{"id":19014,"date":"2019-12-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-29T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-065-what-is-wrong-with-us-part-1\/"},"modified":"2019-12-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-29T06:00:00","slug":"revelation-065-what-is-wrong-with-us-part-1","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-065-what-is-wrong-with-us-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 065 – What is Wrong with Us? – Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19014","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 065 - What is Wrong with Us? - Part 1","sermon_date":"20191229","sermon_month":"12","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":7411,"sermon_slides":7416,"sermon_mp3":7418,"sermon_id":"12291915547797","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"20:4b-6","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nWhat is Wrong with Us?\u00a0 Part 1, Revelation 20:4b-6\n\nLesson 65\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take our Bibles if we could and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 20 and verse 4.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is What is Wrong with Us?\u00a0 Have\u00a0 you ever asked yourself that question, What is wrong with the human race?\u00a0 Well, God in our passage today is going to show us exactly what\u2019s wrong with us; it\u2019s a solution or a diagnosis I get that you\u2019re not going to get from the medical industry or the psychological industry or the educational establish\u00adment.\u00a0 It\u2019s the diagnosis about the human condition that comes directly from God Himself in the form of a lesson.\n\nWe are continuing our study through the Book of Revelation, that larger section of the Book, chapters 4-22, where John, on the island of Patmos was told to write down the things which will take place after these things, the futuristic vision, if you will, of the book.\u00a0 So we spent a lot of time moving from chapter 6 through chapter 19 which largely covers that time period. \u00a0It involves the events of the seven year tribulation period where various judgments have been poured out upon the earth, and praise the Lord we\u2019ve completed that section.\n\nSo now we\u2019re in a section of the book, really the final three or so chapters of the book where we get \u00a0a description of four things that are going to happen after the tribulation is over.\u00a0 Those are: number one, the kingdom.\u00a0 Number two, the great white throne judgment.\u00a0 Number three, the destruction of the present earth.\u00a0 And then number four, the replacement of the heavens and the earth with a new heaven and a new earth.\u00a0 If you look at our graph here and you\u2019ll see the second coming there, or second advent, you\u2019ll see it\u2019s sort of put together under a chart form, we\u2019ve got the second coming, the kingdom, the great white throne judgment.\u00a0 At that point the earth will be dissolved and then we will move into the eternal state, the new heavens and the new earth.\n\nSo what we are in today and last week and I\u2019m hoping to finish this today but how many times have \u00a0I said that and it never happened. If we don\u2019t finish it this week we\u2019ll continue next week, but we\u2019re dealing with the kingdom, the\u00a0 thousand year kingdom of Jesus Christ that will be established on planet earth when He comes back. \u00a0Are you looking forward to that?\n\nWe can divide this section up as follows: number one, we have The Great Chain, verses 1-3.\u00a0 Number two, The Great Reign, verses 4-6.\u00a0 And then number 3, The Great Revolt, verses 7-10.\u00a0 The first part deals with Satan.\u00a0 The second part deals with the saints, that\u2019s us.\u00a0 And the third part deals with sinners that are on the earth at the time and where the sinners came from will give you an explanation for that.\n\nSo we have looked at The Great Chain.\u00a0 We saw the prisoner, Satan, verses 1-2, being put into a prison, verse 3, called the abyss, the place of incarceration where he will not be able to deceive the nations for that thousand year time period, and he\u2019s put in that abyss for a thousand years. And the last time we were together and talking about this I tried to make the very radical case that one thousand means one thousand!\u00a0 It\u2019s not talking about something that\u2019s happening today, it\u2019s not talking about something that\u2019s happening within the church.\u00a0 It\u2019s talking about something that\u2019s going to happen following the return of Jesus Christ to the earth.\n\nRobert Thomas, who is very good in his commentary on the Book of Revelation says, \u201cno number in Revelation is verifiably a symbolic number.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, every number used you take if for what \u00a0it says; a thousand means a thousand, seven churches means seven churches, twenty-four elders means twenty-four elders, twelve thousand from each tribe means twelve thousand from each tribe, etc.\u00a0 [Robert Thomas, Revelation 8 to 22: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), 408.<\/em>]\n\nSo Satan is bound during this time period.\u00a0 And then what begins to be described is the great reign concerning the saints, and that great reign involves two things.\u00a0 Number one, the resurrection of the just, the first part of verse 4.\u00a0 And number two, the rule of the just, the second part of verse 4 into verse 6.\u00a0 That is beginning to describe, at least that second one there, our future in Christ.\n\nThe last time you remember that we took a look at the resurrection of the just and we read these words: \u201cAnd they came to life.\u201d\u00a0 Now this is a description of the final phase of the resurrection program.\u00a0 Paul, when he talked about the resurrection analogizes it to Israel\u2019s harvest\u00a0 cycle.\u00a0 Just as the Jews collected the harvest in three waves in the same way the resurrection for the righteous will take place in three ways.\u00a0 Number one, you have Jesus who rose from the dead two thousand years ago; that\u2019s what we call firstfruits.\u00a0 Just as firstfruits guaranteed in the harvest cycle, the general harvest, Christ\u2019s resurrection guarantees our resurrection.\u00a0 And I hope that makes you joyful as you move into 2019 because your destiny in Christ is to receive a resurrected glorified body without all of the aches and pains that you are currently experiencing in your current body.\n\nSo His resurrection guarantees the other resurrections.\u00a0 And then there was a second harvest that came in called the general harvest.\u00a0 You can study all of this in the Old Testament.\u00a0 And then the Jews were specifically told not to harvest everything in the general harvest but to leave some for the poor and that third harvest for the poor was called the gleanings.\u00a0 So just as Israel\u2019s harvest cycle took place in phases the resurrection unto life for the believer has three phases to it.\n\nNumber one, Jesus rose from the dead, that\u2019s firstfruits.\u00a0 Number two, the general harvest is the rapture of the church.\u00a0 The rapture of the church is for the church age believer, that would be people living on the earth even today if this should happen in our lifetime.\u00a0 Everyone that\u2019s trusted in Christ from the day of Pentecost to the rapture, that\u2019s part of its \u201cnew man\u201d called the church of the body of Christ.\u00a0 We receive our resurrected bodies at the point of the rapture which precedes the tribulation period.\n\nBut then you have a question, what about those people that get saved after the church is gone, in the tribulation period itself?\u00a0 And for that matter, what about people that were saved before the church age started, Old Testament saints, Daniel, Noah, Abraham, etc.\u00a0 When are they going to be resurrected?\u00a0 That\u2019s what we\u2019re reading about here in Revelation 20:4.\u00a0 It says, \u201c\u2026and they came to life\u201d and now that third phase in this cycle has been accomplished as tribulation martyrs that are described in the prior verse have come to life and are in resurrected bodies.\u00a0 Daniel 12:2 tells us that Old Testament saints will be resurrected at this particular time period.\n\nHere\u2019s what the whole thing looks like if you\u2019re interested. The Bible, all the way back in Daniel 12:2 predicted that there would be two resurrections, a resurrection for the righteous, the resurrection for the unbeliever.\u00a0 And when you factor all of the data in we learn that the resurrection unto life for the believer has three parts to id: Christ\u2019s resurrection, firstfruits; the general harvest, that\u2019s our resurrection at the rapture.\u00a0 And then there is the gleanings, that\u2019s the resurrection that we\u2019re reading about here of Old Testament saints and tribulation martyrs \u201cand they came to life.\u201d\n\nNow one of the things that sort of occurred to me as I was driving in today and asking the Lord to help me explain some of these complicated issues is I started to think well, people are going to think that we believe in soul sleep.\u00a0 In other words, the soul just becomes unconscious and waits for its final resurrection and that also is not what the Bible teaches.\u00a0 Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:8, \u201cto be absent from the body is to be\u201d what? \u201cpresent with the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 He also said in Philippians 1:21-23, \u201cFor to me, to live is Christ and to die is\u201d what? \u201cgain.\u201d He said it would actually be better for me to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.\u00a0 [Philippians 1:22, \u201cBut if I am<\/em> to live on<\/em> in the flesh, this will mean<\/em> fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. [23] But I am hard-pressed from both directions,<\/em> having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that<\/em> is very much better;\u201d]\n\nSo as people die and await their resurrected body their soul, if they are a believer, goes into the presence of the Lord.\u00a0 So their conscience, they\u2019re alive.\u00a0 It\u2019s very much like the conciseness and aliveness that we have right here and now.\u00a0 Those that are in the presence of the Lord awaiting their resurrected body are very much alive, they just aren\u2019t in a state where their resurrected body has not yet been given to them.\n\nAnd then there will be a terrible resurrection (which we\u2019ll see a little bit later) for unbelievers; that is a resurrection for all unbelievers of all ages and let me tell you this,\u00a0 unbelievers right now are in a state of consciousness also.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see it very clearly described in Luke 16:19-31 where the rich man wanted Lazarus to go back and warn his brothers.\u00a0 And he wanted the moisture applied to his tongue.\u00a0 That describes consciousness as unbelievers one day will be taken out of that terrible place called Hades also put in resurrected bodies and as their names are not found written in the Lamb\u2019s Book of Life they will be transported at the Great White Throne Judgment from Hades into a terrible place called the lake of fire.\n\n[Luke 16:19-31, \u201cNow there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. [20] And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, [21<\/a>] and longing to be fed with the crumbs<\/em> which were falling from the rich man\u2019s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. [22] Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham\u2019s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. [23] In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. [24] And he cried out and said, \u2018Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.\u2019 [25] But Abraham said, \u2018Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. [26] And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here \u00a0to you will not be able, and that<\/em> none may cross over from there to us.\u2019 [27] And he said, \u2018Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father\u2019s house\u2014[28] for I have five brothers\u2014in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.\u2019 [29] But Abraham said, \u00a0\u2018They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.\u2019 [30] But he said, \u2018No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!\u2019 [31] But he said to him, \u2018If they do \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.\u2019\u201d]\n\nThis why trusting in Christ now is so important because it determines which resurrection that you will participate in.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have Christ the only thing you have to look forward to is that terrible resurrection for the unbeliever.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re in Christ we look forward to that future resurrection where we will be with Him in resurrected bodies.\u00a0 Paul, it\u2019s interesting that when he lays out this concept of resurrection sequences doesn\u2019t just use imagery from Israel\u2019s harvest cycle but he says this in verse 23 of 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter.\u00a0\u00a0 He says, \u201cBut each in his own order:\u201d The Greek word for order there is tagma<\/em>, and many people believe, myself included, that he is analogizing the resurrection program to a Roman parade.\n\nIt\u2019s interesting that when he uses \u201cfirst fruits\u201d he\u2019s using a Jewish analogy but when he uses tagma<\/em> he\u2019s using a Gentile analogy.\u00a0 Here\u2019s an analogy that\u2019s Gentiles can understand just as I just previously used an analogy that the Jews can understand.\u00a0 And tagma<\/em> refers to a Roman parade, when the Romans conquered a city or a people group or when they won a victory or a battle they had a parade.\u00a0 The parade had four stages to it, everybody that was reading Paul and reading his words would understand these stages because it was part of their culture.\u00a0 There was the conquering general out front in the parade as the victor, followed\u00a0 by the lead officer, followed by the soldiers that were victorious in battle.\u00a0 And then at the end of the parade were those that\u00a0 had been captured, the captives in chains or cages or whatever the case may be.\n\nAnd so when Paul says \u201ceach in his own order\u201d he\u2019s saying just as a Roman parade has an order to it the resurrection program has an order to it.\u00a0 The conquering general out front is Jesus Christ; His resurrection two thousand years ago which guarantees all the other resurrections in the chain.\u00a0 And then the lead officer would represent the rapture of the church.\u00a0 The body of Christ receiving resurrected bodies at that particular point in time, before the events of the tribulation period take place.\u00a0 That\u2019s your resurrection, by the way, if you\u2019re in Christ.\n\nAnd the soldiers would represent the Old Testament saints and the tribulation martyrs coming to life.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s described there in Revelation 20:4.\u00a0 [Revelation 20:4, \u201cThen I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 And then finally the captives, that\u2019s the terrible resurrection that we\u2019re going to be reading about that takes place after the thousand years are over for the unbelievers of all ages.\u00a0 And so you see all of that, believe it or not, in verse 4.\n\nBut notice what verse 4 says, it goes on and it says \u201cthey not only came to life but they reigned with Christ for\u201d how long? \u201ca thousand years.\u201d\u00a0 The phrase \u201ca thousand \u00a0years\u201d is used six times just in these ten verses.\u00a0\u00a0 So not only has there been the last phase of the resurrection for the righteous but now the righteous, which would be me, which would be you, which would be members of the church, which would also be Old Testament saints, and tribulation martyrs, are not just in resurrected bodies but they are ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ, with Satan bound, for a thousand years.\u00a0 That\u2019s \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0our future in God.\u00a0 And this future is hinted at many times in the teachings given earlier by Jesus.\u00a0 Remember what He said in Revelation 3:21 to the overcomers.\u00a0 I\u2019m understanding the overcomer is \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a believer.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 3:21]\n\nJesus, when He ascended to the Father\u2019s right hand following the ascension is on his Father\u2019s throne, but one of these days He\u2019s going to be on His own throne, as He\u2019s going to be transported from heaven to the earth in His second coming.\u00a0 And He will rule over the nations of the earth from Jerusalem on His own throne for a thousand\u00a0 years.\u00a0 And what He says here is if you are an over\u00adcomer, in other words a believer, and you say well how did you get overcome to become believer?\u00a0 We went through all of that but just jot down 1 John 5:4-5 and you\u2019ll see this as clearly as it can be spelled out, an overcomer is a believer.\u00a0 [1 John 5:4-5, \u201c1 John 5:4\u20135<\/strong> 4 For whatever is 1<\/strong> a born of God b overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world\u2014our faith. [5] Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who a believes that Jesus is the Son of God?\u201d]\n\nJust as I am now seated on My Father\u2019s throne a day in history will come where I will sit on My throne and those overcomers that were believers will also be sitting down with Me on My throne when I rule the world for a thousand years.\u00a0 So if you are in Christ there is a throne in your future.\u00a0 He called us in Revelation 1:6 \u201ca kingdom of priests\u201d more on that later, but He was very clear in Revelation 5:10 that what privilege is it to be a kingdom of priests.\u00a0 [Revelation 1:6, \u201cand He has made us to be<\/em> a kingdom, priests to His God and Father\u2014to Him be<\/em> the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen]\n\nHe says in Revelation 5:10, \u201cYou have made them\u201d that\u2019s us, \u201cto be<\/em> a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign\u201d where?\u00a0 \u201c upon the earth.\u201d\u00a0 So part of your status as a priest in Jesus Christ is the\u00a0 future authority that you will wield in this thousand year kingdom under His delegated authority.\u00a0 And so everything that\u2019s happening in your life right now is preparing you for that position.\u00a0 You know, you go through the Joseph story and you look at all of the things that Joseph went through from age 17 to age 30, until finally at age 30 he was elevated to second in command in Egypt.\u00a0 And you read about these things that happened to this young teenager, and you know the story, his betrayal and abuse and mistreatment, and I can tell you this, that everything that God allowed to happen to Joseph was preparing him for age 30 when he would be elevated to his position.\n\nSo everything that\u2019s happening in our lives right now, good or bad, and by the way, we shouldn\u2019t misquote the Bible, many people misquote the Bible and they think it says \u201call things are good.\u201d\u00a0 That is NOT what the Bible says.\u00a0 What the Bible says is God uses all things together for good to those who are called according to His purposes.\u00a0 [Romans 8:28, \u201cAnd we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His<\/em> purpose.\u201d]\u00a0 Many of you are having things happening in your life that are not good, yet God is using them for good to prepare you for your future and your future is to reign under the delegated authority in Jesus Christ for a thousand years.\u00a0 As one person put it, training time for reigning time.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s happening today.\u00a0 And so how important it is to never lose sight of the future that God has for us.\n\nThe Corinthians had lost sight of their future.\u00a0 They were suing each other in front of unbelieving judges and discrediting the gospel in the process, and Paul writes to them and says in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3.\u00a0 He says, \u201cOr do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute<\/em> the smallest law courts? [3] Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?\u201d\u00a0 He says to the Corinthians look,\u00a0 you\u2019re fighting, you\u2019re backbiting, you\u2019re squabbling, and you\u2019re really not acting like the royal priesthood that you are.\u00a0 And you\u2019re really not acting like people that have this tremendous future.\n\nHe says here, \u201cdo you now know,\u201d it\u2019s an ignorance issue.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t aware, for some reason, of their future.\u00a0 And isn\u2019t it interesting that the more time\u00a0 you spend thinking out your future in God the more it shapes your behavior in the present.\u00a0 And if I\u2019m going to rule alongside Jesus one day as a wise person maybe I ought to start acting like a wise person now.\u00a0 And maybe, you know, well, so and so did this to me and so and so did that to me; well, given your future maybe you ought to just let it go and not be bitter or antagonistic or whatever the issue is going on.\u00a0 Whatever issue is happening in\u00a0 your life tempting you to go back to the sin nature why don\u2019t you make that a New Year\u2019s resolution for 2020?.\u00a0 I\u2019m just going to let it go, I\u2019m not going to be so retaliatory, I\u2019m not going to be so mean spirited about things because what do I have to be mean spirited about, given this glorious future that I have in Jesus Christ.\n\nAnd so the world one day is not going to be like it is today.\u00a0 Today the Christian is not ruling and reigning; we are under the thumb of the adversary.\u00a0 Jesus told us in John 15:18-19 concerning this world system, He says, \u201c\u201cIf the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated<\/em> you. [19]\u00a0<\/sup>If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.\u201d\n\nWell gee, pastor, I\u2019m just not getting along well with my family, I had all these family members over for the holidays and I just couldn\u2019t get along with them.\u00a0 And my question is well you surprised by that?\u00a0 Well, gee, I\u2019m working at this job over here and I\u2019m the only believer in the whole place and I just am always\u2026\u00a0 you know, I just don\u2019t really fit in with everybody.\u00a0 Does that surprise\u00a0 you?\u00a0 Jesus told us this would happen and it wouldn\u2019t be reversed until He established His kingdom on the earth.\n\nIn fact, in the present age the Bible makes\u00a0 you a promise.\u00a0\u00a0 You ready for this, and this is not one\u00a0 of those promises that you find at the Christian bookstores, you buy these little books today and they give you all the happy promises, which are fine to read but here\u2019s a promise from God to you, to me, in this present age.\u00a0\u00a0 You ready for this!\u00a0 It\u2019s a promise, it\u2019s iron clad.\u00a0 2 Timothy 3:12, \u201cIndeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s your promise.\u00a0 You ay will that\u2019s the most pessimistic thing I\u2019ve ever heard. [laughter]\u00a0 But the reality of the situation is that promise is temporary.\u00a0 It\u2019s about to be reversed once the kingdom is established.\n\nAnd not only does the resurrection of the righteous happen but now the reign of the righteous for a thousand years is taking place and let me tell you something.\u00a0 What a reign it\u2019s going to be.\u00a0 Revelation 20:1-10 just tells you the length of it and adds a few details but if you really want to understand this reign and kingdom that\u2019s coming you have to give yourself to the Old Testament, in particular the Old Testament prophets because they fill in great details that you don\u2019t find here in Revelation 20.\u00a0 There\u2019s coming a government on the earth that\u2019s going to be established by God where God is not going to sit around and be worried about the electoral college, the latest opinion polls, oh no, they might vote me out of office.\u00a0 NO, it\u2019s a kingdom established by God, Daniel 2:44.\u00a0 [Daniel 2:44, \u201cIn the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that<\/em> kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.\u201d]\n\nAnd it\u2019s going to last forever because the thousand years is going to give way to the eternal state which will never end.\u00a0 Daniel 7:27.\u00a0 [\u201cThen the sovereignty, the dominion and the great\u00adness of all<\/em> the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be<\/em> an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.\u2019\u201d Daniel 9:27]\n\nIt\u2019s a time period where Jesus will rule directly, Zechariah 9:9-10, the direct rule of Christ present, Christ physically, visibly seated in Jerusalem, running planet earth with a rod of iron.\u00a0 [Zechariah 9:9-10, \u201cRejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!\u00a0 Shout in triumph<\/em>, O daughter of Jerusalem!\u00a0 Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.\u00a0 [10] \u00a0<\/sup>I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off.\u00a0 And He will speak peace to the nations; and His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.\u201d]\n\nPeople today are conspiring and scheming about a new world order that they want to build.\u00a0 Don\u2019t \u00a0sign me up for that new world order, I have no interesting in participating in that new world order.\u00a0 \u00a0The only new world order I have any interest in participating in is the one that Jesus ministers directly.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to minister it from the earth, Zechariah 14:9.\u00a0 [Zechariah 14:9, \u201cAnd the Lord will be \u00a0\u00a0king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only<\/em> one, and His name the only<\/em> one.\u201d]\n\nAll of Israel\u2019s promises regarding land and prominence are going to be fulfilled, Genesis 15:18-21, Isaiah 29:22-23.\u00a0 [Genesis 15:18-21, \u201cOn that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, \u201cTo your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: [19] \u00a0<\/sup>the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite [20] \u00a0<\/sup>and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim [21] \u00a0<\/sup>and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Isaiah 29:22-23, \u201cTherefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: \u201cJacob shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;\u00a0 [23] But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, they will sanctify My name; indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.\u201d]\n\nEven there will be a functioning of a millennial temple, Ezekiel 40-46.\u00a0 Even David himself will be raised and will rule under the authority of Jesus, Jeremiah 30:9.\u00a0 It will be a rule of righteousness, no grafts, no kickbacks.\u00a0 [Jeremiah 30:9. \u201cBut they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.\u201d] \u00a0\u00a0Isaiah 9:6-7, the curse will be dramatically curtailed. [Isaiah 9:6-7 \u00a0the curse will be dramatically curtailed.\u00a0 \u201cFor a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. [7] There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness.\u201d]\n\nIsaiah 65:20-22 peace will break out all over the earth.\u00a0 [Isaiah 65:20-22, \u201cNo longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few<\/em> days, or an old man who does not live out his days; for the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought<\/em> accursed.\u00a0 [21] They will build houses and inhabit them<\/em>; they will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.\u00a0 [22] They will not build and another inhabit, they will not plant and another eat; for as the lifetime of a tree, so will be<\/em> the days of My people, and My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.\u201d]\n\nWar is just sort of a curious thing that the nations used to do. Isaiah 2:4.\u00a0 [Isaiah 2:4, \u201cAnd He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.\u00a0 Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.\u201d]\n\nProsperity, Amos 9:13-14, Isaiah 65:22.\u00a0 [Amos 9:113-14, <\/strong>\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBehold, days are coming, declares the Lord, \u201cWhen the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; when the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved.\u00a0 [14] Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them<\/em>; they will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit.\u201d]\u00a0 No unemployment, under employment, layoffs, starvation, malnutrition, changes in the topography of the earth, Ezekiel 47:1-12, to such an extent that even the Dead Sea is going to come back to life biologically.\n\n[Ezekiel 47:1-12, \u201cThen he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. [2] He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate<\/em> that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.\u00a0\u00a0 [3] \u00a0<\/sup>When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching<\/em> the ankles. [4] Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching<\/em> the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water<\/em>, water reaching<\/em> the loins. [5] Again he measured a thousand; and it was<\/em> a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough<\/em> water to swim in, a river that could not be forded. [6] He said to me, \u201cSon of man, have you seen this<\/em>?\u201d Then he brought me back to the bank of the river.\n\n[7] \u00a0<\/sup>Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were<\/em> very many trees on the one side and on the other. [8] Then he said to me, \u201cThese waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea<\/em> become fresh. [9] It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the other <\/em>become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. [10] \u00a0<\/sup>And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to Eneglaim there will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many. [11]\u00a0<\/sup>But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. [12] \u00a0<\/sup>By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of<\/em> trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.\u201d]\n\nAnd then Isaiah 65:24 talks about immediate answers to prayer.\u00a0 Gone are the days where we pray and we get no answer because many times we pray outside of the will of God.\u00a0 Before the very words are out of our mouth God will answer that prayer, Isaiah 65:24.\u00a0 [Isaiah 65:24, \u201cIt will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.\u201d]\n\nWell gee, pastor, this is great teaching, is this really orthodox?\u00a0 I mean, is this really what Christians believe, because I just went to a church down the street and the pastor over there gave me a totally different way of thinking about it...\u00a0 and you\u2019re very literal in the way you approach this and I just don\u2019t know if you\u2019re right.\n\nNotice Justin Martyr who wrote in A.D. 160, this would be the first two centuries of the church. He says, \u201cBut I and every other completely orthodox Christian feel certain\u201d not maybe it\u2019s going to happen, \u201cthat there will be a resurrection of the flesh,\u201d we just talked about that, \u201cfollowed by a thousand years in the rebuilt and embellished and enlarged city of Washington D.C.\u201d it doesn\u2019t say that, \u201ccity of Jerusalem as was announced by the prophet Ezekiel\u201d we just read some of his prophecies, \u201cand Isaiah and the others.\u201d\n\nJustin Martyr in the first two centuries of the church concerning this future kingdom said we all believe it and if you don\u2019t believe it you\u2019re not even considered an orthodox Christian.\u00a0 Well wait a minute pastor, this future kingdom, I don\u2019t see it in the Nicene Creed, I don\u2019t see it in the Apostles Creed, I mean if this is so clear how come it doesn\u2019t show up in the great ecumenical creeds of the church?\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to write a creed on everybody believes the same thing.\u00a0 There\u2019s no need for a creed; there\u2019s no need for a confession.\u00a0 You only write a creed when a heretic comes in and challenges something in Christianity.\n\nThat\u2019s what this man, Arius did, who began his day that Jesus was a created being, which is basically what the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses will say to you at your door, not if they come but when they come, they\u2019ll try to argue that Jesus was not eternally existent, Jesus is a created being, and what they\u2019re doing is they\u2019re recycling the heresies of Arius.\u00a0 And so the creed of Nicea, when it says, it has a clause in it, \u201cbegotten and not made\u201d was designed to correct the Arian heresy.\u00a0 That\u2019s why creeds exist.\u00a0 But in the first two centuries of the church there was nobody challenging this, everybody believed this to a man, that\u2019s why this doctrine of the kingdom doesn\u2019t show up in the great creeds and confessions of the faith which are designed to challenge heretics.\n\nAnd so everybody believed this for two hundred years; it wasn\u2019t until Augustine in the fourth century that introduced sort of a non-spiritual method of interpretation that the idea got challenged.\u00a0 But pre-Augustine the first two centuries of Christianity, whether it\u2019s Justin Martyr or any church father\u00a0 you want to summon and read their writings all believed exactly what I\u2019m saying, Jesus is coming back, His feet are going to touch the Mount of Olives, He\u2019s going to establish a kingdom for a thousand years, Satan will be bound, the Old Testament prophecies will reach their fulfillment and the resurrected righteous will reign under the delegated authority of Jesus Christ for a thousand years.\u00a0 And if you don\u2019t believe that for two centuries then we might as well say you\u2019re not even a Christian.\n\nWe continue on and it talks this way in verse 5, \u201cThe rest of the dead\u201d now who would those be?\u00a0 Unbelievers! Where are they?\u00a0 They\u2019re in Hades a place of conscious torment, awaiting their future resurrected bodies because they\u2019ll be resurrected to, only to experience the wrath of God in that resurrected body.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.\u201d\u00a0 So this terrible resurrection for the unsaved is not going to happen for a thousand years; there\u2019s a thousand year time period between the last days of the resurrection for the righteous and the resurrection for the unrighteous.\u00a0 Paul, the apostle, you remember, uses the word tagma<\/em>, each in his own order, and part of the order was the captives.\u00a0 Who are the captives?\u00a0 The unsaved of all ages.\u00a0 When are they going to be resurrected?\u00a0 At the end of this thousand\u00a0 year time period.\n\nSo isn\u2019t it interesting that when Daniel describes these resurrections he doesn\u2019t give you an indication that there\u2019s a thousand years between them.\u00a0 Daniel simply says, \u201cMany of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.\u201d\u00a0 [Daniel 12:2] \u00a0You\u2019ll notice that Daniel doesn\u2019t tell you that there\u2019s a thousand years between those two resurrections; you have to consult the Book of Revelation to get that information, which is exactly how Bible prophecy works, because Daniel himself could not see many things between the mountain peaks.\u00a0 We might analogize Bible prophecy to this: you look into the distance and you see a mountain.\u00a0 And the more closer to you you see another mountain that\u2019s slightly lower that\u2019s slightly lower in terms of height and so you can see those two mountains but what can you not see?\u00a0 You can\u2019t see the valley in between the mountains.\n\nYou see, Daniel could see the two resurrections but he couldn\u2019t see the thousand years between those two resurrections.\u00a0 Bible prophecy does this over and over again.\u00a0 In fact, this was on all of your Christmas cards, was it not, Isaiah 9:6-7, \u201cFor a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us\u2026.\u201d and we all know what that\u2019s talking about, right?\u00a0 The first advent of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 No problem.\u00a0 But then you read the next sentence and it says, \u201cand the government will rest on His shoulders;\u201d have you seen the people that are running our government today?\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\nAnd then it says\u00a0\u00a0 and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.\u00a0 And then it says, [7] \u201cThere will be no end to the increase of His<\/em> government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. [The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.\u201d]\u00a0 And the temptation you have is just go to verse 7 and you say well, it\u2019s not literal. Well then why is verse 6 literal?\u00a0 I mean, if verse 6 is literal, it\u2019s on all of our Christmas cards so it\u2019s got to be literal, \u201ca child will be born to us\u201d why wouldn\u2019t everything else in the passage be literal as well?\n\nIsaiah could see the two comings of Christ but he couldn\u2019t see the valley between the two comings of Christ but he couldn\u2019t see the valley between the two comings.\u00a0 Isaiah 61:1-2, Jesus actually quotes this in the Synagogue at Nazareth.\u00a0 He quotes verse 1 and He quotes verse 2 but He left something out, \u201cthe day of vengeance of our God.\u201d\u00a0 [Isaiah 61:1-2, \u201cThe Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives and]<\/sup>freedom to prisoners;\u00a0 [2] \u00a0<\/sup>To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord \u00a0and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.\u201d]\n\nYou\u2019ll see the quote in Luke 14:16-21.\u00a0 [Luke 14:16-21, \u201c\u00a0<\/sup>But He said to him, \u201cA man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; [17]\u00a0<\/sup>and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, \u2018Come; for everything is ready now.\u2019 [18]\u00a0<\/sup>But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, \u2018I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.\u2019 [19]\u00a0<\/sup>Another one said, \u2018I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.\u2019 [20] \u00a0<\/sup>Another one said, \u2018I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.\u2019 [21]\u00a0<\/sup>And the slave came back<\/em> and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, \u2018Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.\u2019\u201d]\n\nHe quotes verse 1, he quotes most of verse 2 but then he leaves out \u201cthe day of vengeance of our God;\u201d why would he leave that out?\u00a0 And then he says in the Luke passage, \u201cToday, the Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.\u201d\u00a0 [Luke 4:21] \u00a0Well why would he leave out the last clause there?\u00a0 Because that last clause relates not to His first coming but His second coming.\n\nWell why doesn\u2019t Isaiah just tell us that between, right in the middle of verse two is a comma that\u2019s going to last two thousand years?\u00a0 Why doesn\u2019t Isaiah tell us that?\u00a0 Because Isaiah couldn\u2019t see it, that\u2019s why.\u00a0 You have to consult subsequent revelation to fit all of this together.\u00a0 It\u2019s just like a jigsaw puzzle, you\u2019ve seen jigsaw puzzles no doubt this holiday season, some of\u00a0 your kids or grandkids got jigsaw puzzles, maybe you got one yourself.\u00a0 And those are a lot of f un as long as you\u2019ve got the box top that tells you what the picture looks like. They\u2019re miserable if you have no idea what the picture looks like.\u00a0 But you look at the box top and you figure out what it\u2019s supposed to look like and oh yeah, this piece fits here, and this piece fits over there and if you put a little energy into it you can put the whole thing together by consulting the box top.\n\nWhat\u2019s your box top?\u00a0 This is your box top, you\u2019ve got a completed canon and you can look back and tell okay, that applies to the first coming, that over there applies to the second coming.\u00a0 In fact, there\u2019s a gap right in the middle of Daniel 2:40-41, right in the middle of the ankles and the feet is at least two thousand six hundred years.\u00a0 [Daniel 2:40-41, \u201cThen there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. [41]\u00a0<\/sup>In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter\u2019s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay.\u201d]\n\nThere\u2019s a gap right in the middle of Daniel chapter 7:7.\u00a0 [Daniel 7:7, \u201cAfter this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.\u201d]\n\nThere\u2019s a gap right between Daniel 9:26 and Daniel 9:27.\u00a0 [Daniel 9:26-27, \u201cThen after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come<\/em> with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. [27]\u00a0<\/sup>And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of [<\/sup>e<\/sup><\/u><\/a>]<\/sup>abominations will come<\/em> one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.\u201d]\n\nThere\u2019s a gap right in the middle of Daniel 11:35 and Daniel 11:36.\u00a0 [Daniel 11:35-36, \u201cSome of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them pure until the end time; because it is<\/em> still to come<\/em> at the appointed time.\u00a0 [36] \u201cThen the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.\u2019]\n\nDaniel could see these two great resurrections but he really couldn\u2019t see the thousand years between them.\u00a0 So we have to consult the Book of Revelation which makes us aware of this thousand\u00a0 year time period.\u00a0 The resurrection of the righteous, the final phase of it has been accomplished and fulfilled; the righteous are ruling and reigning alongside Jesus Christ in their glorified bodies.\u00a0 All of the prophecies that God said would happen in the kingdom are happening for a thousand years.\u00a0 Satan is not even around to bother anybody.\u00a0 But when the thousand years are over the unrighteousness, currently in a place called Hades, a place of conscious torment are summoned and brought forth, and stand before the Lord in resurrected bodies to have their trial at what is called the Great White Throne Judgment, Revelation 20:11-15.\n\n[Revelation 20:11-15, \u201cThen I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12]\u00a0<\/sup>And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book<\/em> of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. \u00a0[13]\u00a0<\/sup>And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them<\/em> according to their deeds. [14] \u00a0<\/sup>Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] \u00a0<\/sup>And if anyone\u2019s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.\u201d]\n\nVerse 5 continues, it says, \u201cThe rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed; this is the first resurrection.\u201d\u00a0 Now we have a lot of people today that deny the rapture. There will be no rapture they say!\u00a0 There will be no rapture of the church where the church receives resurrected bodies before the seven year tribulation period even starts.\u00a0 And why would they say that?\u00a0 Because in verse 5 it says \u201cthe first resurrection.\u00a0 [\u201cThe rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.\u201d]\n\nAnd if the rapture has already taken place it wouldn\u2019t say the first resurrection, it would say the second resurrection.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to be very careful with this word \u201cfirst.\u201d\u00a0 First in the Bible doesn\u2019t mean first ever.\u00a0 Now in some contexts it can mean that but that\u2019s not what it means here because if this was the final phase of the resurrection unto life for the righteous tribulation saints, Old Testament saints, is the very first resurrection ever then who else never rose?\u00a0 The church never rose and Jesus never rose.\u00a0 Now we\u2019ve got a problem because if Jesus never rose you don\u2019t have Christianity.\u00a0 Christianity rises or falls according to the historical accounting of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.\n\nFirst here can\u2019t mean first ever because if it means first ever then you don\u2019t even have a resurrected Jesus. So first here, what does it mean?\u00a0 It means first in relationship to the terrible resurrection coming later, after the thousand years are over.\u00a0 It\u2019s first in a sequence of two, not first ever.\u00a0 It\u2019s like when my wife says, she texts me or calls me on the phone, she says I want you to run some errands for me, first I want you to go to pick up the laundry.\u00a0 Last I want you to go to the store and pick up whatever groceries.\u00a0 Now when she calls me and gives me those instructions I don\u2019t say to myself well, praise the Lord, once I go to the grocery store I\u2019ll never have to do it again because she\u2019s using last not last ever but last in relation to first.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 When she says I want you to pick up the laundry I don\u2019t say well, this is interesting, this is the first time in our whole marriage I\u2019ve ever picked up the laundry.\u00a0 Now if you talk to here she might think that\u2019s true but we won\u2019t go into that.\n\nIt\u2019s first and last in a sequence, you see that, not first ever.\u00a0 So he says, \u201cthe rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. \u00a0This is the first resurrection,\u201d the resurrection, the last phase of it, the soldiers and the gleanings have happened.\u00a0\u00a0 You already have been resurrected, you\u2019re returning with Jesus to rule and reign.\u00a0 The resurrection unto righteousness happened, it\u2019s been fulfilled.\u00a0 The only thing left if the terrible resurrection of the unrighteous which is going to take place one thousand years later.\n\nAnd we continue on and we come to verse 6 and notice what it says?\u00a0 \u201cBlessed\u201d now that\u2019s the Greek word makarios<\/em>, it\u2019s the same word used over and over again in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus will say \u201cBlessed are the peacemakers,\u201d etc.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same word.\u00a0 \u201cBlessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection;\u201d look at that word \u201choly.\u201d\u00a0 Did you know that\u2019s what you are in Christ.\u00a0 You\u2019re holy!\u00a0 You say well, you didn\u2019t see the family food fight we got into, and the cantankerous holiday spirit at our house this Christmas?\u00a0 You\u2019re looking at your holiness through the wrong grid.\u00a0 You don\u2019t look at it through your own self.\u00a0 If you spend your life looking at yourself all the time you\u2019re going to be very depressed.\n\nYou know, I watched all these self-empowerment type people and psychologists on TV and they\u2019re always talking about yourself, you\u2019ve got to get in touch with yourself, you\u2019ve got to be your better self, and they\u2019ve got a self magazine. And I\u2019m sitting there thinking that\u2019s the most depressing subject I could come to, I don\u2019t want to think about myself. What I want to think about is what Jesus transferred to me at the point of faith.\u00a0 His righteousness was transferred to me at the point of faith.\u00a0 God the Father looks at me as if I\u2019m just as righteous as His Son.\n\nYou say well pastor, I don\u2019t always act like it.\u00a0 Well what does that have to do with anything?\u00a0 It\u2019s a positional, legal reality.\u00a0 You say well shouldn\u2019t this affect our daily life?\u00a0 Yes it should; we ought to let our practice catch up with our position.\u00a0 I mean, if we\u2019re holy, and that\u2019s what it says right there, maybe I should act like it. But whether I act like it or don\u2019t act like it doesn\u2019t change the positional truth.\u00a0 It\u2019s a doctrine called the imputation, which means transfer.\n\nAnd it says this, \u201cBlessed\u201d makarios<\/em>, \u201cand holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection.\u201d\u00a0 Now I pointed out makarios, <\/em>Blessed because in the Book of Revelation there are seven beatitudes.\u00a0 You say well wait a minute, I thought those were in the Book of Matthew.\u00a0 They are, here\u2019s another set of seven.\u00a0 Is there anybody in here that does not want to be blessed, put your hand up.\u00a0 We all want to be blessed.\u00a0 And the Book of Revelation gives us seven blessings.\u00a0 Number one, it\u2019s all the word makarios<\/em>, Number one, Revelation 1:3.\u00a0 [Revelation 1:3, \u201cBlessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.\u201d]\n\nA blessing is promised upon the reader and the heeder of the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 If you\u2019ll read it and take it to heart God says you\u2019re blessed.\u00a0 I mean, you\u2019re blessed simply by showing up this morning and listening to this because it demonstrates that you take the Book of Revelation seriously.\u00a0 Number two, for those in the tribulation period there\u2019s a blessing upon the martyrs because if you die\u00a0 you\u2019re not under the oppression of the antichrist anymore, you\u2019re in the presence of who? God!\u00a0 Revelation 14:13.\u00a0 [Revelation 14:13, \u201cAnd I heard a voice from heaven, saying, \u201cWrite, \u2018 Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!\u2019\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d says the Spirit, \u201cso that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.\u201d]\n\nNumber three, there\u2019s a blessing upon those in the events of the Book of Revelation that are spiritually prepared for the coming of Christ.\u00a0 Revelation 16:15.\u00a0 [Revelation 16:15, \u201c(Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.)\u201d\u00a0 What gets you ready for the second coming of Christ?\u00a0 It is the holiness that is transferred to you at the point of faith.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have that holiness through imputation or transferred you don\u2019t have much to look forward to.\u00a0 But if you\u2019ve got that and you receive it by faith alone then you\u2019re blessed.\n\nNumber four, there is a blessing, makarios <\/em>pronounced upon those who are going to participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb.\u00a0 We read about that in Revelation 19:9 makarios<\/em> is used to describe those invited to that.\u00a0 [Revelation 19:9, \u201cThen he said to me, \u201cWrite, \u2018Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.\u2019\u201d And he said to me, \u201cThese are true words of God.\u201d]\u00a0 And by the way, if you\u2019re \u201cin Christ\u201d there\u2019s an invite in your inbox inviting you to that supper.\n\nNumber five I\u2019ll skip and go back to.\n\nNumber six, there\u2019s a blessing once again upon this time not just the reader of the Book of Revelation but someone who takes it seriously, a heeder, Revelation 22:7.\u00a0 [Revelation 22:7, \u201c\u2026Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.\u201d]\n\nNumber seven, there is a blessing promised upon those that are going to enter the eternal city.\u00a0 Revelation 22:14.\u00a0 [Revelation 22:14, \u201cBlessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.\u201d]\u00a0 And by the way, unlike the United States of America this city is going to have borders where not everybody is getting in.\u00a0 And what gets you in?\u00a0 The transferred righteousness of Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s your passport.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have the transferred righteousness of Christ you can\u2019t enter.\n\nAnd by the way, that city is going to be awesome.\u00a0 Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20 that \u201cour citizenship\u201d is where?\u00a0 \u201cin heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Philippians 3:20 \u201cFor our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;\u201d] \u00a0Why would he say that?\u00a0 It\u2019s the city that was in existence; I think it was in existence, I\u2019ll try to make this case, when Paul was on the earth.\u00a0 It\u2019s just not fit to come down yet because we live on a corrupted earth and a city like that wouldn\u2019t fit well on a corrupted earth.\u00a0 You\u2019re dealing with two things that don\u2019t go together.\u00a0 But one of these days this earth is going to be dissolved, Revelation 21:1 by fire, 2 Peter 3:10, by the way, that\u2019s where you put your global warming, 2 Peter 3:10.\u00a0 [Revelation 21:1, \u201cThen I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea..\u201d\n\n2 Peter 3:10, \u201cBut the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.\u201d]\n\nBy the way, that\u2019s where you put your global warming, everybody\u2019s worried about global warming. \u00a0Everybody is worried about global warming; people call the church and say do you believe in global warming.\u00a0 Yes we do, it\u2019s in 2\u00a0 Peter 3:10 where God takes this terrestrial ball and dissolves it by fire and replaces it with a new heavens and new earth, never marred or touched by sin.\u00a0 And now that city, which has been up there since the days of the Apostle Paul, at least can come down to that earth.\u00a0 And that\u2019s your eternal home.\u00a0 So there\u2019s a blessing pronounced upon people that will enter that city.\n\nNow what else could is there a blessing upon? \u00a0We skipped number five; you\u2019ll notice in verse 6 a blessing is pronounced upon the participants in the first resurrection.\u00a0 What does it say there in verse 6?\u00a0 \u201cBlessed\u201d makarios,<\/em> \u201cand holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection.\u201d\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Two reasons are given, both in verse 6.\u00a0 Number one, \u201cover these the second death has no power,\u201d you see, if\u00a0 you\u2019re part of the resurrection program of God and you are part of the resurrection unto righteousness yours is at the rapture; Old Testament saints and tribulation martyrs is at the beginning of the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 Then folks involved in that resurrection are considered blessed.\u00a0 Why\u201d\u00a0 Because the second death has no power over them.\n\nNow the first time the second death is mentioned in the Book of Revelation, it\u2019s mentioned in Revelation 2:11 where Jesus, speaking to one of the churches, I think this was Smyrna, said, \u201cHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes\u201d by the way, who\u2019s an overcomer?\u00a0 A believer. \u201cHe who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.\u201d\u00a0 And you don\u2019t get an explanation of what the second death is until you go over to Revelation 20:14.\u00a0 It says, \u201cThen death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.\u201d\n\nThe second death is the resurrection of the unrighteousness at the end of the thousand years and as they stand trial at what is called the Great White Throne Judgment they are transported from Hades into the lake of fire.\u00a0 It\u2019s not something that you\u2019d ever want to participate in; it\u2019s not something that you would anybody that you loved to participate in.\u00a0 In fact, that\u2019s the reason why evangelize people and share the gospel week after week, for the simple reason that we are trying to people out of\u00a0 the second death.\n\nHere\u2019s a little statement that has helped me over the years: \u201c If\u00a0 you\u2019re born once you\u2019ll die twice; if you\u2019re born twice you\u2019ll die once.\u201d\u00a0 Think about that, if I\u2019m born physically into the world but I\u2019ve never ever in my life trusted in Christ as my Savior what is my future exactly?\u00a0 Two deaths, physical and then eventually being cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.\n\nConversely, if I\u2019m born twice what does that mean?\u00a0 Born physically into the world but I\u2019ve received Christ as my Savior and I\u2019m born spiritually.\u00a0 We talked about that in our Christmas Eve message, regeneration, the new birth.\u00a0 The very worst thing that can happen to me is I can physically die and beloved, that might not even happen either because we could be the rapture generation.\u00a0 If we are, and I can\u2019t promise that we are, death is not in your future at all.\u00a0 But if we\u2019re not the rapture generation the very worst thing that can happen to you is physical death, \u201cto be absent from the body is to be\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cpresent with the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 And the lake of fire is not in your future at all.\u00a0 Luke 10:17 says this: this was Jesus sending out the seventy.\u00a0 \u201cThe seventy returned with joy, saying, \u201cLord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.\u201d\u00a0 Luke 10:20, Jesus responding, \u201cNevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Don\u2019t rejoice at the size of\u00a0 your house or the size of\u00a0 your ministry or your 401K plan which might be a 201K plan or whatever it is.\u00a0 Don\u2019t rejoice in the fact that you\u2019re a United States citizen.\n\nNow don\u2019t get me wrong, those are all things to rejoice in but that\u2019s not what Jesus says here.\u00a0 He says if you really want to rejoice in something rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven and that you have no part in this coming second death or lake of fire.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it says, verse 6, makarios<\/em>, \u201cBlessed is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power.\u201d\u00a0 Be joyful about that.\u00a0 Be joyful about your eternal position in Christ.\n\nAnd why else are those who participate in the first resurrection, why should they rejoice?\u00a0 What does it say?\u00a0 Why are they considered blessed?\u00a0 \u201cbut they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.\u201d\u00a0 See, if you participate in this first resurrection you\u2019re considered blessed for two reasons: (a) you\u2019ve got no place in the lake of fire.\u00a0 And number two, your status as a priest is about to be actualized; it\u2019s about to be fulfilled because when God made you a priest, and isn\u2019t interesting in the Old Testament not everybody could be a priest; you had to come from which line in the Old Testament?\u00a0 Levi, and only from Aaron\u2019s line within Levi, only those descending from Aaron within the tribe of Levi could be called priests.\u00a0 Is it not interesting that in the age of the church that we\u2019re all priests?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t He say that in Revelation 1:6, \u201cHe has made us to be a kingdom of priests.\u201d\n\nYou say well who cares?\u00a0 What\u2019s the big deal?\u00a0 Because your status as a priest gives you authority in the next age.\u00a0 Revelation 5:10 fills out the meaning of being a priest. \u201cYou have made them\u201d us, \u201cto be<\/em> a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will\u201d what? \u201creign\u201d the verb is future, the reigning is not now, the training is now, the training is in preparation for the reigning.\u00a0 But one of these days your status as a priest that you now have is about to be fulfilled, it\u2019s about \u00a0it\u2019s about to be actualized \u201cand you will reign\u201d where are you exactly going to reign from?\u00a0 Sitting on a cloud strumming a harp, right?\u00a0 That\u2019s NOT what the Bible says; \u201cthey will reign upon\u201d where? \u201cthe earth.\u201d\n\nWell why can\u2019t we reign upon the earth now?\u00a0 Because Satan hasn\u2019t been evicted yet.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the various judgments in the Book of Revelation are accomplishing. Satan\u2019s grip is being loosened over the planet, he\u2019s not evicted until Jesus comes back and puts him in a place called the abyss.\u00a0 Then Jesus will take His seat on David\u2019s throne, His thousand year kingdom will start, and you\u2019re a part of it.\u00a0 Why are you a part of it?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s what God has decreed, declared about you as a priest.\u00a0 And for two centuries of Christianity this is what they all taught and this is what they all believed, because it comes right out of the pages of God\u2019s Word.\n\nAnd then something happens at the end of this thousand years called the revolt, verses 7 through10.\u00a0 Revelation 5:7-10, \u201cAnd He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. [8] When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. [9] And they sang a new song, saying, \u201cWorthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men<\/em> from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.\u00a0 [10] \u201cYou have made them to be<\/em> a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.\u201d]\n\nThe adversary, verse 7, the apostasy, verse 8, the attack on the city of Jerusalem, verse9a, and finally the annihilation of Satan, 9b, second half of the verse into verse 10.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the part I was hoping to get to today.\u00a0 Everything we\u2019ve done thus far is introduction because the new people are saying what in the world is going on at this church?\u00a0 And our response is just hang with us a little bit and you\u2019ll get used to it.\u00a0 Because the title of this sermon is \u201cWhat is Wrong with Us?\u00a0 So obviously I can\u2019t talk about what\u2019s wrong with us without talking about this revolt.\u00a0 So the title of next week\u2019s sermon is going to be What is Wrong With Us, Part 2.\n\nBut the reality of the situation is\u2026 you know, one of the things I like about the Bible is it just is black and white!\u00a0 And the message today is what resurrection do you want to be part of?\u00a0 I frankly am \u201cthe path of least resistance\u201d kind of guy and I want to be in the resurrection where I\u2019m blessed.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want anything to do with that terrible resurrection at the end of the thousand years and what keeps me in resurrection A and in resurrection B is a simple word called BELIEVE.!\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s not believe that, it\u2019s believe in, you\u2019re believing in someone, Jesus who entered history, who stepped out of eternity into time to pay a price in His body for our sins that we could never pay.\u00a0 And then He, as firstfruits, rose from the dead 2,000 years ago, guaranteeing our resurrection as well.\n\nAnd He leaves humanity with the very simple message entrusted to the church: Trust in what I\u2019ve done for you!\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to fix yourself.\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to be better?\u00a0 Don\u2019t make your flesh try harder?\u00a0 Receive what I\u2019ve done as a gift.\u00a0 And you receive something as a gift from God only one way, which is to believe!\u00a0 Because the Book of Romans, chapter 4, verses 4 and 5 says, \u201cTo the one \u00a0who does not work but believes,\u201d did you catch that?\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTo the one\u00a0 who does not work but believes, \u2026 his faith is credited to him as righteousness.\u201d\u00a0 In other words,\u00a0 you\u2019re tied in to all of these glorious future promises, not by working for salvation but by receiving it as a gift by faith.\n\nWhen you receive Christmas cards or gave out Christmas cards you didn\u2019t give a gift to somebody of an expensive nature and then tell them\u00a0 you need to start making payments on it because that\u2019s not a gift.\u00a0 The moment\u00a0 you think you have to start making payments on what Jesus has done for you through too good works it loses its status as a gift.\u00a0\u00a0 We can\u2019t receive what we\u2019ve been talking about here through self effort.\u00a0 It\u2019s got to be received as a gift.\u00a0 And if a person won\u2019t receive it as a gift they don\u2019t participate.\n\nSo our exhortation as the Holy Spirit convicts people of their need to do this is to trust in what Jesus has done.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a matter of joining a church, walking an aisle, filling out a card, giving money, it\u2019s not a matter of a New Year\u2019s resolution, it\u2019s about trusting, which means relying upon what Jesus has done for you.\u00a0 And that\u2019s something that you can do now, even as I\u2019m speaking, in the quietness of your own heart as the Spirit places you under conviction through a moment of privacy between you and the Lord.\u00a0 It can happen right now.\u00a0 Your whole destiny can change.\u00a0 And if it\u2019s something you need more explanation on I\u2019m available after the service to talk.\n\nShall we pray.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for what we have in Christ and we\u2019re grateful for the future that we have in Christ and the promises that we have.\u00a0 Help us, Father, to live in light of these promises, even in troubled times, knowing that there\u2019s a better world coming. We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen!","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t