What then will there be for us jesus said to them I tell you the truth in the renewal of all things when the son of man sits on his glorious throne You who have followed me Will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of israel Paul and first chrithian 6 verse 2 said this do you not know that the saints will judge the world Now it is verse 4 judgment was committed to them The judgment that occurs on those who survived everything You see unbelieving Gentiles Are judged in what is called the judgment of the sheep and goats in matthew 25 But ezekiel speaks of unbelieving israel being judged Ezekiel 20 verses 35 to 38 says i will bring you into the desert of the nations and there face to face I will execute judgment upon you as I judged your fathers in the desert of the land of egypt So I will judge you declares the sovereign lord I will take note of you as you pass under my rod. I will bring you into the bond of the covenant I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living yet They will not enter the land of israel and then you will know that I am the lord Unbelieving Gentiles are judged matthew 25 unbelieving israel ezekiel 20 Now notice in verse 4. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness to jesus tribulation saints These are the ones who had been martyred During the heat of tribulation They were the ones who refused to take the mark and they died Included in their number are the two witnesses of chapter 11 and the martyrs of chapter 12 And then verse 4 says they lived and reigned with christ for a thousand years the millennial reign A literal thousand year reign on earth You might want to note that the number one thousand is used six times in seven verses And let me talk to you about that for a minute. Here's a little more information The millennial reign is a literal thousand year reign It fulfills old testament prophecy In psalm 2 verses 6 through 9. I have installed my king on zion my holy hill I will proclaim the decree of the lord. He said to me you are my son Today, I have become your father Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance the ends of the earth your possession You will rule them with an iron scepter. You will dash them to pieces like pottery And so this is speaking of the rulership of jesus christ But now it says they lived and reigned with christ for a thousand years But now verse 5 the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of god and of christ and shall reign with him a thousand years This is called the resurrection of the righteous in luke 14 verse 14 This is what is called the first resurrection notice verse 6 The first resurrection The first resurrection is not a single event It's the order of resurrection of the righteous. It began with jesus's resurrection in first carinthians 15 20 It says christ has indeed been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep It includes those mentioned in matthew 27 52 and 53 Where it says the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life They came out of the tombs and after jesus's resurrection They went into the holy city and appeared to many people It includes the raptured saints In first eslonians 4 16 The lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel With the trumpet call of god the dead in christ will rise first. It includes old testament believers Daniel chapter 12 verse 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will wake Some to everlasting life others to shame in everlasting contempt Finally, it includes the tribulation saints Now notice he says in verse 6 blessed and holy as he who has part of the first resurrection The blessing is that a child of god will not face god's judgment and eternal wrath It speaks to those in verse 6 who are part of the first resurrection The priests of god and they're going to reign they reign during the millennium Along with the saints who survived the tribulation And once again, that'll be a time of peace joy and righteousness The curse on earth is lifted and there will be physical health And then finally verses 7 to 10 When the thousand years have expired satan will be released from his prison And will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth Gog and Magog to gather them together to battle whose number is as the sand of the sea They went up on the breath of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city Which is Jerusalem And fire came down from god out of heaven and devoured them The devil who deceived them was cast 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 During these years Notice verse 7 when the thousand years have expired satan will be released during these years Only the redeemed have entered into the millennium All believers you and gentile entered millennium in their normal physical bodies Death will be possible Long life will be the norm. Isaiah spoke of that in chapter 65 verses 19 and 20 I'll rejoice. I will rejoice over Jerusalem. Take delight in my people the sound of weeping and of crying Will be heard in it no more Never again Will there be an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not live out his years He who dies at 100 will be thought a mere youth. He who fails to reach 100 will be considered a cursed Many who enter the millennium will still have physical bodies and sin natures These are the ones who physically survive the tribulation And because the parents still have sin natures their children are born with sin natures And as the years pass by more and more children are born to the original parents And each generation has sinners in need of salvation Many will come to faith but the tragic reality Is not all will be saved in spite of jesus reigning and bringing blessings for a thousand years Satan has been incarcerated earth has been under perfect conditions But when satan is released he goes out to deceive the world once again Now notice in verse 8 john says that he deceives the nations which are on the four corners of the earth That's another way of speaking of the world north east west and south He will find multitudes of people who are inclined to follow him And that reveals to us that man's nature outside of regeneration is incurably evil It reveals to us that even under perfect conditions man will still sin It reveals to us that satan is beyond redemption And third it shows us that god's judgment is justified When it speaks of gog and may gog that speaks of the leaders of the rebellion Some would say that gog is the human leader of satan's forces and that may gog represents his people And the number of rebels is enormous as they gather for their final war But in verse 9 it tells us that they go out to start to fight But fire came down from god and and and out of heaven and and devoured them all it's over boom done That's what's going to happen It's immediately over And then the devil who deceived them was cast 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 Let me close with some personal feeling about that And I was a little boy. I was taken to What was called catechism classes I learned some very basic things of Christian doctrine And one of the things that I was taught at the age of about seven or eight was that Adam and Eve Partook of a forbidden fruit And sin was passed on to all their children And that death and pain and suffering Was part of what happens when in a fall I was taught that at an early age and and I was angry at Adam for a long time I really was I had a sincere Anger at him and I would I told my mama. How is it possible that under perfect conditions? And I was already wondering about these things as a little boy How is it possible under perfect conditions that someone would be that stupid? Why and look at our lives? Look what we're going through You see at the age of four my mom had her first epileptic seizure when I was four years old. She was 24 So at the age of four, I I witnessed my mom's first epileptic seizure I was I was in the front room playing and my mom had closed the the the the door and And I heard a sound of somebody The well the pocket door was vibrating It sounded something's going on. So I remember sliding the pocket door open and my mother's body Falling at my feet and I remember pressing my my back against the wall with my mom's head right at my feet And I was four years old. My brother was six and my mom was having an epileptic seizure I'd never seen anything like that. I I didn't know what that was How does a four-year-old know anything like that? My brother ran out of the house house across the busy street went to a neighbor isabel brought her back She brought some rubbing alcohol put in my mom just sat with her until my mom came to and that's the first time I ever saw someone have an epileptic seizure But I started coming home very often After that when I went to kindergarten to a mother who was sick on the floor or laying on a couch Who was sick with the with epilepsy and my mom had epileptic seizures all my young life all my life I saw my mom falling I many times I was the one who'd be in the home taking care of her at the age of 6 7 8 9 10 years old My mom when she was about about 28 years old 29 years old because of the medication that was prescribed It had caused her gums to to become diseased and at the age of 28 My mother had to have every one of her teeth removed from her mouth Every tooth in my mother's mouth at the age of 28 was removed and she was wearing dentures from that time until she died My mama didn't have a single cavity perfect teeth But they pulled every one of her teeth out and I remember coming home From school that day that they had done that I must have been about nine or so I remember coming home And my mama was sitting on a couch weeping with a swollen little swollen face She said they took all my teeth out. I saw my mom go through so much pain a lifetime of it so much pain till her later years Mama got lupus She had developed a condition in her bones So that her hands became like claws and her feet like claws Mama would always have her hands hidden from people so they wouldn't see how gnarled How deformed they became I have a picture of her The last Easter she ever watched me teach she was living in New Mexico And I have a picture of her watching me with a little hand raised like this and you can see the gnarled hand And my mama's last year she fell down broke her back and spent the last year of her life in a bed The broken back that never healed I remember my father calling me Saying son, can you pray for your mama? She's in so much pain and I could hear my mom screaming in the back Jesus help me Jesus help me All the pain all the suffering all the hurt All the tears but one day he's going to be in that lake of fire and brimstone And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever and I am going to rejoice At the judgment that comes upon that evil one Yes Somebody says you really believe this come on man. I mean really this is This is This is a story Now it's real. It's a fact. This is pre-written history. This is what's going to take place and one day Lord Jesus Christ is going to take him Boom You're going to be there forever And you will no longer terrorize You will no longer Cause people to live in fear of death You will no longer Encourage violence and the evil and the hatred You will no longer be free to do that You will be placed in this lake of fire and you will be held forever and ever and ever and then we We believers we believers will have Eternity to rejoice to rejoice And we will worship the lord together And we will sing songs of praise to him together And we'll be reunited with with those who've gone before us I'll have the opportunity of meeting a grandfather. I never met my grandfather died when my mom was about 13 or 14 years old And he was a believer I'll I have a chance to meet my grandmother my mother's mother Who died when my mom was nine months old never met my grandmother never had a chance to see her But she was a believer I get to meet her I get to be reunited with with a baby that marie and I lost and others that That that we have we have lost over the years. We have seen depart. I see my mom I'll see my dad my mom no longer will have crippled hands and my dad and mom I get to see them again and you say well, you know I don't really believe that I'm sorry that you don't but I do because it's the truth And I will one day see jesus christ who died on a cross for me The one who wept at that in that in that that time of prayer in that garden And I will get to see him and I will say to him what I've rehearsed over many years. Thank you I love you. Those are the only things I can say for what you have done You have blessed me with a wife. You have blessed me with my children You have blessed me with my my kids my grandkids. You have blessed me with the church You have blessed me with friends and you have blessed me I just want to say thank you lord and I thank you for judging that enemy who tried to destroy that enemy Who did what he did and he'll get what he deserves and I look forward to that God has blessed me god has blessed you These blessings that he gives to us are only just the beginning Because one day we shall see him face to face and that enemy shall be placed in that that grave and it's That lake of fire and it's interesting how I say and I'll close with this scripture I say on chapter 14 speaking of the enemy in verses 16 and 17 Speaking to him says those who see you stare at you. They ponder your fate Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble the man who made the world a desert Who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home? Look at you in the hand of god. You are the nothing you are nothing and god is everything And I was afraid and worried about you when I had god on my side Are you kidding god is on my side if if god be for me who can be against me God is the victorious one and for that we rejoice And father we do bless you for this lord. This is true what you're doing and what we'll do is real And father we would follow you with all of our heart. We will prepare our ourselves to be with you in heaven We will rejoice with you And especially we'll rejoice over the judgment of that one who has cost so much pain So lord, thank you may we live as if we believe this Even as our eyes are closed and our heads are bound for one last moment If there's anybody here watching online In the overflower in this room right now who needs to get right with god Obviously, I can only see those who are in front of me, but if you need to get right with the lord even right now if it's time As before we close As our eyes are closed and heads are bound if you need to get right with them Would you raise your hand and let me pray for you right where you're at father You see these hands that are going up throughout this place and and lord you see them Throughout the world right now. We're watching online I ask in jesus name that everyone Whose hand is being raised to you Well at this time open themselves up And we'll say to you. Yes lord. I will follow you forgive you by sin cleanse me And lord empower me so that I might live a life that is pleasing to you Forgive me and fill me with your presence and lord. I will follow you I'm not making a false promise to you. I will follow you and with your help. I will be victorious Lord, just fill me now with your presence And have your way And be with me lord as I as I now go forth to serve you. Thank you, jesus. I receive You can put your hands down and jesus I pray that you keep moving in every one of us All of us that we might Live for you in your name. We pray Amen