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But look at Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 2, it says, And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. Total for the sermon this morning is a thousand years, a thousand years. A thousand years or the thousand years gets brought up six times in this chapter. And of course when we talk about a thousand years, we're talking about the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Now we've been going chapter by chapter through the book of Revelation, we're up to Revelation chapter 20. You may recall in Revelation 19 that that's when Christ came back and he defeated the Antichrist and the armies that have gathered together in that great battle around Jerusalem. And Jesus Christ conquers the Antichrist and those armies. And now Jesus Christ begins to set up his thousand year reign. Now let's start there in verse number 1, 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 so we have this angel coming from heaven with a chain, he's getting to chain up the devil, and he puts him into that bottomless pit. He's got a key to the bottomless pit. Now just as a reminder, can you come back with me to Revelation chapter 9? Come with me to Revelation chapter 9 in verse number 1, Because this angel with the key is also mentioned there in Revelation 9, just as a reminder, in Revelation 9 verse number 1, it says, And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. So you see this him, this star which is an angel, is given the key to the bottomless pit. And in verse number 2 it says, And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth, and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. So you may recall this is when the Lord God pours out his wrath, and you have those locusts coming from hell that are going to effect or sting or paralyze the men on the earth. Drop down to verse number 11 there. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue have his name Apollyon. So I believe this is the same angel, Apollyon or Abaddon, that is then taking the chain to the dragon and casting him into the bottomless pit. Look at Revelation chapter 10, Revelation chapter 10 verse number 1. Revelation chapter 10 verse number 1 says, And I saw another mighty angel. Just want to take that phrase there. Another mighty angel. And so we see that the angel that has the key to the bottomless pit is a mighty angel. You would think when you get to Revelation chapter 20, if this angel is taking a chain and bounding up the devil himself, you must admit, you must admit like or see that this must be a mighty angel. This must be an angel where God has given a lot of power, a lot of authority. And so, you know, this might be, you know, one of the chief priests, I'm sorry, chief princes or one of the archangels that the Bible speaks about, similar to Michael the archangel, where this angel has great power to take the devil and cast him into this bottomless pit. Come back with me to Revelation chapter 20, Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 3. And, you know, this is what's going to be amazing about the millennial reign of Christ is that the devil is going to be withheld in hell for a thousand years. He's not going to be able to affect the earth. It says in verse number 3 and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more. So let's stop there for a moment. If he's going to deceive the nations no more, is the devil deceiving the nations today? In 2024, the devil must be deceiving the nations including Australia today, which is why we can constantly see our nation, the laws of the land, constantly moving away from the laws of God and going into wickedness because this is the deception of the devil. But, you know, during Christ's thousand year reign, the devil's not going to be doing that on the earth. It says till and or until, so he will do it again, but till the thousand years should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed a little season. Now this is important to understand. So if the devil gets released after the end of the thousand years and then he's loosed for a little season, can you see that the period that Christ has reigned on the earth is a little bit longer than a thousand years? Okay, whatever that little season is, we're going to look at it later what that would look like, but you can see that the thousand years is actually a little bit longer than the thousand years, but the significance of a thousand years is that Christ is going to be ruling on the earth without the devil influencing the nations, all right? Now, when we talk about the devil not influencing the nations, you might have the wrong impression and say, well, therefore, I guess people aren't sinning, you know, or, you know, there's not going to be wickedness on the earth or something like that. You know, the amount of people that I talk to that say to me, ah, the devil made me do it. It's like, well, maybe, maybe he tempted you, but the only one that made you do your sin was yourself. Okay, because the Bible says in James chapter 1 verse 14, but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed and when lust have conceived it bring forth sin and sin when it is finished bring forth death. Do not err my beloved brethren. We must understand that sin comes from our own lust, our own desires, our own desire to rebel against God. Yes, the devil is a tempter. Yes, the devil can tempt us, but God has given us the ability to overcome temptation. Jesus Christ taught us to pray and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. So we either decide to go the way that Jesus Christ instructs of us to be delivered from evil, to not give into temptations or we give into temptations and when we do that it's because it's coming from our own lusts. Okay, so, you know, it kind of frustrates me when people say the devil made me do it. No, no, it's coming from your own lust. It's coming from your own heart. Okay, so my point being is of course when Christ is ruling on the earth, it's going to be wonderful. It's not going to be like the earth that we know it today. Of course, there's going to be a reduction of wickedness as there's going to be a reduction of temptation, but to turn around and think that the thousand years there's not going to be any sin or any wickedness is wrong because there's still going to be human beings living during that time with a sinful flesh, with a sinful nature that they have within themselves. Now let's continue in verse number four. And I saw thrones and they 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 in their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. So not only is Christ reigning for a thousand years, but there's going to be other thrones. There's going to be other people. Okay, specifically certain people are going to be given certain thrones, certain amounts of authority because they went through this period of great tribulation and they did not give up on the Lord. They did not give into temptations. Hey, they were able to overcome the Antichrist by their testimony. Hey, they even lost their lives for the cause of Christ. You know, when I look at these people, these aren't people that just lost their lives because they try to run away from the Antichrist. They lost their lives when we're seeing itself in Revelation for the testimony of Jesus Christ. They stood up for the name of Christ. They lost their lives. That might be horrible to think about, but they're given the special privilege to sit on these thrones with Jesus Christ, to rule with Jesus Christ. And look, all believers are going to rule and reign with Jesus Christ. That's a promise that God gives us. But within Christ's millennial reign, there are going to be different places of authority. Some are going to be ruling in a higher capacity than others. Okay, but at the end of it, when it comes to God's people, we are going to be the government of the earth. And when there's wickedness, we're going to be the judges of the earth. Okay, we're going to make sure that God's law is in effect during that thousand year period of time. Now, the fact that they lost their lives, they would be headed or things like that, right? It says that and they lived and reign. So again, they've been resurrected from the dead. And again, this leads further confirmation that the rapture must take place after the great tribulation. Because if these people are living again, okay? Then they were resurrected from the dead, obviously after they were beheaded. So the rapture has taken place. Now, let's talk about this a little bit and look at verse number five. You say, well, pastor, with the rapture already taking place, what about those that get resurrected after? Well, what about those that have lived after the rapture? Those that have believed on Jesus Christ after the rapture? What about them? Well, it says in verse number five, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Now, in different conversations that I had with different people in this church, I don't know exactly where you all stand on the resurrection. But one thing is very clear in the Bible. When it comes to the resurrection of life, okay? Where you're given life and look, we're going to look at the resurrection of damnation soon in a moment, okay? Let's leave that aside, the resurrection of those that will not believe in Christ. Let's set that aside for a moment. Let's talk about believers. When we talk about believers, it's clear in the scriptures that there are two resurrections that take place. One at the rapture. In fact, I would rather use the word resurrection than rapture. Because rapture, obviously we get this idea of being caught up in the clouds. But the most important part of that event is that we receive new bodies made like unto Christ. The new resurrected bodies that Christ gives us. So there's a resurrection that takes place at the rapture. But what we see here, there's a resurrection that takes place at the end of the thousand years as well. And when I read verse number five, you might read this differently to me. But when I read verse number five, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. I believe the reference of this is the first resurrection is speaking at the end of the thousand years as listed there in verse number five. That's how I read it. Okay. They say that would be the second resurrection because the first resurrection was at the rapture. Okay. I don't mind if you if you want to look at it that way. But when I look at the first, I'm not thinking of a chain, sorry, a numerical, where do I'm going to look? I don't want to wear this. Yeah, numerical chronology. Rather, I see first as a type or a status of resurrection. Let me explain it this way. Obviously when we go to school or something like that, right, people often say, you know, what grade are you in? You will say, well, we're in first grade or second grade, third grade. Obviously, when you think of first grade, you know, there's a second grade or third grade at least, you know, when you think about the, you know, as we go through schooling or, you know, we talk about the primary, we talk about, you know, people going to primary school or high school. And obviously when we talk about primary school, we're talking about that which is first. We know before high school comes primary school. And so, you know, I, I don't know. I don't know what year I was in. Let me think about it. I was born in 1981. I must have gone to the first grade if I was about four, I would have been five years old, I think. Well, that makes sense. Five years old, first grade potentially. Okay, so that was 1986 and I went through the first grade. Okay, and I passed the first grade. Thank God. Okay, in 1986. But when did you pass the first grade? Probably not 1986. Okay, maybe you pass the first grade in 1980 or you pass the first grade in 1990 or you pass the first grade in the year 2000. But it doesn't matter when it took place. You still went through the first grade. Okay, so when I look at the first resurrection, I'm looking at a type or a, or a certain status that we all go through, that we all experience and I see this all as the first resurrection, whether it's at the rapture or whether it's at the end of the thousand years, I see that as first in type and by first I believe this is referring to Christ being the first begotten from the dead. And so the type then ties into Christ being the first begotten. That same resurrection that Christ had is the same resurrection that we will have. Okay, now if you say pass, I see it differently. I see that as the second resurrection. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. Okay, what we call it, but what we mean when what we would all I think would agree is that we have the rapture as the resurrection and then at the end of the thousand years, a resurrection takes place again for believers. But whether you took, whether you were resurrected at the rapture or resurrected at the end of the thousand years, we all have the same resurrected bodies. Like one resurrection is not inferior to the other resurrection. It's the one and the same. Look at verse number six. Blessed and holy is he that have part in the first resurrection. On such the second death have no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. So there it is, you know, if you've been part of the first resurrection, you're going to reign with Christ a thousand years. So this is all believers. All believers that have had received the new resurrected bodies at this time is going to reign with Christ a thousand years. And also notice that it says on such the second death have no power and we're going to be looking later on that the second death is the lake of fire. Okay, the lake of fire. That's important. Okay, we will never experience hell or the lake of fire as God's people. You know, that has no power in our lives. We're not going to experience that. And you know, we're talking not even that long ago with some brethren about there are some people that teach that, you know, if you don't live godly enough as God's people on this earth, that Jesus Christ, when he rules for a thousand years is going to take the weak Christians, the Christians that did not live for Christ and he's going to cast them into the lake of fire for a thousand years. And then at the end of a thousand years, he's going to pull them out as they're saved. That's crazy. That's ridiculous. No, if you have been saved in Christ Jesus, if you stand in his righteousness, you will not be hurt by the second death. You will not experience any death because Christ has given you everlasting life. Now, can you come with me to John 5? John chapter 5, please. Let's talk about the resurrection a little bit. Let's understand the two types or the two kinds of resurrection. You go to John chapter 5, please. And I'm going to read to you from Daniel chapter 12, which we've already looked at previously in the book of Revelation. But in Daniel chapter 12 in verse number 2, it says, And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame, and everlasting contempt. So everybody is going to receive a resurrection, whether you believe on Christ or whether you rejected Christ. Everybody's going to receive a resurrection. But the resurrection that we receive is a resurrection to everlasting life. Life. That's important for you to remember, okay? We're given life. You know, in fact, when you believe on Christ, you will never die. You know, this physical body can die, but you will live on for eternity. As soon as these eyes close in death, you will wake up in heaven before the face of God. You know, before he's thrown, praising him. And here we have, of course, a resurrection which is of shame and everlasting contempt. Everlasting contempt, okay? It's like everlasting shame. There's nothing you can do if you've gone through this resurrection. There's nothing that you can do to be made right with God. It's everlasting contempt. Look at John chapter 5, verse number 28. Jesus speaks of the same. He says, Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all, look, all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth. They that have done good unto the resurrection of life. Daniel called it everlasting life, okay? There's a resurrection of life. And they that have done evil unto the resurrection of what? Damnation. Does that sound like a resurrection you want to be part of? The resurrection of damnation? Of course not. We want to be part of the resurrection of life or everlasting life. And so these people, the resurrection of damnation, they are resurrected, not in life, okay? They're still dead and their resurrection is one of damnation. Okay, we'll look at later on as we go through Revelation chapter 20 that these people are going to be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death, okay? Now, I had someone once ask me and I understand, when you look at verse number 29, and shall come forth they that have done good. Oh, does this mean, pastor, that in order to receive the right resurrection of life, we need to do good works? You know that salvation is by works. What is this good that we have to do to receive the resurrection of life? Now again, when you're confronted with something like this, it's always just best to keep things within context, okay? So just backtrack to verse number 24. You know, as Christ began to teach on this topic, look at John chapter 5 verse number 24. He says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation. That's like the resurrection of damnation. Condemnation means with damnation, okay? But it's passed from death unto life. So Jesus Christ already told us what we need to do that is good to receive this resurrection of everlasting life. That which is good is to hear his word and to believe on him that sent him, have everlasting life. To believe faith on our Lord Jesus Christ, that he came and he died for our sins, that he rose again from the dead. But the moment you believe in that, you've done good. That's a good thing to do, okay? But see, salvation is not by works. It's by faith. Faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, those that have done evil, what's the evil thing that they've done? They've not hearkened to the word of God. They've not listened to God. They've not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the evil they have done. And because of that, they're going to be resurrected unto damnation, a resurrection of damnation. Can you come with me to 2nd Corinthians, please? 2nd Corinthians chapter 5. So we're parked on this verse for a while that we're going to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. So we understand the kind of resurrection we must have, the resurrection of life or everlasting life, to reign with Christ. But as I mentioned earlier, there are going to be different statuses. Like depending on how much we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, will depend on what kind of positions you're going to have in this millennial earth. Now in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse number 9, 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse number 9, it says, Wherefore we labour, this is why we labour, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. So Paul is saying, look, we're laboring, you know, not to be saved, they're already saved, but they're laboring why? Because they want to be accepted. They want their lives and their works to be accepted by Jesus Christ. This is why, verse number 10, For or because we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he have done, whether it be good or bad. You see, one day all of us that are saved are going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Christ is going to judge us for what we've done in our lives. You know, if we've done things that are acceptable unto him, then he's going to reward us, he's going to judge us. These things were acceptable for me. And the things that were not acceptable, you know, not since, since we've already been judged on the cross, but that, you know, which is not acceptable, are the things that are just, you know, we read in other passages, straw, wood, hay and stubble, that's what I'm saying. Wood, hay and stubble. Amen. Okay, and that will just be burnt by God's judgment. It means there's nothing for eternity, but that what we have done for eternity will be judged and God's going to reward us for that. Can we meet to Revelation 22, please? Revelation 22 and verse number 12. Revelation 22 and verse number 12. Christ says, And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. So when is he going to give us according to our works? He says he comes quickly and his reward is with him. So I believe this is referring to when Christ, because those that are going to reign with Christ have received the new resurrected bodies, okay? Which means they've gone through the rapture, okay? Not the resurrection at the end of a thousand years, but they've gone through the rapture. And when we talk about the coming of Christ, we're talking about, you know, Christ coming in the clouds, being caught up together with him in the air. And I believe the judgment seat of Christ takes place after the rapture, okay? That's what I personally believe. I don't know, like, you know, we still have three and a half years to go before Christ comes back to establish his millennial reign. Some people believe that maybe it takes place when Christ begins his millennial reign. Look, I don't really know a hundred percent, but one thing is clear, that those rewards are given us when Christ returns, okay? And so I believe this is quite early on before the millennial reign of Christ begins. And I think that's important because as soon as the millennial reign, sorry, the millennial begins, then I think we ought to be in positions by then, knowing full well how we're going to help Christ rule over the earth. Can you come with me to another passage in Luke 19? Luke 19, verse number 11. Luke 19, verse number 11. Luke 19, verse number 11, please. Luke 19, verse number 11. Now this is a parable. And let me warn you, don't build your doctrines on parables. But now that I've shown you a few passages about ruling with Christ, standing before his judgment seats, being judged for what we've done, you know, Christ coming and bringing his reward with him when he returns, then we can understand a bit better about the parable in Luke 19, verse number 11. And this is the parable of the pounds, the parable of the pounds. We're not going to read all of it, but look at Luke 19, verse 11. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable because he was nigh to Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And he called his 10 servants and delivered them 10 pounds and said unto them, occupy till I come. Okay, so this is the beginning of this parable. He's got 10 servants, gives them these pounds and he asked them to deliver, to occupy till he comes. Drop down to verse number 15. And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first saying, Lord, thy pound have gained 10 pounds. He goes, I used your pound. And I, you know, I don't know what investments, I don't know what he did with it. He goes, but I've got back 10 pounds with this. You might say, you know, you might take the application of salvation here. You might say, well, Lord, you know, you saved me. You've given me this measure, this pound and I've gone and I've got 10 people saved or something like that. And I went out and started 10 churches with the work that, you know, ability to get. I don't know exactly, right? This is a parable. But what's the response in verse number 17? And he said unto him, well, thou good servant, because thou has been faithful in a very little, thou have thou authority over 10 cities. Isn't that interesting? Authority over 10 cities. That's like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane. We didn't even have 10 cities, pretty much. Like 10 public cities, Canberra, whatever in Australia. Well, this guy gets given 10 cities. Look at verse number 18. Okay, so you can see that what God has given us, if we use it for his glory, if we go and be fruitful, if we go and multiply, if we do the work that he's asked us to do, he's going to give us a measure of authority and reward based on what we've done. You know, those that have done more for Christ, 10 cities. Those that have done a lot, but maybe not as much, five cities. And down the list it goes. I'm not going to keep reading through that parable right now. But I want to show you that, you know, we're going to reign with him. And you know, this life isn't worthless. Like the Lord has given us this life to serve him, to love him, right? To do his works, to serve together at church, to praise his name. And you know, the more we do for Christ, with what he's given us, we're all given different measures. We're all given different abilities. But the more we do, the greater our reward and authority will be when Christ comes to rule in his kingdom. All right. Now let's talk a little bit about Earth's condition. What is Earth going to look like during this time? If you can come with me to Daniel chapter seven. Daniel chapter seven, please. Daniel chapter seven. And while you're turning to the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter seven, I'll read to you a famous passage in Isaiah nine. You guys all know this, Isaiah nine six. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And then it says in verse number seven, of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end. So when Christ comes to rule, you see that that period of time, that thousand years, it says the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end. During that thousand years, it's going to be a time of peace. There's not going to be a time of warfare. One nation against another nation. World War 10 or World War 11. That's not going to be the case during Christ's millennial reign. It says upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it. There's going to be law and order. It says with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. So we still need order. We still need justice. Why? Because man is still sinful. Man is still going to make mistakes. Okay, they're going to mess up each other's life from time to time. Not those that have new resurrected bodies, those that are ruling. No, we are going to be without sin. But those that have gone through great tribulation, God's wrath and enter into the millennium with their natural bodies, they're still going to be sinners. They're still going to get married, have children. Generations are going to come forward with sinful natures and there's going to be sin on the earth. So there is still a need for order and justice and judgment. And so that's what the millennial reign is going to be like. But it's going to be perfect justice. It's going to be perfect judgment according to the laws of God. Now you're there in Daniel 7. Daniel 7 verse 25. Now verse 25 speaks of the Antichrist. It says, And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and think to change times and laws, and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. So this is the Antichrist having this power and his authority for three and a half years. But look at verse number 26. But the judgment shall sit and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end. So God's going to cast judgment on the Antichrist. And what we saw in Revelation 19, that Christ takes him and casts him into the lake of fire. But I want you to notice that the dominion, the power of the Antichrist is completely removed. And then in verse number 27, it says, And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to, like who? Given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Wow, the Antichrist tried to take power. You know, he had some great power for three and a half years, but he's taken out of the way and then Christ establishes his kingdom. And notice that the kingdom is given to the saints of the Most High. Wow, we're going to be ruling with Christ. And what I love about it in verse number, at the end of verse number 27, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Serve and obey Jesus Christ. All nations, all kings, all authorities are going to be serving our Lord Jesus Christ. Can you come with me to the book of Ezekiel? Sorry, not Ezekiel, Zechariah. Zechariah please, Zechariah 14. Come with me to Zechariah 14. Zechariah 14. Like what an honor for God to give us authority and power during his millennial reign. Like, I don't feel like I deserve it. Do you feel like that? You know what I mean? I don't even deserve salvation really, but praise God for that. I'll gladly receive that. But I just feel like I could be like, Lord, I don't need to, I don't need the millennium, I'm fine. Like I'm glad with salvation. And like God's like, no, no, no, I'm going to give you more blessings, more rewards. Like, whoa, bring it on then, right? Praise God if you see fit to glorify your saints, you know, in the presence of Jesus Christ as he rules for the thousand years. Zechariah 14. While you're turning to Zechariah 14, let me read to you from Matthew 19, just as a reminder. Matthew 19, 28. And Jesus said unto them, those are his 12 disciples, 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 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel, and every one that have forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first. So we learned something else about the millennium, that the 12 apostles are going to rule over the 12 tribes of Israel during this time, but also anybody that has lost anything in the service of Jesus Christ, okay, is going to be rewarded an hundredfold. Whatever you lose on this earth for the name of Jesus, Christ is going to give you a hundred times of that back in his millennial reign. And what I like about verse number 30 as well, but many that are first shall be last. So today, many that are first, the leaders, the people in authority and power, they're going to be last, and the last shall be first. So this encourages us, look, if we want to be rewarded by God, if we want to receive an hundredfold, we need to make ourselves last. We need to make ourselves lowly, humble, lift others up, right? Serve our brothers and sisters in the Lord as though they're more important. Lower yourself. You know, my job as a pastor is not to elevate myself above you. My job as a pastor is to minister, to serve, to lower myself, to teach God's word, to help you live a life that pleases God. I don't want to rule over your life. Why do I want that? Why do I want to be the boss and tell you how to live your life and command your houses? I don't want to do that. I'm never going to come and interfere into your family life because if I do that, I make myself first in your life and then I'll be last. No, no, I'd rather be last so Christ can make me first in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. But that's the right attitude that we ought to have. Lower ourselves, serve one another, see each other as more important than ourselves. You're in Zechariah 14, look at verse number 16. Zechariah 14, verse number 16. Again, speaking of the millennial reign of Christ, it says, and it shall come to pass, it shall come to pass that everyone that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. So those that came up against Jerusalem, you may recall is the Antichrist and his armies and they went in then we have Christ coming back and you know that battle that takes place and the sword of Christ coming and destroying those armies. But anyone that remains on the earth, well, they're going to come year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts. Okay, to keep the Feast of the Tabernacles. Verse number 17, and it shall be that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no reign. Okay, so the Lord, Jesus Christ says, look, if people don't want to come and serve me and worship me during this particular festival, then for that nation, okay, for like an entire nation starts to get a bit wicked apart from the Lord. Oh, we're not going to do that. We're not going to go up to Jerusalem to worship Christ. Christ says, well, I'm not going to send you rain. You're not going to be blessed. There's going to be consequences to nations for not serving and worshiping Jesus Christ. Verse number 18, and if the family of Egypt go not up and come not that have no reign, there shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the Feast of the Tabernacles. He says, since Egypt already doesn't have a lot of reign, okay, their punishment are going to be plagues. There's going to be additional plague, you know, punishment for those that do not come to worship the Lord. Verse number 19, this shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of the Tabernacles. And so, I just want to show you that the entire earth, all nations, are going to come and worship Jesus Christ. And if they refuse, there's going to be judgment upon those nations, okay. So again, it just shows us that even though it's a time of peace, there's still the human nature element, there's still sin, people may still want to resist Jesus Christ, but if they do, they're going to be judged, you know, righteously according to the law of God. Back to John chapter, sorry John, Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 7, Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 7. So we've looked at the resurrection, we've looked at those that reign with him and the rewards, we've looked at the condition of the earth, what it's going to look like. Now let's get back into it, right, because I said to you a while ago that when it comes to the thousand years, it's a long time period. And actually the Bible has so much to say about it, but when it comes to the actual book of Revelation, it's like very brief. There are six mentions very quickly and a few verses and then it's done. And then we get into the new heavens and the new earth that God speaks about. So I wanted to spend some time showing you, you know, what that millennium is going to look like. But back to Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 7, Revelation chapter 20 and verse number 7, the Bible reads, And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. We saw that already. He's loosed for a little season. And look what he does in verse number 8. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth. So God allows this, right? If an angel has the key to the bottomless pits, then I'm assuming that same angel is going to unlock the bottomless pits and allow Satan to come out. So this is something that God allows. Why does he do this? He allows them to deceive the nations. And in verse number 8 it says, 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. So the devil gets loosed and is able to gather an army so great, a number so great, the Bible says it's as the sand of the sea, meaning it's innumerable. Like it's so large of an army that's at the end of a thousand years that wants to come together to make battle against Jesus Christ. You say, pastor, this makes no sense to me. Yeah, it's hard to believe, isn't it? But that's why we read Zechariah 14 for a reason, to show you that the hearts of the people, still as sinners, are sometimes going to desire not to worship Jesus Christ. We're not going to go to the Feast of Tabernacles. And so Christ has to judge them. But I want to show you that yes, it's peaceful. There's justice, there's judgment. Okay, you would think, oh man, it's such a great time. There are these people living for a thousand years, they're not dying. They have resurrected bodies. Like this is, you know, this is the best time that the earth has ever experienced. But it shows you just how bad our sin nature can be. That even when things are wonderful, when things are perfect, people still reject Jesus Christ. People still rather go with the devil and the devil's ways. Like that's hard. It's hard to believe, right? Say, but Christ is ruling on the earth. Yeah, but Christ came 2000 years ago and people still rejected him. Christ did amazing miracles 2000 years ago, people still rejected him. He healed the dead, he healed the sick, he raised the dead. He taught wonderful things, he did good everywhere he went. People still rejected Christ. So you think man's going to be somewhat different when Christ is ruling for a thousand years? The other thing that you need to remember is that when it comes to human beings in their natural bodies, they're still going to die, okay? There are going to be new generations. And even though it's hard for us to understand today what's happening, you need to understand that these new generations are coming into the world with Christ ruling as the default. Like that's the default understanding of the world. Christ ruled this. There's a guy that takes over, leads the whole world, Jesus Christ. He's got his saints that can never die. They're ruling with him. This is the world as they know it. They don't know anything different. Like we know of the world since you were born to 2024. This is what we know the world. We know the weakness of the world. We see the corruption of the world. And when we see the corruption of the world, we get excited to know that one day Christ is going to rule over the earth. Like for us that's exciting. We're looking forward to that wonderful truth. But if you already live like that and you've not experienced world warfare, you've not experienced famines and all kinds of weakness of the earth and you know, it's hard to have the same foundational or starting points as people that have lived in the old earth, let's put it that way, the old earth system. You know, that's what they're going to see. And you know mankind still wants to be selfish. Like man still wants to do their own things and not serve Jesus Christ. And so at the end of this, after several generations, and as people's hearts get hardened, and you know what, you can actually serve Jesus with a hardened heart. Like you can put on the pretenses and you know, you can come to church and you can sing praises and you can so-called fellowship with the brethren. But you know what, deep down you can still have a very hard heart and not actually want to be in the house of the Lord. Well, it's going to be the same in the millennium. They're going to be doing the same. They're going to be doing the celebrations and the holidays and serving Jesus. But really these people hearts are far from the Lord. They've not trusted him as their Savior. So Satan is loosed one final time to deceive the nations and so many, as the sand of the sea, have not trusted Christ as Savior. So many would rather a different system, you know, rather than let Jesus Christ be the ruler over the whole earth. Now in verse number eight, when it says, and shall go out to see the nations which are in the forequarters of the earth. Gog. Gog is a reference to the leader or the king, the president, whatever you want, of Magog. When it says Gog and Magog, Magog has been known, you know, I looked this up a little just to make sure that I was saying the right thing, but the land of Magog is generally understood to be modern day Russia. I'm not saying it is Russia. I'm just saying that the land that, you know, Magog was known to cover was Russia, okay? And then it says in verse number nine, and they went up on the breadth of the earth and come past the camp of the saints about and the beloved city and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. So this isn't really a significant battle. I mean the numbers that the, you know, the armies are massive. The soldiers are many. These people rebelling against God are many as the sand and the sea, but God destroys them very quickly. A fire comes down from heaven and destroys this army that the Antichrist has come. There's this final rebellion against God, right? And God wipes them out with a fire coming down from heaven. All right, now come with me to Ezekiel 38, please. Ezekiel 38. Ezekiel 38. Now, Gog and Magog. We have this, again, we have what? Two verses about this battle. Two verses about what takes place at the end of this thousand years with Satan being loosed. But if you want to know more information about this battle, you can read Ezekiel 38 and 39 in your own time. We're going to read some passages to give us an idea of what's taking place here. But Ezekiel 38 and 39 are the key chapters for you to read in your own time to get a better grasp of what's happened at the end of the thousand years. So Ezekiel 38, let's start there with verse number one. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog. Again, that's the man, that's the leader. And then he says, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Mesha and Tubal, and prophesy against him. And say, Thus saith the Lord God, behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshel and Tubal, and I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Now look at verse number five. He mentioned some other nations. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them, all of them with shield and helmet, Gomer and all his bands, the house of Togomer of the north quarters, and all his bands, and many people with thee. So we have a few other nations that we're familiar with, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, okay, also coming together with what we know today as Russia, but it could be some other land, it depends how things change in the geopolitical world, you know, especially what things are gonna be set up in the millennium. We don't know, like, when Christ has ruined the millennium, we don't know exactly what kind of boundaries there'll be, what kind of how the nations will appear during this time, but I wanted to show you what the book of Revelation said was correct, that Satan is going about deceiving the four quarters of the earth, people of all different nations all around to come and rebel against Jesus Christ. Drop down to verse number eight. It says, and many days thou shalt be visited, in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste, but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend, look at this, talk about Gog and Magog, thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Notice that this arm is gonna look like a cloud, think about like, you know, when things get very foggy, all right, you've got the land and, and I know what it's like in Malani, with a lot of fog, some mornings and you can barely see what's ahead of you. Well, these armies that are surrounding Jerusalem and the nation of Israel, it's gonna be like this massive fog, fog, this cloud is covering, you know, this whole place. Now drop down to verse number 14. Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, thus saith the Lord God. Now what's interesting about this, when he says prophesy, he said to the son of man here, that's speaking about Ezekiel. Ezekiel is the prophet here that God is using as these words being penned down. But I kind of partially believe that this might very well be Ezekiel in his new resurrected bodies, you know, coming out of Jerusalem, I don't know where God's gonna set him up, one of the high mounts of Jerusalem, and he may very well be prophesying against these armies, like, you know, in real time, at the end of that thousand years, he might be saying these words very much. Thus saith the Lord God, in the day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shall it thou not know it? And thou shall come from thy place out of the north parts, thou and me people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army, and thou shall come up against my people of Israel as a cloud to cover the land. It shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, and the heathen may know me when I shall be sanctified in thee, O God, before their eyes. What I like about this, at the end of verse number 16 it says, that this is the reason why God is allowing this battle to take place. Not only to show those that have not trusted Christ as their Savior, not only for some, you know, people that just outly reject him for them not to experience the new heaven and new earth, but that the heathen may know me when I shall be sanctified in thee, O God, before their eyes. He says, when I destroy you, I'm going to be sanctified in the eyes of the heathen. So there are going to be other people that are non-believers, but they don't hate Jesus, they just not trust Christ as Savior, okay? They don't hate Jesus, but like they just haven't understood, again, this is the world as they know it, you know, they haven't trusted Christ, but when they see Christ destroy this unpowerful army, you know, from the four quarters of the earth coming together and they see this fire come from heaven and devour these people, they're going to be like, whoa, this is the Christ, you know, wow, this is the one that we ought to be trusting, this is the one that we ought to put out our saving faith upon him. So there's a reason behind this battle, and not just to wipe out those last remnants that hate Jesus Christ, but for those that are heathen of other nations, that have not yet trusted Christ, they would see Christ in his full glory. Look at verse number 18. And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, sayeth the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face, for in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken. Surely in that day, there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. Notice that God speaks of his jealousy, his wrath, the fire of his wrath, which is why we understand there's going to be a fire coming down from heaven. Drop down to verse number 23. Look at this, Thus will I magnify myself, this is how Christ is going to magnify himself at the end of a thousand years, and sanctify myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord. That's the whole point. Look, if you haven't got it by now, you know, I am the Lord. That's the reason for this battle. Come with me to Ezekiel 39, verse number 5. Ezekiel 39, next chapter, verse number 5. Thou shalt fall upon the open field, for I have spoken it, sayeth the Lord God. Look at verse number 6. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles, and they shall know that I am the Lord. What's he going to send? Fire. Again, line up with the book of Revelation at the end of a thousand years. Verse number 7. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let them pollute my holy name anymore. And the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Do you see how many times God repeats this over and over again? He wants to be known as the Holy One. He wants people to come to know him for who he is, the Holy One of Israel. Verse number 8, drop down to verse number 8. Behold, it is come, and it is done, sayeth the Lord God. This is the day whereof I have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and they shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves and the spears, look at this, and they shall burn them with fire seven years. Isn't that interesting? So at the end of a thousand years, Satan is loosed. We know he's loosed for a little season. We don't know how long. But one thing we know that when this battle takes place, there's still another seven years to go. Okay, where all of this weaponry is being burnt up during this time for seven years. Come down with me to verse number 21. Ezekiel 39 and 21. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgments that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. Drop down to verse number 28. Then shall I know that I am the Lord their God. Isn't this repeated over and over again? Like we know why, why this battle is taking place. I want everybody to know that I am the Lord God, says Jesus Christ. Not, I am the Lord, look, their God. Jesus is saying, look, I am God. If you haven't got this by now, this is the lesson. This is the final lesson. You've seen how I've destroyed the wicked off the earth. It says, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen, but I have gathered them into their own land and have let none of them and have left none of them anymore there. Neither will I hide my face anymore from them, for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saved the Lord God. Now, I believe this idea of the house of Israel, you know, when it comes to those that are saved, we've already received our new resurrected bodies. We know who the Lord God is. This is for those that are living during this time in that thousand year reign in their natural bodies, okay? And even those that grow up in Israel, those that grow up in these cities, some of them are still just like the rest of the world. Some of them are not gonna believe in Jesus Christ. It just shows you the nature of man. And so as one final way to show, this is the Lord, this is God. He destroys the armies of the devil, Gog Magog, those other nations that come together, make this final battle. It's a great number, it's a great multitude, like the sand of the sea. And yet Jesus is able to destroy them with fire coming from heaven. And just showing his might, his power over the earth. And so look, to me, it shows us that it's not like Christ just wants to destroy wicked people, which he's right to do that, it's righteous to do that. But he's always got a purpose. You know, he's given these people one final chance, those that have not trusted in him, one final chance. If this does not convince you, then I don't know what will. Christ has been ruling for a thousand years. You've not seen warfare, now you've seen it and you've seen how God comes on top. How God can wipe, doesn't even have to lift a muscle. There's fire falling down from heaven, the rage and wrath of God destroying these armies. Come back with me to Revelation chapter 20, please. Revelation chapter 20, Revelation chapter 20. So you see, when you read Revelation 20, just on its own, it's like so quick. Like, okay, devil's bound, thousand years, it comes out, war, okay, judgment. Like it's all very, what's wonderful about it is it gives us the chronology, you know? So when we go back to the Old Testament and we read these stories, we can understand where they take place in the chronology that Christ has revealed to us in the book of Revelation. But you know, when you just read it quickly, like there's so much more in the Bible. Please don't be the Revelation only studier. I'm just, Revelation, Revelation, Revelation. Yeah, yeah, it's good. But there's so much more in the Bible that gives a lot of meat and, you know, understanding to what we're reading there in Revelation. So, you know, read Ezekiel. All right, that'll enrich your understanding of Revelation. Anyway, Revelation 20, verse number 10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Where, this is important, where the beast, that's the antichrist, and the false prophet are. When were they cast into the lake of fire? Shortly before Christ began his millennial reign. When Christ came back on his white horse, he took the false prophet and the antichrist, cast them into the lake of fire. And where are they still? In the lake of fire. A thousand years, a thousand and seven years at least. Still in the lake of fire, okay. And now the devil has joined them, okay. The devil was in the bottomless pit or hell. The lake of fire is not hell, but it is hell. I mean, it's where hell is going to be cast. We're going to look at this shortly as we continue through these verses. But notice when it talks about the beast and the false prophet, it says, and shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever. Look, when you go to the lake of fire, it's not that you get annihilated. You get thrown in there and you just burn up and you're done. No, no, no, no. People and the devil, the antichrist, the false prophet are going to be suffering, being tormented every single day, every single night, forever and ever. Why would you reject Jesus Christ as your Savior? When you've got nothing to lose to receive him as your Savior. It's a free gift. Not only is it a free gift, Christ wants you to rule with him for a thousand years. I mean, how wonderful is our Lord? The opportunities that he gives us are beyond what we deserve. And then people reject him. How? For those that have received Christ as Savior, we don't understand that. Why would you do that? Verse 11, And I saw a great white throne. So this is another throne. But again, I don't believe this is the judgment seat of Christ. I believe the judgment seat of Christ has already taken place at his coming to give us our rewards leading into the millennium. Okay. Now let's talk about this great white throne and him that sat on it. I do believe this is Jesus. Okay. From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them. Now there's a few thoughts here. Does that mean heaven and you know, the original heaven and earth have been destroyed? You might take that view or you might take the view that it's fled away. It's like it's just in a place of nowhere. The only place that exists currently is before God's throne. So everybody's going to be here. You know, every single human being is going to be here at this throne. But we're not all going to be judged. I believe those that are going to be judged we see in verse number 12 is here. Now I want you to notice every time the Bible says the word dead here, verse number 12. And I saw the dead. Okay, small and great stand before God. Think about that. Well, they're dead, but they're standing before God. Why are they standing if they're dead? Because remember Daniel 12 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. John 5 29 And it shall come forth, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. So there's a resurrection at the end of the thousand years. We saw that already. Now we've talked about the resurrection of life. Let's not talk about that at the moment. Let's talk about the resurrection of damnation or the resurrection of everlasting contempt and shame. Okay. Well, these people they're not going to receive everlasting life because the only way you receive life is for Jesus Christ for the dead to be standing. They've had a resurrection, but they're not alive. They're conscious. They know they're standing before God. Okay, they're conscious, but they're dead. They're spiritually dead. Like this is the closest to zombies that you're going to get in the Bible. You know, the dead walking. Small and great. People of a lower social class, people to high, you know, presidents of the United States, and all kinds of people that have not trusted Christ the Savior. Stand before good, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. Now, if the book of life is opened and these people are dead, you think their names are going to be found in the book of life? No, because they're dead, right? But the book of life is opened, and look at this, and the dead were judged. Okay, the dead were judged out of these things which were written in the books according to their works. So I don't believe these are believers because believers are alive. These are the dead. These are the ones that have not trusted Christ. The dead are being judged according to their works. Verse number 13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. So if someone dies without Jesus Christ today, they go to hell, don't they? They go to hell. But at the great white throne judgment, the people that are dead in hell are going to be raised up. They're going to receive a resurrection of damnation, okay? They're going to stand before God's throne. It says, and they were judged, every man according to their works. Okay? Verse number 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. So what is the second death? The lake of fire. What is cast into the lake of fire? Death. There'll be no more death. This is the final victory that Christ has over death. And hell. Hell itself is cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. So the second death is hell. Don't get me wrong, it's a lake of fire. Okay? It is what it is. But you know, God is speaking about hell. What we know as hell today, where people die and go to hell, is more like a temporary holding. It's still a place of torment and fire. But ultimately, people are going to stand before God, the dead are going to stand before God, and they're going to be cast into the second death, the lake of fire. Verse number 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire. So who's not found written in the book of life? The dead. The dead are being brought up, the dead are receiving their resurrection, the resurrection of everlasting contempt, the resurrection of damnation. And I don't know what these people are thinking when they come out of hell. They've been tormented day and night in hell fire. You know, we have the story of the rich man who just wanted a drop of water on his tongue for some level of satisfaction. You know, when he asked Abraham and Lazarus to do such a thing. You know, and then you come out of hell. I don't know, maybe for a brief moment, they're thinking, this is wonderful. Finally, I'm not suffering. Finally, I'm not thirsty. Just finally, oh man, God's standing in front of me. This is my chance to make my case. And God opens the books and judge them according to their works. Look, I'm going to be judged according to the righteousness of Christ. That's what I'm going to be judged with. God's grace. You know, if God ever asked me, He's not going to ask me because He really knows me. But if you ever asked me, why shall I enter heaven? I say, because of your grace. Because of your love. Because of Jesus Christ. His payment from sins. I'm not going to go, oh, my works. Finally, God, you've asked me. I've got a list of all the good things that I've done. Let me show you. They're going to try. Their works are going to be shown to be filthy rags. And it's not just good works that aren't enough. It's their wickedness. It's their sins. You know, it's the works according to the flesh that they've done, that they're going to be judged by. And they're going to be taken and cast into the lake of fire. Where they're going to be tormented day and night, forever and ever. This is the final, final nail in the coffin with death, sin, wickedness. Okay. People are going to be tormented forever and ever. And you know, when we look at this again, you know, when we look at the thousand years, as wonderful and exciting as it is, it's still hard for me to process. I kind of understand, but it's still hard for me to process that people would reject Jesus. But it still happens. And God allows, I think Brother Callum mentioned this once to me. Like, the devil is like God's trash collector. Was that right? Something like that? Like, God allows the devil to come forth. And those that hate Christ, they're going to automatically align themselves to the devil. The devil collects them all together. All right, let's fight against Jesus. The devil thinks he's got one final chance. And the Lord just with a fire, just wipes them all out. Man, I don't want to face the fire of God's judgment like that. Eternal punishment for our sins. Thank God for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for his salvation. Thank God for all my sins being paid for in the finished work of Christ. All right, my brethren, the title of the sermon was A Thousand Years. Sorry about the lights, but I hope you enjoyed the sermon. Let's pray.