Participants: Chris Holland
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201617A
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00:01 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation
00:05 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 00:10 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 00:15 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 00:19 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 00:23 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 00:29 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 00:33 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 00:39 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 00:44 IIW-2016-17 --- SW #7 - 1000 Years of Peace and Desolation 01:31 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time. 01:34 God's book, The Bible 01:38 Still relevant in today's complex world 01:44 It Is Written 01:46 Sharing messages of hope around the world! 02:00 If you were standing at the southern end of the Dead Sea, you wouldn't see much other than 02:05 salt and some water. However thousands of years ago, it was a thriving metropolis of five 02:14 cities. Sodom and Gomorrah were two of those cities and at that time, it was a fertile place. 02:22 They grew fruit trees there; it was green and lush. Life in this metropolitan area was good, or 02:32 at least, so it seemed. Sodom and Gomorrah were incredibly wealthy. They were sophisticated 02:39 society, but their lavish cities were filled with immorality and vice. The Bible tells us that 02:48 those cities met a sudden end. It wasn't until the early 1920s, that Doctor Nelson Glueck 02:57 discovered evidence of an ancient route between Mesopotamia and the Dead Sea 03:04 area. Doctor Glueck found this route and it led him to where archaeologists now believe are 03:11 the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah. These cities which Genesis 19:24 talks about the Lord 03:21 raining fire and brimstone them showed clear signs in the excavation of utter destruction 03:33 with a layer of ash ranging from 4 to 20 inches in depth. God reigned fire and brimstone down 03:41 upon Sodom and Gomorrah and they were destroyed. In Jude 7, the Bible tells us the importance of 03:49 these cities. 04:23 It says that Sodom and Gomorrah suffered the vengeance of eternal fire. Now let me ask 04:30 you, when the archaeologists that were excavating Sodom and Gomorrah did not have to go 04:36 there with fire trucks to put out a fire so they could excavate. Sodom and Gomorrah 04:41 were destroyed by eternal fire, which means that this eternal fire is a fire that is a fire 04:49 that completely consumes. It is not one that burns forever, but rather, consumes until that 04:55 which it burns up no longer exists. Second Peter 2:6 tells us: 05:10 Sodom and Gomorrah in fact 05:12 were turned to ash by an eternal fire, and that eternal fire is one that is a fire that consumes 05:19 completely with eternal consequences. An eternal fire is one whose effects and results 05:28 are eternal. Why are these things important? Because the second coming of Christ will 05:39 usher in a chain of events that will culminate in a new heaven and a new earth with the final 05:49 and complete destruction of sin and evil taking place. 05:57 Now friends, I want us to imagine for just a moment that day, the day when Jesus comes 06:05 again, and He comes again in the clouds of glory. I want you to imagine for a moment that day, 06:12 as Jesus breaks forth through the clouds, with that shout and the trumpet of God, Imagine with 06:21 me for just a moment that you're there, that you're there at the cemetery where your mother was 06:28 buried, where your father was buried, where your brother was buried, where your sister was 06:33 buried, where your son or your daughter was buried. And you are there and they are raised from 06:42 the dead with a new body, completely new body. And there in the clouds, as we meet those 06:51 who have been resurrected from the dead, we are reunited with the old friend from work who 06:59 passed away from cancer. We are reunited with the teacher that taught us in kindergarten and 07:04 showed us the love of Jesus. Imagine for a moment what it will be like on that day. 07:10 Imagine what it will be like to be reunited. Imagine the glorious things that will be 07:17 happening all around the world as graves are opened up and people are raised, people are 07:25 raised to spend eternity with Jesus. But Jesus said some interesting words in John 5:28. 07:34 He says: 07:52 Two resurrections; what's going on here? There is a resurrection of life and a resurrection of 08:00 damnation, a resurrection of condemnation. You see, the resurrection of life is that 08:06 which is described in 1 Thessalonians 4. This is the resurrection that will reunite 08:12 families, it will reunite friends, it will reunite us with Jesus. The resurrection of life 08:20 will be such a glorious, joyous event. Now we talked about this in one of our previous programs 08:28 in the "Star Wars" series. If you missed that program, I invite you to our YouTube 08:32 channel, www.YouTube.com/IIWCanada. There you can view that program as 08:41 well as the rest of the series "Star Wars". The Bible is quite clear. At the end of time, there 08:49 are two groups of people, not multiple groups of people, no in-between groups. There are two 08:54 groups of people. There are the saved who will spend eternity in heaven with God, and then there 09:00 are the lost. Two groups, that's it. Two groups: the saved and the lost. To the saved, they 09:08 will look up and say, "Finally, Lord, our redemption is here." To the lost, that same coming, 09:21 that same Jesus, the one who loves us, the one who has given everything for us - the Bible 09:27 says that the lost will look to the clouds, see his coming and then turn to the rock and cry 09:33 out to the rocks, asking the rocks to fall down upon them, because the loving, glorious 09:41 Jesus will come across as terrible to them because His all-consuming fire and His 09:48 glorious coming as King will be a frightening experience. Two groups of people. There are 09:56 believers who are changed alive and receive immortality. The wicked are destroyed by the 10:04 coming of Jesus. The Bible is quite clear that sin cannot exist in the presence of God. 10:11 And those who have chosen to cling to their sin more than they have chosen to cling to 10:16 Jesus will be consumed by His coming. 10:23 But what happens after Christ comes? All the texts that I have just read talk about 10:30 believers ascending. What's the condition of the earth? What happens to Satan? Revelation 10:38 20:1-3: 11:18 The serpent of old who is devil and Satan, the Bible says that he is bound for 1,000 years. 11:24 The second coming of Jesus happens and then there is this 1,000 years where the Bible says 11:30 that Satan is bound in chains. Now, a number of people would use the word "millennium" to 11:35 describe the 1,000 years. It's important to know that the word millennium actually never occurs 11:42 in the Bible. But we get the word from two Latin words, "mille" and "ennium" which 11:52 literally means 1,000 years. The Bible says that the devil is chained to the bottomless pit. 11:57 What is the bottomless pit? In the Greek, it is the word bottomless pit is the word 12:03 "abussos" which literally means "abyss." In Genesis 1:2, that same word is used to describe, 12:13 the earth being without form and void. The abussos is the earth in a decreated state so to 12:24 speak. The second coming of Jesus has ushered in a upheaval in nature to actually reverse 12:33 the creation itself. Satan is bound to the earth. I want you to notice from 2nd Peter 2:4: 13:03 The devil and his angels are chained to this earth by the chains of circumstance. And on 13:13 the earth there is nothing or no one alive except the devil and his angelswhere for 1,000 years, 13:20 the devil and his angels have no one to tempt at all. They have 1,000 years and they are chained 13:26 to this earth, in a symbolic way. They cannot leave this earth and they have no one to 13:37 tempt. Think about that for a moment. The work of the devil and the work of his angels has 13:44 been one mission, since they were ejected from heaven, and that is the temptation of people 13:57 to draw them into rebellion, to draw them into their rebellion, and to have them turn their 14:02 backs on God. And now they are in a situation, a circumstance where no one is alive for them 14:09 to do that. And the Bible says they have 1,000 years to think about that. 14:20 You know, I remember one time, I remember one time at Hums Elementary School in Mishawaka, 14:27 Indiana. That tells you how well I remember it. I was in the first grade, and I don't 14:33 remember what I did, but I did something wrong. And I had to stay after school. And this is 14:43 how it worked with the teacher. I had to stay after school for 20 minutes. And I had to look at 14:50 the clock for all 20 minutes. And if I ever took my eyes off the clock, the 20 minutes 14:55 restarted. For 20 minutes I could not do anything but watch the clock. Satan is chained, 15:06 not able to do anything except consider what he had done. know, the earth is desolate. Satan and 15:14 his angels are trapped here, I'm sure, now, arguing amongst themselves, because rebellion 15:21 always rebels against itself. And Satan is truly experiencing the reality of the wages of sin 15:32 as death. The earth is desolate. And the Bible is clear that no one is alive on the earth during 15:38 the millennium. Jeremiah 4:23-27 says: 16:27 The Bible goes on to describe in Jeremiah 25:33 additional conditions on the earth. 16:48 And for 1,000 years Satan will have opportunity to look around and see what the full 16:54 out-working of his governance looks like. You see, the love of God brings life. The selfishness 17:03 taught by Lucifer, the selfishness of Satan brings death. Revelation 20:6 speaks of 17:16 the promise of the first resurrection: 17:42 While there is desolation on this earth, there is glory in heaven, God has redeemed His 17:47 people and brought them to heaven. And the Bible says that during the 1,000 years, that 17:50 they shall be priests of God and of Christ. Now, what does that mean? Revelation 20:4 answers 18:01 that question: 18:11 Here is the question, if judgement has already happened, because the reward has been 18:18 given, how can judgement be entrusted to the saints? What does this mean? Revelation 20:12 18:24 says: 18:29 The books, the books of heaven are opened. And here's the amazing thing. For 1,000 years, 18:36 we reign with God and Christ in heaven. God, the Sovereign of the universe opens the books and 18:42 He commits to the saints judgement. What does that mean? 18:49 I've heard someone say, "We will be surprised by three things when we get to heaven. First, we 18:54 will be surprised that we're there. Second, we'll be surprised by who is not there. 18:58 Thirdly, we will be surprised by who is there." But in all seriousness, for 1,000 years, we 19:05 will have the opportunity to ask God and say, "God, I trust You fully, but this person is not 19:11 here. Or let's reverse it. "Lord, I trust You fully, but this person is here. How is that 19:17 possible?" And the Sovereign of the universe in His mercy will open the books. We are judging 19:26 God's judgement. The Bible says that the saints of the earth, people who needed to be 19:33 redeemed, the only beings in the entire universe outside of those first angels that rebelled 19:39 against God, God opens the books to us, that we can examine them and judge the judgement of God 19:48 Himself. Every question about the justice of God will be answered during the 1,000 years. 19:59 There will be no questions. At the end of the 1,000 years, everything will be settled, 20:04 completely settled and we will know with absolute certainty. First Corinthians 6:2 talks 20:11 about this, Paul knew this. 20:28 What angels are we judging? We're judging the angels who have rebelled against God, 20:33 because God has recorded in His book and said, "These are the angels that rebelled against Me. 20:39 This is the record of Satan and what he has done." And in those moments, everything will be 20:46 settled. Not one question will remain. The righteous will be in heaven during the millennium. 20:51 The wicked remain dead, Satan and his angels are bound to the earth for 1,000 years, and the 20:58 earth remains desolate. 21:03 What happens, then, after the millennium? The Bible tells us that at that time, the wicked 21:09 dead are resurrected. In a final demonstration of true rebellion against God, the wicked are 21:15 resurrected to demonstrate, even if they had been given a second chance, what they would do. 21:24 Revelation 20:5 21:36 They are resurrected to the resurrection of condemnation; the resurrection of life before 21:42 the millennium; the resurrection of damnation or condemnation at the end of the millennium. Now, 21:48 when the 1,000 years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison through the 21:56 wicked dead being resurrected. The Bible says that he goes out to deceive the nations, which 22:04 are in the four corners of the earth. Then at that time, the New Jerusalem begins to descend 22:06 from heaven, and everyone can see the New Jerusalem is descending from heaven. Satan 22:10 goes out to the wicked dead who have been resurrected and he says, "We can take the city, we 22:13 can take God's government by force. Let's gather together." And he gathers the armies of the 22:20 earth together to come against the city. 22:42 Each of us has a fundamental decision to make. Either Jesus will be Lord of all of our life 22:47 - the small stuff, the big stuff, and the stuff in between - or we choose to not make Him 22:53 the Lord at all in our life. And ultimately, the end of the millennium, the resurrection of 23:00 damnation is this: Those who have made a decision to say, "Lord, I am not interested in 23:05 you being the Lord of my life. I am interested in being the lord of my own life." Have sealed 23:13 their fate for eternity God Himself will be with them and be their God. 23:22 The New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven and Revelation 20:9 describes what happens: 23:35 And then the Bible says fire came down from heaven and devoured them. Even given a 23:42 second chance, the devil given a thousand years, his character did not change. He wanted to 23:50 overthrow the city of God by force, which was the original sin that he committed. And so he 23:57 gathers the wicked. And in what the Bible calls God's strange act, a fire comes down out of 24:03 heaven that is intended to consume the devil and his angels, but also those people 24:09 who cling so close to their sin that they also are consumed. In that day, God brings to an end 24:16 the stain of the universe. And then the Bible says: 24:27 In one moment, God devours the earth with fire and then He recreates it. Think about that 24:35 day. Think about being in that city, dear friends. When God says, "Let there be trees," and 24:41 there are trees. He says, "Let there be mountains," and there are mountains. "Let there be a 24:48 stream," and there was a stream. The entire universe, in a symphony of praise, declares: 24:56 "Just and righteous are thy ways, O Lord." On that day, all questions over the character of 25:04 God are settled. On that day, sin comes to an end. On that day, God restores one pulse of 25:11 harmony throughout the universe. In that moment, men, women, and children will have every tear 25:19 wiped away from their eyes because God has made all things new. And the question that I 25:31 ask you today, and it is the fundamental question of life, is, will we be ready for Jesus 25:37 when He comes again? All Jesus asks is for us to give our hearts to Him fully. Will you be 25:45 ready for Jesus to come? The book of Revelation says that Jesus stands at the door and 25:52 knocks. And today He is standing at your door knocking. And all He asks is, "Will you let Me 26:02 come in?" Heavenly Father, Your Son Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts, and we want to 26:13 invite Him today to come in. We want to be ready for Jesus when He comes again. So take our 26:19 life. We give our lives to You fully. Transform us, make us, and mold us into what You would 26:26 have us to be, so we might be ready on that day. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 27:01 My dear friends, the issue of hell and millennium, it's often talked about and brings about 27:08 fear. But the Bible is quite clear: there's nothing to be fearful of. If Jesus is for us, 27:13 then nothing will stand against us. Today, I want to offer you the Signs of the Times magazine, 27:18 "The Surprising Truth about Hell." In those pages, you will find hope, hope first in what 27:25 the truth is about this topic. Second, you will find hope in reading about Jesus and how He 27:32 doesn't want you there, but He wants you in His kingdom. Here's the information you need to 27:37 receive today's offer. 28:41 My dear friends, the journey with Jesus in the great cosmic "Star Wars" battle is one that 28:49 is an exciting journey, but what is most important about that journey, is in that battle, 28:55 there is one thing that is more important than anything else, and that is you. Jesus treasures 29:01 a relationship with you. Jesus desires to be with you. That's why in John 14, Jesus Himself 29:07 said He was going to heaven to prepare a place for you. Do you want to be ready that day when 29:13 He comes again to take you to that place He's prepared? I hope you enjoyed today's 29:18 program. I invite you to join us again next week. But until then, remember, it is written: "Man 29:26 shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." |
Revised 2017-03-08