In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of standing firm and being faithful to God until the end. He encourages the listeners to have a clear vision of God and the victory they have in Christ, as this will prevent their hearts from being troubled. The preacher also discusses the final battle between good and evil, where the devil and his followers will be thrown into the lake of fire. Finally, he mentions the great white throne judgment, where all people will be judged according to their works. The sermon concludes by highlighting the symbolic nature of the book of Revelation and the need to visualize its message.

Father, we thank you that you said that you would lead us into all truth and that Jesus said when he sent the Holy Spirit that he shall show you things to come. We ask that you would grant us that need to see you and from heaven's perspective the things that are to come. For your glory in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Last time we were looking at the book of Acts and Paul has gone on his first missionary journey with Barnabas and Mark. They sailed for Cyprus and went to Salamis and Paphos and on to cross to the Mediterranean to Perga where Mark found it a little too difficult and he turned back but they went on to Pisidian Antioch to Iconium and Lystra and Derby and back again across the Mediterranean to Antioch. We read in Acts 14 23. So when they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed and so the gospel has begun to go out to the entire world. Now they started on another missionary journey but you remember in Acts 15 verse 39 that Paul and Barnabas had a falling out over Mark and so Barnabas and Mark sailed to Cyprus. Paul chose Silas and they left again and Paul and Silas went through Cilicia ended up in the area near Tarsus. In Acts 16 Timothy joins Paul and Silas as they go on to Derby and then again to Lystra and Iconium to Pisidian Antioch all the way to Bithynia and here the Holy Spirit forbids them to go to Asia or to Bithynia. You can read that in Acts 16. Instead Paul gets a vision of the Macedonian call and so they go into Europe and we read that Lydia is baptized and soon Paul and Silas of course put in to jail and the jailer receives the Lord and we can read as they continue on to Berea and then from Berea Paul goes down to Mars Hill where he preaches in chapter 17 and Paul then goes on to Corinth stays there about a year and a half and then Paul returns to Jerusalem in chapter 18 and the report we get is so the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily. Well after returning to Jerusalem Paul decided to go again and Paul returns to the churches to strengthen them and to encourage the disciples and we read how he says for I've not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God and then in chapter 19 Paul sends Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia soon he follows you can read the riot that breaks out there at Ephesus in chapter 19 verse 23 and then after ministering in Macedonian Greece Paul learns of a plot by the Jewish leaders and returns over land through Macedonia he was evidently going to go to Ephesus but in chapter 20 verse 16 we see Paul bypasses Ephesus on his return in order to reach Jerusalem by the time of Pentecost but in Acts 20 17 we do read that the Ephesian elders came to Miletus they came to meet Paul there and he exhorted the Ephesian elders at Miletus on his way to Jerusalem and in chapter 21 the prophet Agabus warns Paul of the danger that awaits him in Jerusalem nevertheless knowing Paul he makes it to Jerusalem by Pentecost and sure enough now Paul begins his fourth missionary trip at government expense chapter 27 of Acts verse 2 Julius the centurion puts Paul aboard a ship and they head off Paul then is transferred to an Alexandrian ship and they head towards Italy and a storm comes up the winds blow the ship off course in chapter 27 and it's driven by a tempest for many days and as you can look on the map you'll see they're driven out towards Malta and then they're shipwrecked on Malta Paul stays there for three months and then once they arrive in Italy at chapter 28 of Acts verse 14 the brethren there in Italy welcome Paul and then we read in chapter 28 verse 16 and 30 that Paul's under guard he dwells in a rented house there in Rome but under guard and it's so apropos the way Acts 28 20 gives the report of Paul's heart and the way Paul views things still after taking the gospel all around the world as he knew it he says for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain now God is taking the gospel out to the world the act five that we look at now where God fills the earth with his glory through restored Israel we will obviously skip the epistles because they have to do more with what God is saying however we do want to be reminded of just if nothing else from the book of Romans because the book of Acts actually leaves us at Rome and the epistle of Romans is just so tremendous the most complete and systematic of the epistles the first eight chapters have to do with you know doctrine in terms of salvation the Christian message of life and we see the righteousness of God as it's related to the Christian message of life as it's related to sin and to sins that God gives us grace and grace says live and then do this and we can because we're justified by the grace of God and that means the faith that God has given us causes us to be able to implement the righteousness of God in and through our lives and so the first eight chapters have to do with the righteousness of God that's the theme really of the whole book of Romans and then in chapters 9 through 11 we see what some people would call the dispensational history the election the rejection the conversion of Israel but I would really prefer to call it the righteousness of God in relation to the calling of Israel because I think it's much more than just parenthetic I think that we really miss the message of the book of Romans if you make chapters 9 through 11 simply a parenthetic it's not parenthetic because when you divide the book up chapters 1 through 8 are doctrinal and salvation chapters 12 through 15 are practical behavior duties and principles for living it's the the righteousness of God in relation to our everyday lives and then you see that chapters 9 through 11 are right in the middle they're they're not just parenthetic they are primary they are the very keystone of the arc of the book of Romans the center of the epistle is the true philosophy of history and to divide the epistle properly or divide the word properly in general without confusion you've got to understand God's viewpoint is Israel's place and so Israel it's not only relevant as some people would say well Israel's relevant they're not relevant they're vital in the outworking of the plan of redemption and so I see chapters 9 through 11 as being primary not just parenthetic but the whole theme is the righteousness of God as it relates to salvation as it relates to history God is righteous in his relationship to calling Israel and electing them he's righteous in relationship to his rejection of them but also the conversion the restoration and reconciliation of all things God is righteous and so with that in mind let's move on to because we'll come back to the epistles let's move on to what God does in Act 5. God is going to fill the earth with restored Israel in Acts 1-6 that's what they were asking about Lord will you at this time restore the theocracy they understood Haggai 2-9 and Psalm 2 and Isaiah 2 they wanted to know and so here in this last teaching and vision of prophecy and scripture where we see the promise of Jesus fulfilled when he said he the Holy Spirit when he comes he shall show you things to come and he has particularly in the revelation that he gave John on the Isle of Patmos now in the first scene we need to recognize that God promises a complete restoration and that is an everlasting covenant covenant God will remember them if you'll turn to Ezekiel chapter 16 verses 59 and 60 for thus says the Lord God I will also do with you as you have done you have you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant nevertheless I will remember my covenant with you in the days of and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you isn't it tremendous just to read about our God and how he loves to give grace to his people in Ezekiel 20 verses 43-44 he says for on my holy mountain on the high mountain of Israel declares the Lord God there's the whole house of Israel all of them will serve me in the land there I shall accept them and there I shall seek your contributions and the choices of your gifts with all your holy things as a soothing aroma I shall accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered and I shall prove myself holy among you in the sight of the nations and you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you into the land of Israel into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers and there you will remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you've done then you'll know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you for my name's sake not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds oh house of Israel declares the Lord God the God of covenant grace is going to pour out his good plan upon him he cannot deny himself he cannot deny his name and so Israel will be restored as a theocracy in Ezekiel 36 verses 22 to 28 it says therefore say to the house of Israel that says the Lord God it is not for your sake oh house of Israel that I'm about to act but for my holy name which you profaned among the nations where you went and I will vindicate the holiness of my great name which has been profaned among the nations which you have profaned in their midst then the nations will know that I am the Lord declares the Lord God when I prove myself holy among you in their sight for I will take you from the nations gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idol moreover I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues and you will be careful to observe my ordinances and you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers so you will be my people and I will be your God and again Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 40 Jeremiah puts it behold days are coming declares the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel with the house of Judah not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt my covenant which they broke although I was a husband to them declares the Lord but this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days declares the Lord I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it and I will be their God and they shall be my people they shall not teach again each man his neighbor and each man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them declares the Lord I'll forgive their iniquity and their sin I'll remember no more and thus says the Lord who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar the Lord of hosts is his name if this fixed order departs from before me declares the Lord then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever thus says the Lord if the heavens above can be measured and the foundation of the earth searched out below then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they've done declares the Lord so in other words it can't be done God will be faithful to his promise because Jesus is the surety to keep God's part and Jesus is the surety to keep man's part and we know that now even through the Holy Spirit of promise who lives within us and works in us both to will and to do all his good pleasures what a tremendous covenant God actually decides to or commits to forget or just not raise the issue again just pure grace and pure love on his part and so he says behold the days are coming declares the Lord when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the tower of Hannah Mill to the corner gate and the measuring line shall go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gerab then it will turn to Goa and the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron to the corner of the horse gate toward the east shall be holy to the Lord it shall not be plucked up or overthrown any more for ever so we see that God is going to restore Israel as a theocracy and again and I think it's important that we read these scriptures Amos chapter 9 verses 11 through 15 says in reference to this restoration that in that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David and you know he's talking about the same day that actually James was talking about the pastor of the church in Jerusalem in Acts 15 and verses 14 through 16 when James interpretation of what's going on he said after these things he says that God is God is concerning himself right now with taking out a people from among the Gentiles but after these things he will come and rebuild you know the house of David and so Amos is saying here in that day after these things then I will raise up the fallen booth of David and will walk wallop its breaches I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name declares the Lord who does this behold days are come and declares the Lord when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sow seed when the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved also I'll restore the captivity of my people Israel and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them they will also plant vineyards and drink their wine and make gardens and eat their fruit I'll also plant them on their land and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I've given them says the Lord your God now that's going to come about obviously in that day when they say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord and that they may not be too far off the exciting thing to me is to realize that well as we'll see in this next scene that when the old channel the church in this case is removed through the rapture then God will begin to work through Israel and the more we see Israel restored to their land you can know this the closer we are to the removal of the church the more we see Israel established things developing the closer we are to the rapture of the church you know we're warned by Paul he says lest you be wise in your own conceits talking to the church I want you to understand this mystery brethren a hardening has come upon you know Israel until the full number of the Gentiles comes in and so all Israel will be saved as it's written the deliverer will come from Zion he will banish ungodliness from Jacob so first we're going to see God begin to restore Israel to their land and start fulfilling and moving in that direction of the complete restoration of them and then the next scene will be that God will have a he'll have to have a new channel so he's not going to use the church forever to fulfill his work here then as first Thessalonians 4 13 through 18 says the dead in Christ will rise first we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to be with the Lord and so shall we ever be and so as we begin to see these things develop we'll see a transition just like we saw when Jesus began in Matthew to tell them of the transition that was coming and the new things that were coming and then to ascend and send his spirit and even in the book of Acts we saw it took quite a while for people to catch on to what God was really doing it didn't happen just overnight it was a space of years even for some of the the great apostles it took them years to figure out the new direction God was heading in well we're going to see the rapture of the church and then there will be the appearance of the antichrist then there will be a tremendous great tribulation the time of Jacob's trouble there'll be the second coming of Christ judgment of the nations in the millennial reign all of these things are are going to take time to complete but God is working now some of the reasons that I believe in the pre-tribulational rapture of the church is one that Daniel 7 fits so perfectly with Revelation 4 and 5 where there's heavenly preparation with the saints to return with Jesus you know after the antichrist wrecks havoc on the earth and we see this in Daniel 7 and Revelation 4 and 5 another reason is that there's no mention of the church in the book of Revelation after chapter 5 in chapter 2 and 3 we see the scene there of the churches and then it points to the scene in heaven with Christ and the father because in Revelation 4 1 we read come up here and so John's transport to the heavenly realm being symbolic represents the church which is highly appropriate since John was the last living apostle and then we read in Revelation 4 4 and 5 that the word elder is there which is associated with the church but also the word crowns which is always associated with the church and so we see Revelation 4 and 5 fitting with Daniel 7 and then we don't hear of the church after that until they return again with the Lord Jesus Christ to rule and to reign in the 70th week of Daniel explained in Daniel chapter 9 you're seeing really what takes place in the book of Revelation from chapter 6 to chapter 19 it's called the time of Jacob's trouble that is Israel's trouble not the church's trouble but the time of Jacob or Israel's trouble another reason I believe in the pre-tribulational rapture is that the restrainer of second Thessalonians chapter 2 is no doubt the spirit of God within the true church and when the true church is gone the true influence the salt and the light of the Holy Spirit working in and through the believers in society is gone then Satan will be free to initiate his anti-Christ program in the world now I know that there's some people that say that the restraint will be that it'll be a it'll be removed by a great falling away in apostasy of the church and perhaps that certainly might play a part of it because Jesus said if you're if your salt is lost at savor then what good is it it's just going to be trodden down trotting under foot of men there's no doubt that we as Christians need to stand up for what is right and what is true and to be as much a restraining influence as we can be but I believe that it will be greater than just an apostasy just a falling away but at the same time also the true saints true believers of God will be raptured and taken out and this this world will be left without any restraints whatsoever at least on earth at that time because there won't even be the the prayer so much of the righteous people who who pray and just like first Timothy 2 tells us and pray for the government and ask God to set up one and put down another and ask God to let us live quiet and peaceable lives and so all of this will be missing now twice in the first Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 10 and chapter 5 verse 9 we're told that believers are not destined for wrath the wrath of God wrath refers to the tribulation period in the Thessalonian epistles and you can compare these to revelation 3 10 where it stated that the faithful Christians are spared the great tribulation period we're not destined to the wrath of God and so we're taken out before that also if you look at the old testament and you see some examples of God's mercy the mercy showed to Noah and preserving him and taking him out of that situation before he brought judgment and the same with Lot taking Lot out of Sodom before God rained the fire and the brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah but prior to destruction and also because of Abraham's intercession no doubt um God delivered and God does not usually judge the righteous with the wicked and so the love and justice of our God who is sovereign over all um is is enough for us to trust in he will keep us from that global period of suffering that great tribulation that's coming now that's not to say we won't suffer while we're here Christians have suffered and continue to suffer and we will suffer for the name of Christ but that's different than what God's going to do in this next phase after the rapture and preparing Israel for his return God obviously wishes all to be saved that's why he's so patient right now today it is his desire and his concern to take out a people from among the Gentiles peculiar people a people for his own possession a royal priesthood a holy nation and he wishes all would be saved and that's one reason we pray now for good government is we'd like to be able to get the message out without any hindrance whatsoever but obviously the time will come when all that will change now after the removal of the church in scene two then in scene three the next scene we see Israel will be prepared for Christ's return through the tribulation period as was said in Romans there the deliverer will come from Zion and he will banish ungodliness from Jacob the tribulation period for the Jews a time of restoration in some way spiritually you might say is clearly foretold by the prophets in Jeremiah chapter 30 and verses 1 through 9 we read the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying thus says the Lord the God of Israel write all the words which I've spoken to you in a book for behold days are coming declares the Lord when I'll restore the fortunes of my people to Israel and Judah the Lord says I will also bring them back to the land that I've given to their forefathers and they shall possess it now these are the words which the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah but thus says the Lord I've heard a sound of terror of dread and there's no peace ask now and see if a male child if a male can give birth why do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in childbirth guys are just bent over like women in childbirth and why have all faces turned pale alas for that day is great there's none like it and it is the time of Jacob's distress the time of Jacob's trouble but he will be saved from it and it shall come about on that day declares the Lord of hosts that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds and strangers shall no longer make them their slaves but they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king whom I will raise up for them now obviously this didn't happen under Zerubbabel when they returned after the captivity uh they didn't serve David their king who he raised up and the yokes weren't broken off like this prophecy talks about so this is a future thing it is the time of Jacob's trouble it's also referred to in Daniel chapter 9 and verses 24 through 27 uh it's a time we see here where the antichrist will be revealed and worshiped during this period of tribulation says in uh verses 24 through 27 70 weeks have been decreed for your people in your holy city to finish the transgression to make an end of sin to make atonement for iniquity to bring in everlasting righteousness to fill up vision and prophecy to anoint the most holy of the holy place so you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild jerusalem until messiah the prince shiloh there will be seven weeks 62 weeks it'll be built again with plaza and moat even in times of distress and of course that's you know what we read about in nehemiah with the trial in one hand and their sword in another hand rebuild it then after the 62 weeks the messiah will be cut off and have nothing and he was you remember and he died on the cross for our sins there and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary and its end will come with a flood and even to the end there will be war desolations are determined and he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week speaking of that antichrist that little horn of daniel 7 and revelation 13 second thessalonians 2 that lawless one so he will make covenant for one week but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate even until a complete destruction one that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate thank god for that but you see here is a time of tremendous tribulation for the people they're prepared for the return of christ as a matter of fact i always thought it was interesting the way that john the baptist in matthew 3 12 was viewing christ and because john was he was a prophet and he saw not only what was going on in his day but he saw beyond to the future to the second coming of christ and when john views it he his view here is is piercing john says of christ when he comes whose fan is in his hand if you can picture that the lord coming whose fan is in his hand and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor i mean he's got his fan in his hand he's going to thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor thoroughly and then he will gather his wheat into the garner but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire what a picture the chaff burned up with unquenchable fire and so after israel begins to be restored to their land according to that everlasting covenant that god made with them that he would remember them and he does and he removes the church through the rapture and then israel is prepared through the great you know tribulation then um the lord comes in the next scene in uh jeremiah 23 verses 5 through 6 we read behold the days are coming says the lord when i will raise up for david's righteous branch and he will reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land and his days judas shall be saved and israel will dwell securely and this is the name by which he will be called the lord our righteousness or jehovah said knew this is the time that daniel spoke of in daniel 7 13 and 14 when he says i saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom is one that shall not be destroyed this is what the book of revelation talks about in chapter 11 verse 15 when it says in the seventh angel blew his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven saying the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our lord and of his christ and he shall reign forever and ever and so at the end of the tribulation period jesus christ will return and he'll set up his reign from israel and totally fulfill psalm 2 as well but when jesus returns zechariah chapter 14 explains to us what will be going on the battle of armageddon will be taking place at the end of this seven-year period of tribulation zechariah says behold the day is coming for the lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you for i will gather all the nations against jerusalem to battle and the city will be captured and the houses will be plundered the women ravished half of the city exiled but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city then that is at that time then the lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle and in that day his feet will stand on the mount of olives which is in the front of jerusalem on the east and the mount of olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley so that half of the mountain will remove toward the north and the other half toward the south it's interesting when jesus was here matthew 21 verse 21 he said to his disciples truly if you have faith and not doubt in your heart you will say to this mountain be cast into the sea and it'll take place and most likely was referring to this mountain the mount of olives because at the personal bodily return of jesus christ when his feet touch down the mount of olives that's what will happen the mountain will be split from east to west and there'll just be this huge valley and it'll be removed the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south and you will flee by the valley of my mountains for the valley of the mountain will reach to azel yes you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of aziah king of judah then the lord my god will come and all the holy ones with him wow and it will come about in that day that there'll be no light the luminaries will dwindle for it will be a unique day which is known to the lord neither day nor night but it will come about that at evening time there will be light you know when something's unique for the lord then it's pretty unique and it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of jerusalem half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea it will be in summer as well as in winter so we can see it's without jesus who has the faith to set his foot down on the mount of olives it's jesus who has the faith to say to this mountain be cast into the sea and it will be and it's jesus who has the faith to cause this unique day to cause the living waters to flow out of jerusalem verse 9 says and the lord will be king over all the earth and that day the lord will be the only one in his name the only one all the land will be changed into a plane from geba to remnant south of jerusalem but jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from benjamin's gate as far as the place of the first gate to the corner gate and from the tower of hanamel to the king's wine presses and people will live in it and there will be no more curse for jerusalem will dwell in security now this will be the plague with which the lord will strike all the peoples who've gone to war against jerusalem their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet and their eyes will rot in their sockets their tongue will rot in their mouth and it'll come about in that day that a great panic from the lord will fall on them and they will seize one another's hand and the hand of one will be lifted up against the hand of another and judah also will fight at jerusalem and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered gold silver garments in great abundance so also like this plague will be the plague on the horse the mule the camel the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the king the lord of hosts and to celebrate the feast of boobs or the feast of tabernacles and it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to jerusalem to worship the king the lord of hosts there will be no rain on them and if the family of egypt does not go up or enter then no rain will fall on them it'll be the plague with which the lord smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the feast of booths this will be the punishment of egypt and the punishment of all nations who do not go up to celebrate the feast of booths in that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses holy to the lord and the cooking pots in the lord's house will be like the bowls before the altar and every cooking pot in jerusalem and in judah will be holy to the lord of host and all whose sacrifice will come and take of them and boiling them and there will be no longer a canaanite in the house of the lord of host in that day in other words all idolatry in every form will be done away completely so after israel has begun to be restored to their land and then the rapture of the church takes place and the great tribulation prepares israel for the return of jesus christ when he turns returns in his glory with all of his holy angels and then the lord sets up the millennial reign the thousand year reign and the first thing we see there is the binding of satan and revelation chapter 20 and i saw an angel coming down from heaven having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold of the dragon the serpent of old who is the devil and satan and bound him for a thousand years yeah it's good he did because for one thing we know it looks like the devil's never going to repent and man's heart also is susceptible to that rebellion when he's influenced by satan as we'll see later but verse three says then he bound him and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him so that he should not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed after these things he must be released for a short time you know there again you always wonder why does he have to be released and part of it is to prove man's heart of rebellion the first chance he gets against god and then to receive the judgment that is do satan and do all those who choose to go with him and in verse four it says and i saw thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given to them and i saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of jesus and because of the word of god and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand and they came to life and reigned with christ for a thousand years the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed this is the first resurrection blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection over these second death has no power but they will be priest of god and of christ and will reign with him for a thousand years now paul had said in romans 11 that if the rejection of this remains uh the reconciliation of the world what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead isaiah describes it this way in chapter two and verses two through four in the last days the mountain of the house of the lord will be established as the chief of the mountains and will be raised above the hills and all the nations will stream to it and many peoples will come and say come let's go up to the mountain of the lord for the house of the god of jacob that he may teach us concerning his ways and that we may walk in his paths for the law will go forth from zion and the word of the lord from jerusalem and he will judge between the nations and will render decisions for many peoples and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nation will not lift up sword against nation and never again will they learn war oh what a blessed time when the prince of peace is in charge and during this millennial reign he will rule from jerusalem genesis 12 verse 3 says i will bless those who bless you speaking to abraham and his descendants and him who curses you i'll curse and by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed or you know in in the seed of abraham which seed was christ all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed in a special way during this millennial reign of christ and like the way isaiah 60 and verse 3 puts it and nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising and then we will have reached the goal we started out to reach as we began the works of god in numbers 14 21 when the lord said as truly as i live all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the lord however we don't want to forget that there is at the end of the millennial reign the battle of gog and magog um different from ezekiel 38 and 39 not the same but we read in revelation chapter 20 beginning in verse 7 that there will be the loosing of satan at the end of the millennial reign and when the thousand years are completed satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth gog and magog to gather them together for the war the number of them is like the sand on the seashore i personally believe the world will be more populated than than ever because of the tremendous peaceful reign of the king of kings and lord of lords the true prince of peace it says and they shall come up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city and fire came down from heaven and devoured them there's really no contest in this battle as you can see and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are also and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever this will be the last rebellion against the lord and a fiery judgment of god will sweep the globe and all the dead of all the ages all those who've had no share in the first resurrection will be summoned to appear before the great white throne at this particular judgment this trial men will be judged by their works it says in revelation 20 verses 11 through 15 and i saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away no place was found for them and i saw the dead the great and the small standing before the throne and books were opened and another book was opened which is the book of life and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds and the sea gave up the dead which were in it and death and hades gave up the dead which were in them and they were judged every one of them according to their deeds and death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire this is the second death the lake of fire and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire no wonder in luke 10 20 jesus said rejoice that your name is written in that lamb's book of life the disciples were excited about the demons being subject but christ with his vision said oh man be rejoicing that your name is written in that book of life and so at this point then there will be a new heaven and new earth heaven and earth will pass away and then the eternal new heaven new earth revelation 21 says and i saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there is no longer any sea and i saw the holy city new jerusalem coming down out of heaven from god made ready as a bride adorned for her husband and i heard a loud voice from the throne saying behold the tabernacle of god is among men and he shall dwell among them and they shall be his people and god himself shall be among them and the fulfillment of leviticus 26 11 really and god will just be there with us and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes and there shall no longer be any death there shall no longer be any mourning or crying or pain the first things have passed away and he who sits on the throne said behold i am making all things new and he said right for these words are faithful and true and he said to me it is done in other words it already exists it's a done deal and i am the alpha and omega the beginning and the end i will give to the one who thirst from the spring of the water of life without costs he who overcomes shall inherit these things and i will be his god and he will be my son but for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death i do hope that you've received jesus christ as your personal savior that you've submitted to his lordship and are enjoying the blessing of all the riches that god has given us in christ and that you won't in your own pride and stubbornness decide to go the way of all the earth decide to go the way of the influence of the evil one who blinds your mind from the truth of glorious good news about jesus christ and what god has done for us in and through him but of course that's your decision and uh just pray that god would save you if you've not turned your heart to him certainly god desires it is not his desire to judge but the end of all those who do not receive christ will be that lake of fire that burns as john said with unquenchable fire now the new heaven and earth the exact process of god's act of creating a new heaven and earth is not revealed in any detail he doesn't tell us how he's going to do that we just rest in the sovereignty of god in matters like these peter says in his second epistle chapter 3 verses 10 through 13 but the day of the lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away and a roar with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat or melt and the earth and its works will be burned up since all these things are to be destroyed in this way what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct in godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of god on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat but according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells thank the lord so we've looked at act 5 where god fills the earth with his glory through restored israel and particularly as we look at the last teaching and vision of prophecy in scripture in the book of revelation where he shows us the things to come jesus reveals them his final word to man as you read the book of revelation think about the need because the need has a lot to do with why the book is written we see the evil in the world the great opposition to god and to his people also to his church to anything right and but as you begin to read the book of revelation you'll see the cause of the consummation of all things is the atoning death of the lamb of god jesus christ his work on the cross that's why it's the object of worship forever and ever but the the need in writing the book of revelation is largely so that we could see the connection between things that are seen and unseen we tend to focus on the things that are seen and we forget the things that are unseen and we need to see from heaven's perspective that it's done that christ is the victor and that we're more than conquerors in every way and so the need that we have is to fix our hope completely as first peter 1 13 says to fix our hope completely on the grace that is to be brought at the revelation of jesus christ and we have that need to hear the voice of jesus saying be of good cheer i've overcome the world yes you'll you'll have tribulation in the world but be of good cheer i've overcome the world as a matter of fact as paul put it in romans 8 37 you're more than conquerors because of what christ has done and as we go through the revelation we see that the prince of this world is judged and that uh we're suffering together with the lord and the people are not really against us as much as they are against him and that's proven during this millennial reign at the end of it when satan's loosed and people once again first chance they get they turn against god and rebellion but we need to see that there is a restoration of all things there's a reconciliation of all things and that's why the book was written because there's the need and i think perhaps one of my favorite phrases in all the bible meets the need that revelation was written when it says he has prepared for them a city it's god's doing it's been god's doing from the beginning and he has prepared for them a city it's done and oh how i need to see how blessed is everyone who reads and hears and sees these things and keeps these saying as this cry develops throughout the book even so come lord jesus tremendous need for us to see him the content of the book of the revelation is simply the glorified person of jesus christ we see him in chapter one the lamb who is now glorified in chapters two and three we see the church on earth uh the spiritual war that goes on there in chapters four and five we see the church in heaven with christ then in chapter 6 through 18 we see the great tribulation in the world at the end of that chapter 19 we see the return of christ to reign and to judge the nations and then in chapter 20 he sets up his millennium uh there's obviously a need for it the failure of every earthly society to realize the ideals of god and to fulfill the needs for which man was created but christ comes the perfect prince of peace he does that and then in chapters 21 and 22 we see the eternal state revealed a perfect humanity god dwelling among them both perfect individually and corporately together and so all the earth is filled with the glory of the lord the method through which the book of revelation was written was symbolic obviously because the things described and seen here could not be put in words in a simple way it was best to have pictures uh in order to view these things and so it was a great method it was the best method god chose it because it's something we need to visualize and see and i do encourage you to spend time you know putting these things before your minds that you might be able to see them because that's what god intended but what's ultimately our response to this last act the response is to stand and to be faithful unto death to love not your lives unto the death to stand and having done all to stand personal boldness should be our response because we've received an unshakable immovable kingdom it's a done deal so how can our hearts be troubled well the answer to that question how our hearts can be troubled is very simple they can be troubled only by lack of vision they can be troubled only by a lack of the epignosis the revelation of god and of the victory and all that we have in christ but if we see if we can as this book puts before us the symbolic method if we could see the victory and keep that before our eyes it would meet the need of our life particularly in these last days may god grant you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him that you might see him clearly in these last days and take courage set your hope completely upon him and stand firm and be personally bold because of it to witness and to witness in the face of opposition to witness when things are not looking so good in the seen side of things but you're seeing the unseen because you've seen the glorified christ and his victory and what you share with him god bless you as you wait expectantly may we cry together even so come lord jesus amen