1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,840 Thank you Waldo for leading us tonight. 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:14,640 Paul and many of our musicians are at the Lake Como. 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,880 Is that what I want to say? That doesn't sound right. 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,880 At the sing down there this evening, which starts in about an hour or so, 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:22,240 and they had to get set up. 6 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:27,280 And Waldo was kind enough to fill in for us tonight, as he often does. 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,640 I would encourage you to pray for him and for Emily. 8 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:35,040 They'll be flying out to Portland this week. Waldo's father is not doing well. 9 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:41,760 He's 94 years old and so they'll be traveling there to spend a few days with him. 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:51,760 Well this evening we are going to open the Word of God to the Book of Revelation and the 20th chapter. 11 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:57,600 The Book of Revelation is of course the final book in the Bible. 12 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:04,640 And just as the Book of Genesis is the book where things begin, 13 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:09,520 so the Book of Revelation is where things end. 14 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:14,160 The word Genesis means beginning. 15 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:21,200 All things, the beginning of the universe, the beginning of human history. 16 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:26,160 Finds its recorded beginning in the Book of Genesis. 17 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:31,920 Now as we come to the other end of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, 18 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:36,160 we come to the point where all things end. 19 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,520 At least those things that we know now. 20 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:46,000 Tonight as we study in chapter 20, we're going to see that old things, 21 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:51,920 that is the things that are a part of this present order, will pass away. 22 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,520 That new things will come to be. 23 00:01:55,520 --> 00:02:02,480 That there is a future order that God is going to create and bring to pass. 24 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,440 It is a very wonderful thing. 25 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:11,600 I'm going to begin reading in chapter 20 with verse 7. 26 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:22,560 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 27 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:28,480 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, 28 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:33,760 Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, 29 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:38,080 whose number is as the sand of the sea. 30 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:43,520 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints 31 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:51,040 and the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 32 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:58,640 Now as many of you know, the Bible has different kinds of literature in it. 33 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:02,000 Some of it is historical. 34 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:08,560 And in those books we have history, human history, recorded for us. 35 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:15,600 And of course it focuses on the Middle East and the story of the Jewish people 36 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:21,040 and how God had chosen the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 37 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,560 to bring the Savior into the world. 38 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:30,240 And then in the New Testament, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 39 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,400 is open to all of the human race. 40 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:40,480 So it is not just a Jewish message, it is for all of humanity. 41 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:42,960 We have the historical record of that. 42 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:46,000 Some of the Bible is poetic. 43 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:51,840 There are books that include poetry, not as we often think of it in our western sense, 44 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:56,800 but in an oriental sense, a very beautiful sense. 45 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:03,360 And the book of Psalms, for example, is a book of 150 poems 46 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,880 that were set to music that we no longer have. 47 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:15,120 So we don't know what that music sounded like, but those poems were sung like hymns. 48 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,600 And then there are some books in the Bible that are prophetic. 49 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:27,280 Now that means that those books tell us something about future events. 50 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:30,560 Now some of those books have already been fulfilled 51 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:35,040 in things that have taken place in human history. 52 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,560 But in this book, the book of Revelation, 53 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:45,680 the events that are talked about are all still future from our own day. 54 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,880 And so as we read the 20th chapter of Revelation, 55 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:53,280 we are reading about events that have not taken place, 56 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:58,960 but which the Bible predicts will take place someday upon the earth. 57 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:08,240 Last week we saw that the Bible predicts that there is going to be a 1,000 year reign 58 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:15,360 of righteousness, peace, and justice in the world. 59 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:22,720 A 1,000 year period of beauty and prosperity, 60 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:29,440 the absence of war, and nearly the absence of all death. 61 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:36,320 That period will be inaugurated with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ back to the earth. 62 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:41,440 The Bible predicts that Jesus is coming again. 63 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:46,960 He came the first time to die for our sins on the cross of Calvary. 64 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,960 As we said earlier, he was raised from the dead, is back in heaven, 65 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:56,240 seated at the right hand of God. We worship him. 66 00:05:56,240 --> 00:06:00,560 But one day he himself is going to come back to the earth 67 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:09,440 and will establish his kingdom and will reign for a thousand years as the perfect king, 68 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:16,000 as the God-man. He will reign over the earth. 69 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,920 Now that is the period that is in mind when it says in verse 7, 70 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,680 when the thousand years have expired. 71 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:28,000 So now in the prophecy we're looking beyond that kingdom. 72 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,840 We're looking way into the future from our own day. 73 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:35,840 Even if some of the prophetic things were to begin happening tonight, 74 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:40,880 what we're going to study now is at least a thousand years into the future. 75 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,120 You say, well is this literally a thousand years? 76 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:49,200 We have no reason to take it any other way. 77 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:54,560 Six times the thousand years are mentioned here in Revelation chapter 20. 78 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:59,200 We understand them to be literal years. 79 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:05,600 Now when the thousand year reign of our Lord Jesus Christ has been culminated, 80 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:10,720 God is going to put away the present order of things. 81 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:15,120 What are called here the old things. 82 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:21,440 These things are put away by three final judgments 83 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:26,960 that are recorded for us in this chapter. 84 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:32,240 The first judgment is the final judgment upon rebellion. 85 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:38,960 You notice that Satan who has been imprisoned for a thousand years 86 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:45,280 is now released from his prison in what the Bible calls the bottomless pit 87 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,160 or the abyss. 88 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:54,240 Why does God release him? The answer is so that he might resume 89 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:59,200 the activity that he is involved in today, this very time, 90 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:07,840 deceiving the nations of the world, leading them astray from God, 91 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:15,120 leading them in rebellion against God, fomenting pride in the human heart 92 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:19,360 so that we think that we can be independent of God. 93 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:26,960 All of that is the deceit of Satan. He will not be free in the thousand years 94 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:33,520 of Christ's reign to do that, but now he is released from prison and he resumes 95 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,360 his work of deceit. 96 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:44,240 It says that he will gather together the four corners of the earth, 97 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:52,400 Gog and Magog, to battle. It says the number of those involved in 98 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:56,720 this is as the sand of the sea. Now if you've been with us in our study 99 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:01,280 up to this point, you will remember that we said when the 100 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:04,400 one thousand year reign of Jesus Christ begins, 101 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,560 only the righteous will enter into it. 102 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,400 Only those who are the righteous will enter it, that is, those who have 103 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:18,480 trusted Christ as their Savior, whose sins have been forgiven, 104 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:23,200 and who are right with God. Only they will enter into this beautiful period of 105 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,680 time on the earth. And so the question logically comes to 106 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:32,960 mind, then where do these people come from 107 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:37,120 that Satan deceives after the thousand year reign 108 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:43,840 is over? The answer is that there will be people who will reproduce 109 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:48,160 in the millennial reign of Christ. They will have children. 110 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:54,000 And among those children will be those who will outwardly 111 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:59,040 give obedience to Jesus Christ who is reigning on the earth, 112 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:05,040 but in their hearts they will not give him obedience. 113 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:09,040 That rebellion, however, is carefully hidden 114 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:16,160 because to overtly, outwardly disobey Jesus Christ, who will reign as the king, 115 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:20,960 will bring punishment and even execution. 116 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:26,960 And so they hide it. At the end of Christ's reign, Satan then is 117 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:31,600 released that he might go out throughout the earth and to bring 118 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:36,320 together all of these people who have only outwardly given obedience 119 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:41,040 to Christ, but who inwardly are in rebellion. 120 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,760 The term Gog and Magog is used here and I think I will 121 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:50,080 defer trying to give any in-depth explanation of that 122 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:57,520 because frankly it's not easy to do. The terms Gog and Magog are used in the 123 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:03,680 Old Testament in the book of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39. 124 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:10,960 In that prophecy, Gog is a leader, a human leader. Magog is his 125 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:18,160 empire and the Bible predicts a time when this leader and his nation 126 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:24,480 will invade Israel and God will cause them to be conquered and defeated upon 127 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:29,280 the mountains of Israel and will send them back to their land 128 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:38,320 confessing that there is a God who lives and who oversees the protection of Israel. 129 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:42,320 Now it seems to me that that prophecy is going to be fulfilled sometime 130 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:46,320 in the tribulation period. I think that's the best explanation of it. 131 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:51,120 But here we see that same term used again and it's used symbolically 132 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:58,320 for people who are in rebellion against God. I think that's the simplest and quickest explanation of it. 133 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:03,120 That Satan is going throughout the earth together together all of those people 134 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:09,120 who will secretly be in rebellion to Jesus Christ who is reigning on the throne 135 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:15,120 from the city of Jerusalem. He will gather them together for one battle 136 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:21,120 and that battle from Satan's viewpoint will be to overthrow Jesus Christ. 137 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:27,120 It says that they will be like the sand of the sea. That is, there will be 138 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:33,120 a numberless people who will be involved in this final rebellion against Christ. 139 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:39,120 It says they went up on the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city 140 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:45,120 which we would understand to be the city of Jerusalem. 141 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:51,120 What we learn from this is that the environment of the world 142 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:55,120 is not the real problem with the human condition. 143 00:12:55,120 --> 00:13:01,120 The problem of evil in the world does not lie 144 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:07,120 in poverty, oppression, and injustice. 145 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:13,120 Because none of those things will exist when Jesus reigns. 146 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:19,120 And yet at the end of his reign there are still those who are in rebellion against him. 147 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:25,120 The real problem with evil in the world lies within the heart of each person. 148 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:29,120 It's the evil that is inside of us. 149 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:35,120 That evil will be carefully covered over during this period of time but as I say 150 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:41,120 it is going to be exposed as Satan goes out into the world 151 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:45,120 to gather all of these people in rebellion against God. 152 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:51,120 And as they come in rebellion as a great army against the people of God 153 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:57,120 and it seems they surround the city of Jerusalem, the beloved city, 154 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:03,120 there is fire that comes down from God out of heaven and devours them immediately. 155 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:09,120 Now if you know Ezekiel 38 and 39 you know that that is not what happens in that prophecy. 156 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:13,120 So that's why I say this is a distinct battle. 157 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:19,120 Just as we have World War I and World War II, 158 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:25,120 I think Ezekiel 38 and 39 is Magog I and here we have Magog II. 159 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:31,120 And this one is worldwide and God himself intervenes 160 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:38,120 to destroy those who are now in open rebellion against the reign of his son. 161 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:44,120 And fire comes down from the sky and immediately destroys this entire 162 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:48,120 host of people who are like the sands of the sea. 163 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:57,120 And so we have here a sudden, dramatic and final judgment upon human rebellion. 164 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:02,120 And then in verse 10 we have the final judgment upon the devil. 165 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,120 You say well who is the devil? Well we've talked about this before. 166 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:09,120 He's mentioned a number of times in this book but also throughout the Bible. 167 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:15,120 He is mentioned the first time in the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings. 168 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:25,120 He is a fallen angel who rebelled in pride against God and who brought sin into the world 169 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:32,120 when he tempted Adam and Eve and they disobeyed God and followed the devil. 170 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:38,120 And from that time he has been active in the world seeking to cause men and women 171 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:42,120 to be in rebellion against God. 172 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:50,120 Now this evil spirit, the devil, who deceived them was himself it says 173 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:56,120 cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. 174 00:15:56,120 --> 00:16:01,120 You say what is that place? Well that is the place of final judgment 175 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:07,120 for all of those who are in rebellion against the God of heaven. 176 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:13,120 It is a frightening and fearful thing as we read about it in the scriptures. 177 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:20,120 It is in John's word, his description, as it were a lake. 178 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:24,120 This is the land of 15,000 lakes. 179 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,120 But this is a lake unlike any lake that we know. 180 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:34,120 It is a lake of fire that burns with brimstone and sulfur. 181 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:38,120 And it says here that the beast and the false prophet are already there. 182 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,120 You remember they were dealt with before the thousand years. 183 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:48,120 They were cast in, they are alive. They are still there after a thousand years. 184 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:55,120 And now they are joined by resident number three in the lake of fire and that is the devil. 185 00:16:55,120 --> 00:17:01,120 And we would assume, and I think rightly so, that with him will go all of the host of demons 186 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:08,120 who follow him, that is those fallen angels who rebelled with him against the God of heaven. 187 00:17:08,120 --> 00:17:14,120 And who were then cast out and who are active in our world today. 188 00:17:14,120 --> 00:17:18,120 And so here we have a final judgment upon the devil. 189 00:17:18,120 --> 00:17:23,120 It is not a judgment of correction. It is not annihilation. 190 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:28,120 It is punishment and it lasts for eternity. 191 00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:34,120 Forever and forever and forever. 192 00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:41,120 The devil will be punished in the lake of fire because of his rebellion against God. 193 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:47,120 Now he knows that today and he hates it. 194 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:55,120 But somehow he has deceived himself in thinking that he will be able to manage and escape at the last moment. 195 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:58,120 He will not be successful in that. 196 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:00,120 But he thinks he will be able to. 197 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:05,120 And he is very active in the world seeking to build a base of rebellion against God. 198 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:09,120 And still he thinks to overthrow our Lord. 199 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:14,120 And here we see his final attempt and his ultimate judgment. 200 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:23,120 And then in verses 11 to 15 we have the final judgment upon all of those who are lost. 201 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:33,120 That is all of those in all of history and all nations of the world who have died in rebellion against the God of heaven. 202 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:36,120 Who have died without knowing God. 203 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:42,120 Who have died in sin with their sins being unforgiven. 204 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:47,120 John says, I saw a great white throne. 205 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:52,120 A throne of course is a seat for one of royalty. 206 00:18:52,120 --> 00:19:01,120 And here it is a great throne and it is described as white which symbolically speaks of its holiness. 207 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:07,120 And the purity and the righteousness of the one who sits on this throne. 208 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:15,120 It says, I saw him who sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. 209 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:23,120 And so John now sees this event taking place somewhere other than on earth and in heaven. 210 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,120 In the heavens. 211 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:33,120 Because at this moment as this judgment begins to take place earth and heaven flee away. 212 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:41,120 They are struck with fire and are dissolved. 213 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:47,120 And yet there is this vast multitude of people that are now dealt with. 214 00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:56,120 I saw the dead, small and great standing before God and the books were opened. 215 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:59,120 Now what are these books? 216 00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:05,120 The books of their lives, the record of their lives. 217 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:11,120 Everything that has ever been done is recorded in these books. 218 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:16,120 We live in a world where there is much injustice. 219 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:23,120 And sometimes the justice that we do have is not true justice. 220 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:33,120 And we occasionally become discouraged because there are those who do great evil and they are not punished. 221 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:49,120 For the child of God it is encouraging to know that someday at the end of time there is going to be an accounting of all of the works, all of the deeds of all of history. 222 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:57,120 And God is going to justly and righteously judge all people. 223 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:02,120 And that is not going to be as a mass, it is going to be individual. 224 00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:09,120 Each of us will personally stand before the God of the universe. 225 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:16,120 And it says for these who are unforgiven, who have died without hope and without God. 226 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:20,120 It says that the books of their lives are opened. 227 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:26,120 There can be no excuse, there is no defense, the proof is all there. 228 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:31,120 The evidence is in, it is written in the books. 229 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:35,120 And it says another book was opened which is the book of life. 230 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:40,120 And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. 231 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:43,120 Now what is the book of life? 232 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:48,120 Well as we see it referred to other places in the book of Revelation. 233 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:54,120 The book of life is a separate book from the ones that we have just described. 234 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:58,120 It is a book of names. 235 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:11,120 And in this book of life are written all of the names of those who have trusted Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. 236 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:19,120 All of those who have opened their hearts to receive him as we have heard testimony tonight from these who were baptized. 237 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:28,120 All of those who have been saved, who have been redeemed, their names are written in the book of life. 238 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:31,120 You say why is it opened at this judgment? 239 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:36,120 Well it may be the place of last appeal. 240 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:41,120 It may be that there will be those who will have some argument. 241 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:44,120 And so this final place of appeal is the book of life. 242 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:51,120 And the angel as it were will check to see is this person's name written here in the book of life. 243 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:56,120 And indeed the name is not there. 244 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:59,120 And this person is not forgiven. 245 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:04,120 This person is not saved. 246 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:07,120 And so what happens? 247 00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:11,120 Well it says the sea gave up its dead who were in it. 248 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:15,120 The death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. 249 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:20,120 This is the second resurrection. 250 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:23,120 There has been the first resurrection of the righteous. 251 00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:27,120 Now there is a resurrection of everyone else. 252 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:35,120 You see everyone who has died, even if their bodies have long ago decayed into dust, 253 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:44,120 everyone who has died will be raised from the dead to stand before God at this judgment. 254 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:53,120 John says I saw them and they were judged each one according to his works. 255 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:57,120 And then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. 256 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,120 This is the second death. 257 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:08,120 And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 258 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:16,120 We must understand that God did not create this terrible place of punishment for human beings. 259 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:25,120 It was created for the devil and for those angels that followed him in rebellion against God. 260 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:35,120 But now those humans who have also rebelled against God in their sin must share the destiny of the devil, 261 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:37,120 which is the lake of fire. 262 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:43,120 And I want you to know that no person will be cast into the lake of fire, 263 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:48,120 but that the heart of God does not break for them. 264 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:54,120 God's love and God's compassion is so great that he sent his Son to save us 265 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:58,120 so that we may not have to be at this judgment. 266 00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:05,120 So that our works can be forgiven, our sins can be forgiven. 267 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:09,120 So that our names can be written on the book of life. 268 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:13,120 And we can escape the judgment that we too deserve. 269 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:18,120 God is a God of love, but God is also a God of justice. 270 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:26,120 And now at this judgment, it is time for justice to be satisfied. 271 00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:30,120 Now why does God wait until the end of history? 272 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:35,120 Why doesn't God just judge each person as he or she dies? 273 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:39,120 The answer is clear if you think about it. 274 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:50,120 It is because the evil that is done in the world during the lifetime goes on even after the person dies. 275 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:57,120 Let me take a notorious example of Adolf Hitler. 276 00:25:57,120 --> 00:26:02,120 Adolf Hitler committed heinous crimes against humanity. 277 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:07,120 He was a man who was an open defiance against God. 278 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:13,120 He was responsible for the deaths of millions of people in World War II. 279 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:17,120 Very, very wicked. 280 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:27,120 As much as we know, he committed suicide in that bunker in Berlin in 1945. 281 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:33,120 If God had judged him at that point in 1945, 282 00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:49,120 then who would have fulfilled the justice for all of those who since then have continued to suffer in this world because of Adolf Hitler? 283 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:55,120 You see, God is waiting until the end of human history to draw the line 284 00:26:55,120 --> 00:27:07,120 and to announce judgment so that all of the accumulated wickedness of the life of every person will be fully measured. 285 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:16,120 And then judgment is announced in this lake of fire and people are cast into this lake of fire 286 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:24,120 where they, along with the devil and his angels, will suffer, torment. 287 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:30,120 Now remember, it's because of their rebellion against God, their refusal of God. 288 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:45,120 They will not know God, they will not trust God, and so they must now suffer the consequences and will do that forever and forever. 289 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:51,120 Those are heavy things. 290 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:56,120 John does not stop there, I am glad to say, but he goes on to say, 291 00:27:56,120 --> 00:28:00,120 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. 292 00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:10,120 Now what has passed away at this point are the old things, as he will tell us in a moment. 293 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:15,120 And now he's going to tell us about the new order. 294 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:20,120 He's going to tell us about a new world that God is going to create. 295 00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:23,120 A new order of things. 296 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:33,120 It is an order that all of the righteous, all of those who have trusted God through the ages will enter into. 297 00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:42,120 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, David, Moses, all of those of all of the ages who have trusted God 298 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:47,120 will be able to enter into this new order of things that we're going to read about. 299 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,120 He says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. 300 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:54,120 The first heaven and the first earth had passed away. 301 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,120 Now just in these brief words, we see a brand new beginning. 302 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:00,120 A new heaven and a new earth. 303 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:05,120 There was no more sea. Isn't it interesting? 304 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:11,120 Remember John, who's writing these words, is an exile on an island. 305 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,120 He is surrounded by the sea. 306 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:18,120 It's his prison walls, as it were. 307 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:24,120 And the first thing that he notices about the new earth is that there's no more sea. 308 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:29,120 The sea represents separation to John. 309 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:37,120 And symbolically in this book, you may recall, it represents that massive humanity out of which Antichrist comes. 310 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:39,120 He says, no more sea. 311 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:43,120 No more massive humanity and rebellion against God. 312 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,120 I John saw the holy city. 313 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:50,120 Now he sees something else. He has seen the new heavens, the new earth. 314 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:59,120 But now he sees the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 315 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:03,120 And so he sees this place that is called a city. 316 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,120 It's the new Jerusalem. 317 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:08,120 Not the old Jerusalem, which is no more. 318 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,120 It's a part of the old earth. 319 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,120 It's gone. 320 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:20,120 But there's a new Jerusalem, and he will describe it in some detail, which we'll study some other night. 321 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:27,120 But he says now that this city is prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 322 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,120 Aren't weddings wonderful? 323 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,120 Prepared as a bride for her husband. 324 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:38,120 Now, what does John mean about this? Does he mean it's a lovely place, like a bride is lovely? 325 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,120 Probably so. 326 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,120 A bride is beautiful. 327 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:48,120 I hesitate to say she will never be that beautiful again, because that's not true. 328 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:55,120 But at least up to that point in the relationship between the bride and groom, she's never been that lovely. 329 00:30:55,120 --> 00:31:00,120 When I think of weddings, I think of expense somehow. 330 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:05,120 Maybe it's because we had a wedding in our family a few weeks ago. 331 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:13,120 And I think that John may be saying that this holy city spares nothing. 332 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:18,120 It is a place of elaborate preparation. 333 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:29,120 Jesus said to us, I am going away to heaven to prepare a place for you, and I am going to come again and receive you to myself. 334 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:33,120 This is the place that Jesus Christ is right now preparing. 335 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:38,120 Apparently it's not been visible to this point. 336 00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:39,120 It's not been visible. 337 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:41,120 John sees it now coming down out of heaven. 338 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,120 It's not the same as heaven exactly. 339 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:48,120 It comes down out of heaven from God. 340 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:55,120 And he says, I heard a voice, a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. 341 00:31:55,120 --> 00:32:02,120 He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 342 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:11,120 In that new order of things, there is going to be an intimacy, an intimacy with God that we cannot know now. 343 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,120 Some new dimension of that intimacy will be experienced. 344 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:17,120 God will wipe away every tear. 345 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:22,120 No more death or sorrow or crying or any more pain. 346 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:29,120 Five of those experiences of human life that make it miserable in the world. 347 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,120 The heartbreaks of life. 348 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,120 None of that. It's all gone. 349 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:39,120 He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. 350 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:44,120 And he said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. 351 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:46,120 And he said to me, It is done. 352 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:48,120 I am Alpha and Omega. 353 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:51,120 That's the name for Jesus Christ. 354 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:57,120 Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet. 355 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:04,120 It means that he is before the beginning, he comes after the end, and he includes everything in the middle. 356 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:06,120 He is all in all. 357 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:09,120 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. 358 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:16,120 I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 359 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:25,120 He who overcomes, that's the believer, shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. 360 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:30,120 Now he explains to us something about this new order. It's going to be different than this one. 361 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:37,120 The very world itself will be different. We're going to see that there's going to be no sun, for example. 362 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:42,120 Now can you imagine what kind of a world it will be without a sun? 363 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:45,120 That's later in our study here in the book. 364 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:49,120 There's not going to be a moon. That's how we measure time. 365 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,120 Sun and moon. 366 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:56,120 It's the sun that causes life to be possible on this planet. 367 00:33:56,120 --> 00:34:01,120 But in this new order, there's no sun, there's no moon. 368 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:06,120 There will be a heaven of some kind. There will be an earth, a new earth. 369 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:14,120 No sea in it. It will have an ecological system that is entirely different than the one that we live on today. 370 00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:20,120 And in some relation here, there's going to be this beautiful city that he describes. 371 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:28,120 The awful experiences of life now because of sin are gone forever. 372 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:31,120 God will wipe away every tear. 373 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:39,120 No more pain, no sorrow, no crying, no more death. 374 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:41,120 That's part of the old order. 375 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:47,120 He says, I will make all things new, and I will be among my people. 376 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:51,120 I will tabernacle with them. 377 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:54,120 But John doesn't stop there. There's more that's said. 378 00:34:54,120 --> 00:35:05,120 He says, but the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, the sexually immoral sorcerers, 379 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:16,120 that's a word that has to do with use of drugs, particularly with occult kinds of overtones to it. 380 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:17,120 Secret things. 381 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:28,120 Idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. 382 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:33,120 And so once more he comes back to this and he punches it home again. 383 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:38,120 He says, here is God's beautiful new order for all of those who are his people. 384 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:50,120 But here in this place there is not found one who is identified with these things. 385 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:54,120 Those things involve the second death. 386 00:35:54,120 --> 00:36:00,120 It has been said that if we are born twice, we die once. 387 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:04,120 If we're born once, we die twice. 388 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:12,120 What that means is if in addition to being born physically, we are born again spiritually and trust Jesus Christ, 389 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:23,120 we only have to die once, the physical death, then comes the resurrection and the entrance into this beautiful new order that God is going to create. 390 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:29,120 But if we are not born a second time, born spiritually and have only a physical birth, 391 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:37,120 then not only must we die a physical death, but someday we'll be resurrected and then cast into the lake of fire, 392 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:45,120 which is the second death and so much greater to be feared even than physical death. 393 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:52,120 How wonderful to know that this God that we've studied about who's going to cause the old order to pass away 394 00:36:52,120 --> 00:37:04,120 and the new order to be created is a God who today opens his arms in grace and in love and invites all people to come to him. 395 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:09,120 His great heart of love is broken when people rebel against him. 396 00:37:09,120 --> 00:37:14,120 God does not delight in the death of the wicked. 397 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:20,120 Justice demands it. It will happen, but God does not delight in it. 398 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:27,120 God is willing that all should repent, that none should perish. 399 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:34,120 So if you have not turned from your sin, your personal sin, the evil that is within you, 400 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:43,120 and found forgiveness with God through Jesus Christ by trusting him, I would hope tonight you would do that. 401 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:50,120 Through trusting him, you would know that your sins are forgiven, that that book that contains all the wicked things of your life 402 00:37:50,120 --> 00:38:02,120 has been cast away by God, destroyed, forgotten, the sins put away, and your name written down now in God's book of life. 403 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:07,120 Oh, how much we have to look forward to as God's children. 404 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:12,120 A new order of things. Let's pray together. 405 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:16,120 Father in heaven, I thank you for your word. 406 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:22,120 There are many things in it that leave us with questions. 407 00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:27,120 It is so profound and deep. It is beyond our human understanding. 408 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:38,120 But we thank you for the Holy Spirit who opens our minds to understand and our hearts to believe. 409 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:47,120 We thank you that by the Holy Spirit's work we can understand the word of God. 410 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:58,120 And we thank you for this prophecy that explains something about the end of the world as we know it now. 411 00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:09,120 And the inauguration of the new age, of the new order, the new heavens and the new earth. 412 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:16,120 That's a long time yet in the future, Lord, and there are many things that must yet come to pass upon the earth. 413 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:22,120 But understanding those things that are yet distant, may we live wisely now in this world. 414 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:32,120 And may all of us take care to be sure that we are prepared to meet you. 415 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:39,120 And that we are prepared to stand before you in judgment. 416 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:46,120 And to know that when we do our sins have been forgiven that we will not be called to give account for them. 417 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:51,120 And that we are accepted by you and our names are written in the Lamb's book of life. 418 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,120 Father, thank you for all who have come tonight. 419 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:59,120 And we pray for the Holy Spirit to take the word and apply it to our lives. 420 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:11,120 And we ask that you, as we go, keep us and enrich our lives as we learn more about you and walk with you each day. 421 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:13,120 Amen. 422 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,120 Thank you very much for coming tonight. 423 00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:21,120 We want to pray God's blessing upon those who are baptized this evening. 424 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:50,120 Good night.