Q&A: End Times, Millennial Reign, Final Judgment

Why the Church Holds Q&A Sessions on Any Subject

So part of what we've been doing as a church is to have this these question and answer sessions so that you all can ask whatever you want about any subject matter it doesn't have to be about the sermon.

And that way we can provide that that ministry to you all and help answer whatever questions may you might have or I've been thinking about or studying or whatever the case may be. Okay. So let's go ahead and and get started.

And what questions you all have today. Feel free to ask about whatever. Don't be shy any questions. Yes. Oh good question. So we're we're gonna we're gonna need to work through that because part of what needs to be properly grasped is those issues that are related to eschatology that are primary.

Final Justification, the Millennium, and Why Theology Has Consequences

Right. So you cannot believe in a final justification or salvation because that is heretical. You cannot believe that. Oh well God is going to judge us on the last day and we're gonna have to prove our worthiness to God by presenting our good works to see if they're worthy of heaven.

So that's that's an important issue. So there are eschatological issues that we cannot we cannot compromise on. And now with respect to the Millennium specifically the millennial reign you know there there isn't there isn't.

Like I said we're not going to banish you or excommunicate you for not believing the what I'm teaching. But I really think you should right. Because this is really the only view as far as I can clearly tell and study that makes sense of this of the scriptures and that's what we need to study carefully.

And I want to encourage us to continue to look into these things and to study and to discuss these things so that we can properly understand the whole counsel of God. Because there are consequences. Right.

That's what I was. That's what I was saying in the sermon. There are consequences to believing something that is not true or something that is false. And there are implications for having a wrong understanding of the millennial reign.

And so we need to be aware of these things. And that's why I do want to stress the importance of them and how they help us to understand how we relate to the devil to to our enemies and how we fight them off in a way I'll keep them up resist them.

Because if you if you if you say like oh well we're already in the millennial reign. Well if you say that then that means that the devil is the the angel already came. He took the devil and he bound him up wrapped him up in chains bound him up.

It says literally he bound him up in chains and not only that but he locked him up in the abyss in the prison with like Tartarus where he locked up the other fallen angels that committed the sin of sleeping with women in Genesis 6.

So he is locked up and people kind of get confused by that and say well he can so that he can no longer deceive the nations. It's like yes he can no longer deceive the nations because he cannot do anything else either.

He can't do anything because he's locked up in chains in the abysmal prison. So the devil is completely bound during this millennial reign. He can't do anything now. How do you reckon. How do you harmonize that with the demonic activity that we blatantly see today and the fact that the Bible warns us in other places against the devil who is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking somebody who to devour.

So we need to understand these things and we're going to continue to admonish you to believe these things correctly because they're very plain in Scripture and so that's what we will encourage you all to do and to grow and to be of the same mind right to be it.

It's important to be of the same mind even when it comes to these issues. Is there freedom for certain differences. Yeah. Yeah. Sure there's freedom. But we still need to flesh these things out and have a right understanding of these things.

It's important to make sense of these things properly. That is how we grow and mature in Christ. Right. Does it help. Yeah. So any what. Any other questions. What other questions do you all have today.

Yes. Yes it was about if if belief if a certain belief in eschatology is required for church membership. So well it's not not exactly when it comes to the Millennium. But we're going to continue to we're basically going to admonish and encourage you all to believe the right view.

What we believe is the right view here which is the the premillennial view that this is a literal reign. Because the devil is not bound. Right. The devil is clearly not bound right now. So we have to make sense of these things properly.

Because if you think the devil is not bound then why all the demonic activity. Because that there are reformed men that we regard highly like BB Warfield or Jay Adams that have this on millennial view or post millennial view and they believe that demonic activity there's not really a problem any for many more.

So this having the wrong view has a potential for creating a false reality. And it will not it will make you it will. It's a it's it will incapacitate you from dealing with the devil properly and and the the demons.

Right. So it's important to rightly understand these things because there's consequences to believing the wrong thing. Theology always has consequences right to varying degrees and to various extents of depending on what they touch what areas they touch.

Okay. Yeah. So yes go ahead. Yes. Yeah.

Yes.

The Resurrection and the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4

In that script you're how I read it it's like immediate like there's no time in between. It says that we're supposed to be caught up in the cloud. So, how could there be a difference in time if you're supposed to be caught up in this house together?

Yes, so that verse actually proves my point and if one of you finds it, we can read it, but the verse.

First Thessalonians?

Is it First Thessalonians? Yeah, let's go ahead and read it. So, First Thessalonians. First Thessalonians. Where is that? There it is. Okay. Yes, okay. So, I'll start in verse 13. But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead already, so also God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. So this is why I also said that the doctrine of the resurrection is a primary issue. Because Paul here says clearly, we do not want you to be uninformed about what's going to happen in the future.

Because if you are confused about the future, you're going to be confused about what to prepare for and what to expect for. Because the Bible says, the Lord says, he's going to come like a thief in the night.

You're not going to expect it. So we need to be prepared for this. And for dealing with the enemy's agendas and devices. Now this passage, it's clearly teaching that the first thing that Jesus does, he's going to come back.

He's going to come back, he's going to descend, and then he is going to raise all of us up who are alive at the time in our glorified bodies. He is going to glorify us in our glorified bodies. And then those believers who are already dead, who already passed away, he's going to raise them into their glorified bodies from the dead.

He's going to give them glorified bodies, and we will have glorified resurrection bodies. This is the resurrection of the just. This is the resurrection of the just that Revelation 20 talks about, that happens before the millennial reign.

And then it says, Blessed is he who partakes in the first resurrection. And it's called the resurrection of the just. Now, Christ will only raise the just in this first resurrection. He will not raise the unjust, the wicked, the unbelievers, until after the millennial reign of Christ is over.

So that is how we make sense of these passages properly. The way the reformed standards or the post-millennial and non-millennial view reconciles this is that it says, No, when Jesus comes back, the millennial reign would have already been over, and he's going to raise both at the same time, both the unjust and the just at the same time.

And he is going to judge all men. And therefore, that's how it's going to happen. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says, first thing when Jesus comes back is raise the just believers first, and then the millennial reign will happen of Christ, and then he is going to release the devil, and he is going to raise the unjust unbelievers from the dead, and then he will destroy them, and then have the great white throne judgment by which he will judge the unbelievers.

And we will judge alongside Christ the wicked and the unbelievers. That is what the Bible teaches in Revelation 20 and in this passage. They are two separate events that are separated by a millennial thousand-year reign of Christ.

They are not the same event. They happen at different points in time. So, that's very important to understand.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

No, the believers who are alive at the time will be instantly glorified in the resurrected bodies. And Christ will also raise the believers who have passed away all the way back to Adam in the Old Testament.

He is going to raise them from the dead, and we will all be raised in glorified bodies, and we will begin the millennial reign with Christ on earth in Jerusalem, that beloved city, like Revelation 20 says, for a thousand years.

And then the unjust will not be raised. It says in Revelation 20, till after the reign is over. So, that's the second death, the resurrection. No, that's after. Yeah, because the great white throne judgment has to happen first.

Yeah, so that's the timeline. Okay, that's important to make proper sense of that. Tim Coffman, yes. Yes, Timothy Coffman has pretty much the best series on eschatology. It's Timothy Coffman. You can find that on our podcast, the Thorn Crown Ministries, Thorn Crown Network podcast.

And he goes through all the various views, and he shows where they're defective, where they're wrong, and how to properly make sense out of all of these prophetic passages in Scripture. And so, I think he leans towards the future millennial reign.

I don't know if he's actually dealt with it yet. I know he was planning to, but that's really the only way to make sense of these passages. Everything else has very, very sharp inconsistencies and contradictions with other passages.

So, we have to properly harmonize all of Scripture together, okay? Sister, did you have a question?

Yeah.

Why Dispensationalism and a Spiritualized Rapture Are Rejected

No, it's because what makes things confusing is like dispensationalism, because there's all these weird things. There's a pre-tribulation rapture or a post-tribulation rapture. There's no rapture, right?

The rapture is going to be of the wicked. There's no rapture of righteous saints. The rapture is what 1 Thessalonians talks about, where God is going to take us up, and we will immediately change into glorified bodies.

That's what the Bible is talking about. That's not a rapture of, oh, he's going to take us away from the tribulation that's going to happen. No, because the next thing that's going to happen is the millennial reign of Christ.

The glorified or millennial reign of Christ, and we will reign with him for a thousand years. It says that in Revelation 20.

Yes.

What's that?

Yes, in that beloved city. Yes, Revelation 20. Yeah, that's exactly what it says. Yes, Jerusalem. Remember also, Jesus said in the Gospels, he said, do not swear or speak against Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king.

Okay, so it's referring to, this is where that fulfillment is going to take place. I think that's, yeah, that's what the Bible basically refers to. The beloved city is an expression that refers to Jerusalem.

Okay, in the Psalms and other places it talks about that beloved city. Okay, so yes. Any other questions?

Yes. Yes.

John Piper, Doug Wilson, and the Error of Final Judgment by Works

Yeah.

Okay.

Because I feel from watching them and watching John Piper, something's very wrong.

Yes.

He talked about a final judgment.

Oh, yeah.

That's exactly where they're wrong. Yes, so the question is, these men like John Piper and Doug Wilson and a lot of these related folks, they have very serious heresy and false teaching regarding the final judgment.

And this is where we need to be careful. See, when you believe that, oh, well, I don't really need to worry about eschatology, that's just a secondary issue. That's exactly how the devil gets a foothold in the church, right?

He gets a foothold in the church and starts teaching heresy on eschatological issues because the final judgment is about eschatology. So we cannot dismiss all eschatology as merely secondary issues because these men, these savage wolves in sheep's clothing, teach that you have to present your good works on the last judgment and you will be judged by Christ.

You will face Christ as a judge and He will evaluate your good works to see if you are good enough to enter heaven. And that is a complete undermining of what the gospel teaches, that the judgment was already finished on the cross, right?

There is no judgment. In fact, I mean, we need to memorize John 5 .24, right? John 5 .24, He who believes My words shall not come into condemnation, into judgment.

Amen?

He shall not... I'm ready to preach a whole other sermon now. He shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Amen?

Amen.

That's John 5 .24. That's clear as day. Yes, sister.

Yes. Yes.

Say that again.

The Thousand-Year Reign, the Wicked, and the Great White Throne Judgment

So the question is about what is going to happen during the thousand-year millennial reign.

So...

Oh, to unbelievers. Well, so I think, and I need to look into this more carefully, but I think what's going to happen is that Christ is going to come back in flaming fire. That's what Thessalonians talks about and Revelations as well.

In flaming fire, He is going to inflict vengeance on all who do not know God and do not obey the gospel, who do not believe the gospel. And so He is going to inflict this... First, He's going to raise us from the dead, the just from the dead, and we are going to judge the wicked at the time and inflict that vengeance, but that millennial reign will still be established on the earth and the work will not be fully finished.

Men, there will still be, I think, unbelievers on the earth, but part of this is making sense of what the Old Testament talks about, and I need to study it more carefully to see, well, are there going to be unbelievers at the same time that the millennial reign happens, or are they going to be completely wiped away and judged by Christ and killed and then He's going to raise them all up at the end.

So there may be those different ways to look at it, but the Scripture does say clearly that He's not going to raise the unjust until the thousand years are over, and then He's going to release the devil and then He's going to raise the unjust from the dead and then He's going to consume all of them with a fire and judge them and then usher in the great white throne judgment of all unbelievers, the fallen angels, the demons, and the devil, everybody, and unbelievers as well.

That's the timeline that the Bible gives in Revelation 20, these passages like 1 Thessalonians, that's what it's talking about. These are things that are happening in distinct points in time, and there's a certain chronological order to them where they have to occur.

Not yet, right. Yes. Well, we will have our glorified bodies during the millennial reign, so we won't sin, but the devil is still there. He's bound up, but he hasn't been dealt with yet, right? So it's possible to be glorified and resurrected as believers because we have our glorified bodies, but the unbelievers haven't been judged yet and neither has the devil.

So they're still in an unjudged state, so to speak. So they will not be fully dealt with until after that millennial reign is over. That's where we have to really make sure that we understand that. But that's a good question, though, because, yeah, well, you know, is God going to wipe away all of them?

Because I think in the Bible, it might indicate that there will still be unbelievers in the earth. So we have to make proper sense of that. But there's no indication in Revelation 20 that that's merely a figure of speech.

There's no indication at all that it's pointing to some metaphorical thousand-year reign that's just sort of a generic long time. That's not what it says. It's very, very explicit, and there's nothing that says, no, this is a sign that means something else.

It doesn't say that. It just says this is what is going to happen in this way. So we need to take that at face value and look at it carefully. Does that make sense?

Yeah.

So good questions.

Yeah.

Yes. Yes.

No, no, no, no. You don't die. And if when we have our glorified bodies, we are in our eternal state. We were not going. We're going to reign for a thousand years with Christ. We will live forever.

Yes.

We're going to judge. We're going to judge the unbelievers who are alive at the time, and then we are going to participate in the judgment next to Christ, which is what the reform standard seats. The larger catechism teaches this.

We are going to judge, reprobate angels and men. That's why Paul says, no, you not that we will judge angels. We will judge the unbelievers. So how much more are you not able to judge trivial matters on earth, right?

Because we will judge with Christ the unbelievers. We're not going to be subjected to that judgment. We're going to have a separate award ceremony when he raises us from the dead. Then we're going to judge all the devil, the angels, the fallen angels, the demons, unbelievers.

We are going to judge them with Christ because we are joint heirs with Christ. It's a powerful, powerful stuff.

But yes.

No, no, no, no. The number of the elect, the number of the elect will be done when Christ comes back. That's it. Like, that's that's it. There's there's nothing. I don't. Yeah, that's no, no, no. Because because our bodies are glorified bodies.

There's no there's no procreation.

Right.

We're not Mormons.

Right.

There is no procreation in heaven because there's only one marriage in heaven. That's the bridegroom Christ and the church who is the bride.

Right. No, no. Right.

But but but we have the eternal glorified bodies that we will have in heaven. And then and then that award ceremony is going to take place when Christ raises us from the dead. So that awards ceremony will happen then.

So there isn't going to be a future award ceremony or there's no other.

That's it.

And then God is going to dispose of the the unbelievers once the millennial reign is over.

OK.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah.

I think.

Yes. Yeah.

Right. Right.

I'm not sure. I'm not sure. It it really we have to we may have to look. We'll have to read the passage if somebody can find it. But there there's no you still have to deal with the final judgment. So the final judgment has to happen first.

Right.

The final judgment has to happen before everything is burned up and renewed because that is when we will that will be the beginning of everybody's eternal final state either the second death or eternal life.

So the final judgment has to come the great white throne judgment before. And if the final judgment has to be before because they have to be judged prior to being sentenced.

Right.

Your punishment cannot be executed until you are first tried and judged. And then it says death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20 talks about that. The devil will be consumed by fire.

Well Revelation 20 says it clear actually. It says the devil after the millennial reign will be consumed by fire and then the great white throne judgment will happen and then the earth will be destroyed and renewed and all that stuff.

But in order for the judgment to happen first the millennial reign has to happen first and in order for the millennial reign to happen happen first the resurrection of the just have to has to happen first.

All of this is in a specific chronological timeline. So it's very very clear in Revelation 20 that first the judgment has to happen before the final sentencing and execution of God's justice and mercy is applied to believers and unbelievers in the new heavens and the new earth and in the lake of fire where everything will be consumed that it doesn't believe God.

The Day of the Lord and the New Heavens and New Earth

Yes.

Yes.

Second Peter 3.

Okay.

Yes.

The day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be discovered since all these things are to be destroyed in this way.

What sort of people are you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning. And the elements will melt with intense heat.

But according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. So this is a good passage that describes what's going to happen. Now I think we have to reconcile this with Revelation 20.

Now Revelation 20 that God will bring down a consuming fire after the millennial reign.

Right.

A consuming fire on the devil and his followers after that millennial reign. So I think that that fire of destruction and stuff I think that's what that's referring.

To there.

It says the yeah the Lord and it might be it might also refer to the devil. I mean when Christ comes back he is going to inflict vengeance in flaming fire inflict vengeance on all who obey not the gospel.

So that might be that when Jesus first comes back he is going to inflict that vengeance of flaming fire on the unbelievers and then lock up the devil. That may be like a what's it called a pre a prejudgment.

It's like a pre a pre cleaning house so to speak. So it could also it may actually refer to that when Jesus comes back he inflicts fire the vent the vengeance of flaming fire like Thessalonians talks about and then puts away the devil through them through the angel and then the new the millennial reign will start and then after that the consuming fire will fall down and the new the great white throne judgment and then the new heavens and the new worth is is completely renewed.

Those who are alive at the time those who are alive at the time. Yeah because because it's very specific when when it happens there's going to be believers and unbelievers who are alive right and those who are alive are not going to be brought from the dead.

They're going to be instantly changed and glorified and then he will raise the believers who have passed away and are in heaven into their glorified bodies and then and he's going to judge the unbelievers who are alive at the time in a temporal judgment not the great white throne judgment.

Well, it's it's a judgment of death right? It's the it's the it's the judgment of death because he's going to destroy them. But then the final judgment is the eternal destination the great white throne judgment.

That's the final judgment. So he is going to inflict that vengeance and then judge them at the end along with the devil the angel is angels and all of that all of them.

Yeah.

So yeah, good questions. This is helping to I think to yeah, we got a really the Bible has some really clear teachings to say about this, but we have to also reconcile them appropriately and that's why you see some differences in this under in understanding the future rain.

I mean the millennial reign of Christ. So yeah, good questions. Any other questions before we wrap up?

All right.

Very good lively discussion. Let's go ahead and close out a prayer. Thank you for listening to the sermons of Thorn Crown Covenant Baptist Church where the Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety has applied to all of faith and life.

We strive to be biblical reformed historic confessional loving discerning Christians who evangelize stand firm in and earnestly contend for the Christian faith. If you're looking for a church in the El Paso Texas area or for more information about our church sermons and ministries such as Semper Ephraim on the radio and Thorn Crown Network podcast, please contact us at thorncrownministries .com.

And may the mercy peace and love of our Triune God be multiplied to you.