Tonight's message is called Marks of the Millennium. And I want you to turn with me to Revelation chapter 20, as we make our way through this chapter of the Bible that talks about the Kingdom of God coming to Earth. And by way of review, you may remember the many times we've mentioned that John was given an outline of the book of Revelation in the first chapter and in Revelation 1:19, I want to display it on the screen for you. He was told to write the things which you have seen. And I put a number one in the verse, because that'll be part one of the book and the things which are, I put a number two before that one, because that is the second part of the book of Revelation. And thirdly, the things which will take place after these things. And if you'll notice on that chart, I've just broken it down by those phrases. Part one, the things you've seen that was chapter one of the book of Revelation which was his vision of the glorified Christ in heaven. Part two, the things which are, those are chapters two and three, which are the letters to the seven churches. And even though those were literal churches, back in John's day, we believe that they were symbolic of the entire Church Age of which we are a part today. And then part three the things which will take place after these things. That's the bulk of the book of Revelation chapters 4 through 22. So, part three of the book is chapters four through the last chapter, which is chapter 22. And what I want you to do is to think about from that last graphic, part three, chapters 4 through 22. I want to give you just a summary of the topics that are covered in chapters 4 through 22. And first of all, there is the seven year Tribulation and we've spent a lot of time talking about that. And that's really what most of those chapters are about from the 4th chapter through the 19th chapter. It is about the Tribulation period. And then the second topic in that section is the Return of Christ. We saw that in chapter 19 as we studied it in our last session together. And then we move into the topic of the Millennium tonight, which is what chapter 20 is devoted to. And then the final two chapters of Revelation are devoted to eternity or what we call the Eternal State. All right. So, you can see that is an overview of part three, which is chapters 4 through 22. So, what I want us to focus on tonight is the third of those topics, which is the Millennium. And we're going to pick up in verse 1 of chapter 20, where John writes, "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven. "He had the key to the bottomless pit "and a great chain in his hand. "He laid hold of the dragon, "that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan. "And he bound him for a thousand years." And you can underline that in your Bible. Verse three says and this angel then cast the Devil into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were finished. But after these things, he must be released for just a little while. So, we're gonna talk about Marks of the Millennium and we're gonna take it verse by verse, section by section through chapter 20. And I want you to write down these marks or these different features or aspects of the Millennium, which will even define just a moment, but Christ's earthly kingdom will last for 1000 years. I want you to write that down because we glean that from the reference to 1000 years, a duration of time that appears in this chapter. Now, in the 19 chapter, remember John described the person we believe is Jesus coming back to the Earth, riding on a white horse. And He was followed by a heavenly army. We believe the heavenly army were the redeemed, the saints who were in heaven as well as perhaps angels, but after He comes to the Earth and He defeats the global armies, He saves Israel from her annihilation. And then He, as we read in the 19th chapter, He banished the Antichrist and the False Prophet to the Lake of Fire. What's next? After Christ comes and settles the score and wipes out the global alliance of military forces, that had all converged on the Holy Land and puts the the Antichrist and False Prophet in hell. The next thing He does is, He establishes His earthly kingdom. And it is from this chapter Revelation 20, that we understand that the duration of that kingdom is going to be 1000 years. And the first mention of that was in verse two, as we saw a moment ago. Now, our English word Millennium is actually derived from Latin. And I wanted to show you the atomology, which is the ancestry of the word Millennium. And you can see on the screen that mille is Latin for thousand and annum or annus is Latin for year. And so, our English word Millennium is the combination of those words, 1000 years is what it means. So, when we refer to the Kingdom of Christ, as it's described in the 20th chapter of Revelation, lasting for 1000 years, we refer to the period of God's Kingdom on the Earth as the Millennium. That's where that comes from. Now, there are synonymous terms for the Millennium and you don't need to write all these down, but I just wanted you to see and to hear different expressions used to refer to this same period of time. For instance, it's called the Millennial Reign of Christ. It's called the Millennial Kingdom. It's also called the Messianic Kingdom, because Christ is the Messiah. And Messianic is the adjectival form of Messiah. The Messianic Age, the Earthly Kingdom, The Rule of Christ, The Reign of Christ, The 1000-year Reign of Christ. So, I just wanted you to know, these expressions are used interchangeably and they all refer to this same period of time. Now, the references to a literal kingdom of the Messiah on the Earth, the Kingdom of God on Earth, these references are plentiful throughout the Scriptures. However, even though there are multiple references to a Kingdom of God on the Earth, there is only one place in the Bible, where the duration of 1000 years is attached to that earthly kingdom. And it is here in chapter 20. It is for this reason, the fact that only in Revelation 20 is the period of time, a thousand years mention that some scholars have dismissed this as being intended by John to be understood as figurative, not literal. And they say, since it's lacking corroboration in other parts of the Bible, we shouldn't focus on it being a literal 1000 years. Well, some may find merit in that argument, but my thought would be this, If God only intended the duration of time 1000 years as figurative or symbolic, instead of literal. I find it interesting that, that period of time is mentioned six different times in this chapter. That means six times in chapter 20, you find the expression 1000 years, 1000 years, 1000 years, not just three, four or five, but six total times. So, we believe in a literal 1000 year or Millennial Reign of Christ on the Earth, which is what follows the seven year Tribulation. Here's the second thing I want you to write down. Satan is going to be confined during the Millennium. We read it in these first three verses of chapter 20, that John said, he saw this angel who had a key to the abyss and he had a chain. And John described the angel putting Satan into this abyss, this pit and confining him or binding him and requiring that he be incarcerated. That Satan be imprisoned in the abyss, the bottomless pit for the 1000 year period. And this abyss is considered, the holding place, his temporary prison until he is forever thrown into the Lake of Fire, which is eternal hell, which happens after the 1000 years. Now, it's interesting, because we always want to interpret Scripture with other Scripture, but speaking of this pit or this place of chains in captivity for demons until their final eternal damnation, the apostle Peter wrote in 2nd Peter 2:4, he said for, "If God did not spare the angels who sinned, "but cast them down to hell "and delivered them into chains of darkness "to be reserved for judgment." And he goes on to talk about what that means, but I wanted you to just see here, the chains of darkness reserved for judgment. There's a parallel understanding there that this abyss is not the permanent abode of Satan and his demons. It is just the prison where in this instance, Satan is locked up by this angel, who's holding the key with the chain around the bars and the angel will not allow Satan to emerge from that prison for 1000 years. So, he's locked up for the Millennium. And John tells us the purpose for Satan's imprisonment is so that he can no longer do the work of deceiving all the nations, his work of deception would be halted. Remember, how in the last chapter, all the nations of the Earth had sent their military forces, under the leadership of Antichrist. And they had been drawn into the Holy Land by demon spirits. All of this was the work of Satan deceiving the leaders of the nations and the people that they lead. But suddenly after having had his heyday of deceiving the nations, it's like, God is saying, "During the Millennium, you're gonna be locked up Devil, "because you will no longer be able to circulate among "the nations of the Earth "and to deceive them as you have been doing." However good this news is that Satan is locked up for a thousand years. John puts a damper on our excitement by revealing to us at the end of verse three, that Satan is going to be released for a little bit of time after the 1000 years. Now, I just have to tell you this. That is one of the biggest questions that Bible students of the book of Revelation have is why can't Satan just get locked up for good at the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Christ and never be released from the abyss? Why doesn't he just get locked into the Lake of Fire on the front end, when Christ comes back and raises the flag of His Kingdom over Jerusalem? Well, there are so many reasons as to why that is possible. Well, I'm not going to speculate on why in God's sovereignty and God's wisdom He chooses to let Satan out one last time to lead a final rebellion, before he is cast into the Lake of Fire. But for tonight's study, we're just going to mention that that's what happens. Let's look into verse four. He says, "And then I saw thrones "and people sat on these thrones "and judgment was committed to them. "And then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded "for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God, "those who had not worshiped 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 a thousand years." Okay, so from these verses, I want you to write down our third main point tonight and that is that the saints will rule with Christ The saints. And when we speak about saints, when the Bible uses that word saints, it's not talking about people that the church has canonized and given some lofty status, above sinful humanity. The word saint refers to those whom God has declared righteous, through righteousness which He credits to them, because of their faith in Him. It is that saints have been made righteous by the grace of God through their faith in God. And in particular, since the time of Christ, people become saints by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. And so, don't be misled by the word saints, as though it refers to some special category of people and that not all Christians are saints. No, not all Christians act like saints and live like saints, but those who are truly saved, whether they were saved before Christ or since the time of Christ. If they were saved by grace through their faith, in the revealed Word of God to them, then God has made them righteous. He has credited righteousness to them and declared that they are holy righteous and acceptable to Him. This is what a saint is and as hard as it is for me to believe it. I'm a saint and you're a saint, even though my life and my actions, don't always back that up. God has declared that those of us who are saved, we are His saints. And the point of this is that saints will rule with Christ during the Millennium. And John sees these thrones and he sees people sitting on these thrones. And obviously they've been given authority to exercise judgment. He uses the word judgment. "Judgment was committed to them," he says in verse four and this has to do with a delegated authority. If Christ has come to set up His kingdom and the saints are ruling with Christ and to them it has been given to judge. This is an authority that Christ has delegated to them. They've been commissioned. They are acting in the authority of the new King of the world, who's arrived to set up His kingdom. So, when you think of these who are ruling with Christ, who've been given the assignment of judging, which probably refers to administration. It means that the saints of God, during the Millennium are going to be extensions of the messianic administration of Christ in the Earth, which is a concept that is very difficult for me to grasp, to think that God's redeemed people are going to be ruling with Jesus during this 1000 years. And some have even suggested that we're going to be given territorial jurisdictions. And so, you might use a little sanctified imagination and just say, if you are one of these saved ones who is returned with Christ to the Earth to establish His Millennium and He were to give you the choice about what part of the world you would like to set up the remote satellite office for the headquarters of the worldwide dominion of Christ centered in Jerusalem. There are going to be outposts of the messianic administration all over the world. Now, I'm not saying He'll let you choose, but sometimes I let my mind kind of travel. And I think if He lets me choose, supposing I'm given an assignment during the Millennium, if He lets me choose, I've got a few places I want to present as requests, where I would like to live during the Millennial Reign if He would let me be one of His messengers to have a jurisdiction somewhere in the world. Okay, well just letting you know, sometimes you can take your imagination and let it run wild with the realities that are promised to us in the Bible. But the question really is, who are these who are sitting on these thrones in verse number four? Who are these who are exercising the authority of Christ, alongside Christ, throughout the world, during the Millennium? Well, I'll tell you, this is another one of those complicated questions with a lot of different interpretive answers, but it's interesting it takes me back to something Jesus told His disciples in Luke chapter 22, Luke tells us that Jesus said to His disciples, "You are those who have continued with Me in My trials. "And I be still up on you a Kingdom." There's that word Kingdom, "Just as My Father bestowed upon Me." And this is what Jesus says, look in verse 30. "My purpose for you to be in that Kingdom "is that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom "and sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel." So, do you see there in the 30th verse of Luke 22, Jesus speaks to His disciples about sitting on thrones and then back in Revelation 20:4, John sees in the Spirit, prophetically people sitting on thrones, exercising judgment. Jesus talked to the 12 disciples, about sitting on thrones and judging the 12 tribes of Israel. John sees people sitting on thrones to administer judgment in verse four at the outset of the Millennium. So, when Jesus was talking to His disciples saying, you're gonna sit on 12 thrones to judge the 12 tribes of Israel, was He referring to those 12, one of whom defected and was replaced after the resurrection of Jesus? Did He mean literally the 12 disciples? Or was He speaking to these 12 disciples in Luke 22 and their representative capacity, meaning that they were the corporate representation of the church that was to come. The church of whom they would be the founding generation. So, did He mean literally those 12 or did He mean that through them it would be those who belong to the church, throughout the Church Age, who are raptured there in heaven during the Tribulation, they return behind Christ, when He comes back to set up His kingdom on the Earth. Well, we could talk about this for a long time, because of all the different interpretations there are, about who it is, who is ruling with Christ. We do know one group in particular and we're gonna talk about them in a moment, but I just want you to realize that there are promises made in the Bible to us, not just what Jesus told His disciples, but for instance Paul wrote to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 2:12, he said, "Therefore, if we endure," meaning if we suffer for Christ in this life, "we shall also reign with Him." Let me ask you a question, where else would a believer in Christ, who has suffered for Christ, where else would they reign with Him? If it were not in this Millennial Kingdom of Christ, it's a promise. We shall reign with Him. And then there's a passage in the New Testament, where the apostle Paul wrote to forbid Christians from suing one another in secular courts. He said, because you're disgracing the Christian witness, when Christians sue one another. You probably are familiar with this passage, but look at what he says about it. In 1st Corinthians 6, he says, "When one of you has a dispute with another believer, "how dare you file a lawsuit "and ask a secular court to decide the matter, "instead of taking it before other believers." And then this is what he says, "Don't you realize that someday, "we believer's will judge the world." Do you see that? And since you're going to judge the world, can't you decide even these little disagreements, among yourself so look, this is what he's saying. One day believers are going to judge the world and judge does not mean as righteous ones who are, none of us would be worthy to play the role of God and judge people. I believe what he's saying here, he's referring to this role that believers will be given, during the Millennium to be extensions of the messianic administration throughout the Earth. I mean, just think about it. Paul believed that this was a reality. And so he said, if God is gonna take us, after He's raptured us, kept us out of the Tribulation brings us back down to planet Earth and sets up the Kingdom of Jesus on the Earth. And then He's gonna spread us out in different parts of the world to be His agents of administration to be His cabinet members, so to speak in the outpost of the Kingdom of Christ on the Earth. If you're going to have to use your discernment and wisdom and judgment in those instances, then surely you can arbitrate the disputes that Christians have between fellow Christians. It's just interesting that he appealed to this whole idea that Christians will one day administer justice on Christ's behalf throughout the Earth. So, the saints who will be reigning with Christ, the ones whom John sees they include, I believe the raptured church that returned with Christ in chapter 19. And that would be us. Those of us who are saved from the Church Age, who are raptured before the Tribulation, but who returned with Christ after the Tribulation to set up His Kingdom, we are among those who will reign. We've been promised that. Not only that, but the resurrected saints who had died during the Tribulation and in verse four, John refers specifically to those who had been beheaded and beheaded just as an expression, meaning those who had been killed, having been saved during the Tribulation and having given their lives because of their faith. He specifically singles them out, as being those who are reigning with Christ during the Tribulation. And then it could also possibly include resurrected saints from the Old Testament period or the time before Christ, which will have more to say about later. Now, here's the thing, whoever the saints are sitting on these thrones, which are a figurative depiction of God's people being extensions of His administration, when Christ sets up His Kingdom on the Earth. We know that in verse six, John tells us they will reign with Him for a thousand years. So, this must mean that in order to survive the Millennial Reign, guess what? If you have been glorified, which is what happens at the rapture. You have been given your eternal body, which upon coming back to the Earth for the Millennium, you will be occupying a glorified body that will not be subject to the elements that will not be subject to death and deterioration, disease and decay and all of those D words that are part of what it means to be a sinful human, before we are glorified. So, our bodies in the Millennium, if we are among those who are saved and are coming back with Him in His return, our bodies are going to be like the resurrected body of Jesus. And if you want to know what that body is like, read in the gospels, it is a visible body. And certainly it is a body that can be seen. It is a body that can be touched, but it has the ability to even pass through doors that are closed. As you saw, when He came and appeared in the room where His disciples were grieving and wondering what had happened to Him. How much fun could we have talking about this? Now, so just to summarize the conditions of the Millennium will include a partial reverse of sins curse in the world. I've heard someone describe it this way, that the Millennial Reign of Christ, will be as close a return to the conditions that existed in the Garden of Eden before the fall, as there can be on Earth with sin still present. So, the Millennium is going to be as close as we can get to the garden of Eden before sin. But the problem is there will still be sin in existence, during the Millennium, because there will be people populating the Millennium who are not yet glorified, alright? But here's something that I want you to think with me about, I mentioned to you earlier that although Revelation chapter 20, talks about the Millennium and it's the only place in the Bible where the duration of 1000 years is mentioned. It is mentioned six times in this chapter, there are many places in the Scripture, where the concept of an earthly kingdom is mentioned in order to understand more fully, what the Millennium will look like and what it will feel like and what it would be characterized by. You have to go back and you have to kind of go back on a glorified scavenger hunt, so to speak instead of looking for trash, you're looking for inspired treasures, you go back and you pick up all the nuggets, throughout the Scripture that talks about God's kingdom coming to the Earth. And you piece those together with Revelation 20. And that's where we get the full panorama of what the Millennium is going to be like. Now, what I want to do tonight is I just want to do an overview of some of those having gone on a scavenger hunt, through the prophecies of the Bible. And I want to show you some prophecies, about the Kingdom of God on the earth. And we gonna come back to Revelation 20. So, let's just hit pause and say, "Okay, if Revelation 20 is talking about the Millennium, "let's go back in the Old Testament and see, "what were the Old Testament prophets saying, "about when God's Kingdom would come to the Earth?" Well, in Isaiah chapter two it says in verse one, "The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah "and Jerusalem. "Now, it shall come to pass in the latter days "that the mountain of the Lord's house, "should be established on the top of the mountains "and shall be exalted above the hills "and all nations shall flow to it." Look at this, "Many people shall come and say, 'come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord 'to the house of the God of Jacob. 'He will teach us His ways. '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 plowshares "and their spears into pruning hooks. "Nations shall not lift up sword against nation. "Neither shall they learn war anymore." Let's look in Isaiah chapter 11 and verse six. "The wolf also shall lie down with the young goat, "the calf and the young lion and the fatling together "and a little child shall lead them. "The cow and the bear shall graze. "Their young ones shall lie down together "and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." Look at this, "The nursing baby 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." And Daniel chapter two. "And in the days of these Kings, "the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom, "which shall never be destroyed." This was the vision that Daniel interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar. And out of that vision, what Daniel was having revealed to him is that God would set up a Kingdom, which would never be destroyed. And it is a Kingdom, look at this, that shall not be left to other people, which means it won't be a Gentile Kingdom. It'll be a Jewish Kingdom. This message was for the Jewish people. It shall break in pieces and consume all the other kingdoms and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold. The great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain and its interpretation is sure. Let's look at Amos chapter nine. In Amos 9:14. It says I, God says, "I will bring back the captives "of My people, Israel. "And they shall build the way cities and inhabit them. "They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them. "They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. "I will plant them in their land "and no longer shall they be pulled up "from the land I have given them, says the Lord, your God." And look at Micah in verse number four. It says, "Many nations shall come and say, 'come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, 'to the house of the God of Jacob. 'He will teach us His ways. 'We shall walk in His paths.' "For out of Zion the law shall go forth. "And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, "He shall judge between many peoples "and rebuke strong nations afar off. "They shall beat their swords into plowshares "and their spears into pruning hooks "and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, "neither shall they learn war anymore." And if that sounds familiar, it's because it is exactly parallel to the passage we read from Isaiah chapter two. So, you've got these parallel passages from Micah and Isaiah. And just to back up for a moment, before we continue. I'm just throwing these out, because when you think about all of these promises, about the wolf lying down with the lamb, instead of eating the lamb, this is what I was talking about. This is speaking about a partial reversal of the curse of sin. There's going to be some type of restraint against evil, even the evil in the world of animal life and nature during the Millennium It won't be totally perfect, but it will be as near a re-visitation of Eden as we can possibly have. And when it talks about all the nations going to Jerusalem, all of the people saying, come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. It's talking about Gentiles and not just Jews. It is saying here that all of the Gentiles on planet Earth are going to recognize that Israel is the seed of God's Government, where the King is ruling and that justice and God's law will go forth from Jerusalem and cover all the Earth. Let me ask you a question. When has that ever happened? It hasn't happened and that's because none of those prophecies have been fulfilled yet, but they are going to be fulfilled, when what John tells us in Revelation 20 comes to pass, all of the prophecies that I've just gotten through reading, are millennial prophecies. They are about the Millennium, the reign of Christ. And we can rest assured that every one of them will come to pass, because none of them has been fulfilled, as I'm standing here talking to you tonight. Then Zachariah 14 and verse 4, Zachariah was told, "In that day, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives." We've seen that verse, but in verse nine of that chapter it says, "And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. "In that day it shall be, 'the Lord is one.' "And His name is one." Now in our day, people don't say the Lord is one. People are saying, you can choose your God. I can choose my God or you can have no God, there can be many gods. But in that day it says everybody in the world will acknowledge, the Lord is the only one. The God of the Bible. So, there has never been a time, when these conditions have existed. These prophecies will only be fulfilled when Christ returns and sets up an earthly kingdom. Do you wanna know, where another Millennial prophecy was made? It was made in the Christmas story, when Gabriel told the virgin Mary, she was gonna give birth to Jesus. Look at this in Luke chapter one, he said to her, "Behold you will conceive in your womb "and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus. "He will be great "and will be called the Son of the Highest." And look what Gabriel tells Mary, "And the Lord, God will give Him the throne "of His father David." Now, if you know your Old Testament history, you know that David moved the capital city to Jerusalem and Jerusalem became the capital of Israel under King David. And King David was a foreshadowing. He was a type of Christ through King David, moving into Jerusalem and conquering it and establishing his capital there. He prefigured Christ returning to the earth and establishing His capital there. So, when you see what Gabriel told Mary, that Mary's Son would would sit on the throne of His father, David. Jesus never did that in His earthly life 2000 years ago. So, even this most fundamental promise in the Christmas story has yet to be fulfilled. So, if Jesus never occupied an earthly throne ruling from Jerusalem, He didn't rule from Jerusalem. He was sentenced and killed in Jerusalem. If this never came to pass, then when will it be fulfilled? It will be fulfilled in the return of Christ, when He establishes the Millennium, His 1000 year rule. Oh, I wish I could look into your faces and gauge whether or not you understand what I'm trying to communicate tonight. And that is that all of these kingdom promises, which you read about and say, "Well, those didn't happen when Christ came the first time." Do you realize all of them reach ahead in time to this Millennium that we are talking about? And I want to just share something with you, because you know how there are all kinds of different interpretations about Bible prophecy. There are many people who do not believe in a literal kingdom of God on the earth. They take the whole book of Revelation. They take all of the covenant promises that God made to Israel, which He has not fulfilled yet. And they dismiss it all and they spiritualize it. They allegorize it, they dismiss it of some type of abstraction that is not going to be fulfilled in a literal, tangible, visible way. So, when someone asks me to describe my prophetic interpretation, this is what I say. I say, "I am a Pre-Millennialist, a Pre-Millennialist." Now, let me tell you the significance of that. First of all, just by using the word Millennium, I am acknowledging that I believe in a Millennium, it's not figurative, allegorical or spiritual. It's not something we can just spray into the midst of some ethereal notion that the Kingdom of God is already here on the Earth, through us as Christians, God's done with Israel. And there will never be a literal return of Christ to the earth, to me this borders on blasphemy to believe these kinds of things. So, when I say I'm a Pre-Millennialist, I'm saying, I believe in a literal Millennium, I believe in a literal reign of Christ. And when I say pre, when I attach that prefix pre, I'm saying that I believe that the Millennium will be preceded by a literal return of Jesus. Because when Jesus was lifted from the earth in the first chapter of Acts, the angel said the disciples who were standing there, amazed watching Jesus disappear into the cloud. They said, "Why are you standing here gazing into heaven? "This same, Jesus shall so come again "in the same way you saw Him leave." So, this means that Jesus left this world with a physical glorified, visible body. And if the angel was telling the truth in the first chapter of acts, he said, "This same Jesus is going to come back to the world "in the same way you saw Him leave," which means visibly, physically, same glorified body. So, when I say I am a Pre-Millennialist, what I'm acknowledging there is that I believe in a literal return of Christ to the earth and that I believe that He will inaugurate a literal kingdom centered in Zion, the capital city, Jerusalem, the Holy Land and that He will have a worldwide jurisdiction with which His saints will assist Him in ruling and reigning and administering justice, through that 1000 years. I hope you are a Pre-Millennialist, because there are only two options in interpreting Bible prophecy to be a Pre-Millennialist or to be wrong. Amen. All right, now let's keep going, verse five says, "The rest of the dead, "did not live again until the thousand years were finished. "This is the first resurrection." Now, just know that reference there to the first resurrection is referring back to the previous verses not what was just said in verse five. When it says in verse five, "The rest of the dead did not live again." This is actually gonna be the second resurrection. We'll talk about that in a moment. The first resurrection is what happens when Christ returns to set up the Millennium. Then John gives us this beatitude, "Blessed and holy is he, "who has part in the first resurrection. "Over such the second death has no power, "but they shall be priests of God and of Christ "and shall reign with Him a thousand years." So, let me tell you another mark of the Millennium. When Christ returns to set up the Millennium the first resurrection is completed. The first resurrection is completed. I underlined it in the verses I display, but you you can underline in your copy of the Bible, verse five, the first resurrection it's the last three words of verse five, underline that the first resurrection in the first line there of verse number six. In Paul's classic passage on the doctrine of the resurrection, where outlines the significance of Christ being raised from the dead. You know, the gospels describe the resurrection itself. In I Corinthians 15, Paul describes the doctrine of the resurrection. In the gospels they tell us the resurrection happened, but in I Corinthians 15, Paul tells us what the resurrection means for us. And he says in verse 23 of first Corinthians 15, he says, "There is an order to the resurrection, "Christ was raised" and some translations say as the first fruits, but the New Living calls it the first part of the harvest. "Then all who belong to Christ, "will be raised when He comes back. "And after that, the end will come, "when Christ will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, "Having destroyed every ruler and authority and power "for Christ must reign, "until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet." Now, notice how Paul takes this doctrine of the resurrection and he combines it with discussion about the Kingdom, when Christ rules and establishes the reign of God on the earth and subdues all of His enemies beneath His feet. That's Millennium talk right there. And he weaves this idea of the resurrection of the dead in with, coinciding with, concurrent with the launch of this Millennial kingdom. So, I want you to think with me for a moment, about the first resurrection and the second resurrection. The second resurrection that we'll get to is when all of the unsaved dead, are resurrected after the Millennium, but the first resurrection consists of several different instances. That's why it's a little confusing to be referred to as the first resurrection. It's actually a first resurrection in which Christ was the first fruits, but His resurrection means that He was the first and then He made it possible for the others who will be harvested in from the field of death. It's an agricultural concept, Paul used in first Corinthians 15, when He said that Christ was the first fruits brought in from the field. So, you have to kind of think in an agrarian way, but what it tells us is, whereas there are different gatherings of the crop. There is only one harvest. So, there is one resurrection that pertains to Christ and those who are saved, but it is in different installments. And I thought I would put this on the screen for you, this chart, that the first resurrection, it begins with the resurrection of Jesus. That's what Easter is about. It continues with the resurrection of deceased Christians at the Rapture, which is before the Tribulation, you know the whole I Thessalonians four, when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ will be raised. And then we who are alive and remain. But that resurrection at the Rapture is that second installment. It continues with the resurrection of deceased believers, who died during the Tribulation, but are raised from the dead when Christ returns. So, do you see what I'm talking about? The first resurrection has different components, different installments. Now, we've got to go on another scavenger hunt, because what we're missing, we've got the resurrection of the dead in Christ, which happens at the rapture before the Tribulation. We have the resurrection of those who were saved, but died during the Tribulation. They are raised from the dead when Christ returns. So, it's like, there's a church rapture. And then there is a Tribulation rapture for Tribulation saints. A Tribulation resurrection of Tribulation believers. But if you'll just bear with me, we have to go back to the God's plan that He gave to Daniel for the Jewish people and an angel spoke to Daniel. And I believe that the angel in the 12th chapter Daniel, was referring to the final moments of the Tribulation. It says in verse one of Daniel 12, "At that time, Michael shall stand up the great prince, "who stands watch over the sons of your people. "And there should be a time of trouble, "such as never was since there was a nation. "Even to that time." That's that whole, Great Tribulation, last half of the most awful part of the Tribulation. He says "At that time, your people shall be delivered. "Everyone who's found written in the Book." Christ is gonna come back. And verse two says, when Christ comes back, we're reading into this many of those who sleep. He's referring to Jews. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. There's resurrection, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. And we believe that this is a reference to the resurrection of Old Testament saints. It was revealed to Daniel in the 12th chapter of his prophecy and this angel placed it at the end of the Tribulation. So, understand this, what we're saying is that not only when Christ returns with the raptured church, who's been up there in heaven with Him, not only will Tribulation saints, who died during those seven years be raised from the dead, even though their souls were in heaven, just like Christian, the deceased Christians, their souls are in heaven now. Tribulation saints who died, their souls will be in heaven, but their souls will be re reunited with their bodies, just as it happened for the church at the Rapture. Tribulation saints will be raised, but we also believe that Old Testament saints will be raised as well. So, I think what I'm saying is let's add another component to this first resurrection. It's the last bullet point and you can see it underlined, it continues with the resurrection of deceased believers of the Old Testament period. Now, leave that up there for a moment. All of those first points you've seen, but do you see what I'm talking about how if Jesus was the first fruits of resurrection, look at the other groups who will be resurrected at different stages prior to the Millennium. All right. So, I know that's a lot to take in, but I wanted to mention that to you. Now, you say, "Well there was one more episode of resurrection," and don't think that I have overlooked that. When Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead and Matthew chapter 27, Matthew tells us that there were certain graves around Jerusalem that opened up and certain Old Testament saints were raised. So, they could be fitted in there somewhere, because that was a very unique and exclusive way God attested to the authenticity and the legitimacy of Christ's resurrection. So, don't let that distract you. I just wanted you to see that the first resurrection that's what was mentioned in chapter 20, where we are of Revelation. That consists of Christ's resurrection and then the different groups of the redeemed, who are going to be resurrected, before the Millennium begins. I want you to write this next point down, Satan's final rebellion is going to be crushed. For the sake of time, I just want you to look at verses seven through nine, when you get a chance, because at the end of the Millennium, John tells us that the angel lets the Devil out of this pit for a short time for one last hurrah. And what this tells us is John describes that he'll be successful in leading a rebellion. Can you imagine that there would be enough people, who have now repopulated the Earth after Armageddon and the Reign of Christ being established. And now we're getting to the very end of the thousand years and they're going to be enough people, enough people in the world, who because their allegiance to Christ was only superficial, because He's the King of the world. And He's ruling out of Jerusalem, because it was only superficial. They're still gonna be disloyal and rebellious and Satan there's to be enough people, many people according to these verses for Satan in this last little lap he runs around the world to lure people back into a final rebellion to try to overthrow Jesus. I mean, if you can even think that would be possible. That's what is described here. And so, Dr. Charles Ryrie, a great Bible scholar, he wrote this, he said, "Consequently, there will be many living, "who have never turned to Christ for salvation." I'm talking about at the end of the Millennium, "Though, they've obeyed Him as the Head of the government. "These will seize on the chance to give expression "to the rebellion of their hearts, "when Satan arises to be their leader in this last revolt, "the Millennium will prove among other things "that a nearly perfect earthly environment, "which is talked about in Isaiah 35 "and universal knowledge of the Lord, "talked about Isaiah 11, will not change human heart." But here's the good news, even though wicked people will follow Satan and rebel for this one last hurrah, Satan will finally be banished. And John tells us in verse nine, fire will come down from heaven and consume all rebellious humans, who were deceived by him in that last lap he runs and in verse number 10, it says, "Finally," will you say finally? "The Devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire "and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. "And they will be tormented day and night, "forever and ever." So, the devil is gone, but at the end of the Millennium, he makes one last run. He successful in recruiting rebels to try to defy the Government of Christ. They are consumed with fire that falls from heaven. And then Satan is not thrown into the abyss temporarily. He is thrown permanently and forever to the lake of fire from which he will never escape. Can you even imagine that there will come a time, when we will never ever hear from him again or have reason to be concerned about what he could do to us, to those we love or to the world that we live in. He's gone forever, banished to eternal hell and all darkness with him, all pain with him, all sorrow, injustice, cruelty, hatred, evil, it's all in hell, when he goes. Now, the last thing I want you to write down is this, the Great White Throne Judgment is administered. And this is the final moment before the Eternal State at the conclusion of the Millennium. John says, "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. "And I saw the dead small and great standing before God "and books were opened. "And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life." So notice you have books, plural and then book, singular. "And the dead were judged according to their works "by the things which are written in the books. "The sea gave up the dead who were in it "and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. "And they were judged each one, according to his works. "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. "This is the second death." And look at verse 15, don't miss it for the world, highlight it in yellow, put stars around it, underline it, because never has there been a clearer statement of what this all boils down to than this. "And anyone," I wanna repeat that, "anyone," religious people, people committed to their denomination. People who do good work. It says, "Anyone not found written in the Book of Life, "will be cast into the lake a fire." So, just to wrap this up for us. this is a judgment for all unsaved people of all time. I mean, it's hard to even comprehend, how this would be, how long this would take, but God has already established and decreed how this will take place. And no one is exempt if they're unsaved. And when you look at it where the books are opened, it says that all of their wicked deeds are recorded in these logs. And yet there's one singular book, which is the Book of Life. And perhaps the Book of Life you say, "Why would the Book of Life be opened, "where those whose names are not written are being judged?" Well, perhaps it's being open as a witness to remind them that if your name had been in that Book of Life, you wouldn't be judged for the things that are written in these books that chronicle your sinful deeds. And it's because the people whose names are in the Book of Life are they who have received the free gift of salvation, not through works, which they have done, because none of us can earn acceptance before God. But our names are put into the Book of Life, because of our faith, in what God has done for us. And you see, this is what it boils down to, when your name is in the Book of Life, your sins are blotted from the books of judgment. So, being in the Book of Life means, you don't have to be afraid of the books of sin that will be used as a witness against the unsaved. I want everyone to listen to what I'm saying. No saved person will be standing here at the great white throne judgment. This is a judgment of condemnation and Romans 8:1 says, "Christ, took our condemnation "and we never have to fear condemnation." This is why when you say, "Well, I hope I'm saved." You better get over, hoping it and you better know it, because you can know that you are saved. And if you are saved, your name is in the Lamb's Book of Life. And these who are at the great white throne judgment, their names are missing from the Lamb's Book of Life. You have the Book and you have the books, Book of Life, books chronicling sinful deeds and wickedness. And this is who is standing here at this great white throne. They are those who have either been summoned to the great white throne, being alive at the end of the Millennium. But the majority of people are those who are raised. It is a resurrection of death. And this is the second resurrection. The resurrection of the unsaved dead is the second resurrection. You know how I talked about all of those installments of Christ's resurrection comprise the first resurrection, the second resurrection, doesn't need a chart. Doesn't need a graphic. Doesn't need a visual, because it's simply what happens at the end of the Millennium. All of the unsaved dead are resurrected from wherever they were distributed to decay and they stand at the great bar of condemnation and are judged for their deeds. So, this is serious, but I'm telling you, once we move beyond this chapter at a very sad and tragic end to the souls of unsaved people, we move into the bliss and the glory and the joys that will await us for eternity, because by the grace of God, our names are in the right Book. Father, thank you for helping me move, through so much material tonight. And I know that it would be a lot to take in in one sitting, but I pray that even if it was too much to glean on a Wednesday night, when people are probably tired and worn out from all the demands of the week, that what I've shared will be like seeds. That'll just take root and that in subsequent years of study, unless You come back soon, those seeds will spring up and we'll hear things and say, "I remember that, "yes, that sounds familiar." And it'll all start to gel together in our minds and we need Your Holy Spirit to make that happen. But we thank you that You've promised that the Holy Spirit will cause that to happen. Thank you for these who watch us week after week, after week and have been a part of this long journey through prophecy. And we look forward to looking at the joys of the eternal state. As we complete this book in the next couple of weeks, we love You Lord and praise You in Jesus name. Amen.
