IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000
Years of Peace and Desolation
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>>Announcer: It has
stood the test of time.
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God's book, The Bible
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Still relevant in
today's complex world
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It Is Written
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Sharing messages of
hope around the world!
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If you were standing at the
southern end of the Dead Sea,
you wouldn't see much other than
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salt and some water. However
thousands of years ago, it was a
thriving metropolis of five
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cities. Sodom and Gomorrah were
two of those cities and at that
time, it was a fertile place.
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They grew fruit trees there; it
was green and lush. Life in this
metropolitan area was good, or
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at least, so it seemed. Sodom
and Gomorrah were incredibly
wealthy. They were sophisticated
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society, but their lavish cities
were filled with immorality and
vice. The Bible tells us that
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those cities met a sudden end.
It wasn't until the early 1920s,
that Doctor Nelson Glueck
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discovered evidence of an
ancient route between
Mesopotamia and the Dead Sea
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area. Doctor Glueck found this
route and it led him to where
archaeologists now believe are
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the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah.
These cities which Genesis 19:24
talks about the Lord
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raining fire and brimstone them
showed clear signs in the
excavation of utter destruction
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with a layer of ash ranging from
4 to 20 inches in depth. God
reigned fire and brimstone down
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upon Sodom and Gomorrah and they
were destroyed. In Jude 7, the
Bible tells us the importance of
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these cities.
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It says that Sodom and Gomorrah
suffered the vengeance of
eternal fire. Now let me ask
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you, when the archaeologists
that were excavating Sodom and
Gomorrah did not have to go
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there with fire trucks to put
out a fire so they could
excavate. Sodom and Gomorrah
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were destroyed by eternal fire,
which means that this eternal
fire is a fire that is a fire
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that completely consumes. It is
not one that burns forever, but
rather, consumes until that
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which it burns up no longer
exists. Second Peter 2:6 tells
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us: Sodom and Gomorrah in fact
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were turned to ash by an eternal
fire, and that eternal fire is
one that is a fire that consumes
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completely with eternal
consequences. An eternal fire is
one whose effects and results
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are eternal. Why are these
things important? Because the
second coming of Christ will
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usher in a chain of events that
will culminate in a new heaven
and a new earth with the final
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and complete destruction
of sin and evil taking place.
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Now friends, I want us to
imagine for just a moment that
day, the day when Jesus comes
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again, and He comes again in the
clouds of glory. I want you to
imagine for a moment that day,
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as Jesus breaks forth through
the clouds, with that shout and
the trumpet of God, Imagine with
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me for just a moment that you're
there, that you're there at the
cemetery where your mother was
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buried, where your father was
buried, where your brother was
buried, where your sister was
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buried, where your son or your
daughter was buried. And you are
there and they are raised from
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the dead with a new body,
completely new body. And there
in the clouds, as we meet those
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who have been resurrected from
the dead, we are reunited with
the old friend from work who
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passed away from cancer. We are
reunited with the teacher that
taught us in kindergarten and
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showed us the love of Jesus.
Imagine for a moment what it
will be like on that day.
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Imagine what it will be like to
be reunited. Imagine the
glorious things that will be
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happening all around the world
as graves are opened up and
people are raised, people are
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raised to spend eternity with
Jesus. But Jesus said some
interesting words in John 5:28.
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He says:
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Two resurrections; what's going
on here? There is a resurrection
of life and a resurrection of
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damnation, a resurrection of
condemnation. You see, the
resurrection of life is that
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which is described in 1
Thessalonians 4. This is the
resurrection that will reunite
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families, it will reunite
friends, it will reunite us with
Jesus. The resurrection of life
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will be such a glorious, joyous
event. Now we talked about this
in one of our previous programs
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in the "Star Wars" series. If
you missed that program, I
invite you to our YouTube
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channel,
www.YouTube.com/IIWCanada. There
you can view that program as
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well as the rest of the series
"Star Wars". The Bible is quite
clear. At the end of time, there
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are two groups of people, not
multiple groups of people, no
in-between groups. There are two
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groups of people. There are the
saved who will spend eternity in
heaven with God, and then there
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are the lost. Two groups, that's
it. Two groups: the saved and
the lost. To the saved, they
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will look up and say, "Finally,
Lord, our redemption is here."
To the lost, that same coming,
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that same Jesus, the one who
loves us, the one who has given
everything for us - the Bible
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says that the lost will look to
the clouds, see his coming and
then turn to the rock and cry
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out to the rocks, asking the
rocks to fall down upon them,
because the loving, glorious
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Jesus will come across as
terrible to them because His
all-consuming fire and His
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glorious coming as King will be
a frightening experience. Two
groups of people. There are
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believers who are changed alive
and receive immortality. The
wicked are destroyed by the
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coming of Jesus. The Bible is
quite clear that sin cannot
exist in the presence of God.
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And those who have chosen to
cling to their sin more than
they have chosen to cling to
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Jesus will be
consumed by His coming.
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But what happens after Christ
comes? All the texts that I have
just read talk about
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believers ascending. What's the
condition of the earth? What
happens to Satan? Revelation
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20:1-3:
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The serpent of old who is devil
and Satan, the Bible says that
he is bound for 1,000 years.
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The second coming of Jesus
happens and then there is this
1,000 years where the Bible says
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that Satan is bound in chains.
Now, a number of people would
use the word "millennium" to
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describe the 1,000 years. It's
important to know that the word
millennium actually never occurs
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in the Bible. But we get the
word from two Latin words,
"mille" and "ennium" which
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literally means 1,000 years. The
Bible says that the devil is
chained to the bottomless pit.
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What is the bottomless pit? In
the Greek, it is the word
bottomless pit is the word
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"abussos" which literally means
"abyss." In Genesis 1:2, that
same word is used to describe,
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the earth being without form and
void. The abussos is the earth
in a decreated state so to
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speak. The second coming of
Jesus has ushered in a upheaval
in nature to actually reverse
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the creation itself. Satan is
bound to the earth. I want you
to notice from 2nd Peter 2:4:
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The devil and his angels are
chained to this earth by the
chains of circumstance. And on
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the earth there is nothing or no
one alive except the devil and
his angelswhere for 1,000 years,
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the devil and his angels have no
one to tempt at all. They have
1,000 years and they are chained
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to this earth, in a symbolic
way. They cannot leave this
earth and they have no one to
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tempt. Think about that for a
moment. The work of the devil
and the work of his angels has
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been one mission, since they
were ejected from heaven, and
that is the temptation of people
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to draw them into rebellion, to
draw them into their rebellion,
and to have them turn their
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backs on God. And now they are
in a situation, a circumstance
where no one is alive for them
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to do that. And the Bible says
they have 1,000 years to think
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about that. You know, I remember
one time, I remember one time at
Hums Elementary School in
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Mishawaka, Indiana. That tells
you how well I remember it. I
was in the first grade, and I
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don't remember what I did, but I
did something wrong. And I had
to stay after school. And this
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is how it worked with the
teacher. I had to stay after
school for 20 minutes. And I had
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to look at the clock for all 20
minutes. And if I ever took my
eyes off the clock, the 20
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minutes restarted. For 20
minutes I could not do anything
but watch the clock. Satan is
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chained, not able to do anything
except consider what he had
done. know, the earth is
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desolate. Satan and his angels
are trapped here, I'm sure, now,
arguing amongst themselves,
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because rebellion always rebels
against itself. And Satan is
truly experiencing the reality
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of the wages of sin as death.
The earth is desolate. And the
Bible is clear that no one is
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alive on the earth during
the millennium. Jeremiah 4:23-27
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says: The Bible goes on to
describe in Jeremiah 25:33
additional conditions on the
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earth. And for 1,000 years Satan
will have opportunity to look
around and see what the full
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out-working of his governance
looks like. You see, the love of
God brings life. The selfishness
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taught by Lucifer, the
selfishness of Satan brings
death. Revelation 20:6 speaks of
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the promise of the
first resurrection:
00:17:16.46\00:17:20.94
While there is desolation on
this earth, there is glory in
heaven, God has redeemed His
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people and brought them to
heaven. And the Bible says that
during the 1,000 years, that
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they shall be priests of God and
of Christ. Now, what does that
mean? Revelation 20:4 answers
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that question:
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Here is the question, if
judgement has already happened,
because the reward has been
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given, how can judgement be
entrusted to the saints? What
does this mean? Revelation 20:12
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says:
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The books, the books of heaven
are opened. And here's the
amazing thing. For 1,000 years,
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we reign with God and Christ in
heaven. God, the Sovereign of
the universe opens the books and
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He commits to the saints
judgement. What does that mean?
00:18:42.62\00:18:47.39
I've heard someone say, "We will
be surprised by three things
when we get to heaven. First, we
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will be surprised that we're
there. Second, we'll be
surprised by who is not there.
00:18:54.23\00:18:58.53
Thirdly, we will be surprised by
who is there." But in all
seriousness, for 1,000 years, we
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will have the opportunity to ask
God and say, "God, I trust You
fully, but this person is not
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here. Or let's reverse it.
"Lord, I trust You fully, but
this person is here. How is that
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possible?" And the Sovereign of
the universe in His mercy will
open the books. We are judging
00:19:17.69\00:19:25.99
God's judgement. The Bible says
that the saints of the earth,
people who needed to be
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redeemed, the only beings in the
entire universe outside of those
first angels that rebelled
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against God, God opens the books
to us, that we can examine them
and judge the judgement of God
00:19:39.37\00:19:48.18
Himself. Every question about
the justice of God will be
answered during the 1,000 years.
00:19:48.28\00:19:59.06
There will be no questions. At
the end of the 1,000 years,
everything will be settled,
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completely settled and we will
know with absolute certainty.
First Corinthians 6:2 talks
00:20:04.53\00:20:11.87
about this, Paul knew this.
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What angels are we judging?
We're judging the angels who
have rebelled against God,
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because God has recorded in His
book and said, "These are the
angels that rebelled against Me.
00:20:33.13\00:20:39.00
This is the record of Satan and
what he has done." And in those
moments, everything will be
00:20:39.10\00:20:46.21
settled. Not one question will
remain. The righteous will be in
heaven during the millennium.
00:20:46.31\00:20:51.21
The wicked remain dead, Satan
and his angels are bound to the
earth for 1,000 years, and the
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earth remains desolate.
00:20:58.29\00:21:01.06
What happens, then, after the
millennium? The Bible tells us
that at that time, the wicked
00:21:03.53\00:21:09.50
dead are resurrected. In a final
demonstration of true rebellion
against God, the wicked are
00:21:09.60\00:21:15.50
resurrected to demonstrate, even
if they had been given a second
chance, what they would do.
00:21:15.60\00:21:24.71
Revelation 20:5
00:21:24.81\00:21:30.35
They are resurrected to the
resurrection of condemnation;
the resurrection of life before
00:21:36.93\00:21:42.06
the millennium; the resurrection
of damnation or condemnation at
the end of the millennium. Now,
00:21:42.16\00:21:48.00
when the 1,000 years have
expired, Satan will be released
from his prison through the
00:21:48.10\00:21:56.58
wicked dead being resurrected.
The Bible says that he goes out
to deceive the nations, which
00:21:56.68\00:22:03.95
are in the four corners of the
earth. Then at that time, the
New Jerusalem begins to descend
00:22:04.05\00:22:06.82
from heaven, and everyone can
see the New Jerusalem is
descending from heaven. Satan
00:22:06.92\00:22:10.46
goes out to the wicked dead who
have been resurrected and he
says, "We can take the city, we
00:22:10.56\00:22:13.76
can take God's government by
force. Let's gather together."
And he gathers the armies of the
00:22:13.86\00:22:20.40
earth together to
come against the city.
00:22:20.50\00:22:30.28
Each of us has a fundamental
decision to make. Either Jesus
will be Lord of all of our life
00:22:42.32\00:22:47.13
- the small stuff, the big
stuff, and the stuff in between
- or we choose to not make Him
00:22:47.23\00:22:52.97
the Lord at all in our life. And
ultimately, the end of the
millennium, the resurrection of
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damnation is this: Those who
have made a decision to say,
"Lord, I am not interested in
00:23:00.38\00:23:04.91
you being the Lord of my life. I
am interested in being the lord
of my own life." Have sealed
00:23:05.01\00:23:13.66
their fate for eternity God
Himself will be with them and be
00:23:13.76\00:23:21.36
their God. The New Jerusalem
comes down out of heaven and
Revelation 20:9 describes what
00:23:22.06\00:23:26.67
happens: And then the Bible says
fire came down from heaven and
devoured them. Even given a
00:23:35.71\00:23:42.25
second chance, the devil given a
thousand years, his character
did not change. He wanted to
00:23:42.35\00:23:50.66
overthrow the city of God by
force, which was the original
sin that he committed. And so he
00:23:50.76\00:23:57.10
gathers the wicked. And in what
the Bible calls God's strange
act, a fire comes down out of
00:23:57.20\00:24:03.14
heaven that is intended to
consume the devil and his
angels, but also those people
00:24:03.24\00:24:09.68
who cling so close to their sin
that they also are consumed. In
that day, God brings to an end
00:24:09.78\00:24:16.58
the stain of the universe.
And then the Bible says:
00:24:16.69\00:24:22.16
In one moment, God devours the
earth with fire and then He
recreates it. Think about that
00:24:27.40\00:24:35.47
day. Think about being in that
city, dear friends. When God
says, "Let there be trees," and
00:24:35.57\00:24:41.48
there are trees. He says, "Let
there be mountains," and there
are mountains. "Let there be a
00:24:41.58\00:24:48.48
stream," and there was a stream.
The entire universe, in a
symphony of praise, declares:
00:24:48.58\00:24:56.52
"Just and righteous are thy
ways, O Lord." On that day, all
questions over the character of
00:24:56.62\00:25:03.90
God are settled. On that day,
sin comes to an end. On that
day, God restores one pulse of
00:25:04.00\00:25:11.81
harmony throughout the universe.
In that moment, men, women, and
children will have every tear
00:25:11.91\00:25:19.65
wiped away from their eyes
because God has made all things
new. And the question that I
00:25:19.75\00:25:31.06
ask you today, and it is the
fundamental question of life,
is, will we be ready for Jesus
00:25:31.16\00:25:37.30
when He comes again? All Jesus
asks is for us to give our
hearts to Him fully. Will you be
00:25:37.40\00:25:45.71
ready for Jesus to come? The
book of Revelation says that
Jesus stands at the door and
00:25:45.81\00:25:52.11
knocks. And today He is standing
at your door knocking. And all
He asks is, "Will you let Me
00:25:52.21\00:26:02.59
come in?" Heavenly Father, Your
Son Jesus knocks at the door of
our hearts, and we want to
00:26:02.69\00:26:13.50
invite Him today to come in. We
want to be ready for Jesus when
He comes again. So take our
00:26:13.60\00:26:19.14
life. We give our lives to You
fully. Transform us, make us,
and mold us into what You would
00:26:19.24\00:26:26.72
have us to be, so we might
be ready on that day. We pray in
00:26:26.82\00:26:34.22
Jesus' name, amen. My dear
friends, the issue of hell and
millennium, it's often talked
00:27:01.92\00:27:08.66
about and brings about fear. But
the Bible is quite clear:
there's nothing to be fearful
00:27:08.76\00:27:13.60
of. If Jesus is for us, then
nothing will stand against us.
Today, I want to offer you the
00:27:13.70\00:27:18.27
Signs of the Times magazine,
"The Surprising Truth about
Hell." In those pages, you will
00:27:18.37\00:27:25.74
find hope, hope first in what
the truth is about this topic.
Second, you will find hope in
00:27:25.84\00:27:32.31
reading about Jesus and how He
doesn't want you there, but He
wants you in His kingdom. Here's
00:27:32.41\00:27:37.79
the information you need
to receive today's offer.
00:27:37.89\00:27:39.39
My dear friends, the journey
with Jesus in the great cosmic
"Star Wars" battle is one that
00:28:41.05\00:28:48.96
is an exciting journey, but what
is most important about that
journey, is in that battle,
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there is one thing that is more
important than anything else,
and that is you. Jesus treasures
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a relationship with you. Jesus
desires to be with you. That's
why in John 14, Jesus Himself
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said He was going to heaven to
prepare a place for you. Do you
want to be ready that day when
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He comes again to take you to
that place He's prepared? I hope
you enjoyed today's
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program. I invite you to join us
again next week. But until then,
remember, it is written: "Man
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shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God."
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