Let me pray for us and we'll jump in. Heavenly Father, we want to thank you again for this evening. We ask Lord God that as we study the book of Revelation and the end times that you give us clarity. And even if we don't fully understand all the details, help us Lord God to have a greater picture of who you are and your plans that we would have greater security in who you are.
We pray that you will bless this time, bless the time of discussion and our fellowship that we may be reminded again that why we are here and why we're running this race. We thank you in Jesus name we pray, amen. All right so today at least the beginning part of it we're going to be talking about the millennial kingdom.
We started out by talking about this in the very beginning. The millennial kingdom there's so much written about this particular subject. Is the millennial kingdom literal? Is it talking about heaven? When is it going to happen? Who's entering into it? What is the purpose of it? What's going to happen during it?
What happens to the people who get saved? So there's so much written about this period but the actual verses that directly deal with the millennium is only six verses. All right, Revelation chapter 21 through 6. So my guess is outside of the cross, okay I haven't actually done the, you know, went and researched myself but my guess is outside of the study of the cross there's probably more written on this particular subject than any other subject about the end times and about the this idea of this millennium.
In the very beginning of the bible study we talked about the different views so I just want to review before we get started. So the review of the millennium. The first view, the postmillennialism. Postmillennialism basically believes that Jesus will return after the thousand year reign of Christ. Just like the word says, postmillennium.
So most of them do not believe a literal thousand years but a symbolic period of time. So when we say a thousand year reign of Christ they're not actually counting 1,000 years. Another aspect that they believe in is, again this is all review, that the church is going to gradually bring revival.
So they believe that though the faithful event, through the faithful evangelization of the world will become more and more like heaven until the final stage of Christ's return will lead into eternal place in heaven. So postmillennialism basically is that Christ is going to return after the thousand year reign of Christ.
And that what they're primarily looking for is the world evangelization. When the gospel has reached the world, the world is going to be sanctified because of the church. So they believe that right before Christ comes the worldly kingdom is going to be more Christian. The church is going to experience a tremendous revival right before he comes.
That's postmillennialism. When do you think postmillennialism views may have been popular in history? Take a guess, considering what they believe. You don't have to say anything specific, but what periods of time in the last 2,000 years would the church have been more leaning toward this particular view? Probably right before World War I.
Whenever there was a tremendous amount of peace, maybe the Industrial Revolution, maybe during the Renaissance, maybe during the peak power of the Catholic Church. Whenever they felt like the world was being sanctified and there's no war and things are getting better, they say, "Well, see, postmillennials believe that that's what's going to happen before Christ comes." But after World War I and World War II, this view basically just kind of fell by the wayside.
Because they thought everything was getting better and all of a sudden they experienced World War I and World War II and say, "Well, there goes that theory." The other popular theory is Amillennianism. So today, if you were to go percentage-wise, most people fall under either Amillennialist or Premillennialist. The second view, Amillennialism.
They do not believe or affirm a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ. They believe that the binding of Satan happened at the cross. Remember how here it says in the beginning, we're going to look at how the angel comes and he binds Satan for 1,000 years? They see that as an allegorical statement that Satan was bound when Jesus was crucified on the cross.
And that the church is co-reigning with Christ until his second coming, meaning today. So from the time of Jesus' crucifixion until the second coming, that's the millennium. That's how they allegorize it. So therefore, Amillennial, non-millennial. The difference between post-millennial and Amillennial is that Amillennials do not believe that the world will experience increasing peace and prosperity.
So the Amillennials are not looking for the world to get better and better. They also believe that the millennial period started with the church. So the post-millennial don't connect the church with the millennialism. You understand? So the post-millennials believe that at some point, the millennial is going to start.
And it may not be a literal 1,000 years, but it's going to be a period, a long period of time where the church is going to bring about revival on earth and then Christ is going to come. Amillennials don't believe that there's going to be an increase in revival.
Amillennials believe that the millennium basically is the church era. Is during the time of Christ until the second coming. So that's the major difference between Amillennial and post-millennial. You're looking at me like, "What did you just say?" That's why it's written down for you. So if you didn't understand that, you can go back and read it and reread it until you get it.
So if you don't get it, don't worry too much about it. At some point, this is going to come up again. The view that we have that we started in the beginning was pre-millennialism. Amillennials believe, affirm the literal 1,000 year reign of Christ after his return to earth and will reign in his physical kingdom during that time.
And that's the view that we're going to be expounding today. This view believes the opposite of Amillennial view in that the worst period of human history, sorry, not Amillennial, but post-millennial. So if you can correct that, it's the opposite of post-millennial view in that the worst period of human history will be right before Jesus' return to establish his millennial kingdom.
So basically, what we've been studying up to this point, right? So all the seven judgments, the seal judgment, the trumpet judgments, and then the bowl judgments are all going to precede the coming of the millennium. So when all those judgments are done, then the millennium begins. Satan is bound, right, for 1,000 years.
And then after 1,000 years, he's released, and then the white throne judgment happens. The end happens. So chapter 21 and chapter 22 is a description of new heaven and new earth, the final stage. Okay? And that's the premillennial view. So when do you think premillennial views tend to be popular?
Whenever they think we're in tribulation. Whenever you see wars or signs of wars or World War II, World War II. After World War I and World War II, the premillennial view had a huge influx of new theologians jumping on the bandwagon. Okay? So that's the view we're looking at.
Again, it's the specific teaching of the millennium is in chapter 21 through 6, but you can imagine the ramification of whatever view you have, because how we understand the end times is hugely impacted on how you view this particular theory. Is it a literal 1,000 years reign of Christ, or is the church era the 1,000 year reign of Christ, or is the 1,000 year reign of Christ is when the church experiences revival and we're going to see more and more revival coming?
I believe that the third view, the premillennial view, is the most consistent if you take the Bible literally. If you allegorize everything in the book of Revelation, obviously it could mean anything, but if you were to take it as literal as possible, I think the premillennial view makes the most sense.
Okay? Having said that, that's the theory that we're going to be going with. Millennium kingdom in verses 1 through 6 begins. It begins by an angel that comes down from heaven. So that automatically tells us that this millennial kingdom that we're talking about is not heavenly, it's not a spiritual kingdom, it's a literal kingdom, because what he sees is the angel coming down to earth.
The angel has keys to the bottomless pit and a great chain. So the chain is referenced clearly, the Romans were known to chain their prisoners to Roman guards as an added security against any kind of escape. So remember when Paul, when he writes to the Philippians, he talks about his chains, right?
How he was chained to a Roman guard. So the idea of this angel coming down and has the keys to the bottomless pit and the great chain automatically kind of gives us a picture of prison, right? And then obviously we know what happens. He's going to imprison Satan for a thousand years.
The second part I already mentioned, the fact that the angel came down points to the millennial kingdom being on earth and not in heaven. So this is not a spiritual kingdom, but this is a physical kingdom. So Satan is bound for a thousand years. Who binds him? In your Bible, okay?
Who binds him? Who binds Satan? The angel does. Who is powerful enough to go against Satan and actually bind him? Can you think of somebody? Archangel Michael. Archangel Michael is the only figure that we see in the Bible that has that kind of power, right? He's the chief of the angels.
In fact, I think I have two passages. Reverend 12, 7-8 says, "Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back." Who wins this fight? Michael and the angel, right? "But he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven." Jude chapter 9, "But when the archangel Michael, condemning with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce blasphemous judgment, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you.'" So again, my archangel Michael is the angel, the powerful angel that is revealed to us in Scripture as a being that is actually able to fight against Satan, right?
In fact, in Jude chapter 9, actually warns against not taking Satan serious enough, right? See, even archangel Michael himself, he says, "The Lord rebuke you, not by his own authority, not by his might, but by the Lord's authority," right? So it doesn't say this is archangel Michael, but the Bible only gives us archangel Michael as somebody or as a being that has the power to be able to bind Satan.
So we're assuming this is archangel Michael. Satan is bound and temporary holding place. The bottomless pit, sometimes called the abyss. So how many of your Bibles actually says abyss instead of the bottomless pit? Anybody? That's the NASB, right? Anybody else have NASB? So NASB should probably say abyss. It's the same word translated, right?
And it's mentioned seven times in the book of Revelation. And this is not in reference to hell. The bottomless pit or the abyss is distinct from hell. Why do we say it's distinct from hell? That this is not hell. Right. Later part of the passage that you all read very thoroughly before you came says that he's going to be released and then he's going to be, and what is hell called?
Lake of fire where he's going to be forever and ever. So this abyss where he's being bound is not hell. It's this particular place that was created for, to be bound, for the demons to be bound and tortured for a period. Satan is called various names here. He's called the dragon, which describes a beast-like nature of Satan.
He's called the ancient serpent. And immediately we get the picture of Satan at the Garden of Eden. He was a source of temptation that caused the downfall of all mankind. He's called the devil. The devil literally means a slander or accuser. In Revelation chapter 12, 10, he's an accuser of who?
The brothers. Right. So Satan is the prosecutor who stands before God and if you have any sin that has not been atoned for, Satan is the one who's prosecuting. Basically saying no, he deserves eternal judgment. Right. So Satan is the prosecutor. And then Satan, the word itself, ultimately referred to as the adversary, the one who opposes.
And so he's described in 1 Peter 5, 8, "Adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." So he's not a passive adversary. He's not an enemy who's sitting dormant. The Bible describes him as an active adversary, like a lion actively seeking someone to devour.
So his activity is constant and it is vicious. Right. So I think somebody brought this up before. Is it wise for us to be thinking too much of demonic things when we know that God is sovereign? Right. I don't know, maybe some of you guys have thought that. Maybe like this over spiritualizing things and saying that maybe that's demonic or not demonic.
Yeah, it could be. And I was guilty of that when I first became a Christian because I became a Christian in a charismatic context. And I remember everything was demonic, right? Secular music was demonic, right? Secular movie was demonic. Certain fashion was demonic, right? Certain areas were demonic. So to me, everything was either from God or from Satan.
So it kept me, you know, kept me obedient. So you can get carried away where it starts to affect you psychologically. But it is also a danger to not to think about Satan at all when the Bible describes him as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour and to be completely unaware of the schemes that he is working in our lives, our thoughts, our hearts, our temptation, right?
Divisions, hatred, that Satan is constantly working to defile his church. And it is just as dangerous or even more dangerous to not to be thinking and not to be aware of his scheming. When the Bible says he is a roaring lion, he is an enemy who is constantly seeking to devour, not to hurt, not just to deceive, but to devour.
That's how the Bible describes him, right? He said during that thousand years while he is bound, the millennial reign of Christ will be marked by unhindered rule without demonic deception of the nation. So Satanic work is going to be bound for a thousand years, right? Does that mean for a thousand years there is not going to be any sin?
Will there be sin during the thousand year reign of Christ if Satan is bound? Yes or no? Will there be sin? Satan is not there. Okay, okay. I just wanted you to think a little bit, right? Yes, there is going to be sin during a thousand years because it says at the end of the thousand years there is going to be a white throne judgment, right?
So there is going to be unbelievers who are going to be born during the thousand years. There is going to be sinners who are going to be sinning during the thousand years because even though Satan is bound, there is still sin nature in us, right? But it's going to be unlike any other period that humans ever experienced because Satanic activity is going to stop.
So whatever sinfulness that they are going to experience during the thousand year reign of Christ is going to be internal. It won't be external. There won't be external temptation leading you away from God, right? And we can't blame Satan for anything during that period. So that's the thousand year reign of Christ where Christ rules.
Right now, Christ rules through His church imperfectly because of our imperfection. But during the thousand year reign of Christ, He is going to physically rule and we won't have to ask what is His will because He is going to tell us, right? We won't have to search Him out to say, "Oh, I wonder what His glory is like?" Because we are going to be able to see Him, right?
So that's going to be what the thousand year reign of Christ is going to be characterized by. John sees a throne and on these thrones, he sees many people who are going to be sitting on the throne to judge. It doesn't identify who they are, but the Bible does tell us that the apostles are going to rule, the saints are going to reign with Him, the resurrected who are martyred are going to be reigning with Him, the Old Testament saints are going to be reigning with Him.
So we have a list of people that the Bible talks about that will reign with Him. So we don't know exactly if that's who He's talking about, but the first thing He sees is when He sees the millennial kingdom, we see clear political structure in the millennium. So it's not like you get into the millennium and there's no structure.
It's just kind of like, "Well, Jesus is ruling so everybody does whatever you want." He says, "There's going to be a political system." Now what kind of political system is it going to be? Democracy? Communism? Fascism? What do you call it when the king rules? Monarchy. Huh? Monarchy. It's going to be monarchy.
Isn't there another word? Huh? Theocracy. Okay, that's not the word I was thinking about, but that sounds more right. Okay, all right, I'm not going to say what I was thinking because I think I'm wrong. All right, but there is a political system. The souls that were beheaded are going to be resurrected and that's what He sees, and they're going to be resurrected to reign with Christ.
And these are the souls that were martyred, specifically they were beheaded for four things that John describes. One, their testimony of Jesus. They were testifying about Christ, and again, the hatred toward Christ and the things of Christ are going to increase. But it's not specifically just testimony about Jesus.
Remember, again, this is just my theory, is that I think liberal theology is going to reign. I think every religion is going to be forced to come to the middle where universalism is going to reign. So, it's not going to be just any testimony about Jesus. It's the true testimony, the true gospel for preaching the Word of God.
That's the second thing it describes. So, it's not just because they're Christians. Secondly, they're actively evangelizing. And as you guys know, there are parts of the world, like even in North Korea, if you keep it to yourself and you never open your mouth to share the gospel, you may be able to live your life in safety.
Like in India, the reason why they hate Christians is because Christians actively evangelize. So, the pastors that we are supporting, they're constantly living in danger because they're taking the gospel to villages that don't have churches. But if they kept it to themselves, no one would know. It's just, okay, you're a Christian, you just kind of live your own life.
So, he says that the persecution and the martyrdom is coming because of the testimony of Jesus, and secondly, because of the active evangelization. Third, for not worshiping the beast or its image, not compromising. And then fourthly, for not receiving the mark of the beast on their foreheads. Remember, when we were studying this, what is the mark of the beast associated with?
Yeah, the number of men, right, 666, but what is the consequence of not getting the mark of the beast? Do you remember? I couldn't hear anything. Huh? You can't buy or sell goods. They're financial, economic, right? It says that there's going to be economic pressure to get the mark of the beast.
So, the people who don't get the mark of the beast are going to have a hard time buying and selling goods. In other words, you're not going to be able to take care of your family, right? So, these are the things that got these people martyred, and as a result of that, they're resurrected and they're going to be co-reigning with Christ, right?
And they said that they are preserved from the second death because the first death that they experienced was a death of martyrdom, that at the end of the millennium, they will be preserved from the second death because of their faithful witness to Christ, right? So, living at all costs is not the greatest goal of a Christian, right?
The greatest goal of a Christian is not to experience the second death. In verses 7 through 10, the millennial kingdom ends. Satan is released for a short time at the end of the millennium, right? Why is he released? The final judgment is going to come. Before the final judgment comes, he's going to allow Satan to, again, just like he did before the millennium, Satan's activity is to basically purify the church, right?
Satan's activity is those who choose to harden their hearts, Satan deceives them even further, right? Those who refuse to worship God, Satan lets them go even further out. He'll take whatever sin that we have and he'll allow it to take it full course, and that's the activity of Satan, that he's going to deceive those who are already being deceived.
Those who are already being tempted, Satan's activity is to take them to its full course. And so, at the end of the millennium, Satan is being released for this exact same purpose. Before the final judgment comes, Satan is going to allow it to be active again so that anyone who, during the millennium, who are rebelling against God, he will allow it to take its full course so that when God's judgment comes, right, there is no one who's going to be judged who's not going to be guilty.
He's going to allow Satan to do its work. But it's going to be a short period of time. Satan will be given permission to deceive the nations again for a period. So God allows this deception, this deceptive work to take place. So again, you know, when we think about this spiritual struggle that we see in Revelations and all throughout the Bible, the way that the book of Revelation reveals it to us is not here's the good and here's the bad and they're fighting and somehow the good overpowers the bad and then they eventually are going to conquer and have victory.
The way that the book of Revelation reveals it to us is God is completely sovereign. There is a battle taking place, but the only reason why there's even a battle happening is because God is allowing it, right? Couldn't God have bound Satan before the thousand-year reign of Christ? Couldn't he be bound today?
He's not binding it, binding Satan. He could. He has every authority to do that. He is allowing it to fulfill his purpose, right? So the picture that we see in the final conflict in the book of Revelation is a God who is completely sovereign, who is basically allowing Satan to do the work that he is doing, right?
To divide between the goat and the sheep, the wheat and the tares, right? Those who desire to worship the creation rather than the Creator, God will allow Satan to deceive them and continue to take them down that path, right? So he says he's going to be released for a period of time and then Gog and Magog, you may have seen that before.
They are mentioned in Ezekiel 38 and 39, but most theologians don't believe that this is a direct connection to that, right? The title Gog is often used in Scripture to describe general title of enemies of God's people. So again, their names are mentioned before, but whenever Gog and Magog is mentioned, it's describing enemies of God, those who are in conflict against his people.
So specifically in Numbers 24, 8, Gog is used to describe the human leader of satanic force. So this is closer to what we see here. And then Magog is often understood as historical people who fight against God's people, and they are mentioned in Genesis chapter 10, verse 2. So just kind of as a reference to what he's saying here is Gog and Magog, who represents enemies of God, who is in rebellion, at the end, what do they do?
They gather forces, and is this a big, small group or big group? It says many in number, right? God is going to allow a final rebellion and Satan to deceive and regather their people. Maybe he said, you know, the Armageddon, they tried and they failed. So God is going to allow them and maybe they're going to, he's going to allow them to deceive and he's going to deceive a lot of people because this army that is described that Gog and Magog puts together is not a small number.
A large number of people are also at the very end going to be deceived and rebel against God again, right? But it's not much of a battle because as soon as they describe that, right, it just says, so in verse 9, "And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and beloved city," okay, and that's it.
That's the battle. And then the very next, it says, "But fire came down from heaven and consumed them." The end. That's the whole battle, right? So Gog and Magog get together, they get deceived and gather this huge army, they surround the city of God, fire comes down, the end, right?
So God basically allowing the deception to happen, but it's not this long, drawn-out drama. He just allows it so that the sinners and the rebellious will stand with who they are, right? Just like it says in Psalm chapter 1, right? He walks in this council of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, will sit in the seat of mockers.
And so he's allowing sin to take its course and those two, they're going to choose, I stand with these people. And then as soon as they stand with them, fire comes down and they're consumed, they're consumed. The devil will be thrown into the fire to be tormented forever and ever.
It is eternal. So this is why the abyss and the bottomless pit is not talking about hell because he describes it here. And it is final, it is complete. It is not a temporary binding, but eternal torment. Matthew 28 or 28 to 29, do you remember when the demons saw Jesus?
And when he came to the other side to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tomb so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" So the demons already know that this is coming.
So this should not take them as a surprise. They know this is coming. They know that their time is limited. So during the time that they have, they're going to do whatever they can to rebel against God and get as many people to rebel against him as possible because they already know.
This didn't look like this when I was doing the PowerPoint. Mark 1, 23 to 26, "And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 'What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.' But Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be silent and come out of him.' And the unclean spirit convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice came out of him." You notice how immediately when the demons are confronted with Christ, they see torture?
They know who he is, and they know who they are. So as soon as these rebellious creatures stand before a holy God, they know judgment is coming. So what is described here should not take them by surprise. This is exactly, they know exactly where they're headed, and they're trying to take as many people with them as possible.
And that's their work. So the great white throne judgment, which is the final judgment that all of this was coming to, mentioned in verse 11 through 15. Throne is mentioned over 50 times in the book of Revelation, but this one in particular is distinguished as great. This points to the autocratic nature of Christ's kingdom.
It is white as it represents holiness and purity. Basically this is the throne of judgment of Jesus. And the scripture says, as soon as Jesus comes, the earth and sky, they fled away. All that we knew, heaven and earth, they fly away, they disappear. Right? Did I miss something?
Okay. Can I move now? This is again prophesied in Matthew 24, 35, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. So Jesus kept saying over and over, when the end comes, the heaven and earth, they will pass. And that's exactly what he's saying. When the millennium ends, right, at the white throne judgment, after the white throne judgment, heaven and earth, as we know it, are going to pass.
They're going to disappear. In 1 John 2, 17, and the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. So everything that you and I know, heaven and earth, is going to pass. And then when it passes, what happens? If you read ahead in chapter 21, new heaven and new earth is going to replace what we know today.
Right? And that's the description of heaven that we're going to be looking at in chapter 21 and 22. So remember the fall, right, the fall, and then judgment comes, and what do we call, we have creation, right, and then the fall, and then what do we call salvation? Recreation, right?
So God is creating all things new. And so at the very end, when the judgment comes, God's going to judge the white throne judgment, and then all of heaven and earth, as we know it, disappear, they fade away, and a new heaven and new earth is going to come, and he's going to recreate what was lost at the fall.
And heaven in the second 2.0, heaven 2.0, or new creation 2.0 is going to be much better. And again, that's the description that we're going to see in chapter 21 and 22. So that are judged according to what they had done, and this is in reference to those who are going to be judged at the white throne judgment.
Are Christians judged? Not here, right? The white throne judgment is for the non-Christians. So when they say that they are being judged according to what they had done, is hell going to be the same for everybody? No. There are different degrees of rewards for Christians, but there are also different degrees of punishment for non-Christians.
It says they're going to be judged according to what they had done, so they're not going to be judged equally. Greater the sin, the greater the judgment is going to be. In John 5.29, it describes this judgment as the resurrection of judgment. They're being resurrected for the purpose of judgment.
And death and Hades are also thrown into the lake of fire forever, meaning that there will no longer be death. There will no longer be judgment. All of that is going to be thrown into the lake of fire forever. And that judgment is called the second death. So the white throne judgment is the final judgment of all mankind who refuse to believe in our Lord, Savior, Jesus Christ.
So it's the end. The end of human history, as we know it, heaven and earth as we know it, ends with chapter 20. And then chapter 21 and 22 is going to be a description of the new heaven and new earth, which we'll look at in the next couple weeks.
I want to share a couple verses before I break you guys up into your small groups. One, 2 Thessalonians 2, 5 through 12. I'll just read it together with you. For Paul, how long was he in Thessalonica? He says three Sundays. So if he stayed there long, maybe a few more Sundays than that.
So we're looking at maybe a month or two months. He wasn't there long. Remember how he came out? He was being chased out by the Judaizers or the Jews, right? And he runs to... Anybody know where he runs to from Thessalonica? The Berean Community Church, that's where he runs to.
So he runs to Berea, right? That's how he ends up in Berea. That's where we get our name, right? Act 17, 11. But he was only there for a short period of time. But during that short period of time, imagine if I had three or four weeks and I was going to teach the essentials, like how many of you who would go to China for two to three weeks and you have two to three weeks to teach them about the gospel, who Jesus is, are going to talk about the end times?
The man of lawlessness, how he's being withheld, right? We don't normally think of that as an essential thing that we need to teach, but obviously Paul did. Because Paul says, "Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you that these things, and you know that what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way." So let me stop right there. So during that short period of time, that this was the core thing that Paul taught this young church. So how important is it for us, right?
He thought that this was essential enough that along with the core doctrines that this is what he taught about lawlessness, for them to be aware that the adversary devil, the devil is out actively seeking to get you. Of course that would be important, right? Because that's, again, that's what he taught.
He said, "Remember when I was there that this is what I taught you. And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.
Therefore God send them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." So all of this, everything that we're talking about here was prophesied by Christ, you know, the satanic activity and what was going to happen and how Christ is going to come and he's going to end all of this.
And that during a short period of time he thought that this was important enough that he was going to make sure. And he says, "Remember I told you repeatedly that this was going to happen," right? To warn them that there's a spiritual battle going on, right? So when these things happen, when you see satanic activity happen, remember I told you.
I told you that this was going to happen, that you must be aware, right? So again, I think as we're studying through the book of Revelation, again, one of the main reasons why I wanted to study this book is for the same reason. Is that the danger of living where you and I live is that we don't recognize a spiritual battle that we are in.
We tend to think that this is happening in North Korea or in the Middle East or in India. But here my bills are paid. No one is knocking on the door to drag me to prison. I don't have to worry about the safety of my children. And so we naturally think, our knee-jerk reaction is, we are safe.
But we are not. We are being attacked differently than the Middle Easterners. We are being attacked differently. And actually even more dangerous when you are being attacked and you do not know. Where your spiritual life is being destroyed and you're walking away from your faith and you don't even know that that's happening.
Churches are being divided, being destroyed. Your hearts and your mind is being messed with and you don't even know that that's a satanic attack. And so I'm hoping and I'm praying that us meditating and thinking about things at least actively think about the spiritual battle that's going on because we are not fighting against flesh and blood.
This is not just because we're studying Revelation. We are told, reminded over and over again all throughout scripture. And final verse, ah, I copied the wrong verse. Turn with me 2 Corinthians 5.18. 2 Corinthians 5.18 says, "All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
That is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God." You see a sense of urgency with Paul as he is telling the Corinthians church that we have the message of reconciliation.
What you and I have been reading and especially at the end part of Revelation chapter 20, that's the final end. When we get to that point, there is no second chance. There is no other judgments coming because that's the final judgment. So the warning in the book of Revelation is before that day comes, as long as it's called today, right, as long as God is being gracious, the whole reason why it says in Peter why Christ didn't come is to give us an opportunity to take the message of reconciliation so that they would not fall into the pit of hell.
So when the judgment comes that they would not be judged. So that we would live our lives and dedicate everything that we have, our time, energy, money, our resources, our youth, to warn and to inform as many people as possible before we die. So that when that day of judgment comes, that we can at least say I've done my part in telling them the truth.
I think the biggest regret that any Christian is going to have when Christ comes and all the people that you could have told that you didn't, not the places that you didn't get to go, not the food that you didn't taste, but the greatest, by far your greatest regret is going to be every single person that you didn't make the gospel clear to.
You and I don't have the power to save people. And that's not what God calls us to do. God calls us to make the message of reconciliation clear, clear. So if the people in your life reject Christ because they know the gospel and they don't want it, and they don't want you sharing with them, right?
There's nothing you can do about that because that's a power of God. But if there's anybody in your life that you talk to even in a semi-regular basis, if you ask them, "Do you know what the gospel is?" they don't know. That's on us. For us to be in this room week after week, Sunday after Sunday, to be in this room, to hear the gospel, and then to be regularly in contact with people who don't know this truth, how can our faith be real?
It can't be real. We can't say that we believe that if we are in this room constantly gathered together talking about sharing our prayer request and encouraging one another and doing all these things and then there's people in our lives that we have regular contact with and you ask them, "Do you know that there is condemnation if you die without Christ?" And they say, "I didn't know that." That's on us, right?
That's on us. So as we continue to study, we have a few more weeks to study through the book of Revelation, that we would think carefully and meditate seriously about what it is that you and I believe, that we're not reading a fairy tale. This is not fiction. This is what we profess to believe.
This is what we sing about. These are the memory verses that you're studying, that without the blood of Christ covering their sins, the lake of fire is what is waiting them. The second death is what's waiting them. It's not their first death. We get so caught up when non-Christians get sick and pray for their healing, but that's not their real problem.
Their real problem is not the first death. It's not the real problem that they didn't get to live 80 years instead of 10 years or whatever. The real problem is that there's a second death waiting for them if they do not believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, if they are not atoned for for their sins.
So I don't know, and I think all of you will agree with me, there's nothing more urgent to the church than the salvation of the lost. We're going to worship in heaven. We're going to fellowship in heaven. Our tears are going to be wiped away. Our tears are not the greatest problems in our life because our tears are going to be wiped away when we get to heaven.
All our loneliness are going to be wiped away. All the problems that you and I have during this lifetime are going to be nothing because we know no matter how bad this world gets that when Christ comes, all that is going to be gone. So no matter what problem consumes us in light of who Christ is, in light of eternity, it really is not.
It's very trivial because it's temporary. The real problem around us are the non-Christians, even the rich Christians, even the healthy Christians, even the healthy non-Christians. Their problem is a million times more worse than whatever it is that we're struggling with. So my hope and prayer is that as we continue to study and meditate that there will be a sense of spiritual urgency of the truth that we profess and sing every single day.
So the three questions I asked you to discuss, one is how often do you think about sharing the gospel with the lost around you? Why do you think so many Christians make so little effort in sharing the gospel with the lost? Are there anyone close to you in your life that you are not sure if they really understand the gospel?
So this is the difference between have they heard the gospel? If you go out on the street and you ask people, "Have you heard the gospel?" A lot of people will say yes. This question is do they actually understand the gospel? So our responsibility is to make sure they understand it, not simply that they heard it.
Do they understand? Does everybody in your life, whether they accept it or not, at least understand what it is that you believe? Or do they say, "Well, that's good for you. I have my own thing." But they don't really know what it is that you believe. Are there people like that in your life?
Three, take some time to pray together for the lost in your life and also make a practical application to share the gospel with them in the near future. So the most practical thing is not to simply feel guilty. We can leave this room saying, "Yeah, I should, but thank God I'm saved by grace." And then the end.
I hope that's not what we do. I hope what we do is to actively. We're not going to become evangelists like the greatest evangelists overnight, but at least take steps. First thing is to pray. Identify who those people are, pray for them, and practically when and how will you share the gospel with them and make a practical application.
Hopefully you'll be able to do that in your small group. Okay? Let me pray for us and then I'll release you to your group. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your living word that judges the thoughts and intentions of our heart. You know how easily we are entangled, Lord God, with our own thoughts, with our own pity parties, Lord God, of what we don't have.
Lord, we know and we profess that we have everything in you. We know, Father God, that eternity is coming where we will be in your presence to know your glory for eternity, Lord God, to be affected by the cross and what you've done. But meanwhile, while we're here, help us to live soberly.
Help us, Lord God, to think soberly of the people who do not know you yet, whose sins, Lord God, are binding them, are reigning over their lives. And in the end, where judgment will come. Help us to have compassion for their souls. Help us to remember where we were before we met you so that we would actively pursue them, Lord God.
Help us, Lord, to live with perspective, perspective of who you are, perspective of what we've been reading and studying. I pray that you would bless our small group time, that you would cause us, Lord God, to be spiritual sober in all that we do. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.