Millennial Kingdom - Part 4
Millennial Kingdom part 4 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 5 viewsOur part in the Millennium
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Perfect peace but not perfect earth
Perfect peace but not perfect earth
Normally, we teach through the bible but each New Year I like to focus on topics we don’t hear much about from scripture such as “the Millennial Kingdom”.
Imagine living a life that is always peaceful and normal. No demonic influence - It’s something we all long for. But when life gets stressful for us, the only thing we can do is persevere by faith.
In review, we’ve discovered upon our Lord’s return and we, the church with Him His feet will touch the Mt of Olives. causing a massive earthquake in Jerusalem as foretold in Zech 14 - this drawing shows a gate underneath the Golden Gate.
There’s already a fault line that runs right down the middle of the Mt. of Olives.
Zechariah’s prophecy speaks of a massive tectonic rupture that will reshape the entire region. It is believed that when this happens, the golden gate will topple and the Shushan gate underneath will rise up to fulfill -
...and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw... And the glory of Yahweh came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east.
In the meantime, all the nations will be gathered at Megiddo with the antichrist and false prophet to battle Yeshua which is why He comes on a white horse judging and waging war! I believe the church are the armies in white because linen speaks of righteousness. This week it dawned on me, this massive earthquake will not be a regional tremor but a planet‑reshaping event.
I always pictured Jesus as King of Kings slashing away to defeat His enemies but Get this. When the Mount of Olives splits, the entire Levantine fault system will rupture and the armies at Megiddo (60 miles north) will be right in the kill zone.
And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the wrath of the rage of God, the Almighty.
The sword of the Spirit is the word of God!! As its being fulfilled these nations will be struck down.
Keep in mind, the Antichrist and false prophet will be very aware of the prophecy of Daniel to the day! 1260th day. But it appears the earthquake will be lethal to these armies - And I’m sure Michael the great prince or principality assigned over Israel will be there to deal with Satan and demons in the spirit realm. As he was in the six-day war in 67’ & 73’ Yom Kippur
We’re told in Revelation 12 that when the abomination of desolation happens “The woman” (Israel) will flee into the wilderness and be nourished by God for 1,260 days! But it’s actually going to protect Israel!!
And you remember Jesus warned His disciples when this abomination happens to flee to the mountains of Judea - And interestingly, on the eastern edge of these mountains is the Rift Valley toward Jordan’s highlands. It’s the natural “escape route” eastward.
Petra’s geography matches the prophetic escape. It’s 100 miles southeast and enclosed- Not to mention, far enough away from the quake!! And when Yeshua finds them, and reveals Who He is, like a Shepherd for His sheep, they will accept Him as their King and I was realizing when they come back to Israel with their Messiah, as they walk over the mountains they will witness the Dead Sea filling with living water flowing from Jerusalem!! But as Daniel states -
“But from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
A 75-day interval period commences as the temple is cleansed, renovated, and dedicated. ANTICHRIST and THE FALSE PROPHET are the first to be cast alive into the lake of fire. The Gentile survivors are judged on the how they treated the Jews! The sheep on His right are the saved believers who come into the Millennial to live their lives in peace. But the goats who didn’t help the Jews in the tribulation got a different message.
“Then He will also say to those on His left, [the goats ] ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.
It’s ironic that the goats were on the “left”.
Then SATAN is thrown into the abyss by a single angel for 1000 years a special place for extremely wicked angels where all motion stops except downward.
We talked last week about how the bible doesn’t center on the church but Israel.
All 40 authors of the bible were Jewish except Luke. Yet this one Gentile author wrote the largest portion of the New Testament by volume (The gospel of Luke–Book of Acts). Which beautifully foreshadows the Abrahamic promise: “In you all nations shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) But make no mistake, salvation is from the Jews. John 4.22
Yet the gospel is meant for all nations. [goyim] or us!
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit...
It’s always been about God commanding the Jews to reach out to the Gentiles. But the church was a hidden truth revealed to the Apostle Paul. So we are a specific group and Jesus is: “the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29)
And because of this “There is no difference between Jew and Greek who call on Christ.” (Romans 10:12) we are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26) Jew, Gentile, Male, Female, slave and free! This is Christianity, not Islam, Mormonism, Judaism but a completely different entity. We’re all sons of God.
But ladies, you might say “what about daughters of God?
While it’s true, there are “no daughters of God” in the inheritance passages, God gives women full legal status as firstborn sons and heirs according to the promise—so women who are born-again receive every blessing, promise, and right in Christ. Something they could never have naturally!
However when scripture refers to “tenderness” the term daughter is used such “Daughter of Zion” “Daughters of Jerusalem” and in
“And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord Almighty.
Let’s not forget we are the bride of the bridegroom Jesus Christ and will partake of the marriage supper of the lamb.
Now I took this time because it’s good to go over it again and again to help get a grasp of this.
Now let’s look and see if we can get any clues to our future assignment.
13 “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
When we see the word “therefore” we have to ask what its there for. It’s all based upon what Jesus just taught previously. The Ten virgins. So too, in Matthew 24-25 as he’s answering his disciples as to when 1] the massive stones of the temple in Jerusalem will be thrown down 2] the sign of His coming and 3] the end of the age.
In Matthew 24 Jesus answers the first two questions, but by chapter 25 he comes to “the end of the age” question.
Ironically the first parable in Matt 25 is about ten bridesmaids [five wise and five foolish] waiting for the bridegroom to arrive for the wedding feast. UC, in Jewish weddings, the groom could come at any moment—day or night—so the bridesmaids needed lamps ready and be alert when the friend of the bridegroom shouts “Behold, the bridegroom comes”. This is why I believe the pre-trib makes the most sense! It’s unexpected, we keep our lamps burning, we watch and wait!!
But the next parable speaks of accountability in this life to prepare us for the next!
“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and handed over his possessions to them. “And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.
Jesus Himself has called the church and given gifts to His body each according to their ability. [Eph 4:11-13] Now before we continue - the talent isn’t our ability but 20 years of wages or one million dollars! So the man entrusted to these men a lot of money to trade and work for Him. He expected results. This is understandable.
“Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. “In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.
So the first guy was given 5 million dollars! And the second two million! but the key to this story is they were given according to their own ability.
So the first two doubled their investment!! As we all know, with every investment, there’s always risk! Commerce was abundant back then as well!
Every city had a central marketplace where farmers sold produce, craftsmen sold their goods.. merchants traded imported grain from Egypt, olive oil, wine, dried fish, dates and figs, spices for cooking.
Today there are local market places. Also auctions, or guys who buy cars or homes to fix up and resell, or Luthiers looking for rare guitars to buy, freshen up and resell sometimes double their money.
The stock market is a place to invest money buying shares of a company in hopes of seeing your money grow.
...which leads us to
“But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
So this guy got one million dollars! But why did he bury it? We will find out.
“Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.
We are told many times that when our LORD returns we too will give an account.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
So now its time to do just that - verse 20
“And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed five talents over to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
“Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you handed two talents over to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
So the reward is hearing the master say “well done, good and faithful servant, enter in to the joy of the master or Lord. But there’s always those who have an excuse! Verse 24
“And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’
I can see the angry eyes of the master
“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ‘Therefore, you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
Note, this man isn’t confessing his sin but justifies his failure by blaming the master of being a harsh man who expects too much and has other people making money for him! It’s a classic defense: “I didn’t act because you made it too hard.” —But the master traps him with his own words, then you should have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
Why was this man considered lazy? - He took no risk. He made no effort. He bore no fruit. He simply refused to use what he was given “according to his ability”. Some suggest he buried the money hoping the master would die and then he could keep it for himself!
And what’s the punishment?
‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
The servant who gained two additional talents received the same words of praise as the servant who gained five. The five-talent servant didn’t outperform the two-talent servant he simply managed more resources with the same faithfulness. Which explains the final verses. Verse 29 is the point to the story.
“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
Have what? we have to answer that for ourselves. What are you investing in all that God has given you?
Right now, we’re under common grace. God rains on the just and the unjust! Both Saint and sinner have been given opportunity in life to live, to share, have families, help others, work hard, and choose to serve and take risks of faith. It’s important to see this man was not interested in serving the master. Jesus taught faith always produces fruit, and the absence of fruit reveals the absence of faith. And what is their reward?
“And throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Worthless” doesn’t mean “not valuable as a person.” but refusing the purpose for which they were entrusted in life, even though they had ability. They buried their responsibility, rejected His authority and refused to be faithful with the potential they were given. No relationship, no Millennium, no Millennium, no Heaven.
[Worship team]
I am fully convinced God expects us to invest His ways according to the abilities we have. It’s not about how much but how faithful we are with whatever we’ve been given. We will get the same reward. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works He has prepared for us. There isn’t much detail about our role in the Millennial kingdom - only that we will reign with Him. That means authority to lead, rule or governing.
Those who reject the gospel will blame God as being harsh and bury the value He gave them to invest in this life! This is why Jesus poses a fundamental question: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”
You see, our soul possesses greater value than all the world’s wealth, honor, and pleasures combined. He’s not will that any perish but come to repentance. Let’s be excited about our future assignment. It will be abundantly above all we could ask or think!
