The Kingdom God’s Son Will Rule

Transcript

GRM 826
12/20/2002
The Kingdom God’s Son Will Rule
Revelation 20:1-10
Gil Rugh

Turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 2 where the writer to the Hebrews draws from the Old Testament, quoting from the Psalmist in Hebrews 2:6 he asks the question, “what is man that you remember him or the son of man that you are concerned about him? You’ve made for him a little while lower than the angels; crowned him with glory and honor, appointed him over the works of your hands. You’ve put all things in subjection under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him you left nothing that is not subject to him.” Note this last statement, “but now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.” See when God created man, created Adam and Eve and put them in the garden, He intended that they would rule over the creation, manifesting the glory of God. But sin entered the picture and Adam and Eve rebelled against God, submitted themselves to the authority of satan, joined satan in his rebellion against God. So now we do not see all things subjected to man.

But note verse 9, “But we do see Him,” referring to Christ, “who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” See God’s intention was that man would rule and reign in the glory that God bestowed upon him, but because of sin man has not realized all that God intended in that. But Jesus Christ came to earth to make possible the full realization of God’s intention to have man rule and reign over His creation. That necessitated that Jesus Christ pay the penalty for sin to set man free from condemnation and judgment so that He might reign as the servant of the living God.

In verse 14 of chapter 2, “Since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil.” He’s going to break the power of the devil and his hold over men by setting them free and also setting them free from slavery, because the fear of death loomed over us all, according to verse 15. Man sinned, Christ came to be the Redeemer, but remember He came to be the Redeemer so that God’s purposes might be accomplished in establishing a kingdom over which His Son would rule, and we would rule and reign with Him.

Turn back to the gospel of Matthew, first book in the New Testament in your Bible, the gospel written by Matthew. In Matthew chapter 2, this was when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king. Behold magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, and note Matthew 2:2, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” They had traveled a long, dangerous journey to worship the one born King of the Jews. You understand Christ was born to be King, born to rule over the nation Israel. He was their Messiah, their King.

Look over in Luke’s gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, chapter 1. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her that she’s going to bear a son conceived by the Holy Spirit. Verse 31 of Luke 1, “Behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, will be called the Son of the Most High.” Now note “the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the House of Jacob,” that’s Israel, “forever and His Kingdom will have no end.” You see at the birth of Christ it is announced, He is a King! He is the One born to rule and reign forever. That has not happened yet. Of course, He was born at Bethlehem, He walked this earth, He was rejected, He was crucified, buried and raised from the dead the third day. But you understand He was born, not just to be a Savior, He was born to be a King. By His suffering and death, He has provided salvation, and all who believe in Him are forgiven their sins and become part of the family of God. God never fails to complete His purposes; He never fails to fulfill His promises. Jesus Christ must rule and reign on this earth over Israel and over everyone and everything forever and ever. That must come to pass, and it will.

Look back in Matthew’s gospel again if you would, Matthew chapter 24. The Old Testament prophets often spoke of the coming of the Messiah. They spoke both of the fact that the Messiah would suffer, be rejected, die, and also that the Messiah would rule and reign in glory. Peter wrote in his letter that the prophets didn’t understand how He could both be rejected, suffer and die, and also rule and reign in glory. The answer, now that the scripture has been completed, is that Jesus Christ came the first time 2000 years ago, and on that occasion, He would suffer and die to pay the penalty for sin. But He was going to come to earth a second time. When He comes the second time it won’t be to deal with sin by His own suffering and death, it will be to judge men and to rule and reign. Jesus told His disciples of that coming return in Matthew chapter 24 verse 29, “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, the powers of the heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.’ Jesus has already told His disciples He’s going to Jerusalem to die. But that does not mean the purposes of God have been frustrated. He was born into the human race to be a King. He will suffer and die to be the savior, but He is coming again to be the King.

Revelation chapter 19 records the second coming of Christ, and it will be a spectacular event. At His first coming to earth, He was born in obscurity, in a stable in Bethlehem. At His Second Coming He’ll come on the clouds of the sky, and all peoples all over the earth will see Him and will come with power and great glory. That’s described in Revelation chapter 19. Even heaven thunders and reverberates on this occasion as they anticipate the return of Christ to the earth. Down in verse 11, “and I saw heaven opened, then a white horse, and he who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, on His head are many diadems,” He is the ruler of all. He is the Word of God, according to verse 13. There’s not question about His identity. The armies of heaven follow Him as He returns triumphantly to take possession of the earth, take possession of all creation. There is horrible destruction, the climax of what we know as the Battle of Armageddon where the enemies of the Lord are destroyed. Judgments are set up on this occasion. Matthew chapter 25 records those judgments. The wicked are destroyed, the righteous will enter the kingdom and Jesus says on that occasion in Matthew 25, “enter into the kingdom prepared for you by my Father,” the kingdom that He had promised.

Now at the end of chapter 19 of Revelation the beast and the false prophet are cast into hell. These are figures that have played a dominant role earlier in the book of Revelation. They are two men who have played a prominent role in the world for the seven years leading up to the return of Christ to the earth. We’re not going to go into those seven years on this occasion, we’ll be doing that in the coming days. Prior to the return of Christ to the earth there will be a ruler who rises to power from the old Roman Empire, himself, I take it, Roman, who will become the political ruler of the world. It will be an individual known as the false prophet, and his role will be to direct the worship of the world to this man. When Christ returns from heaven this imposter will be destroyed, both of them. In verse 20, the beast was seized, with him the false prophet, and these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. They were cast alive into hell. We’ll see in a little bit 1000 years later they are still suffering in hell. The torments of hell go on forever and ever. The rest were killed with the sword, all unbelievers, all those who had followed the beast and the false prophet are now destroyed.

We come into chapter 20, and I want to focus some attention on chapter 20 because it talks about the first part of the Kingdom that Christ will establish on the earth. It tells us some of the things that are interesting and important about this Kingdom. Tells us it is a time when satan will be bound and not be present in the world. Tells us that all those who are believers in Jesus Christ will have been raised and will rule and reign with Him in this Kingdom. It tells us that this Kingdom in its first phase at the end of 1000 years will experience an awful rebellion where a group of people that are innumerable, they’re like the sand of the seashore, join together to try to dethrone Jesus Christ and enthrone satan himself. At that point they suffer destruction from heaven.

Look at verse 20. We are carried to the future at a time when Jesus Christ will return to the earth bodily in glory. Revelation 20, “and I saw an angel coming down from heaven having the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and satan and bound him for 1000 years.” Christ has returned to earth, set up judgment to destroy His enemies. Now satan is bound by an appointed angel and put in the abyss. The abyss is not hell. Satan will later be cast into hell. Hell was prepared for the devil and all his angels, and all of those who follow their father, the devil, will join him there. The abyss is a holding place for satan. Bound with a chain. Sometimes people say, well how can you put a chain on an angel? What’s the problem? Angels are created beings. Any problem for a person to create a physical chain that would bind me? No. Well why do you think it is a hard thing for God to create a spiritual chain that would bind a spirit being like an angel? Not difficult at all. You think angels are uncontrollable because they are spirit beings? There’ll come a time when they will be cast into hell. How can spirit beings be confined in hell? Because God determined that they would be confined there, and He’s the creator. What is clearly said here is satan will be bound, held, in the abyss for 1000 years. We get the word millenium from the Latin word which means 1000 years, millenium, 1000 years. He’s bound for 1000 years. Six times in verses 2-7 we’re told that this period lasts 1000 years, 1000 years, 1000 years. Yet many people say oh I don’t believe there is a coming kingdom, and I don’t believe it will be 1000 years. I think 1000 years is figurative. One day with the Lord is as 1000 years, and 1000 years is as a day, so this could be just a long period of time. Maybe so, but my study of the book of Revelation would indicate all the numbers are literal numbers. God is quite specific here that He is talking about a specific period of time, 1000 years, to accomplish certain purposes.

Now the kingdom that Christ will rule over is eternal. Don’t get confused. People say do you believe in an eternal kingdom or a kingdom that is just 1000 years. I believe in an eternal kingdom, the first phase of which is 1000 years. This first 1000 years is part of the eternal kingdom, but within that first 1000 years certain purposes of God will be accomplished as we will see. We begin a kingdom which is eternal with the rule and reign of Christ. The first 1000 years result in the completion of His work in dealing with sin and removing sin from creation; but then the kingdom goes on eternally.

Satan is bound for 1000 years. Some of his names. He’s the dragon, the serpent of old, the devil, satan, spoken of with numerous names in chapter 12 verse 9. Now he is bound, he is thrown into the abyss, it is shut and sealed over him. Note, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer until the 1000 years were completed. After these things, at the end of the 1000 years, he must be released for a short time. Here’s how it is going to unfold. You know there are three things that work together in opposing the will and work of God in the world. There is the world, the flesh and the devil. John wrote about these in his first epistle. The world, the flesh and the devil. The devil will be removed from the scene during these 1000 years. The world will come under the authority and the rule of the righteous one, the holy one, Jesus Christ. As we’ll see, in a moment the whole earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. There will not be any violence or overt sinful acts committed all over the world. The world will be dealt with. Something has to be dealt with during this 1000-year millenium.

When the millenium begins, the Kingdom begins, Jesus Christ destroys all those who have not believed in Him. Those who are alive in their physical bodies when Christ returns to earth on this occasion will go into His kingdom in their physical bodies. They will marry, have children. As we’ll see in a verse, we’ll read in Isaiah these children will live through the millenium. You’ll only be a child at 100 in the kingdom. Every child born in the millenium is born with a sin nature passed on from Adam down. Each one of these must themselves come to bow before Jesus Christ and believe in Him as their savior. What the millenium is going to do is demonstrate that the problem is not people’s environment, it’s not the way they were raised, it’s not poverty or riches, it’s not having parents or not having parents, it’s having a job or not having a job, it’s not being culturally deprived or culturally honored. It’s not your social condition, your environment, your culture, your family. It’s you, it’s your sin. When you take everything else away and take a sinner, put him in a perfect environment without the influence even of the devil, before all is said and done his choice would be I’d rather have the devil as my king than Jesus Christ.

The devil is bound at the beginning of this 1000-year period. Then verse 4, look who’s going to be raised and reign with Christ. “I saw thrones and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and because of the Word of God. Those who had not worshipped the beast or his image, had not received his mark upon their forehead or their hand, they came to life and reigned with Christ for 1000 years.” There’s a resurrection that occurs when Jesus Christ returns to earth and it’s a resurrection that will encompass ultimately all those who know Jesus Christ. We’re not going to go into the details, the church was raised seven years earlier, I believe, at the rapture. They still form part of the first resurrection that will be mentioned in a moment. With all Old Testament saints, all those who believed in Christ and were killed during the seven years leading up to Christ’s return to earth are bodily resurrected at this point. The Bible makes clear, at physical death a separation occurs. The body without the spirit is dead. When a person dies physically, they as a person move out of their physical body. II Corinthians 5 says the physical body is like a tent. A person moves out of it, and it is folded up and set aside, it’s not being used. One of two things happens at death. If a person is a believer in Jesus Christ, they immediately leave their body and go into the presence of the Lord. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” Those who have not believed in Jesus Christ leave their body and immediately go into torment in a place called Hades. Hades is not hell; Hades is a place of suffering and fiery torment where people await final sentencing to hell. Sort of like being in jail waiting to go to prison. The length is primarily the issue. Being in jail is just like being in prison, you’re put in a cell and held there, but when you’re sent to prison, you’re there for a longer duration. When you are in Hades you are in a place of suffering and torment, described in Luke 16 where the rich man says, “I wish someone could just come and touch their finger in water and touch my tongue.” That would be a relief, that much would be a relief. But it can’t happen.

Now at a future time at this point all the bodies of believers are raised from the dead, all the Old Testament saints, all those from the seven years prior to His return, called the tribulation. They reigned with Christ for 1000 years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years were completed. So now you have a division, you have all those who have been raised and are going to rule and reign with Christ, and you have the rest who will wait until the end of the 1000-year millenium. Then they will be raised and sentenced to hell. That’s described at the end of Revelation chapter 20.

This is the first resurrection. The first resurrection includes those who were raised to life and reigned with Christ 1000 years. The first resurrection is a quality of resurrection, if you will. It begins with Christ’s resurrection according to I Corinthians 15. It includes the church at the rapture, and it includes then all Old Testament saints, tribulation saints, at the Second Coming of Christ to earth. They together comprise the first resurrection. It’s a resurrection to life, it’s the resurrection of all who will reign as the redeemed of God.

Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him 1000 years. Those who are not part of the first resurrection will be part of the last resurrection, the second resurrection at the end of the chapter. That’s a resurrection to destruction. Everyone resurrected at the end of the 1000 years appears before the Great White Throne and is sentenced to an eternity in hell. That’s why the blessings are pronounced upon those who are part of the first resurrection, who have been identified with Jesus Christ.

We’re talking about a kingdom here, the rule and reign of Christ and with Christ, because you note we rule and reign with Christ. We reign with Him 1000 years, we’re priests of God, we have access to the very presence of God, and we reign with Him 1000 years. It’s the kingdom promised in the Old Testament, and you know that 1000 years is just the beginning of our reign. Doesn’t mean at the end of 1000 years then we’re done reigning, and we just go into eternity and that’s it.

Turn over to chapter 22. We have gone beyond the 1000 years now, we’re in eternity. But the kingdom is going on, and here we are in eternity after the 1000 years and look at the end of verse 5, “and they shall reign forever and ever.” That is why I want you to be clear, the 1000 years are just the first phase of an eternal kingdom. We rule and reign with Christ for 1000 years, but then that’s not the end of our reign. That’s mentioned because at the end of 1000 years there is a break, but we are going to rule and reign with Him for all eternity. We’ll say more about that in a moment.

Come back to the Old Testament with me. I want you to look at this kingdom in a few passages. Go to the book of Isaiah, right about the middle of your Bible, Isaiah the prophet. Go to Isaiah chapter 2. This kingdom ruled over by Christ the Messiah was prophesied repeatedly through the Old Testament. I’ve taken a series of verses primarily from Isaiah just so we don’t have to find our way through a lot of the Old Testament. The prophets are filled with these prophecies. Isaiah chapter 2, “The word which Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” This kingdom, keep in mind, primarily focuses on Israel. It will include Gentiles, and you and I will have a role in it as believers in Jesus Christ, but it is primarily a Jewish kingdom. It has to do with Judah and Jerusalem. Some people think that there is no real future for Israel. Every prophecy of scripture that has been fulfilled has been fulfilled literally, exactly as God said it. For example, Micah said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Where was He born? North New Jersey? No. It had to be where? Bethlehem. Every prophecy, multitudes of prophecies, all fulfilled literally. How do you think the future ones will be fulfilled? Literally. So here He promises something for Judah and Jerusalem. “In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains”. In the Old Testament Biblical prophecy, a mountain refers to a kingdom, symbolizes a kingdom. The kingdom of the Lord is going to be above all other kingdoms. Many peoples will come and say, verse 3, “let us go to the mountain of the Lord,” the capital of which will be Jerusalem,” to the house of the God of Jacob that He may teach us His way, that we may walk in His paths. The law will go forth from Zion, the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He’ll judge between nations, render decisions among people.” Now note this, “they will hammer their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not lift up sword against nation, never again will they learn war.” We put that verse on the United Nations building, but you misunderstand. That’s not possible now. Try disarming everybody in the world and see what Saddam Hussein does, see what other people that would love the opportunity. Why? It’s not possible. When the king of kings rules the earth, there’ll be no need for weapons of war. He will have enforced peace; He will rule with a rod of iron. It will be a time of peace, there will be no need for weapons.

Look at Isaiah chapter 9. As I mentioned the prophets often drew together the first coming of Christ and the second coming because they simply prophesied about the coming Messiah. They prophesied His suffering and death, they prophesied His glorious reign, and they didn’t prophesy there would be 2000 years or so in between. So, the first part of chapter 9 you see fulfilled where the end of verse 1, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. Glory comes to them; light comes to them. That happened at His first coming. Look down in verse 6, “a child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 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, uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” It is a done deal. God guarantees it.

Chapter 11, referring to the coming of Christ, He’s a shoot from the stem of Jesse. As you come down, He’s going to rule and reign, He’ll judge in righteousness; He’ll judge hearts and motives before actions can even take place. Look at verse 6, “the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, the calf and the young lion, the fatling together. A little boy will lead them. The cow, the bear will graze, their young will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox, the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra. They will not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain.” Nowhere in His kingdom will anybody be hurting or destroying. That includes the animals as well as the people. “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The nations come to the root of Jesse, the one who rules overall.” All you have to do is look around, that’s not the world in which we live. But it will be the world in the future coming kingdom.

Look in Isaiah 35. I’ve tried to limit this to some of the more familiar passages, either that you go to often or songs have picked up and so on. “The wilderness and the desert will be glad. The Arabah will rejoice and blossom like the crocus,” the old version said the rose. We talk about the desert blossoming like the rose, the flower is the crocus here. The Arabah we’re talking about the desert. The desert is going to blossom, it will blossom profusely. Down at the end of verse 2, “They’ll see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.” Then verse 5, “the eyes of the blind will be open, the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, the lame will leap like a deer, the tongue of the speechless will shout for joy.” The desert region becomes lush, and on it goes. Verse 9, “No lion will be there, nor vicious beast will go up on the road that will be established.” “Sorrow and sighing flee away,” the end of verse 10. It’s a perfect world. That’s why Romans 8 says “the whole creation groans in anticipation of the unveiling of the sons of God.” That unveiling occurs in connection with the Second Coming where the sons of God are displayed before all creation. Then the curse is lifted from creation, and we have again restoration, if you will, of Eden before the fall.

One other passage. Go to Isaiah 65 and then we have to go and complete the thought in Revelation. Isaiah 65, at the end of verse 19 we’re told there won’t be any crying or weeping. Isaiah 65 the end of verse 19, “the voice of weeping, the sound of crying won’t be heard there. There will be no sorrow. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not live out his days, for the youth will die at the age of 100. One who does not reach the age of 100 will be thought accursed.” You see the curse has been lifted. Now one who dies, you were 94 and you died must be under the curse of God. Nobody dies like that, they’re just an infant. You see what happens, no overt acts of sin and rebellion are tolerated. The one who rules in perfect righteousness who knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart will bring judgment to that person before they can do harm. That’s why he says He’ll rule with a rod of iron. It is an enforced submission. But death comes only as a result of judgment.

Come back to Revelation chapter 20. You understand you and I are to be part of this kingdom, to rule and reign with Him forever. Could have looked at some passages in Daniel and then into the New Testament that talk about our ruling and reigning. We’ve been promised, beginning in Revelation chapter 1 verse 6 and chapter 2, I believe it is, verse 5 and in there that we’re going to rule and reign with Him. We saw it in chapter 22 verse 7, “When the 1000 years are completed satan will be released from his prison.” Why would you let this vile creature out who, since his initial rebellion against God described in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, has consistently attempted to overthrow God and lead creation in rebellion against God? Because God is demonstrating a point regarding sin. He will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war. Now note this, the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they come up and surround Jerusalem. Now the remarkable thing, here are people who have never lived in any other kind of environment. They were born into a perfect world, under a perfect king, lived their whole lives however long, 900 years, 800 years, 700 years, whatever, under the rule of this perfect king. But you know what the problem is? Their heart. They are sinful and depraved in heart and mind. Doesn’t matter the devil wasn’t there, their heart hadn’t changed. Doesn’t matter that the world was perfect, their hearts hadn’t changed. Now when given a choice and satan moves through the world to call people to follow him and dethrone Christ, there is a number that is so large it’s like the sand of the seashore, you can’t count it, who choose to join satan and attempt to dethrone Christ.

What the 1000-year phase of the kingdom does is demonstrate the absolute depravity of the human heart. Now all the excuses go out the window. Oh well it was the way I was raised, oh well it was the poverty that I experienced, well it was the way people treated me, well it was………… It was me. The millennium is the final phase of God dealing with man’s sin and showing when you put a sinful unredeemed person in a perfect environment, in a perfect world under a perfect king, he still is what he is. It’s not the environment, it’s the fact that he is a sinner at heart. Given a choice he’ll take satan.

Now we’ve got a vast number here, because we’ve had 1000 years, the pain has been removed from childbirth, no one dies in childbirth, no stillborn babies, no illnesses that take the lives of babies and infants or adults. We’ve had an explosion of population in the world. You think people would look around and say we have a perfect king; the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. We wouldn’t want it any other way, and yet there’s a number like the sand of the sea, they can’t be numbered, there are so many. You know what they say? I can’t wait to be free from the rule of this one who is holy and righteous. I can’t wait to be rid of the one who reigns in righteousness. I would rather have the devil as my king. Remember what Jesus said to the religious people of His day? “You are of your father the devil, and you always do what he wants to do.” At heart we are just like him because we are sinful beings, and it’s only the grace of God that brings redemption to a heart, that cleanses and makes new and thus brings salvation. You’ll note what happens. At the end of verse 9, “fire came down from heaven and devoured them. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are also.” Present tense, they’re still there. “They will be tormented day and night forever and ever, into the ages of the ages.” There’s no stronger way in the Greek language to talk about something that is eternal. It’s to the ages of the ages, it’s forever and ever.

You know God promises glory, blessing to those who are redeemed by faith in Christ. He promises glory and blessings forever and ever. But be sure the same God also promises suffering and torment forever and ever to anyone who does not believe in His Son. There is no middle ground, there is no purgatory. It’s a figment of fallen man’s imagination. There is only eternal torment and eternal blessing. Jesus said you are either with me or you are against me. It’s awesome to consider. God created us for glory, to reflect His glory in ruling and reigning, and because of His mercy and love and grace we will be given that honor and privilege. It necessitated the death of His Son, His Son who came to this earth, was born so that He might suffer and die on the cross, be raised in glory. So that God might bring salvation to a fallen world, and everybody will take it, everybody will want the free gift of life in Christ. It’s amazing they don’t. Tell someone today you are lost and on your way to hell, but I have good news to follow the bad news and the good news is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died, and if you’ll turn from your sin and believed in Him you can be saved. They say oh that’s wonderful to hear. How many people get offended? How many of you have family and friends that told you they don’t want to hear that anymore? We ought not to be amazed that people at the end of a 1000-year kingdom where Christ reigns will want to be rid of Him. Our problem is our sin. Our hope is the mercy and grace of God.

I’m glad we’re going to glory. Now to be honest things are going to get much worse before they get better. The worst is yet to come. Some people like to say oh the worst is behind us. Biblically the worst is ahead of us, and I’m looking to depart at the Rapture before the worst of the worst comes. We want to be careful not to confuse people by implying things are going to get better and better. Things are going to get worse and worse. Evil men will proceed from bad to worse, and the worst of the worst will be brought to a climax when God graciously intervenes by sending His Son to earth the second time to put an end to the rebellion of man and to set up a glorious kingdom. But that won’t be the end of God dealing with sin. There will be 1000 years to demonstrate that the greatness of God’s grace, the greatness of His love and mercy is not enough to make sinful people want to bow before Him and acknowledge Him as their Savior and God.

Only one question. Where are you this morning? There are only two groups, and they’re not the religious and the non-religious, they’re not the good and the bad. They are sinners who have been redeemed, set free, cleansed by turning from their sin and believing in Jesus Christ alone, and sinners who have not turned from their sin to Jesus Christ. The only kind of people in this room are sinners. The division is between those who have seen their sinful condition, bowed in repentance before God, believing that Jesus Christ is their only hope, and claimed Him as their Savior, and people who have not done that. All eternity is determined by that relationship to Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, that you did not give up on your creation, that you did not consign all creation to an awful hell, that in mercy and grace you sent your Son to this earth to be a Savior so that He might be a King, to be a Redeemer so that the redeemed might reign in glory with Him. Lord, we rejoice today at the greatness of your mercy and the vastness of your love. We rejoice today in a glorious future. Lord, we thank you that even today the offer of salvation given as a free gift is open to all who will believe in your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen.