[0:00] Good. Well, let's turn in our Bibles now to the book of Revelation, the very last book in the Bible. Paul Brennan is continuing his series of sermons on this book.
[0:13] And chapter 20, Revelation chapter 20, right at the end of the Bible, that is our reading for today. Today, the title of Paul's sermon is to be the end of evil.
[0:32] So Revelation chapter 20, beginning at verse one. John the Apostle is writing. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
[0:51] And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended.
[1:08] After that, he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.
[1:22] Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.
[1:35] They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.
[1:48] This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection. Over such, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
[2:05] And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle.
[2:20] Their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.
[2:34] And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
[2:47] Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
[2:59] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life.
[3:10] And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them.
[3:22] And they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
[3:35] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Amen.
[3:48] Glorious words, and may they be a blessing to us today. Well, good morning, folks. Good to see you.
[4:00] Just checking my collar. Last week, my collar was halfway up, all the way through my preaching. It wasn't a sartorial statement. It was one of those things. But collars down, that's good. Well, please have Revelation 20 open in front of you.
[4:15] And we'll consider this chapter together this morning. Now, I can ask, are you easily discouraged when it comes to the big questions in life?
[4:28] The big things. The advance of the gospel, the state of the church. Where is my future? What is the future of my family? Are you easily discouraged?
[4:39] Are you something of an eeyore? Or are you perhaps more of a tigger character? But there is, isn't there, much to discourage us in this life.
[4:52] There's much to discourage us in our Christian faith and about the state of the church. As we look out on the world, there's a lot to discourage. We feel, don't we, that Satan, our great enemy, has in many ways the upper hand.
[5:07] We see the decline of the church in the West. We see the advance of progressive and harmful ideologies. We wonder what on earth is going on.
[5:20] We fear what the future holds. But we must be careful not to read reality through the lens of the media or indeed through our own understanding.
[5:33] That is not how we're to read reality. Rather, we need to learn to read reality through the lens of the scriptures. And as we do that, as we read reality through the lens of God's word, we have reason for real confidence.
[5:51] We find great confidence as we read about our world through the lens of the scriptures. Jesus set the agenda, didn't he, for this present gospel age in Acts chapter 1.
[6:03] He said to his disciples, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Orjidea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. That is the great mapping out of this present gospel age.
[6:18] To the ends of the earth, the gospel will go. That is the task of the church in this present age. To the ends of the earth.
[6:30] And that is what we've seen through the centuries. In 2,000 years, the good news about Jesus Christ has spread throughout the world. And more in the last 200 years than in the whole time before that, the gospel has gone out.
[6:48] Millions and millions today really do know God as Father. Millions do know Jesus as Savior. They have received the Holy Spirit. People are coming to Christ every day.
[7:03] All around the world. In our nation. In our city. In this church. People are coming to Christ. The gospel is going to the ends of the earth.
[7:17] So what can account for that? Because we get very discouraged as we look out. But actually, as we think about the progress of the gospels through the centuries. What can account for that amazing advance through to the ends of the earth?
[7:32] The advance of the kingdom of God. Because it's not been easy, has it? On the contrary, the spread of the gospel has been resisted and opposed from the very start.
[7:44] The church has been slandered, resented, persecuted, corrupted in all her centuries. But still, the kingdom of God lives and stands and grows despite all opposition.
[7:58] Why? How do we account for that? Well, this chapter tells us why. Revelation 20 tells us why the gospel is going to the ends of the earth and why nothing will stop it.
[8:13] Because this is a chapter that brings great clarity and great hope for Christians today. But it's only able to give us clarity if we can get clarity on what this chapter is and is not saying.
[8:30] This is a chapter hotly contested in terms of some of its contents. In terms of the interpretation of this 1,000 years we read about, the millennium. And so we need to get our timings right.
[8:43] We need to get clarity. And questions about the millennium do need to be tackled. Because questions about that, about the future and how things will play out, that really does impact how we do things now.
[8:56] Our understanding of the future impacts our present practice. So it's important to get clarity on these things. And once we have clarity on that, we can grasp the message of this chapter, which is on the one hand very sober.
[9:10] But on the other, it's greatly encouraging for Christians today. Because the message of this chapter is indeed the whole message of the whole book. And it's this.
[9:22] Jesus does in the end win. We can keep going in this present age, even as we experience Satan's opposition. Because Satan is bound.
[9:35] In this age, Satan is restrained. And he will meet his end when Jesus returns. Jesus will build his church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against us.
[9:50] That's a great message that will encourage us this morning. This is reality. This is how we have to understand all that we see in our world. And these things explain in part the exponential growth of the church throughout the centuries.
[10:06] We're given here in this chapter. The definitive perspective on Satan and his work and his destiny. This chapter must shape how we think, how we feel about our lives, about the church, and about the future.
[10:24] This is the lens through which we must understand reality. And grasping this chapter, grasping the message, does give us hope and confidence today.
[10:37] Because the gospel has spread. It is spreading and it will continue to spread. The church will continue to grow. And it can do so because our great enemy, Satan, has been bound.
[10:54] That's the great hope of our message this morning. We're going to look at this in three sections. And we'll spend most of the time on the first one. Because there's a lot of things to unravel here.
[11:06] But the first thing is this. Verses 1 to 3. Satan has been bound. Satan has been bound. We see here the beginning of the millennium.
[11:17] The inauguration of Christ's kingdom and the church age. Look with me again in these verses. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven.
[11:30] Holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan. And bound him for a thousand years.
[11:42] And threw him into the pit. And shut it. And sealed it over him. So that he might not deceive the nations any longer. Until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while.
[11:57] Now as we've seen time and time again in Revelation. The book does not flow in one smooth historical chronological account.
[12:10] The time scales chop and change. And we are basically revisiting the same period of history over and over again. We're seeing it from different angles. So when it says there in verse 1.
[12:21] Then I saw. This is not the next event in history. After the events of chapter 19. It doesn't flow chronologically.
[12:32] Rather this is the next vision that John saw. And as we'll see. This vision covers the whole of history. From Christ's resurrection. All the way through to his coming return.
[12:44] And the day of judgments. That is the period of history in view in chapter 20. And what we see here.
[12:54] What John sees unfolding. Is the binding of Satan. The dragon. The serpent. Who is the devil. So key questions then about this few verses.
[13:07] What does this binding mean? What does it mean that Satan's been bound? When did that take place? What is the thousand years? And what are the implications of this for us today?
[13:19] What's the implication of Satan being bound? So let's tackle those questions. We're going to begin first. With the question of this thousand years. What is that?
[13:31] We'll deal with that first. Then we can come and think about the other questions. Now there are three main ways. In which Christians have understood. The millennium. Down through the centuries.
[13:42] Three different schools of thought. And the first. Is what people call pre-millennialism. Pre-millennialism. Now the millennium means a thousand years.
[13:55] And we're told here that Satan is bound for a thousand years. So the prefix pre-pre refers to when Christ will return. So pre-millenniasts believe that Christ will return before the thousand years.
[14:11] On this understanding. The millennium can be a literal thousand years. Or some may understand it to be just a long period of time. But it's considered to be a time when Christ will physically.
[14:26] Politically reign on earth for a thousand years. And after that will come the end. The judgment day. And so this view tends to see our world now.
[14:38] As getting progressively worse and worse. Not that there aren't triumphs of the gospel. But the general view is that the world will get worse and worse. Until the time of Christ's return.
[14:52] He will return. And then there will be a thousand years reign at that point. And after that earthy reign of a thousand years. There will then be that final decisive judgment.
[15:03] That final battle. Judgment will come. So that's the pre-millennial way of understanding this. Christ comes. Then there's a thousand year reign. And then the end.
[15:16] Okay that's one way of understanding this thousand years. Here's the second. It's called post-millennialism. You can tell by the prefix post. This view understands that Christ will return.
[15:27] After the thousand years. At the end. So in this view. The church age which we're now in. Will blend into this millennium.
[15:40] Post-millennials understand that to be a figurative thousand years generally. So it's not literal. But during this millennial period. The world will get progressively Christianized.
[15:53] There will be a growing return. To the Lord Jesus. The world will become more and more Christianized. Over this a thousand years. It's not that every last person. Will become a Christian.
[16:05] But in this millennial reign. The nations of the world. Have become Christian nations. And the world is essentially Christianized. So that's the sort of post-millennial understanding.
[16:17] There'll be this a thousand years. And then Christ returns. So there's pre-millennial. There's post-millennial. And then thirdly. A-millennial. And in this view of understanding.
[16:29] We are right now. In the millennium. We are in this current. One thousand years. That's spoken about here. In Revelation. The millennium is the church age.
[16:40] Between Christ's resurrection. And his return. This is the age in which we currently live. It's not a literal thousand years. But it's a reference to a long period of time. Symbolic period of time.
[16:52] Between Christ's first and second comings. And that'll be a time of gospel growth. But alongside it. It's gospel opposition. And at the end of the church age.
[17:04] There will be a time. Of intensified evil. Where it refers there to. Satan being released for a time. For a little while. So there'll be a growing hostility perhaps.
[17:19] And. The end will come. That great battle. When Christ will come. And defeat. Satan. Once and for all. So those are the three main ways.
[17:30] You can understand. This 1,000 year reign. That's talked about here. In Revelation. Premillennial. Postmillennial. Amillennial. There is one more.
[17:41] Called panmillennial. Which goes something like this. I've no idea what the millennium is. But God will ensure it will all pan out in the end. That's quite a tempting view to take. It'll pan out.
[17:53] But the view that I've taken. The view that. If you've been. With us over this. Few. Months. Working through Revelation. It's the amillennial position. That we've adopted.
[18:04] That's how I've understood. Revelation. And this particular passage. That we are right now. In this 1,000 years. This millennial. Period. Is right now.
[18:16] There's growing gospel growth. But growing opposition. At the same time. And that is the view. That's been held. Through the church. Down through the ages. By many. Augustine.
[18:26] Luther. Calvin. And so on. And it really does impact. How we understand. The presence. How we understand. How the future unfolds. Does shape. What we do now.
[18:39] So it is important to grasp. And come to an understanding. Of these things. So a lot more we could say. That debates rage. About these things. And perhaps you've grown up. In a particular tradition.
[18:50] In understanding. Of some of these things. And there's a lot more we could say. So do come and ask. But the amillennial understanding. Is the interpretation. That I've come to. And how we're going to understand.
[19:01] These things. So let's return to our passage. And consider some key questions. From the opening three verses. We are told here. That Satan. Is bound.
[19:12] For a thousand years. This millennium. That we are. As I've argued. Currently in. When did this take place. This binding of Satan.
[19:24] That we read about here. When did that happen. Well as I've mentioned already. As we've seen over and over in Revelation. The book constantly jumps. Back in time. So as to review the same period of history.
[19:36] Time and again. From different angles. And so with the beginning of chapter 20. We've pressed rewind. We've gone back. And chapter 19.
[19:47] Last week. Concluded with final judgment. That's where we ended up last week. With final judgment. But at the beginning of chapter 20. We've gone back again. We've rewound. And we've gone back.
[19:59] Here. To the earthly ministry of Jesus. To his cross. His resurrection. That. Is when Satan was bound. Now a crucial.
[20:10] General principle. For understanding scripture. Is that we understand. The difficult sections. Such as this one. In ways. Which align with more straightforward.
[20:20] Passages of scripture. It would be strange. Isn't it. Wouldn't it. If we were to understand. This quite difficult section. In a way. That was totally at odds. With every other part of the Bible.
[20:32] In much plainer sections of the Bible. If they disagreed. With our understanding here. We've got to ask questions. About our understanding. Of this passage. So. We've got to understand. The tricky bits. By the more straightforward parts.
[20:46] And. In terms of the binding of Satan. We do have other references. To this. In the scriptures. We say. Something similar. In Revelation chapter 12. We read that.
[20:58] In Revelation 12. Of the great dragon. Being thrown down. That ancient serpent. Who is called the devil. And Satan. The deceiver. Of the whole world. He was thrown down. To earth. And his angels.
[21:09] Were thrown down. With him. So that's a reference. To the binding. The expulsion. And fall. From Satan. From heaven. You see that in chapter 12.
[21:20] And it's the same thing here. In chapter 20. And that aligns with other parts. Of the New Testament as well. Jesus speaks. Of binding. The strong man.
[21:31] To plunder his goods. In Matthew 12. And Mark 3. Implying that he has come. To bind his enemy. Jesus also sees.
[21:43] Satan. Falling from heaven. Even as he is giving. Authority. The disciples. To trample on his powers. In Luke chapter 10. Paul states.
[21:53] In Colossians 2. That Jesus disarmed. The rulers. And authorities. And put them to open shame. By triumphing over them. In Hebrews 2.
[22:03] Speaks of Christ. Rendering. The devil. Powerless. All this language. Through the New Testament. It speaks. Unmistakably. Of the stripping.
[22:14] Of Satan's power. By Christ's death. And resurrection. And the granting. Of authority. To Jesus. In his ascension. So that the gospel. May go forward. Unhindered.
[22:25] In this present age. So Satan was bound. Through Jesus. Earthly ministry. Through his death. And his resurrection. But what does that mean?
[22:39] What does it mean? That Satan was bound? Well we're told. Here in Revelation 20. That the angel. Seized the dragon. That ancient serpent. Bound him for a thousand years.
[22:50] Threw him into the pit. Shut it. Sealed it over. So the question is. To what extent. Is Satan bound? None of those statements.
[23:04] In the New Testament. Denies. Satan's continued activity. In this current age. According to the New Testament. Satan. Still blinds. The mind of unbelievers.
[23:15] To Corinthians. He prowls around. Like a roaring lion. One Peter. He is now. At work. In the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2. He oversees.
[23:25] The cosmic powers. Of this present darkness. And the spiritual forces. Of evil. For the sake of warfare. Against the church. You see that. With Paul. In Ephesians chapter 6. All that to say.
[23:39] That Satan. Is still. A dreadful. And very real enemy. But he really is bound. So that.
[23:49] Notice the second half. Of verse 3. So that. He might not deceive. The nations. Any longer. Until the thousand years. Were ended. So that is the.
[24:03] Objective. Of his being bound. So that. He cannot deceive. The nations. So what does that mean? What does it mean? That Satan. Can no longer. Deceive the nations.
[24:14] During this thousand years. Well something. Absolutely. Cataclysmic. Took place. With Jesus. Death. Resurrection.
[24:25] His life. Here on earth. That is. The turning point. Of all human history. That is the key moment. Jesus death. And resurrection. That is the moment.
[24:36] When God broke into this world. Of darkness. Defeated death. And brought the offer. Of forgiveness. For sins. And life eternal. Some huge events. The absolute center. Of human history.
[24:46] Paul writes. To the Colossians. Of the cross. Having disarmed. The powers. And the authorities. He made a public spectacle. Of them.
[24:56] Triumphing over them. By the cross. The cross. Really was a triumph. Over Satan. And all. The powers of evil. It was there. That Christ.
[25:07] Bought. And won. The right. To every country. Every culture. Every sinner. In the world. Every pagan. In the empire. And every generation. Since. Christ. Won the right. To them.
[25:19] There on the cross. He disarmed. Satan. The accuser. By bearing the sins. Of which we were accused. God bore. Our guilt.
[25:29] Took our punishment. He cancelled the debt. With his own blood. He defeated. The great enemy. And now.
[25:42] The news of his victory. Can be taken. To every nation. To every family. Every life. Into every stronghold. Of darkness. That gospel message. Can go. To the ends of the earth.
[25:52] From that point on. The gospel. Has exploded. Across the world. Satan. Has been powerless. To stop. The advance of the gospel. Hasn't he?
[26:03] It's in this sense. That Satan's been bound. He cannot deceive. The nations. The gospel. Will go. To the ends of the earth. He cannot. Prevent it. It is in that sense.
[26:16] That Satan. Has been bound. Not that he's without power. Not that he's still at work. In this world. But he cannot stop. The progress of the gospel. To Timothy.
[26:30] Paul wrote. Of Christ Jesus. Who has destroyed death. And has brought life. And immortality. To light. Through the gospel. See.
[26:41] Satan being bound. Means. Satan on the retreat. Satan helpless. Before the gospel. Satan stripped. Of his old universal reign.
[26:52] Outside of Israel. If you were to. To look at a. Sort of global map. Of the extent. Of God's covenant people. Through the centuries. It would be.
[27:03] Concentrated there. In Israel. For centuries. And centuries. But Christ comes. He dies. He rises from the dead. He ascends to heaven. And the gospel explodes. Across the whole globe. Satan cannot deceive the nations.
[27:15] Any longer. But. It was because. They believed. In the binding of Satan. That Paul. And the others. Could claim.
[27:25] The nations for Jesus. With assurance and joy. They could go. They knew. They were invading. The land. Of a defeated enemy. Jesus said. Didn't he.
[27:36] I will build my church. And the gates of hell. Will not prevail. Against us. And Jesus can say that. Because. Of what we read here.
[27:46] In Revelation 20. Satan has been bound. Jesus did it. Through his earthly ministry. His death and resurrection. Satan's been bound.
[27:58] It's done. In this present age. Satan is bound. The nations cannot be deceived. Any longer. So what are the implications.
[28:10] Of this binding of Satan. Well the fact. That Satan is bound. Is cause for great encouragement. For us today.
[28:21] As well as for the. The first message of the gospel. Who went beyond Israel. To the ends of the earth. The gospel is. On the advance. And Satan cannot stop it.
[28:32] He can't. He will do his best. But he will fail. Yes. He may discourage us. For a time. But as we step back.
[28:45] As we. Read reality. Through the lens of scriptures. As we look out. Over the centuries. What we see. Is a gospel landslide.
[28:57] Across the whole globe. So each of us. You and I. Can have confidence. Today. Of course. There are things in the world. That cause us to fear. Right. We're fearful.
[29:10] As we look out. Of course. There are many reasons. To be discouraged. About this country. Or about our culture. But here's the reality. You and I. Are part of the only.
[29:20] Institution. In this world. That will never fail. The institution. Of the church. Will endure forever. That is what we're part of. The church.
[29:31] Is effective. Evangelism. Still works. Churches. Are getting planted. Scriptures. Are being translated. People. Hear the gospel. They respond.
[29:41] Today. And so. If you take away. Nothing else. From this morning. From Revelation 20. Remember this. Jesus Christ. Is.
[29:53] Sovereign. In salvation. He is. Still. Mighty to save. He's doing it. Today. Across the world. In our city. Satan's bound.
[30:04] Christ. The sovereign. The church. Will advance. He can't stop it. That's the big thing. I want us to grasp. This morning. But let's look on.
[30:15] More briefly. To the next. Two sections. Of this chapter. There's a lot. To cover here. I'm going to be. Brief. We've seen. That Satan. Is bound. Firstly.
[30:26] Secondly. We see. That the saints. Are reigning. Verses four to six. The saints. Are reigning. We see here. The present. Millennium.
[30:37] The continuation. Of Christ's kingdom. Through his church. Verse four. Then I saw thrones. And seated on them. Were those. To whom the authority.
[30:48] To judge. Was committed. Also. I saw the souls. Of those. Who had been beheaded. For the destiny. Of Jesus. And for the word of God. And those. Who had not. Worshipped the beast.
[30:58] Or his image. And had not received. Its mark. On their foreheads. Or their heads. They came to life. And reigned. With Christ. For a thousand years.
[31:10] The rest of the dead. Did not come to life. Until the thousand years. Were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed. And holy. Is the one. Who shares. In the first resurrection. Over such.
[31:20] The second death. Has no power. But they will be priests. Of God. And of Christ. And they will reign with him. For a thousand years. This paragraph.
[31:34] Deals. With a major question. For all of us. What happens. When we die. What happens. When we die. What happens.
[31:46] To dear brothers and. Sisters in Christ. When they die. What happens. To you and me. When the unavoidable. Happens. Back in chapter 2 and 3.
[31:59] Of revelation. We read of those. Who conquer the temptations. Of this life. Those who remain faithful. To Jesus. That they. Would be given authority.
[32:09] To judge. And rule from thrones. And John now sees. Those thrones. Here. Verse 4. He also sees.
[32:21] Those who are martyred. For their loyalty. To Jesus. Those. Who stood fast. And stood firm. For the sake of the gospel. Chapter 6. Those. Who resisted the lure. Of the beasts. Mark.
[32:31] Chapter 13. And this is referring. To all faithful Christians. Down through the ages. Who have died. Those who have been martyred.
[32:43] What happens. When Christians die. Why? Well the vision here. Is that they enjoy. Spiritual life. With Jesus. In heaven.
[32:55] They are reigning. Right now. And awaiting. The return of Christ. And their bodily. Resurrections. This. Is what is happening. Alongside.
[33:07] Satan's. Binding. This. We are told there. Verse 6. Is for a thousand years. Is the same period of time. We are dealing with. The a thousand years.
[33:18] During which. Satan is bound. Is a thousand years. Through which. Those who have died. Will reign. With Christ. This a thousand years. So what happens.
[33:30] To Christians who die. And those who are killed. For their faith. Well verse 6. Tells us. That for Christians. Who. Once they die. They reign with Christ. In heaven. And that over such.
[33:41] The second death. Has no power. But they will be priests. Of God. And of Christ. They will reign with him. For a thousand years. See that. Is our great hope.
[33:54] That. Is our destiny. Because you and I. Unless the law returns. You and I will. Die. And what will happen.
[34:07] The moment. After death. After our hearts. Stopped beating. Our lungs. Stopped breathing. What will happen. Well if you belong.
[34:20] To Christ. That next moment. After death. Is a moment. Of profound life. We will reign. With Christ. In heaven. Until his second coming.
[34:33] And then. We will experience. Our bodily resurrections. There will be judgments. The new creation. Will be ushered in. So.
[34:45] If we die now. We reign with Christ. In heaven. Not in a bodily sense. It's a spiritual life. It's hard to discern.
[34:55] Exactly what that means. But we won't yet. Experience the bodily resurrection. That will only happen. As Christ returns. When the living and the dead. Will be gathered. In resurrection bodies.
[35:06] For judgment. And so this is our future. This is our hope. In the face of death. And if our Christian faith.
[35:16] Does not help us. And equip us to die well. Then we've not grasped. The message. Of passage like this one. We need these things. Written in our minds.
[35:27] And our hearts. Don't we? Because death is the one certainty. We need to grasp firmly. Our hope. Beyond death. And if you don't know Christ.
[35:40] This morning. Well. It is a fearful thing. To fall into the hands. Of the living God. If you don't know Christ. If you don't know. That your sins have been forgiven. If you cannot claim.
[35:52] Before the judgment seat of God. I belong to Jesus. If you can't do that. Well. There's no hope for you here. Because this. Is our only hope.
[36:03] It's my only hope. It's your only hope. In this present age. Satan's bound. The saints reign.
[36:14] But at the end of this present age. At the end of this thousand years. What will take place? Well.
[36:24] This is the last thing we see. In our chapter. Satan will be defeated. And judgment will fall. It's the end. Of the millennium. The consummation of Christ's kingdom.
[36:36] At the end of history. Verses 7 to 15. Now. Our time is short. There's much I could say. But I'm going to read. These final paragraphs. Make some brief comments.
[36:46] Because. We've seen these similar events. Time and time again. Through revelation. We've seen. Over and over. The coming day of judgment. We saw it last week. We've seen it in previous chapters.
[36:57] About what will take place. At the end. When Christ returns. We've seen. Haven't we. In recent. Chapters. The destruction of God's enemies. One by one.
[37:08] In chapter 17. And 18. And 19. And now 20. The message is clear. There is. An end point. To human history. Evil will fully.
[37:20] And finally. Be defeated in the end. Evil will end. It cannot endure forever. Look first. From verse 7.
[37:30] And when the thousand years. Are ended. Satan will be released. From his prison. And will come out.
[37:40] To deceive the nations. That are at the four corners. Of the earth. Gog. And Magog. To gather them. For battle. Their number. Is like the sand. Of the sea. And they marched.
[37:52] Up over the broad. Plain of the earth. And surrounded the camp. Of the saints. And the beloved city. But. Fire came down. From heaven. And consumed them.
[38:04] And the devil. Who deceived them. Was thrown. Into the lake of fire. And sulfur. Where the beast. And the false prophet. Were. And they will be tormented. Day and night.
[38:15] Forever. And ever. As we saw last week. In chapter 19. There will be. An ultimate showdown.
[38:26] At the end of history. Satan. Will. Assemble. His forces. But it's a non-event. He will gather. The nations. The kings of the nations.
[38:38] They will gather. Verse 8. For battle. Their number. Is like the sand. Of the sea. Massive. Army. Satan. At the head of it. But it's a non-event.
[38:52] Jesus. Easy superiority. Will be seen by all. What are we told? Middle of verse 9. Fire came down. From heaven. And consumed them. That's it. It's a non-battle.
[39:06] There's no contest. The devil. Ends up. Alongside the beast. And the false prophet. In the lake of fire. Everything. And everyone. Who has stood against God's people.
[39:18] Will be removed. And will be destroyed. In an everlasting torment. You notice that? End of verse 10. Forever and ever. That is the destiny of evil.
[39:32] Looking on to verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne. And him who was seated on it.
[39:45] From his presence. Earth and sky fled away. And no place was found for them. And I saw the dead. Great and small. Standing before the throne.
[39:55] And the books were opened. Then another book was opened. Which is the book of life. And the dead were judged. By what was written in the books. According to what they had done. And the sea.
[40:07] Gave up the dead. Who were in it. Death and Hades. Gave up the dead. Who were in them. And they were judged. Each one of them. According to what they had done. Then death and Hades.
[40:19] Were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death. The lake of fire. And if anyone's name. Was not found. Written in the book of life. He was thrown.
[40:30] Into the lake of fire. For the first. And last time. There'll be one place. At one time.
[40:41] Where every human being. Who has ever lived. There'll be gathered. That one place. The dead. Great and small. Standing before the throne.
[40:53] Prime ministers. And ancient kings. Slave owners and slaves. Masters and servants. Managers and workers.
[41:04] Billionaires. And superstars. Preachers and people. You and me. Everyone will be there. And before the great white throne.
[41:15] What will. Their lives amount to. What will your life. Amount to. Of what value. Then. Will be all their ideologies.
[41:26] And priorities. And wealth. And followers. And possessions. What will they say. Before the king of king. And the lord of lords.
[41:37] What will people say then. Well I don't think. Anyone. Will be able to say anything. Everyone. Everyone will be rendered.
[41:48] Speechless. As they stand before. The creator of heaven and earth. But their lives. Will speak. The books. Will open. Verse 12.
[42:00] Everything. That anyone. Had ever done. Is there. And god. Will bring. Everyone. To justice. Those. Who have. Trusted.
[42:10] In the lord. Jesus. Christ. Have their name. In the lamb's book of life. Those. Who have not. Trusted in Jesus. Whose names. Are not. In the lamb's book of life.
[42:22] Well their destiny. Is the lake of fire. Jesus himself. Warned. Of this reality. Continually. Nobody. Spoke more of this.
[42:33] Than the lord. Jesus Christ. And he urged. Anyone. Who heard him. To enter the kingdom. Of God. To let nothing. Stop them. Not possessions.
[42:43] Not reputation. Not family. Or friends. Not even your right eye. Or your right hand. Cut it off. So here's the question.
[42:55] Are you right. With God. Have you received. The forgiveness. Of sins. Have you received. That gift. Of everlasting life.
[43:07] Have you been reconciled. To God. By the death. Of his son. And we bring. Nothing to the table. Do we. We bring. Only our sin. And he gives us everything.
[43:21] Will you. Submit yourself. To him. I remember. One of my first Sundays. As a student. I was at Nottingham University.
[43:33] I went to. Cornerstone Church. And I remember. One of my first Sundays. Peter Lewis. Great preacher. He's now. Reigning with the saints. But I remember.
[43:44] I'm speaking on this very chapter. And here's what he said. People like to think. That they can change their mind. On everything. After death. And say yes.
[43:55] To the God. To whom they've said no. All their lives. But God knows the heart. Better than its owner. And he knows. What a lifetime. With God locked out. Does to a person.
[44:06] Who has to face God. On that great day of judgment. There will be. No repentance there. No flight. To God. Only from him. God.
[44:17] On the throne. In towering majesty. And terrible. Purity. Will be the last thing. Sinners will rush to. The incompatibility. Will be everlasting. And eternal.
[44:29] That is why. Jesus spoke. As he did. To his apostles. He said. The great chasm. Is fixed. The door is shut. And the destruction.
[44:41] Of the disobedient. Is said to be everlasting. Casting. So friends. Make sure. Of God. Today. Receive. His great salvation.
[44:52] Today. Be safe. Forever. In Christ. Today. Because today. Is the day. Of salvation. Satan.
[45:03] Is bound. The saints. Reign. And who knows. What tomorrow brings. Today. Turn to Jesus. Because this.
[45:14] Chapter 20. Is reality. Are you living your life. In light. Of reality. Let me pray. Father God.
[45:37] We thank you. That. You. Are patient. Thank you. That you. You. Delight. To save.
[45:49] Sinners. We thank you. That through the Lord Jesus. You have. Bound Satan. In this present age. So that there is opportunity.
[46:01] For men and women. Boys and girls. To hear. The great call of the gospel. And to respond. And so. Know salvation. So father.
[46:12] Please help us. Help us. Help us. Help us. Help us. To be heralds. Of that good news. Give us confidence. To go. To our friends. Our neighbors. To the ends of the earth. Proclaiming your great gospel.
[46:24] Salvation. Help us. We ask in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[46:35] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.