1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Good morning. How are you all doing today? Blessed. Amen. I will address the cold elephant in the room again. 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:20,000 I do know it's cold in here, but I did turn it on this time. Yeah, so we're baby steps, baby steps. Yeah. 3 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:25,000 The heaters are running. I just need to start them a little earlier next week, so we're going to keep trying to dial that in. 4 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:31,000 I do apologize. However, it is a little bit warmer under the balcony for those of you that are freezing or feel like you're freezing to death. 5 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:42,000 So, but with that, we like to start our services every week by saying welcome to all of you who are joining us for the first time here in our church or if you're joining us online. 6 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:47,000 Yeah, welcome. We're so glad you're here to worship with us today here at Hosanna. 7 00:00:47,000 --> 00:01:01,000 I am Pastor Nathan, and today we are going to resume our study of Revelation, looking at the very last part of Revelation Chapter 20, which is commonly referred to as the Great White Throne Judgment. 8 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:10,000 And this section of Scripture deals with one of the greatest questions of life, which is the question of death. 9 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:19,000 You know, many ponder the question of death throughout their lives. At various times, people have questions like, where do we go when we die? 10 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:29,000 What happens when we die? Do we simply cease to exist or do we live on in some way? Is there an afterlife or not? 11 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:41,000 Is there a real heaven? Is there a real hell? Or is death just the better place that everybody goes to when they die? Right? 12 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:51,000 Oh, they're in a better place. Well, with all that has happened over the last few years with the pandemic and wars going on around the world, 13 00:01:51,000 --> 00:02:00,000 mortality is a topic that has presented itself front and center, and it's a topic that is facing everybody in this world. 14 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:09,000 And for those of us that know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and who have attained eternal life through His sacrifice, we have the answer. 15 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:20,000 We have the greatest answer, and we're called to be people to share that answer and to talk with people and to be able to dialogue about these very difficult things so that they too can come to know hope. 16 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:26,000 And so this portion of Scripture we're looking at today deals with the questions of life and death. 17 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:32,000 In the verses we'll be looking at, it's filled with words like life and living and dying and death and resurrection. 18 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:43,000 These are all words found in the Scriptures that we're going to be looking at today, but it all reinforces the truth that the Word of God has been preaching from the very, very beginning. 19 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:52,000 And the truth is this, that we all live, we all die, and we all will be resurrected. 20 00:02:52,000 --> 00:03:03,000 But not everybody lives the same way. Not everybody dies the same way. And not everybody will be resurrected the same way. 21 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:10,000 But before we get into the Word today, we want to spend time praising His name because He is holy. He is worthy. 22 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:16,000 He is God Almighty. He is our Lord and Savior, and He is worthy of our worship. 23 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:23,000 And so we are to be people who worship. Now, if you are cold, get a little crazy in your worship. You'll warm up a little bit, all right? 24 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:29,000 But with that, let's pray and let's start our service. Father, we're so grateful, God, for who you are. 25 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:37,000 We're grateful for what you're doing in our world, in our lives, God. There is a lot, Lord, as we look around, and we're still unsure in many ways. 26 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:44,000 But, God, those without you, Lord, they just simply are in a world without hope. 27 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:53,000 God, and Lord, as this world is facing the idea of mortality in so many different ways, and it just seems to be coming one after the other, God, 28 00:03:53,000 --> 00:04:02,000 people are asking the questions. People are thinking the questions. People are pondering the questions of what happens when we die. 29 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:14,000 And, Lord, your Word speaks so much about that. Lord, what it means to live, what it means to die, and what it means for forever. 30 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:19,000 And so, God, I pray, Lord, you would speak to us today and teach us today and encourage us today, Lord. 31 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:27,000 The section of Scripture we're looking at is both encouraging and challenging, Lord. It's both uplifting and depressing in some ways, God, 32 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:36,000 but it is the truth, and that is what is most important in the world, truth. In Jesus, we know that you said you are the way, the truth, and the life. 33 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:43,000 And so, God, we want to worship you and praise your holy name. We thank you, God, for everything. Be blessed, Lord. 34 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:49,000 Bless us. We praise you. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 35 00:04:49,000 --> 00:05:02,000 What is life? What is living? If you look up the definitions, you'll find that nobody has a solid one, 36 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:08,000 or there's a lot of division on what the definition of life in living is. 37 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:18,000 One of the general definitions is this, the quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes from matter that does not. 38 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:29,000 And those biological processes are things like metabolism, growth, adaption, response to stimuli, reproduction, homeostasis. 39 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:38,000 These are those biological processes, and scientists tend to say that living and life is defined by matter that has those things in play. 40 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:45,000 And so, living then is the state in which matter is animated by those biological processes. 41 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:56,000 Yeah, that's part of it, right? But defining life and living has long been a challenge for scientists and philosophers, 42 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:04,000 mostly because life, living, is more of a process than it is a state of being. 43 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:17,000 And so, to date, there are at least 123 different definitions of life that have been compiled and recognized across the scientific fields. 44 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:25,000 Well, Scripture has a lot to say about life and speaks of life and living in three entirely different ways, 45 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:31,000 which kind of sheds some light into why it's so difficult for the secular world to define it. 46 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:38,000 In Scripture, one of the first words we have for defining life is this Greek word, bios. 47 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,000 And we get our word biology from this, the biosphere. 48 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:52,000 And what that word refers to in the original language biblically is the material, physical world that exists around us, right? 49 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:59,000 The biosphere, it's the idea of something having a biological life or physical life. 50 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:07,000 And so this ties into that idea, that definition that I just brought up of matter that has biological processes that animate it. 51 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:12,000 And so that's this first word that we find in Scripture to refer to life. 52 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:19,000 The second word that Scripture uses in a major way to refer to life and living is the word psyche. 53 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:24,000 And you might understand what that word is or means, but in the biblical context, 54 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:29,000 psyche is the idea of being self-aware, of having consciousness. 55 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:36,000 And so life in the idea of having consciousness, it refers to the idea of the inner person. 56 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:41,000 Psyche is your personality, right? Who you are. 57 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,000 It's the life that the, that psychology deals with. 58 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,000 So you got biology and then you have psyche. 59 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:56,000 And it's really the life that science fiction is constantly worried about artificial intelligence gaining, right? 60 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,000 When the computers gain sentience and then they launch the nukes and kill everybody, right? 61 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 It's this idea of self-awareness, the ability to reason. 62 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:14,000 And then the third word that Scripture uses to refer to life or the third word that is translated life in our English Bibles is this word zoe. 63 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,000 This is a favorite word of the Apostle John. 64 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:25,000 He uses it some 67 times in his writings and it's used in the verses we're looking at today in Revelation chapter 20 verse 12. 65 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:31,000 It refers to the book of life and it's the book of zoe. 66 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:41,000 This word zoe refers to life in the idea of existing in the condition or state of energized happiness, 67 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:47,000 exuberance, energy, vitality, vigor, right? 68 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,000 It's that idea when we use the phrase zest for life. 69 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,000 That's the life that zoe is talking about. 70 00:08:54,000 --> 00:09:00,000 It's a physical and emotional and spiritual life. 71 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,000 But it's a sense of all is well. All is good. 72 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:09,000 I'm at peace. I'm content. It's, it's, it's everything is all right. 73 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:15,000 This word zoe in the Greek, however, also carries connotations of property and provision. 74 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:21,000 So it's sometimes translated in the idea of your your way of living or your manner of living. 75 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:28,000 And so the idea is having this energizing happiness that you have everything you need. 76 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:38,000 Zoe is being in a state of both physical and emotional health and strength and satisfaction and contentment and peace and joy 77 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:48,000 without any sense of loss or lack or worry or fear of not having or fear of missing out. 78 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:52,000 Zoe biblically is life that is transcendent. 79 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:58,000 It's life beyond just the physical existence of matter, the physical earthly existence. 80 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:05,000 It's even life beyond the concept of just being self aware and having a consciousness. 81 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:12,000 It's a word that's used to describe a quality of being alive, a quality of living. 82 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:21,000 And so when John uses the word zoe to reference the forever state of contented peace that believers will have, 83 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:25,000 you'll often see that as prefaced with the word eternal. 84 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:33,000 And that's where we see this phrase in scripture, eternal life, the eternal life, the eternal state of contented peace and joy and happiness 85 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:37,000 that is promised to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. 86 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:42,000 Now when we see this word zoe in scripture without the word eternal in front of it, 87 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:49,000 it's referring to a state of existence that includes now, today here on this earth where there's no worry, 88 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:54,000 there's no lack, there's no want, there's peace, joy, contentment here. 89 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:58,000 That everything is good here. I have everything I need here. 90 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:03,000 And we see that this type of life that the Bible talks about is available both now and forever 91 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:08,000 because in John chapter 5 verse 24, Jesus was speaking about this life and he says, 92 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:17,000 truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. 93 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:22,000 That word has speaks of a current and ongoing state of being. 94 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:30,000 That if you believe Jesus, you believe God, you hear the words of Christ and you put faith in those things, 95 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:37,000 faith in who he is and what he did, you have now eternal life. 96 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:41,000 And all that that zoe refers to, that peace, that contentment. 97 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:47,000 And then it says, and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life. 98 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,000 Has passed is a past tense, verb tense. 99 00:11:51,000 --> 00:12:00,000 Now, we're going to talk more about death later because again, today we're talking about life, death, and the resurrection. 100 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,000 But death is not just physically dying. 101 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,000 And here in John 5, 24 when it says you've passed from death to life, 102 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:12,000 it's not talking about just passing from a physical death. 103 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:20,000 The idea of death is the state of deadness that results from being separated from God. 104 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,000 That's death in the context here. 105 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:30,000 And so it's the hopelessness, the absence of peace, joy, and contentment. 106 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,000 The absence of life or zoe. 107 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:39,000 The absence of that exuberant, energizing joy that comes from a relationship with your creator. 108 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:46,000 That idea of being able to live now knowing that we're going to live forever in a sense of it's all good because I'm saved. 109 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:50,000 I'm all good because I belong to my creator, I'm his child. 110 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:55,000 And he is taking care of me in every possible way now and forever. 111 00:12:55,000 --> 00:13:03,000 So all that are physically alive, all that have life, bios, right? 112 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,000 That's every human. 113 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,000 Every human that has been born has bios. 114 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,000 Every person that has been born also have psyche. 115 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:20,000 We all have a self-awareness, we all have a consciousness, but not all humans will have zoe. 116 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:26,000 We all have life bios, we all have life psyche, but we will not all have life zoe. 117 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:31,000 Jesus said unless you are born again you will not see the kingdom of heaven. 118 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:38,000 And so physical birth, yes, brings a type of life and living, 119 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:44,000 but unless you gain the spiritual life, zoe, unless you are born again, 120 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,000 well the Bible has a whole lot to say about that. 121 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,000 Specifically that you will not see the kingdom of heaven. 122 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:59,000 So zoe only comes through a spiritual birth according to the teachings of scripture because it's connected to spiritual life. 123 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,000 It's connected to peace. 124 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,000 It's the real you, right? 125 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,000 This is just a shell we inhabit. 126 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,000 The physical body is just a shell we inhabit. 127 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:17,000 But the real you, your soul, your spirit being born again through a relationship with Jesus Christ, 128 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:25,000 your spirit being made truly alive, the real you, the real life, the being alive beyond just having a heartbeat. 129 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,000 Zoe only comes through Jesus. 130 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,000 It's through a relationship with him. 131 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:36,000 It's what Jesus said in John 14, 6 where he said, I am the life. 132 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,000 I am the zoe, Jesus said. 133 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:46,000 And so just like all will have life, right, we're all born, we all have a consciousness, 134 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:54,000 but not all will have life in the same way, not all will have zoe, all will die, but not in the same way. 135 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:59,000 You guys know what the greatest statistic ever is? 136 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:03,000 One out of one people will die. 137 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,000 It's been the going rate for a long time. 138 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,000 It's the greatest statistic ever. 139 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:18,000 Yet, knowing that, we spend billions of dollars each year in the cosmetic industry trying to prolong this life, 140 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,000 trying to make ourselves look younger, feel younger. 141 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,000 But death is a part of life. 142 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:31,000 So much so that in God's word, death is mentioned or discussed or talked about 394 times. 143 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:37,000 One of the most famous scriptures that deal with death in scriptures, Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 2, right? 144 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:44,000 A very famous song written about this where it says there's a time to give birth and a time to die. 145 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:51,000 Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27 says it is appointed for people to die once, and it's speaking of physically. 146 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:55,000 But after this, judgment. 147 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:06,000 So like living, most in our world today only think about dying in a physical sense. 148 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,000 They think you die, you go into the grave, that's it, that's what death is. 149 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:15,000 But like living, there is way more to it than just that. 150 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,000 And this is what brings us to Revelation chapter 20. 151 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:23,000 Revelation chapter 20 speaks of this thing called the second death. 152 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:25,000 The second death. 153 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:33,000 In verse 6, after he talks about those who know Jesus Christ, who experienced the first resurrection, 154 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:38,000 he says the second death has no power, no authority over them. 155 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:45,000 But then in verse 14, it tells us that death in Hades and those whose names were not found in the book of life 156 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:51,000 are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. 157 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:57,000 And then in Revelation chapter 21, verse 8, it says, but the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, 158 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:05,000 sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, 159 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:10,000 which is the second death. 160 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:18,000 So scripture teaches us that there is a first physical death, but then there is a second death, 161 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,000 something that's worse than the first physical death. 162 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:31,000 Now if we think of death purely in a physical sense, then our conclusion will be that death is the end, right? 163 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:36,000 That when our biological life ceases, life is over. 164 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:49,000 Now from a bios perspective, that's true, but biblically the overarching concept of death is separation, not expiration. 165 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,000 Does that make sense? 166 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:58,000 The concept of death spiritually from the word of God is one of separation, not expiration. 167 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:07,000 You see, when we die the first time physically, the bios life perishes, 168 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:12,000 but then our soul is separated from our physical body. 169 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:17,000 And that soul being separated then has some processes to go through. 170 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:26,000 Now eventually, spiritually, there is then a further worse separation called the second death, 171 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:34,000 which is eternal separation from the presence of God forever, which is the result of not being saved. 172 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:42,000 So the idea here is dying here on this physical earth, having your physical body die is not the worst thing. 173 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:49,000 The worst thing is standing before God Almighty unprepared, unredeemed, unsaved. 174 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:54,000 That is the worst thing and what we're going to see in the scripture today, 175 00:18:54,000 --> 00:19:02,000 because that is what leads to eternal death, eternal separation from God, the opposite of eternal life, 176 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:08,000 the opposite of eternal joy and peace and perfection and contentment. 177 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:17,000 It's not a ceasing to exist, but an eternal existence in the lake of fire, hell. 178 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:25,000 And instead of eternal peace and joy and contentment, instead of exuberant happiness in the presence of God, which is Zoe life, 179 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:35,000 it's an eternal suffering and pain and torment separated from God, the opposite of Zoe, the lack of Zoe, and is called death. 180 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:40,000 So we have to understand when it comes to the concepts of life and death, 181 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:48,000 the bios, the physical life will cease one day for everybody, one out of one of us are going to experience physical death. 182 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:55,000 Sure, there have been a couple throughout history who escaped that, and those are very special and unique circumstances. 183 00:19:55,000 --> 00:20:01,000 But for the rest of us, we will one day experience the death of our physical life. 184 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:07,000 But your soul, the real you, will live on past that point. 185 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:12,000 The real you would continue past that point. 186 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:18,000 And someday, some will experience the second death. 187 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:25,000 Some will die the first time, and that's the only death for them because they have eternal life in Jesus Christ, and they will go on to eternal living. 188 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:34,000 As verse six said, the second death has no power over them, but for others, they will then die the second time because they never received the free gift of salvation. 189 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:39,000 We have to understand this because it colors our evangelism. 190 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,000 It colors our life, our living. 191 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:47,000 It informs the decisions we make. 192 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:55,000 Like so many of us do get caught up in living for this physical life, and we forget about the eternal. 193 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:02,000 But the Bible says that this physical life is but a vapor in comparison to the eternal. 194 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,000 That this life is a wisp of smoke. 195 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,000 It's here and it's gone, and then it's forever. 196 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:17,000 And the most important decision anybody will ever make is where you're going to spend forever. 197 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:28,000 Now, you guys remember in the garden, God said to Adam and Eve, on the day you eat of this fruit, you will surely die. 198 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:37,000 Now, we understand that he didn't just mean that the body would die, that the body would physically decay, the body would cease to exist, which does happen, right? 199 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:44,000 Death entered the world, and therefore our physical bodies then age, and we get sickness, and we get disease, and all of that. 200 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:53,000 But what he meant there is that your spirit would also die, that the spirit of man was then separated from God by sin. 201 00:21:53,000 --> 00:22:02,000 The spirit of man was corrupted, and all that comes with that, and if one doesn't take the opportunity to be born again, as Jesus said, 202 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:10,000 if one doesn't take the opportunity to be born again through faith in Jesus Christ, to have their spirit reborn in this life, 203 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:18,000 then their state of spiritual death due to sin will end up permanent in eternity. 204 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:25,000 And so thus, you can say that some are born twice and die once, and others are born once but die twice. 205 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:39,000 So, we all live, but not the same. We all die, but not the same. And we will all experience resurrection, but not the same. 206 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,000 Daniel chapter 12 verse 2, speaking of the end of all things, says, 207 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:50,000 Many who sleep in the dust of the earth, which is a biblical euphemism for death, for that physical death, says, 208 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:56,000 Will awake some to eternal life and some to disgrace and eternal contempt. 209 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:04,000 That is what we see in Revelation chapter 20 verses 4 through 6 and verses 11 through 15. 210 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:12,000 It's two resurrections. One of them is explicitly referenced, and the other one is inferred. 211 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:22,000 But we see these two resurrections in Revelation 20 separated by the 1,000-year millennial reign of Christ upon this earth after the tribulation period. 212 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:29,000 The first resurrection is a resurrection of dead believers, those who had put their faith in Christ, 213 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:36,000 who had then physically died, but they're going to be resurrected. And this happens prior to the 1,000-year millennial reign of Christ. 214 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:46,000 But the second resurrection that we see in verses 11 through 15 appears to be a resurrection of dead non-believers. 215 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,000 And it happens after the millennial reign of Christ. 216 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:57,000 Now, before we jump into those verses, all of that to set up this idea, the word resurrection, I want to talk about that. 217 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:03,000 The word resurrection is a word used in the New Testament about 40 different times. 218 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:07,000 It's the Greek word anestasis. But here's what's interesting. 219 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:19,000 The word anestasis, in most of the cases, I think in all but two cases, the word refers to a physical corpse rising from the dead. 220 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:26,000 Think about that. In 38 of the 40 places in the New Testament where you read the word resurrection, 221 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:32,000 it is referring to a physical corpse rising from the grave. 222 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:43,000 It's primarily a literal word, referring to a literal physical happening, meaning it's not primarily metaphorical. 223 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:49,000 It's a literal word referring to a literal thing. It's not symbolic. 224 00:24:49,000 --> 00:25:02,000 In John chapter 5 verse 28, Jesus said this, do not be amazed at this because the time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out. 225 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:10,000 Those who have done good things to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things to the resurrection of condemnation. 226 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:18,000 Very similar to what Daniel said in chapter 12 verse 2, that all who have physically died are going to be resurrected. 227 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:23,000 The word that is used seems to refer to a physical bodily resurrection. 228 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,000 Some are going to be resurrected to life. Some are going to be resurrected to condemnation. 229 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:34,000 What's interesting is this idea here, it seems to indicate that the resurrection being talked about is a resurrection of a physical body. 230 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:38,000 What does that mean for our understanding of resurrection as believers? 231 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:51,000 When a person dies physically, whether they're saved or unsaved, their body dies, begins to decay, goes into the grave, but their soul isn't separated from the body as I already mentioned. 232 00:25:51,000 --> 00:26:00,000 Scripture teaches us this. So that physical body then dies, it's left to decay, but the soul, the real you continues on with consciousness. 233 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:08,000 There's awareness. But what happens to your soul depends on whether or not you're saved, whether you've put your faith in Jesus Christ. 234 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:14,000 In the Old Testament, there was a word for hell that was used a lot and the word is sheol. 235 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:20,000 In the New Testament, the same concept, the word is Hades. 236 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:25,000 So sheol and Hades are two different words biblically that really describe the same place. 237 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:31,000 It's this place called the abode of the dead or the abode of departed spirits. 238 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:39,000 Guess what that place was? That was the place where the conscious souls went after the physical body died. 239 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,000 We read about this in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. 240 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:49,000 I don't have time to go through it in detail, but it's in the Gospels where Jesus tells a story about this man, Lazarus, who dies, 241 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:57,000 and he ends up going down to the abode of the dead because his physical body dies. 242 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:02,000 But that abode that he's in is one side of this two-compartment area. 243 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:07,000 The side that this Lazarus goes to is called Paradise. It's called Abraham's bosom, 244 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,000 which we get in the story that it's the place of the souls, the righteous souls. 245 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,000 When people die, if they were God-fearing, God-believing, God-following people, 246 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:21,000 they went to this place called Abraham's bosom where they were waiting for something. 247 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,000 Jesus hadn't died yet. 248 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,000 But in that story of Lazarus and the rich man, we have on the other side of the gulf, 249 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:33,000 there's this big chasm in the middle, and the other side of the gulf is this place called Hades, 250 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:38,000 otherwise known as Tormentz, and it's where the souls of the unrighteous went. 251 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:44,000 We read in that story that there was no escape from this place, that the people that were in this place were conscious. 252 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,000 They were aware. They still had psyche. 253 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:53,000 Because the guy is going, it hurts. I'm suffering. The pain is too much. I'm dying of thirst. 254 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:59,000 Like, please, and he's screaming across the gulf, please go back and tell my brothers that hell is real 255 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,000 so that they don't come here. 256 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:07,000 Now, we use the word hell, but biblically there's a few different notations of this, 257 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,000 and we're going to get to more of that in a little bit. 258 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:14,000 But Hades, this abode of the dead, we see that there's a consciousness there, 259 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,000 that there's an experience of suffering and pain there. 260 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:20,000 There's recognition there. There's regret there. 261 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:27,000 Now, after the resurrection of Jesus, we learn from New Testament teachings that everybody that was righteous, 262 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:35,000 all the dead before and all the dead after, they are now in the presence of God upon the expiration of the physical body. 263 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:40,000 That all the souls in Abraham's bosom were taken by Jesus to heaven into the presence of God. 264 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,000 That's inferred from scriptures we're going to look at in a second. 265 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:52,000 But those that were in Hades on the punishment side are still there up until what we see in Revelation chapter 20. 266 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,000 Now, again, we get the fact that the righteous are no longer down there. 267 00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:00,000 They're in the presence of God because in Philippians chapter 1 verses 21 through 25, 268 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:07,000 Paul teaches a very important section of scripture and says basically, you know, to die is gain, right? 269 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:12,000 He says, I long to depart and to be with Christ. 270 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:18,000 He doesn't say I long to depart and go to the waiting place, waiting for something to happen, and then I will be with Christ one day. 271 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:24,000 The teaching as Paul wrote this letter was to die is to be in the presence of God. 272 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:30,000 In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul says being away from the body is being present or being at home with the Lord. 273 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:36,000 So there's this and other scriptures that give us the indication that from the resurrection of Jesus Christ as he defeated death, 274 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:42,000 as he rose from the grave, and the scripture tells us that he is the first fruits of resurrection, 275 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:48,000 that then all who would physically die in faith in Christ, in trust in him from that point would then be, 276 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,000 their souls would be in heaven with God in his presence. 277 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:59,000 And then throughout our study of Revelation, what we've seen is that chronologically one day there will be a rapture of the church. 278 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:07,000 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 16 tells us that the dead in Christ will rise first. 279 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:12,000 What's rising, their souls are already in the presence of God. It's their physical bodies. 280 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:17,000 And then it says we who are alive will join them and meet the Lord in the air. 281 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:24,000 So the Bible does teach that there is a generation of humans at the end who won't experience physical death. 282 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,000 They'll be translated, caught up in a twinkling of an eye it says. 283 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:33,000 But those who are already in the grave at that point will experience the first resurrection. 284 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:38,000 And then you have the tribulation time where there's this judgment being poured out on the earth. 285 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,000 We studied that for months and months and months, right? 286 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:45,000 And then we also learned that many get saved during this tribulation time and then are martyred, 287 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:51,000 are viciously slaughtered for their faith in Jesus Christ. 288 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:59,000 And then we read about the second coming of Jesus at the end of tribulation where then he ushers in the millennial kingdom. 289 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:03,000 But this is what we read in Revelation chapter 20 verse 4 through 6. 290 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:09,000 John says, then I saw thrones and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. 291 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:15,000 I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, 292 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:20,000 who had not worshiped the beast or his image and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads. 293 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,000 He's talking about those tribulation saints. 294 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:24,000 What does it say there? 295 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:30,000 They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 296 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:36,000 That phrase came to life in the Greek is the act of being physically resurrected. 297 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,000 So there's a resurrection of the physical body here. 298 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:48,000 Verse 5, the rest of the dead and in the Greek that refers to all other remaining dead who have ever physically died, 299 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:54,000 did not come to life, same phrase, physically resurrected until the thousand years were completed. 300 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,000 And that's how we know there's a first resurrection, a second resurrection. 301 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:02,000 Then he says there this, referring to the resurrection of these believers as the first resurrection. 302 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,000 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. 303 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:11,000 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. 304 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:12,000 Hallelujah. 305 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:17,000 So the first resurrection, we talked about this in a previous study real briefly, 306 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:26,000 but it involves a few different groups of people because of the references to the thrones and these people ruling and reigning with Christ and other scriptures as well. 307 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:31,000 So in Daniel chapter 7, we read that the Old Testament saints will rule during the millennium. 308 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,000 They will be resurrected and ruled during the millennium. 309 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:35,000 So they're alive. 310 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,000 It's not referenced here in Revelation 20, but we find that in Daniel 7. 311 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:44,000 In Matthew chapter 19 verse 28, the twelve apostles said, Hey, Jesus, what do we get out of following you? 312 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:49,000 And he says that in the millennial kingdom, you will be ruling over the twelve tribes of Israel. 313 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,000 Well, they bodily died, so we know that they're going to be resurrected. 314 00:32:52,000 --> 00:33:00,000 First Corinthians 6, Second Timothy 2, First Peter 2, Revelation 3, and Revelation 20 verse 4, 315 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:05,000 we see these people that are in heaven sitting on thrones, ruling and reigning with Christ. 316 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:14,000 We know from Revelation chapter 4 that that is the church, the bride of Christ, that is raptured up into heaven prior to the tribulation. 317 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:21,000 Now, again, as we saw in first Thessalonians, some of that church that is raptured up, some are going to be dead and they're going to be resurrected, 318 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:26,000 and some are still alive and caught up into the air with the saints. 319 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:32,000 Paul supports this in First Corinthians 15, 51, where he says, We will not all die, 320 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:38,000 but we will all be changed, speaking of the resurrection and the tribulation time. 321 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:44,000 So in Revelation 24, we see that those that are killed because of their testimony and not taking the mark of the beast, 322 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,000 these are the tribulation saints, they're resurrected here. 323 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:51,000 And so we see that there's these people that are resurrected to rule during the millennial kingdom, 324 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:58,000 and that leads to the question, well, if the resurrection is a physical thing, are they zombies? 325 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,000 Like, are they skeletons? 326 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:04,000 Like, if the physical resurrection is taking place, what do they look like? 327 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,000 What is happening here? 328 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:11,000 Well, Paul wrote in Philippians 3, 21, He will transform the body of our humble condition 329 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:18,000 into the likeness of his glorious body by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself. 330 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:22,000 You see, the Corinthians were asking the same questions of Paul. 331 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,000 Okay, cool, there's going to be a resurrection. 332 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:25,000 There's going to be a bodily resurrection. 333 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,000 What are our bodies going to look like? 334 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,000 They were asking the exact same questions. 335 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:35,000 And so if you read First Corinthians 15, this is, you know, I like how Pastor Rick gave homework. 336 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:36,000 Go read it. 337 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:38,000 All right, the whole chapter is about all of this. 338 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:43,000 We don't have time to go through all of it, but in First Corinthians 15, 35, it says, 339 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:48,000 But someone will ask, how are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come? 340 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,000 And Paul goes on to answer this question. 341 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:58,000 Very important chapter in regards to all of this, but Paul teaches how the truth that Jesus himself was bodily raised 342 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,000 is essential to the gospel, right? 343 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,000 He starts talking about that in First Corinthians 15. 344 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:09,000 Then he goes on to say the fact that Jesus was bodily physically raised is an essential part of our faith. 345 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,000 It's an essential part of sharing our faith. 346 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,000 It's an essential part of our own future hope. 347 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:19,000 Then he goes on to talk about how Christ's resurrection was the first fruit, right? 348 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:27,000 He was the forerunner, the first bodily resurrection of all others who will be bodily resurrected. 349 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:32,000 Paul teaches then how Christ's resurrection guarantees ours. 350 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,000 And then he gets into the nature of the resurrected body. 351 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:40,000 He opens with giving a picture of how a seed goes into the ground. 352 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,000 And then it becomes something else, right? 353 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:48,000 So they're kind of of or same likeness from the same form, but completely different. 354 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:51,000 And then he goes on to say this in First Corinthians 15.40. 355 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:54,000 He goes, there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. 356 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:58,000 But the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from the earthly ones. 357 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:02,000 What he's talking about here is there's planets and there's stars and there's suns and all this type of stuff. 358 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,000 He goes, there is the splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars. 359 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,000 In fact, one star differs from another star in splendor. 360 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:13,000 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. 361 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:16,000 Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption. 362 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,000 Sown in dishonor, raised in glory. 363 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,000 Sown in weakness, raised in power. 364 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:25,000 Sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. 365 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:30,000 If there is a natural body, then there is a spiritual body. 366 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:35,000 So in other words, what Paul goes on to teach there, answering the question that if there is a physical resurrection of believers, 367 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:40,000 what do our bodies look like? Because some of us had been in the grave for a long time at that point. 368 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:47,000 He says our spiritual, heavenly, resurrected bodies will be vastly different. 369 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:53,000 The bodies, like the seed to a plant, there's a connection to form there, but they will be vastly different. 370 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:59,000 Now how different? Well, I can't tell you what it will look like. 371 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:04,000 Some of you are like, can my eyes be a different color? I always wanted blue eyes or green, right? 372 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:10,000 That's not the point, right? Can I be taller, shorter, whatever, right? 373 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:15,000 No, this is what he gets into. He says there's a difference in durability. 374 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,000 He goes sown in corruption, raised in incorruption. 375 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:24,000 Those words corruption and incorruption are referring to the fact that this body is perishable, right? 376 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:29,000 When this body dies, when this bios dies, it goes into the grave and it decays, right? 377 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:37,000 We're aware of that. But the new body is immortal. It will never decay. 378 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:42,000 It's a difference in potential. He goes sown in dishonor, raised in glory. 379 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:51,000 You know, since the fall of man, our body and our mind, it's really been reduced in capacity to do the will of God and to really glorify God. 380 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,000 Why? Because sin entered in. That was the result of the fall. 381 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:59,000 That word dishonor means to exist in a state of shame and disgrace. 382 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:07,000 So because of the fall, these physical bodies are sown in dishonor, that they exist in a shame of disgrace and all that. 383 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:12,000 And it's because of sin. Sin is with us. And the Bible talks a whole lot about that. 384 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:16,000 But in our glorified bodies, not there anymore. 385 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:21,000 There's a difference in power. He says sown in weakness, raised in power. 386 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:26,000 That weakness is referring to just the physical weakness, right? Today our bones break. 387 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:32,000 Today we get sick. Right? James, my grandson, sneezed in my mouth. 388 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:37,000 Guess what? I got sick. That's how it happens. 389 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:42,000 Some of you experienced that, right? Our bodies are weak. They get disease. 390 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:47,000 All this stuff can be caught. But our glorified bodies, raised in power. 391 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:51,000 No disease, no sickness, no broken bones, none of that. 392 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:57,000 And then there's a difference in capacity when it says sown a natural body and raised a spiritual one. 393 00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:01,000 You know, these bodies that we have here, these earthly physical bodies, 394 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:08,000 they work pretty decent here on earth with the parameters and the conditions that we live in, right? 395 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:14,000 These bodies are subject to the parameters of this particular physical universe we're in. 396 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:19,000 We're subject to gravity. We're subject to time. We're subject to space, right? 397 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:24,000 These bodies are suited to a physical life here on earth. 398 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:33,000 But in the first resurrection, the resurrection of believers, it says we are raised with a spiritual body. 399 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:38,000 We are given a body that is suited for eternal life. 400 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:47,000 We are given a body that is suited for living forever in the presence of God, our creator, the lover of our souls, Jesus Christ. 401 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:52,000 Remember that? Moses in the physical body. Just let me see you, God. He's like, whoa, you'll burn up. 402 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:58,000 Hide in the rock. I'll walk by. You'll see the afterglow. Still messed him up. 403 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:06,000 This body can't handle the presence of God. That's why God's going to resurrect us bodily into a new glorified body. 404 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:13,000 That's the first resurrection, but then we have the second resurrection, the resurrection of the ungodly, the unbelieving dead. 405 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:17,000 Now, I believe this is the unbelieving dead for a few reasons. 406 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:24,000 One is, one, it's not the first resurrection because this happens after the thousand-year millennial reign of Christ, right? 407 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:32,000 Verse five told us that the rest of the dead did not come to life during the thousand years or until after the thousand years were completed. 408 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:40,000 In that chronology, we understand that the resurrection of the saints has already happened, which was the New Testament saints, the Old Testament saints, the tribulation saints. 409 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:46,000 They've all been resurrected into these glorified bodies ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years by this point. 410 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:54,000 And then Revelation, chapter 20, verses seven through ten, we have this little glimpse of like a final satanic rebellion at the end of the millennial time. 411 00:40:54,000 --> 00:41:02,000 Satan is let loose, he rallies all the people who no matter what, we hate God, final battle, not really a battle. And then verse 11. 412 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:07,000 At 11.03 we got here. All right, let's do this. 413 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:10,000 Then I saw a great white throne and the one seated on it. 414 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:15,000 Earth and heaven fled from his presence and no place was found for them. 415 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:20,000 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne and books were opened. 416 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:27,000 Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 417 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:32,000 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them. 418 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:38,000 Each one was judged according to their works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. 419 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:47,000 This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. 420 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:57,000 I think this is the most sobering, serious, somber setting in all of scripture. 421 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:01,000 This is the final judgment of unbelievers. 422 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:08,000 The final consignment to eternal punishment for those who refuse Jesus Christ in this life. 423 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:15,000 And you notice there that the language is very plain. It's very straightforward, right? It's not embellished. 424 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:21,000 He doesn't go into like gory details. It's just a straightforward recitation of the facts. 425 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:28,000 This is what has taken place. This is what is happening. There's no debate here about innocence or guilt. None. 426 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:32,000 It's just the evidence presented. There's a judge, but there's no jury. 427 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:37,000 There's a prosecutor, but no defender. There's a sentence without appeal. 428 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:42,000 There's punishment without parole. It's jail forever without escape. 429 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:48,000 And we saw this again in John 5, 24, a look forward to this where Jesus said, 430 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:57,000 Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but is passed from death to life. 431 00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:04,000 Truly I tell you, an hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 432 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:10,000 For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he is granted to the Son to have life in himself. 433 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:14,000 And he has granted him the right to pass judgment because he's the Son of Man. 434 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:18,000 He's the prosecutor. He's also the judge. 435 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:24,000 Do not be amazed at this because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out. 436 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:30,000 Those who have done good things to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things to the resurrection of condemnation. 437 00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:40,000 And then just to keep the context, remember what Daniel 12, 2 said, many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life and some to disgrace and eternal contempt. 438 00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:46,000 The resurrection to life, the resurrection to eternal life has already happened at this point. 439 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:55,000 It happened prior to the millennium and so this is a resurrection to condemnation, the resurrection to disgrace, the resurrection to eternal contempt it tells us. 440 00:43:55,000 --> 00:44:00,000 And it's a very ominous scene, right? He says, I saw this great white throne. 441 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:08,000 That means what you probably think it means, right? This magnificent, giant, pure, beautiful throne of authority. 442 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:13,000 It's a kingly seat, a remarkably magnificent kingly seat. 443 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:17,000 And it says earth and heaven fled from the presence. 444 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:24,000 Now that has a couple different ideas. One, some people look at that and they say, oh, it just means ceased to be visible. 445 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:31,000 Like you ever seen the movie where you're like you're on earth and then you zoom out and you see earth and then earth goes and flies away from you and then all the planets, right? 446 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:36,000 You're zooming out. Some people go, that's just what it means that that they weren't visible anymore. 447 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:50,000 Others look at this and mean are interpreted to say it's they ceased to exist, which was I believe it means because the very next chapter, Chapter 21 opens with the new heaven and the new earth. 448 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:57,000 We're now on the scene because the first had passed away and that phrase passed away literally means ceased to exist. 449 00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:01,000 So this is the moment where the creation as we know it now is undone. 450 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:08,000 It's gone. Scripture talks about this. Scripture talks about the dissolving of the elements and all this stuff at the end, right? 451 00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:14,000 When God just says, OK, it's done. It's all over. He wipes it out. 452 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:19,000 And nothing else exists but God sitting on his throne. 453 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:22,000 And this is the moment of this final judgment of the unbelievers. 454 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:27,000 And so it says the dead are here. They're now standing before the throne. 455 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:33,000 That whole idea of standing is the idea that they're they're they're standing up, right? 456 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:39,000 We get the idea that they're bodily raised here because again, verse five said the rest of the dead did not come to life. 457 00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,000 Physical resurrection until a thousand years were completed. 458 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:48,000 And so that phrase come to life means they're they're physically bodily raised at this point. 459 00:45:48,000 --> 00:45:56,000 Now, it's interesting, though, instead of being raised in a glorified, incorruptible body as the saints were. 460 00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:01,000 It seems that they're raised in the body of sin and death. 461 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:04,000 The body of sin that they embraced during their physical lives. 462 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:09,000 Again, what is that going to look like? I don't know. 463 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:13,000 Are they zombies? Are they skeletons? Are they reconstituted somehow? 464 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:19,000 It doesn't tell us. But we do know from the words of resurrection that are used, it is a bodily resurrection. 465 00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:27,000 But I do think there's a contrast because of the body that the believers get versus the body of sin and death that they are resurrected into. 466 00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:39,000 It says the great and small. That tells us that it's the somebodies, the nobodies, the rich, the famous, the poor, the obscure, all together in some macabre fellowship of the damned here at the end of all things. 467 00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:45,000 All who rejected Christ now standing before him without him as their savior. 468 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:52,000 All whoever said, I don't need Jesus. I don't need him for salvation. I'll stand on my own works. 469 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:58,000 Look, I'm a good person. I'll stand on my own record. And he goes, OK, let's look at that record. 470 00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:03,000 And it tells us in the books were opened. Now, what's in the books? 471 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:11,000 Well, it tells us their works because that's what they were judged according to. They were judged according to their works, it tells us. 472 00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:18,000 That's the idea of everything that was ever said, ever done, ever thought, every intent, every motivation, every reason. 473 00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:23,000 It's a perfect record of their life here on earth. 474 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:33,000 And I believe this is specifically the unrighteous dead because it says twice that they are judged according to their works that are written in the books. 475 00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:44,000 Believers are not judged according to our works, our deeds in that sense. We're judged according to our faith in Jesus Christ. 476 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:53,000 And although they are judged according to their works, I'll also add that they're also judged according to what is not written in the books. 477 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:58,000 Because it says there's books opened and then it goes and the book of life. 478 00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:05,000 So here's your record. Yeah, look at all the good things I did. 479 00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:10,000 Well, if you really want to talk about the record, I've got every detail. 480 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:16,000 But it doesn't matter because let's cross-reference that with the book of life. Is your name written in the book of life? 481 00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:20,000 Did you ever put your faith in Jesus Christ? 482 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:25,000 That action, that deed isn't here. 483 00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:28,000 It tells us that the sea then gives up its dead. 484 00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:35,000 The sea is often used as a picture, an allegory of a place of the unburied dead, right? 485 00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:40,000 Because people would lose their lives at the sea, their bodies often never recovered, they're unburied. 486 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:46,000 And so including this, I believe, is just a picture of the universal scope of the moment. 487 00:48:46,000 --> 00:48:51,000 It's saying all who have ever died without Christ are here. None escape this moment. 488 00:48:51,000 --> 00:48:56,000 Oh, I was never buried. Haha, loophole. Nope. 489 00:48:56,000 --> 00:49:05,000 So the determination is not based, it's based solely on whether or not you've put your faith in Jesus Christ. 490 00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:11,000 Whether your name is found in the book of Zoe. Jesus, who is the Zoe? 491 00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:19,000 Have you trusted in Him? Because no other work will save you. No other work. 492 00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:23,000 And then it says death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. 493 00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:30,000 This is the very last echoes of sin being completely eliminated fully, right? 494 00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:39,000 Death, which is the separation from God, which is the result of sin, both physical separation, both spiritual separation, all of that. 495 00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:44,000 Death, which is the result of sin itself, is judged and cast away. 496 00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:51,000 And then it says Hades, which is the abode of the unrighteous souls, which is the result of physical death, right? 497 00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:55,000 If you die without Christ physically, you would go into this waiting place, if you will. 498 00:49:55,000 --> 00:50:00,000 That's gone. It's emptied out. Final judgment has arrived. 499 00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:02,000 And then the lake of fire. 500 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:08,000 You know, as I mentioned earlier, you know, sheol and Hades were these Hebrew and Greek words that were used for the place of the dead. 501 00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,000 Sometimes people would refer to it as hell, right? 502 00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:14,000 But hell is a little more complicated than our one English word. 503 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:21,000 And so sheol and Hades, it was this place, this area that was separated into two compartments. 504 00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:27,000 One's had the place of the unrighteous dead and it held the place of the righteous dead as well. 505 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:35,000 Now, that's where souls went when they were separated from the physical bodies up until the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 506 00:50:35,000 --> 00:50:41,000 Once Jesus Christ was resurrected, the righteous dead were now instantly in the presence of God. 507 00:50:41,000 --> 00:50:44,000 To be separated from the body is to be in the presence of the Lord. 508 00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:56,000 But the unrighteous souls that are separated from their body, I believe, are still there until this moment, until this final judgment. 509 00:50:56,000 --> 00:51:04,000 Now, it doesn't mean that they're in this waiting place with, you know, 4K TVs and nice Wi-Fi and they're just like, well, you know, hell's coming, but we're good. 510 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:06,000 No, it's a place of suffering and torment. 511 00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:14,000 Again, go back to the parable of Lazarus, it's not even a parable, I believe it's a historical rendition, Lazarus and the rich man. 512 00:51:14,000 --> 00:51:17,000 But in Mark 9, Jesus mentions hell. 513 00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:27,000 He uses the word hell in our English Bible and he calls it a place of unquenchable fire where the worm does not die. 514 00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:32,000 Now, the word hell that Jesus uses there in Mark 9 is not sheol or Hades. 515 00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:35,000 It's a word called Gehenna. 516 00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:39,000 Gehenna is a translation of the Hebrew word that referred to the Valley of Hinnom. 517 00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:49,000 The Valley of Hinnom was this place outside Jerusalem's walls that had been desecrated by Molech worship and human sacrifice and really disgusting idolatry. 518 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:51,000 And what they turned it into was a garbage dump. 519 00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:56,000 They would throw all their garbage out there in this place, the Valley of Hinnom, and they would burn the garbage out there. 520 00:51:56,000 --> 00:52:05,000 But the place was just so foul that the fire that burned there burned 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The fire never went out. 521 00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:08,000 And it was just this festering place of destruction. 522 00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:16,000 And there was these worms that would crawl around and eat because they would throw dead bodies out there and they would do all kinds of stuff. 523 00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:23,000 So the Valley of Hinnom, Gehenna, made for a very graphic and effective picture of the fate of the damned in the Lake of Fire. 524 00:52:23,000 --> 00:52:26,000 And so that's where this idea of the Lake of Fire comes from. 525 00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:29,000 This is what's pictured by the phrase the Lake of Fire. 526 00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:31,000 It's what's being characterized. It's like the Lake of Fire. 527 00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:36,000 Remember the Valley of Hinnom? That 24-hour burning that never stops, the fire that is never quenched? 528 00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:41,000 That's what hell is going to be like. That's the idea here. 529 00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:47,000 That Gehenna, this hell, is the place, incidentally, the Lake of Fire is the place that Jesus said this wasn't even created for people. 530 00:52:47,000 --> 00:52:52,000 It was created for the devil and his demons. 531 00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:55,000 And this place is the place of the second death. 532 00:52:55,000 --> 00:53:02,000 Not a ceasing from existence, but an eternal, perpetual, never ceasing burning. 533 00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:05,000 A never ceasing torment. 534 00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:11,000 A never ceasing hopelessness and agony in complete contrast to the eternal life promised in Christ. 535 00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:17,000 It's a forever of suffering and isolation and loneliness and despair and hopelessness. 536 00:53:17,000 --> 00:53:24,000 And this is the ultimate result of a complete and total separation from God. 537 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:30,000 This is truly death in contrast to true life. 538 00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:36,000 Now how terrible it's going to be on that day for the resurrected ungodly. 539 00:53:36,000 --> 00:53:41,000 How terrible it is going to be on that day to hear once and for all from Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, 540 00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:54,000 as he looks upon these dead standing before him and he says, depart from me you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 541 00:53:54,000 --> 00:54:00,000 You know, we all live. We all die. We will all be resurrected. 542 00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:05,000 But there's a big difference in the manner for all three of those things. 543 00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:11,000 We all have life, but not everybody has been born again to spiritual life. 544 00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:16,000 We all die once, but you don't have to die the second death. 545 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:27,000 We will all be resurrected. But Jesus said some will be raised to life and others will be raised to condemnation. 546 00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:36,000 Yeah, if you were born once, if you were only physically born but never are born spiritually, you will indeed die twice. 547 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:49,000 But if you are born twice, once here physically on earth and the other spiritually from above, you will only ever die once physically. 548 00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:54,000 This body will die, but you will then never die spiritually. 549 00:54:54,000 --> 00:55:03,000 You will never experience the second death. Instead, you will be resurrected into life into a glorious body, fit to exist forever in the presence of your creator. 550 00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:11,000 Every single person who has ever lived will have eternal consciousness. 551 00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:20,000 But for the believer in Jesus Christ, the hope, what we look forward to is a permanent connection to and a relationship with our creator 552 00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:35,000 in a glorified body free from the curse and presence of sin, free from death and sickness and disease, an eternity with perfect life, perfect zoe, a forever of exuberant, contented, peaceful, joyous happiness. 553 00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:43,000 Hallelujah. That is what we offer the lost when we share their gospel with them. 554 00:55:43,000 --> 00:55:50,000 It's not that their life will be better here on earth. That can happen. It doesn't always happen. 555 00:55:50,000 --> 00:55:59,000 It's not that, you know, hey, all your problems are going to instantly go away. Any Christian in here have problems? 556 00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:05,000 I have two hands. I like that. 557 00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:11,000 But we have life because we know the one who is life. 558 00:56:11,000 --> 00:56:15,000 And we know that this life is a vapor. 559 00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:20,000 And what awaits us is forever in eternity. 560 00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:25,000 But the question is, is it going to be eternity with God in heaven? 561 00:56:25,000 --> 00:56:31,000 Or is it going to be eternity in the lake of fire, separated from God forever? 562 00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:38,000 That is the question before you. That is the question before every living human being. 563 00:56:38,000 --> 00:56:45,000 And so I pray that if you know Christ that you are encouraged and blessed by what's to come. 564 00:56:45,000 --> 00:56:50,000 But I pray the reality of what's to come for those who don't know him puts a burden on your heart 565 00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:59,000 to share the gospel with those who don't yet know him, to do it lovingly, to do it boldly, to do it confidently. 566 00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:06,000 We don't share the gospel because we're perfect people. We share the gospel because we're broken people just like them, but we've been saved. 567 00:57:06,000 --> 00:57:12,000 And so share the gospel with people that they too would come to know the hope that is in Jesus Christ. Amen? 568 00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:18,000 Let's pray. Father, God, we... 569 00:57:18,000 --> 00:57:21,000 God, this is a somber piece of scripture, Lord. 570 00:57:21,000 --> 00:57:29,000 We're so thankful, God, and grateful and truly excited by the life we have in you. 571 00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:34,000 But God, when we contemplate the fate of those who don't yet know you, God, 572 00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:40,000 some of those being friends and family members we have, Lord, 573 00:57:40,000 --> 00:57:43,000 it should give us an urgency. 574 00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:46,000 It should give us a passion. 575 00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:54,000 It should move our hearts, Lord, and I know for many of us it does exactly that, God, and we thank you for that. 576 00:57:54,000 --> 00:58:01,000 But Lord, may we be people that understand that this life here on earth isn't it. 577 00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:08,000 May we be people who understand that dying here physically in this body isn't it. 578 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:12,000 But that there is a life after and a resurrection to come, God. 579 00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:19,000 And true life, eternal life, only comes from knowing you because you are life. 580 00:58:19,000 --> 00:58:24,000 God, we're grateful for this glimpse at the end of all things. 581 00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:32,000 God, we're grateful to know that evil, wickedness will truly and finally and fully one day be dealt with. 582 00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:39,000 That death, the separation from you, God, spiritually, the separation from you in every way, God, 583 00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:51,000 the absence of that zoe in our life, God, the result of sin will be defeated forever and completely. 584 00:58:51,000 --> 00:59:00,000 That God, we know that after this life, it's heaven or hell. 585 00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:05,000 And that we would desperately cling to that hope that we have in you, God, 586 00:59:05,000 --> 00:59:10,000 as we faithfully share that hope with others as often as we can, Lord. 587 00:59:10,000 --> 00:59:13,000 Bless us, God. 588 00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:17,000 Lord, we're excited to get to the rest of this book, Lord, and to look at the new heaven and the new earth 589 00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:23,000 and the new Jerusalem, and it's just going to be beautiful. 590 00:59:23,000 --> 00:59:31,000 But Lord, help us to live every day now in this life for you, to live every day in obedience to you, 591 00:59:31,000 --> 00:59:33,000 to live every day pursuing you. 592 00:59:33,000 --> 00:59:41,000 Yes, God, we got to go to work and we got to pay bills and we got to clean stuff and we're here, Lord. 593 00:59:41,000 --> 00:59:47,000 But you said while we're here, preach the gospel to every nation. 594 00:59:47,000 --> 00:59:49,000 Help us to do that, Lord, as individuals. 595 00:59:49,000 --> 00:59:54,000 Help us to do that as a church, Lord, that souls would be saved. 596 00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:59,000 God, we pray for our friends and family members that don't yet know you, God, 597 00:59:59,000 --> 01:00:02,000 that they would come to know you and give their life to you. 598 01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:08,000 And God, I pray for any in our room right now or watching online that don't yet know you, God. 599 01:00:08,000 --> 01:00:12,000 Lord, I pray, God, that as they realize their need for you as their Savior, 600 01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:20,000 that right now they would pray with me and say, Lord Jesus, I believe you are God. 601 01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:22,000 I know I've broken your law. 602 01:00:22,000 --> 01:00:26,000 I know I've sinned against you. 603 01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:31,000 I know because of that I deserve judgment. 604 01:00:31,000 --> 01:00:35,000 But God, I believe your word. 605 01:00:35,000 --> 01:00:38,000 I believe your gospel. 606 01:00:38,000 --> 01:00:49,000 I believe you when you say if I call out to you, if I put my faith in you, 607 01:00:49,000 --> 01:00:53,000 that I will be saved, I will be forgiven. 608 01:00:53,000 --> 01:00:57,000 God, I want my life changed and I invite you into my life. 609 01:00:57,000 --> 01:01:03,000 Fill me with the Holy Spirit that I would live for you. 610 01:01:03,000 --> 01:01:06,000 Help me to stand against my flesh. 611 01:01:06,000 --> 01:01:09,000 Help me to say no to sin. 612 01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:13,000 Use me, Lord, to lead others to you. 613 01:01:13,000 --> 01:01:15,000 Thank you for loving me so much. 614 01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,000 Thank you for saving my soul. 615 01:01:17,000 --> 01:01:21,000 In Jesus' name I pray, amen. 616 01:01:21,000 --> 01:01:27,000 I pray you would all be blessed, blessed. 617 01:01:27,000 --> 01:01:32,000 We have a future and a hope to look forward to and that is awesome and that is so exciting. 618 01:01:32,000 --> 01:01:35,000 But we're not meant to just go there by ourselves. 619 01:01:35,000 --> 01:01:37,000 We want to take as many people along with us as we can. 620 01:01:37,000 --> 01:01:42,000 And so pray for opportunities to be an example, to be a witness of Jesus Christ, 621 01:01:42,000 --> 01:01:47,000 to share your hope, to share your testimony, to share what God has done in your life with others 622 01:01:47,000 --> 01:01:52,000 because that testimony is powerful to what God can do. 623 01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:57,000 Because no matter what, we're all going to die physically. 624 01:01:57,000 --> 01:01:59,000 But not all of us are going to die a second time. 625 01:01:59,000 --> 01:02:03,000 And that's the goal is to make sure nobody else has to suffer that. 626 01:02:03,000 --> 01:02:05,000 Share the gospel with them. 627 01:02:05,000 --> 01:02:07,000 Be filled with the Spirit. Be blessed. Be empowered. 628 01:02:07,000 --> 01:02:11,000 Step out into what God is calling you to do. 629 01:02:11,000 --> 01:02:15,000 Because the future hope for those who trust in Jesus Christ is glorious. 630 01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:30,000 It's awesome. Amen. God bless you guys.