Letters to the Churches Part 19

Okay, let's pray and then we will get started Lord Jesus again as we open up your word.

We recognize without you we can do nothing and apart from your spirit We cannot rightly understand your word as we work

through these complicated portions of the book of Revelation.

We ask the power of your spirit.

We may rightly understand believe confess and do according to what you have revealed there.

We ask in Jesus name.

Amen.

Okay, first and foremost, let's check to see did anybody have any questions in regard to the

sermon?

That's always something that we welcome, you know, yes.

Yes, sir.

So the question is why did Jesus charge them not to let anybody know?

The reason being is is that you'll note that everybody who disobeyed that it made it

harder for Jesus to actually do His work so it got to the point where large crowds were following

him and that was overwhelming him.

He the best way I can put it is is that Jesus's ministry infrastructure was

not Designed to properly handle large crowds.

And so what was happening is that people were chasing after Jesus, you know if they

like like little girls did the Beatles and.

And and the issue is is that it made it difficult for him to do his work by keeping things under wraps

and keeping in Private it slowed down the spread of the Word of Jesus because

the fame about him being a miracle worker.

People came to be healed rather than to hear the message that Jesus preached them the good the miracles

that he performed they they were the signs that substantiated his claims to

deity and Invalidated his preaching and teaching the words that he was speaking and he came to preach

and to save and so you'll note that The healing portion of it was a always a part of his ministry.

But it was one that if people if you got people chasing him around like they chased the Beatles

then, you know You're missing, you know, he's making it harder for him to do his full ministry.

So that that's the idea.

Hang on a second here.

Yeah.

Yep.

Yep, and then and and kind of add you can see this very clearly in the gospel of John chapter

6.

In there after Jesus feeds the 5 ,000 they were they were this close to making

Jesus the king.

By force it says they were gonna make him king by force and it's.

And what did Jesus do?

I mean, so when you get in fact, let me let me just go ahead and show you this because it's kind of fun

I'm going to Duplicate this tab and we are going to go to the gospel of

John chapter 6.

And so we'll take a look at the miracle itself and then the immediate aftermath and then this gives us the reason why Jesus was walking

on the water.

Jesus was engaging in geographical misdirection.

Because it was a very tenuous situation.

So in John 6 we read of the feeding of the 5 ,000 after this Jesus went away To the other side

of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias a little bit of a note here.

When you see in a New Testament text they give.

They give two names for a place Sea of Galilee Sea of Tiberias there's a reason for that and that

is is that the New Testament author is Anticipating

readers who are not Jewish who are not familiar with the Jewish names.

For these places and so in Imperial Rome a Sea of Galilee is the local name used.

Where a Sea of Tiberias is the one that that that the kids in their geography class in Rome could

look up.

Like, you know kind of an interesting thing.

So you can see that John here is clearly anticipating that some of the people who are reading his this gospel

Would have an Imperial Gentile frame of mind rather than a Jewish.

So and large crowds were following Jesus because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

So here this is in part an answer to your question.

And so Jesus went up on the mountain there and he sat down with his disciples now the Passover the Feast of Jews was at

Hand lifting up his eyes then and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him.

Jesus said to Philip where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?

That's a cruel question, right?

You just feel going of what?

So he said this to test him for he himself knew what he would do.

So Philip answered him 200 denarii where the bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.

So one of his disciples Andrew Simon Peter's brother said to him there is a boy here who has five barley loaves

and two fish.

But what are they for so many so Jesus said had the people sit down.

Now there was much grass in the place.

So the men sat down about five thousand in number and Jesus then took the loaves and when he had given thanks He

distributed them to those who were seated.

So also the fish as much as they wanted and when they had eaten their fill He told his disciples gather up the

leftover fragments that nothing may be lost so they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with fragments

from the five barley loaves left by those who had Eaten and when the people saw the sign that he had done they said

this indeed is the prophet who has come into the world.

This is a reference to Deuteronomy 18 the prophet that Moses said would arise that you have to listen to him.

So but in you saying how did they figure this out?

What's the big was the big sign a large group of Jews in the middle of the wilderness being fed

miraculously?

What does that sound like?

Hmm sounds Exodus like right if that's kind of the whole point that everyone went.

Ah.

You're the one so perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him King.

Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

And so so this is the you can synchronize this with the Gospel of Matthew and then Jesus walking on

the water also.

So when evening came his disciples went down to the sea got into the boat and started across the sea at the sea to Capernaum.

It was now dark and Jesus had not yet come with him.

The sea began became rough and a strong wind was blowing and when they had rode about three or four miles I saw Jesus walking on the

sea.

So the idea then is is that Jesus walking on the sea?

He sent his disciples out ahead of him.

Everybody in the crowd saw the disciples leave they didn't see Jesus.

And.

So we see later in this text that the next day the crowd that remained on the other side saw that there had been only One

boat there and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples.

But his disciples had gone away alone.

The other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there nor his disciples.

They themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said in rabbi, when did you come here?

Okay, right.

So you'll know the walking on the water is is designed to basically throw them off track.

Because what's their goal?

You're coming to Jerusalem.

We're making you king.

And so Jesus said, you know truly I say to you You're seeking me not because you saw signs because you ate your fill of the loaves.

Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures to eternal life so we can see over and again

Jesus the miraculous signs are a vital part of his ministry, but the

reaction the the over Emphasis on it and the large crowds and their intentions

as a result of these things oftentimes were real impediments to Jesus's

ministry and you'll note that in Scripture contrary to what the charismatic say.

There are times there are also times in the book of Acts when miracles get in the way you think

of of Paul and Paul and Barnabas in one pagan town.

There was a guy who Who Paul, you know by the power of the Holy Spirit healed and they thought that the

the the Greek gods had come to earth.

They thought that Barnabas was Zeus and that Paul was Hermes because he talked a lot, you know.

And so, you know, if you know your Greek mythology, then you understand the gist of that and so.

And so they had this they were gonna offer Sacrifices if they did that one of the priests of Zeus was ready to offer a sacrifice to

them and Paul's like no.

And so once once they protested and you know got into these people's head.

They changed their minds rather than offering sacrifices to them.

They chose to stone him instead.

So, you know, it's.

So.

Miracles are not always a you know, they can't they are signed to validate the message, but the reaction to them

isn't always helpful.

So good kind of good way to put it.

So, all right.

Does that answer your question?

Mr. DeBoer?

Indeed.

All right.

Very good.

All right.

All of that being said let's take a look now at Revelation chapter 18 we

are rapidly getting to the close of the book of Revelation.

We've been taking a look at that that that symbolic character the the whore of Babylon

and her ruin and.

And with this we're rapidly drawing to the end of the book of Revelation.

The world's gonna end again.

It's ended like five or six times by now.

It's gonna end again, but in the tail end here the book of Revelation we get some of the most

explicit pictures then of The of the new earth that is coming

and the only other place that I know of offhand in scripture that gives as Vivid of a

description of the new earth those those descriptions are found in the book of Isaiah so Isaiah is

a fantastic place to go to you know to supplement what we see here in the book of Revelation and

We might take a look at some of those passages.

So now talking about the the the demise of the whore of Babylon and the whole Babylonian

system Revelation 18 verse 4 then I heard another voice from heaven saying come out of her my

people.

Lest you take part in her sins.

Lest you share in her plagues her sins are heaped high as heaven and God has remembered her iniquities

always a bad thing.

By the way, you don't want that to happen.

You don't want God to remember your iniquities.

And so what are the promises by the way of the New Covenant?

In fact these a specific promise of the New Covenant is that God will remember your sins no more.

So if you think of it this way when we talk about covenants in you know.

That the do you have the no added covenant?

What's the sign of the no added covenant?

Rainbow all right, and what's the sign?

Invoke what's the promise of God in you know, when we see the rainbow

you guys have the acting like it's summer here in Minnesota.

What's going on here?

No flood.

God's not going to destroy the earth by a flood right the whole earth.

Okay Abrahamic Covenant, what is the the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant?

Circumcision very good circumcision.

Maybe it's the air -conditioning that make it's hard for me here.

They're right circumcision and and you'll note that the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant is that the

seed of Abraham would come right and that and that the whole world would be blessed through that

seed and we learned from the book of Galatians that that seed is Christ right.

Mosaic Covenant.

This is a trickier one and a lot of people don't know what the sign of the Mosaic Covenant is Mosaic Covenant is a land -lease

agreement between God and the Israelites and what's the sign of the Mosaic Covenant?

The Sabbath the Sabbath is the sign of the Mosaic Covenant.

All right, what is the sign of the new covenant?

What.

Communion the body and blood of Christ.

What's the promise of the new covenant?

That's more than just the forgiveness of sins.

I Will remember their sins no more.

So every time we have the Lord's Supper we see the signs of the new covenant the body and blood of Christ under the bread

and wine and the promises of the new covenant are Invoked and the promise of the new covenant

is that God will forget our sins.

So in other words every time we have the Lord's Supper God remembers to forget our sins.

It's a good way to put it right?

So here we see that in the judgment of the of the whore of Babylon That

God is going to remember her iniquities in the new.

In those who are Christians God remembers to forget our sins.

Those who persist in sin and unbelief God will remember their iniquities.

So God has remembered her iniquities and he will pay her back as she herself has paid back others and repay her double

for her Deeds mix a double portion for her in the cup.

She is mixed as she glorified herself and lived in luxury.

Yeah, that sounds like false religion.

Is that like the common thread for like all the false prophets out there and the false teachers that they glorify themselves and they live In

luxury while the rest of us just languish in poverty and obscurity, man.

All right.

So so give her give her a like measure of torment and mourning since in her heart in

her heart She says I sit as a queen.

I am no widow and Mourning, I shall never see for this reason.

Her plagues will come in a single day death and mourning and famine and she will be burned up with fire.

That's an allusion to hell for the mighty is for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.

So the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality lived in luxury with her will weep and wail over her when they see the

smoke of her burning and they will stand far off in fear of her torment and Say

alas alas you great city you mighty city Babylon for in a single hour Your judgment has

come and the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her.

Hang on one second here I'm going to Do that real quick.

There we go in.

The Merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her since no one buys their cargo anymore cargo

of gold silver jewels pearls fine linen purple cloth silk scarlet cloth all kinds of scented

woods and all kinds of articles of ivory.

Essential oils.

Basically, I think we're talking about here, you know lavender and stuff like that.

Sorry.

Did I say that?

But.

All right, let's see here all kinds of articles of costly wood bronze iron and marble cinnamon spice incense myrrh

frankincense wine oil fine flour wheat cattle sheep horses chariots and slaves that

is human souls and The fruit for which your soul longed has gone for you Has from you

and all your delicacies and all your splendors are lost to you never to be found again.

So the merchants of these wares who gained wealth from her will stand far off in fear of her torment weeping and mourning aloud.

Alas alas for the great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet adorned with gold and

with jewels and with pearls.

For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.

All shipmasters and seafaring men sailors and all those who trade Whose trade is on the sea stood far

off and remember a few weeks ago I made the connection between Jezebel of the Old Testament and

how her demise came in a single day, you know.

Everything came to naught same with a Thalia who are types and shadows put the pictures of this

concept of the the horror of Babylon.

So when God acts in judgment It's definitive.

It's decisive and the calamity occurs in a day.

Everything changes.

Never to be overturned and so they cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning.

What city was like the great city?

And when they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned crying out alas alas for the great city.

Where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth for a single hour.

She has been laid waste and so you'll note here that this the seven mountains the the horror of Babylon.

The imagery kind of floats in and out.

You know, you know in from this picture of the whore riding the beast standing on the seven

hills to it becoming a city.

You'll note the fluidity of how the imagery works.

That's kind of the point here.

There's nothing as precise.

In fact when you when you read the book of Revelation in Greek.

They're a great way to compare it to other path other books of the Bible in Greek.

Luke is very precise.

Luke is one of these guys as you're reading.

His grammar is just on Point and everything is down to the nuance

John in writing the book of Revelation.

It's more like an impressionist painting.

Everything is written so quickly and the grammar is awful.

Okay.

It's kind of fun because it's like, you know When you're when you translate you sit there and go.

I don't have to pay attention to too many details.

It just it's just these broad brushstrokes and you know in in in words and that's what's going on here and so

you'll note that the imagery is just Fluidly changing in this word picture that being brushed

out for us in these words.

So alas alas the great city where all who had ships at sea grew with rich by her wealth for a single hour.

She's been laid waste rejoice over her.

Oh heaven and you Saints and Apostles and prophets for God has given judgment for you

Against her and this is an important bit.

Because as Christians, you'll note that we are made to suffer and the persecutions that are coming as we get closer to

the end of the age.

We noted that one of the primary ways in which Christians are martyred In the days before the return of Christ

is having their heads lopped off their head makes you wonder will the guillotine make a resurgence?

You know in popularity is just frightening if you consider the aspect of it.

And then if you remember all the Saints who had lost their heads were underneath the altar crying out to Christ.

How long before their blood is avenged in crisis cool your heels a little longer.

Here's a pina colada relax and Everything will happen in its due time.

Now.

The pina colada part was not in there.

I put that in there, but you know.

What Becky.

It's a it's a contextual reference to rest day, you know, what I think of resting I think.

Shay's Lounge.

Tropical region humid weather and a pina colada, right?

It this will be the pina colada Bible study.

That's right.

In fact afterwards. We'll be doing a liturgical Macarena.

So.

Oh, he he'll hear you yes that He'll do it to you.

I'm nervous the pina colada Bible study.

Hey back arena.

Anyway.

All right.

But here's the important bit God you'll know that God gives judgment against

the persecutors of the faith in favor of the Saints and.

So there's an aspect when you when you tease out this theme in Scripture.

It's one that's very fascinating.

You see it in alluded to in the book of Psalms that on the day of judgment those who

persisted and Made us to suffer and persecuted us that they on the day of judgment God

will make them stand before you and he will require them to say to you

you were right I was wrong.

God loved you.

He did not love me.

It's it's a terrifying judgment, but that's part of part of this.

So Have you noticed that there are people who in this lifetime have been

grievously sinned against and.

And we can talk about you know levels of grievousness, but I think about.

There was a documentary I watched with my wife on Netflix about a fellow down in Texas

who?

Confessed to all these murders that he couldn't possibly have committed.

Not I mean and and so the whole documentary basically points out the fact this guy although back in the 80s

He confessed to all of these murders he was fed information about the murders

and then gave the details back to the police and He eventually died in prison.

But the thing is is that we're talking hundreds of murders.

Hundreds, you know several hundreds of murders that he claims that he's committed.

But when you go back and you do the investigative work he was nowhere near those places and so

what has happened is is that it is that there are people whose Family members were

legitimately murdered and the police will not open those cases.

They will not reopen those cases because they say well that guy confessed to it.

So we don't need to reopen the case and as a result of it these families know That they're not getting justice.

The person who murdered their family member is not being brought to justice and so you'll

note that as as good as our justice system is it's still broken and

There there are we all of us have been made to suffer to some degree or another by people who there's no way to bring

them to justice.

Don't worry.

They're not getting away with anything.

Not getting away with anything at all the judge of the earth Christ will

give judgment in your favor and Will give judgment in your favor against them.

And this is a terrible thing, by the way.

My prayer for my enemies is that they repent and that they're reconciled to God and they do not face justice.

But if you're gonna persist in your in your unbelief in your sin, and you know your slander and your rancor

then You're gonna think Christ is gonna march you right before me and make you say that you were wrong.

He will do the same with those who persecute you or if it if you're martyred and somebody takes your life.

Don't worry Christ is gonna set all things right and so he will make judgment against them

In your favor.

It's fascinating.

So then a mighty angels took up a stone like a great millstone threw it into the sea saying So will

Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and will be found no more.

The sound of harpists and musicians of flute players and trumpeters will be heard in you no more at a

craftsman of any craft Will be found in you no more.

The sound of the mill will be heard in you no more.

The light of a lamp will shine in you no more.

The voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more.

For your merchants were the great ones of the earth that all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.

And in her was found the blood of the prophets and of the saints and of all who have been slain on earth.

And after this I heard what seemed to be the voice the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven

crying out.

So, you know here we got God speaking his judgment.

The whole earth at this point Destroyed in God's wrath.

And I heard the great multitude crowd hallelujah salvation and glory and

power belong to our God.

For his judgments are true and are just.

He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and as avenged

on her the blood of his servants.

Will there be justice in the end?

Yep, does anyone get away with murder?

Nope nobody.

Christ is keeping a record.

And it's good to know that we are forgiven in him.

So once more they cried out hallelujah, the smoke of her goes up forever and ever.

This is a hard passage for for many people because here we have people in heaven

worshiping God for his justice and For the fact that those

who persisted in sin and unbelief are now in hell.

Have you ever thought that?

The fact that God sends people to hell is a point for Worshipping

God it seems hard.

It really does.

But that's exactly what we're seeing here actual worship of God due to the fact that he

has exacted judgment on those who persisted in sin and unbelief and They are now

in hell praise God that the smoke of her goes up forever and ever.

Praise God.

Of course, don't let Rob Bell know that this exists.

He might be a little upset.

So Just say it so then the 24 elders the four living creatures They fell down to

worship God who is seated on the throne saying amen Hallelujah, and then from the front throne came a voice saying

praise our God all you his servants you who fear him small and great.

And then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude.

Like the roar of many waters like the sound of mighty peals of thunder crying out Hallelujah

for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory for the marriage of the lamb Has come

and his bride has made herself ready and it was granted her to clothe herself with fine

Linen bright and pure for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the Saints first

order of business.

With the judgment finished and the world destroyed and the end of the world is what?

We're gonna party like it's the year zero.

Because it is.

Yeah.

Kind of hard to you have to go back into your context and you got one like a lion the other like, you know.

It's these we and you see them also in Ezekiel one like an ox and one.

Weird pictures of these these creatures that stand before the throne of God and that it's earlier in the

context of revelation.

But that's what you go back earlier.

Yeah.

So then the angel said to me write this.

Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Have you been invited to that by the way?

Yeah, actually you have.

Yeah, you're invited.

You're kind of like the primary guest of honor.

We're the bride of Christ.

Right, so we've all been invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb and then he said to me These are the true words of God.

So then I fell down at his feet to worship the angel, but he said to me you must not do that.

You can just see the angel being really annoyed.

No, no, no get up get.

You don't worship creatures, okay get up.

I'm a fellow servant just like your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus worship God.

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Is it ever right to worship a human being?

No.

Right.

No at not ever.

And and you'll note that angels have to be the ones who instruct us of that.

That you we don't we don't do that.

Okay, so and then you'll note these important words.

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy over and again I can always tell when I'm hearing a false

prophecy, you know.

And we cover them for prophecy bingo and things like this because they tell me nothing about Christ at all.

Just weird absurdities.

I feel the Lord has given me a download in the season that we're gonna have experiencing breakthroughs and suddenly

weird stuff like this and It means it's just word salad, you know, it just doesn't mean nothing.

So the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy who the prophets write about Christ who the

Apostles write about Christ.

Right, you claim to be a prophet and you're telling me nothing about Jesus your go away.

Yeah, don't want to hear nothing from you.

So then I saw heaven open and behold a white horse the one sitting on it's called faithful and true.

That's Jesus in righteousness.

He judges and makes war his eyes are like a flame of fire on his head are like many diatoms.

And he has a name written that no one knows except for himself.

He's clothed and robed dipped in blood and the name of which is called the Word of God and the armies of

heaven arrayed and fine linen white and pure were Following him on white horses and from his mouth

comes a sharp sword With which to strike down the nation's.

You remember at the beginning of the book of Revelation that that John's Picture of Jesus that he saw that Jesus

had a sword coming out of his mouth another, you know.

And and so here we see that same imagery.

From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nation's and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty on his

robe and on his thigh.

He has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This is a this is an awesome picture of Jesus.

And you know if your picture of Jesus is what I call precious moments Jesus that's gonna get blown up here by this,

you know, yeah.

Everything's jumbled.

Okay.

So here so yeah so here's here's the one of the tricks to the book of Revelation is that each

and every word picture is its own thing and You can't think of it sequentially, you know, and

so here, you know here we finish this thing.

Well blessed the marriage feast of the Lamb.

Those are invited.

I worship the angel.

He said get up don't do that.

And then all of a sudden this new new vision shows up.

Okay, this is this is its own thing.

And that's part of the trick is you sit there and go.

What am I looking at here?

What does this have anything to do though?

It's it's a different picture altogether.

So then I saw an angel standing in the Sun with a loud voice.

He called to all the birds that fly directly overhead come gather for the great supper of

God.

To eat the flesh of kings the flesh of captains the flesh of mighty men the flesh of horses and

their riders and the flesh of all men both free and slave both small and great and I saw the Beast and the

kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who's sitting on the horse and against his army.

This is this is the Battle of Armageddon, right?

This is the final battle.

This is it the big showdown the armies of men have gathered to wage war with Jesus.

How do you think that's gonna go?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah now a little bit of a note here.

Okay, have Have any of you ever been exposed to like these these conspiracy theories regarding

secret societies and Luciferian?

You know conspiracies to take over the world and all this kind of stuff.

All right.

I'm not saying that there isn't such a thing but what I am saying is is that scripture has laid all of this out

and we know that the devil is going to Manifest in the end of the age, right?

So even if there were a group of people out there actively working to kind of set up a

Luciferian global government, right?

We already know that that's what's gonna happen and who's gonna win.

It should trouble them.

It should really irk them that with every move that they make they are fulfilling the words of

Scripture.

You know.

Doesn't it irk you that like with all the progress we're making that this is exactly what Jesus would said would happen and oh by

The way, he said at the very end.

He's gonna win, you know.

It seems like we're doing exactly what he wants us to do.

Should that's like really upset you.

Okay, you know.

So I don't worry about these these conspiracies because.

Yeah, all right.

So the devil shows up next week and takes over the world and everyone dies, right?

Marshals his armies and all this kind of stuff.

Do I have anything to worry about?

You'll note that all the things that people kind of sit there and go, you know, there's a conspiracy.

There's a group out there that's trying to make this happen and this happened and this happened and this happened.

It's like duh, it's in the scripture.

Okay.

How can it be a conspiracy when we were told 2 ,000 years ago?

This was what was gonna go down with their whispering in secret places.

It's just written in plain black and white in the Bible and it's been there for 2 ,000 years.

I got nothing to worry about here.

Yeah, I know that for a time they're gonna look like they're winning and then Jesus shows up and really messes up their

party.

But it's all gonna be made right by Christ.

Have you ever stopped to think now a little bit of a side note here?

How amazingly comforting it is to know that when the real hard persecution comes up

and running that our job is to lose.

Do you.

I am the best loser ever.

I'm great at it.

Okay going all the way back to junior high.

Basketball.

Okay in seventh grade and eighth grade.

I Tried to make the basketball team and the coach basically said to me

Rose, bro You have got no skills.

None, so we're gonna make you the scorekeeper.

I got to travel With our basketball team and we stunk.

Okay, it was not a question of whether or not we were going to lose.

We were shooting to see if we can narrow the margin of how badly we lost.

I am a professional loser.

Okay, I'm the best at it.

It is so comforting to know that I have no Need to try to win.

It's not gonna happen.

Okay, so here's the thing knowing that when all of these luciferian plots and the devil shows up

and our job is to lose I have no burden on my shoulder thing.

I've got to do my best to fight to save the world.

Forget it.

It's going down in flames.

Cool.

I'm my job is to lose.

I could do this.

This is a job I can do right?

So anyway, do I seem a little too passionate about that?

Yeah.

Note to self Roseboro's a professional loser, right admittedly so right.

Christ is the one who wins.

He's the one who defeats.

He's the one who has the victory not me, right?

So I saw an angel standing in the Sun come to the birds to eat the flesh of mighty

men the flesh of horses and the riders of flesh of all men both free and Slave was small and great and I saw the beasts

and the kings of the earth with their armies Gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his

army.

Stupid move and the beast was captured with it.

Yeah.

Along with the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the

mark of the Beast and those who worshipped its image.

These two were thrown alive into the lake a fire that burns with sulfur and the rest were slain by the sword

that came out Came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse and all the birds were Were gorged on

there with their flesh.

And then I saw an angel come down from heaven holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit great

chain.

He sees the dragon now.

Here's a little bit of a note here and I began to make this point last time and I'm going to reiterate is that

this picture here of The Battle of Armageddon at the end of chapter 19.

It is a complete thought.

Chapter 20 new vision.

This goes back in time.

I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the bottomless pit great chain.

He sees the dragon the ancient serpent who is the devil.

Satan bound him for a thousand years.

When was Satan bound?

According to the New Testament earlier other passages.

He was bound with the death burial resurrection ascension of Christ.

He's currently being restrained.

Until.

We get to the end.

That's second Thessalonians 2.

All right, so this is a picture of the restraint that is put on the devil.

Now.

Did you have a question sir?

No, no.

Yes you yeah, I saw you do this, but I don't know if that was just a reflex, you know.

God cracking knuckles.

Okay, cool.

All right, so.

So this piece right here of the serpent being bound see rebel second Thessalonians 2.

We talked about that second Thessalonians 2 is a place to see how that all works out.

That's currently being restrained and this is he's restraint during the period from Christ ascension

until Christ returned but with the with the Imminent return of Christ then the

devil all the restraints are let off and the best way you can say it is that all hell Breaks loose.

That's the idea.

So then I saw thrones.

Seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed.

I also saw the souls of those who have been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus.

Yeah, that's kind of that that's the frightening bit here.

Throughout Christian history beheading has not been the primary way in which Christians have been martyred.

This kind of alludes to a potential day coming when Mass

martyrdom occurs via beheading.

Just one of those things, you know.

Again, I have to ask is the guillotine making every you know return anytime soon.

Because that seems like the most efficient way to pull that one off.

So, all right, you know.

All right.

So this saw the souls of those who've been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus for the Word of God.

Those who had not worshipped the beast or its image who had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.

They came to life.

They reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.

This is the first resurrection.

Okay, so.

And blessed 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.

So first resurrection is is really after your death and when you are alive with Christ in the heavenly

kingdom.

That's kind of the gist of this and then when the thousand years are ended Satan will be released from his prison.

Will come out to deceive the nations.

Yay.

And that are at the four corners of the earth Gog and Magog to gather them for battle their number is like the sand of the sea and

they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and Surrounded the camp of the Saints and the beloved city

but fire came down from heaven and consumed them and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and Sulfur with a

beast of the false prophet where so you're gonna note here.

There's a little bit of a hint that the Battle of Armageddon in in some

degree is not merely an overt battle against Christ, but the the the

Circumstances that bring it on it's the final showdown between those who are alive who

are Christians and and in the final effort of the the devil and the beast

to To blot out Christianity off the earth altogether.

It's kind of the picture so and so doing your battle in Christ, but when it comes to that last

disparate Moment when this is it if if if those forces win,

there is no Christianity left on the earth.

That's when Jesus said enough is enough and he comes in and he personally gets involved.

Yes.

Yeah, it's it.

See, it's a tough picture.

I almost you know when we talk about restraints we think of chains and and shackles and

things like this and You know, maybe a good way to picture it is is that the

devil, you know his his legs and Arms are shackled and then you know

on one of the days they let off.

They let off one of the shackles on those arms later.

They let off one of the feet, you know.

So he has some power that so you'll note that as we get closer and closer.

It's like the restraints.

They don't come off all at once.

But there is one final big restraint that's let off and then I'll help it's loose.

But it's as if the devil is is conceded power in Pieces as we get

closer and closer kind of escalating and ramping up.

We are always protected.

Okay, we are always protected against his schemes, but that doesn't mean physically, you know, we may we may die.

But a little bit of a note here Was doing it so I'm doing some research on

the occult don't ask me why it has something to do with a personal project I'm working on.

And.

One of my mentors the late Gretchen Pasentino she was.

She was an expert in apologetics in the field of the occult and.

And she introduced me to kind of the basic rudimentary.

You know outline of how you do that kind of research and I've been doing some research on it and I came across an interesting

quote by a woman who is alive presently who is a practicing Luciferian witch and.

She laments the fact that none of the spells that she tries to cast ever work on true Christians.

Weird quote.

But that go well, that makes sense.

You would think they'd think oh they'd she'd sit there go.

I better reconsider my position and sad just makes her angrier.

You know, she's been trying to figure out a workaround.

So it's like okay.

Yeah.

All right.

Thanks.

That's great.

So.

So when the thousand years are ended Satan will be released from his prison will come out to deceive the nation's.

That's his job.

That's his goal.

Gather them for battle 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.

Consumed them and the devil who had deceived them was thrown down into the lake of fire and sulfur.

How many times is the devil thrown into the lake of fire.

Only once but you can see these are different pictures of the same Event, these are different word pictures.

These are paintings.

These are impressionist paintings with words.

They were thrown into the lake of fire with sulfur the beast and the false prophet were and they will be tormented day and night

forever and ever.

How long is hell for?

Forever and ever the smoke of their torment rises up forever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and the one who was seated on it from his presence the earth and the sky fled away.

No place was found for them.

I saw the dead the great and small.

Standing before the throne and the books were open and then another book was open.

Which is the book of life and the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done.

Now we always get we always get worried here.

But remember what Colossians 2 says regarding the record of debt that stood say it stands

against us.

I always like to point out and I Dwayne you remember that sermon I did years ago where I went off on people who are

good at expels sell spreadsheets and like Accountants, yeah, I remember that.

Yeah.

How evil I thought that they were.

Yeah.

He remembers that.

Okay, he's rolling his eyes at me.

I need to avert my eyes and not make eye contact.

Here.

He said asked me about Google.

She's I don't want to know nothing about good that sound.

That sounds like purgatory kind of stuff.

It's worse than purgatory.

Okay.

All right.

So here in here in the book of Colossians chapter 2 verses

13 and Through 14 listen to what this says.

You were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh God has made you alive together with

him with Christ having forgiven us all of our trespasses By cancelling the record of debt that stood

against us with its legal demands.

The record of debt is that portion of the book where all of your sin is recorded and.

So you'll note that on the Day of Judgment the books are open and you are judged according to what you have done.

But note what King Jesus has done for you.

He's taken the record of debt portion of your book Which stood against us with its legal

demands this Christ set aside nailing it to the cross.

So that whole section in your book that where all your sin is recorded.

All you who are in Christ that section of your book has been torn out and has been nailed to the cross.

Jesus has cooked your books.

This is a good thing.

All right.

So when we see here that the books are open and people are judged by what is written in the books According

to what they had done.

What's written?

What's the only thing remaining in your books?

Good works.

That's it.

That's the only thing left the whole record of debt has been taken out and if that's been taken out The only thing that's

recorded is every good work no matter how feeble it was How small it was and

so you will be judged according to what's written in the books.

Do you have anything to worry about?

No, it's gonna be one of the most awkward things ever.

Jesus, you know his finger walking through this.

Oh, wow, you did.

Whoa, you did.

Yeah.

Wow, you sitting there going?

Yeah, but there's a whole other section and Jesus I don't know what you're talking about.

You know.

What it's not here.

I don't see it.

You know, it was nailed to a cross 2 ,000 years ago.

So Yeah, I'm not going back to get it.

So The sea gave up their dead who were in it.

I was like to point out I from time to time get questions from people who say is it okay for Christians to be Cremated

there's no prohibition against being cremated and I would note that the the ultimate form of cremation is to be buried

at sea.

Right, you know because you become fish food, you know.

You know that your body does and so you'll note that those who perished at sea or who were buried

at sea that Even though their bodies were Consumed by thousands of little lobsters

and crabs and little fishies and things like this and they became one with the seafloor.

That Christ still raises them from the dead.

And so the sea gives up their dead and the Christ remembers, right?

And the great and small they were standing before the throne the books were open.

Then another book was open.

Which is the book of life and the dead were judged by 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 and then they were judged each one of them

according to what they had done and death and Hades were then thrown Into the lake of fire.

Whoo -hoo.

This is the second death, by the way.

Hell is the second death, you know, the first death is not the one you need to worry about.

It's the second one you need to worry about.

The first death is your your terminus here and now when your body gives up and And we bury

it that's death number one second death is hell.

That's the one we don't want and that's the one that Christ has redeemed us from.

So the second death is the lake of fire if anyone's name was not found written where in the book of life.

He was thrown into the lake of fire.

So you're gonna note this every Single human being who ends up in hell, that's their own

fault.

That's not God's will.

Christ died for their sins.

But everyone who goes to hell goes to hell nameless.

You don't have a name.

Sorry, I never knew you you you it's like as if as if you didn't even exist.

You don't even have a name.

Right, then he was thrown into the lake of fire and then I saw a new heaven a new earth.

The first heaven in the first earth had passed away.

The sea was no more and I saw the holy city in the new Jerusalem.

Now, here's what we're gonna end today.

We're gonna end here because we have a we have an event here at Kongsvinger.

But this is a good place to pick up and what we'll do next time we get into the revelation.

Hopefully next week.

We will talk about this portion of Revelation 21 the picture of the new earth and we'll do some cross -reference work.

With the book of Isaiah so you can kind of get a little bit of a fuller picture of what is coming.

When Christ makes all things new and the new earth that is coming so that will be for next

week.

So peace to brothers and sisters Lord willing.

We'll see you next time real quick.

I want to check questions.

You see me as the church that story and said that some data that Revelation was written by John because of the barbaric Greek style.

Yeah, he's right and that it was actually written against but it absolutely is Scripture.

Is this related to first Corinthians 16?

We should judge the angels.

The answer Eric is is that yeah there is a portion to this where we are going to judge the angels not for it to send them to hell or

not but For rewarding them for the the service that they provided to us and saving our bacon so

many thousands of times while we're here on this Earth.

Yeah.

Yeah, you'd be surprised at how how active angels are in protecting us So, all

right.

Peace.

We'll see you Lord you guys next time.