Participants: Christopher Hudson
Series Code: FRC
Program Code: FRC000020
|
00:44 Hi, and you're in now with the "Forerunner Chronicles."
00:47 All right, everybody, so in the Book of Job 00:50 the Bible presented to us a very interesting question 00:52 which perplexes the minds of multitudes 00:54 within our world today 00:56 and the question is found 00:59 where the Bible says 01:01 "If a man die, shall he live again? 01:03 Now it's only natural for human beings 01:05 which experience death on a daily basis 01:07 to be at least a little bit curious 01:09 as to whether or not 01:10 there's a possibility of life after death. 01:13 And the Bible begins to answer this question 01:15 in the Book of John 5:25 where Jesus Himself said 01:20 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, 01:22 that the hour cometh, and now is, 01:24 when they that are dead shall hear the voice 01:26 of the Son of God and they that hear shall live." 01:29 So the Bible is clear all that are in the grave 01:32 one day will hear the creative power 01:34 of the voice of the Son of God Jesus Christ 01:37 and at hearing His voice they will be 01:39 resurrected from the grave. 01:41 However the Bible gives us more information about this 01:43 and we need to take note of it. 01:44 It's down with in John 5:28 where the Bible tells us 01:49 "Marvel not at this for the hour is cometh, 01:51 in the which all that are in the graves 01:53 shall hear his voice, and come forth, 01:55 they that have done good, 01:57 unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil, 02:00 unto the resurrection of damnation." 02:02 So the scriptures clearly indicate that 02:05 there are two distinctly different classes 02:07 that will be resurrected from the grave 02:09 that will receive two distinctly different rewards 02:12 at the time periods at which they are resurrected. 02:15 Class number one, those that are good. 02:17 Their reward? 02:19 The gift of life. Obviously eternal life. 02:21 And class number two, those that are evil. 02:23 Their reward? 02:24 Damnation, which is the punishment untempered 02:26 wrath of God which is going to bring 02:29 about their utter destruction. 02:30 Now because none of us want to receive the punishment 02:33 of untempered wrath of God 02:35 which will bring about our utter destruction. 02:37 The question we should be asking is, 02:39 how can I be a part of the resurrection of those 02:42 that will receive the reward of eternal life? 02:45 Well, according to the Bible that is a reward 02:48 that will be given to those that are good. 02:50 So what is the criteria that God uses to determine 02:54 whether or not a man is 02:56 characteristically speaking good? 02:58 Well, according to the Book of Romans 7:12 03:02 the Bible says 03:03 "Wherefore the law is holy, the commandment is holy, 03:06 just, and good." 03:08 You see ladies and gentlemen, God's royal law 03:11 His Ten Commandments are as universal standard 03:14 which He uses to measure the characters of men 03:17 to determine whether or not they are good 03:20 and that same royal law 03:22 His Ten Commandments which are good they are also holy. 03:25 And the Bible says 03:27 any man that keeps God's commandments 03:30 is declaring that they have a specific mindset towards God. 03:33 The Word of God speaks of this in the Book of 1 John 5:3. 03:37 The Word of God says, 03:39 "For this is the love of God, 03:40 that we keep his commandments 03:42 and his commandments are not grievous." 03:44 When we keep God's commandments by faith 03:48 we are revealing that we have a deep-seeded love 03:51 and gratitude for our Creator. 03:53 When we give ourselves in total commitment 03:56 to His service we are proving to the world, 03:58 we are giving a revelation to mankind that we 04:00 do not esteem God's commandments to be a burden, 04:03 but we look upon them as the source of our joy 04:07 and our happiness 04:08 because they bring us into communion with God 04:10 as we walk by faith in Jesus Christ 04:13 to do all that is pleasing in His sight. 04:16 Matter-of-fact God pronounces something about 04:19 the characters of those that keep His commandments. 04:22 In the Book of Revelation 22:14 the Bible says 04:27 "Blessed are they that do his commandments, 04:29 that they may have right to the tree of life, 04:31 and may enter in through the gates into the city." 04:34 Then the Book of Numbers 15:40 the Bible tells us 04:38 "That ye remember, and do my commandments, 04:41 and be holy unto your God." 04:44 So according to the Bible those who by faith 04:47 in the power of God 04:48 reveal their love and adoration for Him 04:51 by keeping His commandments 04:53 God will pronounce them to be blessed and holy. 04:57 Now I wonder, 04:58 which resurrection do you think 04:59 the blessed and holy will come up in? 05:01 Well the Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation 20:6 05:05 "Blessed and holy is he that hath part 05:08 in the first resurrection on such 05:10 the second death hath no power, 05:12 but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 05:16 and shall reign with him a thousand years." 05:18 So once again, those who by faith in God 05:21 reveal their loving reverence for Him 05:24 by keeping His commandments 05:25 God pronounces them blessed and holy. 05:28 He raises them up in the first resurrection 05:30 and they reign with Him for 1,000 year period, 05:34 this is the great millennium. 05:36 And you may be wondering 05:38 when will this first resurrection take place? 05:40 Well, the Bible tells us 05:41 in the Book of 1 Thessalonians 4:16 05:45 where the Word of God says 05:47 "For the Lord himself 05:48 shall descend from heaven with a shout, 05:51 with the voice of the archangel, 05:53 and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ 05:56 shall rise first. 05:57 Then we which are alive and remain 06:00 shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, 06:03 to meet the Lord in the air 06:05 and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 06:08 Its at the second coming of Jesus Christ 06:10 when the good the holy and the blessed 06:14 will be resurrected from the grave 06:17 which is the first resurrection to go to heaven 06:19 to be with Jesus and rain with Him for 1,000 years. 06:23 And what about the rest of the dead? 06:25 When will they be resurrected from the grave 06:27 the evil ones that receive the punishment of damnation? 06:31 Well, the Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation 20:5 06:35 which says "And the rest of the dead lived not again 06:38 until the thousand years were finished." 06:42 Now notice something carefully, 06:43 there is a 1,000 year time period 06:46 that separates the resurrection of the two different classes. 06:50 The first class is resurrected at this second coming 06:54 of Jesus Christ, 06:55 taken to having to reign with Him for 1,000 years 06:59 and at the end the that millennium the evil, 07:03 the unjust and the wicked they are resurrected 07:07 at the end of the 1,000 years. 07:10 These are the two resurrections. 07:14 And during this 1,000 year time period 07:16 in which the saints are reigning with God in heaven 07:19 what will they be doing? 07:20 Well, the Bible lets us know exactly what they'll be doing 07:23 in the Book of Revelation 20:4 07:26 because it tells us there 07:27 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, 07:30 and judgment was given unto them 07:33 and I saw the souls of them 07:34 that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, 07:37 and for the word of God, 07:38 and which had not worshipped the beast, 07:40 neither his image, 07:41 neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, 07:44 or in their hands 07:46 and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." 07:50 So for the 1,000 year time period 07:53 the saints will be engaged 07:55 in the work of judgment with Jesus Christ. 07:58 And who will they be judging? 08:00 Well, the Bible lets us know 08:01 who in the Book 1 Corinthians 6:2. 08:05 The Word of God tells us there 08:07 "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? 08:12 And if the world shall be judged by you, 08:14 are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 08:17 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? 08:20 How much more things pertaining to this life?" 08:23 According to the Bible the saints will judge 08:27 both the world and the fallen angels. 08:30 And when the Bible tells us that the saints 08:32 will be engaged in the work of judgment 08:34 this does not mean that they will be determining 08:37 who will be saved or who will be lost. 08:39 It is obvious that Jesus has already completed this work 08:43 because the saints have received 08:44 the reward of eternal life. 08:46 The work of judgment they will be engaged in 08:49 is determining the extent of punishment 08:52 that all are worthy of receiving 08:54 according to the works of lawlessness they performed 08:58 during their lifetime. 08:59 And speaking of lawlessness what about those individuals 09:03 that will be living when Jesus Christ returns 09:06 to this earth for the second time? 09:08 But when Jesus comes they will be living in sin. 09:12 What is going to happen to the living wicked 09:16 at the second coming of Christ? 09:18 Well, the Bible begins to answer this question 09:20 in the Book a Luke 17:26 where the Bible says 09:25 "And as it was in the days of Noe," meaning Noah 09:28 "so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 09:32 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, 09:34 they were given in marriage, 09:36 until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 09:39 and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 09:42 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, 09:46 they ate, they drink, they bought, they sold, 09:48 they planted, they builded, but the same day 09:52 that Lot went out of Sodom it fire 09:54 and brimstone rained down from heaven, 09:56 and destroyed them all. 09:59 Even thus shall it be in the day 10:01 when the Son of man is revealed." 10:04 Ladies and gentlemen, the Bible is clear. 10:07 Every individual that refuses to repent of their sin 10:11 when Jesus Christ returns they will have no place of safety, 10:16 they will have no shelter, 10:18 they will be destroyed at the presence of the Lord. 10:22 All the wicked will be laid down dead. 10:26 The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 10:30 "For when they shall say, peace and safety, 10:33 then sudden destruction cometh upon them, 10:36 as travail upon a woman with child 10:38 and they shall not escape." 10:40 There will be no place of escape. 10:43 Men will be running it caves. 10:44 Men will literally beg the mountains 10:47 and the rocks to fall on them to hide them 10:49 from the presence of the Lord 10:51 but they will not escape the destruction 10:54 that God will be bringing to the wicked. 10:56 The Bible speaks more of this event 10:59 in the Book of Jeremiah 25:30 where the Bible tells us, 11:05 "Therefore prophesy thou against them these words, 11:08 and say unto them, 11:10 the Lord shall roar from on high, 11:14 and utter his voice from his holy habitation, 11:17 he shall mightily roar upon his habitation, 11:21 he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, 11:24 against all the inhabitants of the earth. 11:27 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth 11:31 for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, 11:34 he will plead with all flesh, 11:36 he will give them that are wicked to the sword." 11:40 And then in Jeremiah 25:33 the Word of God goes on to say, 11:46 "And in that day the slain of the Lord shall be from 11:49 one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth, 11:54 they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried, 11:59 they shall be dung upon the ground." 12:02 Ladies and gentlemen, 12:04 can you imagine that 12:06 at the presence of the Lord every wicked man, 12:10 every unrepentant sinner, 12:13 every person that refused to stop lying, 12:15 refused to stop stealing, 12:17 refused to stop fornicating, 12:19 refused to stop being dishonest in every shape, 12:23 form, or fashion they will be laid down dead. 12:27 This whole world from North, South, East and West 12:33 will be covered with the mangled forms 12:36 of rotting corpses. 12:39 And what will the earth look like at that time? 12:43 In what condition will this world be in? 12:46 Well the Bible begins to tell us 12:48 in the Book of Jeremiah 4:23 where the Bible says 12:55 "And I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, 12:59 and void and the heavens, and there was no light. 13:03 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, 13:06 and all the hills moved lightly. 13:09 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, 13:13 and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 13:17 I beheld, and, lo, 13:18 the fruitful place was a wilderness, 13:22 and all the cities thereof were broken down 13:25 at the presence of the Lord, and his fierce anger." 13:31 Oh, ladies and gentlemen, 13:33 this world is getting ready to be broken down. 13:36 All the cities there of will be broken down 13:39 for the Word a God goes on to say in Jeremiah 4:20 13:45 "For thus hath the Lord said, 13:48 the whole land shall be desolate." 13:53 This world will become desolate. 13:56 Even as the Bible said 14:02 that when the prophet beheld the earth 14:04 it was without form and void. 14:07 The Word of God is letting us know 14:09 that the world at that time will become to be like 14:14 it was prior to creation for we are told 14:17 in the Book of Genesis 1:2 14:20 before God made anything that the earth was without form 14:24 and void and darkness covered the face of the deep. 14:28 When Jesus Christ returns the second time 14:31 and redeems His people He will render this world 14:35 into a dark chaotic state. 14:38 It will be in absolute desolation, 14:42 a vast wilderness of nothingness 14:45 and abyss of darkness. 14:49 And where will the devil and his angels be 14:51 during all this chaos, 14:53 during all this destruction and mayhem that day 14:57 all responsible for causing? 14:59 Well the Bible begins to let us know what will happen to them 15:02 in the Book of Revelation 20:1 which says 15:07 "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, 15:10 having the key of the bottomless pit 15:12 and a great chain in his hand. 15:14 And he laid hold upon the dragon, 15:16 that old serpent, which is the Devil, 15:18 and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 15:21 and cast him into the bottomless pit, 15:24 and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, 15:27 that he should deceive the nations no more, 15:29 till the thousand years should be fulfilled 15:32 and after that he must be loosed for a little season." 15:37 According to the Bible there is an angel that will come down 15:40 from heaven possessing the key of the bottomless pit 15:43 and a great chain in his hand. 15:45 Now this key and this great chain 15:47 are symbolic of two different things. 15:49 A key in the Bible can be a symbol of authority. 15:52 The Bible begins to give us this understanding 15:55 in the book of Isaiah 22:22 where the Bible says 16:00 "And the key of the house of David 16:03 will I lay upon his shoulder, so he shall open, 16:06 and none shall shut, and he shall shut, 16:09 and none shall open." 16:11 Then in the Book of Matthew 16:19 the Bible says, 16:15 "And I will give unto thee the keys 16:17 of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou 16:20 shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven 16:22 and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth 16:25 shall be loosed in heaven." 16:27 Notice that the one whom is given a key by God 16:31 possesses the authority to either open up 16:34 or to set loose or to bind up or to close up. 16:40 And we are told about Revelation Chapter 20 16:43 that this angel that comes down from heaven 16:45 having the key a bottomless pit 16:48 he will bind Satan for 1,000 years. 16:51 And what will he bind him with? 16:53 Obviously he's going to use this great chain. 16:56 Well, what is this great chain? 16:58 Is it big metallic bolts? 17:00 No, the Bible let us know what this great chain 17:02 is symbolic of in the Book the Lamentations 3:7 17:07 where the Word of God declares 17:09 "He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out, 17:12 he hath made my chain heavy." 17:15 The word heavy there in the original language means 17:17 that he made his chain great. 17:19 So when God places a great chain on you 17:22 it means that He is hedged you about 17:25 so that you cannot get out. 17:27 And the phrase hedged about means that God as fenced you up 17:31 or placed] you with in a prison so that you cannot escape. 17:36 Therefore in Revelation Chapter 20 17:39 that angel that comes down from heaven 17:41 having the key of the bottomless pit 17:42 and a great chain in his hand literally is an angel 17:46 that has been given authority 17:48 to place the devil in prison for 1,000 years. 17:52 Will the devil be imprisoned for 1,000 years? 17:55 Well, the Bible declares that he will be 17:57 in the Book of Revelation 20:7 which says 18:01 "And when the thousand years are expired, 18:04 Satan shall be loosed out of his prison." 18:07 To be set free from prison you up the first be in prison. 18:10 And according to the Bible the devil is going 18:12 to be in prison for 1,000 years. 18:17 And what about the rest of the evil angels? 18:19 What about the rest of the fallen angels 18:22 that have been united with the devil 18:24 since the very beginning of the great controversy 18:26 on planet earth to lead 18:27 countless numbers of human beings 18:30 into transgressing the law of God 18:31 there by bringing destruction upon themselves? 18:34 How is God going to punish them? 18:36 Well, the Bible begins to answer this question 18:39 in the Book of Isaiah 24:21 where the Word of God tells us 18:43 "And it shall come to pass in that day, 18:46 that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones 18:49 that are on high, 18:50 and the kings of the earth upon the earth." 18:53 Now notice the Lord is going to punish 18:55 the host of high ones that are on high. 18:59 This host of high ones are the same supernatural agencies 19:03 which the Bible speaks of as being the ones 19:06 that we are now wrestling against. 19:08 In the Book in Ephesians 6:12 where we are told 19:11 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, 19:13 but against principalities, against powers, 19:16 against the rulers of the darkness of this world, 19:19 against spiritual wickedness in high places." 19:23 The spiritual wickedness in high places 19:25 and the host of high ones are none other than 19:28 the fallen angels and the devil himself 19:30 that are collectively united in warring against 19:33 the souls of humanity 19:34 and they are the agencies whom God will punish. 19:37 And the way they will be punished is spoken up 19:39 in Isaiah 24:22 which tells us 19:43 "And they shall be gathered together, 19:46 as prisoners are gathered in the pit, 19:49 and shall be shut up in the prison, 19:51 and after many days shall they be visited." 19:54 Noticed that the fallen angels 19:57 they are going to be gathered in the pit, 19:59 the bottomless pit with that devil 20:02 and after many days which is the 1,000 year time period 20:05 they will be visited. 20:06 The same way the Bible speaks of this event 20:09 in the Book of Revelation 20:7 which says 20:12 "And after the thousand years is expired, 20:15 Satan shall be loosed out of his prison," 20:18 The bottomless pit will be the penitentiary 20:21 in which the devil and his fallen angels 20:24 will be imprisoned for the 1,000 year time period. 20:29 Now the word bottomless pit comes 20:31 from the word abyss. 20:33 The same word abyss that is used in Genesis 1:2 20:37 to describe the deep. 20:38 When the Bible says and the earth 20:40 was without form and void 20:42 and darkness covered that face of the deep. 20:45 Now this is peaking of this world 20:47 in its darkened chaotic state 20:49 prior to anything being created on this earth. 20:52 So when the Bible tells us that the bottomless pit 20:55 will become the prison for the devil 20:57 and his angels 20:58 this is letting us know that it is planet earth 21:01 when it is rendered into a dark wasteland, 21:04 a chaotic place that is filled with nothing 21:06 but dead bodies after the second coming 21:08 of Jesus Christ 21:10 that will become the penitentiary for the devil 21:13 and his angels with a 1,000 year time period. 21:16 Now you may be wondering, 21:18 why would God make this dark wasteland of a world 21:21 after the second coming of Jesus Christ 21:23 into the prison for the devil and his angels? 21:26 Well, I'm going to show you why from the Bible. 21:28 Now remember it is when God places symbolically 21:31 a great chain about Satan and his angels 21:35 that they are imprisoned in the bottomless pit. 21:38 A chain is also spoken of as fetters in the Bible. 21:42 Now, look at what purpose God seeks to accomplish 21:46 by placing someone in fetters 21:48 in the Book of Job 36:8 which tells us 21:53 "And if they be bound in fetters, 21:55 and be holden in cords of affliction, 21:58 then he sheweth them their works, 22:01 and their transgressions that they have exceeded." 22:05 The reason why God will bind them on planet earth 22:09 is to show them their works. 22:11 Right now that devil and his angels are 22:14 24/7 engaged in thinking about 22:18 and working out our destruction. 22:21 But now for the very first time Satan and his angels 22:25 will be forced to behold their works. 22:27 They will be forced to consider all the pain and destruction, 22:31 all of the sorrow and the disease, 22:34 all of the mayhem 22:35 and the death that they were responsible 22:39 for bringing into existence as a result of their rebellion 22:44 against the kingdom of God. 22:46 And for the next 1,000 years they will trample with fear 22:51 as they realize that when their time on death row 22:55 is completed they will receive the most painful, 23:00 fiery judgment that God can hand down to them. 23:04 And we are told in the Book of Revelation 21:2, 23:09 that as the thousand years were completed 23:12 the prophet beheld the most wonderful site. 23:16 For the Bible tells us in Revelation 21:2 23:19 "And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, 23:24 coming down from God out of heaven, 23:27 and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 23:31 When the thousand years are completed the holy city, 23:35 the New Jerusalem 23:36 will descend from heaven on to planet earth. 23:39 Inside of that city the saints who had their sins washed 23:43 in the blood of the Lamb 23:45 clenched from all defilement they will be there. 23:48 Inside of that city will be the tree of life. 23:50 Inside of that city there will be streets of gold 23:53 that are transparent. 23:55 Inside of that city there will be Jesus 23:59 in all of His kingly glory. 24:02 It will be a most splendid sight to behold. 24:06 I have not seen, nor ear heard, 24:09 neither have it entered into the heart of men 24:12 the things which God has prepared for them 24:14 that love Him. 24:15 But then the Bible tells us in the Book of Revelation 20:7 24:22 "And when the thousand years shall be expired, 24:25 Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 24:28 and he shall go out to deceive the nations 24:32 which are in the four quarters of the earth, 24:35 Gog, and Magog, 24:37 to gather them together to battle the number of whom 24:41 is as the sand of the sea." 24:44 At the end of the 1000 years Satan's situation will change. 24:49 The wicked dead will be resurrected 24:52 and in that great multitude 24:55 that numbers more than the sand of the sea 24:58 there will be military generals, 25:00 there will be military strategists, 25:03 there will be tanks and missiles 25:04 and nuclear weapons, armor-piercing artillery 25:08 everything that he could possibly need to wage 25:12 a successful military conquest. 25:15 He will have at the tip of his fingers 25:17 and he will encourage all of the wicked resurrected 25:21 to unite with him, 25:22 to try to take this city and to destroy Jesus Christ 25:27 and the redeemed saints. 25:30 But the Bible tells in the Book of Revelation 20:9 25:36 "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, 25:42 and they compassed the camp of the saints, 25:46 and the beloved city 25:47 and fire came down from God out of heaven, 25:52 and devoured them off." 25:55 There will be no battle, there will be a slaughter. 26:00 All men that lived the life sin, 26:04 every angel including the devil 26:07 that was caught up in rebellion against God 26:10 all of them will feel the power of the fire of God. 26:15 And the Bible speaks about this fire 26:19 in the Book of 2 Peter 3:12 where the Word of God says 26:25 "Looking for and hasting 26:27 unto the coming of the day of God, 26:30 in the which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, 26:35 and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?" 26:39 Even the elements will be on fire. 26:42 This world will turn into one massive burning furnace. 26:46 The planet will become a lake of fire 26:49 in which all sin will be consumed 26:53 and we remove from God's universe for ever. 26:58 Well, praise God the Bible tells us in 2 Peter 3:13 27:03 "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, 27:06 look for a new heavens and a new earth, 27:09 wherein dwelleth righteousness." 27:12 God is going to make all things new some day. 27:16 Even the lion and the lamb will play together. 27:19 No more death, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more crime, 27:24 no more disease, everything will be in righteousness. 27:29 So as the Bible accounts in the Book a 2 Peter 3:11 27:35 "Seeing then that all these things 27:37 shall be dissolved, 27:39 what manner of persons ought ye to be 27:41 in all holy conversation and godliness." 27:46 Everything in this world is going to pass away. 27:49 The only thing that will survive is a character 27:54 that is made like after the character of Christ. 27:59 I pray that you will possess 28:03 the character of Jesus in that day. 28:07 God bless you. 28:08 As always this is the Forerunner 28:11 and whether you like it or not, the truth is the truth. |
Revised 2015-05-28