The Government of Christ on Earth
Sermon Transcript
0:00:14.0
Well, these days what the government can and cannot do for us is in the news every day. Have you noticed that? And that's primarily because we are in a presidential election season. And every time we elect a president of the United States, one of the national conversations that we have is, “How much government will it take to fix the problems that our country faces and that our world faces?” Whether you're a big government person or a small, limited government person like our founding fathers were when they wrote the Constitution, you have to agree that no human government can solve all the problems. Human government is limited in the sense that it's imperfect human beings who run those governments. And this is why we struggle to find answers in our society when we put too much emphasis on things in the government, as it were.
0:01:15.8
I’ve titled this morning’s message The Government of Christ on Earth because we've come to Revelation chapter 20. We're nearing the end of our study of this fascinating and mysterious book called the Book of Revelation. And we've come to a section of Scripture that theologians believe describes a future time on earth called “the millennial reign,” or “government of Jesus Christ.” Maybe you've never heard of this in Bible prophecy, but it's one of the big things. It takes up so much editorial space in the Bible, both Old and New Testament, but the description of it here in Revelation is rather short. We learn some things about this future time on planet Earth known as “the millennial reign of Christ,” the 1,000 year reign of Christ’s kingdom on this earth. That's what the millennium in the Bible is all about, the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. The kingdom of God coming to this earth in a physical and literal way, where Jesus Christ, after he returns and defeats His enemies at the battle of Armageddon, sets up His government on this earth in a very powerful kind of way.
0:02:33.6
Mark Hitchcock is a reputable Bible scholar when it comes to prophecy. He's written a wonderful book called The End of Days: The Complete Overview of Bible Prophecy and the End of Days. It's kind of a Bible encyclopedia on Bible prophecy. And Hitchcock, when he comes to that place regarding the millennium, he says, “People have always dreamed of a utopia; a great society, a paradise on earth, a return to the Garden of Eden. The Bible is clear that sinful men and women can never produce such a society on earth in their own strength and ingenuity. However, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this earth, God’s Word tells us that the next great event, the culmination of history, is the 1,000 year reign of Jesus on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords, or simply, the Millennial Kingdom. During this era the world will flourish under the rule of the Prince of Peace, basking in unrestricted peace and prosperity.” That's a pretty good description of what theologians refer to as “the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.” This 1,000 year reign of Christ’s kingdom on this earth.
0:03:50.4
Now, as I mentioned earlier, this is a pretty big subject in the Bible. And you go into a lot of the Old Testament prophecies, and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Zechariah…a lot of those places that are probably still the sticky pages in your Bible, you haven't read those for quite some time…and it's full of millennial kingdom language. In fact, many of the prophecies that have both a “now and a not yet” effect to them were sort of confusing for the Pharisees and other religious leaders in the first century. They thought the kingdom was coming then, and many of them were disappointed that when Jesus Christ the Messiah came the first time He didn't set up His kingdom. In fact, this why the disciples, in Acts chapter 1 just before the Ascension, remember they said to Jesus, “Is this the time that the Father is establishing the kingdom?” And He said, “Listen guys, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons of what the Father has established by His own authority.” He basically said, “Yeah, it's coming one day, but you're just gonna have to wait. In the meantime, be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth.” The kingdom of God on this earth was always in the minds of the Old Testament prophets and even the New Testament disciples. And so this is a big, big subject.
0:05:09.9
Revelation 20:1-6 describes this time on earth. And as you can imagine, with a subject this large, there are those Bible scholars and Bible prophecy experts that debate the subject, that have some different views on it. So I'm gonna ask you to put on your theological thinking cap for just a moment. I'm gonna toss some terms at you that theologians bounce around. And I'm gonna do this because you'll find some of these terms in the popular Bible prophecy literature of the day, and you need to know what they mean by it.
0:05:46.2
So there are basically three views of the millennial kingdom. The first is called amillennialism, meaning no millennium. Meaning when the Bible in the Revelation 20 refers to 1,000 years, amillennialists take it in a spiritualized kind of way. 1,000 years doesn't mean 1,000 years, in other words. And so the amillennialists picture Christ ruling in a spiritual kingdom, not a literal physical earthly kingdom. And the amillennialists say that reign and rule of Jesus in His spiritual kingdom is happening right now. There is no future 1,000 year reign of Christ on this earth. That's the amillennialists. Then there's the premillennial position. The premillennialists believe that Christ returns bodily after the tribulation. We talked about the glorious return of Jesus Christ last week. That happens after the seven-year tribulation and prior to a literal physical 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ here on this earth. That's called the premillennial position because, relative to the Second Coming of Christ, it happens prior to the millennial reign. And in the ordering of end times events, the premillennialist says that it starts with the rapture, then the seven-year tribulation, then the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, then the millennial reign of Christ, and then on into the final judgment and the eternal state. That's the premillennial position. That's the position that I take. That's the prevailing position that you see in a lot of literature today. That's the Left Behind position, all right? Are we into the popular Bible prophecy literature today? That's the Left Behind position. Premillennial.
0:07:38.8
Then there is something called postmillennialism. And again, the postmillennialists denied a literal earthly kingdom, and the 1,000 year reign thing was spiritualized, not understood in its plain and normal sense. But the postmillennialists believe that Christ would return after a long period of time. They looked at the 1,000 years in Revelation chapter 20 and they spiritualized it, and says, “Well, it's just…it just means a long period of time.” And the postmillennialist would say that Christ would return after that long period of time when the earth is Christianized. In other words, the earth is gonna get better and better and better and more Christian. This is also called dominion theology. Postmillennialism was real popular at the beginning of the 20th, century, and then World War II and World War I came along and it destroyed postmillennialism. Because the world wasn't getting better and better and better. No. We discovered a guy like Adolf Hitler destroyed and murdered 6,000,000 Jews. And the postmillennialists didn't know what to do with that. And so postmillennialism kind of died off the scene. Amillennialists, you know, a lot of liberal theologians embrace that. The premillennial position is the one that most conservative theologians refer to.
0:08:59.5
And in Revelation 20:1-7, the phrase “a thousand years” appears six times. Anytime you have that kind of repetition in the inspired Word of God, pay attention to it. All right? The writer here, John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was trying to tell us something. And there's an old saying in Bible interpretation; “If the plain sense makes the best sense, then there is no other sense.” Okay? So what does “a thousand years” mean in its plain sense? Especially when it's mentioned six times in seven verses? Well, it's referring to 1,000 years. 1,000 calendar years, just like you and I would understand. 1,000 years. When the millennial reign of Jesus Christ is talked about in the Old Testament, and you got to do some work trying to figure out all of that, the length of the time is never mentioned. Revelation chapter 20 is the only time in Scripture that gives us the “how long will the reign last”. And as if to catch up for all the times in the Old, and even early New Testament that God didn't reveal to us the time, John tells us, “It's 1,000 years.” And he tells it to us six times. He tells it to us over and over and over and over again. There is coming, in future Bible prophecy, the government of Jesus Christ that will establish itself on this earth and will reign in peace and prosperity…say it with me…for 1,000 years, for 1,000 years. And I'm looking forward to it.
0:10:46.2
Now, with that in mind, what is this millennial reign going to be like? We could spend most of our time talking about the characteristics of that day and age. I just want to give you kind of a summary statement of what all the Old Testament and New Testament passages say in terms of a description of this time. And by the way, I've listed in your notes there 10 key millennial Bible passages, most of them in the Old Testament there, from the book Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Zechariah. In your own time, read through those passages of Scripture and get a sense of how the Old Testament prophets understood, with various levels of clarity, this future event in Bible prophecy known as the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. As we get further and further along in the progress of revelation and in the writing of New Testament Scripture, and even in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, our understanding of this time clarifies. But you can go back in those Old Testament passages and read and get a sense of the expectation that people in the Old Testament, and even in early New Testament times had of the coming of Messiah. And I'm gonna show you in a little bit how some of these had both a now and a not yet aspect to it, that might’ve been a little bit confusing for people in the first century. Which led the disciples to ask the question at the Ascension, “Is now the time?” And Jesus said, “Not yet, but it's coming.”
0:12:19.5
But this time on earth known as the millennium is the reign of Jesus Christ, and it will be characterized by peace, prosperity, joy and justice from Jerusalem. The Prince of Peace, that is, Jesus, will rule over a true utopia on earth. What Mark Hitchcock described as a great society, as a golden age, as a true utopia on earth. People have been wanting this for decades, for centuries. And there have been all kinds of world leaders come on the stage, some with good intentions, some with very bad intentions, that have said, “Hey, you know, I'm the one to usher this in. We're gonna make things better around here.” But there's only one time in future history in Bible prophecy when that will be true, and it's when Jesus Christ returns, defeats His enemies at the battle of Armageddon and ushers in His 1,000 year reign.
0:13:20.5
Isaiah the prophet hears this one description of this glorious time. Isaiah 11:9, “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” The reign and rule of Jesus Christ producing peace, prosperity, joy and justice will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. It will be a grand and glorious time. And this great society, which man has never been able to produce…this golden age, this true utopia, this return to Eden, if you will…Jesus will do it like never before. And He will demonstrate to all of His enemies, and He will demonstrate to all of the redeemed that He alone is the best ruling governor to ever come upon this planet. And He will do it in a glorious way.
0:14:21.7
By the way, this is not heaven. I'm not describing heaven here. The new heaven and the new earth is yet to come, after the 1,000 year reign. So…but this is to demonstrate a number of things that the Bible talks about. Which leads us to the question, why the millennium? Why would this even be part of God’s overall plan and purpose, to have Jesus Christ return and to physically set His kingdom up on this earth and to reign from Jerusalem? What's the purpose of the millennium? Well, let me just talk about seven things real quickly.
0:14:58.4
Number 1, the purpose is to restrict Satan’s activity on this earth. Go back to Revelation chapter…I'm sorry, to 20:1. John says, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him”—here's the first phrase—“for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.”
0:15:41.0
The reason…one of the reasons there is such peace and prosperity and joy and justice on this earth is because the devil himself, that ancient serpent, who disturbed the peace and prosperity, joy and justice in the Garden of Eden, is bound up for 1,000 years. He's thrown into what John describes here as bottomless pit. Do you remember earlier in our study of the book of Revelation, there were demons that were bound up in a pit near the river Euphrates, and they were let loose. You know, God has bound some of the ancient fallen angles, and bound them up and them held them up in certain places. He's let others run free on this earth under the guidance and rule of the devil himself, “who prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” Presently, the devil is the prince of the power of the air, and he has free reign on this earth. He is not omnipresent, he is not omniscient, he cannot be all places at all times, he does not know everything, but he has a vast army of fallen angels, or demons, under his direction. All of that will come to an end when the millennial reign begins. Satan will be bound up and thrown into the bottomless pit and chained up for 1,000 years.
0:17:08.5
Can you imagine not having to deal with the temptations of the devil? The world, the flesh and the devil are our enemies, and the devil himself and all of his efforts to deceive us will not be existent during the 1,000 years. It will demonstrate, however, that the human heart, that is still sinful, doesn't need a devil to tempt us to go astray. Remember, our enemies are the world, the flesh and the devil, and you've no longer say, “The devil made me do it” during the millennium. Sin will still exist on this earth, and it will be because the human is wicked above all things, and “desperately wicked. Who can understand it,” the Bible says.
0:17:58.4
In verses 7 and following…just scroll down in chapter 20 of Revelation. “When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they were tormented day and night forever and ever.”
0:18:33.7
So at the end of the millennial reign, at the end of the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on this earth while the devil is bound up, the devil is loosed one more time. And the saints of God don’t have to fight that battle. The devil goes out and he gets the nations of the earth together and they march against the city of Jerusalem. But like when the prophet Elijah was on this earth and fire came down from heaven and consumed the altar of the (0:19:00.0) prophets of Baal, John says the same thing will happen, and will consume the devil and defeat him. And at that point he is thrown into the lake of fire with the beast and the false prophet. So the first purpose of the millennium is to restrict Satan’s activity on the earth.
0:19:17.5
Secondly, is to reward and resurrect the saints of God. Look at me…or look with me in 20:4. John says, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. And I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life”—that's resurrection language—“and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. (0:20:00.0) This is the first resurrection”—John says—“Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”
0:20:18.5
Now, follow the premillennial understanding of the order of events in Bible prophecy. We are in the Church age. The next event on God’s prophetic calendar is an event known as the rapture of the Church. Paul talks about it in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. It's also mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. It'll happen in the twinkling of an eye. As fast as your eye blinks Jesus Christ will return for His saints, we will be raptured out of this earth. Then ushers in the seven-year tribulation period.
0:20:52.5
But what's happening with believers in Jesus Christ in heaven while all hell is breaking out on earth? Well, there are two judgments in the Bible. One know as the judgment seat of Christ; another one that Paul outlines…or John outlines in Revelation chapter 20, verses 11 through the end of the chapter known as the great white throne judgment. The great white throne judgment is the final judgment of all unbelievers. And it's a sobering, ominous scene that you can read there at the end of chapter 20. But the judgment seat of Christ is a judgment for believers that, I understand, happens during the tribulation period. While all this is happening on planet Earth, believers in Jesus Christ are going through a judgment, as it were. Not a judgment to determine whether we get into heaven. No. That's already bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ. But it's a judgment based upon our works since we became a follower of Jesus. It's a rewards ceremony. Think of it sort of kind of like a college or high school graduation. Everybody graduates from high school, right? Some graduate with honors, and some barely get by, right? And this is the judgment seat of Christ where, Paul describes it as, our works will be judged as gold, silver or precious stone, or wood, hay and stubble. And based upon that judgment, we will then come back with Christ and rule and reign with Him in the millennial kingdom.
0:22:31.6
So those of you who say, “Eh, I've got my fire insurance, I'm a believer, I'm going to heaven. Now I can just live like hell the rest of my life.” No, not exactly. As I've said for years, heaven will be heaven for everyone who is there by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it will be more heavenly for some, who faithfully served and who were rewarded with opportunities to rule and reign with Christ, starting in the millennial kingdom. This is why John said, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them those to whom the authority to judge was committed.” Do you know that Jesus said to His disciples, “You will judge angels”? There will be an authority given to the saints of God who reign with Jesus during the 1,000 years, an authority given to rule and to reign throughout His global kingdom, starting in Jerusalem and flowing all throughout the earth. So this is a time, the millennium, is to reward and to resurrect saints.
0:23:50.4
Now, in my book, Mysteries of the Afterlife, I talk about the seven resurrections of the dead. And there are seven from the time of Christ, you know, mentioned all throughout the whole New Testament. We're coming up to the sixth and seventh resurrection. But this resurrection…remember, there was a resurrection that happened at the rapture of the Church where the dead in Christ were raised first. These are all Church age believers…not Old Testament believers, not Daniel, not Abraham, all those…that are resurrected at the time of the rapture. Then we who are alive and remain are “caught up together in the air,” the Scripture says. The Church age believers will come back with Christ at the Second Coming, will go into the millennium with Him. But if you go to Daniel chapter 12, it also indicates that this is a time when Old Testament saints will also be raised, like, David and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all of them. In fact, I could take you to some millennium passages in the Old Testament that clearly suggest that King David will rise again from the dead and will reign with Jesus in Jerusalem. You ever heard of “David’s throne?” Okay? It's an amazing thing when you think about it. But this is a time when the saints of God will rise from the dead…in the Old Testament. Church age believers, Old Testament believers and those who were beheaded for their faith during the tribulation will also rise from the dead at this time and enter into the millennium, and reign and rule with Jesus Christ, rewarded according their faithfulness of service during their time on this earth. Are you following me so far?
0:25:34.6
Here's the third characteristic of it. It's to restrict Satan’s activity on the earth, to reward and resurrect the saints of God, and thirdly, it's to answer the Disciple’s Prayer. This is a simple one. Do you remember the Lord’s Prayer, better know as the Disciple’s Prayer? “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” What kingdom did Jesus teach His disciples to pray about? Well, again, there's a lot of debate about that. Is it a spiritual kingdom with Him reigning and ruling in our hearts? Yeah. Is it a literal kingdom in the future sometime, a 1,000 year reign? Yes. That's what theologians refer to as the “now but not yet” aspect of the kingdom. Okay? Yes, there's an aspect of the kingdom where Jesus is reigning and ruling in our hearts as believers in Jesus Christ. But don’t understand that to the exclusion of the future kingdom. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” was as much a prayer about the future millennial reign of Jesus Christ as it is His reign in our hearts in a present and spiritual kind of way. So this time mentioned in Revelation chapter 20 is to answer the Disciple’s Prayer as well.
0:26:57.6
Number 4, it's a time to redeem the creation. What do I mean by that? Well, if you're a student of the Bible, and especially of the book of Romans, you know that Romans describes the creation and the world, the earth in which we live, as in a state of groaning, groaning. The whole creation groans for its redemption. You ever get up in the morning and your body doesn't quite do what it used to do? And like me, you groan a little bit as you reach for that cup of coffee, or that little pick-me-up or whatever, you know, you do to get going in the morning. Well, all of creation is groaning. The whole animal kingdom is groaning. We don’t live in Eden, we don’t live in paradise. We live in paradise lost. And as beautiful as our world is, this ain't, this ain't paradise. So the Bible says that during the millennial reign of Christ, there will be aspects of the created order that will brought back into order.
0:28:06.9
Hold your place here in Revelation and turn with me to the book of Isaiah. We'll go to one of these 10 key millennium Bible passages in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 11, beginning in verse 6. This is a description from the Old Testament of this future millennial reign of Christ and how it affects the animal kingdom. Listen to this. “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain.”
0:29:04.6
Now, if you're a parent, you would never send your kid into the backyard to play with the snakes. Oh, not in today’s world. You wouldn't put a lion and a bear and a lamb in the same cage. But that's what P.T. Barnum used to do. Remember the big circus guy, Barnum & Bailey Circus? One of his great displays was a little cage where he’d put a lion and a tiger and bear and young goat, and people were like, “Wow. How can you do that, P.T. Barnum? How's that working for you?” And he says, “Well, works pretty good, except having to replace the lamb once in awhile.” Well, during the millennial reign the lion and the lamb will lay down together, because creation will be redeemed. It'll be brought back to its original order.
0:29:57.3
By the way this is also a time…and I don’t have time to go to the passages, but you can write this one down. This would be Zechariah 8:4-5. It'll be a time when lifespans increase dramatically. You see, to us 1,000 years is a long, long time, but before Noah’s flood, Methuselah lived over 900 years. Others lived for 700, 600, 800 years. But as sin got a deeper and deeper root into us and into our world lifespans began to reduce. During the millennium people will live much longer. In fact, a young child…if somebody dies at the age of 100, the Scripture says, he'll be considered a young child, that died in childbirth almost. It's amazing, amazing, these prophecies regarding the redemption of creation, and a movement back to the way times used to be.
0:31:07.9
Number 5, it's also a time to fulfill the prophets’ predictions and the promises of God. You know, the god of the Bible is a promise-making and promise-keeping God. Every promise He makes, he eventually keeps. And He made a lot of promises and predictions in the Old Testament. And He set a standard for Himself that a false prophet is anyone who gets, we'll, let’s say, 9.5 out of 10 of the prophecies right. No, God’s standard is 100%. So every promise that He made, say, to the nation of Israel, every prediction that He made, He'll make good on.
0:31:47.9
Let me just take you to one that I think you're familiar with. This is again in the book of Isaiah chapter 9. Around Christmastime do you remember hearing these words? Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”
0:32:36.7
We love to read that at Christmastime. But do you know the only portion of that Old Testament prediction that has anything to do with Bethlehem is the first couple of phrases. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” This is the now and not yet aspect of a lot of Bible prophecy. And it was hard for people in the Old Testament to differentiate between the two, because they read it just like I read it. And they thought Jesus’ first coming would establish the kingdom on this earth, the government of Christ on this earth. “Of the government, and of his increase, and of peace, there will be no end.” They were expecting the Messiah to come, overthrow the cruel Roman government and establish it then. The disciples were asking at the Ascension, “Is now the time?” ‘Cause they had read prophecies like this. But the part that says, “And the government will be upon his shoulder,” that's millennial language. For this to be fulfilled literally, and in its plain and normal sense, the millennial reign of Jesus Christ has to take place just like John describes for us in Revelation chapter 20. And listen to this. “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.”
0:33:59.6
This is the only time I'm a big government guy. It's when Jesus Christ is at the head of the government. Up until then, friends, God’s plan is for smaller nations and borders. Why? Because sinful man cannot be trusted with the globalization and the global rule of the earth. History shows leader after leader, dictator after dictator and despot coming along, many with false promises, wanting to globalize the earth. Nimrod tried to do that at the Tower of Babel, and the Lord looked at the wickedness of the human heart and said, “No. We got to scatter these people by the languages. We're gonna create nations and borders.” And that's how we do things now, but there's coming a time when Jesus Christ will have global reign and rule from Jerusalem. “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,” the Scripture says.
0:35:11.9
“On the throne of David.” This has been part of the expectation of the Jews for centuries. “Oh,” they in the New Testament, “when will David’s throne be established again in Israel?” Well this is the time, this is the time. “And over his kingdom, to establish it, to uphold with justice, with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.” No mention of 1,000 years. The duration of this golden age and this glorious time of Messianic rule and reign, the duration is revealed to us in Revelation chapter 20. 1,000 years, 1,000 years. When creation is redeemed, when length…lifespans are restored back. When the fertility of the earth…there are passages in the Old Testament that describe how the desert places will become fertile again. This earth will burst into peace and prosperity and fertility and joy and justice. The population on the earth will explode over 1,000 years, but because every square inch of the earth will be fertile, including the desert places, there’d no problem to provide food sources for the large populations on the earth during the millennial reign. It's an amazing time. Big subject in Scripture, not often understood by people in the Church today.
0:36:52.3
Number 6, it will be a time to gather Israel into the promise land. Let’s go back to Isaiah chapter 11 again, verses 11 and 12. “In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people”—a scattered remnant—“from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Back in Genesis chapter 12 God made a promise to a man named Abraham…Abram, at the time. And he said to Abram, who was 75 years of age and well into his retirement in the Ur of Chaldea, modern day Iraq…He said, “Come with me. I'm gonna show you a land. And I'm gonna make you a great nation, I'm gonna make you a great name, and you're gonna be a blessing to this earth. And those who bless you I will bless, and those who curse you I will curse.” Genesis 12:1-3. And from Abraham, 25 years later, came the promised child, Isaac, and the Hebrew nation was birthed. They became a great nation, Abraham became a great name. It was through Israel, through the Jewish line that Messiah came and was a blessing to the entire earth, because salvation is from the Jews. But there was a land component to that. A specific land with boundaries. Israel has never fully possessed the promise land. She will during the millennial reign, because God’s promises to Israel are, “Yes, and amen.”
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And just remember, a friend of Israel is a friend of God’s. United States of America has been blessed for many, many reasons through our 200-plus year history, but one of the reasons is, “I will bless those who bless you, I will curse those who curse you.” That promise is chiseled into stone in the Old Testament, and our relationship to Israel is vitally important…that we remain a friend of Israel. But God, God is a friend of the chosen people of Israel. And during the millennial time He will re-gather His nation from all the scattered places, and Israel for her first time will occupy the land that God gave to Israel back in Genesis chapter 12.
0:39:44.9
And then, finally, it's a time to demonstrate the righteous rule of Jesus Christ. One more time to Isaiah 11:1. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear”—now, verse 4—“but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.” This is describing the most perfect, benevolent, righteous, just ruler that will ever set foot on planet Earth to initiate His global kingdom. This root of Jesse that establishes the throne of David in Jerusalem, just like God promised He would. It's the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
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And you say, “So what, Pastor. How does that help me live tomorrow?” Well, two things. First, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, one day, one day you will face the judgment seat of Christ. Oh, yes, you're going to heaven. Bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. You're in. You got your fire insurance. But what's that…what's the heaven experience gonna be like for you? And we're not there yet. We're not even to the new heaven and the new earth yet. We're still on the old earth. Bu you're experience in the future new heaven and new earth, and my experience, will be directly related to that rewards ceremony. Will we be found faithful? Will we hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord. And by the way, I've given you this place to rule, and this place…I've given you this much authority because of how faithful you've been”? Oh, works don’t accomplish our salvation. “For by grace you were saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9. But 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” We're not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. And our works on this earth, as a believer in Jesus Christ, will be judged, and rewards will be handed out accordingly. That should give everyone of us in this room who name the name of Jesus Christ enough motivation to get after it on Monday morning. And to say, “Lord, how can I faithfully serve You today, so that when I stand before You one day, You say, “Well done good and faithful servant. Here’s your reward”?
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If you're not a believer in Jesus Christ, you're still investigating this thing called Christianity, well, you need to read on in Revelation chapter 20. Because as the saints who return with Jesus, and the Old Testament saints that are raised, and believers during the tribulation who lose their life are raised and go into the millennium, then what follows in verse 11 is the second judgment, known as the great white throne judgment. And I don’t have time to read it this morning, but it's a sobering read. It's where we come across that phrase, “the second death.” That's eternal separation from God forever in a place called hell, also known as the lake of fire. This is the time when the judge of all the earth reaches into Hades, that temporary holding tank for departed spirits, unbelieving spirits…reaches into Hades and grabs death itself, the devil, the dragon, the false prophet and all unbelievers and throws them into the eternal fire. And it's an ominous scene.
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So what do you do today with a message like this if you're not a believer in Jesus Christ? Well, you come to the cross. Come to that place where it's bought and paid for, free of charge, the forgiveness of your sins. “For by grace you are saved through faith.” Place your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Lock down your eternal home and the reality that you'll be entering into the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, while others who reject Him are heading off to the final judgment.
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That brings us to the end of chapter 20. Chapter 21, we're gonna learn about the new heaven and the new earth after the 1,000 year reign. And you thought today was an exciting ride through Bible prophecy. You ain't seen nothing yet. You just wait for the glorious description of the new heaven and the new earth, again, providing even more motivation for us to live faithfully as we follow the Lord Jesus Christ in this life. Or for those of you who are still skeptical or are still pushing back a little bit, today’s the day of salvation. Seek Him while you may be found…while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near. And today He is near. Today is the day for you to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, because in the twinkling of an eye it can all start. And all that we've been talking about for all these weeks and months, and all that is prophesied in the book of Revelation begins to unfold on planet Earth.
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