1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000 The name of the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ to me is one of great joy. 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:11,240 I invite you to open your Bible to Revelation chapter 20. 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:18,800 I'm going to read the first six verses. 4 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:24,520 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a 5 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,860 great chain in his hand. 6 00:00:27,860 --> 00:00:34,200 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound 7 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,920 him for a thousand years. 8 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:43,600 And he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal on him, so that 9 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:48,840 he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. 10 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:53,640 But after these things he must be released for a little while. 11 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,680 And I saw thrones and they that sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. 12 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,880 And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for 13 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:09,040 the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his 14 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,560 mark on their foreheads or on their hands. 15 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:17,840 And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years, but the rest of the dead 16 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,840 did not live again until the thousand years were finished. 17 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,160 This is the first resurrection. 18 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,800 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. 19 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:34,960 Over such, the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ 20 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:39,400 and shall reign with him a thousand years. 21 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:46,240 In these six verses we find six times the phrase, the thousand years. 22 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:51,400 It is the only time in all of the revelation of God's word that we have the period of 23 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:55,560 Jesus' reign delineated for us. 24 00:01:55,560 --> 00:02:01,880 It is from this phrase, the thousand years, that we get our English word millennium, which 25 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:03,760 means the Latin origin. 26 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,920 It means a thousand years. 27 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,280 This chapter is debated in some theological circles as to its interpretation. 28 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,840 Of course, it doesn't make it unique, does it? 29 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,280 There are many texts that are debated. 30 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:25,280 There are those who understand the thousand years in a sense that they are described as 31 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:26,280 post-millennial. 32 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:31,040 That sounds like some sort of breakfast food. 33 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:39,040 But post-millennial people believe this, that the preaching of the gospel will gradually 34 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,960 overcome evil. 35 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:49,160 And Christ will spiritually reign over the earth for a thousand years. 36 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:55,160 Then at the end of that period, he will return to judge the earth and set up a new world 37 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,200 order. 38 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:03,180 And so it is called a post-millennial position because they understand Christ to come after 39 00:03:03,180 --> 00:03:05,080 the thousand years. 40 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:10,960 Now I only define it for you because you need to be alert to that term. 41 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:18,260 It is a position that lost favor after World War I because it was very clear that the preaching 42 00:03:18,260 --> 00:03:23,760 of the gospel was not causing men around the world to turn to God in such numbers that 43 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,480 the world was becoming a better and better place. 44 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:32,520 It was obvious that the world was decaying and degenerating, and that has been true since 45 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:33,520 World War I. 46 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,760 It has been very clear that the preaching of the gospel is not causing the world to 47 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:40,000 come to more peace. 48 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,760 There seem to be more wars than ever. 49 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:50,120 However, there are those today who are sort of reviving this whole theory. 50 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:56,520 And so you may hear that term occasionally from some of those people. 51 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:00,040 Then there is a position that is called a millennial. 52 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,120 Just put millennium with an A in front of it and you get the idea. 53 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,600 It is a millennial because they don't believe that there will be a literal one thousand 54 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,000 year reign of Christ in any sense. 55 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,880 These terms to them are to be spiritualized. 56 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:24,600 All of the promises to Israel in the Old Testament are to be applied to the church in some spiritual 57 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:25,600 sense. 58 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:30,160 They will never actually, historically be fulfilled. 59 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:37,240 And obviously to them, because they have to deal with chapter 20 just like everybody else, 60 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:45,280 to them Satan is now bound and has been bound ever since the cross. 61 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:50,260 To me that is enough to seriously undermine this whole idea. 62 00:04:50,260 --> 00:04:56,140 They believe that Christ will return eventually to judge. 63 00:04:56,140 --> 00:05:02,920 But they have no literal understanding of the thousand years, so it is called the amillennial 64 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:04,200 position. 65 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:10,640 And today, if you were just to take Christendom in general, you would find that probably more 66 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:15,000 people hold this position than any of the others. 67 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:25,520 The position that I adhere to is called pre-millennial teaching because we believe that Jesus Christ 68 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:31,360 is going to come back to the earth in his second coming to establish this one thousand 69 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:35,280 year reign of his. 70 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:43,680 It is a position that, at least to my thinking, understands the word of God literally. 71 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,540 That is, you allow the words to say what they say. 72 00:05:47,540 --> 00:05:49,680 You understand them that way. 73 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,720 And if you do that, it brings you to a position where you have to understand the promises 74 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:59,240 in the Old Testament given to Israel, have to find fulfillment. 75 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,280 As do these verses we've read tonight. 76 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,000 There must be a one thousand year reign. 77 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:09,600 So it is not found in any other text that is the one thousand year period. 78 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,240 That should not alarm us. 79 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,520 The Bible is progressive revelation. 80 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:21,760 God reveals here and there, bit by bit, line up on line until he comes to the end of the 81 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,340 book and then we put it together and we see what he says. 82 00:06:25,340 --> 00:06:31,440 And so he waits until nearly the end of the New Testament to tell us the exact period 83 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:38,260 of time that he has talked about many other places in the Bible. 84 00:06:38,260 --> 00:06:44,540 Let me just give you a sampling of some of the texts from the Old Testament that speak 85 00:06:44,540 --> 00:06:52,480 of this period of time called the millennium or the one thousand year reign of Jesus Christ. 86 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:56,480 Now rather than have you turn to all of them, I'm just going to read them to you so that 87 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:01,680 you can concentrate on listening to what the word of God says. 88 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:06,200 There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse. 89 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,000 A branch shall grow out of his roots. 90 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,240 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. 91 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,840 The leopard shall lie down with the young goat. 92 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,800 The calf and the young lion and the fatling together. 93 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,840 And a little child shall lead them. 94 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:24,920 The cow and the bear shall graze. 95 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,040 Their young ones shall lie down together. 96 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,840 The lion shall eat straw like the ox. 97 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,720 A nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole. 98 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,920 And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 99 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:43,980 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. 100 00:07:43,980 --> 00:07:49,280 For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 101 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:56,280 In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people. 102 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:04,200 For the Gentiles shall seek him, and his resting place shall be glorious. 103 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,560 That text from Isaiah chapter 11. 104 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:09,840 Now listen to these words again from Isaiah. 105 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:16,640 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice 106 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:19,480 and blossom as the rose. 107 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,600 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing. 108 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,760 The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it. 109 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,200 The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. 110 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,280 They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. 111 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:41,360 A highway shall be there, a road, and it shall be called the highway of holiness. 112 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,880 No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it. 113 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,960 They shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 114 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:55,800 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting 115 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:57,440 joy on their heads. 116 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:03,000 They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 117 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,520 From Isaiah chapter 35. 118 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:12,960 Isaiah has many other texts that say similar things regarding a coming time of blessing 119 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:13,960 upon the earth. 120 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,360 A time of paralleled blessing. 121 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,520 A time of great glory, because the Lord will reign over the earth. 122 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:24,080 Well, that has never happened historically. 123 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:30,760 The Lord has come, but he has not come with his glory being revealed to the world. 124 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:34,480 He has not come to reign yet upon the earth. 125 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,920 Well, listen to these words from Jeremiah. 126 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:44,280 But I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven 127 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:49,320 them, and bring them back to their foals, and they shall be fruitful in increase. 128 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:54,200 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them, and they shall fear no more, nor 129 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,960 be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking, says the Lord. 130 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:05,120 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a branch of righteousness. 131 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:11,080 A king shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 132 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:17,040 In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. 133 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:22,440 Now this is his name by which he will be called the Lord our righteousness. 134 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:28,040 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that they shall no longer say, as 135 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:32,720 the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt. 136 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:38,160 But as the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from 137 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:44,920 the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them, and they shall dwell 138 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,040 in their own land. 139 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:54,760 Jeremiah chapter 23, as he speaks about the return of the Jews to the land of Israel in 140 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,760 God's blessing, in God's way. 141 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:03,160 Then let me read from the book of Zechariah. 142 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:09,200 Behold the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil, your plunder, shall be divided 143 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,040 in your midst. 144 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:15,040 And I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. 145 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:19,600 The city shall be taken, the houses plundered, the women ravished. 146 00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:23,760 Half the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut 147 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:25,800 off from the city. 148 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:31,880 That by the way refers to our study last week, in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, just 149 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:38,680 at that moment when there's house to house fighting going on in the city of Jerusalem. 150 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:44,040 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations. 151 00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:49,160 As he fights in the day of battle, and in that day his feet will stand on the Mount 152 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:53,120 of Olives which faces Jerusalem on the east. 153 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:59,200 And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from west to east, making a very large 154 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:00,600 valley. 155 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:06,360 Half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 156 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:11,680 And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward 157 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:17,440 the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea, that's the Dead Sea and the 158 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,000 Mediterranean Sea. 159 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:25,520 In both summer and winter it shall occur, and the Lord shall be King over all the earth. 160 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:27,600 In that day it shall be. 161 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:31,480 The Lord is one and his name one. 162 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:37,080 And Zechariah 14 goes on to describe some of the things that will occur in that period 163 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:39,240 of time that will follow. 164 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:44,040 The return of Jesus Christ to the Mount of Olives when that mountain will split as his 165 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,600 feet touch it. 166 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:51,800 The nations of the world that shall be left in that millennial reign shall come to Jerusalem 167 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:57,360 to offer their offerings to the King of all the earth. 168 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:02,960 These are the selected portions of Scripture that deal with this period that John now by 169 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:09,640 the Spirit of God tells us is a thousand years in its length. 170 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,160 The form of government in this period of time will be a theocracy. 171 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:18,480 God will reign personally over the nations of the world in Jesus Christ. 172 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:22,960 The capital of the world will be the city of Jerusalem. 173 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:28,040 The conditions on the earth will be ideal. 174 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,520 There will be peace throughout the earth. 175 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:34,600 There will be prosperity and righteousness and truth. 176 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:40,240 And the Lord will reign with a rod of iron with perfect justice. 177 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:45,800 Well, this new age of a thousand years will be a time of blessing on the earth. 178 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:50,600 To make that possible, what happens in verses 1 to 3 must take place. 179 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,520 That is the incarceration of Satan. 180 00:13:54,520 --> 00:14:01,120 Notice with me first the proof of the identity of this one that is mentioned. 181 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,120 This angel comes down from heaven. 182 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:11,320 He has the key to the bottomless pit or the abyss in one hand and a great chain in the 183 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:12,320 other. 184 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:18,280 And he took hold of the devil, of the dragon rather, that serpent of old who is the devil 185 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:20,680 and Satan. 186 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:25,800 Notice that there are several names given here for this being who is captured. 187 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:32,360 He is called the dragon, which is a name given to him in the book of the Revelation. 188 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:39,560 It is the name that is identified with his tribulation work. 189 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,440 It's used in chapter 12 a number of times and we see it here again. 190 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:44,520 Who is this dragon? 191 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,000 He is the old serpent. 192 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:51,600 And again in chapter 12 of Revelation that name is used of him, the serpent. 193 00:14:51,600 --> 00:15:00,820 It is his Edenic name, the name that refers to his work in the Garden of Eden in originating 194 00:15:00,820 --> 00:15:06,760 the fall of Adam and Eve, the old serpent who is the devil. 195 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,600 The word devil means slanderer. 196 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:14,400 Satan, the word means adversary. 197 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:21,040 Those two names refer to his relation to the people of God in all the ages. 198 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:29,120 He is forever the slanderer of the people of God and their adversary. 199 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:33,920 Now what happens to this being who is called the devil? 200 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,440 Well he is bound. 201 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:46,320 A chain is put around him and he is bound with a time clock put upon that bondage and 202 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:49,700 the time is set for a thousand years. 203 00:15:49,700 --> 00:15:53,480 He cannot be freed for that period of time. 204 00:15:53,480 --> 00:16:00,240 And it says that he is cast into the bottomless pit or the abyss. 205 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,080 It is called elsewhere. 206 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,560 The abyss is not the lake of fire. 207 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,120 It is not hell. 208 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:16,520 It is a demonic realm as we saw in chapter 19 verses 1 and 2 and again in chapter 17 209 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:18,660 and verse 8. 210 00:16:18,660 --> 00:16:22,800 He is not put in the abyss for punishment. 211 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:30,360 He is put there for restraint so that he cannot exercise his influence in the world as he 212 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,840 does now. 213 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:37,840 That is one reason that the millennium will be the millennium. 214 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:43,840 The devil won't be upon the earth doing what he is doing among the nations today. 215 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:48,560 Now what is the purpose of his imprisonment? 216 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:56,000 Well it is that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years are finished. 217 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:00,280 Today he is involved in the nations of the world. 218 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:02,680 Why do people think the way they do? 219 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:09,360 Why do the rulers of the nations make the decisions they do? 220 00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:16,420 Well to some extent greater or lesser I suppose depending upon the ruler, the decisions are 221 00:17:16,420 --> 00:17:22,160 made based upon the deceit of Satan. 222 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:26,680 Now he not only deceives nations and rulers, he deceives individuals and he can deceive 223 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:27,680 us. 224 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:30,480 And it is one of his primary methods. 225 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,180 He gets us to think lies. 226 00:17:34,180 --> 00:17:38,600 He gets us to think things that are false. 227 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:40,760 False about ourselves. 228 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:42,820 You're no good. 229 00:17:42,820 --> 00:17:44,720 You're worthless. 230 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,120 You'll never amount to anything. 231 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,720 No one loves you. 232 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:52,360 You're worth this abuse. 233 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:55,600 And on and on and on the lies go. 234 00:17:55,600 --> 00:18:01,400 And he causes those lies to be repeated over and over and over again until people believe 235 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:02,400 that they're the truth. 236 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:07,560 And when that happens they're deceived. 237 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:11,000 There are many many people including some of God's people who have been deceived by 238 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:17,280 Satan with lies about themselves. 239 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:21,960 And then he causes us to be deceived about God. 240 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,160 God can't be trusted. 241 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,300 God is mean. 242 00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:29,960 God shouldn't have done that. 243 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:33,440 God wasn't able to help was he? 244 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:40,320 And on and on it goes the lies that he weaves about God and he deceives people with those 245 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:44,800 kinds of lies. 246 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,840 Well he is today involved in deceiving the nations of the world. 247 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:58,640 And in the millennium he will be bound in the abyss and we would assume from this that 248 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:06,160 not only will he personally be bound but all of his demonic hordes will be bound. 249 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:09,880 And they will be limited to that abyss for that period of time. 250 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:15,760 They cannot exercise their influence and their deceit upon the world during the thousand 251 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:16,760 years. 252 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:24,920 Now it tells us that he must be released after the thousand years for a little while. 253 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:29,840 We're going to relate to that a little bit later in our study of the book of Revelation 254 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:35,880 and we'll understand why God allows that. 255 00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:44,640 Revelation has said why does God allow Satan to be loosed again after he has been bound? 256 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,920 Louis Barry Schaefer said if you will tell me why God let him loose in the first place 257 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,720 I'll tell you why God lets him loose the second time. 258 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,160 It's a pretty good answer. 259 00:19:55,160 --> 00:20:02,840 The incarceration of Satan will help facilitate this time of peace and righteousness in the 260 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:04,560 earth. 261 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:10,320 In verses 4-6 we have the inauguration of the kingdom. 262 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:16,240 Now this is a text that is just jam packed as it's put together here. 263 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:20,240 We're going to pull it apart thematically. 264 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,920 First let's think about the resurrection that is mentioned here. 265 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:26,200 It talks about the first resurrection. 266 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:31,240 This is the first resurrection. 267 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:36,440 Now those who do not believe that there is a thousand year reign of Christ that's going 268 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:45,080 to be literal say that the first resurrection refers spiritually to your salvation and that 269 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:50,520 the second resurrection is the bodily resurrection that will come some day. 270 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:56,080 I think you have to do a lot of twisting and shoving and coercing of the text to ever come 271 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,000 to that sort of an understanding. 272 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:05,920 The first resurrection it seems to me is very clearly here a physical resurrection. 273 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:11,000 Literally the Greek word means to stand up and it is a word that is only used in the 274 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:16,120 Bible physically, in a physical sense. 275 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:22,440 This is not the first physical resurrection from the dead by the way. 276 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:29,360 Who is the first one who was physically raised from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ? 277 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,880 And on the day that he rose from the dead it says there were many of the saints who 278 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:34,640 also rose that day. 279 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:43,200 Matthew chapter 27, that is quite a mysterious text to me, all that that means, verses 52 280 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:44,200 and 53. 281 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:48,660 But there were some of the saints who arose on that Easter Sunday with Jesus and were 282 00:21:48,660 --> 00:21:53,280 seen in Jerusalem. 283 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,800 And then we know that the church is going to be resurrected. 284 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:01,640 The dead in Christ shall be raised and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up 285 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,240 together with them to meet the Lord in the air. 286 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:09,240 And so there is another resurrection that comes before the one here at the beginning 287 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,040 of the millennium. 288 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:17,160 Furthermore, in chapter 11 of this book there is another resurrection of two people only, 289 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:22,440 the two witnesses, who are killed and their bodies lay in the streets of Jerusalem for 290 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:30,400 three and a half days as Antichrist and his gang rejoice and have a party. 291 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:36,160 And then they are resurrected in the sight of all and are caught up and taken into heaven. 292 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:39,600 So there is yet another resurrection. 293 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:45,080 So when this says the first resurrection, what does it mean? 294 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:50,200 Well as it says the first resurrection, it does not necessarily imply that this is all 295 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,200 there is to the first resurrection. 296 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:59,480 It might be understood this way and this completes the first resurrection. 297 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:06,760 In other words, the first resurrection does not take place all at the same time, but rather 298 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:08,760 in groups. 299 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:14,440 Broadly speaking, I think Paul outlines it in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and I invite you 300 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:25,920 just to turn back there with me to see his outline of what I believe is the first resurrection. 301 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:35,840 He says, for as in Adam, this is verse 22 now of 1 Corinthians 15, as in Adam all die, 302 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:46,440 even so in Christ all shall be made alive, but each one in his own order. 303 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:52,200 In other words, it's not going to all happen at one time, he says. 304 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:59,760 Christ, the first fruits, that's the first portion of the first resurrection. 305 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:01,080 Christ comes first. 306 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,720 He is the one who represents all of those who are coming after him. 307 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,840 That's the meaning of first fruits. 308 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:19,880 Then it says, afterward those who are Christ's at his coming. 309 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:23,320 Afterward those who are Christ's at his coming. 310 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:27,360 So there we have another grouping. 311 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:32,320 Now when we think of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, what do we think of? 312 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:36,840 Well some will think immediately of his coming for the church. 313 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,640 Others will think of his coming back to the earth and touching the Mount of Olives as 314 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,880 we read in Zechariah 14. 315 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,760 Which is the coming of Christ? 316 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,160 The appropriate answer is both. 317 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:55,680 The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is actually in two phases, isn't it? 318 00:24:55,680 --> 00:25:00,960 The first phase is his coming for the church when he will come back to the world not touching 319 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:07,920 the earth, but he will come back and call out from the world his own in that event that 320 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,240 we call the rapture. 321 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:18,440 The snatching away of his people, the bride of Christ, those elected to salvation from 322 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,200 the time of Pentecost until that event. 323 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:26,520 He will come and catch away in the rapture those who belong to him. 324 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:33,280 The dead in Christ shall rise first, so there is that part of the first resurrection. 325 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:39,880 And as we have said before, we then have the joy of going with our Lord back to that place 326 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,240 that he's prepared for us. 327 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:48,240 We pass through that time of examination at the judgment seat of Christ when everyone 328 00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:52,480 will have his due praise from God. 329 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:59,000 And we are prepared then to enter into our marriage with the Lord Jesus. 330 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:03,640 And then we come back with him to the earth in the event that we saw last week. 331 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:08,840 And there is the marriage supper of the lamb, the celebration of it that in one sense lasts 332 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:10,320 for a thousand years. 333 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,560 What a honeymoon. 334 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:19,680 But as he comes back to the earth, as he comes back to the earth and begins to reign, there 335 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:24,280 is the final phase of the resurrection. 336 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:25,280 Who are these people? 337 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,840 Well, they are the people who were saved in the Old Testament. 338 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:33,640 They weren't a part of the church, a unique body. 339 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:38,000 But here we have at the beginning of this kingdom reign of Christ and the fulfillment 340 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:45,260 of the promises to Israel, the resurrection of David, who was promised that there would 341 00:26:45,260 --> 00:26:49,960 be one of his descendants who would reign on an everlasting throne. 342 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:56,440 And he will be raised from the dead to see it and to participate in it as the son of 343 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,900 David comes to reign. 344 00:26:59,900 --> 00:27:05,040 And here we see Abraham. 345 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:08,480 And here we have Adam. 346 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:14,040 And all of those saved of the Old Testament period who are now brought forth from the 347 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:23,000 grave to enter into this glorious time of the reign of Christ upon the earth. 348 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:30,020 But what about those who have died in the tribulation period? 349 00:27:30,020 --> 00:27:33,840 Those who have been martyred, and there will be many martyrs, what about them? 350 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:36,680 Will they also share in the reign of Christ? 351 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,580 The answer is yes. 352 00:27:38,580 --> 00:27:46,440 And as John sees it, those are the ones primarily in focus in these verses. 353 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:50,300 Notice how he puts this. 354 00:27:50,300 --> 00:27:56,920 He says, I saw thrones and they set on them, judgment was committed to them. 355 00:27:56,920 --> 00:28:01,800 I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus, the word of God 356 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:06,400 who had not worshiped the beast, his image had not received his mark. 357 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:13,320 Now you recognize that language as being from the tribulation period. 358 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,120 It's language that's unique to that period of time. 359 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:22,600 And so John, as he sees the beginning now of the reign of Christ, sees especially those 360 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:29,680 people who have laid down their lives in the tribulation period, resurrected to share in 361 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:34,240 this reign of the Lord Jesus. 362 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:39,640 And so who have a part in this first resurrection? 363 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:45,440 The answer is the saved of all time. 364 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,840 They each have their own group. 365 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,160 The distinctions are not totally wiped away. 366 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:57,920 We are one people of God in a sense, and yet we have our own groupings. 367 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:04,880 And so all of those who have been saved from back at the beginning in Adam's day and Eve, 368 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:10,800 who were saved by the grace of God, and all of their descendants through the ages, will 369 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:18,920 be raised in new bodies like Jesus' body to enter into the millennial reign of our Lord 370 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:20,720 Jesus Christ. 371 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:27,480 That is the first resurrection. 372 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:30,960 Now the second point we want to look at are the rulers here. 373 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:35,160 They are said to sit upon thrones that are given to them. 374 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:43,960 In some way they participate in this time of judgment upon the earth. 375 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,160 There are some judgments that precede this period of time. 376 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,440 Let me just remind you of them. 377 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:56,900 There is the judgment that we saw last week of the beast and the false prophet. 378 00:29:56,900 --> 00:30:05,040 When Jesus returns to earth and encounters their armies, of course the armies are defeated. 379 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,040 They are killed, but not the beast and the false prophet. 380 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:10,440 They are captured alive. 381 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:15,480 And they are judged and the two of them are cast immediately into the eternal lake of 382 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:21,640 fire that burns with fire and brimstone forever and forever. 383 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:25,960 And the smoke of their torment goes up. 384 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,400 And so we have that judgment that takes place. 385 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:35,360 And then there is a judgment of sorts upon Satan as he is incarcerated and bound in the 386 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:37,440 abyss. 387 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:41,560 And then of course there must be the judgment of all of these people who are now resurrected 388 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:43,920 to come into the kingdom. 389 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:49,840 The church has already been judged in heaven and married to Christ, but all these people 390 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:55,000 now who are raised from the dead from the Old Testament and from the tribulation period, 391 00:30:55,000 --> 00:31:00,960 they likewise will need to be judged and rewarded for their faithfulness. 392 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:06,240 And then there are passages both in the Old Testament and the New Testament to say that 393 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:13,360 all of those who are still living on the earth will be judged. 394 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:18,880 There will be people alive at the end of the tribulation period, a time of awful death 395 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:19,880 and devastation. 396 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:25,280 But there will be those who will live through that period of time. 397 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:33,360 In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus compares it to the judgment of the sheep and the goats. 398 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:37,920 What he's talking about there is that there are those who are compared to goats who have 399 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:43,640 managed to live through the resurrection but who are not believers. 400 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:51,880 And they are cast into the lake of fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. 401 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:55,520 And then there are those compared to sheep. 402 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:56,520 Who are they? 403 00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:07,200 Well, in the context of that parable, they are Gentiles who have become believers and 404 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:09,460 who have not been killed. 405 00:32:09,460 --> 00:32:12,040 And they are brought before him for judgment. 406 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:14,360 And how do we know that they were believers? 407 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:15,360 What is the sign? 408 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:22,800 Well, they were willing to even give a cup of cold water to the persecuted Jews in the 409 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:25,440 tribulation period. 410 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:30,800 It was the demonstration of their faith that was brought before the Lord there at that 411 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:31,800 judgment. 412 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:40,440 And they enter into the millennium in their physical bodies alive. 413 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:43,680 They don't need to be resurrected. 414 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:45,700 They're not dead. 415 00:32:45,700 --> 00:32:48,200 And so they enter into the millennium alive. 416 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:54,160 And by the way, well let me go ahead and say that there's another group implied in that 417 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,200 parable and that is the Jewish people who have been saved in the tribulation period 418 00:32:58,200 --> 00:32:59,920 and not killed. 419 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:01,840 They also will be judged. 420 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:06,120 And so if you're able to track with me in all of this, you will see that those who are 421 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:11,920 resurrected are all judged and those who are alive at the end of the tribulation are all 422 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:18,560 judged so that as the millennial reign of Jesus Christ begins, it begins with a purified 423 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:24,140 people, a rewarded people. 424 00:33:24,140 --> 00:33:29,220 And those who have not died and who enter into this wonderful period of time in their 425 00:33:29,220 --> 00:33:34,720 physical bodies will begin to reproduce. 426 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:39,580 And it is that which will populate the earth again. 427 00:33:39,580 --> 00:33:46,200 There's no indication that those in the resurrection bodies will be involved in that. 428 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:55,080 But there will be thousands, perhaps I can say millions, who will enter into the millennial 429 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:56,440 reign in their natural bodies. 430 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,560 They will bear children. 431 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:01,680 Death will hardly exist in that thousand year period. 432 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:03,040 There are peaceful conditions. 433 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:04,440 There's no war. 434 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:05,440 There is plenty. 435 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:09,280 Food is abundant. 436 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:13,800 And because of that, the greatest population explosion in the history of the world is yet 437 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:15,840 to come. 438 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:20,000 And who can imagine how many people will be alive on the earth after a thousand years 439 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,280 of these kinds of conditions? 440 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:31,840 Now just keep that thought in mind for our next study as we see why Satan is loosed for 441 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,200 a little while from his incarceration. 442 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:39,640 We'll pick that theme up at that point. 443 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:45,840 Well he says the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. 444 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,280 Now who are these? 445 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:50,720 These are the wicked dead. 446 00:34:50,720 --> 00:34:54,260 These are the unrighteous dead. 447 00:34:54,260 --> 00:35:03,920 Those who have died in all times, Cain and his descendants. 448 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:10,160 The wicked throughout the earth who had no knowledge of God and who have died in their 449 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:14,560 sin. 450 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:17,280 The tribal peoples. 451 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:22,400 The peoples from the great cultures of the earth that have been pagan. 452 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:27,400 For the thousands of years that earth's history has marched on day after day and year after 453 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,320 year. 454 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:35,980 Those people who have specifically rejected Jesus Christ. 455 00:35:35,980 --> 00:35:40,360 Those who have been false Christians. 456 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:44,760 All of the wicked dead will not be raised now. 457 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:51,760 They are held until a time at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ. 458 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:55,600 And again we'll pick that up in our next study. 459 00:35:55,600 --> 00:36:00,600 There is a time for them to be brought before God and to be judged. 460 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:08,240 But for now they remain in their graves and in their place of punishment in hell. 461 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:11,440 So we have the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. 462 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,680 Now what a time that's going to be. 463 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,280 Soon and very soon we're going to see the King. 464 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,320 The band played earlier. 465 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:26,880 I believe that the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ for his church is eminent. 466 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:30,840 It could happen at any moment. 467 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:34,680 It may happen tonight or tomorrow or this week. 468 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:37,920 Granted it could be a hundred years yet. 469 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:42,640 Something's going to have to happen in history to put it off that long in my opinion. 470 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:48,680 Because so many things are being put into place in our world that point toward the tribulation 471 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:49,680 period. 472 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:51,840 That it's at hand. 473 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:55,040 But soon he is going to come. 474 00:36:55,040 --> 00:37:02,240 And we who today long for righteousness on the earth and who are grieved at the prosperity 475 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:06,800 so it seems of the wicked. 476 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:15,920 And we who in one sense like Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah who was vexed every day with 477 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,200 the wicked around him. 478 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:21,680 And sometimes I feel that way don't you? 479 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:27,360 It is vexed by the wickedness that we see in our culture. 480 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,440 In our world. 481 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:40,200 We who hunger for righteousness to be vindicated will on that day rejoice that he who is the 482 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:46,400 Lord our righteousness will come and will reign in truth and righteousness over the 483 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:47,880 earth. 484 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:48,880 The new age. 485 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:56,440 A thousand year reign of Jesus Christ that will be blessing in this world. 486 00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:57,440 And there's more to come. 487 00:37:57,440 --> 00:37:58,440 And we'll get there. 488 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:02,840 I'd like you to take your Bible, excuse me, your hymn book now. 489 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:09,400 We're going to sing together a closing hymn by Isaac Watts. 490 00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:17,600 By the way, I hope this doesn't spoil the hymn for you, but Isaac Watts was a post-millennialist. 491 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:23,520 Two hundred years ago that was a very popular understanding of prophetic things that the 492 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:28,360 gospel was going to be preached and more and more people would be converted and things 493 00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:32,880 would get better and better in the world and then Jesus would reign spiritually for a thousand 494 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:36,120 years and after that come back again. 495 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:37,680 That was his position. 496 00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:42,280 And as he wrote this hymn, that's what he had in mind, but we're going to uproot it 497 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:48,720 from all of that false teaching and put it over here as we understand it today that Jesus 498 00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:53,160 Christ is coming back to reign upon the earth for a literal one thousand years. 499 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:59,480 Let's sing about the fact that he shall reign wherever the sun does his successive journeys 500 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:00,480 run. 501 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:09,480 Let's put the word thirty-one in your hymnal.