Unpacking Prophecy: The End
Revelation Revealed • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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“Therefore, you should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven,
your name be honored as holy.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
We pray the Lord’s prayer as easy as we can say the Pledge of Allegiance. We have said it so many times, it is almost second nature to us. Have you really looked at the words of this prayer.
Go over the last lines in the prayer.
God always answers prayers, this one has been said a billion times by millions of Christians, and this prayer as of now has been “Not Yet”!
For the past weeks we have gone over a lot of things in the book of Revelation. The throne room, the judgments, the unholy trinity, the rapture, the two witnesses and the 144,000. Please understand that this small 7 week series can not give all the information nor the cross references needed to get a full picture of the book of Revelation. That would take an in depth bible study that would take nearly a year to complete. What this series was meant to do was to give you a summary of the book and hit on some key points.
Today, we will look at what is commonly known as the millennial kingdom, the white throne judgment, and the new heavens and earth. Hence the starting off this message with the Lord’s prayer. This will show us what we are really praying for.
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.
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 of the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their 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 the thousand years were completed.
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.
The promise of the Millennium is based upon a covenant. There are different kinds of covenants in the Bible. There are certain promises that were made to particular men of God. God will always fulfill his promises and covenants, whether made to a man, men, or a nation. There are basically two kinds of covenants.
The Conditional Covenant -- Here God lays down specific conditions before the promise is fulfilled
and my people, who bear my name, humble themselves, pray and seek my face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Notice, there are certain prerequisites to be met before the privileges are experienced. “If My people…then God.”
The Unconditional Covenants --One was the promise God made to David that He was going to establish a kingdom through David’s offspring that would never be overthrown.
When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
This will be fulfilled when Jesus sits on the throne during the Millennium, because Jesus is of the lineage of David.
I want to discuss the period of the Millennium. How long is it? The word “Millennium” is not found in the Bible, but its lesson is taught. Some may argue that if the word cannot be found then its lesson cannot be taught. However, the words “Trinity” and “Rapture” are not recorded either, but their truths are taught. Two Latin words are employed here, “mili” and “anum.” The word “mili” means one thousand and “anum” means year. Combine them and you have one thousand years. Basically, there are three different views as to when the rapture of the saints will occur and the Millennium will begin.
A) The Post-Millennial View -- Some theologians believe that Jesus will come after the Millennium is ended. They believe the world will keep getting better before Jesus returns to establish His earthly Kingdom. It is obvious that the world is not getting better, but worse.
B) The A millennial View -- “A” means no one thousand years, or no Millennium. Some theologians advocate that the one thousand year period is figurative and not literal. It is a picture of the spiritual warfare, but not of the literal. So, they advocate there will never be a specific one-thousand-year period.
C) The Pre-Millennial View -- The Bible teaches that Jesus will rapture the Church before the start of the Millennial period. Immediately following the rapture of the saints, a seven-year period of Tribulation takes place, primarily to prepare the Jews to accept Jesus as their true Messiah when He returns to this earth with His saints. At the end of the Tribulation, the Lord will return to earth with the saints to destroy the antichrist and to set up His reign upon the earth for one thousand years. That is the view that we hold.
What will that look like though?
People:
Those that stayed true to their faith during the tribulation and the 144,000 will repopulate the earth. They will live long lives similar to the pre flood age.
In her, a nursing infant will no longer live
only a few days,
or an old man not live out his days.
Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old will be mourned as a young man,
and the one who misses a hundred years will be considered cursed.
People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For my people’s lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree.
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
They will not labor without success
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord
along with their descendants.
Those of us that will be raptured before the tribulation, will be with christ in heaven during that 7 year period, and then reign with Him when he returns to earth during this 1000 year reign. It will be a time of peace, cause the government will be on His shoulders and those OT faithful and the church age believers will be there to assist with that rule.
But after that 1000 years, satan will be loosed upon the earth to gather his forces.
When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go 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 breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. The devil 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.
A few things to note here
Satan will be able to again deceive the nations and showing that man’s nature to sin will surface.
He will gather a great force to battle against God once again.
He will finally be completely destroyed and thrown into the lake of fire.
And this will be the beginning of the white throne judgment.
Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. 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. Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. 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.
Most Christian’s believe that there is just the book of life and if your name is written in there, you are good to go. In some aspects that is true. Those who’s name is written in the book of life, will be able to enter the new Jerusalem. But there is another book. It is not named but it holds all the records of your actions.
My ever action or non-action recorded and judged. Now, we discussed the judgments and those were scary, but having all my life judged, now that is scary if you ask me.
There is a saying among the Christians, Born twice, die once, born only once, die twice. What does that really mean? Those of us who are born again, who have accepted that Christ died for our sins and have repented, need not worry here at the White Throne Judgment. When the charges are read, the sacrificial lamb , Jesus Christ will stand in the gap, His blood that He shed will cover all your transgressions and you will be white as snow.
Now to those who did not accept or turned from Christ. They will be sent to the second death, the lake of fire along with Satan. Hence, born once, die twice.
I mentioned earlier the new Jerusalem, or the new heaven. This is the ultimate award for those who are found in the book of life. Let’s get a look at it.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
The one who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used. The building material of its wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold clear as glass. The foundations of the city wall were adorned with every kind of jewel: the first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.
down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.
Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.
He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.