 We'll begin reading at verse 1, we'll read verses 1 through 3 and get into our study, Revelation chapter 20 verses 1 through 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, bound him for a thousand years, and he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up, 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 going to be looking in just a moment at the millennial reign of Christ because that takes up a lot of chapter 20. And we'll be looking at that when Jesus Christ rules and reigns on planet earth for a thousand years. But as I was preparing this study today, I was reworking this study actually, I remembered something, I remembered and this is just some ancient history, ancient music history for some of you. In July of 1966, there was a song that was released that even to this day, I enjoy hearing. It was written by a man by the name of Brian Wilson. Brian Wilson, well is, I guess, he's still on occasion when they can get him up there. He's so old. He still sings with the beach boys. That to me still is kind of funny to see these old men up there calling themselves boys. But that's a different story entirely. But this song was written by Brian Wilson and the song was Wouldn't It Be Nice? And it opens up with these words. 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? And the sentiment of that song is a sentiment that I think echoes in the heart of people of all ages, really for all time, to live in the kind of world where we belong. In the kind of world that is beautiful, in the kind of world that has peace. For a moment, I can't help but think of what it would be like to live in a world that would be filled with love and with joy, a world that would be filled with peace. A place where people would enjoy good health and personal security so they don't have to lock their doors anymore. Be afraid who's going to take off with their children or harm somebody that they love to live in a restored environment. I mean, there are times all of us have had where we will go out and for just a moment, we get to see a little bit of what would be called the pristine beauty of Earth. Because our planet is an exceptionally beautiful place to live. And there are times when you may wake up and it's just, it's dawn and the skies are clear and blue and perhaps it's during the winter and there's snow on the mountains and you may just step out for a moment or have an opportunity to see how beautiful that is. And you say, you know, what a beautiful place we live in. Or to go to a beautiful beach and to be able to walk that beach, maybe quietly and just enjoy the smell of that salty air. It's just, it's great or some like to go to the desert because it's so quiet and beautiful and there are some places that you can go where nature explodes in color. And you say, oh, that is, man, we live in a beautiful, beautiful world. But that's only patches because you have to drive back to LA around the skies and things of that nature. But wouldn't it be nice to live in a place where there's love and joy and peace and goodness and mercy. Where there's kindness, security and beauty. A place where even the animals, the dogs and cats get along. That'd be interesting. You know, Isaiah chapter 11 verse 6 says, in that day the wolf and the lamb will live together. The leopard and the goat will be at peace. Cavs and yearlings will be safe among lions. And a little child will lead them all. Think about that for a minute. Have you ever been to the zoo? I guess most of us have. Some of us live in one. And seeing some of the, I have to be honest with you, I get amazed by some of the animals that I have had the opportunity to see. You know, lions, the huge male lions are incredibly beautiful. They smell, but they're beautiful to see a tiger. When my kids were very, very small, we went to a zoo and they happened to have a tiger in this particular zoo. And I'll never forget as I walked up to the cage holding Joseph, my son Joseph, who was less than a year old. And I was holding him just looking through the bars and the wire at this tiger. And that tiger turned and focused his attention on me. He was only about 40 feet away. And he stared at me with those yellow eyes. And the blood in my body literally fell to my feet. I just felt that coldness of, oh, if he could get to me, he would. I'd have to throw Joseph at him to get away. I can always have another kid. But my wife Maria said, it's going to be a beautiful time when you can actually walk up to a lion and just pet it like a cat. Well, you know what? That sounds like utopia, doesn't it? It sounds like something that we would just make up in our wildest dreams. We wish that would happen. Wouldn't it be nice? That does sound like an imaginary world. And for many people, that's exactly what they think we believe in. But the Bible makes it very clear that that's the world, that will be the world as it actually is when Jesus reigns. It's going to be a millennial kingdom, a 1,000-year rule, millennial reign where Jesus returns to planet earth and he rules. This millennial reign is what has been called the culmination of redemptive history. And this time when Messiah rules and reigns has been the hope of all believers throughout the ages. This is going to be a time when God mediates his rule on earth. And he'll do so through political and religious means. Political will represent his rule through human government. Religious will occur through the church. But in the millennium, that rule occurs simply through Jesus. Because right now, he's already working through government and he works through the church as it exists. But when the time comes when Jesus rules and reigns, he will be the one who rules over everything and it'll all culminate in him. He will unite the political and the religious and it'll all be through him because he is the king and the savior. And so we're going to be looking at this in chapter 20, not in great detail, but in enough for us to get an idea of what John is wanting to communicate to us. Now in verse one, we pick up our study after Jesus has returned and he's wiped out his opposition. We saw that in chapter 19. As we went through chapter 19, we looked at how that Jesus returned with the armies of heaven and that would include angels and saints alike. We saw how Antichrist had been captured along with the false prophet. The world's armies no longer have their leaders and when Antichrist and the false prophet are captured, they are cast according to verse 20 in chapter 19 into the lake of fire. And they are the first ones incidentally to enter into final judgment. Now, this will give us insight into the permanence of final judgment. You see, these two still appear in the lake after the thousand year reign of Christ, which would refute a doctrine, and I'll touch this very briefly, called annihilationism. There are those who believe that sinners when they die, their soul is simply annihilated. They cease to exist. But the Bible doesn't teach what is called the doctrine of annihilationism. The people do not cease to exist. The Bible teaches they actually continue in a conscious state for eternity. Isaiah, chapter 66, verse 24, they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me. Their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind. When Jesus was speaking in Mark chapter nine, verses 47 and 48, he said, if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. In Matthew 25, 41, he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. He goes on in Matthew 25, 46, by saying these will go away into everlasting punishment, the righteous into eternal life. Those who have committed their hearts to Christ go into eternity, alive in him. Those who reject the salvation offered to them through Christ remain consciously, but are never entering into eternal life because eternal life is more than simply duration. It's more than time. When we read concerning eternal life, it also speaks of a quality of life. And the quality of life that is in reference to eternal life is a quality of life that is based on knowing God and Jesus Christ his son, whom he has sent. That's what Jesus said in John 17, 3. This is eternal life. To know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. So this eternal life has a quality that is abundant and that quality of abundance comes through relationship with God. So it's more than duration. It's more than simply existing consciously, but it's a quality of life that you have with the Lord that comes through faith in him. Those who die outside of the grace of God with no relationship to him continue to exist, but they do not exist in the same way with the same pleasures and joys and satisfactions and blessings that those who have relationship with God. And so that's what we're looking at. Now, again, when you look at this, it had said in chapter 19, these two were cast live into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. You know, we don't really use the word brimstone anymore. That's sulfur, brimstone is sulfur. And there are those who have mocked preachers of another age saying, oh, they're a how-fire preacher. They do so because men don't believe today in eternal judgment. There are books written by well-known pastors that are sold in many Christian bookstores that say things like love wins, meaning that there's pretty much, everybody goes to heaven in a sense. And so is that what the Bible teaches? And the fact is, no, that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches about eternal judgment and uses as an image for us to understand the words fire and brimstone. Fire and brimstone are associated with judgment throughout scripture. In Psalm 11, verse six, on the wicked, he will rain fire, he calls, and burning sulfur. A scorching wind will be their lot. Luke 17, 29, the day lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. So fire and brimstone or fire and sulfur are frequently associated with judgment. And so we saw that as we were looking at chapter 19. So as the chapter ended, we had the battle of Armageddon that has concluded. Jesus has returned. The tribulation is now complete. We see Satan bound. Jesus has 1,000 year reign, the final rebellion, and the great white throne judgment stand before us. And so we'll be seeing that here in this chapter. Verses one through three speaks of an angel coming down from having a key to the bottomless pit. So chapter 20 is introduced by another vision of an angel. There are those who suppose that this angel may very well be Michael, because Michael is mentioned in chapter 12, as well as in the book of Jude, verse nine, in association with him in opposition to Satan. So when you see 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, bound him for 1,000 year. He cast him into the bottomless pit, shut him up, set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more till the 1,000 years were finished. After these things, he must be released for a little while. They associate this angel. He's unnamed and I don't wanna say that it is Michael, but they associate Michael with him because you see Michael in Jude nine, contending for the body of Moses. Jude tells us in verse nine. And he contended with Satan over this body. And Jude says he dared not render a railing accusation, but rather said, the Lord rebuke thee. And so Michael was associated in combat with Satan in Jude verse nine, as well as Revelation chapter 12. And so there are those who would say, perhaps, perhaps, this is a reference to Michael, but we don't know that for sure. This is the 13th time since chapter seven, verse two, that angels have been referred to in this manner. Now notice with me in verse one, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He has a key to what is called the abuso or the abyss, the bottomless pit. We saw that in Revelation chapter nine, verses one and two, where it says 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 you open the abyss, smoke arose from it, like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the abyss. And then in verse 11 of Revelation nine, they had a king over them, the angel of the abyss whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek, Apollyon. And so we have seen this before. This abuso is a boat of demons and all manner of unclean spirits. So he has a key. When it speaks concerning this angel having a key, that denotes authority. He has a chain and that gives us insight into him rendering Satan inactive. Now when we're reading through, and as we've been reading through Revelation since the middle of the tribulation, we've seen that Satan has been very active. Again in Revelation 12, seven through nine, it says there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough. 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, his angels with him. And then in Revelation 12, 12, therefore 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's filled with fury because he knows that his time is short. So he's been busy, very active, very destructive. But now according to verse two, Satan is bound. He's in confinement. He is jailed in this bottomless pit. He is totally inoperative. So the angel lays hold on Satan, binds him for a thousand year, casts him into the abyss, shuts him up, he locks him up, he sets a seal on him, renders him inactive and then ultimately we'll see he'll be loosed. Now, as we look at him in verse two again, he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, the devil and Satan. We get names of him, you know, Satan. He's referred to as the dragon. He's referred to as that serpent. He's referred to as the devil. Every one of those images gives to us some insight into his evil nature. A dragon would give to us the image of ferocity and cruelty. The word serpent reminds us of the serpent as he tempted Eve. The word devil means slanderer and the word Satan is your adversary. And so when you hear the word devil, that's Greek word diabolos, you know, that gives you insight into what he is. He slanders you. He's the one who accuses you night and day before the throne of God. He's the one who's, he's an opposing, he's like a prosecuting attorney. And what he's doing is he's getting all the evidence that he can. And this is not something that's made up. This is what actually takes place. And there are those, and I don't wanna teach you paranoia so that you're looking over your shoulder all the time, like what kind of demons after me? Now, I don't wanna teach you that, but there is a reality to the fact that if God were opening our eyes even right now to see what's going on in this place, I'm sure everybody starting with me would be absolutely shocked at the activity of the enemy right here. I'd be absolutely shocked to see that. I mean, there's a time in the Old Testament when one of the prophets says to God, please open my servant's eyes that he might see what's going on around us right now. And then the servant's eyes are open to see the multitudes of angels that are there protecting the prophet and him at that moment against the enemy that's coming against him. There's no doubt in my mind, though I don't really meditate on this as often as I should, that there's a battle going on right now. There's no doubt going on right now for you, for your soul, for your attention, for you. And it's going on. And there are the enemies after you. And I'm not teaching paranoia. That's simply a fact. He is your adversary. He does accuse you before the throne night and day. If he were to take, we'll say a video, make a DVD of my life just in one day and put it on the screen and say, this is what this man's like. As much as I want to serve the Lord, I haven't been perfect today, unlike you. What if he was able to get a film of every evil thing we've done over our entire life, the willful evil things that we've done and play it to God. And to say, this one's yours. He's the accuser of the brethren. And he stands and accuses you day and night. This one's yours. Look at the way he just drove and cut that person off and then gave him the California Howdy as he did so. Look how he just spoke to that person. Look how she just treated, that's yours. See, so if we just take a moment, just pause to think how we need God's grace, it humbles us, because indeed we do. And the enemy's always there to remind you of how evil you are. But Jesus is always there to remind you of how gracious he is and how he loves you and how he washed you and cleansed you. That's something to rejoice over. I'm serious, I am serious. Now, this is one who's cruel. This is one who's ferocious. This is a slanderer and he is your adversary. But notice with me in verse three, it says he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him. So that, notice, he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years are finished. Deceive the nations. He can no longer deceive the nations. Deception has been his tactic from the beginning. In John chapter eight, verse 44, Jesus said it like this. He said, you are of 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 a lie, he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it. And so he's a deceiver from the beginning. He's a liar and Jesus said it from the beginning. He lied and, and what's his greatest deception? Well, his greatest deception is very simply that you can be good without God. You don't need God. You don't need Jesus Christ. When he was speaking to Eve in Genesis three, four and five, he said it like this to her. He said, you will not surely die. He said, God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened. You'll be like God, knowing good and evil. You're not gonna die. God's a liar. Oh, we're not supposed to have of that. Oh no, you're not gonna die. In second Corinthians chapter four, verses three and four, even if our gospels veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. So they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who's the image of God. And he wants us to believe. He wants people to believe you don't need the Lord Jesus Christ. And he is at this moment, presently active. But one day he will be bound. And that's why in first Peter five, verse eight, Peter said, be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Proudling around, looking for something weak, something he can get hold of and destroy. Well, he will be bound, verse three tells us. He should deceive the nations no more. He will be bound. But notice in verse three, till the thousand years were finished, after these things, he must be released for a little while. So he'll be bound as scripture says for a thousand years, but will be released for a short duration. Now we'll return to some of that in a moment. In verse four, I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was committed to them. 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 and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years, but 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 pardoned 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. And so he says here in verse four, I saw thrones and they sat on them. Judgment was notice committed to them. Now who's on these thrones? We don't know, it isn't mentioned, but it may very well be the elders who were mentioned in chapter four. It could include the apostles, we really don't know. But notice with me, mention is made of the tribulation saints who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus Christ. During the tribulation, they refused the mark of the beast and as a result of that, they died. So included in their number would be the two witnesses of chapter 11 and also the martyrs that we saw in chapter 12. Notice how it says they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. That is again, what is called the millennial reign, the thousand year reign of Christ, a literal thousand year reign on earth. In seven verses, thousand years is mentioned six times. Jeremiah chapter 23, verses five and six, says it like this. The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I'll raise up to 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 and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called the Lord our righteousness. So this is speaking about the millennial or the thousand year, literal thousand year rule of Christ on earth. It is something that fulfills many Old Testament prophecies. I'll give you a couple of them. In Psalm chapter two, verses six through nine, it reads, I've 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, speaking of the rule and the reign of the Messiah. Isaiah 65, 19 and 20, I will rejoice over Jerusalem, take delight in my people. The sound of weeping and of crying will be hurting it no more. Never again will there be in it 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. So there are promises in the Old Testament of this reign where Messiah rules and reigns and brings peace on earth. And so that's what's being referred to here over those thousand years. Now notice with me again and this is for how it says, judgment was committed to them. So there will be judgments that take place during this time. You can see this in Matthew chapter 25 verses 31 through 46, which is the judgment of the sheep and the goats. You can see this in Ezekiel chapter 20 verses 35 through 38, where unbelieving Israel will be judged. So there's gonna be a time for rejection. There'll be a time for judging those who rejected Messiah as well as a time for rewarding those who didn't. But he goes on in verse five and he says the rest of the dead didn't live until the thousand years were finished. And so what we're looking at is what is called a notice in verse five. This is the first resurrection. Now again, I mentioned to you we're just rushing through and just touching some things lightly, but I'll spend a moment on this here because I think the phrase, the first resurrection needs to be looked at. The first resurrection. The first resurrection is not an event. The first resurrection is what is called the order of resurrection. The order of the resurrection of the righteous because when you look in the New Testament, you'll actually see a series of what would be referred to as resurrections. For example, when Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, he's the first to be resurrected not to die again. You see in 1 Corinthians 15, 20, Christ has indeed been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Jesus is what would be speaking of in terms of the order of resurrection, he's the first to be resurrected. But there are those who are mentioned in Matthew 27 verses 52 and 53. 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' resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. They are part of the first fruits of the first resurrection. In 1 Thessalonians chapter four verse 16, you also have the saints, the raptured saints. It says the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel with a trumpet call of God. And then those, he says, the dead in Christ will rise first. That's part of what is called the first resurrection. You have according to Daniel chapter 12 verse two, Old Testament believers, multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake some to everlasting life. Others to shame and everlasting contempt. And so you have this as a number of people who are being spoken of as being participants in the first resurrection. And that would include obviously the tribulation saints. They're part of what is called the first resurrection. And that's why it says in verse six, blessed and holy as he who has part in the first resurrection. Now I'll give you a little more and talk a little bit more for just a moment about this. When he says in verse six, blessed and holy as he who has part in the first resurrection over such, notice the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. There are actually two kinds of death and I'll talk about this for just a moment. Two kinds of death. You have physical death spoken of in scripture, but there's also a spiritual death. So there is that obvious physical death, but the second death would be including the reality of lacking of spiritual life. In Luke chapter 12 verses four and five, I tell you my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I'll show you whom you should fear, fear him who after killing the body has power to throw you into hell, fear him. And so that's that spiritual death. The second death is speaking concerning not a physical death alone, but it's the judgment that comes for the rejection of Christ. There are those who don't believe in an age when pretty much everything is acceptable except following the Lord seriously, but in an age when everything's okay and in an age when the only thing you need to do to enter into heaven is die in the way many people think. It's such an archaic it's so outdated for people to actually consider that there may be a possibility that if there is a heaven that not everybody gets a chance to go into it or actually we'll go into it after they die. All of us have heard the funeral orations that occur sometimes when people are eulogizing somebody who died and we'll say that somebody who was notorious for their sinfulness and all. You know, real well-known center, never hit it wasn't something they were ashamed of. They die and then at their funeral, somebody standing up there saying, oh yeah, Bill, he was a good old guy, boy that guy could probably blah, blah, blah and he's looking down at us right now and that's kind of what you hear. I've heard that so many times, so have you. I've heard that so many times. Oh yeah, and you see, you know, the guy was, the guy didn't love the Lord, the guy had no walk with God at all. You know, not to judge the man, I mean wish to God that he had come to faith in Christ but the fact is he didn't and yet you have people and sometimes it's even in churches. You know, there have been times when one of my assistants, for example, has given a funeral service, he did so at a Hell's Angel funeral. Yeah, they had called, said can someone do the funeral? So I said I'll send an assistant. Actually he had been asked to do it by the family and Hell's Angel, big old brood of a man, walked up to him and started swearing at him just before the funeral service and said to him, you better not talk about heaven and hell here. Threatened him, if you do so, I'm gonna harm you. He said in Hell's Angel language, they don't want to hear it, they don't want to hear it. I have to tell you, it's very hard sometimes. When you're giving a funeral, I've done a lot of funerals and it's very difficult. Let me tell you, the first funeral I ever did, the first funeral I ever did was for a pedophile whose only friends he had, he was an unrepentant pedophile. His daughter asked me the one whom he hurt to do the funeral, she became a believer. My very first funeral and the only friends he had, and this is amazing, it's a true story, the only friends he had were people like himself and so there were prostitutes in there. You know, my mom, when I grew up, used to use the phrase ladies in red. How many of you have ever even heard that term? Just out of curiosity, yeah, ladies in red. My mama would use that. You know, 99% of you haven't heard it. Ladies in red spoke of prostitutes. And so they were ladies in red, they were wearing red dresses with bright red lipstick. Those were the guys, the women were even, the guys were gamblers. They were gambler guys, it was not funny but it was kind of like I opened it for me because what I was seeing in my very first funeral, I was 29 years old, in my very first funeral, what I was seeing was what I thought was just people used to say that but that doesn't really exist. You know, all they exaggerate. But I had a room full of this. Women with bleach, bleach, bleach blonde hair, red, red lips and men, little diamonds on their lapels and their hair was greased back with little pencil mustaches, you know, you know. And I'm there, a 29 year old kid, looking at this older audience, not a one of them saved. How do you minister to them? What do you say? Do you stand up and say this man who abused his daughter was an alcoholic gambler, left his wife, left his family, destroyed everything, he's in heaven? Do you say that? Or do you preach the gospel? You preach the gospel. The second funeral I did was for a young man who committed suicide. That was my second funeral. As a matter of fact, the first several funerals I've ever done were for unbelievers or those who died in tragic ways. How do you minister, give them the truth? Do it with love, do it with encouragement. Sometimes do it with a tear in your heart that finds its way to your eyes. Because as you're speaking, it just becomes so real. This whole group of people, as slick as they are, are going to hell because there is a hell. I did a funeral for a young person from Ontario many years ago. High schooler, got in a fight with her boyfriend and he drove away. And as impetuous as we can be sometimes when we're young, this argument isn't over, we're gonna have to finish this. And she jumped in her car and she was driving down Riverside Drive and she sped to pass a car to try and catch him. When she went head on with a young mother and her small children and there were multiple deaths. And I was asked, can you do the funeral? And I said, I will, of course. She didn't go to our church and I did her funeral. And as I was speaking, there was a room full of high school kids who were kind of nudging each other and laughing because death for them is not real. It's kind of like, this is, she's too young to be dead. They were not locking in. And I had my notes in front of me and I still remember just putting my notes under my Bible and I just changed the entire service. And I started speaking to them and I began to share with them. I thought, you're gonna go to hell if you don't have Jesus. And you right now may not think this is any big deal. It's just moving from one place to another. That's not how it's gonna be. This is how it's going to be. And I preached the gospel. Years later in this room, years later in this room, I was standing here in the front when somebody approached me and said, pastor, I've been in the church for years. And I mentioned the story and she said to me, you don't know the end of that story. She said, my brother was in that service and my brother gave his heart to Jesus Christ that day when he gave that invitation. You preach the gospel, the truth because without Jesus Christ, there is a second death. It's not just the physical, it's the eternal where you will exist in conscious agony outside of the grace of God. Now, I better hurry up because I'm only at verse seven. Now 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 and the beloved city and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The thousand years have expired, Satan is released from his prison. That reveals three things, if you take notes. One, even under perfect conditions because Satan hasn't been there to tempt. He's been bound for a thousand years even under perfect conditions, man will still sin. Man will still sin. It has been said, we don't really need Satan to cause us to sin. We will sin without his help. So even under perfect conditions, man sins. Second, I've had this question asked and that's where I'll answer it. I've had people ask, can Satan be redeemed? The answer is no. The Bible says Satan is beyond redemption. No, he's not gonna repent. And third, judgment is justified. And you see it. I mean, he's there for a thousand years waiting, chomping at the bit to get out. For a thousand years he's been incarcerated. Earth has been under perfect conditions. I say two forces, he will judge between the nations, will settle disputes for many people. 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. Zechariah 49, the Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord in his name, the only name. God has been ruled and Jesus Christ is ruling yet man's nature outside of regeneration is incurably evil. Even a perfect environment will not make him well. These people that are growing up and rejecting, they are the descendants of the tribulation saints. Even being raised in a godly environment, total peace, perfect rule. When the enemy gets out, he goes out and once again deceives and immediately, and it's not just a few people by the way, it speaks of a great number. It says in verse eight, whose number is as the sand of the sea, there are that many people who will just listen to what he has to say. Well, when it speaks of Gog and Magog, Gog, according to Genesis chapter 10 verse two, was the grandson of Noah. So Gog may be the ruler, Magog, the people who are being led. This does definitely represent one thing for sure, the rebels against the Lord. These are the ones who will not bow their knees to Jesus Christ. The devil, it says in verse 10, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and he finally gets what he deserves. There have been times, and I have to be careful not to wax about this one too long, but there have been times, and I think I'm not the only one in this room who's ever done this, there have been times when I've been under a special pressure of the enemy, a special pain that he's caused my family, or he's caused me through my family, or perhaps he's even commanded one of his little imps, his little demons to work overtime in my life. There have been times over the years where I have on a personal level, and I'm trying to personalize this for a moment on a personal level, when I've thought of how he deserves every bit of judgment he's gonna get. From the smaller things, meaning the things that only pertain to my life, watching a mother like I did from the time I was around six years old, watching my mother suffer from one painful thing after another for her entire adult life. From the time my mom was 26, watching her suffer with epilepsy, watching her at the age of 27, my mama didn't have one single cavity in her mouth. She was about 28, not a single cavity. My mom had perfect teeth, but because of her epilepsy, the doctors had prescribed a particular medication that caused her to have to have every one of her teeth removed, and before she was 30 years old, she had full dentures top and bottom. And mama used to cry. And she would sit there and her body began to become just crippled. I can still remember sitting there with her when I was in my teens, and we were looking at home movies, and my mama was on a bicycle, and under her breath, she didn't know I could hear her. She said, I used to be so active, because she was already becoming crippled. Eventually my mama had blood diseases, and her hands became gnarled with arthritis, and her feet became just like eagles' talons, if you will. They were just so crippled. Her little body was frail and broken, and I watched her, and I watched her, and I watched her, and I would cry. Forgive me. God touched my mom, and he didn't. Did I get mad at God? No, but I grew to hate Satan, and one day, and I've told him this, and I don't do it to mock him. God knows I'm not, I'm simply saying the truth. He will get what he deserves. He will, he will, and he deserves it, and even more, and even more. And it's interesting how Isaiah 14 says it like this, in verses 16 and 17, those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate. Is this a 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 its captives go home? This is the one who kept people in bondage, and it was such a destroyer, but in reality, in the hand of God, you are nothing. And indeed, that is, and he gets what he deserves. And finally, I really, I'll come back tomorrow or next time, but I saw the great white throne and him who sat on it, whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, there was found no place for them. I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, books were opened, another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to their work by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. They were judged each one according to his works. Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Final judgment, the great white throne. Their names were not found in the Lamb's book of life, and they receive their judgment. Death and Hades are images here. Death is pictured as the physical death, a temporary situation because it's swallowed up in the second death. Hades is a temporary receptacle of human souls as they're awaiting this final judgment. So the temporary death and Hades will be swallowed up in the permanent, the lake of fire. And what happens here when they're going through the book, it's not to see whether their names are written in it, but in reality, it's reviewing their life to determine their judgment that they're gonna receive. Sometimes people think that, well, one sin is the same as another. In reality, that's not exactly true. One sin is all that's necessary for me to enter into eternal punishment because God's demand is perfection and righteousness, which is why we need Jesus Christ to give to us what he has because it's not something we have naturally. That's where it's called imputed righteousness. What I don't possess is imputed or given to me. So I have the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. When I get saved, his righteousness is given to me. I have what is called a robe of righteousness, meaning I'm covered by his righteousness. So in one sense, one sin is all it requires for me to go to hell because God's demand is perfection. That's why I need his grace, mercy, and salvation through the redemption of Christ. That's the centrality of the Christian message. But in another sense, some will say every sin is the same and that's where they're wrong. Not every sin is equal in the sight of God. There are some sins that are of greater magnitude, greater repercussion. If somebody approaches me, I'm an unbeliever approaches me and they point out, the young lady, they say, isn't she pretty and I look at her and I don't think she is. It's not that I'm being mean, but I don't think she is. I'll go even a step further. This is even more practical. Somebody brings their baby. Isn't that a beautiful baby? My mama used to say, que grande gorda. Meaning she's big. And she's chubby. But that was my mom's way of telling me, what an ugly baby. That's cruel, but that's true. And so I say, yeah, it's a beautiful baby. Can I get it a banana? That's not nice, is it? Of course not. That's why I said that. It's not nice. Somebody says, well, what do you say? Do you lie? What if I say, you know, it's a beautiful baby. Is that the same as Hitler? Do I deserve the same amount of judgment as Hitler? Is it the same? No, it's not. It's wrong, but it's not as wrong as murder. So there are degrees of punishment because sins have different ramifications. In Luke 12, 48, the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. From the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. So an individual who never went to church in their life, never heard the gospel really clearly presented and didn't have contact with the genuine Christian dice, didn't really know anything about Christ, didn't know anything about the gospel. Still lost. Versus somebody who was raised in the church and heard the gospel their whole life. Said, I don't really care. The minute I turn 18, I'm out of here. I'm not gonna come back to church. I don't need this stuff. My parents may, but I don't. You tell me who's more guilty. The one who knew the master's will or the one who didn't. So degrees of punishment built on knowledge, responsibility. Sins are judged. So the books are open. There are those who will receive a greater punishment. What it is I don't know and I don't wanna even pretend that I don't know, but it'll be different than those who had lesser crimes. Do they all get punished? Yes, but this is determining the degree of punishment. And that's what he's saying here. Anyone not found written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the final resting place. Hades is temporary, lake of fire is permanent. And that's where the evil ones go. But we know the Lord Jesus Christ. That's not our home. Our home is glorious and it's being prepared for us even as I speak. And Jesus is coming to take us to be with him there. Praise the Lord for that.