(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Alright, we're in Revelation chapter number 20 this morning and we're continuing with the series on the book of Revelation. I had taken a week off and so we were able to cover chapter 19 last week but we did cover it this Thursday and so I wanted to make sure that we catch up on chapter 20 and so looking forward to this. This chapter mainly focuses on the millennial reign and the white throne judgment. Of course you see the battle of Gog and Magog in there as well and when you read this chapter in light of what took place prior to the events taking place, we know that Daniel's 70th week has officially ended and it's officially concluded and now begins the thousand year reign of Christ and we saw a picture of this or we saw this foretold even in Revelation chapter 11 where the Bible tells us that the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. So the millennial reign begins here in chapter 20 and you see that in the first six verses of the chapter. Now, let me say this is that when it comes to the millennial reign, it actually begins and ends with two great wars followed by judgment. If you remember in chapter 19, you have the battle of Armageddon and Jesus Christ comes on a white horse. He comes with what the Bible tells us in Jude, ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all the ungodly, right? He comes with the saints and the Bible tells us that he destroys the antichrist and his false prophet with the sword of his mouth and with the brightness of his coming. So you see this war taking place which is the battle of Armageddon. Right there is where you see the judgment of the antichrist and the false prophet. Then you see that the remnant are slain with the sword. It is then thereafter that you see the establishment of the millennial reign and the distribution of authority over those cities within that reign there. Well, at the conclusion of the millennial reign, you basically have the same thing. You have another battle taking place which is the battle of Gog and Magog. Satan is loosed for a season after those thousand years and he gathers together the armies of the world to fight against God. We know that God destroys him, destroys those armies and he casts him also into the lake of fire. And what do we see thereafter? We see the white throne judgment where the remainder of the population are judged, you know, or just the world just in general are judged and they're cast into the lake of fire. And then we have the new heaven and the new earth. So this is where we're at in this, in the book of Revelation. Now in this sermon, I want to spend some time on verses one through six just describing the millennial reign and really conveying its characteristics and attributes. I really, I really love the concept of the millennial reign. I love the teaching and really it's something to really look forward to, right? You know, the white throne judgment, we're not looking forward to because we're not going to be a part of it. Amen. This is our judgment actually. Okay. The judgment seat of Christ. Right. And really when you think about the Christian life and the battles you have, the souls that you went to the Lord, the service that you have, it all comes down to this right here. You know, when you think about obviously we have the rapture where we receive our glorified bodies. However, the millennial reign is basically that event that takes place where we receive the rewards of our labors for God. You know, at that point, nothing's really going to matter, you know, when you think about the millennial reign. And by the way, it's not a fairytale, man. This is going to happen one day and sometimes we think, well, man, it's so, so far off. You know, it's, it's so far gone and you know, when are we going to see this? Well, let's just put it this way. Okay. Daniel's 70th week is seven years. Let's just say, okay, let's just say for example, that the tribulation is in three years. By the way, don't cut that up in a clip and say that I said that the tribulation is in three years. Okay. Yeah. Let's say the tribulation is in three years. You have seven years. That means in 10 years we could possibly be in the millennial reign, right? Think about that. That kind of put things into perspective, you know, and to be quite honest with you, you know, the Bible tells us that the Bible calls the trials and tribulations of this lifetime are light affliction. But when you're going through affliction, it doesn't seem light, but you know, when you compare it to the glory that shall be revealed in us, it's pretty light. Because when we're in the millennial reign and we're ruling and reigning with Christ, these days are going to be forgotten. So that, that's kind of like an incentive for us to keep pushing forward, keep moving forward, keep serving the Lord, keep winning people to Christ. Just push forward through the difficult times because this day is coming. Amen. So I want to talk about the millennial reign. Now, before we get into the first six verses, I want to talk about the different interpretations or the different positions in regards to the millennial reign because millennial means a thousand years and no one can deny the fact that the Bible tells us that there is a thousand year increment of things taking place of what the Bible calls the reign of Christ. But there are different views and interpretations of what that means. Now you have the all millennialist view, which basically views the thousand years as being figurative. Okay. So it says millennial thousand years, however, you know, it doesn't necessarily mean a thousand years because there's so much symbolism within the book of Revelation. You know, we can safely assume that a thousand years is also symbolic. Okay. That's what their position is. Then you have like the preterist view, for example, that will state that, you know, the millennial reign has, we're in the millennial reign, okay. Or the millennial reign began in AD 70 and has already ended. Like it was a literal thing that took place already. You know, no longer there. You know, you guys are misinterpreting. This is not end times Bible prophecy, even though, even though Revelation chapter 20, the millennial reign is in the book of Revelation dealing with end times Bible prophecy. Why would God put an event that already took place as something that's being foretold or prophesied in future days? Okay. So let's say the first thousand years, you know, was that new covenant and that it basically ended when Gog conquered Palestine and incited the crusades. That's what they'll state. And then you have, you know, others that will, it's like a halfway preterist view where they'll say, well, this is a spiritual kingdom. Okay. And, you know, Christ is reigning in our hearts and, you know, it's not a literal physical reign that he's going to come in the future. He's reigning in our hearts and they'll have that type of view. Now, let me just say this is that I believe preterism is just stupid. Okay. And I know there's good people out there that believe in preterism. I know they're fooled by it, you know, but the reality is, is that it is a stupid doctrine that can be debunked, you know, four ways from Sunday. I mean, just this alone, let's talk about the millennial reign, thousand years. Okay. Why is this foolish to say that it began in AD 70 and it no longer, it's no longer relevant today. Like it, those thousand years have already passed. Well, because of the fact that Satan is bound for a thousand years and if Satan is bound for a thousand years, you're saying that there was a thousand year period on this earth from AD 70 and a thousand years thereafter where Satan had no dominion over the earth. Wrong. How can you say that that exists? And look, if you ask a preterist, how do they interpret that? They have to go to outside biblical sources, Jewish encyclopedias. I'm not kidding you in order to prove that because they can't prove that according to the Bible. Let me read this to you. The fact that Satan is bound does not necessarily mean that there would be a literal heaven on earth. A similar binding of Satan is found in the book of, in the book of what? Jubilees. And Jubilees 48, 50, I don't see a Jubilees in here, a book of Jubilees. In Jubilees 48, 15, Satan was bound in order to allow the Jews to escape their Egyptian pursuers. This book also lists several other points in Jewish history when Satan was bound and as a result, the people enjoyed prosperity and peace. Right then and there, they just completely disqualified themselves from even interpreting end times Bible prophecy. When you have to use not just outside biblical sources, but Jewish encyclopedias and references in the book of Jubilee or whatever, you're done at that point. Case closed, now in the coffin, it's foolish because you cannot prove that Satan has been bound for a thousand years. Well, it's a spiritual binding, Pastor, well, that's funny because the Bible tells us that Satan is the God of this world. And if he's bound, if it's a spiritual binding, right, then explain to me that why does it say that he will no longer deceive the nations? Folks, he's been deceiving the nations for generations on end. There's never been a space in history where he has not deceived the nations. Okay. Not only that, but we see that in the millennial reign, the 12 disciples rule over the 12 tribes of Israel. This did not take place. Okay. So preterism is, you know, those who believe in a preterist doctrine, they're very, they have this doctrine misconstrued. Okay. Then you have the post millennialist view, which also viewed a thousand years as figurative. Now this is actually more dangerous than the amillennialist. The amillennialist is just kind of like flat earth, you know what I mean, just kind of, it's not really dangerous, it's just dumb. Okay. But the post millennialist is dangerous because of the fact that they believe that there will be a time of peace and prosperity before the return of Christ. These are the people that you will often hear spewing out this rhetoric of ushering in the kingdom. You understand? And they believe that Christians will basically permeate all of society, politics and, you know, different positions of rule and authority, you know, businesses, we're going to permeate the world and that's how we're going to usher in the kingdom. Well, false. Okay. You don't see that in the Bible. And in fact, no, let me correct myself. You do see that in the Bible. But guess what? It's not Christians who permeate society. And it's in fact that the kingdom of darkness that permeates society in the end times. Okay. You see that the new world order is the order is the nation is that infrastructure that takes over the world. The Antichrist spearheading that infrastructure in that order. It's not Christians who are doing it. You said, why is this dangerous? Well, because of the fact that if people buy into this false doctrine of post millennialism, then what's going to happen is the people who believe this in the end times are going to believe that the Antichrist is Jesus. They're going to believe that the new world order is that kingdom. They're going to believe that Christians who are permeating society are from God, but not really. It's the Antichrist's minions, it's those who work for him. Okay. Christians will not permeate society prior to the millennial reign. And then you have the pre-millennia's view, which basically views the thousand years spoken of Revelation 20 as a literal thousand years. We believe that this is referring to a literal thousand year reign, okay. The things that take place prior to the millennial reign, you have the judgment seat of Christ, and then the things that come thereafter are the great white throne, judgment, new heaven and the new earth. So let's give a description of the millennial reign, because it's something to look forward to. And there's a lot of changes that are coming when this takes place. Now, this should not be mistaken with the new heaven and the new earth. It definitely has elements and an environment likened unto the new heaven and the new earth, but it's almost like a precursor to the new heaven and the new earth, okay. It's a transitional period time in history in order to transition mankind into that new heaven and that new earth. So let's talk about it. Number one, first and foremost, what's special about the millennial reign? Well, first and foremost, the absence of Satan. Look at verse number one, it says, and I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years and cast them into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that, he must be loose for a little season. Now, first and foremost, before we get into what I want to talk about here, notice that it says that he must be loose for a little season. What does that show? It shows that Satan cannot do anything without God's permission. God is the one who binds them. God is the one who loses him. God is the one who uses him for his purpose. And what is the purpose for losing him after the thousand years? It's to basically gather those who hate the Lord. He does his dirty work, so to speak. He's gathering those who already hate the Lord. He's like a magnet for those who hate the Lord in order to gather them together and to judge them, destroy them, et cetera. So what's the first thing that we can notice about the millennial reign? Satan is not absent. I'm sorry, Satan is absent. Okay, he's no longer present. This will minimize sin, not eradicate it, but it will minimize sin. Why? Because he's no longer there to tempt people, right? He's no longer there to deceive the nations and to tempt them. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 7, 5, defrauding not one another, except to be full with the consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. We know that Satan, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. So we no longer have an adversary during the millennial reign. Christ is ruling and reigning. Satan is bound. He's no longer present. Now, I believe that the millennial reign, we're going to experience a receptiveness of the people like no other time in history. I mean, you think Belize was good. You think Compton was good. You think Watts was good. The world during the millennial reign is going to be extremely receptive, in my opinion. Why is that? Well, go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4, if you would, 2 Corinthians chapter 4. So we shouldn't just breeze over verses 1 through 3 and say, okay, good, he's bound and that's it. Well, no, that changes the dynamics of the spiritual realm here on this earth. Satan is a key player of the wickedness and the vile things that take place in this world. He's not necessarily the source of it because the Bible tells us that man's heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. Who can know it? Aside from the fact that we have Satan as our adversary, we have the world system as our adversary, we also have the old man as our adversary. And the old man is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. The flesh lusteth against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh. These are contrary to the one to the other, so you cannot do the things that you would. So we have an enemy that we live with every single day and it's called the old man, the flesh, right? However, on top of that, you have Satan and his demons, his minions, who are also fomenting that agenda, okay, and really assisting the flesh, so to speak. Look what 2 Corinthians 4 says, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. So what is one of Satan's greatest feats is to blind the minds of unsafe people in order for them not to get saved. It says, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them. So we see that one of the greatest barriers for people to be saved is Satan himself. This is why when the parable of the sower, the seed in the sower is explained, the very first seed, it talks about Satan taking away the seed out of the heart lest they should believe and be saved. You know, it's his full-time job to go out there and you're preaching the gospel, you're sowing seed, then he comes and he just snatches that seed right out of the heart of the person who received it. We're not going to have that barrier anymore. So people are going to be getting saved left and right. You know, I believe, you know, women are going to be very fruitful during that time. The composition of a woman's body and a man's body obviously changes. I'm talking about people who are not saved, a lot of children, the population is going to be great and so there's going to be a lot of people to win to the Lord. And this barrier of Satan is going to be removed. And look, he not only comes and snatches the seed out of the heart, he is the architect of all the false religions that give people the preconceived ideas that keeps them from getting saved. Right? Catholicism, Mormonism, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Preterism, you know, all these false religions, you know, the charismatic movement, all of these religions that teach a false gospel and teach a false way that really causes people to not be able to filter what the gospel is, that's going to be removed. We don't know what that's like today. You know, we can run into, we might run into someone who is, you know, they don't have preconceived ideas and, you know, they didn't have a religious background. How many of you want someone to the Lord who's just like, man, this person was just super receptive, they didn't have preconceived ideas, they're just low hanging fruit. Well, the whole world's going to be low hanging. Okay. Now, I'm sure there's going to be people who are not going to get saved. But I think that's going to be very minimal. Okay, I think a lot of people are going to get saved during this time. You know, Satan is the prince of the power of the air, the Bible tells us. Okay. So we will no longer be hindered by demonic forces. You know, preaching the gospel is a joy today, it's going to be even more of a joy in the millennial reign. Why? Because we're not hindered at all. You know, Paul, who's one of the greatest soul owners in history said that he purposed to come unto them, but Satan hindered him. How many would say there's been a time in my life where I feel like Satan hindered me from even doing the work of God, right? Where Satan hinders, he's no longer going to hinder. There's no longer a reason, an excuse not to serve God, it's going to be there, it's going to be easy to do so, it's going to be great. So the demonic forces are completely taken out of the picture, Satan is taken out of the picture. Now, this is conjecture, but you know, the Bible tells us that Babylon will never be inhabited, okay? Because it's destroyed, right? Babylon is destroyed. And it does tell us that Babylon shall become a habitation of devils, which is kind of interesting because Satan is the one who's bound and thrown into the bottomless pit, but it doesn't really say that his demons are bound, you understand? It doesn't say that the demons and the devils are bound. What does it say about the demons and devils? That Babylon becomes the habitation of those devils and demons. So it could be that in the world of the millennial reign, the United States of America is going to be almost like a holding cell for all these demons and devils, should not be inhabited. Like, that's impossible, look, God can do whatever he wants. You're like, man, but there's so many beautiful places in the United States, you're not, we're not going to rule and reign here. It's not going to look beautiful after God is done with it, okay? So that's conjecture, of course, but what I'm saying is that we will be far away from those demons and devils. They will no longer have any authority in this world. This is big, okay? Because deception is a tool that Satan, it's his greatest tool that he uses, he's the father of lies, right? He's the father of lies that will no longer prevail in the millennial reign. The Bible tells us in Daniel chapter 7 verse 21, I beheld in the same warm, made war with the saints who prevailed against them until the ancient of days came and judgment was given to the saints of the most time and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. So why should we rejoice about the millennial reign because Satan is no longer there? Our adversary is no longer there, our enemy is no longer present. And look folks, unless you live a godly life, you've been so many, you've been so many, you've lived for the Lord, you probably don't know what it's like to go with Satan head to head. If you're out there living in the world, you're just serving your own lust and you're doing your own thing, you probably don't have any battle. So to you, this probably doesn't even make a difference, but for those who serve God, they know how important this is that Satan has taken out of the picture. And the Bible tells us that our swords shall be turned into pruning hooks, shall be beat into pruning hooks, spears into plowshares. Why? Because there's no longer going to be war in the millennial reign, there's no need for war. We have peace, we shall inherit the earth and now it's just time to labor and just kick back and relax and just enjoy a thousand years with the Lord, okay? Now go to Revelation, go back to Revelation chapter 20. So first and foremost, what's the first description of the millennial reign? The absence of Satan, he's no longer going to be there, nor will his minions and his demons and devils have authority on the world as well. Look at verse number four, and I saw thrones and they that sat upon them and judgment was given unto them and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. So now we're going to look at the distribution of authority, okay? So what's taking place? Well, after the battle of Armageddon, Jesus Christ destroys the Antichrist and his false prophet. He kills the remnant with the sword. He just completely decimates this army and then he takes over, right? Well, you know, this is a very big operation. I mean, it's the entire world. So fortunately, there's been saved people from the beginning of time until now, and each and every single one of those Christians will be distributed authority based upon the labors and the works that they do, okay? So he begins to dish out the distribution of this authority and to give rankings and authority over different parts of the world. And look, man, let me say this, more than being a pastor. I mean, I'm thankful to be a pastor, but I want to rule. Being a pastor is awesome. Ruling in the millennial reign is more awesome, okay? That's awesome, okay? And you know, to have authority over some portion of the world with Jesus Christ as your boss, I mean, physically there, okay? This should encourage us to stand fast in the faith. Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord, it's not in vain, you know? And in times of discouragement, in times of depression, in times of difficulty, just remember those things like, man, I got to keep laboring because I want to rule with Christ. You know, the Bible tells us that we can be joint heirs with Christ, where? In the millennial reign. If so be that we suffer with him, the Bible says, okay? Heirs of God, if we're saved, joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him. So we see a distribution of authority. This is what the Bible tells us in the gospel when Jesus gives the parable and he says, be thou over 10 cities, thou faithful servant, okay? Now go with me, if you would, to Isaiah 65. So in the millennial reign, Jesus will have complete dominion, okay? Now obviously he's the king of kings and Lord of lords today, right? But there is a vast difference between what he's ruling and reigning over now, what he's allowing Satan to do and what he's not going to allow him to do in the millennial reign because Jesus Christ will physically be here on this world to reign, okay? He will have complete dominion, Zechariah 9, 10 says, and I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off and he shall speak peace into the heathen and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea and from the river even to the ends of the earth. What is he saying? I'm taking over the entire thing, okay? Now let's look at the seat of government. Look at Isaiah 65 verse 18, it says, be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy and I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying. So what he's saying is this, is that he's going to be ruling and reigning from Jerusalem. Now this is why I believe in Revelation chapter 11, it tells us that, it talks about Jerusalem being the holy city, okay? And if you remember Revelation chapter 13, maybe I'm getting the chapters mixed up here, let me see here. Oh, Revelation chapter 11, I got it right. It says here, there was given to me a reed like unto a rod and the angel stood saying rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship therein. So it calls it the temple of God, why is that? Because he's already claiming it to be his, even at that point. So he's going to rule and reign from Jerusalem, the Jerusalem that's currently there. He's going to rule and reign from this temple. He's snatching it from them when he comes and takes over. Go to Amos chapter 9, if you would, Amos chapter number 9. So the government is restored to its rightful owner and will be established in righteousness, okay? The government, the Bible tells us, will be upon his shoulders and man, what a day that's going to be. Because I'm sick and tired of our government, okay? All the stupid decisions they make and the decrees that they have, you know, one day Jesus is going to come and just make everything right, okay? He's going to come, the government shall be upon his shoulders and he will establish righteousness perfectly in the land, okay? Not only that, but Israel is going to be restored. Yes, you heard right, from the mouth of a post-trib pre-wrath replacement theology believing Baptist, Israel will be restored. It's just not the Israel of the end times. It's the Israel that existed long ago who died in the Lord, okay? Look at Amos 9 verse 11. It says here, in that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that has fallen and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins and I will build it as in the days of when, old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all of the heathen which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt and I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel and they shall build away cities and inhabit them and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof. They shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them and I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which have given them, saith the Lord thy God. This promise, make no mistake about it, is for Israel, but it's saved Israel, okay? Not the, you know, Polish people that are over there right now, okay? This is referring to that physical, by the way, this is a fulfillment of what we see in Romans chapter number 11. When the Bible tells us until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled and so all Israel shall be saved, this is referring to this because saved in Romans chapter 11 is referring to the fact that they're going to be reserved. So he has a place reserved for Israel of the Old Testament within the millennial reign, okay? Go with me if you would to Isaiah chapter 32. We're just going to read a verse there, but I'm going to read to you from Matthew 19. And also we're going to see the house of representatives of Israel. Who are who? The 12 disciples. The Bible tells us in Matthew 19 verse 28, and Jesus said unto them, verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon the 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. He said, what about the rest of us? Well, keep in mind that this promise is given to the 12 disciples, Jerusalem, the promise of restoring Jerusalem is given to the Israelites, but guess what? That's not the only place in the world. So for the rest of us, those of us who are Gentile believers, so to speak, we are going to be ruling and reigning all around the world. And you say, wow, I want to be in Israel. Well, we're going to take trips to Israel. So don't worry about that. But there's other places in the world that are going to be ruling and reigning over. And keep in mind, there's not going to be much sea, many oceans within the millennial rain. I believe God is going to create land where the sea is. And you say, why? Because in order to fit the population, you have millions and millions of believers throughout history, but not just that. How about just babies that were aborted who are going to inhabit that millennial rain? Well, you got to make space, amen? And so there's not going to be any oceans anymore. There might be a few here and there or a few rivers, but for the most part, mankind is going to inhabit land throughout the entire world. It's going to be changed. So the House of Representatives globally will be us. Isaiah 32 verse 1 says, behold, a king shall reign in righteousness and princes shall rule in judgments. Now, I believe that our ruling is not only going to be based upon the work that we do, but even the Bible, how much Bible content we know. I think that we're going to go into the millennial rain with the same Bible knowledge that we have today. I don't think we're going to have perfect knowledge when we go into the millennial rain because the Bible is inexhaustible. We're going to keep learning the word of God. So therefore, I think we're going to go into the millennial rain with the knowledge that we have now. That's a good incentive, right? To start learning the Bible. If you don't know the Bible, I'll just wait till the millennial rain. He's just going to give me a free pass and just give me perfect knowledge of the word of God. Wrong. If you're faithful in that which is given to you today, then you shall be faithful in much later on. I believe we're going to keep learning the word of God even in the millennial rain. We're going to go to the holy mountain of God to learn of the Lord, and He's going to teach us. The Bible tells us in Revelation 3.21, to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne. Revelation 5.10 says, and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. This is why preterism is so dumb. We're not reigning today, folks. We're not reigning over the nations. In fact, we're subject to the governments of this world. Because the Bible tells us, render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, right? Whereas in this point, we're not rendering to Caesar anything, in fact, Caesar's rendering to us. They're subjecting themselves to us, right? Go to, oh, go to Isaiah 65, okay, so a couple things that are changing, okay? We see the ruling, of course, now we're talking about an earthly theocracy of Christ where He's literally ruling and reigning. He sets forth the 12 disciples in Jerusalem, in Israel, they're ruling and reigning over the 12 tribes of Israel. And then the rest of those who are saved are ruling and reigning on a global scale around the world. But then also there's various aspects of the curse that are actually beginning to be reversed, okay? Because sin is still present in the millennial reign. Why? Because you have people who were unsaved, who made it into the millennial reign unsaved, okay? And they have children, they begin to procreate, you know, they're born and they're sinners as well, they're not saved, okay? They begin to grow and there's gonna be, you know, an aspect of sin still present in the millennial reign, but this is why God's law is still being executed, both, you know, spiritually and literally, okay? You know, adultery will be punishable by death, sodomy will be punishable by death, kidnap, any form of sin will be punished because you have the righteous judge executing righteousness perfectly within the world, okay? But there are certain aspects of the curse that will be reversed. Now what's one of them? Well, the first one is this, is that the bandwidth of our communion with God will be shortened. Think about that. Because if you remember in the Garden of Eden, you know, God walked in the cool of the day and spoke with Adam and Eve, I mean, they had him right there. Now that's changed, right? We don't have God, I mean, the Lord is at hand obviously, but you know, we don't hear God speak to us audibly, right? And in fact, even when we speak to God in prayer, we have to wait sometimes for the answer. So that bandwidth is a little long sometimes, right? Why? Because of sin, because of circumstances, you know, our world is not perfect, you know, there's a spiritual battle taking place, you know, and even if God gives us the answer to our prayer and it's the petition for what we asked for, there's a spiritual battle taking place in the spiritual realm where maybe Gabriel's fighting against some demon in order to get that answer to us. We see that with Daniel, right? So there's a lot of factors that play into our communion with God even today. We pray in faith, right? Sometimes when we pray, we don't know if we're gonna get the petitions that we asked for. We pray in faith, believing, right? We've never seen God. We pray in faith. We walk by faith and not by sight. You know, this is the type of communion that we have today. We have the communion with the Word of God, you know, a physical book that we read where God speaks to us. Well, that will change, folks, in the millennial reign. It will be shortened at that time, okay? Let me prove that to you. Look at Isaiah 65 verse 24, and I love this stuff. This is great. Look at verse 24, and it shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer. Man, you thought 5G was fast. By the way, I feel like Google does this sometimes. It's like, before I call, they answer, you know, like, right? It's like, sometimes I think about, like, a product or something, and then the advertisement comes up on social media, and it's like, what in the world is going on here? You thought this is five, you know, infinite. Before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. We can't fathom that today, but, man, this is gonna take place one day, where when we think, we call upon the Lord, He answers us right away. There's no barriers between us, because, you know, as saints, we're gonna have our glorified bodies, so there's no barrier of sin between us and the Lord. Right now, there is. We can't see the Lord. We'll die, you know, in our physical bodies, but one day, we're gonna be able to commune with the Lord in such a way that we can call, and He will answer while we're yet speaking. The Bible says that He will hear. And look, you know, Brother Marcos mentioned this on the podcast this week. This is why, I mean, sometimes if you wonder, like, man, what's the New World Order gonna be like? Well, just look at what God does, and just kind of flip it, because that's exactly what Satan has to duplicate, try to duplicate and copy what God is doing, okay? You know, and we're talking about, basically, the mark of the beast and Neuralink and the agenda that they have behind that, which is basically the chip, the Neuralink, precursor to the mark of the beast. It's gonna go into the forehead, and they're trying to get it to a point where they can create a global language to the point where you can communicate, so to speak, telepathically. They say that's what they want to do, you know, where, you know, they'll say, you know, there's communication today, you know, there's so many breaches, you know, things get lost in the communication, sometimes you don't hear someone perfectly, but with this type of technology, you can just communicate and nothing gets lost, okay? Well, that's just simply a copycat of what God does in Acts chapter 2, Brother Marcos pointed out, the Holy Spirit speaking to the prophets, you know, every man heard, you know, that which is being preached in their own language, so it's kind of like the same thing. Well, in the millennial reign, we have something that's way better than what the Antichrist could put together. We just communicate with God as we're thinking or as we're calling upon the name of the Lord, you know, to help us with something or to provide something, He will answer, okay? So our communion with God will be so much closer to what it is today, okay? That space that keeps us from, you know, and look, sometimes it's the space that causes us to doubt in prayer, right, because we pray for something that doesn't come right away, then we begin to doubt, we wonder, is this going to happen, you know, is God going to provide, is He going to protect us, is He going to be there for us, well, that's going to be completely just God, okay, it's great. Go to Zephaniah chapter 3, Zephaniah chapter 3. So various aspects of the curse will be reversed, we're going to be able to commune with Jesus Christ right then and there, man, that's awesome, you know, to think that we could just go to Jerusalem, just go talk to the Lord, Jesus there, you know, the source of all truth, the source of all wisdom, and it's like before we even, as we're speaking, He's just like, I already know what you're going to say, you know, I already know what you're going to say. Hey, in marriage, don't we experience that sometimes in marriage? How many of you know what I'm talking about? Where you guys know each other so much, it's like you kind of almost can read each other's minds, raise your hand if you know what I'm talking about, okay? You know, because we're one, right? So there comes a time, you know, you just look at your wife or she just looks at you and you're like, I already know what she's going to say, I already know, I already know. You have this like language, you know, it's going to be better, okay? Look at Zephaniah 3 verse 8, it says, Therefore, wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent. So it could be that there's going to be one language within the millennial reign, a heavenly language, something that he institutes then and there, we see that being implemented, okay? Now, go to Isaiah 65 again. So we see that, you know, Satan is taken out of the picture. We see that the 12 tribes of Israel are now ruling and reigning in Jerusalem. Gentiles are ruling and reigning globally all around the world. We see that the bandwidth of communion with God is shortened. We can now communicate with God just by even thinking about something, he's going to answer us. But not only that, but mankind's lifespan will also increase, okay? Isaiah 65 verse 20 says, There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days, for the child shall die a hundred years old, but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed, the Bible says. Zechariah 8 forces, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. So if you have, you know, sin being removed to a certain extent, Satan is no longer there to instill thoughts of violence within reprobates or whatever it may be, you know. People are going to be permitted to live longer, okay? And you know, agriculture I'm sure will be a big thing at that point. You know, you have the source of wisdom, Jesus Christ there, he's probably going to teach us how to make some pretty legitimate vegetables. You know, he's probably got some good recipes for cooking meat and you know, the Bible even tells us that some of the fruits and the vegetables in that day are going to be for the healing of the nations. So there's knowledge that he's going to impart unto us to allow mankind to live longer. Now we as saints who rule in rain, we're just never going to die, okay? So I think, you know, we're going to eat during that time just for pleasure because Jesus Christ after his resurrection ate fish and honey, you know, and you know, he doesn't need energy, he doesn't need nutrition, you know, he said, why is he eating fish and honey just for pleasure's sake, okay? So I believe that we're going to be eating in the millennial rain literally for pleasure's sake. It's not going to be any other reason, right? We don't need nutrition, we're glorified. You know, we're not deficient in any area, okay? But the people who can die, their lifespan will increase and God will help them with that. You know, divine natural medicine will prevail. Ezekiel 47, go to Ezekiel 47, if you will, Ezekiel chapter 47. No more stinking vaccines, amen? It's garbage, you know, aluminum, vaccines, flu shots, coronavirus vaccines, none of this nonsense, this stupidity is going to exist. Doesn't even help anyways, kills people, right? God is going to give us natural medicine because why? He is the great physician. He's the one who made our bodies, right? Look at Ezekiel 47 verse 8, then said he unto me, these waters issue out toward the east country and go down into the desert and go into the sea which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass that everything that liveth which moveth whithersoever the river shall come shall live. And there shall be a very great multitude of fish because these waters shall come thither for they shall be healed and everything shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come, it shall come to pass, we'll skip down to verse number, look at verse 11, but the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed, they shall be given to salt. Now if you study the Old Testament, often you'll see that when a king conquers an area, what they'll do in order to make sure that nothing ever grows on fields, what do they do? They salt the fields, okay? In order for something never to grow on there thereafter and we know that the only place that's going to happen where nothing shall be inhabited or grow thereafter is Babylon. So project number one in the millennial reign, grab your bag of salt, we're going to go salt the United States of America because nothing shall grow thereon thereafter, right? It says, and by the river upon the bank thereof on this side and on that side shall grow all trees from meat whose leaves shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed, it shall bring forth new fruit according to its months because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary, the fruit thereof shall be for meat and the leaf thereof for medicine. This is why people are living longer, okay? Because of that. Go to Isaiah chapter 11, Isaiah chapter 11, no longer will processed foods exist, vaccines will no longer exist, the corrupt medical industry will no longer exist, none of these will exist during this time and this is why people will live longer. Now the animal kingdom will also change, right? So as much as I love Discovery Channel where all the animals are tearing each other apart, this will no longer exist, okay? The Bible says here in Isaiah 11, I'm going to read to you from Isaiah 65 verse 25 says, the wolf and the lamb shall feed together and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock and thus shall be the serpent's meat, they shall not hurt nor destroy all my holy mountains saith the Lord. Look at Isaiah 11 verse 6, the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together and my little son shall lead them, because it says little child, I don't know, who knows, maybe our children or you know children maybe that you have lost in times past could lead those animals, right? This is a utopia that we're talking about here and I believe the reason it's saying the little child shall lead them is because this is so far gone from what our current reality is. God is trying to convey the fact that literally there's no war, there's no hurt, there's no pain, where even a little child can go fearlessly into a cockatrice's den and reach in and just grab the serpents, you know? It says in verse 7, the cow and the bear shall feed and the young ones shall lie down together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. So yes, you know, these carnivores will become vegetarian, right? And this is what people will use, they'll say, see, that's why we're supposed to be vegetarian and vegans today, because this is God's original intent. Okay, then this is what I want you to do first before you try to convince me to be a vegetarian, go to the jungles of Africa and go petition a lion to eat straw and prevent it, because that's part of it. So I want you to go to the lion, in fact, how about this, why don't you reach into a hole, you know, the den of an asp, because that's part of it, and see how that works out for you, you know? Before you get mad at me for eating meat and killing animals or eating animals that have been killed or whatever, you know, why don't you go protest the lions and the crocodiles and the hippos and all that, other ones, you know, for killing people and killing other animals. And look, they do it way more violent than any human being can, they don't even cook it, right? They just eat it raw, okay, it's not going to happen until here. Now here's the blessing, okay, it's because the animals become vegetarian here, but humans don't become vegetarian, okay, that doesn't happen until the new heaven and the new earth. It says, the sucking child shall play on the whole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. So why is it that there's no longer any hurt? Why is it that nothing can ever hurt or destroy in the holy mountain? Because God is present. And when the authority is there, everyone behaves themselves, including the animals, okay? His presence causes everyone to put away from themselves evil and wickedness, etc., okay? Go back to Revelation, if you would, chapter 20. So this is going to be a glorious day, and you know, obviously not a whole lot of information is given as far as the real specific details of the millennial reign. I don't know if we're going to be there rebuilding the world, or if it's going to be just completely rebuilt by God, and you know, in a twinkling of an eye, so to speak. You know, we don't know if we're just, if part of the millennial reign is just kind of restoring things back to its original form, because of all the destruction that God allowed to be poured upon the world through His wrath. But we do know this is, it is going to go back to the conditions of the Garden of Eden, and maybe it takes a thousand years to do that, you know? So I don't really care, though, because, you know, Jesus is going to be there, and if Jesus is there, it's all good. Even if we serve there, we're decimated cities, and there's just rubble, as long as Jesus is there, it's all good. Hey, look, folks, you know, no matter what happens, as long as Jesus is there, it's all good. Amen? Verse 6 says, blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. You can see why. Why are they blessed to have part of the first resurrection? Because they get to be a part of that millennial reign. Those who die after the rapture takes place, they don't get to inhabit the millennial reign. Now they get heaven, which is still great, amen? Heaven is great. But, you know, they don't get that special privilege to rule and reign with Christ, okay? But you know, if I was living during that time, and I got saved during the wrath of God, I'll take it. Heaven is still good, eternal life is still great, and they still get to go into the new heaven and the new earth. So not really a loss. On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Verses 7 through 10 is we have the battle of Gog and Magog, it says when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog to gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up unto the breath of the earth, and could pass the camp of the saints about and the beloved city, and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. Now this is, this is crazy, that even with Jesus being there, people are still going to turn on the Lord. This shows you how wicked man can be, you know, because people often say, well, you know, if God was just here, if Jesus was here, you know, you know, people wouldn't, not necessarily because we see here that even with the Lord reigning for a thousand years, there's still going to be a group of people that seek to rebel against the Lord and his Christ, where they join Satan in a war against God himself, okay? And notice that anytime there's a war, we don't even get involved in it, like we don't even have to get involved, because God just, fire comes down from God out of heaven, just devours all of them, okay? And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, look what it says, where the beast and the false prophet are, just want to throw that in there. So they've been there for a thousand years, okay? They, they're the only ones who have been in the lake of fire, so they have that place to themselves for a thousand years, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. Verse 11, now we see the white throne judgment, and I saw a great white throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them, nowhere to hide. I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. When it says the books were opened, I believe that's referring to the 66 books of the Bible. So they're being judged out of those books, and it says another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things, which were written in the books, according to their works. Now I want you to notice, wait, let me read on here, verse 13 says, and the sea gave up the dead, which were in it, and death and hell were delivered, and the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. Now there's a misconception out there that says, yeah, we got to make sure we do good works, we got to make sure we live for God, and go to church, because of the fact that when we die, God is going to judge us, and our works are going to be like almost in a balance, okay? And if we've done more good than bad, then we'll be able to go to heaven. If we have not, we'll go to hell. Well, there's truth to that, okay? There's truth to that. But here's the thing, everyone will be found wanting in that balance. So they're right, but what they're wrong about is that they think that someone's going to have enough righteousness to get into heaven. Wrong. Okay? They're going to be found wanting at the white throne judgment. And in fact, only unsaved people, I mean, he's calling things which are not as though they were. Everyone at the white throne judgment is being cast into the lake of fire. None of it's to be judged to see if they're worthy enough to go to heaven, because no one's worthy, okay? They're going to be judged out of the books, and they will be cast into the lake of fire. Verse 14, death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. We see thereafter that every tear shall be wiped from our eyes, and could possibly be because maybe some of our family will be there. People that we knew, friends, brothers and sisters, cousins, neighbors, will be cast into that lake of fire. And so the sermon this morning is simply this, is that, hey, this should be an encouragement to us to keep laboring for the Lord, keep pushing forward, and our light affliction is but for a moment, and it doesn't compare to the weight of the Lord that we're going to be receiving. And look, 1,000 years is a long time, it's a long time, okay? And 1,000 years with the Lord there on this earth, ruling and reigning with Him, it's going to be the best vacation you've ever had. He's basically going to make up for all the hardships that you have ever experienced here in this world. But you know what? He can only make up for it if you serve Him through those tribulations, if you're winning people to Christ, if you're serving the Lord, if you're living for God, denying Himself. And so looking forward to that day. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for the millennial reign, the day that Christ will come and rule and reign, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. And God, I pray, God, that we continue to keep that in the forefront of our minds, that we would continue to press forward through difficulties and through tribulations and trials, Lord, that we would never throw in the towel because this day is coming, this day is coming. And thank you so much for the hope of the millennial reign. Thank you for the hope of just the eternal life, period. And even if someone out there, they're not serving God but they're saved, thank God that they just get to have eternal life. It's better. It's better than nothing at all. And I pray, God, that you would continue to help us, Lord, as a church to continue to grow, reach people for Christ, and keep these things into perspective that we would live in light of eternity. And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.