The
Revelation of Christ –
Part 45: The Thousand Years
Pastor
Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON INTRODUCTION
Today
we will be looking at “The Thousand Years,” as described in Revelation
20. This can sometimes seem confusing for many reasons. Many think when
we die, we “go to heaven” when actually we will live on the new earth when all
is said and done. Some think when we die, we become angels; however, angels and
humans are two different creations, and though we will receive new bodies, we
will never actually become angels.
Last
week we finished looking at Revelation 19, the fall of Babylon,
and the threefold hallelujah celebration over its demise.
We saw
in Revelation
19:11 Christ on the white horse, and He is called Faithful and True.
With Justice (honesty, integrity, fairness, impartiality, righteousness) he
judges and wages war.
By the
end of this chapter (Revelation 19:19), we see two parts
of the unholy trinity (666), the beast (antichrist) and false prophet, were
thrown “alive” into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
However,
nothing was done to Satan for his plan to take over the world and rule mankind
as a god. This brings us to Chapter 20.
SERMON SERIES – The
Revelation of Christ
THE THINGS WHICH
SHALL BE – The Coming Judgment
TODAY’S SERMON - THE
THINGS WHICH SHALL BE
Revelation 20:1-6
And I saw an angel coming down out of
heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a
great chain. 2 He seized the Dragon, that ancient serpent,
who is the Devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and
locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the
nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must
be set free for a short time.
4 I saw thrones on which were
seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of
those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about
Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the
beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or
their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand
years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share
in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for
a thousand years.
I.
THE ABYSS
a.
The angel
with the key and a great chain
i. This takes
place immediately after the antichrist and the false prophet were cast alive
into the lake of burning sulfur.
ii. This is an
excellent illustration of how an angel can easily over-power Satan and lock him
up simply because God commands him to.
iii. We also have
the ability through the power of Christ Jesus to over-power Satan, demons, and
their evil influences in our lives, if we are obedient and submit to the will
of God.
b.
The angel
seized the Dragon, the Ancient Serpent, The Devil, Satan
i. Satan is given
three names in this verse to describe him and his plan of destruction
ii. The Dragon – represents Satan displaying his power of
destruction. The Dragon tried to destroy the woman, the child, the Jews, the
Christians, and when he could not, he spewed forth a great deluge of false
teachings, gods and religions in hopes of drowning the children of God.
iii. The Ancient Serpent – A reminder
that in the garden, he was the first cunning deceiver, and continued to deceive
through the rest of history.
iv. The Devil – the accuser of those who belong to the Lord.
v. Satan – Our adversary, rival, and enemy.
c.
The angel
threw him into the Abyss
i. The angel
throws Satan into the Abyss
1.
In Luke 8:31 the demons who possessed
the pigs pleaded with Jesus not to cast them into the Abyss.
2.
In Revelation 9:11 we were told that
the King over those in the Abyss was Abaddon in Hebrew, Apollyon in Greek, both
meaning Destroyer. He is not Satan, but was released during Tribulation and
serves Satan to empower the antichrist.
3.
Satan is cast into the Abyss locked in great chains,
and the Abyss sealed over him to keep him from deceiving the nations any more.
ii. Until the
thousand years were ended, after which he will be set free for a short time.
iii. Why?
1.
We aren’t told why the Lord didn’t cast Satan into the
fiery lake of sulfur along with the antichrist and the false prophet.
2.
We aren’t told why the Lord will set Satan free once
more after the thousand-year reign.
3.
Perhaps it is because the Lord is a righteous judge,
and before casting Satan into the eternal, everlasting lake of burning sulfur, the
final “hell” which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew
25:41), called Gehenna by Jesus, the Lord wanted to show Satan what the
world would look like without him (the thousand-year Kingdom Age)
II.
THE JUDGES
a.
The 24
elders
i. 12 who
represent the Old Testament, and 12 who represent the New Testament
ii. In other
words, they represent the entirety of God’s law and plan on earth. They are the
perfect religious rule, and therefore judges for the Lord.
b.
The
tribulation saints
i. The souls of
those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and the Word
of God.
ii. They had NOT
worshipped the beast, or its image, or taken its mark
iii. They came to
life
c.
The first
resurrection
i. They came to
life and reigned with Christ a thousand years
ii. This is the
“First Resurrection”
iii. Blessed and
holy are those who share in the first resurrection
III.
THE KINGDOM
AGE
a.
The second
resurrection
i. This will
take place at the time of judging where all of those who did not serve the Lord
will be condemned.
b.
The second
death has no power over the saints
i. Once we
(those who serve the Lord) have died, and are part of the “first resurrection,”
we will receive our new bodies and made complete and whole, never to die again.
ii. Those who
were part of the second resurrection will be judged and cast into the eternal
lake of fire, and this is the second death.
c.
The saints
will reign with Christ over the earth
i. Those who
are part of the first resurrection will;
1.
Never die again, no second death
2.
Be priests of God
3.
Be priests of Christ
4.
Will reign with Christ on earth for a thousand years
5.
This is the Kingdom Age
CONCLUSION
–
At this point this is what has taken place in the
scriptures;
·
God, through the Word and Holy Spirit,
created all that exists
·
Man is deceived by Satan who wants to be a
god over humankind and earth
·
This sin breaks the communion between God and
His people
·
The Word is made flesh to redeem humankind
and mend the communion between God and His people
·
Satan tries to destroy Israel so the Word
cannot become flesh, but fails
·
Satan tries to kill the child (the Word made
flesh) but fails
·
Satan tries to destroy the Jews, but fails
·
Satan tries to deceive the Word made flesh in
the wilderness, but fails
·
Satan tries to destroy Jesus with the cross,
fulfilling prophecy, so the Word redeems humankind and mends the communion
between God and His creation through Christ Jesus
·
Satan tries to destroy Christian followers of
Christ, but fails, and the Holy Scriptures are penned
·
Satan spews forth a deluge of false
teachings, teachings of men and false gods and religions in hopes of drowning
the children of God, yet many still follow the Lord
·
Satan decides to make himself a god on earth
and creates the unholy trinity (666) by imploring Abbadon to empower the False
Prophet and bring up the antichrist, which ushers in Tribulation.
·
He fails, and the Lord casts the antichrist,
the false prophet into the fiery lake of sulfur.
·
Satan is then bound in chains and cast into
the Abyss, where he is locked up for the Kingdom Age.
·
During
the Kingdom Age, the first resurrection takes place, and God’s people reign
with Christ on earth for a thousand years. At the end of this, Satan will once
again be released from the Abyss and face judgment.
NEXT
WEEK: The Judgment of Satan
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