Good morning. How are you all doing today? Hey guys, how you doing? I'm seeing people
I haven't seen in a little while. Hey, we always like to start our services today's
or on Sundays to welcome all of you. If you're joining us here in our sanctuary
for the very first time or if you're joining us online for the first time, we
want to say welcome. We're so glad you're here to worship with us here at Hosanna.
I am Pastor Nathan and this morning we're going to be looking at the last
last gasp of the devil. Finally. Excited to get to this point. We're going to be
seeing his final destiny in our study of Revelation here. You know, ever since
Satan fell and then went on to cause Adam and Eve to do the same, things in
creation have just gone to ruin. They have just gone to ruin. Ruin has come
upon the earth as generation after generation has been born with an evil
sinful nature. And with that curse that has come down through mankind, death has
come down through it all. And ever since then all of creation, including us, we are
God's creation, have been waiting for the time where Jesus Christ, the Creator,
would return, come back to his creation, set up his kingdom, retake full control
over all of it. And as we've been studying in Revelation, we're seeing
that this will indeed happen during the millennial kingdom. But until then, evil
is spreading, has been spreading, and for generations has been having a field day
of it. And I say that because as we look around our world today, it's not hard to
see that evil and wickedness and depravity is more and more rewarded and
celebrated in our culture, while good is being punished and slandered and called
bigoted and naive and wrong. And the more we witness this as God's people, the
more time marches forward and we see this depravity get worse, the more we
find ourselves saying, yeah, Lord, your kingdom come. Your will be done on the
earth as it is in heaven. And one day that prayer will be answered in its
fullness, but we don't see it just yet. And the fact that we don't see that yet
here on earth has been one of the major reasons that skeptics have a problem
with God. You see, they ask questions like, if God is real, why is there evil? If God
is real, why is there suffering? If God exists, why doesn't he step in and
stop evil and suffering? And one of the classic arguments of atheists and those
who deny God is this, if God is all-powerful, he could stop evil and
destroy it. If God is all good, then he would destroy evil. And since evil is not
destroyed, therefore there is no God. Well, chapter 20 of Revelation answers this
erroneous line of logic. And we see in chapter 20 of Revelation, Satan, the
perpetuator of evil, bound for a thousand years. We're gonna see during this
thousand years that Jesus Christ is here on earth ruling and reigning. Most
importantly, what we see is at the end of the thousand-year millennial kingdom,
Satan is allowed to rise up one last time, and then he is dealt with for good.
See, there are two events that kind of bookend the millennial kingdom. On the
front side, we have what's known as the binding of Satan. And the binding of
Satan will indeed happen. He will be bound. He will be tossed into the abyss.
He will be restrained from tempting mankind in any way, shape, or form during
the millennial kingdom. And this serves one of the major purposes of the
millennial kingdom. But then on the other side is the final judgment of Satan,
which will also happen, is an absolute truth and a guaranteed circumstance. And
that serves as God's final word about sin and rebellion. It's these two events, the
binding and the judgment, that bookend the millennial kingdom, it's what we're
looking at today. But as we see these two events and look at what they mean, it
shows us that evil and wickedness and temptation and sin and the one who
perpetuates all of it will one day fully, finally, and completely be destroyed.
Hallelujah. So that's what we're looking at today in Revelation chapter 20, but
first we're gonna spend some time in worship. We want to praise God. We want
to praise God for who he is. We want to praise God for what he's done. We want to
praise God for what he's going to do. Because we so look forward to the time
where righteousness rules and reigns. Where perfection is the state of
existence. But even beyond that, the eternity that we get to spend with our
Lord and our Savior, our Creator in paradise is just something to look
forward to. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we love you so much. And God, we are so
looking forward to these times, these events that we've been studying,
Lord. God, we know that there's a time coming of tribulation upon the earth and
oh Lord, it's heavy. It's difficult. It's horrific. But God, we've moved
past that in our study of this revelation of Jesus Christ, Lord, and we're
looking at this glorious time called the Millennial Kingdom. And God, as we study
this, I just pray, Lord, that we would further be encouraged by what is to come,
God. That we would be encouraged today to not lose heart, Lord, because your
promises are true. That you are faithful and true, God, and we know these things
are coming to pass, God. And so, Lord, as we labor today in this age of grace, God,
while evil is still running rampant, God, we are called to be people to take the
message of the gospel and the good news into this world to share the hope of
salvation with those who don't have it. And God, a part of that hope is this
Millennial Kingdom in eternity to come after. And so, God, bless us today. Speak
to us today. Encourage us today, especially, Lord, as we look towards our
hope that one day Satan will be bound and one day Satan will be finally and
fully judged, no longer tempting us, no longer roaming and roaring and seeking
to kill and to steal and to destroy, but he will be done. Hallelujah, Lord. God, we
want to worship you now for all of it. We praise your holy name, God, because you
are worth it. You are almighty. You are just. You are pure. Your love. Your light,
God. You are amazing. So, God, be blessed as we worship you now, as we praise your
name. We love you and we thank you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We are in
Revelation chapter 20. In our last message, we kind of looked at somewhat of
an overview of the Millennial Kingdom, really what it is scripturally, because
here in Revelation chapter 20, it's kind of a brief mention of the Millennial
Kingdom. It kind of just mentions it real quick and then moves right past it, but
as we were doing this quick overview, we kind of looked real fast at verses one
through six, really as a summary statement of this entire thousand-year
Millennial Kingdom, and today we're going to take a bit of a closer look at verses
one through six, and we're going to go all the way down to verses 10, which
collectively is really the beginning, the middle, and the end of the Millennial
Kingdom, and the items that we're going to see have major focus here in
Revelation 20 in this brief look at the Millennial Kingdom are the removal of
Satan that happens right before the Millennium is ushered in, the reign of
the saints, which takes place during the Millennial Kingdom, and then the release
of Satan, which involves a revolt of a certain segment of society, and then
ultimately the recapture and the final judgment of Satan himself, which all
takes place at the very end of the Millennial Kingdom, and then next time we
get together after the holidays, because we will be spending time looking at
Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus next week, when we do come back to
look at Revelation again, we will look at the final judgment of the wicked and
deal with the topic of the great white throne judgment. So, but today verses one
through ten again forms an outline overview of the Millennial Kingdom with
a focus on three elements, and so let's look at the first one in verses one
through three, it's the removal of Satan. It says, then I saw an angel coming down
from heaven holding the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He seized
the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a
thousand years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so
that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were
completed. After that, he must be released for a short time. So the first thing I
want to point out is this is a yet future event that has not happened yet.
It's right after the tribulation period and it's an event that will harken in
the beginning of the Millennium. I point that out because there are
alternate interpretations of the Millennial Kingdom and I recognize that
and there are some who look at the Millennial Kingdom in these verses in
Revelation 20 as purely metaphorical, that they're not referring to anything
that is really going to happen, they're just allegory and story, and then some
suggest that the Millennial Kingdom has already happened or is in the process of
happening. But what I see in Scripture is that those interpretations actually
conflict with what Scripture says about Satan and his work here upon the earth.
For example, in 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 8 it tells us this, be sober minded and be
alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion
looking for anyone he can devour. Now that word is in the Greek language is a
verb that is in what's called the present active tense. What that means is
what is being referred to, the devil prowling around, is an ongoing event that
is happening right now as you are reading this verse. Okay, so it's happening
today. In the book of Job we read how Satan has access to heaven or at least
some type of limited access as he goes before God and presents himself with the
angels to accuse Job. And then of course in Revelation 12 if you were with us
then as we were studying the midpoint of the tribulation which is still a yet
future event to happen we read there that it was at that point that Satan was
finally kicked out of heaven. His access to heaven was revoked in full as we read
there in Revelation 12 10 it said because the accuser of our brothers and
sisters who accuses them before our God day and night has been thrown down. And so
again the language there indicates that he had access up until that point and
Job supports that. I've said this before but if you've never heard this it might
shock some of you and it might shock some viewers of this video in the future
but Satan today is not in hell. Hell is not his base of operations today. In fact
chronologically Satan has never yet been to hell as of today and when he does get
sent there thrown there as we're gonna read later he's not gonna be the king on
the throne in charge of the place. He's not gonna be the head of the party. He's
not gonna be this reigning ruling leader there in hell. He will be the chief
inmate. He will be the number one prisoner and he will be the lowest and
the most tormented of all of them. Now some of the interpretations of the
Millennium in these verses in the light of that people go well wasn't Satan
defeated at the cross right? We talk about that we preach that that the power
of sin and death was defeated by Jesus at the cross and they go well wasn't
Satan defeated there? And it's kind of like a yes-no answer because in a sense
yes he was defeated there but what we mean by that is his unhindered influence
over man's heart was defeated at the cross. That's what we mean when we say
the power of sin or slavery to sin as the Bible talks about. We were enslaved
to sin prior to Christ all of that was dealt with and broken at the cross and
it was at the cross that we were fully and finally forgiven of sin not just
having our sin covered by sacrifices but washed away. So the power of sin to
condemn us washed away. The power of death to to damn us to internal
damnation washed away. So we were forgiven, absolved of the penalty, and
freed from the guilt. The Bible also tells us that at the cross we were given a new
heart by faith. That new heart is the heart that allows us to say no to sin. You
see prior to the cross we couldn't really say no to sin. Now God provided
the sacrificial system to to make atonement for that sin but it was a
temporary covering but we were sinners right? The Bible is very clear that the
sacrifices in the Old Testament did nothing to change our heart they just
covered the sin but when Jesus died on the cross the Bible tells us we were
given a new heart by faith and so we don't have to sin anymore. It doesn't
mean we always choose that but we don't have to we have the power granted by
this new heart the power the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to say no I'm gonna
obey God I want to do what God wants me to do but thus then began the struggle
between the flesh and the spirit. So but the Holy Spirit within us through our
faith in Jesus Christ and what he did on the cross is what allows us to say no to
Satan's agenda and to walk in the spirit but from the cross all the way up to the
millennial kingdom Satan is and has been still present upon the earth as it says
to roam to roar to tempt to deceive the Bible tells us that he is still active
but what we're seeing here in Revelation 20 after the tribulation takes place
right before the millennial kingdom is ushered in Satan is then seized taken
into custody he's arrested and thrown into jail it tells us there that he was
bound by a great chain those words in the Greek refer to you having your
freedom restricted by shackles so it's the picture that comes to mind when you
think of somebody being shackled up in jail that he's confined by restraints
the word threw tossed into the abyss is an interesting word because it means to
be tossed through the air it's that idea of a bouncer throwing you out of the
club right like you've acted up enough we eat it right through the air under the
streets you're tossed out that's the idea here and then it says he was sealed
in the abyss and then we know the abyss from previous studies is that jail it's
that place of incarceration that the really bad demons were locked up in
until the tribulation period it's not hell itself it's a temporary prison in
abode but Satan is locked and sealed in there and it tells us that at this point
he is locked in there so that he could no longer deceive the nations and that
word deceive means to mislead or to cause to go astray and so but he isn't
bound today he's not locked up today his freedom to deceive the nations isn't
restricted today we don't have to look far to see that right we see what's
happening around the world we see what what some governments and leadership
does we see what people are being led to do as they are deceived by Satan he is
active today now there are many other scriptures that support and indicate
this a well this as well as in addition to first Peter 5 8 and Job in Acts
chapter 5 verse 3 we read about Ananias and Sapphira right they went and sold
their property and they came to give the money and we read there that Peter was
in told by the Holy Spirit they're lying to you they're not giving everything
they're holding back some of it and so Peter says to them why has Satan filled
your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit if Satan's bound how is he able to fill
their heart first Corinthians chapter 5 there's a section there where Paul is
dealing with a discipline how the church is to discipline some immoral members of
the church there and and he says to to the church there he goes this person
who is committing this immorality he goes hand that one over to Satan if
Satan is bound how can you hand anybody over to him first Corinthians 7 is a is
a great instruction to to married people and single people but it says in the
section here about how married couples aren't to deny one another the the
physical joys of marriage right there's there's the joy of intimacy in Paul's
teaching don't deny that to each other right don't use intimacy as a punishment
tool like I'm mad at you he goes don't do that why he says so that Satan doesn't
tempt you again how can Satan tempt you if he's bound Ephesians chapter 2 tells
us that Satan who's the prince of the power of the air is now working in the
disobedient again not bound then first Thessalonians 2 18 Paul says we wanted
to come to you time and time again but Satan hindered us it's pretty clear that
Satan is not bound today he wasn't bound then and he's not gonna be bound until
he's thrown in jail right so today we as Christians the church were to be
sober minded the Bible tells us alert why for our adversary the devil is
prowling around like a roaring lion looking for anyone whom he could devour
and if Satan is not bound that means he's not in the abyss and if Satan is
not in the abyss that means we're not in the millennial yet millennial kingdom
yet but it will come it's yet future and after Satan is remote removed and bound
and chained up for a thousand years we get to the second major focus of the
Millennium we see in Revelation 20 verse 4 he goes then I saw thrones and people
seated on them who were given authority to judge I also saw the souls of those
who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because the
word of God because of the word of God who had not worshiped the beast or his
image and who had not accepted the mark on their four foreheads or their hands
they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years the rest of
the dead did not come to life until a thousand years were completed and we're
gonna deal with that in our next message of Revelation but he says this is the
first resurrection blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first
resurrection the second death has no power over them but they will be priests
of God and of Christ and they will reign with him for a thousand years and so the
second major emphasis of the millennial kingdom in Revelation 20 is the reign of
the Saints right we saw Satan bound Satan jailed and then we get to this
reign of the Saints here now he starts out by saying I saw thrones I saw
thrones and there's people on these thrones and they were given authority to
judge that word judge there means means having administrative and judicial
authority so they are reigning with Christ for this thousand years now
granted here in Revelation 20 we're not told specifically expressly who these
people on these thrones are so like good Bible students we have to look to
scripture to interpret scripture right so the question is what group or what
groups of people did God ever make a promise to that they would rule and
reign with him well in Daniel chapter 7 verse 18 it says this but the holy ones
and that word also means Saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and
possess it forever yes forever and ever later on in Daniel 7 of verse 22 it says
the ancient of days arrived and a judgment was given in favor of the holy
ones of the Most High for the time had come and the holy ones took possession
of the kingdom and then we have Daniel 7 27 same chapter he says the kingdom
dominion and greatness of the kingdom under all of heaven will be given to the
people the holy ones of the Most High his kingdom will be an everlasting
kingdom and all rulers will serve and obey him so that prophecy that we read
about in Daniel chapter 7 speaking of this coming kingdom upon the earth is
referring to these holy ones or what we call Old Testament saints right Old
Testament saints were promised rulership in the kingdom so they will be on these
thrones Matthew chapter 19 verse 28 is a verse specifically speaking of the 12
Apostles and at this time in Matthew chapter 19 the Apostles were asking
Jesus a question that I'm gonna paraphrase this way what do we get out of
following you right like we've never asked that question of God what are we
gonna get out of this right what do we have to look forward to and then Matthew
19 28 Jesus said to them truly I tell you in the renewal of all things when
the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne the millennial kingdom you who
have followed me speaking to the 12 Apostles will also sit on 12 thrones
judging the 12 tribes of Israel so we have the Old Testament saints and now we
have the 12 Apostles over the 12 tribes of Israel but wait there's more in 1st
Corinthians 6 2 we have a teaching regarding the New Testament saints
because in 1st Corinthians 6 2 Paul is writing to the Christian church he's
writing to the Christian believers of the New Testament church and the context
of the section is how to resolve internal disputes but he says this don't
you know that the Saints will judge the world and if the world is judged by you
are you unworthy to judge trivial cases and he's speaking of resolving disputes
amongst yourselves but he kind of offhandedly refers to the Saints
judging the world almost as if it was common knowledge 2nd Timothy chapter 2
verse 12 it says if we the church endure we will also reign with him 1st Peter 2
it says we the church are a royal priesthood and then in Revelation chapter
3 verse 21 which was written to the church right it says to the one who
conquers I will give the right to sit with me on my throne just as I also
conquered and sat down with my father on his throne and then Revelation 5 10 and
again chapter 4 and 5 of Revelation I believe is a picture of the church
already in heaven prior to tribulation the church sings those elders on those
24 thrones they sing you have made us a kingdom or another way to transcend
say that is you have made us kings and priests to our God so I think if you
just read the New Testament and pay attention to what it's saying you can't
miss the fact that that that the New Testament Saints the church are going to
be ruling and reigning as well so the people on the thrones that that John
sees here in Revelation 20 is the Old Testament Saints it's the 12 apostles
over the 12 tribes of Israel Israel and it's the New Testament Saints the church
right but there's another group reigning with Christ as well because in verse 4b
the second half of the verse John said I also saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus that phrase I also saw means
I see a different group of people the people on the thrones and then I also
saw a different group of people they are not the church they are not the Old
Testament Saints they are not the Apostles but he describes them pretty
graphically right we don't have to really dig deep to understand who he's
talking about here these are the ones that died during the tribulation time
for their faith in Jesus Christ and so collectively who's ruling and reigning
with Jesus during the Millennial Kingdom the Old Testament Saints the 12
Apostles the New Testament Saints and the Tribulation Saints that's who what we
refer to those people who died during the tribulation who put their faith in
Jesus during that seven-year period we have been studying throughout Revelation
now in 1st Corinthians 15 Paul talks about all of those who are who are a
part of this are going to return with Christ to the earth in glorified bodies
so this group these Old Testament Saints 12 Apostles New Testament Saints
Tribulation Saints we're all going to return with Christ in glorified bodies
to rule and reign with him during the Millennium and I just think that's
beautiful I think it's it's pretty fun and ironic that we're gonna return and
rule and reign over the very place that Satan is expelled from and jailed from
for a thousand years now that leads to another question if we were ruling and
reigning who are we ruling and reigning over during the Millennial Kingdom right
well don't forget that there are people humans on earth who survive live through
the tribulation period right the the tribulation period is a devastation upon
the earth and millions die but but not everybody dies not everybody upon the
earth dies during the tribulation time specifically you remember the 144,000
Jewish evangelists it told us earlier in Revelation that God protects them
through tribulation that the Antichrist and his minions he goes after them he
tries to kill them but but they're protected by God so at the end of the
tribulation period they're still alive now it doesn't make sense to me that God
is gonna be like all right you guys are still alive boom killed boom brought
back in glorified bodies that doesn't make any sense so the idea is that they
proceed into the Millennial Kingdom still in their earthly bodies we read throughout
tribulation that that two-thirds of the Jewish specifically Jewish population is
killed during the tribulation time but there is a third a remnant that remains
remains at the end of tribulation in their earthly bodies still living on
earth into the Millennial Kingdom and then of course there's no indication
that every single non-jew is killed upon the earth so there are Gentile
believers that enter into the Millennial Kingdom and so the idea is that every
person who begins life in the Millennial Kingdom whether they're in an earthly
body or a heavenly body they're all God's people so at the beginning of the
Millennial Kingdom the earth is populated 100% with people who believe
that Jesus Christ is God Lord and Savior that's gonna be a cool time now in
Matthew chapter 25 we see an indication of this just to give you some scriptural
support Matthew 25 starting in verse 31 Jesus says when the Son of Man comes in
his glory and this was referring to the second coming of Christ at the end of
tribulation and all the angels with him then he will sit on his glorious throne
speaking of the kingdom that he's gonna be ruling the thousand-year Millennial
reign of Christ verse 32 it says all the nations will be gathered before him and
he will separate them from one another just as a shepherd separates the sheep
from the goats he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left then
the king will say to those on his right speaking of the sheep this is a picture
of believers those who survived tribulation but believed in Jesus Christ
his Lord and Savior he says come you who are blessed by my father inherit the
kingdom the Millennial Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world
and then later on in Matthew 25 in verse 41 it says then he will also say to those
on the left the goats which is a picture of non-believers who survived
tribulation depart from me you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared
for the devil and his angels so chronologically tribulation is done there
are people still alive on earth some believe some don't there is this
judgment the separation of the sheep's and goats before the Millennial Kingdom
embarks or is is embarked upon and the wicked are cast into hell and then when
the actual thousand-year reign of Christ begins it's all believers and so what a
beautiful picture of a kingdom of God full of people who believe that he is
God that he is the Savior some in glorified bodies that are ruling and
reigning and all the positions of administration and leadership and in
political power I guess if you want to say that but some still in earthly
bodies and over the course of the thousand years we looked at last time
that the curse of of death and decay is going to be lifted and so there's going
to be a longevity restored to humanity and so there's going to be some people
who get to the Millennial reign of Christ and they've lived 50 40 60 30 80
years here on earth and then there's going to be a longevity that is restored
to them as they continue to live on through the Millennial reign of Christ
but humans on earth during this thousand years they're gonna repopulate there's
pictures of that in scripture that that it's not going to just be everybody's
sterile and we're just like oh worshipping God and doing nothing else
that that life on earth is going to continue under the rulership of Jesus
Christ and people are going to populate now when humans have babies what kind of
babies are they human trick question humans have human babies right we know
that that's basic biology like biology isn't fully dismantled yet by our
educational system we still understand that right humans have human babies well
those human babies are going to be born in earthly bodies and those earthly
bodies are still going to inherit inherit the sin nature that is the
nature of human flesh now although the effect of the curse on physical bodies
is lifted right sicknesses is no longer here short lifespans are gone the
spiritual nature of mankind the the spiritual nature that man has inherited
since the fall since Adam and Eve it's gonna remain within the flesh now these
offspring that people are gonna have are gonna receive the same free will gift
that God gives to all of us now to say yes or no to Jesus Christ they're gonna
have that same opportunity now although outward righteousness is gonna be
enforced with an iron rod it told us that that Jesus is gonna rule with an
iron rod during this kingdom meaning that that peace is gonna prevail many
interpret this to mean that that that the result the fruit of sin the fruit of
wickedness and evil it's not even going to be allowed to grow to flourish to
fester some go so far as to say that when the evil thought even enters the
mind it is dealt with immediately because Jesus Christ is here on earth
ruling and reigning with his people throughout the entire planet but the
idea is this is that outward righteousness is gonna be enforced that
goodness and righteousness in in you know the all of those things that we
consider a part of our faith and our Christianity that Jesus would want upon
the earth it's gonna be enforced upon the entire planet and then through that
it we we read last time that all the weapons of the planet are gonna be
smashed into plowshares that all military training will cease right
there's gonna be no more fighting between nations or whatnot although all
of that is is in place the inward depravity of the human heart the human
nature will still be present that human nature and that free will that has the
ability to choose and as we are about to see some will still choose rebellion
against God despite the fact that he is bodily here ruling and reigning for a
thousand years despite the fact that all government is perfect despite the fact
that there's no more crime and no more wickedness and no more evil despite the
fact that that trafficking is eradicated despite the fact all it's it's a perfect
utopia but the human heart is still the same and this brings us to the third
major focus of the Millennium in Revelation 20 which is the final
rebellion in the release of Satan read with me in verse 7 when the thousand
years are completed Satan will be released from his prison now this is one
of the great mysteries of Scripture to me why after having incarcerated the
devil put him in jail removed his influence over the human heart removed
his influence over the earth why on earth would God ever let him out again
why would he unbound Satan right to me in my limited human intellect I'm going
that what's up with that God like he's the bad guy you dealt with him well I
don't have a really great answer for this okay I labored and I studied and I
thought about it and and I was seeking you know well what are other pastors and
in theologians saying about this and and there are a lot of ideas about exactly
why but but it doesn't tell us here right it doesn't say any let him out and
this is why it just says that he did right but I found a quote from the
founder of the Dallas Seminary and he said this because someone asked him the
same question why does God let Satan out at the end of the Millennium and he
said well you tell me why God loosed him the first time and I'll tell you why God
loses him the second time you know when Satan fell why didn't God just
eradicate him right there right that's a question we have that's the question
that skeptics have why is there evil why doesn't God do something about it
right a lot of people call them imponderable questions right like we
could think about it but but it's it's really beyond our understanding here and
now but I do think that the two things are related and possibly give us a
glimpse into our understanding at least part of why God does this you see the
first time Satan fell being a beautiful angel angel and servant of God and he
fell and pride entered his heart and he said I would be like the most high and
he took a third of the angels with him and and all of this the God didn't
destroy him there because God had given mankind the gift of free will he gave us
free will right he gave us the ability to choose God said I love you I want you
to love me back but I'm not gonna force you to love me back because that's not
love all right he's not gonna make us robots that we love God because there's
no other choice no there's choice and how do you really have choice without
two opposite things to choose from and so the first time Satan fell God allowed
Satan to continue so that he could honor the free will that he gifted to us as
his creation the free will to choose to obey him or to choose to not obey him
and I think letting Satan out the second time at the end of the millennial
highlight millennial kingdom is highlighting the same issue you see this
further emphasizes the point and the purpose of the millennial kingdom
because that's another question after tribulation he locks up Satan what why
another thousand years come on let's just get to eternity let's get to
paradise but part of the point of the millennium serves to prove beyond a
shadow of a doubt that humans we have nothing to blame our sin on we have
nothing to blame our sin on when it comes to sin we are ultimately
responsible it's our choice we are the ones who exercise the free will God gave
us to disobey we are the ones who make the choice to do what God says no to
we're the ones that that make that choice it's not our environment because
the millennial kingdom would be a perfect environment it's not our
government because during the millennial kingdom will have a perfect government
it's not whether or not Jesus is physically here because he'll be
physically here for a thousand years during the millennial kingdom it's not
the devil's fault because he's locked up in jail and he can't even tempt you it's
not our upbringing while sin and unrighteousness will not even be
allowed to fester and to grow into poison society during the millennial
kingdom because again Jesus is ruling with an iron rod it will still be
present in the nature and the heart of man and letting Satan out one more time
proves that because the very first chance mankind gets to disobey God and
fight against them they take it they take it many will believe in Jesus
during the millennial kingdom that are being born but many will still not and
so and that'll bring it all to final judgment so God lets Satan out and he
deceives the nations again and how does he deceive the nation well it's the same
way he's always been doing it go back to the very beginning right did God really
say as he mentioned to Eve in the garden did God really mean that does God right
he questions God and because there's people born on the millennium with this
sin nature who maybe have been harboring it inside living under
enforced righteousness but but finally there's an opportunity to act out
outwardly what is inward here it says in verse 8 he goes out to deceive the
nations at the four corners of the earth Gog and Magog to gather them for battle
their number is like the sand of the sea they came up across the breath of the
earth and surrounded the encampment of the Saints the beloved city then fire
came down from heaven and consumed them so again that word deceive there right
it means to lead astray another way to word that is to cause one to outwardly
express disobedience because remember again nobody's able to outwardly express
disobedience to God during the millennial kingdom and it says that these
people are like then they number the sand of the sea all right that just that
just means a lot of people right ever gone to the beach trying count the sand
it's it's a lot right you can't count it Jeremiah was absolutely right when he
said that the human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked he was
spot-on and so this rebellion here this answers the question well if Satan was
gone would man still sin would man still want to sin and as we've seen that the
human nature is still there and those born of the flesh and so absolutely
because we know sin comes from inside us that is something the Bible teaches sin
comes from inside us it comes from our fallen nature it comes from the flesh
Satan simply creates an environment to to to tempt that he simply creates an
environment to stimulate the flesh and then lays a temptation before us but we
are still the ones who choose to sin we're the ones that say yes I will
disobey God now you could remove the devil you could remove the enticement
but the point the human heart is still deceitful and desperately wicked we're
sinners by nature that's been the message the whole time guys right Bible
Genesis to Revelation we're sinners by nature it's a truth you see the the
millennial kingdom will put to rest the the the nurture versus nature debate for
all time right because modern secular psychology well you know nurture nature
rises at upbringing the millennial kingdom is gonna be like it's nature
period end of story through and through and then you know it's all those
questions like why is there crime why do people kill each other why is there
murder why is there alcoholism why is there drug abuse why is there
trafficking why is why are why do all these evils exist in the world because
of the heart of man that's the point a perfect everything outside of us won't
change a thing about the nature of the flesh a thousand years of Christ ruling
won't change it a thousand years of Christ here walking among mankind won't
change it a thousand years of people observing these these other people in
glorified heavenly bodies won't change it none of it will change the fallen
nature of a person unless the fallen person says I want my sins forgiven I'm
sorry I've broken your law God I believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and I
exercise my own free will to submit my life to him in his Lordship Jesus I'm
yours come into my life and it's gonna be the same during the millennial kingdom
that's why Jesus said to Nicodemus right unless you were born again you will
never see the kingdom of God it's why God stepped out of eternity 2,000 years
ago we're gonna celebrate it next week came to this earth born of the flesh to
live a perfect life ultimately to die for you and for me he did it 2,000 years
ago it still applies to us today it's why all that took place Jesus Christ
addressed the problem the sickness that plagued humanity a nature a nature that
we could do nothing about no matter how hard we try we can't change our nature
we're ultimately sinful and Jesus not only addressed the problem but provided
the remedy a new nature a new heart the Bible says granted freely by salvation
freely given by God but it's a gift that has to be received with the free will of
the receiver so Satan is released the first thing he does when he's released
God I'm really sorry bro I know I did a lot of bad things no first thing he does
organize a war against God why because he'll never change thousand years in
jail didn't rehabilitate him his nature his character does not change he is and
remains the devil the deceiver the dragon that is who he is and so it's the same
tricks the lies the deception the false religion the false ideas about God and
all of this stuff so it gives us this weird detail here and I want to address
this real quick for those you that are that are interested in these types of
things it brings up this phrase Gog and Magog right we go what is that right
what does that even mean like it's almost sounds like somebody coughing as
they're trying to write it down right but it's actually a thing in the Bible
right historically Magog was a grandson of Noah so when Noah was in the ark and
then the waters receded and the ark landed and he had his family there and
then they went out and through that they ended up repopulating the earth Magog was
a grandson of Noah and his offspring his people settled far north of Israel north
of the Black Sea in the area we know today as Russia okay so Russians are far
descendants from Magog and in that understanding now Gog and Magog these
words they first appear for us in Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39 and then they
appear again here in Revelation 20 now we don't have time to exhaustively go
through the details here so I'm gonna try and give you a quick synopsis in
Ezekiel 38 and 39 there is a prophecy written about a future attack against
Israel led by a man named Gog and it says this man Gog is from Magog or is
of the land of Magog so he's he's from this this descendants of Magog okay now
in Ezekiel 38 and 39 there's all kinds of details about this attack and and it
tells us a whole bunch of details but but from a prophetical standpoint we
understand that this attack that is prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is
understood to take place either before the tribulation possibly before the
rapture of the church some some seem to see there or it happens during the first
three and a half years of tribulation and so some people say it's before the
tribulation because in Ezekiel 39 it says after God rescues Israel from this
attack that Israel will be burning the weapons of the enemies for seven years
so it you know the tribulation is seven years long so it has to happen right
before that for that to happen and then it says they spend seven months burying
the dead from this battle so that's people that go it's definitely before
others go no no no it's it's in the very beginning of the tribulation period
because Ezekiel 38 says that this attack by Gog from Magog comes during a time of
peace with Israel that there's peace in the land and we know that the beginning
of the tribulation starts with the Antichrist making a peace treaty with
Israel right and they get to rebuild their temple and so you know there's
finally peace in the land of Israel that the world is like okay we're good we're
we're nobody's attacking you anymore and but you know this attack from Gog could
be what precipitates the peace treaty right like this is the final attack on
Israel in the Antichrist is the one who rises up and goes okay we're enough
we're done with all of this and then the peace treaty comes in and all that so
that's that's interpretive but Ezekiel 38 19 tells us that Gog and his armies
they don't win they don't win they attack Israel and God intervenes and
saves Israel and Gog and his armies are wiped out so Gog and Magog is now
brought up again here in Revelation chapter 20 but it's not the same event
it's not the same people for again a number of reasons we don't have time to
get into but John is using Gog and Magog symbolically here to show that that the
people that are rebelling at the end of the millennial kingdom are doing it with
the same attitude the same antagonism the same hatred for God and his people
that the battle of Gog and Magog or the the attack from them was seen in Ezekiel
38 and 39 so that's all we have time to go into that for so but go read it there
you'll see a lot of parallels and then you'll see a lot of differences between
the two and so and maybe one day we'll dig through that in detail but for the
sake of Revelation 20 we see here that it says people from across the entire
planet it says the breath of the earth it says are gathered from the four
corners of the earth and they come again against God's city we know it's God's
city because Jerusalem is often referred to as the beloved city so we know that
that's God's Jerusalem God's city we also know that during the millennial
kingdom that's where God Jesus Christ himself here on earth is ruling and
reigning from that city there and so but the important detail there is it's not
much of a battle says they gather from the breath of the earth they gather
from the four corners right armies everywhere and they march on Jerusalem
and we're gonna get you God you've been ruling over us for a thousand years and
we're tired of it and what does it say and a fire from heaven they're all
burned up just burned up consumed the fire that word consumed there means
utterly destroyed so verse 10 the devil then who deceived them was thrown into
the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are and they
will be tormented day and night forever and ever this is where the devil finally
gets his due his final judgment and we learn a number of things just from this
one verse what it tells us here is we see that some Satan has limited power
limited ability he's no match for God he never was he never will be God and Satan
are not two equal forces on the side of good and evil Satan is a fallen angel a
creation of God no match all that Satan has ever been able to do has been
allowed by God and that's a whole nother Bible study about why does God allow
things but but everything that Satan has ever done is under the purview of the
Lord is under his sovereignty he has limited power God put him in prison God
released him from prison and then God finally ends his career by throwing him
into the lake of fire and it's that same word again right there he goes right
now he's gone tossed through the air all of it however is under the sovereign
control of God we learned then that Satan only operates by God's permission
we saw that in Job right he had to get God's permission to go mess with Job and
God gave him limited permission first it was like okay take all his stuff but
don't harm him and then it was okay you can mess with his health health but you
can't kill him and Satan was only able to do what God allowed him to do when we
saw the the demons that that fled into the herd of pigs in Galilee right you
remember they asked Jesus for permission you know please don't send us to the
abyss let us go into the pigs asking permission from the sovereign God and
then Jesus once said to Peter hey Satan is asked to sift you like wheat asked
but Jesus said ah but I've been praying for you so God has been and will always
be in sovereign control we also learn here that Satan's judgment although it
was assured at the cross isn't fully fulfilled until this point that from the
cross until this point Satan is and has been allowed to roam and to to roar and
attempt he's doing that today it's not until Revelation 12 that we read he's
finally kicked out of heaven for good that he doesn't even he still has access
today to go into the throne room of heaven and say I want to I want to
accuse Nathan I want to accuse put in your name in that thing God's like oh
really some of us right please no I've read Job right
but it's at Revelation 12 where his access to heaven is fully revoked and
then it's at the end of tribulation where he's incarcerated into the abyss
no access to heaven at all no access to earth at all no access to the people on
earth at all but then he's finally let out one last time have one last temper
tantrum then he's thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur forever and you
notice it tells us that the beast and the prophet are already there why because
they were tossed in a thousand year thousand years previous at the very
beginning of the Millennium after the tribulation time now this brings us to
another question how long is hell well how long will the devil be there with
the beast in the false prophet it says day and night forever and ever that
phrase day and night is a figurative speech in the Greek that means without
intermission so they're gonna be in the lake of fire without intermission forever
and ever no breaks no clocking in and clocking out again Satan is not ruling
down there and then that phrase forever and ever literally means to the ages of
the ages and I was like okay what does that mean right well I found one Greek
scholar put it this way there is no way possible in the Greek language to state
more emphatically the notion of endlessness that's what day and night
forever never means what it means is day and night forever and ever without end
without intermission hell is forever it's gonna be forever for the beast it's
gonna be forever for the false prophet it's gonna be forever for the devil and
it's gonna be forever for all who exercise their free will and choose to
go there it's not an eternal party it tells us there that what happens there
forever day and night is that they are tormented this is the experience of
those who go to hell they are tormented that word means to be punished by
physical torture to suffer extreme physical harassment never ending without
intermission and again skeptics go why would God send anybody there if he is a
God of love why would he send people to hell well he doesn't want to send
anybody there Jesus told us that the hell was created for the devil and his
demons but the decision is ours as we have been talking about the decision is
mankind God gave us free will we get to choose we get to choose we get to
exercise the free will that God gave us to choose heaven or hell and the Bible
goes to great lengths to teach about both to warn about the consequences of
denying God the creator the one who is worthy of all praise and all obedience
and all everything so it's not like we don't know it's not like oops hey nobody
told me we have the word of God that very clearly says look those who deny
God are choosing hell God doesn't send anybody to hell humans send themselves
there by choice that's the reality the Bible tells us that God loves us with an
everlasting love and it is true he loves us and it would violate him and his
character of love to force us to love him back God will never force anybody to
love him you know what that also means he will not force you to spend forever
in eternity with him you spend your entire life saying I don't want anything
to do with God I hate him the idea of him is is disgusting it's foul I want
nothing I don't want to live by his rules I don't want to live by I don't
want to be under his roof and you think God is gonna force you to do that
forever he loves you too much to do that and although it breaks his heart he will
let you choose hell well this is the end of the devil this is his last stand his
final hurrah his destiny to spend day and night forever and ever burning in
the lake of fire and sulfur tormented that is the price for disobedience to
God that is the price for sin that is the price we were born with a nature
that says I want to deny God I hate him I'll do my own thing and I don't care
what he says and I think if any of us really really truly believed that that
hell is real really understood what it meant I don't think many would be like
I choose that because the devil deceives hell is not real hell is not torment the
devil is not real God doesn't really mean it when he says God is a God of
love he's gonna let everybody in and he lies and he lies and he lies but the
destiny of that liar and that deceiver is torment forever now whether you do it
consciously and intentionally or whether you do it as a puppet thinking I'm the
master of my own destiny and I just defy the idea of God either way denying God
is following Satan and the outcome is the same it's gonna be hell forever but
it doesn't have to be if you don't know Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior you
can choose him today it's simply a process of acknowledging you broke his
law you deserve the penalty the penalty is death a physical death yes and an
eternal suffering like it's not annihilation it's not wink out of
existence the Bible is very clear about that but Jesus Christ God himself came
clothed himself in the flesh lived a perfect life couple thousand years ago
born as a baby grew as a man lived a life and then died on the cross to pay
the penalty for everybody's sin and he was the only one that could do that
because he was God he was the only one that was perfect the only one without
blemish and so he suffered the full wrath of God on the cross taking the
punishment for our sin and then he says just believe in me just believe in who I
am trust in what I did for you and in that let me give you a new heart let me
give you a new nature let me let me come and dwell within you that God the Holy
Spirit will dwell within you just let me do that that's how much I love you but
in the same breath he'll say I love you enough to let you exercise your own
free will but I can't urge you enough choose Jesus far better far better than
the the torment that awaits those who deny him if you choose Jesus today
you'll find that your Creator is standing there with open arms ready to
receive you next time we're going to talk about the two resurrections the
first one as we read about in the second one and the two deaths that are spoken
of in this chapter in greater detail but I pray that that as we close out this
year and spend the next couple weeks focusing on the birth of Christ and who
he is and what he's done and then move into the new year looking at just
reminding ourselves what he's done this year in our church and looking forward
to the next year that we don't lose sight of the goal the goal is not church
the goal is not ministry the goal is not all those things the goal is Jesus
Christ to know him to live for him and to share him with everybody we can that
they would have the promise and the hope of heaven as well amen let's pray father
we trust you God in your in your word we believe in you in your word God we see
in your word God the the judgment that's gonna fall upon the devil and his
demons we're saddened Lord and I know we're not saddened as much as you are to
know that there are those who choose to go there who reject the free gift of
salvation and Lord I know that breaks your heart your word says that you died
for the whole world that all who would call upon the name of Jesus Christ would
be saved that they would not perish but have everlasting life while we're praying
I just want to give a quick opportunity if you're in this room and God has been
speaking to you today about your need for salvation I want to pray with you if
you're online and you're watching right now and God has been speaking to you
about your need for salvation that you have never yielded your life to him you
have never exercised the free will that God gave you to say yes Jesus I believe
in you I believe your God I know I have sinned and I'm sorry please forgive me
come into my life be my Lord and master be my Savior give me a new heart a new
nature to obey you if you've never prayed that prayer I'm gonna pray right
now and I just want you to pray with me say Lord Jesus I stand before you and I
believe in you I believe that you are God I believe you died for my sin and I
know I've sinned I know I've broken your law I know I've been disobedient to you
forgive me forgive me Lord for my sin I believe your word that says I am
forgiven because of my faith in you I believe your word that says you're giving
me a new heart in a new nature that is able to say yes to you to obey you help
me to live for you help me to grow and mature in my faith help me to be a
shining light of the gospel in this very dark world I love you so much thank you
for loving me so much it's in Jesus name I pray amen you know if you prayed that
prayer this morning and you just you believe that you meant that in your
heart the Bible says you're saved you're forgiven hallelujah your life has
changed forever I remember my life being changed by Jesus right I stopped
sneaking in under the Christmas tree no I was saved as an adult so I didn't yeah
I didn't do that at that time so God loves you so much that's what Christmas
is all about God loves you gave you a gift that you can never earn that's what
we're celebrating over the next couple weeks and we've been celebrating all
month but if you gave your life to the Lord today we want to help you we have
these things we call new believers packets up front please come forward and
grab one there in these white envelopes if you leave out the back ask one of the
elders out there I need a new believers packet we'll give you one it's free if
you're online and you're not local to us let us know in chat we'll mail it to you
because we want to help you on this walk this relationship you know have with
your Creator to grow and learn of him that you would live the way he wants you
to do that you would tell people about what God has done in your life because
it is glorious and the future that you know how you now have to look forward to
in Jesus Christ ah it's glorious one day the devil will be defeated and cast
aside and done and judged and gone forever I can't wait for that I look
forward to that but right now he is still active he's still prowling don't
forget that but never forget that he who is in you is greater than he that is in
the world amen God bless you guys let's worship