Sermon Tone Analysis

Journey through the Revelation

PART 14

“Satan’s Ultimate Doom and the Final Judgment of Men”

Last time we saw the incredible Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the mighty appearance of Jesus Christ to bring an end to the War of Armageddon.

It is at this time He will judge the nations.

Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-46 "31When He finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all His angels with Him, the Son of Man will take His place on His glorious throne.

32Then all the nations will be arranged before Him and He will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, 33putting sheep to His right and goats to His left.

34Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father!

Take what's coming to you in this kingdom.

It's been ready for you since the world's foundation.

35 And here's why:     I was hungry and you fed Me,     I was thirsty and you gave Me a drink,     I was homeless and you gave Me a room, 36 I was shivering and you gave Me clothes,     I was sick and you stopped to visit,     I was in prison and you came to Me.'

37Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are You talking about?

When did we ever see You hungry and feed You, thirsty and give You a drink?

38And when did we see You a stranger and welcomed You, or naked and clothed You? 39And when did we ever see You sick or in prison and come to You?' 40Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was Me—you did it to Me.'

41Then He will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on His left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats!

You're good for nothing but the fires of hell.

And why? Because—  42 I was hungry and you gave Me no meal,     I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink,  43 I was homeless and you gave Me no bed,     I was shivering and you gave Me no clothes,     Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

44Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are You talking about?

When did we ever see You hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'

45He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was Me—you failed to do it to Me.'

46Then those 'goats' will be herded to their eternal doom, but the 'sheep' to their eternal reward."

As Christ returns and the Tribulation closes, several things take place as revealed in Chapter 20 of Revelation:

Satan is bound in the Abyss

The first resurrection

The millennium, mentioned six times

Satan loosed for a brief season

The last and final rebellion

Satan consigned to the lake of fire

The second resurrection and the second death

Verse one opens up with a special angel coming down from heaven with authorization to arrest Satan, binding him for a thousand years with a great chain and casting him into the bottomless pit, the Abyss.

Revelation 20:1-3 “1I saw an Angel descending out of Heaven.

He carried the key to the Abyss and a chain—a huge chain.

2He grabbed the Dragon, that old Snake—the very Devil, Satan himself!—chained him up for a thousand years, 3dumped him into the Abyss, slammed it shut and sealed it tight.

No more trouble out of him, deceiving the nations—until the thousand years are up.

After that he has to be let loose briefly.”

During the millennium, Satan is bound and chained in the Abyss for one thousand years.

All satanic activity ceases, all demon powers are gone from the earth.

But what does it mean in verse 3 when it says that Satan is “let loose briefly”?

Satan will be released for a brief time at the end of the millennium to test and tempt the descendants of the survivors of the Tribulation to see whether their allegiance during the millennium is merely an outward submission to His (Christ’s) supreme rule or a heartfelt dedication to the Savior-King.

More on this later.

We see that the thousand-year millennium is mentioned six times in the first six verses.

During the millennium, Jesus Christ will rule the world out of Jerusalem.

And John says that the resurrected and raptured saints of this age and the Old Testament saints will rule with the Savior.

Revelation 20:4 “I saw thrones.

Those put in charge of judgment sat on the thrones.

I also saw the souls of those beheaded because of their witness to Jesus and the Word of God, who refused to worship either the Beast or his image and refused to take his mark on forehead or hand—they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years!”

Notice that Tribulation Saints are also included - those who were beheaded for their witness and those who had refused to worship Antichrist or to receive his mark.

(Interestingly, beheading is how radical Islam kills people.)

On July 26, 12 Christians were killed, including three pastors, in northern Nigeria after members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram launched attacks on police and government bases, according to contacts at VOM Canada.Churches were set ablaze and several people were abducted, including Christians.

Many believers were threatened with death if they refused to convert to Islam.

According to media reports, assailants beheaded three pastors:

The assailants were reportedly acting on the instruction of the extremist group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, who was later killed by authorities.

The militants attempted to force the pastors to convert to Islam, but they refused to abandon their faith.

They were then beheaded by guards who shouted "Allah Akbar" and fired several gunshots into the air in celebration.

John goes on to tell us something else about this time period:

“5This is the first resurrection.

The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.”

The phrase “The First Resurrection” is referring to those who are resurrected to enjoy the Millennial Reign of Christ.

Only saved people are involved in the First Resurrection.

It will be enjoyed by three classes of people: The Old Testament saints, those raptured up from earth, and the Tribulation saints who are martyred.

Then John says:

“6Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection.

For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him a thousand years.”

When John says that “the second death holds no power for them,” he is talking about the resurrection from the dead of every person who ever lived throughout history who never repented.

In other words, only the lost are involved in this second death.

It will be a “second death” for them because it will be a resurrection to damnation—in essence dying twice.

They will be raised up from the dead to face God at the Great White Throne Judgment.

We will look more closely at this in verse 11.

But the millennium that the raptured saints, Old Testament saints, and martyred Tribulation saints will enjoy is what the prophets had looked for, longed for, and predicted.

It is what was on Jesus’ mind when He taught us to pray in Matthew 6:10:

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

And when He said, “The meek shall inherit the earth…” (Matthew 5:5), He meant it!

In Revelation 5:10, the great chorus of worshippers in heaven cries out, “And You have caused them (the redeemed) to become a Kingdom of priests for our God.

And they will reign on the earth.”

Jesus spoke of this very same thing when He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.”—Matthew

25:23

In Luke’s gospel He said, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities!”—19:17

These passages clearly teach that faithfulness in this life brings authority in Christ’s coming kingdom.

What will the millennium be like?

All things on earth will be restored.

Acts 3:20-21 “20Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and He will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah.

21For He must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through His holy prophets.”

Predatory, carnivorous animals will become vegetarians again

Isaiah 11: 6 “In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat.

The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.”

The glory of the Garden of Eden will be restored

Isaiah 11:10 “In that day, the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world.

The nations will rally to Him, and the land where He lives will be a glorious place.”

Christ will be the absolute Monarch, ruling with perfect justice

Isaiah 11:4 “He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited.

The earth will shake at the force of His word, and one breath from His mouth will destroy the wicked.”

Israel will be the preeminent nation on the planet and will bless all the Gentile nations.

Genesis 12:2-3 “2I will make you into a great nation.

I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.

3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.

All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

While glorified saints neither marry nor are given in marriage, the survivors of the Great Tribulation will do both, and will repopulate the world.

They will live indefinitely in ideal environmental conditions in natural but super-healthy bodies.

Isaiah wrote of this:

"Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.”—65:20

But a vast number of descendents of the saved survivors of the Tribulation will have only an outward allegiance without saving faith in Him.