the night is nearly over
the day is almost here
so let us put aside the deeds of
darkness
and put on the armor of light
[Applause]
[Music]
and do this
knowing the time that now it is high
time to awake out of sleep
for now our salvation is nearer than
when we first believed
[Music]
and today we have a guest speaker
charlie campbell we have uh through the
month of september done a bit of a
prophecy month
and uh we love prophecy and so we wanted
to invite some of our favorite people
who teach on these subjects and charlie
campbell is a friend of the church and
an incredible educator he loves giving
people the ability to defend our beliefs
if you guys don't know he has all sorts
of product he's brought it with him
today it's down in the gym cds and dvds
and i know he's got books i'm not sure
if he has them with them today but
fantastic resources on how to defend
what you believe in and give an
apologetic argument for the christian
faith and so today he's going to share
with us and we love having him out so
please give a warm welcome to charlie
campbell
all right good morning
thank you for the warm welcome and the
kind introduction there jeff it's always
a blessing to be back with you all and
to open up god's word with you if you
have your bibles handy why don't you
turn with me to
first thessalonians
chapter 4.
heavenly father we're blessed to be here
today
lord to spend time worshiping you and
seeing our brothers and sisters in the
faith lord
and lord now as we turn attention to the
scriptures god we pray that your holy
spirit would bring
illumination lord to these precious
truths before us today god we pray that
you would encourage our hearts and
instruct us we pray that you would
revive those
who need revival we pray that you would
console
those who need consolation we pray that
you would convict
those who perhaps need conviction here
today lord work in our lives here today
in jesus name we pray
amen
well the bible as you know
unlike other religious books tells us
what's going to unfold in the end times
the last days of earth's history and god
has given us very good reasons to
believe
what the bible says regarding these
matters at the top of the list of
reasons to trust the bible is the
bible's track record in foretelling the
future there have been hundreds of
prophecies spoken in the bible that have
already
been fulfilled fulfilled prophecy is an
amazing evidence of the bible's divine
origin and it's something that sets the
bible apart from every other religious
book there are no fulfilled prophecies
in the hindu vedas the quran the book of
mormon the tripataka the bhagavad gita
or the upanishads none
the bible alone
amongst all these religious books is
able to substantiate its claims to be
divinely authoritative and
trustworthy with this kind of
supernatural evidence but rather than
talk to you this morning about
prophecies that have already been
fulfilled this morning i want to talk to
you about 10
upcoming events in
bible prophecy pastor jack asked if i
would talk to you this morning about the
importance of being ready for the future
well i can think of no better way of
doing that than to talk to you about
what's going to happen in the future
you'll see the importance of being ready
and then you can make a decision
as to whether or not you are
ready
the first major event on the prophetic
timeline that i briefly want to
consider is an imminent event by that i
mean that it could happen at any time
i'm talking about the coming of christ
for
his church
the coming of christ for his church the
classic passage on this event is found
here in 1st thessalonians chapter 4.
notice with me there in your bibles
verse 16 and following
it says for the lord himself jesus will
descend from heaven with
a shout with the voice of an archangel
and with the trumpet of god and the dead
in christ will rise first let's pause
there for a moment
there is coming a time in the future
when jesus christ will descend from
heaven for his church
at this event the bible says
that the dead in christ will rise first
what's paul saying
the dead in christ will rise
well the bible is saying that when jesus
christ descends from heaven
to gather together his people he is also
at that time going to resurrect the
bodies of
the dead in christ
who are the dead in christ well the dead
in christ is simply a reference to
christian believers who have died when
jesus descends from heaven to meet us in
the air these persons bodies are going
to be resurrected supernaturally pulled
up out of the ground
now someone might say well hold on a
second here charlie i thought christians
went right into the presence of god
when they die
you're right
their spirits do jesus said to the
repentant thief on the cross in luke
chapter 23 verse 43 he said truly i say
to you today you shall be with me in
paradise
well the roman soldiers took this man's
body down from the cross and likely
buried it in a close by grave
but his spirit went immediately into
paradise
in second corinthians chapter 5 verse 8
the apostle paul said we are of good
courage i say and even prefer he says to
be absent from the body and to be
at home with the lord so that's what
happens today when a believer dies their
spirit goes to be with the lord and
their body is laid to sleep
in the ground well when jesus descends
from heaven to meet us in the clouds
their bodies will rise the bible says
they'll be resurrected and reunited to
their spirits that have been with the
lord since the time
of their death
okay well then once well paul continues
in verse 17 he says then speaking of
immediately after the dead in christ are
raised we who are alive and remain shall
be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the lord in the air
note those two english words caught up
there in verse 17. those two words are
the english translation of the greek
word
harpazo
now the leading greek lexicon says that
this word harpazo can be correctly
translated to snatch to seize or to take
suddenly and vehemently that is to take
or carry off by force this word harpazo
is used 13 different times in the new
testament the term is used of paul being
caught up into heaven in second
corinthians chapter 12. it's used of
philip in acts chapter 8 verse 39 when
luke writes that the spirit of the lord
snatched philip away and brought him to
another place it's also used of christ's
ascension into heaven so in light of the
way the word harpazo is used in the new
testament there can be no doubt that
it's describing an actual removal of
people from the earth when used here in
first thessalonians chapter 4 verse 17.
so that's what's going to happen to a
generation of believers who've put their
faith in jesus christ and who are alive
on the earth at the time this event
occurs they perhaps us are going to
escape death and be caught up or seized
carried off and
brought up to meet the lord in the air
how amazing will that be
to see
jesus
face to face in the flesh
for the very first time with our own
eyes
the one we've loved for all these years
the one we've sung to
there with our own eyes standing
before us it's going to be amazing
now something astounding happens
as we ascend to meet the lord in the air
this is spoken about in first
corinthians chapter 15.
paul says in verse 51 behold i tell you
a mystery we shall not all sleep he's
using a euphemism a figure of speech to
say we shall not all die
not everybody
is going to have to taste of death
because when the lord returns he says we
who are alive we're going to be caught
up to meet the lord but in the process
of going up to meet the lord he says
we're going to be changed
in a moment in the twinkling of
an eye speaking of the swiftness of this
event
so when this happens our mortal earthly
bodies that are subject to death and
disease and so forth are going to be
changed into incorruptible immortal
heavenly bodies this is spoken about in
first corinthians
chapter 15. we're going to be given
bodies
that are fit for heaven
fit for eternity
are you looking forward to that
the older i get the more that sounds
attractive to me
well what happens next where will jesus
be taking those who are alive when this
glorious event takes place well the
answer is back to his father's house
jesus told us this in john chapter 14 on
the eve of his arrest and crucifixion
he's sitting there in the upper room
with the disciples and he tells them in
my father's house speaking of heaven are
many dwelling places i go to prepare a
place for you and if i go and prepare a
place for you i will come again and
receive you to myself that where i am
there you may be
also
so jesus is going to usher his followers
to heaven where we will not only begin
enjoying face to face in person
fellowship with god but we're also going
to be
reunited
with our loved ones
friends and family members who knew
the lord
do you have a loved one in heaven
maybe a mother or father
grandparents maybe a child husband or
wife
christian you're going to see them
again
if they knew the lord what a blessing
that will be
now i start off with this event the
coming of christ for his church because
this event is imminent it could happen
at any time there are no prophecies in
the bible that need to be fulfilled
before this event can occur it could
happen this week it could happen today
now there's lots of reasons myself and
other bible commentators believe that it
will happen prior to the tribulation
paul mentions one of those reasons right
here in first thessalonians when he says
in chapter 1 verse 10 that jesus is the
one who delivers us from not through
from
the wrath to come and as we'll see in a
few minutes the tribulation is that very
thing it's a time when god is going to
pour out his wrath
on a god rejecting sinful world
paul makes this point again in first
thessalonians 5 verse 9. right after he
gets done talking about
us being caught up to meet the lord he
goes on to say that one of the reasons
why god has not destined us followers of
jesus
for wrath
for more reasons i believe christ will
come for his church prior to the
tribulation i encourage you to check out
our websites at
alwaysbeready.com we've got lots of free
articles audio and video
about this event that we think you'll
find helpful
all right moving along the second major
event i want to talk to you about occurs
after jesus is coming for his church and
that is what is called the believer's
day
of rewards
the believer's day of rewards this event
is also commonly referred to as the bema
seat judgment and we'll see why in just
a second
this day of rewards or bema seat
judgment is mentioned among other places
in second corinthians chapter 5
verse 10. notice what the bible says
there
for we in the context of speaking of
believers must all appear before the
judgment seat of christ that each one
may receive the things done in the body
according to what he has done whether
good or bad
the greek word there for judgment seat
is the word
bema why did paul call this place where
christ will be seated the bema well the
bema in paul's day was the name of the
raised platform with steps that led up
to it in the grecian and roman sports
arenas and it's where the umpire or the
ruler of the people sat and it was from
the bema sea that the rewards were given
out to the contestants after
the day's events
well the original recipients of paul's
letter in the city of corinth would have
immediately understood what paul was
inferring in fact the ruins of the bema
seat that stood in the city of corinth
in the first century
still stands today here you see a photo
of it
brothers and sisters according to this
passage and others in the bible there's
coming a time when all believers will
stand at the heavenly
a seat face to face
with jesus christ note that the bible
says for we must
all
appear there
now hold on a second charlie you're
making me nervous
well what's the purpose of standing at
the bema judgment seat i thought as
christians we were forgiven of our sins
and weren't going to be judged for our
sins
well if you've thought that you're right
if you've placed your trust in jesus
christ the bible says you won't be
judged for your sins jesus already
received your judgment on the cross
praise the lord for that
the bema seat judgment is not a judgment
of condemnation
but a judgment of evaluation a place
where your works will be evaluated
notice that paul tells us in 2nd
corinthians chapter 5 verse 10 what will
be judged he says that it will not be
the person but what he has
done
what he's done for the lord
his ministry his service
her involvement in the children's
ministry or that guy's involvement out
in the parking lot ministry
why will my works be judged
well to determine their quality
for the purpose
of receiving or losing rewards
losing rewards
check it out first corinthians chapter
three notice what it says there paul's
talking about this event here in first
corinthians chapter three verse 13 and
following he says but there is going to
come a time of testing at the judgment
day to see what kind of work each
builder has done everyone's work
not the person but their work will be
put through the fire to see whether or
not it keeps its value
if the work survives the fire that
builder will receive a reward but if the
work is burned up
the builder will suffer
great loss
god looks right through to the motives
when you're serving him
friend if you're helping out in the
parking lot ministry
and everybody thinks what a great guy
look he's out there faithfully every
sunday
but you're really out there so you can
say hi to the ladies as they make their
way into the church
that's the kind of stuff paul's talking
about here that kind of ministry is
going to go up in flames
at the bemus judgment there's not going
to be any reward for that
it's done with impure motives
friend you are one day going to stand
there
the bible assures us of that
and god's going to assess what you've
done
with the resources he's given you
the life
he's given you the talents
he's given you
the gifts
the finances
your good works will be rewarded
those works that were done with impure
motives will bring about a loss of
rewards
so in light of this coming day rewards
let me ask you an important question are
you being a good steward
with the resources god has given you
are you being a good steward
are you using your time wisely
are you using your gifts and talents and
energy
for the lord
are you serving the lord in any capacity
are you using a portion of your finances
to help further the gospel
these are some of the resources that
god's left in your care
and he desires for you to use them
wisely friend eternity is coming
don't waste
your life
don't waste your life your life is so
precious
but it is so short
compared to eternity so i encourage you
don't squander it away
do something with it
something for the king
something that will make an impact
for eternity
in eternity you will never regret
having lived wholeheartedly for the lord
you never will
so i encourage you to do that
all right so first we have the coming of
christ for
his church
sometime after this event most likely
when we're with the lord in
heaven we have the believer's day of
rewards
let's move along the third major
prophetic event that i want to discuss
unfolds after the rapture of the church
and that is called the tribulation
period
the tribulation daniel chapter 12 verse
1 and numerous other sections of
scripture prophesy
of a time of distress a time of trouble
and great tribulation that will come
upon the world unlike anything the world
has ever seen during this time we're
told that god is going to pour out his
wrath on a sinful unrepentant
christ-rejecting
world the bible tells us that this time
of tribulation will last seven years
leading right up to the time of christ's
second coming to the earth it's during
the seven year period that a man
energized by satan himself known as the
antichrist will rise to power in
europe the revived roman empire
prophesied in daniel chapter 2 7 and 9.
as this man is gaining political
economic and religious control over the
world even declaring himself to be god
the true and the living god will begin
pouring out a series of judgments on the
world speaking of this time in matthew
24 jesus said then there will be a great
tribulation such as has not occurred
since the beginning of the world until
now nor ever
shall
some of god's judgments upon the world
during this period include the following
an outbreak
of wars revelation chapter six verse
four deadly famines revelation six verse
eight
huge out of control fires revelation
chapter eight verse seven we read of an
asteroid crashing into the sea that
kills a third of the living creatures in
the sea and destroys a third of the
world's ships chapter eight verse eight
and nine these are all from the book of
revelation
uh we read of demons that will be
unleashed and permitted to torment
unbelievers for five months chapter nine
verses one through five we read of a
prolonged drought revelation 11 verse
six incurable open oozing sores on the
worshippers of the antichrist people who
take the mark of the beast revelation 16
verse 2
we read that everything in the ocean
will be killed revelation chapter 16
verse 3 we read that great heat will
scorch the earth's inhabitants chapter
16 verse 8-9 we read of darkness across
the planet chapter 16 verse 10 we read
of a worldwide earthquake so powerful
the bible says that the cities of the
nations will fall chapter 16 verse 19.
as a result of that same earthquake the
bible says in the next verse that
islands are going to disappear and
mountains are going to crumble chapter
16 verse 20 and in the very next verse
verse 21 chapter 16 it says that there
will be huge hailstones about 100 pounds
each that come down from heaven upon
men
the earth its inhabitants and its
population are going to be devastated
the book of revelation tells us that
more than half of the world's population
will die during this time
can you imagine the fear
that's going to come upon the people of
the world under this enormous
display
of god's power
a terrible time to be alive
now many people in the world today
underestimating mankind's sinfulness
scoff
at the thought that god would judge the
world in this way they say well charlie
i mean the god i believe in would never
do
those kinds of things
and they're right
the god they believe in never would do
those kinds of things
and here's why
because
that god doesn't exist
he can't do anything
he's the figment of their imagination
and millions of people in the world
today
have done that
they've created a god in their minds who
couldn't care less about sin
their sin or anybody sins but the true
and the living god the holy god of the
bible is going to judge
sinners
one only need read the account of the
flood
and other passages of scripture to see
that god follows through when he says
judgment is coming despite what the
scoffers say or predict
now what amazes me is that even in the
midst of this judgment
against sinners god is going to continue
to make salvation and forgiveness
possible revelation chapter 14 verse 6
and 7 says that there will be an angel
who will fly around carrying the
everlasting good news to preach to the
people who belong to this world to every
nation tribe language
and people
that's one of the purposes of the
tribulation
god doesn't delight in the death of the
wicked
but if people won't come to their senses
during this age of grace
when god is mercifully withholding his
judgments
well then god who does not who's not
willing that any should perish in
eternity will shake things up some
and as a result the bible tells us that
many will
wake up and multitudes will have their
sins forgiven and be given everlasting
life this is spoken about in revelation
chapter 7.
unfortunately
many will also lose their lives for
converting
as a result of the persecution that will
be widespread
during the tribulation
how much better it would be just to get
right with god right now
i've had someone foolishly tell me
years ago
that if mysteriously millions of
christians just suddenly disappear then
he says i'll know you guys were right
and then i'll get right with god
i
that's not that's not wise
if you can't live for jesus now
when it's relatively easy to be a
christian
[Music]
what makes you think you can die for
jesus during the tribulation period
far better to be reconciled to god today
all right moving along there's a fourth
major event on the prophetic calendar i
want us to consider and that is known as
the invasion of ezekiel 38 and 39. the
invasion of ezekiel 38 and 39 myself
dwight pentecost and
lots of other bible commentators believe
that there are good reasons to conclude
that this event will happen sometime
during the first three and a half years
of the tribulation period let's consider
this passage
ezekiel prophesied in ezekiel 38 and 39
that in the latter years the jews would
be gathered back to their homeland and
eventually be invaded by a massive
military force of course as many of you
know the prophecy about the jews being
regathered back into their homeland
has been fulfilled
since that time when israel was declared
a nation in 1948 israel has been
attacked by her
neighboring country several times but
nothing on the scale of what ezekiel
prophesied
would happen
in this amazing section of scripture
ezekiel tells us the very countries that
will invade israel the countries that
ezekiel names for us include countries
with names like magog
tubal torgama
persia and so on that's what the
countries were called in ezekiel's day
well today those countries have names
like iran
russia libya sudan turkey uzbekistan
turkmenistan and
tajikistan
that's interesting
could this massive military invasion be
right around the corner
it certainly could be
all of these nations with the exception
of russia have one thing in common
what's that
islam
islam and a burning demonically inspired
hatred of the jewish people
friend i don't know
if you're following the news much these
days
but seeing iran russia and
israel in the news every single day
is very interesting
it appears to many students of prophecy
that the stage is being set
this invasion prophesied by ezekiel
could happen within our lifetimes which
is very interesting because many bible
scholars and myself believe that this
invasion happens in the first half of
the tribulation period sometime after
jesus comes for his church
interesting
because if the events of ezekiel 38 and
39 are getting close
and they happen
after the rapture
well
you can see why some people are thinking
the rapture could occur
sooner
rather than later
now very well could be that when jesus
comes for his church and millions of
christians simply disappear that america
will crumble as a world power without
america to aid in israel's defense
israel's enemies may think now is the
time to invade the land of israel
boy will they be in for a surprise
using a massive earthquake a plague and
hailstones mixed with fire and burning
sulfur ezekiel 38 and 39 tell us that
god is going to quickly and totally
destroy every last
soldier
israel won't have to do a thing in her
defense the devastation will be so
overwhelming and so obviously a divine
miracle that the lord says this in
ezekiel chapter 38 verse 23 he says i
shall magnify myself sanctify myself in
other words setting himself apart from
all the other so-called gods and he says
i will make myself known in the sight of
many nations and they will know that i
yahweh
not allah
not vishnu
not brahman or some other
imagine god they will know that i
am
the lord
the world is going to realize in a
powerful way when they turn on the news
that the god of abraham isaac and jacob
is very much alive
and well
now it may be the total destruction of
these invading armies that allows the
jews to finally rebuild their temple on
the temple mount we do know that the
jews will one day rebuild their temple
why is that well
ii thessalonians chapter 2 verse 4 tells
us that the antichrist will one day take
his seat in the temple of god displaying
himself as being god you can't take a
seat in the temple unless there's a
temple
daniel chapter 9 talks about this as
well
now the jewish people of course would
love to rebuild their temple what's
stopping them
well that building
uh
is one of the problems the muslims built
the dome of the rock in the year 691 on
the temple mount the place where the
jewish temple sat before the romans
destroyed it in a.d 70.
well when the armies of these nations
are wiped out israel might just decide
to move forward with their temple plans
right there on the temple mount either
in the place of the dome of the rock or
just to the north where there's plenty
of room for both who's going to stop
israel after the events of ezekiel 38
and 39
not the muslims
they already tried that
it didn't go so well right
so
this is a hypothetical assessment of how
it might unfold but the bible does say
it will come to pass the antichrist will
stand in a rebuilt jewish temple
in the future
all right moving along there's a fifth
major event on the prophetic timeline
that we want to consider briefly and
that is something called the battle of
armageddon
the battle of armageddon
the word armageddon is a word that comes
from two hebrew words har which means
mountain or hill and megiddo the name of
an ancient city in the northern part of
israel put these two words together and
you have haar magetto or armageddon in
english so the word armageddon
doesn't mean world war three
it literally means the mount of
megiddo mount meghetto is located about
10 miles south of nazareth where jesus
grew up and about 15 miles inland from
the mediterranean
sea
we use the word armageddon as a way of
referring to the battle that will begin
to transpire there near the end of the
tribulation period
the resulting disorder brought on by all
of the disasters during the tribulation
is actually going to create opposition
to the antichrist this is spoken about
in daniel chapter 11. because he will be
unable to fulfill his promises of peace
a worldwide revolution will take place
and major portions of the world will
rebel against his authority well this
climaxes in a gigantic war that begins
to unfold in the plane surrounding
armageddon mount megiddo
now in the midst of this huge battle
taking place in israel something amazing
happens and this is the sixth major
prophetic event i want to discuss and
that is the second coming
of christ
the second coming of
christ right while the events of
armageddon are going on
matthew chapter 24 tells us that the sun
will be darkened and the moon will not
give its light and the stars will fall
from the sky god's going to turn off the
lights just like we do when we're about
to watch a good movie
it's going to turn off all the light so
the sun will be dark and the moon won't
give its light the stars will fall from
the sky and the powers of the heavens
will be shaken and then the sign of the
son of man will appear in the sky and
then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn and they will see the son of man
coming on the clouds of the sky with
power and great glory
revelation chapter 19 tells us that
jesus is going to descend from heaven to
the earth on a white horse and the whole
world
will know
[Applause]
revelation chapter 1 verse 7 says behold
he's coming with the clouds and every
eye
will see him and guess who's coming with
him
all of us
who've been with the lord in heaven why
do i believe that well revelation
chapter 19 verse 14 says in the armies
in heaven clothed in fine linen white
and clean this is a reference to
believers if you examine the context
there
followed him on white horses
imagine how awesome it's going to be to
follow jesus to the earth
down through the clouds on white horses
and to touch down there
in
israel
for those of you who would like to go to
israel
but haven't been able to afford maybe to
go
take heart
there is a day coming you will make it
you will make it
and you're not going to be stuck in some
economy seat for a grueling 18-hour
flight
one of the big pluses of having your own
horse
and we're not going to be the only ones
you know who else is coming with us all
of the angels
all of them
why do i believe that well jesus said in
matthew 25 31 notice what he said he
says when the son of man comes in his
glory and most
some
all the holy angels with him then he
will sit on the throne of his glory god
is going to empty out heaven
to usher jesus back down to
the earth where in israel is jesus going
to come back to well the prophet
zechariah told us in zechariah chapter
14 verse 4 he said and in that day he
his the messiah's feet will stand on the
mount of olives which faces jerusalem
on
the east
near the top of jesus's to-do list when
he comes back if we can call it that
is putting an end to the deceptive rule
of the antichrist and his false prophets
notice this revelation 19 verse 20 says
and this is right after it talks about
him coming down to the earth very next
verse then the beast which is a
reference to the antichrist was captured
and with him the false prophet who
worked signs in his presence by which he
deceived those who received the mark of
the beast and those who worshipped his
image these two were cast alive into the
lake of fire burning with brimstone
so the second coming of christ down to
the earth will mark the end of the
antichrist and into the deception of the
false prophet an end to the battle of
armageddon and into the tribulation
period and an end to all of man's failed
attempts to govern himself
moving along the seventh major event we
want to highlight immediately follows
the second coming of christ and that is
what we call the judgment of the nations
the judgment of the nations jesus spoke
about this in matthew chapter 25.
notice the following verses in verse 31
he said when the son of man a reference
to himself comes in his glory and all
the holy angels with him then he will
sit on the throne of his glory all the
nations will be gathered
before him let's pause there for a
second jesus is saying when he comes
back down to the earth all of those
people
who survive the tribulation period are
going to be brought to israel to stand
before him what's going to happen there
well jesus will separate them he says
one from another as a shepherd divides
his sheep from the goats and he will set
the sheep on his right hand but the
goats on the left then the king will say
to those on his right hand come you
blessed of my father inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of
the world skipping down to verse 41 then
he will also say to those on the left
depart from me you cursed into the
everlasting fire prepared for the devil
and his angels
the primary purpose for this judgment of
the nations also known as the judgment
of the sheep and the goats is simply to
determine who will and who will not
enter jesus's 1000 year earthly kingdom
those who receive the gospel during the
tribulation likened to sheep
as well as those who are saved prior to
the tribulation will be permitted to
enter into christ's earthly kingdom
those who are alive at the end of the
tribulation who reject the gospel
message that will be preached during the
tribulation
likened to goats will be taken away and
not permitted to enter
the kingdom this is not the final
judgment this is just to divide the
people
into those who get to enter into jesus
earthly kingdom and those who are not
permitted
now after this judgment in matthew
chapter 25 takes place there's an eighth
major prophetic event that we briefly
want to discuss and that is the
thousand-year reign of christ
the thousand-year reign of christ this
thousand-year reign
spoken of in revelation chapter 20 and
elsewhere begins after the judgment of
the nations it's commonly called the
millennium or the millennial reign of
christ this is going to be a glorious
time the bible has more to say about
this time period than any other event in
all of bible prophecy here's a brief
overview of what the bible tells us
about this time
the wicked will have been cast out at
the judgment of the nations satan we're
told will be locked up and unable to
influence the world
we're told that jesus will be the king
of the world ruling and reigning from
the capital city of the world there in
jerusalem we're told that there will be
a worldwide knowledge of god isaiah 11 9
says the earth will be full of the
knowledge of
the lord
we're told that we'll make yearly trips
to jerusalem to celebrate all that god
has done this is prophesied in zechariah
chapter 14
verse 16.
idolatry and false worship will be cut
off
the apostles we're told will rule over
the 12 tribes of israel jesus assured
them that privilege in matthew 19 and
elsewhere we're told in isaiah chapter 2
verse 4 that all weapons of war will be
destroyed
we're told in isaiah 33 and jeremiah 30
that there's going to be a removal of
sickness
healing for the deform perhaps people
who live through the tribulation period
in their natural bodies might be in a
some need of a healing touch from the
lord they'll be able to receive that
we're told there's going to be fruitful
enjoyable labor for us to do we're not
just going to be sitting around and you
know having bible studies or singing
songs or something like that the bible
says we're actually going to build homes
and plant vineyards check it out
sometime isaiah chapter 62.
there's going to be things to do during
this time period we're also told that
there's going to be a restoration of one
language for people to speak a reversal
of what happened at the tower of babel
this is spoken about in zephaniah 3
verse 9. we're told the animal kingdom
will enjoy perfect peace
for example in isaiah 11 verse 6 and
following it says the wolf not the lion
everyone always says the lion it says
the wolf will dwell with the lamb the
lion will eat straw
like the ox the nursing child will lay
by the hole of the cobra and the weaned
child will put his hand
on the viper's den can you imagine
letting your kids do that today
i don't even let my i've got five kids i
don't even let them go outside without
adult supervision
can you imagine just telling your kids
to go play with vipers and cobras
well that's the way god originally
created the worlds for us to be able to
interact with the animal kingdom without
harm
well that's what's going to happen
during the millennium
we're also told there's going to be
great and wonderful changes to the
environment isaiah 35 says that the
desert will blossom profusely
and that waters will break forth in the
wilderness and the scorched land will
become a pool and the thirsty ground
will turn into springs of water so a
restoration of like the garden of eden
conditions so it's going to be a
wonderful thousand years on earth and
that really will just be the beginning
of all that god has in store
for those who love him
now after god permits a short-lived
ill-fated
satanic-led
rebellion at the end of the
thousand-year reign of christ there's a
ninth major event we want to discuss and
that is what is called the great white
throne judgment
the great white throne judgment
throughout history when people have died
who've turned their back on god's
forgiveness they've gone to a place
called hades
to await judgment jesus spoke about this
in luke chapter 16.
in revelation chapter 20 john tells us
that after the thousand-year reign of
christ these persons will finally be
resurrected to stand before god at what
john calls a great white
throne
this judgment will include the unsaved
from the time of adam up until that
present time the bible says that the
dead the great and the small will come
to life
to stand before god to have their deeds
exposed and to face god's judgments
revelation chapter 20 tells us that
books
will be opened that contain a thorough
record of all the sinful deeds
of each
person
can you imagine
the
that's going to come upon these people
knowing that every single sinful thing
they ever said or did
was all written down
even the things they thought they got
away with in secret
hebrews chapter 10 verse 31 says that
for them it's going to be a terrifying
thing
to fall into the hands of the living god
still in their
sins
after this judgments
the bible makes it absolutely clear that
these unrepentant
unforgiven sinners will be thrown into
the lake of fire
where they will spend eternity separated
from god
friend you do not want to end up there
that's why it's vitally important that
you be reconciled to god now
before it's too late
and you can be reconciled to god
that's why jesus died on the cross for
you
jesus god in human flesh left the
glories of heaven the bible says to pay
this penalty
for your sins
he died on that cruel roman cross for
you
but then he rose again
from the grave on the third day and
today he stands ready to forgive you
and any who put their trust in him
have you done that
is jesus your lord
i urge you to put your faith in him
today the bible says
if you'll confess with your mouth
jesus is lord and believe in your heart
that god raised him from the dead you
shall be saved
if you do that god will forgive you of
your sins
and not only will you escape eternity
in hell
you'll go on to enjoy all that god has
planned
for those who love him
and that brings me to the tenth and
final thing i want to talk about today
and that is eternity in the new
jerusalem
eternity in the new jerusalem
after satan the fallen angels and
unrepentant sinners have been judged and
locked away forever revelation chapter
21 verse 1 and elsewhere
tell us that god is going to create a
new heaven and a new earth notice what
john writes here in revelation chapter
21 verse 1 he says and i saw a new
heaven he's speaking of the atmosphere
of heavens where the birds fly and where
the
moon and sun dwell not not the dwelling
place of god he says i saw a new heaven
and a new earth for the first heaven and
the first earth
passed away
ii peter chapter 3 says that this
present heavens
and earth are going to pass away with a
roar
and the elements will be destroyed with
intense heat
and for good reason
this earth
that we live on
has been contaminated by mankind's
sin
so in its place is going to be a brand
new heaven
and earth in this new heaven and on this
new earth god is going to place a
wonderful new holy city for his people
to live in called the new
jerusalem
the new jerusalem is bigger than any
city the world has ever known it
measures 12 000 furlongs in width about
fourteen hundred miles
in width and the same distance in height
and depth not only is this city gigantic
it's absolutely glorious the massive
outer wall is made up of jasper which is
similar to diamonds in appearance the
city is made up of pure gold and it
radiates with god's
glory
this magnificent beautiful massive city
of the living god is going to descend
the bible says through the new heavens
and sit upon
the new earth believers are going to
live in that new city and have the
ability to go in and out
on the new earth
that is exciting to me
a lot of people today have a wrong
conception of what heaven's going
to be like they imagine heaven and it's
boring to them
paintings like this don't help
they think all we're going to do in
heaven is sing all the time or float
around on clouds plain harps or whatever
i don't know how to play a harp they
think i don't know if i want to go there
when they hear some of our descriptions
of heaven if you've thought that heaven
is going to be uninteresting
or boring then i encourage you to get
back to what the bible says about heaven
maybe by starting off by reading
revelation chapter 21 and 22 that would
be a good place to start the bible says
that the new jerusalem has four sides
with three massive gates on each side
that never close
for a total of 12 gates
what are gates for that never close day
or night
they're for going in and out right
in eternity there's going to be things
to do
on the new earth people to see places to
go it even speaks of the kings
of the earth bringing their glory into
the city kings yes and it even says
nations
will walk by the light of this city
there's going to be
all kinds of activity
on the new earth and in that glorious
city i can just imagine
jesus coming on the intercom system
there
hello this is jesus we've got a white
water rafting trip tomorrow morning uh
north side gate 3
9 a.m
i think eternity in the new jerusalem on
this new earth is going to be amazing
if you think that this present planet
has a lot to offer wait until you see
the new earth that's never been
contaminated by sin or
the curse
it's safe to say we're going to
experience things in eternity that we've
never even
dreamed of
the bible says that god will dwell with
us
there in this city
and that he'll wipe away every tear from
their eyes there shall be no more death
nor sorrow nor crying there shall be no
more pain for the former things have
passed away so the sin the death the
sorrow and pain that have plagued
mankind for thousands of years will
finally be
gone you're not even going to have to
wear a helmet when you go whitewater
rafting
and not only is the sorrow and pain and
death going to be a thing of the past
god's going to replace those things with
unending
overflowing joy psalm 16 verse 11 says
in your presence is fullness of joy
can you get any more full than full
fullness of joy there at your right hand
our pleasures forever more
think about a time when you were totally
full
of joy
i don't know what it was that caused
your joy to run over maybe it was the
last day of school
perhaps someone called you up with some
good news and man it made you feel like
dancing
you've experienced that kind of joy can
you imagine living throughout eternity
with that kind of joy
uninterrupted
no one's ever going to show up and say
you know what can you calm down
you know
listen to this bad news
there's never going to be anything that
comes in and interferes with that joy
it's going to be amazing there in the
new jerusalem will spend eternity with
the lord the angels and the redeemed
from throughout human history imagine
how awesome how amazing it's going to be
to sit down and dine with people like
adam and eve and noah
moses david peter mary paul and those
are just some of the people we've read
about in the bible
but we're also going to be able to spend
time with people like abraham lincoln
c.s lewis
charles spurgeon george washington
christians from throughout the ages but
best of all
we will be
with jesus
the one who's made us and shown us so
much
love
what amazing and wonderful things god
has in store
for those who love him i'll close with
this question
will you be there with us
will you be there
with us the choice is up to you
you can follow jesus and spend eternity
with him or you can reject him
and in the end you will have nothing to
do with them
friend
i exhort you today follow
jesus
amen
amen why don't we pray heavenly father
god we thank you today
for your word
lord apart from the scriptures lord we
would be in the dark as to what the
future holds but lord you have
graciously led us in on some of the
details that we might live with hope and
joy and expectation at what you've got
in store
in the future for your people
and lord we do just look forward to
spending eternity with you but lord in
the meantime
god we pray that you would help us to be
busy about your business
or we want to be wise stewards
with the blessings that you've bestowed
upon us
the time and the talents
the finances the opportunities you give
to us to serve and to share
lord we want to serve you wholeheartedly
help us to do that
god we pray for holy spirit power
to live out the remainder of our short
lives
here on this planet in a way that brings
glory and praise and honor to you
throughout eternity
and lord we do
pray for our friends and family members
and
neighbors and co-workers who don't know
you
god we pray today
for their salvation
lord we're concerned
for their spiritual condition so lord we
pray
that your holy spirit would open their
eyes
that you would convict them of their sin
and help them to see their need
for jesus
their need to be forgiven their need for
reconciliation
draw these people to yourself we pray
and it's in jesus name we pray
amen
[Music]
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