What Makes Jesus Unique? No one else made the claims that He did, He is alive...............
All the great religious leaders of history have one thing in common: they are dead. Only one man has risen from a grave never again to taste death. Jesus Christ died, was buried, remained in the grave for 3 days, then was raised to life again.
Jesus is unique. He is the only one proven to be the Son of God because God validated His Kingship and accepted His payment for our sins all with one incredible stroke: He raised Jesus from the dead!
Paul opens his letter to the Romans with this evidence about who Jesus is:
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which He had promised before by His prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1-4
Because Jesus Christ is very much alive, five things are true right now that wouldn’t be true if He were just another dead religious leader like Confucius, Mohammed or Buddha.
Because Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive…Prayers are answered, We can talk to Jesus 24/7
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This is not the new heavens and a new Earth just yet. It's a temporary 1000 year redemption of the Earth and creation under the reign of Jesus before the universe as we know it is destroyed and replaced by a new heaven and a new Earth. And it is going to be wonderful. In the very first message of this Revelation series, I shared that for all intents and purposes, all Christians agree that Revelation 19 describes the second coming of Christ. But there's broad disagreement over what Revelation 20 describes.
And if you're interested in learning more about those different positions, you can go back and check out that first message in this series on the Church's website. Those of you who remember that study will recall that we hold to a pre millennial and pretripulation or pretrip interpretation of what the Bible teaches regarding the end times. In that same message, I shared that we always start by taking the Bible literally and only move to a figurative or allegorical interpretation if there's a compelling reason to do so. And I went through some good reasons and bad reasons to interpret a biblical text figuratively. Here's why that's important for today's study.
Pretty much all Christians believe that Jesus Second Coming will be literal. It will actually happen. That's what Revelation 19 describes. So if you believe that, why wouldn't you believe in a literal millennial Kingdom, which Revelation 20 describes? If you're going to take the main subject of Revelation 19 literally, what's your justification for taking the main subject of Revelation 20 figuratively, especially when the phrase thousand years is used six times in Revelation 20, you must provide a compelling reason to not take such a specific number, literally.
And when you dig into the offered explanations for that hermeneutical flip flop, I think you'll reach the same conclusion I have, namely that the explanations are unsatisfying and unreasonable. As we study through Chapter 20 today, I think you'll find that there are no compelling reasons in the text to allegorize the millennial Kingdom. I would be remiss if I didn't also remind us of an interesting detail regarding the Millennium. Jesus created the universe in six days. What did he do on the 7th day?
He rested in two Peter, three eight. The Apostle Peter is writing to believers and encouraging them to be patient regarding the coming of Jesus, and he makes this really interesting observation. It's on your outlines. He writes, Beloved, do not forget this one thing that with the Lord one day is as 1000 years and 1000 years as one day. It's interesting that we find ourselves living in the generation where Israel has reemerged as a political nation, again putting us in the generation that will see the return of Jesus according to biblical prophecy.
It's an interesting thing that these timelines seem to add up now. Last week we saw Antichrist and the false Prophet thrown into the Lake of fire, and I shared that Satan would be dealt with first thing in Chapter 20. So let's read together. In verse one, John says, Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit. This is not the Lake of fire that we're talking about.
It's the abyss, the abusas in the Greek, that we looked at in detail in our study of Revelation Nine. It's the darkest, most tormenting place in Hades that serves as a prison for some of the most heinous supernatural entities in existence. When someone or something is cast into the Lake of fire, they're there forever. When someone or something is imprisoned in the abyss, it's possible for them to be released at a later time, which we'll find is going to be the case here. Then it says, and a great chain in his hand, John sees a mighty angel come down from heaven with the key to lock and unlock the abyss of Hades.
And a great chain in one hand. Verse two, he laid hold of the Dragon, that serpent of old who is the devil and Satan. This is how we know that wherever we see a reference to a Dragon in the Book of Revelation, we're talking about Satan. John also tells us that Satan is that serpent of old. That's a reference to Genesis three, of course, where Eve is tempted to eat the forbidden fruit by a serpent.
In case we were confused, Revelation 20, verse two makes it clear that it was Satan in the Garden of Eden who tempted Eve to sin, who in turn enticed Adam, which resulted in the fall of the human race into sin and death. We keep reading and it says he laid hold of the Dragon, that serpent of old who is the devil and Satan and bound him for a thousand years. Would you underline bound him for 1000 years and he cast him into the bottomless pit. Satan is imprisoned in the abyss for the 1000 years of the Millennium. So write this down.
It's the first fill in on your outline. Satan will be bound in the abyss for the duration of the Millennium. He'll be out of the picture. You might recall that in Revelation Twelve we read about a war in the heavenly realms that will likely unfold around the halfway point of the tribulation where Satan and his legions will attempt to take over heaven. Obviously, it doesn't work.
And what was interesting was that God didn't even enter that fight because Satan is not God's rival. God has no rivals. Satan began his existence as an Archangel created by God, and so God has the Archangel Michael and the other faithful Angels cast Satan and his allies out of the heavenly realms and down to the Earth. Michael has no problem doing that because God delegates all the power and authority to Michael that he needs. I revisit all that because I notice here that when it's time to imprison Satan in the abyss, God once again does not budge from his throne.
Instead, he delegates power and authority to this nameless angel, who may well be Michael, who by himself is able to arrest Satan and cast him into the abyss. We really need to understand that God's authority and power are unmatched. Whatever powers Satan and the gods of the nations currently have is only because God permits it for reasons that would be an entire study unto itself. Isaiah tells us what our reaction will be when we literally see Satan.
This event is just one example that makes it clear that the Millennium is literal. James 47 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from you. We wouldn't need to resist the devil if he was currently bound in the abyss, would we? Therefore, we are not presently in the Millennium, and I put a host of other scripture references on your outline that reinforce this point. As many have observed, if we're in the Millennium right now, then Satan's chain is far too long.
Thankfully, the truth is that the Millennium will be markedly different to the world we experience today, because while Satan is not bound now, he will be bound. Then, continuing in verses three, we're told that the angel shut him up and set a seal on him so that he should and then underline this, deceive the nations no more. Now I had you underlined that because it tells us that Satan is presently actively deceiving the nations. Would you write that down? Satan is presently actively deceiving the nations.
When we look at our world and the things that are going on, the decisions that are being made, and we think what is going on, this verse reminds us of the answer. Satan is deceiving the nations. The rulers of our world are deceived. They are puppets of the Kingdom of darkness. And this makes me so grateful that God's Word tells us we can have the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
We can think with truth and clarity in a very foggy world. Paul describes this in One Corinthians Two. I put it on your outlines. He says the natural man, the man who is not part of the family of God, who doesn't have the Spirit of God in him. The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.
But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one, for who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him. But we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. In other words, because Jesus is in us. If we will allow him and his word to inform our thinking and our worldview, we will be able to discern things that are affected by the spiritual world, which is really everything.
And anyone who does not belong to God cannot discern anything of the spiritual world. So, Satan is bound up so that he cannot deceive anyone during the Millennium. And then we read till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, after the Millennium, he Satan must be released for a little while. At the end of the Millennium, Satan will be released one final time.
And we'll get into that more when we reach verses seven next week. And you'll understand why that happens. The time is coming when the one the Bible calls the ruler of this world and the God of this age will no longer be, and in his place, Jesus will rule the nations. There can be some confusion about who specifically will go into the Millennium. We've touched on this over our past few studies, but let's just summarize for the sake of clarity here's, who will go into the Millennium.
Firstly, the Church, who will receive their resurrected bodies at the Rapture Secondly, Old Testament Saints who will receive their resurrected bodies at the Second Coming, Thirdly Tribulation Saints who will also receive their resurrected bodies at the Second Coming, and then lastly, surviving ethnic Israel who will enter the Millennium in their earthly bodies. Let's talk a little bit more about each group. If you have placed your faith in Jesus as your Savior and as welcome and have welcomed him into your life as Lord, as Master, then you are part of the Church. And the Church is going to reign with Jesus on the Earth. In the millennial Kingdom, we will have assignments that will include judging and enforcing righteousness on the Earth.
Remember that ruling with Jesus is going to be a reward. It's going to be something we will love. And I think that's because we will actively participate in making things right. All the evil that we wish we could stop today, we will help prevent in the Millennium. And that sounds amazing to me.
The second group that goes into the Millennium is Old Testament Saints who will serve in the same capacity as the Church. The third group will be the Tribulation Saints, those who turn to Jesus after the Rapture. Most of this group will have died or been martyred in the Tribulation. They include the souls under the altar that we read about back in Revelation Six/9, as well as those who lost their lives for refusing to take the Mark of the beast and worship Antichrist. Some Tribulation Saints will survive until the Second Coming.
Maybe their's is finally being spectacularly proven right. Or perhaps they live in a remote region beyond Antichrist's reach. Those who died before the Second Coming will enter the Millennium in resurrected bodies. Those who are still alive on the Earth when Jesus returns will enter the Millennium in their earthly bodies. The fourth group will be surviving ethnic Israel, all ethnic Jews who are alive on the Earth at the end of the Tribulation, who will receive Jesus as Messiah when he opens their eyes to recognize him at the Second Coming.
Scripture tells us that only a third of the Earth's ethnic Jews will survive the Tribulation. But in Zechariah 13, the Lord goes on to say this. I will bring the one-third through the fire. We'll refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer them.
I will say, this is my people, and each one will say, The Lord is my God and these will enter the Millennium in their earthly bodies. Continuing in verse four, John writes, "And I saw thrones and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them." I think the best way to discern who is being spoken of in verse four is to look at who the Bible says will be entrusted to judge the Earth with Jesus in the Millennium. And that group seems to be the Royal priesthood of believers consisting of Old Testament Saints and the Church. Now John sees those who were martyred for their faith in the Tribulation.
Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who would not worship the beast or his image and had not received his Mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for one thousand years. Notice that John sees them as souls and then he says that they lived and reigned with Christ for 10 years. The idea is that they received their resurrected bodies at this time at the Second Coming. These Saints reign with Jesus in the Millennium, like the Church in the Old Testament Saints, but judgment is not committed to them.
They're in a slightly different category. It's wonderful to be in the Kingdom of God in any way, but it's far better to be part of the Royal priesthood of believers, those who serve Jesus in faith before the Tribulation and the Rapture. As an aside that I've mentioned before, just notice the specific method of execution referenced in verse four that will be used on those who choose to follow Jesus in the Tribulation.
As we mentioned in an earlier study, all worldly religions, including Islam, will merge under Antiochus because all worldly religions will in all likelihood receive Antichrist as their end-time savior figure. And based upon the method of death, it appears that Islam will provide the executioners for the Antichrist regime verse five. But the rest of the dead did not live again until 10 years were finished. So write this down. The rest of the dead refers to all nonbelievers who died before the Second Coming.
The rest of the dead refers to all nonbelievers who died before the Second Coming. It's a small detail, but I think I got this wrong last week. Those who have rejected Jesus and are still alive on the Earth at the Second Coming will be judged on the Earth and cast immediately into the Lake of fire. Matthew 25/ 41 is your reference for that the rest of the dead, everybody else who has died rejecting God before the Second Coming goes to Hades, a place of torment where spirits await their final judgment before being cast into the Lake of fire for eternity. And verse five tells us when that final judgment will take place at the end of the Millennium.
It's called the Great White Throne Judgment, and it'll come up next week in verses eleven of the same chapter. While a person's spirit is in Hades, they are considered to be dead even though they are conscious and present. From a biblical perspective, to be in Hades is to be counted among the dead. When verse five tells us that these dead will live again, it's referring to the fact that they will leave Hades and appear in the land of the living before Jesus somehow some way for their final judgment. Getting to leave Hades, even for a brief time, is considered living, and that is sobering, almost as sobering as the reality that their return to life will only be a pit stop on their way to eternal death in the Lake of fire.
Then John writes, this is the first resurrection. The first resurrection is better understood as a large class of people rather than an individual event. It includes everyone who belongs to Jesus and is therefore destined to receive a resurrected body fit for the ages to covet. Our brother Paul make a note of this. Our brother Paul rightly describes Jesus as the first fruits of the resurrection because he was the first to rise from the dead to eternal life.
Jesus is the first fruits of the first resurrection. And then I underline all of verse six because I just love it so much. It says, Blessed and Holy is he who has part in the first resurrection over such the second death has no power. So speaking of the second death, that is eternal death, let me explain what verse six is saying. Is it's saying Those who are born once die twice, those who are born twice die once?
I mentioned this in our study of the letter to the Church at Smyrna, but I'll explain again, almost everyone will experience the first death, which is the end of our earthly, physical lives. But the Bible says the most important part of us, our spirit, will continue to live forever one way or another, that eternity will be spent in one of two conditions, eternal life or eternal death. Those who belong to Jesus will experience neverending life. Those who reject Jesus will experience never ending death. When you place your faith in Jesus as your Savior and welcome him into your life as your Lord, he described what takes place in your spirit as being born again.
Everyone who was born once will be part of a second resurrection unto eternal death. Christian, if everything else in your life is going wrong, you're still blessed because you are going to spend eternity with Jesus and the second death has no power over you. And we'll talk about the second death more when we get to verse 14 in this chapter. Next time, verse six continues speaking of those who are part of the first resurrection and says, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. Everybody who belongs to Jesus will reign with him and Minister to him in the Millennium.
And the Millennium is going to be incredible. It's going to be wonderful. We are really going to see everything wrong with the world made right. It's going to happen. Imagine a would he creation itself is restored to its original quality and beauty.
Every trace of damage to the environment is undone. The air and water quality are pristine everywhere. You'll be able to drink from Rivers that today would make you sick. The deserts will turn into lush forests. Isaiah prophesies, The Wolf also shall dwell with the lamb.
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fat Ling together. And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze. Their young ones shall lie down together, and the Lions shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the Cobra's hole and the weaned child shall put his hand in the Viper's den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. For the Earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. As the waters cover the sea, the creatures and animals will all become vegetarian and will not harm any person. Insects won't annoy, bite, or terrify us. That's right.
There's a day coming when we will have a good relationship with spiders. That's really going to happen. You'll be able to lie down anywhere outside, take a nap and not worry about anything. Wolves and bears and deer will roam among us and children will play with them. And speaking of children, every parent will be a free-range parent because the world will be so safe.
Children will be able to roam and play and explore. Children will be treasured and watched over by everyone. Orphanages will close because there will be no orphans, and there will be no armies, for there will be no war. Isaiah chapter two describes this. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the Hills, and all nations shall flow to it.
Many people shall come and say, Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem he shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plow shares. Those are farming tools and their Spears into pruning hooks. The idea is kitchen knives.
Did you know that different languages only exist because of the curse God put on humanity at the Tower of Babel in the Millennium? That too will be reversed in Zechariah three nine, the Lord promises, for then I will restore to the people's a pure language that they all may call on the name of the Lord to serve him with one accord. The impact of our sin on the universe will be undone. Everything will be restored to God's original design, and when we see it, we will declare as he did when he made it, this is good. This is so good.
Imagine a world where Satan, the gods of the nations, and all demonic entities are absent. They don't tempt or deceive anybody. The reins of power will sit firmly in the hands of the righteous, who will serve under the leadership of Jesus. On the rare occasion when someone commits an injustice, it will be known and dealt with immediately and perfectly. Nobody will be able to abuse or oppress anybody.
Neither will anyone consolidate wealth at the expense of another. There will be no middle class, no lower class, no upper class, no elites. Because everyone will be blessed. Everyone will have all they need to enjoy life in peace, full of joy and adventure. Work will not be labor.
It will be rewarding, fulfilling, and enjoyable. And people will enjoy each other as never before. Freed from all our insecurities, scars, anxieties, impure motives, lust, and every other negative issue. Humanity will experience relationships as God intended, full of love and life, and joy. It will be the greatest season of history the world will ever know because Jesus will reign as King, and he will make all things right.
I believe that a compelling argument for the God of the Bible is the fact that there is a longing in our souls for a world that looks like the Bible's description of the Millennium. Because we all look at the world and have this existential sense that things are not as they should be. We don't look at the world and think, yes, this is exactly as everything ought to be. It's simply evolution and natural selection doing its thing. We shouldn't expect anything more.
We look at the world and lament and grieve over its condition. When death interrupts the life of a child, we don't say, well, it's just a statistical reality that a certain number of children will die from cancer. Objectively, we have nothing to be upset about. When confronted with death, we are all struck by how wrong it seems. We can sense in the deepest parts of us that things should not be like this.
Where does that come from? How do we just know that something has gone terribly wrong with the world? How do we just know that something is off about everything we know? Because we're all made in the image of God, and he has placed in our souls a hunger for the kind of reality that can only exist under the reign of Jesus. We are all wired to view his idea of the world as being right, and we either recognize that and turn to Jesus, or we refuse to accept what our soul testifies because we want to be our own God, and we want that more than we want the life that Jesus offers.
Let me read to you what Isaiah 65 prophesies about the Millennium. This is God speaking to ethnic Israel who will enter the Millennium in their earthly bodies. He says, Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people. The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Jerusalem, perhaps the most contentious real estate on the planet, will be the safest, most peaceful place on Earth. No more shall an inerrant from there live but a few days. The idea is that there will be no more miscarriages, no more sudden infant deaths, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days. For the child shall die 100 years old. But the sinned, being 100 years old, shall be accursed.
At the age of 100, someone will still be considered a child. And if someone dies a natural death at the age of 100, it will only be because they grievously rebelled against God and he ended their life. They shall build houses and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. I like to think that this means that everything I try to build and grow will actually work.
I can't wait for that. They shall not build and another inhabit they shall not plant and another eat. This is saying that nobody will work for another person. All employer employee relationships will cease. There'll be more than enough for everybody, wherever you are and whoever you are.
For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my people. And my elects shall long enjoy the work of their hands. The norm will be centuries to enjoy whatever you build centuries. They shall not labor in vain. Every task you set your hand to will succeed, nor bring forth children for trouble.
Pregnancy and labor won't hurt anymore. It won't be uncomfortable. There'll be no medical emergencies caused by giving birth, for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord and their offspring with them. I love this. It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer.
And while they're still speaking, I will hear. That is how near God will be to every person who is on the Earth. In the Millennium, the Wolf and the lamb shall feed together. The lion shall eat straw like the Ox, and dust shall be the Serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my Holy mountain, says the Lord to wildly understate things.
It's going to be incredible. It's going to be incredible. The chaos and brokenness we see in the world today exists because humanity has rejected the Kingdom of God. But praise God, the day is coming when Jesus will reign over the Earth and put an end to that chaos and brokenness. In the meantime, while we wait, there's good news.
I can invite the Kingdom of God into my life today. I can submit my life to the reign of Jesus. And if I do, my spirit can experience his life and joy and peace and hope. Now, if you've never welcomed Jesus into your life to reign as King, then I want to invite you to do that today. Do not give in to the delusion that you are capable of being your own God and being your own supply of life, joy, peace, and hope.
Make sure you're dealing with it. What Jesus asks you to do... Sometimes we're not so good at allowing Jesus to be Lord over the chaos and brokenness in our life. Sometimes the times we're most disobedient to the Lord is when we refuse to do with the chaos and the brokenness in our lives. That which the Lord calls us to do. What does he ask?
He asks us to cast our cares upon him because he cares for us. He calls us to confess our sins to him and be forgiven. He calls us to confess our sins to one another if we want to be healed. He calls us to seek wise counsel for mature brothers and sisters. He calls us to ask our Church family to pray with us and for us.
He calls us to ask the elders to lay hands on us and pray for healing. And he calls us to personally fast and pray. If you're experiencing chaos and brokenness in your life and you're a follower of Jesus, let me call you to obey Jesus in what you do with that chaos and brokenness. Follow Jesus as Lord in that. Do what he tells you to do.
Let his Kingdom reign in your life and you will experience his life joy, peace and hope. And with that, I'm going to ask you to pray.
Would you bow your head and close your eyes? And right now, if you've never given your life to Jesus, I just want to invite you to do that. I want to invite you to say, Jesus, I believe in you as my Savior.
I believe that you are the only one who can save me and heal me and bring wholeness to the chaos and brokenness that is in me and Jesus, I want to follow you as Lord. If that's you, then just pray that as your own prayer, take ownership of it and God will put his spirit in you. You will be born again and welcomed into the family of God. Lord, for the rest of us who love you and know you and belong to you, Lord, we want your Kingdom to come in our lives now. And Lord, we recognize that we are still in a fight every day to allow you to reign over our lives because our flesh doesn't want that.
Lord, I pray especially for anyone experiencing any degree of chaos or brokenness in their life who belongs to you. Lord, I pray for the faith to obey you in that. For the faith to not hold on to that, but to do with those difficult things. That what you have called us to do, to bring them to you to seek wise counsel, to ask for prayer, to fast and pray and to lay our burdens at your feet. Lord, help us to do that.
Help us to know how to do that and help us not to suffer in silence. When you have made a way through our brothers and sisters and through your Church for us to have people walk alongside us and to pray for us and that You've chosen through them to bring us wholeness and healing help us not to neglect the gifts that you've given us in each other, Lord and the greatest gift that you've given us in your son Jesus. Thank you that you are our life, you are our hope, you are our joy and you are our peace. And you're coming for us. And then we will return with you when you make all things right on the Earth.
And Lord, we can't wait, we can't wait. We love you, Jesus we bless you in your name we pray Amen.
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Series: Revelation................Passage: Revelation 20:7-15...Speaker: Jeff Thompson
At the end of the Millennium, the universe ceases to exist and unbelievers are gathered together in the heavenly realms for the Great White Throne Judgment…
Well, with everything going on in the world, the rumor just won't die. There are still those who are claiming that the book of Revelation is hard to understand. But daftness say we! For you see the word itself. Revelation means that something has been revealed. And the first verse of this incredible book tells us exactly who it is that's being revealed. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. And God wanted us to read this book so much that he promised anyone who would take the time to read and respond to it a special blessing. And we find that blessing in Revelation chapter one verse three. Let's claim it together. It says, "Blessed is he (or she) who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near." But God knew they would still be those who would say, "It's just too hard to understand." So, to make it easy to understand, he also included a simple and easy-to-follow outline. And we find that in Revelation chapter, in verse 19, Jesus tells John, Write the things which you have seen. That was the resurrected and glorified Jesus in chapter one.
Then Jesus tells John to write "the things which are". That refers to the Church age which began around 32 A.D. on Pentecost in Acts chapter two, continues up to the present day, and is prophesied in Revelation chapters two and three in chronological order. And then thirdly, Jesus said, "John, I want you to write the things which will take place after this" - after the Church Age comes to an end. Now, when does that happen? The Church Age comes to an end in chapter four, verse one, and Jesus says, John, I want you to write about those events. And John says in chapter four, verse one, after these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard speaking with me, that was the voice of Jesus in chapter one was like a trumpet saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. And up John goes, serving as a picture of the Church who will be raptured to be with the Lord. And Jesus takes all of chapters four and five to make sure we don't miss the fact that the Church is with Him in heaven before he begins pouring out his wrath on the Earth in chapter six.
And Revelation 6/16 reveals that those on the Earth will understand that this is the wrath of God being poured out upon them because they will refer to it as the wrath of the Lamb who's the Lamb. In Scripture, it's Jesus. So chapter one gives us the focus of this amazing book, Jesus Christ. Chapters two and three take us through the Church age up to the present day. The Church goes up in chapter four, verse one, we see her safe and secure with the Lord in heaven for chapters four and five before wrath comes down on the Earth in chapter six. That wrath continues for seven years in a time period referred to as the Tribulation. It's chapter six through 19 in the Book of Revelation that are taken up with God's judgment of the Earth before Jesus returns to the Earth in the event known as the Second Coming. Jesus will then rule and reign on the Earth for a thousand years, known as the Millennial Kingdom, a golden age when the Earth will be restored to an Eden like state and everything wrong with the world will be undone. And though you may not understand all the details just yet, I can tell you this.
The first thing you need to know is that if you belong to Jesus, you will not be deceived by Satan at the end of the Millennium. In fact, no man or woman who belongs to Jesus will ever be deceived or rebel against him again. We will be in resurrected bodies free from sin, and so we will have a spirit and a body that loves Jesus. We will also have knowledge and experience with the devastating consequences of sin, so nobody will be able to convince us that sin is somehow better. If you're wondering who exactly Satan will deceive, remember that there will be many born during the Millennium. All they will know is life on a redeemed Earth under the good and righteous reign of Jesus. Yet even under those ideal conditions, some will live begrudgingly. Under his reign, Satan will be bound and unable to tempt them. But something in their free will nature will still entice them with the desire to be their own God. The most obvious parallel is the emergence of Lucifer's pride and covetousness when all he had ever known was the glory, beauty and goodness of heaven. And so, sadly, there will be those who will live in the greatest age the world will ever see submitted to Christ's reign only because there will be no other choice.
For this reason, at the end of the Millennium, Jesus will give them a choice. You and I have already made our choice. If we belong to Jesus, we've already chosen to be chosen. We've already selected to be elected, so we have nothing to worry about. If you're wondering why the Lord would choose to do this, I believe there are three main reasons. Firstly, God doesn't want anyone in His Kingdom who doesn't want to be there. Love cannot exist apart from free will. God desires a relationship of love with his people. Therefore, our love must be based on the mutual choice of God to love us and us to love Him. God doesn't want to take anybody into eternity with him who doesn't want to go. The second reason I believe the Lord does this at the end of the Millennium is to destroy the argument of those who claim if it weren't for my parents, if it weren't for my flawed upbringing and the corrupt environment that I was raised in, I wouldn't have any issues. I would be perfectly good. Those who claim their sins are merely the result of being set up to fail won't have a leg to stand on.
After being raised in the abundant goodness of the millennial Kingdom, it will be clear that our sin is what went wrong with humanity and the Earth. The third reason I believe the Lord will release Satan for this short time at the end of the Millennium is that it will prove that there is truly nothing that satisfies and fulfills except knowing Jesus and being known by Him.
We were made to know God. We were made in such a way that nothing can fill the space in our souls that was made for Him. And yet, even under his reign in the millennial Kingdom, there will be those who will refuse to submit beyond what is required. They will not have a relationship with Jesus, and so fulfillment and joy will elude them even in the Millennium. So, get this Church - it's your first fill-in. Make a note of it. We will be satisfied in the Millennium the same way we're satisfied now in Christ. The only way that you'll be satisfied in the Millennium is the same way you'll be satisfied right now in Christ. Yes, it will be easier for us to be satisfied in Christ in the Millennium because we'll be in resurrected, righteous bodies. But we do not have to wait for the Millennium to experience God's satisfaction, peace, and joy. Those things are available through Jesus right now. He will fulfill us then, and he can fulfill us now. Here's what I know with certainty right now. The Holy Spirit is working on the heart of every person who loves Jesus, and one of the lessons he's trying to teach us is that our contentment and joy do not have to be connected in any way to our circumstances.
David wrote this in Psalm 144, verse 15. Happy are the people whose bank balance is full. Happy are the people whose relationships are all perfect. Happy are the people who never have to deal with any sickness or difficulty. No, none of those things. David said, "Happy are the people whose God is the Lord." God's plan is not that we would be miserable in this life and say, at least I'll be happy in the Millennium. God's plan is that we would find our joy in him now. He wants the Millennium to be gravy for you and me. Our hope is not the Millennium. Our hope is Jesus, and he's available to us right now. We can say, It is well with my soul right now for the same reason we'll be able to say it in the Millennium because God is with us. It's not a perfect world that satisfies. It's Jesus that satisfies. Incredibly, there will be those in the Millennium who will honor Jesus only to the degree that is legally required. They will not worship him as Lord. They will give into the part of themselves that desires to be their own God, just as Lucifer did.
And as the men of Jerusalem cried out during Jesus first coming, so too will some cry out at the end of the Millennium. We will not have this man to reign over us. Write this down. God will give the man and woman of Earth a choice at the end of the Millennium. God will give the Amen and women of Earth a choice at the end of the Millennium. There will be ethnic Jews and believers who survive the tribulation who will enter the Millennium in their earthly bodies for those thousand years. People will generally live for at least centuries, and they'll have kids. And if you have 1000 years of good health where you're aging, slowly, and pregnancy and childbirth aren't even uncomfortable. You're going to have a lot of kids and they will. And from those multitudes will arise a group who will sadly side with Satan at the end of the Millennium when he is released.
Now, before any of you Bible nerds get too excited at the mention of GOG and Magog, let me just say that I do not think this is a reference to the war described in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. When you read in Ezekiel 39 about the after effects of that war, it just doesn't align with the text here in Revelation 20 because the Earth and in verses we know it won't exist after the Millennium comes to an end, and we'll talk more about that later. This verses seems to be simply telling us that the number of people who will side with Satan will be significant as the sand of the sea and will include people from practically every nation on the Earth, the nations which are in the four corners of the Earth. Verse Nine they went up on the breadth of the Earth and surrounded the camp of the Saints in the beloved city. The beloved city is of course, Jerusalem Zion. Satan's plan is to attack Jerusalem because it will be where Jesus is reigning over the Earth from the throne of David. And you might be thinking, haven't we seen this movie before at Armageddon?
Yes, we have. But maybe there'll be a more epic battle this time around. Let's keep reading. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. Never mind. Just like that, it's over. Verses Ten The devil who deceived them was cast into the Lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false Prophet are. Satan's purpose in God's plan has been fulfilled, and so he's cast into the Lake of fire forever to join his compadre's Antichrist and the false Prophet who have already been in there for 1000 years. Remember that they were cast in the Lake of fire at the second Coming. Then it says, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. They're not destroyed, they're tormented forever. Now we reach the great White Throne judgment, and it's no exaggeration to call this the most tragic and coveting passage in all of scripture. For in it those who hate and reject Jesus are brought face to face with him for their first and final audience with the God of the universe. Verse Eleven Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the Earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them.
God doesn't leave anything unfinished, having given us 10 years to observe and experience the paradise of Earth. Under his governance. Jesus will say, Point made, time for the next order of business, and with that, the Earth and the entire universe will cease to exist. Two Peter 310 I put it on your outlines tells us about this moment, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the Earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. The creative process that birthed the universe will be reversed. The universe will be uncreated in the same manner it was created by the Word of God. So write this down. At the end of the Millennium, the universe is destroyed, the universe is destroyed, and it seems that our location now leaves the Earth and moves to the heavenly realms where the one who judges perfectly and righteously has assembled a cosmic courtroom. Jesus is seated on a white throne which speaks of his sinless perfection. Verse twelve says, And I saw the dead underline the dead, small and great, standing before God.
Note the reference here to the dead. These are not believers. They are those who died rejecting God and have been in Hades awaiting this, their final judgment. As I mentioned last week, the glorious news for you and I is that we've already been judged because Jesus was judged in our place for our sins on the cross. We're so thankful for that.
Jesus explained it this way, saying, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he is granted the Son to have life in Himself and has given him authority to execute judgment. Also, because he is the Son of man. Do not Marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life. That's the first resurrection and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. That's the second resurrection. The first resurrection spoken of in verse, is of Revelation 20 is a resurrection to eternal life. The second resurrection takes place at the Great White Throne Judgment and is a resurrection to eternal death. The term resurrection refers to receiving a new body that is fit for the ages to come, a body that will last for eternity.
When Jesus was resurrected, he received a new eternal body. Paul spoke of the first resurrection in one Corinthians 15 and wrote, Now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam, all die. Even so, in Christ, all shall be made alive, but each one in his order. Christ the first fruits afterward. Those who are Christ's at his coming at the second coming. When the Bible speaks of resurrection, it is not referring to simply being conscious. Nobody in the Bible is referred to as being resurrected while in a disembodied state. In Scripture, resurrection always includes a physical body. And remember that in Revelation six nine, John saw the disembodied souls of tribulation martyrs under the altar in heaven. But it was only at the first resurrection in Revelation 20, verses four that John says, Those same tribulation martyrs lived, they came to life. What did John mean? He meant that at that time in Revelation 20, verses four, they received their new physical bodies. Now where am I going with this?
I'm going somewhere heavy. Here's the bottom line. The first resurrection sees new eternal bodies given to all who belong to Jesus because our current bodies could not endure the weight of glory that awaits us in eternity. The second resurrection sees eternal bodies given to all who reject Jesus because their current bodies could not endure the torment that awaits them in eternity. Those who belong to Jesus will be equipped to enjoy an eternity of pleasure. Those who reject Jesus will be equipped to endure an eternity of torment. Or to say it another way, those who reject Jesus will be equipped to endure an eternity apart from Him. Jesus said this plainly when he told his disciples in Matthew 10/28, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
These scriptures are in the Bible because God does not want any of us to be confused about the gravity of our decision, and it is our decision. God's heart for us is made clear in the Bible over and over again. Two Peter 39 says The Lord is not willing that any should perish. He doesn't want anyone to perish, but that all should come to repentance. God wants everyone to repent and be saved and spend eternity ending the glories of his presence in eternity. But it's our decision. God will not force us to love Him. If he did, it would not be love and he will not force us to spend eternity with Him. We must choose for ourselves. Those who advocate for a posttribulation Rapture face a logical problem because it seems flat out silly to suggest that the Church will be raptured at the end of the tribulation, only to immediately turn around and return to the Earth with Jesus. Those who advocate for annihilationism, the belief that there is no eternal torment for unbelievers, only an absolute end to their existence, face a similar logical problem because it doesn't make sense that God would give unbelievers a new body at the second resurrection only to immediately execute them.
It doesn't make any sense. Continuing in verses twelve we read and books were opened and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death in Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. Books are opened and some of these books seem to contain a record of everything each person has done, neglected to do, spoken, and thought over the course of their lifetime. Solomon prophesied that God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Also among the books will be the Scriptures. In John 12/48, Jesus said, he who rejects me and does not receive my words has that which judges Him. The word that I have spoken will judge Him in the last day. Another book that sits open is the Book of Life. This book contains the names of everyone who is a citizen of heaven. If you belong to Jesus, then your name is in there.
My name is in there. But the names of all who reject Jesus are not. And because they declined Jesus offer of Salvation, Jesus is offered to be judged in their place. They will now stand before God and have their life judged according to his standards. One of the most foolish spiritual beliefs that we often embrace sounds something like this. I'm just going to do my best to live my life as a good person. Then whatever is on the other side, I'll be ready. That is so foolish because it makes a massive assumption.
It assumes that whatever is on the other side shares our definition of what is good.
What in the world would make any of us think that whatever definition of good we come up with, God will share it? We generally come by our definition of good by figuring out a standard we can live up to and want to live up to. If we change our mind and want to do something we previously considered to be less than good, we simply revise our definition of good to align with our current desires.
And we do this because we seem to believe that all we must do to pass whatever test follows death is be able to point out a handful of people who are worse than us.
For everyone to whom much is given from him, much will be required, and to whom much has been committed of him they will ask the more. And you could make the case that at a certain point in his Ministry, Jesus switched to teaching publicly only in parables, so that those who chose to reject Him would not be able to understand what he was saying and thereby not be accountable for ejecting even greater revelation. It was an act of mercy on the part of Jesus. Make a note of this on your outline. Every nonbeliever will be judged according to their works, which includes the amount of revelation they received. Every nonbeliever will be judged according to their works, which includes the amount of revelation they received. I mentioned Annihilationism earlier, and I want to address another version of it because some believe that the varying degrees of punishment in the Lake of Fire will be accomplished through the method of time. In other words, the more wicked a person is, the longer they will have to spend in the Lake of Fire before they cease to exist. The problem with this is the parable that Jesus tells in Luke 16 of The Rich Man and Lazarus.
The Lord will simply say, Open the books and everything will be laid bare. Every good deed that was done with an ulterior and selfish motive, every moment of envy, every time evil was wished upon another person, every lustful and covetous thought, every moment of sinful stubbornness, every unnecessary conflict due to pride, every single sin. And if that happens, I believe God won't get anywhere close to the end of that person's chapter before they cry out, Stop it's true, I'm guilty. When the books are opened, nobody will be able to argue their innocence and remember that ultimately people go to the Lake of fire for one reason. They reject Jesus. They spit in the face of their Maker and reject Him. The matter of guilt was determined long ago. As Jesus Himself said in John 318, he who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Verse 14. Then death and Hades were cast into the Lake of fire. This is the death of death. Satan, his Kingdom, and death itself will be cast into the Lake of fire.
God is going to create a new heaven and a new Earth, and we'll see that in the next chapter. As part of that process, sin must be dealt with definitively, and the Great White Throne judgment is necessary as part of the final judgment of sin and death. Verse 14 goes on and says, this is the second death. We talked about this last week. Those who are born once will die twice. Those who are born twice will die once. Verse 15 and anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of fire. Sobering stuff, to say the least. When it's all said and done, Satan and death itself are cast into the Lake of fire, and Jesus leads His Saints into overwhelming, eternal victory. I want to read you a little more of what Peter wrote, including what we read earlier. This is on your outline as well. We read this earlier, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the Earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in Holy conduct and Godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new Earth in which righteousness dwells. Every single one of us needs to regularly ask ourselves the question Peter poses. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in Holy conduct and Godliness?
Moses is ending Israel of their history, what God has done for them, and he's reminding them of the things they most need to remember in the future. I was struck by how often Moses says things like Remember and do not forget. I looked it up and Moses says, remember 14 times over the first 26 chapters of Deuteronomy. One of the warnings Moses gives Israel is to watch out for spiritual complacency when the struggles are over, when the battles are done, when life starts getting good, that's when we're especially vulnerable. In Deuteronomy chapter eight, Moses says this to Israel, beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His Commandments, his judgments and his statutes, which I command you today, lest when you have eaten and are full and have built beautiful houses and dwelling them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, when your heart is lifted up and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, who led you through that great and terrible wilderness in which were fiery serpents and Scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water, who brought water for you out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with Manna which your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and that he might test you to do you good in the end.
Then you say in your heart My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth, and you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. If you're a Christian who's been around the Church for a while, then you've seen this type of thing play out. Unfortunately, people get something they've longed for. They reach a life stage or a goal they've been investing in for ages, and they just tune out. They shift into cruise control. In their walk with Jesus, they become complacent and lose spiritual hunger and zeal. I've seen it happen when people get into a romantic relationship that they've been longing for. I've seen it happen when people start having kids. I've seen it happen when a person's career or business finally starts really taking off. I've seen it happen when people reach retirement. We get distracted, we get complacent, and God just slips down the priority list. And if we allow ourselves to fall into that type of spiritual malaise, we can end up wasting years of our lives living for things that are meaningless. We can waste entire seasons of our lives.
Nate Saint was the pilot of the plane that flew Jim Elliot and three others into the remote Ecuadorian jungle where they hoped to reach an isolated tribe with the gospel. All five were immediately murdered by that tribe, and if you don't know what happened after that, you should go and read the story because it's amazing. There are two quotes from Nate Saint that I think are worth reflecting on. He said, "People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives, and when the bubble has burst, they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted." He also said, "When life's flight is over and we unload our cargo at the other end, the fellow who got rid of unnecessary weight will have the most valuable cargo to present to the Lord." Don't waste your life.
Jesus will be our source then, and he is our source now. Even a perfect world won't satisfy many in the Millennium because nothing satisfies apart from knowing Jesus. If you're all holding on to the hope that something changing in your life will magically make everything better, you're in for disappointment. That thing may make your life easier. It may make your life more enjoyable, but it won't fill you. It won't bring you true peace. It won't satisfy. Only Jesus can do that, and he's available to you today. If you've been chasing fulfillment anywhere other than in Jesus, would you take some time to repent as we pray and tell the Lord, I'm so sorry for placing my hope in something other than you. Forgive me, God. What I really need is you. More and more of you. Please give me You. The new heavens and new Earth are going to come up in next week's study, so don't miss that. We're going to be talking about the time when God makes all things new in a truer way than we could ever dare to even hope for. Is your name written in the book of life?
Do you know for sure? I don't want to make anybody doubt unnecessarily, but you need to be sure. In eternity, everyone will be given what they truly desire. The sick man who declines the help of a doctor is choosing sickness. So too, the man who declines the invitation to step into the light is choosing darkness. The man who says, I don't want God is choosing an eternity without him. Jesus, on the other hand, said, I am choosing you, even though it will cost me my life. Jesus died for you so that if you want to know Him, you can. If you want to be part of his family, you can. If you want to know love, peace, and joy, you can. But it's your choice, because genuine love always involves a choice. Everybody will get what they want in eternity. The only catch is that you must make your choice now.
This is the only chance you'll get, and you have all the information you need to make the right choice right now. And for those of us who belong to Jesus, my goodness, the lost need Him. They are perishing and destined for destruction unless they repent and turn to Jesus.
That's the reality. Pray for the loss that God has put in your life. Don't lose heart. Keep praying for them faithfully. Ask the Holy Spirit for opportunities to share Jesus with them. Ask the Holy Spirit to make a way. And if you've grown cold or callous to the fate of those who don't know Jesus, ask Him to give you his heart for them. Once again, ask Him to stir your spirit with his love for them. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you so much, as always, for the truth of your word. And thank you for telling us the truth, even when it is difficult, even when it is dark, even when it is sobering. Father, I pray for anyone listening to this or watching this who does not know you. Would you overwhelm them with your presence and cause them to turn to you right now in the name of Jesus, that they might find you and find life and be brought into your family? May they experience your presence right now in this moment? And Father, for those of us who already belong to you, would you give us the Father's heart for the lost? For those people who maybe we've prayed many prayers for, but it just seems like nothing ever changes or happens.
Amen.
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Series: Revelation
Passage: Revelation 21:1-5..........Speaker: Jeff Thompson
Jesus reveals to John His incredible plan to once again create an earth and heavens from nothing, as we look to the Scriptures and dream together about the wonders of Heaven and the ages to come.
Well, can you believe it? We are 21 chapters deep into the Book of Revelation and there are still those who are out there trying to claim that the Book of Revelation is hard to understand. Stand, but bunk, say we for you see the word itself. Revelation means that something has been revealed. And the first words of this amazing book tell us exactly who it is that's being revealed. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. And God wanted us to read this book so much that he promised anyone who would take the time to read and respond to it a special blessing. And we find that in Revelation chapter one, verse three, let's claim it together. It says, Blessed is he or she who reads, and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. But God knew there would still be those who would say, this book is hard to understand. So, to make it simple to understand, he included an easy-to-follow outline. And we find that in Revelation chapter in verses 19, Jesus tells John to write about three different things.
Firstly, he says, "John, write the things which you have seen." That was the resurrected and glorified Jesus in chapter one. Secondly, he says, "John, write about the things which are." That refers to the Church age which began around 32 A.D. and is documented in the Book of Acts. In chapter two, it happened on the day of Pentecost and that Church age has continued all the way up to the present day. And in fact, it's prophesied in chronological order in Revelation chapters two and three. Then finally, Jesus says, John, I want you to write about the things which will take place after this - after the Church age comes to an end. Now, when does that happen? It happens in Revelation chapter four verse is where John writes this. After these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard, that was the voice of Jesus in chapter one was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. And up John goes, serving as a picture of the Church who will be raptured to be with the Lord.
And Jesus takes all of chapters four and five to make sure we do not miss the fact that the Church is with Him in heaven before he begins pouring out his wrath in chapter six. And as he's pouring out his wrath on the Earth, the Bible makes it clear that those on the Earth will know exactly what is happening. Because Revelation 616 tells us they will identify the source of their judgment as the wrath of the Lamb. And in the Scriptures, who is the Lamb? It's Jesus. So chapter one introduces the focus of Revelation. Jesus Christ, chapters two and three take us through the Church age up to the present day. The Church goes up in chapter four, verse one. We see her safe and secure with the Lord for chapters four and five before wrath comes down in chapter six. That wrath will continue for seven years. It's a time period known as the Tribulation, and it's documented in chapter six through 19, after which Jesus returns to the Earth with his Saints in the event known as the Second Coming. Jesus will then rule and reign on the Earth for 10 years known as the Millennial Kingdom, a golden age when the Earth will be returned to an Eden like state and everything wrong with the world will be undone.
Today's study finds us in chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation, the second last chapter of the book. Can you believe it? I know some of you are like, yes, I can, because I can't even remember a time before we were studying the Book of Revelation. Jeff, it's been that long. Chapters 21 and 22 are a travel brochure for heaven.
These final chapters are intended to make our imaginations run wild with thoughts of the Lord and eternity in his presence. And so today we're going to meditate on and we're going to dream about heaven together. The scriptures provide only a few small snippets of information about heaven. There's a lot of mystery and a lot we simply don't know. And I can think of two reasons why that's the case. Firstly, we currently lack the capacity and ability to even fathom all that heaven is going to be. Can you imagine trying to describe a new color to someone if that color had no relationship to any color they had ever seen before. If it wasn't a lighter or darker version of anything that currently exists, it would be impossible. What frame of reference could you use?
So I think that we simply lack the capacity and ability to understand all that heaven is going to be from our current vantage point. The second reason I think the Bible might not have too much to say about heaven is because if you're a parent, then you know or will soon know the special joy of surprising your children with something wonderful. Be it a Christmas or birthday gift or something completely out of the blue, there's not much better than surprising your children with something they love their reaction. Blesses your heart as a mom or dad on a deep level. And in that moment where they are overwhelmed with joy, the cost of that gift does not compare to the joy you feel because their joy is priceless to you. We get that from being made in the image of God, because that's how he feels about you. Do you know what is greater than the suffering Jesus endured on the cross? The joy he experiences when sinners repent and are adopted into his family? God delights in blessing you. He delights in blessing you. I remember the Christmas when our family was living in South Florida, and we got our whole family annual passes to Disney World.
And the kids opened these Christmas cards on Christmas morning and there was just dancing and jumping and screaming and they were going nuts. And it was the best. It was so much fun. I remember when it had been two or three years since we started New Hope and our family hadn't had a vacation for several years. We didn't have any money for a vacation. And so we told our kids to pray because pro tip God cannot seem to turn down the prayers of children.
Well, God said yes, and we're going on vacation today. That's right. I waited till the actual day, pulled up the RV and told them, and we're going today. And then I said, not only that, but we're going on vacation for one day. Two days, three days. And I counted all the way up to eleven days, one at a time. And then I told them all the places we were going and the places we were going were just awesome. We went all the way down the West Coast as far as San Francisco almost. It was fantastic. And their eyes just got bigger and their smiles just got bigger and bigger as I revealed all the details of this amazing trip we were going to do that just blessed me as a dad on that deep, deep level. I believe that God cannot wait to surprise us with the wonders of heaven and the ages to come. He can't wait to experience our joy with us. And so I suspect he's saving the best parts for when we get there. I don't know what your expectations of heaven are. They've been a lot of funky and terrible descriptions of what heaven is going to be like.
And I can tell you this with absolute certainty. You will not be transformed into a naked harp playing baby for all eternity. I can tell you that. Here's another terrible description of heaven that I've heard before. It's going to be like a Church service that never ends. And I know some of you are thinking I've already experienced that several times in my life. Jeff, listen, I love Church services and I love our Church, but even I would not want to go to a Church service that never ends. I have never once said to someone, I'm thinking of just switching our Sunday services to 6 hours long because they're just so great. I just never want to leave. I've never said that. I've never had that thought. Even though I love our Church now, why is that? It's because even though I love our Church and I love our Church services, they are not heaven. They are not heaven. So let's find out. What is Heaven? In our previous study, we learned that at the end of the millennial Kingdom, our universe will be destroyed. Jesus told his disciples, Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
In biblical cosmology, there is a difference between heaven and the heaven leaves, also known as the heavens or the heavenly realm. Heaven is the dwelling place of God. It's where his throne resides. The heavens, the heavenly or the heavenly realm refers to the supernatural dimension that exists between Earth and heaven. It's the realm where Angels and fallen Angels currently wage war, and it's the location of the divine Council where Yahweh meets with Satan as depicted in Job chapter one. It's where he meets with the gods of the nations and the powerful Angels like the watchers mentioned in Daniel chapter four, verses 17. At the end of the millennial Kingdom, our physical universe, the heavenly realm, and even death in Hades will be destroyed. Heaven, the dwelling place of God, will not be destroyed. Verse. One then tells us what happens next. Now I saw a new heaven and a new Earth underline that for the first heaven and the first Earth had passed away, God will create a brand new Earth and new heavenly realm. Why? Because our universe and the current heavenly realm both have a history of sin. Would you write that down?
Whatever raw materials you're thinking of, he created them. God doesn't need to refurbish the heavens and the Earth because he's not limited to working with what already exists. And so once again, he will create a new reality from absolutely nothing. Then we read also, there was no more sea. What, no beaches in the new heaven or on the new Earth? Well, not necessarily. It says no more sea, not no more water. We'll soon learn that there's a river, so we know there's water in this new creation. All this means is that whatever there is instead of the sea is better. Whatever there is doesn't leave sand in your cracks and crevices when you're done swimming in it. Whatever there is doesn't divide people from each other. Whatever there is doesn't sanitize the world's waste as part of the water cycle because there's nothing impure to sanitize in eternity. Whatever there is doesn't pose any type of danger. Whatever is in heaven is better. And hopefully by this point in our study we can all just trust the Lord with the details when it comes to things like this. And remember, those who belong to Jesus will have 10 years to enjoy the best beaches on Earth during the Millennium.
Nobody's going to be missing out on anything. What this sentence is really addressing is what the sea represented in the Hebrew mind. The Jews were not a seafaring people. They didn't spread out across the Middle East by navigating the seas. They viewed seas and oceans as representations of chaos and death, places where dark powers exercised great power. The Jewish man or woman reading the sentence would interpret it as another way of God, saying that in his new creation there will be no more chaos, no more death, no more fear. Additionally, both the Hebrew and surrounding cultures at this time viewed the sea as a place where things are buried, concealed, hidden, and where things disappear, never to be seen again. As we'll see in later verses of this chapter, one of the defining traits of God's new creation is its transparency, literally and figuratively. There will be no secrets in it because there will be no sin and therefore no shame. And shame is the only reason we keep secrets, really, in the new heaven and new Earth, there will be no reason for anyone or anything to ever be hidden. Verse Two Then I John saw the Holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
The New Jerusalem is what we refer to today as heaven. It's the city of God. It currently exists, and it's where God is sitting on his throne. It's the city Jesus called his Father's house, the place he told his disciples he is preparing for those who love him. The new Jerusalem is currently isolated from the heavens and the Earth because they are tainted by sin.
So make a note of that. We, the Church, will live in the New Jerusalem. We will live in the new Jerusalem, the city of God, the city of his Saints. And as John looks at this beautiful city filled with people made beautiful by the Lord, he compares what he sees to the moment a bride is revealed to the guests at a wedding. You ladies who are married are beautiful today, but you looked unbelievably beautiful on your wedding day. Many of you husbands remember, as I do, the moment when she walked in the back of the room at your ending and you thought, man, how did I pull this off? How did I trick her into marrying me. You can see that moment in your mind, the way the room gasps when the beauty of the bride is revealed is the way John describes the revealing of the New Jerusalem, full of the Saints of God. Her beauty takes his breath away. We don't know how exactly it happened, but Hebrews tells us that Abraham got a glimpse, a revelation of the New Jerusalem. This is what it says. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise.
Gas is a foreign country, dwelling, intense with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. Why did he dwell in tents? For he waited for the city, which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Abraham lived to 175 and spent most of those years as one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, men on Earth. But because of this glimpse of the New Jerusalem, he never built himself a house on the Earth. He could have built a palace. But after seeing what God had in store for him, his attitude became, what's the point? Any home I could build here would be a shack compared to what the Lord has prepared for me in heaven. Verse three, and I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men underline the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them underline he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God Himself will be with them underline that and be their God. Notice that God says twice that he will be with his people. He will dwell with them, and God Himself will be with them.
God wants us to know that he will literally be among us. We will see Him, speak with Him, behold Him, hear Him fellowship with Him, worship Him, and serve Him. In John 114, it says, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of Grace and truth. Obviously that's speaking of Jesus, the phrase dwelt among us is actually the phrase tabernacled among us in the original language, as accessible as Jesus was to his disciples in his earthly Ministry, he will be accessible to us in eternity only he won't be in a human body. He'll be fully glorified. Do you realize the day is coming when even faith will be fulfilled? What I mean by that is that the day is coming when faith won't be necessary because the Lord will be with us in such a tangible way. I don't need to have faith that my teaching notes are in front of me because I'm touching and looking at them right now. That's going to be the nature of our relationship with God in eternity.
But in eternity, God will be revealed to us to such a degree that even faith will no longer be required because we will see Him and be with Him. The Tabernacle of God is with men. We will know the Lord as he knows us. I love that it says with men because here's what that means. It means even in heaven, even in eternity, we're still ourselves, but we're the fully redeemed version of ourselves. It's my personal belief that in heaven, our God given passions are still intact because they're part of who God made us to be. I don't know anybody who has fulfilled all their passions. Everybody I know deep down wishes they could have devoted more time and energy to their passions or accomplished more around their passions. Or maybe you feel like there's a song, a book, a business, something inside of you that you just can't seem to get out. For nearly all of us, the limitations of time got in the way. The fact that we have to work, we have to raise children, we have to do all the things that come along with life. You know, when you're young, the word potential is exciting.
When you're older, the word potential stings a little bit because it reminds you of all the things you could have done in your life, the things that deep down, you'd love to do that just didn't happen for good, bad, or neutral reasons. Why would God put those desires and ambitions in us if he knew we couldn't fulfill them? I believe it's because in the ages to come, we will. It's part of who we were created to be in the Millennium and the new creation that follows it. I believe all those unfulfilled God given desires are going to be loosed. Time won't be an issue. Resources won't be an issue. Distractions won't be an issue. In fully redeemed reality, God's fully redeemed people will create and design and build in an atmosphere that is somehow stimulating, an electric, yet simultaneously serene and restful. There are desires and dreams that God has built into your spirit so that they can be freed and fulfilled in his presence. In the ages to come in heaven, we will recognize our loved ones who love the Lord. After the death of his infant son, David said, I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
Not only that, but it seems we will intrinsically know who everybody is. At the Transfiguration, Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, let us make here three Tabernacles. One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Even though Moses and Elijah weren't in their resurrected bodies yet, and even though they had never met them, Peter, James and John recognized them. This brings me great comfort because I am terrible with names and faces, and it is awful being a pastor who wants to make people feel loved and valued but cannot remember names and faces. Great to meet you. How did you find out about the Church. I've been here for three years and you've been a blessing for three years. Excuse me, I think I hear my wife calling. In heaven, you will intrinsically know who everybody is. There won't be any awkwardness for people like me. I'll never have someone say, hey, Jeff, only for me to respond, hey, brother, in heaven, we're going to recognize everybody. So make a note of that. In heaven, we will recognize everybody. In fact, I want to suggest to you that we don't really know anyone and we won't really know anyone until we get to heaven.
Maybe there are some Christian brothers and sisters who come to mind when we talk about heaven because you find yourself immediately thinking, how am I going to avoid them for all eternity? It's going to be tough. Listen, they're going to be fully redeemed. Who we really are. Who we were created to be is going to be unlocked in eternity. Our full potential is going to be realized. And when you encounter those people in their fully redeemed States, you'll find yourself thinking, I love this person.
I'm not saying there's always a justification. I'm saying there's always an explanation. There are negative factors that have impacted and shaped our lives. There were or are positive factors that are missing from our lives. But in eternity with Jesus, all that baggage is going to be removed. All the junk is simply going to fall away. And when those who love Jesus are freed from all that, we will become the people Jesus created us to be. We will be our true selves. For the first time in heaven, everyone will be beautiful in every sense of the word. And I promise you won't have to avoid anybody in eternity. There'll be no guilt, no shame, no awkwardness, no weirdos. Just amazing people redeemed and glorified by the Grace of God in heaven, we'll bump into those people who bugged us on Earth, and we'll say, wow, look at what the Lord has done. You're no longer a giant pain in the well, there's no cussing in heaven, but you get the idea. And again, I'm sure people will have the same experience with us. The Apostle Paul wrote about the effect the cross of Christ should have on how we view people now.
And he said, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh, meaning that those who love Jesus are not to view their Christian brothers and sisters based solely on who they are now, but rather who they are in Christ and who they are destined to become in eternity. I wish I were better at doing that, but I know the Holy Spirit is changing me bit by bit, day by day. Take a look at verse three again. Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. I want you to notice that the emphasis is on God being with us and us being with God. We will recognize and know our loved ones in heaven, but our focus will be on Jesus. It's okay to long for heaven so that you can be reunited with loved ones who love the Lord. It's okay. It's a great thing to hope for. But hear me on this, please. It's not okay to long for them more than you long for Jesus. The presence of those loved ones in heaven will be wonderful, but our hope and joy shouldn't be solely based on the fact that we will see them again.
Rather, our joy should be that we will behold Jesus together. And I really say this because I love you. If you're longing for heaven so that you can be reunited with your loved ones, just be sure that you don't allow your longing to be with them, to exceed your longing to be with the Lord. Because if you do, you've turned that covet one into an idol. And if they love Jesus, that is the last thing they would want you to do with their memory. What a blessing it is that those who love Jesus will be reunited in his presence to enjoy Him together. I don't know how anybody's supposed to read the next verse out loud and keep it together, but I'll try. Verse four, it says, And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. And some will say this verse is pointing out that there must be tears in heaven that God needs to wipe away.
But that's really not what this verse is saying. This verse is saying that because the former things have passed away, nothing will exist that can cause death, sorrow or tears or crying. Those things all died. They all ceased to exist. They all passed away with the old Earth and old heavens. Write this down. Every source of sorrow is destroyed with the old Earth and old heavens. Every source of sorrow is destroyed with the old Earth and old heavens. Someone I follow on Twitter posted this earlier this week. All the sadness believers feel when leaving dear friends, all the nostalgia for days gone by, that God blessed all the pain that rocks you when death strikes loved ones. All of it is a call from a distant land where you never part, you never mourn, and most of all, you never die. No more sadness, no more disappointment, no more bitterness, no more depression, no more anxiety, no more fear. Our eternity will be sorrow proof. I have some incredible things to share with you on that point, but I need to save them for next week, so please don't miss next Sunday. It will bless you so much.
I promise we won't remember our sins and our failures in heaven. Neither will we remember those who rejected the Lord, something that's both encouraging and sobering. Remember Isaiah 60 517. The Lord said, Behold, I create new heavens and a new Earth, and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind. There shall be no more pain for the former. Things have passed away in our earthly lives. There are seemingly endless sources of sorrow that could appear at any given moment. Issues in friendships, marriages and families, addiction, poverty, sickness, death. And on and on the list goes. This will be news to some. But the Bible does not say that everything happens for a reason. If you've been with us for our study through revelation, then you'll know that the Bible teaches that Satan is the God of this age and Jesus has not yet begun to rule the nation. That happens in the Millennium. This is the promise God gives in Scripture. All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. That verse doesn't say that everything happens for a reason, nor does it say that only good things will happen to those who love Jesus.
What it says is that whatever happens to those who love him in this life, God will do something good through it. When a loved one dies unnaturally early, when sickness strikes a child, when jobs are lost, when abuse happens, when tragedy strikes, God will pull something good out of all that sorrow, even when it seems hopeless. He'll create a testimony. He'll empower you to Minister to others who have gone through the same thing. He will shake people out of complacency and make them realize the importance of eternity. He will store up treasures in heaven for you. He will humble you and shape your character. He will reveal himself to you in a new way and give you greater understanding. The promise of God is that our hurt and pain is never wasted, and that's a blessing. There is meaning and significance in the trials of a believer. In contrast, the trials of the unbeliever are meaningless. Romans 828 helps me because it reminds me that Revelation 21 four is talking about heaven, not Earth. The place where there is no more pain is heaven, not this earthly life. And this is so important because there are too many churches teaching people lies by leading them to believe that if you love Jesus, then everything will work out great for you in this earthly life.
And guess what? We are still in the world. Write this down. This isn't heaven. Don't expect it to be. This is not heaven. Don't expect it to be. Heaven is where verses four takes place, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain. For the former things have passed away. Now. Verse five, a verses so great and glorious, I cannot find the words to expound upon it sufficiently. Then he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, right, for these words are true and faithful. I like that John is seemingly so overwhelmed by all that he's seeing there. He's sitting there with his mouth open. And God has to say, John right. This verse means the world to me. And I want to tell you about the moment this verse came alive most powerfully in my life. It was early in the fall years ago, and it was one of our family days that we try to take once a week where we do something together as a family.
And on this particular family day, we decided to head down to White Rock. It was low tide, and we practically had the whole beach to ourselves because while it was clear and sunny, it was still a bit windy and cold, but as is generally the case, children don't care. We blinked, and they were all soaking wet from running through the shallow pools of water that had been left behind by the tide. And they were running, as only kids do, for no apparent reason. Kids get this surge of excitement and joy, and they just run. And I was smiling, watching them play. Because if you're a parent, then you know that your kids joy brings you joy. When Caleb was younger, he loved weapons. I mean, he still likes them, but when he was younger, he just could not get enough of weapons. And on this day, he found a stick almost as tall as him, and he decided that it was his lightsaber. And I remember watching him play. He was completely in his own world. He was fighting bad guys, running, spinning around, splashing in water, laughing and smiling and just having the time of his life.
And as I found myself alone for a minute, I was struck by this deep grief, a wave of profound sadness, because Gas Is watched Caleb playing. As I watched his anabash joy, I realized that I didn't know how to be that kind of happy anymore. There was a level of joy that he was experiencing that was beyond my grasp, because he had a measure of innocence that I no longer had. You see, living in this fallen world has weathered me like a coastal rock exposed to the endless pounding of the Ocean's waves. Life just the process of living in the world wears you down, and it steals from you.
We'll get back what was lost in Eden. We'll get back what was lost before we were even born. We will be new. We've all been shaped by our life experiences in a much deeper way than we realize. What would you be like? Who would you be if they had never made that comment? If that abuse had never taken place? If they hadn't broken your heart? If you hadn't fallen into that addiction? If you hadn't done that thing that you wish every day you could take back, take it a whole lot further? Who would you be if you never felt embarrassment ever or shame ever? If you'd never been criticized? If you'd never experienced disappointment, who would you be? How would you live? How would you laugh? How would you sing? What would you share out loud? How would you love. We will be young again. We will have knowledge and wisdom and understanding, but we will be as free as children who have only ever known. Love and joy and peace will bear no scars of any kind, mental, emotional, spiritual or physical. We'll never worry about the future. We'll never worry about having enough or being enough.
We'll never worry about screwing up because there won't even be a concept in heaven. We won't be able to be self conscious because we'll be so consumed with Jesus that there'll be no room to be consumed with ourselves. Heaven is the hope of all who hope in Christ, and our hope is not misplaced. As we've talked and dreamed about heaven, I want to remind you that Jesus said to John, These words are true and faithful. The question is, do you believe Jesus? I'm not asking if you believe in Jesus. I'm asking if you believe Jesus when he tells you about heaven, because if you do, it's going to be very evident in the way you live your life. Abraham believed God, and he lived his whole life in tents wandering the Promised land because he was convinced of the reality of the New Jerusalem. Does your life serve as evidence that you believe what Jesus says about heaven? In his word, Jesus said, Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. If you're a believer, make sure your life reflects the reality of heaven. If you've not placed your faith in Jesus, if you're not following Him as your Savior and Lord, I want you to know that he is what you are looking for.
Whether you realize it or not, he is what you are looking for. He is what your soul is crying out for. He's what your life is missing. And today you can have Him. When we pray in just a moment, you can ask Him to come into your life and there'll be some instructions on the end of this video as to next steps that you can take to begin that relationship with God. Make sure you do that if you've never known God for yourself. In Hebrews Eleven, the famous hall of Faith chapter, it says this regarding the Old Testament Saints. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the Earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. They desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. If you love Jesus, then he has prepared a place for you. More than that, he has prepared an eternity for you, and he has done so for the same reason he lived a perfect life on your behalf, the same reason he suffered and died on your behalf.
Let's pray. Would you bow your head and close your eyes?
Jesus, thank you that you have gone to prepare a place for us, and you will come again. You will receive us to yourself so that where you are, we may be also. Thank you that our future is better than we could possibly imagine. And Jesus, what we look forward to more than anything is being with you, being with you in the place where we will see you face to face, we will fellowship with you where everything that is wrong will be made right around you and in you and through you. Thank you that that future is assured for us and Jesus. We ask that the way we live our lives right now would reflect that we truly believe and understand what you have revealed to us in Your Word.
May we realign everything in our lives around the reality of heaven and the future You've prepared for us. Lord, help us to live for it, be motivated by it, and be comforted by it. And if there's a change we need to make Holy Spirit, show it to us that we might walk in greater obedience and live for eternity, more profitably, bringing greater joy and glory to the Lord through our earthly lives. We love you. We're so thankful for you. We bless you. It's in Your name we pray. Amen. Hey, thanks for being with us for this study. Before you go, I want to share just a few quick things with you. If you've never given your life to Jesus, then you need to go to Gospelcity. Ca gospel right now you'll find a short video where we share the best news you'll ever hear in your life. It's more important than whatever else you're doing, so go to Gospelcity Caspel right now to learn more about Jesus. If God has blessed you through this message, we'd love to hear about it. Email us at info at gospelcity. Ca and let us know how God has impacted your life through His Word.
We love you, Be blessed.
Series: Revelation....Passage: Revelation 21:6-27......Speaker: Jeff Thompson
John is shown more details of the glorious and eternal future home of all who love the Lord, the New Jerusalem.
Well, can you believe it? There are still those who are saying that the book of Revelation is hard to understand. But flimflam say we and I apologize is for my language. But you see, the thing is, the word revelation itself means that something has been revealed. And the first words of this book tell us exactly who it is that's being revealed.
It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. And God wanted us to read this book so much that he promised anyone who would take the time to read and respond to it a special blessing. And we find that blessing in Revelation chapter one, verse three, let's claim it together. It says, "Blessed is he (or she) who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near."
But God knew there would still be those who would say, it's just too hard to follow. So, to make it easy to understand, he also included a simple outline. And we find that in Revelation chapter one, verses 19, Jesus gives John three things to write about. Firstly, John, I want you to write the things which you have seen that was the resurrected and glorified Jesus in chapter one. Secondly, John, I want you to write the things which are that's a reference to the Church aides which began around 32 Ad at the feast of Pentecost, is documented in Acts chapter two and continues up to the present day.
And then lastly, Jesus says, John, I want you to write about the things which will take place after this. After what? After the Church age. Now, when does the Church age come to an end? That happens in Revelation chapter four, verses one, let me read it to you.
John says, after these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard, that was the voice of Jesus in chapter one was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. And up John goes, serving as a picture of the Church who will be raptured to be with the Lord. And just to make it Crystal clear what's happening, the Lord will take all of chapters four and five to show us the Church with Him in heaven before he begins pouring out his wrath upon the Earth. And when he pours out his wrath, the incredible thing is that verse is like Revelation 616 tell us that those on the Earth will know that it's God doing it.
They will identify it as the wrath of the Lamb. And in the Scriptures, the Lamb is who it's Jesus. So chapter one gives us the focus of this amazing book, Jesus Christ. Chapters two and three take us through the Church age up to the present day. The Church goes up in chapter four, verses one, we see her safe and secure with the Lord in heaven for chapters four and five before wrath comes down on the Earth in chapter six.
That wrath continues for seven years across a time period known as the Tribulation, and is documented in chapter six through 19, after which Jesus returns to the Earth with His Saints in the event known as the Second Coming. Jesus will then rule and reign on the Earth for the thousand years known as the Millennial Kingdom, a golden age when the Earth will be restored to an Eden like state and everything wrong with the world will be undone. After those thousand years, our universe will be destroyed and Jesus will create new heavens and a new Earth free from every source of sorrow heaven itself. The city called the New Jerusalem will descend to the new Earth where it will serve as our home for the ages to come. And though you may not understand all the details just yet, I can tell you this.
Underline that in your Bible, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. What a moment on the cross, Jesus cried out, It is finished here, God declares, it is done. The redemptive work that began with the cry of a new born baby in the little town of Bethlehem reaches its Zenith and concludes with these triumphant words, It is done. Truly.
His ways are higher than our ways, his plans unfathomably greater, his vision infinitely more glorious, and his wonders beyond comprehension. We can enjoy new spiritual life right now. But verse six is the moment when God declares that all things have been made new, physically, spiritually, biologically, all things have been made new. This is the moment Paul spoke of when he wrote this in his first letter to the Corinthians. It's on your outlines.
Then comes the end when he Jesus delivers the Kingdom to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power, for he must reign till he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. Now, when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him. That God may be all in all. The words it is done announce the end of the age of our universe and the dawn of a new age.
A new chapter in the incredible book of the story of God. What happens in that next chapter? A new story begins, and all I can tell you about it is that it will be wonderful. Have you ever been out somewhere far from the city lights, looked up and caught a glimpse of the glory of the universe and seen the Milky Way like a cloud in the night sky? If Jesus could create all the stars, planets, and the beauty of this Earth in six days, what could he prepare for us?
In 2000 years, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you", for you personally. For me personally. I don't know if we'll have rooms or houses, but I suspect there will be some type of space for each of us that is tailored for us individually and will reflect God's intimate knowledge of who he created us to be. I do know this with certainty.
We will realize immediately that we never knew what home felt like before we arrived in heaven. It will feel like home in a way that we have never tasted in our earthly lives. Ladies, as incredible as it sounds, you won't want to change anything about your eternal home ever. You won't want to move a couch or change a paint color. It'll just be perfect.
And all the men will praise the Lord, saying, Truly, he has done great things. God continues in verse is and tells John, I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. The water of life is an idiom for the Holy Spirit that is given to every person who places their faith in Jesus. God is telling John, "All this is for anyone who wants it. It's for anyone who wants Me."
There will be no striving. There will be no dry days, spiritually or emotionally or in any way. There will just be life everywhere, all the time. Verse Seven God says, he who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my Son. Eternal life is for those who desire it and those who overcome.
Now, how do we overcome? Let's remind ourselves once more of the words of our brother John that he wrote in his first epistle, who is he who overcomes the world but he who does enough good works? No, it's not what it says. Sorry. Who is he who overcomes the world but he who has a perfectly consistent devotional life doesn't say that either.
Achieves mastery over every sin in their life doesn't say that. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? The Christian life is drinking the living water of eternal life freely offered by Jesus and then offering it to naturally sorry, then allowing it to naturally affect your life. The Christian life is drinking the living water of eternal life freely offered by Jesus, and then just allowing it to naturally affect your life. There is a difference between a dehydrated person and a hydrated person.
In the same way, there is an unmistakable difference between the person who is drunk the living water of eternal life and the person who has not. How do we Overcome? We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and we express that belief by accepting his offer of eternal life, that's it Salvation is the gift of God. He did all the work so that none of us can boast that we earned even the tiniest part of our Salvation. The Lord did it all.
Our job is simply to believe it and receive it. So would you write this down? It's our belief in Jesus that makes us overcomers. Our belief in Jesus makes us overcomers. He won the victory on our behalf, and we need only believe and follow Him.
In response, there are multiple places in the New Testament where it refers to what awaits us in eternity as our inheritance. We've talked before about how unbelievably it's Jesus desire and intent to share all he has with us in the ages to come. God tells John that all the beauty he is beholding in this new creation belongs to those who belong to Him. We don't know what our tasks will be in this new age. We know it'll be amazing.
And we also know that how we live our earthly lives will impact what we are entrusted with in eternity. We're all in training. That's why James is not blowing smoke when he says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. Are you in a trial? Rejoice.
We're destined to inherit all things. The assignment awaiting us is significant, to say the least. Therefore, it makes sense that our preparation and training would also be significant. Paul writes in Romans eight, you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out Abba, which is Aramaic for Father, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God.
And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. So make a note of this. This life is preparation for our eternal inheritance. This life is preparation for our eternal inheritance.
We need to learn how to be about our Father's business and reflect our Father's value so that we can serve Him faithfully and successfully in the ages to come. Verse seven ends with this beautiful promise. I will be his God, and he shall be my Son. What an amazing thing it is that the Almighty God of heaven and Earth has adopted you and me as his children. Out of all the relationships he could have constructed for us, the one he chose was the one where we call Him dad for all eternity.
Jesus suffered and died so we could become his brothers and sisters through adoption. If you haven't figured it out yet, God really, really loves you. He really loves you. If you've been blessed with a good Father in your life, then you may be able to recall those few golden years when, as a child, the presence of your Father made you feel completely safe. Those years when you didn't ever worry if your dad was around because you knew that if a gang of murderer shows up to try and harm us, my dad will just single handedly beat all of them up and cart them off to jail.
There's nothing to worry about. We're going to feel safe like that. We're going to feel secure like that forever. But not out of ignorance or naivete, but because our Heavenly Father really will have created a reality free from anything that could cause sorrow. We'll never look over our shoulders again, ever.
We know and understand that God lacks nothing. He needs nothing. But that doesn't mean nothing can bless Him. In fact, God made us to be his children for eternity because as staggering as it sounds, God is blessed by his children. If you're a parent, then you know your kids have the capacity to bless you in an incredible way.
When you see them overcome a fear, overcome a challenge. When you see them win, it blesses you. We get that from being made in the image of God. Truly, we will be blessed in eternity. But incredibly, we will also bless God in eternity.
He, our loving and gracious Heavenly Father, will be surrounded by his children and will be blessed by them as he watches them create, build, manage, overcome, and win. And we don't have to wait for heaven to be a blessing to God every time we choose his will over our own will. We bless God every time we choose to praise Him in difficult circumstances. We choose to bless God every time we soften our hearts and repent instead of hardening our hearts. We bless God.
And if you love the Lord, you want to bless Him, you just do because you love Him so much. So make a note of this. Our Heavenly Father created us with the ability to bless Him as his children. He created us with the ability to bless Him as his children. After revealing to John how wonderful heaven is going to be, God takes a moment to remind the reader of the importance of taking their Salvation seriously so that they get to spend eternity in God's blissful new creation.
Please understand the issue is not whether you've fallen into any of these sins after you became a Christian. We all sin and sometimes backslide. This list is talking about people who engage in these behaviors as a lifestyle, as their regular pattern of living. It's talking about people who don't agree with God that these are sins. They're not grieved when they fall into these sins, they don't hate their sin, and they don't attempt to change.
They don't confess, ask for help, or battle their sin in any way. God says in verses eight, but the cowardly those who turn their backs on Jesus when following him becomes inconvenient unbelieving. Those who don't actually believe in Jesus abominable. Those who do evil and wickedness in general, murderers sexually immoral, those who live and practice s*xual behavior outside of God's design, which is marriage between a man and woman. Sorcerers seeking to interact with the spiritual realm outside of the instructions given in scripture.
And the original Greek word is Pharmacos, which points to the inclusion of using mind altering substances to pursue a spiritual experience, talking about stuff like ayahuasca and things like that. Idolaters those who live their lives for any God other than Yahweh and all liars shall have their part in the Lake which Burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. The phrase have their part is an intentional contrast to the language God uses with Israel when he refers to how each tribe will have their part in the Promised Land. God tells Israel, you'll each have an area that will be yours and terrifyingly. God says that those who reject him will each have their own area in the Lake of fire.
If you ever find yourself engaging in any of these sins that God lists unrepentantly as a lifestyle without any hatred of your sin, you need to reflect and ask yourself questions like, Have I really given my life to Jesus? Have I really accepted him as the master of my life? Is that how I view my life? That's how serious this issue is. God gives this list out of love because he doesn't want anyone to miss out on heaven.
If you're caught up in any of that stuff, stop repent. It's not a small thing. Make whatever changes you need to make and make them today. Battle your sin. Find a brother or sister and confess to them.
Pray with them. Ask if you can meet with them for accountability. We're talking about the issue of Salvation. It doesn't get more serious than that. Verse nine Then one of the seven Angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.
The same angel who held one of the bowls of wrath now shows John the place that Jesus has prepared for his people. This is an example of what Holiness is because Holiness manifests as both love and wrath, Grace and wrath. Holiness doesn't just deal with the good things, it brings justice to the evil and wicked things as shown in the actions of this angel. Holiness loves what is good and hates what is in verse is and he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a Jasper stone, clear as Crystal.
That's the history of the people of God. To be a Christian, you must first realize what you are outside of God's Grace. A lump of coal good for nothing but burning, for God. But God loved us, and so he saved us, redeeming us at the cost of the life of Jesus and making us beautiful through the process of sanctification, which will be completed in his presence amid the pressure in the midst of the heat of life trials. Don't forget that the Lord is doing something amazing in you.
You're in process. You are being transformed. You are being made into something different than what you currently are. Verses Twelve Also She The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates underlined twelve gates and twelve Angels at the gates and names written on them, which are the names of the underlying this twelve tribes of the children of Israel, three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. New Jerusalem will be the home of not only the Church, but all of God's people.
Paul explained more than once that the concept of God's spiritual children began with the patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then continued through the prophets until the Church was created by Jesus and grafted into that lineage like a wild branch into an already living tree. One of the ways this spiritual lineage is commemorated in the New Jerusalem is in the form of twelve city gates that each bear the names of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. When Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, she was taking a bit of a dig at the Jews and Jesus didn't say, oh, don't get me started on the Jews. He said, Salvation is of the Jews. In other words, it covet from them.
For 1700 or 1800 years before the advent of the Church, God was working on the Earth through the patriarchs, prophets, and people of Israel. If you love the Lord, then your spiritual roots trace back to them. Salvation came through Jesus, a Jew born in the line of David and spoken of by the prophets. It's interesting that in numbers two, the Lord instructed Israel to have three tribes camp on each of the four sides of the Tabernacle, mirroring the three gates on each side of the New Jerusalem that each bear the names of one of the twelve tribes. As another side note, it may surprise some to note that Peter is not checking IDs at any of these gates.
The idea of St. Peter guarding the pearly gates is Catholic folklore. It's not anywhere in the Bible. Verse 14 now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. The full spiritual lineage we were talking about is captured in this detail.
Each foundation of the city bears the name of one of the foundations of the Church, the twelve Apostles. These foundations could be for the city's walls, as the text says, or some Greek scholars tell us it could be referring to twelve floors or twelve levels within the New Jerusalem. In either case, the point is that the twelve tribes and the twelve Apostles are commemorated in the New Jerusalem because all are part of the story of the children of God. And I'll leave it up to you to debate whether the name of the 12th Apostle is Matthias or Paul. Verse 15.
That means John is seeing a Cube and its length, breadth and height each measure 1500 miles. That's around 2414 km, making it roughly twice the size of the moon. If the foundations are indeed floors, you won't need to worry about bumping your head because these floors have vaulted ceilings. In fact, every level would have a ceiling roughly 125 miles or 201 km high. Each floor would be two point 25 million sq.
Mi in size. That's 1440 acres per floor if there are 3 billion people in eternity. And I think that's being optimistic, each person would have five-point 76 acres to themselves. And if you're thinking, Well, I'm a country person, I need more space than that. Just remember, there's still all of the new Earth for stretching out even more.
The New Jerusalem is a Cube. Interestingly, so was the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple. And again we see that idea reinforced by the three gates on either side, the same way that God commanded the tribes of Israel to camp around the Tabernacles. Are you getting the picture that's emerging here? The Holy of Holies was the place in the Tabernacle and temple complexes where God's presence would dwell.
It was sealed off from the people by a thick curtain because God could not tolerate being in the presence of their uncleanness. The New Jerusalem is the eternal Holy of Holies. The whole thing is the Holy of Holies, except God's people, are not cut off from it. Rather, it is where God dwells among his people without any decision. He does not decrease in Holiness or glory to make this possible.
But through the work of Jesus on the cross, he will increase our Holiness and glory to the level where we can enjoy unrestricted fellowship with Him for eternity. Write this down. The New Jerusalem is the eternal Holy of Holies. Verses 17 Then he measured its wall 144 cubits according to the measure of a man that is of an angel. This is a neat little note because the Bible is telling us that the Angel's measurements are the same as earthly measurements.
There's not some wacky, heavenly symmetric conversion we need to do. It also makes it obvious that these measurements are literal, and this measurement likely refers to the thickness of the city's walls and puts it at around 72 yards or 216ft thick. Verse 18 the construction of its wall was of Jasper and the city was pure gold like clear gas is. Jasper is the same material mentioned in verses eleven. It's diamondlike in its transparency, but also somehow gold.
This allows the glory of God to radiate and refract out from the New Jerusalem, illuminating the new heavens and the new Earth. 19. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper, the second Sapphire, the third calcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonic, the 6th Sardius, the 7th Chrysalite, the 8th barrel, the 9th Topaz, 7th Chris Appraise, the 11th Jason, and the 12th Amethyst. If your Bible gives the stones different names, don't worry about it.
Precious and semi-precious stones have different names in different languages and cultures, even at different times in history as well. And that's why your Bible might have some different words for those stones. All we need to know is that there are twelve precious stones. The idea is that the glory of God shines through these stones, casting out beams of light in every color imaginable, adding to the overwhelming beauty of the New Jerusalem that John is beholding. Many Bible scholars link these stones with the twelve stones that represented the twelve tribes of Israel on the breastplate of the high priest in the Old Testament era.
Some commentators have highlighted something interesting about the nature of pearls and how they are formed. This could be a coincidence, or it could be intentional. I'll share it with you and then you can come to your own conclusions. Pearls are not formed from metal or stone. They are formed when an irritant, usually a grain of sand, gets into an oyster.
But the living organism of the oyster doesn't deal with the irritant by spitting it out. Instead, it coats its robes. The irritant in the material of Pearl. Layer by layer, bit by bit, this insignificant grain of sand is transformed by the oyster into a beautiful and valuable Pearl. And as we pass in and out of New Jerusalem's gates, we will be reminded of this picture that when we approach God in our sin and our wickedness, he did not spit us out.
Instead, Jesus died in our place, welcomed us, and robbed us in his righteousness, transforming us into beautified Saints and treasured children of the Father. And as we pass through these gates, we'll be reminded that we're only there in the New Jerusalem, in the new creation, because God loved us and did something for us that we could not do for ourselves, and we will gladly praise them for it yet again. It goes on and says, in the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. The main street of the New Jerusalem is made of the same gold that is also transparent, the most valuable metal on Earth. Gold is used as concrete in heaven.
When the Bible cautions us about devoting our lives to the pursuit of gold, it's not only spiritual advice but also practical advice. Even if you would he it with you, it would have no value in heaven because it's everywhere. And if you spend your life trying to get as much gold as you can, you're going to feel pretty stupid when you get to the New Jerusalem one day. The famous streets of gold. This verse is where that concept comes from.
The famous pearly gates also from these verses. Verses 22 John says, But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light, and the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the Kings of the Earth bring their glory and honor into it. Don't you love those verses?
There's just something about them conceptually that makes my spirit sore every time I read them. Something in me yearns to be in the New Jerusalem. Isaiah prophesied about this and wrote, The Sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you, but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. The term the nation is the Greek word Ethnos. In this context, it's a reference to the different ethnicities that will populate heaven.
We'll retain our ethnicity in heaven because it will testify to the glorious breadth of the saving power of the cross. The work of Jesus saves lives and turns orphans into children of God. Across nations, ethnicities, languages, socioeconomic classes, and every other human division, the gospel transcends it all. An eternity will attest to that fact. The phrase the Kings of the Earth bring their glory and honor into it speaks of the reality that all glory and Fame will return to God in the New Jerusalem.
D.L. Moody, the great pastor, and preacher was in Chicago when the Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of the city, and it destroyed his house too. Shortly after the fire, a reporter came up to him and asked, Reverend Moody, you're a Christian man, and yet your house burned to the ground too. In fact, you've lost everything. How do you explain that? D.L. Moody responded, "You are very much mistaken. I've got much more than what was lost in the fire. The reporter said. What do you mean? D.L. Moody opened his Bible to Revelation 21, verse seven, and read aloud, he who overcomes shall inherit all things.
When Jesus was hanging with his disciples, the time came when he had to tell them that he was going to be leaving them for his time, and they were discouraged. This was not the way they expected things to go. Things were turning very dark, very fast. But Jesus didn't tell them, "Hey guys, why don't you go watch an inspiring movie to make yourself feel better?" He didn't say, "Listen, check out my Facebook feed. I'm going to be posting some encouraging musical performances there." Nor did he counsel them, "Listen, have a positive attitude. Turn that frown upside down." Instead, Jesus taught them that the antidote for discouragement is to set your mind and heart on things above, on our future with Jesus. He told his boys this: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am there you may be also. And where I go, you know, and the way you know." Think about these things. Turn your heart and your hope toward heaven, and I promise your spirit will be lifted.
Your perspective will be rightly readjusted the believers who make an impact in this life are the ones who understand what comes in the next life. When you grasp the reality of heaven even a little bit, you'll be able to live free from the things the Bible calls the affairs of this life. Only good and fruitful things come from being heavenly-minded. In fact, it's the key to ending this life.
Because when you're freed from placing all your hope in this life, when you're freed from wanting everything to be perfect, now you're able to enjoy this life for what it is. You're able to enjoy others for who they are.
If you're playing Amen with the sins God listed in this chapter, if you're not convicted, grieved, repentant, or desiring to change, please reflect and make sure that you're actually saved. You cannot accept Jesus as your Savior without also accepting Him as your Lord, the pastor of your life. If you feel no conviction over your sin, ask the Lord to touch you and give you a heart that desires to please Him. Ask the Lord to be God over your life and then repent. Turn away from those sins, confess to somebody, a pastor or a wise and mature believer, and make a plan to stay in fellowship and encourage each other to walk in righteousness.