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00:35 Good morning, friends.
00:36 Welcome again to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:38 here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:41 I'd like to welcome those who are joining us 00:43 across the country and around the world, 00:45 part of our Sabbath School Study time, 00:47 also our online members, 00:50 and our regular Sabbath School members 00:51 that are here in person, 00:52 and the visitors who are joining us today. 00:55 Very warm welcome to all of you. 00:57 Over the past 12 weeks 00:59 we've been studying a great book in the Bible. 01:02 Matter of fact, it's the last book 01:03 of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. 01:05 Today we come to the end of our Sabbath School quarterly 01:09 dealing with the Book of Revelation. 01:10 Our study today is lesson number 13, 01:14 it's entitled, "I Make All Things New." 01:16 So that's what we'll be studying this morning. 01:19 But before we get to our lesson, 01:21 I'd like to let those of you here in person 01:23 know about our new quarterly that starts next week, 01:26 dealing with "Family Seasons" 01:28 is the name of the lesson quarterly. 01:30 For our regular Sabbath School members, 01:32 you'll be able to pick up your copy 01:34 of our new lesson quarterly in the church foyer. 01:37 And be sure to take a look at that, 01:40 prepare for next week 01:42 studying our brand new lesson quarterly. 01:45 We have a free offer, we'd like to make available 01:47 to those who are joining us online 01:49 and those around the world. 01:50 It is "A Colossal City in Space" 01:53 is the name of the Amazing Facts Study Guide. 01:55 In order to receive this, please call 866-788-3966 02:02 and you can ask for offer number 115. 02:05 We'll be happy to send it to anyone in North America, 02:08 or you can text the number, or text the code "SH122" 02:13 to the number 40544. 02:17 And you'll be able to get a link 02:18 to download this study guide 02:21 dealing with heaven called "A Colossal City in Space." 02:25 Well, before we get to our lesson, 02:27 let's begin with a word of prayer. 02:29 Dear, Father, indeed, we are grateful 02:30 that we have this opportunity to study Your Word together. 02:34 Thank You for this beautiful Sabbath, 02:36 and also for the scriptures, 02:38 in particular the Book of Revelation, 02:40 which is our subject today. 02:42 Talking about the home of the redeemes 02:43 and we ask Your special blessing 02:45 as we look at this wonderful subject. 02:48 We ask this all in Jesus' name. 02:50 Amen. 02:51 Now for those of you who have been joining us 02:53 over the past few weeks, you probably know by now 02:56 that the Book of Revelation is one of my favorite books 03:00 in the New Testament. 03:01 And I think you also know 03:02 that it's one of Pastor Doug's favorite books 03:04 in the New Testament. 03:05 So we've been doing a little bit of dual teaching 03:08 on the subject. 03:09 So, Pastor Doug, we invite you to come forward 03:12 and we'll get ready for our study today. 03:14 Thank you, Pastor Ross. 03:16 And again, wanna welcome everybody 03:18 and, you know, we have a number of people 03:20 who are really online members of Granite Bay, 03:23 wanna welcome them as well. 03:24 As we travel, we frequently run into folks 03:27 who say there's no local church I can attend. 03:29 Some of these folks are shut-ins, 03:30 and there's no church nearby, 03:32 and they say this study 03:33 is their Sabbath School program. 03:35 And so we wanna give you a special welcome. 03:37 If you're interested in what you might do, 03:39 if you wanna be one of our online members, 03:41 you can simply go to granitebaysda.org 03:47 and there's some information there. 03:50 Now as Pastor Ross mentioned, 03:53 our study today is the last in our quarterly on Revelation. 03:56 We did something different this time 03:58 because any Adventist pastor worth his salt 04:02 has sermons on Revelation. 04:04 And not only do we have sermons, 04:05 we got slides, 04:07 but we've got slides on each chapter. 04:10 Now I don't know often do this, but I want to take issue 04:12 with the publishers of the Sabbath School quarterly 04:15 because they want us to cover the millennium 04:17 in 50 minutes today. 04:20 Millenniums are 1,000 years. 04:21 It's really hard to cover 1,000 years 04:23 in 50 minutes. 04:25 But we not only have Revelation Chapter 19 to cover, 04:27 we've got Revelation 20, 04:28 which is where you find the millennium, 04:30 21 and 22. 04:32 So you pray that we could experience 04:35 time travel right now 04:37 and we'll see how far we can get. 04:39 We've got a presentation, 04:40 we're gonna do the little tag team, 04:42 gonna be going through the slides 04:44 on our study today, and we haven't rehearsed this. 04:48 We'll take turns reading some of the scriptures. 04:50 I'll let you know in advance, we have 125 slides 04:54 that we're gonna try to get through. 04:56 So let's get right into it. 04:57 Our lesson today is lesson 13, 04:59 "The Book of Revelation, Jesus making all things new." 05:03 Our mission is to kind of cover Chapter 40, 05:06 I'm sorry, Chapter 19 through the end of the book. 05:09 And we have a memory verse. 05:12 And the memory verse is Revelation 21:5, 05:15 if you'd like to say that with me, 05:16 you have it on the screen and in your Bibles. 05:18 I believe this is the New King James Version. 05:21 Here we go. 05:22 "Then He who sat on the throne said, 05:25 'Behold, I make all things new.' 05:29 And He said to me, 05:30 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.'" 05:35 All right, in the first section here 05:36 is talking about The Wedding Supper of the Lamb. 05:40 Now in the previous chapters, 05:42 we've noticed that just a lot of things have happened 05:45 and there's lot of overlap in Revelation. 05:48 When you get into the seven last plagues, 05:50 you're entering the end of time, 05:53 there's an all out effort made by the beast power. 05:56 Well, if they can't buy or sell, 05:58 they don't cooperate, 05:59 they should ultimately be killed. 06:01 And just as this critical moment come 06:03 is when they're going to be destroyed. 06:06 God intervenes and fights for them. 06:09 Now do we see that happening many times in Bible history 06:12 at the last minute, 06:14 when it looks like it's hopeless, 06:15 they're at the Red Sea? 06:17 And the enemy's coming, they're all about to be slain. 06:20 God turns the tables, 06:21 so they're not only delivered but the enemy is slain. 06:25 The Book of Esther, a date is set 06:27 when all of God's people will be killed. 06:30 But at the last minute 06:31 Esther intercedes with the king, 06:35 and that's a very strange occurrence 06:36 with the dinner with Haman, and the King, and Esther, 06:39 and instead of Mordecai being hung, 06:42 Haman is hung on Mordecai's gallows, 06:45 and instead of God's people being destroyed, 06:47 the enemies of God's people are destroyed. 06:50 Even though it looks hopeless, 06:51 God turns the tables at the end. 06:54 This is what happens at the end of the time. 06:56 God's people who smaller in number 06:58 than the multitudes of lost. 07:01 Death decree and when it looks like 07:04 they're about to be annihilated, 07:06 Jesus comes at the last minute to deliver. 07:09 And that's where you get this picture here 07:11 in Revelation 19. 07:12 You wanna read this verse, Pastor Ross? 07:13 Revelation 19:7-8, it says... Oops! 07:16 I just, I went backwards, right? 07:17 There you go. 07:18 It says, "Let us be glad and rejoice 07:19 and give glory to Him, 07:21 for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 07:22 and His wife has made herself ready. 07:25 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, 07:28 clean and bright, for the fine linen 07:30 is the righteous acts of the saints." 07:33 So you'll notice that the Second Coming of the Lord 07:35 and this event is referred to as a marriage, 07:38 and you'll find as we go on it's talked about. 07:41 New Jerusalem is compared to bride 07:43 adorned for her husband. 07:46 This language is also found in John 14:1-3. 07:50 Now you all know this, 07:51 Pastor Ross will read it for you. 07:54 John 14, beginning in verse 1. 07:56 It says, "Let not your hearts be troubled, 07:59 you believe in God, believe also in Me. 08:01 In My Father's house there are many mansions, 08:03 if it were not so, I would have told you. 08:06 I go to prepare a place for you. 08:08 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 08:10 I will come again and receive you to Myself, 08:14 that where I am, there you may be also." 08:17 So the Second Coming of Jesus 08:19 is sort of in the context of a Hebrew wedding. 08:22 What would happen in the Hebrew wedding 08:24 is the groom might give the young lady 08:27 a cup of grape juice. 08:29 And as she drank from it, there was a ceremony 08:31 where she accepted the proposal. 08:33 Any one of you been to a Jewish wedding 08:35 where they fold the glass and the man stomps on it. 08:39 It means no else is to drink from that glass 08:41 after the two of them drink from it. 08:43 And then he was to go, that wasn't, 08:46 the honeymoon didn't happen right then. 08:47 Then he was to go to his father's house 08:48 and build a honeymoon chamber on his father's house. 08:51 When that was done 08:52 and they never knew exactly when it was done, 08:54 he would come and pick up his bride. 08:56 So the language here that you see in John 14 08:58 is the language of a wedding. 09:00 And so Christ is saying, would a groom 09:03 build a honeymoon chamber and then say 09:06 now what am I supposed to do with this? 09:08 Is there someone I'm supposed to pick up, 09:09 who would that be? 09:10 He's saying, "I'm not gonna forget about you, 09:13 anymore than a groom would forget about his bride." 09:16 You know, Pastor Doug, in Matthew Chapter 22, 09:18 you can read the same idea of a marriage 09:20 where it talks about a certain king 09:22 arranging a marriage for his son. 09:24 And all the guests who were invited 09:25 and they came into the marriage hall, 09:27 it was finally filled with guests. 09:29 Then it says, the king came in to see the guests, 09:33 and he saw a man that didn't have on 09:34 the wedding garment. 09:36 The king said, "How did you come in here, 09:37 not wearing the wedding garment?" 09:39 If you read the story, it says, the man was speechless, 09:41 probably because he was given the wedding garment, 09:43 but he didn't take the time to put it on. 09:46 And then the judgment is given, take him, 09:48 bind him hand and foot, and throw him out. 09:50 So here you have the likening of a wedding, 09:53 at least a wedding gathering, and celebration, 09:56 and that's the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. 09:58 Just prior to this, there is a judgment that occurs 10:02 where the king comes and examines the guests. 10:05 Well, we understand from Bible prophecy 10:06 that we're living in that time of examination or judging. 10:10 That's why Revelation Chapter 14 says, 10:12 "Fear God, give glory to Him, 10:14 the hour of His judgment has come." 10:17 So we see a parallel there with Matthew Chapter 22, 10:19 as well as the promise that Jesus made 10:21 in John Chapter 14. 10:24 Yeah, so we have Jesus coming then in Chapter 19, 10:27 He's riding on His white horse, 10:29 He's coming to rescue His bride. 10:31 You remember, if you read in Chapter 12, 10:33 there's this beautiful woman clothed in light, 10:35 and the dragon is not only wants to devour the child, 10:39 but he can't, so he then exerts his fury on the woman. 10:43 And so this is where, it says here, Armageddon ends, 10:46 but it's really Armageddon ends on earth. 10:49 Armageddon is a battle that actually goes over 10:51 into the end of the millennium as well, 10:54 a couple of different battles of Armageddon, you might say. 10:57 So Jesus is coming. 10:58 He's the rider 10:59 on the white horse who comes to rescue 11:02 and you read in Revelation 19:11, 11:04 "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. 11:07 And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, 11:10 and in righteousness He judges and makes war." 11:13 Now keep in mind, things are happening 11:15 in quick succession, it says he makes war. 11:18 What do you read at the end, Revelation 12:17?" 11:22 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, 11:24 and he goes to make war." 11:27 So it's in this war, the dragon against the woman 11:30 and Christ against the dragon 11:32 finally culminates in this battle 11:34 of Harmageddon or Harmegideon, 11:36 they're not sure if it's a reference 11:38 to Gideon's battle in Megiddo or the Valley of Megiddo. 11:42 Both cases it was a time 11:43 where God completely turn the tables 11:46 and delivered His people. 11:47 The first time Jesus came, He came as our Savior. 11:50 He came as a babe born in Bethlehem. 11:53 But the second time Jesus comes, 11:55 now it's described as Him coming on a white horse 11:58 as King of kings and Lord of lords. 12:00 He's coming as a victorious conqueror 12:03 to deliver His people. 12:05 And when that happens it says the wicked are destroyed 12:08 with the brightness of His coming. 12:09 We'll probably get to that in just a few moments. 12:10 So Jesus comes now not as a suffering servant 12:15 but as a conquering King. 12:17 All right, and then His coming, we've had a study on this, 12:20 that we're caught up to meet the Lord in the air. 12:23 And then you enter Chapter 20. 12:26 And let me just read, 12:27 I'm gonna read verses 1 through... 12:29 this is the millennium. 12:30 The word millennium is a composite of two words, 12:33 milli meaning thousand, annum meaning years. 12:37 Then I saw, 12:38 and the word millennium is not found in the Bible, 12:40 just like you don't find the word Bible in the Bible, 12:42 or rapture, or Trinity, 12:46 a lot of teachings are not found in the Bible. 12:50 The teachings are there, the words aren't there. 12:52 "Then I saw the angel coming down from heaven, 12:54 having the key to the bottomless pit 12:56 and a great chain in his hand. 12:58 And he laid hold on the dragon, that serpent of old, 13:01 who is the Devil and Satan, 13:02 and bound him for a thousand years, 13:05 and he cast him into the bottomless pit," 13:07 we'll talk about what that is, 13:08 "and shut him up, and set a seal on him 13:10 that he should deceive the nations no more 13:13 until the thousand years are finished. 13:15 But after these things 13:16 he must be released for a little while." 13:18 All right, so now you'll see on the screen, 13:20 we got one, this is like question one, 13:22 we're gonna be teaching with the Socratic method. 13:24 And there's gonna be about 20 questions. 13:27 You have 20 questions. 13:28 That's what we're doing. 13:30 And it will sort of be answering these 13:32 with scriptures. 13:34 All right, first of all, what marks the beginning 13:36 of 1,000 years? 13:37 May be Pastor Ross will read this verse for us. 13:39 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 13:41 "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 13:44 with a shout..." 13:45 And then it goes on to say, 13:46 "And the dead in Christ shall rise first." 13:50 So one thing that happens to mark the beginning 13:52 is there is the coming of the Lord, 13:55 there's a resurrection. 13:57 And what happens then? 14:00 Revelation 20:4-5. 14:02 And we have a couple of slides on this verse, 14:03 Pastor Doug, it says, "And they lived and reigned 14:06 with Christ for a thousand years. 14:09 But the rest of the dead lived not again 14:11 until the thousand years were finished. 14:13 This is the first resurrection." 14:16 So if the dead in Christ rise when Jesus comes, 14:20 who are the rest of the dead? 14:24 The only option if you take away 14:25 all the righteous, who are the rest, 14:27 it's the wicked. 14:28 And so the wicked, 14:29 they do not rise in the first resurrection. 14:33 And you read a little later in Chapter 20, 14:35 it tells us that, 14:38 "The rest of the dead don't live again 14:40 until the thousand years are finished." 14:43 And a 1,000 years I mentioned, it's mille, annum, 14:46 that represents simply a 1,000 years, 14:47 starts with the first resurrection 14:49 and it ends with the second resurrection. 14:52 So the 1,000 years, 14:53 the main thing that separates them 14:54 like bookends is two resurrections. 14:57 Now when I first heard that, it kind of surprised me. 15:00 I always thought there was a resurrection. 15:02 Then I realized Jesus said, 15:04 "Don't marvel, but the hour is coming 15:06 in which all that are in their graves 15:08 shall hear his voice they that have done good, 15:10 the resurrection of life," I think it's John Chapter 5, 15:13 "they that have done evil the resurrection of damnation," 15:16 two resurrections. 15:17 Daniel Chapter 12, 15:19 "Many that sleep in the dust of the earth 15:20 shall awake, some to everlasting life, 15:23 some to shame and everlasting contempt." 15:25 And so all through the Bible, it tells us, 15:27 there's really two resurrections. 15:29 You don't want to be in the second resurrection. 15:32 It's also interesting to note that each resurrection 15:34 is connected with a coming of Christ, the Second Coming, 15:38 you have the resurrection of the righteous, 15:40 then we have what we call the Third Coming 15:42 at the end of the 1,000 years 15:44 where the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven. 15:46 Then you have the second resurrection, 15:48 which is the resurrection for the wicked. 15:50 So connected with the resurrection 15:52 is the coming of Christ to the earth. 15:54 All right. 15:55 What else happens at the first resurrection? 15:58 Okay, you wanna read that? 16:00 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, it says, 16:05 "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 16:08 In a moment, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, 16:12 and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, 16:14 and we shall be changed. 16:16 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 16:19 and this mortal must put on immortality." 16:22 All right, so there's the resurrection 16:23 we were talking about. 16:25 Now what kind of bodies do the raised have 16:27 when Jesus comes? 16:29 Philippians 3:21, "Who will change our vile body, 16:32 that it might be fashioned like unto his glorious body." 16:36 What kind of body did Jesus have, 16:38 when He rose from the dead? 16:39 How many remember when He appeared 16:40 in the upper room to the apostles 16:42 and they were scared 16:43 'cause they thought they saw a ghost. 16:44 Then He asked, you have anything to eat 16:47 and He ate in front of them, He says, 16:49 "A spirit doesn't have flesh and bone 16:51 as you see that I have." 16:52 So did Jesus have a real body? 16:55 Will we have real bodies? 16:56 Did Adam and Eve have real bodies? 16:58 Isn't the whole idea that the Lord is gonna restore 17:01 His original plan. 17:02 So the idea that when He comes, 17:04 we're all kind of ethereal ghosts 17:05 that are disembodied, 17:06 and we're living in the bosom of Abraham 17:09 for, you know, while, 17:10 that's really not taught in the Bible. 17:13 You can read in Luke 24:39, 17:15 with this is when Jesus appeared to the disciples 17:17 in the upper room. 17:18 "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself, 17:21 handle me, and see, 17:22 for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." 17:27 Okay. 17:28 And then you read in 2 Thessalonians 2, 17:30 then what happens to the wicked? 17:33 Those who are dead are raised, 17:35 those who are alive are transformed. 17:36 What about the wicked when Jesus comes? 17:39 It says, "And then shall that wicked one be revealed, 17:41 whom the Lord shall consume 17:43 with the brightness of his coming." 17:45 And the whole world is imploding at this point. 17:49 Go ahead, Pastor. 17:50 Revelation 16 says, this is 16:18, 20, 21, it says, 17:54 "And there was a great earthquake, 17:56 such as not since there were men upon the earth, 17:59 so mighty an earthquake, and so great." 18:01 It says, "Every island fled away, 18:03 and the mountains were not found. 18:05 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, 18:08 every stone about the weight of a talent." 18:12 That is some 75 pounds. 18:14 And we did Amazing Fact of the radio program last week 18:16 about a recent this year, hailstorm in Texas, 18:20 where they had baseball sized hail. 18:23 And it did like $450 million worth of damage 18:26 to homes and cars, 18:27 it just destroys cars when that happens. 18:30 So it's really gonna happen. 18:33 All right, Revelation 20:1-2, this is where we read 18:37 that at this point, this is where Satan is bound. 18:40 Or let's find out what it means when Satan is bound. 18:43 "That old serpent called the Devil and Satan, 18:45 and binds him a thousand years." 18:48 So the word is, he's bound in the abussos 18:52 and the King James translators, for whatever reason, 18:55 they chose the word bottomless pit 18:58 to describe this. 19:00 Now it's something of a mystery why they chose that word 19:02 because the same word is translated in other places. 19:05 For example, some of you read in Luke 8:31, 19:09 the story of the demoniac, 19:10 Pastor Ross, you wanna read that? 19:11 It says, "And they besought him, 19:12 that is Jesus, that he would not command them 19:15 to go out into the deep." 19:17 There's this demon possessed man 19:18 and the demons asked Jesus 19:19 don't send us out into the deep. 19:21 The word deep there is abussos, same word in Revelation 20. 19:24 It simply means a place 19:26 where devils have no one to tempt and manipulate. 19:29 And for 1,000 years, 19:30 Satan has no one to tempt and manipulate. 19:32 It's not some black hole or cavern of in the cosmos 19:35 where Satan is chained in this big abussos. 19:40 He is on the world. 19:41 Now there's some other verses that explain that. 19:43 You realize when God made the planet 19:45 in the beginning, the Septuagint. 19:48 You know, when it says the earth was void without form 19:51 in Genesis. 19:52 The Greek version says the earth was in abussos. 19:56 And so it's describing the world. 19:58 Think about the condition of the earth after Jesus comes. 20:01 All the righteous, where do they go? 20:04 It says they go up. 20:06 Christ said, "I'm coming to receive you unto myself 20:07 that where I am you may be." 20:09 What happens to the wicked? 20:11 The wicked who are dead, stay dead, 20:14 the wicked who are alive are destroyed 20:16 by the brightness of His coming. 20:17 So how many people are alive on the planet? 20:19 None. 20:21 And the Bible says the heavens ceases to shine. 20:24 It's a dark, destroyed chaos. 20:28 And this is where Satan is bound. 20:29 Talks about the cities being broken down 20:31 by this great earthquake 20:33 and the destruction from the hail. 20:35 And, of course, all the wicked are destroyed. 20:37 The earth is dark, empty, broken down, 20:40 and here is the devil, and his angels 20:42 bound on planet earth for 1,000 years. 20:45 Yeah. 20:46 I think we've got those verses coming. 20:48 It says who will be raised in the second resurrection, 20:50 and what takes place? 20:51 We covered this pretty well already. 20:54 "Those that are in the graves will hear his voice 20:56 and come forth, those that have done good, 20:58 resurrection of life, evil, the resurrection of damnation." 21:03 And what happens to the rest of the dead? 21:04 You wanna read that? 21:05 Revelation 20:5, "But the rest of the dead, 21:07 that would be the wicked, lived not again 21:09 until the thousand years were finished." 21:12 Which means they do live 21:14 after the 1,000 years are finished. 21:16 You want to read that question? 21:17 Question number four says, in what condition 21:19 will the earth be left 21:20 after the devastating earthquake and the hailstorm 21:22 that begins the 1,000 year period? 21:25 And we touched on a few of these, 21:26 but here's the actual verses, Isaiah 24:1, 19, 21:31 "Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty, 21:33 and maketh it waste and turneth it upside down. 21:37 The earth is utterly broken down." 21:41 And there's that verse you have in your mind. 21:42 Yes, Jeremiah 4:23-26, it says, "I beheld the earth, 21:46 and, lo, it was without form, and void, and the heavens, 21:50 they had no light. 21:52 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, 21:54 and there was no man, 21:55 and all the birds of the heavens were fled. 21:58 And the fruitful place was a wilderness, 22:00 and all the cities thereof were broken down," 22:04 notice the next part, "by the presence of the Lord, 22:06 and by his fierce anger." 22:08 Yep. 22:09 And then in Jeremiah 25:33, 22:12 "And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day 22:14 from one end of the earth 22:16 even unto the other end of the earth, 22:17 they will not be lamented, or gathered, or buried." 22:20 Why? 22:21 Nobody to conduct the funerals. 22:24 First time in history, no funeral parlor will be open. 22:28 Now, the left behind scenario, you know, what I mean 22:33 when I say the left behind scenario? 22:35 You know, a lot of dear evangelicals 22:37 believe that there's gonna be a secret rapture. 22:40 How many of you are aware of that? 22:43 And that the saints are caught up. 22:45 There's a time of trouble for seven years here on earth, 22:48 the middle of that seven years the antichrist isn't thrown 22:51 in the temple, 22:52 the Jews are preaching the gospel, 22:54 the plagues are falling. 22:55 At the end of that, 22:56 Christ comes down here on earth, 22:58 He establishes His earthly kingdom 23:00 and the 1,000 years are spent here on earth. 23:02 Now, that's a pretty big difference. 23:05 For one thing, 23:07 we along with many traditional Protestants 23:09 believe the 1,000 years 23:10 we live and reign with Christ in heaven. 23:13 Says, I'm taking you to my father's house. 23:15 I'm taking you away when the resurrection happens 23:18 and that time begins. 23:19 The other group thinks we spend the 1,000 years here 23:21 with a righteous reigning over the wicked. 23:23 We've got immortal bodies, but they don't, 23:25 so they continue to be born and die. 23:28 Why would you want to reign over the wicked? 23:31 Now one reason I mentioned that 23:33 is according to these verses we just read, 23:35 there is a time Isaiah said, the earth is utterly emptied, 23:40 the slain of the Lord cover the earth 23:41 from one end to another, all the cities are broken down, 23:44 there is no man, there is a time 23:46 prophecy tells us 23:47 when the earth is totally depopulated. 23:50 The left behind scenario 23:52 makes no provision for that time, 23:53 it just, they can't explain it. 23:54 It doesn't appear in their chronology. 23:57 And so that's one reason I've got problems with that. 24:01 All right, let's move along here. 24:02 You wanna read that one? 24:04 Question number five says, 24:05 where will the saints be during the 1,000 years, 24:08 and what will they be doing? 24:10 John 14:3, Jesus said, "I will come again, 24:14 and receive you to myself, 24:15 that where I am, there ye may be also." 24:19 Revelation 20:4, "And I saw thrones, 24:22 and they that sat upon them, 24:23 and judgment was given unto them, 24:25 and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." 24:29 So we're enthroned, not here on earth, 24:31 but we are living and reign. 24:33 Where is the New Jerusalem now? 24:35 It's in heaven. 24:36 That's where Christ lives. 24:37 That's where we'll be during that time. 24:40 And we live and reign with Christ and we're doing, 24:42 we're involved in something, some act of judgment. 24:45 Now, we had to pause here on this slide for a minute. 24:47 It says there, 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, 24:49 "What, don't you know that you will judge angels 24:51 that the saints will judge the world?" 24:53 Now that doesn't mean we are deciding 24:55 who is saved and lost. 24:57 But in one sense, 24:58 we are affirming the judgments of God, 25:00 but we're also gonna be doing some evaluating. 25:03 For example, someone said 25:06 once there's gonna be three surprises 25:07 when you get to heaven. 25:08 First surprise is that you're there, 25:11 and second surprise is there's some people there 25:13 you never thought would be there. 25:16 I always thought, 25:17 just imagine the look on Stephen's face. 25:20 You know, Stephen, the first martyr. 25:22 When he gets to heaven, he sees a big parade 25:24 and he is asking the angel, "What's going on?" 25:26 They said, "Oh, they are honoring 25:27 one of the great apostles." 25:29 He said, "Really? I wonder, is it Peter? 25:30 Is it Mathew? Which one is it?" 25:32 He goes over, he sees they're carrying Paul around. 25:35 And Stephen says to the angel, 25:36 "You guys have made a terrible mistake." 25:39 Last I saw him, he was public enemy number one 25:42 trying to destroy the Christian Church. 25:44 And the angel says, "Here, let's show you what happened." 25:46 It's all your fault, Stephen. 25:48 You prayed that God would forgive him 25:50 and He did, and he was converted. 25:52 And now he became an apostle. 25:53 He wrote half of the New Testament. 25:55 So you're going to have questions 25:57 and you're going to look at the books 25:58 and those things will be answered. 26:00 And then there'll be some people 26:02 who you thought would be leading the parade 26:03 and they're not there at all. 26:06 And you think, "How come that pastor, 26:09 that evangelist, 26:10 that great Christian is not there," 26:13 or may be a family member. 26:15 And the angel will say, "Come, we'll show you the books." 26:19 And we will be looking that 26:20 are judging the judgments of God 26:22 in a sense and looking at the books 26:23 and seeing this person had some unrepented 26:26 or unconfessed sin 26:28 that they hid from everybody but not from God. 26:30 That's why Christ said, the hour is coming 26:32 when those things are done in secret 26:33 will be proclaimed from housetops. 26:36 The secret things will be made plain. 26:38 Everything is going to be exposed to that point. 26:41 So this is the time of judgment going on. 26:44 Now the Bible speaks about a time coming, 26:46 and we'll get to that a little later 26:47 where every tear will be wiped from every eye. 26:50 But it's interesting to note that that occurs 26:52 at the end of that 1,000 years. 26:54 In other words, there might be some concern, 26:57 there might be some feelings of sadness. 27:00 During this 1,000 year time period 27:01 where you're reviewing as Pastor Doug mentioned, 27:04 the records and maybe there are people 27:06 that you thought would be there that's not there, 27:08 but the angel will come 27:09 and explain to you why they're not there. 27:12 So it's a time of investigation, 27:14 it's to have every question answered 27:16 that the righteous would have. 27:17 All right. 27:19 So what else happens at the close 27:21 of the 1,000 years? 27:23 You read in Zechariah 14 and this is verse 4, 5, 9, 27:27 we're just taking some excerpts here. 27:29 "The day of the Lord will come and his feet will stand 27:32 and that day on the Mount of Olives 27:34 which is before Jerusalem on the east 27:36 and the Mount of Olives will cleave in the midst." 27:39 So where's the last place Jesus' feet touched 27:41 when He ascended to heaven? 27:44 Mount of Olives, right? 27:46 And where He says, "I'm going to come as I left." 27:48 He even comes back 27:49 when He actually touches the earth 27:50 to the very same place. 27:51 Where did the Lord predict the Second Coming 27:54 to the disciples in Matthew 24? 27:57 From Mount of Olives. 27:58 Where did He weep in the Garden of Gethsemane? 28:02 That's on the Mount of Olives. 28:04 So it's a very special location. 28:05 By the way, it's most expensive cemetery 28:07 in the world. 28:08 It's the Mount of Olives. 28:10 Because even the Jews believe the Messiah will come 28:12 because of this verse. 28:13 They all want to be buried 28:14 where the Messiah's feet are going to touch. 28:18 You wanna read that? 28:19 Revelation 21:2, "And I saw..." 28:21 John writes, "And I John saw the holy city, 28:23 the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, 28:26 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 28:29 And so here is that verse 28:30 where after Jesus' feet touched the Mount of Olives, 28:33 there's an earthquake, it creates a great plain. 28:36 It must be very large 28:37 'cause you'll see in a moment the dimensions 28:39 of the New Jerusalem are roughly 1,500 miles, 28:42 around 12,000 furlongs. 28:44 I think that's 375 miles on each side. 28:48 And by the way, didn't Jesus promise 28:51 to Abraham that you will inherit this land? 28:54 But he was a pilgrim, and he said... 28:58 You know, he didn't really get to inherit it during his life, 29:01 But he looked for a city that had foundations. 29:03 That's also Moses, whose builder and maker is God. 29:06 The borders of the land 29:08 that God promised to Abraham 29:10 will all be encompassed within the dimensions 29:12 of the New Jerusalem. 29:15 So they really will literally get that spot. 29:18 Pastor Doug, before we go on to the next question here, 29:20 just to add one more thought on that. 29:22 It's interesting there's a principle 29:23 that you find in the Bible in 2 Peter Chapter 3. 29:26 Peter writes, "But beloved, do not forget this one thing, 29:29 that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years." 29:33 And a thousand as one day I should say, 29:35 a thousand years and a thousand years 29:36 is as one day. 29:38 That's the principle. 29:39 "Thousand years is as one day with the Lord." 29:41 Then he goes on in verse 9, 29:43 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, 29:46 as some count slackness, 29:47 but is longsuffering towards us, 29:49 not willing that any should perish, 29:51 but that all should come to repentance." 29:52 Then it says, 29:53 "But the day of the Lord will come." 29:56 Now we find an interesting principle 29:57 in the Bible 29:58 where you work for six 30:00 and then you rest on the seventh. 30:01 God created the earth in six days. 30:03 He rested on the seventh day. 30:05 So we have the earth inhabited for about 6,000 years. 30:09 Then Jesus comes 30:11 and the righteous get to go to heaven 30:13 for a 1,000 years, a Sabbath rest in heaven. 30:17 Then at the end of that, the end of the 1,000 years, 30:19 then the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, 30:22 and that's where the wicked are resurrected 30:24 for the final judgment. 30:26 So we see an interesting principle 30:28 of sevens in the Bible 30:29 and it ties into this 1,000 year period as well. 30:33 Yeah, you know, God told Adam and Eve 30:36 in the day you eat thereof, you will surely die. 30:39 How long did Adam live? 30:43 Did any? 30:44 Who's the oldest man who ever lived? 30:46 Actually Methuselah's son Enoch because he's still alive. 30:51 That was a trick question, but you know what I meant. 30:53 So the oldest... 30:55 Methuselah is the oldest man who ever died, 30:57 not the oldest man who ever lived. 30:59 So did any man ever live beyond one millennium? 31:03 In the day you eat thereof, you will die. 31:06 Six days you work, 31:08 a 1,000 year rest. 31:10 At the end of the New Testament 31:12 it tells us the children... 31:14 I'm sorry, the end of 2 Chronicles, 31:15 it tells us the children of Israel 31:17 were carried off to Babylon for 70 years 31:20 and while they were in Babylon the land kept Sabbath 31:23 while it was desolate. 31:25 The land was desolate and it kept Sabbath. 31:27 What is the condition of the world 31:29 during the 1,000 years? 31:30 Desolate. 31:31 It is keeping like a 1,000 years Sabbath 31:33 at which point God makes a new heaven and new earth. 31:36 And maybe we'll even get to that today. 31:38 Okay. 31:39 What will happen next to free Satan from his prison? 31:42 Want to read that? 31:43 Revelation 20:5 says, 31:44 "But the rest of the dead lived not again 31:46 until the thousand years were finished." 31:48 So this would be the wicked. 31:50 Revelation 20:7 says, 31:51 "And when the thousand years are expired, 31:53 Satan shall be loosed out of his prison." 31:56 So what's in prison, Satan, 31:58 is he's had nobody to tempt or manipulate. 32:00 He and his demons all have to put up with each other. 32:03 And can you imagine those conversations. 32:05 The demons are saying, 32:06 "Lucifer, you told us if we followed you, 32:08 things would go better, 32:10 that we could overthrow God, that we would have more power." 32:13 And they're chasing him all over the planet 32:15 'cause they're really mad. 32:16 So at the end of the 1,000 years, 32:18 now they've got someone to tempt and manipulate again. 32:21 You remember the demon said to Jesus, 32:23 "Don't cast us into the abussos, 32:24 cast us into the pigs. 32:25 Give us something to tempt and to manipulate." 32:31 And just quick little amazing fact 32:33 I dropped in here. 32:34 People are wondering, 32:35 why doesn't God just destroy the devil when he comes? 32:38 Why is He giving him a 1,000 years 32:39 and letting him out of prison? 32:41 You know, Napoleon, 32:42 he kind of rampaged all over Europe 32:45 and tried to establish 32:47 the dominion of the Romans once again. 32:50 He was defeated by the European powers 32:52 and they sent him to Elba. 32:54 But he escaped after about nine months. 32:58 Came back to France relaunched the battle 33:00 that took about a 100 days, 33:03 and at Waterloo he was finally destroyed. 33:05 Then they sent him to St. Helena 33:07 in the middle of nowhere where he died five years later. 33:10 But it's like when he came back, 33:12 Napoleon couldn't change. 33:13 He went right back to war, 33:16 and it's amazing they didn't just kill him 33:18 but they twice they sent him off. 33:21 But this is what the devil does. 33:22 God says, "I'm going to show the universe, 33:24 I have no choice in dealing with the wicked 33:26 other than what I'm doing" 33:27 because as soon as Satan's out of his prison, 33:29 he goes back to his bad behavior 33:31 which we're about to see happen here. 33:33 Something else very interesting happens during the 1,000 years. 33:35 You have a clear distinction between two kingdoms. 33:39 You have the kingdom of God and it's in heaven 33:42 where the righteous are and they're living 33:44 and reigning with Christ for the 1,000 years. 33:46 And the direct opposite of that is Satan's kingdom. 33:50 And what's happening in his kingdom? 33:52 Well, it's all broken down. 33:53 There's death everywhere. 33:55 It's the cave, there's darkness. 33:57 And so before the whole on-looking universe, 33:59 it's quite clear the kingdom of God 34:02 versus the kingdom that Satan wants to establish. 34:05 It's clear in everyone's mind that indeed Satan's way 34:07 results in death, destruction, and sorrow. 34:10 So when that judgment occurs at the end of the 1,000 years, 34:13 there's no lingering question in the mind of any person 34:16 in the universe as to, is God fair and just. 34:18 It's evident that yes, God is fair, 34:21 He's done everything He can to save mankind. 34:23 And He has no choice. 34:25 Everyone understands God doesn't want to do it. 34:27 All right question eight, 34:28 what will Satan do when the wicked are raised? 34:31 Again, go ahead. 34:32 It says, Revelation 20:8, 9. 34:34 "And he shall go out to deceive the nations 34:37 which are on the four corners of the earth 34:38 Gog and Magog to gather them to battle: 34:42 the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." 34:44 I just want to pause here real quick, 34:47 Gog and Magog. 34:48 People are thinking, who's Gog and Magog? 34:50 You go back to the Old Testament 34:51 and it talks about Gog and Magog. 34:54 You read about them in a Ezekiel Chapter 37, 38. 34:58 You find them in, 34:59 I think it's Genesis 10 and the genealogies. 35:02 They were ancient enemies of God's people. 35:05 Now you're going to meet... 35:06 You'll hear some evangelical pastors 35:09 that are going to say 35:11 Gog is the Chinese and Magog, that's Moscow, 35:13 that's the Russians, 35:15 and they're going to come together 35:16 and attack Jerusalem, 35:17 literal Jerusalem. 35:19 And it's, you know, it's very popular, 35:22 but it's not at all biblical, Gog and Magog. 35:24 Keep in mind the names in Revelation 35:26 are almost all spiritual. 35:27 They're all symbolic. 35:29 Gog and Magog were ancient enemies 35:30 of God's people. 35:31 You read in Ezekiel 35:34 that they cover the earth like a cloud. 35:35 They attacked the city of God. 35:37 There's no battle in Old Testament history 35:39 where Gog and Magog did that. 35:41 And so here, 35:43 but those names are used to sort of be a summary 35:46 of the Ammonites 35:48 which were the people that inhabited Canaan 35:49 that they were going to attack the City of God. 35:52 And they covered the earth like a cloud 35:55 because it's all the wicked 35:56 who've ever lived are resurrected. 35:58 It says, "And they went up on the breadth of the earth 36:00 and they compassed the camp of the saints about, 36:03 the beloved city." 36:05 Now just before they launched their attack, 36:08 something interesting happens. 36:10 Oh, by the way, here's that I told you 36:11 in Ezekiel 38 talks about Gog and Magog." 36:14 Thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, 36:16 as a cloud to cover the land." 36:17 Same language you find in Revelation 36:20 is what Ezekiel is prophesying about. 36:24 "At this crucial moment what stops everything?" 36:28 Revelation 20:11, 12, 36:31 "And I saw a great white throne and he that sat upon it 36:35 and the dead were judged out of those things 36:37 which were written in the books, 36:39 according to their works." 36:41 All right, so I'll give you a picture real quick. 36:43 At the end of the 1,000 years, 36:45 the New Jerusalem comes or, well, first Jesus comes down, 36:48 He touches the feet, 36:50 His feet on the Mount of Olives, 36:51 great earthquake creates a great valley. 36:53 The New Jerusalem then settles into that valley 36:56 and Christ at that moment, when He comes back to earth, 36:59 all the wicked who've ever lived 37:00 are called back to life for judgment. 37:02 Remember, we said, all right, 37:04 Bible says the rest of the dead don't live 37:06 until the 1,000 years are finished. 37:08 Meaning, 37:09 when the 1,000 years are finished, they do live. 37:12 Now Satan sees this vast army. 37:14 Imagine how many people are in the world today? 37:16 Almost 8 billion. 37:18 This is all the wicked 37:19 who've ever lived through history. 37:21 Billions of people. 37:23 And he thinks, 37:24 you know, we assume some of those are safe. 37:26 But there's a lot that are lost, 37:28 they've gone the wide road to destruction. 37:30 And Satan sees his army and, 37:32 you know, you probably have Napoleon there and Hitler, 37:35 or maybe Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, 37:37 you've got the great leaders and military minds 37:40 and we don't know how long this period is, 37:42 it calls it a little season. 37:44 And He says, look, there's so many of us, 37:47 we outnumber the ones in the city, 37:49 we can conquer them. 37:51 And so, before he launches this attack, 37:54 maybe they have time to build armaments. 37:57 But before they launch this attack 37:58 on the city of God, 38:00 Christ is exalted above the city. 38:02 He appears on a white throne 38:03 and they see Him in all of His glory, 38:06 and everyone's lives pass before them. 38:09 And there's a panorama of Christ's sacrifice 38:11 in the heavens where we all see the gospel 38:13 and the battle between good and evil laid out before us. 38:17 You know, sometimes we picture the White Throne Judgment. 38:19 We think that you're waiting in court 38:20 like you're at the DMV, you're in a long line. 38:23 One by one they hit the gavel and say next. 38:25 Take your number, next. 38:27 You think how long that judgment would take. 38:30 Can God save a 1,000 people at once like at Pentecost. 38:33 Can He judge a billion at once? 38:36 Yeah, 38:37 so that's what's going to be going on during this time, 38:40 and everything is written in books, 38:42 and that's why you want your name 38:43 in the book of life. 38:46 Question number 10 says, 38:47 "What will happen after the wicked are judged?" 38:50 Romans 14:11, 38:52 "As I live saith the Lord," 38:54 this is amazing verse, "every knee shall bow to me, 38:57 and every tongue shall confess to God." 39:00 So at the conclusion of this judgment 39:02 when everyone sees that Christ was just, 39:07 that He did everything He could to save every individual. 39:10 Ultimately they're going to see Christ in His glory. 39:12 Everyone will bow, 39:13 everyone outside the city, everyone inside the city. 39:16 You realize there is a time 39:18 when we will all be together again. 39:20 No matter what happens after today, 39:22 everybody, saved or lost will be together again 39:24 because this is the crucial moment 39:26 when Christ separates the sheep from the goats. 39:29 All the saved, 39:30 God and the good angels are in the city, 39:32 all the lost, 39:33 Satan and the bad angels are outside the city. 39:36 So everyone involved 39:37 in the plan of salvation is there 39:39 and every knee will bow to Christ at that point 39:41 and confess that He is God. 39:43 And here's another one from Philippians. 39:44 Philippians 2:10, 11, 39:46 it says, "That at the name of Jesus 39:48 every knee should bow, of things in heaven, 39:50 and things in earth, and things under the earth, 39:53 and that every tongue should confess 39:55 that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 40:00 So once that great confession happens, 40:03 you can read in Revelation 19:1, 2, 40:05 "I heard a voice of much people in heaven saying, 40:08 true and righteous are thy judgments." 40:11 Everyone is going to agree with what God has to do next, 40:14 which is the judgment of the wicked. 40:16 What will happen next? 40:17 All right, Pastor Ross. 40:18 Revelation 20:9 says, 40:21 "Fire came down from God out of heaven 40:23 and devoured them." 40:26 Revelation 20:15, 40:27 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life 40:29 was cast into the lake of fire." 40:32 So as this fire rains down 40:34 everywhere outside of the city of God. 40:37 You remember when the plagues fell on Egypt. 40:39 Sometimes God protected Goshen, 40:41 nothing happened to God's people in Goshen, 40:43 but it rained fire and hail on the Egyptians. 40:47 And God is able to do that. 40:48 You ever see it rain across the street 40:50 but not on your house? 40:52 You know, Pastor Doug, 40:53 Jesus said to Nicodemus in John Chapter 3, 40:57 "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 41:00 he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 41:02 Of course, water is symbol of baptism, 41:04 the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. 41:06 It's also interesting to note that the earth, 41:08 it was washed with water during the time of the flood 41:12 and now the earth is washed with fire 41:14 at the end of the 1,000 years. 41:16 Just like in order for us to be born again, 41:20 we need the water and the fire, so the earth to be recreated, 41:25 you have the washing of the water 41:27 and the washing of fire at the end of the 1,000 years. 41:30 Then the earth is recreated. 41:33 It's a new heavens and a new earth. 41:35 And we've got a picture of the earth 41:36 being washed by fire right there. 41:38 Revelation 20:14, it says, "This is the second death." 41:42 So as the wicked are cast into the lake of fire. 41:45 Do they burn forever and ever? 41:47 The Bible says, "Every man is rewarded 41:49 according to his works." 41:50 And so different works, different periods of suffering, 41:54 different intensity, different time. 41:57 Who do you think will burn and suffer the longest? 42:00 Satan and Idi Amin and a few others, 42:06 Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler. 42:09 But then it says this is the second death. 42:12 Now who is it that said, 42:15 if you're only born once you will die twice? 42:18 But if you're born twice, you only die once, 42:21 unless you're alive when Christ comes 42:23 and you're saved. 42:24 So just review the millennium. 42:26 You've got the first resurrection, 42:28 starts the beginning of the millennium. 42:30 The second resurrection marks the end, 42:32 the first coming. 42:33 Then you got like a second coming 42:35 when the holy city descends. 42:37 Question 12. Go ahead and read that. 42:39 After the fire goes out, 42:40 what will God do for His people? 42:43 And the verse there is Isaiah 65:17, 42:45 "For, behold, I create a new heavens and new earth." 42:49 Here's where it gets happy. 42:51 Revelation 21:1, 42:53 "And I saw a new heavens and a new earth: 42:55 for the first heaven and the first earth 42:57 were passed away." 42:59 Now why does it say new heaven? 43:01 Does that mean that the heaven where God lives now, 43:03 there's something wrong with it. 43:04 That word heaven there is a word for atmosphere. 43:08 Remember, in the beginning, 43:09 God separated the waters from the waters by a heaven. 43:13 It means, He put an atmosphere in there. 43:15 And so when He says, I make a new heaven, 43:16 He says, a new earth, 43:17 a new atmosphere around the earth, 43:19 the air that we breathe, the place where the birds fly. 43:22 That's sometimes called the first heavens 43:24 in Hebrew literature. 43:27 "So we're looking for a new heavens and a new earth 43:28 wherein dwells righteousness," 2 Peter 3:13. 43:32 Where will God and the righteous finally live. 43:35 Revelation 21:3, it says, "Behold, 43:37 the tabernacle of God is with men, 43:39 and he will dwell with them." 43:42 Wow! 43:43 That just always leaves me speechless, 43:46 that of all the infinite cosmos that God has created, 43:49 He's going to move the capital to our world. 43:52 Sin has separated us from God, 43:53 but through Christ we're going to be reunited, 43:55 not only where we can commune with God, 43:57 but He is going to dwell with us. 44:00 And God Himself will be with them 44:02 and we shall see His face. 44:04 Can you fathom that what that's going to mean? 44:07 This one little planet in rebellion against heaven 44:09 right now under Satan's dominion 44:12 after the plan of redemption is made its full 44:14 will be elevated to be the center of, 44:17 if you like the universe because this is where 44:19 God is going to dwell, right here. 44:21 It's an incredible thought. 44:23 It's where Christ humbled Himself the most, 44:26 this humble place is going to become the capital. 44:29 And ultimately it says the meek will inherit the earth. 44:32 We don't float forever out in the clouds. 44:34 Ultimately things happen here on earth. 44:37 Go ahead. 44:38 Hebrews 11:16, it says, 44:39 "For he hath prepared for them a city." 44:42 And this is talking about the New Jerusalem, 44:45 not the International Space Station. 44:47 People wonder, how can God make a city 44:51 that will come down from heaven. 44:52 Well, we got a city... 44:54 We got a little city up there in the space station now. 44:56 People believe man can do it, they don't think God can do it. 44:59 In fact I heard this week in the news that 45:02 Elon Musk's company with SpaceX 45:06 that they finally successfully brought at least a dummy human 45:09 up to space. 45:10 So now they're going to start shuttling humans from America. 45:13 We've had to pay the Russians 45:14 to bring our astronauts up for years now 45:17 since the space shuttle was retired. 45:19 And everyone's talking about 45:20 putting a plantation on the moon or on Mars, 45:23 and we think man can do it. 45:24 Well, God has a city in space. 45:27 It says, they'll build houses and inhabit them. 45:30 Are we going to just be floating on clouds 45:32 like naked babies? 45:34 No, we're doing real things. 45:35 What else is going to happen? 45:36 Oh, there's the naked baby. There it is. 45:39 Yes, heaven is a real place. 45:40 The Bible is pretty clear upon that. 45:42 All right. 45:43 Next question, what more do we know about the city? 45:45 Now, we're going to go quickly through a number of things 45:48 that we want to cover 45:49 just to share some of the good news. 45:50 Pastor Ross? 45:51 Revelation 21:16, it says, 45:53 "In the city lieth foursquare 45:55 and he measured the city with the reed, 45:57 twelve thousand furlongs. 45:59 The length and the breadth and the height of it 46:01 are all equal. 46:02 Now, 46:03 you have eight million people in New York City. 46:05 Folk say, you know, 46:06 there's probably no room in heaven for me. 46:08 Here you've got a city 375 miles on each side, 46:12 that's as big as the state of Oregon, one city. 46:15 Are you aware amazing fact, 46:17 that Dallas Fort Worth airport is bigger than Manhattan? 46:22 The land on which you find the DFW Airport 46:24 is bigger than the island of Manhattan, 46:26 and there's eight million people there, 46:28 so those... 46:29 Don't worry about them not being, 46:30 and he'll have skyscrapers. 46:32 There'll be plenty of room. 46:33 I hear there's more people 46:34 that live below street level in New York City 46:37 than the whole state of Montana. 46:39 I don't know if it's true but it sounds really good. 46:42 No, I did read that somewhere. 46:45 Go ahead. 46:46 Revelation 21:2 says, "And I John saw the holy city, 46:49 the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven." 46:53 Now, typically when we think of a city, 46:54 that doesn't really get us excited 46:56 because cities are concentrations of people, 46:58 where you've got crime, and drugs, 47:00 and horns, and traffic, 47:03 but these are people where there is no sin, 47:05 there's no death, there's no disease, 47:07 it is going to be a beautiful place, 47:09 the Bible describes it, 47:11 and some of the things. 47:13 It has beautiful walls, 47:16 great and high and twelve gates. 47:18 And each gate it says is made of one pearl. 47:22 Just a quick amazing fact. 47:24 A guy name Alan Golash 47:25 was going through a basket of costume jewelry 47:28 in an antique store in Rhode Island 47:30 and he found this brooch, 47:31 and he recognized it was worth more than the $14 47:35 that he paid for it. 47:36 Turns out that it's two very rare Quahog purple pearls 47:41 and it's called the... 47:42 I think it's called the Pearl of Venus, 47:44 and it was studded with diamonds and gold. 47:46 I think it was worth $2 million, 47:49 paid 14 for it. 47:52 You know the story. 47:53 Merchant finds a pearl of great price, 47:55 he sells everything to get it. 47:57 Is heaven going to be worth everything? 47:59 What sin would you cling to 48:00 that would be worth more than heaven? 48:04 Revelation 21:21, it says, 48:06 "The streets of the city are made of pure gold." 48:10 Fifteen says, question 15, 48:12 what does the Bible say about the city's water 48:14 and food supply? 48:16 Revelation 22:1, 48:18 "He showed me a pure river of water of life." 48:22 And as far as the food supply, Revelation 22:2, 48:25 "On either side of the river, there was the tree of life 48:28 which bare twelve manner of fruits." 48:30 So if you got 12 manner of fruits each month, 48:33 that's 144 fruits. 48:35 Right? 48:36 And that's better than 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins. 48:41 But it said, the tree, singular, 48:43 is on either side of the river. 48:46 The only way I reconcile that is, 48:47 you ever seen tree branches where they grow together, 48:51 Ficus and some others do that. 48:53 And matter of fact, I was cutting the tree 48:55 just on the church property the other day, 48:57 and I found a place where the oaks grew together 48:59 and it has circle in the middle of it. 49:01 And I cut it and I saved it. 49:03 I think the tree is going to grow together 49:04 at the top and the roots go together at the bottom 49:07 and it's a massive tree 49:09 because all the saved eat from it. 49:11 Think bigger than redwood, 49:13 and the river flows through it from the throne of God. 49:19 Talking about the tree, it says, as Pastor Doug, 49:21 you mentioned, it yields fruit every month 49:24 and the leaves of the tree 49:25 are also for the healing of the nations. 49:27 That's a quote from Ezekiel, 49:29 I think it's Chapter 40 where it says, 49:31 "And the leaves of the tree are for medicine." 49:34 And it's saying 49:35 that everything about this tree is good 49:36 and everywhere the water runs. 49:38 Ezekiel says, everywhere the water runs, 49:40 things live. 49:41 So it really is a river of life. 49:44 Question 16, 49:45 how will living in heaven be different 49:47 than living here on earth? 49:49 Well, we'll go back and forth on these, 49:51 I'll tag team with you, I'll do A. 49:53 "The eyes of the blind will be opened." 49:55 "And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped." 49:58 "And then shall the lame man leap as a hart," 50:00 a hart is a dear like creature, 50:02 "and the tongue of the dumb shall sing." 50:04 That means, I'll be singing. 50:08 And speaking of the animals, 50:09 "They shall not hurt nor destroy." 50:12 You want to hear an amazing fact. 50:15 You ever heard the expression, lions, and tigers, 50:16 and bears online. 50:18 Then you've been watching Wizard of Oz, 50:20 if you heard that. 50:21 They are actually, 50:23 they raided a drug lord's home in Atlanta 50:28 and in the basement they found these three, 50:32 a lion, a tiger and a bear living in squalor. 50:35 But they were, they had been together 50:36 since cubs and they put them 50:37 and Nature Reserve adopted them and they are all friends. 50:40 They all get along, a lion, a tiger, and the bear. 50:43 In the heaven will the animals eat each other? 50:46 And by the way, they call them BLT, 50:48 Bear, Lion, Tiger. 50:53 Your turn. 50:54 It says, Isaiah 11:6, 50:55 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, 50:57 and the little child shall lead them." 50:59 Yeah. There's nothing going to hurt or destroy. 51:02 Are we going to kill animals and eat them in heaven? 51:05 Everyone's gonna be vegetarian there, 51:07 even the animals are vegetarians 51:08 that each straw like the oxen. 51:10 Shouldn't we get ready for that now? 51:13 Talking of the vegetation, 51:15 the desert shall bloom as the rose. 51:17 There would be no desolate place, 51:19 everything is going to be... 51:20 The worst places on earth now will be our garden there then. 51:25 It says the inhabitant will not say I am sick. 51:27 Think about the real-estate 51:28 we're going to save with no hospitals, 51:29 no cemeteries and no golf courses. 51:35 Some people just turn channel. 51:37 Question17, will sad or painful memories 51:40 from this life trouble people in heaven? 51:43 It promises, the former will not be remembered 51:46 or come into mind. 51:48 Does that mean we're going to forget that God saved us? 51:50 No. 51:51 We will always remember the redemption, 51:53 but no painful memories. 51:54 As the ceaseless ages roll by, wave after wave of glory, 51:59 pleasures at His right hand for ever more 52:01 where painful memories will be absorbed. 52:03 You know how time heals, you heard that expression. 52:05 When you go through a hard time and you think, 52:07 I'll never get over this. 52:08 And after a while, 52:10 it's fun when you find a teenager, 52:11 they got a crush on someone, 52:13 "Oh, if I can't have him, I'll never be happy." 52:18 I see some of you are smiling. 52:21 Okay. 1 Corinthians... 52:23 Oh, then people say how, 52:24 you know, I'm not going to recognize grandma in heaven, 52:27 'cause she is going to be young 52:29 and how we're going to know each other in heaven. 52:32 Will we recognize each other? 52:34 Wanna read that one. 52:35 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, 52:37 "Then shall I know even as I am known." 52:39 We will not have less discernment in heaven, 52:42 we will have more discernment 52:43 to identify the people that we love. 52:46 And, you know, I see we're out of time, 52:47 but I'm just going to race through some of these quickly. 52:49 What are the thrilling promises 52:50 does God give us regarding His kingdom? 52:53 "The ransomed of the Lord shall come to Zion with joy, 52:56 everlasting joy. 52:58 Pleasures are at his right hand for evermore. 53:00 Boys and girls playing in the street." 53:02 Will there be children in heaven? 53:04 So a child will play 53:05 on the hole of a venomous serpent 53:06 and not be hurt. 53:08 "They'll run and not be weary, walk and not faint. 53:11 Mount up with wings like eagles." 53:13 Will we be able to fly? 53:15 Like the angels, you know, that song Rock of Ages, 53:17 it says, we saw two worlds unknown. 53:20 I know it's not in the Bible, 53:21 it's a song, but I believe it's true. 53:24 Go ahead. 53:25 Revelation 21:3, it says, 53:27 "God himself will be with them." 53:30 Can we adequately describe God's new kingdom with words? 53:35 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, you know this verse, 53:38 "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 53:40 neither entered into the heart of man 53:42 the things that God is preparing for those 53:44 that love him." 53:45 You can't imagine what He has for us. 53:48 But the only thing that will keep you 53:49 out of heaven is sin. 53:52 Nothing will enter into that city 53:54 that will defile nor will there be any lie, 53:57 liars on the lake of fire, the Bible says. 54:00 So if we want to be there, I want to be there, don't you? 54:02 Amen. 54:04 We've got to deal with sin. 54:05 And the answer to that is, "He that comes to me, 54:07 he that overcomes will inherit all these things." 54:10 Christ promises that if we confess our sins to Him, 54:13 if we repent, turn from our sins, 54:15 confess our sins, 54:16 he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 54:19 And then we are adopted as His children, 54:21 we can be in His kingdom. 54:22 We hope that's a prayer of those that are watching. 54:25 Pastor Ross, remind us of our special offer? 54:27 Our free offer today is called "A Colossal City in Space," 54:30 it's part of the Amazing Facts Study Guide series. 54:33 In order to receive this, call 866-788-3966 54:37 and ask for offer number 115, 54:39 or you can text the code "SH122" 54:43 to the number 40544, 54:47 and you'll be able to get a download of the study guide. 54:50 Well, thank you, friends, 54:51 we've run out of time for our study today. 54:53 God willing, we will study His Word together 54:55 with you again next week. 54:56 God bless. 54:58 Don't forget to request 54:59 today's life changing free resource. 55:02 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 55:04 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 55:07 or mobile device. 55:08 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 55:11 simply text the keyword on your screen to 40544 55:15 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 55:17 And be sure to select the digital download option 55:20 on the request page. 55:21 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 55:24 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want 55:28 and most important, to share it with others. 55:49 Have you ever heard the expression before 55:51 they eat like a bird, 55:53 talking about somebody that has a minuscule appetite? 55:56 Well, you might want to think twice 55:57 the next time you use that expression. 55:59 For example, take the humming bird. 56:02 In order for it to maintain its incredible metabolism, 56:05 it has to eat about 50% of its body weight every day. 56:09 To put that in perspective, 56:11 if a 100 pound woman was to eat like a humming bird, 56:14 she would have to eat 50 pounds of sugar a day 56:17 just to maintain her body weight, 56:18 imagine that. 56:20 Maybe you don't want to imagine that. 56:23 Or perhaps you want to consider this another way. 56:25 The humming bird typically consumes 56:27 between four to seven calories a day, 56:29 on the other hand a human about 3,500 calories a day. 56:33 But if you were to eat like a bird, 56:34 a humming bird, 56:36 you'd have to eat over 150,000 calories a day. 56:41 Oh, that's like a man of 170 pounds 56:43 that would be eating 3,000 Oreo cookies. 56:47 Under normal conditions, 56:49 a humming bird needs to eat every five or ten minutes. 56:51 But there is actually one time during the year, 56:53 the humming bird will eat 56:55 its entire body weight every day. 56:58 You see once a year they make this migration 57:01 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico 57:03 from Texas to the Yucatan Peninsula. 57:07 In order to do that, 57:09 the humming bird feasts on nectar and gorges themselves 57:12 on this nectar for about a week, 57:14 doubling their body weight. 57:16 That's the only way they can store enough calories 57:18 to help them with their 70 wing beats per second 57:22 or roughly 4 million wing beats on that journey. 57:26 You know, in the same way, friends, 57:27 as we near the end of time, 57:28 we need to be feasting and gorging ourselves 57:31 on the nectar of God's Word. 57:33 We've got to be able to have that strength 57:34 to get us through the times of trouble that are ahead. 57:37 So when it comes to the Bible and your personal devotions, 57:40 if you're going to eat like a bird, 57:42 eat like a humming bird. |
Revised 2019-03-25